gay-thic lit anyone? (o/o)

Elizabeth stared, tilting her head. She gripped tighter, crushing Mina's arm with a great amount of force that her skeleton shouldn't have been capable of. More images would come to Mina's mind, the scene of her body breaking by a huge, disgusting figure, hideous beyond what even made sense, looking just as dead as Mina was now save for most of the rot. A scene of Elizabeth smiling, hugging William and looking to Justine Moritz with content in her eyes, the wedding day, where she looked to the same woman with a sense of loneliness in her eyes she couldn't explain… and then when she was young, running with the poor village children, then being taken away from the only home she had really known abruptly with no idea where she was going. Being told that she couldn't play in the house, couldn't speak without being spoken to, couldn't "disobey", had to wear uncomfortable dresses and go to big events with too many people. It seemed that whatever was controlling Elizabeth could see all this too, and it was too much for them. Elizabeth collapsed, not quite alive but not quite dead, seeming in a sort of stasis. For now, Mina could run away, find somewhere new to hide before Elizabeth came back and hurt her more. The revolver had clattered to the side, and a close inspection would show it to be loaded with two rounds.

Edward led the group to the front gates, they were let in without question. "Don't look or feel guilt, fear, any of that. They'll only come after you." he said. "I barely escaped last time. Now, this way." Anna swallowed, and moved forward, pushing down all her feelings in favor of a careful numbness.

Robert did not need to question the raisin's credibility. He took deep breaths, replacing the mounting sense of dread with mild indifference. The way he stayed close to Anna may betray him, but it would be best if they stayed close anyway. He felt his feet move him on.

Mina let out a strangled cry as her arm was crushed, feeling the bone dig into her arm as the pain seemed to mesh with the memories that were not her own. Elizabeth would've been a good friend, in another life. Just when it seemed that the pain and the memories would never end, Mina felt the grip on her arm release and the flashbacks with it. She saw the shell collapse just on the edge of her vision. Her arm went limp, and a spasm of pain went through her. Taking shuddering breaths, she straightened and tried to get her wits about her. Then she felt tears flowing again, not only from the pain but in mourning for the person the fallen body once was. She wanted to make sure that the body would never rise again, crush it beneath her foot, but she knew it would do no good. Besides, this body had been broken far too many times.
She glanced over at the gun, and only then did she realize that her glasses had clattered to the floor. They had fallen near the gun. She picked them up, cleaned them with her dress, and put them on, staring at the weapon with clearer vision. Taking it and finding the two rounds, she carefully unloaded the gun and hid them behind some of the books on the bookshelf. Then she ran.

Faces turned towards them, arms grasped but never touched. A man even shorter and hairier than Hyde opened up a door to the facility, staring at the group with hungry eyes. Hyde growled at the man, baring sharp, too sharp, teeth, the most human thing about his strange, dwarfish figure. Anna held him back, but she felt a wolfish growl build up in her throat too that she quickly swallowed. This place was so… off. Anna turned to Robert and Edward. "You two find Victor. I'll scope out the place, see if there's anything I can do to help the people here."

(Am back if you want to continue this. If not, just say the word, I’ll stop being annoying.)

(I would absolutely love to continue this my dude, I’m glad you’re back! ^^)

(Neat!)

Robert kept himself as stiff and unnoticeable as he could manage, with his arms close to his sides and gaze to the ground. His lip curled with distaste at the sight of the dwarf who opened the door, but he stayed still and kept his eyes forward.
He then looked between Anna and Hyde in dismay. He didn’t want to be alone with the raisin, but he also wasn’t in the mood to argue.
“Just be careful Anna,” he said. “We’ll find him.”

Hyde grasped Robert by the arm, dragging him with strength that shouldn’t have been possible for a man his stature down the halls. “We’ll have to pretend we’re here for the people, ye ken? Not yer little lad. I can smell the stink of death here, he must be closer that we thought.” Hyde snarled, seeming like finding Victor was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He stopped, stumbled some, then regained his balance, weakly trudging over to a door where twenty-some patients sat in a small, crowded room, all alone with nobody to save them, not even Robert no matter how hard he would try. Hyde shook his head, and moved on to the next room, then the next, and so on, shaking his head with every door.

Meanwhile, Anna had found something, or rather, a someone. She stunk of disgusting science and even more disgusting something or other she couldn’t quite place, but not of death, no, she smelled exactly as Victor’s creature did. Something was wrong here, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. She seemed incapacitated, but whatever incapacitated her must still be around, probably a patient in need of help, so Anna did what she did best-she followed her nose. Soon, she was able to find a woman, unfamiliar, but seeming quite shaken. The tag on the back of her asylum clothes spelled out “Mina Harker”, and she looked like she was lost, so Anna approached. “Miss Harker? I’m sorry, if that is your name- my name is Anna Saville. Are you in need of assistance?”

Mina had managed to find a back room where she could stop and reassess the situation. Unfortunately, the pain spasming in her arm made it hard to think. She’d brought out her piece of parchment and tried to review her sketch and observations, but her mind kept returning to Elizabeth’s memories and the shell’s words. The final event… Pure Ones… puppets… Elizabeth’s broken body, the looming shadow of the beastly figure washing over it, the young girl being taken from her home- and the words and sketches became simple, unknowable markings on a page. Mina sighed, and put the parchment away.
It wasn’t long before the strange woman found her. Mina almost kicked her in the shins, but looking closer, realized the woman may not be an enemy. A civilian? Why was she here?
“Y-yes, that’s my name,” she confirmed, her voice soft and wary. After a pause, she decided not to answer, asking her own question instead. “Anna Saville… who are you?”

Robert almost yelped out loud when Hyde jerked him down the hall. He managed to get free from his grip when the raisin stumbled, and tried to protest, but Hyde was too fast and didn’t have good listening skills. Robert could only follow, wishing he could something, anything, for the people here. It was them, not the dwarfish man from earlier, that caused rage to surge in Robert’s heart. Just how twisted was this place?

Anna sighed. "Mother, sister, and healer, but right now, I'm scared. Really, truly, very scared. I… this is an evil place. And it smells wrong. But you seemed hurt, so I stopped. Is your arm alright? I can tend to it, I'm a doctor as surprising as it might be to you." she said quickly, wanting to speed through gaining this Mina's trust and get the information she needed, then get out of here. "Look, we don't have much time until they find us. Who's in charge here? I need to find them."

Hyde stopped, slowing down and panting, hard. He seemed more misshapen than ever now, but in almost an opposite way, like he was undergoing some sort of metamorphosis. He cracked open a door, then stopped. "I found yer lad, but he dinna look too good. I suggest you hold in your lunch, and watch the door. Ye can fight better than I, now." he said, drops of sweat dripping from his brow.

After a split second, Mina decided to take her chances. Perhaps because she getting slightly desperate, or maybe because Anna truly didn’t seem from this place. Probably both.
“A doctor? A miracle, more like.” She chuckled, but it was short-lived. “No, my arm’s not alright. And I’ve only heard rumors, but the staff kept mentioning someone they call Father. That may be who you- and I- am looking for.”
She made a sharp intake of breath as another wave of pain went through her arm, and gingerly tried to get it into a less uncomfortable position.

Robert raised an eyebrow. “Fight? Mr. Hyde, you look like you need to lie down somewhere.” He shook his head, mentally preparing himself for what he might see, regardless if Victor really was there or not.
He took the door knob, looking in over the raisin’s head.

Anna gently took Mina's arm, examining it. "I don't have the supplies here with me to set it and tend to it, but here." she removed her coat, then her shirt, taking the cloth of the shirt and fashioning it into a makeshift sling for Mina's arm. She then slung her coat over her shoulders, shimmying back into the sleeves. "That should hold it. I suppose we'll have to find this "Father" ourselves." she suggested, looking down the hall. "Can you still run if things get bad?"

"I'll be fine, lad." he said, looking as if he was about to hurl. Meanwhile, Victor was… not in good shape, to say the least. There he was, sitting over Henry's body, or what was left of the body at least, as he'd somehow gathered the strength to rip it in two. His hands were bloody and missing a thumb on each hand, and the forefinger on the right, and his back was covered in lash marks. "Robert? Is that really you? I thought you weren't alive anymore. I would have brought you back to life, you know. But I doubt you'd still have your memories, I mean, I don't know." he stood up, tracing the man's face with a still bleeding hand. "Hmm. You'd look good dead, but you look even more lovely alive. Now, who is this?" he looked to Hyde, and promptly fainted, falling right on top of Robert. Hyde shook his head. "I'm nae that hideous to make a man faint." the shorter shook his head.

Robert was about to make a retort to Hyde, but seeing Victor shut him up quick. What was he talking about? What had happened in this room? At first he couldn’t say anything except murmuring the man’s name, tears filling his eyes. It might’ve been a bad idea to cry, but Robert couldn’t help himself. Rage, sorrow, confusion, relief all rose up at once inside of him, it was too much.
He felt blood smear along his jaw where Victor brushed against it with his hand. Lovely? A grunt of surprise came out of him as Victor collapse on top of him, but Robert quickly caught him around the waist and held him steady.
He found his voice, wiping away at his eyes. “Are you sure about that? I’m surprised I haven’t fainted yet.” His voice sounded breathy, a little far away. Putting Victor over his shoulder, he moved away from the room and shut the door, just in case, and dragged Hyde with him for a moment before letting go. “Come on. We need to find Anna.”

She bit her lip in slight pain as Anna fashioned the sling, but her touch was soft and tender. “Thank you. Truly,” she said, managing a smile. Then nodding, “Yes, I can.”
She readjusted her glasses, peering into the hall. “Mm, I suppose we’ll have to.”

Hyde grunted angrily, but followed. Slowly, slower still, like an old man hobbling to his destination. “Are ye sure that you’re making the right choice, lad? It dinnae seem to me like all is well here, I say we scram and leave the lady to her doom.” he shrugged, saying “lady” particularly resentfully, as if he didn’t fully see Anna as human, more a threat to be taken care of.

Anna nodded to Mina. “I can smell something. This way.” she hurried down the corridor, then stopped to go back and help Mina in case of trouble, walking more slowly this time.

Robert stopped, took a deep breath. He turned and grabbed the raisin by the collar of his shirt, seething.
”She is my sister,” he said quietly, dangerously. Didn’t really bother to add ‘in-law.’ “And I’m going to find her. If you want to scram, go right ahead. Be a coward. But I will not follow.”
He let Hyde go and continued onward.

Mina tilted her head, wondering why she couldn’t smell anything, but followed after. It was a bit difficult to keep up with the other woman at first, but soon she was able to keep pace, as long as she made sure the sling didn’t move around too much.

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.)