A/N: Two updates! I forgot I had the next chapter saved... I thought I remembered writing it lol. If anyone wants to know the titles of my remaining three stories (the last three :o) check out my profile page. After all that moaning and whining that I couldn't get to Episode 13 well... I managed. With a lot of help lol. Hope the title of the last one doesn't sound too ominous. Oh who am I kidding, yes i do! xD

Chapter Twenty-One

Dropping In

Ashley hauled open the closet doors and stared miserably at the jumbled and unorganised contents. Her thighs were throbbing and her feet felt like she had just stuck them over the top of a volcano until they were just nicely roasted. Her underarms felt horribly sticky and she knew that was where that awful smell was coming from. Apparently she hadn't scrubbed hard enough whilst washing herself earlier. She wanted nothing more than a good three hour long soak and then a good twenty-four hour sleep.

Sounded like heaven.

Actually, it sounded more like a flock of seagulls.

Ashley glanced towards the window, head cocked at the strange sounds that seemed to be getting louder and louder. It was some kind of squawking, mingled with a strange sound – like someone yelling. As the weird combination of squawking and yelling grew closer still, she realised that she recognised that yelling.

'Doctor?' she murmured, moving to the window. Leaning out on the ledge, she looked around at the land below. She could make out Arnie and Rapunzel down below, both of them looking up into the sky. Ashley frowned, and then looked up also. She could see nothing, despite the fact that the screeching sounded practically on top of her. She turned and ran to the other side of the tower to look out of the small, frosted glass window above the bathtub. She hopped in the bath, skidding and almost losing her footing in some bubbles that had been left behind, and pushed open the window. It was just bit enough for her head to fit out.

'Oh my God!' she cried. 'Doctor!' She squeezed her arm out and waved frantically. 'Doctor over here!'

About two-dozen strange slug-like winged creatures were carrying the Doctor through the air, screaming and cawing like birds – but they weren't birds. The Doctor was trashing and yelling, apparently oblivious to the immense drop below him. At the sound of Ashley's voice he looked around, and then spotted the tower.

'Over here!' she yelled again, waving frantically.

'I'm not exactly in control of my destination!' the Doctor yelled back, still struggling and trashing. He kicked out his left leg, which collided with one of the slug creatures. It lost its grip on him and flew away, squeaking frantically. Two others followed.

'They're going to drop you!' Ashley yelled. 'Stop struggling!'

The Doctor ignored her and actually upped his efforts. Two more creatures took off. The remaining ones seemed to be having a lot more difficulty holding him and they dipped dangerously in the air. This new change in altitude caught the Doctor's attention and, probably for the first time, he looked down. And then he yelled out in alarm.

Ashley looked down, hoping that there was some kind of stream directly below him or at least something that would cushion his fall, but she needn't have worried. When she looked back up, she realised that the creatures had changed course in a last ditch effort to hold onto their meal and were heading right for the tower. Or more importantly, the Doctor's kicking legs were heading right for her face.

Ashley quickly moved from the window just before there was a loud thump, and a groan, and a Converse clad foot poked in through the small window. The squawking and chattering of the creatures lingered for a moment, and then grew quieter.

'Doctor!' Ashley cried, grabbing onto his foot – which was the only part of him she could see. 'Thank God you're okay! I was terrified you were dead or something! I swear you're never leaving my side ever again, I've had the worst time since you-'

'It's great to see you too, Ashley,' the Doctor grunted. 'But now's not really the best time, okay? I'm clinging on for dear life here.'

Ashley climbed out of the tub, almost falling flat on her face for the second time. She looked around for something to help, but could see nothing. 'I don't know what to do!' she yelled. 'I only have… I have a blonde plait! A really long one! And a uh… a broom! Can you use those?' She waited for a response as she looked around for anything else. 'Doctor?' He wasn't responding.

She raced back to the small window and looked out. She immediately felt her stomach churning because the only reason she could look out of the window was because the Doctor's foot was no longer sticking through it. She tried to look down below, but there wasn't enough room for her to move her head.

'Doctor?' she yelled. 'Doctor! Where are you?'

A thump from behind her made her whirl around too quickly and this time she did slip on the wet enamel of the bath. She managed to go right over the edge, do quite a professional acrobatic flip, and landed on her back. She lay there, dazed and blinking. Then the Doctor's grinning, dirt smeared face leaned over her.

'You okay?' he asked.

Ashley looked up at him for a moment, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. 'You're alive. I knew you were alive. Christ I thought you were dead.'

'I won't be alive much longer if you don't let go of my neck.' The Doctor croaked, prying her arms from him. 'And try and be careful. I've been manhandled by some trolls and a dwarf.'

Ashley let go of him quickly and shoved him back with a grimace. 'Bloody hell you stink!' she cried, covering her nose. 'What's that?'

The Doctor looked down at himself and shrugged. 'I'd rather not know to be honest.' He glanced around, running a hand through his hair – which was wilder than usual. 'Where are we by the way?'

'Oh you're going to love this.' Ashley said, pushing herself to her feet. 'You never guess who I found.'

The Doctor looked around the circular room, the small amount of colour that was left in his cheeks now draining. 'I've been here before…'

'Damn right you have,' Ashley smirked. 'And she wants to have a few words with you.'

The Doctor groaned and rubbed his face. 'You mean she knows I'm here? Oh… pickles.'

'You said you needed to visit her, and from what she told me you need to do a lot of sucking up.'

'I just wanted to quickly apologise. You know… like, leave her a note or something. I didn't actually want to see… Oh never mind. That's not the important thing.'

'You're right.' Ashley nodded. 'The important thing is that you're here. And now we can get back to the TARDIS and get the hell away from this bloody place. I'm never going to be able to go inside a Disney Shop ever again in my life.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'We're not going anywhere. We need to go back to the castle.'

Ashley blinked at him for a moment. 'Why? Can't we just get out of here?'

'There's a dwarf who has somehow got control of a Troll army and a giant ice dragon. Normally, dwarves don't hold a lot of power in these parts. Most of the time they come in sevens and live with pretty girls named after weather conditions. This one though… well, he's not a very nice apple. And plus he has my sonic screwdriver.'

Ashley mulled it over for a moment. 'Well… can't we just go back in time when he was like, younger and push him off a hill or something? Or lock him in this tower?' The Doctor looked at her disapprovingly and she sighed. 'I know, I'm sorry. I'm just frazzled.'

'You're frazzled? Try crawling through a sewage pipe with Fly-by-Nights chasing you.' He headed towards the window and peered out, before turning and tugging on the blonde braid to check its strength.

'Is that what they were?' Ashley asked, following him. 'Those flying things?'

The Doctor nodded. 'As the name suggests they usually come out at night. But, they must have been so excited to see a Home Delivery scampering by that they got carried away with themselves.' He turned to her and nodded to the braid. 'I take it you've already done this once then?'

Ashley nodded, and then remembered her actual reason for being back in the tower in the first place. 'Oh! Rapunzel said she had swords and stuff in here.' She moved to the cupboard and pulled it open, raking through the contents. 'I don't know if they're going to be any use or anything because I've never handled a sword in my life but…' She picked out a rather heavy gleaming sword and handed it to the Doctor with a shrug. He held it, checked its weight, and then swung it around his hand with familiarity and ease. Ashley blinked in surprise.

'Been ages since I've had a good sword fight,' he beamed at her. 'Lost my hand in the last one.' He raised one hand and wiggled his fingers, his eyebrows wiggling with them.

Ashley frowned in confusion. 'You're weird.'

He nodded in agreement and pointed towards the cupboard with the sword. 'Grab another one. And one for yourself if you think you can do anything with it. We'll probably find Karl on the way back.'

'Karl?' Ashley inquired as she grabbed two swords from the cupboard, along with the clothes Rapunzel had ordered her to bring back.

'Prince Karl. He's actually Arnie's rider.'

'Really? Small world.'

The Doctor nodded. 'It is actually. About the size of your moon.' Ignoring Ashley's frown he tucked the sword through his belt loop and tested the braid yet again. With no apparent nerves at all, he climbed up onto the ledge and leaned out, ready to abseil down. 'See you on the bottom then.' He grinned, and then disappeared.

Ashley stood where she was for a moment, holding two swords and a handful of clothes. She clicked her tongue and then tucked the two swords in her own belt and stuffed the clothes up the front of her top, before taking to the window and getting a grip on the braid.

She was just about to begin her decent – her second decent – when she heard a sharp slap, the Doctor crying out in surprise, and a shrill barrage of insults. Unable to suppress a smirk, Ashley began to make her way down.