[Pi Eaterz, thank you for your review. Here's a new chapter, I hope you'll enjoy it! It's somewhat short but you shouldn't have to wait too long for the next one.]
Roughly a month and a half after the Barry family had adopted Terrence, Douglas, beginning to feel tired of unsuccessful writing lessons, suggested: "Hey, we could show Terrence the place where we found him. Do you remember anything about it?" he asked him.
The Dalek's squeak had Julia pull a face. "Was that a yes or a no? Anyway, it's a good idea: I feel like getting some air too. Come along, Terrence."
"Perhaps we'll learn more about what exactly he is?" Douglas added with excitement as they left.
Meanwhile, inside the Tardis, Amy was trying to worm an answer out of the eleventh Doctor under the amused eye of Rory: "Come on Doctor, tell us where you've brought us!"
Their tall guide was barring the way out with a mischievous grin. "No, it's a surprise. Now close your eyes… and don't cheat!" he added as Rory tried and peek.
As they complied, he opened the Tardis doors and burst out, as energetic as ever. "Now come and fill your…" His voice dropped: "… lungs."
Rory's head slid outside. "Hum, looks very Earth to me."
Amy stepped out and confirmed: "Early twenty-first century Earth, Great Britain, godforsaken village. Doctor, why are we here instead of… whatever place you wanted to show us?"
"Good question, Amy. Very, very good question. And very worrying." All enthusiasm had vanished from his face; instead, he felt his hearts oppressed with anxiety. He patted the Tardis door. "Why have you brought me back, old girl?"
"You've been here before?" the red-haired asked.
"Yeah…" He noticed a nearby ad. "A few weeks ago. Or a few decades, lots of travelling in-between and all that. But I've definitely been here before."
Rory spoke up: "What happened then? The place looks pretty normal to me. No signs of obvious destruction or heavy damage."
"No, I stopped them before they could do any real harm. Or so I thought."
"Stopped them? Stopped who?"
"The worst beings in all creation. The bane of my nights. The scourge of the universe." He paused. "Daleks."
"It's here, Terrence; apparently, you'd climbed out of this hole," Julia said while indicating the pitch-black opening in the ground.
"I really wish we could explore what's inside," her brother sighed. "It looks deep."
Taking his cue, Terrence jumped from the girl's shoulders and quickly squirmed into the burrow.
"Be careful, Terrence!" she called out.
"We won't be able to fetch you if you hurt yourself," Douglas added.
But the Dalek had already disappeared out of sight.
Amy and Rory hastened to follow the Doctor's quick march in the countryside.
"Hurry, Ponds. The entrance to the Daleks' hideout was just over there."
They almost collided with him when he brusquely halted without a warning. Following his eyes, they noticed a boy and a girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old, apparently absorbed in the contemplation of a hill.
"Children," the Doctor muttered. "Just above one of the tunnels. Not good. Not good at all. Have to get them out of harm's way."
And with that, he raced towards the unsuspecting youngsters, his companions trailing behind.
"What are you two doing here?" he exclaimed once he'd reached the teenagers.
They jumped as the Time Lord's voice startled them, but before they could say anything he went on: "No, actually, I don't care. Just go back home right away."
"Why?" Douglas asked. "And who are you anyway?"
"I'm the Doctor, Amy, Rory, and I can't tell you why."
"Then we can't move," Julia retorted, beginning to feel annoyed at this worked-up stranger.
"Look… er, what's your name again?"
"Julia. And my brother's Douglas."
"Look, Julia, it's likely to become very dangerous in the vicinity. I have every reason to believe bad guys are about to turn up."
She laughed out loud. "'Very dangerous'? 'Bad guys'? Come on, we live in the middle of nowhere; nothing ever happens around here!"
Even worse, Douglas seemed to be quite excited by the idea of danger.
"I'm serious!" the Doctor protested. "Why won't you listen?"
The girl shook her head with a decided look. "Even if we believed you, we can't anyway. We must wait for… our friend." She'd had a slight hesitation.
"We'll warn him too when we see him. Just. Get. Home. Now!"
"Doctor, calm down," Amy intervened. "Please. Shouting doesn't help."
"I won't calm down when the place might be crawling with Daleks any minute!"
"'Daleks'? What are Daleks?" Douglas asked.
A noise interrupted them: The dreaded sound of a ray gun, accompanied by falling rocks. Moments later, a second blast was heard and as a portion of the hill collapsed, an unmistakable bronze and gold shape emerged from the rubble.
[I find it really hard to write Eleven. It doesn't help that he's my least favourite Doctor (or perhaps he's my least favourite Doctor because I'm having a hard time relating to him...) Although at first I hadn't intended for them to show up, adding Amy and Rory to the mix helped me a bit. I hope the Doctor doesn't sound too OOC now.]
