Inquires of The Truth

January 2014: London, England; MI6, Q-branch

Quentin Gerald Roberts sighed as he watched another one of his agents fail to find the two missing double 0. He was tired and frustrated. So much so that he had even called his old IT friend Mark Em, also known as Merls in the Community. But nothing from the Kingsmen either. Which was worrying, because one of the missing double 0's was Cory Roadsmen, 0066 also know as Morgana to the Kingsmen and Statesmen. Sighing Q called his contact in the more Magical side of the community. 

Arthur groaned as Merlin's phone rung from his side of their bed. Merlin, who was known for taken his sweet time waking up. Arthur roughly kicked his husband off the bed with a thumb. Merlin jumped from the wooded floor and shott Arthur a small ticking hex for waking him as he answered his cell.

"Hello?" 

"Dragoon... it's Q. Look I know that you're retired but it's just a quick thing really," The fully human genius and good friend of Merlin and Loki answered. Merlin frowned as he yawned and walked down the spiral stairs to the kitchen where Magey were already up the former starting breakfast. Merlin then said," Give me a sec..." he pulled down a louse board from the side of the wall that was connected to Loki's Lollies and cast a wordless stilling charm on the board before saying," Alright what's going on Quentin?"

"We are missing two of our 00's. 007 and 0066," The quartermaster replied. Merlin hummed as he flipped through a tome and came across a page of listed and current double 0 agents. Humming again he asked," James Bond, 44 and Cory Roadsmen, recently 33 and a mouth. Bond was last seen alive by a Miss Moneypenny on a joint opt. nearly a year ago. Roadsmen was seen yesterday with the head of the Kingsmen cousins, the Statesmen, and the inaugural class of the Umbriel Acadamy... Oh, that's not right. Hold on Q, I've got to call someone real quick." 

He stared at the tome where there were two sightings of Roadsmen at the same time. One in Surgerdale City, the other in Baltimore by Hannibal, Tenebris, and X. He frowned then took up the landline next to the tome and called the New York office of the Statesmen.

December 2012; London( We are back with sherlock... thank me later? After Sherlock solved the painting case)

Sherlock sat in Lestrade's office as he, John and Lestrade talked to Miss Wenceslas. Sherlocked hummed thoughtfully," You know, it's interesting. Bohemian stationery, an assassin named after a Prague and Jewish legend, and you, Miss Wenceslas. This whole case has a distinctly Czech feeling about it. Is that where this leads?" 

She looked down at her lap but didn't say anything to the cosltent. Sherlock hummed again before turning to his brother's soon to be fiance," What are we looking at, Inspector?"

"Well, um, criminal conspiracy, fraud, accessory after the fact at the very least. The murder of the old women, all the people in the flats..." 

Wenceslas panicky interrupted the DI," I didn't know anything about that! All of those things! Please believe me." 

The door opened and X walked in," She is telling the truth. However, I am more curious about how you convinced everyone it was a genuine?" 

"He never gave me his name, just a letter. M." 

"Moriarty... I suspect," Sherlock asked. Wenceslas nodded. John looked at them before saying," Well best be off, the Tube guard set a few hours out for me." 

"Not a suicide... not this one either," X hummed before she to stood up and said," And Sherlock, your mother wants to speak with you. Something about a trip she'll be taking in a few years." 

Sherlock nodded as before he followed John. 

A few hours later found the two men of Baker street sitting in their living room watching the telly. John chuckled to himself as Sherlock shouted at said telly," No, no, No! Of course, he's not the boy's father!" he gestured widely at the screen as he protested," Look at the turn-ups on his jeans!"

John chuckled again," Knew it was dangerous."

"Hmm?" 

"Getting you into crap telly." 

Sherlock felt his cheeks heat up as he said," Not a patch on Connie Prince."

John hummed," I won't be in for tea... uh, There's still some of that risotto left in the fridge..." 

"Where are you going?" 

"Old mate of mine called, He's in London for a few days, wants me to meet his husband," John replied as he headed out the door and to the small pub that Arthur had asked him to. 

"John... It's nice to see you outside of work," Arthur Pendragon told him as the blond sat down at the table. An ebony haired man stared at him before smiling," My name's Merlin... you must be John. Seen your photo in the papers recently." 

"Kinda hard to stay out of them... nice to meet you, Merlin," John replied as they poured some beer around in mugs. 

Half an hour later, John walked out of the pub and was hit over the head by something heavy. His last thought was of a distant vision of a hopeful future. 

He woke up to the back of his head thumping like it was being hit with a hammer and the dizzying feeling that he had once had in Uni( he had only tried drugs once) he grounded only to be hit with the same smell that Jim from IT wore( he was good with smells)

"Hollo, Johny." 

"You're Moriarty..." John gasped as he watched him. It was the only thing he could do as he realized he was tied down to an old locker bench. The Irish man chuckled," Clever. But Clever wouldn't save you and your lover." 

"Me and Sherlock... we... we're, not... He's not..." 

"Oh..." The man chuckled darkly as he pulled a vial of something from his pocket before he practically purred into John's ear," You know what this is?" 

John couldn't answer as the madman pilled out a syringe from his breast pocket," I didn't think you did... this I got from Mr Saxon before he disappeared. I help him set up his false files, you know?" 

Now John read up on what had happened during that month. He himself remembered things that weren't possible( a full year of memories that didn't fit with what he knew to be true. Some dormant gene keeping those memories fresh on nights he wasn't suffering from the Warzone). He even talked to X and Erus about them. He knew what Saxon was, and knew about some of the things he had done before his rise. ( not all, but some. enough to understand that whatever was in that vial could be worse than any human creation) He twisted as much as he could from Moriarty but the syringe plunged into his neck and a cold feeling flew down through his veins. By the time Moriarty had gotten him in the c4 lined jacket, the feeling had turned to a burning hot sensation.

The pool, Midnight.

Sherlock opened the door leading into the indoor swimming pool as the lights flickered on. No one was in sight but deep in his gut, the timelord part of him he sposed, stung with a sudden feeling of wrongness. The same feeling he got from his uncle Jack but twisted with something more. He stilled at the edge of the pool and glanced up toward the viewing gallery where he saw X and Magey. The Later had a snipper rifle set up on the edge while X had a colt aimed in his opposite derection. Once he was sure his back up was set he turned back towards the pool again and raised on hand and nearly shouted, as he held up the copied version memory stick( it looked like the memory stick but it wasn't) that Mycroft had handed him," Brought you a little getting-to-know-you present. Oh, that's what it's all been for, hasn't it? All your little puzzles; making me dance - all to distract me from this?" 

The nearly instinctual feeling crept closer as Sherlock turned his back to the pool and a door opened halfway down the room as John was seemingly shoved from the room. He was wrapped rather snuggly in a hooded jacket that bulged unnaturally with his hand tucked into the pockets. His face gave away fear and slight relief. Sherlock quickly noticed that there was an earpiece in the blond's left ear. He slowly lowered the hand as the feeling lepted bounds. He stared at John in disbelief as John nearly robotically stated," Evening, this is a turn-up, isn't it, Sherlock?"

Softly as not to give away his instinctual need to flee, Sherlock asked," John? What the hell...?"

John glanced up to the viewing gallery as he again robotically spoke," Bet you never saw this coming." 

Finally able to burry the feeling to flee Sherlock walked slowly towards the man he had feelings for as a smell drifted towards his nose. It smelt more like his mother's TARDIS than he knew John ever smelt like. Suddenly a memory flashed. 

It was two months after Saxon had taken over. Sherlock and Mycroft had broken Erus out of Sherrinford and they had taken their mother's TARDIS to Afghanistan. There was a branch of the Army who had converted to being Resistien fighters. One of them was an Army medic. Dr Watson smiled as he helped heal Erus's physical wounds before turning to Sherlock. Sherlock was hit with a feeling of Home, Safety and unblockable want for the man. He remembered his mother once talking about how some Galifraians had life-mates. She had one in his father, and Sherlock was sure that X was his sisters... and now he might've found his own.

John took Sherlock's silents as a sign that he thought he had betrayed the other. That made his stomach churn like acid as whatever was in that vial started to chill his whole body once again. He gently and nearly stiffly pulled his hands from his pockets, even with Moriarty growling in his ear not to, and pulled open his jacket to reveal the bomb strapped to his chest. From the opposite of where X and Magey were stationed, the point from a sniper's laser immediately began to dance over the bomb. Magey turned her own riffle towards the direction of the laser and mouthed into her own earpiece to Sherlock," Behind, far end. Call out..." 

Sherlock continued to step towards him, that old feeling and need to protect making him survey the area as he called out," Who are you?"

The Irish accented male voice spoke from the far end of the pool," I gave you my number... I thought you might call." 

He walked out into the open. It was Jim, but he's not a fumble-fingered casually-dressed Londoner who did indeed leave his number for Sherlock in the lab at Bart’s, but a sharply-dressed man with immaculate hair and a murderous look on his face. With his hands casually in his pockets, he strolled towards the two men. 

He chuckled as he flirted," Is that a British army Browing L9A1 in your pocket?" 

A warning shot rung out as X fired at the man's head and swung down to the ground on a banner and glared. Her 1851 Colt Revolving Navy Pistol was aimed straight at his head as Magey shot down the snipper. She sneered," Nither of us are pleased to see you so don't finish that pick up line." 

"Naughty that, bring others," Moriarty hissed. 

Sherlock growled," You did." 

"Fair enough then, But I've only given you a glimpse, just a teensy one too, of what I got going on out there in the big bad world. I'm a specialist you see..." 

"A consulting criminal... I would complain you on the inguaitny if it was anything new. But it's not," X huffed. Moriarty only chuckled," Isn’t it? No-one ever gets to me – and no-one ever will." 

"I did," Sherlock said as he cocked the browning. X cocked her colt but the Crimale mastermind only said," I’ve shown you what I can do. I cut loose all those people, all those little problems, even thirty million quid just to get you to come out and play." 

John started to feel strained then as he closed his eyes as pain started to steam from around him. Magey felt some shift in the doctor's biological ara and hissed under her breath as she texted Merlin, Tenebris and the Professor as she watched John start to try to not show how he badly whatever the madman had given him was affecting him. 

Sherlock glared at him as he snickered," D’you know what happens if you don’t leave me alone, Sherlock, to you?"

He might have sounded bored to those in the room but inside he was an inch from a nervous breakdown," Oh, let me guess: I get killed."

Moriarty grimaced," Kill you? N-no, don’t be obvious. I mean, I’m gonna kill you anyway someday. I don’t wanna rush it, though. I’m saving it up for something special. No-no-no-no-no. If you don’t stop prying, I’ll burn you." 

 A brief eye flicker down Sherlock's body and Jim's voice became viciously dangerous," I’ll burn the heart out of you."

His face contoured but Sherlock knew what he meant. So did the two women in the room. Magey flicked her riffle's scope over the madman and whispered," just say the word, Sherl. And he'll be dead before he hit's the ground." 

Before any response could be said by Sherlock, Moriarty waved them off," Ciao, Sherlock Holmes."

He walked out and after a beet X dashed after him while Magey waved a hand, her eyes glowing a golden hue, and her gun packed it's self away as she rushed off with a crossbow in hand. Once Sherlock was sure the two women where gone his gaze drifted across to John and instantly he bent down, tossing the pistol across the floor, on his knees in front of John and stated to unfastening the bomb vest. 

John nearly collapsed as he tilted his head back started to pant while Sherlock urgently asked," Are you all right?" 

"Wh...yeah? I think... anyway," John puffed out as Sherlock hurried behind John and nearly yanked off the jacket and vest. They were both breathing too fast by the time the offending items were off. John breathlessly called," Sh...Sher...Sherlock?!?" 

Sherlock skimmed the items into the pool as John collapsed into his arms. 

"John?!?"

There wasn't a reply and Sherlock passed one of his spindly hands across the burning skin of the doctor and he frowned. X came back in and said," I shot 'im in the foot." 

Magey followed her in and said," I texted you, mother... And a few others, best get him to Baker Street." 

X held up a vial then said," Me thinkths that our newest madman doused up your doctor, Sherl. I am going to run some test on it to see what he's cooked up." 

"Mother will know... it's done something to him, feels like Jack dose," Sherlock replied. X glanced at the half-timelord and asked," What do you mean by that?" 

"He felt wrong... like a set point in time," Was all he said as he lifted the passed out doctor into his arms and carried him out towards Baker Street. X frowned then looked to Magey and asked her," You called them for this reason right?" 

"Tenebris said something about activating a dormant gene and life-mates. Merlin's brewing some elixirs with help from Hermoine and Bku. The Professor hung up on me after saying she would meet them at Baker street," Magey replied. 

"Bolloks."