((Things Aren't Always What They Seem: Part II))
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
I was able to get a full day of rest before I found myself being dragged out of the TARDIS by Catie and back into the art museum. Clave decided to wind himself around my shoulders before we left, and I smiled at the comforting weight. The Doctor remained inside the TARDIS, telling me he'd scan for more than just the one Weeping Angel. "Come on, let's go find-"
"The statue," I said firmly, "We're going to find the Weeping Angel. We're not here to talk about things I know nothing about; we're here to save the lives of people, got it? You're lucky that man is patient enough to have not gotten too upset about it last time."
Catie gave me her famous "What the hell is wrong with you?" look. "Just because you don't like the logical Sherlock-"
"Don't start," I pleaded, pausing when we passed the Weeping Angel that had sent me back in time. I clicked my tongue and Clave slid from my shoulders to stare intently at the Weeping Angel with his piercing yellow eyes. I grabbed Catie's arm and steered her through the museum. "Remember, look for the guy with that funny hat. You should have fun with that. If you find him, haul him back and ignore any word he says."
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I've got it. Go look for him yourself." She gently pushed me away and we both headed in different directions to search. About half way through my own search, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I answered it without a second thought. "Hello?"
"Ali!"
It was Bre and she sounded hysterical. I blinked. "...Bre? Where the heck have you been? I haven't heard from you in months!"
"You could call, too,"she muttered then pleaded, "Please tell me you're okay? You're not in the other place, too?"
My curiosity grew. "What other place?" I said warily, grip tightening on my phone. Please don't know about the TARDIS and the Doctor. I'd like one friend who doesn't know about this all and won't judge when I do stupid things!
I peeked around a corner as she answered "Where have you been? It's all over the news. People have been disappearing by the thousands! Please tell me you didn't get caught up the disappearing things, too! I know you like to do weird things..."
"No," I reassured, "I'm fine." Just hunting down a few Weeping Angels...
"Oh, thank goodness!" She gave a relieved laugh. "You still hanging around with John Smith?"
"Yes," I replied, then narrowed my eyes. There! There was the guy with the weird hat. "Listen, I need to let you go, but I''ll call you back here in a little bit, Bre. I swear. Bye!" I hung up and stuffed the phone into my pocket before getting ready to lunge for him.
Catie beat me to it. She tackled the man and sent him sprawling. I darted over to help, smiling with an almost evil smile down at him. "Hi there," I greeted, "Remember me?"
His face twisted. "You're not supposed to be here! You're supposed to be who knows where!"
I gave a dry smile. "You messed with the wrong people. You see, we've got this friend called the Doctor, and he doesn't mind running around time and space for his companions. Now. You're going to tell us what the hell is going on around here. Or we'll feed you to the Weeping Angel you gave me to. Is that clear?"
He glared furiously at us but gave a curt nod.
"Good," Catie said smugly, smirking threateningly at him.
"What on- what do you think you're doing? That's an employee-"
Steph had shown up, and I cut her off in an instant. "Yeah, an employee that gave me to a Weeping Angel and sent me packing to a place that nearly got me killed." I glared at her for a second, then glanced up when the Doctor suddenly appeared, running in without a moment's hesitation. His eyes were wild. "Doctor?" I questioned cautiously.
"They're everywhere," he told me, and Catie cursed under her breath. "They're hidden in the walls, the gardens surrounding the museum, everywhere." I pursed my lips at this, uncertain and he surprised me by tossing me his sonic screwdriver. I gazed at him with wide eyes. "You're trusting me with this thing?"
"I've got to go make something in the TARDIS that might possibly freeze the Weeping Angels so they can't do anything," he said in response, gaze locking with mine. "Use it to keep them distracted and to scan for them in a room. Keep your two friends," he pointed at Catie and Steph, "close and don't get sent back in time again!"
"I'll try," I told him with an innocent look. He shot me a grin that radiated his affection despite the situation, then turned and darted away, calling over his shoulder, "Ali! Setting fifty six!" I did exactly that, shifting the sonic's controls until I had it the way he'd instructed.
"Alright," I said turning my attention back on the funny hat guy. "Alright, dude," I said sharply, "You're coming with us." Raising my voice, I shouted, "HEY! EVERYONE OUT NOW!" I turned to Steph. "You guys got a fire alarm?" She pointed with surprised eyes to one on a wall and Catie leaped forward to do it with a funny eagerness about her. "I've always wanted to do this," she said with a smirk and I rolled my eyes as she jerked on it.
A piercing sound filled the air and people fought to get out of the building in a panic. Relieved that we wouldn't have to worry about people, or normal people anyways, I turned my attention back on the hat guy. "Name."
"Jax," he spat back, glaring at me. Catie willingly snatched up his arm, tightening a crushing grip on it and gave me a beaming smile. I sighed. Only she would be entertained by pulling a freaking fire alarm... "You and Steph are in charge of watching him," I told her, backing them into a corner of the room. "Stay here and if a statue shows up, stare at it. Seriously stare at it. Don't blink. And if you do blink, blink one at a time."
Catie nodded, glaring at the man. "Sure thing," she agreed eagerly.
"No hitting unless he deserves it," I told her. Then I turned and ran after the Doctor, determined to hopefully get him moving so this could all be dealt with faster. If he'd let me, I'd help him build up whatever he needed.
Didn't turn out to be that easy.
I found the Doctor quickly, the TARDIS humming a tired greeting as I ducked inside. He was digging around under the grated floor, multiple pieces of it missing from the flooring, and I dropped to my knees beside one. "Need anything that I am able to do?"
He glanced up, frowning as if he was surprised to see me. Honestly, the idiot should have known better. "Yes," he finally said. "Big red button in the middle of the console above my head. Press it, it's the lights for down here." I did as I was told and the entire floor lit up.
"He's tiring me out, I cannot continue to keep these lights running," the TARDIS warned.
I smoothed a hand across the console, earning a purr. "Do your best," I murmured to the TARDIS.
The Doctor hauled something out of the flooring, explaining, "We can't destroy the Weeping Angels, or even move them. But we can possibly freeze them so that they can't do anything. They'll just be normal stone angels if what I'm doing works."
"We'll let's get working on it, because I want to question that guy," I told him, kneeling beside him. "What do I do?" Couldn't be too difficult. It was just a little piece of machinery that weighed a lot...
I learned within five seconds that I had no ability whatsoever when it came to machinery. I quickly left the Doctor to do it, and stood. "I'll head back out, see what I can find out there."
"Go straight to your friends," he told me. "Don't go anywhere else, Ali. Use the sonic and be careful." He paused in his work to glance up at me pleadingly.
I gave him a crooked grin. "Me? Not be careful?" I teased. "As if." He grinned and then turned back to what he was doing as I scampered out of the TARDIS and headed back into the museum. I froze for a split second when I saw one of the Angels, glowering viciously at the TARDIS as if it had been mid-stride when I'd seen it. Nothing could get through the TARDIS walls or doors, so the Doctor should be safe for the time being. I turned to dart back towards where I'd left Catie and Steph - only for a cold, stone hand to descend upon my shoulder.
Damn it all.
I jerked my head around to stare at the snarling face of the Weeping Angel I'd seen moments before. I should have known better to look away! The TARDIS was giving off a sound that even I could hear from the other side of its closed doors, and I silently wondered why I hadn't been sent anywhere again.
The TARDIS doors flew open and the Doctor came running out, or at least, that's what I thought was happening. I wasn't entirely sure, as my eyes were still firmly on the Weeping Angel. The Doctor gently touched my free shoulder, muttering, "You can take your eyes off of it now, I've got it." Relieved, I turned to face him for a split second before squirming to free myself; the Angel's grip was tight, and I couldn't get my shoulder away.
"Doctor," I muttered, trying to pry the Angel's fingers off though knowing it wouldn't do anything. "What do I do?"
"Watch it," he demanded, and I twisted my head to watch that Angel as ordered. I felt him working and moving around me and I dug my hand in my pocket, holding out the sonic when I realized he was searching for it. He'd forgotten he'd handed it to me. "Here," I said quietly, nervous. I shoved it into his waiting hand, eyes still on the Angel. "You gave it to me to scan for more of them."
"Thanks," he murmured, testing the space between its hand and my shoulder. He shook his head. "Not good," he muttered. "We can squeeze you out of its grasp, but it's going to hurt."
"I survived a hole in my gut and nearly dying from smoke inhalation," I replied, "Pretty sure the Successor can survive just about anything at this point. It's not tight enough that we have to break anything right?"
"Heavy bruising, but nothing more," he promised. "Ready?" I gave a nod, then hissed in pain when he suddenly hopped, bring all of his weight down on my shoulder and jerking roughly with my arm. My shoulder snapped free, but the pain made me double over for a second, clutching it. The Doctor locked his eyes onto the Angel, though he asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I reassured, "Nothing I can't deal with. Come on, that hat dude knows something that he won't tell us. Or at least Steph and Catie and me. Maybe you can get him to talk?" I gingerly touched my shoulder, and the Doctor paused to examine it after I'd turned to glare at the Angel, his touch gentle.
"Possibly." He looked fairly thoughtful at my words.
"You can be intimidating," I said warily, not wanting to give him a big head or anything. "Trust me. You can be scary when you want to be scary, Doctor."
"And I didn't want you to know that," he commented before pulling back. "Let's go. Keep your eyes on the Weeping Angel, I'll guide you." He gently looped his arm through mine, leading me down the hall, and I heard the sound of his sonic as we rounded the corner. "It's going to follow us," he answered my unsaid question. "We need to hurry."
I turned to face forward and we ran. "Where's Clave?" I asked as we ducked around another corner.
He glanced at me. "Curled up on my trench coat. He won't let me have it back."
I giggled. "Of course not, he's comfortable- oof!" He hooked an arm around my waist, suddenly stopping, and I gasped when I was forced to change from a full out run to stopped. And just in time, too. Our faces were inches from a reaching stone hand. "They're everywhere," I rasped.
We ducked under, and I twisted to watch it again, letting the Doctor guide me. Only moments later we reached where I'd left Catie, Steph, and the weird hat guy. They were alright as far as I could see. Though hat guy was now supporting a brand new bruise on his cheek. I snickered at that. He'd probably tried something and Catie had decked him. She did that far more often then she probably should have.
"Nothing has happened," Catie reported, smirking at me. "None of those weird angel things have shown up around us."
"Good," I told her, smiling faintly. "Not as much luck for us. One managed to grab me again, but all it did was trap me there. Bruised shoulder, nothing more. Okay, Doctor, now what the heck were you making in the TARDIS?"
"This." He held up a tiny device that wasn't much bigger than my thumb. "I need to get to the security points. If we're there, we can keep an eye on the Angels while I work." The lights suddenly flickered and he gave a tight smile. "The problem there is that they've decided to mess with the electricity. If it goes out completely, then there's nothing we can do."
"No worries about that," Steph said suddenly, surprising us. She took out her phone, typed in the code, and then held it up a few seconds later to show that she'd pulled up a flashlight app. Well that certainly worked. The light was bright enough that when the electricity went out a moment later, completely, the entire room was nearly lightened.
"Keep that up," the Doctor decided. Steph nodded and we began to make the long trek through the museum, headed for the possible safety of the security area.
"We have a backup generator in there," Steph told us as we slowly made our way down a hall. I'd joined in on helping Catie drag hat man along since Steph was busy shining lights around. "I'll start it. What exactly is that thing going to do?"
"Blow up the museum," the Doctor said with a cheerfulness that made my jaw drop. "I've never tried that before. I wonder if it'll work. It's a nuclear bomb."
"There are people outside!" I exploded, shooting him a glare out of the corner of my eye. I thought I'd seen movement for a moment, but the stress of what was happening must have made me see things; there was nothing there.
"And we have a time machine," the Doctor chided.
...that was an acceptable answer. No longer concerned for the innocent people outside, I stopped when Steph did. She unlocked a door, then opened it, ushering us in. The Doctor ushered me in first, then ducked in after. Steph handed me her phone to hold up as a light, and she proceeded to drag hat man in there, Catie close behind. I returned the phone to her hand, then opened up an app on my own so that I could see where the Doctor was. "What do you want me to do?" I asked carefully, not wanting to get in the way of destroying the damn Angels.
"Don't move," the Doctor instructed, voice not unkind. He gently ruffled my hair, dropped a kiss to my head, then stepped around me and set to work as soon as the generator had booted the room's electricity back up. "Watch the door. Steph, Catie," he addressed them, "watch that man. We'll deal with him in a moment."
"It's only this room," Steph told me as she watched the Doctor work. "Just this room. Someone dropped by around the time this place was built and told us to only worry about this room. Not sure exactly why, but the founders agreed. So this is the only room that the generator supplies with electricity."
"At least it'll last longer," I commented. She snickered, then turned her attention onto hot guy. "Alright, you little bastard," I hissed, rolling my shoulders and flinching in pain when I did so. Wishing Clave was here so he could scare the guy into doing as we said though I knew Catie would be just as effective, I demanded, "You're working with the Angels?"
"Not yet, Ali," the Doctor chided, glancing over his shoulder at me. "You're in charge of the door. Remember?"
"Yes," I grumbled, wanting to smash the man's face in for taking part in what the Angel had done. I glared at him for a moment, then turned my face towards the door. The Doctor set to work and silence fell.
I silently contemplated what I needed to do after this adventure was over, leaning heavily against the heavy wooden door. Mess around with Catie, make sure Clave wasn't destroying the Doctor's possession again, make the Doctor smile when he went back to dark thoughts about my title as the Successor...damn it all. There was no way we were going to get around that.
The question was: when?
Bad Wolf, otherwise known as Rose Tyler, had revealed herself to me not too long ago. So the time had to be near, right? And the TARDIS had said two weeks not too long ago... Distressed by the thought, I closed my eyes.
And then they snapped open at the sound of splintering wood as a stone hand smashed through it millimeters from my head. I screeched in surprise, whipping around to glare at the Angel's hand as it peeked through the hole it had made at us. There was another smash as another hole appeared. "Doctor, we're kind of running out of time," I gasped, "Are you almost done?"
"Almost," he promised.
The man Catie and Steph had been watching suddenly grinned. Catie cursed as he snatched up her ankle...and promptly vanished. My jaw dropped in confusion and a hint of fear as I screeched, "What did you do?! Where is she?!"
The man heaved himself to his feet as Steph backed away. The Doctor whipped around at my cry. The hat guy smirked, throwing his head back and laughing almost hysterically at me. "What?" he sneered, "Never heard of a living Angel?"
"Ali," the Doctor said darkly, tossing me his sonic. I caught it and studied him nervously. "Out."
I almost protested. But the look in his eyes made me grab Steph's wrist and throw open the door, breath hitching at the Weeping Angels in our way. There were at least six of them, all glowering and snarling as they had been fighting to get to us. Steph kept her eyes on them as I dragged her through the maze of stone, and then we ran as fast as we could, heading for the TARDIS.
As we made our way to the ship by the light of an iPhone, we'd come across an Angel every now and then, both of us exchanging nervous glances as we did so. At one point, I nearly slammed my head on one's raised arm, saved only by Steph grabbing the back of my head and forcing it down as we ran past, glancing at it to make sure it wouldn't move. Within minutes, we'd reached the TARDIS, and I slammed into the locked doors, panting heavily for breath. "Open, old girl," I pleaded, jerking on the doors at the same time I was shoving my key into the keyhole, Steph nervously saying, "Um, they followed us."
"My Girl," the TARDIS moaned as we shot inside, Steph sucking in a surprised gasp at the inside. I doubt she'd expected what we stepped into. Stroking the coral around the edges, I listened quietly as she whispered, "I'm tired, they damaged my systems and I cannot repair them with the energy I have left..."
In other words: I would be needed soon. Really soon. "It's alright," I mumbled, patting the coral before moving to the controls. I heard something slam into the door and then staggered as the TARDIS rocked. Steph automatically latched onto some railing beside the doors. "I've got it. What do I need to do?"
My hands shook as the TARDIS guided me through what I needed to do, which buttons to press and which levers to pull so that we could carefully pick up the Doctor. "Steph," I ordered, not looking up as one hand twisted a knob and the other flipped a switch. "Be ready to open those doors." She slid to stand beside them, looking nervous.
I slammed my hand down over a final button, coaxing silently in my head, You can do it. We just have to get the Doctor in here, alright? That's it, then you can rest. We'll leave you alone. A pause. After we find Catie.
"I will proceed to scan for the Strange One," the TARDIS muttered tiredly, the screen flickering to life as she began to do just that while the TARDIS trembled beneath us, beginning her movement. As soon as we landed, Steph opened a door and the Doctor dove in, slamming it behind him before darting over to the console without a moment's hesitation, muttering, "Move, Ali, move!"
I jumped out of the way, relieved when Clave scrambled up my shoulders as he began to punch in coordinates, but the TARDIS cut him off, lifting off without orders and beginning to move. The Doctor pulled back in confusion, but I grabbed his arm. "Let her," I told him seriously, "She's finding Catie." I paused, then demanded, "Have you ever seen something like that?"
"No," he admitted quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked tired, exhausted even. I hesitated, then wrapped my arms around him in a reassuring hug, ignoring the hissing Clave and soothingly reaching up to run my fingers through his perfectly annoying hair. He returned the hug for a moment, then pulled back to ruffle my own hair with a faint smile.
"So..." Steph said, breaking the silence. "Are they all dead? They better be, you just destroyed every piece of valuable freaking art in the universe."
I giggled, leaning against the Doctor for a moment. "They should be," I muttered, glancing at the Doctor for confirmation. "It's a bunch of nuclear power." The Doctor nodded his agreement as the TARDIS shuddered to a halt.
"The Strange One will be waiting. I will need my rest if I am to move again." And with that, the TARDIS fell silent.
"The TARDIS won't be going anywhere anytime soon," I told the Doctor quietly, earning a strange look from Steph. "She's exhausted." His gaze shifted to mine as I added so only he could hear, "She won't last much longer. It's going to happen soon."
His gaze darkened. "Not if we can fix whatever's wrong with her," he replied firmly, then pushed me towards the doors.
I smiled to myself as Steph trailed behind us and Clave grumbled, nuzzling his face against my cheek with a quiet, purr-like sound.
Time to find the Strange One.
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
A/N: So...the TARDIS isn't doing so well, is she? |D A note: there are less than ten chapters left of the fanfic, I believe. ;-;
MaybeALittleBroken: lol XD But it is so fun to destroy your feelings. :D
bored411: Silly people thinking they can get away with whatever. XD I didn't even consider having them team up with the Angels...probably would have been a good idea, no?
Guest: I did not consider this, and I feel the need to apologize to you, along with everyone else. I will be paying more attention when addressing such things in the future.
Maren the fangirl: Nah, Ali's too stubborn to die. XD She's a tough person.
BrainStormer: You along with a certain someone *pointedly looks at another person who has suggested this idea* both believe it would be such a wonderful idea to set them on a date. We shall see if that happens. XD
