Naftali stumbled and her back came in contact with something rough and hard. Her ears still rang with the roaring sound that echoed all around during her trip. She opened her eyes, breathing heavily, and saw something that made her head spin. There was a large container before her, overflowing with dirty detritus and insects. The wall at her back was made of reddish stones, all cut exactly the same. She'd never seen anything like it.

"Oi! Oi, you!"

She turned at the voice and her breath caught in her chest. He was human, obviously, but not like any human she'd ever seen. He was fat, mostly bald, and wearing a threadbare robe loosely wrapped about his body.

"Do you address me?" she asked, stepping hesitantly forward.

"Yeah, I'm addressin' you. Listen, I'm gettin' right tired of weird people like you runnin' through here. Every other week it seems like there's another bloke in a costume crashin' into the alley. And that's not to mention the ruckus that skinny git makes with his big box."

"A man with a box?" She took another step forward, hope lifting her heart.

"Have you seen him? The tall man with the box?"

"Not for a few weeks now. He a friend of yours? Wouldn't be surprised."

"Yes, a friend of sorts. Do you know where he is now?"

"Haven't the foggiest. If you do find him, tell him to start using someone else's alley!" The man slammed the door, leaving Naftali to stand in bewilderment in the strange new world.

It took all of her courage to venture outward to see the rest of her new surroundings. It couldn't have been more different from home. Instead of dirt, the ground was made of something harder and colorless. The buildings were square and climbed to amazing heights that were dizzying just to look at. The lanterns and signs were so much brighter than she'd ever thought possible.

"Incredible," she murmured, staring around.

So consumed with the new sights, she didn't see another man moving toward her until he bumped into her side.

"Terribly sorry," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Good God, look at you. Part of the theater, eh? That's quite the costume."

She didn't respond, staring in astonishment at the stranger. "Doctor!" she finally gasped.

He looked at her quizzically. "Pardon?"

She couldn't believe she'd found him. This was, without a doubt, the man she was looking for. Her was a full head taller than her, dressed in brown clothes and with hair that stood on end. "I need you! My people need you! Please, show me the way to your palace and let us go!"

Now he looked even more confused. "Sorry, the name's Smith. But, if you need a doctor, I can take you to the nearest clinic."

"What? No, you, Doctor. You're the one I was sent to find."

"I'm sorry, I don't..." He looked down, his brow furrowing. "Where did you get that necklace?"

She had almost forgotten the pendant. "It was given to me by a dear friend. It is a relic, given to my people by yourself."

He shook his head. "It looks familiar, but not that familiar. Where did you say you were from again?"

"Babylon."

His eyes showed he didn't believe her, but he didn't admit that. "Right. Well, it's freezing out here and I'm going to guess you're not actually with the theater. I'll take you home for a while until you can get your head back in order."

"How can you not understand?" She held fast as he tried to pull her with him, and he froze. "There isn't time! My land is under attack and we need you!"

"Alright, I'm not sure what's happened to you, and I'm willing to help, but I'm not a doctor. I'm just John Smith."

Perhaps she was mistaken. Maybe in this world there were many men who looked like this. At any rate, it was cold out, too cold for her cloth dress, so she might as well accept his offer to find a warm place to think. With a sinking feeling, she nodded. "Alright. I welcome your hospitality."

He seemed to relax at this and nodded. "Good, good. Well, come on, then, my flat is just round the corner here." They set off, down the paths made of stone and past the tall, tall buildings.

. . .

Several hours later, John Smith returned to his flat to see the strange girl sitting by the window, staring at the streets below. She'd been there when he left an hour and a half before, and seemed to have not moved.

"Do you want anything to eat?" he asked, putting his bags of shopping on the table. "I've just been to the grocer's, what do you want?"

"I'm not very hungry," she murmured.

He frowned. She was an extremely odd creature, perhaps mentally unstable. She was rather beautiful and exotic-looking, and actually did look like she could be from Babylon. He was absolutely bewildered as to what to do with her. "I-I'm sorry, could I get your name again? It's a bit hard to remember."

"Naftali," she said, turning to look at him. "And you say you're John Smith?"

He nodded. "That's right. Oh, look, I got some clothes for you while I was out.

You'd be quite a sight, walking around dressed like that."

"It's supposed to be a sight. My clothes distinguish me from the lesser townspeople."

"Right. Well, that's not exactly the style now, you understand. These are better." It was easier to play along than to outright act like she was loony.

With a sigh, she rose gracefully from her chair and took the plastic bag from him, then made a face at its contents. "These are men's clothes."

A smile tugged at his mouth. "You won't see a lot of men wearing those. If you don't want them, I won't make you wear them."

"I will take them," she said. "I believe I am stuck here until I find the Doctor, so it would be best to blend in."

He was frowning again. "I don't understand what that means."

"This pendant I'm wearing brought me here. It was supposed to lead me to the Doctor that will save us, but I've found out it only works once."

"So you're stuck here, then?"

She cast her dark eyes over him. "I think that's up to you and your memories."

He opened his mouth to dismiss her assumption, but she cut him off. "Tell me, John Smith, do you know anything about a blue box that's bigger on the inside?"

His mouth closed with a snap. She couldn't possibly know. "Maybe you should change," he said evasively.

She knew he was hiding something, but decided not to press him further. In time, he would reveal what he knew.

He had to be under some sort of spell. In Babylon, magic was the first suspect for unexplainable problems. If a man like a god could forget who he was, something powerful had to be behind it.

Naftali had minor issues while dressing, finding the more fitted garments to be a drastic change from her flowing dress. There were tough, blue pants, a shirt with no sleeves, and a black jacket of leather, but it was like no leather she had ever used. Once dressed, she observed herself in the mirror of the washroom. She looked... strange. She still wore her jewelry, but without the elegence of her dress, they looked almost out of place. She left them on, anyway. No point in forfeiting more symbols of her dignity.

John Smith greeted her as she came out, nodding at her appearance. "That's good. It fits you."

"I hardly think so," she sniffed, sitting at the kitchen table. "Well, if you aren't the Doctor, do you know where I might find him?"

"Naftali - could I call you Tali?" She nodded. "Tali, I don't even know who this doctor is, much less where you'll find him."

Her heart felt heavy at his denial. "He is a great man. A god, I've been told. Monsters came to my land once before, and he defeated them all on his own. They have returned, and now he is our only hope of saving Babylon."

John Smith seated himself across from her and puffed his cheeks out. "Wouldn't be the Romans, would it?"

"If that is their name. I know not what they're called, only that they are not men. They are... nightmares."

"Ehhhh so, could still be Romans," he said thoughtfully.

"Regardless of their name, they are destroying my city. I was given the responsibility of seeking help, and I cannot return until I've found it."

"And what makes you so sure I'm this Doctor?"

"We have drawings of history in our caves. There is the image of a man, tall and thin with hair that stands on end."

He made a face. "It doesn't stand on end. It's got style."

"He stands next to a blue box which is said to be his moving palace." At this, John Smith became uncomfortable, shifting in his chair and refusing to look at her. "You know the blue box," she said. "I can see you know of what I speak."

"It... it's just a dream," he said firmly. "That's all. I see a blue police box in my dreams, but it's just from watching too many old movies. Police boxes aren't even in use anymore."

"Have you stopped being the Doctor because your palace fell out of style?"
He gave her a look. "I'm sorry, Tali, but I'm not the one you're looking for. In my world, we don't have people just popping up from other periods of time."

"Nor do we, but once, and that turned out to be one of the most important events to my people. John Smith, I guarentee, you are the Doctor, and I will help you find your memory."

"Yes, but I don't believe you!" he said with equal severity. "If you really are from Babylon, which I don't believe because time travel is impossible, why are you speaking perfect English?"

It was her turn to look baffled. "English? I thought we were speaking Babylonian."

They stared at each other across the table, then John Smith's eyes were drawn down to her pendant once again. "What is that?"

"It's what brought me to you. A gift from you."

"I know, but the color, it... I've never seen a stone of that color before."

"Nor have I. We have no metal like this, either."

"Oh, that's not weird at all, I see that sort of metal all the time in-" He paused,his brow furrowing. "I swear, I've seen that metal, I just can't think where."

"Could it be in your palace?"

"I don't have a palace," he stated, getting to his feet. She noticed that he moved around a lot more than the average person. "Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

She remained silent, moving again to the window seat to look moodily outside. John Smith frowned at her, but said nothing more. He was beginning to dislike her presence.