Title: Behind the Mask
Fandom: Sherlock (BBC)
Rating: PG
Length: 895
Summary: John needs to find Sherlock in a hurry, but identifying him isn't going to be easy.
A/N: Also written for the watsons_woes Spooktacular prompt "Masks"
Warning: This is for a Spooky fest, so all is not as it seems.

John Watson entered the ballroom of the stately home (now owned by the National Trust and hired out at exorbitant rates to those who wished to impress) to find the masque ball in full swing.  He needed to find Sherlock in a hurry; Lestrade’s message had contained a worrying development.  John had asked Sherlock how he would recognise him, and in typical Sherlock fashion he had been told only it would be obvious when he saw him.

This would, perhaps, have been possible if the ball participants had all been lined up in a row and he could walk along in the fashion of a police line up and tap the one he thought was Sherlock on the shoulder.  But even then it relied on John recognising Sherlock’s ‘obvious’, a fact of which there was very little evidence.

John himself was dressed as one of the organiser’s minions: white shirt and black trousers, ideal for passing unnoticed, but of no use in associating with the guests, hence Sherlock wearing a mask.

John began looking around.  A bee mask would have been a possibility, but the wearer was both shorter than him and very obviously female.  John ruled out all reference to pop culture and politicians, which still left a variety of animals, plus a few classical masks.

He had crossed the ballroom twice without seeing anything promising.  He was trying to decide what to do next, feeling two purposeful traverses would go unremarked, but a third would draw attention to himself, when he saw someone in a fox mask slip out of a side door. Not wishing to draw attention to either himself or Sherlock he made his way his way round the edge of the ballroom, giving Sherlock a couple of minutes head start.  Then he too slipped out through the door.

He ran swiftly down the short corridor and turned the corner to find Sherlock lying on the ground.  Only now, close up, it didn’t look quite like Sherlock.  He pulled the fox mask off the man’s face to reveal that of a corpse, a bullet hole through his forehead.  And it didn’t require John to be a doctor to realise the man had been dead for considerably longer than the few minutes since John had seen him leave the ballroom.

 It had now become even more urgent for John to find Sherlock.  He returned to the ballroom and carefully looked round, trying to ensure he saw every mask in order to identify Sherlock.  Then he noticed a pirate, who he was sure had not been there earlier.  Cautiously he made his way round the room, but in negotiating his way around an arguing group of Spice Girls, of which there appeared to be three Gerry Halliwells, he lost sight of the pirate.  He stopped for a moment and then realised one of the full length windows was in fact a door, which was standing ajar.  John made his way over to it and went outside.

At first he could see no sign of the pirate.  He was starting to have doubts as to whether this would once again prove not to be Sherlock, but continued in his search, knowing he would have to find out.  He regretted not carrying a torch, but then the clouds blew across the sky sufficiently for the moon to cast its light on a pair of legs sticking out from behind a bush.  Cautiously John approached.  It was the same as the previous scene, the pirate mask covering the face of another dead man.  This time John recognised the corpse as that of Sebastian Moran, long time confederate of Jim Moriarty.

It had become apparent to John he would have to corner Sherlock in the ballroom.  He still had a few doubts, but rereading the text from Lestrade removed those:
<Confirm have physical body of SH. Spirit stolen. Neutralise but do not harm usurper>

John had been sceptical at first at the reports of Moriarty’s return and how it had been possible.  But gradually it had become apparent there was another force at work.  Sherlock, inevitably, had been fascinated, and despite John’s advice to proceed with caution had leapt at the chance to meet Moriarty.  He had been convinced Moriarty had plans for the masque ball and had therefore arranged his own invitation.  However, it appeared Moriarty had pre-empted Sherlock and something had happened before they had arrived.

John had come to the ball, carrying the neutraliser which had hurriedly been prepared by Mycroft’s team.  He had expected to be using it for the benefit of the latest victim Moriarty had selected, but now it appeared he would be employing it for Sherlock.

Hastily he prepared the syringe and then returned to the ballroom.  As he entered he immediately spotted someone of Sherlock’s physique wearing a pumpkin mask.  This time he didn’t care whether he drew attention to himself.  He ran straight across the ballroom, before the mask wearer had time to escape, and plunged the syringe into his arm.

***

Mycroft assured John it would be possible to re-unite Sherlock’s spirit with his body but the process would take time.  What he didn’t say, but which John inferred, was the team needed to proceed cautiously to avoid transferring any of Moriarty’s spirit across at the same time.  The consequences, if that were to happen, were unthinkable.