Artz: Hey everyone! Welcome to The Lost Angel. this story is written by two people. One being myself and...
Anna: And the other being me!
Artz: I am more than capable of taking care of the introduction, Anna.
Anna: I know, but I thought it would be more fun if I was here too.
Artz: *sighs* Very well. the original idea for this story was yours anyways.
Anna: Hey! You deserve tons of credit it too! This story would have been completely horrible without you! This story wouldn't have even made it to the third chapter without you!
Artz: Okay, okay, sheesh. I get it.
Anna: No, you don't! You're a genius, the Queen of Jiggery Pokery! I will not believe otherwise!
Artz: Anna, can we please get to the chapter before you go all fan girl on me?
Anna: All hail the Queen of Jiggery Pokery! *bows repeatedly*
Artz: This is gonna take a while, so go read the chapter please.
Disclaimer: Neither I or Anna own Doctor Who or anything else we make references to.
Anna: Though we wish we did.
Chapter One: Elisabeth
Screaming, fire, a bright flash of light, cries for help, and pain, so much pain.
'The moment, the moment has arrived!'
'You're nothing but a freak!'
The scream continued for the longest time. Suddenly, it stopped and someone was standing in front of her, a hand held out in a kind manner.
"Are you alright?" The voice asked gently.
A loud obnoxious, electronic beeping noise awoke Elisabeth up with a loud gasp. She looked over to see it was just her stupid alarm clock, telling her that it was beyond time to get up and start the day. She groaned in annoyance, flopping back onto her pillows and pouting at the ceiling.
'These nightmares are getting worse,' Elisabeth thought.
They happened so often and with such intensity that it felt like she hadn't even gone to bed at all. They drained her that much and it made getting up an incredibly difficult task to accomplish. Elisabeth untangled herself from her blanket, nearly tripping on said blanket. She managed to catch herself, though she wasn't entirely sure how. With a grumpy huff of air, she dragged herself towards the bathroom to take a shower.
Twenty minutes later, she was toweling off her long, dark wet hair in front of her. She combed her fingers through the damp locks to tame it into a neat side split, to cover the left side of her face. She applied a fair amount of cover up to her skin just in case.
Elisabeth glanced at the hair dryer and then at the clock, sighing at the bright red lights that proudly declared it was seven thirty. Resigning herself to going to work with damp, wavy messy hair, she padded over to her small dresser.
The dark haired woman pulled open the small drawer and grabbed a dark blue blouse. She pulled out a black skirt and threw the rest of her outfit together quickly. She put on her black flats before grabbing her mobile and bag. She then strode from the room with her shoulders back, ready for the coming day.
She had to at least appear professional, or at least presentable. In reality, it wasn't like anyone really cared how she looked or how she presented herself. She would always be treated the same way, but it always made her feel better about herself that she actually was dressed for her job rather than showing up looking like a homeless junkie that was dragged off the streets.
She let out an undignified squeak, realizing that if she didn't hurry, she would be late. She rushed out the door, locking it behind her, and she was quite eager to keep her reputation as a punctual, reliable employee intact. She couldn't afford to lose her job, so she wasn't going to give her superiors any reason to fire her. She would just keep her head down and pass as unnoticed as possible.
The combined expenses of college classes and the usual costs of living were too much to handle without taking a gap year, and she needed to save up as much money as possible so she could continue with her education - her passion, considering she was barely finished and had a ton of fees she had to pay. Elisabeth thought herself lucky to have gotten this rather well paying job, after having no experience or records. She couldn't allow herself to lose her job until she'd saved up enough money to pay off all of her bills.
She finally arrived at her work place and nearly bumped into a ginger haired woman wearing sunglasses. Elisabeth apologized quickly and the ginger waved her off with a smile, saying that it was her fault and that the dark haired woman should hurry so she wouldn't be late. Elisabeth raced away, not seeing the ginger lower her sunglasses slightly to reveal sapphire blue eyes that held an ancient wisdom and an impossible knowledge. The mysterious stranger smirked before leaving the store and walking past a dark blue police box.
The normally shy, young woman spent the next nine hours unpacking the newest shipment of clothes, shoes and accessories and undertook the monumental and taxing task of getting them to their proper departments and in the proper displays. It was very tiring work, but also very gratifying at the same time. She felt like she accomplished a lot today.
Pulling out her clipboard and her phone to check the time, Elisabeth went over her to-do list. There was only two minutes left until everyone was sent home, and she still had to get the new inventory of electrical equipment to Wilson. Sighing heavily, she set upon the task immediately and walked back to her desk to print a copy of the list before setting off.
Why Wilson wouldn't just accept an email attachment, she would never truly understand but he was old fashioned and a little set into his ways, but she didn't mind all that much. Wilson was one of the only friends she had or that even cared she was around. The chief electrician would say how just having her stop by made his day a little better. For a middle aged bloke, he certainly did know how to charm a woman, but Elisabeth always managed to get the better of the man, reminding him of the wife and kids he had at home. He would just chuckle like the good natured man he was.
"Wilson? Wilson, it's Elisabeth, I have the inventory. Wilson!" She called, knocking on the man's workshop door.
She peered down the dark hallway, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't be murdered that night. God, she needed to stop watching horror movies the night before going into work. That wasn't asking for trouble, that was demanding it.
Elizabeth readjusted her small purse that was strapped across her chest and gripped her clipboard in anxiety. She was rather uneasy at this unnatural silence. Normally, there was some kind of machinery going or the hum of the lights, but it was eerily quiet. Why wasn't Wilson answering her? She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and she was more inclined to listen to her instincts than to simple logic.
Hearing a clatter further down the corridor, the young woman treaded into the darkness. She found a door and entered a storage area full of boxed clothes and mannequins. Those mannequins always gave her the creeps for some odd reason. It almost felt like they were watching her. That knot her stomach became tighter as she went deeper into the room.
"Wilson, are you in here?" Elisabeth pressed her ear against an employees-only door, hoping to hear the electrician confirming that he was, indeed, there.
She had left the double doors leading into the storage space open in case it locked automatically, but now they suddenly slammed shut. Alarmed, she rushed towards them. The doors wouldn't open no matter how hard she pulled and tugged. The endeavor merely left her with red hands, a slightly warped door handle, and no way out. She gave up on the door and turned back around, trying to ignore how the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up on end.
She walked further into the area to try to find another exit. Hearing the sound of squeaking plastic, Elisabeth stopped and tilted her head slightly to the left. When she saw movement from the corner of her eye she whirled around to fully face the potential axe-murderer, her heart beating at the speed of a hummingbird's wings.
It wasn't a psychopath wielding a bloody knife…thank god. Rather, one of the plastic dummies was advancing on her slowly. It seemed much more threatening with its artificial features and pleasant expression. The dark haired woman felt her mouth go dryer than the Sahara desert. Something about this wasn't right and every instinct she had was telling her to run.
"If this is a prank, it's not very funny," Elisabeth informed the approaching plastic figures.
She brandished her clipboard like a weapon at the closest dummy, scowling furiously at the plastic monstrosity that had frightened her. The dummies began to crowd around her on all sides and the young woman found herself increasingly more panicked.
"Whose idea was this? Is it Derek's? Derek, is this you?" She demanded wanting very much for the joke to be over.
Derek was the workplace prankster and he held a bit of grudge against her. She had rejected him repeatedly. In fact, she had just turned him down two days ago which made for the sixteenth time she had done so since she had started working at the shop. Not that it had stopped him from making a pass at her nearly every day and he made it a point to mess with her at random moments just to annoy her.
Elisabeth tripped over a set of boxes, but managed to get back to her feet quickly. She moved away to her left and found herself plastered against a wall, her head pressed hard against a pipe as she desperately searched for an escape path.
The only mannequin trying to outright hurt her was the one directly in her eyesight, so she inched to her left, where she could feel a draft. Hopefully, that meant there was an open doorway or window and not a malfunctioning fan. Just as the dummy raised its arm to attack, Elisabeth found a large, warm hand fitting perfectly into her own. The world seemed to slow as she turned her head and drowned in steel blue eyes that made her heart fly.
"Run." He ordered pulling her from the room.
The world sped back up and her attacker struck the pipe behind her that she had been standing against only a moment before.
Elisabeth and the mystery man deftly avoided the clear strips of plastic that briefly waylaid the dummies and sped down the dark hall and into a service lift. Staring anxiously at the approaching plastic men, the two pressed themselves against the back of the lift as they waited for the doors to close.
One of the dummies managed to get its arm into the lift before it closed off completely. The stranger grappled with the arm, until Elisabeth smacked the edge of her clipboard against the dummy's shoulder violently. It finally came off with a pop, much to her surprise. She gaped at the item in the stranger's hands.
"We pulled his arm off!" She exclaimed her mind trying to rationalize what was happening.
"Yep. Plastic." He offered the arm to her with a grin.
"Okay, so I guess it's not students then." She surmised her mind sorting through each fact quickly.
"What? Why not?" The mystery man asked clearly surprised by how calm she appeared to be.
She took the arm and examined it, allowing most of the adrenaline to drain away from her body. She could try to think logically now that she wasn't scared out of her wits.
"At first, I thought it must be students, to get that many people dressed up and being silly, but the arm detached much too cleanly... and it's solid plastic all the way through. Then I would have said, 'remote control', but as far as I know, remote control can't move around solid plastic limbs, especially not without a framework, which there clearly isn't. Besides, that wouldn't account for the elbow, which was fluid earlier but apparently has no joint. The only remaining explanation that I can think of is highly improbable; shop windows dummies are not sentient or alive like in Toy Story."
Elisabeth looked up, wondering why he was being so quiet. The man had been staring blankly at her since she said 'I thought'. Most people tended to phase out when she spoke her thought processes aloud or not listen to her at all, but within a fraction of a second, his face split into a wide, delighted grin that made her feel tingly all over.
'Stop it,' She mentally scolded; trying to keep her normally tractable hormones in check, 'He probably smiles this way at everyone. You aren't special.'
She was horribly unsuccessful and completely wrong.
"Impressive! Not just your typical stupid ape then. You're actually quite clever. Good for you." He praised seeming very genuine.
Elisabeth crinkled her nose at the possibly patronizing compliment which sounded more like an insult but she let it slide.
"So the dummies are sentient?" She questioned hesitantly and very skeptical.
"Nah, not exactly. Your remote controlled theory was closer. But you'd be surprised." He answered still grinning like a mad fool.
She paused for a moment, remembering the reason she had been in the basement in the first place.
"Wait, what about Wilson?" She asked internally berating herself for forgetting about the middle aged man.
"Who's Wilson?" The mystery man countered.
"Henrick's chief electrician." She answered simply.
"Wilson's dead," He told her gravely.
The lift doors slid open, but Elisabeth couldn't bring herself to move. The man stood still and watched her, his steel blue eyes calculating her response.
"That's- but," She started tears welling up in her eyes, "He was one of my only friends. Wilson didn't deserve to die. He had a wife and kids-"
Elisabeth grit her teeth against the tears that were threatening to spill.
"Whoever's controlling the dummies has to be stopped. You're gonna' stop them, right? That's why you're here? I want to help, but I'm probably just gonna get in your way." She winced at the Cockney accent leaking out from her distress.
The stranger looked into her eyes and nodded.
"I'll stop them. I promise." He stated sincerity and honesty in his voice.
His hand then shot out - impossibly fast - and caught the closing lift doors. He strode out and took a strange silver instrument out of his pocket and pointed it at the lift mechanisms, making them spark brightly as he disabled the lifts with a high-pitched warble.
Elisabeth decided she liked that curious noise. It seemed familiar, but also it was soothing, though she had no clue why. When the stranger started walking again, she took a deep breath and hurried to catch up.
"Who are you, then? Will you explain what's happening?" She requested.
The man glanced at her without turning his head.
"Those were living plastic creatures, though not sentient in the way you're thinking. They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would put you in a spot of trouble if I didn't have this." He waved a small beeping device - a bomb, probably - that he pulled out of his jacket, "So I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go and live your clever little life, and forget all about what happened tonight. Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do, you'll get them killed."
He motioned her through a metal door. Stepping through it, Elisabeth realized he'd led her outside, into a deserted alleyway. He waved at her and shut the door behind him, missing her wince. She was going to worry about him. She couldn't help it. She felt like she knew him somehow which should have been impossible but with her lack of memory, she couldn't rule anything out.
"If it means anything, I don't want you to die. Please don't get hurt." She told the door.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, the door opened again and the man peered out with another grin, just as wide as the other, but somehow more manic.
"I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?" He spoke hurriedly.
"E- Elisabeth." She stuttered out, a little surprised by his reappearance and just a tiny bit flustered.
"Nice to meet you, Elisabeth. Run for your life!" He replied with that same manic grin before disappearing inside once more.
She smiled at the door and turned to rush out of the alley. Elisabeth heard the doors slam shut as she stepped onto the sidewalk, rejoining the rest of civilization. She reached the other side of the street without incident, and turned to stare at her workplace.
Nothing happened for about a minute. Then the air pulsed with anticipation once, twice, three times...The Henrick's building suddenly roared with an inferno that blazed first on the roof before speeding downwards, furiously destroying the infrastructure one floor at a time. The flames licked hungrily out the windows but thankfully remained within the confines of the building and didn't spread to the adjacent buildings.
The people on the sidewalk screamed as glass rained down on them. Glad that Henrick's used tempered glass for all their windows, after watching the building burn for a few minutes, Elisabeth turned on her heel and briskly walked back home.
She didn't notice that the ginger haired woman she had bumped into that morning was leaning against the wall, just a few feet away from a mysterious blue police box. The mystery woman smiled knowingly before walking down the street.
The dark haired woman only remembered the arm still gripped tightly in her hand when she was already halfway there. Deciding that even if the plastic reanimated , it was far enough from her flat for her to be safe, she tossed the thing in a dumpster and went on her way, feeling silly when she zigzagged through different alleys, backtracked down a few streets and took a series of detours just in case.
Elisabeth shuffled into the sitting room and stared at the television as it proclaimed, "The whole of Central London has been closed off as police investigate the fire."
The image of the burning Henrick's building on television somehow made the events of that evening seem more real, as if she'd been trying to pass everything off as a dream before now. It wouldn't have been the first time she's had weird dreams of fire or death.
Elisabeth gave the newsreader her attention again.
"... fire then spread throughout the store. Fifteen fire crews are in attendance though it's thought there is very little chance of saving the infrastructure." The television blared.
Having turned in early the night before, Elisabeth easily woke to her alarm and turned it off. She made her way to the bathroom and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water soothe her tense and tired muscles.
She didn't have work now. What would she do today? Then the reality of what had occurred slammed into her full force. She had no way to make money now and she still had payments for her art class to make. Oh god she could lose the only place she called home if she didn't find another job and pronto.
She felt so useless, what would she do now? She had to pay her rent tomorrow, and it's not like her landlord would give her more time to pay. She was lucky he gave her time to get a job to pay him in the first place, now... Now she has no idea what do. There's no way anyone would hire her…she had no records, hell she didn't even know if Williams was her real last name or not.
Elisabeth stepped out of the shower smelling of vanilla and lavender. She dried herself quickly and sped through the rest of her morning routine, once again not bothering with the hairdryer. Today, she decided on a sweater dress, with black leggings and her favorite flats. It was wonderful, wearing the comfortable clothes she loved rather than the posh looking costumes she had to put on for work.
The dark haired woman was putting the finishing touches on her breakfast when she heard rattling from the front door. She finished cooking and placed the plate of buttered toast, eggs and sausages on the kitchen counter before heading off to the door.
She walked towards the front door hoping and praying that it was not someone trying to break in. Frowning in confusion, she bent down and peered through the small opening. Nothing was there, she opened the door to look around and found nobody there. Shrugging her shoulders and thinking nothing of it, she went back inside.
After she finished eating, she put up the dishes and went to go sit on the sofa taking her sketch book with her, thinking of more wonderful ideas for her next project. Maybe she could sell one to pay some of the rent. Her thoughts were interrupted when something came flying at her, causing her to scream loudly.
It was the mannequin arm! It was latched on to her throat and was trying to strangle her. It was going to kill her and there was nothing she could do to stop it! While she was struggling, it managed to slice her with one of the sharp edges on its fingers. She could taste the blood on her lips and her stomach churned.
She suddenly heard what appeared to be her front door, being kicked open with a loud bang. Her vision began to darken and she knew that she was running out of air. Then she heard a very familiar swirling noise right before the arm was taken away from her throat, causing her gasp and cough for air.
"Are you alright?" A male voice asked beside her.
Elisabeth had a flash to the dream she had before the shop had been blown up and she mentally shook her head. She turned to see the same man from last night kneeling next to her, the mannequin arm in his hand.
"You!" Elisabeth exclaimed rather happy, relieved and a tiny bit giddy.
"You!" The Doctor mirrored giving her a silly grin, "What are you doing here?"
"I, what am I doing here? I live here." She answered coughing a bit because her throat was sore.
"Well what would you want to do that for?" He asked almost cheekily.
"Because I no longer have a job since someone desired to blow it up." She snapped her hand going to her neck.
"Are you alright?" he asked again gently, seeing how she was holding her neck and caught sight of the small cut that was on her lip.
"Yeah, just peachy! Nothing I love better in the morning then nearly getting strangled to death by a damn plastic arm that decided to follow me home." She asked sarcastically.
The Doctor laughed but stopped abruptly when Elisabeth gave him a sharp look that equaled 'Shut up.'
"It's okay. I've stopped it, see the signal is gone." He said trying to reassure her while gesturing to the now inactive arm.
"Thank you." She whispered getting up slowly.
The room started to spin and she nearly fell and would have to, if the Doctor hadn't grabbed her arm at the last second. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her steady.
"You alright?" He asked believing that there was more serious damage.
"Yes, yes I'm fine." She answered her voice cracking and her throat hurting more than she was letting on.
Sighing, the Doctor decided that he had overstayed his welcome. He turned and rushed out. Elisabeth barely had time to catch herself from falling onto the couch without his support. He'd hoped to do the damn girl and her fantastic smelling hair a favor by leaving, but he noticed when a second pair of steps reached his ears. He glanced briefly behind him and discovered that the clever woman was following him. Why was she following him?
"Why are you following me?" He almost demanded but managed to tone it down.
"Well I can't just let you go swanning off, now can I?" She countered with a bit of sass.
He almost smiled. The last time someone had that much sass had been his two childhood friends.
"Yes you can. Here I am, swanning off. And this is you, letting me. See you." He replied cheekily and continuing to walk away.
"But that arm was moving autonomously. It tried to kill me!" She stated firmly.
"Ten out of ten for observation," he remarked sarcastically. "Bonus points for fancy words though."
He was finding it difficult to keep the grin off his face. He liked her. She reminded him a lot of…he shook his head slightly, ridding himself of that thought before it went too far.
"But... don't just walk away. Can't you at least tell me what's going on?" She asked again, sounding very close to pleading.
"No, I can't." He answered curtly, trying to push down the urge to simply give in to her request.
"You said if I told everyone what happened, I'd get people killed. So in exchange for not telling anyone, you can explain the situation to me. Quid pro quo." She bargained her eyes determined.
"Is that supposed to sound tough?" He questioned smiling slightly.
"... A bit. Is it working?" She asked a slight tinge of humor in her voice.
"No." He answered quickly, making a smile appear on her face.
"Who are you, exactly? What do you do?" She questioned curiously.
"Told you. I'm the Doctor." He replied like it was obvious.
"Yeah, but Doctor what? And I still don't know what you do." She persisted not letting go of this in the slightest.
"Just the Doctor. And you don't need to know." He answered trying to side step her questions.
"So, just... 'The Doctor'." She stated.
"Hello!" He replied cheekily and a wave of his hand.
"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" She countered sassing him.
"A bit. Is it working?" He asked but he already knew the answer.
"Not quite," She smirked, "So why do those plastic things keep popping up around me?"
"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around you," He commented rolling his eyes, "You were just an accident. It was after me, not you. Last night, in the shop, I was there, you blundered in, almost ruined the whole thing. This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on you is 'cos you've met me."
"So what you're saying is that the entire world revolves around you instead." She summarized.
"A bit, yeah." He replied smiling.
"You're full of it!" She responded smiling as well.
"A bit, yeah." He countered making the dark haired woman giggle.
"But all these strange occurrences, who else knows about it?" She questioned.
Blimey, she was a curious one.
"No one." He answered.
"What, you're on your own?" She asked her voice a little sad.
She looked up at him with large, sad eyes. Not pitying, exactly, but as if she wanted to apologize that he had to experience such a thing. As if she was sincerely sorry she wasn't there to prevent it somehow. He glared at her. Stupid, little ape didn't know anything about him. How could she possibly know what he was feeling…what he had lost? Who he had lost?
"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on." He snapped.
"Okay," Elisabeth said now determined to help the strange man that had breezed his way into her life, "Let's start from the beginning. The living plastic - how did you stop it?"
"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead." He answered becoming rather tired with their conversation.
"So that's the remote control you were talking about before, yeah?" She replied.
"Thought control, more like." He countered then noticed that she was not reacting like a normal human would, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, of course! I'm more than alright." She responded and he internally winced, "So, who's controlling it, then?"
"Long story." He stated remembering a friend who always said that she was alright, especially when she was far from alright.
The pain sliced through his entire being and he wanted nothing more than to just run, but the little human by his side turned him away from his rather depressing thoughts.
"Well what's this all for? I mean, living plastic, what's that about? Is it limited to shop window dummies or does it apply to all plastic things? Is someone trying to take over Britain? Or the world?" The dark haired woman questioned and once again, surprising the Doctor with how clever she was.
"Yes." He answered simply.
"Yes? 'Yes', what yes? Yes to what exactly?" She asked trying to understand.
"It controls all plastic. It wants to take over Britain. It wants the Earth. It wants to overthrow the human race and destroy you. Do you believe me?" He countered looking at her face to gauge her reaction.
"Yes." She answered without hesitation.
The Doctor stared at her a moment. Maybe she wasn't a stupid ape after all. He had met a lot of people in his life, but he had never met a human quite like her. She really did remind him of Angel.
"Which explains why you're still here." He replied softly, still trying to comprehend the dark hard woman walking beside him.
"Really, though, Doctor. Tell me, who are you?" She asked quietly, coming to a stop.
The Doctor stopped a few feet in front of her. He didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth." He started while taking her hand.
"The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go..." He continued his mind seemingly elsewhere.
The few seconds that passed seemed like an eternity. The Doctor returned to himself as his features hardened before releasing her hand.
"That's who I am. Now, forget me, Elisabeth .Please, just go home." He finished giving her a sharp but pleading look.
The Doctor walked away from her and towards a tall blue police box while Elisabeth watched him go. She wanted so badly to follow him, but the man was almost begging her to leave. Something inside her told her to run after him and never let him go, but instead she gave in to the plea that had been shining in his ancient eyes. She could handle a few hours of not badgering the poor guy, though she had no doubt that she would seem again.
Right in front of her eyes the blue box began fading in and out with a strange warping noise. Air rushed around her, swirling her hair and clothes as the box finally disappeared from sight. She didn't know why but she felt a pull like someone was calling her.
'That's strange.' She thought.
She turned around and walked back up to her flat, already missing the leather jacket wearing man. She was so deeply embroiled in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the mysterious woman watching her from afar. It was the red haired woman from before, her ancient sapphires holding a glint of amusement.
"So this was how they met and the idiot sent her away. That simply will not do." The ginger muttered under her breath.
The mysterious red head turned and left, running down the street and out of sight.
Elisabeth returned to her flat and made herself a cup of tea. Her throat was killing her and she was paying for all that talking she did earlier.
'Elisabeth,' A voice said making the dark haired woman jump slightly and nearly dropping her tea.
She looked around her flat as she set her tea down. She checked the other rooms and found no one. She frowned as she returned to the couch.
"I'm going mad." she mumbled to herself, "Maybe a walk will help clear my head."
She grabbed her purse and slid it over her shoulder. She walked out the door, making sure to lock the door so nobody could rob her again. She vaguely noted that the Doctor had not damaged the door when he had kicked it in earlier.
Elisabeth walked down the deserted street with her hands in her pockets. She wasn't quite sure how long she wandered about.
"Elisabeth." A voice whispered.
There it was again. She turned around to see nothing or no one was in sight. She noticed that the sky was beginning to darken and she didn't know how it had gotten so late.
"Maybe I should head home. Not exactly dressed for a night out on the town." She mumbled.
As she turned back around to head home, she came face to face with a mannequin which immediately gripped her by the throat. Her hands came up to try and remove the plastic hand that was cutting off her wind pipe.
"Where is the Doctor!?" It demanded.
She didn't answer, every instinct she had was screaming to protect the strange man that had saved her life twice. The plastic man tightened its grip and she bit back the urge to whimper at the pain.
"I don't know" She choked out, her nails digging into the plastic as she struggled to breathe.
"What is he doing here?" It demanded.
"I don't know!" Elisabeth repeated her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen.
"Where is the Doctor?" It demanded again, lifting her into the air by her neck and causing her to gasp, trying desperately to breathe.
She was fighting a losing battle as black spots entered her vision. She was going to die, alone in an alley. She tilted her head up slightly and watched as the first stars of the night began to appear. There was so much that she wanted to do in her life. She wanted to be a painter, to discover her true identity, to fall in love and have a family. She was going to die and her entire being screamed in protest. Her vision darkened completely and she realized that she wanted to see him again, that impossible man with the ancient and sad blue eyes.
'Doctor!' She mentally shouted in her mind.
"Oi! Mate, I'm right here," The Doctor's voice shouted and relief surged through her system like a flood.
The mannequin immediately released her and she crumpled to the ground. Elisabeth gasped for breath, her vision slowly returning. She felt tears well up in her eyes and she was eternally grateful that she hadn't been hit by a flurry of flashbacks.
"Ah. Gotcha." The plastic dummy stated almost happily.
The Doctor grabbed the mannequin in a head lock and started yanking. The head came off with a pop making the dark haired woman jump slightly in surprise. Seeing the girl on the ground, he grabbed her arm and led her towards a dark blue box that Elisabeth immediately recognized from before.
The headless plastic man clumsily chased after them, bumping into things and knocking stuff over. The Doctor noticed how quiet the woman was and she didn't even look remotely frightened which quite frankly was disturbing to him.
"Come on," The Doctor directed as he grabbed her hand and yanked her into the blue box, closing the door behind them.
"But isn't it gonna come in after us?" Elisabeth asked slightly anxious but not afraid as she tried to peer out through the window.
"The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried. Now, shut up a minute." He answered wiring up the head to the console.
Elisabeth turned around and finally took notice of where she was. The room was massive. Coral arches spanned from the grating floor to the ceiling at random intervals. The walls held hexagonal like indentations with circular lights in the centers. The central console which spanned from floor to ceiling looked half organic, half mechanical. The glass cylinder above the console glowed with a bluish green light and the whole place seemed to be humming. The humming itself sounded almost happy, practically joyous and Elisabeth had the strange feeling that she was being watched, even though the Doctor's back was to her.
"You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." The Doctor explained before turning around to face her, "Right. Where do you want to start?"
"This is a box. You don't just have a spaceship that can camouflage well," Elisabeth took a deep, calming breath. "Outside these doors... it doesn't just look smaller, it literally is smaller! Is this a different dimension?"
The Doctor stared at her a moment, surprise on his face, but he quickly recovered.
"You could have just said 'it's bigger on the inside'. That usually works for most people." He commented.
"It's alien." She stated.
"Yeah." He replied like it was obvious.
"Are you an alien?" She asked more curious than anything else.
"Yes. Is that alright?" He countered slightly apprehensive at how she might react to such information.
"It's brilliant!" She replied an almost excited smile on her face.
The Doctor grinned, his eyes showing his relief.
"It's called the Tardis, this thing. T-A-R-D-I-S. That's 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'." He explained nodding to the room around them.
Elisabeth grinned back at him, her eyes bright with giddiness. A movement behind the Doctor caught her attention and she turned to look at the console. Her eyes widened as her grin disappeared.
"Oh no, Doctor the head's melting! The signal!" She exclaimed pointing at the console.
"Melting?" He echoed.
The leather jacket wearing alien spun around and saw that the head was indeed melting and quickly too.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" He shouted as he sprinted around the console, hitting buttons, pumping a lever, and throwing a few switches.
"Can you still follow it?" Elisabeth asked.
"It's fading. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" He answered flipping a few more switches, "Almost there. Almost there…here we go!"
The TARDIS shook a bit then stilled. The blue eyed alien ran past the dark haired woman and out the door.
"Did we get there?" Elisabeth asked following him out, "Didn't feel like we were flying."
"That's 'cos we weren't. Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand." He rambled looking about.
"Try me." The dark haired woman challenged, her arms crossed on her chest.
He glanced back at her and actually considered explaining it to her. She was clever, so she might actually understand.
"Maybe...maybe later." He replied as he shook his head, "Anyway, I lost the signal, I got so close."
Elisabeth scowled at him. He sounded like a baby.
"You really are alien, even though you sound like you're from the north." She commented.
He rolled his eyes at the comment.
"Lots of planets have a north." He countered sarcastically.
He hadn't been this snippy since Artz…his thoughts trailed off as grief flooded his system. He was brought out of his morose thoughts by the, quite frankly, unusual little human.
"So what do the living plastic creatures want? They're being very War of the Worlds." She commented a slight smile on her face.
"That's exactly it. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect. Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein planets rotted, so Earth, dinner!" He replied making funny gestures with his hands and Elisabeth had to bite back a laugh at his antics.
"How do we stop it?" She asked still smiling.
The Doctor produced a test tube with a cork in it from apparently nowhere. If he wasn't an alien, the dark haired woman would have thought he was a magician.
"Anti-plastic." He stated confidently.
"Anti-plastic." She echoed an amused gleam in her eyes, "How original?"
He scowled at her and she just smiled innocently up at him.
"But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He asked wandering away from the blue box.
"What?" She asked wondering what he was talking about.
"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal." He explained pocketing the tube once more.
"What does it look like?" The dark haired woman questioned trying to be helpful.
"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London..." He started and she almost snorted at his casual tone, almost like he was talking about the weather.
Elisabeth stared at the looming landmark over his shoulder with a raised brow. Well that certainly fit the description.
"... A huge, circular metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial. Close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible." He continued missing the obvious but then noticed her odd expression, " What?"
The Doctor turned to look at what she was staring at on the south bank. Even after looking straight at the aforementioned object, the penny didn't drop.
"What? What is it?" He kept seeing Elisabeth's smirk every time he turned back to her. "What?"
She coughed and nodded at the structure behind him. After a final turn, the Doctor finally caught on to what she was looking at. The London Eye, the biggest wheel in the world, stood proudly on the south bank of the Thames.
"Oh." He breathed as realization dawned on his face which was soon followed by a rather manic grin, "Fantastic!"
The Doctor took off like a bat out of hell and Elisabeth raced after him. As they ran alongside the roadway, he took her hand and the dark haired woman grinned at the contact. They made it to the plaza that was directly in front of the London Eye.
"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables - " He rambled.
"The breast implants," Elisabeth joked making a silly grin appear on the Doctor's face.
"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath." The Doctor informed.
The dark haired woman looked around until she noticed the parapet. She ran over to it and looked over the edge. She smirked slightly when she quickly identified a large manhole entrance at the bottom of some steps.
"What about that?" She asked calling his attention to her.
He joined her and took a look at her discovery.
"Brilliant!" He praised taking her hand once more.
The pair ran down the steps and the Doctor opened up the hatch to reveal a rather gloomy red lighting. They climbed down the ladder. He pulled her with him into an adjoining room. It had multiple levels, a few staircases, but what drew their attention was the sloshing liquid down below.
"The Nestene Consciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature." The alien explained.
"Wait, you're not just going to walk up to it and kill it, are you?" She asked softly.
The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her, curious about her question.
"Why would you care? It's tried to kill you three times already?" He asked wanting to gauge her reaction and get a better read on her personality.
"Anyone and everything deserves a chance no matter what they've done, Doctor, " She answered looking him straight in the eye, completely serious.
He just smiled, his eyes twinkling slightly like he had just found an amazing treasure.
"Good because that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I'm giving it a chance." He replied an almost proud expression on his face.
She stared at him for a moment then it dawned on her…he was testing her. Why the hell was he testing her? What did he hope to learn from such a test? She was half tempted to slap him for making her think that the man who had saved her life three times was a simple murderer. It was almost cruel.
"Then before you go down there, hand me the anti-plastic," Elisabeth ordered firmly.
"Why?" He asked confused.
"Well, what if you get searched? They aren't going to believe your 'I come in peace' spiel if you have a weapon specifically tailored to kill them on your person!" She hissed looking at him like he was an idiot.
The Doctor stared at her at moment before succumbing to the woman's logic.
"Yes. Right. Good idea, here." He replied giving her the anti-plastic.
She rolled her eyes and surreptitiously hid the vial in her bra, making his ears turn pink. She giggled slightly at his reaction and he turned away from her. The Doctor walked down to a catwalk overlooking the seething vat, while Elisabeth hung back out of sight but still listening.
"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to Convention Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation," He boomed.
The orange-red liquid sloshed around and the leather jacket wearing alien asked for permission to approach. The liquid bubbled and sloshed again. The Doctor walked downwards until he stood at the edge of the roiling liquid.
"Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" He stated with a smirk.
Elisabeth snorted in amusement and managed to stifle the laughter trying to spill out of her mouth at such a horrible pun. A face formed in the vat of plastic and made a series of strange noises.
"Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights. I am talking!" the Doctor roared and the Nestene Consciousness quieted down, "This planet is just starting. These stupid - and sometimes clever - little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go." He stated almost pleading with it to listen to him.
"Doctor! Behind you!" Elisabeth yelled seeing the dummies walking up slowly behind him.
The pair of mannequins similar to the shop window dummies from the store grabbed the Doctor before he could turn to look. They searched him, just like Elisabeth thought they would, and they found nothing. Score one for the good guys.
"I'm not your enemy though. I swear, I'm not. I'm here to help." He swore as more angry noises came from the vat of plastic, "What do you mean?"
A door slid back to reveal the TARDIS. Elisabeth's heart sank as she realized that things had just gotten a lot worse for them and quite possibly the world. Score one for the bad guys. Who will win the planet?
"No. Oh, no. Honestly, no. Yes, that's my ship. That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" The Doctor shouted sounding truly heartbroken.
The plastic continued roaring at the Doctor, but Elisabeth couldn't understand anything.
"What's it doing?" She yelled panicking.
"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going to the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Elisabeth! Just go, run now!" He shouted back while struggling against his captors.
As the plastic in the vat kept roaring, Elisabeth scoffed.
"Not likely." She spat.
There was no way in hell that she was going to leave the Doctor behind. Elisabeth ran to the edge of the catwalk, avoiding one of the dummies that tried to grab her too, and poured the anti plastic into the vat and watched as the dummies holding the Doctor let him go. The Doctor stumbled and if not for Elisabeth grabbing his arm and pulling him back, he would have been a goner. Had he continued his previous course, he would have fallen into the vat below.
Elisabeth released the blue eyed alien and kicked the two dummies into the vat. The Doctor grabbed her hand and started pulling her away.
"Come on! We have to go," The Doctor yelled to Elisabeth as they both made their way to the TRADIS .
They reached the blue spaceship, running in and closing the door behind them. They took off and it was a very bumpy ride. Elisabeth was laughing and giggling the whole way as she held on to the railing. The Doctor couldn't help having a smile of his own, his eyes wild with excitement.
Finally, the TARDIS materialized on the embankment by a row of shuttered kiosks. The dark haired woman stumbled out laughing like mad while the Doctor walked out with a big grin on his face.
"A fat lot of good you were," She told him, still smiling.
"Nestene Consciousness? Easy." He replied as he snapped his fingers, trying to be sarcastic.
"You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me." She pointed out, smirking at him.
"Yes, I would. Thank you," The alien replied quietly, his eyes expressing his gratitude.
He coughed and then shook himself.
"Right then, I'll be off. Unless, er, I don't know, you could come with me. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge. What do you think? You could stay here or you could come with me and go anyplace, any planet, anywhere in the universe." He offered hope shining brightly in his eyes.
"Is it always this dangerous?" Elisabeth asked.
"Yes. Maybe. Do you want it to be?" He countered his hopeful expression beginning to falter.
Elisabeth's face reflected her inner turmoil.
"I- I- I can't. I can't just leave. I have to pay my rent in the morning and I have my studies." She answered even though her words didn't sound very convincing.
As soon as the words escaped from her lips, she wanted to take them all back. What was she doing? What the hell was she thinking? Was she really turning down a chance to travel the stars? Did she hit her head at some point?
"Okay." The Doctor replied his shoulders hunched forwards.
He shoved them back and turned around to walk off stiffly. The pain of rejection very present in his eyes and his being radiated loneliness. Oh, Elisabeth wanted to slap herself.
"See you around." He called dejectedly.
No, she wanted to scream at his back!
'No, I didn't mean it, no please, take me with you!' Her mind shouted internally but the words refused to leave her mouth.
He went inside and closed the door. The box of wonders dematerialized leaving the dark haired woman all alone. She felt like a piece of herself had just walked away. She missed the only chance she had to do something with her pathetic life.
What she didn't know was that the Tardis and a certain ginger haired woman had other ideas.
The mysterious red head watched the entire scene and she made a mental note to punch that idiot Timelord in the face. She reached out with her mind and connected to the Doctor's Tardis.
'You can't just let him leave, Sexy!' The ginger exclaimed.
'I know, but he is being rather stubborn.' The sentient time ship replied.
'Make him go back! Do whatever it takes! Just get him back!' The red head ordered.
'Very well, but you didn't need to shout, dear.' The Tardis replied.
'Sorry.' The ginger apologized, 'But someone has to look out for these idiots.'
The sentient time ship chuckled in amusement.
'Such a daunting task, isn't it, Artz?' The ship replied.
On board the Tardis, the Doctor was having some problems. Every lever, switch, and button he touched sparked wildly, forcing him to yank his hand back. The lights on the walls around him and the lights on the console were flashing angrily.
"What? What's wrong, old girl?" He asked trying to discover what was wrong with his ship, "What did I do now? Did I forget to clean or fix something again?"
The TARDIS sent images of Elisabeth to him over and over again, showing him what she was angry about.
"What? Do you like her?" He asked truly perplexed.
The TARDIS hummed happily and he finally understood.
"Doesn't matter." He muttered, "She said no."
The Tardis flashed her lights again.
"I never ask twice," he grumbled.
The TARDIS pitched to the side and he fell to the floor hard.
"She said no! I won't beg her to come with me." He stated his eyes flashing in anger.
The TARDIS hummed angrily before pitching him the other way. An image of the Paladin appeared in his mind.
"You are not going to guilt me into going back!" He shouted his voice filled with pain and sorrow.
The Paladin stood by the console as the fourth Doctor tweaked a few switches. The ends of his impossibly long scarf being held in her small hands, playing with the tassles.
"Have you ever asked someone to come with you twice?" She asked smiling at him.
"I never ask twice, Artz. You know that." He answered flipping another switch.
"You should you know. Humans have a tendency to change their minds and rather quickly too. Sometimes, they don't always think about what they are saying and then you're gone. Humans often regret the paths they do not take, always wondering what might have been." She replied softly.
He stood up and looked at the ginger haired Timelady. He reached up and brushed back the two streaks of silver that were at the front part of her hair, out of her face.
"Why are you telling me this, love?" He asked genuinely curious.
"Because one day, a human will not agree right away, but the moment you leave, they'll want you to return. They want to go with you, but you simply didn't push them enough. They are…hesitant, but they do really want to come with you." She answered smiling again, her sapphire eyes sparkling with mischief.
"You've seen this, yes?" He asked wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Yes." She answered her smile becoming wider.
"You gonna tell me who this mysterious human is?" He asked bringing her closer until they were almost touching.
"The one little ape that happens to be clever." She answered vaguely, grinning up at him.
The Doctor felt his breath leave him and everything seemed to quiet and still around him. Could Elisabeth be the one she was talking about? It was rare for his ship to take a liking to someone and she was clever.
"You like her that much?" He asked surprised, receiving a rather loud hum of agreement.
It usually took a long time for the Tardis to like someone but she really seemed to want that girl here. It took the Tardis weeks to warm up to an individual and give them a proper room. The Tardis was pretty much demanding him to go back, to take this girl with him and he wondered why.
The Doctor had to begrudgingly admit that Elisabeth reminded him of one of his childhood friends. Angel was clever and bright, so full of laughter and joy. Elisabeth was very much like her. She even had Angel's sassy nature and stubborn will. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the memories that flooded his mind.
He rubbed the ring on his finger, a gift from the Paladin. She had given one to each of them so long ago. He always carried this ring, no matter what regeneration he was. He never took it off. His Paladin and his Angel were gone, lost forever, and now there was a human girl that reminded him of Angel. He felt the tears well up in his eyes. Losing the Angel and the Paladin, it hurt more than he could ever possibly imagine. All other pain paled in comparison, be it physical, mental, or emotional pain.
He looked down at the ring, his eyes gliding over the engraving written in Old High Gallifreyan.
"Four stars to light the way, but what happens when three of the stars are gone?" He whispered.
The Tardis hummed sadly, feeling his pain and sorrow as if they were her own.
"What do I do, Artz? You always seemed to know exactly what to say or do. Tell me what to do now." He said softly, staring at the ring.
The Paladin stood next to the Tardis, watching the third Doctor talk to Elizabeth Shaw, a scientific consultant temporarily on loan from the university to work for UNIT.
"And that's really a spaceship?" Liz asked gesturing to the blue police box.
"It is, Liz." He answered smiling.
"You're forgetting something, Doctor." The Paladin spoke up.
"Oh? What am I forgetting, my dear Paladin?" He asked humoring his long time friend.
"The Tardis can also travel in time." The ginger answered a knowing look in her eyes.
The Doctor suddenly jumped up, a huge smile on his face.
"I can't believe I forgot! I didn't tell her that it traveled in time!" He shouted happily.
He looked down at his ring, his fingers brushing across the metal.
"Thank you, Artz." He whispered before dashing about the console and plotting a reverse course.
Elisabeth stood there for a few beats, not moving…not even breathing. What did she just do? She felt herself sinking into a depression as she turned around to walk all the way back to her flat.
Suddenly, she heard a wheezing noise that seemed to resonate with the empty vacuum of space, echoing out to the deepest recesses of reality. Air rushed into her lungs and it felt like she was flying. She turned around and watched as the Tardis rematerialized right in front of her. The door opened and the Doctor's head popped out.
"By the way, did I mention it also travels in time?" He asked smiling.
The girl, who looked as if she had died inside, instantly came back to life. Elisabeth ran to the TARDIS giggling like a mad woman and grabbed the Doctor's outstretched hand, never looking back.
Thus began the adventures of Elisabeth Williams, newest companion to the impossible mad man that was the Doctor.
The ginger haired woman breathed a sigh of relief after the Doctor returned for his companion. She wandered off down the street and towards a bright blue box. Standing on one side of the box was a man with a blue pin stripe suit. He had sticky uppey brown hair with a bit of silver in the front and he had chocolate brown eyes. He was tall, skinny, but surprisingly strong. There was another man standing on the other side of the blue box. He had short brown hair, a shade lighter than the other man. His hazel eyes were currently a forest green. He wore a light blue, button down shirt, and dark blue jeans.
"Everything go alright, love?" The one dressed in pin stripe asked.
"As well as to be expected." The red head answered walking towards them.
"Did something happen, love?" The green eyed man asked seeing her irritation.
"The idiot almost left her behind." The ginger answered.
"Where to next?" The pin stripe man asked trying to steer the conversation away from the subject that upset her.
"Fancy a trip to America, say 2012?" She suggested smirking slightly.
"Oh no. Do we have to?" The pin stripe man whined.
"What happened in America 2012?" The green eyed man asked looking between the pin stripe man and the ginger haired woman.
"Come on, we need to get ourselves into place for this one. Do up a background this time and oh, you will be my husband this time." She replied pointing at the pin stripe man before pointing at the other man, "And you will be a soldier."
The pin stripe man's face brightened considerably while the other man groaned.
"Molte bene. Shall we, love?" He replied grinning.
The trio walked into the blue box and it dematerialized. The words 'Bad Wolf' spray painted on the wall behind it as graffiti.
Artz: Voila! Chapter One: Elisabeth is over and done with!
Anna: Who was the red head and those two guys at the end?
Artz: Good question. I wonder if the readers will be able to work it out.
Anna: I don't know. It's kind of complicated.
Artz: But worth it.
Anna: *grins* Yeah, totally worth it.
Artz: Readers, please review. We love reviews and it will make us update faster.
Anna: Don't forget to leave your guesses for the mystery people.
Artz: Also leave comments and questions as well and we'll try to answer everyone.
Anna: I think that covers everything, right Artz?
Artz: Not quite. Be on the lookout for Chapter Two: End of the World! Stay Tuned!
Anna: Isn't that a song?
Artz: Indeed it is.
*Both authoresses bust out in song as they walk away*