Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. I was buzzed after I came back from London, and well… my sister was down, and I didn't want to ignore her and sit here writing all the time, though I did do a little by hand in bed… god, I need a laptop! Call me greedy… now sitting here listening to Pippin's song from LOTR: ROTK, cuz I love that film, that character and that song *big grin* LXG! Need to concentrate! As a special treat, I'm going to go nuts with my shout outs;
Sethoz: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your overly kind words. I am a lucky so and so, aren't I? *beams* Bwahaha! AH! FURBIES! *screams and hides*
Capt. Cow: Becky? She'll be in my next story, don't worry. I have a lot of characters to keep you intrigued (hopefully) for this one though. As for the cure… I think you might be disappointed.
drowchild: Allan can handle just about anything I should imagine… he did come back from the dead after all, lol. But yes, I couldn't resist putting him in there.
life sucks: Just make sure I'm not distracting you from your work… I'd hate to be responsible for slacking, cuz I know what a bad habit that can be to fall into… trust me, I was such a lazy slacker at school. Lol.
angelic katty: Short? Sowwy! I'll try not to do it like that again, leave you alone with a short one. If I go away again, which shouldn't happen anytime soon, I promise to leave you with something more substantial.
Emily M. Hanson: Quatermain was and is a good character. Unfortunately Connery drove LXG's director clean out of Hollywood… apparently. A little big-headed of him, not to mention cruel and stupid, but I suspect we'll get another one regardless. And Quatermain is not Connery :D Two different entities…
RogueSparrow: I can't seem to help making Tom cry… it's just an irresistible lure to show his vulnerable side. Plus, he did seem to cry quite a lot as a child… everyone has a soft side, and I just enjoy reminding everyone of Tom's. Thank you for the comment about the emotion… I try.
Raven: *pats your Tom plushie on the head, then gives her own a cuddle* Poor little guy… I should cut him some slack… *thinks for a moment* Nah! *cuddles plushie again* Damn cute though. Ah yes, the chapter title… this one might not apply quite as well, but it follows nicely, and that's my lame excuse. Lol! And thank you!
LotRseer3350: I did enjoy my break, thank you! And I'm glad I decided not to leave you with a cliffy. If I managed a cliffy at the end of every chapter, I'd run out of them fast.
Rayne: Ah yes… wow, good instinct as to what this chapter would be about. Hehe. Have you been looking at my chapter plan? *covers chapter plan with hands* Perhaps he and Mina will connect more… unfortunately you'll have to wait and see.
Graymoon74: I figured Quatermain, from watching the film, does look on Tom as a kind of son, so every father needs to comfort his children, right? That's my stupid explanation anyway… plus I'm a bit of a softie at heart, and tender moments like that, especially if played well, always get me, you know? Ah yes… could you imagine both of them transforming at once? Lmao!
M J Rosemary: I did miss you very much so! Wondered where my buddy, MJ had gone! I did enjoy Underworld as a matter of fact, and I'm glad you enjoyed my description of the transformation. And you have yet to see the Tom into wolf one as well. That will have my undivided attention as well, hehe. And 'what's his name' is Michael. Lol. Everybody loves Allan!
Caraphoenix: Welcome to the story! And romance? Hmm… if you've read the trailer, you might be able to make up your own answer to that question. Bwahaha!
Hellcat: Puppy-dog eyes a pun? Hope so, cuz I laughed. Yeah, but thanks! Welcome! And I hope you enjoy this new instalment… *looks up the page* Wow… that's a lot of shout outs.
Knocking lightly on the door with a certain sense of trepidation, Skinner glanced up and down the corridor. A few of Nemo's men passed in either direction, quietly going about their tasks and taking barely any notice of Skinner at all. They could see him; he had clothed and painted his face… but they barely acknowledged him. He returned the 'favour', and knocked again.
"Sawyer?" he called gently, leaning closer to the frame so his voice would carry better.
There was a muffled shout of a response from inside that he only just heard; "Go away."
Skinner frowned deeply. The American had not come out of his room since breaking down on the mysteriously returned Quatermain… not that the invisible man could blame him. It must have been quite a shock to his system to undergo such a dramatic and unexpected change.
"I was just checking you were all right. You know where to find us when you're ready to come out." Knowing he wouldn't get a response anyway, Skinner walked away without waiting for one. He just wished – and hoped – Sawyer would come out of his room soon.
With his head bowed against his drawn-up knees, arms hugged around his shins, Tom heard Skinner walk away… actually heard it. It was frightening, and he had already been physically ill twice since returning to his cabin. It was too sudden and too unwelcome on top of that. And there was only one conclusion he could come to that would explain all of it.
Jacques Beauvais. He must have scratched Tom… it wasn't glass in his arm, though he had pulled a shard out. Tom brought his aching head up for a moment; eyes brimmed with confused and angry tears briefly before he choked them back.
Sure, he had always felt a little plain in the presence of the others after the first mission, but he never would have asked for this. He was a werewolf… and to make it worse, he hadn't been able to stop himself from almost killing Mina. He had seen it all, felt it all, but had been powerless. He had been trapped inside with no way of stopping the beast from trying to fulfil its urges… which seemed to consist of killing and feeding.
Tom let his head drop back down again, his thoughts turning to Allan Quatermain… he was alive… truly alive. At first, Tom had thought he'd been seeing things; dreaming or delirious from the transformation. But it was real. Quatermain had come back from the dead; he was really on the Nautilus; and he had really managed to coax Tom into transforming from the wolf to himself again.
And it had hurt… god it had hurt.
The breaking of bones as they changed shape, the reforming of his entire body… it had hurt more on the tower though. He remembered he had tried to scream, but had choked on the sound.
He was so angry and upset about all of it. He didn't know what to do. What was the League going to do? They seemed concerned – from what little he had seen of them since the ice room – but Tom knew he was dangerous. If he couldn't keep the beast inside, he could very well kill someone, and that was almost more than he could bear.
Mina looked up only briefly when the doors to the library opened and Skinner walked in, looking rather glum indeed. She arched an eyebrow, and glanced back to the others from her place by the bookshelves, where she ran a feminine finger over the vast spines of the volumes. Her eyes met with Allan Quatermain's for a moment, before she felt the need to turn her head to her search.
After a moment, she hesitated, and pulled a large book from its confinement, taking it over to the large round table where the others sat over steaming cups of brown tea. She settled it down without a sound, and seated herself next to Henry Jekyll and Captain Nemo. They glanced to her curiously, even as Skinner took an unoccupied chair beside Quatermain, who sat to the right of Nemo. All the seats were filled, and Skinner set about making his cup equally as full, taking a sip from it tentatively at once.
It wasn't long until Mina glanced up from the pages and noted their undivided attention was upon her. She took a moment to sip her tea, welcoming its soothing warmth, and then sighed. However, she did not respond. Her icy gaze turned back on the yellowing pages of the volume, and she skimmed through another few sheets.
Skinner glanced to his companions briefly, and then said, "So what are we waiting in painful silence for anyway?"
Mina did not look up as she responded, "Perhaps you would like to tell us if you made any progress?"
"None whatsoever. He told me to 'go away'… and I did. Figured he wouldn't want me bugging him."
Mina nodded slowly, and rested her hand on the page she had stopped at, a grim smile touching her lips before she looked up from the fading text. "We need to come to a decision regarding this problem."
Allan Quatermain's brow shot up, and he tilted his head as he said, "What problem?"
"Perhaps you didn't notice the werewolf, Mr. Q," she replied aloofly. She eyed him reproachfully for a moment, and then turned her weary head to gaze down on the detailed sketch of a beast on the page before her.
"That werewolf was Sawyer," Quatermain challenged in a low tone, almost protectively. "And still is."
Mina rubbed her temple, and sat back in her chair, noticing the way Jekyll gulped, though he was not drinking at the time. He shrank from her a little, only a fraction of an inch, but a noticeable amount to her nonetheless. "Yes… and we need to address the problem of his being a werewolf."
"What else can we do other than offer him support and help him through the change?" Quatermain said to her from his seat almost opposite, his dark eyes locking with her light ones and never wavering. He was challenging her… she knew it, he knew it… and so did the rest of the people present. They stayed silent, and just watched.
Mina sat forward in her chair again, giving the drawing another momentary glance before looking to the resurrected hunter. "I know you are attached to Agent Sawyer, but when he was in his werewolf state, he almost killed Skinner and myself… if Hyde had not arrived, I don't know if I would have been able to hold him off." She paused, and stared. "He was strong, he was confused… he was brutal."
Quatermain furrowed his brow. "He wasn't in control."
"Precisely my point," Mina snapped, and everyone else in the room was forgotten. "Imagine his transformation in a crowd of people… even on the decks of this very ship. He would tear his way through half of the occupants before we would be able to stop him. And if he didn't kill his victims – whether intended or not – then they would turn also, and our problem would only escalate!"
Quatermain stood from his chair, and Skinner flinched slightly, nearly dropping his cup. "Who decided to put you in charge after I died? It is not your decision… how can you talk about this 'problem' so nonchalantly when it is Sawyer's very life you are dealing with?" His volume rose, and Mina physically did so as well, standing from her chair in retaliation.
"You don't understand," Mina retorted hotly, "because you were not here when we encountered these creatures before. They are not to be underestimated. I have every intention of making Sawyer as comfortable with his condition as possible, as you well know I would! But that does not change the fact that he is dangerous!"
"He's only a boy, and he can be contained."
"We can't keep him on this vessel for the rest of his life, Quatermain," Mina growled, "and trust me… it is now going to be a very long life…"
Quatermain stared at her for a while, before glancing to the others. "So what do you plan to do with him then? Lock him up and throw away the key?" He received no response. "How can you call that fair? If I understand correctly from what Jekyll and Nemo were telling me before, he didn't ask for this. How can you even comprehend-"
"You make it sound as though we have a choice, Mr. Quatermain." Nemo did not look up from his cup as he spoke, and he sipped for a moment, appearing very pensive indeed, dark eyes clouded with consideration.
"We do have a choice, dammit," the Scotsman retorted. "He just needs time to learn how to control the beast… any animal can be tamed."
"This is not a tiger in the circus, this is a-"
"A werewolf, I know." Quatermain stared at Mina once again, and she had the distinct impression he had enjoyed cutting her off. "But he just needs to learn… one of you must be able to teach him. Meditation perhaps…"
Mina turned her gaze upon Jekyll, who snapped his pocket watch shut as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't. The two regarded one another… they knew their demons well, and had long since mastered them… although Hyde still pestered the doctor from time to time, and the man had almost given in to the urges more than once… but so had Mina with her vampiric instincts. Her blue eyes found Quatermain once again, and she said quietly, "What if it cannot be done?"
"We won't give up on him that easily, Mrs. Harker," the hunter replied, and sighed, sitting back down. "He would do the same for us."
She nodded, and followed suit, reclaiming her chair and perusing the page, before she started to divulge the information within to Quatermain, as she had with the others previously when dealing with Evans and his men.
Mina just hoped Quatermain was right.
Doctor Henry Jekyll knocked lightly on Sawyer's door, and waited patiently for an answer of any kind, feeling the beginnings of apprehension rise up in him like a fever. He cleared his throat, and knocked again. Perhaps Agent Sawyer was asleep…
"Go away," came the muffled and rather lazy shout from inside. Henry frowned, and remembered what Mina had told him about not giving up. She had insisted he be persistent, and not give in to Sawyer's attempts to shut everyone out.
So it was that he tried the handle on the door. It clicked open, and he peered his head round, finding the room dark and squinting into the shadows. He saw a huddled form on the bed that was obviously Sawyer, and he said, "I'm coming in… I need to talk with you." To his surprise, the trembling from his voice was gone. He took one step into the room, and then another. Sawyer made no move to stop him.
But in one flash of movement, the door was slammed closed, and Henry found himself pinned to the wall. He gasped, and looked into the angry eyes of Sawyer, veiled in shadow, the one who had thrown him back and gripped him tightly. Jekyll's eyes widened as a bestial growl rumbled from his friend.
"Sawyer!"
Henry and the clearly out of control Sawyer both turned their heads instantly to the looming figure in the doorway. It was Quatermain.
"Put him down…"
There was a shudder through Tom Sawyer's arms that even Henry felt, and he swallowed dryly, moments before the American recoiled, visibly terrified of himself. Henry gasped, and worked his way toward the door. He quickly decided that this was not a good moment to try and help… he would wait until later.
Tom reeled back from Jekyll, eyes wide at what he had just done without even realising it. As the doctor fled as calmly as he could manage from the room, Tom felt his legs give out on him, and he grabbed the bed behind him for stability, managing to avoid collapsing completely to the floor. He panted heavily, and glanced at Allan Quatermain in the doorway. The hunter reached over to the desk, and flicked on the lamp.
Tom winced, and turned his eyes from it. His eyesight quickly adjusted… swifter than normal, and the young man frowned. He didn't want this… he didn't want any of it; the heightened senses; the swift healing… he wished it would all just go away and cease to be.
With a sorrowful expression, he sank himself down on the bed, his back to Quatermain, and he set his hands on his knees, head bowed slightly. The lump under the covers – his coat – was forgotten… he could barely recall even putting it there. Guilt started to swim its way up to his consciousness, and he heard Quatermain approach. He didn't have the heart to tell him to leave after what he had just done – or almost done – to poor Jekyll.
Quatermain's hand landed on Tom's shoulder, and he flinched instinctively, drawing back on the soft mattress underneath him and regarding the man in the wan light. The hunter looked almost sympathetic, and for some reason, that only served to anger the American.
"What are you doing here?" he asked quietly, as though speaking any louder would attract unwanted attention.
Quatermain seated himself on the end of the bed, and sighed. "Saving Dr. Jekyll, it would seem."
Tom closed his eyes, running both his hands through his tousled blonde locks. "I couldn't stop myself."
The other man nodded. "So I saw… and I know it's not your fault."
"How can you say that?" Tom snapped, his head rising from its bowed position, the two men's eyes locking fiercely in the darkness. "I'm dangerous… you saw it yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to lock me up, or even kill me."
"Listen to me," Quatermain told him sternly, and Tom felt inclined to keep his mouth shut, "I won't let them give up on you… because I wouldn't do that myself. I expect the same of you. Don't let this get to you. You have to fight the urges, and learn to control it… I know you can."
"I can't do that," Tom retorted weakly, his head swimming with confusion. "Up on the tower… the first time-" he cut himself off, shaking his head and saying, "the only time it's happened so far… I knew what was happening, and I couldn't keep it down. How can I stop what I'm doing when I'm that thing, if I can't even keep it from coming out?"
Quatermain stood, and walked closer. Tom watched his approach, and frowned deeper. He felt just like he had as a child, when Aunt Polly had scolded him. "Sawyer," the older man began gently, "I know you have it in you to fight this. You can't make it go away… and you can't turn back time… but you can come to terms with the change, and use it."
"But I don't want it." Tom bowed his head down onto his knees again as he drew them up to his chest. He draped his arms over the back of his neck, and sighed deeply and heavily.
He felt the dip in the mattress as Quatermain sat down again, and heard him say, "Jekyll and Mrs. Harker are going to help you take control… they both have their demons." He paused, and Tom felt his hesitation as much as heard it. "And now they're going to help you with your own."
Tom lifted his head, arms coming to rest over his knees lazily, and his eyes met the wise face of his mentor… the man he had thought dead until now. "Why did you come back? You said… before, all that time ago, you said you didn't really want to be here." Tom shrugged. "Why come back at all? If you were resurrected, why not just stay in Africa?"
Quatermain smiled then, and chuckled lightly, sighing heavily afterwards with a longing look in his eye as he regarded the American he had taken on as his student. "I wanted to check up on all of you… see what I had missed." He cocked his head. "Apparently, it was quite a lot."
Tom smiled then too, but it was devoid of humour. He knew the smile to be crooked, and it only lasted a moment as his head thudded back against the headboard, and he winced at a pain deep in his stomach, rising up in him. "Oh god…" He lurched forward, closing his eyes, and holding a hand across his front as the sensation swelled. He recognised it, and hissed through clenched teeth. Despite his best efforts to stop it, a rumble sounded in his throat. His other hand clutched the blankets of his bed so tightly he thought he would tear them apart.
"Easy," Quatermain soothed, rising and approaching cautiously, laying a hand on the bed and bowing his head down to look Tom in the face. "Take it easy… don't let it take over."
Tom took deep, panting breaths and tried to fight, feeling it resist and try to surge upwards like a great powerful wave.
I won't let it happen, he thought resolutely, setting his jaw in determination, I won't let it win. Not this time. I won't hurt anyone.
The sensation in his stomach started to alter, and he felt the urge to vomit again, though he pushed it aside and felt it desist entirely. He groaned, and grimaced, trying to push the change down in him again. He had to tell himself he was in control, that he was in charge of what happened to his body, no matter what the form.
And then, as suddenly as it had started, the sensation failed altogether and died, falling away from him as if it had never truly been. His eyes shot open, and he let out a gasping breath as if rising from water he had been held under for a long time. Tom shuddered, and turned his head swiftly to the smiling face of Allan Quatermain.
"Well done, boy." Quatermain nodded with a dry laugh. "Well done."
A/N2: And there you have it! Chapter 5 at last! *grovels* I am SO SO sorry that took as long as it did. It will not happen again! I promise! Look forward (hopefully) to the next update in a couple of days at the latest.