Prompting Part XXX

[sherlockbbc_fic]

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Not an X-over, a Z-over

[cactuswren]

(Hi. I'm new.)

Crossover: Sherlock and World War Z.

Bonus points if Sherlock is unable to accept what it is they're dealing with, and John has to shout at him that when you've eliminated the impossible whatever remains, even if it's fucking zombies, must be the truth.

Extra bonus points if you can get any combination of our heroes, hiding out from the enemy, “comforting” each other. (Except Holmescest, which is one of my squicks.)

Extra extra points to see Mycroft, Z-bitten and knowing he's infected, having to explain to Sherlock that he'd rather get the boom!headshot now, so no one else is at risk. And if it turns out Sherlock can't do it and John has to, I will knit you socks.

Re: Not an X-over, a Z-over

[charlolwut]

(Hi there)
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!
Seconded.

Autofill 1/6

[cactuswren]

(Content note: violence, implicit Sherlock/John, angst, hurt-and-precious-little-comfort.)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[Colonel John H. Watson, M.D. is of no more than medium height, and still carries traces of his Army past: his fair hair is cut short, and there are hints of a military bearing in his upright posture, although he walks with a slight limp. He wears a patch over his right eye. He sits across from me, but more often gazes out the window. He speaks hesitantly, with long pauses between phrases.]

I’m … sorry. I can’t promise this will go well or easily. Before the - before this war, but after I came back from Afghanistan, I saw a therapist for a bit. I annoyed the hell out of her, because I’d arrange an appointment and then sit for an hour without speaking.

Take your time. The recorder’s digital, so it’s not as if we’re wasting tape.

[He smiles faintly. After a long moment, he begins again.]

The biggest - the first big mistake we made, he and I, was holing up in our flat rather than making a run for it. Our

Autofill 2/6

[cactuswren]

It was just slightly insane, the whole scene. We sat, and made conversation. He told us about how Windsor Castle had been turned back into what it had always been, a fortress. How the same thing was being done at castles and fortified great houses all over Britain. He had us write things down, passwords and such, that would make it easier to get in. And then he sat back in his chair, looked at Sherlock, and said, “I need a favor of you.”

Something changed in the room, then. I took a step forward, but neither of them noticed. Mycroft took a Webley from his trouser pocket and put it on the table between them. “I’m infected, you see,” he said, as matter-of-factly as if he were saying, it’s raining, or turn up the television. “I don’t want to risk further spread, and can’t be sure of doing sufficient damage with only a single shot. May I trouble you

Autofill 3/6

[cactuswren]

We’d been walking an hour or so before he said anything. All the time since - when we were preparing to leave, and as we walked, he hadn’t spoken a word to me. Not as if he were angry - he seemed, I don’t know, numb. As if the shock had wiped all his reactions blank for a bit. It was the only time in all the years I knew him that I took the initiative and he just followed: I said “Carry this” and he did, I said “Come with me” and he followed. The only time he ever, unquestioningly, did what I told him to. Except -

[Again there is a very long silence.]

Finally, after an hour or so, he said, very quietly, “Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able.” That’s all he said, and I couldn’t think of any answer. Not the sort of thing one says “You’re welcome” to, you know? And that’s the only time we ever spoke of it.

I’m - sorry. Perhaps we could continue this tomorrow? I’m - not doing very well, I’m afraid.

You’re doing fine. I’d like to continue now, if it’s all right. While we’re on the thread.

[He shifts slightly in his

Autofill 4/6

[cactuswren]

Before the war, he used to affect this preposterous long coat. Long, always worn open, the better to stream behind him in the wind. Dramatic. He’d given that up - tight clothes are safer - but he was still wearing this scarf of his. I snatched it from around his neck and twisted it around - around the stump. Tied a stick into the knot and then twisted that, hard, hard enough that the artery stopped spurting

Autofill 5/6

[cactuswren]

He looked at me, and I remember that we said in perfect chorus, as if it were a cheap comedy, “Are you all right?” He staggered to where I was slumped in a corner. He put the axe down in front of us, where either of us could reach it easily, and sat down next to me. And then like primitive cave-dwellers - or even more, like hominids, like some prehuman ancestors - we huddled together in the darkness, afraid of noises in the night, with no comfort but knowing there was another of one’s own kind close at hand.

And you made it through the night.

We did. We made it through the night.

How?

[The question is impossible. He eyes me, and then speaks pleasantly:]

That is none of your damned business, Mr. Brooks. And you may put that on the record.

You’re absolutely right. I apologize and withdraw the question. So, the next morning …?The next morning, we got on our way at first light. And by noon, we’d reached the castle

Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

[Colonel Watson is on his feet, moving with no trace of a limp. He joins Mr. Holmes at the bench.]

JW: Does this … signify something?

SH: Of course it does! And don’t give me that about how “a difference that makes no difference is no difference.” Every difference makes a difference, simply by virtue of being a difference! For one thing, we might be able to trigger mutations, and in time to control them. And for another - if I can trace the pattern, the spread of the different strains, I might be able to trace it back. All the way back, to the beginning.

[I clear my throat]

Er, Mr. Holmes, I’ve interviewed Kwang Jingshu, and I thought it was pretty well established that he’d identified Patient Zero.

[Still absorbed in his work, Mr. Holmes spares me the briefest withering glance]

SH: Even in the States, Mr. Brooks, I thought it was also pretty well established that a number line stretches in both directions from the zero point. What do you get if you subtract two from one? Solanum did not magically,

Re: Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

Thank you -- I'm so glad you liked it! I listened to a lot of John's talk as I was writing this, trying to capture his voice -- especially in his conversations (such as they are) with his therapist. And I tried to get that he could be at once completely Soldier!John and completely Doctor!John. If this came through at all, I'm very pleased.

Re: Autofill 6/6

[charlolwut]

This is brilliant! I'm so glad you took the time to fill this prompt yourself.
The characters are spot on and the plot is awesome too.
Any chance of a sequel? :D *hint hint*

Re: Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! No promises, one way or the other, about a sequel. But I'm expanding this story slightly, for posting somewhere else, and have established that Mrs. Hudson helped to organize the defenses on the Antonine Wall.

Also, if anyone's interested -- this may never appear in any story, but I do know exactly what happened between Sherlock and John in that burned-out house, after Sherlock took the zombie out.

Re: Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

:o
I loved this!!

Where will you be posting when extended? I'm a little curious to find out what happened between John and Sherlock that night :3

Re: Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

That's a separate story, from Sherlock's POV, and not in interview form. It's a bit ... warm. (Hitherto-straight!John and complete-virgin-who's-never-even-masturbated!Sherlock.)

The extended version of the interview might be on my own LJ, when finished. It doesn't have that scene, but does have more Sherlock (a friend suggested, and quite rightly, that Brooks be subjected to the Sherlock Scan) and may have more Mycroft.

Keep an eye out in the Story Announcements thread. B-)

Re: Autofill 6/6

[mismatched37]

lovely job on this. you did such a good job at staying true to world war z and you hit john's dialogue so wonderfully. thank you for sharing, i'm so glad you filled this :]

Re: Autofill 6/6

[cactuswren]

I'm so glad you liked it! I did try hard to get the voice right -- I thought it was important to have him, for instance, interrupt himself and ask to continue the interview tomorrow, or be completely unable/unwilling to describe blowing Mycroft's brains out -- so if that came through well I'm glad. Thank you so much!