22 JANUARY 2019, 01:58

AMSTERDAM

Ryan stood still, shocked and horrified at the sight in front of him. It was definitely the Doctor, but the white eyes and malevolent demeanor seemed to suggest otherwise. He swallowed. "Doctor?"

"Don't worry, she's still alive," the figure in front of him reassured him. She had the Doctor's voice, but an eerie undertone lurked underneath. "She's just taking a long nap upstairs." She pointed to the Doctor's head.

If it's not her, then that means…

"You're the Angel," he whispered.

The figure snapped her fingers, pointing directly at him. "Nice job! Gold star for you, Ryan."

Ryan shuddered. "I'd rather you dropped the act. It's freaking me out a bit."

The Angel huffed. "Geez, Ryan, you hurt my feelings." She smirked. "If I had any, that is." She shrugged, seemingly indifferent to the fact that what she was doing to the Doctor seemed to be coming straight from a horror movie.

"So what is it that you want?" Ryan asked. "Near as I can tell, the Doctor's countdown isn't up yet."

The Angel shrugged. "Long story short, those Angels wanted me. The Doctor didn't want to hand me over. And, quite frankly, I wasn't too keen about those weaklings using me for their own nefarious purposes. I did what I had to do to survive."

"And where are the other Angels now?"

The Angel gestured to the stone dust his feet. "You're standing in what's left of them."

Out of instinct, Ryan looked down, suddenly feeling nauseous. He looked back at her, stunned. "You killed them?"

"You're welcome," the Angel confirmed, essentially confirming that assertion. "I made sure to redistribute the dust so they couldn't reform. You and your friends are safe." She shrugged. "For now."

"So, what?" Ryan asked. "Are you going to kill us?"

"Kill you?" The Angel let out a sharp bark of laughter, something chilling considering it came from the Doctor's mouth. "Ha! Don't be daft; it's not your time yet, Ryan Sinclair. I can see that much. As for the Doctor, well, she's got a few days still."

"Okay," he said slowly, "Thank you for saving our lives. But I'd like my friend back now."

The Angel tilted her head to the side. "No."

Ryan folded his arms. "What do you mean, 'no?' As far as I can tell, she's no good to you alive, right? So hand her over."

"On the contrary," the Angel retorted. "I control everything. I can accelerate or decelerate the countdown inside her head. I can kill her on the inside or quantum-lock her whenever someone looks at her. Or I can still fight and choose not to use the quantum lock. I might not be fully grown yet, Ryan Sinclair, but I'd watch yourself if I were you. One false move, and all of you will suffer."

"You're possessing her."

"You knew that already." The Angel held up a hand in front of her face, fascinated. "Curious," she mused. "So this is what flesh and blood feels like."

Ryan didn't know what to say. The whole situation was simply too bizarre to fully process.

Okay, Ryan. Think. How are you going to save the Doctor?

He looked unblinkingly at the Angel. It still moved, much to his horror.

This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought.

"I can tell you want to run."

Ryan turned, yelping when he saw that, somehow, the Angel had moved behind him in the blink of an eye. The Angel didn't blink, instead smirking.

"Go on, then," it said simply. "Run, Ryan Sinclair. Run like the pathetic little rodents you humans are."

It was especially disturbing to hear that coming out of the Doctor's mouth, especially since the woman had made it her priority to protect mankind.

You know there's only one choice if you want to make it out alive.

He made his decision.

He fled.

Not because humans were pathetic; no, he ran because he couldn't come up with a plan to save the matriarch of Team TARDIS.

Ryan bolted back to the TARDIS, not daring to look backwards. For all he knew, the Angel could be right behind him. Or it could be waiting for him back at the ship. Either way, he didn't want to take his chances.

After what seemed like forever, he saw a familiar blue box, sprinting towards it. He banged frantically on the door. "It's me! Let me in!" His voice jumped up several octaves upon noticing the possessed Doctor out of the corner of his eye, only meters behind him. "LET ME IN!"

The door opened. Ryan ran inside, slamming the door shut behind him. Hiromi looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Ryan-kun?"

"We're in trouble," he said worriedly.

"What the hell are you even talking about, mate?" Oslo asked, confused. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Outside. But something's really wrong with her."

Yaz's uninjured eye narrowed. "As in—?"

Ryan paused to catch his breath, panting. "Angel. Took over."

"WHAT?!"

"The Doctor's still alive," Ryan reassured her quickly. "It's only possessing her. Sort of like what that Dalek was doin' to my dad and Lin."

"That's not much better," Graham muttered. "And unlike that Dalek, something tells me we can't throw that Angel into a supernova. Not without killing the Doc in the process."

Kenji ran a few fingers through his hair, agitated. "We could always sedate her. But I don't know a damn thing about her biology or even what kind of alien she is. For all I know, tranquilizers could kill her or do some serious damage." He glanced at Ryan. "Do you know what kind of alien she is?"

Ryan shook his head. "No. She never told any of us."

"And believe me, we've asked," Graham added.

"It might be painful to talk about," Hiromi suggested. "It's possible some things might have happened with her people."

"Either way, that's up to Doctor-san to divulge when and if she is ready to do so," Kenji said sternly. He frowned. "Speaking of Doctor-san, where even is she?"

A new set of alarms started to go off. Yaz ran to a monitor, paling. "It's a proximity alert," she said slowly.

"The Doctor?" Oslo asked.

"Yeah," Yaz admitted. "But there is something really, really off about her, like Ryan said."

"As in?" Graham asked.

"You ever see Insidious?"

"Only once," Graham responded. His jaw dropped. "Don't tell me."

The look on Yaz's face revealed enough.

As if on cue, the TARDIS doors swung open, revealing the Doctor. The possessed alien walked inside, only the whites of the eyes visible. She looked at them unblinkingly, a cruel smile on her face. "Which one of you shall I screw around with first?"

"How about none of us, bitch!" Hiromi snarled.

The Angel's head tilted to the side. "Tanaka Hiromi," she whispered, approaching her. "I'm so glad you volunteered."

"Like hell I did!" she spat. "Your kind has already made my life miserable! What more could you possibly do?"

Ryan put a hand on her shoulder. "Be careful what you ask for," he warned. "You might just find out."

"So what is it that you want with us, eh?" Graham asked.

The Angel stood, facing him. "I can't exactly kill you," she admitted. "The Doctor's still got that much control over the situation." She grinned. "But that doesn't mean that I can't have a little bit of fun in the process."

"I'd hate to see your definition of 'fun', then, considering you just wiped out hundreds of your own kind outside," Ryan said darkly.

Hiromi's eyes widened. "The Angels? They're dead?"

"Very."

"Like I told you, Ryan, I didn't want them to use me for their own personal gain," the Angel responded. The creature moved closer to the console unit.

Ryan gulped, walking slowly towards Yaz. "Got any ideas?" he whispered.

Yaz shook her head frantically, uninjured eye wide with what looked like fear. She placed one hand on the holster, holding in the other what appeared to be ammo.

"No, Yaz!" Ryan hissed. "If you hurt that thing, you could hurt the Doctor as well!"

Yaz paused, removing her hand from the gun. She put the ammo back on her belt. "What do you think we should do?" she whispered.

"No clue; why else do you think I'm askin' you?!"

"Will you two shut up and look for a sec?!" Oslo snapped, pointing in the direction of the Angel—no, Ryan had to remind himself, the Doctor. He looked, eyes widening in shock.

The possessed Doctor placed a hand on the console, admiring it with what looked to be something with fascination. But that wasn't what Ryan's attention seconds later.

The arachnid-like legs surrounding the TARDIS emitted electrical tendrils of light, wrapping them around the Doctor. The alien bore her teeth, struggling, but they wrapped tighter and tighter around her until she was forced onto her knees.

"A hi-tech spiderweb," Kenji remarked. "Which one of you did that?"

Ryan, Graham, and Yaz looked at each other, all equally confused. "None of us, mate," Yaz responded.

"I didn't do it either," Hiromi added.

"Nor I," said Oslo.

"I guess the TARDIS has more tricks built in than we thought," Graham remarked, surprised.

A nearby lever pulled, sending some sort of signal into the Doctor. The woman jerked back violently, causing Ryan to cry out in alarm.

The Doctor gasped, eyes rolling forwards. Kenji took a step forward, cautious. "Doctor-san?"

The Doctor nodded, gritting her teeth. "G…get us out of here. Now."

Various levers moved on their own, and the familiar sound of the TARDIS's moving engines resounded throughout the room.

"Where are we going?" Hiromi asked.

"Who cares?" Oslo retorted. "Just so long as it's away from those things."

The TARDIS landed a moment later, releasing its web around the Doctor. The alien collapsed, still. Kenji ran over to her, checking for a pulse.

"Nīsan?" Hiromi asked, worried.

He looked up at them, pale. "She's still with us, but she's experiencing tachycardia. I'm not sure what her cardiovascular system is like, but I don't think her heart is supposed to be beating that fast."

"She's got two hearts, actually," Yaz piped up. "So, I guess, divide the heart rate by half in this case."

"Two hearts?" Kenji echoed, surprised. He put on a stethoscope, turning the Doctor on her back as he checked her chest. Ryan could feel sweat coming from his brow, worry for his friend taking over. The medical student stepped away from her after a moment, sighing. "She's got both pulses. It's not tachycardia, I don't think, though I'm not quite sure what is a normal BPM for someone with a binary cardiovascular system. In fact, I've never heard of anything like it before now."

"But will she be okay, though?" Ryan asked.

Kenji shrugged. "Hard to say, really. I'll need medical data, but there is no way in hell I am taking her to a hospital. She'll need to stay here, or with someone." He looked around, pocketing the stethoscope. "Does this ship have medical capabilities?"

"Yes," Ryan responded, remembering how the Doctor had treated Lin's injuries earlier that month. "They're pretty advanced, from what I saw of it."

"It'll have to do."

Graham frowned. "Where exactly are we, anyway?"

"Let's find out," Yaz responded, opening the door.

Ryan wasn't sure what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect a larger than average, long-haired cat to waltz inside. It paused near the console unit to wash itself.

Hiromi grinned, running towards the feline. "Jasper!" She picked the cat up, who meowed in surprise but accepted the action. He nuzzled his face against Hiromi's, purring.

"That's your cat?" Oslo asked.

"Mine and Ilana's," she affirmed. "We got him from the shelter shortly after we paid the first month's rent."

"Ilana's your flatmate, I take it?" Yaz asked. Hiromi nodded. Yaz stretched. "Is it just you two?"

"Us and the cat, yes," Hiromi confirmed. She smiled slightly. "Ilana's going to be glad to see that I'm okay."

"Are you, really, imōto?" Kenji asked cautiously.

Hiromi sighed. "I will be."

"What the fuck?!"

Ryan turned, seeing a freckly ginger-haired woman in the doorway, eyes wide. Hiromi turned, grinning. "Ilana-chan!"

Ilana ran towards her flatmate, stunned. "You're okay! But how?" She glanced around. "Hi, Kenji."

"Hi," the medical student responded.

Ilana raised an eyebrow. "Who are you people? And…what is this thing? What is it doing in the flat?"

"PC Khan, Hallamshire Police," Yaz introduced herself. "Ilana, was it?"

The ginger straightened. "Yes, ma'am."

"Can you tell me the exact date and time right now?"

Ilana frowned, reaching in her bathrobe pocket, pulling out a mobile. "22 January 2019, 1:29 a.m." She tilted her head curiously. "Is that important, Constable?"

"Very much so."

Ilana pocketed the phone, yawning. "How were you able to find Hiromi? I tried getting a hold of her for days."

"I had to borrow a mobile," Hiromi told her. "My battery totally crapped out."

Ilana raised an eyebrow. "You couldn't recharge it?"

"No. I tried."

The ginger ran her fingers through her hair. "Just where the hell were you, anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Ilana snorted. "Try me."

"Tokyo."

Ilana blinked, a stunned expression on her face. Ryan could tell that she was sceptical. "Tokyo?!" the ginger echoed. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No," Kenji told her. "She's not."

One look at the serious expressions on everyone's faces likely gave Ilana the hint. She folded her arms. "Where's Maria?"

"Amsterdam," Hiromi said softly.

"Well, why didn't you go get her? She's your girlfriend, for crying out loud!"

Hiromi looked away, burying her face in the cat's fur. Ryan saw that she was trying to hide the fact that she was crying. "K-Kanojo ga shinda," she whispered in Japanese.

"She's dead," Kenji translated, voice taut with anger.

Ilana's eyes widened. Tears started to fall down the ginger's face, though she made a visible attempt to keep it together. "Explain."

Yaz sighed. "From the looks of it, the same thing that spirited Hiromi to Japan had killed Maria. By the time we got to her, she was already dead." She put a hand on Ilana's shoulder. "We found her grave in Amsterdam. She lived a long life."

Ilana shook her head. "She was twenty-one."

"She died in her nineties," Ryan told her.

"That's impossible."

"Not if you were sent back in time," Oslo said quietly. "We had a similar case earlier this month involving some Danish tourists. As with this one, there was one person left to tell the tale. Whether that was coincidental or not, I couldn't tell you."

"It's likely that it was," Yaz interjected. "Rasmus Hansen hid in a men's lavatory for days to avoid the Angels. Hiromi was spirited away. There's a difference."

Ilana frowned. "Hold up. Angels?"

"We'll explain once we get into the flat," Kenji told her. "Imōto, can we use your sofa?"

"Yeah," Hiromi responded, "but what for?"

"We need to get Doctor-san somewhere comfortable. Since we can't take her to a hospital, a sofa will have to do."

Ilana folded her arms. "Why can't we take her to a hospital, whoever she is?"

"That's another thing we'll explain once we get inside." Kenji gently picked up the Doctor from the floor, carrying her bridal-style in his arms. "Can one of you get the door for me?"

Ryan nodded, opening the door for the medical student. He exited the ship behind them, walking into a common area smaller than the one in Yaz's flat. Ilana switched on the lights, and Kenji placed the Doctor on the sofa after taking her coat off. Ryan glanced down at the alien, worried. She looked as though she was sleeping peacefully, though he doubted that was truly the case.

"She's been through a lot," Graham remarked, noticing where Ryan was looking. "Rest will be good for her."

"I hope so."

Ilana sat on a chair, clearly confused. "All right, Kenji. You said you'd explain once we're inside. We're inside now. So, spill."

Kenji frowned. "You're not going to like any of this."

"That's not something I care about at the moment. Open your trap or get out of my flat. I've got an exam at noon."

"All right, sheesh." He sighed. "The short version is, what abducted Hiromi is apparently called a 'Weeping Angel'. It's a predator masquerading as a statue."

"How does it kill?"

"Normally, it sends people back in time, but sometimes it snaps their necks or rips out their brainstems," Yaz said grimly. "The Doctor would be able to explain it better, but she's not going to be waking up anytime soon."

"You mean her?" Ilana asked, pointing to the Doctor's unconscious form on the sofa. Yaz nodded. Ilana dropped her hand, frowning. "Why can't we take her to A&E? She definitely looks like she needs to see somebody."

Kenji and Ryan looked at each other. The look on the medical student's face said, She's your friend. You tell her.

"Thanks a lot," Ryan told him, before turning back to face Ilana. "She's an alien."

Ilana craned her neck down over the sofa. "She looks human enough."

"Well, she ain't human, that's for sure."

Ilana stood back up, straightening. "I'm not buying it."

Kenji removed the stethoscope from around his neck, wiping down the ear portions with an alcohol-infused wipe. "Listen here," he gestured to one spot on the Doctor's chest, "and here," gesturing to another.

Ilana put it on, listening to the Doctor's heartbeats in both areas. Her eyes widened, and she ran the stethoscope over the spots again.

"That's—" She looked up at them, a surprised look on her face. "That's impossible."

"For a human, yeah," Graham told her. "You believe us now, don't you?"

Ilana waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, she's got two hearts. Don't rub it in." She returned the stethoscope to Kenji, running a hand through her hair. "Now what?"

Kenji wiped down the ear portions again. "Well, I guess she's my responsibility now."

"Now hold on a sec—" Graham protested, but Kenji cut him off. "I'm the closest thing she has to a doctor at the moment! We need to do everything we can to save her and stop that Angel from doing any more damage. That is our priority now, O'Brien-san."

Ryan sighed, putting a hand on Graham's shoulder. "Like it or not, he's right, Granddad."

"We'll keep an eye on her," Hiromi reassured them, still holding Jasper in her arms.

"What about you?" Ryan asked.

Hiromi blinked. "Life goes on, right? I've just gotta make do with what's been going on." However strong her words were, Ryan could hear her voice breaking.

"Let us know if you need anything," Yaz responded.

"I've just got one question," Graham piped up. "Where on Earth are we, anyway?"

"Sheffield City Centre," Ilana responded.

"Shouldn't we stay?" Ryan asked.

"I've got work tomorrow afternoon," Yaz told him. "And I'm sure you and Graham have your lives to get back to as well."

"She'll be fine," Hiromi reassured them. "You can trust us."

"I'm gonna call an Uber," Graham told him, gesturing to Kenji and Oslo. "Do you boys need a ride as well?"

"That would be nice, yeah," Oslo told him.

Graham turned to Ilana. "What's the address to this place?"

Ilana told him, and he booked the ride. He turned off his phone, turning towards the others. "We've got an Uber coming in a few minutes."

"For all five of us?" Kenji asked, surprised.

"Of course it's for all five of us!" Graham retorted. "Do you seriously think I'd leave any of you to walk out in the cold?"

Kenji blinked, bowing. "Of course not! Forgive me, O'Brien-san. I meant no disrespect."

"No worries," Graham told him. "And you can stop bowing now."

Kenji straightened. "Sorry. We were just in Japan, and the cultural customs are different there than in England."

"We've lived in Britain since we were kids, nīsan," Hiromi muttered. "You should know that by now."

"You can tell that to our parents after you call them," Kenji said sternly. "And you will call them before you go to bed. They've been worried sick."

Hiromi looked at him, slightly miffed. "Of course I planned on calling them, nīsan." Jasper meowed in protest, and Hiromi set him down on the floor.

"What about the TARDIS?" Ryan asked.

"I can't treat the Doctor without it," Kenji responded. "Besides, I doubt she likes being apart from it for too long."

"That's true," Graham responded. "But how do you know that?"

"I picked up a few skills during the first couple of years of med school," Kenji explained. "One of them was the ability to read people. And something I read from Doctor-san was that she is very much attached to her ship."

Ilana frowned. "Hang on—that police box is her spaceship?"

"I thought that would have been obvious by now," Oslo grumbled, earning a glare from the ginger.

"Either way," Yaz intervened, "that countdown is getting closer and closer to zero. I don't know if sleep is going to delay it or not, but in any case we should take precautions. We need people here at all times to keep an eye on her."

"We have classes," Ilana reminded the Constable, gesturing to herself and Hiromi.

"So do I," Kenji said.

"And I have work," Oslo muttered.

"Which means the only one that's gonna be here 24/7, besides the TARDIS, is the cat," Graham muttered.

"We'll figure something out," Hiromi said quickly.

Graham's phone buzzed. He looked down, checking it. "Our Uber's in the parking garage."

"Will she be okay?" Yaz asked worriedly. Ryan knew she was likely referring to the Doctor.

"Doctor-san is in good hands," Hiromi reassured her. "We won't let anything happen to her."

"Let's hope that remains the case," Oslo said darkly.

Kenji, however, seemed to be in a lighter mood. "See you soon!"

"Good night," Hiromi responded.

The five of them exited the flat, Kenji leading the way to the parking garage. Ryan frowned. "It feels weird, doing this sort of thing without the Doctor," he remarked. "She's usually the one who takes charge of things whenever there's something really dangerous going on."

"I guess it's going to be up to the three of us now," Yaz responded.

"Seven of us," Kenji interjected.

Yaz's uninjured eye narrowed. "I disagree," she said. "Ryan, Graham, and I have seen a lot more than you can imagine. Aliens, other planets, lots of things. The rest of you have less experience in this area. We'd be putting you lot at too great a risk."

"Given what we're dealing with, Yasmin-san, it would be better if there were more of us," Kenji countered. "Besides, it's not like we've been completely uninvolved up until now. It would do Doctor-san a big disservice if we stayed out of this."

"He's got a point, Yaz," Graham responded, following Kenji and Oslo into the parking garage. The two younger members of Team TARDIS followed suit, and they found their Uber waiting about twenty metres away.

"Good morning!" the driver acknowledged them. He looked to be somewhat older than Graham, white hair flowing in a style similar to Doc Brown's in Back to the Future. "You ain't off to the pub now, are ya?"

"Nope," Graham responded. "Just heading home."

The driver nodded, looking at them through the rearview mirror once everyone got in. "I see. Where will I be dropping you all off?"

"Park Hill is fine," Yaz responded. She turned to Oslo and Kenji. "I hope that's not too far away from you two."

"Nah, that's fine," Oslo responded. "I'm at Wybourn."

"Stocksbridge," Kenji added.

"Oh, other side of the city, then?" the driver asked.

"Yeah, that's right." Kenji frowned. "Will that cost extra?"

"Just a wee bit, yeah."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Graham reassured the medical student. "I can cover you."

"Are-are you sure, O'Brien-san?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Graham retorted.

Kenji bowed in his seat, which, to Ryan, looked more like leaning forward with a seat belt in the way. "Thank you!"

"It's my pleasure."

Kenji straightened back up, and the Uber driver proceeded to the route.

The ride was mostly a silent one, save for sounds of the radio, NavSat, and local traffic. Ryan glanced around, seeing that Oslo was playing some sort of game on his mobile and Kenji had put on some wireless earbuds. Yaz and Graham were in the row behind them, and the driver's small black-and-white dog was asleep in the front seat.

Inwardly, Ryan imagined that, if the Doctor had been with them, she'd be attempting to make small talk with everyone, even the dog. He'd never had the chance to meet Maria while she was still alive, but he had a feeling that the mood would probably be a bit lighter if everyone had made it back okay. Instead, the trip to Tokyo and Amsterdam resulted in one person dead, one traumatized, one possessed by a demon, and at least seven people in a state that was far from all right.

Also, one thing the Angel had said was starting to bother him even more: "One false move, and all of you will suffer." The TARDIS had knocked out its pilot, so that problem was taken care of for the time being, but what about after the Doctor woke up? What would happen then?

Get it together, Ryan, he told himself. It's been a rough evening. You can deal with this after you get some sleep.

Yeah. If I get any sleep.

They arrived at Park Hill several minutes later. Graham paid their fare, and the extra few pounds for Kenji's stop, and everyone went their separate ways as the van drove off.

The walk home felt longer than usual, in Ryan's opinion. It was mostly silent, as there wasn't much to talk about. Graham and Ryan each went into their own separate rooms after entering the house, silent, not bidding each other "good night" because they both likely knew that this night had been far from good. Ryan shut the door, collapsing onto his bed, exhaustion kicking in.

Sleep would not come for another hour-and-a-half.