If someone had told me a couple years ago, I would be doing a Sherlock story for NaNoWriMo, I probably would have shrugged and said, “Yeah, I can see that. So long as I have a good idea.” If they had then said it would have a distinct focus on the Christian faith, I would have stared at them and gone, “What?”
But, here I am. Re-writing the Baskerville episode to accommodate for some changes that I made in a Sherlock/Kingdom Hearts crossover. Here’s a quick break down of what happened without any major spoilers. John Watson discovers that he was chosen to wield a keyblade, a magical, sword-like object meant to battle Darkness and evil. When the Heartless (basically Darkness in physical form) invaded London, John and Sherlock gain help from Riku and Mickey Mouse to protect the world from falling into Darkness. But, most important, just before the Heartless attacked, John became a born-again Christian. For those interested in knowing the full story, here’s the link to The Case of the Missing Heart.
Initially, I hadn’t been sure if I was going to continue with a sequel or not. It was fairly self-contained, but I did leave it open enough so that there was the possibility of writing more. Then, I started getting ideas for a sequel. Mostly in the form of songs that I heard and quickly fell in love with. Songs that struck me as golden opportunities with some fan tweaks to be applied to certain characters. Thus my plans for writing a sequel was underway.
Then, I hit a bump. Something a little bigger than a speedbump, but not large enough to be a concrete barrier. Considering the timeline I had figured based on the show, my initial story had ended just a fortnight before Irene Adler returned near the end of A Scandal in Belgravia, and my sequel was meant to start the day Moriarty was arrested in The Reichenbach Fall. This left The Hounds of Baskerville in the very center with way too many unanswered questioned. What happened between the Christian and self-proclaimed Atheist on the wilds of Dartmoor and within the bowels of Baskerville laboratories?
I realized then that before I tackled the proper sequel, I would have to pull a trick out of Square Enix’s collection and write a “spin-off” sequel. I suspect that any Kingdom Hearts fans will understand what I’m talking about. For those who aren’t familiar with the game series, basically the franchise only has three numbered games, while all the rest just have the logo attached to them with various subtitles. But in order to fully understand the storyline, you have to play all the games, not just the numbered titles, because each game adds another facet to the storyline, reveals hidden aspects of the past that strongly impact the characters in the present.
So, while I’m not diving into the past, I am covering some important plot points that will influence the next crossover story. Mostly, I am exploring just how does John grow in his Christian faith, and how does Sherlock react to this different John and what does he do to test John’s resolution to remain faithful. I am especially keeping an eye for fights or disagreements that could potentially change their dynamic, even for a short time. Possibly any steps Sherlock may take towards faith.
I may have an idea of what is going to happen. I already have plans that I am sticking to for the next crossover sequel. But I am going to allow John and Sherlock to tell me their story of what happened in Baskerville. I hope you will join me as I give you peeks at what is happening each weekend.
As of this posting, I have written 15,089 words, and the Baker Street Boys are getting ready to take the train to Exeter that will lead them on to Dartmoor. (Yes, I did some “quick” research during Prep-tober to see what their journey would look like.) I trust to be in Grimpen village next week if not within the walls of Baskerville. We shall see.
Until next time.
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