AN: Awesome-person points to whoever finds the Aladdin reference near the beginning of this chapter:)
Chapter 9
Amy had only met John once before. He seemed nice enough to her, but she couldn't say she really considered him a friend. Not yet anyway.
But that didn't hinder her fear and sympathy when she saw absolute terror light up John's eyes. And by light up, she meant literally. The boy's eyes glowed gold and bathed the room in a low, golden light that cast deep shadows across their faces.
"Please," he'd croaked, pleading Rory.
She didn't want to leave him. She didn't understand. What terrified him so much that he'd look at her like that? But then Rory had his arms around her, forcing her backwards, behind him.
"Rory? What're you doing?!" She protested, wriggling.
Rory spun her toward him and looked her in the eyes. "He said to get away, so I'm gonna do that."
Amy hesitated, but then relented. Whatever reason John had, it was a good one. Quickly they crouched down behind a metal shelf and some boxes. Amy's fingers trailed on the concrete and she grabbed Rory's hand reflexively. Rory jolted in surprise but Amy didn't notice.
Fear quickening her heart, she peered between the boxes at John. He was shivering violently and slowly he let his arms fall to his sides. For a moment the light in his eyes faded.
There was a beat of complete silence.
Was it over?
What John okay?
But in that moment light pulsed from every pore of his body, and he exploded... literally.
A wave of white hot energy crackled through the air, throwing Amy and Rory back as it widened its circumference, John at the center. The shelf tottered and fell against the wall so that it created a sort of tent over Amy. Amy screamed and clung to Rory as a whirlwind overtook the storage closet.
Then all at once, it was over.
They heard John stumble and fall and then a crash as a shelf tottered over him. Darkness.
Everyone was frozen. Rory was the first to move and suddenly Amy's heart started again. She exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"Gotta find a light switch," Rory muttered, clambering out from behind the shelf and pulling Amy out behind him. Quickly Rory made his way to the door, stumbling over broken boxes and fallen shelves. Finally his hand found the switch. In comparison to the blinding light they'd seen a moment before, the fluorescent bulbs were like moonlight on a stormy night, but they did the job.
Amy blinked away the lingering afterimage of John's… explosion and hurried toward the boy. "John?" she whisper-shouted, anxious, "John? Are you alright?"
A shelf had fallen over John, much like it fell over Amy and Rory and Amy rushed up to it, expecting to hear John's voice from under the debris.
Instead she heard something entirely unexpected.
"Rassilon! Five years tucked up in the subconscious gives you such a crick in the neck..."
Amy blinked.
What.
Following the words, a hand poked out from behind the shelf and was followed by the shaggy form of a boy.
But it wasn't John. It most definitely was not. He about John's age, perhaps a bit younger, but not by much. Mousy brown hair flopped into green-blue eyes and he flashed Amy a wide, childish grin. Pointing at her, he clambered the rest of the way out from behind the shelf and giggled. "Oh! You're Amy! It's so different seeing you though my own eyes!"
Amy's jaw dropped in unison with Rory's. The boy stumbled toward Rory and pointed at him now. "Ha! And you're Rory! The roman, am I right? Oh that's brilliant!"
Rory leaned away eyebrows drawing together. "Who the heck are you?" he asked.
The boy paused, considering. "That does seem to be the question. Tell you what, you find out, and you can tell me."
He grinned and spun in circle, but his smile faded when he saw the destruction around him. "Dear me," he squeaked, "Whoops. It's not usually like this, I promise. He just suppressed me for so long, ya know? Energy build up and all…" He trailed off when he realized Rory and Amy weren't tracking with him.
Rory still held a suspicious look. "What did you do with John? Is he hurt? Where-?"
"Oh please," The boy rolled his eyes. "You ought to thank me. The idiot is fine, better than fine. He's healed. He got shot. Had to save him. Unfortunately those sort of wounds aren't tolerated. 1 would have a fit if someone left John unattended. So basically, the perfect excuse to finally get out!" The boy grinned and did a sort of hop-skip in excitement. "But if you want to be technical, then I suppose I'm John."
The boy cocked his head and waited until understanding finally dawned on Rory. Amy watched it light up his eyes. He took a step back and looked the boy up and down. "Oh my gosh," he breathed, "You're one of the- the numbers! His alters have physical forms!" Rory shook his head in disbelief and the boy gave him a clumsy bow.
"Thank you, Rory. Brilliant deduction, that."
Amy was still confused, utterly and completely. Alters? Physical forms? "Right," she said slowly, "Rory, what on Earth is happening? Where's John? What happened?"
Rory turned toward Amy and gave her a look somewhere between excitement, shock, and awe. He gestured at the boy. "That's John. Right there."
The boy waved.
Amy's eyes flicked back and forth. "No. He's not. John looks nothing like-"
"Nothing like me," the boy interrupted. He nodded rapidly. "he, I mean, I… or rather, we. Blimey, pronouns… Anyway, we told Rory about it earlier. I've got twelve personalities, including John. He's number 10"
"Wait," Rory interjected, "John is a number?"
"Yup."
Twelve personalities… Amy shook her head. That made only the slightest sense. "And you're one of these… other personalities?"
The boy nodded, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He grinned at Rory. "She's smart, Rory."
Rory didn't seem to hear. He was too busy staring. "Personalities with a physical form," he murmured, "How does that even work?"
"I dunno," the boy responded with a shrug, "How do you turn Roman?"
Touche.
Without warning, the boy clambered through the mess toward the door. He had long, lanky limbs that he didn't seem to know what quite to do with. "Come along! Things to do, stuff to see, life to live! I haven't got long as it is."
"Wait!" Rory protested, snapping out of his thoughts. He came after him and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can't go out there. There's these men and..."
For a long moment the boy just stared at him. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Rory, if the Cybermen were going to find us, they would have already."
Cybermen, Rory thought, was that what the metal men were? How did the boy know? Slowly Rory released him. John's warnings echoed in his mind. Could this boy really be evil like John was so convinced that he was?
Rory wasn't sure. Biting his lip, he gestured to the door. "Fine, but we need to take you to Vastra."
Shrugging noncommittally, the boy cracked open the door and peeked out. "The lizard, right?" He opened the door wider. It appeared empty and the sun had finally set outside. Slowly, the trio crept out of the closet and closed the door behind them. All that remained of whatever battle there was in the hall was a small, man-shaped pile of dust. Rose's work, no doubt.
" Sorry," the boy muttered to no one in particular. "That was probably racist, calling someone a lizard. I mean, I know I wouldn't like being called an ape… or a lizard, for that matter. All dry and scaly and rubbish..." He trailed off as they began to tip-toe down the hallway. Hopefully they could get outside. Vastra would no doubt be there, in the heat of the action, which was likely where the explosion happened.
After a moment the boy continued his conversation with no one. "Weird though. It's not racist to call a human a human if you are also human. What's with that, anyway? You can call yourself any name you like, but someone else says it and bam, totally offended…"
"Would you keep it down?" Rory interjected, fearful. The metal-men, or Cybermen, as the boy had called them, could be anywhere.
"Oh." the boy turned to look at him and slowed down a bit so that they all walked shoulder to shoulder. "Yeah, sorry."
Rory wondered if all of John's alters were this chatty. No wonder he couldn't concentrate... Glancing nervously at Amy, Rory assessed her quickly. She seemed to be taking this development in stride but she made no attempt to add to the conversation. Every so often she shot Rory a confused look and he shrugged.
Curious, Rory locked eyes with the boy as they rounded a corner. The hall was empty, thankfully. "So are you a number?" he asked slowly, the words feeling odd in his mouth. "Which one?"
The boy flinched but quickly hid his discomfort with a smile.
Immediately Rory saw the boy's failed attempt and felt guilty. "I mean, if you don't mind telling me."
The boy waved away his concerns. "It's fine. I'm 11." He pursed his lips. "You met me earlier, sort of…"
It was now that Amy finally spoke up. Her eyebrows furrowed. "But you have a name, don't you?"
11 shrugged. "Naw, who needs names anyway. A number sums me up."
Again Rory didn't miss the streak of bitterness in 11's manner, but he didn't address it. "Why didn't John, or, I mean, you, or him, or whatever, say that… this happens." He gestured vaguely at 11, who scratched his neck awkwardly.
"By this, you mean actually having a physical form? He didn't tell you because he doesn't know. He told you that earlier, I believe."
Rory nodded, remembering their earlier conversation. "I asked him how that's possible and he said he didn't know..."
A bit of sadness overcame 11's features and he shrugged. "I remember. I was there."
"So… do you know why he doesn't know?"
They reached the front room now and their feet slapped against the tiles and down the elegant staircase. Lamps lit the room and twilight reigned on the steps outside the school. Reluctantly 11 opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment a voice called out from outside.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice non-condensing.
Rose Tyler.
Jumping in surprise Rory and Amy hurried down the rest of the stairs. However, 11 stilled on the last few steps and stared at her, silent.
Rose's hair was pulled into a loose braid and she held her gloves loosely in her hand. "Never mind that. Do you guys know what happened?" Shaking her head tiredly, she stepped into the building and pulled on her gloves. "One minute we were fighting and the next there was this… energy, or something. I think it sort of over-powered them cause the next we knew, they were flipping out and teleported away.
Rory blinked. "The Cybermen?"
Instantly her eyes zeroed in on Rory. There was a frightening intensity in her brown orbs. "How do you know that?"
Startled by the sudden mood change, Rory gestured at 11. "He's the one who said it,"
Immediately her attention turned to 11. "Who are you?"
11 wasn't listening. His eyes were glazed as he spoke to no one in particular. "I suppose an energy build up to that degree would cause a power over-load… rather fortunate for us…"
"S'cuse me," Rose interrupted, her voice sharp. "I asked you a question."
11 took his time pulling his attention to the blonde and when he finally did, he grinned. "Rose Tyler. Hello!" He waved but Rose frowned.
"What do you know about Cybermen?" she said, "Who told you?"
11 shrugged and bounced on his heels. "Nobody. I'm a good guesser."
"Don't be cheeky." Quickly she glanced at Rory and Amy, who'd been attempting to get a word in. "Do you know him?"
"Aw, how rude," 11 interjected, effectively keeping Rory from answering. "I'm quite certain we met yesterday."
Rose's eyebrows furrowed and she looked 11 up and down. Shaking her head, Rose turned to Rory again. "Do you know him?" she repeated.
Rory nodded, exchanging a glance with Amy. "Well… yes and no. It's a bit-"
"-complicated," Amy finished.
11 nodded rapidly, but his eyes focused intently on Rory. Rory felt the boy wanted to tell him something… But what? "I got here yesterday," 11 said slowly, "along with that other kid… John was it?"
Oh, Rory thought. So that's what he was doing.
For a moment Rory wavered. Should he go along with it? Did he trust 11?
Honestly, Rory didn't know the boy, but John on the other hand… Rory hadn't known John long, but he trusted him.
If 11 and John were truly one and the same, then whatever 11 had planned, it was probably what John wanted also, at least to a certain degree. And John would never do something to hurt them. Not to mention, John had also been extremely reluctant to reveal this part of himself. Rory doubted he would want everyone to know his secret.
All of this went through Rory's mind in a single moment and decided, he nodded and moved to put an arm around around the boy. "Yeah," Rory answered and nodded at Rose, "I saw him come. It was a bit late last night. Most everyone was asleep so I agreed to help him find his room.
Rose frowned suspiciously, sensing a rat. "Uh-huh." Her eyes flicked questioningly to Amy, who looked at them in bemusement. Slowly a smirk grew on the red-head's face. She'd caught one. "Is that right?" Rose asked her.
Amy nodded. "Rory introduced me to… ah, Matthew here a few hours ago. He's cool."
For a moment Rose shifted, not quite sure what to believe, but running feet interrupted their conversation.
"Who's that?" Rory asked, pulling away from 11. Running up the stairs outside were several dark forms that soon could be identified as Vastra, Jenny, Adric, and Martha. Vastra and Martha carried someone up and they dropped him in an awkward heap once they entered the light.
Wiping her brow, Martha bent down to inspect the body. "Jack is taking longer than usual, Vastra. Should I take him to the infirmary?"
"Why not? Adric, help her carry him."
11 kept his hands clasped behind his back to keep them from shaking. He wasn't use to being around so many people. Most of the time it was just him and Sarah Jane…
But truthfully that wasn't what made his hands shake. He would never admit it, but he had no idea what he was doing. In a single, compulsive motion he found a way to separate himself from John for the first time in his entire life.
And then Amy named him. Sure it was probably the first name that came to her mind, insignificant to her, but he didn't care. She gave him a name. Like he was a real person, not some messed up, alternate version of John. And Rory went along with it! Rory seemed hesitant, but he was willing to trust him, if only for the moment.
That meant more to 11 than Rory would ever know.
With his eyes glued to the floor, but 11 couldn't help his mind from quickly racing through the people, finding John's memories of them and categorizing them in his own head. He saw people differently from John. They were strings of flowing information that didn't always fit together right, not colors the way John understood them to be.
Rose Tyler- 17 years, four months, 23 days old. Afraid of the dark. Loves fish and chips.
Jenny- values her agility. Likes winter evenings with a cup of tea and a book. Blooming cat woman...
Martha- Wants to be a doctor, which would be convenient with her ability. Dislikes boys in general except for recently…
Wait.
He ran a quick background check with John's memories on Martha and had to keep himself from chuckling.
She wouldn't find John attractive if she really knew how much of an annoying prat he is…
Shaking the information away mentally, he continued categorizing, unable to stop.
Jack- dead/not dead. Revival is a bit like our re-generational ability, but he's only got one body. A lady's man. Forty-seven and… a half girlfriends. The half girlfriend was a strange woman whose lower body lived separately from her upper body…
"Matthew."
Rory- likes the color red. Hates sushi. Totally into Amy…
"Matthew!"
11 jumped, shaking his head quickly. Right. That's me. Matthew. "Sorry, what?"
Rory gave him a concerned glance.
"Were you talking to me?" 11 asked, cocking his head, "I wasn't listening."
"Yeah, I got that," came his response.
The other members of the Elite had mostly cleared out by now, exhausted. It was clear that Vastra was waiting for them to leave before she left herself.
"You are to tell no one about what you have seen this evening," she said to the three of them, her voice deathly low.
Rory frowned. "You're not going to tell everyone? We were attacked!"
"By Cybermen," 11 added.
"And put the entire school in unnecessary panic? Absolutely not." Vastra shook her head. "Can I trust you to keep this a secret?"
Quickly Amy, and Rory exchanged glances. After a moment Rory nodded. "Yeah. We won't tell."
"Good," Vastra answered, apparently satisfied. "Now, back to your dorms. You shouldn't have been up here in the first place."
As one, the trio moved to go up the stairs, but as they left, Vastra quickly landed a cool hand on 11's thin shoulder.
He stiffened.
Vastra- Very, very old. Hyper intelligent. An occasional appetite for blood…
And there's something else… 11 frowned, trying to read the words as they sped past. Finally he caught another glimpse.
Daggonit she knows. Course she knows.
"You stay here... Matthew, was it?"
Slowly 11 gulped and turned. At the top of the stairs Rory hesitated but Vastra waved him away and with a last worried glance, Rory disappeared along with Amy.
Then it was just Vastra and 11 in the front hall.
For a moment neither of them said anything. They stared resolutely at each other and 11 considered keeping up his ruse but trashed the idea quickly. There was no point. She knew. The information said so.
"What?" he finally sighed, slightly bitter.
Vastra's eyes were busy zipping up and down him.
Vastra- Hates war. Loves opera...
"John?" she said slowly, as if she didn't quite believe herself. "Is that you?"
11 flinched. John. It always went back to him. "It's rather complicated… I'm 11. John told you about us. I remember."
"Do you?"
"They're my memories just as well as his."
Vastra was silent, so 11 kept right on.
"And you are slightly telepathic, I believe. That's how you know who I am." He paused, one of John's memories rising to the surface. "But that doesn't make sense. Rory said psychics don't exist."
Vastra chuckled. "I'm afraid Rory is slightly confused. It's a matter of terminology. A telepath possesses one of many mind-related abilities. Sensing emotion, hearing thoughts, seeing forgotten memories, or mind control, for example. Even time travel is considered a mental ability in some circles, but it is a rare ability as it is and most don't survive their first trip."
11 nodded, not doubting her. "Time travel is a mental ability because the mind travels first, and then the body…"
Vastra blinked in surprise and nodded, but did not address the issue. "Psychics, on the other hand, possess all and more of those abilities."
"And… no one psychic is able to stay sane with all of that crammed in their heads…" 11 finished, nodding in understanding.
Vastra's look was priceless. She hadn't expected him to understand so easily. "Exactly," she murmured. For a moment she hesitated, but then she spoke. "But I believe that you are an exception… somehow."
11 expected her to say that. He knew who he was. He knew what they could do together. It was John who needed to know, or rather, to believe. Saying as much, 11 looked up at the woman and she nodded in agreement.
"He is being a bit difficult, but I suppose that is understandable." Pausing to think, Vastra's eyes met 11's. "Perhaps if he accepted that you are more than the product of a derailed mind..."
11 snorted. "Have fun with that. We've been trying for years. He doesn't remember anything we see. He doesn't know anything..." Now that he thought about that. He understood why John was so afraid.
But at the same time, if the idiot would just let them explain, everything would be so much easier.
Pulling himself away from the thought, 11 realized Vastra was staring at him.
"What?"
"You're a right mystery, child. You can't possibly exist."
11 snorted. "Says the green-skinned woman,"
Vastra's lips twitched. "Touche." Slowly she shook herself out of her thoughts and suddenly her eyebrows drew together. "You said Cybermen earlier, how did you know-?"
"-what they are?" 11 was more than willing to offer up the explanation. "I get general information about people when I look at them; what they love, what they hate, their age, that sort of stuff and things... I saw the word 'Cybermen' when I looked at John's memory of them, so... I said it."
Vastra cocked her head. "But... you don't see emotion like John?"
"No."
"Hmm," Vastra nodded slowly. "What you're describing sounds like mental surface scanning… While John , I believe, is an Empathetic…" For a moment she was still, but then she continued. "I have a very small inkling as to why you have your sanity, but I'll need to think on it more before I voice my theory." She looked him up and down. "Rory called you Matthew, but John refers to you by a number, which do you prefer?"
11 blinked. No one ever asked him that before. He thought for a moment and then made his decision. "I'd like it if you call me Matthew, but…" He trailed off and his eyes fell to the floor.
"What is it?"
"Please don't tell anyone about me and John being… the same."
To 11's surprize, Vastra chuckled. "They'll find out eventually. What will you do then?"
That was a good point. "Yeah…" 11 sighed, "It's just, I've never been just me, you know?" He pleaded to her with his eyes, willing her to understand.
Vastra smiled kindly. "I understand. And anyhow, it's your decision." Glancing at her wristwatch, she scowled at the time. "Dear me, it's getting late. You should go back to your room, Matthew. Can I speak to you tomorrow?"
11 shook his head. "I'll switch back to John once I fall asleep."
Vastra nodded. "Alright… I need to convince him anyhow. He hasn't got any medication to keep you lot hidden, does he?"
"He does but I hid it when he was sleeping."
"Good. Bring it to me the next time you can, alright?"
11 gave his affirmative,and a smile welled up inside him. Things were gonna change. John would be a pain in the butt, but he'd come around… eventually. And until then, John had no medication to stop him and the others from appearing when the opportunity arose.
As he walked back to his dorm, 11 found himself grinning and as he lay down to sleep, he felt reluctantly positivity. Even as he sank back into John's subconscious 11 couldn't help but feel that for the first time he wasn't just a number. Not anymore. He had a name now.
He wasn't 11. His name was Matthew.
AN:Told you I'd update fast! Sorry for that horrid cliffhanger on chapter 8 ;) Anyway, what do you guys think of 11? Is he in character? If something confuses you, please ask and I will try to clarify:)) anyway, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!
