21 JANUARY 2019, 16:34
HALLAMSHIRE POLICE PRECINCT
The two officers walked over to Sunder's office. The Sergeant shut the door behind him, looking Yaz square in the eye. "All right, Yaz. Spill."
"It's the Doctor," she said hurriedly. "Something's wrong. Really wrong. I'm worried it might be related to what happened to Max Gentry and the coroner."
Sunder sat down at his desk, gesturing for Yaz to take the chair in front of it. She sat down, tense. The Sergeant nodded. "Explain."
Yaz took a deep breath, telling her boss what she knew about the countdown and the image of a Weeping Angel in the Doctor's eye. "Three cases, all with the same symptoms," she finished. "There's no way this is just a coincidence."
"It doesn't sound like it," the Sergeant agreed. He pressed a button on the PA system. "Stefansson. My office. Now."
"Thanks for looking into this, Serge," Yaz said gratefully.
Sunder nodded. The door burst open, revealing a terrified-looking Oslo Stefansson, evidently having run the length to the office. Sunder gestured for the intern to take the chair next to Yaz, which he did.
Oslo gulped. "Am I being fired?"
"Far from it," Sunder told him. "Constable Khan, tell Stefansson everything you just told me."
Yaz nodded, telling the intern exactly what she had told her boss. The look of utter terror on the intern's face was not what she had expected, though.
"Yeah, these things have got to be linked," Oslo said wanly. "What number did she count down to, and when did it happen?"
"Five," Yaz said. "It was almost like it was a reflexive slip. She didn't notice it until one of my mates and I pointed it out to her."
"Yeah, but when did it happen?"
"Shortly before four this afternoon."
"What was the rate of the countdown?"
"One number per day," Yaz informed him. She frowned. "Is that important?"
"Given what's been going on lately, it's very important," Oslo said grimly. "Was she counting down from ten?"
"Yes," Yaz admitted. "Truth be told, I didn't make the connection that something was up until quite a bit later."
"And where is the Doctor? Is she alive?"
"Yeah. She locked herself inside a room after she noticed the Angel in her eye. She hasn't been telling us a damn thing about what's been going on!"
"I'll need help examining her, Yaz," Oslo pointed out. "I'm not in med school, and I'm not a doctor." He paused, eyes widening in realisation. "Hold on a sec. I've got a call to make."
21 JANUARY 2019, 16:56
SHEFFIELD HALLAM A&E
Hiromi. Maria. Where are you?
Tanaka Kenji held his head in his hands, stress threatening to overwhelm him. The only phone call he had received today had been from Stefansson, the police intern who had been at the hospital when the coroner died under bizarre circumstances. The student had asked him to examine a similar case to Max Gentry and John Conahan, on a patient that had been experiencing similar symptoms over a much longer period of time.
The glaring difference? This patient was still alive.
Kenji told Stefansson that he'd look into it as soon as his shift ended for the day. That, unfortunately, wouldn't be for another five hours.
And, his sister and her girlfriend were still missing.
He'd been in touch with both families. His parents were, naturally, worried, as was Maria's family. The police had apparently been looking into it, but so far they hadn't found anything. The women had simply…disappeared.
Two hours passed before Kenji had some peace from the emergency ward. During that time, he'd examined four patients: two officers from a car accident that had occurred after hitting a deer a few days earlier, one pregnant woman close to going into labour, and a teenager who somehow managed to get his foot stuck in a toilet.
He was supposed to have his dinner break right now. However, he wasn't hungry.
Then his mobile rang.
Kenji frowned, noticing the Caller ID had a Japanese country code. He picked up, switching over to Japanese. "Hello?"
"Nīsan?"
His eyes widened, recognizing the voice. "Hiromi-chan? Is that you?"
"Yes. It's me."
He sat up. "Where are you?"
"Tōkyo. I have no idea how I got here; I was in Sheffield one second, and the next I was suddenly in Tōkyo."
"Why didn't you come home?"
"I don't have either of my passports with me. I can't fly home."
"Is Maria-san okay? Do you know where she is?"
Hiromi sobbed into the telephone. Kenji grimaced, realizing that either she had no idea or something terrible had happened. "I'm sorry."
"I ended up here alone," Hiromi whispered in English, after taking a couple of minutes to get the tears out of her system. "I've tried calling her, multiple times, but there's no response. The operator keeps saying the number's been disconnected."
Kenji's eyes widened. "She wasn't with you?" he breathed, switching momentarily back to English. His voice started to increase in volume and in worry. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," his sister responded. "I don't understand!"
"Neither do I," Kenji admitted. He switched back to Japanese. "I'll find a way to get you home, imōto. We've all been worried sick about you."
"I will."
The call ended. Tears started to fall down his face. Hiromi's okay. She's okay.
But where the hell is Maria?
Kenji dialled his parents, switching back again to Japanese, telling them the good news about Hiromi. Both had been relieved but were still worried about Maria. After the call eventually ended, Kenji couldn't help but think this was some sort of double-edged sword. Not just for him, but for Hiromi. Even if he could somehow move Hiromi from Japan, how could he find Maria as well?
It's simple. I can't do either of those things. The first one would be one serious legal snafu that could take months. It's less of a problem here because Hiromi and I have dual citizenship for the UK and Japan, but she doesn't have her passports. She can't leave the country.
Kenji groaned. "There you go again, Kenji, stating the obvious," he muttered in Japanese. He checked his watch, noting that his shift was up in ten minutes.
And then he had to look in on this patient that Stefansson had been so secretive about. The intern didn't even tell him the person's name. He had simply given him an address.
Kenji sighed, switching back to English. "I have a bad feeling about this."
21 JANUARY 2019, 22:49
SHEFFIELD
Kenji parked his car in the driveway, surprised to see Stefansson waiting for him. He exited the vehicle, frowning. "Dude. Given how secretive you were, I thought this was some sort of prank."
Stefansson shook his head. "I'm afraid not, mate. This was where PC Khan told us to meet."
"Maybe she's inside?"
"Possibly." The two walked up the steps, cautious. Kenji rang the doorbell. A few seconds later the door opened, revealing the Constable.
"I take it we're expected?" Kenji asked.
"Definitely," Khan responded. "Inside. Quickly."
The door slammed shut behind them. Stefansson gulped. "Uh…PC Khan? Whose house is this?"
"Mine," a voice said from the kitchen. Kenji turned, seeing a middle-aged man near the refrigerator.
Khan faced them, her expression serious. "Do you think you can help her?"
"That depends entirely on what we're dealing with," Kenji responded. "Stefansson here hasn't told me much."
"And you are?" the man asked.
Kenji held out his hand. "Kenji Tanaka, sir. I'm in med school. Pleased to meet you."
The man walked over, taking it. The handshake was firm. "Graham O'Brien."
Kenji nodded. "Where's the patient?"
Khan gestured for them to follow her. "This way."
They entered the common area, pausing in front of a blue police box. Stefannson raised an eyebrow. "She's in there?"
"Yep," another voice responded. Another man walked into the room, dark-skinned like Stefansson, but looked about two to three years younger.
"How's she doing, Ryan?" Khan asked.
The man, Ryan, shrugged. "No idea. She keeps telling me to go away."
O'Brien folded his arms. "Well, tell 'er to cut it out and let us in."
"All of us?" Stefansson asked, scoffing. "Don't be daft; we can't all fit in there!"
"It doesn't look like there's room for more than one," Kenji added.
"You'll be eating your words in a minute," O'Brien scolded them. "Come on." He attempted to open the door, exasperated. "Did she seriously lock herself in there?"
"Yep," Ryan responded.
"Great." O'Brien pounded on the door. "Oi! We brought help! Can we come in?"
The lock clicked. Khan, O'Brien, and Ryan walked inside. Kenji and Stefansson exchanged a sceptical glance before following them.
Once inside, Kenji got one of the biggest shocks of his life.
Where the simple inside of a police box should have been was a room larger than the common area. One look Stefansson's way told the medical student that the intern had the same reaction.
"Whoa," the intern breathed.
"It's huge!" Kenji blurted, abruptly switching to Japanese. Stefansson looked at him quizzically.
"Yes," a woman's voice responded in perfect Japanese. Kenji looked down, seeing a blonde woman sitting on a set of hexagonal steps, eyes closed. "You speak Japanese?" he asked in said tongue, incredulous.
"Yes, I speak Japanese," she responded. "I speak a lot of things."
"Doctor, we really can't understand you right now," Khan responded.
"Doctor?" Kenji asked, using the medical term.
"I can be," the woman responded, switching back to English. "Different languages have different translations for my name. Healer. Warrior. Predator, to the Daleks."
"Your name is 'Doctor?'" Kenji asked, switching back to English.
"The Doctor, yes," she confirmed.
"Do you have an actual name, though?"
The Doctor stood, straightening, without opening her eyes. "The name I chose is 'the Doctor.'"
Kenji's mouth opened, but Stefansson placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think that's the only answer we're gonna get, mate."
Kenji nodded, mouth closing.
"Doctor, either open your eyes or sit down," Khan warned. "I don't want you falling off the stairs or something."
The Doctor did neither of those things, walking towards them, though somewhat cautiously. "Really, Yaz, I'll be fine." She stopped in front of the console, pointing at it, switching to Japanese. "Now, who are you?"
Ryan facepalmed. Kenji looked directly at her. "Tanaka Kenji. Turn about forty-five degrees to your left; what you're pointing to right now is that console unit."
"Right. Sorry." She turned, now facing directly towards him.
Kenji snuck a glance Stefansson's way. "I'm surprised she didn't ask you that question," he remarked, switching back to English.
"What question?"
Right. Kenji mentally slapped himself. The Doctor and I appear to be the only ones here who speak Japanese. "Who you were."
"Oh." Stefansson shrugged. "We met earlier today. She came with PC Khan to the A&E."
"Gotcha." He faced the Doctor. "I'm here to examine you."
The woman recoiled. "No."
Kenji sighed. "Look, Doctor, I can't force you to do anything. But out of three cases with similar symptoms, you are the only one still alive. We need to know if the cases are linked."
The Doctor frowned. "I know of one case; what was the other one?"
"Max Gentry," Khan explained. "Remember when I was telling you about the meth bust?"
"Oh yeah. How is it related, though?" She sighed, turning her face away from the medical student. "Never mind. That's something for later. What is it you want me to do?"
"Open your eyes, for starters," Kenji remarked. The Doctor stiffened. He frowned. That's just weird. "Are you blind, Doctor-san?"
"No."
"Any eye infections recently?"
"That depends on what you mean by the word 'infection'," the woman responded stiffly. "Whatever you do, do not look that thing directly in the eye."
This just got weirder. "Okay…"
The Doctor opened her eyes, finally facing him. Her hazel-green eyes possessed fear. Her right eye possessed something else as well.
Whatever you do, do not look that thing directly in the eye.
Kenji glanced at the anomaly, alarmed to find that it was the image of a stone angel. One that was not at all pleased to be examined.
The medical student dropped his instrument, scooting backwards so fast he tripped and landed flat on his ass. "Wha-How the hell are you still alive, woman?!"
"What do you mean?" O'Brien asked sharply.
"There's a superstition that the eye retains the image of the last thing it sees," Stefansson explained. "And that only is true when that person's biochemistry is massively corrupted."
"That's only with the dead, though," the Doctor remarked.
Kenji frowned. "So how is it that you're still alive?"
"It might be taking a bit longer," Stefansson suggested. "Kenji, can I have a word with you for a sec?"
The medical student nodded. They moved to the other side of the room, making sure to whisper so as not to agitate the Doctor or worry the others.
"It's the same as the others, all right," Stefansson confirmed.
"How long did it take with them?" Kenji asked.
"Ten minutes. But it looks like with her, it's taking ten days."
The medical student frowned. "Explain."
"With this infection, whatever it is, it seems to be transmitted ocularly through that kind of image. The victims count down from ten, one number a minute. With her, it's been one number per day."
"And once they hit zero?"
Stefansson sighed. "They die."
Crap. Kenji placed his head in his hands. "This isn't something I've covered in med school."
"Same goes for my neuroscience classes," Stefansson admitted. "So. What do we do?"
"See if there's a pattern. What do we know about the other two cases?"
"Both were male. One was in his late twenties, the other in his fifties."
"And Doctor-san?"
Stefansson shrugged. "She's a woman."
Kenji gave him a deadpanned look. "No shit!"
Evidently that last part had been louder than intended, because they now had four pairs of eyes staring at them. Kenji waved it off. "Sorry. Keep doing whatever it was you were doing."
"Nope. I want answers," the Doctor said sternly, walking over to them. She tripped, face-planting on the floor. Kenji ran over to her. "Are you all right?"
"I didn't break anything if that's what you're implying," she snapped, getting up on her own. "Damned Angel." The Doctor opened a drawer, taking out a strange circular device and placing it on her temple. Within seconds, the stone angel faded from her eye.
"It's gone," Kenji breathed, surprised.
"Only temporarily," the Doctor responded. She exhaled deeply. "That feels a lot better."
"What is that device?" Stefansson asked, evidently curious.
"Neural balancer," the Doctor responded.
"Neural what?"
Kenji shrugged. "Dude, you're the neuroscience guy."
Stefansson threw up his hands in defence. "Yeah, but this is a little bit out of my league." He glanced at the Doctor. "So, what exactly does it do? Is it some sort of device used to regulate neurotransmitter activity?"
"Close," the Doctor responded. "Neural balancers help protect the brain against psychic interference. The telepathic circuitry here malfunctions every now and then, so I stocked up on these to protect anyone on board."
"Psychic interference?" Kenji echoed, sceptical. "I don't suppose that means someone would be trying to hack your brain, does it?"
The Doctor's expression brightened. From the medical student's perspective, it was almost likened to one of his professors whenever they heard something creative or interesting from one of the students.
"Tanaka Kenji, you are a genius!" she beamed.
"You've never thought of it like that before?" Khan asked, surprised.
"No, not really," the Doctor admitted.
O'Brien folded his arms. "I don't suppose you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"
The Doctor whirled around, nearly colliding with the console unit. "Remember what we were up against on Ranskoor Av Kolos?"
"I'd rather not think about it," O'Brien muttered. Kenji glanced at Stefansson. Ranskoor Av what now? he mouthed. Stefansson shrugged, also confused.
The Doctor frowned. "I wasn't referring to Tim Shaw, Graham." She pulled some of her hair back behind her ears, exposing a silver-chained ear cuff on the left one. "I was referring to what the planet had done to Paltraki."
"Still, I'd rather not think about it."
"Anyway, the frequency was strong enough to induce amnesia and schizoid-type symptoms into almost anyone who was unprotected. The Angel might be trying to do something similar. Except, rather than hacking, it's killing."
"What angel?" Kenji asked, flummoxed.
Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want the short version?"
"That would be nice, yeah."
Ryan gestured to the Doctor. "She's an alien. This is her spaceship. Weeping Angels are predators, and don't ask me how one got into her eye but apparently that is really bad."
What?! Kenji must have had the deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, because Ryan's next words were, "You'll understand eventually."
Kenji pointed to the Doctor, switching over to Japanese. "Wait…so you're not human?"
The Doctor shrugged. "That's the gist of it," she responded in the same language.
He switched back to English. "But you speak Japanese! And English!"
"And a lot of other languages."
"Including dog, apparently," O'Brien remarked.
This is a bit much to take in all at once. Kenji walked over to the steps, sitting down, head in his hands. "I need a drink."
"There's water in the kitchen," the Doctor offered helpfully.
"Got anything stronger?"
"Coffee. Tea. Alcoholic beverages from about five different galaxies." She pulled a face. "I'd stay away from the Sontaran vodka if I were you. That stuff's ninety-seven percent alcohol."
"Then why do you even have it?!" Ryan asked.
"It's from a friend of mine named Strax," the Doctor explained. "I've never opened it."
Kenji looked up at her. "I don't suppose you have sake?"
"I might. Let me check." She disappeared through a corridor, leaving the two strangers confused. Kenji gestured to Ryan, O'Brien, and Khan. "Are you lot aliens, too?"
Ryan laughed. Khan shook her head. "Nah, mate. We're human."
"And from Earth," O'Brien added somewhat helpfully.
"That's reassuring," Kenji muttered. "Are you all used to this?"
"Pretty much," O'Brien responded. "We travel with the Doc."
Stefansson raised a hand. "Quick question: Does your boss know about this?"
Khan folded her arms. "He knows about the TARDIS, and he knows the Doctor is an alien, but other than that he's in the dark."
"Cool."
"And you're not telling him."
Stefansson gave her a thumbs-up. "That is fine by me."
"Is she going to be okay?" Ryan asked.
Kenji and Stefansson exchanged a nervous glance before looking back at the Doctor's…crew, for the lack of a better term. "We don't know," Kenji said finally.
"The last two people who ended up with that thing in their eye ended up dead," Stefansson added. "It's possible that the Doctor will be no different."
Fear was very much palpable in the room. Ryan gulped. "But, we're safe, right? I mean, the Doctor said it wasn't contagious."
"As far as I know, we are," Stefansson responded. "But there's no cure that I know of for something like this."
"I don't know of anything, either," Kenji admitted sadly. "Right now, our priority should be to make sure this doesn't turn into some sort of epidemic."
Hiromi's going to have to wait. Somehow, he was okay with that. After all, his sister would scold him if he put her needs above the needs of strangers under his care.
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, Nīsan," Hiromi told him once. Even though she had been quoting Star Trek at the time, that advice still held true to him even now.
"What do we tell the Doc?" O'Brien asked quietly.
The room was silent for a moment. "I haven't the faintest idea," Khan responded, turning towards Ryan. He shook his head. "I've got nothing."
Stefansson sighed. "Wonderful."
The Doctor eventually returned a few minutes later, empty-handed. "No luck with the sake, I'm afraid."
Kenji nodded. "That's okay. I think I'll stay sober for the time being."
The Doctor gave him a thumbs-up, fiddling around with the console unit. Everyone was silent, and the tension in the air was so strong it could probably cut like a knife. For Kenji, he didn't know what to say to his patient. He wasn't stupid; he could tell the Doctor knew what was happening and likely what was going to happen. He knew the alien was wearing a masque on her face, hiding what was very likely her fear from the rest of them.
Stefansson raised his hand. "May I ask a question?"
The Doctor looked up, facing him directly. Her expression remained guarded. "Depends on the question."
The intern gestured to the room. "How does all of this fit inside a police box?"
The blonde woman smiled. "The inner dimensions transcend the outer dimensions."
Stefansson reacted, flummoxed. "In English?"
"It's bigger on the inside," Khan clarified.
Kenji shook his head. "That's just not possible."
The Doctor shrugged. "Go on, then. See for yourselves."
Kenji and Stefansson exchanged apprehensive glances before exiting the…ship. The medical student was still having trouble wrapping his head around what was going on, mainly the whole "aliens are real" part. The Doctor definitely looked human enough.
"This has got to be like something out of Shingeki no Kyojin," Kenji muttered.
"Shingeki no What?" Stefansson asked. "Dude, no offence, but I don't speak Japanese."
"The rough translation is Attack on Titan."
"Oh." Stefansson raised an eyebrow, deep in thought. "I've seen the anime."
"Subbed or dubbed?"
"Dubbed."
Kenji shrugged. "Subbed's better in my opinion."
"If you say so." Stefansson's eyes widened. "Wait, do you think she's like the Titan shifters? In that they look human but are more than meet the eye?"
"The shifters weren't aliens," Kenji reminded him. "I was referring to the more psychic aspects of it all."
"So this is science fiction being realized through science fact." Stefansson folded his arms, leaning against the exterior. "This is proper awesome." He felt the exterior with a hand, eyebrows narrowing in confusion. "And wood."
Kenji walked around, seeing that it really was an old police box on the outside. He frowned. "Stefansson-san?"
"Dude, call me Oslo."
"Okay. Oslo." He frowned. "Do you see any cloaking devices at all?"
"How would I know where to look?"
"You watch Star Trek!"
"Yeah, but if there was an invisible cloaking device covering the rest of the ship, I think we would have smacked into it by now."
After a few rounds of circling around the police box, it became apparent that there was no cloaking device outside. Kenji shrugged. "Want to head back in?"
"Yeah," Oslo responded. "I want to make sure I'm not going crazy."
That makes two of us. They walked back inside, and sure enough, the room that shouldn't physically be there was physically there.
"You two sure took your time," the Doctor remarked.
The two humans exchanged a glance with each other before facing the alien. "We have questions," Oslo responded.
The Doctor placed her hands on her hips. "What would you like to know?"
The strangers immediately rushed into their enquiries.
"Why is your ship made out of wood?"
"Why doesn't it catch fire since it's wood? Theoretically speaking, it should catch fire!"
"Why are you here? Are you here to conquer the Earth?"
"Are you a creature in a human suit?"
"Is probing a thing?"
The Doctor doubled over at that last question, howling in laughter. O'Brien folded his arms. "And she says we ask too many questions sometimes."
Khan, however, gave them a fulminating look. "Probing? Really?"
Oslo rolled his eyes at Kenji (who had asked that particular question). He shrugged. "I'm in medical school, okay? I thought it was perfectly all right to ask if aliens shoved things up people's—"
"We get the point, mate," Khan interrupted hastily. The look in her eyes said two words: Cool it.
The Doctor straightened, hair all over the place. "Honestly, I was not expecting that last question. Now, to answer some of them: No, I'm not a creature in a human suit. This is my actual appearance. There are actually aliens who do that, though: the Slitheen, for example."
Ryan frowned. "When you say human suits…"
"Skinned human corpses."
All of the humans present in the room recoiled. "Sorry I asked," Ryan responded.
"Don't be sorry, Ryan," the Doctor scolded. "The only question to be apologising for is the one that isn't asked."
"But seriously," Kenji asked, "are you here to take over the Earth?"
The Doctor shook her head. "Nah. I just like it here. Conquest isn't for me."
"And your ship?"
"It's got shielding."
So it doesn't catch fire, Kenji guessed. He nodded, satisfied. Oslo leaned over, whispering in the medical student's ear: "Notice how she didn't answer the probing question."
"I heard that," the alien responded, making them jump. To be fair, she was standing right in front of them. Kenji looked down, despondent. "Sorry, Doctor-san."
"Don't be sorry!" she scolded, hissing in frustration. "Honestly, what is it with you people being in such an apologetic mood today?"
"You do it sometimes," Ryan retorted.
"Only in serious situations." She relented, pausing to relax before turning back to face the medical student. "As for the probing question…" She shook her head. "Not all people do that. A lot of them are here for conquest, not unethical experimentation on random subjects such as humans. There are laws against that."
"Intergalactic law?" Oslo breathed. "That's actually a thing?"
"Yep," the Doctor confirmed.
"So what's Earth's legal status, then?" Khan asked, curious.
The Doctor leaned against the console unit. "Earth is a Level Five planet, meaning it has not yet developed the technology to travel to alien planets."
"Hang on a sec," O'Brien pointed out. "What about the International Space Station? And Neil Armstrong?"
"I was talking more along the lines of starship technology," the Doctor clarified. "Stuff seen in a bunch of sci-fi stuff. Only, it's not actually sci-fi."
A big grin appeared on Oslo's face. Kenji wished he could be as excited. If only Hiromi and Maria could see this, he thought wistfully, heart aching for his sister. He walked to the other side of the room, taking a deep breath as he suddenly felt the urge to cry. Hiromi was into science fiction stuff, much like Oslo, but she always loved the stars. So much so, that she decided to major in chemistry and minor in physics.
"I want to work on the International Space Station one day," Hiromi had told him excitedly, just before she had started college. "That way I'll be one step closer to reaching the stars and learning more about them."
Kenji clenched his fist, scarcely aware of tears streaming down his face. Hang on, imōto. I'm coming for you.
"Everything all right, mate?"
Kenji turned, seeing Khan behind him. He waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll be fine."
"Hiromi Tanaka. She's your sister, isn't she?"
Kenji looked at her, stunned. "How did you—"
"I was assigned to the most recent missing persons case," the Constable explained. "I didn't make the connection until now."
Kenji was aware that there were more eyes on him now. He sighed. "Yeah. She was supposed to meet me for lunch that day, but she didn't show up. I called her roommate, and she said that Hiromi and Maria went out for a jog earlier that morning and never came back. She'd missed all of her classes. Her roommate couldn't get a hold of her, and neither could I. Not for a while, anyway."
"But you were able to call her?" the Doctor asked.
Kenji shook his head. "No. She called me."
The alien's brow furrowed. "What did she say?"
"That she got spirited away from Sheffield to Tokyo in the blink of an eye. Maria wasn't with her," he added. He grimaced. "She was scared, Doctor-san. She said she had to borrow somebody else's phone because the battery on hers completely crapped out shortly after she got there."
"Did she try calling Maria?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah. Apparently, the number's been disconnected."
The Doctor straightened, posture suggesting alarm. "Something's wrong." She ran to the console, switching to Japanese. "Tanaka-kun! Over here! And bring your mobile!"
Kenji hurried over to the console, surrendering his device. "What's happening?"
She switched back to English. "We need to trace the phone call to your sister to its place of origin." She pressed a button on a strange device, and his phone unlocked. The Doctor accessed his call log, frowning. "Which one did your sister call from?"
"Second from the top," he responded, frowning. "You know, you could have simply asked me to unlock my phone instead of hacking into it with…whatever that device is."
"Sonic screwdriver," she responded. "And I would have, but we're in a bit of an emergency right now."
"Explain."
"If it's what I think it is, then your sister may be in danger," she said grimly.
"What about Maria?" Ryan asked.
The Doctor paused, grimacing. "I'm afraid it would be best to assume she's dead."
Khan folded her arms, outraged. "Absolutely not!"
"Weeping Angels send their prey back through time whenever they feed," the Doctor retorted. "It makes too much sense in Maria's case. It's Hiromi's situation that I don't understand."
"Meaning?" Kenji asked sharply.
"It's likely one of two things: one, somebody teleported her over there, which is unlikely given what we know about Maria. Which isn't a lot, actually." She frowned. "Did Hiromi say exactly where they were when it happened?"
"No," Kenji responded.
"Oslo and I know," Khan responded. All eyes swivelled her way. "They were a few minutes away from Park Hill." She winced. "Not long after Nielsen and Wagner left to take Max and Erika Gentry to the station."
"Who?" Kenji asked.
"The Gentry's were a couple of meth junkies on my floor at Park Hill," Khan explained. "I'd gotten a tip from their neighbours, checked it out, and found a meth lab and a Weeping Angel in their flat." She pointed to the eye covered by the patch. "The latter gave me one hell of a shiner."
"What was a Weeping Angel even doing there, anyway?" O'Brien asked.
Khan shrugged. "Mix-up at the flea market, apparently. So much so, that it escalated into a full-blown marital issue."
"Please tell me you didn't deal with it by yourself," the Doctor said sternly.
Khan glanced at her. "Don't worry, I called for backup: Inspector Nielsen and PC Wagner."
"And where are they now?"
Khan sat down on the stairs, a strange look in her eye. "Sheffield Hallam A&E. From what one of the other Inspectors said, they were in a bad car accident on the way to the station. Hit a deer."
"What of the Gentry's?" Ryan asked.
"Dead. Both of them. Erika died in the crash. Max…" She faltered.
The Doctor straightened, concern on her face. "Yaz?" The alien's voice was stern. "What is it that you're not saying?"
The Constable paled. "There was an incident on the walkway with the Angel," she confessed. "Max was high on meth. Really high. He looked the Angel right in the eye, challenged it, flipped it off, and then pushed it off the balcony. I thought that was the end of it, for a bit. Then he started counting down. If I had to guess, it was probably one number per minute."
"From ten?" The Doctor asked sharply, alarmed.
"Yeah," Khan admitted. "Scared the shit out of us. I thought it was just a side effect of the meth, until you also started saying random numbers out of the blue."
The Doctor ran over to Khan, placing her hands on her shoulders. Kenji's mobile was all but forgotten in this situation. "Yaz, this is important. Do you know what was the last number Max said before he left Park Hill?"
Khan paused for a few seconds, deep in thought. "Three, I think."
The Doctor gritted her teeth, walking back to the console. "This is not good. Very not good."
"It gets worse," Oslo added, taking a deep breath. "It was Max's corpse that the coroner and I were investigating. The coroner looked that man's corpse in the eye and started counting down at the same rate. Less than twenty minutes later, he was dead. That image was still in his eye."
"The coroner's?" Khan asked.
"Yeah. And Max's."
"How is that even possible?" Ryan asked. "Max and the Doctor both got a dose of the real thing. How could the coroner have gotten it too?"
"Because the image of a Weeping Angel is a Weeping Angel," the Doctor said darkly. "Cameras, eyes, even psychic projections or just projected images in general. They won't manifest in photographs, but anything that can act as a projector is fair game."
"But, Doctor," Ryan asked, "what does the number have to do with anything?"
"It's an indicator of how much time Max had left before the Angel took over and killed him," she responded. "If I had to guess, the deer was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Otherwise, that Angel would have more than likely killed everyone in the police vehicle." Her brow furrowed. "But where do Hiromi and Maria fit into all of this? I don't think this was just a coincidence."
"Hiromi was the one who called in the accident," Oslo remarked. "Those two were probably jogging in that area when they found it."
"That would've had to have been long after," Khan pointed out. "What happened with Max took place shortly before one a.m.; the call came in at five-thirty that same morning."
The Doctor frowned. "The Angel would've had more than enough time to kill everyone. Instead, it only got Max, and probably Maria as well, and spirited Hiromi away to Japan. Why is that?"
"Hang on," O'Brien asked. "How do we know we're dealing with the real thing, and not some image in somebody's eye? No offence to you, Doc."
"None taken."
Oslo folded his arms. "We have witnesses. Hiromi. Maria. Myself."
The Doctor raised her hand. "I can verify that last bit," she affirmed. "Oslo showed me the Coroner's Angel." She frowned, lowering her appendage. "So why did it go after you? You're just an intern."
"Dunno," Oslo shrugged. "Maybe it didn't want any witnesses?"
"Maybe." But there was something in the Doctor's voice that suggested she wasn't too sure. "Things aren't adding up." She grasped a lever, nearly all colour drained from her face.
"Are you okay, Doctor-san?" Kenji asked, alarmed.
"Me?" The Doctor let out a mirthless bark of laughter. "I'm fine. But we need answers. And in order to get those answers, we'll need to find your sister before the Angels do."
"Where are we going?" Oslo asked.
"Tokyo."
Something clicked in Kenji's mind. This is a ship. An actual spaceship. "This thing flies, doesn't it?" he asked.
"Obviously," the Doctor responded. "Why do you ask?"
Kenji gestured to O'Brien. "Aren't you worried about the property damage that will be done to his place?"
"It'll be fine," she reassured him.
"All she's done is break a few chairs," O'Brien added.
The Doctor looked up from her console, miffed. "Well, if you keep leaving chairs in places where we materialise, of course they're going to break." She relaxed, colour returning to her cheeks. "Shall we?"
Kenji nodded, heart thudding in his chest. Hang on, Hiromi-chan. We're coming. Just a little bit longer.
The Doctor pulled the lever.