Chapter Twenty-One

Ragnarok

John and I approached the machine. It was snowglobe-like and made a soft sighing noise. The blue light from within cast an eerie glow on our faces. The Doctor was currently pulling up a metal panel at the base. And there it was. A red button. Open. How fitting. Sickeningly simple, really.

Behind us, Grave moved to stand.

"Sit." John's voice was almost irritated. He had something in his hand. A gun? Where he got that was beyond me. Not to mention, he'd been swimming with it…

Grave didn't seem to know that the gun probably was broken. He sat down with a huff.

Coward.

"Right!" said the Doctor cheerily. He stood up quick and clapped his hands once. "This has been… interesting. But I think we'll end it, yes? Empty the machine of your power source, hmm?"

I nodded and the Doctor bent down to press the button but, suddenly, a rush of foreboding overcame me and, without realizing it, I found my hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Wait."

John cocked the gun behind me, still aimed at the monster, and I heard a soft chuckling. Turning swiftly, I glared down at the creature. "Something funny?"

The creature did not stop. He gave another chuckle that dribbled into a wet coughing fit. It truly was pathetic. I swept nearer. I knew it. Something was wrong. We missed something. I missed something.

"What?" I hissed, searching his face. "What is it?"

"Stupid creatures. The whole lot of you. Even him." Grave looked up at me now, his hood just a bit back and I met his gaze for the first time.

I wish I could say that his eyes were entirely black or entirely red; a common cinematic trick to make it easier for the good guy to beat the bad guy. It dehumanizes the enemy.

In reality, I was not granted this grace. Grave peered up at me through hooded and baggy eyes, skin the color of rotten milk. He wore wisps of a rectangular mustache.

And his eyes… his eyes were sharp and blue and very human, narrowing as he dissected me visually. Here was a man who would do anything to get what he wanted. His clear intellect, his understanding of his actions… perhaps that just made it worse. He could eat anything he liked but he chose to…

"You are despicable," I spat.

"Sherlock-"

"No, he is." That was John.

I ignored them. "Tell me why you're laughing."

Now Grave did something meant to be a smirk. He looked like a stroke victim instead. "You can free them if you like. But it's a one-way ticket." He coughed and splayed spidery fingers. "Boom."

Instantly, I stepped back. Right. Okay. Could be bluffing…

No. He showed no signs of falsehood. We could free the people, but it would destroy all of us. The machine would detonate. Clever. Satisfyingly so. If we detonated it, we would all die.

Including the man who was formerly connected to the machine.

I glanced back at the Doctor, my mind whirling. This will work. This will hurt. This will work.

I grabbed the Time Lord's wrist. And he protested. "Sher-"

But we were already gone. In the TARDIS.

We stumbled, skinning knees on the floor. Her presence overwhelmed me, and I sent a desperate message. Don't let them leave. Instantly, the Doctor scrambled clumsily to his feet and grabbed the front of my shirt. "Don't, Sherlock, you can't survive being blown into a bazillion-"

"Will it put the people back?"

"What? Yes, yes. They'll be fine. But-"

And then I was gone. John was still staring at the spot we disappeared a moment before. I didn't waste time. Grabbed his hand, teleported him out.

Then it was just me and the grave digger.

Was that surprise in his eyes?

"Well… this is an interesting turn of events. What's your name, boy?"

I ground my teeth at being called a boy but did not react outwardly. "Sherlock Holmes."

Grave cackled. "The detective, ey? And what exactly are you?"

With an eye roll, I bent down beside the red detonator. "If I knew, I would not tell you."

A grudging rumble. "And you think you're going to save the day? Kill me. Kill yourself. A hero."

I still didn't look at him. "I'm not a hero." The button seemed to pulse before me.

"Oh? I know of the Doctor's reputation. He does not keep company with anyone more interesting."

With a smirk, I turned. "You think you know me, then? Got me all figured out?"

"You saved your friends so that they would not have to die in this… unfortunate predicament. The only reason for you to detonate that thing," He pointed at the machine, "is to save a bunch of meals, excuse me, strangers." His blue eyes scrunchized me once more and my skin crawled. "From what I know of you, Mr. Holmes, for a hero, you've never been too concerned about the greater good. Not about the lesser ones who play in the background, ey? You and me, we're not so different. You use all the little, stupid humans. Because you ought to. After all, it's only our right that the strong prevail over the weak."

I said nothing but finally gave him a cold smile and stood. I tucked my hands deep in my pockets. "You're right, of course. I don't care about this city. I could care less whether those people lived or died."

"Exactly!" Grave hissed excitably.

"I honestly don't know the Doctor that well and would prefer I had never met him."

"A common sentiment."

I pursed my lips. "So you see, I'm not a hero. Never have been."

Silence. And then: "What will you do, Sherlock Holmes?"

Ah. Yes. What would I do... A sickeningly sweet smile lit my lips. "The thing is. There's a very small problem. Well, it's not small at all, really. Life or death." I dropped the facade and relished the flicker of fear in Grave's eyes. "You tried to kill my friends."

The creature opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, seeing his mistake, of course.

"And… I do not take kindly to others attempting to eat them. You understand?"

He gulped as I leaned down over the button again. "But- but-" He moved to get out of the chair and I nailed him with my eyes instantly.

Don't.

He fell back into his seat, as if from an invisible force. My eyes burned.

"Y-you will show mercy! You are a friend of the Doctor! You will-will-"

"Oh, shut up." I rolled my eyes. "You despicable cannibal. Did you show them mercy?" I stabbed my finger at the glass globe. The souls (for lack of a better word) swirled at the disruption. White hot anger boiled in my stomach, bleeding into my voice. "Did you show mercy to John when you sent people to capture him, hmm? Did you? I had to rewrite time to undo your mess."

"You would do this for that man? For one man, you would destroy yourself." Grave's eyes were wide with fear (like they should be.) He tried to move, but something kept him in his seat. He trembled.

Now was the last moment. "For John?" I whispered, "I'd do anything."

I slammed my fist into the button.

And the world erupted in fire

/.

AN: wheew. had the hardest time ever on this chapter. sherlock is a bit dark here. Anyway, one more chapter to go! Bit of an epilogue, really. BUT DON'T WORRY! The story is not over yet :D I should start the new story as soon as I can and have it up. I'll place the title of the next book in the last chapter. On another note, I want this to be a series of books, but I can't think of a name for the series. Any ideas? Leave a REVIEW and tell me what you think of this ridiculous tale, folks ;)