The Doctor was frustrated, and worried. He had no idea where Kari was, and no matter how much he called out for her in his mind, he just couldn't find her. Her scream was still ringing in his ears, and he knew she had been scared. His Kari didn't scare very easily, but her scream was just tearing him apart. The way she had cried out his name just made his hearts break.
"Doctor?" Amy called, trying to get his attention. "Doctor!" She shouted, finally getting him to stop and look at her. "I know you're worried about Kari, bit I'm sure she is fine. She's Kari."
"Amy, when have you ever heard Kari scream?" He asked her seriously. "She was scared, Amy. I've seen her worried before, we've been in situations where I didn't think we would get out of it alive and she never once screamed like that."
"So what's the plan then, Doctor?" Amy asked. She really did understand that the situation was serious, but she also knew that Kari was able to look after herself.
"If we get to the TARDIS, I'm hoping that she can track Kari down, and we can go in there and get her out." The Doctor told her without hesitation. His main priority was getting her out, and nothing else.
"But what about that… thing?" Rory asked, finally joining in the conversation. "What was that?"
The Time Lord let out a sigh as he looked at his friends. "I think that was a Karleon. But something was wrong, I don't understand why it was attacking the humans."
"You and Kari said this was like a battle field. So the Karleon's and humans have been fighting. But why? You said they were peaceful." Rory pointed out as they stood in the charred forest.
"They were peaceful. I don't understand it at all." The Doctor told him, running a hand through his floppy hair. He was getting stressed now, and he always ran his hand through his hair when he was getting stressed.
"We are peaceful." A voice grated through the shadows. "We did not start this war." The Doctor looked around sharply, trying to find the source of the voice. "You should leave, while you still can."
"I'm not going anywhere until I have my friend back." The Doctor spat into the darkness. He was not happy about being told what to do, or that anyone was suggesting he should just abandon Kari and leave her there.
"You won't see her again. The humans will make sure of that." The voice called once again to the trio. It didn't sound menacing, but more tired and worn out, as if the owner had resigned themself to no longer care.
"No. I will not just leave her here." He shouted. "I'm the Doctor, and I will get her back."
"The Doctor?" The voice called, wavering slightly. "You're the Doctor?"
"Who are you?" The Doctor asked, a little intrigued as to how they knew who he was.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a man, and he looked human in his ragged brown trousers and torn white shirt, but his eyes were larger and such an icy cold blue. "I am Lagerra, an elder of the Karleon." He told them. "And you are the Doctor, the time traveller."
"How do you know who I am?"
The man just looked at him, his large blue eyes looking old and weary. "Come. It is not safe to talk out here in the open. If you are the Doctor, there may still be hope."
The Doctor just nodded and started following the man through the destroyed forest. Amy and Rory just followed behind, not understanding what was going on. "Doctor, who is he? Where are we going?" Amy finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
"He is an elder of the Karleon's, and he knows who I am. Now, a lot of people know who I am, and they either run, or ask for help. I have a feeling he wants to ask for help." The Doctor whispered to her and Rory as they walked.
"So, do you trust him then?" Rory wondered. "I mean, we really have no idea what is going on or who took Kari."
"I mean you no harm." Lagerra called back to them. "All I want is for my race to be able to live in peace once more. You have seen what has happened to our home. This is not what we want."
"What did happen, Lagerra?" The Doctor asked, noticing they were reaching an area that seemed more green than anywhere else.
"I shall explain in time. We must first get out of sight. The humans are still trying to hunt us down." The trio continued to follow the man, reaching the edge of a river.
They followed it upstream, until they came to a gigantic waterfall. The man just walked straight through t and disappeared. The Doctor didn't hesitate to walk through, while Amy grasped Rory's hand tightly, giving him a weary look before they too step through the waterfall.
What they saw was astonishing. They were in a cave, crowded by people. They all had the same large eyes as Lagerra, and their clothes were tattered and torn as well. All eyes were on the strangers as they walked through the cave, and the younger ones ran to hide behind the adults.
The pair of humans looked around worried, it was clear to see that they were frightened of them, and they understood why. Both of them gave weak smiles as they pasted, in hopes of reassuring them that they meant no harm to them.
They eventually came to an alcove, with a red blanket draped over the opening. Lagerra held the tattered material back and let the Doctor, Amy and Rory step through before following them. Inside they saw nothing but makeshift furniture, made from what they could salvage from the destruction.
"What happen, Lagerra?" The Doctor asked, sitting down on one of the tree trunks that acted as a stool.
"As you know, Doctor, we are a peaceful race. We live in the forests and welcome all to our home. Many others have travelled to see us, sharing their knowledge and us sharing ours. We have made many friends over the millennia's, true allies who will do us no harm." He told the Doctor, as Amy and Rory found somewhere to sit and listen to his tale as well.
"But something happened, many, many moons ago now. An object fell from the sky, burning brightly in the light above us. We believed it to be a ship, crash landing here." Lagerra had full attention of the time travellers now. "Some of the elders were sent to investigate, and help if they could. Only that was when things began to turn nasty."
The Doctor frowned at him. "What do you mean, nasty?"
Lagerra let out a sigh. "The elders that went to investigate the crash came back changed. They were no longer themselves. They had been filled with violence and the need for blood. Those who went to the crash began fighting amongst themselves, fighting to the death."
"But that in its self is wrong." The Doctor said, looking even more confused. "Karleon's hate death. There is no way one of your elders should have decided to have a fight to the death, to kill someone. It's against your beliefs."
Lagerra just nodded. "You are correct, Doctor. We believe in respecting all life. This is why we hide in the caves. We avoid the humans. We do not want to hurt them, to kill them, but they come with such force and want to kill us."
"So, something crashed here, and everyone who went to investigate it when it crashed went a little whacko?" Amy asked, trying to get everything straight in her head.
The man nodded at her. "And then the others as well. Anyone who went near the crashed objected came back changed. In the end, a decision was made to leave it alone, no one was to go near it and those who had changed… we have our own kind locked away." It was clear from the tone of his voice that he was ashamed to have imprisoned his own race while they were being attacked by humans.
The Doctor seemed to sense this as well. "It's not your fault, Lagerra. If you left them to run around out there, think of how much more damage they could do?" He said, trying to reassure him that he done the right thing. "Now tell me, why did the humans arrive?"
"The humans were scared. They had been monitoring our behaviour from their ships in the sky for some time. We thought they were just observing us, watching how we lived. Things had always been peaceful between us." He told them. "A few would come down, bringing gifts, and we would welcome them. But after the fighting started, they stopped coming."
"Well, I can understand that really. Your own people turning against you, they were scared and so they ran. That's what humans tend to do." The Doctor said, getting a slight glare from Amy.
"We thought nothing of it, just that they had gone home. Until a ship showed up, humans with metal weapons approached us. They told us we were getting out of hand, that we were a threat and they we needed to be controlled." Amy and Rory' mouths just dropped open at the new piece of information. At that moment, they were ashamed to say that they were human.
"So, they saw you fighting between yourselves and got scared. Then they send in the armed forces to wipe out the threat." The Doctor said, getting up from where he was sitting and pacing around the small room slightly. "But obviously, you're peaceful, you don't want to fight. So those of you who haven't been altered by… whatever it was, ran and hid." The Doctor concluded.
Lagerra simply nodded at the Doctor. "Not everyone has made it. My sister, brother, and their children have all been killed by the humans." He told them sadly. "Everyone here has lost someone to the humans.
"And were they fighting?" Rory suddenly asked. "Your sister and her family? Had they been affected when the humans…" He wasn't quite sure he wanted to finish that sentence. It was clear that the man was distressed enough as it was, talking about his dead family certainly wasn't going to help.
The man shook his head. "No. The humans didn't care who they took. My sister and brother were protecting their children, that was why they were killed, for protecting their family."
"I'm sorry." The blonde haired human said, hanging his head a little. He had no idea what these people were going through, but he was disgusted to be human after hearing what they had done.
"We have tried to reason with them, to tell them what happened. But they refuse. They are ready to kill us all. There are caves like this all over our home, full of scared Karleon's and children who believe they will never see the sun again."
"Right." The Doctor said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "First, I'm going to need to see this thing that crash landed here. Until I know exactly what it is, I can't tell you what made all your people change and fight." He said, his mind working over time. He still hadn't heard from Kari, and it was worrying him. But he knew he needed to do something, he couldn't just sit there and twiddle his thumbs.
"Uh, Doctor, is that really going to be such a good idea? I mean, what if the same thing that happened to them, happens to you?" Rory asked, as always trying to be the voice of reason.
"Sonic screwdriver." He said, tossing it in the air before catching it. "I can scan it from a distance, I don't need to get up close and personal with it, Rory."
"Okay, so we're going to find out what the thing was that crashed and then what? Because we still have to get Kari back." Amy pointed out. Although she was trying her hardest not to worry, and to convince herself that she would be fine, she was filled with fear over her friend. What the Doctor had said about her screaming had really sunk in, and she had never heard her scream in such a panic before.
"Yes. Sort of. I'm still working out the kinks. But we find out what happened, tell the humans, get them to leave, and get Kari back. Easy." The Doctor said, trying to sound confident.
"This friend you speak of, this… Kari. Describe her to me." Lagerra asked, looking between the trio before him.
The Doctor was only too happy to comply. "Well, she looks human enough but isn't. She's a Time Lord, well Time Lady. Long golden hair, gold eyes that glow when she lets her temper flare. Not exactly tall, but not short either. She's funny, snarky, witty, annoying, caring, beautiful…"
That was when Amy cleared her throat and leaned a little closer to the Doctor. "Yeah, okay, Doctor. I think he has a good idea of what she looks like now." She whispered to him.
The Doctor turned and looked at her, blushing slightly when he realised he had just been about to ramble on about Kari. Lagerra just smiled. "Doctor, you are known to many races and many planets. To some, Doctor means Warrior, while to others it is Healer. Here you are known as the Healer." The Karleon told him. "But you are never alone, Doctor. There is another who travels with you, the woman of time. Just like you, she has many names, but she is known to us as the Angel of Time."
The Doctor and the others all looked at him in utter confusion. "The Angel of Time?" The Doctor questioned.
Lagerra nodded. "Do not worry about your friend, Doctor, she will be safe. There are legends of the Oncoming Storm and the Angel of Time, legends that have been there since the dawn of time."
"What legends?" The Doctor asked. He had no idea what was going on, but he was damn sure going to find out.
Lagerra just looked at him. "It is still too early, you are yet to discover the truth. The Angel of Time has many secrets, her biggest secret is known by none and shall never be discovered. Even those who created her are lost."
"Hang on, are you saying that Kari is this… Angel of Time?" Amy butted in and asked.
"She is the woman with the golden hair and eyes?" He asked, getting Amy to nod in response. "She flies through the time vortex, through the whole of time and space. And always returning to the Doctor?" Once again, she nodded at him. "She is the Angel of Time."
"But what about these secrets? What's all this about it being too early?" The Doctor asked him. He didn't like it when someone knew more than he did, and even more so when it concerned Kari.
The man just shook his head. "I cannot tell you, Doctor, for it is not my place. But know this, the Angel of Time has been mentioned throughout the whole of time, she will be safe." He said, trying to give them all a littler more reassurance that Kari really would be fine.
The Doctor thought on his words for a few moments, before clearing it all from his head. It was something he could deal with and ask questions about another time. Right now, they needed to find the source of all this chaos before things got worse, and even with all the reassurance that Kari was fine and safe, he wanted to get her back before something terrible happened to her.
"Lagerra, do you think you would be able to show us where this object landed? I understand if you don't, but I won't be able to help unless I find out exactly what it is." The Doctor told him, hoping that he wouldn't be too scared to go out there and find it with him.
"I can show you." The man said, a solemn look on his face. "I only hope that you can help us, Doctor. So many have already been lost because of this, we now just live our lives in fear."
"Great, let's go." The Doctor said, a smile on his face.
As they walked back through the caves, people still glanced over at them, but the children didn't seem to be hiding as much this time. Instead, they looked more intrigued than anything else. Amy and Rory smiled at the as best they could as they passed, and a few of the youngsters waved at them, to the annoyance of the adult they were with.
"I never asked, what brought you to our home in the first place, Doctor?" Lagerra asked as they walked back under the waterfall and deeper into the forest.
"It was Kari. She got a message, a child crying out for help. She was the one that brought us here." The Doctor told him, remembering how determined she had been when she had heard the child calling for help.
Lagerra looked at him and frowned as they walked. "A child? And where were you at the time?"
"We were in the time vortex." The Doctor told him, replaying how she charged into the console room and started taking control of everything. "She heard a child calling in her mind, she followed it and we ended up here. We followed the trail of destruction to that building, the dome shaped one."
"That was once our royal family's home. They tried to defend us, but the humans took it for themselves." Lagerra told them. "But there was none of us left in there. They royal family were amongst the first killed." There was definitely a hint of sadness in his voice as he spoke.
"Is it possible they took one of the children?" Amy asked, her hand holding that of Rory's. They had both been staying rather quite, thinking over what had happened and how they could get Kari back.
"Yes, I suppose. But from what I know, none of the children are missing. Unless the child is one we have presumed to have died." Lagerra told her, thinking about her question. "It is impossible to say, but if the child sent a message to your friend, and it reached her through all of time a space, then…" That was when something dawned on him. "No, that cannot be." He mumbled.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Rory asked, noticing the sudden change in the man.
"There are very few young who are able to communicate like that, it takes skill and much effort. I will not say who the child may be, for if it is not, I do not think I would survive the disappointment." The man admitted. "Come, we are getting closer to the crash site. I warn you now not to get too close."
The trio nodded and carried on walking, until Lagerra stopped. "Just beyond those trees, lies the metal pod that crashed in our land. I will go no further than this, I suggest you take much caution."
"Amy, Rory, stay here with Lagerra." The Doctor told them firmly. "We have no idea what it is, and unless I tell you, you stay right here. Is that understood?"
Amy looked at him, seeing the seriousness in his face. "Okay. Be careful, Doctor. Don't you get too close either, okay?" She told him, straightening his jacket for him.
"Will do, Pond. Now, stay here." He said, to them, before heading forward and past the trees.
"Amy, you're worried aren't you?" Rory said, noticing the way she was nervously playing with her hands. "I'm sure everything will be fine. He's the Doctor."
"It's not him I'm worried about." Amy finally admitted. "The Doctor was right, Kari has never screamed like that before. She really was scared."
"You're friend will be safe." Lagerra told the pair. "She is a lot stronger than even she knows. The Angel of Time has much to do, and many still to protect. She still has a long journey ahead of her."
"And you're sure this is Kari?" Rory asked, looking at the man. "The same Kari?"
Lagerra smiled at him. "There is only one Angel of Time, and there is only one Doctor. Where one is, you will surely find the other. Yes, I am sure."
While the trio stayed at a safe distance, the Doctor was cautiously walking forward with his screwdriver held out in front of him. The end was lit green and it was making the familiar whirring sound.
The pitch on the screwdriver changed, the closer he came to the metal pod that was half buried in the dirt, the higher it sounded. "Interesting." He mumbled, edging closer and closer to it. The Doctor stopped in front of it and looked down at his screwdriver. "Oh… that's not good." He scanned the air in front of him, and green dust like particles became visible in the glow of his screwdriver.
He changed the setting and turned his screwdriver on once more, making the cloud of particles disappear. "This was no accident." He mumbled to himself, before heading back to where he had left Amy, Rory and Lagerra.
Amy and Rory quickly looked up when they saw their Time Lord friend heading back towards them. "Well? What is it?" Amy asked, noticing the frown on his face.
"Lagerra, you said you had some of those that had been affected? I need to see them." He said, ignoring Amy's question.
"I am not sure that is wise, Doctor. They are very violent, they care for no one but themselves." The man told him with worry. He had seen how vicious those how had been affected had turned, and he wanted to keep people safe from them.
"It's not their fault." The Doctor told him simply. "None of this is your peoples fault. I need to see them."
"Doctor? What did you find?" Amy asked once more, hoping that he would actually answer her this time.
He let out a sigh and tucked his sonic screwdriver in the inside pocket of his tweed jacket. "This was deliberate. The canister contained a nanovirus, specifically designed and created to affect Karleon's and Karleon's only." The Doctor told them, a grim look on his face. "Someone wanted this to happen, it wasn't a crash landing, it was all planned."
The trio looked at him in shock. "But who would want to do that?" Rory asked. "Why start a war?"
"That's what I plan on finding out."
"Doctor…" Lagerra was more shocked than the others. There was someone out there who had planned to start a war, who wanted his race to be at war with others. Someone was out there trying to destroy their lives. "This nanovirus, how do we stop it?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, Lagerra." The Doctor told him. "I've already stopped it, shut it down and killed it. Now, I'm hoping, that I can reverse the affects it has had on the others, turn them back to normal."
"You can do that?" Amy asked him, clearly a little surprised.
He smiled at her. "I'm the Doctor, I can do anything."
Lagerra nodded at him. "Come with me. I will take you to the cave where we have kept the turned ones. You must forgive us for the way they have been held. It was for the safety of them and everyone else. I am not proud that we have restrained them, but we felt it necessary."
The Doctor placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "You're looking after you people, you want to stop this madness and stop anyone else from getting hurt. You haven't let the humans kill them, and you've kept them safe." He told him.
"But I have still failed others. We have lost many good friends and family since this has begun. Our world has been torn apart and it will take time for this wound to heal." Lagerra told him, looking at them sadly. "We must move swiftly. We never know where the humans are, and we do not want them to find us."
The Doctor nodded at him and the four of them began walking once more through the forest. The walk began in silence, the Doctor thinking over everything that had happened. He was still worried about Kari, still not having heard anything from her. The Doctor had been trying, but he couldn't even sense her at all, and that worried him more than anything. All he could do was hope that she really was safe and that nothing terrible had happened to her. He just wanted to get her back, safe and sound.
A/N: Hey guys, so here is the second part of the story. Yes, there will be a third, still trying to determine if that will be the last, or if there will be a fourth. It really does depend on how much I fit into one chapter.
Either way, I hope you are all enjoying it. A massive thank you to everyone who has reviewed. Your reviews really do make me smile, and even do a little happy dance. So please, keep reviewing and tell me what you think of this chapter.
Next chapter should be up soon. Fingers crossed. And I will still be updating when I am in Holland, aren't you all lucky.
Pippa.