Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, just this plot. IMPORTANT TO STORY LINE: The Macra are from the original series, they were basically giant crab...things. In this story I took that and applied the theory that the dream crabs from last year's Christmas Special evolved or mutated from them. Another point, because this is an alternate timeline, Matt Smith's Doctor has yet to meet Amelia Pond. You'll understand what I mean when you get to that part. I would also like to thank thinkitover for giving me the title to this fic, go check out their stuff if you like Hetalia. Thanks for choosing this and enjoy the read!
There. Right there, in the corner of your eye. You saw it, right? The rapid blur of motion, too fast to be human. Don't ignore it. Don't tell yourself it was just the imagination, the mind, playing tricks on you, because that's a lie. Lying to yourself won't help you right now. In fact, it's the worst thing you could do. Well, the worst thing you could do is ignore it, but that's beside the point. And, once you've seen them, you can't escape them. When that happens, only one thing can help you, one man. Really though, he's an alien. He's the Doctor and he does is best to save people, but sometimes he just can't. This is one of his stories. Though, I think it might be my story. Actually, I was wrong on both accounts. If anything, this is her story. This is my sister's story.
"Hey, did you see that?" I look at my sister sitting on the couch next to me. Her small frame is curled into a ball, knees against her chest and arms wrapped around them, as she watches the TV. Her eyes flicker towards me and she raises an eyebrow in response, silently asking me what I meant. "Oh, never mind. I must be seeing things. Your sister is just losing her marbles," I say, poking her in the side and eliciting a giggle.
"Don't worry, even if you do go crazy, I'll make sure to keep your stuff safe," she chirps.
"Well glad to know you care about my stuff more than me," I reply, feigning hurt feelings. She giggles again and wraps her arms around me in a hug. I hope she's always this affectionate towards me. She pulls away and goes back to watching the show that's on, eyes glazing over once more. I smile and look back down at my book, mind wandering as I try to read.
My sister and I, we live alone in this apartment. Our parents died about a year back, a car accident is what killed them. Luckily I was 18, old enough to be my sister's legal guardian. We rent the house out and use the money to live in a nice apartment. It's got two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen with up to date appliances, and a decent sized living room. It wasn't the grand house we had grown up in, but it worked for us, and that's all that matters right now.
My sister, May, is eight right now. I think she felt it the hardest when we lost our parents. I spent so much time trying to keep her from falling into a depression, that I didn't even mourn their loss properly. My therapist said that wasn't good, but I didn't care. I kept May happy and that's all I could ever ask for. The light from the television is casting a dull glow on her mousy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes and I can't help but smile.
"May, bed time is in an hour. That gives us enough time for some cookies and hot chocolate," I offer. Her eyes light up and she smiled brightly at the prospect.
"Really (Y/N)? Can we really have some hot chocolate?" she asks. I nod and stand up, stretching my arms above my head. "Three huge marshmallows, whipped cream, and cinnamon please."
"I wouldn't make it any other way," I tell her. She calls out a thank you as I walk towards the kitchen. I'm about to go in, but see a blur in the corner of my eyes. I whip my head around and stare at the section of the room I saw it in. Nothing is there. Maybe I really am going crazy this time. I rub my eyes, blink a few times, and shrug it off.
Mugs are the first thing I grab when I walk into the kitchen. Milk and cocoa packets are next. As the milk heats up in the microwave I get out the marshmallows, whipped cream, and cinnamon. I mix the cocoa into the mug of milk and put the toppings on, proudly taking in my beautiful creations. I'm just about to pick up the cups when I hear a crash and the lights go out. "May, are you alright?" I call to her.
"Yeah, that wasn't me," she quickly replies. "(Y/N), I'm scared."
"Don't worry, I'm coming over there right now," I tell her. I put the mugs back down and feel my way along the wall to get into the living room. I find her huddled up on the couch and quickly pick her up. Another crash comes from the kitchen and she clutches me tighter. "Shh, it's ok. We're going to go hide in the closet now and everything will be fine, just stay quiet," I whisper to her. She nods and I quietly make my way to my room.
When we get there I close the door behind us and set her down. She rushes for the closet and I grab a bat I keep for protection. I jump as another crash is heard, closer to the door this time, and curse myself for not fixing the broken lock. Holding the bat out in front of me, I back up to the closet and quickly get in. "I'm really scared," May whispers to me.
"I know, but we have to be strong. I promise you this, you won't get hurt, not as long as I'm around," I promise. My head jerks towards the closet door as the bedroom door slams open, banging against the wall. I push May behind me and hold the bat up high, ready to defend the both of us. Steps are heard as whatever it is gets closer to the closet. My grip tightens as the door handle begins to jiggle and I swallow roughly. The door opens and I swing my bat immediately, hearing the relieving sound of a body dropping to the floor.
At that moment the lights come up and I can see the man I hit. He had spiky brown hair jutting out crazily, those old red and blue 3D glasses, a pin stripe suit underneath a trench coat, and white converse. It's an odd combination, but he seems to pull it off well. "He doesn't look like a burglar, does he?" May asked me.
"No, I suppose he doesn't. Let's tie him up just in case. We can never be too careful," I tell her. She nods and goes to get the rope while I keep watch over the man. On closer inspection I notice the freckles all over his face and how lanky he seems. In all honestly, he looks pretty handsome, in an adorable yet dorky kind of way. May returns with the rope and we quickly tie him to a chair from the dinner table.
"What do we do now? I mean, he looks dead to the world," she says. We both stand there, thinking of what to do with the guy. As we ponder the situation he begins to wake up, already straining against the ropes. His eyes open and I have to stifle a gasp. They look so full of pain and sadness, but also adventure, and have the depth of too many lifetimes of experience.
"Oi, it wasn't very nice to whack me with a bat and tie me up," he says, obviously annoyed.
"Well, it wasn't very nice to break into our apartment," I counter.
"I wasn't breaking in! I landed here in my TARDIS!" he exclaims. I raise my eyebrow in curiosity and move closer to him. I place a hand on the chair back and move my face very close to his. My eyes search his for any indication of malice. "I swear, I have no plans to harm you or the child."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because, there's no fun in leaving me tied up. And my TARDIS brought me here for a reason."
I looked deeply into his eyes and decided to trust the madman. "Alright, I'm going to untie you now, but you have to stay where I can see you at all times," I tell him. He nods his head and I back up. I move to the back of the chair and make quick work of the knot, allowing him to get up and stretch.
"Right then, let's get straight to it. I'm the Doctor," he says, holding his hand out to me. I tentatively take it and grip his hand.
"I'm (Y/N) and that one over there is my sister, May," I tell him. He looks in her direction and waves.
"Hello Mr. Doctor," she chirps. She smiles brightly and waves back, all earlier fear forgotten. The Doctor starts saying something to her, but I miss most of it as I see that blur again. I turn my head in the direction it came from and am met with nothing, again. I sigh and look back to find the Doctor staring at me.
"You saw it, didn't you?" he asks. He looks so sad and, for some reason, I don't like the way that makes his face fall.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see anything," I say quickly.
"Don't lie, you've been seeing them. The blurs and shapes whizzing about in the corner of your eye. You've been seeing them."
"So what if I have, they're just my imagination. Nothing more than my mind playing tricks on me, right?" I ask, no longer certain. I see it again, but this time it skitters across my vision. The Doctor notices this time too, and furrows his eyebrows together.
"Follow me to the TARDIS if you want to live. I've always wanted to say that," he says, starting off grimly but sounding peppy towards the end. He begins to walk towards May's bedroom.
"Should we really be following that guy?" May asks me. I look between her and the Doctor.
"No," I tell her, pulling her along as we follow him anyway. He leads us into the bedroom and towards the large blue box in the middle of it. The band across the top says it's a public call box and a small light is set on top. Despite the sigh that clearly says "pull to open", the Doctor pushes the door. He steps inside and holds it open for us, waving us in.
"Come along, we haven't got all day. Well, technically we have all of time, but that's not important right now," he tells us. May and I share a look, but shrug and walk into the box.
The inside of the call box is extraordinary. It looks like a large, circular room with a control panel in the middle. The panel in the middle of it all is covered with whirring devices and beeping buttons. There are two stories, both of which have hallways branching off into different directions. "Doctor, this is amazing! It's like you took a whole other dimension and stuck it in this box!" I exclaim.
"No silly, it's bigger on the inside," May corrects me. The Doctor looks between the two of us and laughs.
"Well, you're both right, (Y/N) more so than May. She basically gave you the explanation I would have. How did you know?" he asks me. I feel a strange sense of pride when he compliments me.
"I went to college for a year where I studied astrophysics and theoretical physics. I had to drop out for May, but ended up keeping the textbooks and reading them," I explain. The Doctor nods and turns to the control panel. He begins to spin some things and push other objects, creating a symphony of odd noises.
"Mr. Doctor, what are those things that (Y/N) keeps seeing?" May asks him.
"Have you ever heard of the Macra? No, of course you haven't, stupid of me to ask. Anyway, the Macra are the cephalopod things that feed on your dreams. Do you understand?"
May shakes her head and looks at me, waiting for an explanation. "They're crabs that eat dreams," I explain. She nods and looks back to the Doctor so he can continue.
"Going on then, what your sister is seeing is a mutated version of them. These Macra not only feed on the dreams, but create them. They force their victims to have a dream in which the worst thing possible happens to them. The Macra then feed off of that fear and allow their victims to, literally, die of fright," he finishes.
"Doctor, you're scaring her!" I scold him. May is clutching onto my leg and trying to fight the obvious tears in her eyes. "Why has this thing attached itself to me then?"
"It goes for a victim prone to bad dreams and latches itself to their mental state. For all we know, it could be attaching itself to May here."
"If that's the case, then how do we get rid of it? I promised my sister she wouldn't get hurt tonight."
"The only way to get rid of it is to kill it. I'd like to give it a chance first, might be worth the effort," he suggests. I glare at him, crossing my arms and leaning on one hip, to get my message across. "Right then, straight to the stabby stabby with you lot."
"Quite so, now do you happen to have a rapier and a hair tie in this place?" I ask. I used to fence as a child and became quite good at it, hopefully I hadn't lost that skill lately.
"I think I still have the one from when I met Marie Antoinette. Big cake lover that one, though I suppose that's was her downfall. Now the hair tie, I might still have one of Martha's old ones. She did like to wear those. Last time I saw her, she was with Mickey. Never imagined those two together, but I suppose love works in a silly way. Well, actually love is quite a simple process…," he rambled. He continued talking as he ran down a hallway, his voice bouncing off the walls.
"Hey, Mr. Doctor, what is this place?" May asks, calling in the general direction the Doctor went. He pokes his head out an entrance opposite from the one he left and his face seems to light up.
"Well, TARDIS stand for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's essentially a time machine that can go through all of space and time. You know, a common misconception about time is that it's linear. In fact, time is more like a wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey…thing. Hmm, that's a bit harder to explain than I thought. Either way it's definitely not the straight line you thought it was," he explains, sliding down a banister and landing in front of us.
"Doctor, do you have what I asked for?" I asked, slightly incredulous. It's a little hard to take him seriously when he slides down banisters and wears old 3D glasses. He quickly takes off the glasses, seemingly reading my thoughts, and places them in his coat's inside pocket.
"Of course, here is your rapier and a hair tie. Wait, where are you going?" he asks. I had the rapier put through a belt loop in my jeans and was currently tying my hair up as I walked towards the doors of the TARDIS.
"Obviously I'm going to go kill that Macra. It is threatening the safety of my family," I tell him. I tighten my ponytail and place a hand on the door, fully intent on pushing it open. I'm stopped, however, by a hand on my shoulder.
"You are very brave, but do you know what they look like or where their weak spot is?" the Doctor asks. I sigh and take my hand off the door, motioning for him to continue. He smiles and leads us over to the control panel, throwing a screen our way. As he presses buttons a picture comes up of a crab looking creature. It doesn't have any claws, or legs really, but the body looks flexible. It is grey and has spots on the underside, which I assume is connected to the whole induced dream thing. "This is what they look like, but do not be fooled by their soft appearance. They have exceptionally strong skin and only one weak spot. Their tough skin is soft on the underside, which is only exposed when they leap at you to feed off your dreams," the Doctor explains.
"Well, (Y/N) is super-fast and strong too. She can defeat these with no problem," May boasts. The Doctor gives her a smile and nods his head, but his eyes tell a different story. May seems to notice this, so she puffs her cheeks out and grabs my hand to pull me along. "Come on, we're going to go defeat the evil dream crabs," she declares.
"Woah there, you aren't coming with me. You're going to stay in this TARDIS, where it is safe, and wait for the Doctor and I," I tell her, digging my heels into the floor to stop her. She gives me a kicked puppy look, trying to get me to waver my resolve. Crap, it's working too. I bite my lip and try to look away, but I can see them anyway. "Doctor?"
"I don't see a problem with it. She might prove herself helpful," he says. I sigh and look between the two of them. Placing a hand to my forehead I shake my head in disbelief, I'm really about to allow this.
"Fine, you can come with us, but you have to stay with me the whole time," I tell her. She nods her head and salutes to me. "Come along Doctor, let's go kill a dream crab and then we all get hot cocoa and cookies," I declare.
The Doctor smiles brightly and takes the lead. He gets to the door and pauses, turning back to face us. He slowly opens the door and I hold up my rapier. "Allons-y!" he exclaims before disappearing through the door again. I push May behind me and follow him, May closing the door once she passes through it. "This way, it should be in the room you sleep in," the Doctor says.
"Alright, let's go to my room then," I say. I lead the way to my room and can't help but notice the blur that goes by as we enter the room. "Close the door, quickly," I hiss, the Doctor complying hastily.
"Everyone up on the bed, we can stand back to back and watch for it," the Doctor tells us. May and I climb up on the bed, followed by the Doctor, and we stand with our backs to each other. I hold up the rapier, ready for anything, and the Doctor pulls out an odd silver and blue cylinder.
"Doctor, what in the world is that?" I ask him. He presses a button and the head of it flicks up, making a whirring noise.
"It's a sonic screwdriver," he says, as though that alone should be explanation enough.
"Right, because what's a screwdriver if it isn't sonic," I reply sarcastically.
"Exactly!"
I roll my eyes and let a tense silence fall over us. We pass the next few minutes in the silence, my muscles growing tighter as I wait for something to happen. Eventually I start to relax a bit and lose my form. I am about to ask the Doctor something when a scuttling sound is heard. I instantly tense up again and push May behind me, sandwiching her between the Doctor and I. My eyes catch the motion of the Macra as it runs by, getting closer and closer.
"Doctor, it's coming closer to my side. What should I do?" I ask him, never taking my eyes off the thing.
"Just keep it in sight. The moment it jumps try to impale it," he answers. I nod and raise my rapier in anticipation. The Macra goes by again, but stops right in front of me this time. It lifts itself up, but is too far for me to be able to hit it and still protect May. A standoff seems to occur as we stare each other down. Finally the Macra moves and launches itself into the air, coming straight for me. I lunge forward and thrust the rapier…into thin air.
A sharp cry behind me is heard and I feel the shift in weight as a small body falls to the bed. I slowly turn around and screech as I see my little sister. She is lying still on the bed, the Macra completely covering her face, and is twitching slightly. I kneel down next to her and try to pry the Macra off. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE DAMMIT! HELP ME!" I scream at the Doctor. He breaks out of his stupor and kneels beside me too.
It takes us too long, but we finally manage to pull the Macra off of her. It falls to the bed, underside facing up, and scream as I impale it with the rapier. I leave the sword in the mattress and go back to May. I cradle her in my lap and let tears fall freely as I rock her lifeless body. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the Doctor whispers.
"Sorry doesn't bring her back," I croak out. I bend over her body and let the sobs wrack through my body. I had promised to keep her safe tonight, to let nothing hurt her, so why did she die? Why, why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been me? She had so much left to do in life. She wanted to be a veterinarian and help animals, but now she couldn't. I would never get to see her smiling face again. I had lost another family member and now I was all alone in the world. "Why couldn't it have been me?" I whisper.
"I'm so sorry…./N)….wake up pl….e needs you to w…..please," the Doctor says. His voice seems far away and I look up to find myself alone. May isn't in my arms and it's dark everywhere. Suddenly a blue light is shining right in front of me, blinding me, and I reach out for it. "Wake up (Y/N)," the Doctor says again, but it's clear this time. My eyes snap open and I take a labored breath, flinching under the light of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. He quickly puts it away, but doesn't move from his position, hovering over me.
I can't move and everything is in pain. My eyes glance to the side of the bed and the Macra is there, a rapier sticking out of it. May is above me, cradling my head in her arms, and the Doctor is next to her. He looks so sad, May does too. Then it dons on me, it was all a dream created by the Macra. May wasn't attacked, but I was. I'm so glad it was me instead of her.
"(Y/N), please don't die. You're all I have left," May pleads. She is crying and I try to frown, but even that hurts. Breathing hurts too, dear lord everything is on fire. May holds me closer and I feel my eyes slipping closed, but I have to fight it. I have to stay awake long enough to tell her.
"May, I love you, please don't forget that. I kept my promise too, so stay safe for me, but do what makes you happy," I manage to croak out. She starts crying even harder than before, but nods her head. My eyes shift over to the Doctor, who looks on the verge of tears as well. I take a deep, labored breath and try to ignore the pain as I speak again. "Doctor, please keep my sister safe. Protect her for as long as she stays with you."
"I will, I promise I will. I'm so sorry. Dear God, I'm so, so sorry," he whispers, reaching out to grab my hand. He squeezes it and a tear falls down his cheek. I smile at the both of them, still ignoring the pain. I gasp slightly and take one last breath, closing my eyes and letting go. I'm glad she'll be safe, I think as I breathe out for the last time, a smile on my face.
I slowly close the compact mirror, shutting off the hologram that was playing. The tears are sliding down my cheeks, like they always do when I watch it. I open this compact too much, at least that's what the Doctor thinks. I don't know why I do it, watch my sister die over and over again, but I do. The Doctor says it's my way of holding on to her. I think he might be right.
The Doctor gave me this compact a week after it happened. He didn't go into details, but apparently he was able to take the Macra and extract the remnants of (Y/N)'s dream and last moments. He then put them into a discreet carrier and gave it to me, so I could carry her with me.
I tell her story when I get the chance. My sister, the person who was happy to die in my stead, will always be my hero. The Doctor comes close behind her, but I don't think he will ever surpass her. I quickly wipe away the tears when I hear footsteps from another part of the TARDIS. "May, are you ready for another adventure?" he asks me. I turn around and give my Doctor a smile.
He's changed a bit since that day, he calls it regeneration, but I like to call it rebirth. He's still the same Doctor though, my Doctor. I've been with him so long now; I think it has been ten years. He never fails to impress me when we go on adventures. "Doctor, today is the anniversary," I tell him. His smile diminishes slightly and he gives me those sad eyes.
"Oh, yes of course. Do you want to go visit her?" he asks me. I think about it for a bit, but shake my head slowly. He tilts his head in confusion; I usually jump at the chance to see her grave,
"I already watched today and I thought about what she said to me. (Y/N) wouldn't want me to dwell on her for so long; she would want me to be out there having fun. Let's go on a grand adventure and visit her later. After all, we have a time machine," I tell him.
He smiles and begins to turn a few levers on the control panel of the TARDIS. "Well then, let's go have an adventure in her name! You know, there's an intergalactic pub known for their Shirley Temples. We should go drink a few for (Y/N)," he suggests.
"Well then, let's get to moving Mr. Doctor. Allons-y!"
"Geronimo!"
Yeah, my sister was happy to be the one dead right now. She may be gone, but I can feel her smiling down on me. I know she's happy that I'm living my life to the fullest, because that's just who she is, my (Y/N).
So, that happened. If you liked the writing style and are a Hetalia fan, you can go to my profile for more stories. Thank you for reading this, comment your thoughts, and live your life to the absolute fullest!