A/N: My goodness! I thought I was supposed to have time to work on this during break! I guess not. What little time I could scrape together, I spent building my homepage.
Anyway, before we get into the story, there's something I want to say in response to a couple of reviews I got. I really do appreciate the feedback that I get from my readers, but what I will not tolerate is someone insulting my work and me. I realize I can't please everybody, and that's fine, but if you don't like something, tell me how to make it better. Don't just ramble on and on about how much you hate something. That won't help improve the story in any way. I love suggestions, I thrive on suggestions, so give me suggestions on how you think the story can be improved and I will try my best to make this story likeable for you. Thank you. ~Krisian
Dorian had found his way to the Nautilus' dining room. Breakfast had been over for a long while and the table had been cleared of all food. Dorian didn't care – after all, he was a ghost. He didn't need to eat. Instead, he had taken to trying to pick up a small vase that sat on the table. His efforts only succeeded in making him frustrated. "My God, I am useless!" He fumed. "What good it being a ghost if you can't do anything?" He tried again to pick up the vase. Nothing. He sighed and muttered, "Couldn't I have just stayed dead? Would've been more convenient."
"Havin' those thoughts, are we?"
Dorian reeled around. "Oh…"
Ishmael raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall. "Well, well. Mr. Gray. Didn't think I'd be seein' you again." He sauntered over to the table and lifted the vase. He flung it at Dorian, who, out of habit, ducked – not very successfully either. Had he been solid, the vase would've hit him cleanly on the head. Instead, it shattered on the wall behind him. The former first-mate sniggered. "It's not much fun when you're startin' out, is it? Can't do a damn thing." He took a seat at the table. "I've had a bit more time to practice than you," he said spitefully.
"Indeed…" Dorian said cautiously – he wasn't sure what would come of this visit.
"Oh, don't worry yourself," Ishmael chuckled. "My tryin' to kill you wouldn't do much good, would it?" He got up and went to the door. Before he went, he glanced over his shoulder at Dorian. "Just stay away from me, and I won't try."
Suddenly, something exploded and the entire ship lurched violently. Dorian was sent sprawling, and soon found himself half in the dining room, half in the hallway – a rather disturbing experience, ghost or not. He hauled himself up, just to be knocked flat again by another explosion. Crewmembers were sprinting up and down the hall, passing through Dorian, who was desperately wishing he could at least lean on the wall for support. Tom, Skinner, and Cabrilyn came running down the hall, followed shortly by Mina and Jekyll. Mina paused in front of Dorian.
"Mina!" Jekyll called, "Come on!"
Mina nodded, and motioned for Dorian to follow. He did, but it took him a while to get off the floor. The League was soon assembled at the Nautilus' helm. "What the hell is going on?" Tom asked, passing through Dorian to get a better view out the window.
Nemo was trying desperately to steady his Lady. "We're being fired at… from under water."
"Mina…" Mina turned around. Dorian was at the far side of the room, staring out another window. "You'd better look at this…" She was at his side in an instant.
"Oh, God…" She breathed. "Captain…?" Breaking the smooth surface of the ocean, in all its splendor, was an exact copy of the Nautilus. The entire League was dumbfounded. There was a moment where no one knew what to do; they just stood there in shock of the ship before them.
Dorian sighed. "Someone do something!" He shouted. Much to his amazement, everyone jumped into action. Nemo began barking orders, and soon, the real Nautilus and its evil twin were exchanging fire. The ship rocked violently, throwing people and furniture everywhere. Skinner somehow ended up pinned between the wall and a table, a rather heavy table. "Get this bloody thing off me!" The ship rocked again, and Tom ended up on the floor, while Cabrilyn fell against Skinner's table. "Ow!" Skinner yelled. It was mass chaos.
"Return fire!" Nemo ordered.
"Can we submerge Captain?" Jekyll asked, steadying himself against the wall. There was another explosion and the Nautilus lurched again.
"Not anymore!" Nemo replied.
"There's gotta be something we can do!" Tom said as he hauled himself upward.
"Indeed," Nemo said. "Pray."
The evil Nautilus continued its merciless assault. Dorian stayed near the middle of the room – he didn't want to get thrown through the wall and out into the ocean. Skinner was nearby, still pinned behind the table. The gentleman thief was struggling wildly, but with the ship rocking and lurching, no one could come to his aid. The Nautilus rocked again. Dorian stumbled and, out of habit, moved to steady himself on Skinner's table. Miraculously, it worked. Dorian could touch the table. He would've been elated if not for the circumstances. He decided to try out his newfound ability and gave the table a powerful shove; it slid away from its captive. Skinner was slightly bewildered, to him, it seemed the table had moved on its own.
Nemo was struggling with the controls in attempt to keep his ship above water. The faux Nautilus was now in full view out the row of windows before him. Nemo could just make out what he presumed to be cannon fire, and its destination. "Get down!" He cried as the windows shattered, sending shards of the thick glass in every direction. When the flying debris had settled, Nemo got up and took a quick head-count to make sure everyone was all right. Everyone was not all right. Cabrilyn was lying on the floor, impaled by a large shard of glass. "Doctor," he said, turning Jekyll's attention to the wounded girl.
"Good Lord!" Jekyll knelt beside her. She was alive, but barely. The glass had wedged itself between her ribs, puncturing her lung. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.
Mina yanked a small chunk of glass from her upper arm and looked from Jekyll and Cabrilyn to Dorian, who was standing beside her. She didn't say anything to him, but the look on her face conveyed her thoughts clearly: Can't you do something? Just then, Dorian got an idea. He could do something… he could help. He knew full well that the old Dorian Gray wouldn't have care what happened, but, for some reason, he cared now. Perhaps it was just because it was a chance for redemption… he wasn't actually sure himself. All he knew was, he could help.
* * *
The constant rocking and lurching was not helping Jekyll tend to his patient. There was no way he could do anything helpful for her until he got her to the infirmary. Cabrilyn's breathing was becoming more and more labored. She was fading fast. "Tom," he called to the young American. "Can you get to the infirmary and grab my supplies?" Tom nodded and dashed off, trying not to fall as the ship rocked again.
Mina was busy trying to find Dorian – he'd just disappeared. All of a sudden, an ear-shattering explosion overpowered the din of the battle. The Nautilus shook, yet, it hadn't been hit by anything. The remaining League members stared out the remnants of the windows in amazement as the fake Nautilus erupted in a ball of orange flame and jet-black smoke. The flaming mess that once was an exact copy of the Nautilus began sinking slowly to the ocean floor.
Skinner raised his eyebrows. "What did you do, Captain?"
"I'm fairly certain we didn't cause that explosion," Nemo replied.
"Of course you didn't. I did."
The group, save Mina, who knew full well who it was, did an abrupt about-face, and stared in amazement at the speaker. "Dorian?" Skinner stuttered. Dorian raised his eyebrows, bemused by the fact that now, for some reason everyone could see him.
"You!" Nemo said, drawing his sword. "How dare you set foot on my ship again!" He lunged at Dorian, slashing wildly. His blade simply passed through the immortal, leaving him unharmed.
"You really should stop that," Dorian replied nonchalantly. "It's very foolish trying to kill someone that's already dead." Nemo halted his attack and just stared at Dorian in bewilderment.
Tom came sprinting in, medical supplies in hand. He quickly gave them to Jekyll, only after that did he notice Dorian. "Dorian? What the…? Aren't you…?" He looked at Mina, wanting her to confirm that she had indeed killed Dorian.
Dorian sighed. "It's a long story."
"We'll have time for stories later," Jekyll said, not sounding the least bit pleased to see Dorian. "Right now, we have to get Cabrilyn to the infirmary."
A/N: You know, I think I had more time for this when I was in school. (Go figure.) So, keep in mind what I said at the beginning of the chapter. Suggestions are my friends. If you like this fic thus far, I have my original works and previews of my upcoming fics on my homepage. (The link to which can be found on my bio page) And there was more rejoicing. Yay. Also, I just remembered this, and it's kinda silly, but I feel it needs saying anyway. My editor/friend Lily was reading my 8th chapter on my computer and decided to review it, while I was logged in. So I have a review from her that says it's from me! Silly Lily.