Sherlock - The Game Is On!

The Abominable Bride- Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Third POV

Holmes startles violently and wakes up to find himself lying on his side on a narrow rocky ledge. Water is pouring over him as if it is raining from above. "Oh, I see. Still not awake, am I?" He shifts position and turns to look along the ledge.

Behind him, beyond the end of the ledge a few feet away, a massive waterfall plunges over the side of the mountain. A few yards in the other direction, Professor Moriarty stands looking at him. In the distance, a full moon lights up the night sky. Holmes grimaces and pulls down the visor of his deerstalker hat, trying to keep the water out of his eyes. "Too deep, Sherlock. Way too deep." Holmes stumbles to his feet. "Congratulations. You'll be the first man in history to be buried in his own Mind Palace."

"The setting's a shade melodramatic, don't you think?"

"For you and me?" He looks up at the spray splashing over him. "Not at all."

"What are you?"

"You know what I am. I'm Moriarty. The Napoleon of crime." His voice echoes. "Moriarty's dead."

"Not in your mind." He shakes his head. "I'll never be dead there. You once called your brain a hard drive." He starts to walk forward. "Well, say hello to the virus. This is how we end, you and I. Always here, always together." Holmes starts to walk slowly towards his nemesis, who has now stopped. "You have a magnificent brain, Moriarty. I admire it. I concede it may be even be the equal of my own." Moriarty's smile widens. "I'm touched. I'm honoured."

"But when it comes to the matter of unarmed combat on the edge of a precipice..." Moriarty's smile has dropped. "You're going in the water... Short arse." Moriarty hisses and lashes out, jabbing his fingers into Holmes's throat, who chokes and stumbles back, his deerstalker falling off as he clutches at his throat. Moriarty surges forward and grabs Holmes's ears, shoving him against the rock wall. Holmes roughly pushes him away, then as Moriarty straightens up, Holmes punches him in the face. As he breathes heavily, Moriarty turns back to face him. "Oh, you think you're so big and strong, Sherlock! Not with me!"

He punches Holmes in the face. The impact spins Holmes around and sends him falling to the ground. Getting up again, Holmes turns back and swings another punch but Moriarty blocks it and seizes his arm and shoves him hard, sending him falling to the ground on his front, his head almost over the drop at the end of the ledge. Breathing heavily, Holmes struggles to turn over onto his back. As he finally makes it, Moriarty walks forward to stand over him. "I am your WEAKNESS!"

Crying out with rage, he kicks Holmes in the head, flattening him to the rock floor. "I keep you DOWN!" He kicks Holmes in the side, making him grunt with pain. Moriarty drops to his knees and leans forward, yelling into his enemy's face. "Every time you STUMBLE, every time you FAIL, when you're WEAK..." Holmes grimaces under the verbal onslaught. Moriarty punches him in the chest as he stands up. "I... AM... THERE!"

He drops to his knees as Holmes tries to sit up. He seizes Holmes's coat while the detective flails uselessly at him. "No. Don't try to fight it. LIE BACK AND LOSE!" He straightens up, hauling Holmes to his feet. They struggle for a moment but Moriarty has the upper hand and shoves Holmes sideways, clinging to his arm with one hand and grasping the side of his head with the other and bending him over the side of the ledge. "Shall we go over together? It has to be together, doesn't it? At the end, it's always just you..." He screams the next words manically into Holmes' face. "AND ME!"

Behind them, a very familiar ladies voice clears its throat. Moriarty looks round and a few feet away Michelle, smiling slightly. Watson lifts his revolver with the muzzle pointed skywards and cocks it before pointing it forward. "Professor, if you wouldn't mind stepping away from my sociopath. I do believe he finds your attention a shade annoying." Holmes, a slight smile on his face, lifts his hands away from Moriarty, who releases him with a frustrated look. "That's not fair. There's three of you!"

"There's always three of us. Don't you read The Strand?" Watson questions. Michelle tosses the deerstalker towards Holmes, who catches it and sniffs nonchalantly as he puts it on. Watson gestures with his revolver: "On your knees, Professor."

Looking both bewildered and exasperated, Moriarty drops to his knees at the side of the ledge, facing the drop. "Hands behind your head." Michelle instructs. Looking up briefly at Holmes, Moriarty does as instructed. "Thank you, John." He looks to Michelle. "Darling." He nods, happily. "Since when do you call me John and Michelle darling?"

"You'd be surprised." He smiles. "No we wouldn't." He smiles back briefly, then looks down towards Moriarty. "Time you woke up, Sherlock." Michelle raises her gaze to Sherlock.

"I'm a storyteller. I know... We know when we're in one." Watson gestures. "Of course. Of course you do, John." He smiles again. "So what's he like? The other me, in the other place?"

"Smarter than he looks."

"Pretty damned smart, then."

"Pretty damned smart." Holmes agrees. "And what about me?" Michelle asks, shining her doe eyes towards him. "You have sass, you have confidence but upmost of all... The ground you walk on, I worship." Michelle looks to him in awe. "I sound pretty special, then."

"You are, because you matter the most, my darling girl." Holmes, Watson and Michelle all share a smile. Moriarty makes a disgusted noise. "Urgh. Why don't you two just elope, for God's sake?"

"Impertinent!" Watson scolds. "Offensive." Michelle walks forward, wearing trousers. "Actually would you mind?"

"Not at all." Watson stands beside her and together, they lift their feet and firmly kick Moriarty in the back; Sending him forward over the edge. Moriarty screams as he falls. They step forward and he, her and Holmes look down into the abyss below them. As Moriarty's scream ends, Watson straightens up and looks at his friend. "It was our turn after all."

"Quite so." Holmes agrees. "So, how do you plan to wake up?" Michelle asks. "Ohhh, I should think like this." He steps onto the rim of the ledge. "Are you sure?" Watson asks. Holmes turns to look at him. "Between us, John, I always survive a fall."

"But how?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson." Michelle spoke, stealing Holmes's words. Taking off his deerstalker, he tosses it into the abyss and then, bending his knees slightly. "Oh, before I forget." He steps away from the cliff and charges towards Michelle, grabbing her, he cups her face and with rough passion, kisses her.

Leaving her in a daze, he leaps forward, spreading his arms wide, and plunges into the void. Falling horizontally and facing downwards with his arms still outspread, he starts to smile. He flies ever downwards, his smile widening and becoming a happy grin as he falls.