Author's note: Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but here is the next chapter. I'm sorry if it's short, but I didn't want to have to cut the whole larger chapter in half again------ there is probably one chapter left to this story, so I hope all have enjoyed Jazlyn and V's adventure.
Chapter 21
'End Game'
" I've never been here before." Jazlyn said as she gripped V's hand tightly.
" This is the deepest part of the Shadow Gallery." V replied as he pushed a button and a secret passage opened in a heavy stone wall. Leading her through a narrow series of passages, then through another door, they both stepped out into an underground subway station, where a beautiful antique train car was parked beside the concrete platform.
" V, it's beautiful........where did you find it?" Jazlyn asked in awe.
" When I began to clear the track." He answered, " Once I had the line clear, I brought it back here."
Jazlyn stepped into the car and found it filled with small packages of fertilizer and other unmarked containers. " What are these?" She asked picking one up.
" Careful love." He took it gently from her hands and placed it back with the others. " It's gelignite."
" Oh my god......" Jazlyn mumbled softly, looking around her.
" I told you. I am going to finish what was started four hundred years ago." The mask tilted toward her.
" You're going to blow Parliament up." She looked at him.
V nodded slowly. " Yes." The answer was no more than a whisper.
" You're really going to do it." Jazlyn spoke softly, tears welling in her eyes.
His head dropped slowly.
" I can't watch you die, V. There has to be another way."
" There is none." He answered softly, regretfully.
" I will find one." Jazlyn snapped back, determination in her voice. " I didn't save your ass just to watch you take a one way trip to hell in a hand basket!"
V's head snapped up, his eyes wide under the mask. Jazlyn had never spoken to him in that manner or tone of voice before, and it sent his head reeling.
" I won't let you go------not again." With that, she turned and walked away from him.
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Peter Creedy sat patiently in the shadows waiting for V. His end of the bargain had been kept------his men were ready to move, all he needed was the place and time.
" Mr. Creedy....." The voice came from the darkness.
" Show yourself." Creedy ordered, searching the shadows, finally catching the mask as the dim light reflected off it.
" Have the preparations been made?" V asked as he moved toward Creedy, his knives at the ready.
" All they need is my signal." Creedy replied as V watched him.
" Victoria Station, 10pm tomorrow night." V whispered, " Give me Sutler, and you may do whatever you wish with me."
Creedy chuckled, " I most certainly will enjoy killing you."
" You may try, Mr. Creedy, " V smiled under the mask, " you may try." He was gone into the shadows as quickly as he had came.
" Bollocks!" Creedy exclaimed, " Bloody bastard!" He picked up a nearby plant pot and slung it across the greenhouse. " We'll see....."
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Jazlyn sat at the foot of her bed, turning the necklace over in her fingers. The black onyx stone glistened in the lamp light. Closing her fingers around the stone, she began to picture Shadow in her mind, and concentrated on her friend. In a matter of seconds, the space in front of her began to shift, and soon, the large panther appeared at the foot of her bed, standing.
" Mistress, it is good to see you again."" Shadow/Cassandra's purr-like voice filled the bedroom.
" My Shadow, how I have missed you." Jazlyn hugged the animal's neck.
" I also, Mistress Jazlyn." She answered.
" I need your help Shadow-------your's, mother's and grandmother's." Jazlyn spoke quietly, " Laslo has returned. I can feel him."
" How can I be of assistance?" Shadow asked , her green eyes shinning.
" I need to stop Laslo so V can continue his plan....." Jazlyn said, " but, I can't do this alone. He has a demon legion with him."
" A legion?" Shadow repeated, then tilted her head toward Jazlyn. " Whose?"
" According to what I have sensed, " she began, " a powerful demon, one I heard him address as Amduscias (1)."
" How do you know this?" Shadow questioned.
Jazlyn paced the floor, then looked at her guardian. " I never lost my abilities, Shadow. I kept them."
Shadow morphed into her human shape immediately upon hearing Jazlyn's statement. " The God and Goddess have truly blessed you. You have their protection, Mistress." Cassandra took Jazlyn's hands in hers. " I will contact your mother. She and your grandmother will know all that you have told me."
" Thank you, Cassandra. " Jazlyn hugged her tightly, " Please don't take long----I fear that we may be running out of time."
" I won't mistress." Cassandra replied as she began fading from view.
" Jazlyn.....?" V's voice came from the doorway. " Whom were you speaking with?"
Jazlyn found him standing in the doorway, his dark figure silhouetted by the dim light of the hallway. He took a step toward her.
" To Cassandra." She answered, " I was speaking with Cassandra."
" Oh?" V puffed beneath the mask.
" I summoned her-----"
" Is there something wrong?" He asked, sitting beside her on the bed.
Jazlyn studied the man holding her hand so gently. She couldn't lie to him-----he was too good at reading her. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. " Laslo is here."
V tilted his head to the left, looking at her. " Laslo was murdered by Creedy." He responded, matter-of-factly, rising from the bed.
Jazlyn shook her head. " He may have been....." pausing, she reached for him, " but, he is alive and he is here."
V held her in his embrace, the top of her head resting beneath the mask's chin." How do you know?"
" I can sense him. " She pulled away, so she could look into the mask's eyes. " I never lost my powers when I came back"
V watched as she moved around the bedroom, her fingers gently touching objects. " I thought they had been taken from you?"
" So had I." She turned to him. " But, I was wrong-------for some reason only known by the God and Goddess, I never lost them."
" Why didn't you tell me?"
" I.....I didn't think it would matter." she answered as the faint strains of music softly drifted into the bedroom. " V?" She looked at him, puzzled.
His gloved hand moved to the mask's lips------a signal to be silent as he moved into the hallway, Jazlyn following.
A figure stood by the Wurlitzer, it's back to them. Slowly, V reached behind the large DaVinci painting silently, withdrawing two knives. " Identify yourself, or you will die where you stand." His voice broke above the music as the figure's hands dropped slowly away. Turning, those two same feminine hands reached up and lowered the hood of the blue cape.
" Mother?" Jazlyn mouthed the word quietly before throwing herself into the waiting arms of Morgan Summers.
" Jazlyn......my child. How have I missed you." Morgan breathed holding her tightly. Looking up, she spotted V standing in the gallery archway, knives in both hands. " And this must be V." She smiled in his direction.
He bowed to her, " My apologies, madame." He smiled under the mask. There was no doubt now of where Jazlyn got her exotic looks, she was a younger version of the beauty standing before him. He watched as mother and daughter came to him.
" I understand now why my daughter fought so hard to return to you, my son." Morgan reached over and gave a soft kiss to the porcelain cheek.
V felt his face flush as he laid the knives down on a nearby table.
" Now, " Morgan paused, " Cassandra said that Laslo has returned?"
" I have sensed him, Mother." Jazlyn's voice grew quiet, " and he's not alone."
" How do you know this child? Your powers were lost upon return to the living world." Morgan questioned.
Jazlyn fidgeted with her hands, looking at Morgan. " I never lost them, Mother. I don't know why, but I still have all my abilities."
Morgan studied her daughter. " You have truly been blessed then, my love. The God and Goddess have deemed you special." She threw the cape over her shoulders. " And Andrik Laslo never succeeded in doing anything on his own, " Morgan replied disgustedly, " As usual, he probably has asked his dark lord for help."
V listened quietly to what was being said. 'Dark lord?' he repeated to himself softly.
" I will find out as much as I can, Jazlyn". Morgan smiled at her daughter, " but take care, Laslo still covets you as a prize, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants."
Jazlyn nodded, as V took her hand in his." I have nothing to fear." Her arm wrapped around his, gently.
Morgan smiled, " No, I do not think you do." She touched her cheek softly. " I will contact you as soon as possible. Blessed be."
V stood silently beside Jazlyn as Morgan's form quietly dissipated from the gallery.
" V, I couldn't let you do all this yourself. You can't afford to be distracted." Jazlyn tried to explain to him, " Mother and I will take care of Laslo."
He took her by the shoulders, the pressure from his hands causing her pain. " No."
" V......"
" No, Jazlyn." His voice was low, and ominous, but yet he felt panic begin to engulf his body. " You died the last time you tried to stop him." V realized he must have been hurting her, because of the look on her face, and began running his hands over her arms gently. " I will not loose you again."
Jazlyn stared at him. " You don't have much of a choice." She reached up and removed the mask, touching his face gently. Let me take care of this on my own,.......please?"
V's eyes locked with hers, and he pressed a gloved hand to her cheek. Doubts began to slowly seep into his mind. Should he forget everything, and return to the Gallery with Jazlyn—-----just give up and enjoy the life he never thought he could have? Should he simply walk away from the revenge he had planned over the last twenty years, and England's freedom from Norsefire?
" Once I have disposed of Sutler and Creedy, I will return to you. Together, we will rid London of Andrik Laslo together." He took the mask from her hand gently, then turned and walked away.
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Evey Hammond moved quickly down the deserted sidewalk toward the tunnel entrance that led to the Shadow Gallery. It was November 4th, and she was returning, keeping a promise made to a masked man who had saved her life. By all rights, she should have returned sometime ago-----but how could she return to a man she had so deeply fallen in love with, but yet, loved someone else? If she was smart, her mind told her, she would turn around and head back the way she had came from------but something drove her onward to the tunnel entrance as a cold numbness spread across her body. She looked around before disappearing into the boarded up station entrance.
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V sat at the mirror in his makeup room, brushing a few unruly strands of hair into place. He looked up quickly when he heard the security system go off, alerting to a nearby presence. He grabbed a knife from his belt as he rose heading for the main room.
" V, what's going on?" Jazlyn asked hurrying to his side .
" It seems we have an uninvited guest." He replied moving toward the gallery entrance, Jazlyn behind him. " Stay behind the archway." He ordered , and she moved quickly toward the kitchen. V stood poised to strike as the door began to swing open, the knife balanced perfectly in his gloved hand. Slowly a figure appeared, and V let go of the breath he had been holding, lowering the knife to his side.
" Am I interrupting something?" Evey asked as she watched Jazlyn peer from around the kitchen archway.
" Evey." V smiled under the mask as he approached her.
" Hello V, ….....Jazlyn." Evey said as he stopped before her, laying the knife on the piano top.
" I-I didn't think you would come." He spoke softly as a fisted glove rose slowly to his chest.
Evey looked at the mask. " I told you I would."
V nodded his head. "You look well."
" Thank you."
" It's good to see you again, Evey." Jazlyn smiled as she joined V.
" Thank you, Jazlyn." Evey returned her smile.
" Would you excuse us for a moment?" V asked, taking Jazlyn's hand in his, squeezing gently.
Jazlyn looked up at him, smiling. " Of course." She turned to Evey. " If you will excuse me."
" I must admit that every time I heard a siren, I wondered about you. If I may ask, " He paused, his head tilting toward her." How did you manage to get around without suspicion?"
Evey grinned, " A fake ID works better than a Guy Fawkes mask."
" Ah." V moved to stand beside the Wurlitzer. " I have something I would like to show you before I leave."
Evey's grin faded. " This isn't one of your games, is it, V?"
" No, " he paused, " no, it's not." He took her hand in his. " No more games, no more lies." He looked toward the kitchen. " Jazlyn?"
" Yes, V?" She walked toward them.
" Would you please take Evey to the staircase entrance-----I'll join you in a moment."
" Ok." Jazlyn watched as he walked away.
" What's going on, Jazlyn?" Evey asked, a feeling of dread touched her bones as she followed Jazlyn out of the main gallery.
" He's going to carry out the final part of his vendetta, " Jazlyn looked up at Evey, " and say his final goodbye."
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Laslo paced the floor of the abandoned store, his patience wearing thin. He had found out through various channels that Creedy and nine of his best Fingermen would be underground tonight, delivering Chancellor Sutler into the hands of the terrorist V. His plan was almost complete. V would kill Sutler, Creedy would kill V, and he would kill Creedy and his pathetic bunch----however many was left. Chancellor Andrik Laslo------he grinned----Oh! How he loved the sound! Clapping his hands, his legion of demi-humans appeared before him.
" Yes, master?"
" The night is upon us. Gather your minions, and return to me. Our victory is near. Be quick!"
Laslo grinned as they vanished into the shadows.
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V fastened his knife belt securely around his waist, then looked in the floor length mirror as he flung the cape over his shoulders, tying it in place.. His reflection caught his eyes, and he touched the black and silver pommels of his knives tenderly. Next, he placed his hat on his head, adjusting the brim over the mask. Satisfied, he exited the room for the last time.
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Eric Finch sat in the car looking at his partner as the buildings passed by .
" Chief, we've checked these underground tube lines a million times, and have never found anything that would lead us to V." Dominic said as Finch let out a long sigh.
" I know, Dom."
" So what makes you so sure you're going to find something now?"
" I don't, " Finch paused, " call it a hunch. Stop here."
Dominic pulled the car to the edge of the curb, and put it in park. " It's all gone wrong, hasn't it, Chief?"
Finch looked at Dominic as he opened the car door. He didn't say a word, but just the look on his face made Dominic shake his head. " What do you think will happen?"
" What happens when people without guns stand up to people with guns." Finch replied closing the door, and walking toward the station entrance.
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V lead Evey and Jazlyn onto the station platform. " Please remain here." He moved away from them, the dim light from the lantern illuminating his path toward a wall some meters from them. In a moment, the entire station was bathed in light.
" Oh my god......" Evey breathed, " It's beautiful, V."
" This way." He walked toward the antique car.
Evey looked around. " This is the old Victoria line that goes to Parliament.. It's blocked somewhere between here and St. James......." She paused, looking at V, then stepped onto the train car. Inside, her eyes grew wide as she took in the amount of explosives that lay stacked on seats, against the wall and on the floor. " You're really going to do it."
" Yes, but only if you both want it to happen." V nodded toward the conductor's lever. " You both have taught me so much......" He took Jazlyn's hand in his, looking into green eyes. " You, my love have taught me to live again, " he paused, " and to love ." He brought her hand to the mask's lips, then released it. " And you, " he looked at Evey, " you made me understand that it is not my place to pull this switch, it is the people's choice."
Jazlyn's heart broke as V looked at them both.
" The old world that I have been a part of, will belong to the past after tonight, and the new one, will belong to you." He spoke softly, hoping to keep his newly discovered emotions in check.
" V, you will be here to see that new world born." Evey said as she suddenly understood what he was speaking about---------he had no intention of returning alive. " She grabbed his arm, " V, this country will need you to lead us into this new millennium. " Evey spoke softly, looking into the black void of his eyes.
V sighed, " I have no tree waiting for me Evey, much less a new world. Everything I deserve lies at the end of this tunnel." He turned quickly, jumping onto the tracks, walking away so neither of them could try and stop him. He continued around the bend, and came to a stop, moving toward a door cut into the tunnel wall. Opening it, he pulled the breastplate from it's hiding place, and fit it beneath his coat. He looked behind him once last time before he headed to meet his destiny, and finally a well deserved rest.