shinytoybox | Sherlock and Moriarty nonsense

...Have you met the man?

[He asks quietly, searching his face - more curious now as to his origins]

I...No, actually....I never have.

[He hesitates before telling him that, but...he's just as baffled at what he said.]

I...suppose it's a side effect of age? Haha...ha.

[He pauses, studying him - he doesn't seem to be lying, and in fact he seems just as confused as he is]

Perhaps it's a side effect of time manipulation, confusion?

[Sherlock offers, biting his lip for a moment, it's better - the more they're talking, the less his shoulder wants to throb, and less he felt like blood would suddenly splatter on him]

Potentially....

[He says it slowly, looking over at the man and studying him in return.

He wants to ask - 'Do you sometimes feel as if words are placed in your mouth, too?' - but he doesn't know the other yet, and that would be tipping his hand too soon.

As this is...for now, this is enough.]

I would not be surprised. We'll merely...have to reconvene, if this happens again, and see if something like that occurs once more.

[However...since they 'survived', in a sense, he should ask - before he forgets.]

You seemed...familiar, with that Abnormality. Have you encountered it before?

[He saw the shift, it seems he wanted to ask more, but thought better of it - though he's not sure what.]

Best to keep notes...

[As Moriarty asked that, he sighs softly, fingers running through his hair]

Yes - before I came here as an Agent... it's why I was 'recruited', actually.

Ah - so you were recruited...yes, you seemed to have a Fixer's fighting capability.

[That was fairly obvious - most Fixers were melee oriented, and he'd moved as if he'd seen battles before.]

Different than myself - being a mere Clerk before being moved to Agent status.

[Then again, given his sheer calm when a fucking Aleph was beating down their door, it's probably obvious why he became an Agent.]

[His brows raised, then his lips curled into a ghost of a smile at the observation]

Not many notice. You are eerily calm for someone facing an Aleph of that nature.

[His fingertips drummed on the nightstand]

Damn bastard took the skin of one of my group and slaughtered the rest - I was the only survivor.

Fixers are primarily melee fighters - while I've not seen your style before, I recognized the general movement.

[He listens to the rest, nodding.]

Calm? Yes - it surprises even myself, honestly. Even when I was bisected, I wasn't panicked or afraid. I suppose I may have already been resigned...or, perhaps, I just don't have a sense of fear.

[One would normally have the other associated issues - since that was a trait associated with Psychopathy, but-]

But, I do have emotions. I suppose...it is less 'no fear', and more 'I do not have an ingrained fear of death.'

[Which most likely made much more sense - as it was a common feature of those who lived outside of the Wings.

When you live so close to death, you begin to just accept it. Or, at least, that was what he liked to believe.]

- but, enough about me. My apologies, then - facing it again must have been quite harrowing for you.

[He shook his head, waving a hand dismissively]

Sounds like you've lived a long time in the backstreets.

[There's a strange kind of musing in his voice at that, curious but whatever seems to be on his mind, he kept it to himself as he sighs softly]

It's fine - you have no control over things, and I suspect... sooner or later, they'll send me to the containment of it, to see it's reaction.

['Teach me' - he shuddered. Why him?]

A bit, yes.

[He may look old, but he wasn't physically old - unless they changed some of his body to reflect that, of course.

It didn't feel like they did, though.]

Yes, that reminds me...It kept saying 'teach me', didn't it? How odd. Hello, Goodbye, help...all of these are phrases one would expect, but that one...

[He falls silent, musing.]

...How odd.

That's the strangest thing... it said that on the outside... when it was wearing Lestrade's skin.

[He's not sure if he likes where his mind's going, and the more he watches Moriarty, the more things seem a little odd but he can't quite put his finger on it]

...Hm.

[That's all he has to say on it, looking thoughtful for the moment - before shaking his head.]

Well, at the very least, it seems we have a 'do-over.' Here's hoping that our manager has learned from the previous mistake.

[He stands - easily and gracefully, as if he wasn't a mid-50's looking man.]

I will see you at work, then. We should both try to get some rest before the 'day' officially begins.

Edited 2020-10-05 19:14 (UTC)

[He does seem rather youthful in action... how odd]

Hopefully we don't have to experience that too often. Whatever else we can figure out, it can wait for when the shift ends.

[Long as the Manager doesn't mess up again, nodding as Moriarty takes his leave, though he's not sure if he can get any rest before it's time to work]

[Unfortunately, The shift wouldn't end.

The shift continued to not end for a while.

Three tries, in fact.

Once again, it is 4 am, and once again, they are commiserating in a room - Moriarty's this time, which is clean and well kept.

The man himself is lying on his bed, groaning once before sitting up and placing a hand over his face.]

What is the Manager doing...I fear my guts will be permanently injured at this rate.

[Indeed, the pain of their wounds is only getting stronger as time goes on. Of course, they tried different solutions and fighting methods, but...]

At least this last time, it was the Army in Black instead of Nothing There.

Ugh... least that's less painful than the other two.

[He leans against the wall, hissing softly]

I suspect our Manager might be trying to extract more EGO from them.

Least we know to pull our punches if that damn bird gets in the way.

Like as not, that makes an unfortunate amount of sense. If no one remembers the resets or their deaths, there's no reason to not extract as much top quality EGO as possible.

[He grumbles a little, but then sighs.]

Still, it seems that Nothing There has already been plumbed, so we will be moving onto the other Alephs in the facility. Army in Black seems to be next, so we will most likely have to live through a few more resets...frustrating.

[He sighs.]

And yes - Punishing Bird is quite...cute, if you ignore it.

Just it has an unfortunate tendency to fly in the way.

[He sighs, rubbing his hand]

Hard to imagine that we more or less don't fear death long as we're here. Some could call it hell.

[The man glances towards the door - knowing like every morning, they get a few curious looks from the light sleepers, but nowhere near as much as the first time]

We'll see what nonsense the Manager will bring us once the orders come in.

Hell? Hmm...I suppose that would be an appropriate name for this place.

[Yet again, the words spill out of him without thinking - and he tries not to show it, shrugging easily.]

...Still, we're showing quite the mental fortitude for being stuck in this sort of situation. Many others would have easily gone insane by now.

What did that counselor said? 'A burden shared is a burden halved', I suppose having someone else aware of this mess does help somewhat...

[Though it only been a few resets - it's a question of how much longer they can tolerate the resets and looping day]

And we're learning what we can do with what little power we have in this Wing...

Haha...You listen to them? I must admit, I only give them the answers they're seeking.

[He yawns a little, blinking.]

What little power...hm, I suppose so. But - aren't you holding back, somewhat?

[After all, those punches....they weren't being augmented by the EGO weapon at all.]

Hmm... might as well see if it help with nightmares.

[He puts a hand behind his neck, rolling his shoulders, pausing for a moment, studying Moriarty for a long, thoughtful moment, considering if he should confirm or deflect.

Well if they're the only ones aware of the resets, might as well confide a little]

So you noticed then?

Of course. But, you've also noticed my own peculiarity, haven't you?

[He reaches down slightly under his bed - and pulls out his pistol, casually emptying the clip and tossing the 9mm pistol over to Sherlock.]

Feel free to look it over, if you'd like. It's nothing more than an average gun.

[He accepts the gun, looking over it - feeling it's heft and parts, brows furrowing]

An ordinary pistol should not have the effect I've seen before, or make the sound that it did.

Odd... odd indeed.

Haha - one would almost think it was an EGO weapon, would you not?

[He gestures for the weapon back, as he hands over the clip, to allow Sherlock to examine the bullets, which are also normal.]

Then again, your own strength is something to be feared. I've seen you unbend metal easily - while that EGO weapon hides it, I know it isn't that strong against physical objects.

[He exchanges the gun for the clip, letting the bullets roll in his hands, glancing up]

Well, you caught me. It's something I've been able to do for a long while, handy on the occasion but not something I want to show off.

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