Disclaimer: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Eighteen: One and the Same

Mina sighed. The hulking form of Edward Hyde was still standing over her, as if awaiting instructions. Of course, Henry was probably telling him to remain with her and he, for once, was listening. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, noticing that her hands were caked with mud and blood. It felt itchy and disgusting, but there was little to be done about it now. Her clothes were in much the same state. Her hair had come out of the bun and the ends made her back itch uncomfortably. She was feeling so much sensation all of a sudden… it was going to take some time for her to readapt to it.

She beckoned to the huge man in the room with her. "Come on Hyde." Her voice felt different, not as deep and without the sensual tone she had come to take for granted. It sounded like a high alto now, not the dark tenor tone she had before.

Moving towards the stairs and slowly mounting them, she knew that Hyde was following her. As she came into the shed, the night air was cool and without the clammy feeling from the cellar. The wooden door had swung shut- probably when Henry came. She glanced backward at Hyde, who was lumbering out of the cellar. It was so hard to believe that Henry was in there somewhere… that this beast was some remote part of Henry that he had awoken without knowledge of what would happen. Her filthy hands pushed the door open. She would need a bath when she got back to the hotel- a good one. Her mind briefly flicked to images of her and Henry in the bath together- but as quickly as the erotic images came, she shut them out.

Slumping against the wall to the courtyard, she let the exhaustion overtake her for a second time. Hyde stood over her, looking unsure what to do. It almost made her wonder what kind of secret hatred he harbored for her. He needed to go back to wherever it was he came from- somewhere deep in Henry's consciousness. She could imagine Henry with that stronger part of him back in place- he would not be so jumpy anymore, more… manly.

"Where did you come from?" she asked softly.

The huge man shrugged his mountainous shoulders. "I don't know. I don't remember anything before Henry took the formula the first time."

She looked up at Hyde… he had hazel eyes. How had she missed that before? How could she have never noticed that Henry's eye color changed when he transformed? Not that it was in the least way surprising. But what in the world could she say to a man who clearly believed he had as much right to exist as his creator?

"Hyde…" she began. "Have you ever thought that you might be an extension of Henry?"

He shrugged once more. She had the distinct feeling that Edward Hyde did not do too terribly much thinking unless it was about an activity inherently evil.

"Perhaps you should allow yourself to be reintegrated with him." His face instantly changed into a vision of fury. Obviously, that gently suggestion was not something that Hyde considered an option.

"Look, lady!" he practically roared, shaking the very air around her and shattering the peace of the night. "I got as much right to exist as he does!"

Mina sighed. She was not going to get anywhere with him. He was not going to take suggestions from anyone. And yet, she did not think that either Henry or Hyde could live harmoniously if they continued to share the same body. There had to be another tactic… one that Hyde would understand and it had to involve force…

"Hyde, think of Henry as your creator."

"I know he is already," the beast growled.

"Well," she paused. "To continue the metaphor, Henry would be something like God to you, right?" Hyde nodded slowly. "God can kill people- his own creations. The Bible is littered with instances where he killed. If God, the real one, can destroy his creatures, then what makes you believe that Henry cannot do the same to his."

"He's weaker than me," Hyde growled.

"Yes, he is," Mina agreed. "But you cannot be destroyed normally. The impasse we have come to is that if you are killed, Henry dies as well." She paused again. "I do not believe that you want to die." Hyde shook his head. "Then why not go back to the part of Henry's mind you can from and be content to you that you will still exist, even if only in a small part, forever. Can you understand that?"

"You're saying, that if Henry or me dies then the other dies as well?" he asked slowly, as if piecing together the information.

Mina nodded. "Yes. Just go back to where you belong and you shall exist forever as a part of Henry Jekyll. You are only a part of him to begin with- just a magnified part of the whole."

"That don't make much sense."

"It will. You will see."

Hyde nodded slowly. Then he threw his head back and growled through his clenched teeth. Mina closed her eyes in silent relief. She did not know if the formula had run out or if Henry was forcing the transformation back or if Hyde was fading and allowing Henry to come forward. When she opened her eyes again, she beheld the transformation half way over. She would never be able to decide which direction of the morphing was worse- but the change back to Henry was more heartening. His body shrank and the skin became lighter and without blemishes. His screams of pain died down to a loud panting- his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. She smiled. The man she loved was back.

He lay on the grass for a moment, his bare torso a sharp contrast with the dark foliage. His shirt and jacket had been ripped beyond repair, recognition or use as it always was. She smiled, thinking that he might have saved more shirts by removing them before morphing.

He slowly raised himself up on his arms, breathing heavily. She crawled across the small space between them and held out her arms to him. A smile crossed his lips as he collapsed into her arms, burying his face in her neck. "Oh Mina," he said softly, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his back.

"So we have faced our demons," she whispered. "Have we won?"

Henry gently held her out at an arms length, smoothing her hair down and pushing it behind her ear. He smiled broadly. "I believe we have."

The emotion expressed in his eyes was something more than mere relief- it was much more akin to pure happiness. It was some kind of inner peace that had before been lacking. And there was much reason for it. The very evil that both of them had been struggling against was gone and that evil would not destroy the other. It was like being Rip Van Winkle and awaking to life again after so many years. She smiled. The moisture on the grass- cool and crisp, the gentle night breeze, the feel of her skin against Henry's albeit she was filthy… she could stay in this moment forever.

The rosary was still around his neck… she was not sure how or why it had survived with Dracula throwing Henry around and then the transformation into Hyde, but it was still here and in one piece. She gently ran her fingers over the beads, not remembering what they meant or stood for. She held the small cross for a moment, grateful that her curse was over.

"We should probably go back to the hotel," he said softly.

Mina nodded in agreement. "We'll have to sneak in the back. Just look at the state we're in."

Henry laughed and stood up. He held out a hand to her which she gratefully took and before she knew it, he had picked her up and was swinging her around. Her hips were pressed against his waist. She smiled and threw her arms out in a joyful gesture. Never since Jonathan died had she felt so young and… alive. They slowly came to a halt and he set her back on her feet. "We can get married tomorrow," he whispered. "I'll arrange everything with Father Fitzgibbon."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes!" he declared. "As soon as possible! We've waited too long already…"

She grinned, feeling as though she were gliding on the wings of a bird that was made up of nothing but happiness. The moon was casting its silver glow over them and as she looked into his eyes, she noticed something she had never seen before. His cobalt blue eyes had specks of hazel in them. Hyde had truly been reintegrated. No more vampires… no more formula… they were truly free from every evil that had previously chained them.


Sawyer trooped along behind Nemo as they walked along the pier. They were at the rendezvous point with Mina and Henry. However, Mina and Henry weren't due here until noon tomorrow so they still had some time to kill. The night was unusually bright and the stars glittered overhead, perhaps it was misleading or maybe it was an omen. Tom did not know and he did not think it was a subject he would ever master.

He was going with Nemo to the local post office to send a telegram. The telegram was going to the Hotel Royale in Klausenburgh to inquire if Mina and Henry had arrived safely. The early setting sun was misleading as it was still rather early evening. Nemo assured him that they would have a reply before midnight and it was from that reply that they would plan their next course of action. If Mina and Henry were at the hotel, they would remain where they were and leave as soon as the pair was back aboard. If they weren't… well, Nemo had said the three of them- himself, Sawyer and Skinner- would have a conference to decide what was going to happen.

Skinner was back aboard the ship and Nemo had posted sentinels before they left. He was still unclear as to what all the danger was. Sure, those police officers in London had been less than desirable human beings and were probably just intrigued with the invisible man that they had arrested. Hasaan could have been anyone. Perhaps Skinner grew up in a rich household and Hasaan was the butler. There were many ways to explain it. And his experience with the police in London was that they were not too bright… how could one Indian such as Hasaan, connect them with Nemo?

The post office- when they arrived- was little more than a shack, set-up with a telegraph and other paraphernalia that such a business might require. The man helping them was seated behind a desk- but that did not disguise the fact that he was shorter then even Hasaan or the cook. He had a bushy mustache and round-framed glasses that kept sliding off his noise. And if he had no other redeeming qualities, he spoke broken English.

"I'd like to send a telegram to the Hotel Royale in Klausenburgh," Nemo said slowly and clearly. The man gave him a slightly puzzled look. Nemo stood by, infinitely patient.

"Send a telegram to… Klausenburgh?" the man asked.

"That is correct. The Hotel Royale. It needs to be addressed to the landlady- her name is Mrs. O'Malley."

The little man was off writing down all the details. He then handed the slip of paper to Nemo for approval. The captain nodded and the little man was off typing a formal copy of the telegram and then putting it in the telegraph via Morse code.

Sawyer's thoughts wondered while all of this was taking place. He wondered what had happened to Jekyll and Mina since they had parted. About the only interesting thing they had done was manage to be in a bar when a fight was happening and then they had to bail Skinner out of jail- not that any of that was unexpected or out of the ordinary. He almost wondered if they succeeded in killing Count Dracula… it did not seem likely. But around this group of people, anything was known to happen. He had learned to expect the unexpected.

His brown eyes absently watched as Nemo counted out the correct change for the man in the correct currency. It amazed him that Nemo had so much hard currency and so many different currencies. He had the feeling that no matter where Nemo went in the world, he always had money at his disposal. Perhaps being a pirate was all the propaganda made it out to be. He and Huck had run away to an island when they were kids to become pirates. Of course, he knew now that they could have never survived on that island and the very reason they went home was because they had run out of food. His aunt had attributed it to his reading too many books and allowing his imagination to run wild. He could just see the look on the venerable old woman's face now if she found out he was touring the world with a bona fide pirate. She would probably turn some sickly shade of gray and have a heart attack. Aunt Polly… Aunt Polly… ever the sensible pillar of the town. Her only curse was her nephew who ran wild… or what running wild constituted in her mind.

"Come, Mr. Sawyer."

He looked up and realized that Nemo had completed the transaction. He followed Nemo out of the little shack and down the road leading back to the pier. "Who's going to stand by to get the return telegram?" he asked.

Nemo nodded. "I will station one of my men on the pier. He will make sure that we receive the telegram promptly."

"And is this Mrs. O'Malley trustworthy?"

To his surprise, Nemo laughed. "If one is dealing with money, then she is the least trustworthy person alive. However, when it comes to knowing who is at her hotel, she never lies or exaggerates." He paused. "In fact, her telegram will probably only have one word as it will save her quite a bit of money."

"Yes or no?"

The captain turned to him. "Do we really need anything else? If they are there, then they will be on the earliest carriage to here."

Sawyer nodded. "I suppose you're right. I mean how much more do we need to know?"

"My point exactly."

They continued the rest of the walk to the Nautilus in a comfortable silence. The night was crisp and cool- perfect to be out walking in. The town, for the most part, was asleep and peaceful with the obvious exception of several rowdy taverns. Like Nemo had said when they were here the first time, this was indeed a pirate's town, but no one was going to bother him. And it was true. As long as they made it clear that they were associated with Nemo, then no harm would ever befall them here.

However, the moment they walked onto the pier leading the Nautilus, they knew that something was wrong. None of the sentinels were where Nemo had placed them and they would have never moved come hell or high water. Sawyer immediately pulled one of his Colt revolvers out of the holster and gripped it tightly, ready to shoot at anything that came at them. Nemo produced a gun from inside his jacket somewhere. Nemo crept in front of him and motioned for him to follow.

They moved along the pier as silently as they could and climbed inside the hatch leading to the interior of the ship. The lights were out and there were no crew members in sight. Sawyer tried to swallow as quietly as he could. This was just entirely unnerving. Perhaps the entire crew was playing a joke on them. He doubted that. The crew were way to loyal to Nemo to even play a simple prank on him.

Someone tapped him on the back. Sawyer jumped and had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. He turned to find Hasaan behind him. The butler held an index finger to his lips to indicate that they needed to be quiet.

"Report," Nemo whispered in the softest voice possible.

Hasaan drew in a deep breath. "The police have taken the ship. I am not sure how much of the crew are hostage and I am not sure where Mr. Skinner is. However, we can barricade ourselves in your office and we shall be safe until Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Harker come."

Nemo nodded, his calm face never wavering. "Very well. We have enough ammunition in there and the crew will be safe. They want me, not them."

Sawyer felt like fainting as he followed Hasaan and Nemo down the corridor towards the office. How in the world could the police have taken the ship? They did not have enough numbers alone to accomplish that unless more than one country was cooperating in this… unless… Sawyer shook his head, emptying it of thoughts as they entered the office and locked the door behind them.

To Be Continued...