"It's brilliant! You're going to love it," the Doctor spoke in his usual quick, light-hearted tones. He had picked John up from work, sweeping the doctor into the TARDIS before whizzing off to fetch Sherlock. "It takes you all the way up to the top of this tower, and you can see all fifteen planets in perfect alignment," the Doctor went on as the TARDIS came to another land and he quickly scrambled out the door, fetching the detective.
"It's a once in a lifetime chance, it really is," the Doctor continued, pulling a couple of levers and sending the TARDIS flying off into the Vortex.
"Doctor!" John's voice called out, but the Doctor's excited mind didn't register it as he continued talking about the place he was taking them to. Finally, he landed the TARDIS again and eased down her engines, grinning as he gave a delighted "ha!" before his attention was brought back to the present as John called out his name again.
Turning around, he gaped in surprise at what he saw.
Lean figure, dark curls, intelligent eyes. Unmistakably Sherlock. And unmistakably a teenager.
"Oops," the Doctor commented as Sherlock suddenly became weak in the knees now that the TARDIS had fallen still and given him a moment to process what had just happened.
John moved quickly to his side and held his arm in support, checking Sherlock's pulse and glaring at the Doctor. The Doctor had pulled John from the right timeline, but somehow he'd accidentally taken Sherlock several decades too early, and the teenager was clearly unsure how to take the suddenness of everything that had happened in so brief a space of time.
"Oops? What do you mean 'oops'? Doctor, he's a kid!" John exclaimed, rising to his feet and licking his lips irritably. But Sherlock appeared quick to recover as he suddenly rose to his feet and glared at John and the Doctor suspiciously. Taking a couple of steps back, he turned and quickly opened the doors, shutting them almost instantly.
"Explain," the youth demanded in a surprisingly calm voice as he turned around, his face suddenly void of colour. Clearly he'd just seen something that he couldn't deem possible in his mind. "Am I dreaming?" he asked a moment later, as both failed to offer an explanation quick enough for his impatience.
"Yes!" came John's quick answer.
"No," came the Doctor's response at almost the same moment.
"Yes," the Doctor quickly corrected, obviously trying to follow John's lead.
"No!" John restated, apparently having had the same idea.
"Well, clearly you're both idiots," Sherlock remarked, looking a bit unimpressed. John and the Doctor glared at each other before the Time Lord cleared his throat and spoke up.
"I'm the Doctor, and this is a Time Machine, and I'm afraid I've picked you up a bit early, so I'm just going to drop you off and -"
"Prove it," Sherlock insisted suddenly, cutting the Doctor off and startling both the inhabitants. John seemed lost for words, but the Doctor motioned towards the doors of the TARDIS, and Sherlock cautiously opened them.
The outside world was dark, the sky full of planets off in the distance. Though the date was unknown, it was clear that the Doctor had not been lying, and Sherlock jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder, glancing up to see John watching him curiously.
"You all right?" John asked, fascinated at seeing his best friend as a teenager. Sherlock gave a nod and John chuckled, glancing out the doors of the TARDIS. "Took me awhile to get used to it," he went on, giving Sherlock's shoulder a squeeze. "But don't worry. As long as I'm around, nothing bad will happen."