Everyone began packing up to leave. Adeline quickly set to work packing her original coat, with all its hidden pockets and mechanical contraptions, with every weapon she brought with her. She grabbed her handy multipurpose utility knife, with several other features. She was just about done when she noticed Sawyer strapping on extra gun rounds and approached him.
"Tom, what was that back there?" she demanded as Nemo's men began to file out.
He glanced up at her as he attempted, and failed, to strap on the extra rounds. "What?"
She rolled her eyes and helped him fasten the straps, "Ordering Skinner to get me out after he places the explosives, you know I can take care of myself."
He met her brown eyes, "I know you can but I just want you to be safe."
"I want all of us safe, but considering what we're doing we're not all going come to out of this uninjured," Adeline reasoned.
The blonde shook his head, "That's not what I meant."
Her eyebrows burrowed in confusion, "Then what did you mean?"
"It's just that I, that you, and this whole…"
"Just spit it out, Tom!"
He seemed to consider something for a moment before cradling her neck gently and pulling her lips to his. Adeline froze for a moment in surprise before responding to him. He gently tilted her head back for easier access as their lips moved in synchronization. Slowly, they parted and opened their eyes.
"Oh," Adeline breathed causing Sawyer to chuckle lightly.
"Yeah, I need you to be safe, Addie. Okay?"
She nodded, "Alright, I'll try. Just…you be careful as well." Sawyer nodded and turned to walk out. "Tom!" The American turned back and Adeline grabbed him, capturing his lips with hers. "Just one more, for luck!"
He grinned and kissed her forehead before walking out of the cave. "About bloody time," a voice teased from beside her. Adeline jumped a bit, but relaxed when she realized no one was there, meaning Skinner was standing beside her.
She chuckled and blushed a bit, "Oh, shove off, you've got a job to do."
"Of course, wouldn't want Sawyer to kill me off for not coming to the rescue of his girl," Skinner taunted.
Adeline rolled her eyes and punched him, in the arm she supposed, "Go!"
She followed after the other members of the League as Skinner and Hyde got them all inside. Adeline and Sawyer shared a look before she headed upstairs to the factory and he followed after Quartermain.
Surprisingly the factory floor was easier to find than half the rooms on Nemo's ship. Adeline snuck along, hiding behind walls and columns to avoid being seen. She quickly found the first machine's weak point and loosened the valves that allowed it to work. She then continued the process with the next dozen or so machine's creating various weapons. She then slipped over to the completed weapons, namely M's tanks and rockets. The rockets were easy enough to disable once she rewired them but the tanks needed a bit more persuasion. Eventually she decided to place a few explosives in each that were set to go off a bit after Skinner's bombs.
She climbed into the third tank but was surprised to find it not entirely empty. One of M's hired men turned around and raised his gun at her. The Brit froze in fear. "Who are you? How did you get in here?" the man demanded.
Instinct and a rush of adrenaline washed over her and, without forethought or calculation, she pressed the buttons inside her coat sleeves, producing her two small guns and quickly shot the man in the chest. He gasped and fell back against the tank's wheel, dead. She let out a small sigh of relief and placed her explosives.
Without any further interruption, she placed the rest of the explosives in the tanks and worked her way up to the control room. She paused outside the door and readied herself, hopefully they weren't armed. She drew out her multipurpose knife and used it to pick the lock. She ran in, grabbing the first man that ran at her and breaking his arm before elbowing him in the face and then taking her knife and throwing it into the neck of one of the other men. She then returned to the man she had elbowed and kicked him onto the ground before turning see a third man running at her. She quickly dodged his punch, kicked him back into a chair and banged his head into the file drawers, effectively knocking him unconscious.
She shrugged, "Well, that was easier than I thought." The brunette then began rifling through the file drawers, taking out the important ones: M's weapons, all of the files on the League, and the list of countries interested in partnering with M. She stuffed the files inside her coat pockets and turned around to leave the control room. She was on her way to meet up with Hyde and Nemo and help get the scientists when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and a knife was pressed to her throat. Adeline's breathing picked up as fear seized her.
"Now that is no way to treat a lady," a familiar voice said from behind her. The grip on her throat slackened as the man fell to the ground. Adeline turned around to see only an empty hallway. She grinned, "Thanks, Skinner. Now we're square."
"About time!" he replied. "Now, let's see where Sawyer and Quartermain are at with M, shall we?" Skinner took her hand and the two ran up the stairs. When they reached the next level they found a room on fire. Adeline felt Skinner's hand leave hers as he charged into the room.
"Skinner!"
"Stay there!" his voice ordered. She waited a moment and heard more yelling. "Sawyer! Run for it!"
"Tom!" she gasped and ran inside the burning room.
Shelves full of books were ablaze and Adeline was forced to shield her eyes from the flames as she maneuvered around the room. She arrived just in time to see Skinner on fire running across the room and watch Sawyer use some sort of mace to strike down one of M's metal armed men with a flame thrower, hence the fire.
"Tom!" she screamed as she ran to him. His strong arms wrapped around her immediately. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" he questioned in her ear before drawing back to look her up and down for injury.
She smiled a bit, "Perfectly uninjured." She glanced around for a moment, "Where's Skinner?"
Sawyer looked over at what looked like a man but the only visible part of him were his burns. "Skinner?" Sawyer wondered as the two went over to him.
"That's the last time I play with matches," Skinner announced.
Suddenly, a knife appeared at Sawyer's throat as did an invisible man covered in ink stains, so he was slightly visible. Adeline's eyes widened as she reached for the button in her coat. The ink man's head turned toward her. "Make one move and he dies." Adeline met Sawyer's brown eyes and he gave just a small smile to assure her he'd be all right. The ink man pulled Sawyer out of the now smoldering room.
Adeline turned back to Skinner, "You doing alright?"
"I'll live," he replied.
"I'm sure Nemo will have something for burns on the Nautilus," she assured him.
"Addie would you stop wasting your time with me and go after your American," Skinner begged.
Adeline grinned ever so slightly and kissed Skinner's forehead, "I'll be back soon." With that she raced out of the room and down the hall checking every room for Sawyer and the ink man.
A few minutes into her search the whole building shook as Skinner's bombs went off. Adeline was knocked off her feet momentarily but she managed to stand up again and continued hunting for Sawyer. Her search took her up to the tallest tower in the nearby area to find both Sawyer and Quartermain, the younger aiming a gun out the window, most likely at M.
"It's too far," Sawyer claimed as Adeline entered the room.
"Take your time," Quartermain reminded him. "You're ready. Take your time." Nerves coiled in Adeline's stomach as she waited in anticipation for Sawyer to take the shot. She knew in her heart he could do it. Bang!
"I got him!" Sawyer cried excitedly as he turned around and froze. The smile slipped off of Adeline's face as she realized Quartermain had sunk down onto the floor.
Quartermain nodded slowly, "May this new century, be yours son. As this old one… was mine." The old hunter took one last breath and he was gone.
Adeline covered her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks. She watched as Sawyer approached Quartermain's body and knelt down on the floor. She couldn't describe the pain on his face. Slowly she joined him and closed Quartermain's eyes. Suddenly, Sawyer grabbed her hand. Adeline jumped but stilled when Sawyer held onto her hand.
A little while later the other League members showed up and were surprised to see Quartermain dead. "We should burry him in Africa," Skinner suggested leaning on Jekyll for support. "I think the old boy would've liked that."
Sawyer nodded, "Let's get out of here."
Back on the Nautilus everyone mourned for Quartermain. They had beaten M but they had lost a friend. Adeline wandered up to the top deck one morning on their voyage back to Africa. The young Brit was surprised to see her blonde American looking out over the horizon. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked causing Sawyer to jump and turn to look at her. "That's an American saying isn't it?"
He smiled just a bit, "Something like that. You okay?"
"Me? Are you sure I'm the one you should ask that?" Adeline continued as she approached him and leaned on the railing. Sawyer's face fell a bit and she cleared her throat awkwardly. "So, what are your plans, you know after?"
The blonde shrugged, "I don't know, guess it depends on where I'm needed. Maybe I'll take some time off and go home for a while."
Adeline nodded, "Well, maybe before you return to America, would you like to actually see London? Without having to follow us."
Sawyer studied her for a moment, "Would I get to meet your uncle?"
"If you want to."
The corners of his mouth twitched, "Okay, on one condition, you come back to the states with me and I get to show you where I come from too."
Adeline smiled broadly, "Deal."
A few days later they arrived in Africa and laid Quartermain to rest. A few of the locals showed up as well. "You remember he swore Africa wouldn't let him die, wish the old boy had been right," Skinner announced as they stood around the gravesite.
"What's next?" Jekyll wondered.
"I've long hidden away from the world," Nemo stated, "now I wish to see it anew as the century turns. You're all welcome to join me."
"We've all been hiding in one form or another," Mina pointed out quietly.
"The Nautilus awaits," Nemo reminded them before bowing in respect to Quartermain's grave.
Adeline and Sawyer exchanged a look. "We'll rendezvous with you later, Sawyer and I are going to have our own adventure first," Adeline told the others. All of the nodded in understanding and one-by-one said their goodbyes to Quartermain and followed Nemo back to the Nautilus.
Sawyer cocked the gun in his hands and crouched down to gently set it down on top of the grave, "Thanks." He then straightened and took Adeline's outstretched hand and the two of them started off on their own through the tall grass of Africa's plains.
The End