Rory was back in his Roman gear, and something about it felt right. It made him feel more capable, more powerful, more confident—like nothing could ever stop him; certainly not a fleet of Cybermen.
"I have a message and a question," he said, glaring at the Cybermen. "A message from the Doctor and a question from me. Where is my wife?" Rory glared at the silent Cybermen. "Oh don't give me those blank looks. The Twelfth Cyber Legion monitors this entire quadrant. You hear everything. So you tell me what I need to know. You tell me and I'll be on my way." Rory wished the theatrics of this whole thing weren't necessary; he wanted to get the information and get out and get to Amy. Amy and his baby…if either of them were hurt, there would be hell to pay.
"What is the Doctor's message?" The lead Cyberman asked in his automated voice. Rory heard the rest of the fleet exploding through the window behind him, but didn't flinch and didn't turn to look.
"Would you like me to repeat the question?"
Rory ran down the hall to where the Doctor was supposed to pick him up. The Cybermen were concerned enough about their continued existence to leave him be for the moment, but he wasn't sure how long that would last.
He rounded a corner and ran smack dab into something far too soft to be a Cyberman. He stumbled backwards, but the other, smaller being wasn't so lucky, and fell down with an "oompf!"
"Larentia?!" Rory asked incredulously. What on Earth…?
Larentia looked up at Rory, her wide eyes conveying that she was just as surprised as he was. "Rory? What the hell are you doing on a cybership?! I thought I told you to try and stay out of trouble!" She scolded with a frown. Her frown only deepened when she took in his apparel.
Rory reached down and helped her stand up. "What happened, Rory? It had to have been something bad for you to be here and all…Roman." Larentia leveled what Rory had come to call her "serious" gaze on him, and he rubbed his forehead agitatedly.
"They took Amy. The Silence; the cult, not the alien species," Rory added. "She's pregnant. The Doctor is raising an army so we can get her back. Can you help?" He asked desperately.
Larentia hesitated; the Doctor would be there, he'd be able to sense her. And then she hated herself for even thinking that; this was Rory. "Of course. Where is Amy being held?"
Rory looked relieved. "It's a fortress called Demon's Run. Do you need a lift, or…" Rory trailed off as he watched Larentia shake her head.
"I'll take my TARDIS and see you there. And Rory? We'll get her back." Rory clasped her shoulder in gratitude, then hurried off to where the Doctor would pick him up.
Larentia watched him go, frowning. She reached into her pocket, her fist curling around a crumpled piece of paper.
Larentia had decided to visit Jack; she needed a moment to relax. She'd visited him several times since their first reunion, and she always came away in higher spirits than before.
"Rosie!" Jack grinned, hugging her and spinning her around. He refused to call her anything but Rose or Rosie, something that got on Larentia's nerves, but that she had come to accept.
"Hi, Jack," Larentia giggled as her feet touched the ground again.
"Oh! I've got something for you, hold on…" Jack muttered, digging in the pockets of his coat before producing a folded, yellowed piece of paper. "I can't read it—not for a lack of trying, trust me—"he winked, handing her the paper, "but it has your name on it, so I assume you can read it."
Larentia took the paper, curious and a bit concerned. Sure enough, the name 'Rose Tyler' was written in unfamiliar hand writing on the front. Larentia frowned; who in this universe other than Jack knew both her full name and that she existed?
She opened the paper and felt the blood drain from her face. The note was filled with instructions, but that wasn't what had caused Larentia's reaction; the entire note was written in Old High Gallifreyan, a language that had died with the Time Lords. John had taught her a bit of it, and the TARDIS and her library had helped complete her education, but so far as Larentia knew, the Doctor was the only other person who knew it.
And yet this wasn't his handwriting.
The note was brief, but specific:
'Hello, Dear
When it is time for you to go to Demon's Run, make sure you are an hour late; the Doctor won't notice you then. Stay out of the fighting, go to the upper levels and down the third corridor on the right. Take the baby from the woman with the eye patch. You will receive further instructions there.
I am so sorry,
A Friend
Larentia frowned as she told Jack what it said. "But what does it mean?" He asked, confused and worried.
Larentia looked up at him. "I don't know."
And now she did. That had happened weeks ago, but she kept the paper on her anyway, just in case. She quickly made her way back to her TARDIS, her mind whirling.
The thing that worried Larentia the most was the apology at the closing of the note. Were they apologizing for the cryptic-ness? Or something much worse?
Not that it mattered anymore; this was Rory's wife and child at stake, she had to go. She would follow the instructions she'd been given, if only because it sounded like it would lead her to Rory's child.
Demons run when a good man goes to war.
She sent the TARDIS to Demon's Run, an hour late, as instructed. Even before she stepped outside, she could hear the sounds of battle. She checked her gun, making sure it was charged and set to stun, before stepping outside.
The scene outside was utter chaos; there were soldiers firing their guns, and headless monks with swords. Scattered throughout were aliens—most Larentia recognized, but a few she didn't. She thought she could make out Rory, but it was hard to tell. Shaking her head and remembering her mission, Larentia turned away from the battle, and made her way to the upper levels, gun at the ready.
Night will fall and drown in sun when a good man goes to war.
Most of the soldiers were fighting down below, but Larentia still had to stun a few stragglers. She crept along silently, not wanting to alert anyone to her presence. She reached the third corridor on the right, and turned down it.
The light was faint, but at the end, she could make out a woman carrying a child, flanked on each side by an armed guard. Larentia narrowed her eyes, and took a deep, steadying breath. Releasing it, she ran forward, keeping her steps light so that she couldn't be heard until it was too late.
She took the first guard down with a shot from her gun. She was too close then to use it properly, and the other guard was already aiming at her, so she dropped to the ground and pushed off with her hands to kick her feet into the guard's diaphragm, knocking the wind from him and making him fire his gun safely to the right.
Larentia jumped to her feet again, and slammed the butt of her gun into the man's head, knocking him out. She could see the woman—who did indeed have an eye patch—shifting the baby to one arm as she pulled a gun of her own, but Larentia was faster, and had her gun trained on the woman before she could finish drawing her own weapon.
"Give me the child," Larentia said, her voice deadly calm.
"I think not. You won't shoot me, it might injure the child," the woman taunted with a smirk.
Larentia raised an eyebrow. "I have a lot more faith in my aim than you do, obviously," she warned. She switched the setting on the gun from stun to lethal, never taking her eye off the woman, and never lowering her weapon. "You have five seconds. One."
The woman scoffed, but Larentia noted a bit of fear in her eye. "Two."
A bead of sweat ran down the woman's temple. "Three."
"Fine!" She snapped, holding the sleeping child out to Larentia. Larentia reached out with one hand, managing to maneuver the small baby to her side safely without ever losing her shot. Once she was sure the child was secure, she pistol whipped the woman like she had one of the guards, and stepped away.
"Great job, Rosie!"
Larentia whirled around, raising her gun before she realized she knew the voice. "Jack?" She asked, not sure if she believed her eyes. But it was him, grinning like an idiot. He'd even called her Rosie, so there was no way he was a fake. "What're you doing here? How are you here?" She demanded, still running off of the adrenaline of the short fight.
"Vortex manipulator; a…friend fixed it. I'm supposed to take the kid from you. Apparently, I have to take her to an orphanage." Larentia frowned at this; why wasn't the child going to its parents? "Yeah, I didn't like it either," Jack said, apparently reading her thoughts, "but apparently the Silence would find her again otherwise," he explained.
Larentia looked at the baby in her arms, a girl judging by Jack's words, and knew the girl was in for a terrible childhood. "There must be another way…" she whispered.
She looked up at Jack just in time to see his eyes go wide and his mouth try to form a warning. She felt a searing pain in her shoulder, followed by what must have been very close to a lethal amount of electricity. Jack managed to grab the baby from her arms before Larentia dropped her, and reached with on hand for a weapon.
"No!" Larentia ground out. The electricity had stopped, but her muscles were locked in place. "Go!" She ordered frantically. Jack looked at her helplessly, but hit a button on his vortex manipulator, and was gone.
Friendship dies and true love lies.
"Damn it!" A voice yelled angrily from behind the paralyzed Larentia. The woman from before stepped into her line of sight, and Larentia cursed herself for not hitting her hard enough to knock her out for more than a few minutes. There was a bruise forming on the woman's temple, though, Larentia noted with grim satisfaction.
The woman crouched down to glare at Larentia. "That little girl was how I was going to kill the Doctor," the woman informed her calmly, her single eye looking Larentia over.
Larentia managed to smirk. "So sorry to screw up your plans," she ground out sarcastically; her jaw was still tight from the residual effects of what Larentia assumed was a long distance taser.
The woman smiled slowly, maliciously.
Night will fall and dark will rise when a good man goes to war.
"That's alright my dear; I think you'll make a nice replacement. I might not get to raise you to be a willing participant, but I'm sure I can work out…other arrangements."
Larentia felt her blood run cold, and tried to push herself up, to reach for her gun, to fight, something.
"Ah ah ah!" The woman scolded with a smirk, firing the taser at Larentia again, causing her to gasp in pain. The woman pulled out a walkie-talkie and called for two more soldiers to come up. They arrived within minutes, and hauled Larentia to her feet. She tried to struggle, but her limbs wouldn't cooperate. "Bring her along," the woman ordered, turning away and leading them to a small ship. Larentia was loaded on and strapped down. "This might hurt a bit," the woman smirked, before slipping a syringe into Larentia's neck, causing her to hiss, and pressing the plunger. Larentia felt the sedative seep into her blood stream immediately, and tried to fight her drooping eyelids to no avail.
"Sleep tight, dear," the woman grinned as Larentia's eyes finally slipped closed.
Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child's lost.
Told you all hell would break loose! What do you guys think? Please let me know!
Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed!
Also, I did bad with my tumblr link, so I'll try once more. It's off (dash) in (dash) wonderland.c o m .
Until next time!