Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who...
The musty smell of the pub was oddly comforting; no matter the country all older restaurants held the same smell. The small booth tucked into the corner of the homey establishment was comfortable enough, the food was good, and the atmosphere different then my norm. I looked over to the bar where my grandmother sat with a drink, I assumed a type of wine, chatting with an older women and man. I smiled slightly and reached towards my bag, searching for my phone to call my parents like I'd promised. Not feeling its plastic cover I searched again, emptying out the contents of my bag on the chipped wooden surface of the table. I mentally counted off the items; chap stick, comb, nail file, my wallet, my planner, a few guide maps of London, and my passport; but no phone.
"Crap…I must've left my phone in the room." I muttered under my breathe, before getting up to head to the bar.
"Grandma, I have to call mom and dad but I left my phone in the room. I'll run across the street and grab it, want me to get you anything?" If my American accent grated against the low murmurs of the native Londoners in the pub, my grandma's shrill tone cut like glass.
"Marissa, you can't go alone, your only 17! I'll come with you!" She tried to stand, but the alcohol obviously redistributed her sense of gravity. I chuckled and put my hand on her shoulder to stop her from following.
"It's fine, the hotels right around the corner. I'll be back in 10 minutes, promise." Turning on my heel I left the pub.
"Dad! What the hell's going on?!" The teen fell to the grated floor as the ship took another sharp turn, his messy brown hair obscuring his vision.
"Apparently we're being pulled through space!" There was a pause. "No, not space! We're being pulled into a parallel universe!" A man yelled from the other side of a large console as he tried to read the alien language rapidly popping up on the computer screen in front of him.
"Doctor, what's going on?! I was putting Donna to bed when it felt like we got on that roller coaster from Lacose 2!" A blond haired women then stumbled into the room, grasping at the wall for support.
"Rose, we're being pulled through a hole in the time vortex! Again! You know, the norm. Though mind you, not our original universe, but a parallel universe all the same!" Yelled the Doctor from in front of his computer screen. "Alexander, help me steady her!" he yelped to the teen still on the grated floor.
"A parallel universe?!" Barked Rose as she grabbed the small brunette child that had also just entered the room. Suddenly the TARDIS violently shook causing the whole family to fall to the ground, before all movement stopped. The occupants of the ship scraped themselves off the floor and gathered around the computer monitor, which now showed a dirty alley.
"Yes Rose. A parallel universe." The Doctor murmured. "Now, what pulled us through?" After a few rapid key strokes a set of symbols appeared on the screen. Alexander scanned through the symbols along with his father, before they slowly turned to look at each other.
"Dad…Kilidro's?"
"It seems that way…"
"Kilidro's sent out a psychic call for help so strong it reached our universe?" He cocked an eye-brow in thought before slowly smiling.
"Only if there's already a tear in the barrier between the universes…" The Doctor trailed off, also smiling.
"And the Kilidro's in question is a mother looking for her child. Females are notorious for their power when their child is threatened! But… a tear is really rare. Super rare." The teen seemed to be containing his excitement as looked back at the screen.
"Not entirely true my boy! Holes large enough to get through are rare; but tiny, miniscule holes appear all the time! All that's needed for a hole to appear is a major event altering a timeline! The mother Kildros's signal must have supplied the tear with enough energy to reach us, and our TARDIS did the rest. She must have been curious; brilliant girl!" A glowing Doctor remarked, looking ecstatic as he gently patted the console.
"So, basically, we've altered the time-line once again, and 'ave unknowingly been pulled through. Knew we shouldn't have gone on to that plane, overthrowing their dictator must have made the hole. And our TARDIS was a bit bored, so she decided to pop into a different universe." Rose gave him a pointed look, at which he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"What's the big deal? It's not like theres anything in the other universe tying us there… Torchwood will handle everything. We have nothing left there." His face fell, as did the faces of the rest of the group.
"So we're stuck in a different universe. And we've got to help some freaked out alien mom… why are we still in the TARDIS?" asked the little girl, breaking the sad silence, a smirk pasted on her face.
"That's my girl! Come along family! An adventure awaits!" As he bounced towards the door, sonic in hand; his family shared a look of amusement before following his lead.
The street was oddly quiet as I briskly walked down the block to my hotel, which made me uneasy. I'd only been here for a week, but in that time the streets were always bustling and noisy. I sped up, glancing down alleys as I walked past, feeling paranoid. But everything seemed normal, well except for the unsettling silence. I forced myself to relax, taking deep breaths to calm my furiously beating heart. I hugged my knee length trench coat closer to my body, fighting a chill.
'There's nothing wrong' I chanted in my head as I steadily made my way down the street, my eyes still darting about despite attempts to calm myself. Just old pubs and shops, creepy flickering street lights,…and an odd sound. It was familiar, almost a wheezing noise, in fact my cellphone made that same noise when I got a call. I felt my heart constrict, my cellphone certainly wasn't making that in my tracks I hesitantly looked around. A blue police box sat innocently in the middle of a dirty alley way to my right, squashed between a toy store and a chip shop.
"That… it has to be a coincidence. There's no way. This has to be a hoax, a tourist spot." I whispered, my eyes transfixed on the curious box. My gaze shifted from the blue box to my hotel, then back again. I headed cautiously towards the familiar box; stopping at the entrance of the alley. Then, the door slammed open, and out tumbled a disheveled, impossible family, two of whom were startlingly familiar.
"The Doctor. And Rose Tyler. In the TARDIS." I quietly murmured in shock, more to myself then the gathered group, but they all heard and turned towards me. They looked surprised, as though they hadn't expected me to know them.
"This is impossible. Your actors! That's it, I'm on a television set! And four people just got out of a cramped police box like it was a clown car. And you have a sonic screwdriver." I stumbled back as though the air had been knocked out of me. "But you can't be here, you're not real!" I half shouted, sure that I'd taken a dive off of the deep end. Or maybe there'd been something slipped in my soda at the pub.
"Hello! As you've said, I'm the Doctor! But you shouldn't know that. This universe isn't supposed to have a Doctor." The man that may or may not be the Doctor said with a curious smile, walking towards me. "Now, what's this business about me not being real?" I gave him a bland look, half suspicious and half hesitant. Maybe he was the one who was insane? Why else would he claim to be a fictional character? The certainty that he'd held while stating he was the Doctor un-nerved me.
"You're a television character. This is mad, and impossible, and I'm crazy. Or drugged. Maybe both." I said, now feeling oddly afraid, still contemplating the situation. But wasn't admitting that I was crazy a sign that I wasn't? That may be the crazy speaking though. The imaginary Doctor in question turned towards the group outside of the fake ship, looking excited.
"Did you hear that Rose? In this universe I'm on T.V.! Isn't that brilliant! Now, young miss, could you tell us where and when we are?" He turned back towards me, still smiling.
"London… 2013. You said this universe… you're from another universe, and you have Rose with you. That would make you… the meta-crisis? Of course, that is assuming I'm not as mad as a hatter and this is real." I quirked my brow, absorbing the information I'd recently gained. The Doctor (maybe?) looked astonished. Rose (presumably) gasped from where she stood with a teen who could be 19 and a young girl of maybe 7 years old. The Doctor and Rose…they looked just as I'd seen on T.V. Just like the actors. The Doctor was in pin-stripes and converse; and Rose was in jeans and a warm green sweater.
"And evidently this universe has kept the story true to the original... yes, I'm the meta-crisis. This is my family. Though you may already know that." He looked fascinated, but a ringing from Rose's wrist gained all our attention for the moment. She looked at the black device on her wrist before looking at the Doctor.
"Doctor, Kilidros coming in fast." She said, looking concerned. The Doctor nodded and was at her side in a moment, looking at the device. His face turned grim.
"There's 5 heading this way, they'll be here any minute. This won't be pretty..." As soon as the words left his mouth an roar echoed around the street.
I turned to my left, looking down the road searching for the source of the screech. It didn't take long to find the culprits. I'd never seen anything like them, they were almost blob like, though they had a vague human-esque shape and size. There were no features on their goo like surface except for a gaping mouth with no teeth or tongue. Three were neon green , and two deep purple, and they were all trudging our way. My hand flew to my mouth, I was to astonished to speak.
"Well, my timing was perfect, as always." Remarked the apparent Doctor, looking completely unconcerned with the globs.
"Perfect timing my arse…" muttered both Rose and the teen, looking annoyed and amused. I stumbled back until my back hit the brick wall of the alley, and I took in the scene before me. The Doctor and his family stood, all looking unperturbed while 5 creature headed our way. I looked at the TARDIS in all it's glory, standing tall and proud.
Maybe, just maybe, I wasn't crazy after all.
I took a deep breath, pushing the fear and confusion to the back of mind before redirecting my thoughts to the creatures.
"What are they?" I asked, looking expectantly at the family. They looked back surprised, seeming to forget I was there.
"Kildro. Their the reason we're here. Telepathic beings from Kandica, well I think it's Kandica. New universe and all that. Usually pacifistic, that is unless their child is threatened. Which brings us to our current dilemma." It was the teen boy that had answered. He was obviously the product of the Doctor, with a hint of Rose thrown into the mix. His hair was almost identical to his fathers, just as uncontrollable, though it was long enough to both hang and spike out from around his face. His eyes were all his mothers, a deep hazel, and despite the face shape being pure Doctor, it was fuller. He was as tall as his father, long and lanky, a runner. He was decked out in black dress pants, a long sleeved white colored shirt, and a black vest paired with a bright red tie.
"It's pretty dangerous, I'd say you should go but they already have a lock on your mental energy." The girl spoke from behind her mother. She too looked very Doctor-esque, but her mothers looks were more prevalent. Her long wavy golden brown hair hung to her waist, and her angular face peered from behind the bulk of it. She was dressed in a long night dress, obviously she had been asleep recently, but she appeared wide awake. He eyes were dark brown and incredibly deep, intelligent almost other worldly. Like the rest of her family.
"So, dangerous when their kids threatened…bit like my mom." I smiled slightly, imagining how my mom would act in this particular situation.
"So, what do we have to do? Get the child back?" I tried in vain to keep my voice steady, after all I still was in quite a state of shock. Maybe even a bit excited. But I'd always been good in a crisis, panicking did nothing but breed more panic. I squared my shoulders and looked at the family, waiting for their answer. After all, I was on a tight schedule. I had to call my parents and get back to the pub before my grandma got too tipsy, though I had a nagging feeling I may already be too late.