Posted by Bowen Cates on 4/11/2008, 4:43 pm, in reply to "Chapter 26"
24.207.121.197
Chapter 27: In Which Our Favorite Futurama Addict Proves Himself Far and Above Our Previous Perception of Him
(Author’s Note: the song is ‘I Go To Extremes’ and is indeed a Billy Joel Piece, I put it in here because I believe it to be the perfect song for Holmes, the words run thus:
Call me a joker, call me a fool
Right at this moment I'm totally cool
Clear as a crystal, sharp as a knife
I feel like I'm in the prime of my life
Sometimes it feels like I'm going too fast
I don't know how long this feeling will last
Maybe it's only tonight
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
And if I stand or I fall
It's all or nothing at all
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Sometimes I'm tired, sometimes I'm shot
Sometimes I don't know how much more I've got
Maybe I'm headed over the hill
Maybe I've set myself up for the kill
Tell me how much do you think you can take
Until the heart in you is starting to break?
Sometimes it feels like it will
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Too high or too low there ain't no in-betweens
You can be sure when I'm gone
I won't be out there too long
Darling I don't know why I go to extremes
Out of the darkness, into the light
Leaving the scene of the crime
Either I'm wrong or I'm perfectly right every time
Sometimes I lie awake, night after night
Coming apart at the seams
Eager to please, ready to fight
Why do I go to extremes?
It was I who originally recommended this song for Knife’s music video upon her suggestion that a Billy Joel piece be used.)
Theodore just stared at him. Never had he seen such a strange look before. There were no words for it, longing? Self reproach? Regret? All three together?
But whatever it was it was obvious that 1800 Holmes had just realized something of great significance to him, something that had changed his entire way of thinking in barely a moment.
“Sir…?” Theodore ventured.
The detective snapped out of it in an instant. “Moriarty shall no doubt return at any moment, we must find a means of escape before he has the opportunity of drowning us inside this contraption.” He whispered.
“What about the others?”
“I have an idea, but we must communicate it to our companions without the knowledge of the guards, particularly Mr. Silvers, who is at present, dangerously close to the lever which control’s the method of our demise.”
Theodore nodded.
“The bottom of this contrivance,” Holmes continued, attempting to keep himself from collapsing. “Does it look to you as though it is pressurized?”
Theodore pressed his face against the glass for a closer look at the black hosing beneath them.
“I don’t know, is there any way we could ask Hargreaves?”
“I have a better idea.” The detective actually grinned evilly for a moment despite his condition, Theodore shivered.
“Mr. Silvers.” He called, through the barrier.
The said guard turned to them. “Just out of curiosity, Will the water be entering this lovely little atmosphere from above or below?”
“Why’s it matter? It’ll kill ya, jus’ the same.” He barked back with a chuckle.
“Yes.” Holmes paused for a moment to cough “I am aware of that, and yet I should be much obliged to you for the requested information, after all, being bludgeoned by gallons of water from above is far more unpleasant then being calmly surrounded from beneath.”
Silvers scratched his head, this thought had obviously not occurred to him.
“Well, jus’ ‘cause you’se bein’ good an’ all, I’ll tell ya, it’s from the bottom, we only drops people in from the top.”
The look on his face was positively disappointed.
“Do cheer up Mr. Silvers.” Holmes consoled “after all, you will remember that my other self is slowly dying an extremely painful death, no doubt you shall find considerable satisfaction in that.”
Silvers nodded, the smile returning to his face.
“Thas righ’ thas’ righ, now you sddup before I get’s mad!”
Theodore giggled despite the situation. “What now?”
“Well, if the water originates from beneath us then there is no doubt that the pressure must run the same way…Mr. Trent, are you fond of music?”
“Huh?” he was genuinely confused; Perhaps the detective’s coherency was not lasting as long as Moriarty had hoped. “Uh…ya, sure,” he shrugged.
“What is your favorite piece?”
“Uh…I don’t have one really…I like Billy Joel, and stuff like that…”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Uh…never mind…”
“Do you know it well enough to hum it?”
“Mr. Holmes,” Theodore shook his head with a tired smile. “Billy Joel is a singer, pianist and composer.”
“Well, hum one of his compositions then, I shall be your percussionist.”
“Uh…okay.” Holmes had a very particular expression on his face; he was certainly planning something.
Theodore searched his mind for an appropriate song…one of his favorites floated to his mind.
He began to hum it, thinking the lyrics in his head ‘Call me a Joker, Call me a fool, right at this moment I’m totally cool….’
The moment Theodore had begun his performance; Holmes had joined in with his fingers, tapping in strange patterns on the floor of the tank.
Theodore could make so sense at all from it; he opened his mouth to ask what he was doing when the detective cut him off.
“Keep humming Mr. Trent.”
A little taken aback, Theodore continued, Holmes still drumming rhythmically in and out of time.
The guards were enjoying it immensely “the kid’s no’ bad.” One of them joked to Silvers, who sniggered.
Lestrade, who had been holding 2103 Holmes in her arms for the last little while - the latter had stopped screaming a few moments before, and now only twitched, muttering under his breath occasionally - Now looked up once again at the tank, the gleam in her eyes reignited, and dancing with excitement.
Theodore almost laughed, ‘Morse code! He thought ‘of course!’
“That was lovely Mr. Trent, thank you.” Holmes patted him on the shoulder; Theodore smiled back conspiratorially.
Holmes looked over at Lestrade who nodded at Hargreaves; he too seemed to have realized the contents of their musical endeavor.
“What do we do now?” Theodore asked.
“Now we wait for a moment in which to strike.”
“But what if Moriarty-”
All at once, a titanic noise ground it’s self through the air as the ceiling began to quiver and shake in protestation. The equipment on the walls which registered air pressure in various parts of the laboratory began to beep wildly and Theodore felt his ears pop.
“Hold tight Mr. Trent!” Holmes yelled over the commotion, forcing Theodore’s head down.
After a few more minutes of violence, the floor gave one last, final shake, the guards holding on for dear life, and the time machine reemerged into existence.
As soon as the haze around it had dissipated, Moriarty sprang out, fury scorching across his face, his eyes blazing and all the pomposity torched out of him by sheer repulsion.
He ran towards the tank, Fenwick in close pursuit, and shoved Silvers away from the lever.
Putting his hand on it, he glared out at his audience.
“Holmes!” he yelled, swinging around to face him. “You knew about this!”
“I presume that you have discerned the meaning of our earlier conversation?”
“The boy, you knew the boy would live!”
“Oh yes” Holmes grinned “I am sorry for ruining your plan to kill both myself and Mr. Trent, not to mention every other prisoner in this room, you have my deepest sympathies.”
The said contingency laughed.
“Well, it may be amusing to you now, but you have not stopped me, I may not be able to keep Mr. Trent from inflicting the damage he has already,”
Theodore felt a strange sensation of pride.
“But he and the rest of your little idiots” he tightened his grip on the handle “are still going to die, here and-”
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