Blood and Petals Part 2 of 3: A Danger In Plain Sight,

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Blood and Petals Part 2 of 3: A Danger In Plain Sight,

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RBDECEPTICON17

RBDECEPTICON17

@rbdecepticon17 a year ago

Welcome back everybody! X3

This is a much longer section than the last part was, but hopefully all of you will all still enjoy the second part of Blood and Petals. And if not, that's okay. X3

Warning: Slightly graphic descriptions of horror and body horror reside within this part. If any kinds of horror make you feel queasy or uneasy, then I would suggest leaving and tuning back in when the final part comes out in the future. For the rest of you who choose to stay, you have been warned.

ENJOY!

"What exactly do you think did this to him?"

"I don't know."

"Well we need to figure it out soon or Henry will stress himself out for the umpteenth time."

"We already know that, Dr Lanyon! Bird, me and everyone else here don't want to stress Dr Jekyll anymore than you do!"

"Don't raise your voice at-!"

"Quiet everybody, Mr Hyde is waking up!"

Groaning in pain, the madman slowly opened his eyes and stared up at all the silent and blurry figures surrounding him. His stomach was filled by a dull ache and his head felt like a light cloud. Hyde blinked repeatedly, his vision slowly clearing until the blurry figures morphed back into their true forms.

All of the lodgers, Rachel and...Lanyon...were surrounding him as he was now lying upon something much softer than the hard floor that he remembered passing out upon. The lodgers and Rachel's features expressed concern while Lanyon's expressed polite indifference. Hyde simply stared up at them all, a confused expression upon his pale face.

"Where...Where am I...?" The madman questioned; throat painfully dry and voice raspy and weak. His words would have almost gone unheard if it hadn't been for the fact that everyone was standing quite close to him.

He could feel Henry's prescence within the room and control was still within his grasp, so at least they hadn't accidently switched bodies while he had been unconscious.

"You're in the medbay, Mr Hyde. Archer and Bird found you lying passed out in their room in a pool of your own blood, so they brought you down here so we could take care of you." Rachel calmly and softly explained, Hyde turning his head to look up at his friend as she spoke. He could hear the worry in her voice.

But after listening to her words; realisation flashed across his face and a long and irritated groan left his lips.

"You have got to be kidding me. I didn't get to have any fun, because I was lying unconscious in here?!" Edward weakly gritted out, frustrated, his face quickly growing red with anger.

But a moment later, a familiar shadow slowly manifested upon the wall behind Hyde; looming over the madman's bed and frowning down at him, a worried expression upon the shadow's face.

"You shouldn't have gone near that vile flower, Hyde." Henry softly scolded, his arms folded over his chest.

The good doctor then let out a quiet and sad sigh.

"Then again, I should have done more to stop you from putting yourself in danger." He quietly muttered, though it seemed that he was talking more to himself than to Hyde. But the madman just rolled his eyes and tried to sit up upon the medbay bed, ignoring his shadowy counterpart.

He really didn't need Jekyll reminding him that he had fucked up.

"Don't move, Mr Hyde, you'll only make yourself feel worse!" Rachel hastily warned, stepping closer towards him to try and block him off.

But Edward didn't listen and continued to get out of bed. He wanted to get out of The Society and make up for the precious time he had lost because of that stupid-! Suddenly, Hyde was harshly struck by a familiar agony consuming his stomach, while a horrid concoction forced its way up his dried throat and left him with no choice but to violently vomit all over the floor. Loud gasps filled the medbay as everyone hastily backed away in shock, while Rachel ran from Edward's side and grabbed a nearby bucket; bringing it back over and handing it to Hyde, who yanked the bucket out of her hands and continued to loudly vomit profusely against his will into the bucket; body trembling, tears spilling and shaking hands clutching the bucket tightly.

But eventually, and after retching a few more times, the horrid agony in his stomach finally dulled, along with the poor blonde's vomiting and trembling, and a moment later, he was lying across the bed; panting, pale and dehydrated, while the bucket clattered upon the floor and splashed its contents across it.

All eyes, including Henry's own, darted to the gross spillage; jaws dropping to the floor, eyes widening to the size tea cup saucers and gasps filling the short silence within the medbay.

Petals.

Black and yellow petals were scattered about the vile vomit...and the good doctor finally realised something.

"Wait! I've got it!" Henry suddenly exclaimed, an epiphany lighting up above his head, while the young cook hastily rushed out of the room to collect some water for the poor madman.

But as Henry looked down at Edward, the good doctor's mouth open as if he were about to speak, he saw the terrible state that the poor blonde was now in. He wasn't in a well enough state to leave the medbay yet.

The good doctor quickly shut his mouth and returned to watching the scene play out beneath him, as if he were watching one of the plays from his childhood, as eventually Rachel returned; a small tray filled with glasses in her hands and a determined expression upon her slightly sweat stained face.

Hyde was now back under the bedsheets thanks to some of the lodgers' assistance; his eyes half lidded and his face paler than normal, as he looked up at Rachel and let a small and grateful smile come to his sick stained lips.

"Here you go...Mr Hyde...drink some water and...you'll feel better." Rachel cheerfully uttered between soft pants, while she carefully placed the tray upon the bedroom drawer beside Edward's medbay bed.

"Thanks." He quietly muttered back; voice raspy and weak, before he grabbed the first glass he could reach and began to quickly consume each of them without another word.

One by one each of the glasses were emptied, and soon a touch of colour returned back to Hyde's face and his throat slowly transformed from dry as a dessert to wet and functional again. He almost looked like he wasn't extremely ill and in quite a bit of pain. But as he

downed the last glass of water, a long and pleased sigh leaving his lips as he pulled the glass away from his mouth, Dr Lanyon stepped forward and stood next to the madman; his hands intertwined behind himself, his back standing as straight as an arrow and his eyes staring sternly down his big nose at Hyde.

"Are you finally going to tell us your reasons for being inside Mr Bird and Mr Archer's quarters last night, Mr Hyde?" The older doctor asked; calm and respectable...until the madman's name was spoken and venom was spilled onto Lanyon's tongue.

Edward quietly placed the empty glass back upon the tray and then locked eyes with the other man.

"I was only a little curious about their new plant, Lanyon. Is it oh so wrong to be curious about new things?" The madman retorted through gritted teeth, a small smirk upon his face as he narrowed his eyes at the other man.

Unlike Lanyon, Hyde wasn't going to waste his time trying to hide his dislike from him, nor would he waste his time trying to be subtle about it.

But while the two men glared daggers at one another, Henry let out a long groan and rolled his eyes, his arms folded across his chest as he stared down at them. He knew all too well that Robert hated his connection to a supposedly horrible man like Hyde, and in turn, Henry also knew that Hyde hated his best friend's very existance, maybe even more than he hated the good doctor. If it weren't for his connection with both of them, Henry was certain that they would have murdered each other without a second thought.

"Well I would suggest that you avoid going anywhere near any of the lodgers' quarters from now on. I'm certain that neither of us want to worry Dr Jekyll, do we?" The older doctor sternly warned, yet as Hyde opened his mouth to make a snarky retort and put Lanyon in his place, Henry finally had enough and hastily spoke up.

"Don't say a word, Hyde. There's no use wasting your time arguing with Robert when there is a more pressing matter to deal with right now." Henry firmly ordered of his unwell counterpart.

And after a moment longer of the madman's mouth remaining open like that of a gaping fish, Hyde quickly snapped his mouth shut and gave Lanyon nothing but silence and a glare as his only answer. The older brunette scowled, before he turned his back to Hyde and then walked away and out of sight.

Edward then finally addressed his shadowy counterpart.

'So what exactly is this more pressing matter you speak of, my dear doctor?' He questioned through their mental connection.

"Ridding us of whatever illness that is ailing my body."

The madman mentally raised an eyebrow and slowly moved his gaze upto the shadow looming over his body. It was a shadow that only his eyes could look upon, his emerald eyes filled by a mix of curiousity and hope as his and Henry's eyes silently met in that moment.

'Firsty; our body, Jekyll.'

Henry rolled his eyes and didn't bother with a retort.

'And secondly; what do you want me to do? We can't exactly do anything in here without instantly raising their suspicions.'

But at the madman's question, one side of Henry's lips twitched and rose into a small half smirk, a challenge shining in his shadowy eyes.

"You are a persistant man, Mr Hyde, so i'm sure it won't be too difficult for you to get us out of the medbay and back to my office. Correct?" The good doctor explained, the challenge in his eyes now thick in his voice. He was happily daring Hyde to prove his words to be true.

The madman couldn't help but let a wide smirk stretch his lips from ear to ear, before he slowly sat up upon the medbay bed and once again attempted to leave it.

'Yes, and I accept your challege, Jekyll~'

Hyde's shoes soon touched the cold floor, before the madman pushed himself off of the

bed and stood up before all the lodgers and the young cook, Rachel hastily stepping in front of the madman.

"Mr Hyde, you need to lay down and wait for Dr Jekyll to come and help you." She desperately begged of him, worry thick in her voice as the lodgers nodded in agreement.

"She's right, you know?" Bird uttered; his arms folded in front of his chest and his eyes staring at the madman through his small glasses.

"Yeah, so don't bother being a persistant basterd for once, Hyde, and get back in bed." Griffin gritted out as he glared at Hyde.

But unsurprisingly, he didn't listen to any of them as he quietly and slowly walked away and over to the wooden double doors of the medbay. Hyde was determined to get out of there and away from their gazes. He paused in front of the doors, the unwell blonde keeping himself steady by gripping the two shiny door knobs tightly with his pale and slightly shaking hands.

"I'll go to him myself, and if any of you dare to disturb us when not asked for, i'll be sure to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget when i'm feeling better!" The madman angrily snapped, narrowing his eyes at all of them from over his shoulder.

And with those last warning words, and as the medbay fell silent, Hyde opened the doors and finally walked out of the room and up the insanely decorated main hall. Out of their sights, the unwell blonde speed walked over to Henry's office without a single care for the dull pain inside his stomach, while the shadow of the good doctor followed him across the large hall, up the stairs and into his poorly lit office.

But after he closed the doors behind him, Hyde leaned against them; panting raggedly and breathing heavily, while the dull pain in his chest now began to throb with every breath of air that he swallowed.

It was as if his own heart had suddenly turned against him.

After finally catching his breath, the madman slowly walked over to Henry's desk and began to quietly work on recreating the HJ7 formula, while Henry watched on from the mirror. He patiently waited for them to switch places again. The ingredients were soon mixed together, and after adding the special salt to the mix, the formula glowed an eerie green glow and bubbled at the surface while green smoke almost consumed the madman's form.

It was finally ready for consumption.

Hyde didn't waste a second and hastily drank it down; the formula burning his throat and filling his veins, before familiar fires ignited inside his stomach and a vicious agony forced the madman to drop the vial and collapse upon the floor; coughing, sobbing and crying, while he held his head in his hands as he curled up and writhed in agony on the office floor. Their souls came together, were torn apart and then violently shoved into opposite directions until Hyde had found the mirror and Henry had found their shared body. And with that, the familiar yet unhinged agony finally came to a swift and merciful end.

When Henry finally opened his eyes, his somewhat dark office surrounded him, while the formula dribbled from his mouth and spilled from his eyes as he panted and breathed heavily in a shaking ball upon the floor. He could feel a dull pain inside his chest, yet Henry couldn't feel that there was anything truly wrong with him.

After finally catching his breath and wiping away the remnants of the formula from his face, Henry stood up and turned around, staring at his unwell counterpart with a professional but soft expression upon his face.

Hyde was paler than normal; his body slightly hunched over and his arms wrapped around his stomach, while he stared back at Henry with pain in his dull emerald eyes.

"Lie down on the couch for me, Hyde. I need to take a look at you." The good doctor softly ordered.

Edward nodded and then slowly stepped out of the mirror, his body solidifying slightly as his body passed through the glass, and over to the comfortable and warm couch, sighing softly as he rested flat upon it.

Henry frowned, watching the poor madman almost walk at a snail's pace, before he quickly turned around and began to search through all the dusty and potion filled cabinets of his office; opening, peeking inside and then closing them all again.

'I'm certain that I left my old journal somewhere in here.' He thought to himself, cursing under his breath with every failure he had uncovered within his many cabinets.

It had to be hidden somewhere in his office!

There was no possible way he could have lost it!

But he was unsuccessful with the cabinets and so he hastily rushed back over to his desk, yanking open both drawers. He peered inside the right one, but found no sign of his journal, and then peered inside the left drawer; his heart fluttering with joy and a long sigh of relief leaving his lips.

It was there, poking out from underneath papers and other items Henry had placed inside the drawer over time. His old journal. It was covered by a thick layer of dust and was bursting at the seams with knowledge, though thankfully it appeared to still be in one piece like he had left it all those years ago.

The good doctor hastily grabbed his journal, placed it upon his desk and then opened it.

Page after page was looked over and disease after disease was detailed upon the many pages of his journal. He was searching for one single word.

Hanahaki

And as he searched through his journal, his ears are filled by the violent coughing and gasping of his poor counterpart as the madman tried to breathe, tried to suck as much oxygen as possible. But the invisible and unyielding hands around Edward's neck made it nearly impossible for him to breathe, its fingers tightening around his throat and its sharp claws digging deep into his skin.

His body shook with fear and strangled cries for help filled his throat, bubbling desperately and demanding freedom...yet he held them back. He would not dare beg or plead for Henry's help!

That unending agony would never make him; The Spirit of London At Night, yield before anyone and that was final!

Soon Henry stopped upon two specific pages, where a beautiful sketch of a familiar flower and explainations of a horrid illness resided. He then picked up his journal and ran over to the couch; kneeling at Edward's side and placing the still open journal upon the floor.

"It's going to be alright, Hyde." He reassured, a soft but professional tone to his words, before he slowly outstretched his hand and attempted to run his soft fingers through Edward's messy blonde hair.

But the madman violently pulled himself away from Henry's comforting touch, even as a large part of him yearned and begged for it. He wanted to feel those delicate fingers running themselves through his hair and easing his pain, yet Hyde's pride wouldn't allow it, and so he shot an irritated yet unintimidating glare at Henry.

He tried to try and calm himself down and level out his breathing, but it didn't take very long for his mouth to suddenly be filled with a familiar bile, forcing him to once again vomit more Hanahaki petals all over the floor; tears spilling from his eyes and his body trembling violently.

The good doctor yelped and hastily pulled his journal to his chest before Hyde's vomit could ruin it.

Holding the open book against his chest, Henry stared with pitying eyes at his poor counterpart, while his heart ached within him.

But that didn't make any sense.

He had dealt with many patiences in the past, too many to count and many closer to death than Edward was, yet seeing his counterpart; tears overflowing in his eyes and his body trembling in agony, just seemed to easily snap his heart in two as if it were a fragile twig.

Henry thought that he had put it all behind him.

It would never happen. But why had it chosen now of all times to come back?

After the poor madman had finally stopped vomiting, the floor now stained by puke and petals, the good doctor slowly outstretched one of his hands toward Edward again. Comforting his sick patients always seemed to make them feel relaxed and safe, which made helping them so much easier.

"Hyde. Everything's going to be fine." Henry softly cooed to his unwell counterpart.

Hyde once again tried to pull himself away from the good doctor's touch. But he was too slow this time. Henry's fingers had no trouble finding their way into his messy blonde hair; stroking slowly and caressing gently. For a moment, Edward lay silently tense upon the couch and kept his tear filled eyes shut.

'Don't give in! Just don't give in! I can get through this without his comfort!'

But it felt so nice to finally feel those fingers touching him in such an intimate fashion.

A moment later, his breathing was still an issue as he slowly opened his eyes and stared up into Henry's caring rubies. Hyde thought that maybe it wouldn't hurt to give in this one single time. And so he did just that, moving his head up slowly and into Henry's touch, allowing the good doctor to comb his fingers through his messy mop of hair, the madman's breaths remaining uneven and ragged as he did so.

"Deep breaths, Hyde. Don't panic and just take deep breaths for me now, okay?" Henry quietly cooed, a reassuring smile upon his soft lips as he stared into his poor counterpart's watery eyes.

Edward's heart weakly fluttered at that beautiful smile, the madman quietly nodding his head before beginning to take deep but shaky breaths; tears rolling down his pale face and his lungs burning with every breath he took.

When the good doctor saw those tears, he quietly moved his hand out of the poor madman's hair and gently wiped them away until his thumb was wet and Hyde's eyes were momentarily drained of tears.

He then slowly pulled his hand away and grabbed the still open journal held against his chest. Edward let out a whine at the loss of Henry's touch. The good doctor pulled his journal upto his face and finally looked over the information he desired.

"The Hanahaki Disease, or to translate, The Flower Coughing Disease, is a disease based within Asian countries such as Japan. The flower can easily be identified by its yellow and black petals." Henry softly and quietly muttered.

His eyes ran over line after line, detailing the numerous stages that lied before them.

Reading through the stages of the disease was no different to when Henry had done so in the past...until he came to the final stage and beyond.

After death finally takes the victim away, the vile Hanahaki flower will continue to grow within their corpse; roots and petals filling their heart, their throat and their lungs, while the flower itself will blossom and burst out of their chest, before beginning the slow process of covering up the victim's body with more Hanahaki Flowers, until the victim is nothing more than an unmoving energy source for a disgusting Hanahaki Bush that will inevitably consume whatever is left of them.

And if Henry didn't save Edward now...then that would be the nightmarish fate that they had to look forward to.

The good doctor quickly closed the book, placed it aside and then outstretched his hands towards Edward. But then he paused, waiting to hear any kind of protest from his counterpart.

Hyde said nothing and simply continued to take deep and pained breaths as he stared at Henry.

Henry smiled at him and then carefully began to undress Edward; unbuttoning buttons and pulling off each item of clothing, until he was left in nothing but his shoes and underwear.

But once his body is revealed to him, Henry let out a loud and horrified gasp, yanked his hands away and covered his mouth, his eyes as wide as saucers as he stared in horror at the poor madman.

"How...How bad is it...? Jekyll...?" The poor madman asked between deep and pained breaths.

But Henry said nothing and continued to stare at his counterpart's almost naked body. An inky blackness was flowing from head to toe through Edward's veins, while blueish and yellowish splotches were littered across his chest...right above where the madman's poor heart was.

The disease was into its third stage.

Henry could barely tear his eyes away from the disaster Hyde's body had become. But after a minute longer of staring, he heard Edward's voice, asking him how bad it was again. His voice snapped the good doctor out of his horrified trance and back behind his professional facade.

"It isn't good, Hyde, but I can assure you that you will be cured before this day is finished." Henry calmly explained to his unwell counterpart, a small but reassuring smile upon his face, before he quickly grabbed his journal and began to silently search for the details of the cure.

He was now determined more than ever to keep them both out of Death's cruel clutches.

It didn't take long for him to find what he had written all those years ago; four ingredients for the cure, the amount of each ingredient and even how to create the cure without running the risk of it blowing up in his face. But he had always hoped that he would have never haqd to use such information ever again, yet it seemed that the odds were once again stacked upon another's side. Death's side.

The list of ingredients went thusly:

-Five petals from an Ambrosia Flower.

-Five petals from an Anemone Flower.

-Five petals from an Acacia Flower.

-Five drops of blood taken from the one connected to the feelings of one sided love that the victim is suffering from.

'What? Hyde is...in love? But who could he have fallen for?' The good doctor pondered to himself, his eyes wide and his mouth agape in shock. The thought of Hyde suffering through unreturned feelings not only tugged at Henry's heart strings...but also managed to sneak a little glimmer of hope past his mask and into the good doctor's ruby eyes.

The good doctor quickly looked Edward over.

The madman was breathing a little better than before, yet the bruises appeared to have multiplied behind Henry's back, painting the pale skin of Hyde's chest purple, blue and yellow.

And after he had finished looking Edward up and down, Henry stood up, closed his journal and then quietly ran over to the double doors of his office.

"Where...are you...going?" Hyde questioned between deep breaths as he slowly raised his head and looked at his counterpart, confused.

"I need to grab the cure's ingredients, Hyde. I promise that I won't be gone long." Henry calmly explained, throwing one last reassuring smile at Hyde before he quickly exited his office.

However, when he closed the door and was about to descend the stairs, he found Rachel and the lodgers waiting at the bottom of them; concerned and silent. All of their eyes gleamed with the exact same question. They all wanted some answers.

The good doctor let out a soft sigh and smiled down at them all.

"Mr Hyde is going to be alright, everyone, but I need some of you to bring a few items to me so that I can help him." Henry calmly explained, before he began to give out orders and send all of them on their ways.

Archer and Bird were sent back to their quarters to grab the fifteen petals which the cure desired. Rachel and another lodger were sent to the kitchen to grab more glasses of water for when Hyde became dehydrated again. As for the remaining lodgers, they were all told to return to their quarters and to wait until Henry informed them that the poor madman was finally cured.

After that, everyone left the main hall without a word and quickly got to work, while the good doctor quickly ran back into his office and closed the doors behind him.

'Now I just need the five drops of blood. But where on Earth will I find whoever Hyde has fallen for? Hmm...maybe it's that man or that woman he usually hangs about with? Or maybe it could be Cutthroat-?'

As Henry pondered over such a question, strange and child-like sounds suddenly began to echo through his office, making him almost jump out of his skin as he hastily turned to stare at the source of such sounds...only to find his counterpart; laughing and writhing, an expression of painful delirium upon his tear stained face as he let out squeals and mewls between bursts of hysterical laughter.

Henry stared in complete disbelief at Edward; eyes wide and jaw dropped upon the floor. The Spirit of London At Night had suddenly been reduced to a child?! He walked over and stood beside his counterpart, staring down at him with confused expression upon his face. But the madman just stared back up at Henry, a small and innocent smile upon his pale face as giggles spilled forth from his now chapped lips.

"How do you sparkle so muuuuuch? You're like a huuuuuuuge penny!" Edward curiously and cheerfully questioned; his words slurred and his head tilting from side to side.

Henry's jaw once again dropped, unfinished words spluttering out of his mouth as his mind scrabbled for an explaination as he stared silently at Edward...until a spark of realisation finally flashed in his eyes.

The squealing and the mewling.

The uncontrollable giggling and laughter.

The child-like tone to his speech.

Edward was now going through delirium and they were running out of time!

The thought quickly had Henry shaking his head and gripping his journal tightly, before he knelt down at Edward's side and gently cupped the poor madman's cheek, turning his head to look him in the eyes.

"I need to know who you love, Hyde. Their blood is important and the cure needs it." Henry quickly and calmly explained, a crack or two upon his professional mask as he spoke.

But Edward simply shook his head.

"Nuuuuu, that's a secret! You don't share secrets!"

Suddenly, Edward's eyes began to flutter closed and he let out an admittedly adorable giggle, while at the same time, he looked ready to drift off into unconsciousness. But Henry was quick to notice. Within seconds, his hands were upon Edward's shoulders and he was gently shaking his delirious counterpart back into the land of the living, the blonde's eyes shooting open and a weak gasp of surprise leaving him.

"Please Hyde, you have to tell me who you've fallen in love with, otherwise I won't be able to help you." The good doctor begged, worry breaking through his professional mask and

leaking into his voice.

But instead of giving an answer...Edward's attention was grabbed by Henry's eyes.

"Do you have rubies for eyes? They look so shiny and pretty and red. Sooooooo much red!" Edward curiously slurred out. He giggled and laughed aloud and then slowly raised his hands and weakly clapping them together.

"Henry has rubies for eyes! Henry has rubies for eyes! Henry has rubies for eyes!"

Over and over those words were repeated, the delirious blonde slowly clapping his hands together between his exclaimations, leaving Henry to let out a long and exasperated sigh as he rested his head in his hands, shaking his head out of frustration. He truly hoped that that delirious state passed by shortly.

"How am I supposed to save your bloody life if you won't- Huh?"

Henry slowly raised his head out of his hands and stared at Edward; surprised yet confused.

He suddenly felt a pair of familiar hands resting upon his head, while gentle and curious fingers slowly ran themselves through his soft and short brown hair.

Neither of them dared to utter a word, subconsciously stretching the moment out as Edward continued to run his fingers through Henry's hair and Henry continued to stare deep into Edward's slightly dim emerald eyes.

But after a sweet minute of blissful silence passed, a weak voice spoke.

"You have such soft hair...and really shiny eyes too." Edward whispered, a small smile coming to his lips. A dark blush covered Henry's cheeks and his heart secretly and passionately fluttered within his chest at those words.

But seconds later, he asked the same question for the third time in a row, hoping to finally put an end to their conversation. His professional mask was now stained by more thin cracks than before he had left his office.

However, once the question made it to Edward's ears, he pulled his fingers out of Henry's hair, and then as quickly as he was able, cupped Henry's cheeks and pulled his counterpart's face closer to his own; a wide and happy smile on his lips and an affectionate but weak sparkle in his eyes.

And then finally...Edward gave Henry his answer.

"It's you! I love you, Henry! I love you! I love you, Henry Jekyll!" He happily exclaimed, a large weight lifted off of the madman's shoulders as he proclaimed his love again and again and again.

But seconds later, that same weight came crashing back down upon his fragile and flower infected heart.

And with it, Edward's proclaimations quickly came to a screeching hault; his chapped lips snapping shut and his expression of joyful delirium crumbling away, revealing pain and even horror at his own proclaimation.

Hyde cursed himself and lowered his head back onto the couch; his heart racing, more bruises staining his chest and his pained and shaky breaths now once again filling the office. But Henry just stared down at him, surprised, his body frozen in complete shock as the words echoed over and over inside his head and rang inside his ears.

'You...You fell for me...?' The good doctor thought, his heart fluttering inside his chest.

But a moment later, and as Edward was holding back tears, Henry blinked and shook his head.

He then quietly stood up with his journal in hand. Henry knew that it was cruel of him to give Edward nothing but silence, but they were already running out of time. And after fixing his mask, he turned his back to the poor madman and walked over to his desk and placed his open journal upon it.

'I need to save him. I need to save both of us. I'm sorry but I must put this first.'

And with that thought, Henry attempted to run around his office, attempted to grab his old alchemical equipment and attempted to place them upon his desk. Or at least he would have done that...if not for the knock at the door that suddenly echoed through his office. The good doctor groaned and stomped over to the door, yanked it open and poked his head out, his body blocking out his office from view as he stared at his visitors, ready to shout.

But it was only Archer, Bird, Rachel and the lodger who had been helping her at the door.

Archer and Bird were holding three small cups, each containing five fresh petals within them, while Rachel and the lodger were both carrying small trays, both covered by glasses of water.

But Henry didn't allow them inside his office.

Instead he simply gave them a grateful and honest smile, grabbed the three cups, balancing them in his hands, before running back to his desk. He then did the same with the two trays of water, though he quickly thanked the four of them for their help, before finally closing the door.

Once the door was closed, the four helpers walking away not long after, Henry carried the glasses of water over to Edward, placed them next to the couch and handed one to him.

Edward silently accepted the glass and slowly drank the cool water. And once again, Henry said nothing. Instead he stood up and finally began to collect his old alchemical equipment.

First he collected his distilling equipment from one of his cabinets. He had not used it in quite some time. He held it carefully as he rushed back to his desk and gently placed the equipment upon said desk. After giving the distilling equipment a quick once over, Henry moved onto his stone mortar and stone pestle, pulling both of them out of another cabinet. He then quickly returned to his desk and placed them upon it.

The good doctor was certain that he had everything now.

Grabbing the three small cups, Henry dropped the fifteen petals into the mortar, each of them swaying down into the stone cup. He then grabbed the pestle. And while he held the mortar in place, Henry hastily crushed the colourful petals into mush; his expression one of focus and his fingers wrapped tightly around the pestle, while Edward's sobs, grunts and whimpers of agony echoed inside his office and rang horribly in his ears.

Once the petals were nothing but mush, Henry placed the pestle aside, pulled the thermometer out of the distilling flask at the beginning of the equpiment. The petal mush was then dumped into the flask and the thermometer was pushed back into the distilling flask. Seconds later, the burner was turned on; the flame burning hot beneath the flask and boiling the trapped petal mush.

Now Henry could only watch and wait, leaving him with no choice but to listen to the poor madman's pained and saddening words, his weak voice filling his ears.

"Please...hurry up...fucking please. It's getting worse...fuck please. Please...make it stop...make it stop...I want it to fucking...stop." Edward weakly pleaded between pained sobs and deep breaths, his cheeks visibly wet and his emerald eyes overflowing with tears as he spoke.

"I promise you'll be okay, Hyde. You're going to be okay." Henry softly reassured; his hands clenched and shaking upon his desk, his eyes shut tight and his words filled with uncertainty.

He didn't even know if his words were true...

After a couple minutes, the boiled petal mush finally gave off vapours, which flowed into the glass condenser line, condensing it until the petal extract finally dripped and dripped into the receiving flask at the end of the distilling equipment. Henry watched the receiving flask closely, until the dripping finally ceased, the good doctor turning off the burner and grabbing the flask. He then placed the petal extract into one of the small cups and ran around to the other side of his desk.

Placing the cup back down, Henry opened one of his drawers and carefully pulled out a small but sharp needle, and then quietly closed the drawer.

Five drops of his blood.

The final ingredient that the cure required.

He spun his left hand around, and after taking a deep breath, he pushed the needle into the bare pad of one of his fingers. Henry quickly stifled a pained whimper as the sharp metal pierced his skin, drawing a thin little trickle of blood from his finger.

And a few seconds later, Henry hastily yanked the needle out and threw it aside. He then hovered his bleeding finger above the small cup; watching closely and counting five drops.

Once five drops were in the cup, and ignoring the minor injury upon his finger, Henry grabbed a stirring rod out of one of his desk drawers and quickly mixed the blood and petal extract together.

But seconds after he had started stirring, loud coughs suddenly filled his office; profuse and pained, before the horrid sound of vomit forcing itself out of Edward's poor throat and splattering across the floor reached Henry's ear.

And when the good doctor finished the cure and ran over to the poor madman's side, ready to finally put the nightmare behind them and end Edward's agony, he froze and almost dropped the cure at the horiffic sight before him; face paling, eyes widening and a loud gasp of horror leaving Henry's lips.

Smaller Hanahaki Flowers; slowly growing and slowly blooming, were practically consuming Edward's mouth as if it were a fleshy plant pot. Tears were streaming down his deathly white face. The skin above his heart had been completely turned eerie yellow and deep brown by the hundreds of bruises that now covered his chest like a twisted painting created by Death's brush. And the black ooze flowing through his veins, poisoning them with its vile presence, was rapidly spreading, drawing dangerously close to the madman's flower infested heart.

The final stage had finally arrived to claim him.

Edward stared up at Henry through watery and bloodshot emerald eyes.

'Henry...please...help me. Please...i'm sorry...for everything i've done...to you. Please...please make it stop...I don't want to die...I don't want to die...I don't want either...of us...to die.' He begged through their connection, his words getting weaker with every beg that he uttered.

'It's going to be okay, Edward, just calm down, I have the cure right here.'

Henry's tone was practically teetering upon the verge of falling into panic and fear, tears welling up in his ruby eyes.

But he didn't let them fall...not yet.

Henry quickly knelt down beside Edward; holding the cup in his right hand and outstretching his left hand towards his terrified counterpart, his professional mask covered by millions of thick cracks. But Edward could just barely see what was playing out before him, his whole body screaming pleads of mercy, crying out for him to finally let consciousness slip out of his hands!

His eyes fluttered open and then fluttered closed, fluttered open and then fluttered closed.

His vision grew blurred and wet. Colours merged and Henry's body and the objects surrounding said body became nothing but incoherent shapes. Edward tried to move, but his limbs felt as if they were suddenly made of stone; heavy and useless. He tried to utter a word, tried to let out a cry for mercy, but it all came out as a garbled mess of guttural and muffled sounds, while the horrid taste of the small Hanahaki Flowers consumed his taste buds.

It hurt! It hurt so fucking much! Why couldn't it just stop, why couldn't it just end already?!

And eventually, Edward's eyes closed and the world went dark, his body and his mind finally giving into sweet sweet unconsciousness...yet he still heard the poor doctor's voice.

"No...no no no no, Edward wake up! Wake up please! You need to drink this! You need to!"

"Please Edward! Please, i'm sorry I didn't try harder to stop this, but please wake up! Come back, Edward!"

"EDWARD!"

The mask had finally shattered and the tears had finally fallen.

To Be Continued...

Did anyone notice what the flowers mentioned in the cure have in common? What did you think of my take on the Hanahaki Flower and the Hanahaki Disease? Have you enjoyed the fic so far?

I apologise for this second cliffhanger and I promise that the third part will make up for it.

Now of course, don't forget to leave all your answers to these questions and more in the comment box below, before you go!

BYE! BYE!

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Setae • a year ago

Is it that all the names of the flowers start with an A? Or that they all symbolize love in some way? That would be thematically appropiate I suppose.

I like the body horror. Emphasis on how painful the disease is (and thereby how painful unrequited love is? Unrequited and concealed love? That’s the symbolism here, right?)

Yes, I have. You can always add a bit more body horror to fanfiction.

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RBDECEPTICON17  Setae • a year ago

1: Yes all of the three flowers symbolise love in their own ways, meaning you quite literally save the victim through the power of love! XD

2: Yes the pain is to do with how painful unrequited and concealed love can be.

3: Honestly I didn't know if there was enough of it to put a warning about it, but I did it just in case.

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