"Wh... where's Cassy?" Roka exclaimed, frantically turning around herself. "Dam! She was right next to me!"
"Not here, not upstairs either," the Doctor remarked, waving her screwdriver over the now shrunken mass of black scribbles on the back wall. It had calmed down a lot, even the scratching noises had vanished.
"Are you alright?" was the only thing the Master wanted to know, already observing Roka from head to toe. Then he scolded, "You bloody idiot! Who knows what could have happened! Why didn't you call me earlier?"
Roka winced slightly, evading his penetrating glare. "To be fair, you always say ghosts aren't real," she tried meekly. "Thought you'd just laugh."
He growled in return, probably because Roka's words weren't so far from the truth. Instead of saying more, he only ruffled through her hair and finally trod next to the Doctor, who had her whole face scrunched up at the readings on her Sonic.
"Well, it's certainly no ghost." The Master's eyes darted towards the black wall, then back at the Time Lady.
"It might be just that," she answered, although sounding as if she were talking more to herself. "I don't get any readings. At all. It's as if..." She waved a hand over the mass, "it just doesn't exist."
"Bollocks!" the Master called out, ripping the Sonic from her hand to repeat the procedure. He also grabbed an old metal rod to poke the wall. The scribbles didn't react, didn't lash out, nor did they spread. All while Roka, briefly, told what exactly had just happened.
"Makes no sense," the Master grumbled, glaring hatefully at the Sonic and ignoring the Doctor, who wanted to get it back. "No readings. How can that stuff yield no readings?!"
"Has it... gotten Cassy?" Roka wanted to know. "She can't be anywhere else. It was just so dark and..." She let out a deep breath, a guilty consciousness gnawing on her. "Dammit. That's all my fault. She was so afraid and I... just wouldn't listen."
"We'll get her back, don't worry!" the Doctor called out, straightening her back. "There aren't that many creatures, who could do something like this, we'll just have to-"
"We... won't do anything," the Master growled, towering menacingly over the blond woman. "That human isn't of my concern. And that parasite," his finger shot towards the wall, "isn't either. I only want to get away from here."
With that he hurled around and strode towards the stairs. "I stabilized the connection to River, by the way," he casually told Roka, trying to drag her with him by grabbing her sleeve.
A little perplexed about his behaviour it took her a second to react. Roka carefully tore her arm away and stopped, suddenly realizing he was serious.
"H... hey," she let out. "I'm not going to just leave. Cassy needs help."
The Master blinked at her, then scrunched up his nose. "No, she doesn't. If my device works as intended, we won't stay here for long anyway."
"That's not the point!"
"I'm definitely not going to leave this unsolved," the Doctor tossed in.
The Master rolled his eyes at her. "C'mon, how many weird alien parasites are there on this rock? More than you can count. More than you can get rid of. If I start wasting my time with this, we'll be stuck here forever. Besides," a wicked smirk plastered itself on his face, "I really don't care about any one of those apes."
Roka scowled at him, pursing her lips slightly. "I'm one of those, remember?"
"Oh, you know what I mean," he mocked, putting a finger under her chin. "And you're not like them. You're so much better, little crow."
She knew it was a compliment, but still, she became angry and slapped his hand away. "I'm certainly not better. And Cassy's a friend. There's no-"
"You would never meet her again after we leave," he interrupted, "Don't pretend otherwise. And even if... she'd grow old and boring. You're nothing like that. So stop wasting your time."
"Uh... guys..." the Doctor's voice cut through the argument.
Both ignored her. Roka stabbed a finger at the Master's chest. "Are you telling me, you're not even a little concerned? And that after she helped us, let us stay and has endured everything we're doing?"
"Guuuys, could you..."
"That's exactly what I'm telling." The sweet smile on his face let the wish blossom in Roka to smack it away. "Now, don't tell me that's really surprising."
Something caught Roka's eye. A weird movement, the slithering of a scribble-like, black mass. She yelped in surprise and jumped a step towards the Master, who practically caught her in his arms. Both now glared at the mass of blackness that, once more, had come to life and was spreading over walls and floor. The Doctor stood in it, scribbles crawling up her legs, but never higher than her knees.
"Oh, how weird!" she let out. "I don't feel the slightest thing. Just nothing. As if I'm only imagining this stuff." Her Sonic loudly waved around, illuminating the substance. "It's not even reacting to anything I do. Only started when you two were arguing."
Roka's gaze shot down to find the scribbles had started climbing up her own legs, not touching the Master, however. He seemed to notice as well and swiftly grabbed her around the torso to carry her upstairs. It only needed a few steps and she struggled free to climb them herself. The Doctor followed in a hurry and they all slammed the door shut behind them, panting in relieve when the scribbles reached out from the bottom slit, but obviously couldn't get out entirely.
After a few moments the stuff calmed down and vanished into the depths of the basement.
"What the..." Roka brought out. "Is that stuff reacting to emotions?"
"Might be, yeah," the Doctor contemplated.
"It started to move when Cassy panicked. Would make sense." Roka sighed deeply and rushed a hand over her face.
"Still not going to waste my time with this," the Master sneered and pushed himself away from the door, thumbing at it. "Let's just keep that here locked. Doesn't seem like it can get out."
Roka grunted annoyed. "Yeah, then piss of. We'll manage alone."
He did, snickering to himself as if the whole situation was the funniest thing. It made her even angrier, frustrated and really sparked the wish to go after him to punch his face. But Roka also knew it wouldn't change a thing. That he was nice to her didn't mean he would ever treat any human being – or anyone else – in the same way. She knew it. And still, in this very moment it made her mad.
.
oOo~-̶̰͕͑̐ ̵̡͔̕~̷̱̤̖̆͋͘ ̴͍̈́̂̽.̴̯̦̹͛ ̶͍̎͌#̷̡̳̟͆ ̷̲̇̋̑-̸̧͙͂ ̶͕̜̆̐̿~̵̡̛̳͖͂̃ ̵̣̊̓̄.̷͇̺́̏ ̷̞̑͐#̶̢͈̦͌ ̴̰̃̐͠-̸̝́ ̵̛̱͉~̸̫̈̎ ̴̙̇̿̄.̵̧͙̻̓͛̓ ̵̦̠̈́̿#̵̳͎̯̀̑ ̷͓̩̞̉̑͑-̴̮̞̕ ̸̢̭̪̊~̷͔͇̞̈́͝ ̵̙̬̓.̶̰̘̏͘ ̶̯̝͐̿͛#̷̪̆́ ̶̼̎̾͋-̸̨́ ̴͙̹̪͆͊~̵͓̓̔͐ ̶̛͎͍̗.̷̀̎ͅ ̴̳̬͆͝#̵͉̻̭̓̑ ̶͈̗̩̂̈́-̷̢̛̙͆͐ ̶̙̐~̶̬͓̎̈ ̵͓̄.̶̹̪̆͝͝ͅ ̵̥̑̀̈́#̵̭͚͂̔ ̷̤͔̈́͜-̷̥̗̈ ̵̝̀͆͘~̶̓̿͜ ̸̺̣̈́.̴̜͗̅ ̴̿͜#̷͈͉̋ͅ ̴̡̠̒̾-̵̡̯̤̒̕ ̸̺͋͂~̸̦̗͚̾̕ ̸̭̝͋.̸̢͖̻̅̇͝ ̴̨̬͗#̵̺͍̮̂ ̴͖̫̈́ͅ~oOo
.
Whatever the Master had put together didn't work... again. The Doctor, meanwhile, tried to find out anything about the creature in the basement, and Roka... felt so utterly useless that she couldn't stand being in the house any longer.
She wandered around London on her own, worrying her bottom lip. It had been her fault, there was no denying it. There also was no help to gain by blaming herself all day. She also was still angry at the Master. Whenever she wanted to return, his behaviour from before came back to her mind and she decided to stay out for a little longer.
So did it come that it already drew near midnight when she actually got up from a broken brick wall near the river. The place was a little outside of town and she could watch the stars from here. Stars that she missed so dearly that it was hard to bear. Even in all her time alone had she never been so stuck anywhere. Sure, she could travel earth for a bit, visit other countries, experience different cultures. There are many exciting things to see and learn on one planet alone. But it just wasn't the same.
Roka cast a last glance upwards and hopped from the wall, landing softly on her feet. A quick glance at her phone told her that no one had called or messaged. Knowing the Time Lord, he probably wasn't even aware of the current time – how ironic.
When she lowered the phone to put it back into the pocket, her gaze fell upon the small figure of a child. He stood only one street away, a too big fisher head covering his face, but Roka knew. Her heart ached when she realized that she had no idea what to do with him. Josh was clearly controlled by some foreign forces, such that he could not fight against. And it seemed as if they had trained him to kill her.
Rage bubbled up, together with tears of frustration. Why him? What had the boy to do with her? What had she herself to do with anything? And if anyone wanted to get rid of her, why not do so?
The more urgent question, however, was, what she would do now. It pained Roka to even contemplate simply leaving and ignoring Josh, but would she come closer, would he attack again? She probably had no choice anyway. Him being here meant that whoever was in control, had sent him.
Good thing she had had her knifes on her when they had gotten stranded. Another thought that made her angry, but no one would be helped if the mystery murderer succeeded. Putting her hands on the butts she strode over.
They boy spotted her quickly and straightened, then suddenly his shoulders slumped forward and he looked behind him, left and right. Roka followed his gaze, but couldn't see anyone, so she strode closer until Josh took a step back, another one, and a third, before he turned and was obviously about to run.
"Wait!" Roka called out. "I know it's you, Josh."
The boy froze, stiffened. Slowly he turned around, his hands reached up to plug the hat down. His sight made the meanest lump form in Roka's throat. The tousled brown hair he had from their father, his eyes that could never quite decide whether to be green or brown. He looked exactly as she remembered and her heart clenched.
"I want to help," she uttered pleadingly. "You... you said my name last time. You know me, right?"
Roka still had no idea if, now that the glitch was gone, people from her past could actually recall her existence. And until now she had been way too afraid to find it out.
Josh nodded and glanced around once again with fear filled eyes. "Get me away," his wavering voice pleaded. "I could escape, but... but... they are smart, Gin. They are really smart. And evil. Eviller than all the dragons and thieves from your stories."
Her heart leapt to her throat. He remembered. He knew of the stories she had read to him, when she thought he couldn't see her, like everyone else. Was this a trick? Had he really escaped? The boy had always been bright, but still...
Her fingers slid from the knifes and she held a hand out to him. "Come, let's get from the street first." Fear and hope mixed in his eyes as he grabbed her hand and followed. "I hope they found out what's in the basement, but even if not, it's probably safest to bring you to our place."
It all felt surreal. The dark streets, almost empty in the evening hours, the calm atmosphere, not even hinting at all the strange things that happened recently, the fact that she held her little brother and was bringing him to a place that had not only a monster in its basement, but also was inhabited by two aliens, both not the epitome of sane.
But there would be time to process all of it, later.
"Mom said I'm only imagining you," Josh broke the silence with his quiet voice.
Roka almost winced at those words. "So they really can't remember me," she mumbled, feeling weirdly strange at the thought. Why should it bother her? She had left her family such a long time ago...
"I think, Dad sometimes could."
"I bet." That made her smile and her heart warmed a little at all the fond memories she had of him. "I'm so glad he is still alive in this timeline." Otherwise the boy wouldn't even have known him well. He had only been two years old when their father had died in the timeline Roka remembered.
Both were silent for another while, only walking the streets, crossing a slightly livelier part of the city. Roka got them some hamburgers from a street imbiss and she smiled when Josh's eyes widened in joy.
"They never let me have burgers!" he exclaimed and groaned in delight.
Roka giggled and munched on her own. "Can you tell me, who they are? You don't have to, if it's not possible."
"I... can I just eat for now? Please?"
"Okay. We have time enough."
She smiled again at his happy face. Now that she had gotten a hold of her brother, they could find out what had happened at any pace that was suitable for him. She wouldn't press him for information, didn't want him to relive too suddenly what he obviously had been through.
But one thing she had to know.
"What do you remember? I mean... about me?"
Josh glanced up at her and took a happy sip from his cola. "Not so much, honestly. You were there and then you weren't. I think, most of the time I didn't remember. But sometimes I did. When I looked through the books you read to me, and sometimes when I had bad dreams. Then I remembered I have a big sis."
"So the Master isn't the only one..." she mumbled to herself, wondering how she might be connected to Josh in such a way that it allowed him to see through the glitch, even if only occasionally.
"Who's that?" Josh wanted to know, grabbing Roka's fries. She let him.
"A... friend." She chuckled. "He made me real, you know. Because of him everyone can remember me now."
"Hmm..." The boy shot her a mischievous eyebrow-wriggle. "He's your boyfriend?"
"Whaaaa'!?" Roka laughed out loud. "You're way too young to ask that!"
"Pffffff! I'm nine and a half already! And I can..." Suddenly he looked a little frightened and he took some deep breaths.
"Yeah, he is. If you have to know." Roka stretched out her tongue to make him laugh a little, and it seemed to work.
Nine and a half... that meant he had been held captive for over a year. It was hard not to let him see her anger. Oh, she would make sure they would pay for this, one way or the other. She wasn't like the Doctor, never considered herself as much of a 'good' person. And this definitely was hell of a reason enough not to be.
They both finished the meal, while Roka kept her eyes on their surroundings. Evenings here were always busy, street lights and advertisements blinking about, people rushing from place to place. Nothing strange or conspicuous was around, though. Maybe they really were safe. She would have to ask the boy later how he had escaped.
Suddenly she had to chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Josh wanted to know, his eyes widening curiously.
"Oh, I just thought about how the Master will react to you. I'm not sure he can deal with children well." The mere thought let her almost forget how pissed she still was at him.
"Is he nice? And why does he have such a strange name?"
Hand in hand they continued their way, while Roka made sure she kept more or less within the crowds. It was less probable to get attacked when so many people were watching. That, at least, was her theory.
"Errr... No, he isn't. I mean... he can be nice, if he wants to." She sighed, once more thinking about the scene in the basement. "As for his name... It's not his real one, but he likes it, so... whatever."
"Okay."
Josh tightened his small fingers around hers a little and when she looked down, Roka found a small smile on his face.
"It's not far anymore," she told. "Ten minute walk, roughly."
The boy only hummed confirming and followed silently for a while, before he abruptly stood still. Perplex Roka glanced down to him and let go of his hand. A quick glance around told her, they were still alone. Wait no! There was a figure standing nearby, tall and with way too long limbs, the long face pale and creepy to look at. And the creature wore a suit of all things.
"What the heck is that thing?" she mumbled and turned to Josh to ask him if he knew about... What had she wanted to ask him again?
"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.
"Eh... I... don't know. Weird."
She slightly shook her head and wanted to move, but Josh grabbed her opened jacket and tapped against one of the knifes.
"Whoa! Those are cool!" he exclaimed. "Are those from a comic? They look strange."
"Heh, no," she chuckled. "They are alien."
His eyes widened at that. "You've been to space, too? I've been there. I saw the stars! Real stars, not only dots! There was this huuuuge blue sun, you know?" He stretched his arms to emphasize his words. "I always thought suns are all yellow, like ours."
"Space is full of strange and wonderful things," Roka told with a tinge of melancholy in her voice. She squatted down in front of the boy and smiled at him. "I'll show it to you. We probably won't stay here for much longer. And the Master has a ship that travels through time and space."
A wide grin spread on the boy's face at that, but then his expression dropped. "They could do that, too," he whispered. "They travel around and change things. They make it so that people are alive that should be dead. That's good, I think. But... but... they also do bad things." His eyes became fearful.
"It's okay. You're with me now," she reassured him and hugged the boy tight to her chest. "I couldn't be a good sister, then, but I will be now, yeah?"
He clutched her and whimpered, sobs shaking his small form. "They made me do bad things," he mumbled into her jacket. "I'm so sorry, Gin."
"It's okay," she repeated.
"It's not. I can't... Please, I don't want to do bad things anymore!"
"Hey, hey, it's alright, you hear me? We'll figure it all out and..."
"No," he breathed out, shaking from another sob. "They don't let me. They know I'm here, Gin. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Through all the confusion and slight anger Roka noticed it way too late. Only when the boy stepped back and glared at her with his tears smeared, scrunched up face, did she start to feel the pain. Whoever had trained him, had done a good job. Her own knife stuck in her side, delicately placed where she wouldn't feel it immediately.
Her hand came away bloody when she touched the spot.
Don't panic, she told herself. Keep calm.
Behind the boy stood a figure, all of a sudden, tall and clad in a black suit, with too long limbs and a pale face. It rose an elongated finger to where humans would have a mouth.
"Silence will fall," it spoke in a voice that made her shiver. "Neither of them will speak the name."
"Who... are you?" Roka choked out. "What have I to do with all of this? What are you doing to my brother?"
"There are two, who know. One we must kill and one who refuses to die." The creature seemed to speak without a mouth, but if telepathically or not Roka didn't know. "There are other ways to prevent him from speaking. Your death is a key. And this boy is the only one you would have let come close enough."
"Bastards," Roka ground out and pressed her hand over the wound. "Shit... you will so regret this, I swear."
"Come, boy."
"I don't want to!" he whined, but couldn't move, as it seemed. "Please don't let her die. Please!"
Roka's sight blurred slightly. Had the knife hit some organ? It didn't bleed much, barely hurt. She looked at the knife, sharp and expertly crafted. Good weapons. Maybe... maybe too sharp. Her head felt dizzy, started to spin.
Josh was gone.
Why was he gone so suddenly? Why were the streets so empty? Roka took a shaking breath, recalling all she had learned about keeping her body and mind calm in an emergency situation. Not yet... she was not dead. With shaking hands she reached into her pockets and fished out the smartphone. It was hard to navigate with one hand, the other too slippery from her own blood.
She dialled the Master's phone, waited, second for second for second, already knowing he wasn't hearing it. Maybe ignoring it even. It was no use. Roka gave up and instead typed a few words.
I'm outside, down the road. Was attacked. Bleeding.
Somehow she managed to send the message, before the phone dropped out of her hands. She bent over from the dizziness, tried to breath, rolled herself together to a ball, cursing in her mind.
She should have seen it coming, she really should have. Finding Josh like that, it had been too good to be true.
Would the Master read the message? Would he be in time? Roka shivered and reached out with her mind. The connection might be broken, but something was still there, even though the Master refused to tell her about it. Maybe it was enough. She hoped, begged for it, as her thoughts searched for him.
A light in the ever growing darkness. A tiny spec of warmth in this vast and cold universe. This lonely place she had wandered for too long. There... or was it imagination? It felt like him, enough to cling to it with all the remaining focus she could muster.
'I got you. Hold on.'