To Doctor Who fans:
This story can be read and understood (hopefully enjoyed!) without having read Naoki Urasawa's MONSTER, because, compared to the Doctor Who fandom, very few people actually know about MONSTER. If you plan on reading or are reading MONSTER, then I'd suggest possibly reading/finishing the series before chapter...three? of this fic, because then it gets to the really-hard-to-enjoy-the-suspense-while-knowing-these-things spoilers, but there are light spoilers (the kind of stuff you can still enjoy the main story knowing) in the first few chapters.
To MONSTER fans:
I have taken a few liberties with Naoki's original concept. The basic plot is still the same, but the inclusion of the Doctor and Rose do, obviously have an impact on the story. A basic knowledge of the Doctor Who universe (basic concept, gadgets such as psycic paper and sonic, the Doctor's implied psychic abilities and alien-ness, ect) is best, but not needed.
1995
"...Isn't it beautiful?" The Doctor smiled and looked out over the stone balcony at the lights of the town below Heidelberg Castle. The Doctor and Rose had been in Klon and Heidelberg milling around for the past few hours, and were stopping by the famous Castle to enjoy the view. It was late at night, and the crowd had thinned to just the Doctor, Rose, and two others. They were enjoying the view from atop a viewing platform made of stone, a few lone torches and a lamppost casting a flickering, harsh light that made it hard to see anything but the lights of the town below.
"Excuse me, sir. You aren't supposed to be here this late at night." The groundskeeper walked up to the Doctor and tapped his watch. "The castle closed at 8." His voice was monotone, empty.
"Oh, I thought it said 9. My mistake." The Doctor nodded sharply and grabbed Roses' hand. This man was obviously unbalanced, something about he way he was standing, his head tilted to the side, limbs slack as if in a trance. "Let's go Rose."
"The girl stays here." The man was shaking now, pointing a long finger at Rose. Rose vaguely noticed the woman, who had been checking her watch every five minutes, was staring at the scene the groundskeeper was causing. She looked as if she couldn't decide to leave or to interfere.
Rose began to speak, but the Doctor cut her off. "No, she's with me, she's coming with me."
The groundskeeper tilted his head, a confused look on his face. "Are you... Johann? You don't look like Johann."
The Doctors' lips twitched into a snarl for a split second, Rose barely caught it."Um... Sure, my name is Johann, and I'm here to take this girl with me, alright?" The Doctor took Roses' shoulders and guided her towards where the TARDIS was hidden. But sound of squealing brakes caught their attention and they and the groundskeeper froze.
"Johann?" The groundskeeper smiled, like a child about to receive a present. He smiled, an uneven smile that added to his eeriness.
The door to the car flung open and a man ran down the steps from the parking lot to the viewing pavilion. He was panting, his figure obscured by the headlights of the car behind him. "Anna!" He stepped forward, then recoiled as he saw the tall man standing next to her, in the shadows of the headlights. But he didn't need to see his face to know who it was..."Johann! Why are you doing this? She's your sister!"
"Um... I'd certainly hope not." The Doctor stepped into the headlights, the light revealing a tall and skinny man with brown hair-not blonde, thankfully, thought the man- and a brown suit. The Doctor turned to 'Anna'. "You're not my sister, are you?" He asked rhetorically. Rose smiled and shook her head.
There was a period of awkward silence between the Doctor and the man from the car, only for a few seconds. The headlights dimmed, conserving the car battery. Rose had to blink to let her eyes adjust, and even then, the lighting was horrible.
"No one else was supposed to show up! Damn it all!" The silence was broken as groundskeeper rushed forward, wielding a pair of hedge clippers and running towards the man from the car.
The other woman who had been watching them rushed forward, grabbing the groundskeeper by the arm and twisting it behind his back, forcing him to the ground. She spoke sharply to the man from the car. "Give me your tie!"
The man from the car did as he was told, and the woman tied the groundskeeper up. The man from the car leaned over the groundskeeper, his voice tense. "Who hired you? Was it Johann?"
"I was just supposed to watch her while he went off to 'take care of things'!"
They were at her house... "Oh god." The man from the car muttered under his breath.
"Are you my prince?" The woman who had subdued the groundskeeper asked the man from the car. "The one who kept sending me emails?"
The man from the car smiled warily. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't have time for this right now. Anna, I'm so glad you're safe!" He walked up to Rose, holding out his hands. He wore a crumpled and frayed blue suit and dress shoes, and had extremely unkempt long hair and stubble. He had obviously not showered in a month. Rose recoiled from him, and the Doctor moved in front to protect her.
"Sir, just...who exactly do you think this girl is?" The Doctor asked, confused. "Because, I can assure you, she's not."
The man from the car shook his head. "Like I said, there really is no time for this! Peoples' lives are in danger!" The man pleaded with the Doctor, and the Doctor nodded slowly and stepped aside, holding Rose by the shoulders. Might as well play along with the madman. At least this one didn't have a weapon..."Anna? Or, I guess you go by Nina now, don't you? My name is Doctor Tenma. Do you remember me?" Rose shook her head. "It's alright if you don't, you were too young, and you were also very traumatized. But you need to trust me. Your parents are in danger, we need to leave right now." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the car, but the woman stepped in front of them.
"I'm Nina. Nina Fortner. Who are you?"
-
Nina was twenty-ish, with large blue eyes and long blonde hair similar to Rose, but Nina had long bangs that nearly fell over her face if she moved her head a certain way. Rose could understand how they could have gotten mixed up in the dim lighting of the Castle.
"Nina! We need to go back to your house right away. Come on!" He opened the car door, and Nina sat down. Tenma got in, but before he could drive off, the Doctor poked his head in the window.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I love a good mystery. Mind if my friend and I tag along?" He wagged his fingers, smiling.
Tenma looked up at the brown-haired man, beginning to protest. But there was a kind look in his eyes. Something that strongly told Tenma, I can help you. I will help you. Tenma sighed, unlocking the car door. He didn't have time to argue with a madman trying to force his way into Tenma's situation. "Get in." He was such a pushover.
That was how this whole mess had started. An act of kindness.
Tenma pulled out of the parking lot, praying that he wasn't too late.
"So, who is this Johann exactly?" Rose prompted.
Tenma laughed quietly, his eyes sad. "You wouldn't believe me even if you saw him in person."
The Doctor spoke up now. "I'd love to try to believe you. I'd love to help you. You're a man with potential."
Tenma didn't understand why this strange man was so interested in helping him, but he would take whatever he could get. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the sadness and guilt that always accompanied those memories.
"Nine years ago, a young boy came into Eisner Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to his head..."
Where am I coming from about these two series being connected? Here is my logic:
-While the Doctor has a viewpoint of "Humans are special and amazing. All lives are sacred", just like Doctor Kenzo Tenma; a certain young killer (who's name, like the Doctors', is also unknown) has a viewpoint of "The only thing humans are equal in is death."
-Both the Doctor and Johann will willingly manipulate people simply to get what they want.
-Both Nina and Rose had a random person appear in their lives and take them away on a journey. This will (hopefully) be adressed in later chapters.
-How will the Doctor react to Tenma's change in beliefs about killing? Especially considering that the Doctor himself has been inconsistent about his "pacifism" before?