Theories
For once, Adelaide wasn't that upset about the fact they were landing the TARDIS below the deck of a ship instead of approaching in the traditional fashion. Of course, that wasn't to say she wasn't unhappy, but she didn't protest; a 17th century Earth ship had managed to send a distress signal that actually reached the TARDIS. She was more curious about how that was possible than anything else, which was thankfully a curiosity the Doctor shared.
The pair of them had just stepped out of the TARDIS when they heard a scream. A few moments later, they could hear a lot of footsteps, seemingly the majority of the crew, moving about the deck above them. "Same as all the others," a voice said. "No sign of a struggle, no bones or blood."
"We're shark bait," someone else said, "every single one of us. Stuck on the ocean, waiting."
The Time Lords walked underneath the hatch. "Until the wind changes." The Doctor climbed on top of a crate and, after pleading with Adelaide silently, helped her up as well; Amy and Rory exchanged a slightly worried expression. Then he banged twice on the hatch. "What's that?" They could just see the man, watching him pull out a weapon at that sound.
"It's the creature, it's returned!"
A small group of the men approached the hatch nervously, but they didn't get that far before the Doctor just shoved the hatch open with a grin, one Adelaide couldn't help but share; as much as she preferred manners, there was something quite exciting about just bursting into a pirate ship. "Yo ho ho!" the men just stared at them until the Time Lords's faces fell. "Or does nobody actually say that?"
|C-S|
The first man who'd spoken, the captain, leaned against a chair in his quarters, a crewmate beside him while others blocked the exit. "We made no signal," the captain stressed to them, which wasn't making Adelaide feel any more comfortable.
"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress."
The captain frowned. "Sensors?"
"Our ship automatically received word that your ship had run into some trouble," Adelaide provided. Despite having interacted with various alien races in various stages of development since that had been one of her favorite things - to watch a society grow - she hadn't spent that much time exploring human history. She didn't actually know how best to explain what had happened and it was clear the Doctor wasn't going to be much help, but she could try her best.
"That big blue crate?"
"That is more magic, Captain Avery," the man beside the captain said. "They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?"
"Well," the Doctor shrugged, "I want to say multi-dimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors…" Adelaide hit the Doctor quite hard on the side "I won't go there."
"My name is Adelaide, this is the Doctor, and that's Amy and Rory. We're all…sailors."
"Ooo, arrr," the Doctor added, leaning forward to hit the captain in the shoulder before, for some reason, deciding to turn his back on the man, which did allow the captain to pull a gun on him. Adelaide just nodded towards it, which made the Doctor spin again. "Except for the gun thing. And the beardy-ness."
"You're stowaways," the captain concluded. "Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed."
The man next to him nodded. "Now, what do we do with 'em?"
"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality."
When the Doctor looked at Adelaide with a proud expression, she just shook her head at him.
|C-S|
Even though Adelaide was fairly certain the Doctor had a plan, the sight of him being pushed further and further down a plank was not one she enjoyed seeing. She was almost certain that, if she were not being held back by a pirate - though the man honestly didn't seem to be trying that hard - she would have fought her way to the Doctor...even if she didn't really know how to fight.
It was just…the sight of him in danger, the thought of losing him…she couldn't bear it. And maybe it was just because he was the last Time Lord, and if he died she'd be left alone, and maybe she was being foolish to combine that feeling and what she thought was love. But she didn't want him to die. Not him.
Anyone else, even her, but not him.
She almost wished they had some sort of mental connection just so she'd be able to know if he did actually have a plan, but having that connection would mean he'd be able to hear her worrying herself almost sick over him and she didn't think she'd be able to bear that.
The Doctor glanced back at them, glowering slightly at the fact the pirates were still laughing at him. "I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description," he mumbled. "Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot." He glanced back down at the water, shifting his weight enough to make the plank bounce. If they both survived this adventure, Adelaide was going to kill the Doctor for making her worry like that. "Welcome aboard."
"Stocks are low," Avery said. "Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill. Take the doxies below to the galley." The pirates holding Amy and Adelaide began to pull them back. "Set them to work, they won't need much feeding."
The Doctor's eyes widened and he tried to turn back, but the pirates brandished their weapons at him. "Adelaide?"
"Rory?" Amy called to her husband. "A little help?"
"Yeah, hey, listen, right?" Rory pointed at the pirates. "They're not doxies…"
"I didn't mean just tell him off, thanks anyway." Amy and Adelaide were forced under the deck, something neither Time Lord was quite happy about.
The moment Amy landed she hurried towards a chest of cutlasses, something that did make Adelaide wince. Weapons, even seventeenth-century ones, were not her preferred course of action.
Unless, of course, the Doctor was busy attempting to stall being forced to walk the plank. Then she quite liked cutlasses.
Amy also spotted a blue jacket and black hat which she happily took when Adelaide shook her head at it. Then, once they had agreed they were properly suited up, they climbed back onto the deck and approached the pirates silently, waiting for the perfect moment to surprise them.
"Boo!" Amy said, holding out the cutlass. Adelaide did the same, glaring with far more intensity than the Doctor had ever seen. "Throw the gun down."
The Doctor hurried back along the plank as the captain tossed his gun to the floor, letting Adelaide, since she could actually be somewhat trusted with a weapon, pick it up to keep anyone else from grabbing it. "The rest of you," Adelaide ordered, "on your knees."
"Amy, Adelaide, what are you doing?"
"Saving your life," Amy told him. "Okay with that, are you?"
"Put down the sword. A sword could kill us all, girl."
Amy nodded. "Yeah, thanks. That is actually why I'm pointing it at you." She pointed her weapon at the captain.
One of the crew leapt forward, attacking Amy, but he quickly redirected the fight to Adelaide, who stepped in front of the human. The Doctor leapt from the plank but was only grabbed by Avery and held back from the fight, which had ended abruptly as the man backed away again.
The rest of the crew gathered around, but each time they attempted to step forward either Adelaide or Amy brandished their weapon at them and the men stepped back. Amy was seeming to get quite excited about how good at sword fighting they were, but Adelaide was a bit more confused. She was fairly certain pirates weren't meant to be recoiling so much from a sword, even if it was a woman fighting them.
Eventually, Adelaide just pushed Amy towards the upper section of the deck to keep her out of harm's way. Even if Adelaide was completely against using weapons in any way, that didn't mean she hadn't learned how to sword fight at some point in her history. Not necessarily from Earth, of course, but close enough.
The man who'd been holding Rory stepped forward, swinging a rope, but Adelaide just took advantage of a Time Lord's advanced reflexes and kept dodging. Before she could do anything, however, Amy swung from the upper level of the deck and slashed the man in the hand, finally landing on a barrel.
All the men stopped, staring at the injured man in horror.
"You have killed me," the man said, shaking.
Amy frowned. "No way. It's just a cut. What kind of rubbish pirates are you?"
Avery glared at them. "One drop, that's all it takes. One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean."
"Come on, I barely even scratched him," Amy scoffed. "What are you all in such a huff about?"
Another man rushed towards Amy, but when Amy tried to swing again he just grabbed her legs. Rory ran forward to catch the weapon, but somehow only ended up cutting his hand. "Ow!" men rushed forward again, grabbing Rory and Adelaide in the process. Rory held up his hand. "Uh, Doctor, Adelaide, what's happening to me?" Adelaide struggled to see, but it looked like there was a large black spot on his palm.
"She can smell the blood on your skin," Avery said. "She's marked you for death."
"She?"
"A demon, out there in the ocean."
The Doctor grinned, pulling himself out of Avery's grip. "Okay, groovy. So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in. Very efficient." He walked over to Rory to look at his hand. "I mean, if something's going to kill toy, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you."
Suddenly, there was ethereal singing and all the men loosened their grips on their prisoners.
"Quickly now, block out the sound," the man with the cut hand put his hands over his ears.
"What?"
"The creature," Avery backed away from the ocean. "She charms all her victims with that song."
"Oh, great. So, put my fingers in my ears, that's your plan?" Rory sighed. "Doctor, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the er…back to the er…" he started to stagger, giggling.
"The music," one of the men said. "It's working on him. Look."
Rory turned to Amy, hanging from a nearby rope. "You are so beautiful."
"What?"
"I love your get up! That's great. You should dress as a pirate more often." He stumbled forwards. "Hey, hey, cuddle me, shipmate." He reached out to hug her.
"Rory, stop," Amy tried to keep him off of her.
"Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it? Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards!" he pointed at the one who'd been holding Amy. "I'd like a beard. I'm going to grow a beard." He stumbled backward, running into the other man.
Amy shook her head. "You're not."
"The music turns them into fools," Avery told the Time Lords, who just nodded as the two men started laughing.
"Oh my God."
They all turned to see a light appearing from the water, drifting upwards. Adelaide and the Doctor moved closer to each other, backing away from the light as it slowly formed into the figure of a woman. Rory and the injured pirate reached their hands out towards it, though Amy was pulling Rory back. The figure landed on the deck, walking forwards, and the Doctor and Adelaide didn't try that hard to keep the pirate from walking towards her, both of them honestly a bit too distracted by their curiosity.
The pirate grinned, reaching out a hand towards her, but the moment he touched her he disintegrated into ash. Everyone but Rory jerked backward, that man instead moving closer to the woman, even with Amy still holding on tight.
"I have to touch her," Rory mumbled, fighting Amy. "Let me touch her."
Amy moved to stand in front of Rory, pushing her husband back closer to the Time Lords. "Sorry, but he is spoken for."
The woman turned a bright red and screamed at Amy, sending her flying backward.
"Amy!" the Doctor ran towards his companion, Adelaide taking charge of holding back Rory.
"Everybody into the hold," Adelaide ordered. "Come on, Rory!" she dragged Rory with her, somehow managing to get the man to come with her despite how much he was fighting.
Thankfully, Amy hadn't gone unconscious, and once they reached the hold Adelaide was able to pass Rory off to his wife so that the Time Lords could move closer together.
"What is that thing?" Amy asked the pirates, holding tight to Rory.
"The legend. The siren," Avery said. "Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed, picking off the injured."
"Like a shark," a man said. "A shark can smell blood."
The Doctor nodded. "Okay. Just like a shark, in a dress…and singing…and green? A green singing shark in an evening gown."
"The ship is cursed!"
Adelaide sighed. "You humans are obsessed with curses. All it means is bad things are happening but you can't be bothered to look for a logical explanation."
"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Rory said, taking Amy's face.
"Actually, I think you'll find she isn't," Amy hugged Rory so that she could speak over his shoulder. "We have to leave, right now."
"That thing of yours really is a ship?" Avery asked them.
The Doctor shrugged, turning his back on the man. "Well, it's not propelled by the wind."
"Show me!" Avery pulled out another gun. "Weigh anchor. Make it sail."
Adelaide raised her eyebrows. "The gun, again? You really like guns, don't you?"
The Doctor turned back around, frowning. "Freud would say you're compensating." He glanced at Adelaide. "Ever met Freud?" She made a face and he shrugged. "Comfy sofa."
"Bad science."
"Leave the cursed one, Captain," one of the pirates said. "The creature can have him."
Rory nodded quite vigorously. "Yes, please."
Avery nodded. "We don't want the siren coming after us."
Suddenly, the pirate who'd spoken screamed, and they all turned to see him yanking his leg out of the water to see a leech.
"It's a leech!"
"Everyone out of the water!" the Doctor ordered, everyone scrambling to the tops of crates.
"It's bitten me! I'm bleeding," the man pulled the leech from his leg and threw it into the water, but then held up his hand, seeing the black spot on it.
The Doctor frowned. "She wants blood. Why does she want blood?"
"What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?"
"It's okay, we're safe down here. No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber."
Adelaide just shook her head. "Don't…"
The siren appeared from the water, drawing the pirate and Rory towards her. "Oh!" the Doctor said, grinning. "Ah, hello again."
Despite their best efforts to try and grab the pirate, the man ran forwards and touched the siren, bursting on contact.
Quickly, the Time Lords worked to bring everyone into another room, locking the door behind them.
"Safe?" Amy said, thankfully still having managed to keep a hold on Rory.
The Doctor shrugged. "I have my good days and my bad days."
"In the future, let me say when we're safe, Doctor," Adelaide told him, glaring at the man. How on any planet in any universe had he believed them safe? They weren't even safe now, not if there was any water in this room.
"How did she get in?" Avery asked.
"The water," Adelaide said, not even needing to clarify with the Doctor first, especially since the man was in the process of studying a hat he'd found. "She can materialize through a single drop. We need to go somewhere with no water."
Amy sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean."
"Manners, Amy."
"Did you see her eyes?" Rory said, his words slurring slightly. "Like crystal pools."
"You are in enough trouble."
Avery's eyes widened. "The magazine."
"What?"
"He means the armory where the powder's stored," the Doctor said, putting on the hat.
Avery nodded. "It's dry as a bone."
"Good. Let's go there!" the Doctor stepped forward, only for Avery to point his gun at the man again, something that just made Adelaide sigh.
"I give the orders."
"Ah. Worried because I'm wearing a hat now?" Adelaide just plucked the hat from the Doctor's head. "Nobody touch anything sharp!"
They all turned to the door as one of the pirates hunted for the key. "Quickly, man!" Avery ordered, annoyed at the fact the man was taking far too long.
"I can't find the key. Tis gone, Cap'n."
Avery shook his head. "How can it have gone?"
Adelaide reached forward and touched the door, making it swing open. "Someone else had the same idea."
Slowly, they all stepped in, looking around carefully for any sign of who had stolen the key. "Barricade the door," Avery ordered. "Careful of that lantern. Every barrel is full of powder."
The Doctor took Adelaide's hand for a moment. "Who's been sleeping in my gun room?"
They heard a faint coughing and Avery stormed over to a barrel and opened it, pulling out a young boy. "You fool!" he held the boy against the wall. "You fool, boy. What are you doing here?"
"Who is he?" a crew member asked, making the Doctor frown.
"What, he's not one of the crew?"
"No. He's my son." Avery put the boy down and sat on a barrel, the rest of the crew moving a bit away, though they still watched. "What in God's name possessed you, boy? Your mother will be searching for you!" the boy looked away. "When?"
"Last winter. Fever. She told me all about you. How you were a captain in the Navy. An honorable man, she said, how I'd be proud to know you." He coughed again. "I've come to join your crew."
"I don't want you here."
"You can't send me back." The Time Lords couldn't help but smile. "It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home."
"It's dangerous here. There is a monster aboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin…"
"The black spot?" the boy held up his hand to reveal the spot, coughing as everyone's eyes widened.
|C-S|
Avery stood close to the Time Lords and Amy, with Rory sitting a bit in front of them studying his hand. The rest of the crew was scattered about the room, with the young boy, named Toby, still coughing.
"There's nothing wrong with the boy," Avery said quietly. "He has no scars."
The Doctor nodded. "Yep. Ignore my last theory." He turned to Adelaide. "You can be in charge of theories from now on."
"I've always been in charge of theories."
Amy leaned forward, gesturing towards the Doctor. "When she lets him, he has his good days and his bad days."
"Mostly bad days," Adelaide said. "The siren comes for the sick and wounded. It must know he has a fever."
The Doctor shook his head. "Humans. Second-rate. Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised. My ship, it can sail us all away from here. You and me, we fetch it," he gestured between him and the captain. "Let's go."
Unsurprisingly, the captain pulled his gun again. "You're not the Captain here, remember."
Adelaide looked over at Toby just as the boy opened the lid on a barrel of water, letting a green hand shoot out of it. She rushed over and slammed it shut.
"The water's dangerous!" Avery shouted. "That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man."
Adelaide couldn't help but glare at him. "Inside voices, please."
One of the pirates shook his head. "We're all cursed if we stay aboard."
"It's not a curse," the Doctor pointed out. "Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are not helpless." He turned to Avery, finally having learned. "Captain, what's our next move?"
Avery looked at his crew. "Wait with the boy." He stepped over to his son and put a medallion around the boy's neck.
"Captain, we're all in danger here."
"I said wait. And barricade the door after we've gone."
Amy grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Sure you want to go?"
"We have to get Rory and Toby away. She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling a saucepan, grating cheese."
Amy sighed. "Okay. Well, remember, if you get an itch, don't scratch too hard."
He shrugged. "We've all got to go some time. There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid." Even Rory laughed at that and then the companions stepped back to let the Time Lords have a moment.
They'd discussed it earlier, the fact that one of them would need to go with Avery to get the TARDIS while the other stayed here. It had taken the Doctor promising they'd go straight to the TARDIS and bring it right back for Adelaide to agree since Adelaide was fairly certain he'd get distracted otherwise.
Honestly, she'd probably have gotten distracted too, but they'd agreed she would be just a bit better at calming any argument that could break out - if only because there was a child in the room - because of the basic fact she wouldn't pick a side and he would.
"Be careful, and keep him safe," Adelaide nodded towards Avery.
"I'm always careful." She just raised her eyebrows. "I'll try this time."
She laughed. "That's the most I can hope from you." She kissed him quickly before pushing him back slightly. "Go fetch the TARDIS."
The Doctor leapt forward to give her another kiss before leaving with Avery, all of the men barricading the door behind them.
Amy and Adelaide moved to sit together closer to Toby, watching the other pirates, but it didn't take that long before Rory walked over to talk to Amy. "What's wrong?"
"The most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"
Rory groaned. "Oh, tell me I didn't really say that." Thankfully, that resulted in Amy laughing.
"What's happening?" Adelaide said suddenly, standing. Two of the crewmen were at the door and working on taking down the barricade.
"We're not staying here to mollycoddle the boy," one of the men said. "The Captain's gone soft. It's time for us to leave."
Toby stood, pushing in front of Adelaide. "He told you to wait, you dog. He's your Captain, a Naval Officer. You're honor-bound to do as he tells you."
"Toby…"
"Honor-bound?" the man scoffed. "Do you know what kind of ship this? Do you know what your father does?"
"He is a child," Adelaide told the man as Amy wrapped her arm around Toby, keeping him back. "I'd advise you to watch your tongue."
The man didn't listen. "We sail under the black flag. The Jolly Roger."
Toby pulled himself from Amy's arm. "Liar! He's no wicked pirate!"
"Oh, you think so? I have seen your father gun down a thousand innocent men."
"If you continue speaking like this, I will punch you in the face." Perhaps Adelaide wasn't the best person to stay with the pirates after all. Certainly, she wasn't known for getting into fights with anyone, but she really couldn't stand when someone was being rude. And telling a young child something like this, regardless of what time they were in, was not something she would stand by and watch.
Not that she thought she'd actually be able to punch anyone, let alone a pirate.
The pirate just scoffed at her. "Get what treasure you can," he told the other men. "I'll meet you in the row boat."
"You're going to remain at your post," Toby said, stepping forward and brandishing a cutlass. Adelaide had thought she and Amy had hidden their cutlasses, but it appeared the boy was quicker than they thought.
The man's eyes widened. "I'm not playing games with you, boy. You put that down."
"One more step and I'll use this, you blaggard."
"You don't know how to fight with a cutlass, boy."
Toby just shrugged. "Don't need to, do I?" he leapt forward, swiping at the man's hand and cutting it. Adelaide instantly dragged him back, plucking the weapon from him.
"No!" he held up his hand, the black spot already forming. "You little swabber!"
"Congratulations," Amy said. "You made it to the menu. Probably shouldn't go out there now."
The pirate grabbed his gun, but Adelaide held up her hand. "Don't you dare shoot," she warned. "The gunpowder will blow and kill us all."
A taller pirate pulled the keys off the black spotted pirate. "Mulligan," the man said, "what are you doing?"
Mulligan just rushed out of the door and shut it behind him.
Amy shook her head. "No honor among pirates."
A/N: Adelaide being in charge of theories is something that's going to last for quite a while. She comes up with the theories, he comes up with the plans. A good pair ;)
Notes on reviews:
AGBreads: Thank you!
Isabelnecessaryonabicycle: I'm so glad that you're looking forward to the future of it! Always a good thing for a writer to hear :)