Skinner and I called on all of the skills we had practiced on the Nautilus in the previous weeks to sneak around M's fortress. Skinner placed the bombs in kea strategic areas where they were sure to cause the most damage. Once or twice he was caught by a stray spark of molten metal from the mighty vats above us. It was a small, yet sharp reminder for me of things to come.

It wasn't long before we began to hear the sounds of commotion around us. Booted feet running, men shouting, and alarms blaring. My thoughts were pockmarked with flashes of the other characters and what they were doing in the fortress. I described these events to Skinner in the same distant, unearthly tone I used when we were in Venice.

"Quatermain and Sawyer racing between the columns, searching for the right direction…they've come across the scientists…'They're for Nemo.'"

Beside me, Skinner took out another bomb, set the timer, and placed it snugly next to another furnace.

"Nemo and his men taking out guards…freeing the women and children…Quatermain and Tom finding M's room…one of the guards knocked out by Nemo recovering and running away, alerting our presence…Dante bursting into the room…'James, here's your box of tricks! The brute's potion, the vampire's blood, the Indian's science, and mounted samples of invisible skin!…'"

"Wait a minute," Skinner interrupted. By this time, he was finished planting the bombs. Now we were hiding in a deserted hallway. "Who's Dante and James?"

"Dante is one of M's top henchmen, and James is M's real name," I explained. "Professor James Moriarty."

"I've heard of him," Skinner said. "Wasn't he the one who killed that famous detective? Whatshisname?"

"Sherlock Holmes," I sighed.

"Yeah, him. Isn't he the one who murdered him?"

"Yes, he is. He also killed Huckleberry Finn, a good friend of Tom Sawyer's"

"Ah, so that's why Sawyer's joined our little crew."

"Yes," I sighed again. "That's why Tom's here; to get revenge."

Skinner shrugged. "Fair enough."

"Can I continue telling you what's happening now?" I asked.

"Please do."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Hyde meeting up with Nemo…'We have trouble.' 'Trouble? I call it sport.'" I growled. Skinner chuckled nervously. "M has been notified of out presence…'How many times do I have to kill there cretins?'" Skinner's smile widened. "A gun battle between Nemo, his men, Hyde, and the guards…then Nemo fighting more guards…Quatermain with a gun to M's neck…another guard with a knife…Tom saving Quatermain, but M getting away…Dorian in his room…Mina…" I hesitated before adding "and Serro…a battle to the death between two immortals…'We'll be at this all day'…Dorian stabbing Mina through the chest…she falls onto the bed…"

I stopped. Skinner was watching me, eyes wide. "And…?" he prompted.

I tried to wring more out of the scene. It was difficult. Both Mina's stabbing and Dorian's stabbing to come, especially Dorian's, reminded me of a time when I was in a very similar situation, with a sword perduring through my chest. It wasn't a very happy memory. "Serro rushing to her body…whispering words into her ear…" Suddenly the scene changed. "M running through the base…Quatermain and Tom chasing…"

"Whoa! Wait!" Skinner protested. "What about Mina?"

"Don't worry about her. She's a vampire, remember?"

"Yeah, but stabbed through the chest…"

"Don't worry. He missed her heart." My mind was back on the chase. "There's another invisible man…Reed…"

"Reed's invisible?"

"Yes…He and Tom fighting…knife…gun…another man with armour and a flame thrower…fire…"

I gasped suddenly. The time had come. "Sawyer's in danger," I said quickly. "We have to help him."

Skinner nodded mutely. He followed me as I ran, guided by my instincts. I felt guilty, like I was leading Skinner to his doom. "Please forgive me," I breathed silently. "Please let everything turn out all right."

I led my assignment into a room full of shelves of books and scrolls, all of which were extremely flammable. We could smell the smoke and feel the heat from the fire already down at the other end of the room. The inferno was spreading fast. We spotted Tom through the blaze, an armoured man advancing on him through the hellish atmosphere.

Skinner didn't hesitate. He grabbed a metal bar off the ground and charged Tom's attacker from the side. "Sawyer!" he hollered, stabbing the armoured man's fuel tanks. A jet of fire burst out. "Run for it!"

The tank man turned, swinging his lit flame thrower. Skinner couldn't dodge him fast enough. The flames blasted the invisible man's body, searing flesh burned visible as Skinner screamed in agony and sprinted away.

I had been watching the scene with a look of horror on my face, but as soon as Skinner took off I put my rear in gear to save his life. I ran after him. I saw Skinner collapse, writhing on the floor. I took a deep breath of scorching air and placed my right hand, fingers spread wide, on Skinner's burning body. Imminently, I called the flames off of him. I raised my hand and turned my palm upwards. It was lit with a pillar of fire. All the fire from Skinner's body condensed on my hand. I screamed and snapped my hand closed in a fist, extinguishing the flames completely.

I cradled my badly burnt hand close to me, tears streaming down my face. Never before had I experienced such pain. I dropped to my knees, trembling, fighting shock.

I raised my eyes to search for my assignment. I found him crawling and whimpering towards a corner untouched by the fire. There he collapsed on top of a pile of rubble. I rose and moved towards him. Skinner was also shaking and gasping in shock and pain. My nose wrinkled at the smell of burnt flesh. Enough of his skin was burned visible for me to turn off my 'Skinner Vision.' This was not necessarily a good thing.

"Skinner." I chocked on a sob.

"N-nikita…you saved me?" Skinner gasped.

"Yes." I looked up and saw Tom approaching through the smoke.

"Skinner?" the young American called.

The suffering invisible man raised his head feebly and attempted to diffuse the situation with humour. "That's the last time I play with matches."

Then he gasped, trying to warn Tom, but it was too late. Sanderson Reed, invisible but stained with ink powder, had a knife to Sawyer's throat. He eased the American up and forced him away.

Skinner collapsed, wincing, in defeat. "It was all for nothing," he told me.

"No," I insisted. "It wasn't for nothing. He's still alive, and he will survive. You've played a major role in all this…in the League's success." I swallowed, feeling time running out. "Skinner, we have to get out of here," I said, standing up. "Your bombs are going to go off soon, but we still have a chance to escape if we go now."

Skinner sighed, breathing painfully. At last he nodded. I helped him rise shakily and painfully to his feet. Then we began the long and torturous walk towards the exit. Once again, we were guided by my instincts, which we had no choice but to trust. Images of Quatermain's battle with M and Nemo and Hyde's battle with the Dante Beast swam through my mind. I was too weak to stop them and could only hope I would not become too distracted by them.

Suddenly, Skinner, whom I had been supporting the best I could, collapsed to the floor in a suffering, moaning heap. "No, Skinner," I said, my voice desperate. "Come on. We have to keep moving." I glanced around, and realised that we had made it to the same entrance the League had used to impregnate the fortress in the first place. "We're almost out," I told Skinner. "Come on, Skinner, please?" But the invisible man wasn't moving. His tortured, barbequed body had given up.

I heard a sound near by. I tensed, fearing that it was one of M's armed guards. Relief washed over me when I saw that it was Mina and Serro, headed for the same exit Skinner and I were. They stopped and gasped at the sight of Skinner's charred body.

"Oh my God," Serro gasped. "Nikita?"

"Skinner?" Mina said. At the sound of her voice, the invisible man stirred. The two of them rushed forward. "What happened to you?"

"I got a little too close to a bloke with a flame thrower," Skinner gasped.

"Please, you've got to help us," I pleased to my friend, feeling time ticking closer and closer to the explosion.

Serro turned to his assignment. "Skinner has a spirit guide as well," he told her. "They need our help to get out."

Mina nodded, accepting this and agreeing to help. She assisted me get Skinner back onto his feet. As we stumbled for the exit, Serro found Skinner's coat and other belongings he had stored there earlier. Serro could not help us move Skinner because is he touched him, he would pass right through him.

Skinner and I found the snow outside a very welcome relief. Merely a second after we were out of harm's way, a series of explosions rocked M's fortress. I let out a huge breath of air. It was a release of all the tension and fear I had built up inside of me. It was done. Our trial by fire was, for the four of us, almost over.

Mina glanced worriedly back at the burning base, anxious about the other members of the League. Serro told her not to worry and to focus on Skinner, who had recovered enough to make a leery remark or two towards the vampire.

"Skinner, I would advise you to keep your comments to yourself," Mina said tightly.

Skinner, for once, took Mina's advice. "Yes, ma'am." He lay still while Mina examined his burns the best she could.

Meanwhile, Serro was analysing my burnt hand and packing it with snow. I winced. The snow stung, but I knew it would help me heal. Serro smiled at me, knowing what I must have done to receive the burn. "That was very brave," he said sincerely.

I shrugged. "I had to get the fire off him."

We both distantly heard a rifle shot echoing, followed almost imminently by the disappearance of M's distant life force. Alan Quatermain's left soon afterwards. I sighed softly. Serro wiped my tear-stained face with a thumb.

"The worse is over," he reminded me, loud enough for Mina to hear.

"Yeah, the worse is over," I agreed aloud for Skinner's benefit. I was pleased. I could say that on the whole, our mission was a success.

AN/ I'm almost done this fic. Wow. Yay for me.

Thank you Jinxeh and Cameron for reviewing. I agree, it is a tad confusing to have a cliff hanger when you know what is going to happen next. I also agree that the movie does not showcase enough of Skinner. This is a blessing, because it means I have less to write, (try following a main or title character around for a while and you'll see how much work it is!) but it also a curse because I have to make up more dialogue and what could possibly be happening to him elsewhere during the main action. The movie novel, in this case, is the same way. It is also more difficult to do internet research on Skinner because he is not a main character.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy this update. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a birthday party to prepare for. Au revoir!