Now the dark begins to rise
Save your breath it's far from over
Leave the lost and dead behind
Now's your chance to run for cover
I don't want to change the world
I just want to leave it colder
Light the fuse and burn it up
Take the path that leads to nowhere
All is lost again, but I'm not giving in
- I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin

"If you run, you might lose. If you don't run, you're guaranteed to lose." – Jesse Jackson

Chapter Three:

What Lies Beneath

"Dammit dammit dammit!" Corey hissed as she raced down the concrete pathways, making sure that she weaved back and forth on occasion to keep her pursuers guessing on where she would zigzag next. The last thing she needed right now was to have Trey or one of the other Quisforth decide that she needed another mouth right across her trachea. She happened to be quite fond of breathing, thank you very much.

The girl bit back a wave of slightly hysterical laughter that threatened to tumble from her mouth as she stumbled over a path of uneven pavement and almost fell flat on her face. Corey allowed a single profanity to fall from her lips as she hit the ground with her hands outstretched to keep from kissing the concrete and immediately rolled off to the side before she sprang back up to her feet, barely avoiding the set of sharp claws that embedded themselves into the very spot that her head had been not even two seconds earlier. A low growl emerged from her throat as she lashed out with her left foot at the Quisforth that had just tried to shred her, catching it right where the kneecap would be on a human, before she took off running once again, ignoring the loud howl of pain that echoed behind her.

The heavy metal doors of the science building loomed ahead of her, and Corey let out a soft grunt of pain as she almost hit them full-tilt, skidding to almost a stop just before she impacted with the doors. It still hurt, but it was considerably less than it would have been if she had hit the doors at ramming speed. Corey reached out and grabbed the door handle, wrenching the heavy door open and forcefully slamming it shut behind her right before the resounding clang of something very large and heavy impacting with the metal on the other side. The girl smirked briefly at the irate screeching that drifted through the door, accompanied by some very human-sounding curses, before she turned around and took off down the hallway, heading for one of the advanced chemistry labs.

If she wanted to keep these bastards away from her cousins, she needed to make sure that she ended this, permanently.

And if that process required the use of flammable materials, then so be it.

When she ducked inside the dark interior of one of the advanced chemistry classrooms though, she soon found that she wasn't as alone as she had thought herself to be as her eyes landed upon the lanky figure that was busy fiddling around with what looked like a scuba tank. Corey couldn't help the incredulous snort that escaped from her as she cocked an eyebrow, and the Doctor looked up from his work to turn around and look at her.

"Oh, fancy that. You're here," he said, genuinely surprised as he scrutinized the girl. "Am I correct in assuming that you've managed to lead our mutual friends somewhere in this direction?"

"Slammed the front door in their faces," Corey stated flatly as she looked at the Doctor askance before she voiced the question that had been bouncing around in her brain ever since she discovered that the Time Lord was in the room. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"The whole 'disappear and then show up at the absolute worst moment two seconds later' bit. Not that I'm complaining right now, but it is kind of weird. I mean, I know that I left you behind with Tessa and Braden when I took off earlier like a pack of hellhounds were on my ass, and that was only five minutes ago."

The Doctor made a small noise of acknowledgement as he returned his attention to the scuba tank thing, and started to probe at it with the tricked out penlight that she had seen him using earlier. Corey let out a long sigh and rolled her eyes before she walked over to where the Doctor was working and sat down on one of the nearby desks, swinging her legs absently as she watched the older man fiddle with the tank. Several long seconds of silence stretched between them before she spoke again.

"So, what's the plan?" Corey asked as she cocked her head slightly to the side curiously, and grinned when the Doctor turned around to look at her.

"What makes you think that I have one?" he queried, although the maniac grin on his face indicated that he did indeed have one, and that he was tremendously enjoying that fact that she was asking him what she should do. Corey gave him one of her own shit-eating smirks in return as she leaned back slightly and shrugged with forced nonchalance.

"You just look like the man with the plan," she deadpanned, although the corner of her mouth twitched up slightly at the bad pun. This time the Doctor really did roll his eyes as he returned to his work, shaking his head as he muttered something under his breath. Corey caught the words 'humans' and 'teenagers', as well as the certain amount of exasperated amusement that both of them carried, and cocked an eyebrow as she grinned.

After the Doctor had finished his quiet mutterings and had added the final adjustments to the tank, he stood up and turned around to look at Corey. The girl looked at him meaningfully as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back slightly, her expression thoughtful, before a look of worry briefly flickered across her features.

"Are Tessa and Braden okay?" she asked softly, a dark emotion entering her eyes at the thought that she had possibly abandoned her cousins to what was probably a fate worse than death. Surprisingly, the Doctor just chuckled as he flashed her a reassuring smile before he reached out and ruffled Corey's hair. The girl gave him a flat look as she deliberately reached up and flattened down her hair, her expression a mixture of exasperation and annoyance.

"They'll be fine," the Doctor told her cheerfully as he took in Corey's disgruntled expression. "Not even the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan could get through the doors on the TARDIS, and believe me, they tried. Don't worry, your brother and sister will be perfectly safe until we're done."

Corey started as she blinked in surprise and gave the Doctor a bewildered look.

"What the heck is a TARDIS?" she asked as her eyebrows knitted together in blatant confusion before she frowned slightly. "And where on earth did you get the idea that Braden and Tessa are my siblings?"

The Doctor looked utterly taken aback at that particular tidbit of information and opened his mouth to respond, only to have Corey wave him off as she shoved herself off of the desk and approached the door to the classroom to make sure that it was secured. The teen used that opportunity to quickly swipe the sleeve of her jacket discretely across her eyes, allowing her long hair to fall into her face in order to disguise the action as she tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. She loved her cousins, really, she did, but there would never be a replacement of any kind for Danny… ever.

"Never mind, it's not important," she muttered offhandedly as she flipped the old-fashioned lock with a bit more force than necessary, securing the wooden door. It probably wouldn't hold up against too much if the Quisforth decided to use force, or even worse, their claws, but it was better than leaving the stupid thing unlocked. "So, what's the plan?"

The Doctor looked as though he wanted to say something, but then decided against it before he launched into an explanation detailing the purpose of the altered scuba tank.

"Quisforth, unfortunately, are rather tricky to dispose of if you don't have the appropriate tools at hand," the Doctor pointed out as he indicated to a spot on the floor right in the path of the door with his odd-looking penlight. "Help me move this over there, will you?"

Corey readily obliged as she threw her weight against the metal tank and slowly managed to scoot it across the tiled floor of the classroom, with the Doctor helping, to where he wanted it positioned. As she pushed, he kept up with the explanations.

"However, they are incredibly vulnerable to extreme temperatures, or to be more specific, extreme cold." Corey glanced over at the Doctor, who was now grinning like an idiot as he gestured over at the tank. "Which is where this comes in. If we freeze them fast enough, then we'll be able to remove them from this reality without too much trouble."

Corey stared at the Time Lord for a second before she gave a wry chuckle and shook her head, reaching up and running a hand through her bangs as she did so.

"Damn, and here I am, fresh out of carbonite," she quipped as she gave the older man a small grin. The Doctor arched an eyebrow at her sarcasm, and the girl let out a long sigh as she jerked her thumb to indicate meaningfully at the large tank. "Seriously though, what are you gonna do with this; make 'em keel over from overexposure to oxygen? Toss them in the lake after you've fitted them with cement block shoes and hope that it freezes over tonight? Because right now, I see absolutely no way that a scuba tank is gonna help us out here. As tempting of an idea as it is to deep six the bastards, somehow, I don't think that it'll work very well."

Silence hung between the two for several long moments as the Doctor stared at the girl intently, a rather odd expression on his face as he did so.

"Are you always this sarcastic, or is it reserved for me specially?" he finally asked. Corey cocked a disbelieving eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest and fixed the Doctor with a long look before she flashed him a sardonic grin.

"I'm always this sarcastic, especially when the world decides that it no longer wants to make sense," she informed him pointedly before she shifted straight back to the original topic. "But seriously, what's in the tank?"

"Liquid nitrogen."

Corey's eyes widened as she immediately looked back over at the metal tank, almost as though she expected it to blow at any second. A mixture of confusion, apprehension, and then finally smug satisfaction crossed the girl's face as she gave the Doctor a small smirk.

"Ice statues, huh?" she said, humor lacing her tone. "Sounds like a plan. Hard for someone to hurt anybody when they're frozen solid."

The Doctor opened his mouth to respond, only to stop as he directed his attention over at the door to the classroom, an odd look of concentration on his face. An angry hiss reverberated out in the hallway before the old wooden door exploded in a hail of splinters as the half-dozen Quisforth burst through the entryway. Corey paled slightly at the sight, although that was nothing compared to what she felt when one of the reptilian aliens straightened up and looked at her with wrathful eyes.

"Kill the human worm," it hissed acidly as it pointed at Corey with one of its razor-sharp claws. "And make sure that she feels every second of it. I'll deal with the Doctor."

"Sonofabitch," Corey whispered as she took a step backwards, completely missing the look of absolute rage that flashed across the Doctor's face at the Quisforth's casual disregard to human life. She didn't expect for him to suddenly grab her by the collar of her jacket and jerk her back away from the oncoming aliens. Nor did she expect him to unceremoniously shove her behind the teacher's desk before he raised the penlight and aimed it at the nitrogen tank.

"You might want to duck," he advised her offhandedly before he pressed down on the button on the device. Corey quickly complied with his request as she took cover behind the old and heavy-looking wooden desk just as a loud mechanical whine filled the air. Just as the whine increased to an almost unbearable pitch, the Doctor threw himself behind the desk as well and dragged Corey close to him.

It was then that all hell broke loose.

Something exploded, and a wave of freezing cold swept throughout the room, accompanied by shrill screeches of pain that were abruptly cut off. The Doctor made a small noise that sounded like one of annoyance in the back of his throat as he pulled Corey even closer as shattered metal that looked like it had come from the tank rained down to the ground, and then all was silent. Corey waited for a second before she looked over at the Doctor incredulously.

"You're insane," she finally stated flatly as she edged away from the older man.

"Certified on thirty-two planets," the Doctor informed her brightly, resulting in much eye-rolling from the teen as she extracted herself from underneath the desk and stood up, rubbing at the crick in her neck as she did so. She gave a sarcastic snort as she shook her head before she glanced over at the lanky man who was currently preoccupied with removing himself from the desk's confines.

"Yeah, well I think you can add another-" Corey was suddenly cut off as she registered a flash of color off to her right out of the corner of her eye a split second before a scaly hand wrapped itself around her throat and jerked her backwards. A strangled yelp escaped from her throat as she was unceremoniously pressed up against the chest of the sole unfrozen Quisforth, and the blood drained from her face as she felt the lethal whisper of razor-sharp claws trace over the bared skin of her throat.

How had they missed it? The Doctor had said that the nitrogen would have frozen all of them.

"Doctor!" the Quisforth snarled as it pressed its claws slightly into Corey's neck and pulled her close with its other hand, eliciting an incredibly foul profanity from the girl as she immediately tilted her head backwards and rose up slightly on her toes to keep from having her throat sliced open. "How dare you?!"

"How dare I what?" the Doctor asked cheerfully, causing Corey to feel more than a brief flicker of annoyance at his apparent lack of concern over the fact that she was dangerously close to having her trachea removed by a giant walking lizard. "I dare to do a lot of things, so I'm afraid that you'll have to be just a bit more specific."

A low growl rumbled from the Quisforth's throat as it bared its fangs at the Doctor, who looked completely unconcerned with the lone surviving alien that seemed to be fully intent on ripping both of them to pieces.

"Return my mate to me, and I might just let you leave this room alive," the Quisforth snarled darkly as it pointed its tail over in the direction of one of its frozen – and obviously dead – fellows. Corey frowned slightly as she tried to place the grating rumble, and almost swore out loud as it came to her; it was the Quisforth who had worn Trey's skin. The girl almost growled herself as she fought back the very violent urge to horribly maim the thing that had killed her best friend and had the gall to waltz around wearing his skin like it was an Armani suit.

"And what about the girl?"

The Quisforth merely sneered at the Doctor as it pressed one of its claws up against Corey's throat, breaking the skin and eliciting a pained hiss from the teen as a small droplet of blood welled up from where the tip of alien's claw had punctured her skin.

"She dies right here, right now, if you fail to acquiesce to my request," it growled threateningly as it stared at the Doctor. The Time Lord hesitated for a second, looking at Corey with an unfathomable expression on his face, before he averted his gaze from her and stared intently at one of the frozen Quisforth. Corey felt as though someone had just dumped ice water into her veins as she froze, her eyes widening and her mouth going dry as she gave the Doctor a look of absolute betrayal.

The girl bit back the hollow, depreciating laugh that threatened to emerge from her throat and hung her head, allowing her long bangs to fall into her face. Honestly, she shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it was easier to save your own skin than someone else's. Corey let out another pained hiss as she was forced to jerk her head upwards again as Trey – it was a heck of a lot easier than calling him Quisforth all the time – applied two more claws to her throat. A low keening noise escaped from her throat, and a look of rage flashed across her features as she struggled to keep herself from doing something stupid.

If there was one thing that Corey hated more than anything, it was being helpless.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Quisforth/Trey gave a scornful laugh and smirked as the Doctor turned back towards him.

"I have to say, I never imagined that threatening a mere human brat would be all that it took to bring the mighty Doctor to his knees," he sneered arrogantly as he continued to hold Corey –who was by now more than a little pissed off – immobile. "So the stories about you were true: so passionate, so sweet – you would never condemn an innocent child to death."

There was a long stretch of nerve-wracking silence as the Doctor stared intently at the Quisforth before he shifted slightly in his spot.

"Sweet, maybe… Passionate, I suppose…" the Doctor mused thoughtfully, looking almost bored, before he focused his attention on the reptilian alien and the tone of his voice became positively arctic as he raised his penlight – although, considering what Corey had seen him use it for, she was seriously questioning whether or not it actually was a flashlight – up to point directly at Trey, staring directly at the alien with cold brown eyes. "But don't ever mistake that for nice."

Corey stared at him nervously for a second before a thought came to her, and she smirked thinly as she glanced over her shoulder at the Quisforth.

"Hey, when you killed Trey, did you take any of his memories or anything? If you can even do that, I mean," she asked quietly. The alien, momentarily unnerved by the expression on her face, drew back slightly before he let out a harsh, rasping laugh.

"Some of them," he growled. "Enough for me to pass as the whelp."

Surprisingly enough, Corey merely smirked at him, a slightly deranged glint entering her eyes as her tone became positively menacing. "And what about the memories of his friends?"

Trey looked startled by the question, and opened his mouth to respond after a few seconds of stunned silence. Before the Quisforth could answer, Corey reached up and grabbed the wrist of the hand with the claws over her throat, forcing it backwards at a very painful and awkward angle while simultaneously twisting around and forcefully driving her elbow straight into the reptilian being's stomach. Air rushed out of his mouth as the girl pivoted so that her shoulder collided with where the solar plexus would have been on a human man, and she seized the Quisforth's right arm before she performed a textbook judo throw that sent the alien sailing over her shoulder.

The Doctor stared at Corey incredulously as the teen straightened up, a wrathful light entering her eyes, before she stalked over to where Quisforth/Trey lay sprawled on the ground and placed her foot directly on his throat. She steadily applied pressure until the alien started to gasp, wrapping a clawed hand around her ankle in an attempt to get her to remove the obstruction to his air.

"You fucked up big time, pal," she snarled darkly as she glared at Quisforth/Trey. "You hurt my friend, you tried to kill me, and - worst of all - you threatened my cousins. In my book, that puts you somewhere between the dumb bastards who-" Corey cut herself off with a slight shake of her head, irritation flashing across her face as she realized that she had almost revealed something that she really didn't want this thing to know before she continued. "Right between Hitler and the caked-on shit that lines the walls of the local sewer."

"How creative," Trey sneered, only to have Corey scowl at him before she increased the pressure on his throat.

"Screw you."

Almost immediately, Corey knew that she had said the wrong thing as Trey stared up at her before his expression transformed into one that was positively demonic. Before she knew what was happening, Trey had planted a clawed foot directly onto her chest and shoved, sending the girl flying right into the Doctor. Both of them crashed to the ground in a heap, with the Doctor falling backwards into one of the frozen Quisforth and hitting it hard as he tried to not let Corey fall down on top of him. That started a chain reaction that could later only be described as purely catastrophic.

The frozen reptilian being slowly keeled over before it crashed solidly into the locked chemical cabinet behind it. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, seeing as all of the teachers in the science department were incredibly anal-retentive about locking up the chemicals in order to keep the less mature students from making off with them. However, the cabinet was not locked this time because the Doctor had been going through it earlier while looking for something to use to persuade the Quisforth to leave. So, when something the size and weight of a full-grown male Quisforth crashing into the cabinet wouldn't normally do anything other than knock a few of the bottles around, this time it resulted in the cabinet doors swing open as several bottles full of various chemicals fell out of the storage cabinet's metal interior before shattering on the tile floor of the classroom.

As every student somewhat savvy to the general rules regarding the use of chemicals knows, it is a very bad idea to just randomly go around mixing chemicals, seeing as if you don't know what you're doing, something highly unwanted could happen. In this case, it was a combination of about three or four different chemicals mixing together to create a compound that, when put in contact with anything organic, would burst into flame. Three guesses as to what almost two hundred pounds of frozen Quisforth qualified as, and the first two do not count.

The only sign that anything was wrong was the soft hiss of the chemicals combining, followed by an acrid stench that the Doctor detected on accident as he sucked in a deep breath. Corey didn't know what had happened until the Doctor let loose a string of words that weren't even English, much less from Earth, before he bolted upright and forcefully hauled her away from the cabinet. It was a good thing that he did too, because that was right about when the frozen Quisforth burst into flames. The girl's eyes widened in a combination of fear and shock as she managed to get to her feet, half turning around in order to view the scene. As soon as the chemicals had ignited, they rapidly turned into a blazing inferno as the flames greedily devoured the alien corpse.

But the fire didn't stop there. The flames soon began to expand, taking hold on countertops that should have been fireproof, the wooden cabinets over the work area, and anything else that the spattered chemicals had soaked into.

Trey, who had been more occupied with tending to the frozen Quisforth that he had identified as his mate, didn't notice the steadily growing inferno. The Doctor, however, was definitely aware of the danger as he dragged Corey away from the chemical cabinet.

"We need to leave, now," he insisted urgently as he urged the stunned girl towards the gaping hole where the door had once been. "I don't fancy sticking around long enough for the flames to reach those other chemicals."

"But-"

"You can argue with me later."

"I'm not trying to argue," Corey protested as she allowed the Doctor to hustle her out of the classroom, trying her best not to cringe from the unmistakable, choking smell of burning flesh that permeated the air. "It's just… you told me that the Quisforth had eggs, right? Well if they do, then where are they?"

An irate howl that suddenly erupted from behind them answered the question, and both Corey and the Doctor spun around just in time to see Trey leave his mate's frozen remains behind as he lunged frantically for the door that lead down to the basement – and the boiler room. The enraged Quisforth wrenched the wooden door from its hinges and vanished down into the dark stairway, his long scaly tail whipping at the air behind him before it consequently disappeared as well. The Time Lord stared at the empty space that the door had once occupied, and Corey cocked a confused eyebrow as she allowed the Doctor to remove her fully from the area.

"I think we know where the eggs are now," she stated flatly as they reached the hallway and immediately broke into a run. The Doctor made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like his version of 'duh', only more intelligent. The girl sighed in good-natured exasperation, although the expression quickly slipped off of her face as a thought hit her, and she let out a short, humorless laugh. The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder at the teenager that he was currently dragging along, and sent her a curious look.

"You know, I wonder if Trey knows that the chem. teacher stores all of the alcohol burners in the cabinet right next to the basement door," Corey stated as she flashed the older man a somewhat predatory grin, her tone indicating that she very much hoped that the alien was unaware of this particular fact.

"I sincerely doubt it," the Doctor told her as he continued to drag the girl down the hall. "Now allons-y!"

"Huh?" Corey managed to force out before she was abruptly jerked forward as the Doctor broke into a run, and she somehow managed to follow at a stumbling run of her own before she evened out her stride. By the time that they had fully exited the building, the flames had already gained a through foothold on the old chemistry building, and the ominous flicker of orange flames lit up the windy night.

Once they were a safe distance away, Corey removed her hand from the Doctor's grasp and pivoted around to look back at the now-doomed classroom, ignoring the older man's protests at her actions. Gray eyes widened in horror as the girl stared incredulously at the eerie flickering light that illuminated most of the windows in the chemistry building from where the fire had spread, and she shuddered visibly at the scene before her.

"Please don't let there be anyone in there," she whispered fervently under her breath, although she jumped when the Doctor came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We were the only ones in there," he pointed out quietly. "Now let's go. You need to get out of here before someone comes to investigate and sees you here."

Corey paused for a moment before she gave the Doctor a slightly annoyed look, glancing back over her shoulder at the chemistry building for a moment.

"… was that really necessary?" she asked dryly while quirking one of her eyebrows upwards. "Did you just have to blow up my school's science building?"

"Actually, it was a bit of a mistake. I wasn't expecting it, but it seems to have done the trick. Look on the bright side; all of the Quisforth are gone now," the Doctor pointed out cheerfully as he indicated to the now on-fire lab. The girl gave him an exasperated look as she rolled her eyes upwards.

"Oh, for the love of…" Corey muttered under her breath before she let out a soft sigh as she shook her head and turned away from the burning building, following him into the shadows as he headed back in the direction of the middle of campus. Silence hung between the two of them for several moments as they walked before the girl looked up at the Doctor and smiled faintly.

"So, I guess I should thank you for saving my life… or something," she finally said, flashing the older man a brief grin when he glanced back over in her direction.

"Don't. I get embarrassed. I go red; it's not pretty," the Doctor told her firmly, earning a wry smile and a raised eyebrow from Corey as she regarded him speculatively. The teen made a soft noise in the back of her throat as she reached up and quickly ran a hand through her hair.

"No chick flick moments, eh?" she asked dryly, humor lacing her tone as she stuffed her hands into her pockets to protect them from the chilly wind that was kicking up around them.

"Something like that."

The dry whisper of scales against concrete was the only warning that either one of them had before Corey was tackled bodily by Trey, who was hissing venomously at her as he roughly pinned the girl to the ground. Corey didn't even bother to swear as she struggled with everything she had to get the reptilian extraterrestrial off of her. The girl gritted her teeth as she clenched her right hand into a fist and swung hard at the Quisforth's face, managing to punch it right in the eye.

Almost instantly, a set of clawed hands wound around her throat and tightened as Trey hissed wordlessly at Corey, his face contorted into a grotesque mask of absolute fury. The teen did manage to force out a strangled curse this time as she swiped at the Quisforth, albeit ineffectively, earning even more eerie-sounding hisses from her opponent.

"Now that's not very nice!" the Doctor suddenly objected as he fumbled around inside his pocket for his sonic screwdriver. "She never said anything about your mother, so why should you insult hers?"

Corey's eyes narrowed as she stared up at the alien currently trying to choke the life out of her, and the death glare that she gave Trey was so venomous that it made him recoil slightly in shock. Somehow, the girl managed to swing her foot up with just enough momentum to land a solid kick to Trey's ribs, eliciting a pained howl from the reptile as he accidentally loosened his grip on her throat. A deep, feral-sounding growl tore its way from Corey's throat as she lunged upwards and struck Trey right on the snout with her open palm, making the creature let out a pained yelp as he reeled backwards. The palm strike was quickly followed by a vicious blow to the throat, which forced the Quisforth off of Corey.

The seventeen-year old quickly rolled out of the way from the gasping Trey and got to her feet, her grey eyes fixed intently on the alien as she slid into a defensive stance. Before Corey could do anything, the Doctor stepped in front of her, his sonic screwdriver out and ready.

"Alright now you two, enough of this," he ordered sternly before he fixed Trey with an intense look. "This is your last chance. Leave this world, now."

To his immense surprise the lizard-like alien merely let out a bone-chilling hiss of a laugh as it straightened up, his expression scornful as he glared at the Doctor. A chilling silence fell over the three, broken only by the steady crackling of the flames consuming the building behind them, before Trey fixed Corey with a baleful stare.

"Watch your back, human," he hissed as he bared his needle-sharp teeth at the girl, who had to struggle to keep her expression neutral. "You won't be rid of me that easily. I'll be back, and when I return with more of my kind, I'll make you watch as I rip everything that you've ever loved to shreds."

Before either Corey or the Doctor could do anything, Trey launched himself up into the air and onto the fire escape on the side of one of the multi-level buildings, scrambling out of sight within seconds. The Doctor stared up at where the Quisforth had escaped, his expression tight as he muttered something inaudible under his breath before he looked over at Corey. The girl was staring almost unseeingly at where the Quisforth had disappeared, her eyes wide and her face pale as her lips moved soundlessly. The Doctor managed to make out the words 'no' and 'Danny' before Corey jerked out of her horrified trance and spun around to face him.

"Where are Tessa and Braden!" she demanded sharply as she stared at the Time Lord. "I need to find them, now!"

The Doctor gave the panicked girl in front of him an indescribable look, and Corey froze as she caught another glimpse of that truly ancient look in his eyes. In some ways it was absolutely terrifying, and yet it also seemed to be just another part of the man who had taken the time to rescue her.

"They're safe for the time being," he told Corey firmly as he grabbed her hand and proceeded drag her away from the fire, slipping effortlessly into the cover that the dark shadows between the buildings offered. "You on the other hand, have just managed to single-handedly paint a target on your back."

Corey's expression hardened as she averted her gaze, a dark scowl making its way across her face as she did so. "If you're talking about Trey, don't worry about it. I can handle him."

"Somehow, I sincerely doubt that," the Doctor stated pointedly. "Quisforth are infamous for their ability to hold a grudge. Once your new friend leaves this world and returns back to his own reality, he will do everything in his power to return here with reinforcements and slaughter everyone that you have ever cared about. And once he's finished with that, he'll torture you within an inch of your life before he finally kills you. And that's only if he's feeling merciful. After that, the rest of humanity can just say goodbye to their nice, normal lives as they get to deal with a Quisforth integration force."

Silence fell between the two awkwardly as Corey stared at the Doctor for several long moments, a look of terrified apprehension appearing on her face briefly before it was carefully and seamlessly hidden behind a bland mask of neutral interest.

"Wonderful," Corey finally drawled sarcastically as she pulled away from the older man and fixed him with a flat look. "Just what I always wanted: my own alien stalker."

The Doctor frowned as he gave the girl a disappointed stare. "You're not listening to me."

"No, I'm not," the girl stated flatly as she looked away and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "I can take care of myself."

"Oh I doubt that," the Doctor pointed out, cocking an eyebrow as he fixed Corey with a stern look. It took a great deal of nerve for her to remain standing where she was, and even more restraint to keep her mouth shut so she wouldn't say something incredibly stupid. She scowled mentally as she stared defiantly at the older man, even though on the inside she was about twenty different kinds of freaked out. If what the Doctor had just told her was right, she had just practically unleashed a vengeful homicidal maniac on her family, and this wasn't something that a call to the cops would fix.

Corey froze momentarily as realization hit her, and all of the blood immediately drained from her face. The Quisforth was currently wearing the skin of her best friend, who her aunt and uncle had always told was more than welcome at their home.

She was so completely screwed.

"I need to get home, now," she whispered hoarsely before she looked up at the Doctor. "Look, can you just tell me where my cousins are? We'll be out of your hair in no time, but we really need to go home."

"Why?"

The girl's eyebrows knitted together in momentary confusion before her expression changed into one of utter displeasure as she glared darkly at the Doctor.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I just sent a raging psychopath after my aunt and uncle?!" she snarled acidly through gritted teeth, her hands clenched so hard that her fingernails were digging painfully into the skin of her palms. "If that bastard has any of Trey's memories, then he knows that my aunt and uncle will trust him immediately!"

The Doctor stared thoughtfully at Corey for a few seconds, and for one moment she thought that he was going to cock his head to the side just like the way Castiel would when he didn't quite understand what Dean was saying. If the Doctor did that, Corey swore up and down that she would nail him right in the kisser for being so damn calm when what was left of her family was being threatened. Any control that she had over her temper was rapidly dissolving, and to be quite honest, she didn't really give a damn. She'd learned a long time ago that it was a hell of a lot easier to deck someone and leave them down for the count when you're pissed off beyond all belief.

So, to say that she was shocked when the Doctor grabbed her by the wrist and took off at a dead run back in the direction of the history building was a serious understatement.

"What is it with you and running?" Corey managed to stammer out as she focused on keeping up with the older man, her other hand gripping the strap of her messenger bag tightly so it wouldn't fall off of her shoulder. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at her and gave the girl a bright grin as they rounded the corner of the building and approached a thick screen of evergreen shrubs that lay pressed up against the far wall.

"Sometimes it gets you there faster, and sometimes it gets you away from whatever's chasing you," he stated cheerfully as he slowed down. Corey gave him a curious look while cocking an eyebrow questioningly, and the Doctor grinned maniacally at her in response. Before the confused girl could ask him just what exactly he was doing, the man dragged her along behind him into the small gap between the shrubbery and the brick wall.

Normally, the small space created at the corner would have been big enough for about two or three people to sit down with enough room to stretch out their legs, and as a result had become a popular spot for students to come and make out when they didn't want to be observed. However, the majority of that space was now occupied by what looked like a bright blue telephone booth – similar to one that Corey had once seen in a movie that took place in London, only the color was all wrong.

And now she and the Doctor were both crammed into a cramped space behind a bunch of prickly evergreen bushes, staring at an equally cramped-looking English phone booth.

"A telephone booth? You hid my cousins… in a telephone booth?" Corey finally asked incredulously, giving the Doctor a look that clearly suggested that she thought he had lost more than a few of his marbles. The lanky man looked somewhat offended; although Corey had the sneaking suspicion that it was all mostly an act.

"Actually, it's a police box, circa 1950. They were sometimes used to hold criminals, but they did have a telephone inside," the Doctor informed her cheerfully as he patted the painted wooden side of the structure fondly. "And this isn't just a police box, it's the TARDIS."

"The TARDIS?"

"My ship. It's how I got here."

Dead silence pervaded the little space for several long seconds before Corey gave the Doctor a flat look.

"O-kay, nice history lesson," she drawled dryly, the corners of her lips twitching up slightly as she gave the Doctor a look that indicated that she didn't believe him at all. "So your spaceship is a police box? That doesn't change the fact that it's really small."

Instead of appearing offended by Corey's rather blunt statement of the obvious, the Doctor only smiled knowingly as he opened the door.

"Just look inside."

Corey arched a disbelieving eyebrow before she shrugged and slowly walked inside the small box. Within seconds of her entering the structure, her eyes widened and her mouth fell open slightly in shock as she gazed around her. She was inside a gleaming machine, the walls looking like dulled golden metal and a metal grate covering the floor. There was a massive console set in the center of the room, with a small corridor leading away from what was most likely the control room. Massive struts that looked like they were made out of coral jutted up from the floor and connected with the ceiling, some of them forming little arches that one could easily hang something on down at ground level.

Only one thought came to mind to even possibly begin to describe the sight before her, and it slipped from the girl's lips as soon as it had registered itself as a conscious thought.

"Holy crow… this is… definitely not a telephone booth."

The Doctor shut the door behind him and leaned against the back wall, his lips twitching up into a somewhat smug grin as he watched Corey's stunned reaction with obvious amusement.

"So, what do you think?" he asked as he moved to stand behind Corey, silently counting down for something. The girl didn't even turn around to look at him as she looked around her in speechless amazement, her voice coming in a hesitant stammer.

"It's… it's…"

"Bigger on the inside?" the Doctor suggested with an impish grin, expecting to hear the same words that had been repeated so many times whenever he had brought someone inside the TARDIS. Instead, he received an entirely different answer.

"No," Corey stated as she gave a slight shake of her head before an enormous grin crept across her face, her eyes shining with an almost childish wonder. "It's awesome."

"Okay, you came, you saw, you gaped, can we go now?" a familiar voice griped irritably from off to the side, and Corey looked over to see Braden standing in the doorway that led off to the side, with an obviously dazed Tessa trailing along behind him. Corey's entire face lit up as she raced across the room towards her cousin and tackled him, wrapping the older boy in a rib-crushing hug as she let out a soft sigh of relief. Braden's stormy expression softened noticeably as he reached down and ran a hand over Corey's head, a look of understanding flashing through his eyes.

"You're okay," she said simply, and the dark-haired man nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we're fine," he offered reassuringly. "A little scraped up, a little bruised, but still okay."

Tessa smiled at the sight of her normally stoic brother offering comfort, and quickly joined in on the group hug. And before the Doctor could cough nervously at the awkwardness of the 'domestics' taking place, all three of the cousins separated, with Braden giving Corey a teasing grin as he punched her lightly on the shoulder.

"What happened to the 'no chick-flick moments' rule?" he asked wryly. Corey just rolled her eyes and shook her head as she gave her cousin a sidelong glance and stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"It went right out the window when the aliens showed up," she proclaimed flatly. Braden twitched slightly at the term, and Tessa actually snickered softly at her brother's reaction. Corey cocked her head slightly to the side, unconsciously imitating a certain individual, before she gave Tessa a questioning look.

"Braden freaked out a bit when the Doctor stuffed us in here with no explanation and locked the door behind us," the older girl explained, earning an arched eyebrow from Corey as she turned around and gave the Doctor a deadpan stare. The Time Lord didn't say anything as he turned around and started fiddling around with the console, making something inside a massive green tube jutting out of the center of the control panel start pumping up and down slowly.

Corey shook her head and smiled faintly as she gave Tessa a look that plainly said 'what can you do?' before she glanced back over her shoulder at the Doctor. "You're looking for 2379, north Fenwood Drive."

"Brilliant." The simple statement is accompanied by the twisting of knobs, and the pushing of levers on the console, all at an impossible speed as the Doctor danced around the console, while Corey received twin incredulous stares from her cousins. The girl merely shrugged and grinned sheepishly at them, her expression telling the older members of her family that there was a hell of a lot more to the story than what she was telling them. All of a sudden the TARDIS sprung to life with a loud, wheezing noise that sounded somewhat akin to a large beast dying. There was only enough time for Braden to drop a startled profanity before the entire room started to shake uncontrollably, sending the three humans to the floor of the ship in a heap.

Tessa was smart enough to make it to the bucket seat near the console before she held onto it with a death grip, whereas Braden simply held on to one of the coral columns with a white-knuckled grip. Corey wasn't so lucky. She wasn't holding on to anything when the TARDIS suddenly tilted sideways, resulting in the girl going flying – at least until she hit one of the other coral columns located within the control room and latched onto it in a manner strangely reminiscent of a baby koala firmly attaching itself to its mother.

And then the turbulence started.

Corey was now sure that the pit of her stomach had officially relocated itself to somewhere around her ankles as she tried to prevent her lunch from making an unwanted reappearance. On the other hand, the Doctor seemed to be perfectly fine with the ship's shuddering and shaking, and continued to dance around the control panel like some kind of demented gerbil on crack, pulling various levers and pressing buttons as he went. For some strange reason, the thought made Corey giggle.

She was still trying to get her amusement under control when everything came to a stop, and the Doctor sprung away from the controls as Corey managed to stagger to her feet, looking slightly green. The man turned around to look at her impatiently, his trench coat still moving even as he skidded to a sudden halt.

"Well, aren't you coming?" he asked, and Corey immediately scrambled after him, leaving Tessa and Braden behind to follow after them once they were recovered. For some reason, she wasn't exactly surprised when she staggered outside on still-shaking legs to find that she was now in the far corner of her aunt and uncle's backyard. The girl stood there for a second, slightly stunned, before she took off at a run, barreling towards the back door at top speed.

Panicked expletives falling from her lips as she hastily pulled her key out of her jacket pocket and fumbled with the lock for a few moments, Corey inserted the key inside and swiftly unlocked the door. She yanked the wooden back door open, and was almost immediately bowled over by a shivering, whining German Shepherd that promptly attempted to tuck its head under her arm once it saw her lying prone on the ground. Sputtering indignantly, Corey managed to shove the dog away from her as she sat up and gave the animal a dry look.

"Knock it off, Dirk," she muttered as she got back up to her feet, pointedly ignoring the amused look that the Doctor was giving her at the canine's rather enthusiastic actions. However, when the shaking animal pressed himself up against her leg and practically tried to burrow under her skin, Corey looked down at him in bemusement.

"What's wrong, you big baby?" she asked gently, reaching down to scratch behind the massive black German Shepherd's ears. When he pointed his nose at the back door and let out a low growl, Corey paled slightly as she realized just what had set the normally stubborn animal off. Snarling out a frustrated curse, the girl charged into the kitchen and dashed towards the living room, the Doctor right on her heels.

When she reached the entrance to the living room, she skidded to a halt on the polished wooden floor, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of Trey – a very human Trey – sitting in a chair in front of her aunt and uncle, who were both huddled together on the couch looking like the end of the world had just arrived on their doorstep. None of them saw her, and she arrived just in time to hear Trey say something that made her very blood burn.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered as he reached forward to hold her aunt's hand gently, a look of contrite sympathy on his face. "There was just… there was this fire on campus, and Corey was trying to help someone out. The building collapsed… she never made it out…"

Trey's little monologue was interrupted by a choking sob from her aunt as the raven-haired woman buried her head in her hands and started sobbing. Her uncle looked over at his wife and placed a gentle hand on her back, looking like he wanted to follow her example. Deciding that she had seen more than enough, Corey let out a low growl of irritation before she strode into the room.

"Oh, you wish. That has got to be the biggest pile of bullshit that I've ever heard," she stated tersely as she leveled a furious glare in Trey's direction, smirking grimly when the occupants of the room turned around to face her. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm not gonna die that easily."

When she caught sight of her uncle's expression, she softened her look slightly, offering her father's older brother an apologetic shrug by means of an explanation.

"Sorry, but he's lying," the girl said as she fixed Trey with a murderous glare, feeling a hint of satisfaction at the way the Quisforth's eyes widened when he looked at her. "Yeah, that's right. I caught your lying ass. Now get the fuck out of here, and get the hell away from my aunt and uncle."

Trey looked taken aback for a moment before he smirked eerily at her. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then I'll wipe the floor with you."

The Quisforth didn't even blink as he slowly rose from the chair that he had been seated in and grinned knowingly at her, his eyes momentarily flashing acid yellow before they returned to Trey's usual blue. Corey clenched her fist and was about to lunge forward at the alien when her uncle's voice tore her attention away from the Quisforth.

"Corey, just what on earth is going on?" the sandy-blonde-haired man asked softly, although the teenager could easily discern the hint of steel in his voice. Oh yeah, James Matthews was definitely not a happy camper. That was usually the same tone of voice he had right before he started yelling.

"Oh, it's nothing on earth," a familiar voice piped up cheerfully behind her, and Corey let out a soft sigh as she directed her gaze upwards, silently asking whatever celestial beings that so loved to screw with her life just what exactly she had done to deserve this.

"Doctor, why are you here?" she asked wearily as she glanced over her shoulder. The Doctor only grinned brightly at her in response, pointedly ignoring the threatening growl that was now rumbling out of Trey's throat.

"Are you asking why I exist, or why I'm here in this room?"

"Both."

"Well, y'see, when a man and a woman love each other very much…" the Doctor began, an amused look twinkling in his eyes as Corey let out a loud groan and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. Any retorts to his comment were cut off by Trey standing up abruptly from his seat and holding up his right hand in full view of all of the occupants in the room. Just as James was about to ask the 'boy' what he was doing, five razor-sharp nails erupted from his fingertips and he turned around to fix the elder Matthews' with a cold stare, all while giving the two adults a very good look at a pair of slitted yellow eyes.

"Shut up, Doctor," the Quisforth snarled harshly, baring his needle-sharp teeth at the lanky man. "Your endless prattling is getting on my nerves."

Andrea Matthews let out a startled gasp as she recoiled visibly from Trey, her green eyes widening in fear as she backed up against her husband, who was slightly less affected by the sight before him. He merely looked as though he wanted to punch out the thing sitting in his living room, disguised as the friend of their niece. Trey, noticing the man's tense expression, smirked at him, a look of malevolent pleasure crossing his face as Andrea backed away even further. Corey swallowed audibly as she stared at Trey, dimly aware of the fact that Dirk was going absolutely ballistic somewhere off in the background as he barked furiously at the intruder. For some reason, the Quisforth kept wincing at the dog's thunderous barking, but Dirk didn't charge forth like he normally would when he was acting this way.

"Get the out of this house," Corey finally ground out, making the decision that she needed to deal with this now, at least before things got any worse. "Get out, and never come back!"

"Aw, what's wrong Corey? Have I overstayed my welcome?" Trey sneered, his tone indicating that he thought she could do nothing to remove him until he was ready to leave. The girl didn't respond, although her right hand twitched slightly, almost as though she desperately wanted to punch something.

"Yes, you have," the Doctor stated firmly as he stepped up behind Corey and fixed Trey with a piercing look. "Under Article 15 of the Shadow Proclamation, I order you to leave this planet and never come back."

"Your words mean nothing to me, meddler," the Quisforth retorted smugly. "What are you going to do to me if I don't listen? Use your little toy on me again?"

There was a slightly maniac glint in the Doctor's eyes as he looked at the reptilian being before he grinned widely at Trey, easily flipping his sonic screwdriver up into the air before catching in his hand, the movement so fast that Corey almost didn't see it.

"What, you mean this?" he asked cheerfully as he whipped the device up and pressed down on the button, causing Trey to collapse in an agonized heap on the living room floor as he clawed frantically at his face, an ear-splitting howl ripping its way from his throat in the process.

Tessa and Braden, who had been absent the last time the Doctor had unmasked the Quisforth, both made faint noises of disgust in the back of their throats as they stood behind the Doctor and Corey, and their parents weren't much better off. Their mother was turning a very interesting shade of sea green, and their father looked like he was torn between throwing the reptile out the back door and tossing it into the lake. Surprisingly, the noise from the sonic wasn't hurting their ears like it had the last time, giving Corey cause to glance curiously over at the Doctor.

To her absolute bewilderment, the man was frowning slightly as he stared at Trey, his eyes narrowing as he glanced down at his sonic screwdriver. And then the laughter started.

It wasn't pleasant laughter, or even nervous laughter. It was the pure, unrelenting laughter of someone who had lost their mind, of someone who didn't give a damn about who they hurt as long as they eliminated the source of their pain. And Trey was the source of that insane, screeching laugh. Corey was seriously considering the option that Trey had just lost what little remained of his sanity when she realized that his insane gaze was fixed directly on her aunt and uncle.

For one single moment, time seemed to freeze as the girl stood frozen to the entryway of the living room, her gray eyes wide in disbelief as history threatened to repeat itself right in front of her. And then, before anyone could even register it, she was moving as fast as she could.

"Braden, get them out of here!" Corey snapped over her shoulder as she lunged forward and placed herself in between Trey and the two adults, her teeth gritted into a feral snarl as she glared defiantly at the Quisforth. "You touch my family, you overgrown, inbred excuse for a mutated lizard, and I swear to God that you'll die screaming."

"And what makes you think that you ever possibly be able to kill me?" Trey sneered as he staggered to his feet, the flesh on his face healing even as he spoke before he shot a smug look at the Doctor. "You little toy doesn't work on me anymore, Doctor. If this is the best that the last of the Time Lords can do against me, then-"

Whatever the Quisforth had been about to say was abruptly cut off as Corey's booted foot slammed right into his face, sending Trey careening backwards as the girl landed somewhat awkwardly on the wooden floor, a wry grin on her face as she shook out her right leg ruefully.

"Damn, a flying kick's not nearly as easy to do as they make it look on TV," she commented absentmindedly to no one in particular, ignoring the pained sputtering coming from the spot where Trey had collapsed. The sheepish smile almost immediately transformed into something far more dangerous as she focused her attention on the Quisforth, who was staggering to his feet right in front of the doorway to the living room. Before Trey could react, Corey slammed into him, sending the alien stumbling out of the living room and into the dining room.

James Matthews chose that exact moment to come up behind the reptilian alien and wrap his arm around Trey's neck in a painful chokehold before he forcefully hauled the Quisforth out of the room and bodily threw him outside through the back door – which Braden was so kindly holding open so his father wouldn't break the wooden door with Trey's head. Trey's rather unkind exit was punctuated by James snatching a cast-iron skillet off of the kitchen counter and hurling it at his head, which bounced off of his skull with a very painful-sounding 'clang', leaving the alien reeling as he sat down hard in the dirt just outside the door.

"And don't ever come back!" James snarled acidly before he slammed the door shut in Trey's face. There was dead silence in the house as everyone grouped in the kitchen to hear the venomously snarled curses and death threats – all of them in another language – before the noises disappeared, presumably because Trey had chosen to leave the premises for the time being in favor of not being violently maimed by a short-tempered former hockey player.

Corey stared at her uncle for a few moments before she gave the older man a large grin, her expression lighting up proudly as she gave him a thumbs-up. "Way to go Uncle James. You sure showed him."

"I just wanted the bastard out of my house," he growled irritably as he reached up and ran a hand over his short hair. "No one threatens my family and gets away with it. And he better hope to whatever he believes in that he didn't break one of my good cast-iron skillets with his thick skull, because if he did, he'll have a hell of a lot more to worry about than just a concussion."

"Yeah, the wrath of Dad, which is scarier than the wrath of God any day," Braden piped up as he flipped the lock on the door before he shot his father a significant look. The older man cocked an eyebrow before he turned around to fix Corey with a stern gaze that had the teenager fidgeting in her spot, her expression quickly going from confident to sheepish in seconds.

"I believe that you have some serious explaining to do young lady," he stated seriously before he glanced over at the Doctor. "First of all, who is your friend? And second, just who or what the hell was that thing that we threw outside?"

Corey stared up at her uncle in stunned disbelief for a moment, a pained expression quickly flickering across her face before she averted her gaze, directing her attention to the floor. The Doctor looked over at the girl, who was staring at the toes of her shoes like they were the most fascinating things in the world, before he noticed Tessa start to open her mouth. He quickly placed a hand on the older girl's shoulder to catch her attention before he shook his head, indicating that she needed to let Corey say what had taken place.

The girl in question remained silent for several long moments before she drew in a shaky breath.

"Well," she finally began in a small voice, "that thing that you just threw outside was what used to be Trey."

James made a small noise in the back of his throat as he looked at his niece questioningly, and she gave a barely noticeable shrug of her shoulders in response.

"How?"

"I don't know. All I know is that he…" Corey trailed off and swallowed nervously before she picked up her line of thought again. "He's wearing Trey's skin."

Her uncle looked incredibly disturbed by that statement, and the rest of her family appeared to share his sentiments. Corey was about to elaborate further when a voice that she was quickly becoming familiar with spoke up from behind them.

"Well, it's not just the skin that he's wearing," the Doctor piped up, and then grinned cheerily at the five people in the room as they all turned around to stare at him. "That little 'suit' contains a thin layer of the original person's muscles, as well as all of the body hair and everything. Well, and they have to be soaked in a special poly-silicone solution first before they can be worn, for durability, y'see. Helps the suits heal back up if they get torn, a kind of automatic repair. Although you can't exactly wear the suits without a depression collar. Really quite a masterpiece if you think about it."

Corey blinked as she stared incredulously at the Doctor, both of her eyebrows going up into her hairline before she shook her head and sighed. She had never heard someone manage to say something that fast without passing out before.

"Do you just enjoy defying the laws of physics or something?" she finally asked dryly, ignoring the muffled sounds coming from behind her. Apparently, Tessa was doing her best not to burst out laughing.

"And why do you say that?"

"Because no one normal can possibly talk that fast without taking a breath," Corey offered sardonically as she rolled her eyes upwards. The Doctor gave her a knowing smile as he stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of his trench coat and rocked backwards slightly on his heels.

"I thought we had already established that I wasn't normal," he pointed out. Tessa unexpectedly burst out laughing as she sank down into a nearby chair and buried her head in her hands, her entire body shaking with laughter as the rest of the occupants of the room all stared at her.

"I think you broke her," Corey finally said, a slight hint of concern present in her voice as she looked at her cousin worriedly. The Doctor looked offended by her comment as he pulled what was supposed to be an innocent face.

"But I didn't do anything!" he protested, his voice changing to a slightly higher pitch at the end of the sentence, earning him an odd look from Corey. The girl cocked her head slightly to the side as she raised a disbelieving eyebrow, her expression clearly stating that she did not believe him. Just when the Doctor was about to further protest his innocence – and try to avoid a slap to the face a la Jackie Tyler – Tessa sucked in a shuddering gasp as she removed her hands from her face and looked up at the people around her, her face spitting into a wide grin at the sight of the Doctor standing in front of her.

"Corey, he's a nine hundred and something year old alien that travels through time in a Police Box," she chuckled as she gave her cousin a teasing smirk. "Somehow, I get the feeling that normal flew out the window a long time ago with him."

The younger girl frowned slightly before she gave a sigh and shrugged her shoulders as she pulled a face, silently admitting that Tessa did indeed have a point. Both girls ignored the slightly flabbergasted look that their elder family members were giving them before Tessa cracked a grin.

"This is so weird… our history professor is an alien. Does that mean our math teacher's a werewolf?" she giggled, and Corey just shrugged in response, ignoring the indignant gaping sound that the Doctor made at the comment.

"Nah, I think vampire's more likely," she stated blandly, although the corner of her mouth twitched upwards slightly. "I mean, have you seen how he swoops down on people?"

Tessa snickered softly before she gave Corey a mock serious look. "Somehow I don't think Liz is ever going to let us live this one down."

"Nope, not a chance," was the flat response as the younger girl walked over to the sofa located in the living room and flopped down onto the soft surface with a long sigh of relief. "Okay, I'm gonna crash for the next… week, I think. Wake me up when things make sense again."

All was quiet for a few moments before there was the soft sound of rubber tread hitting the wooden floor until the footsteps came to a stop somewhere near her head. Corey resisted the urge to crack open an eye to see who the person approaching her was, somehow already having an idea of who it was. That particular idea was soon verified when a long-fingered hand grasped her by the shoulder and hauled her up into a sitting position, and the girl opened her eyes with weary resignation.

"Now that's not very nice, leaving me to do all the explaining," the Doctor said with a slight whine in his voice as he gave Corey a mock hurt look. She rolled her eyes before she brought up her hand and slightly hit his shoulder, flashing the older man a teasing grin when he looked at her curiously.

"You started it," she pointed out.

"I did not. You could've run home like I told you to."

"You still started it."

The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, only to be interrupted by the sound of James clearing his throat rather loudly as he fixed the young-looking man with a steely glare before he turned his gaze onto Corey.

"Corey, who is your… friend?" he asked in a deceptively calm tone of voice. The girl question flinched slightly before she turned around and offered her uncle a sheepish grin, her expression indicating that she sincerely hoped that she would not get in trouble for whatever answer she gave. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Corey finally accepted that she could no longer delay the inevitable as she let out a put-upon sigh and her shoulders slumped.

"Uncle James, remember the substitute teacher that Tessa and I were talking about? Dr. John Smith?" she asked hesitantly, giving the older man a small smile. "Well, here he is. Actually, he's called the Doctor though, not Dr. Smith like he said he was." Corey shrugged at the incredulous look that she received before she turned around and indicated in the direction of her aunt and uncle, offering the lanky man a somewhat teasing grin at the baffled expression on his face. "Doctor, allow me to introduce my aunt and uncle; James and Andrea Matthews. Uncle James was my dad's older brother."

"So I guessed," the Doctor replied offhandedly as he locked gazes with the ex-hockey player, who was giving the Time Lord a very evil look indeed. "You both have the same kind of nose."

"Alright, introductions are over. Let's get on with life," Braden said as he abruptly interrupted the stare-off between his dad and the 'weirdo alien dude', as he had privately dubbed the Doctor. Both men favored him with a flat stare for the remark, and Braden wisely decided that it might just be a better idea for him to remain quiet.

Silence fell over the room as the two men stared at each other for several long moments, neither one of them so much as twitching. Corey and Tessa exchanged confused looks at James's reaction; normally, he was pretty easy-going about most things. However, a homicidal reptilian alien from another dimension hardly qualified as anything even remotely close to 'normal'. Finally, James was the one to look away as he glanced over at Corey, who sat up just a little bit straighter in her spot on the couch.

"Corey, I want you to go to your room,' he finally said, and the girl immediately shot to her feet with an indignant yelp.

"But-!" she began, only to be immediately cut off by a single word.

"Now."

Corey wilted visibly at her uncle's tone, and she nodded glumly in response before she headed over towards the stairway that led up to the second floor – and consequently, the bedroom that she shared with Tessa. She was right at the foot of the staircase when she turned around and gave the Doctor a bright grin, her grey eyes shining with a somewhat mischievous light.

"Hey Doctor?" she began hesitantly, looking the Time Lord right in the eyes. "Thanks."

And with that statement, she vanished up the stairs. Tessa waited for a few seconds before she got up and followed after her, softly whispering to her father as she passed by to 'be nice', before she too was gone. Once the Doctor was reasonably sure that the two girls were gone, he returned his attention to the remaining part of the Matthews family and gave them all a cheery smile.

"All right then," he declared as he clapped his hands together and a somewhat maniac light entered his eyes, "who wants to go first?"


Oh boy, Trey got his scaly ass kicked, and the Doctor gets to face down the evil Glare 'o Doom from Corey's uncle. Fun times.

My thanks to everyone who reviewed, and all of you who at least bothered to read the story and/or favorited it.

Reviews:

RandomCheeses: Yes, that is indeed a very good sign. Good news, I got the first two seasons of the new Doctor Who series on DVD (Barnes and Noble, I now owe you a life-debt), through some very creative uses of gift cards from multiple family members. (I'm well known in my family for being a major book-lover.) I just finished the 5th episode of the second season, and I must say that Mr. Tennant is even more hysterical than I originally thought. ("Blood control! I haven't seen blood control in years!")

CountryGrl: Thank you so very much. Hey, do I do a bit better on this chapter with the lingo and everything? The thing with Corey is that I want her to be just an ordinary kid. Honestly, the worst thing that ever happened to her was losing her parents and brother, and that has affected her, but she's also tried to move on a bit. She's not one to mope around and be all 'Oh, woe is me'. She's more than happy to leave that to the sissy girly-girls in her classes, you know, the ones who are all at college just to 'find a man'. And I'm really glad that you like the Quisforth. Creating them was one of the hardest things that I've had to do, because there was no way that I could use a pre-existing creature for the plotline that I had in mind.

Lost child of Gallifrey: So you like Doctor Who and Supernatural? Cool beans. Glad to know that I'm not the only one.

The Penguin Ate My Homework: Wow, nice name. And I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. I really do try my best to make things seem realistic in my work. Reading about OOCness, and Mary-Sues just isn't all that fun.

Gahoole15: I sure hope so. An out of character Doctor would be a VERY bad thing. And I'm glad that you enjoyed my little attention-grabbing technique. I call it the 'Suspense-no-Jutsu'! (Is promptly pelted with various household items by various individuals – namely Corey, Jack Harkness, and the Doctor – for the bad Naruto reference)