Christmas Day, 2015 (Six months later)

It smelled nice, like joy. It danced through the halls and echoed across the walls and everything felt wonderful. Not to mention the way it smelled, like flowers and cinnamon and scones. Like a mystical house in the woods where all you could see for miles were trees and shrubs and birds. Not to mention the way it looked, like a house out of a fairytale, golden curtains falling before the glass stained windows and vintage Victorian sofas and knitted throw blankets and pillows. In fact, in a way, it looked to be the cleaner, bigger version of 221B Baker Street.

She certainly didn't mind the food, either. She nibbled on baked breakfast pastries and hot tea until the day rolled into the afternoon. It was like a place of peace, somewhere where she could get away when the chaos of her life would come back to bite her in the arse.

And she was left alone for some time, the faint chatter in the kitchen staying steady. Some people would be offended, as a guest, to be completely ignored for most of the morning, but really, Jade Watson was pleased. The last thing she needed was to be bothered, especially in the middle of her book. She found it in a bookcase some time ago and couldn't seem to put it down. She couldn't remember the last time she found the time to read for entertainment.

It felt like she was on a real vacation. She made note to stop by here more often.

And in the depths of the kitchen, which had blue tiled walls and crimson tableware and mistletoe dangling wherever it could, Lilith listened to everybody debate on something she chose not to care about. She was absorbed in the newspaper on her lap, anyways. She put her family on semi-mute long ago.

"Auggie." The woman's voice was stern, somewhat annoyed. "Could you please leave your laptop anywhere else?"

August, from his side of the breakfast table, frowned down at it. "Why? Is it bothering you?" There was a snark in his voice that Lilith chuckled to.

"Normally it isn't," the older woman grumbled, swatting his arm. "But when it's resting beside my potatoes, it is."

"Sorry, mother, but if there's anywhere I'd like to leave my high profile security information, then it's right beside me," August said back pleasantly, the way he did as a boy when he chose to be difficult. His mother only sighed back and went back to the sink.

"Don't worry, mum," Lilith smirked, her eyes still on her newspaper as she sat there with her feet resting against a second chair. "He'll be gone before morning."

"And it can't come fast enough," August complained.

"He's in agony," Lilith pipped.

"Why are we even here?" August exclaimed, glaring over at his sister, who was smiling like it was the best day of her life. "We never do Christmas together. Some of us don't even do it at all."

"Oh, shush, Auggie," Mrs. Holmes scolded, placing a cleaned plate in a drawer. She sounded exasperated, like she was trying to figure out what led her to letting her children stay here. "We're here because Lilith is out of hospital."

Lilith narrowed her eyes and glanced up. "I was out months ago!"

"Well somebody put a bullet in you," her mother added strongly. "And we're all-" She sent a look towards August. "-happy you're alright. You've had quite the year, you know."

"So I've become aware," Lilith muttered, flipping the page.

"Is Jade alright in there?" The sound of a new voice entered the room, and Mrs. Holmes' other half came wandering in the room, a bright red bowtie complimenting his smile. "She's been there for some time."

"Jade's perfectly capable of taking care of herself," Lilith told them, her eyes darting across the page. "Most of the time, at least."

"Poor girl," Mrs. Holmes sighed, shaking her head and standing beside the table. "She's been through hell."

Lilith kept quiet and looked down at herself. She wore the most festive outfit she could find (her mother forced the idea upon her), a long white dress, a dark thick red sash tied around her torso. Her hair was curled and topped with red mistletoe ribbons her mother gave her. Lilith found she still didn't have much choice for her outfits when she was at her mother's house.

"Do you think she'll be up for some board games?" Lilith's mother asked excitedly. "I've got some new ones I think she'll love."

Lilith sighed and closed the paper on her lap. "If she is, then I must warn you, she gets unbearably competitive. Alfie, go see."

Seated in a different chair at the table, young Alfie nodded.

"I do have one question." Everybody looked over to see Catherine standing at the doorway, frowning suspiciously at the young boy sitting with the Holmes'. "Who exactly is this one?"

"Alfie," Lilith shrugged, like that was enough to explain. "Former homeless drug addict we found in an opium den. He's fine now. Mostly. And I like him, he's quite smart."

Alfie grinned happily, but nobody smiled back.

"So you found a home for him, it seems?" August sighed, although his tone said he was anything but interested in the conversation. "I've been getting tired of hearing stories about this junkie young boy who's been camping with the rest of your friends, Lilith."

"Max Hooper's landlord took him in," Lilith explained. "But he's almost of age, soon he'll have his own place in the building."

"I don't really like Mr. Sparrow," Alfie grumbled, slouching back in his seat. "I like Max, though. And Tilly. And Noe!"

"Good opinion, because Mr. Sparrow is most definitely a serial adulterer. Now go check on Jade," Lilith told him, her voice fond. When Alfie stood up and passed behind her chair to leave to the sitting room, she reached up without looking and patted his arm gently. August looked at the two of them completely baffled, but he kept his mouth shut, thankfully.

"I'll go and get some firewood," Mr Holmes said suddenly, and he slowly made his way out of the other door.

When Alfie came wandering into the sitting room, he found Jade curled up on the sofa with a book in her lap and a cup of tea in her hand. She looked peaceful, he noticed. There was something different about her from the Jade he met in the den all those months ago.

"I take it they want me," Jade said without looking up.

"Lily's mum wants you to play board games or something," he shrugged, mindlessly walking around the room like everything he saw interested him.

Jade smiled lightly. "You gave up on calling her Sheeza?"

Alfie glared at her and she laughed.

"I'll be there in a minute," Jade told him, glancing at the time. She felt slightly numb from sitting in the same spot for the last few hours. She could use a stretch, even if it meant allowing herself to be swept back into conversation with Lilith's family.

"Oh! Jade! Hello!" She looked up to find Mr Holmes, Lilith's greying but kind father. He was wearing his winter coat and boots. "Good book, is it?"

She quickly nodded, chewing the last piece of her pastry. "It is! I can't put it down, I swear."

"Want to know something amazing?" Mr Holmes said in a mysterious voice, flipping his jacket collar up the way Lilith always did. There were so many similarities between Lilith and her father, Jade noticed. Even their smile, crooked and delightful and filled with amusement.

"What?"

Mr Holmes grinned as Alfie flopped down on the sofa beside Jade, looking partly interested. "My wife, she wrote that."

"She wrote THIS?" Jade gapped, holding the book up with one hand, nearly spitting out her food. "It's- wow! I had no idea, that's amazing. The book's absolutely fantastic." She then frowned and looked down at the name on the book. "Oh... her name isn't Holmes though. She wrote this before you married?"

"Indeed." The older man shoved his wrinkly hands in his pocket and nodded. "She always wanted to be a bestselling author. She loved writing stories of fiction, stuff about wizards and fairies and... whatnot. Then she met me and we had August, and she never really got back into writing."

"She's an amazing author," Jade said, still amazed. "She should start again, since your kid's are all grown up."

His eyes crinkled as he smiled, lighting up the whole room with his joy. "You're a writer, too, aren't you? Lilith told me."

"Oh, well," Jade shrugged and grabbed her cup of tea. "Sort of. I write stories about my adventures with Lilith. I must say, your daughter is great to write about."

"Father!" And just on cue, Said Daughter came bashing in the room from the door Mr. Holmes did, stomping out like an angry child. "Mum needs that firewood, and she's being quite distressed by it. Also, could you please ask August to move his laptop? Mum also asked that."

Then she noticed Jade sitting there and froze, her expression instantly changing. "Oh, hello Jade."

"Hello, Mr. Holmes' daughter," Jade smirked, and Lilith rolled her eyes as she stood beside her father. "He was just telling me about this book, how your mum wrote it."

Lilith barely gave the book the light of day. "That? Oh, it's ages old. Anyways-"

"I'm going," her dad sighed, and Lilith smiled as he went out, a fresh winter breeze entering as he left.

Alfie, looking utterly bored beside himself, stood up with some dramatic flair, his dark green sweater looking awfully heavy. Jade watched him ruffle his hair, and it fluffed up. "I'm going to find something to eat. Anyo'e want anything?"

"Oh, Max taught you manners now," Jade observed, and Lilith snickered back as she took Alfie's spot as he left, grumbling a curse under his breath. "Or, maybe not."

Now alone with Lilith, Jade finally set down the book after hours of alone time with it. Lilith was being oddly quiet after Alfie left, sitting in a comfortable silence with Jade. Jade remembered Christmas the previous year; she had been at 221B with Lilith and Mason. A few friends came over, some only for a short while. Usually Christmas with Lilith was particularly interesting. She remembered the Christmas where Lilith reached her hand into a fire and found the photographs left behind by a Miss Ivy Adler. Yet, she still shuddered at the memories of that time.

"Your family is..." Jade broke the silence with a smile. "...something."

"Insanely obnoxious."

Jade rolled her eyes, then looked over at Lilith. "How're you feeling?"

"My god, Jade, it's been half a year since it happened. I'm fine."

"As a doctor it's my job to make sure you're alright. And as your friend."

Lilith picked up a small decorative pillow and held it in her lap, picking at the thread. She was quite close to Jade, and Jade could see the glow in her eyes. "I'm fine," she said quietly.

Jade kept looking her up and down as though she was trying to find something to fuss over.

"Now would you stop asking me that?" Lilith groaned out, and tossed the pillow right over at Jade's face, laughing as

Jade yelped in surprise. Her laughs were joyful, perfectly pure and nothing less than happy. Jade could listen to them all day, but she was too busy throwing the pillow back to smack Lilith back in the face.

~*~*~*~

November 24th, 2015

Lilith's whole idea was that Mr. Checkmate would eventually come crawling back to her like a lost puppy, trying to find answers and petition for his freedom. Of course, she wouldn't give him any of that. Throughout the months since since June she thought it was all so brilliant that the man was walking around, hardly knowing what she was doing in his office that day, whatever happened to the woman named Matilda Noble (Jade Watson, but she liked to keep teasing her about it) and why he was held at gunpoint in his own home.

When he did come rolling around, it was at her home this time, while she was feeding Satan.

She heard the knock on the door, not recognizing the knock.

"Jade!" she called out, hardly caring to answer it herself. She held Satan up and watched him munch happily on his lettuce.

But Jade wasn't coming, and then Lilith remembered Jade left to run errands about two hours ago.

"Oh. Come in!" Again, very unwilling to go over and open it herself.

"How hospital of you, Miss Holmes."

She paused.

"I said come in."

He came in.

"Oh, this is very nice," he remarked. He looked like a completely different man than the one she found cowering down on the floor with a gun against his temple. His gaze was firm and his stance was steady, his glasses over his greyish blue eyes. Everything about him seemed to scream confidence, something he didn't seem to have that night in June. "Very nice home, Miss Holmes."

Lilith decided the next few words will not require Satan, so she carefully settled him down in his tank agan. Her long hair brushed over her shoulders and down her front. She didn't wear her usual coat, just a thin flowery shirt with a knee-length skirt. Her back was still turned to the man. "Thank you, it belonged to my aunt."

"I know."

Lilith brushed her hands on her soft skirt and walked casually over to her leather chair, plopping down on it. "I have the strangest thought that you may want to talk about something, sir."

"Oh, please." He waved a hand. "No Sir's around here. I'm just Charlie to you."

"As long as I'm Lilith to you."

"Good that we agree on it." With that, he straightened his tie and made his way to sit over at Jade's chair. Lilith did her best to hide her glare as he did.

He didn't say anything else for a moment, his daring eyes staring right into hers. Unease filled the room, and Lilith knew he was thinking. Intensely, may I add. Lilith did not bat an eyelash. She knew he was thinking, the monster he was. At this point, not even she could deduce what he was going to say next. There was so little emotion in his eyes, it was like staring at a blank screen.

"The Hounds of Sympathyville."

Her pupils dilated.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry." He scoffed as though he didn't say a word, following a trail of thought. "Reading. But there also seems to be..."

Jade Watson
Hounds of Symphonyville
August Holmes
Jamie Moriarty
Buckingham
Darling's Fall
Mason Morstan

Lilith did her best not to look the least bit shocked, but it was difficult. Still, she kept her composure, sitting straight and fearless in the presence of this even more powerful man. To others, he may look intimidating. Which was probably a very big factor in getting where he needed to be: people feared him within seconds of looking at him, they would smell his strength.

Very different from the man she met that night.

"Well, Charlie, I don't have all day to speak with you as I am a very busy woman," Lilith went on, never fleeing eye contact. "You probably want to talk about the night in your office, but please, correct me if I'm wrong."

"So the rumours are true. You are one heck of a detective."

"Charlie, do you know anything about the man who shot me?"

"If I did, I would have him found instantly."

"Well I know the man. My brother has been searching for him for months, no luck."

"Ah, yes. Mr. Holmes the younger, selected agent of the British Government."

Lilith sighed. "Pity to be following his shadow, yes, yes. Why do you think the man wanted to kill you?"

"Well, Lilith, if anything he failed to do so."

She didn't like the way he said her name, like he had her under his control. "I can see that, congratulations!"

"You chose not to tell your brother where this criminal is."

"I also chose not to tell him where the other criminal is." She shot him a look of hate. "I know about you, Charlie. Everything to you is a game, and I love games."

"Yes, yes, the game is on!" he mocked, and she bit her tongue until it nearly bled. "I am a successful man, Lilith. I make enemies. People don't like me. Power is a trait that other people cower under."

"Yes, the same way you did when the shooter's gun was tapping your forehead," Lilith remarked cockily. "God, I should have let him kill you. This would have been much easier, don't you think?"

"Perhaps so."

"This man, he came to me as a client," Lilith told him firmly. "He told me everything. This man is not only someone who's been with the wrong crowd for years, but you have information on him that could ruin his whole life."

The man's eyes were sharp, calculating, and cold. For a moment there even Lilith began to think that August's eyes were more warm than his at the moment. He spoke like he was a computer, lashing out words that he was programmed to say. "Mason Morstan is what he goes by now, I hear."

"Yes." She was not surprised he knew his name.

"Very interesting man," Checkmate remarked, like he was speaking about his own son. "He's got so much potential but he uses it for murder."

"Murder with a purpose."

"Still murder. I think you, of all people, should know that."

"I'm not inclined to agree with everything people say about me." She clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Not all the rumours are true, Charlie."

"You want the information I have extracted."

"I want the blackmailing material you have demolished."

"Why?" He tilted his head, eyes flickering in the lamp light. "You're a detective, the finest in the city. And you want to help a killer. How ironic."

"It's not ironic if there's motive," Lilith snapped sharply. "I am not required to tell you every heartstopping detail about my reasons. You should know that more than anyone."

He didn't say anything for a moment, but then he began to slowly nod, as though he was impressed. "True, true. Very true, Miss Holmes."

"It's Lilith."

"Miss Holmes, what are you asking me?"

She drew in a breath. "I am asking, in exchange for the blackmailing material you have, I will give you something no one else can get."

"And that is?"

She grinned a toothy grin. "My brother."

~*~*~*~

Christmas Day, 2015

Even though they were lost in conversation in the sitting room, she noticed how strangely silent the kitchen had been. In fact, the rest of the house. It was a big difference from the constant chattering she could hear from Lilith's family. Not even Catherine was making a sound.

"Is everything alright in there?" Jade asked after some time, glancing up at the closed door to the kitchen.

Lilith was hanging upside down on the sofa.

"Everyone's fine," Lilith scoffed, staring up at the ceiling, her feet hooked onto the cushions. "Probably done with Christmas already, as I would be."

"No..." Even though Lilith seemed to be speaking the truth, there was something unsettling bubbling in Jade's stomach, and she didn't know exactly what it was. Something told her to be suspicious. "No, something's wrong."

Lilith didn't say anything.

Jade stood up from the sofa, her eyes narrowing. "Lilith-"

"Well," Lilith was flipping back into a normal position, deciding that enough blood was getting to her brain. "24 minutes should be enough time. Come on, let's go."

"Enough time for what?"

Lilith stood up rapidly and went searching for her scarf and coat, looking like a scattered mess. There was a certain thrill in her eyes that made Jade's stomach lurch with adrenaline; something was happening, and Jade wasn't sure if it was bad or good.

As Lilith slipped on her coat and went dashing towards the door to the kitchen, she hastily called out: "Oh, and don't drink any more punch."

~*~*~*~

"You drugged your family!?"

Jade stood in the kitchen entrance, gawking at the unconscious people surrounding her. She watched, her heart beating wildly, as Lilith raced around the kitchen and checked her entire family's pulses. Alfie, still awake and happily grinning at what Jade could only assume was his work, stood behind the table.

"Well, yes," Lilith shrugged, checking her brother's pulse. He had his head on the table, his arms around it. Lilith's mother was slumped in the same way on the other side, and Catherine was sitting on the floor before the sink and counters, alongside Mr. Holmes. "But they'll be fine, I made sure to use the right amount of dosages. And Alfie will be here to keep an eye on them. Lucky bastard doesn't need to be poisoned."

Alfie scowled.

"I don't- why did you-"

"Charlie Checkmate."

Jade didn't think she'd ever hear that name again, but sure enough, it resurfaced.

"What?"

"We're going to meet him. Appledore, his estate. It's out in the middle of nowhere, really. Actually quite close, about a half hour drive, fifteen minute flight."

Jade clenched her fists at her side, staring at August's sleeping face. "This is why you agreed to come here for Christmas. It's why you dragged me here for Christmas."

"Well, sort of. My mother was persistent, how could I say no?"

"How are we supposed to get there? Why are we getting there? You haven't mentioned his name in ages."

"Because it's better that I kept his agreement with me unspoken." Lilith was plucking up her older brother's laptop, still beside the potatoes, up and away from him, holding it carefully in her hands. Jade frowned. "Also, I didn't want to worry you. Too many traumatic events have happened this year, might as well not bring them back up."

"How kind of you." She was sarcastic.

"Very. Now let's get a move on, Checkmate's men will be here soon."

~*~*~*~

Jade was waiting outside the Holmes' home, breathing in fresh winter air alongside Lilith, who was still holding her brother's laptop. She had a sinking feeling that the laptop, which she knew was very important, would be involved in this disaster she was about to partake in.

"Are you ready?"

Jade glared at her. "Ready?"

"What we're about to do is going to put the entire United Kingdom at risk," Lilith said at lightning speed. "The dangers we're about to put ourselves in will weigh out the fate of the security of Trolldon and the lives Charlie Checkmate has been controlling. Our safety will be jeopardised if this goes wrong and we could be wrongly, but possibly correctly accused of secret criminal activity. Checkmate is not a man to mess with and we are about to enter his private estate where he keeps personal documents outlining the deepest blackmailing material on hundreds of individuals. We both could likely end up blackmailed as well, or worse. Are you ready?"

Jade could only blink for a moment.

"But it's Christmas!"

Lilith grinned happily, wind in her hair. "I feel the same-" Then she looked over at Jade's face. "-oh you mean it's actually Christmas. Did you bring your gun?"

"WHY would I bring my gun to your parents house for Christmas dinner?!"

"Is it in your pocket?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Jade heard a noise, and it was loud. The sound of wind and metal and something flying towards them high in the air. When she looked up, she found a giant helicopter gliding onto the clearing beside the house, wind and leaves dashing everywhere. She gulped, and Lilith handed her her coat (which she failed to put on before they left the house; she didn't notice Lilith had been holding it) as they headed towards the landed helicopter.

~*~*~*~

Lilith was quiet as they walked up towards Appledore. Jade was too, but just like Lilith, her mind was racing with thoughts. They were currently being escorted into this massive, modernly built building in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Giant glass windows and simple painted walls, and every one of Checkmate's employees, all men Lilith noticed, wore the same black suit and white tie.

It was through the front doors, up the grand, boring staircase that led to a floor just as plain as the first, when they came across Charlie Checkmate. Out on the balcony of the second floor, overlooking the land around and seated on a comfortable tan couch. He had a drink in his hands, and sipped it wisely.

Lilith stood there for a moment, looking straight at his face. Jade originally thought she was deducing him, but there was something else in her gaze, something new and different. Like she didn't know what to even start deducing.

"Spain's finest." He held up his glass gingerly and inspected it. "I would share some with you, but I don't want to."

Lilith glared at him and didn't move from where she stood. Checkmate nodded at the guard who escorted them through the building, and he left without a word.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," Checkmate went on, and Jade looked nervously over at Lilith. "And I'm really glad you brought Dr. Watson. It makes this all more enjoyable."

"Well, you know." Lilith, with the laptop still in hand, walked over casually and sat down on the overwhelmingly large sofa, beside Checkmate. "I didn't really want to drug Jade either."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Long story. Anyways." She then, with the most peaceful expression possible, placed the laptop beside Checkmate, right between the two of them. Jade watched with complete shock; what the hell was she doing? She knew the importance of, well, whatever was on August's laptop. Her whole body twitched as she remembered the words Lilith said to her before they boarded the helicopter. "Everything you want is right here, right on this laptop. I took it from my brother. He won't notice for the next hour or so."

"Fascinating." Checkmate slowly picked up the device with his one hand, looking at it with utter interest. Jade didn't move. Everything about this exchange screamed wrong, but this was Lilith.

"The point I'm trying to get to is," August finally concluded, as they pulled into an extremely large parking lot. "Lilith has her reasons for everything. The reason she kept this a secret from you will be a good one. Trust me."

She held her breath.

"Now." Lilith was quick to get to the point. "The documents?"

Checkmate glanced at her as though he forgot she was there, completely tranced by the laptop. His eyes practically sparkled with joy, while Lilith just looked extremely impatient. But when Checkmate looked up and stared Jade right in the eye, Lilith looked more concerned than anything.

"This is interesting," he said again, and Jade's heart began to hammer. "So very interesting. You see, Miss Holmes, Dr. Watson, getting to August Holmes is much more of a process than anything. To get to August Holmes, you get to his junkie, sociopathic little sister. To get to the sister, you get to her traumatised best friend. To get to the best friend, you get to her murderous ex-fiance. It's all just a brilliant pattern, honestly."

"I'm sorry... what?" Jade finally found the courage to speak, and she was pleased with how demanding she sounded. "I think I need some more explaining."

"Of course you do," Lilith sighed, but she was looking slightly confused herself.

"Well it's simple!" Checkmate declared eagerly. He then quickly reached for a remote sitting on a small table beside him, picked it up, and clicked a single button. Instantly a screen appeared on the wall before them, behind Jade. A video began playing, and Jade wanted to scream.

"You..." She turned around, deciding to watch it. She could recognize it just by the sound, but she needed to make sure she was hearing it right. "You put me... you put me in that fire?"

"Well it's simple, Doctor," Checkmate shrugged. Lilith hated hearing this. The screams, the fire crackling, the alarmed sounds of the bystanders. She watched herself run into the fire at top speed, yanking Jade's limp body out of the dreaded bonfire. So now she knew who put her there, and it was completely unrelated to Anderson kidnapping. She felt terrible for not realising this sooner. "It's called leverage. I needed to know just how much you meant to Miss Holmes. Luckily, I was right. Judging by this behaviour I think it's safe to say that Holmes would go to the end of the world for you. Getting to you was the key to getting to August Holmes. Oh, and trust me, I wouldn't have let you die. If Lilith didn't get there in time my men would have saved you. I'm a businessman, not a murderer!"

Lilith looked down, colour drained from her usually bright eyes, still able to hear the screaming even though Checkmate turned the video off a few moments ago. The man was chuckling coldly. "Ah, well, that was fun. Now onto new matters: I'm also afraid I will have to note how your tricks do not fail me."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Tricks?"

But Lilith seemed unfazed, and she turned to look at Jade with empty eyes. "Oh, just a GPS system on the laptop. August programmed it so that he could easily find it. And when he wakes up, he'll notice that it's missing, that we're missing, and that the whole family was drugged and alert the authorities."

"And if they were to find me with it in my possession..." Checkmate snarkily slid back the laptop on the sofa towards Lilith, who glared daggers into his soul. "Well, you can imagine what would happen."

"But Charlie Checkmate is a grown up now," Lilith said wryly, her entire body cold. "He understands it. Good job, Sir."

"What did I tell you about calling me Sir?"

"I am not your best friend, Checkmate," Lilith spat out like vile poison. She then dramatically raised her arm towards the peculiar Jade Watson standing before them, pointing. "She is."

Checkmate's smile was haunted, like he wanted to say something but chose not to. But his eyes said everything, and Lilith wanted to slap it off and throw it across the wall, stomp on it until it was nothing more than crushed ego.

She refrained from doing that, because that would be quite the ugly scene to unfold before Jade.

"But when the authorities arrive and they find you two in my home with stolen government files and information, that'll be quite the turnup, won't it?" He laughed bitterly, his smile increasing.

Lilith's whole world seemed to crash down on her shoulders, and Jade thought she couldn't breathe.

He was a man who thought he was the cleverest in the world. Lilith came across many criminals in her lifetime, people who wanted to bring the worst possible outcome upon people, but very few of them made Lilith feel completely trapped. What could she do? Even her role as August's younger sister wouldn't help. Cornered into an impossible situation. She ran through the several possibilities of the next few events, and she failed to find one that would leave everybody fine and alright and Checkmate behind bars like he belonged.

Checkmate was smiling at her like she just became his favourite person in the world, glowing at her broken face. "You and I made a deal, Lilith. On most occasions I wouldn't find the need to show you the  documents I have on Mason Morstan, but today I'm feeling generous."

Lilith looked up.

"...but I can't do that."

"For God's sake, make up your mind," Jade snapped. She felt all sorts of different emotions as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"Look, I would!" Checkmate shrugged, raising his hands in a surrender pose. "But that's the thing."

He grinned at Lilith, and she wished she could kill him. "They don't exist."

"Pardon?!" Jade was quick to yell at him, and her eyes filled with dread.

"They don't exist!" Checkmate cackled. "See, they're all up here." He pointed up at his head. "There are no physical documents on the man you know as Mason. The only way for me to share this information is if I simply tell you. And I decided I am not going to do that."

Jade fought the urge to kick the man, right where it hurt.

"So!" He clapped his hands together eagerly and stood up with a toothy grin. "Would anyone like to join me by the door as we wait for the authorities to come? I'd like to meet Mr. Holmes in person. Quite the extraordinary of the Holmes children."

And he stood up and happily strutted away.

~*~*~*~

The first thing Jade did when Checkmate left the room was dash over to Lilith's side and fly right before her, crouching on the ground so she was able to look her in the eye, due to the fact Lilith was refusing to look up. "Okay, Lilith, what do we do now? Hm?"

Lilith looked at Jade's hands, which were on the sofa beside her, one on each side of her legs. She didn't say anything, just stared at them. Jade's impatience began to bubble up and she didn't think she was going to get a full answer out of Lilith now, not when she looked as though she had been hit in the gut.

"My god," Jade groaned, and she looked around wearily. They really did not have a lot of choices, and it made it feel like the world was closing in on the two of them.

Jade looked back at Lilith. She looked stuck, yet it was easy to tell her mind was going at an unstoppable pace. Jade didn't even hesitate to grab her hands and hold them in hers gently, right over Lilith's lap. "Lilith, look at me."

She did, quite startled by the touch.

"We're going to get out of this," Jade told her, and she never broke eye contact. Colour swarmed back into Lilith's eyes, but she didn't smile. Jade gave her hands a little squeeze. "You're Lilith Holmes, you can figure something out, right?"

~*~*~*~

Outside, it was growing dark. So much for Christmas dinner, Jade thought. She tried to forget how she was absolutely starving and focus on the real problem ahead of her. Literally, ahead of her, because she was standing behind Charlie Checkmate with Lilith at her side out on the front porch of the building. He was happy, so very happy, bouncing on his feet occasionally. Lilith glared at the floor like she had a personal grudge against it.

"You two have been delightful," Checkmate went on, and Jade wanted to block out his voice more than anything. "I hear that the punishment for compromising security information about the government is pretty grave. Visit me when you're out, would you?"

The sunset in the distance did not help anything at all.

"Lilith," Jade whispered, quiet enough that the man couldn't hear them. "If there's anything we can do, do it now."

Lilith had been standing like a statue the whole time, hands at her side and coat sweeping in the wind. Wind?

Ah, yes. The wind.

Aircrafts surrounded the building in a matter of seconds, agents with weapons appearing at all angles around the building. Weapons that were pointing right at them. There was a massive, bright light shining right at all their faces, and Lilith and Jade slowly but surely raised their hands up in the air. The wind from the helicopters was annoying, but not as annoying as being blinded on the spot.

Lilith heard her brother's voice, and when she looked up, she saw him sitting in the biggest aircraft. "Lilith Holmes and Jade Watson, get away from Charlie Checkmate. I repeat, get away!"

"It's alright!" Checkmate cackled, waving a hand in the air. "It's fine, they're harmless!" Still, Lilith and Jade stood a few feet backwards.

"You're a coward," Jade spat at him without thinking, and Lilith watched her glare him right in the eye. "A coward!"

"I'm nothing more or less," he grinned back at them, eyes shining in the lights. "than a businessman."

Jade swallowed on her own freedom.

{🎵}

Lilith was still standing still, and she blinked in the lights and cowered in the darkness. She looked both effortlessly alive and terribly dead, like she was in shock. Jade tried not to remember watching the shock overtake her on the ambulance ride to the hospital all those months ago. Her arms grew sore from holding them up for so long. Lilith looked pale.

Then Checkmate, being his cocky and snarky self, looked back at them one last time. He beamed. "Dr. Watson, you got yourself in this mess when you met Mason Morstan. I'll never be quite sure why Lilith Holmes wants to help that rascal, but she tells me she has her reasons. Unfortunately, as a law-abiding citizen of this country, I choose not to help you. That is that, there's nothing I can do. That's the problem with psychopaths."

That was when Lilith lost it.

Not in the way you'd think, no, she did not throw a tantrum and she did not start screaming bloody murder and she did not lash out and tear his face off the way she wanted to ever since she met him. She did not cry and she did not shout and she did not flip off her brother and she did not stomp her feet or shriek in failure.

She simply looked the horrid man in the eyes, and calmly said, "Oh, please. Do your research."

She reached into the pocket of Jade's coat, which she was still wearing.

"I'm a high functioning sociopath."

She looked at him with eyes burning of hatred, pain, and nothing of forgiveness.

She held the gun up at his head.

"Merry Christmas."

She pulled the trigger.

~*~*~*~

She heard a lot of sounds in the next few seconds.

She heard her brother yelling into the microphone, his voice shocked and angry. She heard Jade screaming behind her. She heard the sound of Checkmate crashing into the ground over and over and over again in her head and it wouldn't go away.

She heard her own voice through her head, echoing like she was trapped in a big, dark, scary room.

She heard a smaller, weaker, younger part of herself crying in the back of her head and she wanted to scream back to it.

"I made a vow."

Lilith turned around. Instead of Jade, with her hands raised and the most panicked face she would ever see in a lifetime, poor Jade who just witnessed Lilith commit a crime, who just watched Lilith kill somebody, Moriarty smiled thoughtfully back at her.

"What?"

"I made a vow." She giggled, and her smile was painful. "I made a vow, I made a vow, I made a vow."

She was singing it out, loud and crisp.

"I made a vow, I made a vow, I made a vow..."

"WHAT VOW?!" Lilith cried.

"Haha," Moriarty grinned. "I made a vow, I made a vow."

Lilith closed her eyes shut and kneeled on the floor before the people surrounding her. She heard August try to talk to her again, but all she could see now was Jade, who was back. Thank God.

"Lilith?" Jade was staring at her strangely now, slightly more concerned than panicked. "Are you alright? You keep- I- what vow are you talking about?"

Lilith hardly heard her. She forced herself, tearing her mind away from the terrible thoughts that surrounded her, to look at Jade. Just look at her. It was comforting, in a way. She would have preferred if Jade didn't look like the world was ending, but then again, she was mostly the reason for that.

"Tell Mason he's safe now," Lilith told her bluntly. She found herself, among the chaos and the noise and the lights, that she could smile, just a little. To Jade, the smile was sad, painful. "At least for now."

Jade's heart completely broke.

{end music}

~*~*~*~

January 3rd, 2016

New Years was not going the way any of them had expected.

August watched the clouds move ever so slowly out the window, waiting pitiful for snow to fall. A change in the weather would always symbolise something exciting has happened. He scowled. Unlike his scattered and obnoxious sister, he found meaning behind everything. He just chose not to talk about them.

There was a lack of thrill in the air as the clouds continued to move. What kind of day was today? Would it be a day where he'd be crammed up in his office, tallying the minutes as they went by? Would he be caught up with something extraordinary? Will the Prime Minister come calling over for him to give him an assignment? Would Lilith be arrested for life?

He scowled at the window as he let his thoughts get the better of him. She had done absurd things before, had she not? When they were younger, he remembered she attempted to scale the side of a skyscraper building to see if the comics were accurate. She impressively made it quite far up before deciding Spider-Man was completely a work of fiction and tall tales.

And then she moved on from comics to fairytales and became engrossed with stories of witches and goblins and little creatures who kidnap children. She quoted them excessively. It annoyed the living daylight out of him, and he soon became thrilled to move away.

He was not always particularly upset with her because of her attention span, which always flipped between being short and long, her clumsiness, her forward way of thinking and speaking, and her sassiness which he was certain was the only trait she got from their mother. No, most of the time he was upset with her because he wished she stuck to the novels. The books, the short stories, the world of fantasy. But instead she found herself washed away in a world of crime and justice, of criminals and cases, a land tied between good and evil. He might have not noticed her interest in it at first. The deductioning abilities were an early thing.

If she stayed with her idiotic world of princesses and princes, she could have saved herself.

He took a deep breath.

~*~*~*~

"And I always thought, 'what would happen if I did this differently?' Because there was no certain way to know what would happen, there never is. Even if I did have the ability to go back in time and reverse what was wrong, would it be completely and absolutely accurate to the outcome if I had done something different? Because now in this case I know what I did wrong, and then my further actions would be influenced by it. It's a silly construct and honestly I don't believe that it should be something to ponder over. Regret will always take you back to the thought of 'what would happen if I did this differently?' and many will think of a better solution."

She listened, their walk down the trail peaceful. "And what if you're wrong? What if your knowledge of the other outcome doesn't affect your new one?"

"In a way I think it always will. The results of our actions are games of chance that also rely on the input of other parties, people, or events. Let's say you, I don't know, killed somebody. Had you gone back in time and not murdered them senseless, then how would events play out? You could look at them and think of your mistakes, their mistakes, your reasons for killing, what led you to killing, why wouldn't you kill, would they kill. It's all a matter of questions and thoughts that depend on our self-control."

"That's an interesting way of putting in."

"If you killed someone, how would you go back and fix things?"

Jade hesitated for a moment, her pace in sync with Lilith's. "Well, I don't need to be theoretical."

"Ah." Lilith nodded. "You have killed someone."

"Mr. Hope would have killed you had I not killed him first," Jade said. "I'd rather have him dead than lose you."

"Yes, but I suppose that cancels out my theory," Lilith shrugged. "And if you didn't kill Mr. Hope, then he'd still be out there and in fact, more lives would be lossed."

"He also knew Moriarty. What would happen to her if Hope killed you?"

"Oh, well, she made it clear to me that she never wanted Hope to kill me. But he was a vengeful man and I was making him quite annoyed. I think he could have easily poisoned me dead if you didn't come along."

Jade hummed in response and admired the winter flowers sprouting in the garden.

Once they found themselves in view of the men standing around at the front gates of the botanic garden, decked in all black and emotionless faces, both girls slowed their pace down in unison. Jade shivered, but it wasn't from the cold.

"Will I ever see you again?"

Lilith looked over at Jade, who stared at their feet.

"That, I'm not certain about. My brother petitioned me out of jail to the government. But in exchange for not being imprisoned, I'm being sent to a mission in south-western Europe. It's supposed to last me six months."

"And then you'll come back?"

"It's supposed to last me six months."

Jade's shoulders fell.

It seemed that even though they were walking as slow as they could, they had rapidly approached the group.

"Lilith." August's voice was stern. "Dr. Watson."

"Hello, big brother," Lilith scowled at him grimly. "Thank you for letting me walk around a park for ten minutes before my suicidal departure."

"Of course." The look on his face did not match the dim ones of the other men's faces. "The van is in the parking lot. It's time to go, I'm afraid."

Lilith sucked in a breath. Jade was keeping her silence still, but several words spotted in her mind that she wished she could say. It seemed that Lilith was thinking the same thing.

"Could I speak to Dr. Watson for one more moment?"

August gave Jade the slightest glance. If anything, it was a fond one.

"Fine. Three minutes."

The girls quickly stepped aside, away from the men and before a snowed garden bed of roses.

"The baby."

That was the first thing Lilith found herself blurting out, only a second after getting away. Jade's head snapped back up and her eyes widened in surprise. "What... what about it?"

"You know what."

Jade's smile was soft, and Lilith thought it was impossible to look so happy in such a dreary time. Her fingers were cold. "Mason and I talked again in the New Year. I... he and I came to an agreement."

"Which is?"

Jade looked like she had been waiting to tell Lilith the news for a century, growing giddy. "The baby needs a home, Lilith. Mason can't give them that one, even though he is currently watching over a group of young children."

Lilith chuckled, imagining Mason with the kid again.

"So we said that I'm still going to adopt the baby."

Lilith's eyes widened. She looked completely in shock, and Jade wanted to laugh at how silly she looked, like she'd just been told Jade was going to move to a circus. In fact, she did laugh a bit. Lilith laughed in shock too, and it was the sweetest thing Jade's heard in forever.

"Oh my-" Lilith chuckled as she noticed August looking at them oddly. "I didn't- well-"

"Yeah, I know," Jade grinned. Happiness filled the air, spinning around them both. "The baby was born in July, and he's been with  the adoption agency for the time being. I told them two days ago that Mason and I broke up and I'll be adopting him myself."

A spark flickered in Lilith's warm eyes. "He?"

"Yes, Lilith. It's a boy."

Lilith didn't think she could be any happier for Jade Watson.

"There was one thing," Jade added, rubbing her cold hands together. "Mason only asked for one thing. He wants to pick the name for the boy."

"Oh, lord."

"He picked Rueben."

Lilith raised her head so she could feel snow on her nose. "Rueben."

"Mhm. Mason's real name."

"Rueben." Lilith tried the name out on her tongue again, like it was her decision to make it. It felt right, in a way. She knew of Mason's real name for a while, and despite his wrongdoings, it felt right to give the name to the child. Finally, she grinned. "I like it very much."

"So do I."

"Lilith!" The girls heard August's tough voice interrupt them, very rudely. "Time's up. It's time to go."

Pain shot through Lilith's body like the bullet that knocked her out June of last year. "Right."

There was a moment of silence between the two girls, and Lilith's heart ached. She was leaving. Six months? Six months. Every step felt like a million as she finally approached August. He could see the hurt on her face, and he had to remind himself he was doing his job.

He was beginning to hate his job. He gently put a hand on her shoulder and began to steer her off to the parking lot. She was a broken doll, a woman who finally did not have a choice in her life. Jade had never seen her so off.

Jade felt tears threatening to escape, and she blinked them back quickly. Lilith's hair was the last thing she saw before she turned away.

{restart music 🎵}

"Do you want to know the vow now?"

Lilith whipped around. Moriarty leaned against a tree, a playful grin upon her pale lips. Her hair blew in the wind but she wore pure white pants and a suit. Pitch black tie.

"Yes."

Moriarty's whole body shrieked with laughter, and there was no use in trying to drown it out. Like sorrowful giggles, Lilith thought. Her arms crossed over her chest and her cat-like eyes narrowed with every ounce of evil she could muster. Which was, arguably, a lot. Everything about her was vile.

"Before I died," Moriarty beamed, her teeth clear and white and her eyes crinkling with joy. "I made a vow to myself. Oh, before the bullet reached my brain and blood oozed out of my skull. I vowed to myself. And no one else knew, no one else heard me!" Her manic giggles were bloody.

"Tell me!" Lilith yelled, every inch of her trembling. She could walk right over and murder the already dead, but she kept herself still.

Snow fell upon Moriarty's soft hair.

"Lilith." August's voice entered. He couldn't see her, he couldn't see her, the witch that stood only metres away! Lilith screamed in her mind for help, for him to notice, but she was dead and she was not there at all and she had to be imagining it?

"I made a vow."

Jade heard her phone buzz.

"I made a vow!"

"Lilith, change of plans."

Lilith's feet were planted to the ground.

Jade felt her heart leave her body.

"Mr. Holmes, what's going on?"

Jade dropped her phone.

"WHAT WAS THE VOW?!"

Moriarty laughed.

"I vowed I would come back."

Jade ran.

"Lilith!"

Lilith ran, ripping out of August's grip. He didn't even try to grab her again. He let her go. Her whole body was cold.

She ran all the way back to the park, where Jade was standing there with a hand over her mouth and small tears falling down her face.

She ran and Jade quickly wrapped her arms around her.

On the floor, at their feet, the video kept replaying. It filled the air horribly.

"Did you miss me?"