Author's Note:
Welcome to this celebratory one-shot involving my Doctor Who OC story & the Originals' OC story. This was written in honor of my first published story (of my Doctor Who's OC in this one-shot) reaching past 200 faves.
This precise one-shot has no need to go back and read either story as it's just a one time adventure.
For Minerva's readers this one-shot takes place before Minerva and the Doctor deal with the Silence in America.
For Maleny's readers it takes place after Klaus rescued Maleny from his father and also brought Elijah back home.
That's pretty much it, enjoy! :)
"DOCTOR!" Minerva Souza cried at the top of her lungs as she held on for dear life onto the control panel in front of her.
"I got it! I got it!" her husband, the Doctor, was clambering to stay on his feet across from her. He frantically tried getting the TARDIS back on track, but with their new, unwanted, visitor the box was refusing to stay calm. It jerked left and right trying to throw the intruder out.
A blast of wind shoved Minerva to the floor. "Doctor!" she opened her eyes in time to see a light blue blob rush above her. "Doctor, it's heading for the heart of the TARDIS!"
"What!?" the Doctor abruptly let go of the console to see the blue blob rushing down to the lower floor of the room, where the entire control mechanisms for their ship was. "Ah!" with the TARDIS flipping, he fell back to the floor much like Minerva did.
"Doctor! We have to do something!" Minerva lifted herself to see the sparks starting to fly from the staircase. "It's getting to the matrix!"
The Doctor raised his head and saw the same thing she did. "We, uh...we…" he actually had no idea what they should do next.
"Doctor!" Minerva pushed herself up in order to go downstairs. "You said that thing couldn't be in here or else-"
"Yeah, I know!" the Doctor exclaimed, forcing himself up as well.
"Then do something!" Minerva hysterically ordered him, shrieking as the console began shooting out sparks.
"Right!" but just as the Doctor moved for the staircase a bright golden hue shined from downstairs. "Oh, no…" he back pedaled, "Min-"
But an explosion went off and blasted the two inhabitants backwards, knocking them out cold.
~ 0 ~
"I seriously don't understand the concept of all these celebrations," Maleny Rowan remarked when she was joined on the park bench by Klaus Mikaelson, who handed her a plastic cup filled with a purple substance.
Klaus lightly scoffed at her misunderstanding. "What's not to get, Mal? There's a party, they use it to drink and get drunk. Seems pretty straight forward to me."
"But...but that can't be it," Maleny looked out to the humans who were indeed drinking to some festival the French Quarter was hosting.
"Believe me, it's it," Klaus assured, leaning against the bench.
With a resigned sigh, Maleny took a sip of her drink and hummed. "Oh, this is good. What is it?" Klaus looked at her a minute in silence, seeming like he was restraining himself not to laugh. Maleny, confused, frowned. "What?"
"You drink an unknown liquid and then ask questions?" he finally began to laugh out loud.
"Well," huffing, Maleny looked away, "I know you wouldn't try poisoning me. I was just curious. It tastes like berries…"
"It's a berry smoothie, Maleny," Klaus said. "You're telling me you never had them? Even when you were with the Collins in France?"
"I was a bit busy focusing on my physical therapies," Maleny weakly argued as she took another sip from her straw. However, almost afterwards she realized there was an odd feeling creeping up her spine. She looked around, turning herself sideways on the bench to get a look behind as well.
Klaus noticed the change in her mood and asked, "What is it?"
"I can't really explain, but…" Maleny paused, putting a hand over her stomach, "...I feel kinda sick."
"Why?" Klaus asked, trying not to look alarmed. But after she was kidnapped he didn't want to be as careless as he had been.
"I dunno…" Maleny mumbled, slowly rising from the bench, her drink discarded to the side. "Let's go, please?"
She didn't have to ask twice before Klaus agreed and moved her towards the street.
~ 0 ~
Minerva groaned as she lifted her head off the glass floor. Her long, ginger hair covered her face and thus the several cuts it now bore. "Doctor?" she called out, glancing around the smoke covered room. There was a bright light seeping in through the front doors - they were left a crack open.
Suspecting the Doctor had gone out already - assuming he thought she was out as well - she picked herself up and hurried out. Her eyes squinted the moment she stepped out, the sun shining far too bright. "Doctor?"
The TARDIS had materialized itself in a small gap between two buildings. She was fairly confused by the loud music coming from a distance. The last spot the box had stationed to was on the quiet - presumed to be uninhabited - planet of Rosetta. The Doctor promised her a nice date but ten minutes in they stumbled across a lonesome alien form - known as the Yekken - who was completely hostile against them from the first moment. Neither the Doctor nor Minerva could blame the alien for wanting to steal the TARDIS to leave the planet, but chasing them and trying to kill them was completely unacceptable. When the Doctor realized the alien could actually absorb the heart of the TARDIS, a dangerous energy source no one should ever have, they knew it was time to act. Unfortunately, it seemed like the alien had already beat them to it. Minerva dreaded to think where it had gone, as well as the Doctor.
Carefully, she left the TARDIS shut and made her way down the sidewalk. Thankfully, she saw the Doctor just at the corner, intently staring ahead to what looked like a distant park? Maybe plaza?
"Doctor," relieved, she rushed to go hug him, "Oh, I was worried! Though I will have to hit you for leaving me behind!"
The Doctor turned his head to the side, looking her over. "I...thought you were outside already."
"Yeah, I assumed the same for you," Minerva smiled. "Did you figure out where we are? It looks like modern day Earth…" but as she continued talking she noticed how stiff the Doctor was, and how observant he was. What really put her off was the way he observed her. Why would he need to do that if he knew exactly who she was?
"Minerva," he began then, turning to her completely, "we should leave this place and go back to, um...your home…"
Yup, definitely wrong.
"My home?" she repeated, taking a discreet step back, "Why? Why would we want to go home? We need to find the Yekken, remember? We can't allow that thing on Earth."
"Oh," the Doctor scoffed, apparently amused, "what could a little thing like that do to these people?"
"These people?" Minerva repeated the near condescending tone he had used to describe the humans. "Doctor, you said we couldn't let it near the Heart of the TARDIS and now that it has, you want to...go back to my home?"
"Just for a bit," the Doctor smiled softly, reaching to touch her face but she swatted it away and backtracked. "Minerva…" his voice took a sudden dark tone, his eyes eye briefly flashing gold.
Minerva gasped. "You know, my husband didn't tell me your abilities. I suppose one of them is shape shifting?" the evil curl of lips the Doctor did then pretty much confirmed Minerva he was not the Doctor. "O-oh boy…" Minerva swallowed hard as 'the Doctor' began to glow the same hue of the heart of the TARDIS.
Without warning, the Yekken shot out a beam of golden energy her way. Minerva yelped as she jumped to the side, just barely dodging it. "DOCTOR!" she cried again and made a dash down the street.
~ 0 ~
"No, I'm serious, Klaus," Maleny insisted, looking far more concerned than before, "Something's not right."
"I can tell you what that is," Klaus shook his head, beginning to list off with his fingers. "Mikael and Esther are still on the loose, we have no idea where Kol is, Finn is still running around in the Quarter and on top of all that we have to be out here while we wait for Elijah to wake up after what our mother did to him."
"Wha-hey," Maleny abruptly stopped, turning to him, looking offended, "I told you we could look after Elijah at the compound but you insisted on coming out here," she gestured to the street, "in the meantime."
"Because you said you wanted to come out here to listen to the music," Klaus sighed, rubbing his temple. "I can't very well leave you alone without fear of someone coming to take you again."
A secret smile spread across Maleny's lips. But she didn't get a chance to comment on it when she was shoved to the side, against a shop wall.
"Sorry!" cried the frantic Minerva who barely glanced back.
"Mal!" an alarmed Klaus went to her aid but was also pushed back when the Yekken (in the form of the Doctor) ran after Minerva. "Watch where you're bloody going!" the hybrid then shouted afterwards before focusing back on Maleny.
"Klaus, it's them," the blonde was pushing herself off the shop wall, her hand flying to her stomach. "They're the reason…"
"What? What are you saying?" Klaus put his hands on her arms, forcing her to focus.
Maleny took a deep breath and looked after the brunette man down the street. "The odd feeling? It's because of them. Don't ask me how I know that, just...just trust me. It's like a witch thing. They're not right."
"Could they be another of Esther's tricks?" Klaus suspiciously looked after the brunette, who was slowly disappearing.
Maleny swallowed hard. "H-him...there's something more wrong with him. She's in d-danger - go help her!"
"What?" now Klaus was both surprised and irritated. "I am not going to go after some strange woman-"
"Please!" Maleny urgently told him, looking so pale with worriment that Klaus sighed and resigned to do what she asked. "Go!" she shooed him, "I'll catch up!"
~ 0 ~
Minerva had, unfortunately, stumbled into an alley with the only possible exit being a metal fence leading into an apartment building. By the time she climbed over it the Yekken would have already gotten her. She stepped back and extended her hands forwards, intending on icing the primitive fence down. She doubted the humans had caught on with anti-Moontsay technology.
"Where do you think you're going?" the Yekken demanded, standing at the sidewalk. Minerva turned around, her hands in the process of icing up. "Your minds are more complicated to infiltrate so I can't access the skills needed to drive your time machine. With your husband out could - or dead - that only really leaves you to force."
Maleny growled and stepped forwards. "Where is my husband? And I suggest you answer me truthfully."
The Yekken darkly laughed. "Or what? You'll ice me to death?"
"You want to play with this Queen?" Minerva challenged, not about to sit around and let the alien taunt her or get away with its ridiculous plan. "Then let's play!"
She shot out icicles towards the alien, but it reverted back to its blue blob form and rushed up a wall. The icicles went straight into the building across, shattering its glass wall to pieces. Minerva winced at the mess and due to her distraction was shoved hard against the fence. Before she could open her eyes, the blue alien appeared in front of her. In the Doctor's form, he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her up against a building wall.
"I can play too," he sneered and thrust his hands towards her, shooting out another beam of golden energy. Minerva cried out in pain as the time vortex power struck her body. With a drastic high temperature, and the force, she was rendered powerless against it.
Thankfully, Klaus appeared and easily shoved the 'man' to the other wall. Minerva's body slumped to the ground, barely unconscious.
"This is None of your concern," the Yekken used the wall to bring himself back up, and sent a threatening glare towards Klaus, "So bugger off."
Klaus dismissed the threat as if it were just another careless one coming from any of his siblings. He was more curious of the special abilities the man seemed to possess. "What are you?" he demanded. "I would say you're part of Esther's tricks but…" he glanced over his shoulder, seeing Minerva still on the ground, "...I don't think she would go after a plain ole human."
The Yekken had a good laugh then. "Oh, oh you think she's a human? Tell me, are humans so gullible? If it looks remotely human then it's human?"
And it was now Klaus' turn to have himself a mocking laugh. "You're making the same mistake I did, then. I'm no human."
The Yekken arched an eyebrow, though with the Doctor's form there was barely anything to raise. In a matter of seconds, Klaus bared out his hybrid face, successfully startling the alien with his bright amber eyes.
"Earth isn't as boring as I once heard it was," the Yekken reverted to its original form, its voice now sounding as if it were overlapped with others, "Perhaps I might stay and take it for my own."
"What in the hell…?" Klaus was forced to revert back to his normal self as he took in the alien's new form.
"I hope with three I can do it," the Yekken then split itself into three exact copies.
"Klaus! Did you find her!?" Maleny came right around into the alley, promptly shrieking at the sight of the aliens.
"Maleny!" Klaus started for her but the alien turned out to be quicker and rushed for her, or at least it seemed like it.
Maleny found herself stumbling back into the sidewalk with the great force. The Yekken had pushed past her shoulder and nearly caused her to fall if Klaus hadn't reached her fast. "What was that thing?" she asked, appalled that she gripped his arms without realizing.
"I have...no idea," Klaus replied slowly, still staring after the alien cluelessly. He pulled Maleny closer to him, in case it returned.
However, Maleny caught site of the ginger woman on the ground and gasped. "Oh my God! Is she okay?" she left Klaus and ran towards Minerva. She was horrified to see the ginger so weakened and battered. "Klaus," she called, dropping to her knees beside Minerva, "come and heal her." The ginger's clothes had been ripped and tattered with the immense energy struck her way.
"Mal, get away from her," Klaus hurried for her, intending on taking Maleny away before the ginger woke up and decided to attack as well.
"What are you saying?" Meanwhile Maleny began pushing some of Minerva's hair from her face. "She needs help."
"She's not human!" Klaus exclaimed, ripping Maleny away from the ginger's side.
"I don't care if she's a wolf or a witch - she needs help," Maleny earnestly looked up at him. "She wasn't the attacker here. Won't you help her?"
Klaus looked between the two women, and everytime he got to Maleny's expectant look he couldn't avoid it. "Alright," he agreed but motioned her to stay back. As he bent down beside Minerva, he made the warning loud and clear, "But if she tries anything I won't hesitate to pull her heart out of her chest."
"Just do it, please," Maleny whispered, growing more concerned with the woman's condition.
Klaus bit into his wrist and allowed the drops of his blood to slip Minerva's lips. As the seconds ticked by, Maleny inched closer to them - she stayed behind Klaus just in case he turned out to be right.
"Why isn't she waking?" she asked meekly, for the ginger barely moved a finger - her eyes were still shut!
Klaus had taken notice of the crescent moon tattoos Minerva bore on each of her wrists, at first believing her to be part of a wolf pack until he recalled the Yekken's words.
"Klaus," Maleny's voice brought him back to the present. She was motioning to the ginger who was finally waking.
"Doc...doc...doctor…?" Minerva felt weak beyond belief, but as she regained consciousness the feeling faded. "Doctor…?" she swallowed hard, her mind calling out to her husband as well.
"You won't need a doctor anymore," Maleny softly said, attracting Minerva's amber-brown eyes in confusion. "You'll be fine in a couple of minutes, you'll see."
"Mind explaining who the hell you are?" came Klaus' straightforward question, and thus receiving a smack on the arm from Maleny for being rude.
"Don't be rude," came the worded scold from her. "She's barely waking up!"
"And she could, for all we know, be a killer like her little friend," Klaus snapped back.
Maleny rolled her eyes, briefly looking at Minerva and gasped when she saw something key for the defense. "Klaus, look," she pointed to Minerva's left hand, "she's married."
Klaus looked back as well, seeing the silver ring adorning Minerva's left ring finger. "Alright, so she has two friends…"
"Excuse you," came Minerva's languid scold as well, indignant of the insinuation. "My husband may turn into different men but that one was not him all…" but once her vision finally cleared up and she saw the man in front of her she gasped loudly.
"That's never a good sign," Klaus muttered, expecting some sort of attack next.
"You're...you're…" Minerva kept lifting a finger in his direction.
"Minerva!?" she heard the voice of the Doctor, however, which Doctor it was no one could tell. When the brunette floppy-haired man came into the alleyway, he found himself being put up against a blonde woman and dirty-blonde man. "Out of my way," the Doctor ordered, in no mood for silly fights when his wife was lying weakly on the ground.
"Doctor?" Minerva studied him, struggling to get on her feet. When Maleny saw that she rushed to assist. "Is that you?"
Klaus scoffed. "Yes, because asking will definitely get you the truth."
"Oh yeah," Minerva looked him over, "it's so you. But...how…?" she shook her head, focusing on the main problem. "No, focus on that later. Doctor?"
"Minerva," the Doctor stepped towards her but was quickly blocked off by Klaus. "Back off," the Doctor ordered again, his eyes narrowing, "that's my wife and she needs my help."
"A minute ago you were trying to kill her," Klaus snapped. "Now you say she's your wife?"
"What?" the Doctor frowned. "I would never hurt my wife! You're insane!"
"Doctor!" Minerva exclaimed, making both men stop and glance back at her. "The Yekken shape shifts, you idiot. He morphed into you and now I need to know who you are."
The Doctor rubbed his face, which did bare the same cuts Minerva had from the console explosion. "Alright, now I understand. You need proof of who I am - easy." He shrugged, completely at ease. "The Yekken doesn't absorb the deep memories we keep inside. It has to be an intimate question so go on and ask me anything, Clever Girl," he winked.
Minerva took a minute to consider the proper question, while simultaneously using Maleny to walk towards him. "Okay," she said after a moment, "Back on the Monsoon when we were younger and you told me all about Earth I said there was one specific place I wanted to see...what was it?"
The Doctor chuckled at the memory. "A porcelain doll shop. Your were fascinated with the material used to create the lively dolls."
Minerva was so relieved to know that her real husband stood there and left Maleny to go encase him in a hug. "Oh it is you my Martian!"
The Doctor hugged her back tightly. "I am so sorry for this. I woke up in the TARDIS and looked for you but you weren't there anymore. I heard you through the mind..."
"I thought you were outside," Minerva pulled away. "That awful thing took your form and tried killing me. It shot the time vortex at me. If it weren't for…" she glanced back, finally returning to the second problem they now faced.
"A 'thank you' wouldn't be bad," Klaus muttered, once again receiving a whack on the arm by Maleny.
"He means to say it was nothing," Maleny put on a smile for the two aliens.
But Klaus sent her an unamused look. "No, I meant what I said."
"Hush, no you didn't."
"Mal-"
"No!"
Minerva was slightly entertained with the dynamic of the two but the red alarm in her mind told her to focus on the bigger picture. She turned to face them completely, her eyes studying one figure and then the next, repeating the cycle several times. "Doctor, we have another problem," she declared.
"More?" the Doctor scoffed.
"I'm serious," Minerva motioned to Klaus, "because he is not real."
"Excuse me," Klaus scowled, but Minerva continued by motioning to Maleny next.
"And she's one of my grandmother's - not to mention Stacey's - favorite soap opera actresses."
"What?" Maleny crinkled her nose in confusion.
Minerva whirled around to the Doctor, begging for seriousness. "Remember my show? The one with the vampires?"
"Oh, you mean the one you used to watch when you were human?" the Doctor remembered something about that cruddy show Minerva used to spend so much time with Martha...instead of spending time with him.
"Yes, he-" Minerva once again pointed at Klaus, "-was in it."
"If you don't stop pointing at me I'll rip your finger off," he warned her, scaring her enough to hide her hands behind her back.
"Hey," the Doctor then scowled, gently bringing Minerva to his side.
"Doctor, I mean it," Minerva tugged on his sleeve. "Do you think it's possible the Yekken might have...brought us into a parallel universe? One where apparently vampires - including the almighty Klaus Mikaelson - exist?"
"She knows you," Maleny whispered to Klaus, both awed and confused. "How does she know that?"
"No, no, that's impossible," the Doctor began to pace in front of Minerva. "I sealed up the crack to the last universe-"
"But the Yekken took in the time vortex," Minerva reminded frantically, her eyes flickering from him to Klaus to Maleny. "With all that force, it could go anywhere within the first minutes of taking the energy. What if that's what happened?"
"The TARDIS was completely drained," the Doctor stopped as he realized. "There was no power, like, like…"
"Like it crossed into a different world," Minerva insisted. "We're…" she doubted herself for a moment and called upon the two not-so-fictitious pair. "Where are we? What is this place?"
"Um…" Maleny exchanged a look with Klaus, receiving a nod from him to continue, "...you're in New Orleans - uh, specifically the French Quarter."
"Oohh my…." Minerva cupped her mouth, feeling the air leave her lungs, "...a-and...and tell me," she laid eyes on Klaus, "is there a little town called Mystic Falls somewhere...?"
Although Klaus wasn't understanding much, he gave a small nod. Minerva then turned on the Doctor. "See? We're in a parallel universe!"
"Amazing," the Doctor stopped for a moment to share a laugh with her.
"I understood no part of that," Maleny confided with Klaus, who more or less agreed with her.
"I think I may just pull their hearts out and be done with this ridiculous nonsense," Klaus said back, earning the aliens' attention.
"Oh my God," Minerva, now over her first phase of shock, moved towards them both. "You're fictional," she was about to point at Klaus again when she recalled his threat and quickly lowered it. "You're a proper fictional character. You were on my TV screen and now you're…" she looked him over, "...wow!"
While Klaus smugly smiled at the ginger, the Doctor frowned (much like Maleny did though she wouldn't say much) and coughed loudly. "Husband, right here!"
Minerva chuckled and waved him off with a hand. "Oh calm down, I know who I'm binded to - I mean married," she made a face.
"Minerva!"
Minerva groaned and backed up. "Fine," she stopped until she was standing right beside the Doctor.
Maleny, who tried being discreet over her relief of the ginger backing away, spoke up. "I'm sorry, I'm not...I'm not understanding this. You say you know us, but that you're from different worlds?"
"Universe," the Doctor corrected her. "See, we're time travelers, and so we know about the different universe theories. Your world is just one of the countless other worlds that exist. We're here by accident."
"And in this world, we're…" Maleny looked at Klaus, slightly disappointed, "...we don't know each other."
"And there's no vampires or witches or werewolves," Minerva added, beginning to notice the extra affection shown between the two. "So neither of you...basically, uh…"
"Oh, that's…" Maleny looked down, now evidently upset by the idea.
Klaus too noticed and interjected. "It doesn't matter what your world has. Ours is clearly better," he wound an arm around Maleny's waist. "But we're a bit overcrowded as it is so why not pop back from where you came from?"
"We'd love to," the Doctor shrugged, "but our time traveling ship isn't exactly equipped to make the travel back. We're, in other words, stuck here."
Minerva, although severely worried about that predicament, focused on the worst problem they had. "We need to find the Yekken no matter what. If we're in a city full of supernaturals we can't let that thing cause havoc."
"Finally she says something useful," Klaus motioned. "Find your little escapee and kill it before it does worse to my city."
"We're gonna need help," the Doctor frowned, disliking the man's rudeness.
Before Klaus could outright refuse, Maleny cut in rather cheerfully, "We can help you guys."
"Maleny!" Klaus prepared a long list on why that idea was no good, but Maleny ignored him and went on.
"We probably won't understand much of this universe talk but we know this Quarter very well."
"Oh, you just leave the aliens parts to us," the Doctor waved a hand at her.
She gasped. "You're aliens!? You don't...you don't look like aliens…"
"Same can be said about him," Maleny nodded to Klaus. "No one would guess he's a vampire. It's all about the looks, I'm afraid."
"Now first thing's first, we need to get back to the TARDIS and grab some things," the Doctor declared, looking down to Minerva. "I left the extractor fans on but it'll be some time before we can stay inside."
"We are not helping," Klaus sharply said, attracting all eyes to him. He was beyond irritated the little plan was already on march without his consent. This was, after all, still his Quarter.
Maleny nervously looked between him and the alien pair. "Can you give us a moment?" she asked of them, receiving nods seconds after.
The Doctor took Minerva and led her to the sidewalk where they continued to discuss the next steps. Meanwhile, Maleny then turned to Klaus, also irritated.
"We are not helping them," the hybrid repeated himself more sternly.
"We have to," Maleny crossed her arms. "Didn't you hear? There's an alien who can body shift? And there's three of them now!"
"Aliens," Klaus pointed towards the Doctor and Minerva, "their problem. I take care of my own."
Maleny shook her head, deciding to use all logical points with him instead. "Let me put it to you this way: if that alien thing keeps multiplying it will kill all the humans - your food supply - and then probably destroy the Quarter. I doubt even Esther Mikaelson is prepared to deal with extra terrestrial forms. Plus," she stepped closer, mischievously smiling, "if it's true they're stuck here and it turns out they can't leave...we can make allies out of them."
That last part interested Klaus greatly. He glanced at the alien pair, too deep in conversation to notice. "Well…"
Maleny began smiling, knowing it would only be mere seconds before he agreed. "We can bring them back home and help them, and if they can't get back, then they'll have to stay here and help us."
"And what if they figure out a way to leave?" Klaus thought and frowned, returning his attention back on Maleny.
"Then we still helped save our city," she answered like it were obvious. "We would have done a good thing."
"I'm not good at those…"
Maleny shook her head, smiling to herself. "Would that be true I would have at the hands of Mikael this week." The mere mention of the possibility put Klaus in a bad mood. Maleny inched closer to him, putting a hand on his arm. "C'mon, I think it's kind of exciting - we'd be fighting against aliens," she giggled, "Wouldn't that be a new experience?"
Klaus looked at her excited face, it had been a long time since he saw that expression. With fighting and arguments, he could do with some leisure time. Besides, Elijah still had many hours left before he woke from Esther's spell.
"Alright," he barely said when Maleny cheered loudly, attracting the aliens back.
"I take it it's settled, then?" Minerva asked, suspecting the evil hybrid had been persuaded by the cheerful blonde woman. That was a sight to see...and she had first row!
"Maleny made me see the logical, strategic point in all this," Klaus explained, eyeing the pair with curiosity. "My Quarter is already under supernatural threats, I don't need bloody aliens to get mixed into this."
"Well, it has a name," the Doctor raised a finger, "It's called-"
"Its don't quite care," Klaus cut in.
"But you should-"
"I don't-"
"It's imp-"
Minerva covered the Doctor's mouth before the looming argument turned violent. The Doctor wasn't one to do so, but if she remembered correctly Klaus was not the man to joke with. Oh, she wished her friend Martha Jones were there instead. Now she knew more about this world than the Doctor.
"Right," Minerva widely smiled, "My name's Minerva Souza, and I promise to keep my husband from talking your ears off as best I can."
The Doctor's eyes flickered to her side, none too amused with her. He pushed her hand down. "I'm the Doctor and I don't talk a lot - well, most the time anyways."
"Lies," Minerva coughed.
Maleny chuckled, but Klaus remained blank. He didn't care for their 'funny'.
"I'm Maleny Rowan," the blonde introduced shortly afterwards. "And, um...I think you know him well…" she glanced sideways towards Klaus, sheepishly smiling.
"Oh definitely!" Minerva exclaimed. "I saw you all the time! I loved you!"
Klaus smirked. "Many people tend to."
Minerva giggled, latching onto the Doctor's arm like a child. "Do you think we would get reception in this universe?" she asked the Time Lord.
"Why?"
"Because I need to call Martha! She would love to be here right now!"
The Doctor released a breath, already the need to get back home multiplying by the thousands. His wife was acting like a like a childish fan of a man who clearly enjoyed the attention. That was not okay - he'd rather be facing the Yekken on his own.
"Okay, we need to get some things off the TARDIS," he announced instead, his attempt at changing the topic discreet enough to go by unnoticed. "Hopefully we can get them to work as a way to find the alien."
"Which, by the way," Maleny cleared her throat, "split itself into three forms. I, uh...thought that should definitely not be forgotten."
"Yes!" the Doctor pointed at her, visibly grateful for the tip.
Maleny smiled, clearly proud of herself for that. "Then let's get going, before it splits itself into more."
"It physically can't," the Doctor began, as the group started their way out of the alley. "It's only able to split itself into three forms."
As the Doctor went on to explain more of the Yekken, Maleny was muttered a very quiet threat towards him by Klaus, who was losing his patience with so much yapping.
~ 0 ~
Much time later, and after finding some useful pieces in the still toxic TARDIS, Maleny and Klaus had led the aliens to their home, which was nothing but silent much to the couple's surprise. Hardly anything in their lives were quiet.
"Oh, I remember this place," Minerva walked further into the courtyard, her eyes flickering to every room downstairs. "Yeah, Marcel Gerard use to own this place-"
"It was my home first," Klaus cut in, rather irritated the detail was wrong.
Minerva turned back, smiling. "Right, I saw that too."
"Minerva," the Doctor gave her a warning look, "you don't know what point of timelines they're in."
"I'm not going to say anything," Minerva assured, laughing to herself. "I'm just happy."
"Let's focus on the task so we can figure a way to get home," the Doctor said instead, still disliking her affection for the entire place. "You do remember we left unfinished business?"
Minerva rolled her eyes. "Blah, blah," she looked back at Klaus, "do you think I can get that drink you're always drinking? What's it called?"
"Bourbon?" he made a face.
"That one!" Minerva clapped excitedly. "I don't drink but I always wanted to try that one."
"You've never had bourbon before?" Maleny tilted her head, staring at the ginger in awe.
"Well, when you time travel and live with a guy who doesn't drink...it's a bit impossible," Minerva shrugged, pouting then as she addressed Klaus again. "May I?"
"I'm no bartender," he playfully warned, making her smile, "but I suppose for a mysterious, pretty alien I can make the exception."
Minerva blushed, feeling like a complete idiot the way she was portraying her fanatic antics. In doing so, she missed the disagreeing looks of her husband and Maleny. The Doctor seemed mad, from jealousy of course, while Maleny looked overly disappointed.
In an attempt to keep those types of conversation from continuing, Maleny suggested to the two men, "Why don't you two go upstairs and start coming up with ideas? In the meantime I can loan Minerva some clothes," she gestured to the ginger's current tattered clothes.
Minerva quickly looked at herself and remembered the time vortex mishap. "Oh...oh right. I like that idea, let's go with that." She rushed to Maleny, pulling her for the stairs where she assumed Maleny's room was.
A couple minutes later, Klaus led the way to the bar downstairs, in the lounge room. The Doctor didn't need an invitation to make himself comfortable in an arm chair, setting straight to work with the parts he had gotten from the TARDIS.
"I suppose asking if you'd like a drink would be pointless?" Klaus asked after pouring himself a glass of bourbon.
"You'd assume right," the Doctor replied somewhat annoyed.
"You don't know what you miss out on," Klaus came back to sit down across him, on the couch. "Course, when you live like I do under the constant war lines... a good drink doesn't come half bad."
The Doctor looked up, scoffing. "Believe me, I have a pretty good idea. People are always set out to kill me…us," he added quietly upon thinking of Minerva.
Klaus recognized that look all too well and mused, swaying his head. "Let me guess, that ginger becomes a target for all your enemies?" the Doctor ignored the look and kept working, pulling out his sonic screwdriver to use on some wires. "Maybe we're not that different."
"I don't feed off innocent humans for a living," the Doctor muttered.
"Oh, they're not always innocent," Klaus shrugged.
"Is that what you tell your blonde, then?" the Doctor inquired, and instantly saw some discomfort from the man.
"She's not...she's not my blonde," he pointed warningly at the Doctor, "But if you do anything remotely direct and-"
The Doctor laughed, amused by the sudden wrath brought on him. "So much for 'not my blonde'," he continued to laugh, something Klaus became irritated with. "It is fair payback for your flirts with my wife, though," he added in a friendlier way.
Klaus rolled her eyes, somewhat more relaxed. "If you flirt with Mal, then I'll be forced to get 'payback'."
"Don't worry, Minerva would kill me first."
"That little thing?" Klaus nodded towards the entrance, laughing at the idea.
"That little thing?" the Doctor shook his head. "N-n-n-n-n-no, don't ever assume anything about my wife. She looks innocent, but if you wrong her she'll come after you. She has this look of doom…"
"All too familiar with that as well," Klaus had to laugh then, thinking to Maleny's anger episodes.
"That little thing?" the Doctor mimicked his earlier tone and pointed back.
"Don't ever let her hear you say that," Klaus genuinely warned. "She'll kill us both."
"Jokes on her, I come back to life," the Doctor smirked.
"You don't say?" Klaus raised an eyebrow. "As do I."
The Doctor raised his head, studying the man across him, and feeling much more comfortable than before. "Maybe we're not that different. Though, the only real difference is that I have my wife while you have that pre-relationship with Maleny." Klaus then playfully glared, but the Doctor chuckled. "Think I didn't notice that? I was there too."
"Look at that," Klaus said, raising his glass to his lips, "We can alike - there's a shocker."
The Doctor snickered and returned to his work.
~ 0 ~
"This is good," Minerva stepped out of Maleny's bathroom in a long-sleeve, pink blouse and blue jeans, paired with her own black flats.
Maleny, who'd been sitting at the end of her bed waiting, rose up and pointed to a black, leather jacket draped on the chair of her vanity desk. "You can wear that if you'd like as well."
Minerva glanced towards the jacket and crinkled her nose. "Em, no thanks. I'm not really the 'leather jacket' kind of girl. Not enough room to move around when you're running for your life," she chuckled, but when Maleny only half-smiled she sobered up.
Maleny could feel the ginger's eyes on her and tried to avoid it by pretending to be interested in the trinkets she left on her dresser. Minerva knew that tactic perfectly and sighed.
"If you have a question, you could just ask," she informed Maleny. "I shoot water, snow and ice but I guarantee you I don't bite."
"You can do that too?" Maleny looked up in surprise.
"Mhm, I'm...sort of a Queen back at home. I come from this species that can bend the water elements." To visualize, Minerva raised a hand and formed an ice dagger. "See?" she smiled at Maleny.
"Wow," Maleny whispered, suddenly conscious of the idea that she was facing a much more accomplished woman than her.
Minerva made the ice dagger disappear and put her hands behind her back. "So, what's the question you wanted to ask me?"
"Hmm?" Maleny blinked, quickly looking away.
"Oh, c'mon," Minerva leaned forwards, mischievously adding, "It's just us two. What do you want to know?"
Maleny flushed in embarrassment at being caught so easily. "It's, um...it's about what you said earlier - this universe is just a TV show in your world."
"A good one too," Minerva made sure to point out, making Maleny sheepishly smile.
"But you also said I wasn't in it," Maleny continued on, her voice growing sadder. "I don't know Klaus, I don't know the Mikaelsons."
Minerva nodded. "Yeah, see, in my world, you're a French actress in the Latin community. You're nowhere near vampires. In the Mikaelsons' story, there is no 'Maleny Rowan'. Klaus has no girl with him."
"Oh," Maleny bit her lip, looking reluctant to ask but in the end went with it. "And...and does he...have someone else, though? Like...an on-again-off-again thing? Or a wife? Or…"
"No, I mean…" Minerva wondered if she was doing well to reveal, but she figured she could just ask first to be sure what could be said and what couldn't. "Do you know who Camille O'Connell is?"
Though confused with the mention of her adoptive-cousin, Maleny answered. "Yes. She's my adoptive cousin. She's actually a couple rooms down looking after Klaus' older brother, Elijah." She chuckled and whispered like it was a big secret. "She has a little crush on him so she's taking care of him on her own."
Now that surprised Minerva, but it did show her she could tell Maleny of that part. "In my world, in the show, it looked like things were going to happen with your cousin and Klaus."
"What?" Maleny crinkled her nose, absolutely horrified by that idea. "Cami would never."
"Not with you here," Minerva gestured. "You changed that story. But, um...how well do you know Mystic Falls?"
"Somewhat," Maleny shrugged. "Klaus has been meaning to take me there but with everything that's happening we haven't had the chance. Why?"
"See, before the Mikaelsons had their own show they were in another one which would make this place..."
"Like a spin off?"
"Yes, but they all came from another show that took place in Mystic Falls," Minerva explained, seeing Maleny's fascination and thus more motivated to continue. "There, Klaus was a ruthless vampire - the complete monster I should add - set out to kill this girl. Along the way, he met this other one, um…" she paused to think, "...Caroline, I think that was her name. Nothing really happened, but...yeah, I guess she would be considered the crush? And maybe Cami the attraction? Or reverse? I don't know."
"O-oh," came the meek response from Maleny, who languidly returned to her bed to sit down.
"The Doctor's gonna kill me," Minerva mumbled to herself after a minute of silence and Maleny growing only further despondent. "Though maybe Klaus will do it first," she added a second after.
"It's fine," Maleny assured, her sad eyes raising to Minerva. "Clearly there had to be someone else in his life. Or...women, in his case."
"Yeah, but…" Minerva walked up to the blonde, "...clearly in this world, that's not happening. So there's no point in fretting over it."
"Easy for you to say, you're already married..."
"Well, he was married before, but guess what?"
"What?"
"Love prevails. It's cliche but it's the truth, and one day you'll see it happen."
"But-"
"No," Minerva pointed a warning finger to Maleny to keep her quiet. "We should really get back to helping the men. Finding the Yekken is going to be a tough task."
As Maleny got up to follow Minerva out, she started thinking. "Wait...this alien thing-" Minerva turned around, "-do you have something of it?"
"What do you mean?" Minerva curiously asked.
"I mean, that, if there's something of it we can use...maybe I can do a locator spell to find it."
Minerva gaped. "You're a witch? And you didn't say anything!?"
Maleny sheepishly scratched her cheek. "U-um, I'm not exactly the best witch in the Quarter…"
"This is great!" Minerva grabbed Maleny by the arms, shaking her in excitement. "Oh you should have mentioned this right in the beginning!"
"You're over excited," Maleny commented, slightly afraid of the ginger at that moment.
"No, you're just under-excited," Minerva shrugged and yanked the blonde by the hand out the room.
"What!?"
~ 0 ~
"Doctor! Doctor!" Minerva ran into the living room and abruptly yanked Maleny behind in. "I've got an idea!"
"You might want to say it before I kill him on the spot," Klaus warned from his spot on the couch, sending dagger glares in the Doctor's direction, not that the other man cared.
"Oh please, you make those statements so often do you realize?" the Doctor scoffed.
"What is going on?" Minerva looked between the two, completely amused unlike Maleny who was more concerned for the brewing tension.
"The man can't take sarcasm, Minerva," the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"What I can't take are blundering idiots," Klaus clarified for him, taking a sip from his drink whilst still glaring at the man.
"Then you're out of luck," the Doctor sarcastically grinned. "Because I am the idiot that's going to help save your city."
Klaus scoffed. "I highly doubt the little contraption in your hands will do anything but blow up in your face."
"Not true," the Doctor scrunched his face. "They usually blow up after I use them."
"That was not a joke!" Klaus nearly shouted, sick of everything he said being turned into something amusement. He was not in the mood for anything of that, yet it seemed like that was all the Doctor knew how to do.
"I thought it was fairly funny," the Doctor said, flashing the smirk that became the last straw for Klaus.
"That's it!" Klaus jumped to his feet, ready to lunge for the other man.
"No, Klaus!" Maleny rushed up to him. "You can't hurt them!"
"I'm not gonna hurt her - just him," Klaus nodded towards the Doctor whose scoffing response only angered more.
"You can't!" Maleny insisted, using all her strength to at least make a small push against him. "We need their help, remember? Plus," she sighed, "you're sarcastic too and you don't see any of us trying to hurt you."
"Well…" Klaus feigned a thought, making her dimly smile.
"Klaus, I'm serious," she pointed at him, "It's a little odd, but we need their help. Besides," she added with a whisper, "I like them."
Klaus rolled his eyes but relented his murderous action. He smiled at her instead, and motioned for her to take a seat beside her.
All this Minerva had watched in silence and smiled to herself. She sat on the armrest of the Doctor's couch chair and quietly scolded him through their telepathic connection. 'You need to be careful with what you say around this man.'
The Doctor looked up at her, playfully rolling his eyes. 'He overreacts to everything. It's not my fault.'
'You don't know him like I do,' Minerva insisted, giving him a look. 'He's a man with a short - almost nonexistent - temper. He kills without a second thought. I don't know if your regeneration is possible when you're missing two hearts.'
The Doctor would've scoffed at that but didn't to keep their mind conversation a secret from the others. 'I doubt that he-' he nodded towards the other two, '-could do it. Doesn't look like it to me.'
Minerva glanced back and was surprised to find the tension disappeared. Klaus had lost interest in them as he was more immersed in a conversation with Maleny, who quietly laughed every so often to whatever he was saying.
'That's...surprising,' Minerva said earnestly. She coughed purposely loud to attract the attention of the other two and smiled politely. "Maleny, remember the plan?"
"Oh, right," the blonde seemed embarrassed by her distraction and got up.
"What plan?" the Doctor asked Minerva as she also got up.
"Maleny and I made a plan to capture the Yekken."
"But we already have a plan," the Doctor gestured to the nearly finished device he was holding in his hands.
"Oh, well, this one's better," Minerva sweetly smiled, waving him off.
"Oi!"
"Maleny's a witch," Minerva went on, ignoring him, "and she could perform a locator spell to find this alien - all three of them."
"That would require something of the alien," Klaus pointed out, looking a bit hesitant of the plan.
"Which we have," Maleny reminded him. "The clothes Minerva took off still contain remnants of the alien's which I can use. Buuut…" she then expressed the same hesitance Klaus did, "...I have to warn you," she glanced at Minerva, "I'm not exactly the perfect witch."
"What do you mean?" Minerva crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes curiously.
"I'm a witch, yes, but," Maleny sighed, "I'm not a full witch. I...I don't possess my full power and I don't practice so often."
Klaus saw her getting uncomfortable explaining her current situation and cut in. "She's doesn't use her powers so often and that's about it." He gave both Minerva and the Doctor a look daring them to keep asking questions.
"But…" Minerva cleared her throat, doing her best to ignore Klaus' look, "...you are a witch, no?" she asked from Maleny.
"Yes," Maleny nodded slowly.
"And you have power?"
"Well, yeah-"
"Then you can do the spell no problem," Minerva shrugged carefree. Maleny sighed, still looking highly uncomfortable. "C'mon," she grabbed the Doctor's hand and forced him to stand, "we'll go get the clothes and bring them to you so you can do the spell."
"Right, but-" Maleny was once again cut off by Minerva running out of the room with her husband in tail.
"For a small thing, she runs pretty fast," Klaus remarked in amusement. He looked to Maleny, who was already getting nervous from the task she was being asked to do. "You shouldn't worry over this. You've done spells before."
"Yeah, but I never felt this type of pressure," Maleny groaned and walked towards the couch. "If I can't find this alien thing then it'll get its way and terrorize the Quarter. Plus...I've never done any spells to find an alien."
"You can add it to your resume now," Klaus tried lightening up the mood as he went to her.
"Klaus, I'm actually serious," Maleny gave him a sharp look. "What if I can't do that? I mean, maybe we should get someone else to do it-"
"And who would that be exactly?"
"I don't know...Davina?"
"Sort of missing from our last encounter. And you did tell her you didn't want to speak to her."
"Um…Amarrah?"
"Maleny."
"Well," Maleny, frustrated, got up just as Klaus came up to her, "I'm nervous alright!"
"Mal," Klaus put a finger under her chin, raising her gaze up to him, "you are more than apt for this job. Quit acting like you have no skills in what you were born as."
"You were born as a witch too," Maleny softly reminded, trying not to shift under his stare.
"Yeah, but...you were always better at it than I was. So," Klaus steered them out of the room, "it's best you do all that."
Maleny chuckled and decided to do the spell without worrying so much. They were barely nearing Maleny's bedroom when they heard their friend's (and Maleny's adoptive cousin) Cami call from across the banisters.
"Can you both explain to me why I just bumped into two complete strangers claiming to be your guests?" the blonde vampire demanded.
"We are," Minerva appeared by Maleny's bedroom door. "Aren't we?" she glanced towards Maleny and Klaus.
"More or less," Klaus mumbled and received a prompt whack on the arm from Maleny.
"I heard that," the Doctor walked out of the room holding Minerva's clothes in his arms.
Cami then gestured to the two visitors with a lost face. "Are you kidding me? I'm taking care of your brother, Klaus," she pointed warningly at the hybrid, "Remember him? Kidnapped by your mother? Has yet to wake up?"
"Oh my God, is he alright?" Minerva asked with full concern in her tone.
"Cami," Maleny cut in before the blonde vampire could say another word, "we have a problem with the city, alright?"
The news put Cami into further distress. "Another one? What is it now?"
"One that we will take care of," Klaus assured her. "Your only task is to look after Elijah should he need anything…"
"Should he wake up first," Cami mumbled under her breath.
"Camille," Klaus said again, his voice turning hard, "This is important so go back to Elijah and look after him."
"If there's a problem with the city then shouldn't you call Hayley for backup?"
"Oh, I'd love to meet her," Minerva giggled excitedly, causing Cami to give her a confused look.
"Cami, please," Maleny attempted to send her off but with a much softer tone, "We have this under control. Go see to Elijah."
"Alright," Cami gave up with her hands raised in defeat. She sent the two aliens another look before returning to Elijah's bedroom.
"She seems...more stressed than on TV," Minerva concluded, looking somewhat disappointed.
"We're just going through a hard time," Maleny smiled for them and ushered them to start walking for the stairs. "But she's actually very lovely."
Minerva didn't dwell too much on it and focused on the primary issue: a loose alien in the Quarter.
~ 0 ~
"This is just...icky," Maleny couldn't find another word that would describe the Doctor picking up a decent amount of 'goop' (as she also branded) from Minerva's blouse. The Doctor gave her an amused look as he dropped the contents into a small glass cup for her to use in her spell.
"I'm sure you have seen far worse," Minerva teased across the table.
"Just blood," Maleny shrugged, now being the one to surprise the ginger and the Doctor by her calm bluntness. It was a true distinction between the four.
"That should do it," the Doctor declared after finishing up. He took Minerva's old clothes and tossed them into a bag that was headed directly for the trash afterwards.
"Okay then…" Maleny nervously said, her gaze, by default, landing on Klaus, "...spell...time?"
Klaus moved to stand beside her, gently placing his hands over hers to bring them over the map of the Quarter placed on the table. "I have no doubt this is just a simple task you can do."
"You're so confident in me…." she mumbled to herself, knowing exactly he was hearing her perfectly unlike the alien couple across them.
Unlike her, Klaus didn't feel the need to speak so quietly as she did. "You've never given me a reason not to be," he brought up a hand to her cheek. While feeling her face warm up, Klaus' words did provoke a sense of relaxation. She gave a nod and got to work.
She remembered all that her current mentors, a French witch coven, had taught her before returning to the Quarter. Klaus was right - a locator spell was simple - but her hands jumbled much in the way they used to when she got nervous. She took a minute to clear her mind and started over. It couldn't be possible that she could conjure up enough power to cause aneurysms but be unable to find a stupid alien in the Quarter?
This needed to be fixed.
Seeing her still for so much, Klaus called her name in concern, "Mal, you-"
"Shh," her hand waved him off. She focused yet again and pretended like there was no one in the room and she was just doing a simple practice spell like she used to with her French mentors. The pressure definitely lowered then.
Minerva was in awe when she heard the incomprehensible words of the spell Maleny was using. She always seen on television how the witches did their spells but to witness it firsthand was something else. Even the Doctor was impressed by the blonde girl.
But he was even more so when he saw the Yekken's 'goop' begin to spread into three different lines, each running in separate directions in the Quarter map. When the lines came to a stop, Maleny opened her eyes.
"Got them," she whispered with a light smirk on her face.
Klaus looked down at the map and easily identified the locations of the aliens. "Alright, so we have their location - how can I pull their hearts out quickest?"
"You can't," the Doctor firmly said, already frowning at such an idea. "We're going to capture it, not kill it."
"You're just making it complicated," Klaus huffed.
"We don't want to kill it," Minerva agreed with her husband. "It's probably scared out of its mind realizing it's in another dimension."
"But didn't you mention it attacked you before coming here?" Maleny raised an eyebrow.
"It was looking for a way out of its uninhabited planet," the Doctor explained. "Solitude is friend to no one my dear. Look, the idea is to capture it and then release it to where its kind lives."
"That's a hell of a risk you're taking…in my city," Klaus made sure to remind them.
"Well, we're not from around here where the idea is 'kill first, ask questions later'," Minerva crossed her arms, slightly irritated the topic was still being discussed. "If we can drain the time vortex out of it - that'd be the little golden hue you saw - then I see no reason why it should die."
"And if you can't?" Klaus challenged her.
"Then…" Minerva glanced up at the Doctor for help.
"Then we'd see afterwards," he easily answered. "Now then, we should just focus on how to capture them."
"Should be no problem if we put our heads together," Minerva smirked and turned to her husband to begin on their part of the bigger task.
~ 0 ~
It didn't take long for the Doctor and Minerva to come up with a suitable plan for their neutralizing needs. Though it did help that they had a witch who could create boundaries. Combined, it was completely easy.
"You know, if we had you during our trips, things would go a lot smoother," the Doctor remarked to Maleny as she came into the living room with a grimoire in her hand - her mother's book.
Blushing, Maleny got down on her knees beside the Doctor, the latter setting up six cubes in front of them. "I'm actually not all that useful - I was seriously just kidnapped and had this whole rescuing thing."
"Oh? I'm sorry to hear you were kidnapped," the Doctor frowned, only barely able to imagine what it would be like if his wife were kidnapped. "But I assume your vampire boyfriend came to your aid in no time?"
Maleny blushed deeper and focused her gaze on her now opened book on the floor. "He's not my boyfriend," she corrected quietly.
"Right," the Doctor eyed her discreetly. "Wasting time and stuff - that stage gets boring after a while."
"What?" Maleny blinked at him, confused.
"Forget about it," the Doctor waved her off and gestured to the cubes. "Alright then, here's what you need to do them." Maleny nodded and paid attention. "These are remnants of the device I was working on earlier. I've forged them into these cubes to create a sort of prison for the Yekken's three forms. When thrown out it should capture them all…"
But judging by the look on his face Maleny could tell there was a problem. "However…?" she slowly asked.
The Doctor sighed. "Being in this universe completely drained me out all my technology's lives. This, for example," he reached inside his jacket's pocket and pulled his sonic screwdriver - a small, golden metal looking stick as Maleny thought of it - and showed it to her, "is my trusty little tool that helps me do just about everything. But its abilities have shut down."
"Like your time machine?" Maleny made the comparison in her head in order to follow what he was talking about. "It's on the 'off' button."
"Exactly," the Doctor nodded and put away his sonic. "Minerva said you witches are capable of bringing things back to life."
"On occasions," Maleny shrugged. "But it's not so simple."
"I would say it's more simple than an actual human being. What I need you to do is give these," he gestured to the cubes, "a jolt of energy to turn them on."
"Like a kickstart?"
"Yes! I don't think it should be that hard."
"Hmm, let's just see about that," Maleny began flipping through the pages for the required spell. The Doctor watched her intently, mildy upset with her choice of words.
By the time Maleny successfully activated the imprisoning cubes, Minerva and Klaus returned from an endeavor of finding Hayley for the cause. Unfortunately, (mostly for Minerva) the hybrid wasn't anywhere in the compound to help.
"Did you get them working?" Minerva walked over to the Doctor who was busily studying the cubes.
"Maleny did," the Doctor nodded to the sheepish blonde putting her grimoire on the bookshelf behind one of the couches. "She's a really good witch."
"Thank you," Maleny, flustered, smiled at the alien man before looking to Klaus. "And Hayley?"
"Probably out in the bayou again," Klaus sighed, visibly annoyed. "She didn't answer any of the calls."
"So then how do we split up to capture these aliens?"
"We need to split up, clearly," Minerva answered the blonde, "But neither of you know how to use these," she grabbed one of the cubes, "Which means you'll have to pair with one of us," she nodded to the Doctor.
Klaus loudly scoffed at the idea, and Maleny sighed because she knew exactly what was going to come out of his mouth then. "I am not letting Maleny go out without me with her."
"She'll be with one of us," the Doctor said as a means of reassurance, but the hybrid shook his head.
"I barely trust you as it is, mate."
"Oh," the Doctor made a face of offense, "Thanks."
Minerva rolled her eyes. "We don't have time to be picky and overprotective. Both of us are quite up to date with modes of protection. Besides, I think we should let the woman of the hour make her choice."
"Thank you," Maleny beamed at the liberty she barely got. "I want to go, and I'm going, period."
"Maleny," Klaus said her name in that sharp tone that meant a disagreement was about to ensue, "Mikael and Esther are still out there. I am not risking you."
"I doubt they'll attack so quickly again," Maleny shrugged. "Besides, like Minerva said, we don't have time for overbearing protection."
"That's not quite what I said…" Minerva chimed in.
"I stand by my statement. Plus, only we know the Quarter so we should be paired to the others." Maleny crossed her arms and smiled. "Now, this pairing thing, no matter what way we do it there's still going to be one unaccounted alien."
"Easy, the first pair done with their alien can go after the other," said the Doctor calmly.
"Sounds good," Minerva nodded in agreement as she took three of the cubes into her hands. "How do we pair up, then?"
Klaus exchanged another look with Maleny, and though she seemed nervous she upheld her decision against him. "Well," he began, still staring at the blonde, "if you value the life of your husband I would suggest he take Maleny because I cannot promise I wouldn't try killing him in the process."
"Klaus," Maleny scolded him, but received a smirk back that, well...made it just a tad funny. A tad.
Meanwhile, the Doctor was glaring. Telepathically, he spoke to Minerva, 'He thinks he sooo big and bad. What a show off.'
'You were a show off too back before we dated,' was Minerva's calm response.
'No I wasn't!'
'I'm a Lord of a Time,' Minerva mimicked the Doctor's voice. The Doctor shot her a look of a surprise, clearly not expecting her to know of that little line he once used on some man trying to flirt with her in one of the trips. Minerva glanced at him with a smirk. 'Don't be so quick to push another man down because he's trying to impress his girl.'
The Doctor inwardly huffed and looked away.
~ 0 ~
After all was said and planned, each pair took their direction for their assigned alien. Maleny felt awkward walking alongside the Doctor, thinking he was looking too serious like he were upset.
Assuming without asking, she told him, "I'm sorry you got stuck with me and not your wife."
"Hm?" the Doctor looked down at her, blinking in surprise. "What?"
"Your wife, Minerva. I know you wanted to go with her," Minerva shrugged, lightly sighing. "I'm a baggage for anyone who comes across us."
"I'm not upset about that," the Doctor chuckled. "And you're not a baggage. You know, for a talented witch, you sure don't want to be one."
"What?" Maleny nervously laughed.
"And for some reason you think no one should see it so you put yourself down."
"Well..." Maleny made a face, looking down, "I don't know what kind of creatures live in your world, but in mine, being a witch can only get you so far. I don't practice a lot of magic, so I don't really use it much. I might as well be a human - and they're not important. At least in this world, when you have people like Klaus, so strong and intelligent, it's a bit difficult to believe you can be too."
"You don't have to be physically strong to have strength, Maleny," the Doctor nudged her. "You see my wife? Not so long ago she took the throne in her home planet, and her first act was to banish one of the most important royal families. She was incredibly strong that day, even when they made her feel so naive in the past. She didn't need strength to fight them and win."
Maleny mused over his words and figured that was very true. But it was easier said than done. The Doctor could see her thoughts just by looking at her face.
"It's a process," he assured her. "Everything falls in place when it's supposed to."
"You're kinda good with these talks," Maleny commented after a moment of silence.
"I do them a lot..."
Maleny laughed. "I bet you do. But it's kind of weird coming from a man who looks so young."
"Don't be fooled, I'm 909 years old."
Maleny stopped walking and stared at him, completely dumbfounded. "You're..." the Doctor had to laugh while she processed the idea.
"Appearances, aren't they a flimsy thing?"
"You're younger than me," Maleny remarked, now leaving him startled. "I'm a thousand."
"You?"
"Mhm," Maleny nodded her head. "And Klaus is technically older by a couple years but...we can both say we're over a thousand." The Doctor tilted his head and looked her over, simultaneously thinking about the rude man. Maleny chuckled and patted his arm. "Appearances, aren't they a flimsy thing?"
The Doctor smiled at that and turned them for a new street. "So, can you show the way?"
"Of course," Maleny took lead and walked ahead to where their alien was hiding out. She was doing her best not to show her fear for whatever laid ahead, and was incredibly grateful that unlike Klaus the Doctor wouldn't be able to hear her rapid heartbeat.
"This is it," she came to a stop at the end of a street, gesturing to the small concert that was going on.
When the Doctor saw the amount of people he became alarmed. "How in the hell are we ever going to find it?"
"We won't have to look," Maleny looked at him with a smirk. "I can cast a spell that'll make the alien see us on the first chance it turns."
"But the other people-"
"Won't be able to block us. It's like a 'I see what I want to see' kind of spell," Maleny explained and looked out to the crowd. "That thing must be looking for you or Minerva considering your its only way out of our world. Believe me, it'll be turning around every second."
The Doctor stared at the blonde, impressed yet again. "You are good, do you know that?"
Maleny just smiled and shook her head. She extended her hands for the crowd and chanted quietly to avoid any looks by any passing by people. The Doctor had his eyes glued to the crowd, flickering from one person to another in hopes of finding the Yekken there.
"Okay," Maleny said after a moment, glancing at him, "It's done. Now we just linger a little…"
"And then make a run for it?"
Maleny chuckled. "You and your wife sure do a lot of running, don't you?"
"Comes with the job of time traveling," the Doctor shrugged. As Maleny continued to laugh, the Doctor watched the crowd until one strange man looked their way. "I think…" the Doctor put a hand on Maleny's arm, making the blonde follow his gaze, "...I think we found it…"
Sure enough, the stranger shifted into the Doctor's appearance and came for them.
"Yup, that's it!" the Doctor pulled Maleny into a hasty run.
"Where are we going exactly!?" Maleny exclaimed as she kept up her pace beside him.
"Somewhere secluded, somewhere things won't get as destroyed, somewhere-"
"I got it!" Maleny grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street of the church. Knowing it was weekday, there wouldn't be many people around.
She shrieked when the Doctor was shoved ahead of her and fell to the ground. The Doctor shook his head and sat upright, only to see the Yekken back in its original, blue form above him.
"Use the cube!" Maleny ordered him from her spot. "Faster!" she realized she was used to Klaus' fast abilities when the Doctor fumbled to get the cube from his pocket.
It just got more frustrating when the Yekken knocked the cube out of the Doctor's hand.
"Doctor!" she cried, watching the man trying to get the other cube but the Yekken pulled out its quickest way of defence - its time Vortex power.
The Doctor screamed as the golden energy was shot right at him. He was immobilized and on the ground.
"Get away from him!" Maleny narrowed her eyes and thrust her hands forwards, causing the alien to screech in pain, forced to stop its golden energy.
The Doctor was more than confused on what the blonde was using to aid him, but he didn't waste time in asking questions and pulled out their second cube. He activated it and threw it straight at the Yekken. The cube expanded and captured the alien in one gulf before dropping to the ground as a regular cube again.
Maleny blinked with wide eyes at the sight. "Wow…"
The Doctor scrambled to his feet and ran for the cube, swiping it off the ground and pressing a couple of the buttons to ensure the alien remained imprisoned. "Are you okay?" he asked Maleny afterwards.
The blonde hadn't realized she was smiling until then. "I just...I just fought an alien…" the Doctor began to match her smile, "...like...I've fought witches and vampires but never aliens!"
"I'm glad you had fun," the Doctor patted her arm. "Now what exactly did you use on the thing before? I've never heard it scream like that."
"I gave it an aneurysm," Maleny shrugged. "I figured if it had a brain then I could make it suffer."
"Right…" the Doctor gave her a look, but she just laughed again and hugged him.
~ 0 ~
"It's an abandoned shop of some sorts, but that's the spot," Klaus pointed Minerva to a shop across the street.
"Why would the Yekken want to hide in there?" Minerva crinkled her nose at the spooky, shacked up shop.
"Because it's playing hide-and-seek," Klaus didn't fail to make a sarcastic response. "Let's go."
Minerva made a face at him and followed. "You know, just because you're mad doesn't mean you have to take it out on me."
Klaus abruptly turned around and made the ginger bump into him. "Quit wasting my time-"
"And you quit wasting mine with your silly little rage episodes," Minerva cut him right off, surprising him with how easily she snapped back. "I get it, you're worried over Maleny, but I assure you she's just fine. My husband is well known for saving people in our world. I'm sure this world will be no different. Besides, I'm pretty sure Maleny can take care of herself."
Klaus remained silent and looked to the side, still on edge for every minute that went unaccounted for of Maleny. Minerva stared at him with a look of awe, and impression.
"I don't think I've ever seen you look so worried for someone," she said quietly, earning a threatening look from him. "Oh, don't worry, you have a weakness, I'm not going to take advantage of that." She sighed then, realizing why he was so worried. "But I suppose people already have...haven't they?"
The guilt of Maleny's kidnapping began piling over his shoulders and suddenly Klaus found himself blurting out the story he hadn't even yet told his unconscious brother. "She was kidnapped by my father - or step-father - and she was hurt."
"Ooh," Minerva gasped. "Oh that's just...awful," no other words came to mind and even that one was poor in her opinion to describe what she properly felt. "Okay, I can see where your concern comes from but - once again - I just know my husband would never let anything touch her. She'll be fine. But you know who won't be fine?"
"Who?"
"Us if we keep wasting time," Minerva laughed and walked around Klaus, crossing the street. "My husband has terrible patience."
"Clearly he hasn't met me then," Klaus remarked and went after her.
"But I have," Minerva couldn't help giggle. They stopped in front of the shop and she went for the door, attempting to open it but it was locked. "The Yekken must have locked it."
"No problem," Klaus pulled her back and easily forced the door open. He slowly stepped inside the barely furnished room.
The shacks prevented much of the sunlight to light it up, but enough came through so that it wasn't that dark. Minerva came in and promptly closed the door, icing it so that the Yekken wouldn't be able to escape.
"Where could it be hiding?" she turned to see the room, Klaus already moving for the back room.
"Ask it," she heard his call.
She rolled her eyes. "You're ever the funny one." She took a breath and took slow steps around, her hands balled into fists for any surprise attack. "Now if I were a Yekken where would I…" she trailed off at the squishy sound she heard above her.
Half assuming where the certain alien was, she raised her head to the ceiling and sure enough saw a faint golden hue.
"Of course," she mumbled.
The Yekken wasted no time in attacking. It lunged straight for her and while it did manage to knock her to the floor, she was able to throw some ice daggers that made it retreat.
Klaus sped back into the main room, stopping beside the counter to see the ginger panting on the floor and the blue formless alien on the other side. "What the hell?"
Minerva flung more of her icicles towards the alien but it had copied her form and reached to grab one of the icicles. "No!" the real Minerva exclaimed as the copy absorbed the icicle...and thus her abilities.
Fully loaded, it began to attack back with her water elements - all sharp and threatening. Klaus sped over and grabbed Minerva, taking her behind the counter.
"What was that!?" he angrily demanded from her, hearing the perfect sounds of daggers hitting the other side of the counter.
Minerva lowered her cut up arms and dejectedly answered. "Those are my powers it just absorbed. Don't let it touch you or it'll do the same with yours."
Klaus ignored her last warning and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You allowed a shape shifting alien to absorb your powers?"
"Well," Minerva caught onto his patronizing tone and scowled, "it's not like I handed them over."
"Well…" Klaus would beg to differ, giving her a sharp look.
Minerva shrieked as the glass of the counter finally broke from the icicles of her copy. "We have to capture it - hand me the cube."
"No!" Klaus surprised her with the answer and before she could repeat her order he sped away from her.
"What are you doing!?" Minerva shot right up in time to see him yank her copy away from the counter and rip its heart out. She gasped in horror, covering her mouth as the Yekken - still in her form - dropped lifelessly to the floor.
Klaus looked more or less bored with the situation as he let the heart drop to the floor. "Well, that takes care of that," he smirked.
Minerva lowered her hands to reveal her still gaping mouth. "You...you just pulled my heart out…"
"No love, I ripped out the heart of a Yekken."
For the first time since she arrived to the Quarter (or the universe) Minerva felt properly afraid of Klaus. "You just...that was...that was not the plan!" she exclaimed shakily, slowly walking around the counter and looking down at the corpse of herself.
"Welcome to my city, where if you dare to fight against me you will die," Klaus pulled out the cubes she wanted and tossed them over to her.
Minerva blankly took them into her hands and tore her gaze from the corpse. "Suddenly, I'm very glad you're just a TV show in my world. I don't think I could actually live in a world where yanking hearts out is the norm."
Klaus shrugged and made a turn for the doors when his phone rang. He saw Maleny's name on the screen and quickly answered. The call lasted about a couple seconds before Klaus hung up.
"We're leaving," he declared, not even looking back at the corpse as he walked for the doors.
"Wait!" Minerva called, barely moving an inch from where she was. "What are we going to do about her?" she gestured to the corpse. "We can't just leave it here!"
"Believe me, in this city,, it won't be strange," Klaus opened the door and gestured her ( with an impatient look) to leave.
Minerva huffed, recognizing that look very easily. "You know, you may play to be king of a city but in my world I'm an actual Queen. I don't do orders, I give them."
Klaus looked bored as he tilted his head, eyes somewhere else. "I can only imagine what a small thing like you will do-"
"Small thing!?" Minerva scowled. "I am not a 'small thing'! I'll have you know-"
The minimal patience Klaus had kept out of politeness vanished with such incessant shouting. "Let's go!" his sudden loud voice startled Minerva into quietness. "Maleny said they found the last one, so we need to get a move on."
Minerva, more than irritated, huffed and walked out, making sure to push past him in the process. Yes, now she remembered why people disliked him on television.
~ 0 ~
"You sure it's around here?" the Doctor curiously looked around the street lined with shops. Maleny walked a couple steps behind, also looking for the third and last alien. He turned the corner and scanned the immediate area, once again seeing nothing. "I don't understand, this is the place your spell took us to…"
"It's probably just shape shifted again," Maleny shrugged. She really hoped her spell hadn't messed up somewhere and was bringing them to the wrong place.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver as if to look for the Yekken with it...but then remembered it didn't work. He groaned, "Stupid, Doctor," he mumbled to himself.
Maleny chuckled at his antic and reached to take the screwdriver from him, taking a moment to turn and twist it as she examined it. "What a funny device this is," she tapped the lifeless green top.
"It's not a device," the Doctor huffed like a child. "And if it worked I would show you it's very useful."
"What's wrong with it?" Maleny stroked a side of it.
"Same thing as the cubes, and my TARDIS - they're out of power."
Maleny raised her eyes to the young looking man, able to see how disappointed and out of place he felt. Well, why wouldn't he? He was so very far away from his home and for the moment there was no way to get back.
With a light sigh, she closed her eyes and began to mumble incoherent words that the Doctor immediately knew were of spells. He watched the green of his sonic begin to glow like it were being...activated? Yes! It was!
By the time Maleny opened her eyes, the screwdriver was whirring. "Wow…" she blinked at the much brighter side of it.
The Doctor snatched it from her and studied every last bit of its details. "Did you…?"
"I think so," Maleny bit her nail anxiously. "I just applied the same spell I used for the cubes."
The Doctor gave an excited 'whoop' and thrust his hand forwards, making a black layer of it open up.
"Oh!" Maleny blinked in complete awe as its green part glowed stronger, and the funny whirring noise became louder. "What else does it do?" she inched closer.
Smirking, the Doctor turned to the side, holding it out to the road. "It lets us know when there's a Yekken nearby!"
"It's like a little magic wand," Maleny giggled, watching so intently that she (nor the Doctor) noticed a figure walking straight for them.
"Magic wand!?" the Doctor scoffed. "Oh, no, no, no. My sonic screwdriver is nothing like a magic wand! That's ridiculous!"
"Says the man in a tweed jacket and a bowtie," Maleny cheekily replied back with.
"Oh, well," the Doctor swayed his head, making a face. "I'm sorry, but I prefer my cool bowties and tweed jacket over those awful, boring black jackets your boyfriend wears."
"He's not my boyfriend," Maleny blushed and looked away.
"Yeah right," the Doctor scoffed, smirking once more. "Let me know when you believe that."
"But it's not - AH!" Maleny screamed when she felt a powerful force push her away.
"Maleny!" the Doctor exclaimed, horrified to see the Yekken, in a new form, pulling her down the street. It slowed down at the end, nodding its head to the side before dragging Maleny into an alley. The Doctor put away his sonic and dashed after them.
The Yekken awaited at the end of the alley, holding Maleny in a choke-hold. "Take one more step and she dies here," it warned.
The Doctor raised his hands in a nuetral manner. "Hey, hey, you don't have to do this. You don't have to harm anyone."
"I want to go home," the Yekken declared, now holding a threatening, golden covered fist at Maleny's head. "And if you don't activate that TARDIS then this human will die."
"Let her go," the Doctor ordered, trying to discreetly reach for his sonic in his pocket. "Just let her go, and-"
The Yekken saw the movement and shot the golden energy to him, blasting him to the side. Maleny shrieked when she was slammed against a wall.
"I WANT TO GO HOME!" the Yekken shouted at an unbearable volume that forced the other two to cover their ears.
Maleny saw it nearing the Doctor with its golden covered hands, and knew that if something didn't happen the Doctor would most likely die. Without thinking it through, she shut her eyes and started chanting a new spell. Hearing the words, the Yekken whirled around and growled.
"What are you doing!?"
Maleny ignored it and focused harder. The Yekken moved back for her, having learned of her magical tricks he needed to ender her quick. Maleny was just done with her new spell when the Yekken began shooting rays of the golden energy at her.
"It's - it's too...it's too late!" she shouted in between each hit. "It's too late!" she laughed weakly, forcing the Yekken to stop and look around for anything different.
Seeing nothing, it discarded her and rushed back for the Doctor...only to come crashing against an invisible barrier. Angrily, it pounded the barrier and realized it was stuck.
"Boundary spell…" Maleny leaned her head back against the wall, an arm covering her stomach that really felt sick at the moment. "Nothing gets in nor out."
"What did you just say?" Yekken slowly turned back to her.
"You heard me."
"But you're also stuck then - and I'll kill you."
"Then so be it."
The Yekken raised eyebrows, looking mildly impressed with the action. "You're willing to give up your life for a man you don't even know?"
"In a heartbeat. I know he's a good man," Maleny looked over to the Doctor who was stirring awake from the blow after falling from the Yekken's shriek.
"Wrong," the Yekken raised its hands towards her and began shooting her again with its energy.
Her screams were key for Klaus and Minerva to find them. The hybrid left Minerva nearly falling back as he went straight for Maleny. He crashed into the barrier like the Yekken had.
"MALENY!" he pounded on the barrier, assuming this was her foolish doing.
"Doctor, what's happened!?" Minerva helped her husband sit upright, checking him over for any clear injuries.
Infuriated with them both, Klaus turned back and sped for them. In a blink of an eye he had the Doctor pinned to the wall by the lapels of his jacket. "Two hearts won't stop you from dying!"
"No!" Minerva jumped to her feet and ran for them, desperately trying to pull Klaus away. "It's not his fault!"
"She put up the boundary!" the Doctor was mildly irritated with this turn of events.
"SHE'S DYING!" Klaus roared and violently pulled the Doctor off the wall only to push him back harder.
With a free hand he shoved Minerva away. The ginger recollected herself and looked at him, both angrily and shocked. The terror in his eyes was one of a kind, nothing she'd ever seen portrayed on the television. It was so contrasting seeing a powerful being in such a vulnerable state.
"Excuse me," cut in the Yekken, newly shifted into a tall brunette woman's form. It had grabbed Maleny by the waist, holding her so the blonde wouldn't fall (since she was overly weak from the attacks). With a threatening fist at Maleny's head, the Yekken faced the group. "Make her bring the barrier down or the next time I shoot it will be to kill."
Frustrated with his lack of power to help her, Klaus grabbed the Doctor's neck and got ready to plunge his hand for a first heart.
"Don't you dare do it!" Maleny's weakened voice still managed to freeze the hybrid in his place. "Don't you dare hurt him, Klaus." Breathing heavily, Klaus turned his head in her direction. "Let him go, please? For me?" She smiled lightly, hoping it wasn't very so obvious that it hurt to simply do that. "You know I like him…"
Both Minerva and the Doctor watched intently the curious exchange between them.
"Oh for God's sake!" the Yekken rolled its eyes and forced Maleny to her knees. "Do the stupid spell already!"
Slightly less angry, Klaus let the Doctor go and turned to the blonde. "Do the spell, Mal. Do it," he said, suddenly with a softer tone, "For me?"
Maleny smiled at him again and looked down, breathing in shakily before doing the spell that would drop the barrier. The Yekken watched her chant, carefully calculating its next moves. As soon as Maleny said the last word, the Yekken shape shifted into her form and purposely tackled her to the ground.
Klaus had been about to snatch his blonde witch away but after a couple seconds he couldn't tell which one was the real Maleny.
"Oh you clever thing," Minerva sighed in an unsurprised manner.
Klaus shook his head and sped forwards, breaking apart the two Maleny's. He looked between them, hoping to find one distinct physical appearance...but there was none.
"Can you tell who's who?" the Doctor made a face at the predicament.
"Not in the slightest," Klaus muttered, eyes still flickering from one blonde to the other.
"You know it's me," went one blonde, softening up. Klaus lingered a look on her, inclined to believe her but then the second Maleny spoke up.
"She's lying - Klaus, you know it's me," she reached to touch his arm, the single action making Klaus revert back to a terrible indecision.
"Quit lying!" the first Maleny ordered the second.
"I'm not lying! You are!"
"One of you better come up with an idea or this time I will kill you," Klaus glanced back to the alien pair.
"I know, I know," Minerva raised a hand. "Do what I did before: ask a question that only the real Maleny would know about. Remember, the Yekken can't absorb the deep memories so it'll have to be an intimate question."
Klaus silently thought whilst looking at the two blondes staring at him. A question only Maleny knew? A deep memory?
Their human days. That was the only way to go.
"Mal," it felt wrong to Klaus to say her name without being sure of which was the true 'Mal', "the lake where we first kissed, what led up to it?"
There was an immediate reaction in the blonde on his left. "You wanted to get my necklace from the lake because you knew how much it meant to me." A wave of relief washed over Klaus the moment she spoke the answer, and a little smile began tugging at the corners of his lips. "Though to this day I still think you shouldn't have. I remember perfectly the beating you got from Mikael after we returned - you had been late for your hunting."
"Completely worth it," Klaus stepped towards her, seemingly forgetting the fake blonde on the other side.
"Doctor, use the cube!" Minerva's loud voice cut into the moment.
The Yekken, shifting into a black-haired woman, had tried making a run for it in the meantime. The fury returned to Klaus' eyes and he sped up behind her to yank out its heart.
"You just...you actually just…" the Doctor was at a loss of words from the sight. He winced when Klaus carelessly let the heart fall beside the corpse. "You pulled its heart out!" Klaus ignored him and turned back for Maleny, encasing her in a tight hug she most definitely needed. The Doctor was still gaping and rambling to Minerva. "He pulled a heart out! A living, beating heart out! Look!"
Minerva sighed, not very surprised anymore. "Yeah, that's him alright. He did that to the last one."
"He did what!?"
Minerva giggled at his comical face. "I know, my complete reaction to it as well. But it was about to kill us…"
"WHAT!?"
~ 0 ~
"And you could make these whenever you want," Minerva chuckled as she picked up one of her mint brownies from a silver plate on the kitchen counter of the compound.
Maleny picked one up herself and took a small bite. She didn't quite know of brownies due to her lack of knowledge of the modern world, but as soon as she tasted the brownie she knew she absolutely loved them!
"Good?" Minerva judged by the blonde's face.
"Mhm!"
"Great," Minerva pushed the plate full of brownies to the blonde. "Then these are all yours. I also left the recipe on the counter in case you forget."
"For me?" Maleny pointed at herself, her words muffled from her chewing. "I can't."
"It's sort of an apology for the trouble you went through today."
"Don't worry about it," Maleny swallowed and smiled, gesturing to her clean face. "I'm all better as you can see."
"Yeah...that whole blood feeding thing is still beyond creepy to me," Minerva made a face.
"It does wonders, though," Maleny shrugged, her smile slowly fading. "I, uh...I usually end up in these situation, unfortunately. I'm just that useless."
"Useless?" Minerva's eyebrows shot up in shock. "Are you kidding me!? You're a freaking witch!"
Maleny sighed. "I'm a witch with basic knowledge of spells. Look at you," she gestured to the ginger. "You're a Queen - with water powers! You're a much more accomplished woman than I will ever be. You're brave, you know how to fight - you know how to defend yourself. You don't need saving. No wonder your television show didn't have me in it."
Minerva leaned on her hip, putting a hand over it as she looked Maleny over. "You put up a boundary spell to protect my husband. You endangered yourself for someone you barely even knew. That's bravery. Because of you, we had the proper technology to imprison those aliens. That's power. Yes, you're not a Queen, but you're an amazing witch and I would love to have the power you have. Do you know how useful that could be to me in the travels I have with the Doctor?"
Maleny dimly smiled, somewhat convinced. She looked mostly at the counter while Minerva continued on.
"Do you know, I wasn't like this. I have just gone through so many things that this is what I've developed into. You're just not done yet, Maleny," Minerva touched the blonde's arm gently. "You said you barely woke up from a terrible curse. This is your beginning of your new life - the first chapter in your story. Don't be so impatient."
She grabbed Maleny by both arms and turned the blonde to her, knowingly smiling. "And do you know what? I think it was a good idea that your character wasn't placed in the television show."
"You do?" Maleny blinked, her eyes filling with sadness.
"Yes," Minerva said quite sure of herself, "Because frankly, you would have ruined Klaus' story."
"Wh-what?"
Minerva chuckled, playfully nudging Maleny. "In a good way, I promise. See, the show needed a villain and that's what Klaus was. He was goddamn awful - and scary! But then I come here...and I am utterly surprised by the effect you have on him."
"Effect…" Maleny slowly repeated, trying to understand what that exactly entailed.
"You make him more human, Maleny," Minerva made a gesture with her hand. "I saw the terror in his eyes when you were trapped with the Yekken. I have never seen that sort of emotion in him on TV. It's like...the entire world just stopped for him because you were in trouble. Not to mention the way you can get him to not kill someone - and that was my husband today so thanks."
Maleny chuckled and nodded. She was blushing the more Minerva kept explaining, her heart racing with different feelings.
"The things you have changed in this man are shocking," Minerva crossed her arms, dramatically exhaling. "Phenomenal work. It's like I'm seeing Beauty and the Beast - only you're blonde."
"What?" Maleny made a confused expression. "I don't...I don't know what that is..."
Minerva chuckled. "It's a princess fairy tale. And you are most definitely that."
"But..." Maleny looked somewhat upset then, "...Klaus can be all you want but he's not actually a beast. There are many layers to him and..." the look on Minerva's face was one of 'See what I mean?' and that made Maleny blush. "Alright...I'll look it up..."
"It's unplanned," Minerva said, still in amusement as she turned for the brownies. "Time was I used to be this emotional wreck of a teenage human, and then the Doctor showed up...and he changed me so much. Because of him I can fight and live happily. That's just love - you change one another without even realizing it."
Maleny considered her words silently and turned to the counter as well. "I didn't think about that…"
"No one rarely does…"
"I'd like to have you around more, you know," Maleny confessed. "See, I love Cami and Hayley a lot, but neither of them are really in relationships. They don't understand these feelings…"
"Most of mine are married but they're all human and normalish. They certainly don't understand my relationship with the Doctor. I'm gonna miss you...Mal," Minerva nudged her, causing a chuckle between them.
"Well, I made you something to remember me by," Maleny reached inside her jean's pocket and pulled out a silver bracelet. "It's a simple little thing but I crafted it with magic so that no matter what, it won't be torn apart in one of your many adventures."
"These are cute symbols, what does it mean?" Minerva studied the writing across the band.
"It's norse symbols," Maleny explained, "It's says 'Moon Child'. I don't know much of where you come from but considering those moon marks on your wrists it has something to do with that. And I made it silver cos of, um," she pointed to Minerva's silver necklace around her neck, "It matches."
"Maleny, I love this," Minerva said and hugged the woman. "It's absolutely beautiful, thank you."
"I smell brownies," the Doctor strode into the room, going straight for the plate...and then Minerva smacked his hand away.
"Those are Maleny's. She did save your behind today, you know."
Maleny sheepishly smiled and motioned for the man to go for a brownie anyways. "They're incredibly good."
"Oh, I know," the Doctor beamed and picked up a brownie.
"So were you actually thinking of a way to get back home?" Minerva questioned with a hint of annoyance.
"No," it was Klaus who answered, appearing by the doorway, "he was busy annoying the hell out of me."
"He does that," Minerva nodded, ignoring the Doctor's offended look.
"It's a bit difficult to come up with ideas when there is no power," the Doctor flapped his hands in disappointment.
"There has to be something we can use…"
"There's just no power. We've got nothing, Clever Girl."
"We can't be stuck here!" Minerva exclaimed, becoming truly alarmed now that it was sinking in. "I have a kingdom to run - Doctor, we have Amy and Rory still waiting for us!"
"I know," the Doctor hung his head, "Last time they hear we were on Sto."
"This isn't Sto!"
"I know!"
Maleny bit her lip, the idea playing in her mind making her feel nervous. Hearing her erratic heartbeat, Klaus came forwards. "What are you thinking of, Mal?"
Surprised being put on the spot, Maleny deferred answering quick. She fiddled with her fingers and looked down. "I, um...I have an idea…"
~ 0 ~
"This...cannot be real," Klaus said after a minute of him and Maleny just standing at the doorway of the blue box known as the TARDIS. The bright orange and yellow interior nearly blinded both visitors.
"It's...bigger on the inside," Maleny's eyes were nearly popping out of her head.
"That's why you're my favorite," the Doctor pointed at her excitedly from the middle of the main room, just by the console.
"Ahem," Minerva shot him a look. "Favorite?"
"Platonic!"
"This is pure madness," Maleny slowly stepped further inside, pulling Klaus behind her. "And we've seen our share of those things."
"You've seen blood, we've seen the stars," the Doctor smiled at them.
"Yet there's a look of war in your eyes," Klaus remarked casually, instigating the Doctor to stiffen. "In both of you actually," he briefly glanced at Minerva who had a similar reaction to her husband. "I suppose it comes with the traveling?"
"In a way," Minerva cleared her throat and led the two visitors up the stairs to the glass platform where the controls of the box were. "Now, Mal, you said you think you could bring the TARDIS back to life?"
"Well, it's more of a hunch," Maleny explained, stopping in front of the console and studying the glass rotor at the center of the control panels. "Because you said that the box is technically alive."
"The Yekken absorbed some of the time vortex, which is our fuel technically," the Doctor sighed. "It left her without power."
"If I can bring it back to life for even just a minute...then you would be able to go back to your world?"
"Hopefully, yeah," the Doctor smiled. "Would be very nice."
"If it's alive, and it's just like your other devices, then I don't see why I couldn't give it a kickstart…" Maleny leaned forwards and pressed a palm on the rotor.
"Mal, be careful," Klaus warned, moving to stand just a couple inches from her. He was pretty much done healing her after countless attacks. For once, couldn't there just be a time where she was completely safe?
"It'll be fine," Maleny sideways glanced at him, assuring him with a small smile. "We're in a box...not much trouble from what I can see."
"We don't want you to exert yourself," Minerva said earnestly, the Doctor agreeing with her by nodding.
"Guys, I'll be fine," Maleny felt embarrassed with so much attention on her. She waved them off and focused on that spell she memorized today. She could bring back a box to life, couldn't she? It surely would make her a unique witch.
Closing her eyes, she pressed both palms to the rotor and began to mumble her spell words. It did feel like the energy was draining from her - the box apparently required a lot of energy? No matter, it wouldn't bring her down.
"Mal…" Klaus was watching her with concern when her face contorted to a pain-like expression.
"I can do it," she whispered, motioning him to stay quiet.
"But Mal-"
The Doctor put a hand on Klaus' arm, shaking his head at him. "Sometimes," he whispered, "you just have to let them try things on their own."
"She could get hurt," Klaus quietly said, finding that reason more than enough for him to be concerned.
"Course she's gonna get hurt, everyone gets hurt sometimes. It's how you learn and keep going that matters. She's got to learn."
Although hating to be wrong, Klaus nodded and returned his gaze to Maleny. She looked incredibly focused on the task, her words growing louder and fiercer - she most definitely wasn't giving up. Her fingers spread on the rotor and when she opened her eyes...the rotor glowed golden.
"Oh my!" Minerva blurted in pure excitement. She knew what that little hue of gold meant!
Maleny smiled to herself and repeated her words one more time to finish off the spell. The TARDIS gave a faint groan, and startled her, but seeing Minerva and the Doctor so excited told her it was part of the box's routine.
"She did it!" the Doctor dashed to check the controls for himself while Minerva came to watch the rotor begin moving up and down. "She actually did it!"
"We're going home!" Minerva exclaimed happily. "I'm seeing my grandfather again!"
"Amy! Rory!" went the Doctor at the thought of their human companions.
"Grandma! Zohar!"
The two ran around the console and met each other in a spinning hug. "We're going home!" the Doctor cheered, making Minerva laughed.
"Yes, we are!"
The Doctor grabbed her head and kissed her, muffling her laughter. Maleny had moved back to where Klaus was, feeling guilty for having to break up the pair's moment. "I brought it back to life but this is beyond my expertise - you may want to get a move on to where you can restock on proper fuel."
"Yes," Minerva laughed again, blushing as the Doctor let go of her. "That's a good idea." She motioned them to walk with them towards the doors.
Before walking out, they all glanced back at the sizable room...and then there was a flash!
"What the hell was that!?" Klaus was the first to react after his vision came back.
Minerva ran back to the console and saw papers printing out. "Oh wow," she chuckled, bringing one back to the others. She turned it over for them to see.
"Your box took a picture of us?" Maleny blinked, taking said picture into her hands.
"I hate pictures," Klaus grimly said.
"But I love it," Maleny looked up at him, daring him to take it away from her. "We're keeping it." Klaus raised his hands in surrender and turned to finally leave the box.
"What's gonna happen with the Yekken?" Maleny curiously asked once they were outside the TARDIS.
"Well," the Doctor cleared his throat, "considering someone-" he mockingly glared towards Klaus, "-murdered two of its parts, I don't think it'll last very long before it dies."
"It had it coming," Klaus declared, very assured he had done the right thing. "One of them was about to kill your wife, and the second nearly killed Maleny. It got lucky I granted it a quick death."
The Doctor stared at him for a long minute before letting go of any playfulness in exchange for earnesty. "Thank you for saving my wife. She is my everything. But I'm sure that feeling is no stranger to you."
There were three distinct reactions to that last comment, and the Doctor wondered which one was best. Klaus had that murderous look on him again while Maleny was sheepishly smiling (and blushing). Minerva just wanted to laugh.
'You are awful dear husband of mine,' her voice rang inside his head.
'He had it coming,' the Doctor said triumphantly back.
Minerva swallowed down her laugh and moved along the goodbyes before the TARDIS died down again. She gave a hug to Maleny and smiled. "Now you remember what I said to you today. You're a killer witch. And…" she turned her hand over so that her palm faced up.
Little by little, bits of snow drifted it and created a perfect snowflake. She took into her hand and smiled.
"This snowflake, though little and delicate, is one of a kind and can cause major destruction if it wanted to," Minerva handed the snowflake to Maleny. The blonde quickly turned it over and examined it, shocked that it actually stayed together. "It's one of a kind, Mal, and I want you to remember that the next time you feel like putting yourself down."
"Thank you," Maleny said meekly and deferred making a remark for a second or two, "This is going to sound weird but I really wish I could've seen your Queen crown. I mean, is it made of snow too?"
The comment made Minerva finally laugh out loud. "You wouldn't be the first one to be interested in my crown. I think you and my friend Amy would've had a lot to talk about."
"To her I don't exist," Maleny shrugged, not so upset by the detail anymore.
"To be fair, neither of you exist for us," Minerva stepped back and glanced at Klaus. "Though with you I'm sure she'd have plenty to say - as well as my friend Martha. She loved you." The smug expression on Klaus' face didn't last very long when Minerva snappishly ordered, "Wipe that look off your face." She giggled afterwards though. "I can't believe I just said that to Klaus Mikaelson."
Klaus rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. You weren't that bad yourself." He took her hand into his and raised it, placing a kiss on its back, "Your highness."
Minerva nearly lost it then - and the Doctor was nowhere near pleased. "Alright, that's enough," he yanked Minerva to his side, warningly pointing at Klaus.
"Don't fight," Maleny cut in, throwing a look at Klaus. She knew very well that had been done just to annoy the Doctor. Predictable. She intentionally stood in front of Klaus and reached to shake the Doctor's hand. "It was really nice meeting you both. It's cliche, I know, but...is there a chance we'll ever see each other again?"
"Perhaps not us exactly," the Doctor gestured between himself and Minerva. "We're supposed to close down the breeches that lead to different universes or else bad things happen. But who knows…"
"Maybe somewhere in this world there's another Minerva Souza - human even!" Minerva chuckled. "Or, heck, even a John Smith."
"I could find you," Maleny suddenly thought, instigating Klaus to cut in.
"No you won't!" he brought her to her side. "I don't think I could handle another one of him."
"You're so rude," the Doctor sighed.
"And you're so childish," Klaus said back, weary himself. "I don't think my daughter would've been as childish as you were."
"I would second that," Minerva mumbled under her breath.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and gave up. "Your city was lovely, your home was lovely, you were...almost...lovely, but it's time to go. Thank you for helping us find our missing alien...and murdering it."
"Doctor," Minerva nudged him.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm done," he stepped back and re-opened the doors of the TARDIS, giving a last wave before going inside.
Minerva walked in after him but suddenly went "Oh!" and turned around at the doorway, "I just remembered something - and good too," she smiled softly. "Your daughter will come home, Klaus. It's twisted and weird this show, but you have something better than what it gave you in my world." She nodded to Maleny. "Hold onto her and everything will be fine. Always and forever, yes?" she smiled widely and stepped backwards, closing the double doors.
"Ready to go home, Clever Girl?" the Doctor asked her once she made it to his side at the console.
"Please," Minerva laughed. "I love vampires and witches and werewolves...but on TV! I'm love my alien world." She kissed his cheek and moved to do her part on the console.
"As am I," the Doctor pulled the lever and was joyful to see the TARDIS actually working and de-materializing.
Outside, Maleny and Klaus had not moved from their spots as they watched the blue box flicker in and out of existence until it disappeared completely, leaving behind only a light breeze.
"That is beautiful," Maleny breathed in and wished she could have captured it in video. At least she had a picture to somewhat prove it.
Klaus lost interest in the box as he gazed down at the blonde. He reached for her hand and gripped it tight. She smiled and looked at him.
"Can we go home? I'm incredibly tired," she confessed with a sheepish smile.
"As you wish," Klaus turned them for the sidewalk. "Though perhaps you may want to stop for dessert?"
"Berry pie? Oh definitely!" Maleny beamed and leaned on his arm, happy to end the fascinating day of aliens and hunting with her favorite dessert...and her favorite person.
Author's Note:
And that's it! I had soooo much fun writing this crossover I wish I could do more. Who knows, the next one nearing its triple digits of faves/alerts is precisely Mal's/Klaus' story so we'll see what happens with that ;). Thank you to those who took time to read this story and I hope you enjoyed it! Leave a comment or a thought if you'd like!
Also, feel free to check out the actual stories involving these OC's on my profile.
