Chapter 10

I am so sorry about the wait.

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"Oh, hello Mrs. Hudson." John's voice sounded exhausted as he went towards the stairs to his flat.

"My goodness, John. What's wrong?" Mrs. Hudson asked quickly shooing John towards her own sitting room and fetching some tea.

John sat down with a groan, tiredly rubbing his eyes. "It's this war that Sherlock and Mycroft have. I was worried it would be a serious war at first but…" John took a quick swig of his tea, sending a grateful look Mrs. Hudson's way. "It's ended up being a series of pranks. When I realized that that was all it was going to be, I thought I could relax some." John leaned back. "That was stupid. I don't know how they have done any of it, but Sherlock managed to prank Mycroft while he was in front of the Queen, Sherlock's skull disappeared, and it seems the MORIARTY is behind that one—how the hell is he alive—Mycroft's managed to invent a crime to catch Sherlock's interest and Sherlock ended up falling into a vat of American PUDDING of all things."

"Well, that explains what happened to Sherlock's coat the other day." Mrs. Hudson sipped her tea as she listened. "Where's Sherlock now?"

"I believe he is attempting to get revenge for the pudding prank. I told me that he would be in the baking section of the local market for a while." John drained his tea. "I think I also heard something about either it being pie or cake. I don't think Sherlock has decided yet."

"John!" Lestrade came through the front door yelling, obviously fed up with something. "That's it! I have had enough. You have got to do something about those two!"

Mrs. Hudson gently led the Inspector to another seat and poured him some tea.

Lestrade's grateful smile spoke volumes on how his day had been so far.

"What have those brothers done now and what makes you think that I can stop them?" John rubbed his stiff shoulder.

"What have they done?! I've had three homicides that ended up being pranks. I came into work the other day to find my office filled with confetti! Since when is my work place part of their prank war?" Lestrade was pulling at his hair in frustration.

"My guess is that prank was done by Moriarty." John put in. "I don't think that Sherlock or Mycroft would do that to you."

Lestrade was silent for a moment before groaning and dropping his in his hands. "Moriarty? He's back—scratch that—he's ALIVE?!"

"I've discovered that it is easier to not think about it too much. My sanity would completely disappear if I do." John poured himself some more tea and topped off Lestrade's cup. "My guess is that there is more?"

"YES." Lestrade took another huge gulp of his tea before continuing. "Molly called a little while ago, half of her cadavers just got up, apologized for the trouble and walked out of the morgue, several politicians have apparently had pranks pulled on them, it seems that several groups of homeless have joined forces with some of the police and were behind most of those pranks, and on the way here, do you know what I heard on the radio?"

"Do I really want to know?" Apprehension was clear in John's voice.

"Oh, this one's good. Apparently, there are fifty African elephants outside Buckingham palace." Lestrade watched in tired amusement as John fumbled his tea cup, nearly dropping it.

John carefully set his cup down and leaned back, once again rubbing his eyes. Near hysterical laughter began to bubble out of him. "Do you remember last week when—when those starving fruit bats swarmed Sherlock's hair?"

"You mean because Mycroft somehow managed to put pieces of fruit in it? I don't think I'll ever figure out how he got them to only swarm Sherlock and not the fruit stands he was standing next to." Lestrade joined in the near hysterical laughter.

Mrs. Hudson took the teapot back to the kitchen for a refill. As she waited for the water to heat, her phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, it's so good to hear from you my dear. And your timing is as impeccable as always. I was just thinking of calling you."

"…"

"Oh, yes. I think things are getting a bit out of hand. It may just be time."

"…"

"Yes, I'll have her do the talking for now. Good bye."

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Author's Note: Wow. I am so sorry. It has been forever since I wrote anything for this story. I apologize. Now, let me tell you that by this point, John and Lestrade are nearly at the end of their ropes. *bows deeply* I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and yes I am taking the easy way out and now going into the details of the pranks. I ain't that smart people! Tell me what you think~~~!

I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!