A/N Hello people! How have you been? Nice holidays? Happy New Year, by the way! =)
So... It's been my birthday quite recently, so I told myself "let's be crazy and post this story before dying of old age, 'cause I love it so much". And Unclesoviet was pressing me into posting anything at all :p
It's totally AU. Like absolutely. At least in the first ten or so chapters (which aren't written yet, which means judging by your reaction I would or would not stop this madness). The main characters are Sherlock and John... more or less (you'll see ;) ). And I'm taking a huge creative licence on the historical truth. Please don't hate me for that ^^
It'll be mostly rated T, but there will be some "bonus" side-stories that may go up to M because of some heavy angsty stuff.
Disclaimer: you recognize it, I don't own it. I'll be picking from various sources, and since it's just a fanfic, there is probably no point in listing my bibliography, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are my main sources of inspiration. All credit goes to them!
Warnings:characters' death, the world's end. I hope you'll get the logic behind this if you read the next chapter ^^
Not beta-ed, not Brit-picked. I'm still a half-breed Frenchie who stuggles with the English grammar. Oh, and I slightly altered their names for the time being... It's rather recognizable anyway.
Well then, I hope you'll enjoy! Reviews would be lovely =)
They were going to die. Their glorious nation and their beautiful world were going to disappear.
Both men stared at the screen with sheer horror painted all over their tanned faces. They had done the impossible to prevent it from happening, but it hadn't been enough.
Atlantis was doomed.
The Captain of the Atlas Royal Army and Leader of the Healer's Ring, Jo-Ham turned to his friend, the Chief of the Atlas Royal Intelligence Secret Service, Hol-Lock. His usually cheerful features were stricken with pain and fury, but his voice was filled only with deep, desperate sadness.
"I suppose this is as far as we go, Lock." The curly-haired brunette slammed his hands against the keyboard and fiercely glared at the army-man standing perfectly still at his side. He hated failures. And this time, the failure had consequences no one in the whole world could ignore. But he wouldn't give up, not now, not when his friend's life was at stake. Everybody's life, actually.
"Don't be stupid, Jo." The Captain looked at his feet angrily, avoiding the silver-eyed spy's gaze, and suddenly hit the wall with all his strength, leaving small cracks in the yellow clay.
"Even you can't stop this bloody program, Lock! We can't save anyone now! In one hour, everything we ever knew will cease to exist! The Black Spider won…" he finished with a chocked sob escaping his burning throat. Jo-Ham wasn't ashamed of crying anymore. It didn't matter. God, he could barely grasp the scale of the impending catastrophe. Despite all the work they managed to pull the last few months, the crazy game was driving to its awful end.
Hol-Lock frowned at the sight of the bravest man in Atlantis shattering in front of him. He didn't want that. But even his stubborn and brilliant mind couldn't refute the reality of the situation. They all had less than an hour to live. The code lines running on the screen were the ultimate proof of the Apocalypse's program launch.
"We won't see each other again…" he whispered while pressing his face into his hands, heart-broken. Jo-Ham snapped from his panic attack to look at the genius. They knew each other for years, and since the day they met in a dusty schoolyard the blonde had always known how truly fragile Lock was behind his mask of coldness, how kind his heart was despite his harsh words.
A crazy idea popped in his head. He didn't want to leave his best friend, the one he was tied to by blood and tears. He grabbed Lock's shoulder in a frantic call for attention. The hardly concealed pain in those piercing eyes confirmed his suspicions. Hol-Lock was giving in despair.
"I might be able to help this" he said, feeling like a mad-man, but hey, wasn't the planet spinning mad right now? "Follow me."
They ran through corridors and empty rooms, through gardens and streets, all doomed to be erased so soon, so very soon. If the circumstances hadn't been so tragic, Jo-Ham would have reveled in being the one to lead their race for once. It took them ten minutes to reach their destination.
Hol-Lock stopped, blinking at the setting sun. "The Healer's Altar? What are we doing here?"
"I suppose you paid no attention when I was talking about my recent research, right?" Jo-Ham smiled fondly at the confused and mildly abashed Intel-Officer.
Blood colors were spilling over the western sky, while the dark blue took over the east. Jo-Ham touched the sand-colored door and it opened soundlessly as the hidden identification mechanism recognized the Leader. They entered the empty underground laboratory. It was the crew's day-off. At ease in this environment, Jo-Ham picked out a small tube on the largest table, full of a golden liquid, and prepared two injection needles.
"What's this?" Hol-Lock asked. His expression combined curiosity and childish pout in a unique harmonious way.
"A secret research. Not sure you have the clearance level necessary to access the details, but well…" he teased. "I was working on the soul's transfer for some time now" the Healer continued his explanation while rolling his sleeves to expose the tanned skin of his forearms. "It's not stable, nor tested, and apparently never will be, but it's our only chance to meet again after the world's end." He gestured his friend to expose the crook of his elbow too.
Suddenly over-excited, Hol-Lock stretched out his pale limb to Jo and grinned. "It will make us reincarnate, right?"
"It's supposed to do so, yes" Jo-Ham sighed and planted the needle in the translucent flesh. The golden liquid coursed through the Spy's veins. Lock watched the Captain do the same to his own body. They looked at each other, acceptance and shivering hope sparkling between them.
Jo-Ham nodded and they made their way out to the street. "I don't know if we would keep our memory once… once we die. But as long as I will roam on this planet, I will always look out for you, my friend" solemnly said the Soldier and Healer, his gaze locked on the darkening sky.
"Jo, we're tied by blood we shed, by trust we shared, by joys we experienced together. I swear to find you, whenever and wherever we are born again."
They stood silent for a while, enjoying their last moments together in this lifetime. "How many chances would we have?" Lock asked softly.
"Cycles of rebirth are supposed to be repeated endlessly. However, I doubt there is an established frequency to those reincarnations." Jo answered absent-mindedly. A doubt gnawed at his heart. "How would we find each other again?" he said. His voice was much calmer than he really felt. They didn't think about this teensy little detail.
But Hol-Lock's brilliance didn't fail them. After a short silence, he spouted: "Atlantis and its allies will sink into oblivion, but not its technology. Instant post systems all over the world. They can run on sun energy for millennia. People would forget, but some of those devices must survive long enough. Let's leave messages to each other using our code."
Jo-Ham eyed his enthusiastic friend admiringly. He could come up with an almost flawless plan in such a desperate situation. Their code, the unique code they used as kids to crypt their messages. And the post system. One just had to enter the right code to receive the delivery someone posted from miles and miles away. Jo smiled. "You're amazing. Let's do that. Let's remember it."
After a brief hesitation, he gave his best friend a heartfelt hug, and the usually impassive man returned it. They broke apart, awkwardly hiding their tears, and walked to the beach in silence. The last hour of their lives was running out.
A deafening crack echoed through the chilly air as they stood on the quay. Shouts and screams came from the city. They watched in awe the sun rising again at the west. The blood spilled again over the night sky. So many wonderful, precious, unreplaceable things were about to be lost in an instant.
While the giant wave rushed to Atlantis, both men watched it impassively.
"Till next time, Hol-Lock, my friend."
"See you again, Jo-Ham."
And darkness swallowed them all.
