I want you to be afraid.

John hears the voice in his head, again, as he makes his way to the stairs of his flat. He's not afraid. Moriarty is locked up and will remain there under Mycroft's care. It's done. Sherlock is alive, John is alive, and there is nothing to be scared of.

They came so close. So close to betraying each other, to Sherlock plummeting off the edge of Bart's and John believing he should.

He is not afraid.

"We need milk," Sherlock opens as John bounds up the stairs, like nothing else needs to be said between them. John looks at him before taking a breath. The question leaps from his throat.

"Would you have jumped?" Sherlock shrugs without looking away from his book.

"I would have done everything I could have to not jump." That's not an answer.

"But would you have jumped?" John is firm, and he grabs the back of his chair as if to brace himself for the answer he knows is coming. After saying it, even he knows what the answer is, but he has to hear it, to know how close it was. Did Sherlock make his peace with it, or was it simply a possibility he would have fought against?

"Yes." John lowers his head before shaking it and lifting it back to look at Sherlock.

"At no point did you think to say 'John Watson, this is what's happening.'"

"John." Sherlock lowers the book and shifts his gaze to John.

"No." John cuts off, "You know what he's been doing to me, you know he's been testing me, and yet you still chose to hold things back. I believe in you. I thought you'd believe in me. You would have died and let me believe it was my fault." Sherlock has nothing to say to that. John decides to wait until he does.

The silence of the flat is interrupted by John's ringtone.

"Hello," John opens, "Mycroft."

"He won't talk to us, John. I would like you to stop by and see if he will talk to you."

"I was just there;" John sighs, "he didn't really talk to me."

"Not Moriarty." Mycroft clarifies.

"Jim." John breathes, he finds himself sympathetic. Jim isn't willing in this. He's a victim. Now he has to rot forever in Mycroft's cage with Moriarty. Sherlock closes his book. "Okay. I'll come back."

"There will be a car arriving shortly,"

It does. As John gets in he tries to plan what to say but nothing comes to mind; unless this is Moriarty tricking all of them. Still, he's restrained. There is nothing Moriarty can do to him. John nods to the guards and Mycroft escorts him through the scanners, detectors, and other security measures. He takes a deep breath before looking.

It's different seeing Jim there in Mycroft's cage. He looks tired and defeated and John crosses his arms as he watches the other.

"He can't hear us in here, John." Mycroft starts, but John doesn't know if he really believes him. "After you left Moriarty's behavior shifted in a way I've never seen before. Throughout the time he was here he was consistent in his behavior, however, after you left, Moriarty changed. Remembering the conversation you had with my brother, I assume this is Jim."

"Yeah," John confirms.

"We have not attempted to talk to him yet." John looks over to Mycroft, confused. "Since you and Jim have an established relationship, we thought it be best to have you go in there."

"And do what? Have tea?" Jim is restrained. He is looking at the floor in thought. Mycroft shrugs.

"If it will help. We need to know what he's planning, what has already been done, and what Moriarty would try to do to get out of here."

"He can't get out of here though, right?"

"Nothing is impossible, John." Mycroft moves to sit in a chair behind them, "but it would be very difficult to escape this place." John turns to stare at Jim.

"What should I say?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you have the expertise here. Just get him to talk; I'll know if anything is useful and true." John nods and turns away. It's just Jim in there.

Or am I the truth?

Just Jim. What does the even mean?

"Dr. Watson," Jim greets without looking up from the floor. "I have to say I can't take a beating nearly as well as Moriarty can, and I have much less information than he does, but I understand if you're been sent here to do that."

"I haven't." John doesn't say anything else, just stands at the door silently.

"So what have you been sent into here to do?" John doesn't answer, Jim looks up. "Talk? Bring Moriarty out? Get me to spill his secrets?"

John clenches his fists. He wants the truth, but he wouldn't know who to believe, or what to believe. This seemed a lot easier when he was staring at Jim outside with Mycroft. Now that he's in here he doesn't know what to do. His established relationship was to be completely at their mercy, doing what they wanted. It was not standing over them in a position of power while they could do nothing.

"Dr. Watson. I am to understand time is not on your side here, you'd best get started."

"You can't think you'll be walking out of here." John responds with a shake of his head.

"He has plans, nothing is impossible." Jim can't lean back, but John imagines that's what he'd want to do.

"This facility is perfect." John insists.

"Maybe, but it will always have at least one flaw."

"What's that?"

"The guards." John thinks of each of the men he saw and wonders who would be a chink in the armor.

"You were testing me." John shifts the conversation, wondering if Mycroft wanted him to continue.

"Moriarty was; just like he tested Sherlock. He likes knowing what people are made of. He thinks it's interesting."

"Sherlock?" John shakes his head, "what was his test?"

"The pool. We convinced him you were Moriarty with a few words. You reached out to him for help, but he was too blind to read your signals. He was too hurt to consider you were under duress. Honestly, he was eager to believe you were Moriarty."

"No. You tricked him."

"Honestly, John, Sherlock couldn't believe that the soldier who killed for him, the doctor who saved him, and the friend who believed in him were genuine." Jim also has trouble believing it sometimes. "He thought you were too good to be true, and that thought blinded him."

"He thought I was too good to be true. No way." John thinks of the screeching violin keeping him up at night, the days without talking, and the way Sherlock put him down. He blinks, and Sherlock is in front of him again, pointing a gun at his temple.

"It is unbelievable. You both can be terrible people." John frowns and Jim stares at where Mycroft must be looking in. "Moriarty acknowledges we are all bad people. He never kills a complete innocent because who is?"

"He didn't kill us."

Jim doesn't feel Moriarty stopping him, and knows that for some reason he wants John to know the whole truth.

"He may." Still nothing. If anything, Moriarty is encouraging it. "Sherlock bored him after that. He was incredibly smart, but also so dull. He would have taken that pill, he would have jumped, he would have walked straight into a trap alone because he was too vain to think he needed backup." Jim finds his voice taking on a darker tone. He is slipping.

"The truth is I've had many opportunities to kill Sherlock, but he doesn't matter anymore. I have tested him in my own ways and he has failed."

Mycroft is in shock. How is it that John can open a well of information with few words, when it took so long for them to get practically nothing before? He watches the John and Moriarty interaction with his finger hovering over the button that will swarm the room with guards.

"So why not kill him."

"I was going to kill you both when you failed your test."

"Sherlock mentioned a test, but I still have no idea what's going on."

"SURPRISE!" Moriarty squeals, "little Johnny boy knows nothing!" Moriarty shakes his head. "You are vapid at times, it's tiring."

"You could tell me what's going on."

"I could, but where is the fun?" Moriarty grins. "Tell you what, if you can figure this out on your own, no cheating, I will answer any one question the ice queen wants me to."

"I don't even know what you want me to figure out." The sigh Moriarty lets out has John frowning.

"Why don't we see what you could come up with?"

"And you'll answer honestly, no tricks?"

"If I must." Moriarty close his eyes. "You can go now Johnny boy, my offer is only good while I'm in here though, so hurry."

Mycroft grins at the opportunity.

"Why do you think you're leaving?"

"Why do you think I'm not?"

"I'm not done talking to you yet."

"Yes you are, and I have no intention of answering Mummy's questions." Moriarty smiles, all teeth, and John's pulse goes up. "But do come back." John's heart hammers in his ears as he walks out of the room. "I look forward to seeing you on the other side Johnny! I'll bring my gun."

The door slams behind John, and his shoulder erupts in fire in memory. Moriarty watches John leaves and has a flashback to a forgotten memory. He blinks, suddenly in a room with his old principal.

"Multiple Personality Disorder is a more common name for it, yes." She says, "but honestly, Jim, you don't show many signs of it. A voice in your head telling you to do bad things, or feeling like someone else is doing them just seems like you trying to get out of trouble. There are many symptoms of this you don't have. I think you just like to misbehave sometimes."

Moriarty shakes his head and wants to scream. When did this happen? His head pounds. He has just enough time to register Jim is in shock as well about the flashback before he blacks out.