Chapter III

Rude Welcome

The Doctor woke up with a start. The first thing he noticed was that his head hurt. The next thing he noticed was that it was dark. The third thing he noticed was that his head really, really hurt. Oh, and also the fact that his hands were bound together. There was that as well. The Doctor was apparently sitting on something, the Doctor guessed a metal chair of some kind from how uncomfortable it was.

Guessing from the fact he was in a dark room with a headache bound to a chair, the Doctor used his vast intelligence to infer that he'd probably done something he shouldn't have. He was now faced with the conflict of opening his mouth and finding out exactly where he was, or opening his mouth and getting hit on the head again.

Still, the Doctor had been forced to suffer the pain of having every cell in his body rewritten eleven times already, so he felt the wisest thing to do was open his mouth.

'Ughhhelloisanybodytherrr...' he slurred. He was pretty sure that wasn't what was supposed to come out.

'Oh good, you're awake,' a voice said from the shadows. The lights came on, and The Doctor squinted. It was that bright kind of light that when shone at you from in the the dark causes your very irises to cramp. The Doctor was no exception, and his eyes began to water with the strain.

'Have a nice nap?' the voice said. The voice was becoming ever the more familiar.

'Not really,' The Doctor said. 'How did I get here?'

And a familiar face stepped forwards. The purplish-haired woman peered down at The Doctor as if he were scum on her shoe.

'Right,' she said. 'We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I just have one question. If you answer it truthfully, then I will make your prison sentence as short as I can. If you don't, then you will be executed.'

'Okay,' the Doctor said, strangely unfazed by the death threat.

'My question is this. Who the hell are you working for?'

The Doctor paused. He knew very well that the least wise thing to say in this situation was "Me, I'm a freelance."

'Me. I'm a freelance.'

'Bull,' the woman said, slapping him, sending The Doctor's brain rattling around his skull. 'I didn't knock you out and keep you locked up in here for eight hours to hear that. Cut the crap. Who are you working for?'

'Nobody.'

'Nobody, huh. So you expect me to believe that you came in here, set off all our security alerts, wasted our time, and took me OFF my morning break, because you are little more than a tourist?'

'Pretty much, yeah.'

'Okay, tell me this, mister. Why do you expect me to believe that?'

The Doctor looked up. 'Well, first of all, it's "Doctor", not "Mister", and secondly, because I'm sure you're a loving and caring person who in the sense of traditional Japanese sensibility will accept I'm being honest and send me merrily on my way.'

'That's not how we do things nowadays, "Doctor". After the Second Impact, everything changed over here. But you already knew that, didn't you?'

'Actually, no. You keep throwing around words like "Second Impact" and I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean.'

The woman suddenly grabbed him by the tie again. 'Don't you dare lie like that. I can stand your lies about being a spy, but to actually deny knowing what one of the worst disasters in recent history is...you're one sick bastard.'

'So, this was a disaster, this "Second Impact"? What happened?'

'You're playing dumb again,' the woman said, withdrawing, tears welling up. 'Don't...do that...' She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. The Doctor's eyes had finally adjusted. The woman sunk into a seat near The Doctor. She tried her best to disguise the fact she was weeping.

The Doctor watched for a few moments, unsure of what to do. He coughed. 'I'm...I'm sorry,' he said. 'Did you...lose someone in the disaster?'

'We all did,' the woman said. 'We all did. Friends, relatives...partners.' She suddenly became angry again. 'But why am I telling you this? You're just a lowlife scumbag making a profit by spying on us!'

'No, I'm not,' The Doctor said. 'I can genuinely help.'

'No you can't!' the woman cried, kicking the seat over and breathing heavily.

'You're...scared of me, aren't you?' The Doctor asked, flinching at what he felt was probably an inevitable flying kick to the jaw. When he realised there was no foot or leg flying at him, he opened his eyes.

The woman stood with her back to him for a moment. Then she turned around and looked at him. 'I'm not scared of anything,' she said. 'But you...you remind me...in one way...of an aspect of someone I once knew...and...and...' she sighed. '...and that scares me.'

The Doctor nodded. 'That's okay. We're all scared of something. Even me. And I've seen things you wouldn't believe.'

The woman looked up. 'So, who are you?'

'Me?' The Doctor asked. 'I'm a traveller. I travel. Clue's in the name, really. Well, actually, there's more than that. I travel and I save the world. Doesn't matter where I am, what I do. I save the world. It's not really a "job", I suppose it's just that I find it...fun? No...it's where I feel I do best.'

The Doctor hesitated. 'But right now, I'm stuck in a chair, in Japan, in Hakone, with a woman who just knocked me out cold, with as much time in the world as I can afford...and what I want to know, right now, is what happened here.'

The woman stopped. She picked the chair back up, sat down, and began her story.

Amy huffed in frustration. She had been left sitting in a dark cell with nobody for company for what must have been hours now. Not even the blessing of sleep could help her, for the bed was hard and smelled funny. It didn't help that her watch had stopped, so she had lost track of time. What was taking The Doctor so long?

Her belly gurgled for something, anything that might offer it a bit of sustenance. All the guards had left her was a bit of dry bread, and that had been quite unpleasant. Were they allowed to treat people like this? Surely not. Wasn't this Japan? People were supposed to be hospitable here, weren't they?

Amy grunted as she rolled over on the hard mattress. She wasn't trying to sleep, she was just trying to find something more comfortable than the hard, concrete floor. She was fast beginning to regret asking The Doctor to show her what life would be like in five years' time. Her belly rumbled again with a noise not entirely unlike a motor engine made out of rubber.

She grumbled in annoyance and rolled over once again. It took Amy a few seconds to register what she saw. A young girl, perhaps a few years younger than her, staring at her. Amy blinked. There was something a little...off...about her. She checked the door to see if it had been opened. No, still locked. She turned back. The girl was gone.

Amy shuddered. Perhaps being alone for so long was making her go crazy. Amy hated loneliness. She just wanted to get up and go somewhere, but she couldn't. Amy gave up, rolled back over, and tried hopelessly to get some sleep.

My name is Captain Misato Katsuragi. I was born on the eighth of December, 1986. I am twenty-nine years of age. And fifteen years ago, I survived the end of the world. I guess I was pretty young and naïve at the time. I didn't know what was going on. I was just a dumb kid. But I came along because I wanted to get closer to my father. My father. How I hate him. But I love him at the same time, you see. Just thinking about him fills me with so many emotions and ideas. That's why I was crying just then. You're smart, like I imagined he was. But I digress.

My father led an expedition into Antarctica, where something was being kept, but he wouldn't tell me what. My father didn't talk much. And he went to work that day really excited. I saw him smile for the first time in what felt like an age...he said he was going to save us all and give us a brighter tomorrow. I don't know what he meant by that. And then...

I don't really know what happened. But what I do know is that I'm the only person to have come out of the Second Impact alive. What is the Second Impact, you ask? Well, it's the accident that my father caused. Long story short, everyone died. There was an explosion, and it killed everyone. My father saved my life and was killed by some kind of a shockwave. When I emerged from the escape pod he put me in, it was over.

Antarctica was gone. Melted instantly. Three billion people, that is, half the world population, died within instants. Many countries disappeared under the water, the UK being one of them. And I was one of the lucky few who got to climb out of the rubble of this world and into a new age. And then they took me away and I spent some time in a mental rehab centre. I don't remember it much. Too many painful memories. I just remember the day they let me out. Bliss. And now I'm here. And it feels good.

But this world is still not safe, Doctor. And we need help. We really do. And Doctor, I have a feeling that you're the one that can help save us. Help us, Doctor. Save us. Please. You say you've saved many worlds, Doctor. I don't even know who you are, but I know you can help. Please, Doctor. Save us. Save our world.

The Doctor sat and listened calmly to every moment of the story. He paused thoughtfully for a moment. 'Thank you,' he said. 'May I ask politely, which year is this?'

'2015,' The woman, who the Doctor now knew to be called Misato, replied.

'So the Second Impact you speak of happened in 2000...' The Doctor was confused. This just didn't add up. The 2015 he knew was much different to this one. And while the Doctor really wanted to know what was really going on, he felt an obligation to help, as the benevolent and sentient being he was.

'Right then,' the Doctor said cheerfully. 'Well, I have more of an idea what's going on, but I want to help you out. Now, if you could just let me out of these cuffs.'

'Sorry, can't do that,' Misato said. 'I'd lose my job. You're coming with me. I'll take the cuffs off once we get back to Central Dogma.'

'Ooh, that's a fancy name,' The Doctor said. 'It makes no sense, but it's fancy.'

'Um...thanks,' Misato replied. He was weird, yes, but she just had a feeling that this was the man who could save them.

RAT-A-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP!

Amy flew out of her bed and hovered for a moment before coming crashing to the ground. Coccyx now bruised, she staggered up. Her feet made pit-pat noises as she wandered over to get her boots and socks. The guard rudely opened the door.

'Your friend's waiting for ya,' he grunted, before leaving her to her own devices.

She must have dozed off, because it didn't seem long ago she had been laying in bed with a grumbling tummy. Still, at least she'd perhaps be able to get out of this hell-hole and get on the road to real adventure.

Amy left the room and went off down the corridor.

'Afternoon, sleepyhead,' The Doctor said, with a grin.

'Shut up, you,' Amy responded. 'You all sorted out?'

'Yep!' The Doctor said. 'We're going to stay here a while. These people need help, and while I'm not entirely sure why, I think I'd like to stop by here for a bit.'

Amy tried to fake a smile. 'Great!'

The Doctor noticed. 'We still have the TARDIS,' he said. Then he turned to Misato. 'Right, so, would you like to do the honour of introducing me to everyone? And you still haven't told me where I actually am.'

VWEE-RP! VWEE-RP!

'Something has just been detected approaching Tokyo-3! Pattern blue!' shouted a young, bespectacled lieutenant. 'Angel attack!'

Misato smiled in a darkly-humorous manner, and turned to The Doctor.

'Welcome to NERV,' she said.

All characters, settings, and boxes of a blue time-travelling nature are owned by Studio GAINAX and the British Broadcasting Corporation, and other affiliates. I own none of these things. Please don't sue me. I don't like being sued.