Hyde followed, he wasn’t a coward and nobody would call him a coward. “Yer lad is bleedin’ out on ye, if you care about that.” he shrugged. “Hm, I smell something fishy here. Got a strong nose for bullshite, and this is the smelliest all day, even though you’re standing next to me. Come on.” Hyde led Robert further, until they reached a large room filled with shadow.
Anna led Mina down, down, down, until she found what she was looking for. A gigantic room, filled with shadow and shadowy figures, large machines covered by cloth. Soon, she found Robert too. “Is that Victor? He looks hurt, let me see him.” Anna said hurriedly.
Robert merely grunted. He almost wished the raisin did scram, but figured he wouldn’t have been able to find his way around this place without him.
“Golly, something fishy? Who would’ve guessed?”
Victor was fairly light on his shoulder, which worried him as well as the blood. Had he been eating? Was he not only injured, but malnourished?
He hesitated when they reached the shadowy room, the sense of dread and danger overpowering now. At least Anna was here. Rushing over to her, he carefully took Victor and laid him out for her. “W-we found him in one of the rooms with a- a rotting corpse,” he stuttered.
Mina tried to ignore the oppressive, twisted feeling as they went, but it only grew stronger. The pain in her arm had reduced to an ache, but it didn’t help. Then again, she supposed that was good in the sense that they were getting closer to what they were looking for.
Indeed, they had. She gazed apprehensively at their surroundings, but turned when she heard Victor’s name. So Anna knows him? “Victor?” she said, seeing the strange men approach.
Victor awoke dazedly, blinking with wide, terrified eyes. "Mimic! Fake! Not… not the real Anna! She would kick me first, to helping me!" at which he promptly fainted again. Hyde shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Is he always like this? So erratic, almost torn in two? Well, I'm one to talk, but…" he shrugged.
Anna began to examine Victor, removing scraps of her coat to take care of the issue at hand, namely, Victor's injuries. "Alright, so we've found each other. Miss Harker, this is my brother-in-law, Robert, his pet, Victor, and the unfortunate lump of… by God, your face looks disgusting Mr Hyde! Oh, yes, the unfortunate case we call Hyde." she introduced one by one. "A rotting corpse? Robert, what?"
“Yes, a rotting corpse. It was too dim to see who it might’ve been, but that’s how we found him. He was muttering about something, he thought I was dead… a-and he’s not my pet Anna, good Lord.” Though Robert was starting to get rather anxious and scatterbrained, he politely waved to the new woman, Miss Harker? Then remembering something, he also turned back to Victor and started inspecting his hair and scalp. After combing through the matted, bloody mess, he found what he was looking for, unfortunately.
“Fleas,” he said. “He’s got fleas already.”
Mina waved to Robert and Hyde. “I came here undercover to investigate this place,” she informed them, “I was planning to play the long game, but your arrival has sped up that process, it seems.” She adjusted her glasses nervously. “I had attempted to employ Victor’s help, but he was captured before we could properly discover anything useful. Um, it’s nice meeting you all, anyhow.”
A rotting corpse? Was he with Henry? It would seem the most likely, but what were they doing? Did Henry reveal himself to be a completely different person than the one from Victor’s past, as Elizabeth implied? Mina rubbed her arms nervously, looking around to make sure they were alone.
(Hey, so um, remember when I said I was neurotypical? Well now I’m strongly suspecting that that is not the case so uh)
(Also wanting Mina and Robert to be the iconic bi legend duo later on)
(Hell ye. Also, if you’re not neurotypical, good for you! It takes work figuring that out.)
Anna sighed and shook her head at Robert. “I suspect he got them from you, you never wash when out on voyages.” she teased, giving him a grim smile. “In all seriousness, it’s good that you’re concerned. Your bedside manner is more admirable than mine.” she turned to Hyde. “Find out where we are and who’s around that could hurt us, then take them out. Miss Harker, please follow the rascal. I doubt he plans on staying around for much longer in his condition, and you probably know the place better than I with however much longer you’ve been here.”
Victor stirred, letting out a soft groan of pain. His eyes slid open like a machine’s, and he started to say something before stopping. “I’m not well.” he said finally, seeming much less delirious than before.
(Mm yeah, I’m still questioning myself, honestly)
“Annaaaa,” Robert groaned. He crushed a few fleas under his finger. “This an insane asylum with rotting corpses, rubbish he got them from me. And of course I’m concerned, why wouldn’t I be? Look at him.” He looked down at Victor, combing through his hair some more and crushing fleas. “Crikey, you’re not well? Who would’ve guessed?” Shaking his head, he looked down at the small man, his eyebrows turned up with concern and worry.
Mina couldn’t help but smile a little at the three of them, but it didn’t last long. “Of course, Miss Saville, though I’ve only been here for a night or so.”
She brought out the map she had drawn, but this room wasn’t on it. And she didn’t have a pencil, so she couldn’t add it on there. A little saddened by this, though supposing it didn’t matter, she wandered over to Hyde. She nodded a greeting.
Victor leaned into Robert's touch, sighing with relief. "I won't be this well for long, I reckon. The drugs… they only allow for short periods of lucidity. It's how I managed to kill Henry, even without a good chunk of my hand. I'm not even sure what the hell they gave me, other than that it felt like it was seeping directly into my bones instead of my blood," Victor laughed, a little hoarsely, "and it hurt like the devil." he said, grasping Robert's hand tightly.
Hyde let out an affirmative grunt, limping over to where he and Robert had came. "Nothing's here. I dinna ken why I'm bein' sent on guard dog duty when I'm sick as a dog." he grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
Robert stopped, freezed. “W-what?” It was only then he realized who the corpse was, and what that meant. “They… they had Henry…” his breath became shallow. “Esme was right. Esme was right-“ shaking his head, he tried to get a hold of himself. “A-Anna, do you have any idea of what substances he could’ve been given?”
He went back to what he’d been doing, though now combing through Victor’s hair with just one hand. He grasped Victor’s hand just as tightly, the motion his fingers made through the man’s matted locks somehow calming him.
Mina had to pause for a moment to stare at Victor with worry before glancing at Hyde and following him.
“And I don’t know why I’ve been sent to watch you when I have my arm in a sling,” she shrugged. She glanced at the hall ahead of them, but something made her turn back and stare at the shadows inside the room.
"Robert, I really don't know of a drug that spontaneously wears off and reactivates. I can't help with this." she said, eyes widening at Robert's words. "Between you and me, I couldn't get those two deadbeats out of here fast enough, I needed space to fix this. But I can't, I can't fix this, Victor's gone insane, clearly, and I have no idea how to deal with him."
"I can hear you, Anna." Victor said, voice carrying a dreamlike quality to it, speckled with visions. "Robert… I can't keep it at bay much longer. Robert, I care for you deeply. You have been a true friend to me, and I cannot think of how I could repay you." he breathed out, then fainted once more, drooling a little onto Robert's shirt.
"Eh, ye get used to it." Hyde shrugged. He seemed to be staring down the hall, but his eyes almost seemed… fogged over, like they could barely see.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep himself calm. “I’m not asking you to fix anything. I-I’m sorry, I just hoped you’d know something. I’m sorry,” he muttered.
Opening his eyes, he suddenly felt like crying again, even though he thought it was stupid to. Intense frustration starting building up inside him. “Victor, you idiot, don’t say things like that, you’re going to make me care so much more than I already do,” he whispered. “And make me feel bad for kicking you where the sun don’t shine when this is all over.” He wiped away the drool with his sleeve in an almost motherly fashion.
Mina glanced over at them, wanting to make Victor was alright before turning back to the lumpy man. She sighed.
“Mr. Hyde, sir,” she said, “I don’t think you will. Why don’t you lie down, alright? You look awful.”
“It’s all part of the process. I’ll be fine when this is all over.” Hyde shrugged. “Lass, I’ve been through this before. Maybe you should be the one to lie down.” he offered, “That arm won’t get better by itself. Ah, feck, I sound like Jekyll and his doctor cronies. I shoulda never trusted that Van Helsing to a drink, now I’m sounding just like him.” Hyde complained.
Anna shook her head. “I shouldn’t have scolded. But… I don’t know. I hate it when I can’t help people. They did something to Victor that I can’t reverse, and now I’m paying the price for it by having to deal with it with one halfwit, a girl with a broken arm, and my family who should have stayed away. And I can’t keep Ishtar or… well, him safe, and I can’t keep my wife and daughter safe, and I have to trust that they will. And I’ve been slowly coming to terms with that. But… trusting people. For me. It’s horrifying. And I don’t think I can do it much longer.”
(Oh just thought I’d say this rq, but I’m thinking this is taking place before the events of Dracula. just fyi)
(I assumed that too, I just thought it would be neat if Van Helsing and Jekyll knew each other so that Mina will asumedly go “ooooooohhhhh” later on.)
(Yeahhh I was actually was planning to respond with that, haha)
(This just in: I’ve fact-checked and realized that Jonathan Harker does not, in fact, know Van Helsing before the events of Dracula, so I will probably not be able to respond with that. And by fact-check, I mean I watched OSP’s video again dhjdjhk)
(Lol, I always use their videos as references too.)
“It’s all part of the process. I’ll be fine when this is all over.” Hyde shrugged. “Lass, I’ve been through this before. Maybe you should be the one to lie down.” he offered, “That arm won’t get better by itself. Ah, feck, I sound like Jekyll and his doctor cronies. I shoulda never trusted that Van Helsing to a drink, now I’m sounding just like him.” Hyde complained.
Anna shook her head. “I shouldn’t have scolded. But… I don’t know. I hate it when I can’t help people. They did something to Victor that I can’t reverse, and now I’m paying the price for it by having to deal with it with one halfwit, a girl with a broken arm, and my family who should have stayed away. And I can’t keep Ishtar or… well, him safe, and I can’t keep my wife and daughter safe, and I have to trust that they will. And I’ve been slowly coming to terms with that. But… trusting people. For me. It’s horrifying. And I don’t think I can do it much longer.”
Robert went back to absentmindedly combing through Victor’s hair, occasionally crushing fleas and wiping at his eyes. He nodded. “I want to believe we can at least keep Maggie and Esme out of it, but… well, nothing’s guaranteed. I just want to get on with things and know what we’re doing next and be done with this place.” He glanced at her for a moment, searching her face. “Well, maybe it’s not about if you trust people or not anymore. Maybe it’s about when you trust them. Even if it’s hard to.”
He looked back at the smaller man, letting out a sigh. Taking up his long hair again, he started braiding it.
“Process?” Mina raised an eyebrow at Hyde, inspecting him. Indeed, it didn’t seem that he was just getting uglier, but that he was… turning into something.
She straightened, adjusting her glasses. “Alright then. And I’m fine, sir, I don’t need to lie down.” Her eyes took a quick sweep of their surroundings once more before settling on the ground.
Anna nodded. "I'm going to scope out the place. Victor will be fine, he's just resting and if he gets too delirious around me I'm sure nothing good will come of it. For now, just keep him safe." she said, standing up and walking to the door opposite to where Mina and Hyde were standing. She opened it, and left. Meanwhile, as Victor slept, strange purplish boils began to form on his skin, slowly, near unnoticable. He stirred in his sleep, whimpering in fear from dreams and delirium.
"Call me Hyde. I dinna like the term sir, too formal. Should we go back in and check on the lads? They seem to be doing okay, but I dinna trust that Anna lass. She's onto something, and we best hope it not be us." the dwarf said, shaking his head and looking back in on Victor and Robert.
“If you insist, Hyde,” Mina replied. Then she shifted uncomfortably. “Ah, I’m afraid something might happen if we turn our backs. Why don’t you trust Anna?”
She also took a glance at the two other men, wondering what sort of history they shared. Seeing them together, Robert almost reminded her of Henry, if he was the person he may have been in life.
Robert nodded, watching her leave. Once she had disappeared from sight, he looked back down at Victor and finished braiding. His hair was frustratingly greasy and knotted, so the braid looked rather rough, but it didn’t really matter. All things considered, the small man looked nice with his hair braided. Even if he was mostly unconscious. Robert comfortingly put an arm around him when he whimpered, the sound making him want to cry again.
“Idiot,” he whispered. He didn’t notice the boils, not yet.
Hyde walked back into the room, not answering Mina's question. "Some people look awful peaceful while sleeping. Victor… does not. What do ye think happened to him? He's certainly in worse condition than everyone else here, I didn't think that Father creep would even let him get hurt like that. And trust me, I know what the bastard can do." Hyde shivered, sitting down about two feet away from the two.
Anna walked down the halls, letting sunlight filter down on her uncomfortably. Time seemed to work wrong here, she knew that at least. Anna traversed the halls, a little too confident. Nobody hurts a werewolf. But she was quickly proven wrong on that assumption, as someone tackled her. She threw them off of her, and grabbed them by the tatters of their coat, slamming them to the wall. But what she saw, she wouldn't unsee for quite a long while.
She saw her own face.
A few minutes later, a scream echoed from the halls, begging for help. The voice was Anna's, and it sounded desperate for help, like it was dying. Hyde perked up instantly, looking to Robert with worry.
(Going on vacation, just fyi)
