COMING NEXT IN THE WOLF ETERNAL SERIES
LEARNING TO LIVE
- AND LEARNING TO FALL -
WHEN THE DOCTOR FIRST MET ARIES PRINCE, HE WAS SURPRISED
WHO WOULDN'T BE WHEN THEY SUDDENLY FOUND THEMSELVES FACE-TO-FACE WITH THEIR SOULMATE?
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT ARIES
SOMETHING THE DOCTOR NOTICED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY
JUST WHAT IS SHE HIDING?
AND WHY IS SHE AFRAID TO TELL HIM?
An Explosive Amalgamation
-0-
London: March 6th, 2005
There was a sigh as a red head adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, her other hand holding a mobile to her ear as she continued on her way home.
"I know that you said that I needed to be there, but Alistair needed me to look into something for him, and you know how he gets when he's on the phone," she stated into the device, her tone sounded both exasperated and tired as she walked.
"Yes, I do," another feminine voice retorted on the other end, "And don't take that tone with me, Aries. If you had listened to me and come round for lunch, I wouldn't be calling you right now." The line went quite for a moment before there was a heavy exhale. "I worry, Aries. I know what you're like when you're researching and... I know that these last few years haven't been easy on you. It's getting closer to Jam-"
"Sarah," Aries cut the woman off, her tone thick with warning, but Sarah wasn't hearing any of it.
"No! I haven't seen you in almost a fortnight. And don't take me for a fool. I know what you're like."
Despite Sarah's words, the red head picked up an undertone of concern that had her frowning.
"You can't keep doing this, Aries. It's not healthy and I'm going to be talking to Alistair about giving your research a break."
Aries let out a loud exhale, though otherwise made no notion of replying. As much as she wanted to deny Sarah's sometimes overbearing nature, she also found that she missed the brunette. And spending a few hours talking about mundane things did sound rather distracting right now.
"I'm going to call Alistair and tell him that you need a week," Sarah stated after a moment, "And I expect you to show up for lunch tomorrow... otherwise I'm putting in a missing person's report."
"You wouldn't," the red head replied, her lip curling upwards into a small smile. She didn't even need to see Sarah to know that the brunette was smirking.
"Oh, I would. If you're not here by twelve, I'll be making a few calls. I may not know exactly where your lab is, but I'll find someone who does and drag you away from your work if need be – research be damned."
Aries shook her head as she listened, a genuine smile appearing on her lips. Even after knowing Sarah Jane for almost a decade, it continuously baffled and surprised the witch at how the brunette never backed down from Aries, even when the red head sometimes wanted nothing to do with anyone. Even resorting to blackmail...
"Okay, okay," she finally relented, "I'll be around tomorrow. And Sarah..."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you," Aries said quietly.
"There's no need," the brunette replied, her voice warm; needing no explanation for the other's words, "I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."
It was until she ended the call and pocketed the device did Aries let out a sigh, her shoulders dropping slightly as she continued on her way. Her friendship with Sarah Jane was not once she had seen coming, but the red head found that she welcomed it none the less. It was nice to know that despite what she did, there was someone that wasn't going to turn away from her; that someone actually cared. And if that meant that she had to put up with Sarah continuously badgering her about withering away to nothing when she got buried into her research, Aries found that she didn't mind.
It had been her one-track, and high-driven mind that had started Sarah's instance in inviting her around for lunch. At first it had been once a fortnight, just to make sure that Aries' wasn't starving herself, but slowly over the years, it became something they did twice a week and dinner over the weekend. And the witch did feel guilty for causing Sarah to worry this last week, not having intended to, but it just felt that she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It had resulted in her trying to push Sarah away, although the brunette had no intentions of letting Aries do that.
Sarah had become almost like a motherly figure to Aries – despite the significant age gap – and was not averse to telling Aries to not overwork herself.
Not that the witch thought she could.
Aside from her usual duties with UNIT in helping train the new recruits and working out where they would best fit within the organisation, Aries also assisted Alistair with the occasional side project that kept him and a few other higher up personnel informed of Torchwood's activities. And when the rare opportunity arose, the witch also travelled around the world, assisting whenever her intel was needed.
But the case she had been working on over the last week had been more serious. The Brigadier had been tipped off about a Jathaa sunglider that had been shot down over the Shetland Islands back in '97, though it had, possibly much to Torchwood's relief, vanished. She had searched everywhere and anywhere for any information that would lead to the ship's current whereabouts, but any evidence records or even log reports had also suspiciously disappeared. The red head had almost exhausted every source she had trying to figure out where it had gone, only for one of her contacts to come back with an untraceable email that contained two words.
Torchwood One.
As far as Aries knew, the current base for Torchwood One had been built in nineteen eighty-seven at One Canada Square in the Canary Wharf Business Complex. And in being in such a location, it made access to confirm whether or not the email had been correct in having anything to do with the ship's disappearance. It was also that report that had her heading home, knowing that Alistair was waiting on any information she had.
It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
Aries shook her head as she came to a stop at a crossing, checking that both ways were clear before she quickly crossed, thinking that both Alistair and Sarah Jane were probably her closest friends. They both cared for her in their own ways, and although Sarah seemed to have taken up the mantle of a mother figure for Aries, Alistair was more inclined – and quite happy – to keep their relationship professional.
The red head had found that she trusted them, and they alone were the only two people that knew about her past.
And her magic.
As she continued down the street, her thoughts trailed to what had originally been bothering her this last few weeks, only to stop in her tracks when she felt a light buzzing in the back of her mind; almost like something had tried to brush up against her mental shields. Her eyes scanned the area around her and a frown appeared on the witch's face when she realised that the presence was familiar.
Not seeing anything conspicuous, the red head shrugged and continued on her way, although she was far more alert; her shoulders tense as her gaze continued to look around. She passed an alleyway and froze once again, quickly backtracking and peered down it.
Sitting in the alley was a startling familiar, blue 1950's Police Call Box.
"It couldn't be..." Aries breathed as she slowly approached the box; glancing over her shoulder in case the Doctor were to appear. When she looked back to the box, the buzzing in the back of her mind grew in an almost reassuring way. It had a frown tugging at her lips.
Eighteen years...
Almost eighteen years had passed since she had last seen the ship. Seventeen and a half years since those two whirlwind days that had her travelling – very briefly – with the Doctor. Her frown only deepened as the same feelings she had felt back then came with those memories. The feeling that she had forgotten something. Something important, but as always, tantalisingly out of reach.
Almost as if they're forbidden.
Aries took a deep breath through her nose as she stepped up to the box, letting it out slowly through her mouth. So much had happened in those eighteen years, and if she were to be perfectly honest, the witch didn't think she was ready to see the Time Lord again.
Noise behind her had the red head jumping and turning, silently cursing herself for her nerves as she quickly made sure it wasn't the Doctor. As she watched a small group of friends stroll passed, she felt her heartrate return to something that resembled normal as a relieved breath escaped her. Turning back to the TARDIS, she couldn't stop the smile form appearing on her face as she looked at the ship, however.
Nor could she stop herself from resting a hand against its unnaturally warm wood panelling.
"Hello," she murmured, feeling the ship heat up further under her palm as the buzzing flared in her mind, almost as if the TARDIS was saying hello back. "It has been a while, hasn't it," she continued, "Though I do hope there's not another me in there. Really don't want a repeat of what happened the last time I saw you."
Aries' smile grew slightly as the buzzing in her mind grew, feeling warm and reassuring.
"Well, that's good," she remarked, her shoulders relaxing slightly, "How... how is the Doctor? Keeping out of trouble?" The ship cooled quickly under her touch, almost causing Aries to jerk her hand away at the sudden change in temperature as her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What happened?" she asked.
The ship didn't respond and the witch was about to pull her hand away as her confusion turned to concern at the answering silence. But before she could do anything, the buzzing in her mind turned into a roar and she gasped as images flashed across her eyes.
There was a beautiful city enclosed in what looked to be a glass dome. The sky above was a breath-taking burnt orange, while the mountains in the distance were covered in snow. Plains of orange sand stretched for miles around the city.
The image changed to show her trees with silver leaves, and when the suns light hit them, it looked as though the forest was on fire as the leaves shined a brilliant orange; creating the perfect mirage of a forest on fire.
Her awe, surprise, and amazement soon turned to horror as the images changed. Aries was quick to register that she had seen these images before. They had continued to plague her nightmares, and had her baffled as to why every morning that came after.
But something, almost like another piece of the puzzle as to where those nightmares had originated from slid effortlessly into place in her mind. It didn't quite complete the puzzle – not that she really knew what the puzzle was for – but holding some answers as to why she dreamed them, knowing that they had started after she had spent the night in the TARDIS that night almost two decades ago.
The once burnt orange sky was gone, claimed by the darkness that the night brought with it, and what Aries would have guessed to have been a wonderful view of constellations she knew she would never see on Earth was instead interrupted by the flashes of lasers that lit up the night sky; accompanied by piercing, nerve-grating cries of "Exterminate!" filled her ears.
These were quickly joined by the cries, screams, and pleading begs of "Mercy", before they were abruptly cut short by the Daleks.
Armed personnel – soldiers by the way they held themselves – tried to protect the unarmed and vulnerable before being shot down by the lasers that came from the large, pepper-pot looking aliens, and it caused a shiver to run down Aries' spine.
The landscape that she had once thought to be beautiful lay in ruins; the ground littered with the remains of destroyed building and people as hundred of Daleks soared overhead as they shot their targets down from the air, or glided closer to the ground to make certain they missed no one.
Amongst the chaos, there was a sudden outcry from the Daleks.
"The Doctor has been located!"
Near a wall that was remarkably still standing, and one that the witch recognised immediately, was the same man she had seen in the echoes of her nightmares. But as she found herself once more following his gaze, she was surprised to see something very different etched into the stone.
NO MORE
The last thing that the red head saw as everything was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light was the older man's weary face; haggard and dishevelled. But it was still his piercing brown eyes that held her gaze before everything faded to white.
