After the adventures and mishaps, there's finally a lull, and it allowed Lila and Theodore to rest, something they've wanted since they've dealt with everything to the introduction of two of the most terrifying things they've ever encountered.
Whatever the Plague Doctor and his supposed wife are, neither Lila and Theodore wanted to meet any more like them, and it drew Theodore searching for any records of their existence in the TARDIS.
The information he found's sparse, shocked Theodore that it even came up at all, but he'll take what he can get, and it's enough to work with.
Seems like they're the only ones who encountered the Plague Doctor and his bride, and the information Theodore read off the monitor elaborated on things that they experienced during their previous adventure.
As expected, males were the only ones that looked like the Plague Doctor, with one exception, and something Theodore noted.
They encountered what's termed as the Big One. He's taller than his sons and he's the only one capable of limited speech, quick to mimic in hopes of luring unsuspecting victims to their doom. Like they theorized, these creatures exclusively hunted sick and lame animals and humans. No exceptions.
Only coming out and hunting at night, can't stand the sunlight or lights in general, normally wouldn't hunt in cities or brightly lit areas, but they're known to do so when pressed or when they needed an area to temporary roost.
As noted, prior, they exclusively hunt sick and lame to build up toxins in their bodies for self-defense. They're known to simply maul victims with their large bird feet or beaks, preferring not to touch with their hands.
Rosemary's their only known deterrent when there's no light source. Something about the scent wards them away and if the scent's potent, dried, fresh, lotion, perfume, even cologne's a good way to ward them off, like vampires.
Doesn't say they're allergic, just that they don't particularly like the smell of rosemary.
Bad time for someone having an allergic reaction to rosemary to run into these without some sort of bright light source.
Despite the information on them sparse, Theodore appreciated it all the same, and hoped to add to the entry.
Speaking of entry, he found little on the females. Just that they looked strikingly different than their male counterparts, don't hunt at night due to their pale bodies and wings, and they don't hunt sick and lame like their male counterparts.
Can't figure anything about them, but with their experiences, Theodore wouldn't be surprised if they encountered them on an adventure.
Hopefully, they live long enough to add to the entry, too, to help the next unfortunate souls.
"P.S., wear a sprig of rosemary on your lapel, you'll thank me later," Theodore murmured as he typed out a quick entry for the male portion of the entry. He hoped it'll help someone out if they're in a bind.
Hammond blew his top the moment he heard and as a precaution, wouldn't let Theodore go on an adventure if he suspected Theodore coming down with something. Had to bribe the stubborn man with overtime just to get him off Theodore's back, the things he had to do, just to be the Doctor.
David wasn't fond of the idea there's things like those prowling, but he appreciated the heads ups, and promised from the bottom of his two hearts, if he found anything about them, he'll let Theodore know.
Scout's honour.
At least it's something and Theodore couldn't help but making sure that they're not presently in their worlds, because nobody needs that on their itinerary.
Thankfully, the TARDIS hadn't picked up on their presence, so for now, they're safe, and Theodore's pleased. He doesn't need Hammond locking him somewhere in a bide to keep him from getting into trouble.
Everything worked out, he and Lila's still alive, and he's happy about it, because Hammond would've dragged him back to the land of the living otherwise.
Out of curiosity, Theodore even went far to ask Hamon if he heard of such creatures and Hamon never knew they existed, he never encountered them much less heard about them.
The fact they were humans at one point, made Hamon wonder himself, and he thinks they're a type of evolution, not the natural kind.
He stressed caution if Theodore encountered them again and he promised his beloved uncle that he wouldn't risk his life if he can help it.
During their lull in adventuring, Theodore opted to take time to do things he hadn't gotten the chance of doing, time to himself, starting with getting himself some pastrami sandwiches from his favourite place.
Lila opted to try and clean up the TARDIS more, she found heaps of things to toss, she's grown comfortable enough that she's willing to stand around the TARDIS alone.
While Theodore's out getting food and his fur babies taking their naps, Lila's working to lug bags of clothes out from a closet that she found.
She would've kept them on the off-chance they belonged to someone, but they're heavily marred with stains, holes, and what else, they're not worth keeping around. Too much work
"Man, is it a requirement to leave behind so much crap?" Lila huffed as she pulled a bag out of the hallway, towards the door, filled with clothes from the 1600s.
Maybe things happened and the previous occupants couldn't get their things before leaving or dying, but Lila's up to her neck in trash and outdated clothing.
Outdated clothing's fine, but a lot of it smelled like nana's clothes.
Mothballs and age.
Some clothes fared better, so Lila's opting to donate them to the local theater like they've done with the scores of bags prior. The local groups loved the donated clothes, so much they gifted Theodore and Lila tickets to various shows.
Theodore gone to them, but Lila wasn't much of a theater goer, so she gave her tickets to the only person that she could think that liked them.
Hammond.
Speaking of Hammond, he sweetened the pot in his deal with Lila, for keeping an eye on Theodore while they're out adventuring.
An extra payment that helped Lila keep Mrs. Hudson at bay for a while, enough that Lila's able to leave for a few days without her landlady giving her a speech about being behind on her rent.
Of course, Theodore found out, and he wasn't happy that Hammond bribed Lila, but she made a good point that they'd face even more problems in their world if they don't keep their rents up.
Difficult as it is with them in London, the most competitive for housing as it is, they're fortunate they have roofs over their heads, and he wouldn't want to have to move in with dear older brother because he fell behind on his rent to the point his landlady evicted him, would he?
The argument caused him to grumble, telling Lila she had a point, but Theodore reserved the right to show bewilderment that his brother bribed his only companion just so she'd willingly go with him on adventures.
Lila told him that she would've come with him regardless, only out of obligations to Hamon, and because Hammond would've docked her pay if she didn't.
Theodore reminded her of her limits and she told him that she didn't spend countless adventures running for her life and nearly died for her to stop so soon, but she appreciated him showing concerns for her.
He told her that he held no objections if Lila needed to leave at any point, but she told him that while she appreciated him for that, she's in this for the long haul.
God willing, should anything happen, it'll have to be after they encountered some poor unfortunate soul who ends up as a companion, too.
Lila didn't want Theodore left alone, but she also didn't want him stuck with somebody who hadn't proved themselves as a decent person and companion.
With the biggest smile that man could produce, Theodore hugged her tightly for the sentiment, and Lila added that Hammond would haunt her if she left Theodore with someone ill repute.
What, Lila couldn't help jabbing Hammond, he took things to extreme when it comes to them adventuring, and by god, he's going to keep her on her toes to the day she hangs up... whatever she has on that day.
Lugging the latest bag of clothes for the theater, Lila heard stirring somewhere in the console room, she stops, and calls out for Theodore, but he didn't respond.
So, she called out to the ferrets, thinking they've gotten up from their naps, but it wasn't them.
Her brow raising, Lila slowly moved around the console room as she's trying to find the source of the movement.
Maybe it's her mind playing tricks on her, that's happened plenty of times, but Lila looked around, and as she did, the sudden appearance of somebody nearly made her scream.
"Shhh!" Lila heard a man scorn her for screaming.
Lila's about to become combative until she sees the man in front of her and...
"W-what?" Lila's chestnut eyes widened as she stared at the man in front of her.
He stared back with his walnut eyes.
"I've finally gone crazy!" Lila bemoaned that she's lost her marbles. She's seeing an actor dressed as he did in the show, she saw him in when she was a child, standing in front of her.
Well, unexpected, but expected.
"Ah, you're not," he told her.
He even sounded like him, too!
Blinking numerous times, Lila ended up reaching out and attempting to poke him, but her finger went through him, the part she poked gave and turned staticky until she retracted her finger.
"Okay, level with me, what's going on?" Lila exhaled as she asked the man who looked like famed actor, Dean Stockwell, as he did during the time, he appeared in the hit show, 'Quantum Leap' and the more she's staring at him, the inaccuracies started showing through once the veneer wore off.
He's not speaking just like Dean Stockwell, the British side's coming out, something the real deal didn't have.
He's also holding a cigarette, something the character didn't use in the show.
"Well, I wanted to thank you for all your help in cleaning things up around here," the man tells her that he's grateful for her and Theodore's cleaning and it made Lila stared at him.
She flatly asked him, "You're welcome, so tell me, who are you, where did you come from, and why are you here?"
The man's aghast that Lila asked who he is and he asked if she doesn't recognize him, only for her to point out that Dean Stockwell's aged significantly since his time on the show.
"You're not Al, so save me time, who are you?" Lila asked the question again and this time she got an answer.
Only it isn't the answer she expected as she sees the man pointing up at the ceiling of the TARDIS. She's confused until he spelled it out for her as, "You're standing in me, sweetie."
Recoiling, Lila balked as she responded with, "Excuse me?"
Nodding, the man tells her that he's the TARDIS, well the avatar, and he came out to thank her for the cleaning effort she and Theodore been doing.
"I'm having a dream, I'll wake up from it, and I'll walk out the window," Lila tried to wake herself up from what she thought was a vivid dream, but the man poked her, his finger going through her without injuring either.
Seeing this, Lila flinched as she asked, "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
Shaking his head, the man told her that she's not as she ended up sitting on the steps, a hand under her chin as she processed what's going on.
"Okay, explain to me, how?" Lila asked him how he looked like Dean Stockwell except not and the man told her that he simply scanned her brain, saw how much the show meant to her, and went from there.
It baffled Lila as she realized that the TARDIS scanned her brain and thought it'd be a good idea to take the avatar of Dean Stockwell, but he told her that he done it several times before.
"So, why didn't you do it, then?" Lila asks why the TARDIS didn't take the form sooner and it told her that it couldn't scan her brain until she traveled enough times for her to get an idea.
He likened it how Theodore's able to read her mind so readily compared to the first time they met and Lila got the concept, only for her to ask why her.
"Why me, why don't you turn into someone from his mind?" Lila asks the TARDIS.
Sighing, he replied that it's against protocols for him to take forms of close loved ones, keeps things from getting out of control, so-to-speak, and he stressed that he picks forms that he knows that won't cause major issues.
Hence the form he took, now.
"So, you went with a TV character, basically," Lila summed the form the TARDIS took.
Nodding, the TARDIS tells her that it's one of the memories standing out in her head that he took and used before becoming the character.
"How come you didn't just pick anything from a show he watched, pretty sure he's got somebody from a show you coulda taken a form from without causing issues, right?" Lila asked why the TARDIS didn't simply take a form of a character from a show that Theodore watched and liked, something to that affect without causing issues.
The TARDIS replied that he figured it's a safer bet taking a form from a character in Lila's mind than Theodore's, primary out of his concerns for the aloof giant.
Lila asked what he meant and the TARDIS tells her that he didn't want to stress Theodore, since he knows he pushed him into this life, and he apologized to Lila for indirectly kidnapping her.
"Why did you kidnap us?" Lila asks the TARDIS why he kidnapped her and Theodore. He responded that he didn't mean to cause them panic, but his protocols stipulated that he needed someone to pilot him, and Theodore fit the bill.
Unfortunately, due to the timing, this meant he took Lila as well, and since then, he told her that because she already seen what's out there that she's just as stuck as Theodore.
Mostly because it'll take too long acclimating someone else and because he grew to like the two. Not to mention his obligations to Theodore's father, that he'd watch over his children should they pilot the TARDIS.
"You're not exactly doing that sending us to death traps and then some," Lila poked a hole in that and the TARDIS admitted that he only meant well, but he couldn't help what adventures he takes them, mostly because he can't just take them places. He takes them where they needed to go, whether it's dangerous or not.
"Okay, so, why are you using an avatar?" Lila asks the reasons why the TARDIS didn't simply tell them things on the monitors and the TARDIS replied that sometimes he likes interacting with people.
Gets lonely as a machine designed for trans dimensional traveling.
Sometimes the TARDIS just wants to have fun, too.
However, his age isn't doing him good, and he can't activate his avatar very often, takes too much energy, but thankfully, he rerouted energy for emergencies.
"Makes total sense. So, what do you want me to call you, the TARDIS, or what?" Lila asked him what he wanted her to call him and he pointed at himself, reminding her what form he took only for her to snort.
Pointing at him, Lila explained why she found the idea bizarre, "Al never smoked cigarettes, man, he smoked cigars. Not to mention, you're risking getting us in hot water with the copyright holders."
Snorting back, the TARDIS tells Lila that Time Lords don't view human copyright laws any different than scrawls on paper. He also couldn't use cigars because, well, he just liked cigarettes.
"Bad habit, my friend," Lila shook her head as the TARDIS told her his preference for cigarettes over cigars. He also pointed out that he's not actually the actor, so the laws out of reach there, he called himself a parody. Also, he's not a person.
Shaking her head, Lila replied, "My friend, never talk to a lawyer."
Not only would a lawyer have a field day with the potential paycheck, but no judge's going to believe that a 'parody' isn't a human, but the avatar of a machine.
"So, what do you think?" The TARDIS pointed at himself and Lila told him that aside from the British accent coming through the imitated accent and the cigarette, so far he looked the part.
The TARDIS replied that he couldn't help the British part, he's only been around the types for a while, so he just picked it up as he went. Lila's so far the only American and he only knows her accent and the accent from the actor from scanning her brain.
"I didn't know Time Lords were British," Lila remarked that she didn't know Mr. Smith was British and the TARDIS replied that he's not and the accent he started out with was different compared to the one he obtained once he started traveling with Sarah.
Gesturing, the TARDIS tells Lila, "I can't really describe their actual accents. To the human brain, they sound British with a few sprigs Scottish, Irish, Welsh, but to theirs, it's like comparing apples and oranges. Medie had what they called a 'upper-land' accent and Hamon and Mackie's got the 'midland' accent. Couldn't replicate them if I tried."
Due to the phonetics of the Gallifrian language, Lila would've assumed a Time Lord she encountered's English just because of his accent. Whereas, he isn't English. It just sounds that way to her head.
Nodding, Lila followed along, and she asked him about the opinions of her accent to the Time Lords, to which the TARDIS responded that they'd think she's 'lowland.'
Not something she wanted to be associated with in their society, but Lila pointed out that she's not one of them, so their opinions remained moot.
"Hold on a minute. One, his name's Medie. Two you knew David's dad's real name, too?" Lila caught what the TARDIS said and he nods as he affirmed that, of course he's known their real names, they piloted him.
Before she got excited, the TARDIS told her that whatever he knew of David's dad, he told him the moment he took over. What she learnt from the TARDIS, he already knew.
More, Medie's a nickname the TARDIS gave Theodore's dad. Annoyed him to hell and back because it meant 'little wing' in their language.
Didn't mean to offend, but he was young when the TARDIS met him and the mischievous Time Lord took him from the awful scrapyard.
Another thing, Mackie's a nickname, too. Meant like 'excitable' and it fit when the intrepid Time Lord took over some time ago.
"Believe me, I knew them well," the TARDIS tells Lila as he shifted in his spot. "Ups and downs, all their adventures, you name it, I seen it all. Well, not all, benefits of being able to turn off my hearing and sight. I don't have to hear or see Medie and Sarah..."
Lila cut him off there, she didn't need to hear anything more, she got the picture.
Gesturing with his unlit cigarette, the TARDIS turned the conversation around and asks Lila if he has a shot with this avatar.
If you told her months ago that she'd end up talking to a machine, Lila would think you're on some things.
Thinking to herself, Lila pondered, before she exhaled and shrugged her stout shoulder as she replied, "I don't even know what's normal, anymore, man, if you feel comfortable with it, go ham. Guess I can call you 'Al' then since you technically fit the part. But really, I wouldn't light that cigarette in here, you're likely to make him irate."
She warns Al not to light his cigarette inside, else he risks Theodore's anger, and the aloof giant's shown numerous times that as bubbly kind he may be, he'll turn angry quick if provoked enough.
Snorting, Al responded that he's well-aware of Theodore's temper, he of course traveled with Theodore's dad, and knows it well.
"Besides that, I'm older than Theodore, seniority rules," Al made a point telling Lila that technicality, but she reminded him that he's the Doctor and Al's the TARDIS.
Al snorted back with, "I don't let anyone pilot me, sweetie, I pilot me!"
Seeing the time and running a check, Al said he needed to depart, he didn't want to risk depleting the energy, and Lila watched as he faded into static until he disappeared completely.
What a weird time, she's living in.
Lila returned to cleaning and continued until Theodore came through the door with bags of food.
The moment Lila told him how Al appeared before, Theodore held a quizzical look on his face as he exasperatedly responded with, "What?"
THE END