==Chapter 11==

Ascension

Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.

– Ezra Taft Benson

The Doctor's eyes widened. Oh, good man, Nikola!

Beth looked around, almost not daring to hope... But the old blue box was slowly flashing into view, and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Do not shoot yet," Moriarty said sharply as the TARDIS fully materialised, seeing that Moran had drawn his revolver again, the guards readying their own weapons. The ship might be impervious to most weaponry, but he wasn't about to risk any collateral damage from ricocheting bullets.

(Scene rating: V)

Nikola patted the console, murmuring, "Well done, sweetheart."

The TARDIS let out something that sounded very much like a relieved sigh, followed by urgent and concerned twittering.

Watson peeled himself off of the strut he'd held onto, and drew his revolver again. "Yes, indeed," he said gravely in response to the TARDIS, her meaning only too clear, "and we shall take care."

Whatever happens, draga, do not let him in. Nikola smiled at the sense of grim determination the ship sent back. Even if worst came to worst and she was forced to let Moriarty enter to save a life, the Professor wouldn't like what he found waiting for him...

The telepath took another deep breath, infinitely thankful for the reassuring touch of the TARDIS in his mind – she might be physically unable to protect all of them, but she could at least help him to stay strong and focussed. He would need all the help he could get... "Ready, you two?"

His companions nodded solemnly, Holmes silently praying for a miracle to whoever might be listening. I'm coming, Beth. He headed down the ramp with the other two close behind, opened the door and stepped boldly out.

"Good evening, gentlemen."

Holmes stared at the even younger looking Moriarty; the Professor's quietly triumphant smile turned his stomach almost as much as Beth bound and on her knees beside Moran, the Colonel holding her by the hair...

Beth was grimacing, Moran's grip none too gentle, but she forged ahead with her cuffs, as carefully as possible. Her heart leapt and just as quickly plummeted at the sight of her husband. Oh, love, I'm so sorry...

Watson took in the scene with a sharp intake of breath, feeling sick at the sight of Beth and the Doctor held captive. Not even the least bit of dignity allowed to either...

Moran's face was impassive, eyes glinting a clear challenge to Holmes as he twisted Elizabeth's hair tighter, the girl's strangled whimper music to his ears.

Holmes made no sound, but went very still, his own eyes gleaming pure murder at the Colonel before looking down at Beth's tear-filled ones, expression softening. Don't be afraid, Beth, I won't let him have you...

"Ah, Mr. Tesla." Moriarty bowed slightly as the inventor exited after Dr. Watson, noting his pointedly shutting the TARDIS door behind him with amusement. "An honour to meet you at last."

Nikola didn't return the bow, frowning as multiple alarms started going off inside his head, and he hadn't even attempted to touch minds with the man. For some reason, Moriarty felt even more wrong than the three girls had as paradoxes... and yet so incredibly... familiar... oh no... that aura... Dear God, Doctor, he didn't...

The Doctor tried to reply, but though the words formed in his head, he couldn't transmit them. He stared at Nikola, wide-eyed: he'd never been unable to communicate telepathically before, and he had no idea whether it was Moriarty or the slave collar that was jamming him. Well, great, this situation just took on a whole new level of bad-to-worse. He gave the inventor an infinitesimal nod, though, wishing he hadn't given in to Moriarty in the first place. It was all too clear that Beth's well-being was thoroughly compromised no matter what, and now the greatest criminal mastermind in human history was a Time Lord.

"You have my thanks, Mr. Tesla—your machine worked to perfection." Moriarty felt tolerably sure that the telepath was already aware of his new condition, although it galled him far more than he cared to admit that he couldn't get close enough even to sense the man's emotions, how...?! Ah, of course, the TARDIS must bolstering Tesla's mental shields, most ingenious. You win this round, milady. But there were other ways to bypass an enemy's defences...

"Well, perhaps you'd care to repay the debt," Nikola answered grimly. "Let Beth and the Doctor go, and I'll consider us even." Not that he actually expected the Professor to keep his word, but keeping Moriarty's attention might help him to stay under the new Time Lord's radar, the TARDIS could only do so much. Beth... Beth, can you hear me?

"In a week's time, I shall be more than happy to let Mrs. Holmes go, provided that she returns when I call for her. However, I am afraid that the Doctor must stay, and the TARDIS with him."

Holmes gritted his teeth, forcing himself to speak calmly. "What do you want with them?"

The headache Beth had already been suffering suddenly throbbed fiercely, and she heard Nikola's mental voice, but as if from a distance. She gritted her teeth—easy enough to explain away: the pain from Moran's grip alone was unrelenting. Nikola. Yes.

Moriarty shook his head. "Come, come, Holmes. I cannot reasonably be expected to allow the Doctor freedom of travel, and I require the talents of your bride. She is willing, are you not, Madame—" Turning to Elizabeth, he frowned as if noticing her position for the first time. "For heaven's sake, Colonel, do allow the young lady her dignity."

Beth sagged a little in relief as her hair was released; and the Colonel looked none too happy about having to do it. The pain in her head faded to a dull throbbing. She would have risen to her feet if her hands weren't cuffed, but she was still working on it and trying to look as still as possible.

"Much better. As I was saying, Mrs. Holmes's abilities will be a welcome addition to Torchwood."

Holmes nudged Watson's foot with his, then sent the thought urgently: Nikola, get me through to Beth.

Holmes, I don't think... Too much mental traffic and all their distractions might not be enough.

Do it! Holmes's 'voice' softened as he sensed his beloved's presence. Are you all right, cherie?

Watson narrowed his eyes, taking the metaphorical baton from his friend. "To what purpose?"

Beth's eyes widened slightly to hear her husband's voice in her head. Sherlock! I... I—no... but I've almost worked myself out of my cuffs.

"Why, to the purpose of staving off the Great War, of course." Even Dr. Watson must have learned about that by now.

The Doctor's eyes widened—he hadn't heard about this. "Are you insane?! You can't rewrite history like that!"

That's my girl. Holmes gave Beth a proud smile in his thoughts, keeping his real face expressionless with great difficulty. What he wouldn't give to have had as much practice as the others!

"You of all people should know better, Doctor," Moriarty answered sternly, "considering the war that you yourself went through. Even I have no wish for the senseless slaughter of millions of lives over mere feet of ground on the Continent."

"And Reality is still suffering from it," the Doctor retorted. Moriarty certainly had no right to speak of a war even he couldn't really begin to fathom, especially to justify his new scheme to break the time-space continuum. "You could push the universe into a total event collapse!"

While still keeping contact between the Holmeses, Nikola dared to reach out to the guards, sizing up their defences. Oh dear... It looked as if Moriarty had deliberately chosen the most psychically gifted among his staff for this encounter. Nikola would have to take all three completely by surprise if he was to even the odds in a firefight.

Beth sent Sherlock a wan smile, wordlessly asking for his forgiveness for what she was about to say. She didn't know how this was going to end, but for now she had to play along. Not very hard to in the first place... "But, Doctor, what if it worked?" she said softly.

The Doctor turned to her, suddenly realising exactly why she gave in – the math was elementary – and understanding completely. "Oh, honey…" He couldn't even give her a better option than what Moriarty was offering.

Holmes arched an eyebrow to mask his dismay at the sincerity in his wife's voice. "A commendable sentiment, Moriarty, but I cannot imagine that the end results would be any better than the last time a Fixed Point was broken."

Moriarty mirrored the eyebrow. "Ah, but that war is not fixed, my boy. That history does not have to happen."

"What do you mean?"

Beth... Nikola's 'voice' was sadder than he'd intended as he put two and two together, remembering too late that Holmes could hear every word. What did he promise you?

"Wars do not make for Fixed Points, Holmes. Certain events that spark them, such as assassinations, can be, but war must be too great an evil for Reality to deem Fixed. If not for the presence of your future-born wife, it would not even be an issue at all."

Beth's breath hitched, and she bowed her head. Nikola, if I have a son in the next few years… he'll end up fighting in that war! Any children Sally and I have would be… would be caught up in that war… "At the very least, it will be a world in which humans needn't wear metal tags to have a name on their grave marker."

Oh, sweetheart... Holmes let his gaze travel to Beth, allowing his mask to slip as he 'reached' out to her. His beloved's worst fear, and Moriarty had played on it expertly – and Holmes hadn't even considered... Oh, hell... Moriarty's gaze had suddenly become fixed on him, eyes narrowing – had he been silent too long? "Doctor, is he right?"

The Doctor gritted his teeth. "Mostly. But the fact that Beth is here does make it a problem!" You could safely rework history a little bit if you didn't have anybody from the future with you, but only theoretically on the scale Moriarty was talking about.

Beth gently pushed back at Sherlock's mental touch: she needed to concentrate on finishing with her cuffs. And the last thing you want is his pity right now…

"One which we can work to negate… Holmes, are you quite well? You seem a trifle… distracted."

Holmes hastily backed off from Beth, allowing Nikola to disconnect. "That surprises you?" With his wife in handcuffs, kneeling beside her erstwhile murderer?

"Yes..." What was the boy doing? Ah, yes, just there... a fluctuation in the forcefield... too much activity for even Tesla to maintain integrity. Moriarty gathered all his unused mental energy and struck viciously at the weak point, which splintered just long enough for the Professor to force the crack wider. He heard a cry of pain from Tesla as the connection severed, and the TARDIS's scream of rage... but she was not joined to Holmes directly, she could do nothing to interfere this time... and his former student's mind now lay open before Moriarty, a rich and complex tapestry... with a lingering sensation of warmth, of tenderness... Ah... now, when did you become telepathic, dear boy? Or was Tesla responsible for this, too?

Holmes gasped, recoiling instinctively; the touch of Moriarty's mind was as repellent as the rest of him... Please, God, no, not again... He struggled desperately against the icy tendrils that quested mercilessly through his thoughts, the chill almost paralysing. How in the world had he fought off Mileen, he couldn't remember...

"Sherlock!" Beth cried. Sherlock swayed, his gaze distant and terrified. Moriarty's gaze, too, was distant, though his eyes were fixed on Sherlock. It was only too clear what was happening, and she couldn't even do anything about it!

"Holmes!" Watson took hold of the detective's arm, steadying him. It was all he could do – he wasn't psychic like his daughter, he couldn't fight off Moriarty or help poor Nikola, who was still recovering from the obvious mental assault.

A smoky laugh rumbled through Holmes's consciousness, Moriarty pushing deeper still. Little one, when will you learn?

Nikola watched the struggle helplessly, unnoticed by either combatant – he might have the element of surprise, but nowhere near the skill or the strength to separate the two! Even if he and the TARDIS could manage it together, they could just as easily damage Holmes's mind irreparably in the process...

...the smothering dark of the Controller's prison pod, the soul-crushing loneliness... and Holmes suddenly laughed. That was his memory, his nightmare, and he had dreamed it for so long, he owned it! You wanted to know how dark it gets in here? He summoned up the memory at full strength, took as firm a hold of Moriarty's presence as he could, and started to drag him in. Come and see, then!

Moriarty snarled as the chilling blackness surrounded them both. The boy dared... dared to play master over a Time Lord, here?! Breaking free of the detective's pitifully weak grasp, Moriarty took hold of the dark and began to wrap it even more closely around Holmes. Let the insolent pup spend a few more hours screaming at his own demons...

Damn! Holmes forced himself not to struggle, sternly smothering his rising panic. He could hardly breathe... Calm down, old man, you know the way out of here, remember? Just like last time... Out in the real world, his hand instinctively sought Watson's and gripped it tight.

Watson understood, and realised: he couldn't reach Holmes alone, but Nikola could do it. He squeezed his friend's hand comfortingly. Nikola, get me in there.

Nikola's eyes widened as the connection all but made itself with barely any help from him, stronger and faster than he could ever have managed on his own... and the telepath laughed inwardly as he realised why. It wasn't the TARDIS's power Moriarty needed to beware...

Holmes smiled in sheer relief as he sensed a familiar, comforting presence beside him. Watson... Even though they'd never touched minds before, he'd know the doctor anywhere.

Watson smiled back, a touch anxiously. Right here, old fellow. He didn't know how Moriarty had missed his entrance, but apparently he had.

Holmes shuddered, the warmth of his friend's concern a stark contrast to the suffocating dark – he'd never meant for Watson to share this with him! I made a mistake, Watson. I can't fight him alone, he's using this memory against me.

Watson shivered. Poor Holmes. Then let's give him one he can't control – one that we share. Remember the healing...

Yes... Less than a day old, the memory grew swiftly between the pair, surrounded them, pushing back the shadows... "Watson... you came back..." "I've missed you... so much..." "Sherlock?" "John!" "Baby Time Lady..." All four staring in wonder at the golden light enveloping Holmes and Watson, strength flowing back as their wounds closed... and Beth... Beth was alive, arms tight around him as if she would never let go, eyes shining with tears of joy... "Beth...! Oh, thank God!" "I'm right here..."

No! Moriarty barely had time to register Dr. Watson's presence before the sheer power of the combined memory swept him up and relentlessly forced him back, out of Holmes's mind completely, who gasped as he was released, sagging into the doctor's steadying arms.

While everyone else was engrossed by the obvious mental conflict, Beth moved. Her cuffs dropped to the floor, unlocked, and she drove her fist into the back of Moran's knee. The sedative long since worn off and replaced by adrenaline, Beth sprang to her feet, kneed the Colonel viciously in the groin, and drew his revolver from its holster.

Doubled over, Moran clutched weakly for his revolver, far too late, then fell to one knee. "Guards!"

No, I don't think so... Nikola saw his chance, and the guards froze in place as they turned their firearms on Beth, eyes glassy.

Still shaken, Moriarty fought to collect himself. Damn the boy, when had he learned that kind of mental discipline?! Not discipline, James Moriarty, came the ringing thought, edged with regret. Tesla! His shields, they were in pieces, how...? Something you've never understood...

Beth whipped around, drew a bead on Moriarty's chest, and fired.

"Beth!" The sound of the pistol shot snapped the horrified detective back to reality in a heartbeat... but it wasn't his wife staggering backwards, gaping in outraged disbelief at the growing crimson stain on his chest... and... dear God, golden light was beginning to shimmer through the Professor's hands. Moriarty... was a Time Lord?!

Moriarty struggled to stay upright, teeth clenched; the warmth of Time Vortex energy that filled his body was doing very little to ease the pain... and then, just as suddenly, the warmth vanished. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath, trying desperately to call the energy back, but it remained stubbornly out of reach, it wouldn't come, it wouldn't listen...

Moran stood frozen, staring in disbelief and growing fury, then snatched a knife from his boot next moment and surged to his feet.

Holmes's blood ran cold, reading murder in the Colonel's eyes. As Watson raised his revolver, the detective plunged his hand into his coat pocket, firing his own pistol through the cloth. Both bullets struck true, Watson's through Moran's head, Holmes's through the heart.

Beth whirled around at the shots and jumped back from Moran as the bullets hit. He staggered for a moment, then crumpled to the floor. Oh, zed, she could actually see some of his brain matter... Mycroft's head half-exploding... She shuddered and looked away immediately, fighting down her rising gorge.

Moriarty stared at the body of his lieutenant, then slumped to the floor himself, now barely able to breathe. "...Holmes..." Help me... But the detective didn't even spare a glance as he hastened past, eyes only for his wife.

Watson, however, was staring at the Professor – he'd fully intended to shoot Moriarty if he'd had to, but seeing the man use the Time Vortex like that changed everything. The Doctor wouldn't want any remaining Time Lord to die, friend or foe, even if Moriarty was newly-born as such. He turned to the Doctor, opening his mouth to ask if he could help. But the Doctor shook his head, walking slowly towards Moriarty, and Watson stopped.

Beth looked up at Sherlock as he reached her, then down again at the floor, cheeks reddening in shame. After everything she said to him... she'd gone and done the exact same thing he had.

"Beth!" Holmes hugged her hard, shaking, his voice hoarse. "Beth, thank God!" She was alive, she was safe, he'd been so scared...

Her heart aching, she wrapped her arms around him in return, silent and trembling but grateful for the embrace.

He kissed her hair and just stood with her for a long moment, rocking her gently. My poor love...

The Doctor bent down to pick up his fallen sonic and disengaged his collar, taking it off and hurling it away in revulsion. He sat on his haunches and looked Moriarty in the eye. The man looked wary, bewildered... and it was all so, so sad. He'd genuinely thought he could help his own race, but he'd gone about it in all the wrong ways... "I am sorry," the Doctor said slowly, quietly. "I really am. But you made your choices. The same as anyone else. No one ever took that freedom from you." Nobody forced you to become what you did—you did that to yourself.

Moriarty smiled bitterly, still struggling for breath. "I could have done... so... much... more..." Tesla had been right all along, even two lifetimes hadn't been nearly enough... The Doctor should never have interfered.

The Doctor looked hard at the Professor—old human, young Time Lord. It was like something straight out of a Greek tragedy—Moriarty would have fit right amongst the likes of Icarus or, perhaps more appropriately, Oedipus. "It wouldn't have been for you to do."

With his attention no longer divided, Nikola managed to find the right 'switch' in the guards' minds to send them to sleep, then reached out and gave Holmes a gentle nudge. Holmes... Moriarty was fading fast; if the detective wanted to say goodbye, this was his last chance.

Holmes hesitated, reluctant to leave Beth. What was there left to say, anyhow?

Beth felt his hesitation and could guess why. She understood his reluctance, but, like it or not, James Moriarty had claimed an extraordinarily significant role in Sherlock's life. If he said nothing to the Professor now, he might regret it. She nudged him gently. "Sweetheart..." She looked up at him and nodded. Go on, it's okay... He gave her a shaky smile, arms tightening a moment before letting go, and slowly approached the two Time Lords, Nikola taking his place at Beth's side as he moved away.

Watson felt a mental nudge from Nikola to follow Holmes—as if he needed one! But he followed at a respectful distance. He would like nothing so much as to know that the relationship between Holmes and Moriarty was nothing more than as enemies, but the reality was, of course, so much more complicated.

The Doctor looked up and stood, moving back to allow some privacy.

Moriarty's breathing was harsher and faster now, but the exquisitely painful bullet in his chest was taking much too long to do its work. Touché, Elizabeth... He looked up at Holmes, uncertain of what to expect from the boy, though he knew better than to expect any trace of affection or sorrow. And suddenly he ached just a little, remembering when Holmes had been a boy, and they had been truly close...

"I should never," he rasped, "have attempted... to teach you... all those years ago..." He had derided the boy for harbouring his attachments, but in the end, it was Moriarty's own attachment to Holmes that had kept him from simply killing him and having done with it. You might not have been bleeding out on a floor now...

Holmes blinked, then shook his head, throat suddenly tight. "That," he answered softly, "was the one good thing you did for me." He could almost wish that he'd never learned the truth...

Moriarty nodded, gratified to sense at least something akin to what he felt radiating from Holmes. The boy, when he had been a boy, had reminded Moriarty so much of himself in his youth that he had eventually, dangerously dared to think of him as his own son. He could hurt and even shoot the boy, but he could not have brought himself to end his life. "And I still... do not... regret it... in the slightest..." Those few brief, warm years together, a glimmer of light in a life he knew had otherwise been very, very dark... no, he could not regret that.

Holmes nodded, though he couldn't quite bring himself to say 'thank you'. There was still too much that he hated the man for... With a shadow of a smile, he managed to answer, "Just... don't expect me to name any of the children after you."

Moriarty almost smiled, though breathing was nearly impossible now. He had never understood before that bleeding to death could also feel like suffocation. "Pity..." Though, if nothing else, 'James Holmes' didn't sound quite right—not that 'John Holmes' sounded much better, and he would have wagered a goodly amount that the eldest son would be given that name. "It's... been... an honour... dear boy..." Sherlock Holmes's grey eyes, full of mixed emotions, were the last thing he saw.

Holmes gazed down at his former mentor's still form, a sickly, hollow feeling in his gut. When Moriarty had first been shot, he'd barely had time to acknowledge the fact before the effects were reversed... This time, it was different, Moriarty wasn't coming back... sprawled at the edge of the cliff, the jutting rock that had saved him cutting into his palm, staring down into the rolling mist where his enemy had vanished... and just like then, he couldn't tell whether he was relieved or... or sorry...

Stiffly, his legs feeling a long way away, Holmes knelt beside Moriarty and passed a hand over the man's eyes, closing them. ...it's over...

Beth approached Sherlock and knelt beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist. She didn't know what to say—silence was probably best until he was ready to break it. She looked down at the body on the floor, and even though her chance at preventing World War I had died with Moriarty, she couldn't regret killing him. Not after everything that had happened.

Holmes mechanically put his arm around his wife's shoulders, eyes burning but tearless, and rested his head against hers. They stayed there together like that for a long time.

It's over. The thought should have been more comforting.

Ria: Holy cow, we actually did it! *hugs the Holmeses* And, golly, I never thought when we first started this story arc that Moriarty would end up as such a sympathetic character, it broke my heart to have to kill him.

And now, dear readers, you have two options. You can continue with the final chapters of this story, or... you can go on to our bonus episode: A Study in Family. We know that some of you will be wanting a quick wrap-up to this adventure, like in the TV episodes, so that's what the last few chapters of 'Together' are for, while those of you who just can't get enough can carry on to the next episode, in which that ending will not only be included, but massively expanded on. Well, we just had so many loose ends left to tie up, it was enough for an extra episode all by itself... Some it will be decidedly NSFW, though, rather more than any episodes so far, so we're giving it an M rating, just to be on the safe side.

For those who want to read both wrap-ups, we'll be doing our best to post the chapters with matching scenes together. And there's plenty more good stuff to come after all that as well, including a Christmas episode! Enjoy!