Okay, I so I was away for the weekend, and I come back here to update the
story. However, just when I finished writing the chapter, the computer
crashed, and I had to write the chapter all over again!!! It seems as if
there's something out there that does not want me to finish this story
(maybe because they're afraid of what's going to happen to Jekyll. Who
knows.)
Speaking of being afraid, here are the shout-outs:
To Mina: YES!!!
To Bamfwriter: You were good to point that out, but I have an explanation. You see, I use past tense when I'm discussing the main story action, and I switch to present tense when that action is put on hold and a character talks to me. It's like a director yelling 'Cut!', talking with the actor, and then yelling 'Action!' again. I know it's confusing, and I'm trying to work something else out. I haven't mastered bold and italics on fanfiction.net yet.
To Silent Bob 546: I have an explanation for that too. You see, to people like Skinner (and McCane, and Donna,) money is very important. They have money on the poker game, not on Jekyll, so of course they're going to put poker first. Donna has another explanation for this (which she explains to Nemo in this next chapter,) but I'm sticking by my reason.
And now, back to the story.
*
Skinner, McCane, and Donna were still arguing over their card game.
"WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT UP NOW!!!!" Nemo screamed at them. "Henry Jekyll is dying at our feet, and all you three can think about is a silly poker game??? Honestly!!!!"
Skinner and McCane looked ashamed of themselves, but Donna spoke up. "It's a psychology trick, Captain," she explained. "Jekyll's ailing is too much for us to bear, so our minds are forced to vent out all of our anger, frustration, and disappointment through another issue, such as the card game."
Nemo was so impressed with her reasoning that he didn't shout at them anymore. Instead, he knelt down next to Jekyll and comforted the poor doctor.
Hyde burst through the laboratory door, carrying Mina in his large arms. Putting her down, he carefully helped her to her feet. "Mrs. Harker was in so much shock that she was unable to walk upright," he explained to them in his normal growl. "I had to carry her here."
"Mina," said Nemo urgently. "Henry has succeeded in making a potion to separate himself from Edward, but two of the ingredients in it reacted violently with each other when he swallowed it, and it's poisoned him. Can you make an antidote?"
"Possibly," Mina shook, still in shock at her beloved Henry laying ill on the floor. "M-may I s-see the ingredient list, please?"
McCane picked it up from the lab table and handed it to her. Mina took it with shaking hands. For weeks now, she had dreamt of her Henry's safety in the laboratory. Now, her worst nightmares were finally coming true.
McCane pointed out the problem, and Mina breathed a sigh of relief. "This problem is easy to fix," she breathed. "I just worry we might be too late! Andre, could you get me a beaker, please?"
"Certainly." Andre McCane got an empty beaker down from a shelf.
Meanwhile, Donna and Skinner were STILL arguing over the card game.
"You knew that I had two aces in my hand," said Donna, her eyes flashing.
"I did NOT know that you had two aces in your hand," Skinner replied, his temper becoming increasingly short. "But, I WOULD have seen if you had held your cards at an angle that would have been easy for me to see."
"AHA! You admit it! You looked at my hand!"
"I said IF I looked at your hand!!" Skinner practically screamed.
"Don't ask," McCane muttered to Mina as he filled the beaker with a considerable amount of water.
"I wasn't going to," Mina muttered back, though sounding a bit amused.
A few feet away, Hyde had picked up Jekyll and held him in his arms. "He can't die," Hyde said slowly and sulkily. "Henry Jekyll gave me life. He can't die."
Nemo, who didn't know the truth and didn't want to, tried to ignore that statement. "Edward, carry Henry over to his bed. He'll rest easier."
Hyde slowly carried Jekyll out the laboratory door and into his bedroom. He carefully laid his creator down on the bed. As Jekyll moaned and clutched his heart, Nemo spread a blanket across him.
"Do you think that the acid has already torn through his stomach, and is now ready to eat through his heart as well?" Nemo asked Hyde worriedly.
"Nah. He'd be dead by now," said Hyde matter-of-factly. Hyde wasn't very intelligent, but he did know quite a bit about death and the causes of death.
"Got it!" Mina announced from the doorway, holding up a beaker of bright blue liquid.
Nemo and Hyde turned around. "Already?" Nemo asked. "That was quick."
"I told you it was easy," Mina breathed. "You see, water and potassium create an explosion, so I had to create a mixture of water and another chemical that would cause an implosion. When you mix a positive with a negative, everything becomes neutral!"
"Explanations later," Hyde said impatiently. "Just give it to him!"
Nemo moved out of the way. Mina went over to her love's bedside and tilted Henry's head up with her right arm. Gently, she whispered to him. "Henry, dear, drink this, now. It's the antidote; it'll make you better."
Henry just looked weary. Very carefully, Mina got the blue liquid inside his mouth, helped him to swallow, and then stepped back.
Henry Jekyll lie panting on the bed.
"Doctor? Are you okay?" asked Nemo.
Jekyll nodded, still panting. "I'll be fine. It just takes a moment to settle." Still breathing heavily, he faced Mina. "Oh, Mina, you saved my life!! I can't thank you enough!!"
Jekyll embraced Mina, giving her the biggest hug she had ever had. Mina gently kissed him, bringing her tender lips to his.
Hugging Mina and looking over her shoulder, Jekyll noticed something wrong. "Uh oh."
"What's wrong, Doctor?" asked Nemo.
"Edward's not here anymore. When I drank the antidote, he went back inside me," Jekyll realized.
"Great," moaned Skinner from the laboratory doorway.
"Edward? Are you in there?" Jekyll asked himself silently.
"Yeah, Henry, I'm here," Hyde grumbled. He sighed. "But you better not give up, worm!"
"No, I'm not giving up!" said Jekyll aloud, weak but determined. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going back into that laboratory and working until I get it right. There was something in that potion that worked! But this time," he added sheepishly. "I'll be careful to check the ingredients before I swallow anything."
"You'd better!" cried Mina, hugging him.
Jekyll embraced Mina again. "Well, it's been a tiring evening. I think I'd better get some sleep."
"I agree," nodded Nemo. "You get some rest too, Mina. I'll get McCane to clean up the laboratory."
All of a sudden, a great explosion rocked the Nautilus. Jekyll and Nemo quickly grabbed bedposts to brace themselves, but Mina was thrown off of the bed and onto the floor. Skinner slid down from the doorway and fell on top of Mina.
"Nice," smiled Skinner, reaching for her hair.
"Off, you!!" Mina shouted, throwing him off of her.
"What in God's name was that??!?!" came McCane's voice from the laboratory. "Now there's acid all over the floor in here!!!" Jekyll groaned.
Mina and Skinner struggled to stand up. Jekyll ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair, panting again.
Nemo was angry. "I INTEND to find out what in God's name that was!!!" he shouted, and stalked towards the door.
He had his hand on the knob when it opened. First Mate Patel stood in the doorway to Jekyll's bedroom. "Captain, we're being attacked!"
Skinner braced himself against a bedpost. Mina and Henry hugged each other, and Mina gasped.
"We're being attacked? By whom?" roared Nemo, slightly disbelieving.
"By our own Nautiloid, Captain!"
*
I'm sorry, but I just can't resist writing cliffhangers. It brings me satisfaction to know the readers (most of them, anyway) will come back for the next chapter to see what happens.
Remember to REVIEW!!!
~ Alisonia
Speaking of being afraid, here are the shout-outs:
To Mina: YES!!!
To Bamfwriter: You were good to point that out, but I have an explanation. You see, I use past tense when I'm discussing the main story action, and I switch to present tense when that action is put on hold and a character talks to me. It's like a director yelling 'Cut!', talking with the actor, and then yelling 'Action!' again. I know it's confusing, and I'm trying to work something else out. I haven't mastered bold and italics on fanfiction.net yet.
To Silent Bob 546: I have an explanation for that too. You see, to people like Skinner (and McCane, and Donna,) money is very important. They have money on the poker game, not on Jekyll, so of course they're going to put poker first. Donna has another explanation for this (which she explains to Nemo in this next chapter,) but I'm sticking by my reason.
And now, back to the story.
*
Skinner, McCane, and Donna were still arguing over their card game.
"WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT UP NOW!!!!" Nemo screamed at them. "Henry Jekyll is dying at our feet, and all you three can think about is a silly poker game??? Honestly!!!!"
Skinner and McCane looked ashamed of themselves, but Donna spoke up. "It's a psychology trick, Captain," she explained. "Jekyll's ailing is too much for us to bear, so our minds are forced to vent out all of our anger, frustration, and disappointment through another issue, such as the card game."
Nemo was so impressed with her reasoning that he didn't shout at them anymore. Instead, he knelt down next to Jekyll and comforted the poor doctor.
Hyde burst through the laboratory door, carrying Mina in his large arms. Putting her down, he carefully helped her to her feet. "Mrs. Harker was in so much shock that she was unable to walk upright," he explained to them in his normal growl. "I had to carry her here."
"Mina," said Nemo urgently. "Henry has succeeded in making a potion to separate himself from Edward, but two of the ingredients in it reacted violently with each other when he swallowed it, and it's poisoned him. Can you make an antidote?"
"Possibly," Mina shook, still in shock at her beloved Henry laying ill on the floor. "M-may I s-see the ingredient list, please?"
McCane picked it up from the lab table and handed it to her. Mina took it with shaking hands. For weeks now, she had dreamt of her Henry's safety in the laboratory. Now, her worst nightmares were finally coming true.
McCane pointed out the problem, and Mina breathed a sigh of relief. "This problem is easy to fix," she breathed. "I just worry we might be too late! Andre, could you get me a beaker, please?"
"Certainly." Andre McCane got an empty beaker down from a shelf.
Meanwhile, Donna and Skinner were STILL arguing over the card game.
"You knew that I had two aces in my hand," said Donna, her eyes flashing.
"I did NOT know that you had two aces in your hand," Skinner replied, his temper becoming increasingly short. "But, I WOULD have seen if you had held your cards at an angle that would have been easy for me to see."
"AHA! You admit it! You looked at my hand!"
"I said IF I looked at your hand!!" Skinner practically screamed.
"Don't ask," McCane muttered to Mina as he filled the beaker with a considerable amount of water.
"I wasn't going to," Mina muttered back, though sounding a bit amused.
A few feet away, Hyde had picked up Jekyll and held him in his arms. "He can't die," Hyde said slowly and sulkily. "Henry Jekyll gave me life. He can't die."
Nemo, who didn't know the truth and didn't want to, tried to ignore that statement. "Edward, carry Henry over to his bed. He'll rest easier."
Hyde slowly carried Jekyll out the laboratory door and into his bedroom. He carefully laid his creator down on the bed. As Jekyll moaned and clutched his heart, Nemo spread a blanket across him.
"Do you think that the acid has already torn through his stomach, and is now ready to eat through his heart as well?" Nemo asked Hyde worriedly.
"Nah. He'd be dead by now," said Hyde matter-of-factly. Hyde wasn't very intelligent, but he did know quite a bit about death and the causes of death.
"Got it!" Mina announced from the doorway, holding up a beaker of bright blue liquid.
Nemo and Hyde turned around. "Already?" Nemo asked. "That was quick."
"I told you it was easy," Mina breathed. "You see, water and potassium create an explosion, so I had to create a mixture of water and another chemical that would cause an implosion. When you mix a positive with a negative, everything becomes neutral!"
"Explanations later," Hyde said impatiently. "Just give it to him!"
Nemo moved out of the way. Mina went over to her love's bedside and tilted Henry's head up with her right arm. Gently, she whispered to him. "Henry, dear, drink this, now. It's the antidote; it'll make you better."
Henry just looked weary. Very carefully, Mina got the blue liquid inside his mouth, helped him to swallow, and then stepped back.
Henry Jekyll lie panting on the bed.
"Doctor? Are you okay?" asked Nemo.
Jekyll nodded, still panting. "I'll be fine. It just takes a moment to settle." Still breathing heavily, he faced Mina. "Oh, Mina, you saved my life!! I can't thank you enough!!"
Jekyll embraced Mina, giving her the biggest hug she had ever had. Mina gently kissed him, bringing her tender lips to his.
Hugging Mina and looking over her shoulder, Jekyll noticed something wrong. "Uh oh."
"What's wrong, Doctor?" asked Nemo.
"Edward's not here anymore. When I drank the antidote, he went back inside me," Jekyll realized.
"Great," moaned Skinner from the laboratory doorway.
"Edward? Are you in there?" Jekyll asked himself silently.
"Yeah, Henry, I'm here," Hyde grumbled. He sighed. "But you better not give up, worm!"
"No, I'm not giving up!" said Jekyll aloud, weak but determined. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going back into that laboratory and working until I get it right. There was something in that potion that worked! But this time," he added sheepishly. "I'll be careful to check the ingredients before I swallow anything."
"You'd better!" cried Mina, hugging him.
Jekyll embraced Mina again. "Well, it's been a tiring evening. I think I'd better get some sleep."
"I agree," nodded Nemo. "You get some rest too, Mina. I'll get McCane to clean up the laboratory."
All of a sudden, a great explosion rocked the Nautilus. Jekyll and Nemo quickly grabbed bedposts to brace themselves, but Mina was thrown off of the bed and onto the floor. Skinner slid down from the doorway and fell on top of Mina.
"Nice," smiled Skinner, reaching for her hair.
"Off, you!!" Mina shouted, throwing him off of her.
"What in God's name was that??!?!" came McCane's voice from the laboratory. "Now there's acid all over the floor in here!!!" Jekyll groaned.
Mina and Skinner struggled to stand up. Jekyll ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair, panting again.
Nemo was angry. "I INTEND to find out what in God's name that was!!!" he shouted, and stalked towards the door.
He had his hand on the knob when it opened. First Mate Patel stood in the doorway to Jekyll's bedroom. "Captain, we're being attacked!"
Skinner braced himself against a bedpost. Mina and Henry hugged each other, and Mina gasped.
"We're being attacked? By whom?" roared Nemo, slightly disbelieving.
"By our own Nautiloid, Captain!"
*
I'm sorry, but I just can't resist writing cliffhangers. It brings me satisfaction to know the readers (most of them, anyway) will come back for the next chapter to see what happens.
Remember to REVIEW!!!
~ Alisonia