The Face-Off, and Emmy is Saved

No sooner had I walked out of the library than I heard that loony voice calling my name. wait, how did he know my name? I don't remember telling him, unless that traitor Max told him. Great, now he caught up to me, telling me to just listen.

"Go away!" I said in my best man-voice. He just gave that same quirky smile on his face, like I just asked him on a date or something.

"Now aren't we just charming? Let me try this again. 'Ello, I'm the Doctor. You are…?" What? Now he's being sarcastic? Oh great, a crazy, sarcastic man.

"Doctor Who?"

"Exactly."

"What?" This was too weird. Here is this man, calling himself "the Doctor" and here I am, speaking to a man called the Doctor. By the edge of the woods, at night—wait. It's only 5:30, even in the fall, it's never this dark this early. I start to edge over to my bike, hoping, wishing I could make a clean getaway. If I just distract him a little bit longer…

"Are you all right? You seem a bit pale, and you are teetering," the man called the Doctor starts to reach toward me when I feel it. This feeling, like I'm going to drown, or fall, or both washes over me. I'm falling to my knees and the Doctor tries to keep me up, concern written all over his face. He feels concerned for me? What's going on, why is there this pain, everywhere? I can't breathe, my head is killing me, what's going on? Help, HELP!

"Hey! Back off man!" who is that? Peter? Oh thank Jesus, my stepbrother's here. Did he hear me? Did I say "help" out loud? My head's clearing. Good.

"Pete, I'm fine, he was just making sure I was okay." Wait, now I'm vouching for this man?!?

"Pete, please, he was just…I'm fine Pete…Pete…PETER!"

He stopped mid-sentence, he was accusing this man, the Doctor, of trying to hurt me? This was too much, I have to leave. I hop on my bike, and take off. Ha, they can't catch me now….

Now, where did she go? This was not good, she needs to come to the TARDIS, and she needs that book, the Doctor thought. The boy called Peter, he was the real danger, and now he was leaving. Peter began to turn, as if pulled by an invisible string.

"Well, this is interesting, Peter, yoo-who, hello mi-boy?" hmm. Peter was moving, heading towards the entrance to the park, and Emilia's exit. Pulling his sonic screwdriver, he began to scan the surrounding area for any traces of alien DNA or past visits. The scanner went off the roof. Oh dear, he thought, there seem to be actually Frindovites in the area. This is NOT good.

The Doctor took off toward the park, and making sure the sonic screwdriver was ready. He took off toward the woods when he heard the most horrible scream. It's sound echoed off his head, and settled in his brain, nestling deep in his fears. Even with all the things he faced, all the things he's seen, never has he heard a scream like this. He bolted off into the woods, hoping, pleading she wasn't hurt, or worse.

It wasn't long before he reached a small clearing, not too far from the TARDIS. There he saw four large, humanoid shapes that surrounded the girl, mouths drooling and foaming at the mouth, whining, waiting.

They may have been human, or something nearly that. Their black, stringy hair that covered their lidless, white eyes. The Frindovites had a dark, rotten green skin that was scaly, and tough, like a tortoise. Inside Frindovite spit was venom that could kill a grown man in about 10 minutes. They were waiting, waiting for her to make a move, one single move, so they could attack. For the Doctor, it was almost impossible to help her. Almost.

The boy Peter was standing before her, a piece of torn and bloodied shirt hanging from his hand. She was hunched over; left hand grasping her shoulder, blood oozing from an open wound. She was crying.

"Peter, what's going on, what did you do to me?" she was searching for some spark that Peter lacked.

"Emilia, Where is the Book? Tell me, and I won't let them hurt you anymore. Will even make you one of them. It is truly magical. No pain, sadness, hurt, anger. Would you like that?" he was saying this, but some guttural undertone to his voice made him seem inhuman.

"Peter, I don't know what you talking about, help me. Please." She spoke more feebly now, the bite on her shoulder was darkening, and the veins around her face were popped out, like the very life-blood was poisoning her with every pump of her heart. This, this torturing by the hands of her own people sickened the Doctor, and she could do nothing to stop this. But maybe, he could. He stepped into the lamplight, dimmed by this darkness that appeared out of nowhere.

"Now, now, can't we all just get along? You know, how about you let her go, and I will let you go in peace, and I won't notify the shadow proclamation about your little genocide in the 32nd century."

"You," said Peter, "who are you? The shadow proclamation knows nothing of us. To them, we are all dead. I must ensure that it remains that way." Peter turned back toward the girl, uttering, "Kill her."

She issued another scream as the four shapes lunged at her. The sound of teeth closing on flesh was heard and the scream was cut off.

"NOOO!" exclaimed the Doctor, and he pushed a button several times on the sonic screwdriver, the tool emitting a high-pitched noise, causing the Frindovites to recoil in shock and pain. Peter quickly snapped his fingers and the sonic screwdriver cut off, leaving the Doctor to wonder how some human could do that.

"Now I remember, you are the Doctor. Do you think that your shadow proclamation can stop me? By the time they hear of my plans, my people's survival, it will be too late. Every world in this universe will be under my control. How is it that the only one who can stop me is this pathetic excuse for a girl who doesn't even know what she is and what she can do. I will prevent her hundreds of years of sacrifice." The Doctor was thinking frantically of a way he could keep those Frindovites away from her, and trying to figure out how he can get rid of Peter before he could actually kill her.

"Well now, can't we make some kind of deal? You know, I leave you alone, you can leave and I take her. You don't kill anyone and I don't kill anything. Everyone ends up happy. Just the way I like it." Using his biggest smile, hopefully that would keep Peter off of Emilia.

"You——" he couldn't finish the sentence. Suddenly a light streaked out of the sky, and began to brighten, causing the Frindovites to scream and whine in pain, the blindness making them cower and scratch at their eyes. The Doctor looked on in wonder as a small orb, a crudely cut diamond, hung in the middle of the park, over Emmy's body. It glowed brighter and brighter, and enveloped the Doctor and Peter, in a warm, bathing light. As the doctor shut his eyes against the light, the light went out, and Peter and his Frindovites were gone.

The Doctor ran over to the crumpled body of Emilia Swift. He cupped both hands around her face, and she awoke, gasping and crying.

"Oh God, OW!" she yelled, and tried to move. The Doctor held her down, as gently as possible.

"Don't, don't do that, let me help you. Be still." He hushed her, and she became limp once again. He scooped her up, the necklace and her discarded messenger bag, and carried her unconscious body back to the TARDIS.

Laying her as gently in one of the spare rooms, he set the necklace on her chest, and opened the bag. Inside was an old, leather-bound book. There were strange runes on the cover that the Doctor immediately recognized. He opened the book to a page near the back, where he saw just how to keep her alive, so she can heal. He turned back to the bed, where she was beginning to choke, the Frindovite venom still coursing through her slim figure. He figured that she maybe had a few minutes to live.

The Doctor closed the book and laid a hand on the necklace, and spoke the words, "heal". The necklace began to glow once more, though it wasn't as bright, in fact, it was a strange green color. The light began to swirl around the tattoos on her frame, and her breathing eased. The wounds began to close up, and the veins settled back into the skin, no longer bulging and blue. The light receded, and she was at peace.

The Doctor smiled, realizing that her peace wouldn't last long. He knew that he had to help her. Emilia must bring life back to her planet, Faeralia, he thought. He knew that she was in for a long, hard road, one that would take her through time, and space. He knew that he had to help her, as he was her guide, the council at the citadel had told him. The Doctor stood up.

"Well, might as well start now," he spoke, to no one in particular, "how about New New York? Or 17th century Salem?" Ahh, the places we'll go, the Doctor thought.

"Allons-y!"