Note: You really do need to know both of these shows pretty well for it to make sense. Not long before Waters of Mars for the Doctor and post-series for Jim and Blair. Enjoy!

THE LEGEND OF YETAXA

March 26, 2000, Cascade, Washington...

"I hate stakeouts," said Henri Brown, Major Crimes Detective in the Cascade PD. "Bad food, bad coffee and bad jokes for weeks, all while stuck in the same van."

A snort came over the speakers. "At least you're in the van."

Detective Jim Ellison snickered at his partner, newly minted Detective Blair Sandburg, from his position in his own truck, affectionately called Sweetheart. "You wanted to keep the hair, Chief. Not our fault that you're the only one who can blend in out there." He was posing as a homeless man, a crazy one who talked to himself so no one would think he was a cop.

"Yeah, something about the rest of us screaming 'cop', right?" said Detective Brian Rafe. "Well, everyone but the Doc, here."

Doctor John Tyler, an expert on Mezoamerican cultures who was helping them with their current case, said, "Well, no offence, but I think I'll take that as a compliment. I really don't care for guns, and I wouldn't want anyone thinking I'd use one. And please don't call me Doc."

Tyler had one suit, or several identical suits, all brown with blue pinstripes, a tan duster that hit just below his knees, and he always wore Converse sneakers. He had a couple of different ties, and reading glasses that he wore when needed. He was skinny, pale and freckled, with dark hair that stuck up toward the right side, and brown eyes.

The cops all chuckled, even Blair, who said, "Hey, I can relate. I'd never fired a gun until I had to start shooting at targets for my certification, and my mouth is still my primary weapon."

"Yeah. Four years riding with me, and even if he held one once in a great while, he never fired," said Jim. "He knocked out a perp with a baseball once, though. Being able to hit what he's aiming at has never been a problem."

"Four years? You were on a research ride for four years? What took you so long?" Doctor Tyler had the distinction of not setting off the team's understandable distaste for academic types because he'd said that Rainier had been in the wrong during that whole mess with Jack Barclay, said that if the university couldn't see beyond the end of their noses or deeper than their pockets then they didn't deserve to have such a fine man working for them. The attitude of acceptance had gone a long way toward endearing him to the men and women of Major Crimes.

John Tyler was a different sort of academic, sort of a Renaisance man, dabbling in everything from anthropology to temporal mechanics. He was also something other, something that Jim and Blair were trying to keep an eye on. They hadn't told Brian and Henri because they weren't sure about the man's true intentions yet. But much of the file was a clever forgery originating in Cardiff, Wales, and his physical biology was very different. He had two hearts, an extra pair of ribs, and a scent that Jim couldn't describe no matter how hard he tried, something brand new that he'd never experienced before. It wasn't strong, or Jim might have zoned on it. He'd almost zoned on the double heartbeat.

He was also undeniably brilliant, and they didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Both Sentinel and Shaman senses were tingling on this one, but not necessarily with danger, and even after all the estraterrestrial activitiy that had been documented over the least few years, they didn't want to assume that alien meant enemy. For now, he looked and acted human, and that was how they were going to treat him. But they were watching.

"Well, to be honest," came Blair's abashed response, "I didn't want to get off the roller coaster to go back on the carousel for the rest of my life. Even on expeditions, you're just an observer, you know? But working with these guys, I was making a real difference, helping to save lives and catch bad guys. I didn't want to go back to academia after all that. Sure, it hurt when I didn't have a choice any more, but since I already decided to try and find some way of staying with the department before everything hit the fan, the way things turnd out ended up being for the best."

A huge grin split the scientist's face. "That's brilliant! Blair Sandburg, Defender of Humanity. Can't argue with that." The way he said it made both Jim and Blair relax. It sounded like that was something Doctor Tyler was both used to being and apreciative of. But you know, Detective Brown is right, this is really rather boring. I'm much more used to running about. We should tell stories!"

Brown said, "Hey, I could tell the one about Rafe and Tenth-street Ginny."

Rafe smacked Brian's arm with the back of his hand. "Hey, I thought we agreed never to mention that again. Ever!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you couldn't tell she was a guy."

"Not my fault you couldnt' be bothered to warn your own partner!"

Over the laughter that followed that, Blair said, "Well, I for one would like to hear a story or two from Doctor Tyler. You guys have heard most of my primitive culture stories, but his work is in a different area. I'm sure he'll have something you haven't heard yet. I dealt mostly with Incan cultures, but he's looked into a lot of the Aztecs and those further north in Mexico and the Southwestern US."

"Weeell, I think I might have a story you'll like. It actually pertains to the case at hand, and the very tomb these blokes were accused of plundering; the legend of Yetaxa the reincarnated high-priest who tried to end human sacrifice."

Jim jerked. He'd actually heard that name in connection of a legend told by the Chopec.

Being in a different vehicle, Tyler didn't know about the Sentinel's reaction, and he kept on with the story. "Yetaxa originally died around 1430, and he was placed in his tomb with his modest riches. He wasn't a king, but he was the high-priest and had acquired a fair fortune before he died. Also burried with him were his spiritual tokens, items of power and office, among them the bracelet we are now chasing, a coiled feathered serpent representing Quetzalcoatl, the Guardian of the Door. The Door was the horizon, the space between day and night, between life and death. The bracelet was crafted by Yetaxa when he was alive, so when a woman came out of the tomb of Yetaxa wearing that very bracelet, the Priest of Knowledge, Autloc, reasonably assumed she was Yetaxa."

Henri said, "Why was that reasonable? Why didn't they they think she was a thief?"

Tyler shrugged his left shoulder, his head following it. "Because the tomb couldn't be entered from the outside, only exited. That was how the door was designed. The priests believed that Yetaxa had returned to support them, took her appearance as a sign that all they were doing was favored by the gods. But she spoke out against human sacrifice, halted one of them. She came with three servants; an old man, a young warrior, and a teenaged girl.

"The old man was led to the retirement garden, where those who had wisdom and skills led out the later part of their lives, sort of like a retirement home. The young man was led to the warriors, where they hoped he would lead them. And the girl remained by Yetaxa's side, her handmaiden.

"The problems started fairly quickly. In setting the young man, called Y'ian, up as commander of the warriors, they set him against the warrior who already held that position. He would brook no competition, and picked a fight. His name was Ixta, and he lost his first challenge when Y'ian put him down with magic from his hands." Tyler shrugged. "Well, I say magic, but from the description, he put his thumb into the major pressure point on Ixta's neck and knocked him out."

Jim snorted. "Bet he wasn't happy when he woke up."

Tyler shook his head. "No. He was highly embarased at being felled without getting a single blow in. Meanwhile the old man, who gave no name, made himself a pleasent companion in the Gardens of Peace. Her name was Cameca and she was known as a woman of wisdom, sought out by many for her diverse knowledge. She showed great interest in him, and he told her that he, too, was a person of knowledge, one who sought knowledge. They forged a friendship quickly, but Cameca wanted more than friendship from the distinguished servant of Yetaxa."

That set Rafe and Brown to snickering, but Jim and Blair knew that a misunderstanding of that magnitude could really cause problems in primitive cultures.

"Yetaxa's young handmaiden was propositioned by the Perfect Victim, the one chosen to be sacrificed to bring the sun back during an eclipse, but she refused to marry him, an offence punishable by mutilation because the Victim was to be granted any and every boon during the last days of his or her life in recognition of their sacrifice for their people. Her punishment was to happen right before the sacrifice to appease him. The warrior Y'ian was framed for attacking the Priest of Wisdom by Ixta and Tlotoxl, the Priest of Sacrifice.

"Yetaxa had prophesied that a destructive force was coming to the Aztec, and that only by giving up the practice of human sacrifice would they have a chance at stopping it. The doctrine was a direct threat to Tlotoxl, and in the end, the only one she convinced was Autloc, who detested the sacrifices anyway. He left to seek wisdom in the wilderness. In the absence of his tempering influence, the practice of sacrifice increased, until, of course-"

Blair broke in. "Until Cortez crashed the party in 1520. And all he could see was a bunch of heathens who sacrificed their own people to idols."

Jim took up the story from there, surprising everyone. "Autloc traveled from his native city in search of answers from nature, and Cameca followed him. They went south for over a year until they reached a small tribe of Inca who had split off from the main group, a tribe who wanted nothing to do with great structures and monuments, serving their gods in simple ways. Their warriors were protectors of the tribe, not conquerors, and this pleased Autloc and Cameca, who chose to stay with them. In their old age, they were given a son by their gods, and their decendents stand as Shaman for the Chopec to this day."

Tyler's heartsrate sped way up during Jim's addition to the story. "You're certain?" He heard hope and wonder in the man's voice, though he tried to conceal it as mere excitement.

Blair answered him. "Jim was a guest of the Chopec in 1988 and '89. Their Shaman, Incacha, was a very good friend of ours."

"That's wonderful! Thank you for telling me. That story has always seemed so sad to me, the thought that their lives had unintentionally been destroyed by the good intentions of Yetaxa and her servants. Now I know they found their way and even prospered."

Jim smiled. But before they could add anything else to the story, Blair said, "Hey guys, we've got movement in the warehouse."

With that observation the four cops became all business, focusing on catching the thieves. They had robbed the tomb of Yetaxa, along with several other important sites in South and Central America, and were hocking the artifacts in Cascade because of all the important connections that existed because of the port and the city's massive archaeological community. Collectors knew to come to Cascade to have their purchases appraised, which put them in the right place for sellers to reach them.

Eli Stoddard had sent a young man to them who had overheard the thieves talking about a man they'd had to kill because he was going to go to the cops. When they busted them, they were caught red-handed with the money, the artifacts, and the gun that had killed Jasper Brandoli. The man who had actually committed the murder ran. Jim had a bead on him as he ran toward the stakeout van, but he didn't have to shoot him because Doctor Tyler chose that moment to open the driver's side door. The perp had been looking behind him as he ran, and never saw the door open, so he slammed right into it, knocking himself out.

Tyler looked right at Jim and smiled, saying, "He's all yours, Detective." Thing was, he was all the way down on the street, and a hundred yards from the building. Jim had been aiming at the shooter from a third-story window. That was fine for the Sentinel, whose enhanced sensory perception would have allowed him to hear Tyler and shoot the criminal. But Tyler shouldn't have known he'd be heard, nor been able to look Jim in the eye like that. Jim swallowed, hard.

Blair came up behind him. "Hey, did you get him?"

"No. Tyler smashed him with the door to the van. He's out cold. He knows, Blair. He knows I'm a Sentinel. And I think he has at least enhanced vision, because he looked me right in the eyes."

"Not good, Jim." It was their greatest fear that people would find out about him for real. Their careers as cops would both be over because they wouldn't be able to function. "Think we can trust him?"

"I want to, Blair. What do your instincts say about him, Shaman?"

"He's the one who helps. That's his purpose in life. He may not always succeed, but that's why he gets involved in things. There's something-" Blair closed his eyes, concentrating on the Shamanic gift that Incacha had awakened in him. Without opening his eyes, he said, "Never cruel, nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in."

The Doctor met Ellison and Sandburg at their apartment the next morning. He was grateful to the pair for giving him the ending to the story, and glad that the two of them had found peace and long life after he and his companions had interfered with them so badly. Rassilon, he'd been so young then, and foolish. Honestly, for all that he'd snapped at Barbara for what she'd tried to do, she made him understand why she tried to do it. He learned a better morality from the humans he'd brought along the way, and if it hadn't been for the first two, he'd never have given humanity a second thought.

They invited him into the apartment and offered him coffee or tea, and he took them up on the tea. While it brewed, Ellison began asking him questions. "So, Doctor Tyler, who are you really? Your background work was good, but we could tell it was a forgery."

"Really? I'll have to let Jack know his paperwork needs work then. As for who I am, I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

He grinned. "Just the Doctor. I think you've already guessed it, but I'm not from around here, and I don't mean that I'm from England. I'm a Time Lord, from the planet Gallifrey. Does that surprise you?"

Sandburg smiled a little. "Not really. There have just been too many documented cases of aliens for me to discount them, and you-you're different."

"Well, that's one way of putting it."

Ellison said bluntly, "You know what we are."

He shrugged. "To a point. You see, I'm a time traveler, so I have information on Sentinels and Shamen from many different cultures, both in the past and the future. You'll understand that I can't give you the future information, and much of the information I have on past Sentinels actually came from your own research, Mr. Sandburg. You're quite the subject-matter expert on this."

"And what do you plan to do with that information?" the smaller detective asked.

The Doctor smiled. "Nothing. I admire what you're doing, even if I don't care for the guns, and I'd never stand in your way. It was the bracelet that caught my attention."

Sandburg was quick on the uptake. "You're one of the men in the story, one of Yetaxa's servants."

The Time Lord grinned widely. "Yes, I am, or rather I was. That was several lifetimes ago."

He reached into his pocket and brought out the jewel Cameca had given him that day, staring at it thoughtfully. "I was a damned fool back then. Humanity was still new to me, and I was still so stuffy. I really didn't intend to get engaged to Cameca, nor to hurt her like that, and I'm very glad that she and Autloc were able to find some happiness."

He looked up at the pair of them. "And what about you, hmm? Can I trust you not to turn me in? I know that the UK has Torchwood, but I don't actually know if there's a similar organization here in the States. I know there's a collector in Utah who'd pay a pretty penny for a real alien."

Ellison snorted. "Not a chance. We'd really be hypocrites if we pulled something like that."

"Then we have nothing to fear from one another. Now, I know that being a Sentinel is a genetic advantage. But what makes the Shaman such an important part of this equation?"

Jim said, "He helped me to figure the whole thing out, and he's the constant I measure everything else against. Without him, I'd be in an asylum from the senses overloading. Plus he keeps me on the moral high road, reminds me that I'm human."

The Doctor smiled. "He makes you better."

Blair protested. "I didn't become a Shaman because of Jim, though. That got brought online by Incacha."

The Doctor shook his head at the young detective. "And why do you think he did that, hmm? He gave you the tools you needed because you were already doing the job. I knew the Shaman was important, I just didn't know why. Now I look at the pair of you, and I know. Old soldiers like he and I need that someone to make us better, whether that's a brother, a lover, or a best mate. I've been blessed through my very long life to have several wonderful humans stand in that place for me. I've lost them all along the way, because my life is not an easy one, but every one of them has made me a better man. Barbara Wright, who accidentally impersonated Yetaxa, and Ian Chesterson got me interested in humans, made me think about something other than just observing.

"Then there was a war, and we lost. I was one of only two survivors, and he's died since. I wanted to pass on with them, to be honest, but then I met this girl. She worked in a shop in London, about five years from now, and I kept her from being blown up with the building I was demolishing, and then she saved me from the aliens I was trying to take out. They were trying to take over the planet, of course. Earth tends to have a target on its back. But over the next couple of years, she brought me back from that point where I wanted to die, kept me honest, kept me moral, and as sane as was possible.

"Now she's gone, and I'm far poorer for her absence. So never underestimate your importance, young Shaman. I know exactly how he'd feel if he lost you."

They were silent for a while. Then Blair said, "Well, where are you headed next?"

"Oh, I don't know." He sat back in the chair, drinking his tea. "Maybe Mars. I've always wanted to visit it in a time when the ancient Ice Warriors were not going to wake up and try to kill me."

Jim held his hand out for the ancient alien, who shook it in respect. "Well if you're ever in the neighborhood again, stop by. I'm sure Blair would love to pick your brains about all the stuff you've seen. How old are you, anyway?"

"Nine hundred and five, give or take." He laughed when Blair's jaw practically hit the ground. "You two take care. I'd offer for you to come with me, but I know you'd tell me no. You're both tied to this place, territorial."

Blair frowned then. "You should find somebody, though. Something's telling me you shouldn't be alone."

The Doctor stared at the young Shaman. He was as connected to the universe as a Time Lord might be, just through a different medium, no pun intended, and his advice shouldn't be ignored. But this particular Time Lord was a little mad, and getting worse day by day. He just grinned. "Nah! I'll be fine! Give my regards to the rest of your team. It's been wonderful to meet the both of you, but I should be moving on."

With that, the alien left their apartment. Jim and Blair both stared at the door for a little while. Blair said, "He's in trouble, Jim."

The older man nodded. "Of course he is. He's lost his Guide."

"Alex went completely psycho without a Guide, and he's a hell of a lot more powerful than her. I don't think I want to be in the same temporal or galactic neighborhood if and when he goes off."

But Jim cocked his head a bit, thinking. "He'll go nuts for a while. I don't think it's been that long since he lost her. But he'll straighten back out, I think. He's got some kind of reset button. When he was in Tenochtitlan, he was an old man, but he bemoaned being so young and foolish. Now he's much younger looking, but he's far more ancient than he was then. He'll be okay, eventually."

"Yes," said Blair, his voice and sight going hazy again for a moment, "but his song will end first, to begin anew."

Note: Well, I hope you enjoyed this one. I started it back when I first watched the Aztecs serial on Netflix, and it's been forever ago, but as I'm going through things and preparing to finish them, I found this and it only needed a little more to be finished, so I did it first. This was only ever meant to be a vinette, just a little day-in-the-life sort of story, so there's not any more to it, but if anyone wants to use this as a jumping off point, you're welcome. Just ask first.