A/N: I was hoping that updates would be more regular, but I had been having some writer's block with this story. I needed some time to think about this chapter. The first arc of my story ended in chapter 10 and chapter 11 was the beginning of a new arc. I'm not entirely certain where I want to take this story at this point. I figured I would write this chapter and see where it led me instead of trying to think it out.
A/N 2: I wrote that first author's note months ago when I started this chapter. I want to apologize for how long it has taken me to get this chapter posted. I'm not sure I remember what free time is anymore. I have been working on this chapter when ever I have had a spare moment. I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted, but I will promise that it won't take as long to post as this one has.
Ch.12 Initiative
Only a couple of weeks had passed in Sunnydale since the Doctor had last been in town. He had decided to not bring Clara along on this trip since she had said she didn't want to go back to the place with the weird vampire again and so much had happened on Trenzalore. The Doctor thought that she needed a break. So this left the Doctor to visit his friends without anyone else along.
The TARDIS landed in the evening, so the Doctor assumed that Spike and Buffy would be out patrolling about this time. He decided he would surprise them. After ensuring the TARDIS was hidden, he used the sonic screwdriver to let himself into the house and wait for them on the sofa. He was surprised to see Dawn come down the stairs mere minutes later and freak out over the appearance of a stranger in the house. She had never seen the Doctor with this face before.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?" Dawn yelled and grabbed a stake off of a side table. She was thankful that Buffy didn't always put away all her weapons.
"Sorry," said the Doctor with his hands in the air to show that he surrendered. "I didn't think anyone would be home right now and decided to just wait for Buffy and Spike to get back."
"That still doesn't answer who you are and why you are waiting for them," declared Dawn while still holding the stake in a threatening manner.
"I'm the Doctor."
"You look nothing like the Doctor so don't even try that."
"I regenerated since the last time you saw me."
"Can you prove you are the Doctor?"
"My TARDIS is right outside. Go see for yourself." Dawn backed toward the front door while keeping her eyes on the Doctor at all times. Once she was outside she looked around and finally saw the TARDIS. Dawn was still nervous about the Doctor being in the house even though he proved he was himself and he was a friend of her sister. Dawn didn't trust the Doctor and never wanted to be left alone with him. Since Dawn was the key, she was never quite sure what the Doctor was going to do with her. She knew him the least since she had never even been in the TARDIS or gone on an adventure like the others had. Eventually Dawn went back inside since she knew she couldn't avoid the Doctor forever.
"Doctor?"
"Yes?"
"Am I safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"Am I safe around you?"
"Why wouldn't you be? I'm not going to harm you."
"I have never been sure if you were going to kill me or not because I am the key."
"You are also human and Buffy's little sister. I want to be able to promise you that there will never come a time when I have to contain you to save the universe, but I can't make that promise."
"I was afraid you would say something like that. If you don't mind I am going to go back to my room. Feel free to make yourself some tea or something while you wait.
"Wait, Dawn. I think you misunderstand me. When I say contain I don't mean kill. I have been thinking of methods to either remove the key essence from you and leave you as a normal young woman or find some way to hide you from those you would want to use whatever powers you possess. I want to help you."
"Thank you, but if you don't mind I would still like to be alone."
"Of course."
Dawn went up to her room and the Doctor went to the kitchen to make some tea and wait for Buffy to return. The Doctor had to wait quite awhile until someone returned home. He had finished his tea long ago and had been laying on the sofa reading a book while he waited. It was late in the night when he heard the lock on the door click. The Doctor got up off the couch and stalked over to the door.
"Well it is about time you came home," said the Doctor to whoever was behind the door. The door hadn't fully opened yet and he had begun waving the leather bound book around. "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
The Doctor was met with holy water to the face by a surprised looking Giles. The Doctor used his tweed sleeve to wipe the water from his face. The Doctor backed away when he saw Giles pull out a knife.
"Who the bloody hell are you?" Giles questioned the stranger while brandishing his lethal looking knife.
"Well obviously I am not a vampire since I am pretty sure that was holy water you threw at me," said the Doctor who was shaking the water out of his hair onto the carpet. "Am I going to have to make an announcement to the Universe every time I regenerate?"
"Doctor?"
"Well it is about time. I have been waiting here most of the night for someone to come home and have already been threatened by Dawn."
"Do Buffy and Spike know about your current appearance?"
"Yes, they have already seen me once in this regeneration."
"You can hardly blame the rest of us for being on guard when someone we think we have never seen before is in the residence of the original Slayer."
"Speaking of the Slayer. Is she coming home tonight?"
"I believe she shall be back relatively soon. I know she was out training some of the newer Slayers. Some of the newer girls are having a hard time adjusting to Slayer life, but they are all doing relatively well. None of them seem as formidable as Buffy or Faith.
"I have a theory that because Buffy and Faith were both called, they have a greater portion of power. It would be safe to guess that the power that went to the potentials got diluted since the scythe acted as a conductor and they didn't get their power right from the Slayer source."
"Doctor, that is actually quite a good theory. At least it is one the rest of us hadn't considered. We thought it was just because they were being trained as a group and not getting the same one on one training that Buffy and Faith had."
"That could also be a key factor."
By this point the Doctor and Giles had moved further into the living room and were both occupying a chair in the room while discussing the origins of the Slayer and the current Slayer situation. A half hour later is when Buffy followed by Spike returned home.
"Doctor!" Buffy exclaimed when she walked in the house and saw the Doctor sitting on a chair and talking with Giles. "How long have you been here?"
"I got here a couple hours ago and just decided to wait until you got home. I should have realized that you would be out since it is dark out," said the Doctor.
"Is there a particular reason why you are here?" Spike asked the Doctor. "If you wanted us to leave with you to go on an adventure, than I don't think you would have shown up at night."
"Perceptive as always, Spike," said the Doctor. "Dawn is the reason why I am here this time. I had a chance to speak to her a little when I first arrived, but I think I make her nervous."
"Is is about her being the key?" Giles asked since that was the only reason he could think of for the Doctor to be here for Dawn.
"There was so much going on before, but now I can actually put my mind to this problem. I want to help her, but it may end up being rather tricky. It hasn't been that long for you, but for me it has been hundreds of years."
"Not to get off subject, but did you ever find out about Clara?" Spike asked curiously since Clara did not appear to be present. He trusted the Doctor, but was still afraid for the little bit. He wouldn't let anything bad happen to Buffy's little sister and was hoping they could get off the topic of Dawn for at least a moment.
"That is all solved and is actually quite fascinating. The Clara from your time was the same Clara that you met here. We ended up at my future grave and one of my oldest enemies went into my time stream to defeat me in the past, but brilliant and brave Clara went in as well. She was broken up through out all of time and was present throughout my different lives. She should have died, but I was able to go in as well and save her. She is now relaxing at home. She also might not have wanted to come here since you freak her out a little."
"So the Clara from my time was a copy?"
"She was a unique individual who was born and grew up. She just happened to have originally come from the Clara you met here. It is all a bit timey wimey. Now back to the reason I came here and don't think you will distract me again."
"Worth a try," said Spike with a shrug.
"Doctor, how can Dawn be helped?" Buffy asked.
"I'm still not entirely sure," said the Doctor with a thoughtful look on his face. "I am a little afraid to try any of my ideas just yet since I am not entirely sure what the negative repercussions would be. I don't want to harm Dawn in any way, but I'm sure even you would feel much better if there were no chance that she could be used by another like Glory."
"You're right," said Buffy with a sigh.
"Do I have your permission to look more deeply into this situation to help Dawn?"
"I suppose. At first I didn't want you anywhere near her, but now that I know you, I know you wouldn't hurt her. I will try to convince her to let you inside her head like you wanted at first."
"Great! Now that we have that settled we can move on."
"Are we going to go somewhere?"
"If you would like to go somewhere, than we can leave right now. How has everything been in Sunnydale now that the Hellmouth is gone?"
"Not bad. I still have plenty of work to do, but not as much as before. I also have to deal with these military commandos again who were here a few years ago."
"Are they the ones who put that chip in Spike's head?"
"Yeah, and don't think I am happy to see that lot again," said Spike.
"Why have they come back now if everything is quieter?"
"I think they were overwhelmed before," began Buffy. "The last time they were here was a disaster and so many died. They really messed up and unleashed a monster on Sunnydale. Now they have new leadership and a new facility. The Initiative has come back probably because it is quieter here now. They don't have as much work to do and this is a good training ground for them."
"Have they been giving you any problems?"
"I have been trying to stay out of their way and so has Spike. We have had a couple run ins, but I guess my ex who was with them told them to leave Spike and myself alone. They don't want us involved with the Initiative at all."
"Probably for the best. I used to work for a group like the Initiative. Ever heard of UNIT?"
"Sounds kind of familiar," responded Spike. "I feel like I heard that name back when I was still in London."
"I was the Scientific Adviser. I guess I am still technically employed with UNIT. They are a military group that deals with aliens, but in a better way than the group Torchwood ever did. The Initiative are probably doing good work this time around. There are only so many psychopaths out there."
"That's comforting to hear."
"Shall we go somewhere? We have all of time and space ahead of us and the Initiative can handle anything here for a little while. Giles, you have been rather silent. Do you want to come with us?"
"Someone should stay here and look after Dawn in case the TARDIS doesn't come back for a week again like after our trip to Midnight."
"I am thinking of doing some discreet research into helping Dawn and would love your help, but you are right about staying here with her."
"Come back safely," said Giles as the Doctor, Buffy, and Spike exited through the front door.
The Doctor walked across the yard and then stopped and started turning around in a circle. Buffy and Spike noticed that the Doctor was getting a panicked look on his face.
"Don't tell me this is where you parked the TARDIS," said Buffy nervously.
"It is."
"It wasn't here when we got back. That is why we were surprised to see you."
"Where could it have gone?"
"Buffy probably should have mentioned that the Initiative has been watching this neighborhood closely and they do have some pretty sophisticated technology. I'd bet my undead life that they have the TARDIS."
"Just what I need, a bunch of humans who are part of the military that fight the supernatural in possession of my ship. At least they can't get in. Well it seems like we will be paying the Initiative a visit tonight." The Doctor was not looking forward to seeing this group. He tried to avoid the military whenever he could. He only helped out UNIT now when he didn't have a choice and their objectives were the same. No one could replace the Brigadier, not even the Brigadier's daughter.
"Maybe I should stay here," said Spike. "They may be leaving me alone, but I'm not sure what they'll do if I go prancing onto their secret base."
"Can they detect non humans?"
"They can obviously detect demons who don't look a bit human and vampires using heat signatures. You should be fine since I doubt they are going to be looking for two hearts. Since you will give off a heart signature, I don't think they will take a stethoscope to your chest."
"That is comforting except for the device that can detect heat signatures."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked since she was curious why body temperatures would worry the Doctor.
"My skin temperature is close to that of a human, but my core temperature is around 16 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Externally time lords and humans look alike, but internally we are very different.
"Okay so we do have to worry about you being caught," Buffy admitted with worry evident in her voice.
"I have gotten out of worse than this," said the Doctor.
"Let's just get this over with," said Buffy who was heading for the door and gestured for the Doctor to follow.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Spike asked from off to the side.
"Oh, right," said Buffy who quickly went to her boyfriend and gave him a hug and a kiss before heading out the door with the Doctor. She led a dangerous life and always tried to show Spike some form of affection before going their separate ways in case she never came back again.
"Remind me again why we are walking all the way to the Initiative," said the Doctor as they walked at a brisk pace through downtown Sunnydale.
"I still can't drive," responded Buffy sheepishly.
"Makes me miss my old car Bessie."
"You can drive a car and you are not even from this planet. I need to hurry up and get my license, but cars and Buffy tend to be non-mixy things."
"How much further is the Initiative?"
"Last time it was located underneath the University, but now it is a bit closer and not so underground. We should be there in about five minutes."
Back at the Initiative a team of scientists were trying to get inside the TARDIS. Their instruments had picked up strange readings from the police box and this had led them to bring it back to their base. No one could get inside no matter what kind of equipment they used on the blue box. Riley Finn, who was now in charge of the Initiative strode over to his team of scientists hoping they could tell him anything about the box they had picked up at Buffy's house.
"Can anyone tell me some fact about this box?" Riley asked the gathered scientists.
One of the newer and younger scientists stepped forward to answer. "So far nothing we have tried will get this box open. It is proving resilient to all of our best efforts. We have been picking up strange readings, but we can't make sense of them yet."
"So we know nothing about this thing," Riley concluded speaking out loud, but mainly to himself.
"Where did this box come from anyways?" Another scientist asked their leader.
"It was on a lawn outside of a house over on Revello."
"Can't we just ask whoever lives there what they know about this thing?"
"We may have to, but I don't think she will be cooperative."
A few minutes later, Riley saw one of his soldiers getting tossed in through a side door and then saw Buffy enter with a man he had never seen before. He waited patiently as Buffy stalked up to him, but was surprised when he saw the stranger run over and hug the blue box.
"Sorry about the solider, but he didn't want to let us in," said Buffy.
Riley was still distracted by the stranger that Buffy had brought with her. "Does that box belong to him?"
"Yes, the Doctor was paying me a visit and left his box in my yard. What gave you and your group the right to bring it to the Initiative?"
"That box was giving out strange readings and we brought it here for observation. Why does your friend have something like this?"
"He is a scientist and you don't need to know anything beyond that. It is classified."
The Doctor saw the argument that was beginning and hurried over to help out. Hello, I'm the Doctor. Here to help. What is the problem?"
"Doctor? Doctor who?"
"Just the Doctor. You know it is not very nice to take something that doesn't belong to you, but then again I originally stole, I mean borrowed the TARDIS."
"TARDIS?"
"Yes, that is called the TARDIS. If you don't mind, Buffy and I are going to take my TARDIS and get out of here.
"You are not taking it anywhere until we know what it is," commanded Riley.
"The box itself is nothing, and I have some highly advanced technology inside that I don't want in your hands."
"You are a foreigner who is refusing to cooperate with the United States military. You could be some kind of terrorist for all we know."
"Riley, stop this now," said Buffy cutting in. "The Doctor is a friend of mine and he is no terrorist."
"Considering he is a friend of yours, I am surprised that he is even human."
"At first I thought you had dumped that loser of a vampire and started going out with some other inhuman creature. He definitely doesn't dress like a human."
"Oi, I don't go around insulting your species and their sense of fashion. Bow ties are and always will be cool."
"My species?"
The Doctor realized he might have outed himself, but needed to find a way to quickly recover. He hesitated for only a moment and hoped that wasn't noticed. "I am a scientist and you military types seem to be a whole other species."
"Not going to work," said Riley who had noted the hesitation and waved over one of his scientists. "I want a full analysis done on the Doctor. I am now thinking that he is not who he seems. I will be more than happy to give back the box if it can be proved that you are human."
"I'll save you the trouble of running all those tests and just come out and admit that I'm not human. My kind definitely didn't evolve from a bunch of stupid apes."
"Doctor, calm down. I know you like to insult humans when they piss you off, but now is not the time."
"Oh fine," said the Doctor.
"You brought some kind of demon into the Initiative," said Riley incredulously. "I thought you were the Slayer and that you were all about slaying demons, but you either sleep with them or befriend them. What the hell?"
"The Doctor is not a demon," said Buffy who was longing to punch her ex.
"Either he is a demon or he is human and if he is not human than that only leaves one option."
"There is also another option," said the Doctor helpfully.
"What? You're going to tell me you're from outer space."
The Doctor merely nodded and that sent Riley into a rage. He walked away and punched the TARDIS and in the process hurt his hand before storming back to the duo. "You really expect me to believe this nonsense? How is an alien different from a demon? Demons come from elsewhere and so do aliens. Both are not human and cannot be trusted."
"Stop this right now," said Buffy who shoved Riley away as he had gotten more and more in their faces during his tirade. "Some aliens are nice and some are not, just like humans. The Doctor has been coming to Earth for years in his ship and has saved this planet many times. He has taken me on some amazing adventures. I got to go to a spa on a planet made entirely of diamonds."
"You let this thing take you away in his spaceship?"
"Of course. Spike and I have gone on many trips, while Giles, Xander, and Willow went on one trip."
"Giles is fine with you going off with a vampire and an alien?"
"Giles and Spike are watching Dawn right now and know that we are here. If it wasn't for the Doctor, than Sunnydale wouldn't even be here right now. He is the one who saved this place."
"For what purpose?"
"Do I have to have some ulterior motive for saving a town?"
"Can we just get the TARDIS and leave?" Buffy asked the Doctor.
"Well in case you haven't noticed there are guns being pointed at us and I'm not sure we could make it to the TARDIS without being shot."
"Tell me what the TARDIS is and I will consider letting Buffy have it."
"Why not me?"
"You are an alien and I will not give you what you want. Now what is it?"
"It is my ship," said the Doctor.
"Your spaceship is a wooden box? Tell me what it really is."
"I am telling you. The outside is just camouflage."
"What about the inside?"
"Roomier that it appears from the outside."
"Where is the key?"
"Don't have it, besides she would never let you in. She had trouble letting in someone I actually liked before. "
"Hang on a second," said Riley. "Buffy called me out on this before back when we were dating. Oz was fine and I hated Angel, but I guess he was alright. Spike hasn't been doing anything bad lately. I guess I can take your word with the Doctor. You are usually right."
"Thank you," said Buffy who wasn't quite sure what calmed Riley down.
"Okay, now I will be taking my ship back, but I do want to look around this place to make sure nothing is going on like the last time the Initiative was in Sunnydale."
"Buffy told you?"
"Of course. Now how about that tour?"
"Follow me," said Riley heading off to the containment areas. "We have been finding different species here now than what used to visit Sunnydale. There are not as many and we do kill most HSTs on sight and only take some back to learn from them. Nothing like Adam is going on again. Now this HST here is a..."
"Silurian," said the Doctor before Riley could finish his sentence.
"A what?"
"She is a Silurian. They were the original owners of this planet and went underground when they thought the world was ending. They went into hibernation until the Earth was ready for them again. Silurians are truly remarkable. One of my best friends is a Silurian. I am guessing there was a colony underneath Sunnydale that got woken up."
The Silurian in the cell was giving the Doctor a strange look before going over to speak with the Doctor. "How do you know of us, ape?"
"Not an ape. Not even from this Solar System. I have come across Silurians many times and one back in Victorian London helped me through a dark period in my life."
"Why do you associate with apes who would lock us up, kill us, torture us?"
"They're not all bad and they didn't know any better. Most non humans in this town aren't exactly friendly."
"We were here before the apes."
"I know, but while you were all hibernating the planet changed and they evolved. There are billions of humans now and this is their home."
"You said that one of your best friends is a Silurian. What does she think of these apes?"
"She married one and helps humans as a detective."
"If I and any of my kind can be released, than you have our word there shall be no retaliation."
"That is very kind of you."
"I am not doing this to be kind, but to prove that we are civilized and better than our captors."
Riley pulled Buffy and the Doctor off to the side so that he would not be heard by the lizard woman. "I am not freeing that monster. I am thinking that I should lock you up, Doctor."
"Well you could do that, but then you would look a little silly when I would escape after a minute of being locked up. I really would like to get my ship and be on my way, but I can't do that while you have Silurians locked up in here. Vastra would never forgive me if I left them here. I have heard about this Initiative before and you may be different, but I don't trust you. Buffy and I are the ones who save this planet while you and yours go around experimenting on other lifeforms or outright killing them before you know anything about them."
"I have learned a lot from the Doctor," interjected Buffy. "I tried to kill him when we first met. He was just this weird looking guy hanging out in a cemetery that Spike said wasn't human, but he taught me to be better."
"First you freed Oz and I was fine with that because I knew the guy, but you are asking me to just look away while you free lizard people and hang out with an alien. All of this is on top of the fact that you dated a vampire before and are currently dating another vampire. Why can't you be satisfied with killing the monsters and being around humans?"
"Sometimes humans are the real monsters," said Buffy.
"Does that mean that you are going to start going around killing humans now?" Riley asked his ex girlfriend.
"No since there is the law to handle them, but that doesn't mean that all humans are good and everything else is evil," Buffy replied, already ready to be done with the Initiative. She just wanted to get out of here and go on an adventure already.
"They may not have yet, but your boyfriend and new friend will turn on you. It is only a matter of time."
"You don't know what you are talking about. Spike has a soul now which he went out and got on his own because he wanted to be better. The Doctor has saved this planet more than anyone knows. I don't know anything about Silurians except for what the Doctor has told me. They are not demons and they are not aliens. It seems like they are a species that evolved from lizards like we evolved from apes. They don't deserve to be in a place like this."
"We can't just release them even if they say they won't retaliate."
"Let me talk with all of them," said the Doctor. "I have spoken with other tribes of Silurians. Real progress was being made with integrating them into society, but it didn't work out. They went back into hibernation with the promise that one day the planet would be ready to be shared. I can try the same approach with this group."
"I will never share this planet with lizard people," said Riley. "They're staying right where they are."
"This isn't over," said Buffy as she stormed off towards the TARDIS with the Doctor following close behind.
"What are you thinking?" The Doctor asked Buffy quietly.
"Sneak back in later," replied Buffy in an equally quiet voice.
As they approached the TARDIS back in the main area, Buffy was not surprised to see the TARDIS being heavily guarded. She glared at the soldiers, but they weren't moving away from the door. Buffy was about to start smacking the soldiers out of the way when she saw Riley approach.
"Dismissed," said Riley and the men guarding the door dispersed. "Let me see inside the box and you can have it back if nothing inside proves to be dangerous to humans."
"Anything is dangerous in the wrong hands, but if you insist."
The Doctor went over to the TARDIS and unlocked the door with a snap of his fingers. He didn't want the Initiative knowing about the key he had to the TARDIS. The Doctor opened the door and stepped back.
Riley looked inside for a moment before backing away. "What the hell?"
"She is the best ship in the Universe and is the very pinnacle of Time Lord science despite the fact that she is an older model and is only a type 40. The old girl has been with me for centuries and is such a sentimental old thing. She is always taking me where there is trouble happening so that I can help out. How about I make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Come with us on an adventure. I will show you that the Universe is a vast place that does hold the potential for evil, but also for goodness. I want to show you an example of aliens going about their daily lives. If I can prove to you that other species are good, than will you let me free the Silurians and will you back off on your bigoted attitude?"
"How do I know you aren't going to push me out into space?"
"I wouldn't do that and even if I wanted to, do you think Buffy would even let me do such a thing?"
"Buffy and I may have our differences, but you're right. She wouldn't let something like that happen."
"Alright," said Riley after a few moments hesitation.
"We are just going to pick up Spike on the way. There is a place I wanted to take Buffy and Spike and I don't want him to miss out."
"Fine," said Riley unenthusiastically.
Once Riley got over his initial aversion to going inside the TARDIS, they were able to get back to the Summer's residence very quickly. The Doctor opened the door and Spike took the hint to get inside when no one came out.
"What is Captain Cardboard doing here?" Spike asked his girlfriend.
"He is holding some Silurians prisoners in the Initiative. He has agreed to let them go if we can show him an example of other species who are good. There is a place I have wanted to take you two and he might as well come along as well. We are going to Akhaten. I have been meaning to go back there for years now. I haven't been there since I went with my granddaughter."
"What will we find there?" Buffy asked curiously. Riley being on the TARDIS couldn't spoil her excitement of going to a new place. A new planet by the sounds of it.
"I don't want to spoil the surprise, but we should find multiple species of aliens all coming together peacefully. You're going to love it there."
A/N: I finally finished this chapter. Sorry again about how long this took. I am going to kind of ignore the episode The rings of Akhaten. I wanted to save it for an adventure in my fan fiction, but I decided to change the time line around. So Clara will not be going and never went like she did in the show. I am not a Riley fan by any means, but he is a good character to use and even though he isn't likeable, he is evil. He is very set in his ways and has a definite idea of what is good and what is evil. As always I appreciate all those who read, follow, favorite, and review my chapters. Until next time.