The first thing the Doctor saw was a block of empty prison-like cells, about fifty in all. There was also a large building with long, high windows. A sign was on the side of the building, but the Doctor was too far away to read it clearly. The place seemed deserted. Rose, Captain Jack and Rehprom followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS. Rose blinked up at the sky. It was overcast, a sun trying meekly to show through the grey clouds. It was humid, the air feeling tense, like it does before a storm.
"Where are we?" Rose asked.
"This is Canad," Rehprom said, her voice tinged with sadness. "This is the Flow Dab quarter. This is where my brother and I were held."
"Where is everybody?" Jack asked.
"Working a long way away from here, but Acro and Xaler would probably be held in that building." Rehprom nodded and pointed towards the imposing structure.
"Right. That's where we'll go then." The Doctor started off towards the building.
As they walked past rows of cages, Rehprom paused beside one of them. On the door was the same mark that was burned into her arm. "This one was mine," she said quietly. Rose bit her lip.
The Doctor looked back at her. "Come on."
They walked past the 'Flow Dab' sign on the building. Rose examined it for a moment, then pushed it to the back of her mind.
They came to a door. The Doctor stopped. "Right. I'll go in first. If anything goes wrong… Rehprom, you get back to the TARDIS. Don't stay and fight."
Rehprom nodded. "Okay."
The Doctor approached the door. It slid open automatically. He glanced around. Seeing no one, he motioned the others to follow. Two very wide hallways branched off, one going strait, the other going to the right. "Which way, do you think?" Rose asked.
"We'll split up," the Doctor decided. "Rose with me. Jack with Rehprom. Set your phones."
Jack, Rose and the Doctor all got out their phones and set them.
"Right, we'll go this way," Jack said, gesturing to the hall that went to the right. "See you two later." He started down the hall, Rehprom following. Rose and the Doctor started at a jog down the other passage way.
---
"See anything yet?" Jack asked Rose through his phone. It had been about ten minutes since they had separated.
"Nope," came the reply. There was a pause, then, "Wait…I think there's…"
"What? There's what?"
There was the sound of a scuffle and the phone went dead. Jack looked that it, then at Rehprom. She sighed. Jack gritted his teeth and got out his gun. "Come on. Looks like we've got two more people to save. I hope you're good with that tail."
"You know I am," Rehprom said witha thin smile.
"True."
They travelled back down the hall for while. Then a rustle of wings came from ahead of them, causing Rehprom and Jack to stop in their tracks. Jack aimed his gun as a Rican stepped into view. Rehprom arched her tail, ready to strike, and gasped when she saw the Rican's face. It was Tyran.
"Ah, there you are," Tyran said. "We've been looking for you. I can only assume you're a part of that 'rescue party' we just apprehended."
"What have you done with them?" Jack demanded. Rehprom's eyes narrowed into a glare. Like a cat, she hissed venomously at Tyran.
The Rican snapped his fingers. More Ricans appeared behind him. One held Rose, the other held the Doctor. They struggled, but it was futile. Still more Ricans appeared behind Rehprom and Jack. One of them was a female with dark hair.
"If you come with us quietly, we won't have to hurt you," Tyran said in what he thought was a reasoning tone.
"If you let us go, we won't have to hurt you," Jack replied sharply.
Tyran reached for Rose, peeling a bandage off of his left hand. His injured hand hovered near Rose's face, dark red blood shining slightly as the light caught it. "If you want to keep her pretty little face looking like this, you'll come with us. You may not know what Rican blood can do, but she does." He looked at Rehprom.
She hesitated, then with a low, discontented growl, slowly relaxed her tail. Jack lowered his gun, glaring at the Rican.
"Good." Tyran said. Rehprom and Jack were restrained, Rehprom's tail secured with a belt. "We'll have to do something about you, though," Tyran added thoughtfully, looking at Rehprom's belly.
"You'll never touch them, Tyran," she snapped.
He smirked at her. "We'll see." Tyran addressed his Rican underlings. "Put them next to the other prisoners. They might appreciate seeing each other again. Well, those that can, anyways." He laughed to himself as they were dragged away. The female Rican lowered her eyes and bit her lip. Tyran looked at her. "Acinom, help guard them, especially that one in the jacket."
"Yes," she said. She followed the group as they moved outside, her mind trying to come to a conclusion of her own.
Once they were outside the group paused. "So where are we going, then?" the Doctor inquired.
"You're being taken to the prisoner's holding cell," the female Rican said. "The only way in is from the roof."
"And how are we gonna get up there?" the Doctor asked her.
Aci said nothing. She just spread her great black wings and started to flap. Only then could beauty and sheer size of her eight metre long wingspan be appreciated. All the other Ricans did the same, catching a wind and flying the prisoners up onto the roof of the building. As they landed, one took out a kea and unlocked a door. Inside there were more cells, larger than the ones on the ground. One of them was occupied by two beings in the shadows. Rehprom was shoved into that one. Rose, the Doctor and Jack were all placed in an adjoining cell. Then the extra Ricans left, leaving just two as guards, Aci and another big male. The male slouched on a bench. He looked like he had more brawn then brains and obviously put no pride in his work, or anything else for that matter.
The Doctor took a brief look around the cage he and the others were in. "Incredible. Your cages for prisoners are larger then the ones for your slaves. Really shows where your priorities lie."
Rehprom wasn't listening. Her focus was on the other two people in her cell. She recognised their scents instantly. "Xaler? Acro?"
Xaler stepped out of the shadows. Tall, dark and handsome. He was nursing some bruises, but otherwise seemed no worse for ware. "Rehprom," he whispered, enclosing her in an embrace. Tears spilled down her face and they kissed.
"I thought I would never see you again!" Rehprom sobbed.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Xaler stepped back and frowned at her body, more specifically her stomach. "Are…Rehprom, are you pregnant?"
Rehprom smiled. "Yeah."
His eyes met hers. "Mine?"
She gave him a look. "Like you have to ask. Of course they are!"
"Oh my gosh," Xaler breathed as the prospect of fatherhood sunk in. "How come it didn't show before?"
"My body hid it," she explained. "But they're healthy." She grinned. "They've got wings and tails."
Xaler smiled and hugged her again.
"Rehprom?" another voice said.
Rehprom pushed away from Xaler. "Acro!"
Her brother seemed to struggle a bit, almost as if he was uncertain of where she was. He was wearing what looked like dark sunglasses. However, in the excitement of seeing her brother again, Rehprom paid this no heedand hugged him. "How did you get back here?" he asked.
"They helped me." Rehprom gestured to the Doctor and his companions.
"Hello," the Doctor said with a smile and a little wave.
"And so you came back for us?" Acro said.
"Of course," Rehprom responded.
"There's just been a little hitch in the plan, that's all," the Doctor said.
Jack gave him a look. "You call this a 'hitch'?"
"Yeah." The Doctor shrugged. "Been in worse situations." Rose smiled slightly.
Jack also shrugged. "To tell you the truth, so have I," he confessed.
Xaler shifted his wings. "Thank you anyways."
"No problem," the Doctor said.
Rehprom frowned. There was something about Xaler's wings that suddenly caught her attention. "Xaler, is there something wrong with your wings?"
"Uh, yeah, kind of." He sighed. "They punished me for helping you escape." He stretched out his wings as far as they would go in the cramped cell. Rehprom looked and saw that the feathers along the bottom of his wings, normally long and elegant, had been cut.
"What did they do?"
"They've clipped his wings," the Doctor said, examining them from his position. He shook his head sadly. "He won't be able to fly anymore." Rose covered her mouth.
Xaler brought his wings close to him and Rehprom hugged him, not knowing what to say.
The male Rican guard suddenly spoke up. "That's not all we did." He chuckled to himself. "Why don't you go and have a look at your brother."
Rehprom shot the guard a brief glare and growled softly, then slowly approached Acro. "Acro, what did they do to you?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to find out.
He swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "They told me I would never see you again."
"But I'm right here." She tried to smile. "They lied."
"No, they didn't." He slowly raised his hand and removed the sunglasses. Rehprom gasped in shock and horror, as did Rose and Jack when they saw his face. The Doctor gritted his teeth. Xaler and Aci adverted their eyes. Both of Acro's eyeballs were gone. All that was left were dark, empty sockets that stared into nothing.
AN/ References from this chapter:
"Flow Dab" again. Had to make Rose see it. You know why, if you've seen "Parting of the Ways."
The Ricans have an eight metre long wingspan because they are about the size of a human and if humans had wings they would have to be at least four metres long each for us to be able to fly. I measured this with a tape measure, and it is massive!
How would you punish a Rican? Well, what's the most devastating thing you can to do something with wings short of amputating them off? That would be clipping them so they can't fly, so poor Xaler's wings got the snip.
And Acro's punishment? I fully admit I was inspired by Agent Sands (Johnny Depp) from Once Upon A Time In Mexico. That image of him at the end has stayed in my mind ever since. Why is it the Johnny Depp somehow worms his way into almost every aspect of my life?