Disclaimer: I do not own anything. At all. And, the summary was beta read by the ever-insistent ProcrastinationPanda.

Chapter 1: Decisions:

Jim Moriarty paced around his flat, racking his brain for something new to entertain himself with. This…this was just too boring. He had already finished advising all of his current clients and no new, inexperienced criminals had called him today in the hopes of consulting the most dangerous man in all of London. Exactly what was he to do when all of life's dull normality disgusted him?

Moriarty sneered as he dejectedly threw himself on his armchair, drumming his fingers along the armchair as he scowled in silence. He felt so…useless, disgustingly average, and utterly disappointed. And, even his main distraction had failed to amuse him.

Sherlock.

The name itself was enough to provoke a crazed grin from Moriarty, interrupting his pouting.

He had already presented the detective with a relatively simple crime hoping he would have figured it out in a maximum of a day. Apparently, though, his sources promptly informed him that Sherlock had been called to investigate some matters of royal business and was thus swept away by his insufferable brother.

But, oh….Oh! He missed that gleeful feeling he experienced when he knew Sherlock Holmes would be excitedly surveying the crime scene, his emotionless countenance cracking as his excited interest would surface. Moriarty simply closed his eyes and smiled blissfully at the thought of it all.

Sighing, Moriarty straightened up and whipped out his mobile phone and began to call his last resort.

"Sir….What is it now?" a puzzled voice spoke from the other side.

"Ah, Jasper," Moriarty drawled. "Have any new clients of mine been mistakenly transferred to your line?"

"…Are you bored again, sir?" said Jasper, essentially Moriarty's…tech support.

"Yes, Jasper. Everything's too dull." Moriarty abruptly snapped.

A tired sigh passed through the line. "I'll have access to the bank's records you wanted in fifteen minutes, Moriarty, if that would help alleviate your…situation." Jasper lazily retorted back, unfazed by Moriarty's sudden, violent outburst. "In the meantime, why don't you just find a more…permanentdistraction…something like a puzzle that's impossible to solve, or – "

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Jasper. Puzzles are meant to be solved. Shouldn't you know this? You break the puzzles of computers for a living, for God's sake." Moriarty dismissively interrupted. "And, while that's theoretically intriguing, I doubt you could think of anything that could entertain mepermanently."

"—or even a pet. Imagine that…Jim Moriarty, criminal mastermind…cuddling with his pet rabbit…Ha…" Jasper rambled on, not even listening to his employer's remarks.

"Oh, shut up, Jasper…Aren't you supposed to be electronically breaking into that bank? I'll need it for my client in a few days…He's robbing his first bank soon. It's such an ordinary act, even for a criminal, but nonetheless – " Moriarty began to say.

"Moriarty, please. I'm sitting around just like you are this very second. Breaking through all these encryptions and firewalls takes time, you know." Jasper threw back.

Moriarty rolled his eyes. How did he even manage to find such a garrulous tech support? Surely there were more silently submissive ones out there…

"That's not the same. But…what? Wait…what did you say about having a pet?" Moriarty asked, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, you're listening to me now? A pet, Sir. You know. It lives with you…runs around doing whatever you want…something that protects you if it's a larger ani—" Jasper said.

"…That's it! A pet! Oh…Why didn't I think of this sooner? I knew there was some other reason I was keeping you around instead of killing you already!" Moriarty exclaimed.

"Well, thanks, sir. I'm glad to know that I am worth enough to you to not be killed." Jasper grumbled.

"And, even Sherlock has one! Sherlock himself! Haven't you seen that little man tottering around next to him? That's it! If Sherlock's pet…John…could attract the attention of Sherlock Holmes himself, then of course a pet is going to entertain me!" Moriarty excitedly rambled.

"A…human pet? But, that's not how pets work, sir." Jasper said.

"Of course that's how it works. Ordinary people have boring pets…like dogs and cats…But, me? I want a human pet. That should be fun…" Moriarty contentedly said.

OoOoOo

Sebastian Moran trudged along a grimy street, pulling his coat tighter to himself as harsh winds blustered against him. He had just finished the latest of his few jobs, and now, he needed a drink.

A particularly woman, a CEO of some sort with quite a sum of money, had caught her husband cheating. He never knew how she managed to contact him, but nonetheless, she asked him to…rid herself of her husband for some money. To Moran, killing someone out of raging jealousy was a bit…harsh. He knew many people who had been unfaithful, but their furious partners haven't killed them.

Humans could be quite unforgiving, couldn't they?

Nevertheless, money was money, and Sebastian, though he hated to admit it, really needed a bit of it. It had only been five months after he was forcibly sent back from the army, and he had been covertly trying to offer his…abilities to anyone who would be willing to pay.

To be honest, it was quite hard to publicly advertise your abilities to kill anyone, and Sebastian had a bit of trouble finding regular clients to support himself with.

Pushing open a battered door of a shady bar, The Scarlet Fox, Moran entered and walked towards the bartender. Inside, living up to its name, a few red lamps illuminated the dark bar, their crimson lights casting eerie shadows on the leering customers huddled over their drinks while the head of a stuffed fox hung over the front of the main bar.

"One beer, please." Sebastian curtly ordered.

The bartender simply nodded and went to fill up a glass before bringing it back to him. Sebastian muttered a quiet thanks and laid some money at the counter before walking towards a fireplace with his drink.

He sat down, took a sip, and stared at the fire as it crackled and popped among the wood.

"Long day?" a man suddenly said, interrupting the silence as he plopped down in a chair opposite of Sebastian.

Sebastian's eyes flickered towards him and back again to the dancing flames before he merely shrugged.

"Ah…not the conversing type. I see." The man grinned, wagging a finger at Sebastian.

Sebastian merely through him a cold look before returning to his drink.

"Ah…you're one of those criminals…The silent guard dogs? Or are you hired muscle running around for different masters?" the man pressed.

"Careful…Not everyone is a hardened criminal here…Sometimes we have a straggler in the wrong place…" Moran said, eyeing a smiling silver haired man who had just bought a particularly large glass of beer.

"Have you heard about the offer?" the man said, waving Sebastian's comment off as he leaning closer to him. Sebastian indifferently looked at him before shaking his head.

The man pulled out a folded paper from his pocket and smoothed it out.

"But, it's blank. Where's this offer?" Sebastian asked, tilting his head as he looked at the white paper devoid of any words or pictures.

"A few men have been circulating these papers around all of London's crime rings…They said that whoever can figure out what it says is worthy enough to be considered for a position for some major crime lord." The man said.

"Have you tried holding it up to a light? Dabbing a bit of water on it? Or anything at all?" Sebastian asked, taking the paper from the man and examining closer.

"That's just it…Everyone I've talked to have tried everything they know…The message just won't show up, and the paper has not responded to…to light or even water like you said." The man stated as he leaned back in his chair, taking another swig of his drink.

Sebastian looked at the flickering flames next to him and swiftly moved the paper up above it.

"What are you doing?" the man concernedly asked, shooting out of his seat, making a grab for the paper.

"Trying something new…You never tried heat, did you?" Sebastian nonchalantly said, moving the paper away from the man.

"Oh…you've figured it out… Good on you! No one's been able to do it…" the man said, peering at the paper as colors and lines began forming as the fire heated it up.

Sebastian said nothing but merely gazed at the previously blank picture.

The applied heat had revealed a hidden picture. A giant, black spider sat at the top of the page, lounging on a large web that weaved across the page. An hourglass as red as freshly spilled blood was drawn into the spider, and seemingly random lines tangled through the weaves in a seemingly random pattern. A red dot was casually placed in a corner, and in the middle of the page, red words splashed across the page.

Who wants to play with the spider?

-JM

"Moriarty?" the man incredulously said, widening his eyes at the advert. "Why would he want a new operative working for him? Ah, I forget…" the man continued as he looked at Sebastian's puzzled look. "You're relatively new to London crime nowadays, yeah?"

Sebastian merely nodded, still gazing upon the large spider and the bold, red hourglass.

"Moriarty…where to begin? Every self-respecting criminal knows him, and everyone knows he's dangerous…the most dangerous man in all of London. With one command, whole companies have toppled, people have disappeared, and many have died." The man whispered, leaning closer to Sebastian, who wrinkled his nose, as he smelled bitter alcohol off the other man's breath.

"I take it he's not to be trifled with. But, are you going to apply to this…whatever he wants?" Sebastian said, taking the brochure from the man.

"Me? Are you crazy? I don't want to die, for God's sakes!" the man exclaimed.

Sebastian shrugged. "I thought I might as well give it a go. There's no harm in trying." Sebastian stated, taking a sip of his drink.

"Trying? Oh my God there's so much harm in that. If you don't get the position, you'll most likely die." The man harshly whispered, his spit flying everywhere.

Sebastian thought about everything in his life at the moment. No one else had managed to track him down and give him a new assignment, so money was definitely going to be an issue in about a few months after the money he earned from today's hit dwindled….

…What else did he have to lose?

If he kept on living like this…well…he didn't know how much longer he could survive.

Sebastian leaned back in his seat in deep thought and stared at the spider. "So now…The only question is…Where can I find this Moriarty?" He calmly said to the flabbergasted man as he coolly downed his remaining alcohol.