AN/ The poem featured in this chapter was written by me on January 14, 2003 and is titled Night. It is in a series of wolf poems I wrote while vacationing with my best friend's family in Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
It was night. Skinner was resting in the infirmary on the Nautilus. Doctor Jekyll and Mina - with mine and Serro's influence - had brewed up a thick gel to ease Skinner's horrific burns. The gel worked very fast and extremely well. I reassured Skinner that the scars he would have would also be invisible, which he was grateful for.
"Otherwise, it might make it a bit more difficult for me to disappear," he noted, provoking me to smile.
I used some of the gel on my own injured hand. I didn't use a lot, as I usually heal quite quickly, even from injuries such as this.
Everyone had quite a run of emotions when they reunited after M's base exploded and what was left of the League had reunited. There was joy and relief that they had succeeded, and then sorrow when they learned that Quatermain had not made it. The entire League mourned their leader in different ways, and Nemo imminently set a course for Africa so they could bury Alan's body in the land he loved.
I sat quietly be Skinner's hospital cot. I knew my time in this world was just about up. I had to leave the invisible man. I debated in my mind how to say good bye to him, and decided the most direct approach was best.
"Skinner," I said. "I must say that I'm very proud of you. You really turned into a hero."
The invisible man scoffed. "Besides almost freezing and then burning half to death, it was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime."
I smiled sadly. "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. I don't know."
"Ha!" Skinner shouted. "You don't know? For bloody once you don't know? This calls for a drink!"
My smile widened briefly. "Perhaps later. I have something very important to say first."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?"
I sighed. "Good bye."
Skinner went quiet. I didn't have my 'Skinner Vision' on, so I couldn't see his expression. His surprised tone of voice when he did speak said it all though. "What?"
"I have to leave you now," I calmly explained. "I've done my job, and now I must go."
I heard Skinner swallow and wince and he shifted slightly in his cot. "Will I ever see you again?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know." This was different for me. For my other assignments, I was always sure of a sequel, but there was doubt in my mind wether or not I would come back to the world of LXG.
We were both quiet, not really knowing what else to say. I stood up.
"Drink a toast to me when you get better, okay?" I said.
"Yeah, I will," Skinner replied. "Nikita? Thanks for, uh, helping me and putting up with me and everything."
I smiled. "You're welcome. Good luck in case we don't see each other again."
"Thanks. You too."
"Bye," I said. I gave a little wave and vanished from the room.
I flew, free from the not entirely unpleasant burden of being Rodney Skinner's spirit guide. I let myself drift up through the metal hull of the Nautilus, through the Indian ocean, and up into the air. I hovered there in the clear, starry sky wringing out my wet hair. Something told me that I should wait, that I shouldn't go home just yet. I gazed at the stars, finding Orion with ease. My attention was also captured by the moon. It was divided into two perfect halves; one black, hidden in shadow, the other greyish-white, glowing with an almost supernatural light.
The moon reminded me of stories I had been told when I was young. Tales about a pack of wolves led by an alpha male, black as the night sky, and his mate, a beautiful snowy female. I had been inspired to name myself after the fictional alpha female, Nikita. I had a sudden flash of realisation that Serro had done the same, choosing the alpha male, Serronoté, or Serro for short, as one of his names.
I smiled at the moon and closed my eyes, picturing Serro next to me. I remembered a poem I had written long ago about the wolves we were named after.
On a clear-cloudy night
I stand alone.
The moon is bright,
And not quite full.
A breeze blows,
Ruffling my fur.
Carrying familiar scents.
Trees,
Sleeping birds,
A fox,
Sand,
An owl,
Water.
Cricket songs dance in the air.
Moths flutter.
Mosquitos whine.
A spider web
Delicate and deadly
Waits patiently.
The night is full of hunters.
The spider,
The fox,
The owl,
Me
And my pack.
My mate approaches.
We nuzzle
Lovingly.
It's a night full of beauty
And I want to enjoy it.
My mate and I,
Two alphas
Black and white
Curled up together.
Sleep will come
When it wants to.
But until then,
Breezes will blow,
Hunters will wait,
And the bright, clear-cloudy night,
One in a million,
Will evolve
Into a bright and polished
Day.
"Hey," a voice said gently, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked and saw Serro floating beside me. I hadn't heard him approach.
"Hi," I said,
"What are you doing?" he asked me, moving the equivalent of one step closer.
"Thinking," I replied. "You remember those wolf stories we were told as kids?"
Serro's green eyes shifted thoughtfully. "…Yeah," he said at length.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Well, you should. You're named after the alpha male, aren't you?'
Serro's face cracked in a smile. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I am. I just…" I saw him give a slight squirm. "I just never thought about it much. I just liked the name. You're named after Nikita, right?"
I nodded. "Yes." My eyes drifted up to the moon again. "The moon reminds me of them."
"Mmmm." Serro gazed up at the bi-colour lunar spectacle as well. I savoured the moment, especially when I realised how close he was to me. My right hand, still healing, was almost touching his.
"Thank you," I said, still looking at the moon.
He turned his face to me. "For what?"
I met his gaze. "For everything," I whispered. "For helping me out and, well, just everything."
I wanted to take his hand, but my wildly thumping heart was afraid to. You can imagine my surprise and joy when Serro took my injured hand and held it gently.
"You're welcome," he said quietly.
"Kiss him!" A voice demanded in my head. "Kiss him now! It's perfect…the timing is right…just do it!"
But I didn't. I just smiled.
"I was wondering," Serro said. He faltered, trying to find the words. "I've got some tickets to that Cirque du Soleil show Quidam, and I was wondering…" He took a deep breath. "Would you like to go with me?"
It seemed to me like it was a great effort on his behalf to get those words out, to muster up the courage. I couldn't help but grin. My eyes sparkled.
"Of course! I would love to go with you!"
Serro seemed relieved and happy, his smile showed it. "Okay, great! As soon as we get home we'll go. Sort of like a reward or a break or something from this job, eh?"
"Yeah," I agreed. He still had my hand in his. He was very careful not to hurt it. Suddenly, it felt ten times better then it had before.
A sobering thought entered my mind. "Do you think we should go to Quatermain's funeral?" I asked.
Serro glanced sadly down at the ocean below us. "Yeah, I think that we probably should."
"Skinner and Mina don't have to know we're there," I said. "I just think it would be nice to pay our respects, you know?"
"Yeah." Serro sounded thoughtful. "Do you think Africa really will bring him back to life?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
Serro sighed and looked up at the moon again. I joined him in his gaze. There was a long, quiet moment. I half expected a shooting star to streak the sky, but one never did.
"We should probably go," Serro suggested. It was my turn to sigh.
"Yeah, let's go."
And with that, we faded into the night sky.
AN/ This isn't quite the end. There's still one chapter left, but I'll do my big thank you speech now.
This fic would not have been possible without Tony Curran, who played Rodney Skinner in LXG and Stephen Norrington who directed the film.
Thank you also to my faithful reviewers, Jinxeh, Samyo, ToTaKeKe13, mercypapillon and Kazz. This fic is for all of you. Thanks for the support and encouragement. This fic is dedicated mostly to my new and very, very good friend Cameron. Here's hoping all the best for our future! I also want to give a shout out to KrisianRose, who inspired me way back at the first spirit fic to keep going. I told her I would also dedicate this fic to her, even though she has not contacted me for many months. Oh well.
I also want to thank the ff.n dictionary/thesaurus, which helped improve my vocabulary while writing this fic.