Disclaimer:- I don't own Tom Sawyer, Mina Hawker, Skinner, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde or anything else used in the fic, except Smith and Mr. Big. I'm so sorry for taking so long to up-date this, no excuse. Just been bad... okay, also a slight touch of writers block. This is also quite a bit of italic in this part. Anyway, here are the Shout outs;
angelic katty:- Skinner's conclusion was great wasn't it. Glad you like the mix, hope you enjoy this part.
Melanie:- Cruel? Me? *laughs* Not me, I'm not a cruel sort of person... maybe I am cruel, but just a little.
Silversnow:- Wait till you see what Mr. Big does in the next few chapters :D And you need wait no longer, the victim of the bullet is reveled!
Funyun:- ...Tom... shot... himself? Darn, that's such a good idea, wish I thought of it!! Poor Tom, to have MPD... *grins* Don't worry, I'm nice to him in this part... honest...
Steffi-333:- *Is cowering from the Tom fangirls* Eeep... wait... I thought I was a Tom fangirl? Huh... Don't worry, Tom might snap out of it... then again. *evil smile* Guess you'll have to read to find out.
Clez:- Okay, you had your fun, your vengeance, so here's mine. (Just so you know, I was going to leave this part somewhere else, but then I read the last part of BTLOLM and deiced to be evil.) Glad you liked it and all, up-date your own stuff! Now(-ish)!
Niani:- Tempting thought to kill Skinner, you'll have to read to see if I really do. Glad you found Tom's singing creepy.
Crystal Nox:- :P I just did do it to you. I'm more than likely going to do it to you again as well... *backs away from the large stick* Now, just calm down, I'm sure I didn't do what you thought I did... or did I? I dunno, you didn't say what you thought.
Graymoon74:- I'm killing you? Eep! Glad you liked the thing with Smith and Mina, that Dagger still has quite a big part to play. *foreshadowy* yes, pay close attention to the Dagger... Tom violent? I... don't know what you mean... *starts to hum 'You are my Sunshine' under her breath*
LotRseer3350:- Well, that was part twenty of Bodyguard. Glad you liked it ;) Might be returning Tom to normal but I wouldn't bank on him not entering the cave where Big is... after all, if Mina fell for it... And come on, you never found 'You are my Sunshine' a creepy song?
Hoshii-chan:- Must stop writing evil cliffhangers... on second thought, no I don't wanna!
ScifiRogue:- You adore it? Aww.... *is blushing* I'm still amazed people don't think it's rubbish. The Egyptian mythology comes from books, internet, father and the fact I'm obsessed by Egypt.
Silent Bob 546:- hehehehe, yeah, Tom should listen to the drunk... wait, Skinner hasn't had a drink for chapters has he?? Nooo! Yes, Tom is indeed that insane to sing that song. :)
And now...
The Bodyguard.
~~~
Part Twenty-One:- Smoke and Mirrors
~~~
Skinner didn't know what shocked him the most. The scream of the other man as he fell to the ground, clutching as his bloody chest, trying in vain to stem the bleeding even as he died. Or the fact that Tom hadn't killed him.
//Speaking of Tom...\\ Skinner spun on his heel, struggling to get loose of the ropes binding his hands behind his back. He looked over at Tom and froze, his invisible mouth dropping open in shock. Tom was on the ground, his hands clutching at his head as he squirmed on the floor, screaming hard.
"Sawyer! Sawyer, snap out of it!" Skinner shouted, running towards his fallen friend. He reached him and tried to stop, attempting to put out his hands to help balance. He only remembered a second too late that his hands were still restrained behind his back. With a yelp, Skinner fell forward, crashing into the ground head first. His nose made an awful sound as it smashed into the hard floor and Skinner made a muffled sound of pain.
His nose felt broken but he had no way of knowing until he could feel with his hands. A few feet away from him Tom was still screaming, his hands clawing at his head.
~~~
Darkness.
Darkness all around him. Darkness pressing in on him. Darkness that wanted to consume him. Darkness that threatened to destroy everything about him.
Tom was trapped in the darkness. He stared around him in a blind panic before taking a step forward, his hands reaching out, hoping to connect with something solid so he had some kind of support. Empty air was all he could feel, no matter how far he moved. Tom stopped, hugging his body, suddenly feeling terribly, terribly alone. He didn't want to be alone anymore. A faint whisper of sound seemed to come to his ears and he frowned slightly, straining them to try and make out the soft words, but it was no use. He was still alone.
"Tom, what are you doing just standing there?" A familiar voice asked him. Huck stepped into his line of vision, his body a light in the dark place. Huckleberry smiled and held out a hand, offering it to Tom.
"Come on, I'll race you to the river." Huck said with a grin. The darkness around Tom vanished to be replaced by the familiar setting of his childhood. The faint whisper of a voice came towards Tom again and he stepped away from Huck without thinking about it, heading towards the origin of the sound. Huck frowned and caught hold of Tom's arm, pulling him slightly and making him turn back to face the dark haired young man.
"Other way Tom." Huck said, a smile on his face. Tom remained frozen in place, confused, uncertain. He didn't know what was happening here - wasn't he standing in a dark room a few moments ago. And wasn't Huck... gone? For a third time the voice tried to say something, the tone more urgent and this time, Tom could make out the words.
"Sawyer! Sawyer, come on Tom, snap out of it!" The voice was male and one Tom was sure he should recognize - if only Huck wasn't standing their, trying to confuse him. The sudden appearance of both Huck and the lit landscape where there had been nothing before threw him, freezing his thoughts.
"Tom..." A female voice whispered, a ghostly hand resting on his shoulder. "You know what to do..." And then, Tom did know what to do. Everything came to him in a sudden rush of clarity and he couldn't believe he had forgotten.
"Come on Tom, let's go!" Huck urged him. Tom turned a cool, calm gaze on him.
"This isn't going to work anymore - I remember." Tom said. He could feel something pulling at his mind, trying to scatter his thoughts and he held on stubbornly, unwilling to give in.
No. He refused to give in. There was no way Tom was going to put up with this intrusion of his mind for any longer. He was Agent Thomas Sawyer after all.
"Stop pretending to be Huckleberry Finn, you're not him! Now go away and leave me alone!" Tom yelled, crossing the distance between himself and the person or thing pretending to be his dead friend. With a snarl Tom reached out, grabbing the imposture by the shirt. Huckleberry looked at Tom, before simply fading away.
Then the darkness returned and Tom knew no more.
~~~
Tom gave a louder scream, holding onto the note for a few seconds, his whole body frozen in place, his back arched up off the floor. Skinner could only watch helplessly as the frozen moment of his friend passed and Tom's body continued to twist in agony, his voice now fading away - his throat worn raw by the screams.
"Tom..." Skinner said softly, staring at his friend, the worry clear, even in that single word. He just wished there was something he could do - but there was nothing.
This was a fight Tom had to win on his own.
~~~
Mirrors.
He was in a place of mirrors, which reflected every part of him, every thought and every fear he had ever had. This time however, Tom was ready for this place and he stood there, trying to ignore all the different faces that looked at him. Some he could instantly tell were himself, but some of the other faces were horrific, mutated so badly that it was almost impossible to see anything of himself in the features. Tom shook himself mentally, forcing his thoughts away from the mirrors.
"Where are you?" Tom called out, knowing that there was someone else in the room. Someone who would try and trick him, he was sure of it. Someone would try and make him do something, to stop fighting and then his body would be hijacked... again.
"Right here." A low, Scottish voice said from behind him and Tom froze, tears pricking at his eyes.
//Not him, not him, please, don't make me fight him, not after Huck...\\ His mind chanted even as he turned to face the owner of the voice. Allan stood there, leaning on his old elephant gun, Miltilda, his expression a mixture of amusement and concern.
"What's wrong Sawyer?" Allan asked. "What's this I hear about you having a fight with Finn?" He added. Tom watched Allan, not knowing what to do, his mind conflicted. He knew that Allan and Huckleberry were dead, that it wasn't really them, but some side effect of the drug he had been given, some safety mechanism to make sure he didn't fight the drugs effects but it was so tempting to just accept the images he was being offered, to let the drug take him over so he could stay in this fantasy, where people he cared about were alive and everything would be okay.
The concerned look had left the old explores face, an expression of sympathy and understanding on Allan's face instead.
"Easy lad, easy. I know it's hard but you can do it. All you have to do is let it all go. Just let the anger and the pain melt away and everything will be all right and as it should be. Nothing will ever hurt you again, I promise you lad." Allan told him. Tom wanted so desperately to believe him, to accept what he was being offered.
"Just take my hand Sawyer." Allan said, reaching out his own hand. Tom stared into his mentors face, still torn and without even knowing about it, took a small step forward. Allan contained to smile in a reassuring manner as Tom Sawyer took another small step towards him. A faint breeze on his face made Tom paused for a second. The breeze passed over Tom's face again, only this time it seemed to be in the shape of a hand.
"Tom..." The ghostly whisper of a female's voice came to him and he shook his head rapidly, looking at the out reached hand with longing.
"... Sorry... I can't." Tom said at last, speaking with great effort. Allan dropped his hand then his head before turning and walking away from the stunned American, his form casting no reflection in the many mirrors. A second later... Allan was gone.
~~~
Tom's body went limp, a gasp of air escaping from his mouth. The hands dropped from where they had been clawing at his head, the screams having long since stopped. Skinner slowly approached Tom's curled up body, his black duster and the ropes tying his arms an indication of where he was standing.
"Sawyer... Tom, can you hear me?" Skinner asked, before looking over his shoulder at the closed wooden door. He was nervous, twitchy, worried that Mr. Big would get impatient and send someone out after Tom, who would find them before the American could wake up as himself.
Tom turned a tortuous, despairing look at him, the agony reflected clearly in his soft green eyes. He almost seemed to be begging for an end to this misery and pain he was facing as he stared blankly at Skinner. The once clear light had faded from them, to be replaced by a cloudy, dull gaze of the drugged Tom Sawyer that Skinner had faced.
"You can do it Tom. Come on, I know you can do it." The British thief said, kneeling down by Tom's body. For a second there seemed to be something in Tom's eyes that Skinner knew, a sparkle, some sign of defiance, a signal that the spy had understood the thief's words, then the eyes slid shut and Tom's mind was once again thrown back into the fight.
~~~
Trees.
He was standing in a wooded area, the soft sound of birds singing slowly drifting towards his ears. There was nothing in the woods to threaten him and Tom stared, completely and utterly confused. He spun on his heel searching all the shadows, all the hiding places but there was no-one there. Slowly, time passed in the wood filled glade. Tom was sitting on a fallen log, the moss growing over it making a soft seat when the faint sound of footsteps caught his attention. The dream girl entered the clearing, the relief written plainly on her face.
"Tom." She said. "You did it." Tom stared at her, recognizing the voice as the same one that had helped him before. The girl smiled and moved closer to him, a seductive look on her face. She reached Tom and lazily placed her arms around him, staring him in the eye.
"You can rest now." She said. Tom pulled away from her, a frown on his face as she stared down at the dream girl. He remembered her from pervious dreams but something seemed different about her this time.
"You're not really her." Tom said flatly. The dream girl pulled away from him, a pout on her face.
"Of course I am..." She said. Tom didn't answer and the girl sighed, backing away from him and twisting a stared of hair in her fingers.
"You're right. I'm not her. The real girl is... well, she can't reach you." The 'dream girl' said with a cruel smile. Tom turned away from her and began to walk in the opposite direction. He was bored of these games, he just wanted his mind back.
"What do you want?" The dream girl asked, her whole body shaking in rage. Tom glared at her before shouting his answer.
"I want to wake up! You're trying to stop me but it won't work anymore!"
"Face what is really stopping you then." The fake dream girl snapped, pointing over Tom's head at something behind him. The girl gave a crocked smile the simply vanished. Tom remained frozen in place, staring at the woody area in front of him. A cough from behind him made the America Spy slowly turn around.
What he saw made his mouth drop open in shock and he froze in his fighting.
Slowly the green eyes fluttered open, Tom's gaze blank and unseeing. His head slowly turned towards Skinner and a smile twitched at his lips - but it was not a nice smile. It was the smile that belonged to the Tom that called Mr. Big, 'Master'. It was the smile of the drugged Tom. It was a smile Skinner had hoped he would never see again.
Tom rolled over to his side then pushed himself upwards, moving to his feet. Skinner backed away from Tom, not knowing what else he could do. Tom took a half step towards Skinner than stopped, an expression of pain flashing over his face before he dropped back down to his knees. Inside, Tom had started to fight again.
Himself.
He was looking at himself.
The thing that was stopping him from waking up... from being Tom again. It was himself. He was the reason why Mr. Big could control him, why Smith had been able to drug him.
It was all his fault.
TBC...
Hope everyone enjoyed this part and please leave a review...
~Sethoz
