Solar System: A Sherlock and Doctor Who Crossover

The Floating Orb

The glowing ball raised into the air and floated out of its jail.  Sherlock reached out his hand towards it and quickly withdrew it because of the sheer heat.  "Doctor, what is it?"

Before the Doctor could answer, a splitting headache brought Sherlock to his knees, and he could sense the Doctor doing the same, clutching his head.  None of the pirates seemed even affected.  A voice filled Sherlock's head, but he was aware that there was no noise outside of his head.  

I am your biggest fear, your darkest nightmare, the monster under your bed.

If Sherlock was asked to describe the voice he heard, he would not be able to.  It was warm and silky, but at the same time, it was grated and sounded slightly like nails on a chalkboard.  It was everything at once and nothing at all, and there are simply no words to describe it.

"Who are you?  Where are you from?" the Doctor asked, and Sherlock wondered what drove him to think that the floating ball of light was a who and that it even came from anywhere.

I am from the edges of the galaxy, and bits of me are from beyond.

Sherlock could practically see the gears turning in the Doctor's head.  "If you're from more than one area, how did you come to be?"

"Last week in science class we were learning about the different theories on how the universe came to be," Sherlock interrupted, "And one of them was the big bang."

The Doctor snapped his fingers.  "Of course!  All the different parts of you combined one day in a big bang and created what you are, a ball of energy, a being of some sort."

"How old are you?" Sherlock interjected.

A noise filled Sherlock's head that he could only guess was laughter.  I am older than you can even imagine.  I am older than you, older your universe, older than almost everything that is known.

The Doctor gasped.  "That's why there's no noise on this ship, you are from a time before there was even noise, and you're projecting your essence over the entire ship to survive.  And that's not the only thing you've done to survive; the man that we found, you killed him.  Why?  Do you thrive off of the energy of others?"

The laughter came again.  Correct, you are a very smart one, and you are not human like the little boy. 

"How can you tell?" Sherlock asked, frightened by this glowing ball of light.  

Young one, I can see into your soul.  I can see everything about you; the things leading up to your life, what happened in the past to create your life, what will happen in the future, every event that will ever have anything to do with you.  I can tell you your life story just by looking at you.

Sherlock shivered and knew he had good reason to be afraid.  He turned to the Doctor to see his reaction, and the Doctor was staring at the floating light with his eyebrows drawn in and a very confused expression plastered across his face.  "I can understand all of that, but why are you here?  On a 17th century pirate ship?  You could be anywhere you wanted, probably any time you wanted, so why did you choose Earth, at this specific time frame?"

The pirate standing behind him slammed him face first into the open wooden door of the ship.  "You have no business knowing the answer to that question.  All you need to know is that it is here, it is powerful, and it can destroy you with a single thought."

Sherlock gaped at the orb, and something in his mind clicked.  "Why do they follow your orders?  Why do they protect you?  It seems more to me than just fear driving them to do such a thing, why?  What have you done to them?"

One of the other pirates went to shove him next to the Doctor, but he ducked under his arms and rolled in between his legs on instinct.  He grabbed an extra sword lying on the ground (seriously, what was it with these guys and swords lying around?) and held it out threateningly so the pirate could not get him without the fear of being slashed by the sword.

Very good, Sherlock Holmes.  I would be surprised by your incredible mind and your fast reflexes, but nothing surprises me anymore.  To answer your question, they follow my orders because they are me.

The eerie silence that followed gave Sherlock the shivers.  The Doctor was released from the pirate's grip and he rushed to Sherlock's side.  "What do you mean?" Sherlock asked after almost a full minute of silence.

They are projections of whatever I want them to be.  I have no physical form, so I created them to fight my battles, and to be my arms and legs.  I, of course, think for them and move them, but they do what I cannot.

"How is that possible?" the Doctor inquired, "You can't just create something.  Most forms like you I've met have taken over other beings' bodies, you can't just create them."

It laughed again.  Why, Doctor, I created everything you see.  You asked me before why I chose to live on Earth, but this is not Earth.  We are on a planet entirely of my own creation.

"What?  That's not possible, how are you able to just create a planet that so perfectly mirrors Earth?  There are even humans, and water, and wind, how is it such a perfect replica?"

I'm sorry, Doctor, but I'm afraid I cannot answer that.  It would ruin my plan.

The pirates surrounding the Doctor and Sherlock grabbed them by the arms and began to drag them towards the door in the floor of the ship.  "No, wait!" the Doctor shouted, "What's your plan?"  It was too late, the pirates threw them into the cargo area of the ship, trapping them.

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Author's Note: Finally, an update.  It's about time, right?  Thanks for still reading this, hope this update didn't s