“I think that now's the time for whatever idea you have."

                Edward stood his ground where he had assumed a higher view on the ship. “I'll be staying right here, though I might suggest you take a slightly higher perch."

                “WHAT? No way! I'll not let you face this thing alone!"

                Edward didn't look at her; not even once. He knew where she was and what she was thinking. He did however keep his eyes on Hyde. The thing that he was was a hundred times more horrid than he was the first time he had seen him, when Robert still seemed to have some small control over the form. Now it was nothing more than a hulking, disgusting creature that had the very stink of evil to it. When it came to mindless depravity, this thing probably had a corner on the market. Unlike the cardinal, who seemed to have a plan in his schemes for gathering together so much lore about the weres, Hyde was just a lone brute, intent on his own insane pleasures and inane destruction.

                “Go away Mags. This fight will end here today, on this ship. If I don't survive, then make like you said and fly away from here, as far as your wings will take you. Get up high and let the air currents carry you. West should let you hit Great Britain, and east somewhere in Europe. Skip going north or south. Those directions would be a fool's errand."

                She was watching him as he was watching Hyde. She should have been angry, but he was a foolish male. More importantly, he was her fool and she loved him dearly. She flew up out of reach and settled down on a railing.

                Hyde faltered for a moment. It was difficult to tell if he was simply drained from his days at sea, or if something more was afoot with his hesitation. He had his head cocked as if listening.

                “Home?"

                Edward nodded quietly."Yes, Great Britain is home. But you can't go back now."

                Hyde puffed out his chest. “I can go anywhere I please!"

                “No, Robert could do that for you. He could go out and about, visit with people, eat in fine restaurants, write, and overall be a pleasant sort of person. You can do none of those things."

                Hyde smashed his fist into the deck. The wood splintered under the impact. “I did not choose this!"

                “I never said you did. You're a victim of his irresponsible meddling."

                Hyde seemed confused. “How do you know so much?"

                “That doesn't matter. Do you really wish to live in pain the rest of your life?"

                “I feed on pain. I feed on hate. I feed on…on…"

                Edward stared at him, wary that at any moment he could turn on him. He was banking on the fact that Hyde had likely never kept his form for so long, even during the war. And even then, he had had a solid enemy to face. He and Maggie weren't threats, not in a direct sense.

                “Feed on what?"

                “I don't know. Damn you! What have you done to me?"

                “Nothing. As you said, I only have one arm now, thanks to you. All I have is my voice; and hope."

                “Hope?" The snarl in his voice was gone, replaced with something akin to a child's plea.

                “Yes hope. We must either put you two back together, or we must tear you apart. You cannot live like this anymore."

                Hyde drooped a little. “Together? Me with him? I think we would both rather die than suffer that indignity."

                “That is where the second part comes into play. When one of you dies, the other will be set free. At least, that's what Robert believed. “

                “Believed? He is a fool. He is a tinkerer, a little man who had great expectations. Look what he did. Look at me."

                “LOOK AT ME!"

Hyde roared and rushed Edward, but he had been expecting just such an attack and leapt out of harm's way, even if only barely. Maggie nearly left her perch to come to his aid, but only by showing remarkable self restraint did she manage to not interfere. Edward was now crouching on a railing opposite her, his sole arm holding him steady on the rusted iron.

“I have been looking at you. Do you wish me to tell you what I see? I think you already know. You have to look at that face in the mirror, or in a rain puddles, or in the reflection from a window pane. You are everything he isn't, and it was never meant to be that way. You were given life only from him trying to rid himself of something he should have cherished. He gave birth to an abomination, and you are the horrible result. You didn't ask to be born, and yet from the pits of his darkest soul you were torn loose and thrust upon this world."

                Hyde growled. “Do you think me a dim wit on top of being an animalistic monster? Just because I don't make pretty and waggle my head like a happy dog doesn't mean I don't know what's what. Why do you think my rage builds? Is it not bad enough that I am this…thing? That I must endure what I am every time I come forth? Even when he thought he had control of me, I simply didn't wish to endure what I had to see. I am filled with hate because I hate what I am. I hate because it is what I am. I hate myself for it and yet without it I am nothing. Can you imagine what that's like?"

                “I think I can. But unlike you, I can go on with my life in a fairly normal manner. You, I'm afraid, don't have that luxury. As far as I can see things, you can never leave this ship again."

                Hyde appeared to be close to crying, but he regained his composure and slammed his fist onto the deck again. “Then no one will leave this ship."

                “I don't think that will be the case. But if anyone will die with you, it shall be me. If you want both of us, I'm afraid that outcome will be just outside your reach."

                Hyde looked slyly at Maggie. “What the hell do you see in him girl? I'll grant you that he's tough, but what can he offer you? You're a freak like me. You should find your place and cut a slice out of life. You and I could go far."

                Maggie shuddered at that thought. “The only place I would go with you is to the bottom of the ocean. If that was what it would take to rid the world of you, I would gladly give up my life for it."

                He laughed. “It's nice to know that hate can be contagious. I like knowing that I can have such a wonderful effect on people."

                He intended to continue with his mirth, but it stuck in his craw. Edward was holding up the silver vial. Hyde looked from it to the ring on his intact hand. Robert had considered the ring to be the thing to finish the job. But if it didn't kill him, it just might make him completely invincible. With that little band of metal, he could do anything he wanted with full impunity. He wasn't stupid; not he. In this modern world they were weapons which even he might not walk away from.

                Edward smiled. “Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. That is why one emotion can become the other. You are the flip side to Robert. In the end, you are both still just the same person."

                Hyde clenched his fists and raged them in the air. “I tire of this. I would tell you to rip your tongue out, but I know it will only grow back. To end this, I must end you!"

                He jumped skyward, but again, Edward was ready for his attack. He spun in midair, landing next to Maggie. She touched his arm to steady him, and in that instant got a glimpse of what he had planned. Or so she thought. “You can't defeat him that way. There just isn't enough time for it."

                “Where else do we need to be? How will we get there even if we had a reachable destination? All that doesn't matter. We do have places to be, but until we're finished with this, we have nowhere that is more important than being here right now."

                “Don't try to trick me Edward! I saw what you're going to attempt. He'll rip you to shreds this time."

                “Maybe. Sacrifices are sometimes needed."

                “Well not this time. We do this thing together. After all, I was the one who sensed him in the first place. So if anyone is to blame, it's me."

                “Robert is to blame, plain and simple. And what he did happened a long time ago, before either of us was born.

                Hyde growled and leapt again, sending them off in different directions. Maggie beat her wings in agitation as she hovered above the scene. She knew Edward was going to need help, but above decks was where she was any good at the moment. Until she could figure out how to stow her wings, they were only going to be in the way in the narrow corridors and cramped quarters down below. Going through them slowly was no problem, but if speed was of the essence, she was going to be of no use whatsoever.

                His plan, while fundamentally good in conception, had a major flaw. Hyde might be stuck in this persona for good. If that were the case, then any attempt to carry it out was fraught with danger. Robert said that if he died; that is to say, if he died for real, then Hyde would likely be the sole occupant of the body they had shared for so long. Thus, there would be no turning of the dark side toward the light.

                But if that were the case, she would go down with her love, for without him (flaws and all) she felt as if she were nothing. He would have argued against such feelings, had they been in a better place for discussing them. As it was, it was now a life and death struggle. Any arguing would have to wait until a more suitable time.

                Hyde ripped a section of railing from the nearby stairwell and flung it with unerring accuracy. Edward dodged it, careening through the air to land even higher up on the ship's structure.  Maggie hovered close by; worried that he would never make it through this ordeal.  But Edward just gazed down at the raging beast below before speaking.

                “There comes an end to all things; the most capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul."

                Hyde was brought up short. “And what is it we play now? A game of words long past? What would you have me say? Something like if I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also?"

                “Then end your suffering. Go back to being Robert, and let him decide your fate."

                Hyde boiled with rage. “I will never let that little pipsqueak ruin my life anymore. He created me. It seems fitting that I should be the end of him after so many years!"

                Edward shrugged. “I personally would rather die than live my life in constant pain and anger. “

                Hyde composed himself as best he could manage under the circumstances. “Do you know what he called me? Do you know what he wrote for the whole world to read? All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil. I didn't want to be evil. I didn't want to be - to exist at all. He took all that was his dark side and gave it to me. So tell me man, what else do I have in my existence?"

                “Have you never known love?"

                “Love? He knew love. He dragged us across the globe because of love. The only reason I left him alone in London was because London was home. The smells, the sewers, the crime.  They were my only comfort. I slept at peace for decades before he woke me up again. And why? WHY? Because he wanted forgiveness. Because he found someone who he thought he could relate to; to trust. He was always a tiny little fool. But love… I felt what he felt. Love was almost as intoxicating as mayhem."

                Edward chuckled. “Love is mayhem. I feel for you that you never got to feel it for yourself. I think that you may have enjoyed the perversity of it much more than the solid, random destruction you apparently favored."

                Hyde softened, but only a little. “Who could love this?" he said, indicating his present self. 

                “It is said that there is someone for everyone out there."

                “Bah. Time has passed me by to think about engaging in such niceties."

                “I suppose so."

                Edward hardly had the words out of his mouth when he chose to pounce. Hyde was distracted by his present thoughts. By the time he realized that he was under attack, Edward had bounded back up the stairs and was sitting on his high perch again.

                The attack had been painless. Hyde had felt a hand on his head for a split second before it was released again. There was no wound; no blood, nothing.

                “What do you call that, you one-armed jackanape?"

                “A touch."

                “You're touched, you impish fool!"

                Maggie saw what he had done and knew she could help. She began circling the men, making her circles larger and larger. She attacked Hyde the same way, grasping his head for a mere second before flapping furiously out of his reach. His apish arms nearly snagged her.

                “I WILL NOT BE TOYED WITH!"

                Edward was calm. “We are not toying with you. We are defeating you."

                Hyde suddenly felt weak. His heart was giving him pain. His head was swimming. His eyes sprung forth with tears.

                “What have you done to me?"

                “Given you a dose of reality."

                Hyde sunk to the deck. “What are you talking about?"

                “Love. I hit you with a dose of love I have for another. She hit you with a return of that love. Love is the flip side of hate. It is equal to it in all respects. We negated your rage in the only manner I knew how. For now, we've nullifies that which makes you what you are.

                Maggie came in cautiously. Sure enough, Hyde looked defeated. But she knew that he carried with him an inordinate amount of emotional baggage. What they had done, while unexpected and seemingly effective, probably wouldn't last. At some point, assuming that Robert was still in there, Hyde would return all the more angry.

                But as it was, his body was sagging. It looked like a balloon that had been blown up a week before, and was now fading, leaving a stretched out mass of skin and wrinkles. The remaining lampreys fell off, surprised at both being out of the water for so long and that their meal had suddenly dried up. The body continued to shrink, assuming a hardly recognizable form of the famed author.

                Edward leaped to the deck and scooped him up in his arm. With a spring he headed down into the depths of the ship.  Maggie went to follow, but he halted her before she could follow far.

                “This isn't bravery or bravado on my part. This is old-fashioned necessity. If you saw my plan for what I intend to do, then you know you can't be part of it. I'll need you to be up here when I return. I'd suggest getting one of the few lifeboats ready. You can fly, but not for as far as we may need to go. I could swim, but with one arm missing, I make any speed or distance. We need to get away from this ship as quickly as possible."

                She leaned in and kissed him. “Try not to be too stupid. One of these times I think your actions are going to kill me."

                “As well as me. But today is not that day I think." He turned and ran down into the bowels of the ship. Through his contact with the body, he could sense that Hyde was presently subdued. Stevenson was still there, which gave a slight hope to his plan. He had to get the two them as deep into the interior as he could go.

                As he went, he noted where there were doors and hatches. He had taken care to pay attention before, but now he was paying close attention. It was a little more difficult the deeper they went, as the light quickly dimmed. Edward knew the fine details were going to be everything in this plan. As he loped along he could feel the mind within stirring, and he hurried even more to reach his destination. He was essentially now in the bilge, though in a ship like this, that wasn't quite true. It hardly mattered. They were as low as they could go. There was no light to see by, only darkness.

                A voice cried out.

                “What has happened?"

                “Hello Robert. How are you feeling?"

                “I know that voice. You are the new friend I met. Where are we?"

                “Somewhere safe for the moment."

                “What happened? I remember the plane…" Edward felt a shudder run through the small man's body.

                “Yes, there was a problem aboard the plane. “

                “Oh dear…"

                “But you and I are together now."

                “Why is it so dark? Are we dead?"

                “No, we aren't dead. But we have come close to it, you and I."

                There was a pause as Robert gathered his thoughts. “I see. So then, it has come down to this. You have come to see me to my grave, haven't you? No, no – don't deny it. I welcome it. I trust you will make it as painless as possible?"

                “I will. Anything less would be unworthy of your accomplishments, and anything more will probably trigger a response from your alter ego."

                “Yes, he will not take this very well. I hope you have secured us in one of those old war bunkers. I doubt there is very much that will contain him otherwise."

                “He will be contained. I think that there will be enough steel to hold him until the time comes."

                “Do not underestimate him."

                “Oh, that won't be a problem. He and I have tussled, and he got the better of me. It was a hard learned lesson."

                Robert lapsed into silence again for a few moments. When he spoke, it was in hushed tones. “My friend, you have a good woman for your mate. Treat her well always. She has depths and degrees you have not yet fathomed."

                Edward nearly broke out in a humorous grin at what he was thinking, but refrained despite knowing his face was all but invisible down here in the dark.

                “She is showing new sides all the time."

                “Good. I like her you know. I knew she was taken, but she made me feel young again when I first met her. I suppose it was just a passing fancy. I mean no harm in telling you this."

                “She is a wonderful little lady Robert. I would do anything in my power to protect her."

                “As well you should.  But I digress. I await my judgment. Will you make it swift?"

                “As swift as I can." Edward put his hand on Robert's head and transformed into his most powerful form.

                A moment later he squeezed through the doorway, turning to pulled it shut.   As he moved through the dark, he pulled loose debris into his former path, littering the way and making an obstacle course. The next door he closed, but the one after he left open temporarily. He walked over to the side of the ship and put his ear to the metal. The dim sounds of the ocean echoed through the steel plates.

                “Sorry Hyde, but this is the only way." Bracing himself, he balled up his massive ham hand and bashed at the plating until the metal gave way.

                Water began to rush in.

                Edward leaped for the doorway and snapped the hatch closed. He went to the other side of the ship and pounded another hole, leaping to safety as the water rushed in. He climbed several flights of stairs closing the doors all the while. He was containing the flood of seawater, but he was also containing Hyde. When that freak recovered his wits, he would begin to bash his way out. That would allow the water to flow to all parts of the ships. With any luck, it and the malformed beast would both become one with the briny deep. No one was going to miss either one.

                Maggie hadn't dropped the lifeboat yet, afraid that it might drift too far in too short a period of time. She wanted to be on hand in case Edward needed help. She had a fair idea what he planned on doing, but not entirely. He had blocked some of it from her mind, figuring, she had to assume, that it was too gruesome for the likes of her. She was going to have to have a talk with him about that. She had been killing far before he had ever found a need to do it.

                She waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Then she heard the thud. It was more of a sensation that ran through the ship rather than an actual noise. She waited and heard it again. She had an idea what it was, but if he didn't show his ugly face in a couple of more minutes she was going in after him.

                He came out in full rage mode, huffing and puffing as he pulled himself through the last doorway to freedom. His eyes were wild and he was shaking his head, possibly from the deafening noise he had created in smashing through the hull of the ship. He was probably stunned from the clamor.

                “Edward!" Maggie screamed at him. He turned and saw her, lumbering erratically from side to side as he made his way to the side of the ship.

                “What's wrong with you?"

                “I feel weird."

                “Well, no time to contemplate that now. Get back to normal and get in the boat. While it's designed for holding a group of people, I don't think we should abuse the capacity by dropping it with an oversized werewolf in it."

                He shrunk down to his normal self, clutching his head and tumbling head over heels into the small craft. Maggie hit the release lever and watched it fall into the dark sea below. With a quick glance at the doorway he had exited from, she said a little prayer and dove to their much smaller home for the next part of their ordeal. The craft had an emergency beacon, but time would tell whether or not anyone would ever receive their distress call.

                The wind was blowing them away from the cruise ship, putting a slow but steady distance between them and that rusting hulk.  After a quarter of a mile of floating, they noticed the ship was beginning to list, and at a half a mile, it was beginning to dip severely to the port side. Eventually, it tilted, turned, and slipped beneath the waves.

                “So ends Mr. Hyde," said Maggie.

                “Yes, so ends Mr. Hyde. May he and Davy Jones becomes the best of friends."

                Maggie fluttered her wings. “So. What do we do now?"

                Edward seemed to be in pain, though he said nothing about it and she was to wise not to inquire. 

               “We wait."

                Somewhere across the sea…

                The bell in the kitchen rang. There were many such devices, all attached to cords put in place decades before. One might even go so far as to say they had been there for a century or more. Each connected the kitchen with a room somewhere upstairs in the labyrinth of chambers that filled the mansion from top to bottom.

                This particular bell had a distinctive ring, and a few of the staff had never heard it go off before. Those that had knew that its activation was something momentous. Everyone stared as the dust drifted down from the recent chiming.

                “What could it mean?"

                The eldest of the kitchen staff shrugged. “Tis not our duty to know. Go tell Master Irwedin that the lady has called. He alone will see what it is she needs."

                The man thus instructed headed up the stairs to the first floor, following a long, carpeted hallway. He passed many door leading to either side. When he had counted out the proper number, and stopped and knocked. A voice inside replied, sounding both angry and curious.

                “What is it?"

                “The bell master. The lady has rung."

                The door flew open. “What?"

                “I saw and heard it for myself master. I was bid to come tell you. The lady has rung."

                “We finally just got settled down in the past twenty years. And now we have to deal with something new?"

                “What does it mean?"

                The old man snapped at the other. “None of your business Pertie. Go back down and say nothing more to anyone."

                “But master, I have nothing to tell."

                “And rightly so."

                The old man bundled himself together and walked to the stairs. He stepped briskly for one with such an elderly appearance, making his way up three flights before reaching the desired floor. The room he wanted was at the end, as far from traffic as it could possibly be. The floor showed a layer of dust the rest of the building lacked, leaving evidence of his footprints as he walked solemnly down the corridor. No one came up here ever. No one.

                He knocked on the door.

                “Come in Irwedin. It's not like I haven't been expecting you."

                He shivered a little and entered. He hadn't seen the lady in nearly thirty years. It was damned unnatural for anyone, even those of the Kind to live without eating for such long stretches. The room was surprisingly brightly lit, with the curtains flung open and the wndow letting in the fresh, healthy air. He had half expected it to be dark, dank and moldy in here after so long.

                “I was told you called milady?"

                “I did ring, yes. It has happened."

                “But milady, I thought it had been foretold that it would never happen."

                “Not by me, and that is all that matters. Just because I keep my nose out of other people's affairs doesn't mean that I am not aware of what foolish people predict. He has survived and he has taken a bride. I am most pleased."

                “Pleased? They said that if this were to happen, it would be the end of us!"

                “Indeed it will. You should rejoice in that fact."

                “But everything we have built here. What will become of it?"

                “You fear what you do not understand Irwedin. I thought you were taught better than that."

                “Milady, just because you can see all doesn't mean all of us can. Can't you stop this from happening?"

                “Yes, I could. But I will not. I have spent a greater portion of my life not interfering. I have no intention of starting now. And you should well know the rule; she who knows and seeks to alter, finds her steps doth weaken and falter. The moment I take action to direct events, the manner in which they unfold changes and thus I have altered what I have seen.  I will help if necessary, but I will not hinder.“

                “Will he kill us?"

                “Heavens no, you frightened little mouse of a were. He doesn't even know yet that we exist. But he will. He will."