I have heard it said it can take a split second for life to change and everything to go wrong. Even as Sherlock stalks towards me I see the glazed expression in his eyes fade to be replaced by the more familiar blue. He stumbles back with a quiet gasp and clutches at his head. Though I am not sure what happened, from the smirk on Nightmare's face I can assume he has something to do with it. Anger floods through me. Sherlock has been through enough without Nightmare making it worse I go to take a step forward, intending to rush to Sherlock's side but before I can Nightmare rises up with a roar and easily tears apart the bonds holding him to the floor. Instantly fear freezes my mind and I find myself unable to move, my muscles refusing to listen when I instruct them to move. Not good when there is a huge, and not very friendly Engifted rapidly heading in my direction. Unlike most of the Engifted still present, who are still basically human looking if you ignore the wings, Nightmare has transformed into a truely terrifying monster. Darkness swirls around him, covering him on a thick scale like armour and spreading out behind him to form an enormous pair of leathery wings.

Immediately, almost without any sign of making a deduction Sherlock grabs me and drags me backwards away from Nightmare. Razor sharp claws slash at the air where I had been standing inches before. A shudder runs through me at just how close I came to death. I am not used to feeling so helpless and I have to admit that I am not comfortable with the feeling. Normally on cases I can at least keep pace with Sherlock. On this occasion though I am utterly useless and a huge liability. Without Sherlock to protect me I would not stand a chance against Nightmare. It is a little disconcerting to go from being a hero to nothing more than a damsel in distress. Dear God I hope Greg does not hear about this- I will never hear the last of it if he does... My train of thought is abruptly shattered by Sherlock cradling me tightly to his chest, his wings arching over to unfold me in a feathery embrace. It is surprisingly warm, the feathers soft against me bare arms and some of the tension in my muscles begins to fade. Though Sherlock's face is pale there is a familiar spark in the blue eyes.

"Are you alright John?" Sherlock asks, sounding slightly frantic. Reaching down he lightly runs his fingers along my cheek. There is a tenderness in his eyes and I feel my heart skip a beat. Maybe once all of this is over... The thought trails off as I become aware Sherlock is still watching me intently as he waits for an answer. Now is not the time for day-dreaming. First we need to get far away from Nightmare to a place where we will finally be safe. Maybe then life can finally begin to go to how it was.

The wounds in my chest inflicted by Nightmare in order to taunt Sherlock are still surprisingly painful- I would have expected it to at least be fading slightly by now as I grow used to it. Continuous pain is never a good sign. Obviously the wounds must be a lot worse than I originally thought (not a overly comforting thought). I breathe in deeply and let out a cry when a sharp pain shoots through my chest, followed closely by a wave of dizziness that makes spots dance at the edges of my vision. Ouch! What the he'll had that been? My legs begin to shake and if it was not for Sherlock's arms around me I am sure I would have fallen. I look up into blue eyes that are full of concern and a faint glow of panic. Something must be very wrong for Sherlock to look like that. "Sherlock?" I ask, startled by how weak my voice sounds.

In answer Sherlock gently lowers himself to the ground, gently taking me down with him, and lays a hand on my chest, firmly applying pressure. A dull ache spreads through me. Curious to find out the cause I raise my head. It is a decision I instantly regret. Apparently Sherlock was not quite quick enough in pulling me backward away from Nightmare. Three deep gashes oozing blood mark my skin, deep enough that I swear I see a flash of white bone beneath the torn flesh and scarlet blood. My stomach heaves and I swear quietly, my head falling back. Shit, it really is bad. The only thing stopping me going in full on shock is the memory of Bonebreaker and the damage he inflicted on my body. If Sherlock could heal that, he can almost certainly heal this.

For the first time I have known him Sherlock looks scared. "It's going to be okay John. You just have to trust me." He says with a shake in his voice. He swallows hard and begins channelling his power into me. The burning in my chest increases until all I am aware of is a white hot pain that drowns out everything else. At one point I must begin to fight against it because Sherlock leans forward and places a tender kiss on my forehead. "No, dear heart, you need to stay still." He murmurs in a soft voice. His use of a nickname throws me at first. Sherlock has never shown an inclination for such things after all. I do not get much time to dwell on it.

As the wounds in my chest slowly close, turning into raw red scars that will quickly fade, there is a dark laugh from Nightmare. "How touching. How...human. You should be ashamed of yourself Thanatos. Rule one of any confrontation, you do not reveal your weakness to your enemy." He says, sounding amused. This is followed by more sounds of battle. Sherlock does not look in that direction once, all of his attention is focused on me. In all the excitement (and despite my grevious injuries) I can not help but wonder why Mycroft is not here. I got the feeling he at least vaguely cared about my wellbeing.

Seconds later my question is answered in the most horrible of ways. I am just beginning to get the strength to sit up when there is an agonising cry from somewhere very close by. I jump and my head jerks round to find out what has happened. Somebody has just been very badly injured... Oh... the sight that greets my eyes sends a wave of unreality crashing over me. It can't be true, it's just to impossible. Moments later however a shocked cry from Sherlock confirms that what I am seeing is not a figment of my imagination. Still Sherlock does not let me go, continuing to heal me despite what has happened. I can feel tremors running through the fingers on my chest. He is not as calm as he is pretending to be. Personally I am shocked he hasn't dropped everything to rush over to his brother.

The smirk on Nightmare's serpentine features grows wider and he holds up a gore soaked hand for our inspection. Clutched tightly within his claws, still oozing a steady trickle of blood, is Mycroft's heart. Mycroft himself is slumped on the floor in a sad, broken heap, a pool of blood rapidly spreading round him. "Tell me Thanatos, because I am curious as to how your power works, does a person still have to be alive for you to heal them?" He asks, his tone mocking.

Sherlock's entire body begins to shake and his eyes glistening with tears that threaten to fall at any moment. I reach up to stroke his cheek but he flinches away from me. I pull back, a little unsure as to what I should say. Mycroft has often seemed quite cold and aloof to me but to Sherlock he is his older brother, the one who he spent his childhood with. For him,this must be a massive shock. "Sherlock?" I ask hesitantly, afraid of how Sherlock might react. Already there is a hardness to his eyes and a darkness beginning to gather around him. I don't want him to turn into Thanatos again. I am terrified he might not turn back and that I'll lose him. I honestly don't think I would be able to live without him.

Sherlock ignores me completely and stares intently at Nightmare, his blue eyes lined with black once more. "You really shouldn't have done that Nightmare." His deep voice is heavy with the promise of coming violence. Chronos must be able to sense it too because he steps forwards and tries to reason with Sherlock.

"Sherlock? You are not thinking straight right now. Let us deal with this." Chronos says. When Sherlock shows no sign of listening he lets out a heavy sigh and shakes his head. "John needs to be protected. This is no place for a human."

This seems to shake Sherlock out of whatever trance he had fallen into. Swallowing he nods in acknowledgement and carries on with the final stages of healing; smoothing over the scar and reducing the redness until there is no sign I was ever hurt. Nightmare snarls in annoyance, not happy to be ignored. I get the feeling he is used to be being the centre of attention. This is probably a new experience for him. "Do not ignore me Thanatos and answer my question. If Mycroft's heart was still intact could you save him?" The use of past tense is not lost upon me and I realise with a jolt exactly what he intends to do.

"Sherlock, you have to save Mycroft. I know you and there is no way you'll be able to live with yourself if you don't at least try!" To my horror Sherlock shakes his head, looking utterly defeated. "No! You can't give up! I won't let you!" I try to disentangle myself but Sherlock, of course, is much stronger than I will ever be. He looks so sad that I desperately want to kiss him and take away his pain. It hurts how much I am unable to help him.

There is a deep sorrow in his eyes when he meets my gaze. "You don't understand. If I let out that part of me again I don't know if I'll be able to get back. I almost got lost last time and it was terrifying." He is trying very hard to pretend he hasn't noticed Nightmare casually throwing Mycroft's heart from hand to hand as though it was a tennis ball. With each impact there is a quiet squish and a splattering of blood. "I'm terrified that Thanatos would hurt you John," He pauses and lightly places one hand on either side of my face, "and that is something I couldn't forgive myself for. I-I, " he falters and has to take a deep breath before he continues, "I love you."

Until this moment I have never realised how much I have wanted to hear Sherlock say those words. My heart flutters and my throat is suddenly dry. I swallow hard, unable to tear my gaze away from Sherlock. Unlike the brief kiss while we were both in Nightmare's clutches (I honestly thought I had hallucinated the entire event afterwards) this time I am able to see the raw emotion shining from his blue eyes. It is rare to see Sherlock's emotions at all and I can't help but feel slightly smug that the most intense part of his heart belongs to me. Even so I know what Sherlock is giving up to be with me. Pulling him against me I place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I love you too Sherlock."

I feel a shudder run through Sherlock and for a moment I am afraid it might have all become too much for him. But when he looks up at me there is a spark deep within his eyes. Taking a deep breath he looks up at Chronos who is still watching the two of us intently. "Do whatever you will with Nightmare. I'll stay here and protect John." He says quietly.

Chronos nods once to show he understands and moves over to join the other Elite. Then without any sort of signal every Engifted still present (many ran for it when they saw how strong Nightmare was) unleashes their powers all at once towards Nightmare. The shadowy Engifted let's out a scream, his body disintegrating back into a more normal form; his shadows pooling on the floor where they lay limp and lifeless. I see Celeste stepping up, her entire body glowing...

Five minutes later Sherlock is gently shaking me awake. With a groan I open my eyes to find Nightmare gone and the warehouse littered with fallen Engifted. "What happened?" I ask, trying to sit up. My head swims unpleasantly and I clutch onto Sherlock. "All I remember is a bright light."

"Celeste destroyed Nightmare. He's gone. Apparently she didn't need my help to defeat him." Sherlock says with a faraway look in his eyes. Absentmindedly he runs his hand across my chest where the wound had been and my skin principles in response. I swallow hard, feeling something inside me stir in response. Sherlock sighs heavily and looks down at me. "It's all over. You're safe."

"And Mycroft?" I ask, even though I am dreading hearing the answer. Sherlock doesn't reply but I can tell from the sorrow in his eyes that his brother is gone. I reach up and lightly touch his face. "I'm so sorry Sherlock..." A sudden thought comes to me and I bury my head in my hands with a groan. "Oh God what the hell are we going to tell Greg?" Sherlock gives me a confused look. Apparently he never noticed the spark present between Mycroft and Greg. I did, and I can only hope they at least shared something together. Maybe it'll make Mycroft's death a little easier to come to terms with.

Sherlock never gets a chance to reply because even as he is opening his mouth to speak he is interrupted by Chronos. "You know between Celeste and myself we could bring your brother back. It would be the least we could do for you getting sucked into this fight in the first place. You may be an Elite but at least we had a few decades to get used to it before we had to deploy our powers." I half expect Sherlock to take the offer and am therefore surprised when he shakes his head. Chronos looks taken aback as well. "There must be something you desire Mr Holmes. Anything you want you can have." He pauses, his golden eyes glowing brightly for a second, "consider it compensation for what you have been through."

Sherlock looks down at me with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Anything at all?" He asks curiously. When Chronos nods he smiles and reaches down to take my hand in his. "Then what I want is simple. Take away Thanatos...leave the healing ability that makes me an Engifted...leave the wings. Just get rid of Thanatos so there is no chance I will ever hurt John." He says all his quickly, his eyes never leaving mine the whole time. "And give Mycroft a decent burial. Something fitting for..." His voice breaks but Chronos gives him a nod of understanding and a small smile.

I try to have a say but Sherlock shakes his head. I swallow down my words. He is giving up so much for me and I have nothing much to give him in return. I have to admit I was half expecting Chronos to say the request was impossible. Instead the Elite smiles and says, "That should be easy enough to do." Celeste walks over to join us. She looks sad as she leans down to place a gentle kiss on Sherlock's forehead. "When you wake up tomorrow Thanatos will be gone and put into another Engifted more prepares for the burden it entails. Thank you for your help Sherlock." She begins to walk away but pauses and glances back over her shoulder. "I hope the two of you have a long and happy life together." Then she walks away, joining the other Elite's who are talking to the Engifted who stayed to help. As shocking as it may seem Moriarty was one of those to struck around and he smiles when he notices me looking at him. I return it. Despite everything he has done over the years he did help Sherlock in the end.

I am shaken from my train of thought by Sherlock helping me to my feet and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. With a sigh I rest my head against him. "Ready to go home?" He asks, his voice tinged with an underlying sadness. It will be a long time before either of us forget this horrific incident. Though Nightmare is destroyed he will live on in our darkest dreams for a long while.

"I'm ready." I reply. Maybe finally life can begin to go back to normal. I glance up at Sherlock and feel a smile spread across my face. Though not too normal. There is silence for a moment. Then Sherlock wraps his wings around the two of us and steps forward into darkness.

Even before Sherlock and John returned Lestrade knew something had gone horribly wrong. He had been pacing the living room of Baker Street with no idea why Nightmare had left him behind when he had felt it. A tearing pain in his chest that had sent him to his knees with a cry. Doubled over with agony it was all he could to keep breathing, each breath seemingly more difficult than the last. It was a huge relief when it suddenly disappeared as abruptly as it had struck. It was only later he discovered that Engifted develop a powerful bond with those they choose to love. For now though he sat in John's usual chair and waited for news. Not knowing or suspecting his heart was going to be torn apart for a second time.