[Somehow, sleep also came to Moriarty - even though the touch was unsettling, the fact that the two of them were asleep practically called him into dreams himself, his own memory suddenly blossoming into life...]
The roar of the falls was deafening, so much so that Moriarty could barely hear himself think.
Then again, there was no need to think. Not now, when all of his planning had lead up to this.
[X(2) - X + X = X(2) - X(2) = 0]
In the moments before he knew his Rival - Sherlock Holmes, the great detective who had been hunting him, seeking out his tangled web of crime - would appear, he checked the gun he had brought again.
A single bullet lay inside, and he was careful to shield it from the waterfall's spray as he held it in his hand. If it failed to fire during the most important time, then -
Ah.
But there was no more time to talk about it, because Holmes was there, staring him down. Even though his face was impassive, he could tell the detective was full of dread, his eyes narrowing.
And in that moment, with no tricks or guises between them...
He knew that Sherlock knew.
He knew that they both understood what they were to each other.
With an almost casual movement of his arm, he pointed his gun over Sherlock's shoulder - and fired, the bullet going wide.
Of course, the detective didn't stop, kept coming forward - and there was a delicious rush of delight and thudding fear at what this moment was, what it meant -
[X(2) - X(?) + X = ?]
The slickness of the path below them became a mere afterthought as they began to grapple, the now empty gun falling from his hand and clattering down the rocks. Moriarty's heart thrummed hard as he fought, trying to untangle the detective's limbs from his own, finding purchase around the man's throat even as his own eyes were clawed at, a wheezing, delighted noise coming from him.
Ah, in this moment - anger, delight, fear - mixed together to where Moriarty had no idea even where to untangle them. And why should he? This was the elemental form of them, locked in an eternal fight with no end, danger and death right there and yet never touching -
███ ██ ████ ████ ██ ████ ████, ███ █████ █████-
...Right. This had to come to an end, no matter what he wanted. Luckily, the end was right there, and as Sherlock shifted just the right way, so did he. Enough to unbalance them and send them tumbling off the edge, both of them falling off the edge, and in that moment there was only the thrill of destruction in his heart, the way it had always been from the moment he decided to traverse the path of Evil.
Life's end was a destruction, after all.
Yet, they stopped - and he found himself clinging to the leg of his rival, dangling off the falls precariously. Feeling Sherlock attempt to pull himself, and fail -
He saw the choices laid out before him in that instant, as he watched the trembling arms of his enemy, wearing from holding up both of their weights. The Equation was very nearly complete - all it took was deciding what variable at the end would result. He could choose to continue clinging, and let Sherlock lose his grip - and then the two of them would tumble onto the sharp rocks below and die together. A conclusion that wiped all variables.
Or...he could let go, and fall alone, and fade away in the mists of the falls, and...
...Then, he finally completed his long, long calculation.
[X(2) - X(2) + X = X]
He said something - loud enough to let the detective know that he'd spoken, but not loud enough to be heard over the rushing water.
His smiled widened, and then... he let go.
Keeping his arm extended - like a man ushering others in, like a desperate plea to be caught - he watched as his rival - his most worthy opponent, his ███████ - watched in numb shock, his eyes widening as he realized what just happened.
Ah, that was good. That look of shock in those green eyes...was something he could happily take with him to his grave.
Laughing, Moriarty fell...and fell, and fell.
-Until he impacted with one of the rocks below, instantly snapping his spine with a lance of pain, knocking the breath out of him even as he bounced off and into the chilly water below.
...He couldn't move - couldn't even attempt it, as he sunk into the vast body of water.
His lungs burned, but he had no air - and it only took a few spaces of his still beating heart to suck in water automatically, feeling the agony of drowning.
Yet, despite that - despite the agony, the pain, even as he was beginning to float back up, propelled by the currents in the water from the falls - he still kept gazing at the surface of the water.
Even as his consciousness began to dim, the light from the outside world still was the only thing he focused on, his still extended hand grasping as if for that light.
He was almost up, his chest heaving from adrenaline and exertion, when he heard a loud crack, instinctively clinging against the side, feeling something fall past him.
Then a voice, yelling in rage follows after.
As fast as he could scramble down without slipping, he hurried down as stones of various sizes were hurled down his way.
Moran? Holmes thought as he peered down as another rock dropped. The man swallowed a deep gulp of air before he let go.
Even prepared and from a much shorter drop, the current seem to threaten to steal him away as he forces himself to surface, wading to shore, shivering from the chill.
If the currents sent him this way - Sherlock raised his head, gray eyes searching down river.
Caught against a rock was a slumped figured, white shirt almost transparent from being soaked, and tinged pink from diluted blood.
The detective waded, gripping the body by it's shoulders, leaning it back into his arms to pull it to shore.
Moriarty's eyes stared unblinking, unseeing into the skies above, having lost it's brilliant hue, his mouth hanging open. For a moment, it almost feel like it would move - to give that familiar, obnoxious laugh. Probably followed by a knife pressed to his throat, laughing at Sherlock for falling for a ploy.
But that sound would not come from a dead man's lips.
He can't remember the last time he felt such revulsion from a corpse that he did now, staring at the too familiar, now lifeless visage.
It took all his willpower to not drop the man back into the water, grunting as he works against the current and dead weight to pull him up on the bank.
With a purse of his lips, Sherlock sighs softly, as he pulls the man's lids down, letting them close for the last time.
Again, he trembled at touching the man, feeling a wave of some kind of illness - a voice in his head telling him that he had to go now.
It wasn't because of the man who had tried to kill him.
It wasn't the man who now laid dead before him.
No it was - but, it was because looking at it made his head hurt as if soemthing's trying to fit inside the crevices of his brain, as his chest grew heavy.
[Sherlock nearly threw himself off the bed, his hands pressing against his temple, eyes wide. For a moment, he can still hear the sound of a waterfall roaring inside his ears.
He didn't think of the possibility until much later in life, but Moriarty never did intend to leave the falls alive, that memory... only confirmed it. And that sensation while they fought...
And that pain, it took his brain a moment to remember he never injured his back like that.
Still there was something there that bothers him, no it prickles at his curiosity.]
[He murmurs quietly, his own hair was just as messy but he didn't bother to tidy up, not yet. Slowly his hands lowered, steeple together as his peridot-color eyes closed]
...I knew it was likely Moran would follow me there, but I didn't think he'd make an attempt on your life after I died. I'd assumed he would have run if I fell.
[He chuckles, but there's no genuine mirth behind it.
'if I fell.' What was the point of saying something like that? Sherlock himself had been privy to his thoughts at that time.
...Yet, when he says the variable name, Moriarty looks at him sharply - but says nothing.]
[The comment on Moran momentarily distracts him from the formula, but he kept note of it]
He was persistent. That wasn't the only time he had been an attempt on my life... it's one of the reasons why I hadn't returned to London for three years.
[Along with the strange sensations that was filling his mind and soul afterwards, too chaotic for him to return to his normal life as he was then]
[That actually gets Moriarty's eyes to widen, blinking at Sherlock curiously.]
...You must be joking. I - never treated the man in any special way, beyond that he was reliable enough to be someone I could rely on to get things done as I wanted them to.
I would disappear for a few months, Florence, Tibet, Sweden and other distant ports. Occasionally I resurface - under a false name - to take down one of your subordinates, and Moran would be on me within days before I escape and vanish again. Must be that experience from tracking down tigers...
[His expression darkens for as he spoke again, his voice cold]
Part of the reason why I returned was because he decided to go after Watson to try to flush me out.
[Sorry, he's still looking absolutely stunned - especially after hearing that the man crossed literal counties to get at the person who caused his death.]
...He always was an excellent tracker...
[He says that almost wonderingly, before apparently shaking himself out of his stupor.]
...I take it he didn't manage to hurt a hair on your assistant's head?
Again, I never knew he felt so strongly about me. All I did was provide money for him, and use him. Of course, I was friendly towards him - It's the easiest way to get people on your side, after all, along with the charisma Evil itself gives - but not enough to cause something like that.
[But he looks...at least contemplative.
At least, until he suddenly claps his hands, back to his familiar energetic persona.]
...But enough about the past! What's done is done, no time for regrets! My mana is a little lower, so I assume you and your Master got quite enough from me during that nap!
You have a way for making people care on a level that they shouldn't...
[Even he fell for it in Shinjuku - part of him really did want to believe Moriarty had the innate goodness despite his initial skepticism. He swung his legs around so he's sitting on the edge of the bed, letting the man change the subject]
Yes, I am feeling better... by the way, there is that formula you kept repeating...
[He was not going to let that drop while he was able to have Moriarty here]
But of course! That is the way a true criminal mastermind should behave, after all. Lower their guards down with your words and actions, and then when they least expect it...
[Thud.
With Holmes' back turned to him, he thwaps a hand on the man's back - right where he stabbed him in Shinjuku.]
...Well, I suppose you already know, don't you?
[He laughs - but then stops short as Holmes mentions the formula.]
...Just a formula. There's no greater meaning behind it - I've honestly forgotten why I had it stuck in my head on that day.
[He instinctively jerked at the thud, his torso turning, as if he was a second away from grabbing the man by the wrist. At the denial of the significance, he just gives the man a long, steady look]
It's not just an idle equation that you got stuck on. The specific points where it came up, and the end - you were satisfied that 'The Variable known as X survived'...
[He doesn't expect Moriarty to explain himself unless cornered or he has the upper hand, but he at least would let the man know he doesn't believe it's 'nothing'.]
So you won't allow a dead man to carry a secret with him to the grave? How cruel of you, Holmes.
[Yet, even with his casual banter - there's something in his eyes that's warning Sherlock not to pry any deeper.
This isn't knowledge he wants to give, not now - perhaps not ever.]
It's a simple formula, anyway - even a child could figure it out. It's like - when one of those maddening songs get stuck in your ears, and you can't remove it.
[He debates for a moment, to press the curiosity in him - the formula itself was simple, what 'X' stood for is a different manner entirely.
But the look in the man's eyes made the question catch and die in his throat, as his mind flashes, his eyes - he didn't remember that his eyes were actually gray, or those feelings he had as they rolled off the cliff.
Things he didn't remember, things that keep tickling at his mind, whispering to pry. No - he shouldn't, not now. Not here.
Perhaps Not Ever.]
Hmm...
[He didn't believe the excuse, but he let the matter drop]
[There's a moment as they stare each other down - blue and green - before Moriarty suddenly laughs, hitting him on the shoulder.]
Let me guess - you're flattered you're in my Equation? Don't be! After all, I was seriously considering dragging you down to Hell with me. I'm fairly certain even you wouldn't have survived a fall from that height!
[He grabs Watanuki, dragging the Witch from where he was to....basically on his lap. His lap is now full of limp noodle.]
And it looks like the illustrious Witch himself is feeling a little better, from the color he's gained.
[Sherlock rubs his shoulder, looking at his unconscious master, letting go some tension]
I can feel it,
[And it's still not enough to wake the man up, but that would take more than what would be safe for Moriarty, even with his high rank in Independent Action]
We should bring him back before someone starts wondering where he got off to.
[Sherlock murmurs as he extended his arm to grab both their gloves, wincing as he felt a twinge in his shoulder joint, using a too tight grip on the gloves until it passes]
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improbablenotimpossible) wrote2019-04-29 04:06 pm
no subject
The roar of the falls was deafening, so much so that Moriarty could barely hear himself think.
Then again, there was no need to think. Not now, when all of his planning had lead up to this.
[X(2) - X + X = X(2) - X(2) = 0]
In the moments before he knew his Rival - Sherlock Holmes, the great detective who had been hunting him, seeking out his tangled web of crime - would appear, he checked the gun he had brought again.
A single bullet lay inside, and he was careful to shield it from the waterfall's spray as he held it in his hand.
If it failed to fire during the most important time, then -
Ah.
But there was no more time to talk about it, because Holmes was there, staring him down. Even though his face was impassive, he could tell the detective was full of dread, his eyes narrowing.
And in that moment, with no tricks or guises between them...
He knew that Sherlock knew.
He knew that they both understood what they were to each other.
With an almost casual movement of his arm, he pointed his gun over Sherlock's shoulder - and fired, the bullet going wide.
Of course, the detective didn't stop, kept coming forward - and there was a delicious rush of delight and thudding fear at what this moment was, what it meant -
[X(2) - X(?) + X = ?]
The slickness of the path below them became a mere afterthought as they began to grapple, the now empty gun falling from his hand and clattering down the rocks. Moriarty's heart thrummed hard as he fought, trying to untangle the detective's limbs from his own, finding purchase around the man's throat even as his own eyes were clawed at, a wheezing, delighted noise coming from him.
Ah, in this moment - anger, delight, fear - mixed together to where Moriarty had no idea even where to untangle them. And why should he? This was the elemental form of them, locked in an eternal fight with no end, danger and death right there and yet never touching -
███ ██ ████ ████ ██ ████ ████, ███ █████ █████-
...Right.
This had to come to an end, no matter what he wanted.
Luckily, the end was right there, and as Sherlock shifted just the right way, so did he.
Enough to unbalance them and send them tumbling off the edge, both of them falling off the edge, and in that moment there was only the thrill of destruction in his heart, the way it had always been from the moment he decided to traverse the path of Evil.
Life's end was a destruction, after all.
Yet, they stopped - and he found himself clinging to the leg of his rival, dangling off the falls precariously. Feeling Sherlock attempt to pull himself, and fail -
He saw the choices laid out before him in that instant, as he watched the trembling arms of his enemy, wearing from holding up both of their weights.
The Equation was very nearly complete - all it took was deciding what variable at the end would result.
He could choose to continue clinging, and let Sherlock lose his grip - and then the two of them would tumble onto the sharp rocks below and die together.
A conclusion that wiped all variables.
Or...he could let go, and fall alone, and fade away in the mists of the falls, and...
...Then, he finally completed his long, long calculation.
[X(2) - X(2) + X = X]
He said something - loud enough to let the detective know that he'd spoken, but not loud enough to be heard over the rushing water.
His smiled widened, and then...
he
let
go.
Keeping his arm extended - like a man ushering others in, like a desperate plea to be caught - he watched as his rival - his most worthy opponent, his ███████ - watched in numb shock, his eyes widening as he realized what just happened.
Ah, that was good.
That look of shock in those green eyes...was something he could happily take with him to his grave.
Laughing, Moriarty fell...and fell, and fell.
-Until he impacted with one of the rocks below, instantly snapping his spine with a lance of pain, knocking the breath out of him even as he bounced off and into the chilly water below.
...He couldn't move - couldn't even attempt it, as he sunk into the vast body of water.
His lungs burned, but he had no air - and it only took a few spaces of his still beating heart to suck in water automatically, feeling the agony of drowning.
Yet, despite that - despite the agony, the pain, even as he was beginning to float back up, propelled by the currents in the water from the falls - he still kept gazing at the surface of the water.
Even as his consciousness began to dim, the light from the outside world still was the only thing he focused on, his still extended hand grasping as if for that light.
Ah...
...The Variable known as 'X'...
...Had survived....in the end...
...th...at...w...a...s...
....
no subject
Then a voice, yelling in rage follows after.
As fast as he could scramble down without slipping, he hurried down as stones of various sizes were hurled down his way.
Moran? Holmes thought as he peered down as another rock dropped. The man swallowed a deep gulp of air before he let go.
Even prepared and from a much shorter drop, the current seem to threaten to steal him away as he forces himself to surface, wading to shore, shivering from the chill.
If the currents sent him this way - Sherlock raised his head, gray eyes searching down river.
Caught against a rock was a slumped figured, white shirt almost transparent from being soaked, and tinged pink from diluted blood.
The detective waded, gripping the body by it's shoulders, leaning it back into his arms to pull it to shore.
Moriarty's eyes stared unblinking, unseeing into the skies above, having lost it's brilliant hue, his mouth hanging open. For a moment, it almost feel like it would move - to give that familiar, obnoxious laugh. Probably followed by a knife pressed to his throat, laughing at Sherlock for falling for a ploy.
But that sound would not come from a dead man's lips.
He can't remember the last time he felt such revulsion from a corpse that he did now, staring at the too familiar, now lifeless visage.
It took all his willpower to not drop the man back into the water, grunting as he works against the current and dead weight to pull him up on the bank.
With a purse of his lips, Sherlock sighs softly, as he pulls the man's lids down, letting them close for the last time.
Again, he trembled at touching the man, feeling a wave of some kind of illness - a voice in his head telling him that he had to go now.
It wasn't because of the man who had tried to kill him.
It wasn't the man who now laid dead before him.
No it was - but, it was because looking at it made his head hurt as if soemthing's trying to fit inside the crevices of his brain, as his chest grew heavy.
The detective took one step back, then another.
Then he was gone, running into the night.
no subject
-and then Moriarty catapulted forward, taking in deep breaths of air as he suddenly woke up, groaning in pain as his 'back' acted up again.]
God - damn it -
[It took a moment to convince himself he wasn't under the water, dying slowly - that he was breathing air and his lungs could work properly.
Yet, he gives Sherlock a frenzied sidelong look, as he begins to try and calm himself down.]
...
no subject
He didn't think of the possibility until much later in life, but Moriarty never did intend to leave the falls alive, that memory... only confirmed it. And that sensation while they fought...
And that pain, it took his brain a moment to remember he never injured his back like that.
Still there was something there that bothers him, no it prickles at his curiosity.]
ha-haahn...
no subject
...When he finally calms down enough to speak again, his voice is....strangely quiet.]
...I didn't think you would willingly go into the falls.
no subject
[He murmurs quietly, his own hair was just as messy but he didn't bother to tidy up, not yet. Slowly his hands lowered, steeple together as his peridot-color eyes closed]
X(2)....
no subject
[He chuckles, but there's no genuine mirth behind it.
'if I fell.' What was the point of saying something like that? Sherlock himself had been privy to his thoughts at that time.
...Yet, when he says the variable name, Moriarty looks at him sharply - but says nothing.]
no subject
He was persistent. That wasn't the only time he had been an attempt on my life... it's one of the reasons why I hadn't returned to London for three years.
[Along with the strange sensations that was filling his mind and soul afterwards, too chaotic for him to return to his normal life as he was then]
no subject
[That actually gets Moriarty's eyes to widen, blinking at Sherlock curiously.]
...You must be joking. I - never treated the man in any special way, beyond that he was reliable enough to be someone I could rely on to get things done as I wanted them to.
no subject
I would disappear for a few months, Florence, Tibet, Sweden and other distant ports. Occasionally I resurface - under a false name - to take down one of your subordinates, and Moran would be on me within days before I escape and vanish again. Must be that experience from tracking down tigers...
[His expression darkens for as he spoke again, his voice cold]
Part of the reason why I returned was because he decided to go after Watson to try to flush me out.
no subject
...He always was an excellent tracker...
[He says that almost wonderingly, before apparently shaking himself out of his stupor.]
...I take it he didn't manage to hurt a hair on your assistant's head?
[Assistant, yeah, let's go with that.]
no subject
[Though judging from the expression on his face, the man would've had suffered a worse fate if Holmes hadn't arrived before him]
no subject
...That's understandable, at least. He was never quite bright, just a genius at tracking and ruthless enough to get certain things done.
[There's a pause, before he runs his hands back through his hair.]
...Did he ever say why he was hunting you down? To avenge me, obviously, but - frankly, I never took the man for someone who would go that far for me.
no subject
[He rest his chin on his hand]
no subject
Again, I never knew he felt so strongly about me. All I did was provide money for him, and use him. Of course, I was friendly towards him - It's the easiest way to get people on your side, after all, along with the charisma Evil itself gives - but not enough to cause something like that.
[But he looks...at least contemplative.
At least, until he suddenly claps his hands, back to his familiar energetic persona.]
...But enough about the past! What's done is done, no time for regrets! My mana is a little lower, so I assume you and your Master got quite enough from me during that nap!
no subject
[Even he fell for it in Shinjuku - part of him really did want to believe Moriarty had the innate goodness despite his initial skepticism. He swung his legs around so he's sitting on the edge of the bed, letting the man change the subject]
Yes, I am feeling better... by the way, there is that formula you kept repeating...
[He was not going to let that drop while he was able to have Moriarty here]
no subject
[Thud.
With Holmes' back turned to him, he thwaps a hand on the man's back - right where he stabbed him in Shinjuku.]
...Well, I suppose you already know, don't you?
[He laughs - but then stops short as Holmes mentions the formula.]
...Just a formula. There's no greater meaning behind it - I've honestly forgotten why I had it stuck in my head on that day.
no subject
It's not just an idle equation that you got stuck on. The specific points where it came up, and the end - you were satisfied that 'The Variable known as X survived'...
[He doesn't expect Moriarty to explain himself unless cornered or he has the upper hand, but he at least would let the man know he doesn't believe it's 'nothing'.]
no subject
[Yet, even with his casual banter - there's something in his eyes that's warning Sherlock not to pry any deeper.
This isn't knowledge he wants to give, not now - perhaps not ever.]
It's a simple formula, anyway - even a child could figure it out. It's like - when one of those maddening songs get stuck in your ears, and you can't remove it.
no subject
But the look in the man's eyes made the question catch and die in his throat, as his mind flashes, his eyes - he didn't remember that his eyes were actually gray, or those feelings he had as they rolled off the cliff.
Things he didn't remember, things that keep tickling at his mind, whispering to pry. No - he shouldn't, not now. Not here.
Perhaps Not Ever.]
Hmm...
[He didn't believe the excuse, but he let the matter drop]
no subject
Let me guess - you're flattered you're in my Equation? Don't be! After all, I was seriously considering dragging you down to Hell with me. I'm fairly certain even you wouldn't have survived a fall from that height!
[He grabs Watanuki, dragging the Witch from where he was to....basically on his lap. His lap is now full of limp noodle.]
And it looks like the illustrious Witch himself is feeling a little better, from the color he's gained.
no subject
I can feel it,
[And it's still not enough to wake the man up, but that would take more than what would be safe for Moriarty, even with his high rank in Independent Action]
We should bring him back before someone starts wondering where he got off to.
no subject
[He gathers Watanuki in his arms again, standing up easily off the bed.
...He never took off his shoes. Why this, Moriarty.]
- Luckily he's rather light, if long-limbed.
Grab my gloves, would you?
no subject
[Sherlock murmurs as he extended his arm to grab both their gloves, wincing as he felt a twinge in his shoulder joint, using a too tight grip on the gloves until it passes]
no subject
[Still, he notices the wince - and grins a little to himself, though he says absolutely nothing.
How's that phantom pain feel, hmmmm???
And he quickly starts to leave the room, heading downstairs with Watanuki, until they're back and he can be placed on his own bed.
...Moriarty even tucks him in, looking all the world like a doting grandfather.]