Heading back to Nemo's quarters was done in silence. There seemed to be a lot going around that day, the Captain's injury stinging despite the numbing. Even then, neither honestly felt in the mood for talking, at least until they got to the bottom of this mystery and dealt with it accordingly.
None of it added up, and it seemed when one conclusion was in reach, it snatched itself away just as quickly as it came.
If this turned out to be all someone's idea of a prank...they would swiftly find out that Nemo enjoyed a joke himself when the perpetrator was cleaning every crevice of the ship using only their hands and some rags.
But a prankster would not have hurt themselves or slashed Nemo across the face for the sake of a 'joke' certainly? Or had that been an unintentional side effect? Even the most idiotic prankster would have ended the gag and apologized if someone ended up hurt.
That also did not expla-
"Good God!" A horrified exclamation from Jekyll drove Nemo out of his thoughts and put him on alert, preparing for an attack.
The Captain's eyes widened as he saw his room, which had been almost completely destroyed as if a tornado had gone through it. Several native curses almost found themselves on the verge of being rained on his companion's ears as both men surveyed the damage.
Paintings were thrown unceremoniously to the floor, Nemo wincing as he saw where some had shoe marks on both the frames and pictures themselves.
Thankfully, none looked too severely damaged, or worse, had holes kicked in them, inks of every available color splattered the rugs and wall, even his bed had a large slash in the mattress, and the sheets also had been drenched in ink and what appeared to be alcohol if the smell and open liquor cabinet was anything to go by.
When he found out who did this, he was going to make them clean up this mess, then kill them, or let have them for his sport, depending on how his mood was afterward, but he highly doubted it would improve in the culprits favor with time.
Someone was on the ship, trying to play mind games with him, first by disguising themselves as Nemo's friend, then destroying the Captain's quarters.
Was this a foolish attempt to make him feel like he was going mad?
All it was doing was making him angry, an emotion Nemo knew very well and tried not to embrace too often as it had led to many problems in his past, and the Indian wanted to push it down to avoid making a spectacle of himself in front of Jekyll, who might fear the Captain's wrath would be taken out on him due to his proximity.
But it coiled in Nemo's chest like a snake, wanting to get out, to strike, take revenge for being stepped on like a worm, having its nest disturbed. But that is not what made his blood boil the most; artifacts, well certainly expensive and lovely to look upon, could be replaced quickly enough with a skilled eye and tongue for business.
His allies were far less expendable, and the idea of them being in the same state as the room made an unwelcome chill go down the Captain's spine.
How long till they choose to move on to his friends? Nemo was not foolish enough to think he would be the sole target; once whoever did this realized their current attempts wouldn't shake him, they would move on to WHO they knew WOULD get to him.
Nemo's crew and the League were in just as much danger as he was, if not more, was there even a motivation for this? Perhaps some random person who had been under Moriarty's employ who, like him, only cared for destruction and a shallow sense of worth and power was the culprit.
They would pay dearly for that fairy tale mindset if so much as a hair was put out of place on any of his crew or friends...no, don't think about revenge yet, keep calm and look at the evidence left behind; this level of destruction would have left clues, from the person involved perhaps hurting themselves on broken artifacts or getting ink on their shoes after making the room into an abstract art piece.
"Suppose you should stay with me until your room is...cleaned up again," Henry suggested, noting the many weapons that decorated the walls had also been taken down, and some appeared to be missing. "I'm sure I could make a proper space for you to be comfo-"
"I appreciate your generous offer, but I highly doubt you or anyone else in the league would like having me and my odd schedules underfoot till things are put to order here," Nemo said before offering a rare smile, hoping the action would force more positive thoughts to the surface and assure his friend "I can stay in a spare room or even make due on the observation seats in the library."
The observation seats were akin to a sofa without any armrests and were a rather cozy option for a bed. Nemo had caught more than once where one of the League or an off-duty crew member had fallen asleep on it well reading or watching the goings about outside from the viewing window.
Or one of the spare rooms closer to the scene of the doppelganger incident, a chance for a slip up from their unwanted guest upon Nemo's beloved ship.
Or unwanted guests, Nemo thought sourly, one destroying his room well another pretended to be Doctor Jekyll.
The Captain could not recall seeing any new faces around. Still, on a vessel as glorious as the Nautilus, it would not be too difficult to find a good spot to keep yourself out of view if you so wished it and maintained in the company of crew who would not know better, even without the advantage Skinner had when he was forced to hide out after being accused of treachery.
The room would need to be looked over thoroughly for anything that could have been planted or taken, and he hoped whoever had invaded his personal space did not see fit to place another bomb on his ship.
So many questions with no answers were wearing heavily on the Captain's nerves as he picked up items to take to the library with him. A few drawers appeared untouched, But, unfortunately, he might be forced to ask to borrow a few of his friend's things if clothing and other personal items also proved damaged beyond repair.
"I found blood," Henry informed as he held up the seashell that Nemo had been examining earlier; it indeed, had blood running down the pointed end of the exoskeleton, the one who ransacked his room must have ran into it and cut his foot or even their leg.
Perfect
So look for a man who was walking with a limp, possible ink on their shoes, and a face that was not familiar.
A pretty fair list, all things considered, and it made things a lot easier on everyone to find the culprit before they could cause any more harm.
"Is it dried?" Nemo asked, knowing Jekyll might be able to tell him how much of a head start they had on the state of the blood.
"Not dried fully yet, I could not give you an accurate time, I'm afraid; I am not Sherlock Holmes," Henry said, part of him wishing they did have a way to contact said man. The famous detective could make quick work of this scene.
But not even his brother, who they worked for, mind you, could keep track of him very well despite all his resources most of the time, the chase proving to be a bit of a game for the younger Holmes sibling, but a mind spinner like this day had been so far would have been right up the detective's alley.
"That's alright. It does offer useful information that it's recent enough; I would say about twenty minutes have passed in total since it did not take me long to find you after the incident with your look-alike and your quick work with the stitches," Nemo said, nose wrinkling a bit as he continued to look over his ruined quarters, someone made this mess in under twenty minutes, the Captain might have been impressed if he was not so irritated.
It seemed they also took a few weapons that would need to be addressed when they told the rest of the League. Everyone would need to be on high alert and lock their doors when they slept and perhaps even in moments when alone in a room...
Perhaps he should take up his friend's offer of sharing a room, even insist upon everyone bunking with someone else till the intruder was caught and dealt with, even a few people in the same room, not a comfortable idea, but perhaps nessasary, Mina was more than capable of defending herself as a vampiress, so protecting the few female crew members would be an easy task for her.
Sawyer and Skinner made an easy enough match for rooming arrangements, and Quatermain would object to sharing, but it was for the best, and he could handle the American and invisible man for a few days; Nemo knew the man's weakness for whiskey and the Captain was not above bribery when the situation called for it.
And Allen Quartermain proved a most humorous drunk, but entertainment would have to wait for later, to business first.
Nemo knew he and Jekyll both kept odd hours and moments of inspiration that caused the frantic search for pens and parchment. That might prove more amusing than annoying for a little while.
The Indian was not bothered by chemical smells or the one-sided arguments his friend and their other half got up to at random; Although Jekyll might disapprove of some of the Captain's quirks, he would most likely not say anything unless it was allowed to reach boiling point.
Nemo hoped it would not come to that, hoping they both could keep some semblance of order and control despite being in each other's space.
Having Ishmael as a third roommate would help keep an eye on things if someone got restless with the other, Nemo often wondered why the man had not gone to more diplomatic pursuits, but stopping a childish argument and dealing with the catacombs of sewage that was politics were very different levels of madness.
Though the mental image of a bunch of stuffy men who thought the sun rose and set at their whim scattering like startled pigeons at a harpoon-wielding Ishmael was a fantasy too sweet for his mind to ignore.
"Shall we head to inform the others then?" Jekyll spoke up, although quietly, seeing the sudden twinkle in his friend's eye, ideas for how he was going to deal with the fool who had dared cross him no doubt was left in the doctor's mind about that, but it gave him the courage to speak up "Or would you like to see what you can salvage and bring to my quarters?"
"let's inform the league now before this becomes more out of hand." Nemo confirmed.
League assemble...again.
