72 Days since my last update... well then I'm back and better then ever
I have no excuse for the break, it was just procrastination, but I have gotten a lot of prewriting and conceptualizing done (as well as the longest Chapter to Date), so much so that I shall offer you a full list of episode titles, which Doctor Who Fans will no doubt know are the best way to look into the future without spoiling it.
1. The Madman and the Recluse
2. Time Travelers (Three Different Ones)
3. My Big, Fat, Silurian Wedding
4. The Traitor's Admirer
5. The Genius's Poison
6. The Core of Sakih
7. Caroline's Retrobution
8. Five Nights in a Barroom
9. Angel Light
10. The Giza Affair
11. Torchwood IV: Reprise
12. Russia's Seronade
13. Time Unwinds
Make of that what you will.
Oh and just so you know, words in Italics are written words, it will be important, and it will be constant
Musical Accompaniment: Charles Mingus's Profile of Jackie, it might seem a bit short, but you'll see what I do in this chapter.
www . youtube watch?v=jfAxH1KDfL4
Disclaimer: At some points, the sentences in chapters may have been written a week apart, so if its not cohesive enough, tell me and I'll correct it. And without further ado...
Episode 2: Time Travelers (Three Different Ones) Part 5
The Doctor looked around at the room they had just warped to and smiled at his Tardis "Hello sexy, hope you didn't miss me." He turned to Matthew. "That's a useful mode of time travel you got there. I've never seen anything like it."
"Would you believe that it was constructed from a vortex manipulator?"
"What!? But that's so… human!?" The Doctor had seen much time travel from many different species, but never anything this advanced outside of time lord technology, which had been the best in all of time and space. The best Humans ever made were vortex manipulators, which were inaccurate, often sending the user years off of their target time. They also felt dreadful on the body when used and they couldn't break through the simplest of barriers. This flute was accurate to the second. The Doctor began to scan it with his sonic screwdriver.
"You're a genius!"
"Well, that's high praise coming from what is among the smartest life in the universe. All I did was replace the normal button gamma wave trigger system with a sound wave one. The more on tune I am, the more accurate I am. Then of course there's the added benefit of no gamma wave trigger system to be thrown out of alignment. Plus it's much more elegant than any vortex manipulator."
"All that elegance must do a number on the battery."
"Hey don't knock my elegance; it has won me more battles than any machine."
"But how do you keep it charged? I've never seen you at the rifts at Sardicktown on Ember or the schism of the planet Balhoon or on the great ocean of Cheem or in Cardiff Wales of this planet.
"I built my house on the rift at, Chell?"
Chell couldn't have cared less about their conversation and had tried to insert a comment; however, she found that as she spoke no sound came out. She tried to yell; she tried to scream; not a sound. She picked up the journal and reread the note. "I'm so sorry" made much more sense now. She tore out the first page of the notebook and wrote on the second page. She then tapped Mathew's shoulder, not especially forcefully, but the cold metal got his attention easily enough and he turned around and read the words.
"What do you mean you can't speak!?"
She took the pencil and wrote; "there is no sound coming out of my mouth."
"Open your mouth; I need to make a diagnosis." The Doctor
Chell did as the Doctor asked and the Doctor scanned her throat with his sonic screwdriver, as he looked at the results, his jaw dropped. A look of disdain, curiosity, and disgust crawled across his face.
"How can this be!?"
"What?" Matthew's quite tone seemed to become even softer and more reserved.
"Chell," the Doctor began shakily "you don't have vocal chords, it's like someone removed them. There aren't even any indications of stem cells, just scars. Do you remember what happened to you?"
She shook her head, her face not emotionless but only subtly indicating the intensity of emotion welling inside her. What emotion it was is hard to say, there is so many things you feel when something that you've only just learned to use has been taken away. She had always been content to not speak, speaking was dangerous. Speaking would give GLaDOS power; another thing she could take and use against her. And the voice had always reminded her of this, it got her through her entire life with sanity, at least as far back as she could remember. But she didn't have time to ponder her memory, nor the voice. There was only emotion.
"How can I be so stupid!? To take another companion so soon; I need to find a way to fix this right…
"No, this is my fault, I asked Chell to do this search; it's my fault. Leave me to solve this problem, don't worry, I have connections to the best hospital in the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire: Sakih. And yes its post Dalek attack; by more than 45000 years."
"She already has a Doctor at the Sisters of the Infinite Sisters circa 52nd century."
Chell could not hear them. Not because anything had happened to ears, but because of the voice. Normally it spoke in a soft, motherly tone; not so now. It was screaming, franticly; as if it had foreseen death itself. Its message was said in haste, but it rang clear in Chell's mind.
Don't go to the hospital.
And of course she listened. The voice was afraid, frantic, and it had never let her down before.
She once again used her right, artificial hand to get their attention and showed them the note "Forget it."
"What?" They both asked simultaneously.
"I don't need to get my voice fixed, I'll do without. I've spend too much time in that hospital Doctor."
Mathew wasn't speechless, but the Doctor sure was. He felt the shock in the Doctor next to him. He could not tell what emotions the Doctor was feeling. He wasn't too sure that the Doctor himself knew. Maybe it was just pure emotion: emotion without context, without a reason. Maybe the Doctor did not know how to respond to Chell's remark, but it needed to respond none the less.
Chell awaited response. Her emotion was also not easily defined as to what it was, but Mathew could narrow it down at least. There appeared to be resentment in her words, but Chell's face did not show it. It was very stoic, except for her eyes. They didn't reveal hate, but… fear? Maybe that is what was most easily visible, but Mathew could read people. While the Doctor appeared to have no specific emotion, Chell seemed to have all of them behind those eyes; some she didn't even realize were there.
Mathew gained no more than this from his observations, but if there was one thing prevalent that resided above all else, it was tension. And who else but Mathew could break it.
"Are you sure you don't want treatment? It's not pleasant living without a voice."
"I've lived, what's stopping me now."
Mathew observed the Doctor's reaction quietly, for it was very sudden. He caught what might have been remorse, acknowledgment of loss of some kind, but it was over in a flash. The Doctor always moved on, but he remembered; but it happened to quickly for Chell to catch it.
"Well if that's what you want, or don't want… ah well, it doesn't matter. Earthliens don't tend to care too much about their own grammar anyway."
Matthew had drawn a few conclusions from the episode. Chell and the Doctor were newly acquainted, as Chell was a bit wary of the Doctor and tension seemed to appear whenever anything was brought up about her past. They trusted each other though, in the sense that they knew that they wouldn't kill or leave each other for dead. Whether Matthew's inference was true or not, he was very interested in the pair, particularly Chell. He had heard about the Doctor, the stories, the legends, even got an account from a former traveling companion of his. Chell was a mystery to him, but yet she felt oddly… familiar. He couldn't place it, but it was like how he felt around… no not really. But none the less, Matthew wished to spend more time with them.
"Alright, if I can't take you to a hospital, than at least let me treat you two for lunch, if you wouldn't mind going to Cardiff Wales, I'll show you the best café in the city."
"Well I don't see why not; Chell?"
Chell shrugged her shoulders and wrote "sure."
"How about we take the Tardis?" the Doctor suggested.
"Sure," Matthew said nonchalantly.
"Sure?" Most people would question what the Tardis was; he said that he knew the Doctor from someone who was like a brother. From whom did he get this information from?
"Yeah, I thought it would be cool from what I've heard about it. I heard that it's bigger on the inside or something like that."
"Well Mathew, you think you know a lot about Tardis, but why don't you see for yourself…"
The Doctor snapped his fingers and the Tardis door opened. Mathew looked inside, gaping.
"Well, he certainly wasn't lying."
The Doctor patted him on the back and ran inside the Tardis and energetically spoke. "Come on get it."
Matthew walked in, admiring the interior and Chell closely followed behind, shutting the door after they entered.
"He said Cardiff, right Chell?"
She nodded.
"Well then," the Doctor pulled a few more levers and pressed a button. "Geronimo!"
One Delicious Lunch Later
"I never did get around to giving Clinton those Symphony tickets, though I doubt he would have time to hear it anyway, he was President by then."
Matthew laughed quietly (the loudest the Doctor and Chell had heard him was his flute playing) and Chell smiled; by then they had finished their meals, though Mathew was still sipping his coffee, the best in Cardiff as he called it. Ironic really from a café called "Tea & Cake," though the Doctor had said the Tea was excellent as well. Chell had also ordered Coffee, after hearing Mathew's recommendation. She didn't really have anything else to compare it to though. The Doctor anyway had started talking, maybe starting another stor…
"Would you like a refill?"
The waitress had noticed the empty plates and had come over with coffee and a check. She was the new 19 year old college student working at the establishment, this one going by the name Gwen Cooper. The Doctor had said something about meeting her when the Earth was stolen, but he didn't elaborate.
"No Thank You" wrote Chell, she was awake enough at the moment.
"Oh, and my manager heard about the surgery, and we're offering a complimentary of our red velvet cake to you."
Chell didn't change the already present writing on the paper, she didn't want anyone's pity cake and besides, cake did not bring back the rosiest of memories for her. The surgery quip had been thought up by Mathew.
"Are you sure? It's free."
Chell underlined her words. Certain words were returning to the forefront of her brain, and she did not wish to dwell on the subject; however, Gwen was persistent.
"I know that my manager is only doing this because of your recent operation, but the cake is pretty damn good and no one else is going to offer you free cake; or at least cake that isn't drugged or poisoned or something."
Chell would have smirked has she been talking about anything else other than cake. One of the few things she could remember was one of the frequently mentioned things by GLaDOS at Aperture Science Laboratories. The cake, what had been called reward to the person who completed all of the tests, which was later revealed to be made of, well, Chell did not wish to dwell on that fact, though suffice to say, she would have been thankful to be alive if she wasn't reminiscing.
"Is everything alright here?"
The manager had come over as soon as she saw Chell's discontent dominate her expression. Gwen may have been capable at her job, but she had a habit of being a bit cynical at times. No customers had complained hitherto, but Gwen's manager had no desire to risk her future customer's satisfaction.
"Yes boss."
"Good, good, Gwen, can you go fetch the cake?"
"She said she didn't want it."
"Oh, are you sure?"
A headache had overtaken Chell and her malcontent expression had sunk deeper into grief. The Manager thought that she was annoyed with Gwen, which was not the worst of theories to be fair. Matthew however was much keener in his sense of Chell's distress, and spoke up (though his speaking up meant reaching volume slightly softer than an average voice).
"She doesn't want a slice."
"Well, alright then."
The manager walked away a bit flustered, leaving Gwen and the three customers.
"So do you need anything else?"
"No" said Mathew.
"Actually I have something to ask you; what were you doing in March of 2009, you know because I thought you were someone, but then you didn't say anything, but then I realized that my face has changed, and I just wanted to make sure I wasn't confusing you with anyone else."
"What‽"
"Uh Doctor," Matthew was whispering now, "its 1997"
"Oh thank you Mathew. Sorry, I got the year wrong and you haven't met me yet, well you're not going to meet me, at least in this body; but anyway it's a pleasure to meat you!"
"You too, have a nice day," she walked away silently shaking her head at the moment of absurdity she had just experienced. The trio soon left the establishment, Mathew with his arm around Chell. She did not need the support, but she did not reject it; she'd had a rough day and a tense moment with no tension. A random stranger who said the wrong thing at the wrong time for Chell, it occurred to her that if her boss had overheard her swear she would likely be fired or have her pay cut or something like that. She was only trying to make her laugh. But what was the Doctor doing; trying to relieve the tension? Well, he is not good at it if that is what he was going for.
The trio continued to walk towards the Tardis, seeing several posters. One for a Manic Street Preachers concert on Friday the 5th—Mathew noted that they were a trio at this point in history—one old poster for the Weird Sisters who played on August 30th—Mathew muttered something uncouth about the ministry and the absence of bassist Donaghan Tremmlett —and an announcement for the show Lend Me A Tenor which led the Doctor and Mathew into an impassioned discussion on the Broadway farce. The Doctor was about to make a quip about Jeff Brook's performance as the Bellhop, but then Matthew stopped was they were walking down an alley towards the Tardis. Except for them, the passage was abandoned.
"I should probably go now, I have plenty of details on the ministry to relay back to my boss, and hopefully NARWHAL will do right with it."
"So you're here to win a war?" Chell inquired.
"No, the war is going to be lost by that noseless fascist Tom Riddle. It's not a fixed point, but only a suicidal genius with access to reliable time travel would dare try to change the outcome and actually have the means to do so; partially because of my work. In fact, that's how I originally became friends with Granger; he saved my life during the first time he tried to take over. I mean he pays well too, and time-line ends up being better when this war is contained in Britain."
"Well I certainly hope you succeed in your endeavor."
"I hope to see you again."
"Moi Aussi" Mathew wrote below Chell's sentence.
"Bonjour!"
"Doesn't that mean Hello?" The Doctor hadn't spoken French in about 16 years, so he couldn't be sure he was getting it right.
"In Quebec it can mean both."
And with that, he waved, pulled out his flute and played a short melody and disappeared; Chell had scene stranger and the Doctor was still casually amused by the effectiveness of his time travel device, but also curious. Not in the physics of the flute, he understood that perfectly, but in the man. He never specified who he said he learned about him from; though the Doctor knew that that person was a man (that cut the list down considerably). And how would he have the time to reinvent the vortex manipulator. All of his instincts told the Doctor that Matthew was human, but his appearance was that of a college junior who had, prior in his life, hit the gong of puberty with a triangle beater. Humans did overtime evolve to stay younger looking for longer, but he didn't carry himself like a human from that era. Nor did his appearance look in anyway unnatural, and the Doctor could see when someone had work done, no matter how subtle or natural (the time lord eye isn't significantly stronger than the human eye, but their brains have the capability to notice considerably more details).
The Doctor was a curious man and he resolved to investigate Matthew Williams.
"Bonjour!"
The Doctor and Chell looked down at the entrance of the alleyway to see Mathew Williams; however, he was dressed much differently. The best way to describe it would be very similar to Julian Casablancas's outfit from the music video of the Lonely Island song Boombox— mirrored sunglasses and all—though he wore no gloves with his attire. His hair was also visibly longer and dyed white.
"I wanted to catch you before you left, because I got these tickets for a concert on Friday at Diagon Alley in London, and I think it's the least I can do for letting me on the Tardis."
"Diagon Alley? I've been visiting London for the past 900 years or so, and I've never heard of it."
"Well it is um… hard to find. Go to the Leaky Cauldron on Charring Cross Road; and give this letter to Tom. He'll take you there as long as you mention me."
"He owes you a debt?"
"Quite certainly; and if he asks; no, his debt is not repaid. Now I have to be going, I have prior engagements; I'm meeting the Royal Buckley Town Band after a gig at Ewloe Castle. So I'll see you at the concert."
"Bonjour."
"Salut" Mathew wrote under her Bonjour. "Bonjour is to formal an ending, don't you think."
He then quickly walked down the alley into a van which neither the Doctor nor Chell had noticed. The Doctor wondered if the people in the van were wizards and if wizards had perception filters through some magical method. Chell meanwhile kept her glances at the alley itself, noticing that something was amiss; not the car, but something had changed. Her glance came to rest more or less on the three posters, where she looked intently, though she was not completely sure why. It was just some posters for the Manic Street Preachers or something like that, the Weird Sisters featuring someone, and that Broadway farce thingy… Chell chose to dismiss the odd feeling she had about the scenario.
She and the Doctor reboarded the Tardis, choosing to take a shortcut to Friday.
September 5th, The Leaky Cauldron around sundown
"Hello, we'd like to see Tom, immediately if possible."
The Doctor held up the Psychic paper to a man with a blank expression that suggested he hadn't slept recently. His nametag said Horatio, no last name; he looked like he was in his 50's maybe.
"Mold Inspector? We had some bloke for that Wednesday, and there was no mold."
"Who is this bloke?"
"Ugh…" he snapped his fingers repeatedly to retrieve the memory, maybe it was a hangover, from drinking in the morning? "Oh yeah, he was called John Smith, had this Panama hat and a sweater with question marks on it. Had this girl with him, what was her name… Ace; yeah, Ace. Man she looked like this old bo…girlfriend of mine with that jacket. Huh... the 80's.
"Ah them— terrible, they're never thorough, shame of the industry, but don't worry, you have me. I'll scan every nook and cranny for mold; all kinds: Xerophilic, Mucor, Fusarium, Raxacoricofallapatorian Arexisence; well actually not the last one because that's native to Raxacoricofallapatorius, and Torchwood would be here if you had that, Torchwood one I'd think judging on the year— I'll scan for it anyway, but we need to see Tom first for you know, businessy stuff."
The Doctor looked down to see a wand pointed at him and an alert expression on Horatio's face, not diminished in its intensity by his bloodshot eyes.
"Who are you and how do you know about Torchwood?" His voice lost all haziness, he may have been hungover, but that didn't mean he couldn't snap to attention within seconds. "And don't try that psychic paper again, or you'll wish I was sober."
"Oh I am the Doctor, and this is Chell."
"Name, not rank"
"Doctor"
"Doctor Who?"
"It's just the Doctor, there's not a who or what or where or why or how in it. Now if we could see…"
"You better have an appointment or a very good reason for seeing Tom; otherwise, buy something, or get out."
"Mathew Williams" Chell wrote and showed Horatio. He scowled.
"I'll get Tom, you wait here."
After a minute, he came back with a very old, bald man, who gave off an aura of eccentricity and experience. He did though look slightly irked.
"What do you want?"
"Mathew gave us a letter to give to you."
Tom scowled as he read the letter, mumbling various profanities in a very peeved tone. Chell made out several of his statements, the most telling being "escorting two damn muggles." After he finished the letter, he put it down and scowled at the Doctor. "No," he began. "Tell him that I'm in enough trouble already with the ministry and I'm not getting in any more, and tell him that that was quite a stunt he pulled."
"He said that now you're equal"
She showed the writing to Tom who squinted to read it, but then contorted his face into a wry smile upon sight of the words.
"Well," he poured some scotch for the Doctor, Chell, and Himself; "that changes everything." He gulped down his tumbler. "Come along then."
They followed him to the back of the pub where he opened up a wall to reveal Diagon Alley. It was a sprawling avenue filled with delightful shops and buildings. The streets were lined with various wizards and witches, most dressed in robes. As Tom led then down the street, Chell and the Doctor received several curious stares, though nothing threatening. It just wasn't that common anymore to see people in muggle clothes on Diagon Alley. Soon a great stage came into view at the end of the alley, where they could see preparation for a great event of some kind.
"The admission booth is over there, have fun at your concert."
Chell and the Doctor walked over and waited in line, where eventually they showed their tickets to the vendor. He was a young man whose nametag read Lido.
"Ah, you must be one of his lot then." His thick accent identified him as being from Liverpool, though it was thick, almost too thick.
"Who?"
"Oh the new bassist for the Weird Sisters, Ferris Bueller; their old one Donaghan Tremmlett is muggle born, fled the country. I mean I don't mean to judge by appearance, but Ferris wears muggle clothing, so I assume that people in that garb are fans of his. I mean it's quite brave of you; some people get harassed for wearing it these days. Well anyway the tickets check out; just show these tickets to me to get backstage after the show. How you can afford that I have no idea."
"Thank you."
Chell and The Doctor soon found a place to stand. This was a rock concert, and they didn't have to wait long for the curtain to rise, revealing the Weird Sisters, with "Ferris Beuller" on stage with a bass guitar. Ferris of course was none other than Mathew Williams, and he proved to be a competent bass player; the fans noticing a slightly different style on such hits as "Do the Hippogriff" and "This is the Night;" but it still meshed and the audience was ravenous and the Doctor and Chell were enjoying themselves. After a rousing performance of "Magic Works" which could have easily closed the show, "Ferris" for the first time took the mic and addressed the crowd. His voice still sounded a bit quiet despite the speakers.
"Now as you may know, I'm Ferris Beuller, and I'm here in place of Donaghan Tremmlett, who alas could not be here to play this evening."
Boos erupted from the crowd, not necessarily directed at Mathew, but more at the lack of attendance of Mr. Tremmlett.
"Of course this is all thanks to the ministry here in Britain, now I live in Canada, where many of reforms you have implemented have been shunned, and I must say that I have been trying to change that state of affairs for quite a while now, so if I may, I'd like to play you a song that illustrates my feelings toward your symbol of patriotism and national pride, Yaxley; the embodiment of your military might, Bellatrix Lestrange; and of course the quintessence of your morality, Dolores Umbridge."
Bagpipe player and keyboardist Gideon Crumb began an ascending piano rift on his keyboard, which the few Pink Floyd Fans in the crowd immediately recognized as "Pigs (Three Different Ones)"; they were shocked. Everyone else was listening to the bass solo; blissfully unaware of the lyrics that were to come. And then came the first verse, sung in dedication to Yaxley.
Big man, pig man, ha ha charade you are.
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha charade you are.
And when your hand is on your heart,
you're nearly a good laugh, almost a joker,
with your head down in the pig bin,
saying, " Keep on digging", pig stain on your fat chin.
What do you hope to find, when you're down in the pig mine?
You're nearly a laugh, you're nearly a laugh,
but you're really a cry.
The audience was shocked; this was rebellion, opposition, to the government… how could they dare do that, they were going to get themselves killed. Lead singer Myron Wagtail moved on to the next verse, for Bellatrix.
Bus stop rat bag, ha ha charade you are.
You fucked up old hag, ha ha charade you are.
You radiate cold shafts of broken glass.
You're nearly a good laugh, almost worth a quick grin.
You like the feel of steel, you're hot stuff with a hat pin,
and good fun with a hand gun.
You're nearly a laugh, you're nearly a laugh,
but you're really a cry.
Then came the guitar solo, and that's where the magic happened. The band quite literally levitated a pig above the audience and set off so many magical special effects. Matthew had thrown off his jacket in the chords to reveal a tee-shirt with the cover of Pink Floyds album Animals on it. It also revealed a large scar on his right arm that was easily visible to the audience.
By now the ministry, which of course had been monitoring the concert, began to mobilize. A shocked Umbridge had just arrived on the scene as her verse with its own modified lyrics began.
Hey you, Umbridge, ha ha charade you are.
You Merlin's crotch itch, ha ha charade you are.
You're trying to keep our feelings off the street,
you're nearly a real treat, all tight lips and cold feet,
and do you feel abused?
You gotta stem the evil tide,
and keep it all on the inside.
Deary, you're nearly a treat, Deary, you're nearly a treat,
but you're really a cry.
And then came the outgoing guitar solo, which was met with thunderous applause. The band then chose to go into an appropriate encore, Sheep, from the same album. The ministry was powerless to do anything, lest they have a mob on their hands. The concert finally ended with a playing of Another Brick in the Wall Part 2; and the Doctor and Chell both proceeded to shove their way backstage, flashing their tickets to the guard. "Ferris" would have quite a lot to explain.
Of course the guard wasn't only moved by the Doctor and Chell; behind them followed a cross Yaxley, and angered Bellatrix, and an inflamed Umbridge, whose rage perhaps surpassed them all.
Pigs (Three Different Ones)
www . youtube watch?v=2Okd3Oyii7E
If you want to here the others, you can find them on your own I'm sure.
Now my next update should finish this episode and though it will be long, I already have some of it written so I'm setting the goal of 1 week (realistically 2). And of course review and or PM about what you think of this chapter, that would be awesome to get and will make sure I make my deadline.
Oh and I got two anonymous reviews that I will respond to:
I'm not saying my: Thank you, and I don't really proofread because I updated these late, but I will find time to go through it now that I've finally updated.
magic chen: I think I'm missing some context here but thank you?
See you next week, or the week after, but hopefully next week