A/N: Hey, look at that over there, is that a bird? It looks like a bird, feathers and all that- Oh, hey! I updated. Wowie. Isn't that interesting. Um, yeah. Well. Here I am. Updating...But man, that bird is REALLY cool. You should check that out.
P.S. Sorry!
P.P.S. For those of you who haven't, you could check out my other fic Starlight, because that one is officially finished, and you don't have to wonder when that son of a b...when I'll be updating. Because it's all updated, to the maxx! That's the only olive branch I got.
- 1913 -
- Farringham -
John Smith held the bell over his head, chiming it loudly. A call to arms, rousing everyone from their beds. Boys poured into the hallway, looking bewildered and half-asleep, but curtly barked orders soon had them all ready for battle.
"You can't ask them to fight!" Martha was furious with him, none of her arguments had had much effect on John. "They're just boys."
"They're cadets, Miss Jones." He informed her. "They've been trained for this very thing."
Calypso found herself agreeing with Martha, they were all so terribly young and vulnerable looking, the sleep still clinging to their eyes. They weren't cadets, they were children. And this man was leading them into battle.
"What is the meaning of this?" A man appeared in the midst of the chaos, he wore a severe frown behind his wire-rimmed glasses, he made his way through the crowd to John. As he went, he cast disapproving glares at the boys who were still stumbling to pull weapons out from their storage closets. While they slowed under his scrutiny, they still worked with a purpose.
Calypso and Martha both staggered back, unwilling to bear the full brunt of the Headmaster's displeasure. Calypso just hoped that maybe he could talk some sense into John, this man who had inhabited the Doctor's body and yet seemed so unlike him.
"Headmaster," John was relieved that the older man had appeared. "There's been an attack on the village. People have been murdered, sir. I'm having the boys prepare a defense."
"The village?" The Headmaster gave John a careful look. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"It's true," Matron Redfern stepped forward, John gave her a grateful nod that Calypso couldn't help but notice. "People came to the dance, they had weapons. They threatened Mr. Smith, I believe they intend to pursue him here."
The Headmaster looked between the two of them, they both seemed shell shocked enough to be believable. "Very well," he let out a short breath. "Perhaps you acted wisely then. Mr. Philips," he turned to face the man who had followed him out across the room. "If you would, let's see if we can't find the cause of this mishap. I suspect alcohol has likely played a part in this matter."
"No! You can't go out there," Martha jumped out to stop the men from reaching the door, her warning was met with a contemptuous glare.
"Mr. Smith, it seems your favorite servant is giving unwanted advice, see that she doesn't do it in the future." He sidestepped her without another glance, while Martha just gaped at the men, watching them go. Calypso placed a warning hand on her shoulder, suspecting that shortly, Martha was going to take a swing at the man.
"We've got to find that bloody watch." Martha said, on the verge of desperation. "You keep an eye on him," she turned her attention to Calypso. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Before Calypso could protest, Martha was already bolting down the hallway. She seriously doubted that John Smith would listen to anything she had to say. Matron Redfern looked conflicted between following Martha, and staying with John but it was clear she was starting to have her own doubts about who this man was. She took off after Martha, leaving Calypso alone to keep watch.
Unfortunately, when she turned her attention back to the chaos of the boys, she had already lost him. His tweed jacket was just vanishing up the stairs and she hurried to follow. More certain than ever that he was going to get himself into some kind of trouble she wasn't going to be able to save him from. That had been the Doctor's specialty, but so had been getting back out of trouble, something Mr. Smith seemed less than qualified for.
It was a relief to find him perched at the window, spying on the scene below. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet, causing him to start, but when he recognized her, he only looked annoyed and returned his gaze to the window.
"Come to convince me I'm the mysterious 'Doctor' they're searching for?" His voice was bitter as he spoke.
"No," Calypso said, only to spite him of course. There was nothing she would rather do than grab his collar and shake him until he saw it was the truth. But she doubted that would help matters, even if it might make her feel a little better. "I'm just keeping an eye on you."
"Ah, following the lead of Martha, I suppose." He smirked. "She certainly knows how to give orders, rather strange for a servant." There was just a hint of a question there. Calypso hoped that it might mean he was starting to see the patterns for himself.
"Not so strange if you believe her."
"And if I don't?" He shot her a look. His question was more than a challenge, it was a flat refusal. Even if he suspected they were telling the truth, without the watch, it would take him far too long to come around. If Martha couldn't find it, they were going to be in some serious trouble.
"Then yes," she said with a defeated sigh. "I suppose it is rather strange."
He looked guilty and shrugged, "Though I suppose all of this has been quite strange." He offered a strained smile that held none of the reassuring warmth of the Doctor. Only the nervous energy of someone who was entirely out of their depth. "I have to admit, I have been having some very strange dreams as well."
"Oh?" For the moment, he seemed willing to speak to her, instead of guard against her as a hostile. That would have to be enough for now.
"Yes. Quite vivid too. Dreams where I…well," he gave an apologetic glance. "Travel across the stars. Sometimes Martha is there too, not as a servant though, not exactly. They're all such impossible places, filled with impossible creatures and people." He shook his head, and then looked directly at her. "When I saw you last night, I thought…well. I had never met you before, but I've seen your face. I feel…" He hesitated, the earnestness in his voice wavered and faded. "Do I know you?" His throat bobbed as he regarded her carefully.
"Yes," she answered.
"Don't you forget boy, I've been a soldier!" The Headmaster barked from below and she was spared the trouble of having to elaborate on how well, exactly, she knew him. Both their attentions were drawn to the scene below. "I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for king and country!" He was furious, whatever the boy and said had riled him more than even a Professor rousing the whole of the school at an unseemly hour had managed to.
"Et cetera, et cetera." The boy said with a sneer. He raised his arm and fired a weapon at Mr. Philips' chest. In a bright flash, his body was consumed by an unnatural green fire. He survived just long enough to writhe in agony before collapsing into a pile of ash.
Calypso physically jerked back from the window and even John sucked in a sharp breath. The Headmaster was aghast as he slowly backed away from the site where a man had once stood. She couldn't breathe as she urged him to run, to flee that terrible weapon. Part of her couldn't really believe what had happened, but the tightness in her chest confirmed that she had just watched a man's execution.
"Run along, Headmaster. Run back to school. And send us Mr. Smith!" The murderer shouted at the Headmaster's retreating back as he fled for the safety of the school walls.
John turned from the window, just then remembering Calypso was there. His eyes were anxious, looking nothing like the confident Doctor. That uncertainty was only worrying her further.
"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head, looking lost. "I didn't mean for…" Whatever he meant to say was forgotten as he stood up and cleared his throat. "You shouldn't have seen that."
She nodded, acknowledging his apology. More than that though, she was agreeing that these were dangerous people. People with weapons far superior to their own. Mr. Philips hadn't just died, he had been eradicated. What was left of him was only a fine powder on the cobbles below. For a brief moment, she wondered what that would mean for herself. Could she come back from something that harmful?
She pushed the thought aside, she could worry about that later. What she needed to focus on now, was getting the Doctor back. Convincing John that he needed to be the Doctor. There was a school full of children that would share the fate of Mr. Philips if she failed. The Doctor would never let that happen, and neither would she.
"We should get back downstairs," he said resolutely. "The Headmaster will need our help preparing the defenses."
"Yes," she agreed, but she was thinking that Martha's plight was more important.
"Come on then," he strode past her and then stood at the top of the stairs, waiting expectantly.
"I think…" she gulped in a deep breath, her hands had been trembling and she hadn't even been aware. " I think I just need a moment."
He took a step forward, concern passing briefly over his features. He opened his mouth to speak and his hand reached out, just barely, but she noticed. The Doctor would know what to say, something that might make her feel less desperately hopeless. Something that might erase the sour feeling in her stomach from having witnessed that man die below them and being powerless to stop it.
Instead, he simply said, "Alright," his hand dropping back to his side as he turned and retreated down the stairs, returning to the chaos below. He might as well have said nothing at all.
