Chapter 2
I laid my head down on the cool metal table in front of me. Van Statten wouldn't allow me to leave until I told him what my watch was. It was just a watch! Even if I told him whatever he wanted to know I doubt he would let me go anytime soon.
I was usually just left alone, cuffed in a chair, but sometimes people came in to… look at me; to check and see if I had changed, if I was alien yet.
My dreams were still invaded with the Doctor and his police box, always telling me to come with him. Except now instead of the morphing silhouette, I could put a face to a name. Today Van Statten came to visit, and his patience with me was short.
"Hello , or are you ready to tell me your real name?" I stayed silent, and looked him over. He wasn't wearing my necklace today, he probably decided to add it to his "prized collection" I had been hearing so much about. The woman behind him signaled that he had fired another assistant, probably five minutes earlier. I wouldn't dare question him. As much as I hated him, I was more afraid.
"Not talking today? Fine, you're lucky I have more important matters to attend to," He then turned and walked out of the room. I exhaled, I was relieved he was in a bad mood, last time he was in a good mood, he hooked me up to that… thing.
I'm not sure how long I was alone this time, but I hadn't moved an inch, my aching muscles were the indicator for that. After a while I heard voices, and the voices were coming closer, and then the door opened. I didn't look up.
"She won't speak; I know she's hiding something."
"You have an assumption," The voice was familiar, "So you keep an innocent young girl against her will?"
I looked up, "Doctor?" My eyes met his shocked ones.
"Vanessa? But I just saw you…" he trailed off.
"You know her Doctor? If you do maybe you can shed some light on this little… artifact." Van Statten handed my watch to the Doctor. The Doctor stared down at the watch, walking forwards and turning it in his hands.
"Impossible…" He muttered, running his fingers over the back of the watch, "Vanessa, this is yours?" I nodded, and he set the watch down on the table.
"I think it's time," he pushed the watch towards me, "For you to open it." I looked down at the watch; all I had to do was open it?
"Why? Why should I open it, it's just a watch," I said, but took it anyway.
"Trust me, Vanessa, it's more than a watch." It was weird, but I did.
I trusted him.
I trusted him and opened it.
I woke up disoriented and with only one thought on my mind.
Freedom.
I had been locked in that stupid fob watch for over two years, and so, so glad to be free of it. Before opening my eyes I righted my mind, which was clouded and foggy, all senses coming back to me at once. I blinked twice, and then noticed I was alone, and my handcuffs were gone.
I must've blacked out when the fob watch was opened, which explained my aching muscles. I stood up and walked towards the door, jiggling the handle and finding it locked.
"Well thanks a lot," I muttered, pressing my forehead up to the door. Where are you Doctor? I could feel his presence; he was still in the building, and getting closer. It took a minute but I finally got a… kind of crappy reply.
You're awake? Fantastic! I held back a snappy remark about leaving me, the sooner he came to get me the better, I hated being in this room. I stood back from the door and waited for it to open. When it did, I crossed my arms, muttering, "Finally," and then stomped out of the room.
"Come on," the Doctor said, grabbing me by the wrist and leading me the direction he came, "We have to hurry, it's not safe here."
"What? Why is it not safe?" I asked, barely managing to keep pace with him.
"Van Statten has a Dalek, and it's loose."
"A Dalek? Why is a Dalek on Earth?"
"It must've fallen through space when the Time War ended," he said, leading me through a large door and up a flight of stairs. I pulled my arm away from him, stopping him in his tracks.
"The Time War ended? Who won?" a solemn look took over the Doctor's face and he ignored my question, grabbing my wrist again and pulling along.
"Doctor… Doctor, answer me." I said, trying to pull away again, but his grip was too tight.
"Not now." I frowned, why wouldn't he answer?
We reached Van Statten's office, where Van Statten and his assistant were pulling up a monitor showing a map of the floor where the Dalek was. "Where is Rose?" The Doctor asked, letting me go and walking to the monitor. I stood back, walking around Van Statten's desk. He had my necklace on display! I grabbed it from its stand and quickly fastened it around my neck.
I paced around the desk, listening and waiting for Rose and whoever was with her to join us. I was stopped by the Doctor grabbing my arm, once again.
"Vanessa, are you alright?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Yes, just… Anxious. I've been locked away for two years and wake up to an awful man and a Dalek. Not exactly the best wake up call, you think?" I started to chew on my thumb and began to pace again.
"But you're the best person to fight a Dalek, aren't you, Vanessa." His words stopped me in my tracks. A Time Lord never forgets. Or my necklace could've set him off, but I highly doubted it.
"The Warrior, I thought you died in the Time War, but it seems you only changed your face," he spat. I turned to face the Doctor, crossing my arms across my chest.
"So what?"
"What are you doing on Earth?"
"That's a story for another time," I say, and nod towards the monitor on the wall. The doctor turned to look. The monitor showed the Dalek in the middle of about twenty people shooting at it.
"It wants us to see," The Doctor muttered, and we watched as the Dalek rose and shot the sprinklers, setting them off.
"It's going to…" I didn't finish my sentence. It did just what I thought it would, shooting at the wet ground and electrocuting everyone around it. Then the monitor cut off.
"I suggest we leave the building," Van Statten said, slowly getting up from his seat.
"We can't," his assistant stated, "That thing drained all the power."
"You have emergency power, don't you?" I said, twirling my finger in the thick black strap of my necklace. My unfortunate statement caused a shouting match between the three in front of me. And then the monitor cut back on.
"Doctor," I pointed to the screen when he turned to look at me. The Dalek was in the same place, looking straight at the camera.
"I SHALL SPEAK ONLY TO THE DOCTOR," it screamed, and the Doctor stepped forwards.
"You're going to get rusty," the Doctor said simply.
"I FED OFF THE DNA OF ROSE TYLER. EXTRAPOLATING THE BIOMASS OF A TIME TRAVELLER REGENERATED ME."
"What's your next trick?"
"I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THE DALEKS."
"Yeah, I saw. downloading the internet. What did you find?"
"I SCANNED YOUR SATELLITES AND RADIO TELESCOPES."
"And?"
"NOTHING." The Daleks were gone? "WHERE SHALL I GET MY ORDERS NOW?"
"You're just a soldier without commands."
"THEN I SHALL FOLLOW THE PRIMARY ORDER, THE DALEK INSTINCT TO DESTROY, TO CONQUER."
"What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for."
"THEN WHAT SHOULD I DO?"
"All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself."
"THE DALEKS MUST SURVIVE!"
"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct. Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just die?" the Doctors rant caught me off guard, his hatred towards the Daleks was evident.
"YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD DALEK," the Daleks statement struck a chord with both me and the Doctor, and then the screen cut off.
The doctor was left speechless.
"Van Statten, what were you talking about a second ago?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the Doctor.
"Uhm, the bulk heads, we were talking about closing them."
"Do it," the Doctor cut in before I could give the order. It took about three minutes to get the power to the bulkheads, and throughout I felt useless. I knew how to do it all, but whenever I got close to someone the doctor would stare at me, like I was going to attack. I had never been that bad… had I?
The doctor got on the phone with Rose, telling her to hurry. But in the end she didn't make it. (A/N Sorry for all the skipping, I'm trying to get out of this part as fast as I can and get to the actual plot… which is next chapter) The Dalek had caught up with her and killed her, I tried to offer the Doctor a simple "I'm sorry" but he just stared angrily at me. One of Van Stattens employee's had made it up, Adam I think his name was. We all thought rose was dead, up until the monitor cut on once again, this time showing the Dalek holding Rose at gun point. (Ya'll know what happens next, Vanessa doesn't interfere much so…)
The Dalek had self-destructed, and Van Statten had been escorted off the premises. Within fifteen minutes his… museum would be filled with concrete, Rose and Adam walked into the TARDIS, leaving me and the Doctor alone in awkward silence.
"Room for one more?" I chanced, I mean, it was worth a try, even with the whole, "The Doctor hates me" thing.
"I wouldn't leave you alone if I had the chance," he said, a hard edge to his voice, "And I still need to hear why you were running." He held out his hand for me, and I suppressed a smile. Grabbing his hand, I stepped inside the TARDIS.
A/N Yeah soo… this chapter kinda sucked…. It was nesscessary though, the next one will be more interesting, Vanessa will break from her shell and the flirtations will begin, just not with who you expect.