Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry, I haven't been neglecting you all, I just wanted you to know that I've been uber busy with school and dance and junk but I'm here now with an awesome chapter just for you! XD Please read and review and enjoy!

Reviews:

NorthernLights25: Thank you! I'm loving it! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

TheSockThatNeverStaysOrange: Yeah it did XD I love you so much, you're adorbs! :D Irene? Hmmmm… That's a good prediction, but wait isn't she dead? *gasps* Well keep on reading my friend and you shall see, let me know what you think darling! Yes, Victoria is more of the devious type, but she might do some purring now and then to fool them all ;) I'm so glad you thought Watson's speech was emotional, that's what I was going for! I'm so surprised that I could write that without crying myself XD Thank you for all of your compliments! They really make my day! Yeah shit is getting serious, and it keeps on rolling from there. Goldylocks? What the hell? XD Of course, you're so adorbs and a fabu writer! Wifey and twinie forever :D

Izzy: Keep me I suppose ;) Best chappie yet? I'll take that as a compliment coming from you. Thank you of course!

Cliffie: I love your name haha! Yes, cliffhangers are for sure the best to read and write! It keeps people interested XD Victoria is my favorite too! Twins! Haha I'm just kidding… You think it's Simza? That's a good guess! Keep on reading and find out! A new character? Well you'll see.

Leiah7: Awwwww thanks! :D You're so sweet! Yeah some people left because of the prologue but I wanted to continue so bad so I did! I'm so happy you gave it a go! Victoria is so surprising and you'll see another side of her in this chappie as well. Irene not dead? Well you'll have to keep reading and see ;) Sherlock should have no problems whatsoever XD Yeah exactly, thank you! Mary was never one of my favorites so I was like eh what the hell? XD But Watson will miss her, even though he's holding himself together as best as he can. It is important to the story however. Thank you again!

WriterMonkey0626: It's good to be confused! XD Just kidding but as long as you keep reading, you should be fine! The woman in blue is TBD ;) You'll see in the future! And the shadow man or new character or whoever you want to call him won't be discovered for a while, but you will be surprised. That I can guarantee :) Thanks again!

A Pirate By Any Other Name: Let's try and keep this one short shall we? XD Maddening? Good, that's what I was going for I suppose. I didn't want to give away too much but I did keep to the flow. And that's exactly how I planned it! To the soundtrack! XD It's so good… Well find out you did ;) My suspense is just awesome, admit it XD Watson's so smart, he'll figure it out sooner or later. Watson misses Sherlock so much, he just doesn't know what to do with himself. Lion King FTW! XD You knew it eh? Good prediction my friend! Dread? Couldn't be ;) Of course I have to throw some dread in there! Yeah Watson is going through so much grief… It's quite depressing and downright cruel of me. Ah well, I'm over it XD Thanks darling for all of the compliments! HOLD THE PHONE? Haha I love it. Don't bow to me, I'm just doing my job ;) Just kidding… Who is it indeed? Keep reading and you shall soon know, well not in this chapter but soon I tell you! XD Really? Mary isn't my favorite so I'm over it myself, but it's important to the story I promise. Watson's holding himself together quite nicely as a matter of fact, I'm a little surprised myself. His investigation will be in depth and complicated, that much I can guarantee. Well keep on reading my darling and let Easter come soon! XD

Chief: Welcome ;) Irene? Simza? Those seem to be the two most common guesses. You're quite the predictor and I can never keep a straight face. Where's the blanket? XD Oh I will! :D

Recommendations:

Nothing But a Trophy Wife - x-The Devil's Advocate-x
*A Harry Potter novel.* After the Dark Lord vanquished, not all was well. The Death Eaters were being rounded up and tortured unfairly, even when they were being forced to serve the Dark Lord, not by willpower. When Lucius and Narcissa find themselves imprisoned, Narcissa is forced to reflect on her past and save herself, her husband and her family… if she can.

Clash of Steel - CPO Backstreet
*An X-Men novel.* Takes place after The Last Stand. The X-Men find their latest peace shattered by a government project, a group of mutant criminals and a military officer with a hatred for all mutants. In the midst of it all, Storm finds a way to bring Xavier back to life, leaving behind a legacy of her own. Wolverine discovers a secret that he would rather be left hidden, Rogue finds a cure for a cure, and old friends return. Can the X-Men find out what's happening to them before it's too late?

Sherlock Sightings:

Zenna's Sightings
*My background on my phone is a picture of RDJ ;D
*My background on my iPod is "Keep Calm Dear Watson, You Know My Methods"
*I was watching the deleted scenes of Irenlock on YouTube XD
*I bought Sherlock Holmes stickers from Party City!
*My mom thought Sherlock Holmes was a superhero when clearly I was talking about Iron Man
*On Twitter, someone posted the new saying to say is No Shit Sherlock XD
*I was watching The Shaggy Dog the other day on Hallmark channel and RDJ is in it! Yeah evil scientists FTW :D

Sox's Sightings
*Me playing Irene in my school's musical of Sherlock Holmes

My Playlist: Frankenstein's Monster - Henry Jackman (X-Men: First Class), Drive By - Train, Lost Signal - Steve Jablonsky (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), Turning Tables - Gwyneth Paltrow (I'm obsessed with her XD), The Rocky Road to Dublin - The High Kings (how appropriate)

Disclaimer: No matter how many wishes I waste on 11:11, I still do not own Sherlock Holmes D: It's so depressing, the things I would do XD

Please read and review! I love you all!

~ Zenna

Sherlock Holmes: The Dark Before Dawn

It's About Time

I may say I wanted this to end, but in my heart I know it never will. The power, the willingness and the adrenaline is just too much, I could never give this up.

On his way home, all Watson could think about was how stupid he was. He had a clear lead on the mystery person at the church and he lost her, if it even was a her. He was assuming so because in his heart, he knew it was Victoria. All signs pointed to her so there would be no reason why it wouldn't be. He sighed to himself and brushed the snow off of his jacket, quickly approaching his street. The weather in London was pretty unpredictable these days, it was quite bothersome to a person like Watson who wanted a regular schedule. He brought out his keys to his front door and placed them in the keyhole, turning the knob to the right, but nothing happened. He frowned and pushed open the door, creaking open all by itself. Did he forget to lock it when he left to go to the church? That must be it. He stepped inside and shrugged off his jacket, placing it on the coat rack beside the front door. He wasn't used to living alone just yet; before Mary, he had Sherlock and now they were both dead and gone. He sighed again, rolling his shoulders backwards before stepping into the main sitting area. He picked up the newspaper and sat on his favorite plush sofa, attempting to read the daily news. But he never got that far.

Something plopped out of the newspaper and fell into his lap. It was something pink and brightly colored, he picked up the said object in question and frowned. This was unusual, did the postman accidentally put someone's mail in here? But as he examined the object which was indeed an envelope, he noticed in big block lettering on the front was written "DR. JOHN WATSON" with no address. Suddenly, it dawned on him. Someone had deliberately placed this in his house, someone had been here. His heart pounded in his chest and he looked from side to side wildly. He wasn't used to this yet, he wasn't sure if he could handle this much stress. He breathed in and out unevenly and leapt to his feet, ripping open the envelope. What he saw wasn't surprising. It was a pink letter that matched the envelope and was written in big capital block letters. This person was smart, they wanted to stay anonymous and yet they left billions of clues for Watson to figure out. This person wanted to be found, so why did they bother with the lettering? He twisted his mouth, reading the letter so obviously written to him.

"I WARNED YOU DIDN'T I?" Watson read out loud, his feelings slowly starting to turn to dread. "IF YOU WANT TO SAVE THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS OTHERS, YOU MUST DO EXACTLY WHAT I SAY."

Watson paused for a moment, wondering why the person who wrote this would go through all of this trouble to stay anonymous when the doctor obviously knew who wrote it. Probably to stay ominous… As he stared at the note and re-read it, he pondered some more. What if Victoria didn't write this? What if she wasn't behind all of this? What if Mary was murdered by someone else? Suddenly, everyone seemed like a suspect. The more he thought about it, the more he needed information. He stopped his train of thought again and forced his mind to slow down. So the person threatening him said that Watson must do whatever they say but there wasn't any more information.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, mumbling to himself. "I would consider doing it but you didn't finish!"

He grumbled and flung the letter across the room in desperation and anger. It fluttered in the air for a moment before slowly settling down to the carpeted flooring back side up. Watson bent to pick it up, he never liked littering, and froze.

For on the back of the paper, there was a drawing of Sherlock Holmes.

"I would think before accusing me of something I didn't do," Victoria snapped to her two so-called minions. "That wasn't me."

The stranger in the doorway and Moran stared at her a moment longer with gaping mouths before they composed themselves quickly.

"Well then," the stranger coolly responded. "I apologize but you must admit that the woman did resemble you and had the same moves as you."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, "Really?" She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. She didn't like where this was going. "How so?" she added after a moment's thought.

Moran spoke up for the first time since Victoria told them the truth, "Well you see, they had a dagger stored in the same spot as you, they dressed like you, they spoke like you, hell they even had the dark hair like you."

Victoria narrowed her eyes, she didn't like what was happening here at all. "So I've got an impersonator now?" she sneered. "Well if you excuse me, I'll take care of that."

She swiftly picked up her gun and dagger and pocketed them in her usual spots before pushing past the stranger and heading out the door.

"Wait!" Moran called from behind her, causing her to spin around and glare at him. "Where are you going?"

"To take care of this little problem of the lady in the navy blue dress," replied Victoria before turning on her heels and marched downstairs and out the door.

As she stalked into the heart of London with her black cloak pulled tightly over her head, she had to smile. So she had an impersonator? That meant she was famous enough to get one! People obviously feared her and they were sending copycats to do her "work." But if it wasn't really her, she was interested to know who exactly this woman thought she was. She fingered the handle of her gun in her dress pocket and thought about what she was going to say when she found this woman. She was going to take care of business for sure.

She entered the main streets of her city and kept her head down. Normally, she would take this opportunity to wreak more havoc and strike more fear into people's hearts, bringing them down another level but today was different. Today she was on a mission that she wouldn't return home without. She wasn't going to fail this time, she would not accept defeat. She glanced from side to side, wondering where in the world she was going to find this woman. There had to be hundreds, if not more, people here. This could take a while but she was prepared to wait and hunt her prey. She paused for a moment, scanning the busy street, and her hopes flared when she caught a flash of blue in her peripheral vision. She spun around, keeping her head low, and spotted a woman in a blue dress heading in the opposite direction.

"Gotcha," she whispered and began her stalking.

The woman headed eastward away from the hustle and bustle of the main streets, Victoria following in shadow. She couldn't believe how lucky she had gotten! It was almost as if the woman was waiting for her… She trailed off in thought, the idea stopping her dead. Frozen, she forced herself to calm down. She couldn't think along those lines, she knew everything, she was in charge. She resumed her pursuing right as the woman glanced over her shoulder. Victoria ducked into a nearby alleyway and took a deep breath, counting to ten before she poked her head out and saw the woman was heading in the same direction. She followed her once again and this time, when the woman spun around suspiciously, Victoria turned around and pretended to be talking to a nearby hobo on the street. The woman picked up speed and didn't look back for a long time. Finally, when Victoria and the woman reached a less crowded street, Victoria slowly reached her target. This was it, she kept telling herself, this is the moment.

She touched the woman on the shoulder gently to get her attention, but not enough to frighten her. But apparently the woman had another plans. She spun around, twisting Victoria's arm backwards, leaving pain shooting through her shoulder. She gasped for a moment, being forced down on her knees, letting the woman she was pursuing believe she had won. Then, without warning, Victoria swung her left leg out, connecting with the woman's ankles and knocked her on her back. Victoria straightened up and clapped her hands together to get the dust off. She stared at the woman on the ground and smirked. As she moved to step away, the woman grabbed her ankle and Victoria looked down scornfully. She opened her mouth to say something but then the woman hit her Achilles tendon and sent Victoria collapsing on her knees. Victoria groaned and turned to see the woman getting to her feet; she herself sprang upwards and sent her fist colliding with the woman's shoulder. The woman staggered backwards before wrenching her arm around Victoria's neck and choked her. As Victoria struggled to breathe, thinking that the woman was a good opponent, she thrust her knee upwards, hitting the woman's gut. The woman released her grip and Victoria turned her neck from side to side to make sure she was alright. She kicked the woman's shins, sending her on the ground again. She smirked once more before the woman grabbed her ankle again and Victoria made a move to escape, not wanting a repeat of last time. The woman only gripped harder and Victoria looked down where the woman was still shielding her face from view, not wanting to be seen.

"Really?" Victoria sneered, raising an eyebrow mockingly. "You honestly thought you could stop me by doing this again? It's kind of getting old."

The woman said nothing and Victoria stood there for a moment longer before she felt an intense pain searing through her ankle. She looked down to see the woman with an old fashioned unique dagger attacking her ankle, leaving a cut that was dripping with blood. Victoria leapt backwards in surprise and noticed that she was now sporting a long, thin cut along her ankle. She wondered why the woman didn't make it deeper, she certainly had the power to, why didn't she want to hurt Victoria more? She could have, she had the chance and yet she didn't take it. Why? She hissed, dismissing the thought, and turned back to where the woman was now standing on her feet, her face still in shadow.

"What was that for?" Victoria spat. "I wasn't going to hurt you!" she lied.

"That was so you couldn't run after me," the woman stated quickly and simply, so Victoria couldn't recognize her voice, and tore off in the opposite direction.

Victoria cursed and limped after her attacker. While she did admire the way she quickly ran in heels, she couldn't help but hate her. She had to catch up to her somehow, even if it meant - No she couldn't pull that card right now, it was just too dangerous! She had to catch this woman!

Watson reached the place he was attempting to find and stopped in front of the building. He admitted that it did take him a while to figure out what the anonymous writer wanted him to find, but now that he was here, he knew that this it. This was exactly what he was trying to discover! He looked up at the sign, reading it over and over until the words "Holmes Detective Business" burned in his mind. This foundation had been created by minor detectives in London ready to support Sherlock even after his death. They wanted to work under his name and memory until they themselves died. While they weren't quite as good as Sherlock, they did the job well. So now Watson was standing in front of the building, wondering what his next move would be. He pondered, looking in the window and around the building but to no avail. He was just about to head inside when he heard a rustling behind him. He turned and laid his eyes upon a man in a gray uniform exiting the building next door. It dawned on Watson that the building was the post office and this strange looking man must be the postman or mailman.

As the mailman struggled out the door with an arm full of letters and envelopes, he glanced over to see Watson staring at him curiously. The mailman dropped his letters into the bag strapped around his waist and lifted one hand in greeting.

"Dr. John Watson?" the mailman spoke with a thick Russian accent.

Watson shielded his eyes from the setting sun, still annoyed with the weather. First, it was snowing, now it's sunny? What next? A monsoon? He peered at the man, curious to see who this man was and why he knew the doctor so well. "Yes?" he called back, not being able to see much.

"I believe that that is yours," the postman pointed to the side of the stairs descending from the post office.

Watson turned to look at where the mailman had gestured and was shocked to realize that there was a letter taped to the side of the stairs. As he approached a little closer, he noticed that it was another familiar looking sight. It was a pink envelope with "DR. JOHN WATSON" written in big block letters.

He spun around to thank and question the mailman, but as the doctor turned around, he was gone.

Chasing after someone who could run like a cheetah in heels was hard enough, chasing after someone who could run that fast in heels with a bust ankle was like hell to Victoria. She wasn't going to give up and as long as she had the woman in her sights, she would be alright. The woman turned into a dark alleyway and Victoria entered after her a few seconds later.

"Wait!" she called after the mysterious lady. "I just want to know why you're impersonating me!"

The woman stopped running and slowly turned around to face Victoria. She walked a few steps closer to Victoria, frowning. She commented, "I don't even know who you are. So why would I be trying to impersonate you if I don't even know you?"

Victoria sighed, her feelings turning from anger to confusion quickly. She felt defeated but her insides were flaring up. "How do you not know who I am? Have you been living under a rock?" she demanded.

The woman muttered something under her breath that sounded like, "If only you knew" but Victoria wasn't quite sure. She took another step closer, "Pardon? I didn't catch that," she said sweetly.

"I'm sorry," the woman spoke up now. "But I don't."

Victoria narrowed her eyes, not believing the woman for one instant. "Let's get the record straight," she sneered. "My name is Victoria Moriarty, got it?"

The woman faltered for a moment, not saying a word before she blurted out, "You're not related to Professor James Moriarty are you?"

Victoria's mind whirled as she answered calmly, "Why yes, he was my father."

"Was?" asked the woman curiously.

Victoria wondered where this woman had been where she wouldn't know anything and news would have escaped her. She bit her lip as she replied, "Yes he died about a year ago when Sherlock Holmes killed him."

"Sherlock Holmes," the woman's voice remained steady and unwavering but Victoria could tell that something was bubbling under the woman's skin. "Now that's a name I've heard before."

"Naturally," Victoria spat, rolling her eyes.

"Do you know where I could find Mr. Holmes?"

Victoria peered at the woman, who was she and why was she so clueless? "526 Baker Street, it's the old church, the same one that Mrs. Watson's funeral was in," she said.

The woman took a step back, "Why would he be in there?"

"Because he's dead!" exclaimed Victoria, exasperated. "Honestly, who are you and where have you been for the past year?"

"What?" the woman's voice cracked and squeaked an octave. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person? Sherlock Holmes, of 221B Baker Street?"

"That's the one," Victoria responded quickly. "He killed my father by sacrificing himself as he threw the two of them over a large waterfall up north."

The woman didn't say a word, Victoria saw her chest rise and fall rapidly however and she knew she struck a nerve.

Victoria swept onwards, not caring what the woman's response would be, "Well whoever you are, you better not show your face around here anymore. Wherever you came from, go back. You're not wanted here. You better fade into the distance where the memory of you will only be in passing moments, unlike me. Otherwise, you will regret it."

"I don't think I can do that," the woman added quickly. "I'm not that type of person who just runs away in the face of danger. You'll see that there's more than one female criminal in these towns."

"And just why won't you run?"

"I've been around longer than you have," the woman smirked, her red lips the only thing that Victoria could see on her face. "And I know things that you have no clue of, trust me, the world needs me around."

"Your point being?" Victoria purred. "I'm the feared one around here now, no matter who you were or what you did."

"Not for long," the woman said calmly, her lips breaking out into a twisted smile.

"And you honestly think you could challenge me and win?" Victoria questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well Ms. Moriarty, let the games begin."

Returning home was one of the most difficult things Watson forced himself to do. He hadn't opened the envelope yet although he was dying to do so. Why had someone threatened him and then led him on a wild goose chase just to give him another letter? It probably had the same message on it too! It was odd, strange or even unthinkable! Only one person alive would do this… Victoria. But what if she didn't? All of his thoughts from earlier flooded back into his mind and he forced himself to think straight. He couldn't let his mind wander from previous events, it was just too dangerous! What if this was all part of another game that Victoria wanted him to believe was his? He couldn't bear to think about that any longer. He slowly unlocked the door once again for what seemed to be the millionth time that day and opened it quickly. His hands were shaking as he stared at the envelope in his palm. The doctor felt like he couldn't take it any longer and he strode into the kitchen, leaving his jacket on and everything. He sat down at the table, almost knocking over a chair in desperation, and opened the envelope.

A knock on the front door jolted Watson from his ritual and he cursed under his breath.

"Damn you Lestrade!" he shouted, abandoning his letter on the table and heading towards the front door.

He knew that the inspector and his policemen still had to search his house and give clues but this was probably the worst possible time for them to show up. He grumbled to himself angrily, flinging open the door, ready to lash out at Lestrade.

"Do you mind?" he cried, clearly outraged. "I'm on the brink of-"

He broke off from his ranting, realizing that the person who was standing before him was not who he thought it was. Instead of the inspector and his army of policemen, it was a woman with long wild brown hair and deep dark eyes. Watson's mouth dropped open in shock, his heart beating quickly in his chest. This was someone he never thought he would see again.

"I need your help!" the woman exclaimed, feeling and sounding completely breathless as if she had ran all the way here.

The last time Watson had seen this person was at Sherlock's funeral and that was over a year ago. There had been no word or contact from her ever since, he thought she had dropped off the face of the Earth. He thought that they had developed a close relationship on their last mission, especially after their partner had died. After the ball, after her own brother had died in her arms, they had travelled back to London together with Mycroft and went to Sherlock's funeral solemnly. She had left as soon as it was over and he had never heard from her ever since. He thought he spotted her at Mary's funeral but he had himself convinced that it was all an illusion. But now…? He wasn't so sure anymore.

He didn't reply at first, his mouth opening and closing without any sound. Finally, he managed to spit out, "Sim?"

The woman ignored his spluttering and continued swiftly, "Dr. Watson, I have a case for you."

Watson stood there, his mouth agape and simply staring at the woman that had left him speechless. Dressed in her usual frocks, exactly how he remembered her, was Madame Simza.