I do not own Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper or any other characters from the show or original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that may make an appearance.
VERY AU: With elements taken from Sherlock (which this is mostly inspired by), Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other various sci-fi fiction fantasy stories I am a fan of. This will be VERY off the wall. Enjoy.
Sherlock Holmes is a cursed man. He's also a demon slaying detective. He works almost entirely alone except for his warlock doctor friend, John Watson. When the Order of Light is alerted that a girl has been chosen to fight the ultimate battle between good and evil the Detective must find her and help her discover her destiny before the evil Council does and help fulfill a prophecy that requires the ultimate sacrifice.
Song for this chapter: "Far From Any Road" by the Handsome Family.
Across the Silent Sand
by Lily Sregdor
Chapter One
Curses, Prophecies and Androids
The last thing Sherlock Holmes remembers before impaling the wretched creature was the girl, or the Huntress as she was known to the Underground. He had successfully saved the girl's life before she knocked him up side the head with something blunt and very heavy. She was strong. Probably stronger than she realized. The next thing he knew he was crammed onto a very uncomfortable sofa with a terrible headache. The room he was in was dark. He realized he was also chained. He heard the chains rattle annoyingly. He groaned and brought his hands up to rub his eyes. His vision began clearing but the room remained dark.
"Where in gods name am I?" he thought. Sherlock sat up and realized his feet were also chained. "Could be worse." he thought. Just as the thought left his head a door opened and a light flicked on. He closed his eyes from the light. As he opened his eyes slowly and his eyes adjusted once more he made out the body of the same young woman, also known as the Huntress, standing before him. Her arms crossed over her small chest. Her hair was short, like a man's but she wore it well. She wore a tattered old t-shirt with some kind of a samurai print on it that showed a little bit of her stomach. She looked fit. Her bluejeans were covered dirt, probably from the fight from earlier.
"Molly Hooper?" Sherlock said, reclining on the sofa trying to look as comfortable as possible.
"You're the detective then?" she asked, she kept her distance. "Smart girl." Sherlock thought as he looked her up and down. She was smaller than he remembered. During the fight he hadn't really been able to really see her. It had been brief and he had handled it in good time but apparently even with him saving her life she felt the need to bash him over the back of the head.
"Yes. I'm the Detective." Sherlock answered simply. She still kept her distance, lightly tapping her forefinger on her elbow. "You were informed that I was coming?" he asked her. Molly walked towards the other end of the room and leaned against the wall.
"Informed or warned?" she responded. Sherlock rolled his eyes.
"Listen, I've got a frightfully terrible headache delivered by you after I saved your life, so I think a little trust is in order." Sherlock snapped. Molly didn't seemed to be convinced. "I was handling the situation just fine on my own before you showed up." Molly answered sharply. Sherlock laughed, his chains rattled again as he did so. "Oh yes, smashing good job you were doing." Sherlock said sarcastically. "When exactly were the water works going to start? So sad I interrupted that part." he said as he continued to laugh.
Sherlock heard fast steps and the next thing he knew she slapped him in the face. That was it. He was done pretending to be the prisoner of someone he was supposed to protecting. He'd show her who really had the upper hand.
Molly leapt back when Sherlock suddenly stood up and yanked the chains apart. They fell to the wooden floor with a loud thud, reduced to a pile of ugly metal. "You shouldn't have chained me. I don't like chains." Sherlock said brushing the dirt from the sleeves of his coat. The shiver that passed through Molly did not go unnoticed by Sherlock.
"Now, are you going to accept my help or are you going to hit me with a shovel again?" Sherlock asked. Molly was going to ask him how he knew about the shovel but decided not to.
Instead Molly invited him up from what Sherlock had deduced was a basement to a kitchen. It was a small house with the windows boarded up. The house was lit by candles. And they weren't alone. Sherlock noted the tall, good looking man standing watch by the door. The man was armed with guns and a couple silver and wooden stakes. The strange thing about the man, besides his calmness and disinterest in Sherlock was he was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and tie with a long black trench coat. Sherlock gave the man credit for still having a sense of fashion even in this cold and terrible world. Sherlock feared he might be one of the few people left in world who still chose to go out well dressed.
It was then that Sherlock made a surprising deduction. "Android. Typical."
"Tea?" Molly asked over her shoulder. Sherlock shook his head and checked his watch. He was behind schedule. That annoyed him. He hadn't counted on Molly knocking him out; he had counted on her not coming quietly though. She was going to take some convincing. "Well we don't have any virgins blood if that's what you want." Molly said as she put an old kettle on. Sherlock rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't listen to gossip. And I wouldn't be so sure about the virgin part." he said coldly. Molly clenched her jaw.
"Oh, yes, I can fight dirty too." Sherlock thought as he sat down in a rickety wooden chair at an ugly metal table. Molly didn't sit as she let the kettle boil.
"So what do you want?" she asked him, Sherlock noted the tone of arrogance in her voice and in her whole demeanor. Sherlock didn't like arrogance unless he was being the arrogant one. He liked having the knowledge he was the most intelligent person in the room and liked people knowing it too.
"Well, Miss. Hooper," Sherlock said clasping his hands in front of him. "Seems that there is a little bit of a prophecy about you. I've been sent to… collect you." Sherlock watched her. She was tense. Probably hadn't slept in days or only had small breaks of sleep in between traveling. Her clothes looked dirty but she didn't smell. There was no offending odor omitting from her which meant she had access to a shower or bath. "I've heard about this prophecy, Detective. I think I'm doing pretty well on my own." Molly said, the kettle began to scream. She turned and picked up the hot kettle with her bare hands.
"She's showing me her tolerance to pain." Sherlock noted. Molly was letting him size her up. He knew from experience he could take her in a fight but he didn't want to. Mycroft wanted her delivered unscathed but if Sherlock had to use force then he would. It wasn't Molly Hooper that gave him reason to question whether or not to use force, it was the almost invincible android that was keeping watch at the front door. Sherlock remembered when the androids were just a blip in the radar but now they were everywhere.
Some androids were used as personal humanoid pets when they were first introduced to society. But the dark secret of the androids was quickly revealed a year later when the military announced they would be using them for combat and then security and then rounding up citizens who seemed to be a threat to national security. Sherlock didn't trust androids. He had to be careful around Molly's android though, at her command it could rip Sherlock in two.
"Yes, the protection an android can give is suitable for someone who isn't being hunted by the most dangerous creatures that have inhabited this plane of existence. But one shot from a Bolt gun delivered to the back of it's head would send that walking talking toaster into oblivion." Sherlock said, he watched Molly turn around holding a mug of tea in her hands. She held it to her face and blew the steam away. He found that curious. The girl had super strength and a high tolerence to physical pain and yet she was still conditioned as if she were completely normal. She took a sip.
"Where would you take us?" Molly asked him. "Can't be many places left that are safe." She still didn't sit down. Sherlock nodded his head. "You're right. But there are a few locations with wards up that are strong enough to keep out evil. Well, since I left they're not as safe." Sherlock said smugly. Molly rolled her eyes. "Listen, Detective, I've heard things about you and no offense but you're the last person I want to hitch my wagon to." Molly said and she downed the rest of her tea. Sherlock was a bit offended. Not because she didn't trust him, what offended him was that she was clearly doubting his ability to protect her.
"And what have you heard about me?" Sherlock asked, leaning back in the chair. Molly shrugged. "Just rumors. Stories. They say you're older than time itself," Molly said and Sherlock laughed. "Older than time itself?" Sherlock said mockingly. "That's a new one." he said reaching into his pocket and taking out a pack of cigarettes. He held the cigarette to his lips, snapped his fingers a small orange blaze appeared from his forefinger. He inhaled and then shook his finger a bit and the flame went out leaving a ghostly trail of smoke. He noted Molly's look of surprise. "That's not all I can snap." Sherlock said inhaling.
"I've heard you're a kind of sorcerer. A witch king. Others say you're a vampire." Molly said and she finally sat down across from him. Sherlock smirked. "And what do you think of me?" he asked her.
"I think you're cursed." Molly's words made Sherlock pause. His smirk dropped from his face. He tried not to seem visibly shaken by this but it was too late. Molly continued. "You may be able to read people, Detective, but I can see them. The sad ones give off this kind of aura. A dark muted color. The darker it is the sadder they are. And, Detective," Molly leaned forward on her elbows. "Your aura is the blackest I've ever seen. Now tell me, am I right? Are you cursed?"
Sherlock took another drag. He exhaled slowly. He offered her a drag but she shook her head.
"I will neither confirm nor deny your question." Sherlock said looking away from her. He felt exposed. He wasn't expecting her to be able to… see him. He hadn't encountered many people in his life who could see the darkness in him so clearly. He didn't like it.
"Miss. Hooper, I'm afraid we're dancing around the real more important subject." Sherlock said trying to get back on track. Molly leaned away from the table. "Are you coming with me or not?" he asked her. Sherlock heard footsteps approaching from behind him. He glanced back and saw the android standing behind him looking all humanoid. It unnerved Sherlock. Molly stood up and went to the android. "He comes with me, that's my only condition." Molly said, taking the android's hand in hers. Sherlock rolled his eyes and stood up. "This isn't a family outing. He could be recognized. And how the hell can I trust him?" Sherlock demanded.
No, Sherlock was not happy about this at all.
"I trust him and that is just going to have to be good enough for you. If he stays then I stay." Molly said defiantly. Sherlock looked back at the android. He was just standing there being all… droidy. His pale blue eyes had an almost birdlike curiosity about them. He looked very human except for his eyes. They would be a dead giveaway. Androids were easily spotted because they were designed that way, incase something went wrong with their programming they could be picked up and detained without too much of a fuss. Their designers didn't want to appear completely human, just passable. But they weren't slow or clumsy like the First Generation. Sherlock guessed this android was probably a Fifth Generation. By the Fifth Generation the designers had worked out most of the bugs in the system.
"Fine. Bring your pet." Sherlock said waving his hand in annoyance.
X
Molly went to her room to pack. She hated this. She hated this whole existence. The day her father died had been the worst day of her life but now this smug Detective was definitely making this day almost as bad. She had been patrolling alone when she was attacked by a pretty big demon. It was slimy and green and had giant tentacles. It nearly got her a few times but she was small and quick and was prepared for a fight. Just when she was ready to make a kill shot the Detective had come out of nowhere and took over the fight. Molly wasn't stupid. She recognized magical ability when she saw it and the aura the Detective gave off when he was fighting was more extraordinary than when he was just sitting in her kitchen.
The Detective's aura while fighting was a bright red light. When he killed the demon the red light was sucked into a black hole that remained around the Detective. Molly wasn't thinking when she knocked him out cold. She had been contacted through her android, someone powerful had hacked into his hard drive and sent her a message informing her that the Order would be sending the Detective to fetch her and bring her to safety. But it was the Detective's strange aura that made her attack him. It wasn't normal but she knew she couldn't leave him. In retrospect she would admit to herself that knocking him out probably wasn't the best course of action but in the moment she wasn't thinking. So she took him back to her safe house and with the help of her trusted android, Wyatt, chained the Detective in the basement.
Wyatt was purchased when Molly's father became ill. He was sold as a Doc-Bot. He was attentive, caring and could be with Molly's father at all hours. Her father passed away just a day before the Fall. Wyatt was still programmed to stay by the body's side and Molly's until Molly released him and returned him to his manufacturer. But after the Fall, Molly couldn't find it in herself to part with Wyatt and strangely enough he couldn't part with Molly. So, during the Fall, they stuck together. And as Molly's powers began to grow Wyatt took on the role of her protector.
As Molly packed, Wyatt entered the room, closing the door softly behind him.
"Permission to speak." Wyatt said, hands behind his back. Molly nodded her head. "You do not want to leave. Why?" Wyatt asked, his voice soft and low. Molly sighed. She sat down on the edge of her makeshift bed. It was mostly an old mattress on the floor with one heavy blanket. "We can't stay here forever, Wyatt. Are you okay with leaving?" she asked him. Wyatt turned his head to the side, like a bird. "My comfort is irrelevant. Yours is what is important. I will follow you until you no longer require my services." Wyatt said, he went to the closet and took out a leather bag and began packing her clothes. Molly stood up and took his hand in hers. His hands were always cold though powering him did produce some heat.
Sometimes Wyatt would come into her room and lay beside her. She would wrap her arms around waist and sleep with her head on his shoulder. It was a comforting relationship but Molly feared that deep down she was keeping him around because he was the only link she had left of her father. During the Fall her childhood home had burned to the ground with her father's cold dead body still inside. If Wyatt hadn't been there she would have let herself burn along with her father. Wyatt had pulled her out, kicking and screaming.
Wyatt understood his place in Molly's life. He wasn't an idiot. He was an intelligent bunch of bolts. He understood human emotion even if he couldn't feel it himself.
After packing they met up with the cursed Detective who was tapping on his cell phone. "Does that seriously still work?" Molly asked, she was astonished. The Detective smirked. "Having a brother in the Order of Light has it's perks. Ready?" the Detective said. They walked out back where Molly's car waited. He went to the driver's side but the android stopped him.
"Sorry, Wyatt likes to drive." Molly said getting into the passenger side.
X
Sherlock glared at the lifeless eyes of the android. "You named it?" Sherlock said, Molly ignored him and closed the car door. "Well, it's all yours." Sherlock said bitterly and he got into the back. Wyatt started the car but waited.
"Something on your mind?" Sherlock asked the android, annoyed. Wyatt turned back to face Sherlock. "Seat belt." Wyatt said simply. Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Oh for gods sake." Sherlock mumbled as he strapped himself in. He didn't like feeling constricted. What if something happened on the road and he needed to get out and had to stop and take the extra few seconds to unstrap himself? Those few seconds counted, they always counted. "Safety first." Molly said, smiling at Wyatt who smiled back. It creeped Sherlock out when the android smiled. It looked forced, fake and clearly practiced. The rows of teeth shiny and without decay or imperfection. Sherlock got an image of Wyatt standing in a bathroom observing his own reflection and practicing his smile. It gave Sherlock a chill. He hated androids.
Wyatt pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street. "Here are the directions." Sherlock said handing Wyatt the phone. Wyatt looked at the phone for about two seconds before handing it back.
"I've imprinted the directions into my hard drive. Estimated time of arrival, without any surprises, should be two hours seventeen minutes and eight seconds." Wyatt said calmly. Molly smiled and petted the back of Wyatt's head. "That's my boy." Molly said. The relationship between the android and the super girl made Sherlock wonder… "How functional is he?"
Sherlock wished he hadn't thought of that because now all he could picture was the android making strange robot love to Molly. The thought seriously grossed him out. Sherlock had heard of certain kinds of people keeping androids as robotic sex slaves. Mycroft had a female android that worked for him but it was nothing distasteful. If anything, Mycroft's relationship with Anne the android made perfect sense. Mycroft might as well have been an android. If Sherlock hadn't grown up with him he would've suspected he was an android a long time ago.
Molly turned in her seat a little, the seat belt let her have a little wiggle room, and she looked at Sherlock.
"How can you be so sure you can protect me?" Molly asked. Sherlock sighed. "Because I'm better." Sherlock responded. Molly rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Not better than Wyatt." she said cooly and turned back, looking out the window.
"I don't think you realize just how important you are." Sherlock said, Molly shrugged her shoulders. "I stopped caring a long time ago. Only so many people can die before you stop caring." Molly said sadly. Sherlock understood her in that moment. He remembered Mycroft telling him once that caring wasn't an advantage and he knew he was right. But that didn't stop Sherlock from caring, even in his own strange way. He kept John around, didn't he? He cared enough about the world to risk life and limb to find this girl and bring her to safety. Sherlock had definitely been burned when it came to caring though. He had lost people. He had seen good people he knew be reduced to wretched creatures that he in turn had to kill.
"So, what kind of a curse is it?" Molly asked him, bringing her knees up to her chest. Sherlock grimaced. "Come on, come on! It's a two hour drive. Might as well get to know one another." Molly said. Sherlock didn't answer. He didn't want to get to know this girl he wanted to deliver her to his brother. He didn't want to become "besties" and share secrets and cute stories. The last thing Sherlock wanted was to get attached and then have her die moments later. Things like that tended to happen. "Tell me what you know about the prophecy." Sherlock said, ignoring her initial question, thankfully Molly didn't try and backtrack.
"Oh you know… young woman will be the savior in a world being engulfed in darkness and hellfire. She'll wield light and truth and justice and smite evil where it stands. My version isn't as poetic as the original but I like it more." Molly said simply. She took out a pair of knitting needles and some yarn. Sherlock couldn't help but smile. "Still a simple girl even in times like these."
"Of course there's the downside," Sherlock said. Molly stilled her knitting fingers. "Oh, you didn't hear that part? Oh, well, basically there's supposed to be a sacrifice." Sherlock said taking out his phone again. Molly turned to look at him.
"What kind of sacrifice?" she asked. Sherlock glanced up. "A great one. The Savior must make a sacrifice. She'll have champions who will guide her through her trials and tribulations but only one champion will survive. It's been prophecised that one champion will have to be a sacrifice. Hate to be one of those poor sods." Sherlock said, chuckling to himself. Molly groaned. "That would have been nice to know!" Molly said, tossing her knitting needles back into her bag.
"Oh, relax, prophecies are proven wrong every day. And if it comes down to making a some poor bastard a sacrifice, don't." Sherlock said. Molly rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple. If it's meant to happen then it's meant to happen. I can't change what's set in stone." Molly said.
"Miss. Hooper, in my experience nothing is ever set in stone. We can change our fate we just have to choose to change it. It won't change for us. It has to be on our terms." Sherlock said and then leaned back. Molly nodded her head. It was the first time Sherlock actually saw her listening to him and paying attention. "Maybe there's hope for her yet." Sherlock thought.
However, even though Sherlock appeared to be remaining calm as he told her the rest of the prophecy, he couldn't help but feel unnerved by it himself. He didn't like prophecies. Sherlock liked facts he could see. It was true that prophecies were known to be wrong but it was rare when they were. A huge leap of faith or a great catastrophic something or other had to take place for a prophecy to be wrong and when they were wrong it wasn't always for the better. Sometimes bad things had to happen for the good to be seen or heard.
Sherlock noticed Wyatt glance at him through the rearview mirror.
"Something knocking around in that circuit filled head of yours?" Sherlock asked. Wyatt continued driving at a steady pace.
"What do you have to gain from all of this?" Wyatt asked. Sherlock grunted and looked out the window, as did Molly but she was still listening.
"Nothing to worry your pretty bolts over." Sherlock replied.
Sherlock hoped that put an end to the android's questioning, he wanted this drive to be over and done with already. He wanted to return to the solitude of his office and his violin and the few personal belongings that made him feel comfortable. He wondered how John was holding up. The world as they knew it had practically come to an end and John being the more sensitive type was having a harder time adjusting than Sherlock. Sherlock worried about his friend, he was like his brother. His best and only friend in this cruel world that they now lived in.
Sherlock couldn't wait for this drive to be over-
BOOM!
(AN: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Across the Silent Sand, title taken from "Far From Any Road" by the Handsome Family. I wanted to do something weird and crazy for this fic and I hope I've accomplished that. I'll still be updating "Hangnail" if anyone is worried about that. I just needed to write/post this first chapter and kind of get it out of my system. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated! You can find me on Tumblr by searching lilysregdorpenname. Thanks for reading my darling little demons! 3)