A/N another chapter...hope you all enjoy!
Immediately she too started firing at the masked minions but she wasn't the best shot so it didn't do too much good. All of a sudden, the ladder that went around the entire library swung and knocked back several the Fantom's men. Adeline narrowly dodged a few bullets by hiding behind one of the massive shelves. Every few seconds she stepped around the shelf and fire at the men above her. However, when she turned back one of the men appeared and grabbed at her. She managed to avoid his grab and delivered a crescent kick to his jaw, just as Lau Xing had taught her.
Adeline glanced up to see the blonde man throw one of the men over the railing but he didn't notice another one heading toward him as he fought yet another minion. Without hesitation she reached into her boot and grasped the small knife inside and threw it up at the man with as much precision and power she could muster. The knife imbedded itself in the man's back behind his heart and he fell to his knees behind the blonde man. Due to the sudden commotion the blonde turned around and punched the man on his knees. He then looked down and locked eyes with Adeline. She grinned and saluted him before quickly reloading her guns but thought better of it and jumped into the fray in the center of the room.
Using the butt of one of her guns she knocked out one of the men with his gun trained on Nemo before engaging in hand-to-hand with another masked minion. This one also fell quickly when she managed break his arm before kneeing him in his face. As she straightened she felt someone's arms grab around her and used her head to smash their nose. She then jutted out her body and kicked the side of the man's head.
Yet another masked man ran toward her with either a short sword or a large knife, Adeline wasn't sure, but she ducked and twisted the man's arm, forcing him to drop the weapon before bending the man backwards onto her knee and punching his face.
"Hang on," she heard a familiar voice say and looked up to see a floating book smack around one of the Fantom's men. Skinner. Adeline stifled a giggle as she weaved and dodged more blows from the remaining men. She lost count how many men she saw go down and how many got up again only to be knocked down once more. Nemo and Gray were both using weapons whilst she used anything and everything within reach. One of the larger men managed to gain the upper hand and had her pinned on the ground but was suddenly hit with a candle holder. "Alright, Addie?" Skinner asked as Adeline got to her feet.
"Thanks, but we're still not square," she told him as she moved to fight more men.
Adeline rolled to avoid a man's grab but before she got the chance to fight him he was knocked down. "Come on, Addie, you ever gonna forgive me?" Skinner inquired.
The young woman rolled her eyes, "I'll think about it."
Without warning more shots were fired and Adeline looked over to see one of the men unloading his pistol at Gray. "Dorian!" Mina screamed from somewhere.
Gray, however, simply shoved the man's gun out of the way and stabbed the man with his sword. Adeline's eyes widened but she did not get the chance to marvel before she received a nice shiner in the face. In retaliation she kicked the man's legs out from under him and punched his lights out.
The fight died down and everyone relaxed. Skinner re-dressed himself, re-applied his make-up, and retrieved his hat. "I thought I was special. You're invulnerable to harm," he gestured to Gray.
"I don't like to boast," Gray said returned downstairs with a fresh change of gray clothes. "What happened to Mina?"
"Oh, she's probably hip-deep in some sort of trouble," Quartermain replied.
Mina then appeared and picked her hat up off the floor, "Don't be such an alarmist, Mr. Q. And my hips are none of your business."
Suddenly, one of the men they'd apparently missed grabbed Mina and held a knife to her throat. Instantaneously everyone drew their weapons, including Adeline with the guns hidden in her sleeves, even the blonde man from earlier returned and pointed his gun at the man holding Mina. "Shoot! Go on!" the man teased. Seeing they'd only hurt Mina, they all dropped their weapons. "I guess as much. That they'd do anything to protect you. Tried to get the little one earlier but you're better." Adeline noticed the man had a red imprint of her of her boot on the side of his face. Must've not kicked him hard enough.
"See that's your biggest mistake," Mina whispered almost inaudibly as her eyes began to turn red. "Thinking that I need them to protect me." Mina twisted out his arms, grabbed his face, and bit into his throat. The man screamed as he went down. Mina growled loudly and continued to bite the man. Eventually Mina straightened and began to fix her hair.
"Extraordinary," Nemo stated just as shocked as the rest of them.
"Here, Mina," Adeline said tossing the woman a handkerchief as Mina wiped the blood off her face.
"Boy," the blonde man said speaking for the first time. "They told me European women had funny ways. You missed a spot," he told Mina. Seeing him up close, Adeline noticed that he was quite young, probably only three years her senior, and he was very handsome.
Mina looked over at the new arrival, "And you are?"
"Special Agent Sawyer of the American Secret Service," the blonde man proclaimed.
Quartermain stepped toward the young man, "Then America is aware of the situation."
"Well, war starts in Europe, how long is it gonna take until it crosses the Atlantic? I followed you. I knocked out a straggler and I took his place," Sawyer explained.
"I thought you looked a bit out of place," Adeline responded with a small smirk. Sawyer gave her a small grin.
"Very noble," Gray said eyeing Sawyer. "But this is a private party and you're not invited."
"Actually, Dorian has declined. So we are one shy of a full deck," Mina corrected.
"On the contrary, the battle was just the spur I needed. That and the thrill of a friendship renewed," Gray argued causing Adeline to roll her eyes. "So you're not needed."
Quartermain, ever the leader, stepped up to Sawyer and inspected his pistol. "Winchester," the old man observed.
Sawyer nodded, "That's right, it's modified. American-style."
"American-style shooting too."
The blonde chuckled, "Well, whatever it takes." Quartermain handed the pistol back to Sawyer. "If you like it, I brought two."
There was a beat of silence. "You're in," Quartermain declared.
"And I believe our transportation will be waiting for us on the docks," Nemo declared. Everyone followed Gray out the back door to the docks.
Adeline felt a tap on her shoulder, it was Sawyer. The young man held out the knife she'd used to earlier. "I believe this is yours."
She accepted it with a small smile, "Thanks."
"Actually, I owe you my thanks for saving my life," Sawyer corrected.
Adeline shrugged, "Like I said earlier, you looked out of place."
The American smiled at the Brit, "I didn't catch your name."
"Adeline. Adeline Fogg." The two shook hands and Adeline could've sworn she felt an odd heat flow through her.
"Keep up, you two," someone yelled jerking the two back to reality and they took off to catch up with the others.
"So, what's the next port of call?" Gray inquired as they reached walked down the wooden steps toward the dock.
"Paris. Just one last member to recruit," Nemo answered.
"Capture is more the word," Quartermain amended. "And it will be quite the hunt."
They reached the bottom of the stairs. "You make him sound like some kind of animal," Mina remarked.
Quartermain glanced at her, "Oh, and speaking thus, Mrs. Harker, your conduct a moment ago?"
"Indeed," Skinner agreed stepping closer to Mina. "We were all aquiver with curiosity."
Mina turned away from him and the others to avoid their eyes. "Well, my husband was Jonathon Harker. Together, with a professor named Van Helsing, we fought a dangerous evil. It had a name: Dracula. He was Transylvanian."
"Mmm, European? One of those radicals the newspapers love to report on?" Skinner questioned jeeringly.
Mina turned to him, her green eyes ablaze and her jaw set. "I don't know, Mr. Skinner." She pulled down her collar slightly to reveal to imprints in her neck. "Is the vampiric sucking of people's blood radical behavior?" Skinner didn't answer.
"Aah," Nemo suddenly said as he approached the edge of the dock. "Our transportation is forthcoming."
"A boat?" Sawyer questioned. Something told Adeline whatever was taking them to Paris wasn't that simple.
They all joined Nemo at the dock's edge to see water bubbling. "It travels on water, if that's what you mean," Nemo told them. Suddenly, probably the most massive ship Adeline had ever seen rose from the oceans depths. It looked to be completely metal but somehow manipulated the laws of science to be so large and yet travel on water. "And beneath it," Nemo added as he turned to see their awed expressions.
"Whoa," both Sawyer and Adeline breathed.
Nemo smiled proudly, "Behold, Nautilus, the Sword of the Ocean. Next stop, Paris." The seven of them boarded the ship quickly, wanting to see what the inside looked like.
"Nemo," Adeline called to the captain. "At some point during our voyage, I would very much like to see how this ship works."
He gave her a small but wary smile, "I'd be honored. Come, Ishmael will show you to your rooms."