Author's note: This is based on something that happened to me recently. Also I just came off a writing break pls be nice to me I'm out of practice and I'm struggling.

. . .

"Ow! Geroff, 'sogi!" complained Gina as she was held in the evil clutches of a martial arts move Kazuma had developed himself and which even Susato feared; the Kazuma Noogie.

Barok suppressed a smile as they made their way to Baker Street, shoes and boots splashing in puddles on the gas-lit streets as the stars looked down on them with apathy. They were going to have a scrumptious late dinner. Barok hoped it would be a tender roast pheasant, Kazuma some Japanese food he had given Iris the recipes for a month or so ago, and Gina wasn't too fussy so long as it was edible.

Suddenly, Barok stuck his arm out to his side. "Halt!" he ordered, peering at Baker Street. "The door's open." he noted aloud "But no-one is standing in it."

"Somethin' wrong, d'ye think?" asked Gina, drawing her smoke-bomb gun.

Kazuma peered at the darkness, eyes as sharp as an eagle with a whetstone "There's someone in the window, and they're too big to be Sholmes or Iris." he observed.

"Over there!" shouted Gina, pointing to another silhouette behind a curtain "There's even more, too! Cor, it looks like a whole army in there!" Gina observed, worriedly "Wot if they have Sholmes…?"

"The Great Detective can take care of himself." Barok told her a tad too quickly.

"But they might have Iris in 'ere too!"

Ten seconds later, they were all marching back to Scotland yard to fetch reinforcements.

. . .

About half an hour later, Barok gave a terrible roar of: "NOW! CHARGE!"

CRASH!

Barok smashed the front door down, sword drawn as he was followed in by Kazuma, Gina, and ten policemen.

"Quickly!" he ordered "Make your way upstairs! They don't appear to be armed, and-"

BLAM! Constable Roley's pistol went off, hitting one of Iris's favourite plates and convincing it to do an impression of a jigsaw. Everyone glared at him.

"Sorry." was his meek defence.

Barok coughed "As I was saying, there's only so many of-"

"Rowww!"

BLAM!

Wagahai the cat scampered off as coloured smoke twirled down from the ceiling. Gina sat on the floor, having been knocked back by the recoil.

"Sorry." was her meek defence. "I musta stepped on 'is tail."

Barok gritted his teeth. His niece's life was at stake. Klint's child was at stake.

"We-"

This time Barok was interrupted by a colossal snore from the next room. They marched over, to find none other than Herlock Sholmes. Two things were noticeable about him:

He was dressed as a squirrel. Wisely, no-one decided to question this.

He was asleep on the sofa. As a general rule, hostages do not make a habit of sleeping on sofas.

Then Sholmes picked an excellent moment to wake up to several police officers, a detective, a coroner and two prosecutors standing over him.

"I say, good fellows!" he sitting up as straight as a bamboo shoot "I told Gregson I haven't got any of that gold-"

At that moment, Barok grabbed him by the hem of his squirrel costume "WHERE! IS! IRIIIIIIIS!?" he screamed, loud enough to wake the dead.

"Uncle Barry?"

The entourage of law enforcement turned around to see a ten-year-old standing behind them, a paper shopping bag in her hands.

"Uncle," said Iris, dead serious "Daddy got rid of his 'special coffee' years ago-"

She was interrupted by Barok half-tackling her with a hug. He was surprisingly good at them for a man who had spent so many years alone.

"Hold on." said Kazuma "Why was the door open? And if you aren't being held hostage, who's upstairs? "

Iris gasped "Oh dear! I must have left it open when I left to grab celery for dinner!"

"Those 'people' are some wax models Madame Tuspells asked us to keep hold of while the museum's being renovated." Sholmes told them "I proposed she try stripes of berry red and candy blue, but sadly I was threatened with the cauldron for such a suggestion."

Barok, Gina and Kazuma would have rolled their eyes, but something truly embarrassing had happened; Sholmes had been more sensible than them that night - while he was wearing a squirrel suit, no less!

And unfortunately for them, Sholmes knew it.

"My, my." he remarked "I suppose your logic and reasoning were as broken as my door?"

"Shut it, Sholmes." grumbled Gina.

"Come now, let's not brood and wax ourselves 'why me?'"

"Be quiet!" snapped Kazuma.

"Now, now." Herlock gave a smug smile "There's no shame in acting like me sometimes…"

Barok would have murdered him on the spot for that remark if not for the fact Iris was watching. So he settled for 'accidentally' pouring gravy on his lap at dinner.

. . .

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