A/N: Thought I'd try out some alternate universe and this is the result. This story is un-betaed, so if you see any spelling errors or mistakes please let me know. Other than that, feedback is wonderful so please leave a comment or two. I hope you enjoy it! =)
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.
Rose Tyler hauled the rest of the equipment into the back of the van for their newest assignment. She and the rest of the team had been asked to investigate claims about an old house that's been scaring the locals for years now. They often got requests from the owners of the homes they investigated, but not this time. The old caretaker of the house, Wilfred Mott, asked them personally if they would take a look. Well, him and a majority of the little village that lived there.
Rose wouldn't deny that she was curious about this home.
From what they'd been told it was actually an old mansion that had been in the area for generations, owned by the same family; the Smiths. According to Jack, their boss, the family had been known for their eccentricity and it wasn't uncommon to hear loud bangs or small explosions coming from the estate.
Rose thought over the conversation that they'd had a few weeks ago about the house, particularly the incident from ten years ago. Jack called them in to discuss their plan of attack for this investigation and the basic history of the estate, but mostly the recent events.
A few weeks earlier, in the back room of a small shop labeled Torchwood: Paranormal Investigators, the employees of Torchwood were gathered around the table waiting for Jack's news.
"Alright everyone, we've got a job!" he announced gleefully.
"Really? And where will this job be?" Mickey was hardly one to beat around the bush. He was always wary of where the new jobs would be, mostly because of expenses.
Jack smirked. "It's not too far from here, about 50 miles north in the town of-" he paused for a moment as he flipped through the file on the table, "Gallifrey! Weird name for a town, but anyway, the home we were asked to investigate is known as the Smith Estate. Really, who came up with these names? According to the information I've found, the Smith Estate had been owned by the Smith family for generations. It passed from father to son until ten years ago when the current owner vanished into thin air."
"What?!" Mickey exclaimed. "Nobody just vanishes, Jack. Maybe the guy skipped town or something."
Jack shrugged. "That's one of the rumors floating around this little village, too. There are so many different urban legends about this guy. Some even claim that he was actually not the son of the original owner, but that he was the original owner himself and that each different ancestor was a different incarnation of Mr. Smith. Apparently many were convinced that he was some kind of shape shifting alien stuck on Earth while trying to repair his ship. Trust me, Mickey, the stories about this guy get weirder and weirder the more you look into them, but there is some truth to the conspiracies."
"And what truth would that be, Mr. Harkness?" Rose sassed cheekily. She and Jack went way back, he used to babysit her when her mother was working. He was an old family friend to Rose, Jackie, and even Mickey.
"Well, Miss Tyler, before I was rather rudely interrupted, I was going to say that previous owner had been a very eccentric person. So it wasn't unusual for people to draw strange conclusions about his past or his family's history."
Rose quirked an eyebrow. "So, who was the guy?"
Jack grinned. "You're going to love this; his name was Dr. John Smith."
Everyone in the room groaned.
John Smith, Rose mused, how original.
Jack continued. "Apparently, Dr. Smith was a very excitable professor at the local university as well as a highly intelligent scientist. Records show that he had been working on some projects at his home. Rumor around the campus was that the projects had something to do with time travel."
Rose had to admit, that was different. He must have been a big fan of H. G. Wells.
"According to the locals stories, Dr. Smith had built a machine that he claimed was only a step away from successful time travel. On the night that he tested his machine, something went wrong and the project failed. Now most believed that Dr. Smith had been so devastated by his project's failure that he couldn't face the embarrassment it caused and left town in the middle of the night. Of course, there were other theories that would suggest that the project exploded and killed both the professor and his assistant Mr. Lee McAvoy."
"He had an assistant, too? So it wasn't just him who went missing." Mickey had an intrigued look on his face and Rose knew that Jack had gained the man's approval for the job.
Rose was not so easily convinced. "So what?" She gave Jack 'the look,' as he liked to call it. The one that said that she wasn't buying the pitch he was giving.
A smug grin covered Jack's face. "So what?" he repeated. "So everything, Rose Tyler. It was on this night that the haunting started. Or, that's how the villagers tell it."
"Villagers? You mean to say that the townspeople have also inquired about the estate?" Mrs. Moore chimed in from behind Rose. Mrs. Moore, as she was known around Torchwood and other investigator's circles, was actually Angela Price whose day job was at a technology firm. They didn't know much about her job other than she gets paid very well and is well respected in her work.
"Yes. It was not actually Mr. Mott's idea; the villagers begged both him and a distant relative to the Smith family, a Sarah Jane Smith, if they could at least have someone take a look at the house. There have been reports of increasing activity surrounding the property that has the entire town on edge." Jack handed out some reports and personal letters from the townsfolk that Mr. Mott had sent him.
"That is unusual." Rose read through some of the papers in front of her, reading each account that made some upsetting claims about the Smith Estate."
Jack's face grew hard as he pulled out another folder from under some of the inquiries. He flipped it open and stared at it for a moment. "There is also some concern that there had been some 'unholy rituals' that might have taken place on the property, too."
"They think that there are demons on the estate?" Now, Rose was not very religious and did not believe for a second that there could possibly be some 'demonic presence' at the house, but it might explain some of the villager's reactions. Rose considered herself a skeptic in that regard. "Jack, this better not be a wild goose chase."
"Rose, I know you really don't believe this stuff, but the villagers are terrified and our job is to pacify them first. They believe it's real and I want to calm their nerves about the situation, whether or not we actually find anything."
Rose understood what Jack was saying, as she firmly believed the same thing, but deep down she felt that the villager's had demonized the professor in some way and that did not sit well with her. It was similar to the way she was treated as a child because of her 'condition.' Just because she was different, she was treated cruelly.
"I know." she said, feeling like a chastised child. She leaned back in her chair and downed the rest of her tea. "Alright then, what other rumors are there about this Dr. Smith?"
Jack went on to say, "There are a fair few that have claimed that the project had not failed at all and in fact was successful, hence why Dr. Smith has never returned. Either way, the fact is that something happened in that house that is scaring the locals and our team is the most reliable in the area. There are a few things I need to show you before we all decide to take this job."
Jack pulled out another folder and passed out a few photos. The first photo was of the house, if one could call it that. It was massive and that was just being modest. It resembled a castle that belonged in a fairytale. An original Grimm Brother's fairytale, that is.
No wonder the locals were so terrified of this place, it was downright horrifying even in the daytime.
Mickey whistled when he saw the picture. "Damn, Jack. Are you sure we aren't secretly starring in a horror film. I've seen some scary places, but this takes the cake."
Jack snorted. "What's this, Rickey Boy? You scared?"
Mickey gestured rudely at the larger man and Rose intervened before it devolved into an insult match. "Enough, you two. We have work to finish."
He mumbled under his breath, "He started it." Rose gave him a dirty look and he instantly quieted after that.
Jack explained that the photo was taken about a year ago, just outside the estate. After that, he passed around a second picture taken a few weeks ago. The change was astonishing. The house looked even more dilapidated than before and much more ominous.
"Whoa, what happened?" Rose may not know much about structural decay when it came to homes like this, but she had never seen something like this before. The entire house looked like it had been abandoned for decades, not simply a year.
Rose had a feeling that Jack knew this would catch her attention as he described the photo in front of her. "The first nine years since the accident it looked just like that first picture I showed you, however, starting a year ago everything around the estate seemed to change. Many of the villagers described that it was only an ominous feeling whenever they passed the estate, but over the last year that feeling increased to the point that nobody would so much as walk or even drive by it. Others that were daring enough to go near the place described seeing lights flickering in the house and reported shadows moving in front of the windows. And then there are the 'specters' as many of villagers called them. Some were able to snap a few pictures of what they saw, before they took off running of course."
Jack pulled out a set of photos this time. The first one Rose received showed what looked like a large, black creature hovering behind a wall beside the large gardens. Although it was difficult to see, another had a humanoid figure standing just outside the doors of the house. This figure was tall and slim; it looked more like a shadow of a man. Jack caught Rose's eye and nodded towards the picture.
"Several say that's him; Dr. Smith. He was just about that tall." He pulled out one last photo and handed it to Rose.
She was taken aback by the picture. Unlike the other photos, this was hardly a terrifying image. A tall man with a slim, wiry frame and unruly hair stood next to an older man in a red hat. Standing next the older man was a ginger haired woman who looked just about ready to smack the tall man. Pointing at the younger man in the photo, Jack explained that this was Dr. John Smith.
"He looks a bit young to be a Doctor." Jake, their tech guy and Mrs. Moore's nephew, commented.
"Well, he was a bit of a genius according to Mr. Mott. A child prodigy that, after completing school early, went on to earn a few doctorates. And by the looks of things, he also has a nice set of-"
"Jack, is that really necessary?" Rose interrupted him, trying to fight a smile at her friend/boss's salacious habits.
Jack took the photo and placed it back in the folder, along with the other photographs.
"Well," Mickey drawled, "what does everyone think?" It was obvious that everyone was a bit wary of taking this assignment.
"Jack," Rose turned to her friend with a questioning look in her eye, "do you really think we should do this? I mean, look at the state of this house. It doesn't look like it's hospitable at all. Are you sure this is safe?"
Running a hand through his hair, Jack had a careful look in his eye. Rose could tell he wasn't totally sure this would be the best of ideas, but knew that the villagers needed their help so he didn't want to back out.
"I spoke with Mr. Mott, the older gentleman you saw in that last photo, and he assured me that it was only the outside of the house that looked that run down. The inside is just as furnished and taken care of as ever, as was in the Mr. Mott's contract. He said that he's taken very good care of the house, with the help of Ms. Smith and Donna Noble, his granddaughter. He cannot explain what happened to the outside of the house along with the rest of the estate, but he's taken care of the inside. He's assured me, it's safe."
Rose was still skeptical, but she'd take a look at the house first before deciding anything. She trusted Jack's judgment and this wouldn't be the first time they took on a possibly dangerous assignment. That's why Torchwood was as famous as it was; it took the jobs that many other paranormal investigators would turn down.
"Alright, fine. Count me in." Rose said, rather disgruntled by Jack's assuredness in her taking the job. Git.
After that, everyone unanimously agreed to take the job. It was an unusual request, but they were Torchwood; they were used to that. The only member that had not been present at the time was Ianto, Jack's partner, who had been away on a business trip for the past week. Jack had already discussed it with him over the phone and Ianto agreed, promising to be back in time for the job.
After all was said and done, they each decided to take time off of work to get as much investigation done at the estate as they could. Each member of the team managed to get five days free for the trip, weekend included.
Back to the present time, Rose secured the equipment for travel and hopped in the front seat of the van with Mickey. Jack was riding with Ianto in his vehicle and Mrs. Moore and Jake were riding together in her car.
"Ready?" Mickey asked her, excitement bright in his eyes.
Rose smiled back. "Ready."
And they pulled away from Torchwood headquarters on their way to the village of Gallifrey.