Chapter 3

Unlikely friends and enemies

That was a freaking monster.

Neela had seen her share of weirdness during her travels with her father, but that was certainly one for the records. She never saw a thing so… tall, and broad. And mean looking. And that thing seemed to realize that and rejoice in the fear it caused among others. Not that Neela was afraid, tough. No matter how big and ugly the creature seemed, she was more than capable of handling herself around it. And that's why she didn't faltered when she was staring at it, without a hint of fear and with a strange fascination.

"Mr. Hyde. You've done terrible things in England. So terrible that you fled the country." Mr. Quartermain was saying, while the creature seemed pleased, as if the hunter's words brought back memories. Quartermain continued:

"Now, I'm ashamed to say that Her Majesty's government is willing to offer you amnesty in return for your services. Do you want to go home?"

"Home? Home's where the heart is, that's what they say. And I have been missing London so." The creature said "Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine."

The creature seemed to notice Neela's eyes on it, and it stared back at her, as if measuring her. Mr. Hyde seemed pleased with what it saw, for it smirked and answered, while looking right at her:

"I am yours."

Neela raised an eyebrow. The creature seemed to be dangerous, immoral. Like she, whenever she was caught in the bloodlust who would trigger her transformation into rakshasi. Suddenly Mr. Hyde turned to Tom Sawyer, saying:

"Don't be afraid."

"Who says I'm afraid?" he answered, and Neela knew he was lying. He was terrified.

"You do! You stink of fear!" The creature shouted.

"Quite the parlor trick." Mr. Gray said. Hyde answered:

"You wait till you see my next one."

And suddenly a change took place, leaving Neela even more fascinated than before. Because in the space of a few moments the monstrous Mr. Hyde was transformed, right in front of everyone's eyes, into a man. Neela couldn't stop staring at him. He was like her, then! Half-man and half-monster, misunderstood and alone. She felt uneasy and excited at the prospect of getting to know him more. What happened to him? Was he born a half-monster, like herself? Was it hard for him to contain Mr. Hyde, as it has been for her to control the rakhshasi? She had so many questions for him. Once the transformation was complete, the man stood there, shaking and panting, and said:

"Dr. Jekyll... ...at your service."

"So... the League is set." Mr. Quartermain said. A message came in, which her father read, before saying:

"So is the date for the conference. We have three days."

"Three days? Can this canoe do that?" Tom Sawyer asked. Neela knew he touched a nerve, because the Nautilus was Nemo's pride and joy. Her father answered:

"You underestimate the Nautilus, sir. You underestimate her greatly."

Neela passed the next day performing tasks around the Nautilus, making sure the great vessel was fully operational. Since she was a young girl her father taught her everything about engineering, so she could one day follow his footsteps and command the Nautilus. She was prolific in engineering and mechanics, and knew all of the secrets of the great vessel. She also spent part of her time with Kamal checking the weaponry of the Nautilus. There was no way of telling what exactly would happen once they reached the conference. They had to stop the Fantom, no matter how.

The next day, while Neela was on one of her patrols around the vessel she bumped into Tom Sawyer.

"Careful, milady. Wouldn't want you to get hurt" he said.

"Oh, I am pretty strong, Mr. Sawyer. Takes a lot more than that to hurt me"

She curtsied and took her leave, but Mr. Sawyer called her:

"Lady Neela, wait."

"Yes?"

"Well, I would like to let you know that if you need any… assistance… I will be glad to help."

Neela noticed he was trying to flirt with her. She shook her head and smiled, before turning to him and saying:

"And you offer yourself to my… services… because since Mrs. Harker refused them you had to turn to the second woman available. Is that right, Mr. Sawyer?"

"Oh, not at all, Lady Neela. You are second to none"

"Flattering. But I do not have need of your services. If you recall, I am quite capable of handling myself"

"Yeah… I do recall… even so…"

"Don't worry your pretty head with the likes of me, Mr. Sawyer" she said. And in that moment a wicked idea occurred to her. She remembered how scared he was of Mr. Hyde, and decided to have a little fun with Sawyer. She approached him, until their faces were just inches apart, and said:

"Do you know that a rakshasa is said to possess the strength of ten men? That's quite remarkable isn't it? A rakshasa is so strong that it can rip a man's head off with its bare hands." She said, sensing his discomfort. But Neela wasn't done yet "And it's said whenever the rakshasa fought there would be no burials afterwards. Because the rakshasa would consume the dead… up to the bones"

Sawyer gulped and looked nervous. Neela knew that he was scared at her, and she smiled inwardly at the jape she made on his expense. She stepped back, curtsied and said:

"Goodnight, Mr. Sawyer" while he left hurriedly. After he was gone Neela positively laughed and went on her way. But she stopped in her tracks ans retreated inside one of the cabins when she heard her father's voice nearby, talking to Dr. Jekyll.

"Contain your evil, doctor!" Nemo was saying. "I'll not have the brute free upon my ship. Must I take drastic steps?"

"I am in control." The doctor answered.

"I very much doubt it."

"Your talk is all well and good, sir, but your own past is far from laudable." Dr. Jekyll said, before storming out. When he passed near her, Neela stepped out of her hiding place, saying:

"It was very unkind of you to bring up his past like that."

Dr. Jekyll stopped and turned at her direction, seemingly ashamed to look her in the eyes. Neela approached, and continued:

"My father wasn't always a good man, and some things he did haunt him yet… You, of all people, should know what is like to be ashamed of your own deeds."

"Forgive me, Lady Neela." The doctor said "I am truly sorry."

"It's not me you should apologize to. You should talk to my father. There is no reason why you should be enemies. I am sure he will forgive you for what you said, if you can forgive him for being so cautious about your… condition."

"Yes, I will apologize. He has every right to doubt me. I do hide a monster inside me, and if I can't control him, it means danger to everybody else." Dr. Jekyll said, looking away. Neela felt drawn to him. They shared a similar fate, and of all of the people she knew, he was the only one who could understand her. She took his hand upon hers and said:

"You seem so lonely. While you crave for human contact, you always drive people away because you're afraid to hurt them…"

"How did you…?"

"You think you are the only one holding darkness inside you, and trying to keep them at bay? I know way too much what is like, and I can tell you something: it's useless to fight it. You should accept it, embrace it. It's the only way to control it… Pushing him away will only work so far until Hyde tears your heart apart. Don't let it happen, doctor. You are a sweet man. A good man."

They were just inches apart, and for a moment Neela thought what it would be like if he kissed her. It was a foreign thought; she couldn't understand where it came from. But she couldn't deny that there was some kind of attraction between them. It was almost like their inner monsters were magnets, pulling them into each other. Before she could lose the control over her emotions she stepped back, curtsied and said:

"Goodnight, doctor" before storming away.

She retreated to her room, but only a few moments later Kamal stormed in and said she was needed on the deck.

"What happened?" she asked.

"The doctor's formula has been stolen. Quartermain and your father suspect Skinner is a spy. And we are almost reaching Venice. Preparations have to be made."

"I understand." she said. A minute later she was following Kamal. The mess in the hallways and machine rooms showed her they were preparing to land.

Moments later the Nautilus was anchored in the pier. Nemo was shouting orders at Ismael and the other sailors.

"Deploy the divers beneath the city. The explosives must be found."

"Aye, aye, sir."

They looked around the city, where the streets were crowding with people celebrating the Carnival.

"The city is vast. It could be anywhere." Mina pointed out. It was true. How could they search such a great area, even with their special talents?

"What about Skinner?" Sawyer asked. Dorian Gray answered him:

"I'd be alert for his treachery."

Sudden explosions erupted, startling all of them. For a moment Neela thought that it was Fantom's strike, but when she saw the fireworks up in the sky she left out a sigh of relief.

"Bloody carnival." Quartermain said, and for once Neela agreed with him. Mina looked around, seemingly relieved, and said:

"God, I feared the worst."

Tom Sawyer approached her and said:

"It's all right. We still have..."

And then, suddenly, a big blast echoed, making the ground tremble. That was not a firework. The attack begun and Fantom was one step ahead of them. Parts of buildings started to fall around them. A big rock fell, and it would have hit Neela if Dr. Jekyll didn't pull her out of collision course. When the rock smashed in the pavement, Neela looked the doctor in the eyes and breathlessly said:

"Thank you, doctor"

"You're welcome, milady"

One of the crewmen screamed:

"The buildings are falling like dominoes!"

"We're too late!" Mina said. They were running out of time. Soon the city will be a pile of debris, if they didn't act right away.

"There must be more than one bomb." Quartermain said "Nemo!"

"The bombs are at the city's center. We must take out one key building." The old hunter said. Her father answered:

"Yes! Get ahead and destroy the next building!"

"Interrupting the chain of destruction!" Neela completed. Sawyer ran back to the Nautilus, while the others tried to coordinate the next steps.

"With a beacon at the coordinates, I could launch a rocket and take out the domino effect."

"That's ridiculous!" Gray said. "We'd never get there in time."

"There would be no room for error, but I tell you it could work." Nemo answered

"What are you talking about? Gray's right" Dr. Jekyll said, and Gray completed "I'm an immortal, sir, not a gazelle. How can we outrun this?"

Suddenly Sawyer returned driving one of the automobiles.

"Care for a spin?" he said with a smirk. There was no time to lose, so Mina, Quartermain and Gray jumped in the vehicle.

"Come on, Jekyll, get in!" the hunter said.

"I'll need coordinates." Nemo shouted above the havoc.

"Can you track this?"

"Of course."

"Then this is the target. Launch when you see the flare."

"Right." Her father said, returning to the Nautilus.

"I will stay behind in case Fantom targets us. He may come after the Nautilus when he realizes his plan failed"

"Alright. Jekyll, come on, we'll need Hyde." Quartermain said. The doctor however seemed conflicted about it, and ultimately answered:

"No! Hyde will never use me again."

"Then what good are you?" Gray said, dismissively. Neela watched the pained expression in the eyes of the good doctor, and she felt sorry for him. She understood what it was like to live with a monster within, and Gray had no right to mock Dr. Jekyll like that. She went over to him, took his hand in hers and gave him a sincere smile.

"It's alright, doctor. There is much we can do from here. You're a doctor, and there are injured who need treating. Come on"

He nodded, and they got to work. Neela and Kamal went to the weaponry room to get the missile ready to launch, while her father and Ismael waited for the signal. It was a long shot, but in the moment it was the best they could do. An eternity seemed to pass, while Neela and Kamal went through the vessel, assessing damages and making the impossible to guarantee it would still be operational. When they returned to the deck, they heard gunshots.

"Must be Fantom's soldiers" Neela said. "Kamal, send Raj and his shooters in that direction. Quartermain need all the help we can provide. And tell Mohinder to help the doctor out there. I bet the number of injured is increasing at every minute."

"Yes, Rani."

"Hurry up, Quartermain. Hurry up" she said to herself.

In that moment she regreted staying behind. She knew she was needed in the Nautilus, but seeing the destruction and doing nothing to stop was making her anxious. Then, the light of the beacon appeared in the sky. It was the signal.

"LAUNCH!" Her father screamed, and then the projectile left the Nautilus, aiming at the direction from where the beacon came. As expected, when that building was knocked down the domino effect was abruptly broken, and the destruction stopped.

"Good work, gentlemen" she said, smirking. The number of injured was, indeed, very high, and Neela decided to help out the doctor. She wasn't trained like him, but she knew a thing or two about treating wounds. After a while, Quartermain returned:

"The Fantom is M. And the hunt is still on."

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Jekyll asked.

"The Fantom is M. The man who recruited us." Quartemain approached with his weapon on hand and apparently a wound on his shoulder. The doctor tried to help him, but Quartermain dismissed him.

"But how?" Nemo asked.

"We'll get our answers." Quartermain said "Where are the others?"

Mina arrived alone, saying:

"Dorian's missing in action. And Mr. Skinner must have fled when he realized we knew."

"And Sawyer?" the old hunter asked, concern evident in his voice. The boy appeared out of the shadows, with his cocky smirk:

"He'll live to fight another day." He said, walking towards the group with a hand to his forehead where a small cut could be seen. Mina approached him, assessing the cut, which seemingly made him nervous. She smiled and said:

"Don't worry, I've had my fill of throats for this evening."

They were interrupted by Ismael, who came out of the vessel, wounded and limping.

"Captain!" he said, and the doctor ran to him, supporting the sailor's body as he collapsed to the ground.

"It was Gray... not Skinner." Ismael struggled to say. "Gray has tricked us all." And those were the last words he spoke. His blue eyes remained open but lifeless in a pained expression. He was gone.

Nemo was shaken by the double strike: first, Gray's treason. And now, he lost his second in command, a man who sailed with him for over 20 years. Neela suppressed her tears. Now wasn't the time to shed them. She knew Ismael since she was a little girl. He was like family to her, always treating her like a daughter. Neela felt the rage bubble up inside her, and for a moment she almost lost it and turned to rakshasi again. Gray and M would pay dearly for what they have done, she swore.

Then the noise of engines running echoed. Neela knew that sound.

"What is it?" Sawyer asked, and Nemo answered:

"It's the sound of treachery!"

They ran after Nemo, to the other side of the vessel. Just as she expected, the exploration pod was being detached from the Nautilus, probably with a smiling Mr. Gray inside it.

"What is that thing?" Sawyer asked.

"It's an exploration pod. The Nautiloid." She asked.

"We could track it." Quartermain said, and her father answered:

"I intend to catch it!"

xX Aya Wolf Xx