EPILOGUE

Months Later…

"Are you ready?"

"Yes"

The man in the white lab coat pulled down on the large lever, which was positioned the wall, and within nanoseconds a powerful electronic current was rushing down the wires that were attached to John's arms.

"Feel anything?" The balding scientist asked while looking at John through the thick lenses of his glasses and tapping a biro on his clipboard.

"No" On John's answer the man pushed the lever back up into its previous position.

The man in the white coat turned back to the large desk fitted with large boards with switches and buttons on. He pushed his glasses up his nose automatically as he twisted a few knobs then flicked a few of the smaller switches.

As the scientist fussed with the technology, John glanced around the large square white room. He was strapped to a plastic coated frame, held half a meter in the air, by leather bindings. He knew that it would only take a small flinch for the leather to rip but he tried his best to remain calm and still.

He was still looking around curiously when a fake cough brought his attention back to the balding man. The vampire raised an expectant eyebrow as he looked down on the man from where he was held up in the frame.

"How about now?" The man asked.

John looked over to see that the lever had been turned back on again.

"Umm..." The doctor pretended to think about it. "No."

The scientist looked slightly disappointed but fascinated at the same time. He hurried back over to the desk and quickly turned the knob further. John watched and gave an apologetic shrug when the man looked over with a questioning look plastered across his face.

The scientist pulled the lever up again, effectively stopping the electric current. He then scuttled along beside the wires checking to see if they were damaged or if there was a break in the circuit.

The blonde doctor got bored of this display of the man running his fingers along the wires and he soon began to look around again.

There were no windows so all the light came from powerful tube-bulbs that hung high above the vampire's head. It gave the room a very sterile, clean feeling to it.

The soldier's eyes floated aimlessly until he saw the scientist. The man was short, probably even shorter then John. He had black whispy hair which was disappearing at the top of his head. The man's glasses were almost comical. They were the stereotypical nerd or geek glasses, with large frames and thick lenses. It was starting to annoy John that he had to prod them up his nose every 30 seconds. He looks like a Bert, John decided.

The man John now call 'Bert' shuffled back over to the knobs and hesitated before turning the knob up even further. John was curious to know how much voltage was he being subjected to but he couldn't see the half faded numbers on the desk and he didn't really want to ask Bert.

The Bert's hand hovered over the lever as he fought with himself about whether this was safe for John. The scientist nodded firmly and John knew that he had made up his mind. The man swiftly pulled the large lever downwards.

A sudden shock flew through John's body making him jerk slightly. His arms retracted automatically, ripping the thick leather bindings in two. The small shock didn't actually hurt but it was, well, a shock.

"Well, you obviously felt something then. How bad?" Bert pulled his head in slightly and winced expecting something really bad.

"Didn't really hurt… It was just a shock. I wasn't expecting it." The soldier explained clearly.

The man in the lab coat nodded slowly with his eyebrows raised in shock.

"That could have given a successful jumpstart to a car. Well, too much actually. It would have fried the batteries." Bert scratched his head. The black hair, what was left of it, was becoming static due to the large amount of electricity that was now flowing around the room.

The scientist looked down at the board with all the knobs and buttons. He stared for a moment contemplating how high to go next.

"Are you up for another one?" The man in the lab coat asked sceptically.

"Yeah. Give me whatever you've got." John shrugged. "Do you need to tie me up?" John raised his wrists which still had half of the leather binding on it.

Bert shuffled out of the room to fetch more leather bindings. He was gone for a while and John began to hum tunes to himself to keep entertained.

After about 10 minutes, John's shocker returned with a whole box of thick leather ties. The vampire raised an eyebrow.

"Well, the next shock will be much, much larger so..." Bert let his voice trail off.

The blogger just held out his arms. The scientist pulled up a chair so he was almost level with the doctor before putting bindings all the way up his arms so he couldn't move at all unless he did a weak pull. John decided he wasn't going to tell Bert that his efforts were wasted. He was starting to like Bert (or whatever his name really was).

The doctor nodded to the scientist once it was done. The man climbed down and sent the knob to maximum. Unfortunately, safety regulations only allowed for them to go as high as the national grid.

Bert moved over to the lever and placed his hand on it. He turned to look at John before nodding good luck. The scientist then plunged the lever down. The sudden sound of thunder exploded into the room and a blinding white light flashed, illuminating every crevice and corner.

After Bert had gathered his scattered senses he pushed up on the lever. The man in the white coat stood frozen for a moment and he would swear to anyone that his heart had been stopped by the sheer power behind the electricity. He could feel the energy milling around in the air and briefly wondered whether he had gone too far.

He suddenly remembered what he was doing in that room. Why he was pulling that lever. His eye raced over to the frame and his heart almost stopped for a second time when he noted that nobody was there.

A sound echoing from the floor suddenly caught his attention. On the tiles beneath the frame was Dr John Hamish Watson, who was curled in on himself slightly. The groans were coming from him, the test subject. Bert tried to step forward but his legs collapsed as he attempted to move forward. The shock still had him in a daze.

Suddenly the thick door behind him burst open and by the time Bert's addled brain had caught up the person responsible for the opening door was already kneeling over the still doctor.

The tall man suddenly turned on the scientist hunched on the floor. If looks could kill. The man in the long, dark coat had murder written in his eyes. Bert's employer, Mycroft Holmes, stood on in the doorway with disapproval etched onto his features. This look was pointed at his little brother.

"Sherlock." The parliamentarian said plainly. As if he wasn't trying to comfort the man nor was he scolding the detective. It sounded as if he had just read the word off a name badge in a supermarket and it meant nothing to him.

The sociopath turned his glare on his brother. The detective scowled at the elder Holmes before facing poor scared Bert on the floor again.

"What the fuck did you do?!" The genius demanded. "You fucking idiot! Surely you know nobody could withstand that! You-you..." Sherlock stuttered as he began to breakdown. He could feel tears brimming. John. What had he done to John? MY JOHN! HOW DARE HE! Sherlock seethed.

The detective took a very deliberate and powerful step towards the man cowering on the floor but his legs felt like jelly as his world crashed around him. Without John? No. It's not possible.

Mycroft looked like he wanted to step in but didn't know how.

"Don't blame Bert." A weak voice called from the floor behind the ebony haired man.

Sherlock immediately spun around on the spot to see his partner looking up at him. The detective could feel his legs beginning to give way so he allowed himself to collapse next to John. He held the vampire's head on his lap as the cold man lay on the tiled floor. John was grateful for the pillow Sherlock had created. He was feeling a little bit drained but considering what had just happened not too bad.

A shaking voice spoke up behind Sherlock, "Who's Bert?"

The detective and politician looked between the vampire and scientist in confusion.

"... You?" The genius made it a half question, half statement.

The man shook his balding head slowly.

Sherlock could feel the anger boiling up inside him, "If you have mentally damaged him. I swear I will kill you. I will pull your-"

The detective's threats were interrupted by John, who had started giggling. The genius raised an eyebrow.

"What?!"

John got out between giggles, "Can I do that again?!"

Sherlock looked down at his partner in horror, "Certainly not! I think your brain has been affected."

The doctor suddenly widened his eyes and pulled his mouth into an adorable pout, "Pwease, Sherly! Pwease!"

"Don't call me Sherly."

"Pwease!" The doctor grinned as Mycroft smirked from the doorway.

The detective turned to his brother with a sharp scowl, "I don't know why you're smirking. This was your idea!" The sociopath raged while gesturing at the frame.

The politician shook his head gently but the smirk didn't fade.

"No, dear brother. He wanted to repay me for keeping him conscious and I wanted to know the limits of his abilities so it was an ideal agreement."

John giggled again. Sherlock looked down in disapproval. The soldier looked up at him with deep sorrow filled eyes. The detective sighed.

"Fine. Bert, start the machine up." Sherlock had risen and began to stride out of the testing area.

The short scientist stamped his foot onto the floor, "I'm not called Bert!"

Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited and followed. Don't forget to review and tell me what you've thought of Vampire's Secrets. Many thanks, Lockie.