The Doctor was travelling alone once more; he dropped Amy, Rory and River off on a lovely planet with warmth and sun and headed off for some time on his own. His TARDIS, as always, didn't land where the Doctor wanted it to. It nestled itself neatly between two houses in 21st century London. He got out and walked round the streets of London, he walked round the shops, not for anything in particular, just browsing. He thought that he must have landed of a Sunday, it's too boring. He wandered around the streets until it got dark and then he decided to head back to his home, the TARDIS.
He got to the spot where he'd parked it, but he couldn't see it anywhere. He was sure it's been here. He was positive he'd locked it and left it here. He searched all the allies and pathways, hoping to see his home but no luck. He was stranded, destined to grow old like normal people and eventually waste, without his box he was no longer the mad man with a box, he's just the mad man. He'd left Amy, Rory and River on a planet, far from their home with no means of transport home. He was walking around and around, pacing the now dark streets of London trying to think of what to do, trying to think of who could take his TARDIS or what would cause her to just run off like that.
"I've got it!" He shouted, London at night was just as loud and bustling as in the day and people looked at him as he shouted these words with excitement. He's remembered that he had a friend, of sorts, living in London. An old buddy who'd helped him a while back, not an ex-companion just a friend and he knew where to find him.
"Get that, I'm examining the eyelash!" The Doctor heard a familiar voice coming from inside and he waited for the door to open. "Tell them I'm busy!" The familiar voice shouted once again.
The door opened and there stood a short man, wearing a beige jumper and holding a cup of tea in his hand. "If you're here for Sherlock, he's busy."
He went to shut the door but the Doctor stopped him. "I know, I heard. Tell him, it's," the Doctor paused, "an old friend. Say, John Smith." The man's head popped up and the man who answered the door sulked off upstairs.
"It's another John for you." The man said to Sherlock sulkily, "John Smith."
"John Watson, you are the only John in my life, that's a fake name!" His voice was getting closer to the door. "Doctor! You've changed, again. You met my friend, John Watson?" The man who answered the door came back down the stairs and said a sulky hey then stalked off again. "How's the TARDIS?" Sherlock asked, as he led the Doctor up the stairs to the living room. John already sat in his chair, protecting his space from this new John.
"That's what I'm here about," The Doctor frowned and looked at the floor. "My name isn't really John, it's a fake name" He now said to John Watson, the Doctor sensed the mistrust and decided to set him straight. "Now, about the TARDIS." The Doctor spoke to Sherlock now as he decided that a grunt was the only reply that John would give him. "It's gone missing, I parked it somewhere near a hospital, st Bart's, I think, and now it's gone." The Doctor explained. He knew Sherlock was into solving crimes and thought this would be the perfect one.
"Ok, so, where did this happen, st Bart's you say? Well, no alien activity near there lately." Sherlock frowned but he had a glint in his eye, he's been out of cases for weeks and finally and old friends popped up with a new, interesting case.
John immediately stood up. "Sherlock, did you just say aliens?" He now spoke to the Doctor "He's sleep deprived, sorry, he doesn't know what's going on."
"Oh John, this man here is the second smartest man on the planet, next to me obviously, and I'm not sleep deprived. Doctor, explain" Sherlock said so fast that John had to strain his ears to keep up with him.
"I'm not from here, I'm the second smartest being on this planet but I am not a human. I'm an alien, that's why he's not sleep deprived."
"Doctor, did you have anything of importance in the TARDIS." Sherlock asked. John, looking slightly confused and disgruntled went over what the Doctor had just told him.
"Sherlock," The doctor said. "I own a blue box that is bigger on the inside, automatically repels most eyes and can travel anywhere in the space time continuum and you ask if there's anything important on board?"
"I mean like, have you taken anything off of an alien race recently, we both know how the slitheen get." Sherlock recalled his last adventure with the Doctor, who back then had been literally another person, whilst John stood looking confused and out of place in this room where two men paced the floor, looking around as if this room could hold all the answers.
They paced around until long after John had drifted off and the only thing that distracted them was as text that Sherlock revealed.
I know what you're thinking.-JM The text from Sherlock's old acquaintance said.
"What does that mean?" The Doctor looked over Sherlock's shoulder.
"Jim Moriarty, he keeps sending me texts, trying to get at me, he texts me things like this, I don't reply and he mostly gets the hint."
New case, you up for it?-JM Sherlock's phone chimed once more.
"Take it, I need a distraction." The Doctor urged Sherlock to take the 'case' He, as Sherlock always did, needed a distraction from his everyday life. Obviously their everyday lives were different but there would still be a need for distraction.
Where?-SH. Sherlock tapped out a reply and waited. It seemed like mere seconds had passed but Sherlock was, unwillingly, tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair until he got it.
Near St. Bart's, you'll see Seb there.-JM Sherlock woke up John and the three people ran the streets of London, Sherlock couldn't have endured the length of the ride that the taxi man would give so he decided to go it on foot.
"Seb?" Sherlock shouted when he got there. "Where are you?"
John looked round for Seb and the Doctor scanned the area, even on a case with Sherlock, he was determined to find the TARDIS.
"Who's that?" A voice came from the shadow and Sherlock guessed that it was Seb, asking why there was a new man that he's never seen before.
"This is Mr Smith," Sherlock looked over at John, his John and mouthed the words I'm sorry, and then went back to introducing the Doctor. "John Smith. He's a Doctor, of sorts."
This answer seemed to please Seb so he came out of a shadowy corner by St Bart's. Sherlock immediately saw the two places where guns were clung to his body and the one place where there was a knife.
"So, John" He went over to John Watson and said to him "You have competition, now there's another John in Sherlock's life, and he's a Doctor too." John rolled his eyes but Sherlock could see that this was plaguing on his mind as well.
"I know Sherlock, so does that John. No competition there." Was Johns snappy reply. Sherlock pulled him away as Seb put his hand on his hip, where his knife was nestled in a tiny holster down the side of his trousers.
"Oh, I see, don't trust the man with 3 guns and a knife? Well, here are the photos that Moriarty wanted me to give you." He handed Sherlock a folder and walked back into the shadows where he disappeared for the night. Sherlock opened the folder and the Doctor tried scanning the area once more. Nothing.
"Doctor!" Sherlock shouted.
"One minute!" The Doctor shouted back, he hit his screwdriver once in an attempt to fix it and scanned again.
"No, you need to see this" Sherlock had now walked over to the Doctor and he half threw the paper at him.
"No! It can't be! How did Moriarty see it? How did he get into it?"
"It's just a prop, for a film, it's an olden day police box" John stated, but he had a little bit of a question.
The Doctor flipped over the paper and saw a picture of the TARDIS, from the outside, the doors were open and you could see into it. He handed that photo to John and explained "You know me and Sherlock were going on about the TARDIS earlier? Well, here it is. How did he get it? I think I need to meet this guy."
Sherlock's phone rang and he answered it, mainly to stop the chiming than to talk to anyone. "It's for you" He handed the phone over to The Doctor.
"Hello?" The Doctor asked.
"I thought you might have wanted a meeting, since I can hear everything you are saying. It's just easier for me to communicate over phone, Seb's good but he can't speak for me, he can't say what I want him too. So, this is your box is it? Who are you?"
Moriarty was smart and he definitely knew something that he wasn't telling them.
The Doctor, even through the phone, could hear that this man had something against him; first of all he had the TARDIS. And he could open it, as the pictures show, but how?
"Ok, you have something of mine, I'll do whatever to get it back, what do you want?" The Doctor tried bargaining but Moriarty just laughed. Sherlock immediately knew what Moriarty would ask for. A game.
"Simple, really. I want you. Seb will give you directions and you will get here. But Sherlock knows where to go, the swimming pool, he knows where it is. See you around." The phone line went dead.
Seb walked back from the shadows with a piece of paper. Here are directions, if you need them." He eyed Sherlock and John suspiciously. Sherlock had been talking under his breath to John for the whole time that the Doctor was on the phone, explaining everything.
Sherlock, John and the Doctor grabbed a cab and sped off towards the swimming pool. In the cab the only sound was the cars rushing around outside, John looked awkwardly out the window, Sherlock looked out the front window tapping impatiently on his leg and the Doctor sat, shuffling, he was eager to get his TARDIS back. The cab stopped and they all jumped out of the the little car, John stopped to pay the taxi driver then followed the Doctor and Sherlock inside.
"I didn't expect you so soon, I'm still setting up, oh well." Moriarty walked out of the box as the Doctor walked towards it. "Ah. Stop. Turn around. Go back." The Doctor did as he said when he saw what was going on inside the TARDIS.
The interior of the ancient box was decked out, all red and shining.
"It shouldn't be like that!" The Doctor shouted. "What did you do to it?"
"I fixed it, It no longer makes that sound." Jim replied.
"What sound?" Sherlock and John stayed silent during the conversation because they were both out of their depth.
"The sound. The never ending sound." The Doctor was now understanding, finally how this man could access the TARDIS. He wasn't a man. He was not a human. The Doctor stepped forward to confront him.
He looked him in the eyes. "Master?" The Doctor whispered.
"Yes."