Note: This one is primarily written by my friend, but still contains my own writing.
Da Vinci entered the cafeteria and looked around for the other genius she had come to speak to.
She spotted him at a small table against the wall, with a mug in his hand.
“May I join you?”
Moriarty looked up and assessed her smile before gesturing to the seat across from him.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” The Archer of Shinjuku asked.
Da Vinci kept her warm smile in place as she said, “Something has been bothering me about Ritsuka’s Shinjuku report.”
Moriarty hesitated with the mug near his lips. He looked at the beautiful genius across from him, wondering if she was actually a threat. “Oh?”
“Yes, you see, Ritsuka is very thorough in their reports. They noted what you said to them when you had them in your company after… well, after Assassin of Shinjuku forcefully brought them to you.”
Moriarty took a sip of tea to buy himself time.
It was a quiet moment before he put the mug down on the table. Again, he looked at Da Vinci’ s face.
Her smile remained in place, friendly and mildly bright. One hand lay on top the other. Nothing outright threatening, just a friendly conversation.
He decided to play the direct approach. “And what did you find in the Master’s report that bothered you?”
“A curious error.” Moriarty’s eyes narrowed at the strange remark.
“Please. Do continue.” The Archer of Shinjuku wasn’t quite sure what to make of the beautiful genius before him.
She didn’t seem to be another that would challenge him, like Holmes. No, she seemed more like an impartial friendly party.
However, he wouldn’t let his guard down until he knew for certain what Da Vinci was playing at.
“Ritsuka reported that you said, I quote, this is simply what it is to be a mathematician, end quote.” Da Vinci shifted, leaning forward. “This is in reference to why you would try to destroy Shinjuku. So you see, I simply find it curious as to why such an intelligent man, so versed in mathematics and statistics would say something so contradictory to one of the main ideas behind those fields.”
“As you know,” the beautiful genius continued, looking a little concerned. “Mathematics has no alignment. It is simply a means to get information. Thus, it cannot tell a person to do something. It is on the mathematician, the scientist, the statistician to decide what to do with those results. What that person does with the math is on them, not the numbers.”
The Archer’s grip tightened on his mug. “So you are saying I made an error in presenting my interpretation of the data?”
“I’m saying you made an error in assuming your interpretation was the conclusion given by the data.”
“I’m afraid, I do not see the problem, Lady DaVinci. From the data, any would come to my conclusion.”
“No, that is entirely your conclusion. The numbers didn’t say to destroy Shinjuku, that was simply a human interpretation. At the point of you deciding what to do with the numbers, it’s no longer the numbers, it’s a person doing an interpretation
Moriarty allowed himself a scoff. “I’m certain you know that I am highly trained- “
“That doesn’t matter. You are, at least an approximation, of a human. Humans allow emotions to interfere. Would you say all scientists agree with each other and there’s no need for peer-review?”
There was a tense moment of silence.
“Absurd-“
“Exactly,” DaVinci interrupted. She was leaning forward, intent on the discussion and her point.
His grip tightened on the mug.
Yes, it was a mistake. But how? He knew his logic was flawless.
Moriarty had calculated how to destroy the planet, and his nature had let him follow through.
How had the words come out so confused and wrong?
Da Vinci moved a hand, bringing Moriarty out of his introspection.
“I’d like you to take some time to check over your spirit origin. I could do it, if you’d prefer-“
“No,” Moriarty interrupted. “Your concern is… noted. Good day, Miss Da Vinci.”
Archer stood up and let his long stride take him out of the cafeteria. Yes, something must be wrong with his spirit origin. He, a genius to rival the great Sherlock Holmes, would not make such a freshman mistake when lecturing on his calculations.
Yes, he needed to find this… kink in his origin, and then find out how or even if, he could fix it.
—————————
Several sounds caught the Archer’s attention.
Through a nearby open lab door came the sound of voices and, occasionally, harnessed lightning. Moriarty approached, looking to see who was inside.
Tesla and Babbage were at the central workstation, which was piled with notes, baubles and a couple of Tesla coils. Moriarty let his spirits lift.
Perhaps these intelligent men could help find the source of the problem.
The archer knocked on the doorway as he entered the room.
“Good afternoon, gentleman. I hope I am not interrupting anything too important. I might have an intriguing problem for you.”
“Experiment first, talk after.” the colossal Babbage hissed, steam billowing from his power armor, joints faintly whirring as he shifted his weight to observe the experiment from different angles.
“Indeed. If you could, please, wait,” Tesla agreed distractedly.
Moriarty stood at the edge of the room, allowing the activity to give a momentary distraction. They didn’t know the gravity of the “intriguing problem”, there was no harm in waiting just a little for the availability of their minds.
Tesla was scribbling down some notes and equations and muttering to himself, while Babbage noted changes or additions every now and then. The two worked well together.
“… if we agree on this junction, then all we need to do is put it into practice with the first test machine,” Tesla finished, looking up at his mechanical partner. “Is that what you sent for?”
“Partially. Allow me to create the first prototype, to test this hypothesis.” Babbage headed towards the large clear space in the lab.
“Here is an unspoken dream.
My fantasy, my ideal, my dream!
DIMENSION OF STEAM!”
The towering Babbage bellowed the incantation which allowed him access to his reality marble, the power in his words potent in magical energy.
Steam billowed forth from various places in the large steel segments of the armor, shrouding the large space in a thick fog-like steam.
After a small wait, Babbage went back to his spot besides Tesla. The steam quickly dissipated, having lost its source, and a similar-in-design-to-Babbage yet smaller in stature automaton was quickly revealed.
“FEAR NOT FOR I HAVE RETURNED WITH THE DESIRED ITEMS.”
Moriarty jumped and turned to the doorway to see the last thing he had ever expected. Lion-headed Edison was carrying a large box overflowing with metal, tubes and wiring.
The Archer of Shinjuku blanched. He would not, could not, confide in Edison.
“Ah yes, thank you, Edison. Please place that over there. We were about to start the first test,” Tesla said.
“Oh, and Moriarty over there has an ‘intriguing problem’ for us once we are done.”
“SPLENDID,” Edison roared, making his way across the lab. “I DO SO LOVE INTRIGUING PUZZLES PROFFERED BY A FELLOW GENIUS HAHA!”
Moriarty coughed, “Actually, my good sirs, I’m afraid it must wait. I have just remembered something urgent.”
“WHAT ABOUT THE INTRIGUING PUZZLE, MY GOOD SIR,” came Edison’s booming voice followed by a discontent roar.
“Oh! Do stop with that! Do you want Helena to hear you,” Babbage scolded. A sad grumbling reply came from the lion headed American, but Moriarty had gone too far to hear the response from the moron.
Scowling, the Archer of Shinjuku continued down the hall. If Tesla and Babbage were wrapped up with Edison, they weren’t available. As such, there was really only one person left that could help. He found the correct door quickly, and knocked before he could convince himself this was a terrible idea. The wretched door opened, and revealed Sherlock Holmes.
“Holmes,” Moriarty sneered.
“James,” Holmes replied cautiously. “Need I remind you that you knocked on my door?”
James Moriarty took a deep breath and said with all sincerity a whisper could hold, “I need your help. May I come in?”
Holmes looked surprised, but all his gentlemanly upbringing commanded he step aside to allow entrance.
Moriarty quickly entered the room and took a moment to give it a visual scan. Holmes cleared his throat, causing Moriarty to turn towards him. Sherlock waited a beat.
“Well, James? Your tone suggested that you needed my help with something quite important. I assume you didn’t just want to inspect my lodgings,” the detective inquired. Moriarty renewed his scowl and then reminded himself that he had no one else qualified to turn to. With a humbling sigh, he explained the situation.
———-
Holmes simply blinked, causing Moriarty’s blood pressure to rise.
“I see,” was all the detective offered.
“You see, do you?” Moriarty had bared a deeply personal problem to his nemesis, and all he got in return was ‘I see’?
“Yes, I see,” Holmes replied, noting how his rival’s posture stiffened further.
“May I assume you only told me this because you think no other could possibly see the problem and fix it?”
The Archer ground his teeth. “Must I say it?”
Holmes looked at him steadily. “Yes.”
Moriarty leaned over and gripped a desk, neatly organized with various items. “I need your help in inspecting and repairing my spirit origin, Sherlock.”
After a moment of quiet, Holmes shrugged, “I’ll let you go without a please. Let’s get to work.”
———-
The door to Holmes’ room opened. Moriarty took a couple steps into the hallway before turning on his heel to face his foe.
“Holmes. I trust you will keep to your own counsel on what has transpired between us,” came the stiff gentlemanly address from the grey haired man.
Holmes gave a knowing smile before bowing his head.
“A truce between long acquaintances.” Moriarty searched Sherlock’s face for anything more than simple amusement.
Finally, he turned and quickly walked away with an unblemished spirit origin.