A/N: The chapter in which the darkness/violence sort of begins. Also, not all of the characters here belong to me. someone on dA owns Ophelia, not me I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter. She is Mycroft's daughter.

Sophia frowned at the package sat on the edge of the bed she was restricted to. The countless postmarks and security stamps told her it had been imported, it was something bizarre judging by the amount of times it has been checked by customs, as shown by the seven different stamps on the box.

She reached for it, ignoring the pain in her midsection as she moved. She managed to hook one finger onto the corner of the box and used it to pull the box closer. She ripped it open without a second thought, knowing it wasn't likely to be something that could kill her if it had passed all the customs checks.

She smiled at the sight of the bright pink wrapping paper around a second box. She pulled the second box out and threw the brown box onto the seat that John had vacated twenty minutes ago.

She grinned even wider as she ripped the pink paper off the box, then ripped the box open. She let out a delighted laugh when she saw the two stuffed toys, laughing at the inside joke the box held.

Inside the box there was a medium brown bear wearing a beige jumper and a raven the same size wearing a blue scarf. She pulled them out of the box as she released a squeak which she had been trying to hide, making the two men outside turn and look through the window at her.

They both walked in the room as Sophia squeaked again, she noticed them share a smile at the squeak, then they turned to her and frowned. She held up the two stuffed toys, laughing even harder at the men's confused faces.

"Inside joke" she explained when she stopped laughing several minutes later. They both frowned at her; not quite understanding why two toys were so funny.

Sherlock's eyes widened as he noticed the jumper on the teddy bear, then he looked bear to his friend and grinned. Sophia beamed, realising Sherlock had understood half the joke, and held up the raven so he could see it better.

"I understand the bear, but why am I a raven?" he asked Sophia.

John smirked and muttered "that would be my fault" making Sherlock turn to his friend.

"He once compared you to a raven, always watching over your shoulder, always warning you of danger excetera..." Sophia explained, waving the raven in the air dismissively.

~:~:~:~Timeskip~:~:~:~

Sophia picked up the phone as it began to ring.

"I wondered when I would receive a call from you"

"Oh thank god you answered. Are you okay Soph?" Sophia laughed at Eve's panicked tone.

"I'm fine Eve. Don't panic" she replied, "I thought you were coming back to London, where are you?"

Sophia looked up as there was a knock at the door, still listening to Eve try to walk through a crowd. Sophia heard Eve shout "I'm on the way to Baker street" as she pulled open the door. Sophia's phone dropped on the floor as she backed away from her father walking through the door.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, twisting her around so he was holding it behind her back.

"Good to see you again brat" he said as he pushed her out of the room. Sophia's mind was whirring as he pushed her up the stairs, working out where everyone was.

Mrs Hudson was downstairs in the cafe, Eve was on her way and Sherlock and John... She heard John shouting "What do you mean you lost him?!" as she climbed the final stair. She saw her father grin out of the corner of her eye as she was pushed through the door.

"Were you looking for me?" he asked innocently.

"Never mind Mycroft" John muttered as he saw them in the doorway, "we know where he is".

John dropped his phone and reached for his gun, only to find it already in Sherlock's hand. Sophia's eyes widened and she shook her head, biting her lip to stop herself crying out in pain as her father twisted her wrist behind her back.

William smirked down at his daughter as he released her wrist. She tried to run towards Sherlock and John but he grabbed hold of the back of her jumper.

"I wouldn't shoot me if I were you Mr Holmes" William said as he placed his own gun on Sophia's temple.

"Not unless you want to lose your precious little protege anyway" he explained with a cruel smirk.

"Have you forgotten that she's your daughter?" John asked as he looked between the terrified Sophia and her perfectly calm and psychotic father, noting all of the similarities between them.

"He's already proved that he doesn't care about that John" Sherlock said, drawing John's attention. Sophia's and Sherlock's eyes met as they shared the same terrifying memory of a week ago.

William Midnight chuckled as he saw this and both of them snapped out of their memories in time for the front door to be opened.

"Sophia!" a voice shouted and Sophia cringed as she recognised it. Eve was here.

"Who's that Sophia?" William asked, placing his hand on her shoulder and pulling her closer to him, the gun staying exactly where it was.

"Just a friend dad" Sophia replied. She bit her lip again as he dug his fingers into her shoulder like a claw.

"Why don't you invite her to join us?" he asked. Sophia shook her head and her father pressed the gun closer to her head. Sophia panicked and took a deep breath.

"Up here Eve" she shouted, not quite managing to hide all the fear in her voice. Eve reached for her gun as she found Sophia's phone by the door of 221C and had just walked up the stairs as she heard Sophia's shout.

"Put the gun down Eve" William ordered as Eve walked through the door aiming directly at his head. He chuckled when she didn't and he turned, showing Eve her terrified friend at gunpoint. Eve could sense the fear coming from Sophia, but also the madness and rage coming from William.

Eve sighed and placed the gun on the ground, walking past to stand by Sherlock.

"You sounded rather shocked on the phone Sherlock, are you ever going to speak?" the psychopath asked. Sophia blinked rapidly as her father used her as a support while he leaned over to pick up Eve's gun and Sherlock gripped the gun so tightly his knuckles went White.

"Not before he kills you" Eve stated as she watched Sophia's face for any sign of a code. Sophia's rapid blinking threw Eve off for a moment, until she recognised their silent communication.

Eve backed slowly away from Sophia and her father until she stopped in front of the desk and felt the scientific experiment on it, Sherlock watching discreetly as Eve disconnected the mass of tubes to hold the tube of acid.

"What a shame, we had such a good game Sherlock" William mused. Sophia squeezed her eyes shut as her father pressed the gun even closer to her head.

"Well I'm going to end it" Eve said. She pulled the corked tube full of acid out from behind her back and threw it across the room, William looking in Eve's direction just in time to see it. Sophia pulled herself out of her father's grip and ran forward as the cork became eroded by the acid and fell out, coating her father in acid.

Sherlock fired and William dropped his gun as his shoulder began to bleed. The front door burst open downstairs and Mycroft's minions ran up the stairs and grabbed William Midnight, hauling him off the floor and out of the flat.

Sophia crouched by the sofa and began to sob, her fear finally overwhelming her. Sherlock shocked the occupants of the room by placing John's gun on the desk by the dismantled experiment and sitting on the floor beside Sophia, pulling her into a hug and letting him sob into his shirt.

Mycroft walked in and handed Eve her gun back, Eve took it and continued to stare wide-eyed at Sherlock. Mycroft turned to see what Eve was looking at and paused at the sight of his younger brother actually making physical contact with someone, never mind letting her cry into his shirt.

"Don't all look so shocked" Sherlock muttered.

"I've only ever seen Ophelia hug you, I think I'm allowed to be shocked little brother" Mycroft replied.

"You hate physical contact, but you hugged her" Eve muttered, coming to sit down next to them. John looked down at the group sat on the floor in front of him, then up to Mycroft, looking at the elder Holmes's confused expression.

"When did you talk to him Sherlock?" Eve asked as Sophia's sobbing began to quieten.

"About a week ago" Sophia muttered, turning to face Eve with puffy eyes. She kept her arms wrapped around Sherlock's chest though and Sherlock smiled before he turned to Eve, becoming serious.

"Judging by the look the two of you shared earlier I presume you didn't tell me for a reason" John stated and Sherlock nodded.

"I didn't want you to worry any more than you already were, your mood was already foul enough" Sherlock explained, taking a deep breath before he continued.

"He phoned just after you left for work, giving me a riddle to answer. I answered and he gave me another, for about an hour this went on until a door opened" Sherlock paused again as Sophia hugged him tighter, he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder, then Sherlock continued.

"He threatened to kill her if I didn't answer his final riddle"

"What crosses three paths and creates it's own? Halting three wars with one final end" Sophia quoted the riddle she'd grown up trying to answer.

Sherlock nodded and smirked as he thought that she'd remembered it. iThen again, if you were almost choked to death by your father waiting for someone to answer it you'd remember it too/i

Mycroft's phone rang, snapping Sherlock out of his thoughts. Mycroft frowned, nodding in understanding as he answered it.

"I have to go" he told them as he went to walk out of the door. He looked back slightly guiltily at Sophia and said "Don't expect your father to return to bother you again". Sophia snorted and muttered into Sherlock's shoulder "the selfish bastard deserves it". Mycroft nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Sherlock to look at Sophia as she pulled herself onto the sofa.

"Are you sure that he deserves what Mycroft will do to him?" he asked.

"Yes. He is the reason my mother left, he is the reason..." Sophia tailed off, getting to her feet and walking to the door. She retrieved her phone from the doorway of 221C and returned, sending a quick text to Mycroft as she sat next to John.

i'Tell him thank you for me Mycroft. He's the reason I'm here
-SM.'/i

"Are you going to finish your sentence?" Eve asked.

"He's the reason I'm here" she answered. John smiled sadly as Sophia leaned against him, watching as Sherlock and Eve nodded. Sophia yawned and snuggled into John's side, he put his arm around her as she began to breath deeply, indicating that she'd fallen asleep.

"It took thirty-six hours without sleep and twenty minutes of sheer terror for her to drop" Sherlock muttered, getting to his feet as gracefully as he could and grabbing the blanket off the back of John's armchair. He threw it over Sophia and John raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"Why are you acting like this?" Eve whispered to the consulting detective.

"Like what?"

"Like you're human" John answered. Sophia shifted in her sleep and mumbled "Shh teddy, I'm sleeping", sending Eve into silent hysterics.

"I am human John" Sherlock replied, not able to stop a massive grin spreading across his face. His grin became a fond smile as he tucked the blanket around Sophia.

"I care about my family, most of it anyway, and Sophia is family. We both knew that from the moment we met her" John nodded when Sherlock stopped speaking, noticing Eve was staring at him like he was an alien.

"Where's the real Sherlock Holmes?" she asked. The question itself was a bizarre and generally humorous one, but Eve's tone and her facial expression told Sherlock she was completely serious. Sherlock chuckled.

"Don't worry Eve, I'll probably be back to my normal self tomorrow. I thought you'd try to take advantage of i-" Sherlock was cut off as Eve walked over and hugged the consulting detective, so tight she almost stopped him breathing. He patted her on the head and she released him, standing back with a grin to rival the cheshire cat spread across her features.

John just rolled his eyes at Sherlock and the consulting detective shrugged. He pointed to Eve, then downstairs.

"Why?" Eve asked.
"I need you to open the doors while I-"
"No, she's okay here Sherlock" John interrupted. Sherlock was about to ask why when there was a knock at the door. Everyone listened as Mrs Hudson walked out of 221A to open it. Eve ran to the top of the stairs and silenced Lestrade as he climbed the stairs. Lestrade frowned at Eve but stayed quiet, following the 20 year old into 221B.

"Are you caring?" Lestrade asked the consulting detective, who was currently placing another blanket over Sophia as she slept. John nodded for Sherlock and shifted slightly, causing Sophia to mutter in her sleep again.

Eve leaned on Lestrade for support as her sensitive ears picked up what Sophia said, causing her to go into silent hysterics. Lestrade's eyebrows rose as he saw Sherlock shaking with hidden laughter, Eve pushed Lestrade out of the way as Sherlock walked out of the room, his deep laugh echoing through 221.

"Why are you here Lestrade?" Sherlock asked as he re-entered the room, now finished laughing at Sophia's mumble that Lestrade hadn't heard.

"I have a case for you all" Lestrade answered, "I thought it would help Sophia get her confidence back, get her back to normal"

"Is it an urgent one?" John asked quietly. Lestrade shook his head.

"A cold case full of bizarre number lists, one the cryptography lot couldn't work out" Lestrade frowned at the question. "Why?"

"She hasn't had any sleep for the past 36 hours and she's just been held at gunpoint by her own father. She needs sleep" Eve answered nonchalantly.

"You're peeved" John said.
"And you're stating the obvious" Eve snapped, only just managing to keep her voice quiet. The two of them began to glare at each other, but Sherlock stepped in between them as Sophia began to mutter something in her sleep that even Eve couldn't pick up.

The consulting detective froze mid-step as he understood the teen's mumbling, his eyes widening in realisation.

"Sherlock?" John said as the consulting detective stared into space.

"Of course. It makes so much sense now" Sherlock muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"What? What makes sense?" Lestrade asked. Sherlock turned on his heel and began to pace, muttering to himself. He stopped pacing after a few minutes and pointed to Sophia.

"She's the answer" he told them, believing that was enough explanation.

Across London, Mycroft was saying the same thing to William Midnight.

"Your hired gun even worked it out and told her, the one you didn't get the chance to kill that is." the elder Holmes brother explained. William shook his head.

"Thats not possible, the Midnight who can answer the riddle IS the answer. Sophia couldn't solve it, so she isn't the heir to the fortune" he protested, continuing to shake his head.

"So that's what this is all about, some sort of family fortune passed down through the ages. The Holmes's have always wondered what this little puzzle is about and have tried to solve it" William stuttered at Mycroft's words, more confused than he'd been all day. "Your family is an odd one, the genius is passed down through the women, which is why you don't have the same abilities as your wife and daughter, who you tried to kill today. We've alway known the Midnight line was connected to ours somehow, the power of deduction gave it away, but we never worked out what the riddle was for."

Mycroft stood up and began to pace around the small grey room, sliding a folder onto the table as he went. William opened it, finding it full of blueprints and a family tree.

"Are you planning to kill me so I can't pass this information on?" William asked, not quite able to keep the confusion out of his voice. Mycroft chuckled behind him and he almost jumped out of the chair.

"No, I'm showing you proof that you're related and making sure you acknowledge it. That way you can explain why you've been confined to Holmes House, there are plenty of spare rooms for another homicidal relation." Mycroft explained as William Midnight was taken out of the room.

Mycroft retrieved his umbrella from where it was leaning against the table and picked the file back up again, handing it to one of his minions to deal with while he went to inform the occupants if Baker Street of William's fate.

Mycroft knocked on the door of 221 Baker street over two hours later, a folder of research on the Midnight family fortune in one hand and his umbrella in the other. Sherlock opened the door with his finger over his lips and Mycroft quirked an eyebrow in silent question.

"Sophia's asleep and we think it's best we keep her that way, so we need to be quiet." Sherlock explained in whisper. The consulting detective closed the door behind Mycroft carefully, but they talked outside the door to 221B instead of going in.

Sherlock took the file from Mycroft and began to frown as he looked through it.

"The answer to the riddle he gave you leads to this, I know for a fact that you solved it by now" Mycroft waited for his younger brother to nod before he continued. "I also came back to tell you Mr Midnight's fate."

"And..." Sherlock enquired.

"He's been confined to Holmes house and it's grounds while they find a more permanent place to house him."

"Why not just leave him there? The Holmes's will deal with him appropriately"

"What do you mean?" Eve questioned, pulling the door open. She had heard wild stories about Christmas dinner parties and realised that any family linked to Sherlock wouldn't be normal, not to everyone's standards anyway.

"The Holmes family may be bizarre and borderline insane, but it has it's standards" Mycroft replied, sighing as Eve looked at him still confused.

"They may have shooting matches at christmas parties at the sound of a name, but there are lines that you generally don't cross." John whispered to explain further.

"Like trying to kill your children" Eve offered hesitantly and the Holmes brothers nodded. Lestrade turned in John's armchair to look up at Mycroft.

"Are you covering up this body so I don't have to?" he asked and Mycroft nodded. Lestrade smiled and turned back to the news on mute on the TV, frowning as he felt something move in his pocket. He pulled it out and held it above his head for Sherlock to take it.

Sherlock's curiosity got the better of him and he took the small packet out of Lestrade's hand, opening it and emptying the contents into the palm of his hand. He examined the object carefully, noting that it was created in the late 1800s, as shown by the rather elegant Victorian design created in metal and bejewelled in his hand.

He closed his eyes as he tried to remember where he'd seen that design before. Mycroft wandered over and took the pendant out of Sherlock's hand, allowing it to fall and revealing the design to John and Eve.

Eve tilted her head to one side when she saw it, her interest piqued, before walking closer to Mycroft and holding her hand beneath the pendant so she could see the design better.

"I found it in one of the empty apartments a few weeks ago, it's been sat in my office since then waiting for me to remember to give it to you." Lestrade muttered absently. Mycroft dropped it onto Eve's hand and walked out of the room.

"He's still hiding something" Sherlock said as the front door closed behind Mycroft.

"I'll see if I can find out at some point, but at the moment this is bugging me. Think I've seen it before but I can't remember where." Eve handed it back to Sherlock as she spoke, beginning to pace like the consulting detective usually does.

John motioned for Sherlock to hand the pendant over and Sherlock obliged, joining Eve pacing across the room, from John to the doorway and back.

"You might have if you've seen pictures of her family Eve." John told the room and everyone turned to him.

"When have you ever seen a picture of her family?" Lestrade questioned, curious.

"When she was first moving in. The photograph fell out of one of the boxes I helped her move, her mother was wearing it." John explained, holding it out as Sherlock crossed the room to take it from him.

"But Sophia's mother left with most of her jewellery, how could she have got her hands on it?" Eve asked as she looked at the item in question in Sherlock's hand.

"She didn't have it. It was in the pocket of one of the dead guys in an empty apartment we traced her to, I've been waiting to ask her what it is." Lestrade repeated his earlier statement.

"It's the marker." Sherlock stated, a wide grin on his face and his eyes full of interest as he worked it out. Everyone looked at him with questioningly raised eyebrows and he sighed and looked to the ceiling in exasperation.

"It marks her out as an only child in the Midnight family, therefore possibly the answer to the riddle. She's already told us her mother was an only child and we know she definitely is. That only leaves the question of how it got from her mother to a dead guy's pocket." Sherlock explained to them all, leaving Lestrade stunned. Eve and John understood though and nodded, leaving a silence to spread over the room again as they all realised how William Midnight's hired gun could have got his hands on the pendant.

"I'll say it if no-one else will." Eve offered, but it was Lestrade who said "The dead guy probably got it from Sophia's dad, who got it off Sophia's mother. Who coincidentally dropped of the face of the earth several months after she left home."

Sophia stirred and everyone fell silent, she yawned and stretched her arms, realising she was still on the sofa when she almost hit John in the face.

"Sorry" she mumbled as she sat up, leaning back as everyone turned to her.

"What's making you all stare at me?" She looked around each person with one raised eyebrow until Sherlock walked forward, dropping the pendant into her hand. She frowned at it for a moment, then her eyes blew wide and she stared at it in shock.

"How did you get this?" She held the pendant up to the light. "The last time I saw this was when my mother was wearing it, she didn't leave it behind when she left, or if she did it was well hidden" she muttered to herself.

"It was found in the jacket pocket of one of your father's dead workers. It's been sat on my desk waiting for me to give it to you and ask what it is" Lestrade answered, looking rather embarrassed but curious.

"I thought Sherlock just worked that out." Sophia replied and John chuckled lightly as Lestrade looked confused.

"I forgot about that." Eve muttered, smiling slightly. Sherlock walked over to his chair and dropped into it, steepling his fingers as he observed Sophia. She shifted over for Eve to sit next to her and Sherlock began to think, ignoring the idle chatter.

"There's something else too. You seem resigned and determined to do something, what is it?" Sherlock asked after a few minutes of observation. Sophia nodded as she unclasped the pendant and fastened it behind her neck.

"I need to go home. That's where the answers are, Mycroft isn't going to give them to me without a fight so I'll go find the family tree in the attic and get them myself." Sherlock raised his eyebrows at this announcement.

"Not alone." John stated and Sophia shook her head.

"No, but not with you or Sherlock either." she told him, trying to ignore the rather worried look he gave her. "I know Ophelia and her friends are free for the next few weeks, I was going to ask if they'd come with me."

"Why can't I come with you?" Eve asked, pouting.

"Because you did exactly what I did, moved here and never looked back. You'll run into your parents if you come, which I know you don't want to." Eve nodded and Sherlock smirked at them.

Sophia's phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket, flipping it open and beginning to speak as she got to her feet and walked out if the room.

"Mycroft's better than we give him credit for" John muttered and Sherlock looked to him. He was holding a set of keys, so Sherlock opened his hands so John would throw them to him. Sherlock examined the keys with interest, lost to his thoughts for several minutes, until Sophia came back in announcing that Ophelia and her friends would go with her before she ran back out if the room. The next day was spent making plans, explaining things and, in some rare occasions, making excuses.

Mycroft wasn't happy about the whole thing of course; but when Sophia told him he had to hand over the information about her family if he cancelled the trip he backed away and told them to go ahead. Later that day he booked them all train tickets and the group of teenagers left for Midnight house a day later, Sherlock only just remembering to hand over the keys from Mycroft.