Not much to say about this chapter, really. As you've probably guessed I'm a supporter of BillyxMandy so that will be an underlying theme throughout this series.
All reviews welcome. Please.
Disclaimers at the end.
The Grim Adventures of Doctor Who
Terror At Birdland - By Father Jack
Part 2 - "A Bitter Reunion"
The hypnotised birds drew closer to the aghast group of people, while Aak looked on and smirked.
Billy, who was still clutching Mandy from behind, began to scream loudly.
"Ow, my ear!" Complained Mandy, turning round to face Billy but not yet trying to free herself from his grip.
"Sorry," said the boy. "But we are just about to be killed by a Thra … Thrap …" Billy tried to pronounce the alien's name but instead ended up blowing a huge raspberry in Mandy's face.
"Ewwwww," said Mandy, finally pushing the boy away and wiping the spit from her face.
"Halt," called out Aak, and the advancing birds stopped dead and hovered in place. Aak flew forward a bit. "It's pronounced 'Thrap-too-sian', boy."
"Thhhhrrrrrrppppp," Billy tried again.
"No, no, no. Repeat after me. Thrap."
"Thrap," repeated Billy.
"Too."
"Too!"
"Sian," Aak finished.
"Sian."
"Good, now put that all together."
"Thhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrpppppppppppppp!"
While Aak's attention was focused on Billy, Mandy had reached down a picked up a small rock. As Billy blew his raspberry, Mandy lobbed the rock at the Thraptusian. It hit him, just above the beak between his eyes. The force sent Aak flying backwards.
"Owww! Oh that hurts," said Aak.
As Aak was trying to recover, his mental hold on the other birds broke, and they began to fly around the room at random.
"Come on!" Shouted the Doctor, heading for the exit. He opened the door and darted outside, followed by Mandy, Grim and Mavis. Billy tripped on his way to the door, and Tony bent down to help him.
"What are you doing? We've got to get out of here", screamed a panicking Mr. Berton. Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Berton stepped over the boy and tried to force the door open. Tony got up to help, but it was no good. Something was forcing the door shut.
"Going somewhere?"
Billy clambered to his feet as Tony and Mr Berton turned round to find a fully recovered Aak hovering just above the floor, a few feet away from them.
"Did you close the door?" Asked Tony, his voice quivering with fear.
"I certainly did," Aak replied, "using the power of my mind." He looked at Billy. "That was a clever trick, boy, distracting me like that."
"Trick?" said Billy, confused. "Clever? Was?"
"We're a proud race, and you lesser beings should know the correct way to refer to your new master. But I won't let it happen again. When my powers are fully restored I will be able to control all of your minds, not just those of the birds."
"I thought you were going to kill us?" Said Mr. Berton, still not quite able to believe he was having a conversation with one of his birds.
"I've changed my mind. Thraptusian's prerogative. The three of you are much more useful to me alive, for now…"
--
The Doctor tried frantically to open the door with the sonic screwdriver, but it wouldn't budge.
"No good, must either be deadlock sealed or kept shut with some sort of mental force," surmised the Doctor.
"But there are people in there, we have to get them out," said Mavis. The Doctor, Grim and Mandy turned to look at her. "I'm Mavis, by the way."
"Mavis!" Exclaimed Grim, finally recognising the woman.
"Yes. Hello Grim," said the old lady. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Longer than you think."
"You know her, bonehead?" Said Mandy.
"I was hoping you'd never find out, Mandy, but you and Billy aren't the first people to win me in a bet."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Yes, my friend Roger and I won him after he came to take the soul of my goldfish," Mavis explained. "Game of hopscotch, it was."
"You cheated so bad," protested Grim.
"It was fair and square, Grim." Mavis looked the Reaper in his cold, black eyes. "Do you remember Roger, Grim?"
"As touching as the little reunion of yours is," Mandy interrupted, "we do have a slight problem here. I don't know if any of you remember, but we were all just nearly executed by a talking bird!"
"I hadn't forgotten," snarled the Doctor, walking off.
"Where are you going?"
"To get Birdland closed for the day, so no-one else wonders in."
"I'm coming with you, to make sure you don't do a vanishing act on us," Mandy said, running after him. She turned back round to Mavis and Grim and said, "you two stay here and don't let anyone else try to get into that hut." With that, she turned back round and caught up with the Doctor.
"I wouldn't leave you here, you know," protested the Time Lord.
"Oh no? What's to stop you diving into the Tardis right now and getting as far away from here as possible?"
The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks and faced the girl.
"I just wouldn't!" He snapped. "Besides, we're part of events now. Whatever Aak is planning, he must be stopped." He started walking again.
"But whatever he does here in 1989 obviously doesn't have much of an effect on the future. I'm from the early 21st century, don't forget Doctor. I know everything is normal there …. relatively speaking. Besides, even if he just caused a bit of a panic and didn't do much else, it would have been documented and I'd have heard about it!"
"Put it this way, Mandy," said the Doctor, "have you ever heard of the Cyberman invasion in the late 1960s? Hundreds of people in London died? Or the Autons? Shop dummies coming to life and killing people in the streets? Yetis in the London Underground?"
"Well, no," the girl replied, a little puzzled.
"Exactly! You humans have a way of covering up things like this, and you'll continue to do so until it's impossible. But now we are here we must stop Aak. Because, if we don't, it's entirely possible you won't have a future to go back to."
--
Grim and Mavis stood outside the Tropical House in silence. Mavis was the first to break the ice.
"You never answered me, Grim. Do you remember Roger?"
"Of course I do, I don't need reminding," he snapped.
After a short pause, Mavis spoke again, facing away from Grim. "I blamed you, you know. As far as I was concerned it was your fault."
"I was just doing me job."
"That's something I've been trying to tell myself all these years, Grim. But everything we went through, all the dangers the three of us we faced together, we always survived. And I always told myself that you were responsible for us not getting killed." Mavis shot her glare at Grim. "So why did you take him when you did?"
"When your time has come, your time has come," Grim replied, feeling most uneasy. "It was amazing he lasted as long as he did. The boy was an idiot!"
"How dare you!" Mavis shouted. "Roger may have been an idiot, Grim, but he was my idiot. And you took him away from me when you could have saved him. For that, I may never be able to forgive you."
Grim looked at the woman, who's eyes were staring to well up with tears. He sighed and said, "there was nothing I could do to save him. Like I said, when your time has come then that's it. Even I can't change that."
"This is a fascinating conversation," came a voice from above them. Grim and Mavis looked up to see Aak perched on the roof of the Tropical House, looking down on them.
"But how did you get out?" Cried Grim.
"Erm, the hole I made in the roof. I don't know if you noticed, but I can fly, you know?"
"And you say Roger was an idiot," said Mavis to Grim. She looked back up towards Aak and said, "what have you done with the others?"
"They're quite safe for now," he replied.
--
"Stand aside, guys!" Billy demanded, putting on his best bravado voice.
"What on Earth are you doing, boy?" Said Mr. Berton, as he and Tony got out of the child's way.
Billy didn't reply. Instead, he ran head first as fast as he could towards the door. Inevitably, he collided with it, fell backwards and lay on the floor, groaning softly.
--
"Where are the other two?" Aak questioned Grim and Mavis.
"They're around, somewhere," said Mavis, somewhat vaguely.
"Bring me the one who calls himself the Doctor, or your friends in here will suffer."
"What exactly is it that you want?" Grim asked.
"You'll know when the time comes! Hahahaha," Aak laughed as he flew back down the hole into the Tropical House. Hovering a few feet above the floor, he stared at the three captives for a few seconds.
"Now, the question is, what to do with the three of you?" He said.
"You could, you know, let us go?" Said Tony, trying to put on a brave tone, but his voice cracked ever so slightly.
"Unlikely," replied the bird, deadpan.
"Isn't this usually the part where you tell us all your plans for your domination of the world?" Offered Mr. Berton.
"So you can try and work out a way of stopping me? I don't think!" Aak replied, his voice getting gradually louder and louder.
"Oh! Oh! I know!" Billy shouted, a huge grin on his face. "Why don't you tell us a story?"
"What?"
"Yeah, and it can have dragons in it, and werewolves, and bikes, and a turnip! And they can all dance around with each other and sing songs about trombones, and they all eat wholemeal pasta!"
"What the heck are you talking abo….?" Aak began before Billy interrupted him, continuing his verbal diarrhoea.
"And something very sad happens, and one of them dies." Billy looked glum for a moment, before perking up again and adding, "but he doesn't really! Deeheeheehee!"
Tony, Mr. Berton and Aak stared at Billy, wide eyed and open mouthed.
"Are you quite done?" Said Aak, not taking his eyes off the boy.
"I think so." Billy nodded.
"Good."
--
Meanwhile, Mandy and the Doctor were making their way back from getting the theme park closed. Frankly, it hadn't taken much to persuade the ticket kiosk clerk to round up the rest of the staff, lock the gates and go home. In fact, the Doctor had only got as far as saying Birdland needed to be shut before the man had replied "ok" and set about his task.
"Job satisfaction obviously isn't very high here," Mandy noted.
"Indeed," replied the Doctor, "any excuse for a day off, eh?"
Mandy didn't reply and the pair continued to walk for silence for a few moments. Suddenly, out of nowhere a continuous high tone began to sound.
"What's that?" The Doctor asked the girl.
Mandy reached into a pocket in her dress and pulled out her phone. "Just this piece of junk. The battery's dying," she said as she looked at the screen. "No signal. Go figure."
"Let me see," said the Doctor, snatching the phone from Mandy's grasp. "Hmm," he mused, taking the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. He removed the back of the phone and the battery, shone the screwdriver inside for a few seconds and replaced the battery and cover.
"What are you doing?"
The Doctor chucked the phone back to Mandy and said, "I just upgraded your phone. The battery won't die for years, and you can call home if you want."
"But home is nearly twenty years away."
"Yes," the Doctor grinned. "Yes it is."
By now, Mandy and the Doctor had arrived back at the entrance to the Tropical House. They walked up to Mavis and Grim. Mandy eyed the Reaper.
"So, how's the reunion going?" Mandy said sarcastically.
"Bittersweet," Grim replied. "Without the sweetness."
"Oh it's not all bad, we've been catching up, haven't we Grim?" Mavis said, almost as if through gritted teeth. "Picking up where we left off!"
"Any word from our feathered friend?" The Doctor asked, interrupting.
"Yes, Doctor," Mavis said, cautiously looking at the Time Lord, "and he wants you."
"Oh he does, does he? Well, let's not waste any time. AAK!" He shouted at the top of his voice. The Thraptusian appeared on the roof once more and looked down at the Doctor and the others.
"There you are! About time too, the boy is really starting the annoy and confuse me," Aak said.
"What have you done with Billy?" Mandy shouted, her right arm outstretched and pointing to Aak.
"Nothing …. yet … Why?" Aak looked Mandy square in the eyes. She didn't reply. "Intriguing," Aak said, thoughtfully.
"So here I am Aak," the Doctor said, "what do you want with me?"
"Well, Doctor, you and me are eventually going to have a little chat in here. I know what you are, Time Lord. But first, you must do something for me."
"Only if you can guarantee the safety of everyone in there."
"Oh they'll be quite safe if you co-operate," Aak snorted, "and if you please me I might even think about letting them go."
"What do you want?"
"Salt."
"Salt?"
"Yes, Doctor, salt. I need it help regain my powers. I'm still very weak from my arrival on your planet, and salt can help me be strong again. You go and bring me as much as you can find, and we'll go from there." Aak looked nonchalantly at one of his wings.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then all your friends in here shall die."
"Fair enough."
"You have ten minutes, Doctor." With that, Aak vanished back down the hole in the roof.
"Salt? Why the heck does he need salt?" Cried Grim, starting to panic again.
"Why does anyone need anything, Grim?" Snapped the Doctor. "He just does, and we need to find some, and quick. Think, people!"
"The café on the other side of Birdland!" Said Mavis. "They must have hundreds of those sachets of salt for fish 'n' chips or whatever."
"Brilliant! Let's go," the Doctor began to walk off. He paused for a moment and added, "actually Mavis, I don't know the way. Will you lead?"
"Certainly," Mavis smiled.
"You two better stay here," the Doctor called to Mandy and Grim, as he and Mavis walked off. "Would you like a jelly baby?" He said to the woman.
"No thanks," replied Mavis.
"Oh that's good, I haven't got any."
"Be careful Mavis!" Grim called out. He had always felt a pang of guilt about what he had done to her all those years ago, and didn't want to see her come to any harm.
"Listen to you! 'Be careful'." Mandy imitated Grim. "Since when do you show concern for mortals?"
Grim looked down at Mandy and thought for a moment. "You're not …. jealous, are you Mandy?" Grim said, failing to suppress a smirk.
Mandy was taken aback by that remark. She had always thought of her relationship with Grim as professional, with maybe just a hint of tolerance and maybe even grudging respect creeping in, but nothing more than that. True, she'd always found the power and status attractive, but ultimately she didn't need Grim to achieve that. She'd keep him around for amusement's sake, naturally, but that would be it.
However, the Reaper had touched a nerve. Mandy had always seen herself as a cut above the rest of the mere mortals, and prided herself on being the only one who could control the Grim Reaper. Mavis, it seemed, beat Mandy to it years before she was born.
"Firstly, never, ever imply that, ever again. If you do, you will know a pain that will push the very definition of hurting further than it ever has been before."
Grim gulped.
"Secondly," Mandy continued, "I just want to know how she controlled you."
"She never really controlled me," Grim recalled, wistfully. "She was a lot nicer than you are. We actually enjoyed each other's company."
"Sounds like you're the one who has a crush, Grim. On Mavis!"
"Don't be preposterous, child. She's seventy three years old!" Grim spluttered.
"What? You're, like, over a million years old!"
"Exactly. She's far too young for me. Anyway, what about you and your 'oooh, Mr. Aak, please don't hurt my Billy' routine?," Grim said, mocking the girl.
"Grim!" Mandy hissed, angrily.
"You two are so in love," Grim grinned, his confidence getting the better of him.
Mandy growled, and kicked off Grim's left leg. As he struggled to keep his balance on one foot, she grabbed the detached limb and belted Grim's head off with it. The head rolled a few feet before coming to a rest.
"Ow," he said.
Mandy walked up to the head, towering high above it. "That's another thing you're not allowed to imply, Grim. Time for hurting," she said, reaching down towards the skull.
Grim screamed.
--
"Lalalalalalalalalala," Billy sang as he paraded around the Tropical House in random directions. Mr. Berton stared at the boy, a look of sheer disbelief on his face. Tony crouched in the corner, covering his ears in a vain attempt to drown out the sound. Aak sat perched on a low wall, grinding his teeth in frustration, and rocking back and forth slightly.
"Eight minutes. Only eight minutes left," he told himself.
Mr. Berton approached the bird.
"Um, can I have a word with you, Mr. Aak?" He said.
"What do you want?"
"Well, I have a sort of proposition for you."
Aak looked him up and down for a second. "Sorry, not my type."
"What? No, a business proposition!" Mr Berton corrected Aak.
"Go on," sighed Aak.
"Well, you're a talking bird, yes?"
"You're a quick one, aren't you?"
"We could make a fortune, you and I! Not only would you be 'The Mysterious Bird of Birdland', you could be the 'Talking Bird of Birdland'. Oooooh, I can see it now!" Mr Berton began to visualise the sight of Aak in his cage at the centre of Birdland, thousands upon thousands of people flocking to see him and handing over vast wads of cash.
"Money? That's all you can think of?" Aak shouted, beginning to get angry. The outburst caused Billy to stop singing. He stood still and looked at the bird.
"Well, it makes the world go round and all that," said Mr. Berton.
"You're the worst type of human. Out for nothing but yourself. I've been communicating with the other birds here."
"You can do that?" Asked Tony.
"I can. What was the point in asking that?"
"I haven't said much recently."
"Hmm. Anyway, they hate you, Mr. Berton."
"Me? What did I do?" Replied the rotund gentleman.
"They tell me Birdland used to be a charitable organisation, helping preserve species and giving permanent homes to sick and injured birds. But you've changed all that since you took over! Now it's all about the money, and people have stopped coming here."
"Just a bit of teething trouble with the new location, that's all," Mr. Berton protested.
"Rubbish. You're selfish, Mr. Berton, and that will be your undoing. Now go back and sit with the others, you're annoying me more than the boy."
Mr. Berton skulked off back to the corner.
--
"You don't seem very phased by all this, Mavis," the Doctor said to the old lady as they made their way through Birdland.
"Oh this is nothing compared to the things I went through with Grim," she replied.
"I see. Tell me one thing, Mavis, do you honestly believe he's the actual Grim Reaper?"
"Of course. What else would he be?" Mavis replied, slightly confused.
"Well, I was thinking, perhaps some sort of alien entity that's taken the shape of a mythical creature in order to infiltrate the planet? Something like that?" The Doctor wondered, clutching at straws.
"And he's doing that by losing bets with children and becoming their best friend / slave for life?"
"I see your point," the Doctor admitted.
"No Doctor, the day he took Roger was the day that confirmed everything for me."
"Fascinating."
"That's one way of looking it, I suppose."
"Sorry. What happened to Roger?" The Doctor asked, sympathetically.
Mavis sighed. "We were both 23. The year was nineteen …."
"SQUAAAAAAAAAAWK!" A piercing, shrill cry interrupted them. The Doctor and Mavis stopped dead in their tracks. They had reached the café but between them and the entrance was a rather large penguin. It stood in place, its' wings stretched out as far as they could go either side of it. It was staring right at them, anger and hatred on its' face.
"Don't move," whispered the Doctor.
"What's it doing?" Mavis whispered back.
"It must have been under Aak's mind control earlier, he probably can't yet control how far his field of influence stretches. When the contact was broken it must have driven this poor thing insane."
"SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!!" The penguin cried again, advancing on Mavis and the Doctor. The pair dived out of the way and hid behind a nearby bench.
"Bloody hell, that thing's vicious," Mavis observed.
"Yes. We've got to get past it quickly and get that salt, or else Billy and the others are dead."
The Doctor and Mavis looked at each other for a moment.
"SQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!" The penguin screamed once more, slowly making its' way towards the Doctor and Mavis' hiding place.
"Any ideas?" Said Mavis, looking the Doctor in the eyes.
Doctor Who/the Doctor and the Tardis belong to the BBC.
Grim, Billy and Mandy belong to Maxwell Atoms and Cartoon Network.
All other characters are mine.
The real Birdland is property of the owners of Birdland. Please look up the website - adopt a bird today!