Oh lord. Well, here's phase two. Again, to my beta people - please please PLEASE be patient. All these phases are sitting in my doc manager right now as I attempt to revise and meet the upcoming deadlines at school. I have some free time THIS UPCOMING THURSDAY, and I plan to meet ALL outstanding beta requirements then.
With that out of the way, enjoy phase two! :)
The first thing that struck Ezio was the openness of the space the TARDIS had landed in. With the light of day having nothing to bounce off, it blinded Ezio as he stepped out of the TARDIS, and he threw up a hand over his eyes so that the shadow cast by his fingers would help him adjust. Squinting through the gaps between his fingers, Ezio took in the future.
And it was like nothing he had ever dreamed of.
He had only a moment to take in the vague shapes of huge, towering squares that could be buildings before the sunlight bounced from them and hit him square in the eyes. Dazzled, Ezio's hand fell from his face as he staggered back, his mind reeling. Shadows exploded behind his eyes, and they formed the leering shapes of hands reaching for him, ready to claw and maim. So utterly convinced that he was about to be attacked in his complete moment of vulnerability that he instinctively released his hidden blade, and he was swinging his arm wide to attack the enemies that weren't there when a cool grip clamped down around his wrist.
Ezio.
Something was saying his name, and Ezio struggled to focus on it. The shadows across his vision cleared, and the Doctor came into focus: his figure blocked the sunlight, and Ezio shut his eyes, feeling foolish.
'It's alright,' he heard the Doctor say gently. 'Just…breathe.' He suggested gently as he guided Ezio back against the TARDIS, holding his wrist steady against the wood. Surrounded by the calming presence of the Doctor, Ezio shook his head.
'I was a fool.' He muttered.
'No no no,' The Doctor reassured him. 'Perfectly natural. It's easier taking people from the future back to the past – they've got movies and video games to tell them what it's like, but you've only got your imagination – your wits, your instincts. Everything is telling you that none of this is possible, but believe me, it is. You're doing brilliantly, Ezio.'
The two men shared a brief smile.
'Might want to put that away, though. Could have someone's eye out.'
'Wha – ' Ezio glanced down at the hidden blade. 'Oh. Forgive me.' He said, and with a flick of his wrist, the hidden blade was back in place under his shirt. The Doctor let go, and looked around with a frown.
'Where's Leonardo…?'
He stepped away from the TARDIS, leaving Ezio to face the future again. The sunlight wasn't as dazzling as the last time, so it only took Ezio a moment of squinting for his eyes to adjust. He'd been right: those huge squares were buildings. Through glass windows, he could see faint figures moving about inside. Dropping his eyes from the buildings, he took in what was on the ground. Everything was so sparse, and the ground seemed to be made of a strange stone that was covered in black, dirty looking marks. He looked up, and took in the motley mix of people that walked by him. They didn't seem to notice the TARDIS, just as the Doctor had said before, but they freely stared at Ezio with various degrees of disapproving frowns with a few pretty women offering him glittering, friendly sort of smiles. They were a comfort, and he had to admit it: these modern day women were a strange, alien sort of attractive. But he was more overwhelmed by the fact that there were so many different types of people. He'd never seen so diverse a place: even the ports of Venezia couldn't beat this strange place and time. White skins, dark skins and coffee coloured skins flowed past him, and they were all dressed differently – some were covered up, and in some cases that Ezio found himself appreciating, were hardly dressed at all.
More confident of his surroundings, Ezio took a few tentative steps forward. The Doctor was running around ahead of him, near frantic.
'This is what I always tell them, I tell them don't run off but they always do, they always do - !'
Ezio looked around, and his eyes widened slightly. 'Er, Doctor?'
'I've just lost the world's greatest mind, Ezio, what do you want?'
Ezio pointed. 'He is over there.'
The Doctor wheeled around to see Leonardo bearing down on a group of hoods, gesturing wildly.
'Oh god – ' The Doctor said, running over just as Leonardo got onto the subject of the buildings.
'Could any of you tell me what your buildings are made of? I simply must know – when I get back to my own time, I can use the material for all sorts of things -!'
'Ah! …Geoff, there you are!' The Doctor said, his face contorting strangely into what he supposed was a caring sort of look, but instead made him look as if he'd been punched. In the face. 'I was wondering where you'd got to!' He added, grabbing Leonardo firmly by the shoulders and dragging him back, throwing a wide smile at the teenagers in hoods. They stared back at him, and a tense moment went by before the Doctor dived into his pockets on an impulse and threw a few notes of currency he had on the bottom of them. 'Now go away.' He told them bluntly, and guided a baffled Leonardo away as the group began to squabble amongst themselves.
'But Doctor – '
'Don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, and for heaven's sake don't run off!' The Doctor stated firmly, releasing Leonardo and brushing the creases out of his shirt. 'All these people are just ordinary – they don't know anything about time travel and Templars so don't go telling them all about it. They'll lock you up and run documentaries on you ten years later,' The Doctor rambled, continuing to brush imaginary dust from Leonardo's clothes. 'Right! You two, this way. We're off to a museum.'
'And then, Doctor?' Leonardo questioned eagerly as he and Ezio followed the Doctor towards the museum.
'And then…' The Doctor assumed a grim look. 'And then we go find a cupboard.'
I really hope I get the time to catch up with soon :/ See you guys on the next update!
