I'M SO SORRY it's been so long, but I have NOT been lazy. I've had
lots of homework, a small case of writer's block, and a lot of things to
deal with back home. But don't worry; I'm back now. Here are your comment
replies:
To Silent Bob 546: Yep, Skinner doesn't get his own bottle. Heh. However, that's one of the good things about being invisible...he can steal all of the extra whiskey he wants!
To galabalesh: I'm just kidding. By the way, Bamfwriter has already written a great story about a Mary Sue. The Edward/Mina thing seems tempting, though.
To AnonymousLove: I'm so sorry that you've been impatiently tapping your foot for a good two weeks now, waiting for me to finish this next chapter. Here you go!! (By the way, thanks for the apples!)
To the Sardonic One: Sorry, but Edward won't share his whiskey with anyone. Read this chapter, and you'll see what I mean. (By the way, save 'Bad Angel' for Simon.)
To Graymoon74: *a big, goofy grin on my face* Awww, don't worry!! Jekyll and Hyde being separated won't be as bad as you think it is!!
To Melanie: Okay, I know that I've been neglecting Dorian. But I PROMISE you that I will have lots of Dorian involvement in chapter 14. Hang in there!
So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
*
Before anybody could respond to Batsie's outburst, however, Tom Sawyer spoke up. He had suddenly turned dreadfully pale.
"Dorian's back?" he asked shakily. "He'll...if we don't stop him, he'll...he'll probably get rid of Henry and take Mina all for himself!!!!"
"Bingo," said Henry Jekyll in a low voice. Batsie reached out an arm to Tom, helping to steady him.
"Anyway, Batsie, what were you thinking of?" asked McCane.
Batsie opened her mouth and was about to reply, but then she suddenly closed it again. "You know, I thought it was a good idea. But now, I'm not sure if it'll even work or not."
"Whatever the idea is, it never hurts to try," said Skinner.
"I have to ask Mina," Batsie said. "Mina would know if it'll work or not!!"
"Mina would know if WHAT will work?" asked Tom. "What's the big plan?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you until morning," Batsie confessed. "I don't want any of you to go spreading rumors throughout the ship."
"But I won't tell anyone!! I promise!!" promised Skinner.
"You can trust me," added Donna.
"HEY!!! MORE WHISKEY!!!" shouted Hyde suddenly, pounding his already- empty whiskey bottle on the bare floor. Since the bottle was empty, it easily broke, littering the floor of Jekyll's room with broken glass. Everybody winced.
"MORE WHISKEY I SAID!!!" Hyde shouted persistently. His face was already beet-red.
"You see why I can't say anything?" asked Batsie, nudging in Hyde's direction.
"Ahhhh." Everybody else nodded.
* * *
"Mina? May I see you for a minute?" Batsie asked the next morning. She was poking her head out of her bedroom door. Mina had been walking to breakfast when she heard Batsie call her.
"Sure," shrugged Mina. Batsie opened her bedroom door and urged Mina to come in.
Mina, wearing a light nightgown and Simon Linoge's bathrobe (she had grown accustomed to it by now), took a seat in one of the straight-backed wooden chairs near the window. Batsie, who was already dressed (and one of two members of the whiskey party that had woken without a hangover—neither she nor Andre McCane drank much,) took a seat beside her.
"Mina," Batsie said. "I think I've found a way to get rid of Dorian. But you need to tell me if it's going to work."
Mina nodded. This was the moment she had been waiting for all week.
Batsie smiled a twisted smile. "Actually, I can't believe I thought of this. It's something Simon would have thought of. Anyway, before I tell you, here's how it came to me. Last night, Henry woke me up, and I went over to investigate. I saw he and Edward in separate bodies, so we woke up Skinner and Andre, and began to celebrate."
"Why wasn't I woken?" Mina asked, wide-eyed. "Batsie, Henry curing his schizophrenia has always been my dream come true!! And now it's happened, and I wasn't even there to congratulate him!!"
"You needed your sleep, you poor, stressed thing. Anyway, they began to break out the whiskey, and then Henry said..."
* * *
"Uggghhhhhh!!"
For several years now, Edward Hyde had always been the one who had gotten drunk, and Henry Jekyll had been the one who had woken up with the hangover. That had been the convenience of having an alter ego. However, Edward no longer had an alter ego, so...
"Ugggghhhhh!!" he groaned again.
"Edward, be quiet!!" groaned Henry Jekyll, throwing a pillow at Edward Hyde, who had fallen asleep on Henry's bedroom floor the night before after drinking four successive bottles of whiskey. Henry also had a hangover, but he had only drank four glasses of whiskey, as opposed to four bottles.
"Oh, Mina is going to KILL me," Henry moaned, forcing himself out of bed and walking across his floor to look at himself in the mirror. "Maybe if I take a painkiller now, and then get a cold shower, she won't notice at breakfast." He turned to face Edward. "I wish I could say the same for you, Edward."
"Oh, please, Henry!" Edward moaned. "Don't mention breakfast. Just hand me a bottle of painkillers and let me die in peace."
Henry just chuckled in a low voice. "You know, Edward, I don't think I will. You're just going to have the learn the hard way." He picked up his bathrobe, which had been hanging on the back of his desk chair, and headed towards the bathroom. "By the way, if I come back in, and see you sleeping in my bed--"
"Forget it," Edward groaned. "I'm in too much pain to move. My head...my throat...my stomach...everything hurts."
"Finally YOU know how it feels," Henry muttered, slumping off towards the bathroom.
* * *
Mina sat, gaping, at Batsie. She could not believe that dear, sweet Batsie Linoge had just uttered what she had. "Are you sure those two sips of whiskey you had last night didn't permanently damage your brain?"
Batsie laughed. "Forget about my brain for the moment, Mina. I want to know what you think of the plan. First of all, do you think it will work on him?"
"I'm pretty sure," Mina said slowly, thinking. "I know for a fact that Dorian can become ill. As a matter of fact, I remember when he had smallpox. He just can't die from any illnesses."
"He can become ill, but he can't die. That's good. So, do you think he can have acid poisoning, but not die?"
"It's a possibility," Mina nodded. "In fact, it's a sheer possibility."
Batsie smiled. "That's good." She put an arm around Mina. "Mina, I'm sorry, but using Dr. Jekyll's dangerously reactive potion on Dorian has been the only idea I've been able to come up with. And if it doesn't work, I apologize, but you're just going to have to keep him locked up down there forever."
Mina nodded and buried her head in her hands. She hoped that it would never come to that. "Oh, Lord," she moaned. "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Obviously, something good, if Henry was finally able to get his potion to work," Batsie smiled. She reached into her pocket and produced a beautiful diamond rosary, which she handed to Mina. "Pray for it, Mina," she told her. "Just pray for it. God will answer you."
*
Will Edward Hyde ever recover from his hangover? What has Dorian been doing all this time, locked in the dungeons? Will Mina get angry at Henry for having drinking so much?
Find out in the next exciting chapter!! (There WILL be Dorian in it, I promise!!)
~ Alisonia L. Nowicki
To Silent Bob 546: Yep, Skinner doesn't get his own bottle. Heh. However, that's one of the good things about being invisible...he can steal all of the extra whiskey he wants!
To galabalesh: I'm just kidding. By the way, Bamfwriter has already written a great story about a Mary Sue. The Edward/Mina thing seems tempting, though.
To AnonymousLove: I'm so sorry that you've been impatiently tapping your foot for a good two weeks now, waiting for me to finish this next chapter. Here you go!! (By the way, thanks for the apples!)
To the Sardonic One: Sorry, but Edward won't share his whiskey with anyone. Read this chapter, and you'll see what I mean. (By the way, save 'Bad Angel' for Simon.)
To Graymoon74: *a big, goofy grin on my face* Awww, don't worry!! Jekyll and Hyde being separated won't be as bad as you think it is!!
To Melanie: Okay, I know that I've been neglecting Dorian. But I PROMISE you that I will have lots of Dorian involvement in chapter 14. Hang in there!
So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
*
Before anybody could respond to Batsie's outburst, however, Tom Sawyer spoke up. He had suddenly turned dreadfully pale.
"Dorian's back?" he asked shakily. "He'll...if we don't stop him, he'll...he'll probably get rid of Henry and take Mina all for himself!!!!"
"Bingo," said Henry Jekyll in a low voice. Batsie reached out an arm to Tom, helping to steady him.
"Anyway, Batsie, what were you thinking of?" asked McCane.
Batsie opened her mouth and was about to reply, but then she suddenly closed it again. "You know, I thought it was a good idea. But now, I'm not sure if it'll even work or not."
"Whatever the idea is, it never hurts to try," said Skinner.
"I have to ask Mina," Batsie said. "Mina would know if it'll work or not!!"
"Mina would know if WHAT will work?" asked Tom. "What's the big plan?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you until morning," Batsie confessed. "I don't want any of you to go spreading rumors throughout the ship."
"But I won't tell anyone!! I promise!!" promised Skinner.
"You can trust me," added Donna.
"HEY!!! MORE WHISKEY!!!" shouted Hyde suddenly, pounding his already- empty whiskey bottle on the bare floor. Since the bottle was empty, it easily broke, littering the floor of Jekyll's room with broken glass. Everybody winced.
"MORE WHISKEY I SAID!!!" Hyde shouted persistently. His face was already beet-red.
"You see why I can't say anything?" asked Batsie, nudging in Hyde's direction.
"Ahhhh." Everybody else nodded.
* * *
"Mina? May I see you for a minute?" Batsie asked the next morning. She was poking her head out of her bedroom door. Mina had been walking to breakfast when she heard Batsie call her.
"Sure," shrugged Mina. Batsie opened her bedroom door and urged Mina to come in.
Mina, wearing a light nightgown and Simon Linoge's bathrobe (she had grown accustomed to it by now), took a seat in one of the straight-backed wooden chairs near the window. Batsie, who was already dressed (and one of two members of the whiskey party that had woken without a hangover—neither she nor Andre McCane drank much,) took a seat beside her.
"Mina," Batsie said. "I think I've found a way to get rid of Dorian. But you need to tell me if it's going to work."
Mina nodded. This was the moment she had been waiting for all week.
Batsie smiled a twisted smile. "Actually, I can't believe I thought of this. It's something Simon would have thought of. Anyway, before I tell you, here's how it came to me. Last night, Henry woke me up, and I went over to investigate. I saw he and Edward in separate bodies, so we woke up Skinner and Andre, and began to celebrate."
"Why wasn't I woken?" Mina asked, wide-eyed. "Batsie, Henry curing his schizophrenia has always been my dream come true!! And now it's happened, and I wasn't even there to congratulate him!!"
"You needed your sleep, you poor, stressed thing. Anyway, they began to break out the whiskey, and then Henry said..."
* * *
"Uggghhhhhh!!"
For several years now, Edward Hyde had always been the one who had gotten drunk, and Henry Jekyll had been the one who had woken up with the hangover. That had been the convenience of having an alter ego. However, Edward no longer had an alter ego, so...
"Ugggghhhhh!!" he groaned again.
"Edward, be quiet!!" groaned Henry Jekyll, throwing a pillow at Edward Hyde, who had fallen asleep on Henry's bedroom floor the night before after drinking four successive bottles of whiskey. Henry also had a hangover, but he had only drank four glasses of whiskey, as opposed to four bottles.
"Oh, Mina is going to KILL me," Henry moaned, forcing himself out of bed and walking across his floor to look at himself in the mirror. "Maybe if I take a painkiller now, and then get a cold shower, she won't notice at breakfast." He turned to face Edward. "I wish I could say the same for you, Edward."
"Oh, please, Henry!" Edward moaned. "Don't mention breakfast. Just hand me a bottle of painkillers and let me die in peace."
Henry just chuckled in a low voice. "You know, Edward, I don't think I will. You're just going to have the learn the hard way." He picked up his bathrobe, which had been hanging on the back of his desk chair, and headed towards the bathroom. "By the way, if I come back in, and see you sleeping in my bed--"
"Forget it," Edward groaned. "I'm in too much pain to move. My head...my throat...my stomach...everything hurts."
"Finally YOU know how it feels," Henry muttered, slumping off towards the bathroom.
* * *
Mina sat, gaping, at Batsie. She could not believe that dear, sweet Batsie Linoge had just uttered what she had. "Are you sure those two sips of whiskey you had last night didn't permanently damage your brain?"
Batsie laughed. "Forget about my brain for the moment, Mina. I want to know what you think of the plan. First of all, do you think it will work on him?"
"I'm pretty sure," Mina said slowly, thinking. "I know for a fact that Dorian can become ill. As a matter of fact, I remember when he had smallpox. He just can't die from any illnesses."
"He can become ill, but he can't die. That's good. So, do you think he can have acid poisoning, but not die?"
"It's a possibility," Mina nodded. "In fact, it's a sheer possibility."
Batsie smiled. "That's good." She put an arm around Mina. "Mina, I'm sorry, but using Dr. Jekyll's dangerously reactive potion on Dorian has been the only idea I've been able to come up with. And if it doesn't work, I apologize, but you're just going to have to keep him locked up down there forever."
Mina nodded and buried her head in her hands. She hoped that it would never come to that. "Oh, Lord," she moaned. "What have I gotten myself into?"
"Obviously, something good, if Henry was finally able to get his potion to work," Batsie smiled. She reached into her pocket and produced a beautiful diamond rosary, which she handed to Mina. "Pray for it, Mina," she told her. "Just pray for it. God will answer you."
*
Will Edward Hyde ever recover from his hangover? What has Dorian been doing all this time, locked in the dungeons? Will Mina get angry at Henry for having drinking so much?
Find out in the next exciting chapter!! (There WILL be Dorian in it, I promise!!)
~ Alisonia L. Nowicki