The great detective Herlock Sholmes

"...We've strayed from the plan, but we still have to dislodge that connector. We'll keep moving forward, and climb onto the roof of the car right before the one the leader is in. Can you move silently?" Lupin asks.

"Of course I can. You made sure I learned how." I say.

"Good response."

"Let's go, Lupin." I set off running, but Lupin grabs my arm.

"Hold on! There's someone behind the seats. Hey! Come out, now!" Lupin shouts toward the last row of seats, and a figure rises from behind them.

"Ho! So you sense my presence... It would seem you're much more perceptive than what I'd heard."

I don't recognise the woman, but I've heard that voice before... "Are you... Did you bump into Lupin back at the station...?" I didn't get a good look at her before.

She is tall and slender and has dark shoulder-length hair, wearing a familiar deerstalker and Inverness cape. "Oh? You have a good memory, mister. That's right. I do apologise for bumping into you earlier."

"...You're not a member of Progenitor, are you? Who are you?" Lupin asks.

"My name is Herlock Sholmes. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Who knows if our meeting is through chance or necessity... When I saw you at the station, I noticed you were suspicious." Sholmes says. "And when I overheard your conversation, I was certainly surprised to learn that you were planning a bold **** plot."

"I see. So you were eavesdropping on us? Strange. I could have sworn that I was being extremely cautious." Lupin says.

"Hoho. You think too highly of yourself if you think that you're the only one with a talent for subterfuge." Sholmes says. "Wouldn't you say, Monsieur Lupin?"

"...So you know who I am, as well. Scary." Lupin says.

"Anyone with a health interest in criminology knows your name, Miss Lady Thief." The woman calling herself Sholmes looks at us as if she can see through everything.

"Herlock Sholmes? You mean Sherlock Holmes."

"How did you know?" Holmes asks.

"It was in a Lupin novel. Maurice Leblanc had to change your name because of copy write and..." I remember 'Sholmes' would not understand about my world. "You literally just moved the first letter of your first name to the beginning of your last. He's the most famous private detective in my world."

"A private detective? So you're just on ordinary civilian. Stay out of our way. We don't have time to deal with you!" Lupin says.

"I wouldn't be so sure. It's a detective's duty to stop a crime in progress if she sees one taking place, is it not? I'm terribly sorry... but you're under arrest." As she says this, she takes a fighting pose. It's nothing grandiose. She simply thrusts her left hand forward, but it makes her a completely different person. "I swear your treatment won't be rough if you surrender to me."

"Thanks for the warning, but sorry. We have our own situation to deal with, so why don't you take a little nap?" Lupin points her walking stick at the woman, and smoke spews from the tip.

In a matter of seconds, a cloud of white smoke has swallowed Holmes.

"Is that Victoria's anaesthetic..?" I ask.

Lupin grins in response.

Even a small whiff of this is enough to bring you to your knees.

If she breaths in too much at once-- "I don't think so." Holmes's hand reaches out from the cloud, and Lupin jumps back just in time. When the smoke clears, Holmes is standing there, looking as calm as ever.

"What?!" How?!..." I ask.

"Huh?! How are you still standing...?! That's a pretty potent ****!" Lupin says.

"I heard you tap the ground with that stick at the station. From the sound, knew it had some sort of trick to it." Holmes says. "At first, I thought you had a hidden blade in it, but then I thought it sounded hollow. I deduced it was most likely gas. On top of that, the 'great' Arsene Lupin is known as a lady thief. You wouldn't probably carry a lethal weapon. Thus, the gas was likely a smoke screen or a vaporous knockout gas. I've dabbed a bit in the pharmaceutical sciences as well. Knowing that, it's easy to find countermeasures to protect myself. I covered my mouth with a handkerchief soaked in a neutraliser I threw together and... Oh? You're gone."

"Thank you for your valuable opinion! It gave us time to get away!" Lupin and I were already running towards the car ahead of us.

"I see you have some great insight, finding opportunities in any situation. However..." Holmes says.

Lupin suddenly trips, and her mask falls to the ground. "Whoa! What's this?!"

"Lupin, there's a string around your feet!" I say.

The sparkling thin string extends all the way back to Holmes's hand. "You're too self-confident. That's why you didn't even realise that you'd fallen for such a rudimentary trap."

"You... When did you do this?!" Lupin asks.

"While you were fighting off the soldiers earlier. When you thought there were only guards on board, you'd already lost." Holmes begins to bring the string towards her, dragging Lupin cross the floor.

"Whoa! You... Do you think you're some sort of spider or something?" Lupin asks.

"Ahah, detectives need to develop some street magician level techniques in order to catch their targets these days." Holmes says.

"Lupin!" Without thinking, I grab the string with my bare hand.

"It's no use, my boy. You're no match for my strength." Holmes says.

"I'm stronger than I look." I say.

Lupin, who had been sliding across the floor this whole time, comes to a stop.

"Ho? That as unexpected. It seems there's more to you than meets the eye." Holmes says.

"It's none of your business." I glare at her.

"That's unfortunate. Either way, I advise you not to turn your back on me." Holmes says.

"Damn, this girl is a handful...!" Lupin starts whispering to me. "Caleb, you go back onto the roof and hold on against the wind. Nemo will come for you eventually. Don't worry about me."

"I can't do that. Van Helsing and Victoria are still fighting, and Holmes here is tough." I say. "If the leader's personal guards head this way for some reason, you'd be blocked in on both sides. I have to worry about you!"

"Haha... That's an accurate analysis of the situation." Lupin says.

"I'll break the connector on my own. Then we can pull the train car to the line." I say. "And that will cause the car to slow down, making it easier for Nemo to come pick up everyone. This way, we all have the best chance of making it out alive. You already understand that, don't you?"

"Can I trust you to get it done?" Lupin asks.

"Yes. You've taught me all the skills I need." I say.

"Do you think you're sharing secrets over there? I can hear everything." Holmes says. "I didn't think that the infamous Lupin would have an apprentice. He's quite a cute understudy."

"Hah! If you think he's only here for his looks, you're going to get hurt. But before you do... I'll show you some pain myself!" As Lupin says this, she throws a flash grenade towards Holmes.

I start to run, and don't stay to see what happens next. I'm worried about Lupin, but I need to take care of my own task.