The last chapter was edited! Thank you to 'WAINGUY' who pointed out that the falls ARE in fact in Switzerland, so that part of last chapter HAS been edited. THIS CHAPTER EXPLAINS SOMEMORE; THE ACTION WILL BE IN A FEW CHAPTERS... MWAHAHA. R&R

"You self-absorbed, selfish scoundrel!" she yelled. Her hand- with a mind of its own- moved to its own accord and slapped the very same Sherlock Holmes who was suppose to be lying dead in the bottom of the raging falls over at Switzerland, so many miles away.

The scene grew quiet and slightly eerie yet no one made to break the silence. The only sounds echoing through the messy residence where the light fluttering dance of the flames and the loud, hard and rather bothersome pelting of hail alongside the large open curtains, revealing soaked oversized windows.

Holmes slowly and very carefully moved his right hand to the side of his face where the woman's small and delicate hand had connected with rather harshly. Both men continued to stare in complete and utter oblivion and disbelief.

"Well aren't you going to let me in?" she spoke harshly- a bit more arrogantly than she'd intended but he deserved it, oh yes he deserved it so much. It took both 'gentlemen' a minute to regain their composure and slightly longer for Holmes to moves out of the way to the side again to let none other than the woman through, for that woman was none other and the very same-

Irene Adler.

There were no marks or scratches on her face, only dirt and water at the tip of her dress- the only part visible below the long black coat she wore. There was no scar lining through her hairline and the deep enriching scent of her signature Parisian perfume hung in the air. Her heels made alight clatter as she walked toward the coat and hat stand where she quickly disposed of her soaked wet over-garment, revealing a beautiful blazing midnight blue evening dress. Its tips were lined with silver bows and detailed lace, as were its edges at her elbows and collar. Her radiant flaming red hair was up in a messy yet rather pretty bun- leaving a streak or two of hair at each side of her face.

She walked ahead of the two, and moved toward the couch nearby both armchairs previously occupied by the others. She made a move to sit down, her back still to the gentlemen behind her, but in one swift motion she found herself in a deep warm embrace.

She froze, but not in shock, in calmness and sadness. She was not sure if her eyes would hold the large crystal tears begging to drop down her cheeks. She turned around in the man's arms so that they were only inches apart. Her hands reached for his neck as she embraced him further, neither wanting to ever let go.

She felt his lips brush softly over hers before both pairs smiled,

"I've missed you Irene"

She couldn't help but chuckle. She wanted to feel hate and anger towards the partially psychotic detective whom had put her through so much and played with her feelings, yet she could not bring herself to feel more than affection, care and... Love.

Their embrace lasted a short while longer before she spotted Watson looking rather uncomfortable in the corner of the room, finding his shoes to currently being the most fascinating things. Her smile widened when she tightened her hug around Sherlock than released, only grinning at him before moving towards the couch and finally, actually sitting.

"I do believe we are in time for an explanation"

They were all comfortable when Holmes began explaining his situation. He didn't get into too much detail but enough to draw the audience in- again. He explained the patterns, signs and marks, what the meant and from where they had originated- though couldn't be quite sure why they were there in the first place. He explained his trip from Switzerland to London and his run in with the evil professor's henchmen, though once again could not be sure of why they were there. That small statement started a long and interesting discussion between the trio, but ended not too long after. He mentioned his funeral and how he saw two Adlers and finally realised that one was a surgical experiment. At this Irene had looked at the floor as if in shame but that certain tone in her eyes quickly disappeared soon after.

He continued to talk about the possibilities than on to how the very moment they were in happened. So many questions had been passed, such 'What was the cave doing there?' and 'Is Moriarty alive? Did he plan this?'- All went unanswered.

After a short while of questions and no certain answers, the group moved on,

It was time for Irene to explain.

"After the incident with the package..." she paused and spared a glance at Holmes, "I went to meet with Moriarty. I had requested the meeting to be somewhere public and filled- my favourite restaurant. However... when I got there, I was unaware that Moriarty practically had control of it. With a snap of his fingers everyone was gone" she sighed but continued.

"I asked for a fresh pot of tea- that was before I realised the set up was a hoax. After taking a sip I began to feel strange, dizzy. I knew he had placed something in it, but did not let it show. Only then did he show that the bystanders and happy couples around us were merrily his minions." She let out a short exhale of breath. "He had said that he no longer required my services, so with that I attempted to simply stand and leave, but nothing could be that easy with him. I collapsed upon feeling nauseous and dizzy, after that I am unsure of the events that took place... until..."

"Until he revealed to you that you were just part of something bigger all together" the latter stared at Holmes, his eyes meeting both theirs.

"Yes. I woke up about what I supposed was a few hours later, on a surgical table beside another woman..." she trailed off, closing her eyes for a moment before she kept going. "There rest was quite a blur, and at first I didn't quite understand what was going on, until I spotted two men, both identical, yet their eyes were of different shades and one had scar running behind his ear"

Both Holmes and Watson knew of whom she was talking about...

"What then? Did they hurt you?" Holmes asked her quickly, his eyes scanning her body for any obvious bruises of cuts.

"No my dear Sherlock!" she laughed a little even though none knew what was funny. "They did not hurt me, though they certainly threatened to..." she paused and watched as Sherlock's fist clenched and unclenched before going completely still. "I escaped"

"You escaped?"

"I escaped" she smiled."After long hour of staying strapped to that cold metal table I had begun to grow rather bored. I was being studied, I knew that, but I knew I had to leave soon. I simply waited for the right moment before making my great escape. From there I got a simply job at an attire store where I assisted the owner, whom very kindly gifted me this... then... it wasn't long before I read the papers... it wasn't long before I read about 'The demise of the great Sherlock Holmes'..."

Holmes released a sigh, then though for a moment,

"But how did you know I was alive? And here?" Watson's ears perked up at the question as he continued to watch intently.

"Yes, how exactly did you find out?"

"Well, that is all thanks to one Mary Watson" she smiled gleefully. They were both quite confused right now. "After the funeral, someone bumped into me. Someone where long unsightly facial hair and a large old grey top hat" she smiled, "of course my first thoughts were that you were still alive, but I could not be sure, and at that moment, I was too upset to think straight- so I simply put the thought aside." She cleared her throat and went on, "from then on I went to my hotel, however I could not shake this strange feeling that Sherlock Holmes was still alive, this most bothersome hunch" Sherlock merrily laughed. "So I went to see Watson.

"I figured that of anybody should know anything that it should be him, so I made my way to Cavendish Place"

"-Hold on, how you know I live at Cavendish Place?" Watson intervened, his eyes and features all truly perplexed.

"Now is not the time for questions dear Doctor" she grinned at him and continued. "Upon arriving there, your wife had alerted me that you were- in fact- not present. We had a cup of tea and discussed the events, until she told me one particular piece of information..."

"She told you about the package"

"Yes, she had said that you had been in your study inspecting it when you came upon a small note which she did not have a chance to read. She said you ran out before saying something about 'The place where it all began' I knew then that my hunch was right, and that was when I made my way here"

"I suppose that explains a lot" Watson chimed in before relaxing entirely.

"Yes Watson, perhaps Miss Mary isn't so bad"

Thunder began to rage outside and flash loudly every once in a while, however no one made a move, until Holmes spoke.

"What of Ouroboros? Do you suppose that Moriarty is behind it too...?" he let out a disapproving sound but was open for opinions and judgements.

"You don't think he is?" John asked, drawing the entire attention to himself.

"The cave was man-made yes, but the rock and it's positions, and simply the feeling of the surround area suggests that is was made a few years ago- perhaps somewhere around the ten mark, along with the signs, so unless Moriarty had planned that far ahead- I honestly doubt it... though he probably does have something to do with..."

He stopped there was another knock at the door. All three paused, each searching each other's eyes for any clue as to who might be at the door. Holmes slowly stood up and braced himself, Watson and Irene slowly following in pursuit.

"So we've already gotten someone- two people actually- back from the dead, what's next- the queen?" John joked with a shake of his head. Holme's hand was again wrapped around the exquisite old antique door knob and he once again began to turn it, slowly and carefully.

As it swung open another very unexpected guest appeared.

"Mary!"

~SH~SH~SH~~

Watson residence, just before

She had had been left slightly confused after Miss Adler's quick and abrupt departure. She had seemed like a fairly kind and caring woman whom needed to find her husband for information on whom she could only suspect was Holmes. Miss Adler, or Irene as she had asked her to call her, had said that she was sure she could trust her enough to tell her that she had a feeling she was missing something, that perhaps Holmes was still alive.

And perhaps he was.

Mary Watson had no doubt in her mind that that was where her husband was heading, to find out the truth. After revealing to Irene that Watson left- not before mentioning 'The place where it all began' she hurriedly left. It was as if they had some secret code...

It was then Mary realised what it meant, it was then she realised where her Husband and Irene were heading.

She smiled proudly and excitedly, for she did not wish to reveal it to many, but she would only be so glad if Holmes was alive- but somehow, in her own strange way, she had missed the odd detective. He may have not been the sanest, but he was certainly caring and trustworthy... like some sort of close family like friend.

She did not wait, after assuring the maid that she would be out- and for how long she did not know- she made her way to a single very perplexing residence in Baker Street.

~SH~SH~SH~

Current time, 221B Baker Street.

Holme's cheek was once again met with another hard earned slap. This one, if possible, was harder than Irene's. It was powerful enough to knock his head to the side. His eyes widened for a minute and when he looked back, all he could see were Mary and Watson in an embrace, Mary seeming as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Well, let us start the party then, shall we?"

Sorry for the late update, I WILL update soon.

Did you enjoy that? More action, twists and turns VERY soon.

R&R

X. Rose