Before I forget, allow me to go ahead and state the depressing fact that neither do I own Doctor Who or am I British.
The Rather Ravenous Garden
CHAPTER ONE
"This isn't Barcelona!" Jack says as he steps out of the TARDIS.
"Beggars can't be choosers Jack," The Doctor states as he follows Rose out of the ship, "You want to go back to the Tinocium Raiders? I bet they'd be welcoming, them and their blasters. You're the one who destroyed their statue of Rexocius the 5th. Great war hero of their world he was. Fought hundreds of battles then died of natural causes at a meager 1,012. His statue is fine for 5,000 years after that until some ape comes over and PUSHES on it!"
"It's not like I took dynamite to it… All I did was lean on it a little and it fell over."
"Thousands of years Jack! Didn't it seem a bit old and unstable?"
Jack turns to the Doctor as he locks up the TARDIS, "What? Like you?"
The Time Lord turns around to face Captain Harkness but doesn't reply, only gives him a harsh stare.
"What's this?"
The two look over to Rose who had wandered over to a dense patch of vegetation, that only thing that was visible through the fog. Miss Tyler was standing near a silver, column-shaped device that had a saucer shaped dome on its top. She moves her hands closer to the metal. The Doctor noticed that as she drew closer to the object it began to shimmer a dull red.
"Oi!" the Doctor shouts, looking over to his companion, "Don't touch that!"
"Why-?" Rose pauses mid-sentence, she backs away from the object as it begins a metallic hum.
The device that was set in the center of the old garden cast a strange reddish hue on the stone floor every couple of seconds. Glass-like vegetation that climbed up the sides of the walls reflected the light as an unusual, emotionless hum began to echo against the stones.
Miss Tyler backs away from the device with care; she lowers her hands and blinks hesitantly. Her back meets something solid and she freezes, barely daring herself to breathe. The worried expression vanishes from her face as her blue eyes meet a familiar pinstripe suit.
She hears a second pair of footsteps and looks over to Captain Harkness as he enters the red glow. He bends closer to a plant that appeared to be dead; the copper coloured leaves seem to reach out as he brushed against them. He turned back as something tugged at his coat; the weed had nipped the tail of the material.
Harkness yanks at the coat, trying to tear it away from the alien plant life. He watches a black button as it pops off the jacket and spin on the round, the seam begins to rip apart. Another jerk and the plants jaws seem to tighten, Jack stares at the metal teeth in sudden alarm.
"What is this thing?!" he yells, panicked at the sight of the copper teeth.
"Hungry," The Doctor mutters, the Time Lords eyes widen as the plant sinks its teeth deeper into the fabric.
Rose, however, is concerned, "Are you okay?"
Harkness looks over to her, smirking, "Will be in a second..."
"Give. It. Back!" he growls, nearly losing his footing as the vegetation fights back, "Now!"
The Doctor steps over to Captain Harkness, a look of doubt crossing his face. He didn't believe what he was seeing.
"Jack!" the Doctor barks in disapproval, "Let it go!"
Harkness doesn't loosen his hold on the material; instead he grips the threads more tightly.
"Jack!" the Time Lord warns.
"It's a high-quality coat!" Jack explains, pulling once more at the material, "The Queen gave it to me… in 1945… after the… second… World War!"
Jack tries to shake the plant off the sleeve, roughly twisting the material.
"Give it, now!"
The copper-colored plant refuses the order and jerks back quickly. Harkness hits the black dirt as the jacket surrenders one of its arms to the persistent weed. Jack picks himself up off the ground and walks away from the metal plant; he looks at the half sleeveless coat. The Captain steps past the Doctor and refuses to meet his gaze.
"It's not anymore," The Doctor states.
"What was that?" Harkness mutters, looking over the damage before throwing the ruined coat over his shoulder.
"No longer high quality- Oh, err… That was an Erbium Predaceous," The Doctor explains, "Carnivorous metal weed. Nasty little buggers from the Revactooix system although those can't last in our atmosphere. It's the oxygen. Kills them the second they come into contact with it, water will too. This one is immune though- must be some kind of subspecies…"
Harkness shakes his head, and takes a second look at the cloth. He recalls what the Time Lord had said before, "It was hungry too, apparently."
Rose steps over to the wall and watches as the metal vines retreat towards the base of the plant. The leaves rattle loudly as the last of the sleeve disappears into the metal, clamp-like mouth; the weed suddenly stops moving altogether. Blue eyes widen, Rose watches the plant and seem to disappear as it settles against the rust tinted wall.
Footsteps hit the stones and Rose turns to see the Doctor walking up to the odd centerpiece of the strange garden. He removes square tortoiseshell glasses from his pocket in one motion and puts them into place before his eyes. The object continues to hum and flash red, oblivious to his presence. The Time Lord steps up onto a raised platform in the heart of the alien garden and leans closer to inspect the centerpiece. Rose follows after him, curious.
"What is it?"
The Doctor looks up for a moment, "Harmless."
He turns to her and rests his hands on the machine; suddenly, the red light turns a startling shade of silver. The humming noise the column had been emitting ceased and a high-pitched burst of sound took its place. The Doctor winces at the unexpected noise. Jack falls to the ground, his head nearly hitting the red wall. Rose stays in place and covers her ears, but it doesn't do any good. Suddenly, the noise stops; the three regain their composure and the Doctor turns to scrutinize the 'harmless' machine.
"What was that?" Rose asks cautiously.
The Time Lord replies, without turning to her, "Mostly harmless… I think."
"But what did it just do?" Miss Tyler clarifies, "That awful noise… You think that someone could have heard it or something?"
"Possibly," The Doctor mutters, he puts a hand to his brainy specs and shifts them; he then leans closer to the column, "Maybe… Might be a beacon. 'S definitely activated by touch. Wonder what the purpose is though… There doesn't seem to be anyone out here. There could be something else it's supposed to do…"
Captain Harkness looks over to him from the ground uncertainly, and then turns back to the aggressive plants. He frowns at the red diamonds of light that had been redirected through the prism-like vines. It appeared as if there were words… He bent down closer to inspect the phantom text. It read:
BAD WOLF
Jack scowls at the two words. There they were yet again. It didn't matter where or when they traveled to: New New York, London, Mars, the Ninth Rim, Cardiff, Venus, Xenon 12, Edinburgh…those two words were always present. Or at least, they had been lately.
Captain Harkness was drawn out of his thoughts as the Doctor broke the silence.
"That's genius!" he shouts suddenly, turning back to Rose, "Brilliant really!"
She shifts and crosses her arms, "What is?"
"Something was supposed to hear it!" the Doctor shouts excitedly, "Something or someone set up this rig to alert them to visitors! Like us, that's why they placed this here- to alert them to our presence- works exactly like a doorbell. "
"Alert what?" Harkness asks, as he rises from the stone.
The Doctor turns quickly, he was staring out into the dark at something. The Time Lord's attention snaps to the left at a slight noise. Rose takes an uncertain step back and looks from the Doctor to whatever he was staring down.
"What is it?" she demands.
The Doctor doesn't answer, his gaze shifts to the right abruptly. His tense, hurried breaths are visible in the cold night air but he doesn't move.
"Tell me what it is!" Rose let out a scared shout; she looks over to Jack uncertainly.
Captain Harkness turns from the two as he hears a rustle of metal to his right. He stares out into the dark. His eyes widen as three thin, black legs charge by the light of the small garden. The metal weeds rustle again as another five are seen rushing past the Doctor. The Time Lord turns attentively as the strange form moves past.
"What was that?!" she moves towards the column, as far away from the dark as the garden would allow.
The Doctor moves away from the legs as he reaches down into his pockets. A small blue halo of light cut through the black. Jack watches as the light hits a third, then fourth pair of narrow, black legs. Captain Harkness takes a step forward, he watches as the Doctor searches the area for the creatures.
"What are they?" Jack demands.
The Doctor turns to the darkness and listens as the metal plants shift.
"I'm not entirely sure actually," the Time Lord replies.
xx
Not sure if it's going to be a full fledged 5+ chapter story but I can definitely say that a chapter two is needed. Not really much of a story so far but it's a work in progress. There's a note I forgot when I first started this fic... If you have arachnophobia, then this story isn't for you. Sorry.
If you see any errors, please tell me.
Amethyst