A.N: Somehow in the past twenty-four hours I have managed to contract a cold… lucky me –sarcasm-. So you'll have to forgive me if some aspects of this chapter aren't exactly coherent… it's the bacteria spawning in my body that are talking in those instances… not me.

Shoutouts:

Faust: Aww… thanks for the compliment! I love writing descriptions… but sometimes I just get carried away and they go on for way too long… then I have to cut them short. Which is annoying, but otherwise the chapters would end up being massively long and irrelevant.

I know how you feel about Mina moaning about her ex. I know it's sad but COME ON! She's been alive for years and years! I think she would have gotten over most of her issues with him by now.

He he… lol. Khenematisis is pronounced: Ke-ne-mah-ti-sis. That probably didn't help you at all… but for brevity's sake I'll be shortening it to Khene as a nickname most of the time!

Thanks for the review!

Samyo: Yeah… so… Skinner… he does seem to get left out a bit in the film… I don't know about Griffin in the comics. Hmmm…. The "new member"… all will be revealed in this chapter.

Silent Bob 546: Hmmmm, you want Tom. Well this does make things more difficult for me. I think I'll just go with the flow and see how things end up… always works out best in every aspect of my life!

Lol! Yes… Mina will be with Jekyll! I will allow that much of the plot to slip!

Yeah… school work is a real pain in the proverbial butt. At the moment I have to turn in an essay on Shakespeare's Hamlet, and a whole research project based on the biodiversity of invertebrate life as found in the holdfasts of various kelp. o.O Sounds clever right? That's what I'm hoping the teacher will think too!

Disclaimer: I'm not stealing anything… just borrowing it for a time. –evil laugh-

Chapter Thirteen: Old Friends Never Die... They Simply Fade Away

Skinner twitched his nose in an attempt to stop the tickling feeling that had recently disturbed his slumber. Rolling over onto his side helped, but he soon found that he was again being disturbed by that same sensation… this time in his ear. Imagining it to be a fly he grumbled and swatted at it randomly before letting his hand collapse again on the bed.

"IT'S A GHOST!"

A scream suddenly rent the air next to his head and he sat bolt upright, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes as he stumbled around blindly in the dark room, seeking some refuge from whatever it was that was assailing his ears. All about the room he could hear little thud, thud thudding noises, interspersed with the occasional shout of surprise as two of the shadows he saw running about collided with one another.

Hang on…

Memories of yesterday came flooding back to him, and now that his eyes were adjusting to the faint light that invaded his room from a crack in the shutters, he recognized the ghostly forms before him as children.

Skinner could vaguely make out the shadowy form of Tom across the room, also rubbing madly at his eyes and stumbling over the unfamiliar territory in which he now found himself. Skinner turned to the shutters behind them and threw them open. All at once, all motion ceased: the children stood still, turning to see what had caused the sudden change and Tom fell backwards over his bed, shielding his eyes from the bright light. The invisible thief still had his jacket on, and at the sight of it floating in the air, a little girl in front of him gasped and screamed again.

The door to their room burst open, and there stood Khenematisis. The little ones all ran over to her and shielded themselves behind her skirt screaming out bloody murder. Tom, still groggy from sleep and half-blind from the bright light in the room screwed up his eyes and covered his ears, as if that would block out the horrendous screeching.

"What's on Earth is going on!" Khene lifted her voice above the roar of the children.

"It's a ghost! A ghost" She turned and looked to where several of the children stood pointing and noticed the floating jacket and grease-painted mask. Smiling, she winked at the perplexed thief and bent down to the children.

"It's not a ghost, calm down." At her lack of fear the screams gradually subsided to something like a mewling of kittens, and then to a silence punctuated by the sniffs of one of the more frightened children. "This is Mr. Skinner, who has come to look after me."

"But… but… he has no skin! And he floats like in the stories of the Nile ghosts!"

She sighed… explaining this would be difficult. She decided to take the easy way out of it.

"Mr. Skinner is… special. He has a talent that no one else in the world possesses…" she had lowered her voice to a whisper, and now raised it to a near shout. "HE IS INVISIBLE!" She grabbed the nearest child to her, a young boy, and tickled him till he writhed and wriggled breathlessly in her grasp. At this all of the other children ran about them in circles screaming (much to poor Tom's discomfort), before hearing their call to breakfast and scampering off down the stairs into the courtyard, their previous fears completely dissipated.

Khenematisis watched them and giggled to herself before turning to Skinner.

"I'm sorry," Skinner couldn't help but notice the way in which her cheeks had taken on a rusty glow in her minor exertion with the children. "I would have explained to them earlier but it's hard to keep track of them all."

Tom sat up from his place behind the bed, his blonde hair a disheveled mess about his eyes.

"Are they gone?"

"Yeah, mate." Skinner walked over to his friend and helped him up off the floor. "Apparently they thought I was some kind of other-worldly being… which I admit isn't that far from the truth." He shot Khene a cheeky grin, which she returned.

"Are you all right Agent Sawyer?" She walked over to them now, concerned for her guests' welfare.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." He rubbed at his head where he had knocked it on the wall behind him and checked his hand for blood. "Just a bump." He smiled.

"It takes more than a few possessed children to scare our Tom, doesn't it, mate?" The Agent chuckled and gave Skinner a playful shove while trying to rearrange his clothing which he had slept in that night.

The bell down in the courtyard sounded. "Ah, that will be Sir Burrows again. Miss Harker, Dr. Jekyll and the Captain are already downstairs… won't you join them for breakfast?" Skinner and Tom agreed that yes they would and followed her down to the dining room.

"Er… we won't have to eat with the little scamps will we, love?" Skinner asked cautiously as they walked past the children's quarters, where they were currently jumping about around the tables and flinging food at each other. Khenematisis just laughed and led them around a corner into another dining room, this one presently occupied by a much more sedate League and Jonathan Hart.

The bell sounded again from the courtyard, and Khenematisis rushed off to answer it while Skinner and Tom sat down and began to help themselves to the fare laid out before them.

"Sleep well you two?" Mina looked at both of them with a glimmer in her eye. "We thought you meant to sleep in." Tom coloured slightly and busied himself with buttering his toast, while Skinner set about explaining the morning's events to them.

"Yes, I admit that the children can be quite a handful at times. I hope that neither of you were too badly shocked?" Hart shot the two a questioning glance.

"Oh, no, no, no…" Skinner had neglected to recount Tom's falling about the room, and Tom cut him off before he could begin, shaking his head almost violently to punctuate the words. Mina and Jekyll gave him a strange look, while Skinner smirked behind his tea cup… the story would make for good black-mailing purposes some other time.

Khenematisis returned shortly. "Uncle?" Hart looked up and frowned slightly at the trouble expression on her face. The League politely continued with their business as she held a hushed conversation with him in the corner. Skinner however, always a thief at heart, strained his ears to catch what he could of their dialogue.

"He's sure?"

"Yes… absolutely, I couldn't believe him myself at first… apparently what happened is that aft-"

"Skinner!" The thief seemed to wake, as if from a day dream. "Heh? Oh… sorry…"

"I was wondering if you could pass me the jam?" Jekyll gave him a queer look.

You see Henry, no one ever listens to you… But you know that they'll hear me… Jekyll ignored Hyde in his mind, pushing him to the side… he had been plagued by his alter-egos voice all night…

I know you want her Henry, you forget that I know everything about you.

Shut up Edward. You know nothing.

And what about your family, eh? The one's that you-

Enough Edward!

Ooo… touchy subject I see. Just remember… you're as much to blame for their deaths as I am… you made me. You struck those final blows with me.

I am NOTHING like you Edward…

That was when he had woken up… Nemo had gently shook his shoulder. It all seemed a dream, but the deep gurgling laughter within his mind had made him think otherwise. Much to the good Captain's credit… he hadn't brought up anything that the Doctor may have mumbled in his sleep.

LET ME OUT!

Hyde suddenly screamed from nowhere, his voice echoing off of his creator's skull, first gaining volume and then losing it.

The jam slipped from Jekyll's grasp and clattered onto the table. The spoon slipped off of the saucer on which it had been placed, staining the white tablecloth with a sticky red smear.

The flustered doctor began to apologize profusely while wiping and blotting at the smears with his napkin. Skinner took advantage of the distraction to hone in Khene's conversation with her guardian, but found that they had left the room.

Grumbling, he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and set about helping to clear up Jekyll's little mishap. He didn't have to wait for her to return though… and this time she wasn't alone. She stood by the door, her hands behind her back, with a look on her face that suggested that she didn't know whether she should be mischievously happy or worried. Burrows stood on the opposite side of the door, followed closely by Hart, and cleared his throat.

Most of the League, being occupied with chatting, eating or trying to reassure the doctor that he had caused no permanent damage to the tablecloth, didn't hear his quiet interjection, but they all looked up when they heard a familiar accent.

"Rude buggers…"

Tom's head snapped up at breakneck speed, along with those of the other members.

"What the…?"

"It can't be…" Mina's voice was faint and breathless. She squinted her eyes at the figure that stood slightly silhouetted in the doorway, and gasped out loud when he took a short step out of the brilliant sun and into the shade of the dining room, his rubber-soled boots making a hollow thud on the paved floor.

There before them, stood the familiar figure of their former leader.

Allan Quartermain.

He hadn't changed. His hair was still that familiar snowy white, his eyes the blue of the African sky, milked over slightly with age, his hands ever as sure and steady clasped behind his back in a business like manner. He still wore the safari khakis and riding boots, the beige vest and the wide-brimmed hat to shield his eyes.

Even Nemo's mouth dropped for a fraction of a second before he quickly controlled it. But no one noticed. They were all busy blinking in bewilderment at their fallen comrade… now risen from the grave.

"And good morning to you too." His face retained a familiar scowl as he made his way over to a spare seat, removing his hat as he did so, and set himself down between Mina and Nemo, before serving himself from the various plates scattered about the table.

"You… di… hu… wha…" Tom could barely speak for the sight before his eyes.

"Close your mouth, boy. You look like a great fish sitting there with your jaw flapping about." Finally he allowed himself a slight smirk, although no one returned it.

"Yes Agent Sawyer," Burrows spoke. "We all believed Sir Quatermain to have fallen in Mongolia… but it would seem that there is some greater plan for him yet." No one looked up. They simply stared and stared as Allan chewed. Silence reigned for a time at the formerly chatty table. Then, seemingly from no where a piece of toast flew at his head and rebounded back onto the floor.

"Skinner!" Allan nearly roared the name.

"Christ! He is real!"

"Yes… I very much am. As you so kindly proved to us all just now." As if on reflex the thief grinned cheekily.

"Perhaps now would be an opportune time to explain the situation." Burrows had seated himself in another chair that the serving girl had bustled in with. "Following your departure from Africa, it may strike you as no surprise that news of Sir Quarterma-"

"Call me Allan, man!"

"…Allan's," Burrows corrected himself, "death spread far and wide. Villages all across the southern countries mourned the loss. Allan has affected them all in many ways, as I'm sure you will have heard from various stories." Allan scowled at the mention of his celebrity.

Still a touchy subject then… Skinner made note of the observation.

"You'll remember the time I mentioned when the ancient Voodoo priest blessed me? And Made Africa forbid me to die?" Everyone could recall the moment… they had been in Gray's library. "Africa came true on its promise." He said that as if that was all there was to be said, and indeed, neither Burrows, Hart or Khene further elaborated.

"But… you were stabbed. There was… blood… you're dead!" Tom was still gaping. Skinner nudged him gently as if trying to wake him up. When he didn't receive any response he pinched his waist under the table, at which the agent jumped, nearly knocking over tea cups in the process.

"I thought we'd explained it all?" Allan looked to Burrows.

"This may take some getting used to again." Burrows eyed Tom and the rest of the League. They all looked shaken up. "It is understandable. Perhaps for now, the best thing would be to move on and we can save detailed explanations for later." He threw Allan a questioning glance, which was rewarded with a nod and grunt of appreciation.

"Now that all the League is present, the mission can properly begin. Miss Williams," he turned to her. Along with Hart, she had resumed her seat at the table between Skinner and Jekyll. "Your safe house is ready. You must leave."

She tensed, and Skinner saw her dig her nails into the napkin on her lap. "I'm… not… leaving. Honestly! What does it take to drive that into your heads?" She glanced angrily about the table. She opened her mouth as if to speak but closed it, thinking better of it, and rose from her seat, mumbling angrily to herself as she strode purposefully out of the room.

"Well… that went well." Skinner was the first to speak. He glanced about with a little smile on his lips, but no one seemed to care. Most of the League were looking pretty preoccupied with their meals, only Tom was shooting the occasional glance in Allan's direction , and Burrows and Hart frowned at each other.

"We have to get her out of the house, gentlemen… you all understand that?" Everyone nodded in silent agreement. "I intend to have her leave this city if it means that we must physically carry her. She's a liability here."

"Let me speak with her." Allan stood, wiping his mouth with his napkin. The rest of the League watched him go, still looking bewildered, before Tom stood and followed him. Slowly, the rest followed his example, making their excuses as they left the table. Burrows and Hart were silent for a moment.

"You know that she won't go easily." Hart mumbled the words grudgingly. "You may yet have to drug her somehow." He scoffed at the thought.

Burrows didn't return the joke. Instead he sat and scowled into his cup of tea, swirling the leaves slowly in the bottom, hoping that, through some miracle, the League may yet succeed where all others had failed with Khene.

A.N: Whoo! Okay… sorry this is a late update, especially since I'd been doing it on an everyday basis there for a while. But my cold and school work got the better of me and I had to take a little breather. I haven't even proof-read it yet either… forgive any little typo-s or mistakes.

I promised there would be more action in this chapter… but it would go on WAY too long if I tried to put that in here. Look for it in the next chappie.

Sorry about the re-introduction of Quatermain… it kind of sucked… but it's late and I'm tired. So bleh. I'll probably rewrite it sometime. And Jekyll's random moments of thought in the middle of the chapter… I just thought that he needed a bit of angst seeing as he's been neglected lately in this fic. –strokes Jekyll plushie-

You know the dealio babes and dudes! R&R!