Wolf's bane
It was a bright, warm day. The pale lilac sky and golden/green grass gave it a kind of perpetual sunset image. Children were playing in the park near the woods, under the watchful eyes of their parents. It was the perfect day for a picnic, and many families had the same idea. They traipsed out of their 5 star, reasonably priced hotels. It was a built up area, but everything was clean. No smoke or fumes, no traffic, except the trams moving down the cobbled streets. The park was surrounded by four hotels, but the people who knew this place well, always snuck through the woods, to a fifth. It seemed more like a villa than anything, and there was a large marble fountain sprouting crystal clear water, surrounded by a quadrant of sandstone, surrounded by grass. It wasn't too big, about just the size of a normal reasonably sized house garden than a park. But it was beautiful. Only about eight people ever stayed in it at once. Back where the families with children were, a small boy stopped on the edge of the wood.
"What is it Aaron?" called his father.
"I thought I heard someone…"
Then there was a howl, and Aaron disappeared from sight, right in front of everyone in the park.
"Oh, that one's easy." came the Doctor's voice, "It's a storm, obviously."
"You know, you're scarily good at Anglo-Saxon riddles." commented Ruby, putting the book back in her bag.
"Naturally, I invented a few of them." he shrugged.
The three friends were sitting in the control room of the Tardis again. Ruby was sitting on the steps with Kit on her lap as the machine choked along, Martha leaned against the railings, and the Doctor kept an eye on the console. They were used to the rocky ride that the ship provided by now. The book had been picked up from their last adventure, archaeological dig turned ghost hunt. It was surprisingly warm in there at the moment. The Doctor had neither his coat nor his jacket on, and had loosened his tie. Martha wore a dark purple vest top and black three-quarter length trousers, with sandals. Ruby was in a spaghetti-strap striped blue t-shirt, cropped jeans, and her usual black sneakers, not dissimilar to the Doctor's red ones. Today she was wearing a dark purple bandana.
"Blimey it's hot in here." sighed Martha.
"Don't you have air-conditioning?" complained Ruby.
"Normally, yes, but I'm afraid it's broken." apologised the Doctor. "But hey, I'm sure you'll forgive me when you see where we're going." he grinned.
"Oh yea, where's that then?" Martha folded her arms.
"Wait and see."
Martha groaned in annoyance, and marched off to the other side of the Tardis to stand in front of the fan. The Doctor looked at her amusedly, and Ruby just laughed softly, playing some kind of game with Kit, she would wiggle her finger in a pattern, and Kit would dance around it, trying to catch it. She seemed to be getting more cat like every day, but she still had the fox's tail and the wings, which put pay to that theory.
"Hey Ruby, can you grab that switch for me?" asked the Doctor, pointing vaguely to the left of him.
Ruby followed his line of vision, and raised an eyebrow. He happened to be pointing at a section of the many levered and buttoned control panel where there were at least half a dozen switches. She stood up, timidly looking at all of them, trying to work out what he meant.
"Which one?" she ventured.
"Second from left, top row. It's green." he explained
Right. That was sort of clearer. She turned and caught sight of the afore mentioned switch, that looked rather like a joy pad from the ancient gaming systems. She watched the Doctor as he held one hand on something like a cog he was winding up, the other was pressed down on a huge button, and his knee was leaning on a kind of spring like thing to keep it down. She shrugged, and as he nodded, she pushed the joy stick up.
"Don't whatever you do, let go of it." said the Doctor sternly.
"I won't…"
Kit, realising that her usual play mate was tied up, flew over to Martha, and kept nuzzling her hand, trying to get her to play the game she had just been playing with Ruby. Martha smiled slightly, soon losing her bad mood. The Vegrandis chased her hand, and she laughed, enjoying it herself.
"Hold on tight ladies." warned the Doctor.
Martha scooped Kit up, and grabbed the pillar next to her, Ruby stayed permanently attached to the lever, squaring her feet so she was grounded and wouldn't fall. The Doctor let go of the cog, and the Tardis suddenly sunk down, like they were in a log flume or something. They all rocked to one side, clasping whatever they could to stop falling, and with a spin and a bump, the Tardis landed.
"You ever thought of putting brakes on this thing?" wondered Martha aloud.
"Nah, where's the fun in that? Come on!"
The Doctor strode out of the Tardis, and the others followed him, wondering what to expect, but glad to be out of that sauna. Who would have thought you could get heat waves in a space ship? Ruby slipped her bag over her shoulder, and Martha tied a jacket around her waist as the Doctor restored his tie and jacket. The three of them, Kit on Martha's shoulder, stood blinking as sunlight filtered through the trees above them. Martha and Ruby both gasped, it was so beautiful. The Doctor took their stunned silence as a victory; usually neither of them hesitated to make some kind of comment on their location. He led them through the trees, to a park full of golden green grass, with little purple flowers scattered around like daisies. The sky was as lilac as the flowers, but a stronger tone.
"It's beautiful!" breathed Martha.
"Where are we?" asked Ruby.
"Thought you might like it. Martha Jones, Ruby Arduino, welcome to Violeta."
Ruby clung happily to Kit, who mewled in excitement, and Martha looked every which way as they strode along a little path in the park. Beautiful crystal and pastel coloured hotels surrounded them. They looked more like pieces of art than a holiday maker's destination. There were a few people scattered around, who looked at them curiously, usually with bright smiles and waves. The Doctor smugly kept his hands in his pockets, nodding the occasional hello to passers by.
"This is one of Earth's colony planets. Light years away. They came across in about the year four billion to find a better life. Even started at the year zero again. They picked up various other species on the way, taking pity on them and bringing them too." explained the Doctor.
"A modern day Noah's Ark." grinned Martha.
"I suppose." The Doctor agreed, "Much more air tight though. Human kindness at its best."
Martha smiled, "There's hope for us yet, eh Ruby?"
Ruby nodded, and a passing merchant, who looked rather like a cross between a fox and a human, bowed at her daintily, and handed her a bright magenta sunflower. He turned to Martha, holding up one for her as well, a warm rusty orange.
"Two lovely flowers, for two lovely flowers." He winked and departed before they could pay him.
"I could get used to this…" Martha smiled at her flower, putting it in her hair for safe keeping.
"Lovely." quipped the Doctor.
Ruby carefully pinned hers to the strap of her bag, and Kit sniffed it, and then sneezed. As they walked passed the hotels, they came to what looked like a main street. There was a smattering of stands selling food, ice creams and souvenirs. The normal high street shops, or rather, their equivalents, were lined up next to each other. The store owners chatted animatedly outside the doors, enjoying the sunshine. You didn't see that often in Regent Street.
"It's so…" Martha was struggling to find the word.
"Clean." provided Ruby.
"Oh yes." The Doctor grinned, "The Violettans have found an efficient way to power everything using solar energy. Cleanest planet in the galaxy this."
"Makes a change from London." pointed out Martha.
"And Plymouth." agreed Ruby.
"I'm glad you brought that up." The Doctor grinned. "I wanted to show you something."
Curious, the pair of them were led over a slight hill, towards what seemed to be a sea. It was beautifully clear, and standing on the white sanded beach before it, was an almost exact replica of a 17th century ship. Only it was made of metal, and instead of sails, the masts were holding up what looked like some kind of bubble, a roof over the ship, completely sealing it. It looked rather familiar to both Martha and Ruby. They stepped to the side as a group of small children ran up to it, followed by two people who seemed to be their school teachers.
"Is…that what I think it is?" ventured Ruby.
"Probably. I'd like to introduce you to the Mayflower. Mark….497…I think. It carried the colony over from your Earth. Quite the tourist attraction."
There was no chance they were going to get any closer. The beach was absolutely packed with people and aliens of all ages and species. Instead of battling their way through the crowd, they decided to go for a walk down the high street. Martha and Ruby didn't have a clue what half of them were selling, but they glanced in every single window. Kit kept pressing her nose right up to the glass. On a couple of occasions, Ruby had had to pounce on her to get the excitable little creature out of the way of passers by. To avoid a scene, they headed back the way they had come, towards the hotels and park. Apparently, they did good hot dogs. They could smell them before they arrived, which was strange, as they hadn't noticed them before. But now they were more adjusted, and spotted new things. Including, a very old and faded piece of paper, stuck to a tree.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CHILD?
Aaron Brass disappeared on the 25th July 5120
If you have any information please call Apri l3- 19582
"What are you looking at Ruby?" asked Martha, turning back when she realised her friend had stopped.
Ruby motioned to the sign. "I guess some things never change."
As they carried on down the path, a man hurried over to them, coming so close that the girls started, and moved back in surprise. He was quite an attractive specimen, with messy black hair, a light dusting of stubble, tall and slim. He was wearing a faded t-shirt, and well-worn jeans, on his feet however, were smart black shoes, which looked rather out of place. They didn't dwell on it too much; the Doctor wore sneakers with a suit after all.
But his bright blue eyes frightened them; they were half crazed, terrified, or simply exhausted. They couldn't tell which.
"You were looking! You were looking at it! Do you know anything? Anything at all?!"
He grabbed Ruby's arm, and she let out a yelp, trying to pull away, as Kit twittered, trying to peck him off, but he was surprisingly strong. The Doctor immediately stepped in, standing in front of the man and blocking him off from the cowering girl, who Martha put her arm around, glaring at the man.
"Calm down!" said the Doctor angrily, "What are you on about? What do you want?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you." The man looked down, his eyes filling with tears. "That sign. It's my son. He disappeared eight years ago. I haven't seen you before, so I thought…I'm sorry." All three of them were knocked back when he suddenly started crying. Ruby stepped forward, and took his hand.
"It's ok, don't cry. Maybe we can help you."
Martha just stared at her. Half from amazement, half from a sort of respect. The man looked so alarmed, that he blinked his tears away, staring intently at her. Then he smiled, and clutched her hand, a gesture of thanks for dismissing his earlier introduction.
"I really am sorry. I'm not usually that bad, but it's been so long…if you had kids…"
"It's ok. I can see where you're coming from. What's your name? Ruby's right, maybe we can help." pushed The Doctor.
"Ruby…" the man looked thoughtful, then smiled, "My daughter is your age I think. Jade. I'm Jeremy, Jeremy Brass."
"I'm Martha, this is the Doctor." Introduced the other companion.
"And, the pouting cat bird is Kit." Ruby looked up at Kit, who had retreated sulkily in a tree having not been able to help her.
"I can tell you more; I have a hotel...through the woods." Jeremy eyed them warily.
"Allons-y." the Doctor beamed, waving Jeremy on.
So they did just that. They were surrounded by squeals and laughter of children playing, the chirping of birds, and the mutterings of other animals, as they padded along the fresh, springy grass. Sounds fell away as they approached the wood. Martha and Ruby shivered, despite the heat, as they came to the edge of it. Kit launched herself into Ruby's bag, and the Doctor frowned, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Jeremy suddenly sped up, wanting to get through the dim light of the trees over head. They passed an old stone bench, chipped, and covered with creepers. It clearly hadn't been used in a while. The path they walked was along side an empty groove, which appeared to be a dried up spring. The whole forest seemed to be drying up for some reason. It was unnerving.
Eventually, the came out into a grassy patch, surrounding golden stone bricks, dusty, with weeds poking up between them. A marble fountain loomed in the middle of the courtyard, that too dried up, completely empty, with plants growing through it, and small coins in the pool at the bottom, which no-one seemed to have the heart to remove. They looked ahead of them, and saw a small Georgian-style villa. Steps led up to it, and it was painted a gentle cream. There seemed to be three floors, roughly a dozen windows on the facing wall on each of them. The steps led up to a glass conservatory, and the ground either side of it was a rock garden, already sprouting bright flowers, shrubs and herbs. But like everything else, it was over grown.
"It's beautiful." breathed Martha.
Jeremy shrugged, "It used to be."
"Still is." assured Ruby.
"It was once really popular. People drifted away though."
Jeremy led them up the stairs, and Martha and Ruby unconsciously walked nearer to each other, realising there were no sounds at all, except for them. Not even a bird. Their feet crunched gently on the stone, and they wandered in to the conservatory. It was average sized, enough for a white metal swing chair, a table and a potted plant. Ruby had to hide her giggling at the plant. It reminded her a lot of hotels she'd been to, or maybe it was mild hysteria.
The came into the house, and were greeted by a solid oak desk, and squashy seats scattered around on one side, surrounding a fire place and a glass coffee table. There was a lift in the corner, and a door either side of it. To the right of them, there was a glass wall, leading in to what they presumed to be the restaurant, spotless wooden floors, with tables of two, four, and six, all perfectly spaced. It was basically, an open planned house.
"Sally?" called Jeremy. "Are you available?"
A head popped up from behind the desk, startling the three guests. A woman, who was very slim, and quite small, with bright auburn hair pulled back in a bun, and dark grey eyes, beamed at all of them. She was clearly the optimist to Jeremy's pessimist. She looked delighted to see The Doctor, Martha and Ruby, and curtsied to them, as she was wearing a long black skirt, and a pale green blouse. She barely blinked; it was though she thought if she did, they would just disappear.
"Oh my gosh, guests?!" she cried, Irish accented, "Where ever did you find them Jerry?"
Jeremy seemed reluctant to answer, so the Doctor did on his behalf. "My friends and I just arrived, we were looking for a place to stay, and came across Jeremy here, who said he had a room."
Ruby and Martha exchanged glances, ok, so that's the story they were going with. Even Jeremy looked relieved. It had been a while since he'd seen his wife so happy, he didn't want to ruin it by dredging up the past, and Aaron's disappearance. He gave a discreet grateful look to the Doctor.
"Oh! Of course! Come in, come in! I'm afraid it's a bit untidy, but I'm sure you'll feel right at home." Sally assured.
"We already do Mrs Brass." replied Martha, playing along.
Ruby just smiled, remaining quiet. She didn't really know what to say, and didn't want to blow it. Kit popped up from her bag, immediately sensing Sally's presence as the woman came out from the desk, and walked over to them. Kit chirruped excitedly, fluttering around Sally's head, causing the woman to laugh; even Jeremy managed a weary smile.
"Mum? Where did you go?" called a voice from the door by the stairs.
The door opened, and a girl, a little on the short side, with the long auburn hair of her mother, and her father's blue eyes stepped out. She had on a wrap around denim skirt, a green and white almost rugby-style top, without the sleeves, and her feet were bare, save white trainer socks. She looked astounded to see not just her parents, but three, well, four, newcomers as well.
"Jade! Come and greet our guests!" said an excited Sally.
The girl, still in disbelief, came over. Then she saw Ruby, and relaxed at once to have someone her own age around. She came over more brightly then, and directed her dazzling smile at the girl. She was a couple of inches shorter than Ruby herself, but her personality seemed to make up for that. She seemed more confident when she focused on her whilst addressing the others as well. She reminded Ruby a lot of Amber, and there was a pang in her heart as she remembered her twin. She hadn't spoken to her family in a very long time.
"Hello! Nice to meet you." she greeted. "I'm Jade."
Martha gave Ruby a subtle nudge, bring her out of her own head, and she suddenly realised she was meant to speak on their behalf, "Hey. I'm Ruby, this is Martha and he's the Doctor." She answered. "Nice to meet you too."
"Let's get you some rooms sorted out!" said Sally, all business.
Sally walked over to sign them in, accompanied by Jade, who linked arms with Ruby and propelled her over too. Kit settled on her other shoulder, and the bemused girl headed to the desk with her rather peculiar escort. Martha laughed as she peered back over her shoulder, amused, and the Doctor just smiled. Jeremy turned to Martha and the Doctor, now his family was out of earshot.
"Sorry about that, it's been a while since Jade's had anyone around to talk to. She's such a good girl, but I know she misses her big brother. Sally does too, but she keeps up appearances around Jade." He explained.
"Oh, it's fine. I'm sure Ruby could use a break from us golden oldies herself." Martha shrugged.
"Come through, I'm sure Jade will keep your girl well entertained. Would you like anything to drink, eat?"
Both of them declined, and Jeremy took them through the door Jade had come out of. They turned in to your average hotel corridor, and took the first door on the left, which led in to Jeremy's office. It had a pale blue carpet, and paler still blue wallpaper. Everywhere you looked there were photographs of various relatives. One taken a while ago, the last one before Aaron's disappearance, showed Jeremy, a well-built, beaming, clean-shaven man. Sally, with her hair falling all about her shoulders were laughing at his side. A much younger Jade, probably about eight, was in her arms, staring curiously at the camera. Jeremy had his hand on the shoulder of a young boy, grinning cheekily, with messy black hair and grey eyes. Aaron.
Jeremy caught Martha looking.
"Yes, that's him. A real trouble maker, heart of gold though."
"What happened?" questioned the Doctor, wanting to get to the point.
"We had a day off from the hotel, so we took our guests to the park, the other side of the woods, you've seen it. Aaron and Jade were playing with their kids; they always welcomed people in to their home happily. The sun was starting to set, so we were about to head home for a barbeque, on Aaron's insistence. One of the lads staying at the hotel threw the Frisbee and it landed in the woods. Aaron went to fetch it, and we suddenly heard this snarl. A wolf, I think it was a wolf, appeared, and…and…"
His eyes were filling up again. Martha looked at him sympathetically, mentally lending him her moral support whilst simultaneously trying to get him to finish his story. He took a deep breath, blinking back the tears.
"There was a howl…and I never saw my son again." He looked up sharply, "But I know he's still alive. I know it."
"Yes, I'm sure he is." nodded Martha.
"Did you try searching the wood?" asked the Doctor.
"Right away. The other parents came with me. But he was nowhere to be seen. Then we suddenly got scared off by the wolves. Plural. They didn't sound like wolves, but I don't know how else to describe them."
"Can you take us there?"
Jeremy nodded. He was sceptical about how helpful the two of them would be. There'd been eight of them before, and they all got scared off. He had lasted longer, but one of the other dad's persuaded him to go back, so they could plan out what to do. The three of them headed back to reception, this time led by the Doctor. He oozed confidence; he was determined to get this boy back. Jeremy could see this, and filled with hope, kept up with him. Only Martha was dubious. She knew what the Doctor could be like when he got his mind set on something. It wasn't always a good thing.
When they came back, the scene was already quite different. They all froze at the exact same time, not wanting to interrupt. Sally came from the restaurant, bearing ice cream, enthusiastic about having another young person to look after. Ruby was showing Jade how to get Kit to dance. Jade turned on a small portable stereo that she had run out to get from the back room. They had no idea what to expect when they turned it on. Music suddenly seemed to light up the whole room. They all cracked up when they heard it. It was hugely retro. In fact, it was an earth song, from Martha's time. She couldn't quite believe it. It was so surreal. It was, ironically, about a girl called Ruby.
"Wow, you're famous." giggled Jade.
"Oh no…" Ruby laughed, "It's the song my parents named me after, actually."
Kit was most excitable. She zoomed around the reception area, twittering and chirping. Ruby held up her hand and Kit flew over to her. She turned, grinning at Jade. Martha and the Doctor had never seen her quite like this before, relaxed and at ease with her friends. She waved her hand in time with the music, and Kit sung along. Jade squealed with laughter, clapping them on. Sally was overjoyed. Since Aaron disappeared, her daughter had been reserved and quiet, but this strange combination, of a girl and her alien, seemed to be breathing life back in to the whole hotel. As the song finished, Ruby made another motion, and Kit bowed. Jade howled with laughter. Even Martha had to laugh as well. As she did, Sally and the two girls looked up, realising they had company again.
"Oh, you're back!" cried Sally. "Come, come. I brought enough for everyone."
Jeremy suddenly knew for certain, by the time their three guests left, he would have his son again. But even if he didn't…just maybe…They could be happy together again, on Aaron's behalf. What he didn't know, was that this was the very reason the Doctor was determined to help them. He had lost everyone and everything. If he could help just bring one family back together, maybe his guilt would start losing some of its grip. Martha had already started helping him well on the way to accepting things, but it was going to take a lot more to make up for the death of his planet.
"Hey, Martha, Ruby was telling me you wanted to be a doctor?" Jade called over, "Me too! Can you tell me about it?"
Martha, accepting her summons, and quite liking the prospect of having a sort of normal discussion in the midst of all this strangeness. She went over, standing near the girls. She was immediately handed a vanilla ice-cream. Even Kit got some, as Ruby was sharing hers with her, and the Doctor kept his eye on all three of them. Jeremy turned to the Doctor, giving a knowing smile.
"You really do understand." he said quietly.
As Jeremy left him, the Doctor was taken aback. He understood a lot of things that was for certain. But he wasn't quite sure what Jeremy was focusing on exactly. Although, he did have a sneaking suspicion.
After a while, then they were all fed and watered, Jeremy whispered something in his wife's ear. Her face momentarily flickered, but she soon hid it again as Jade looked up. She nodded brightly at her husband, who then turned to Jade.
"I'm going to show Martha and the Doctor around." He smiled, "I'm sure Ruby here doesn't want to be stuck with us old fogies, so can you take care of her?"
Ruby didn't make any protest. She understood, although she couldn't help feeling faintly left out. Mainly because she wouldn't be able to make sure they were alright. But, she guessed they could probably take care of themselves. They'd done it for a while before she ever came on to the scene. Besides, it was nice to have Jade. She'd been told all about her and Aaron when they were children, and she had told her all about Amber.
"You've worked hard lately Ruby, you do deserve a break from us." said the Doctor, sensing her unease. Then he gave her that look before he spoke again, "I'm sure teenage girls have a lot of things to catch up on." he winked.
Ah, right, so that was it. She was stationed here, to find out what she could from Sally and Jade. Martha gave her a friendly wave as the three of them all trooped out again, leaving the two girls sitting on the desk, whilst behind them Sally watched them leave, Ruby could sense her anxiety, and turned towards her with a smile. The woman returned the gesture.
"Oh, I need to get some things for dinner." Sally suddenly realised. "They'll be six of us tonight. Do you mind if I nip out Jay?"
"Go for it. There's a couple things I wanted to show Ruby anyway." She answered.
So that was that. It was some time mid afternoon, that Jade and Ruby were alone in the hotel. Jeremy was still showing Martha and the Doctor around, and Sally was down at the grocery store. Jade intently watched her mother leave, then grabbed Ruby's arm, taking her to the kitchen, and through the back door, outside. Her friend had no idea what she was doing, but she had the kind of nervous energy about her that people did when they were doing something they shouldn't, and knew it. Alert, Ruby shot a look at the girl.
"It's ok. I just wanted to show you something my brother showed me. My parents don't like me going in the gardens much."
Jeremy, Martha and the Doctor, were in the forest again. This time, they didn't go all the way through it. They got about halfway down the dried up stream, and then headed away from the path. Although there was still sunshine out, it was mostly kept out by the thickets of trees. Martha even had to put her jacket on. The further away from the path they got, the darker it seemed to get. They trod down brambles and nettles to get through.
"We came about this far, when we were chased off." stated Jeremy.
The Doctor had whipped out his sonic screwdriver, and it beeped gently, precisely, scanning the area. It was almost like a tracking device of sorts. It started blipping diligently just ahead of them. They immediately carried on, keeping their eyes open for any visitors. A dark shaped ran across in front of them, Martha bit her lip to stop from calling out. Jeremy stood by her, protectively, as the Doctor led the way.
"Hello…what's this?"
The Doctor edged forward, holding brambles out of the way. He stopped short as he saw something that he wasn't quite expecting. Martha immediately hurried over to join him, soon followed by Jeremy. Looming over them was in fact, a cliff. Jeremy looked as startled as the others. They'd never come this far in to the forest before, so hadn't really noticed it. He was mentally kicking himself. The Doctor made to venture forward, frowning as he saw a small crevasse in the cliff face, about half way up, leading out on to a small ledge. But a low growl put pay to that, as several huge black things suddenly darted out of it. They weren't quite wolves, they were faintly cat-like dogs, only the size of a panther. The face and head was more canine, but their bodies were lean and slim, with long skinny tails, almost like a Chinese-style dog statue.
"Oh. Company." said the Doctor, perfectly calm, simply because he was so unprepared for it.
Ruby was getting more anxious with every second. Jade had led her out of the back gate in the garden, towards a separate opening for the forest. A chill went down her spine, and she half wished she had packed a sweater or something in her bag.
"Jade…is this a good idea?"
"Don't sweat it. Aaron and I used to do this all the time." assured her friend.
They traipsed through thorns and thistles that scratched their bare legs and ankles, but neither girl seemed to notice it much, Jade because she was too focused, Ruby because she was too hesitant to stop, in case she lost her guide. She was faintly remembered of days at camp or out in the park with friends when she was small, traipsing through little crops of woods and pretending to be on some kind of adventure. Ironic then that she should be hundreds of years in the future, on a different planet at that moment. There wasn't a path as such, just slight patches of dirt where feet had worn away vegetation. They came to a standstill at a little rocky outcrop, leading up to more trees and plants. Jade immediately clambered up, but Ruby had a really bad feeling about it.
"Come on! It's perfectly safe." edged on the girl.
She couldn't very well let her go on by herself, so Ruby heaved herself up, catching up with her. They made their way along a narrow ledge, there was only the stone, and the trees to the side, not much room for manoeuvre. Jade paused for thought for a moment as they came to a small fork, before choosing the left hand road. It didn't escape her comrade that they seemed to be getting higher up, the further along they went. She had no idea how long they walked for, but they seemed to be turning back on themselves, give or take a few metres in height.
"Oh. Company."
Ruby froze. She knew that voice, she knew it very well. Jade crouched down, hurrying off the path. She came to the edge of the ledge they were on, and lay on her stomach behind a wild rose bush. Peering down, she could see the backs of the creatures, and the fronts of her father, Martha, and the Doctor. That was probably a bad thing. The creatures barked unnerving sounds at them, and she could make head nor tail of them. There wasn't a word to describe what it sounded like. It was like standing in a foreign country, trying to work out what was going on whilst you were invisible to everyone around you. Jade waved Ruby over, and she was joined in a matter of seconds, both camouflaged in the little light there was around.
"We don't want to cause any trouble." said the Doctor swiftly. "We just…want to find somebody."
The creatures eyed him, menacing, snarling all the while. Then something seemed to click. They stopped snapping and growling, and one of them edged up to the Doctor. Martha and Jeremy immediately backed up, but he didn't move.
"What are you?" demanded one of them.
Jeremy and Jade looked completely blank; to them it was just noise. But to Martha, the Doctor, and Ruby, it was plain English. Ruby blinked in confusion…talking animals? That was a new one. It wasn't telepathic talking either. The Doctor took it in his stride.
"I'm the Doctor. What are you?"
"We are the Azara. How do you speak our language so fluently? No other can understand us."
"This lot hasn't come across you before. They don't know what you're trying to say."
"We have not met you either. Yet you do."
Ruby was listening intently, although from a distance. Jade had no idea what was going on, all she could hear was the Doctor making the same bizarre sounds as the Azara, her and her father weren't connected to the Tardis, like the others. She shuffled her position slightly, and a shower of dust and pebbles fell down from their ledge, to the creatures below. They turned around, at the same time as Martha and The Doctor, who immediately focused on them.
"Spies! He brings spies to betray us!" growled the Azara.
"They're not spies, honest. Don't even know what they're doing here myself." covered the Doctor.
"Just passers by out for a walk." nodded Martha.
"Are you…talking to them?" Jeremy questioned.
The creatures were having none of it. With an almighty howl, they bounded up, three or four of them landing in front of the teenagers. Jade scrambled up, immediately running away.
"After her!" demanded the lead Azara. "Before she reports back to the Hunters!"
"Ruby, Jade, run!" cried the Doctor.
Jade didn't need telling twice. She was out of there like a shot. It took her a minute to realise, that Ruby was nowhere behind her. Martha and the Doctor turned on Ruby, who hadn't moved a muscle, calling her to get up and get out. They had no idea what was going on. Jade tried to get back to help her, but she was cut off by two of the animals.
"Don't just sit there!" yelled the Doctor.
As the Azara surrounded Ruby, she still didn't move. She wasn't even looking at them, no, in fact, she was staring below her, down at the ground. Her face was pale, and she was shaking. She hadn't been so close to the edge before, but she'd moved to get away from them, and the ledge had suddenly stopped.
"Ruby…" Martha finally twigged, "Ruby, what's wrong?"
Her friend gave no answer; she was just fixated on the forest below her, completely paralysed. Kit kept twittering urgently head-butting her to get up and run, but she didn't. The girl gave a strangled reply.
"It's…very high..." she stuttered.
"Ruby, you have vertigo?!" realised Martha, alarmed.
One of the Azara pounced on her, flexing it's front legs and claws towards her. The leader, still on the ground, suddenly realised what was going on.
"No! Don't!" ordered the leader, finding some compassion for a person already scared witless. They weren't a malevolent species by nature, but they were driven by survival.
But it was too late. The Azara did try to stop, although questioning why it had been asked to. But the momentum knocked it straight into Ruby, and she shrieked as she fell of the ledge, down and down towards the ground. Martha cried out, and the Doctor looked on in horror.
"No, no, no, no, NO! I'M NOT LOSING SOMEONE ELSE!" he hollered.
Then there was a rush of air, something in the branches, and something else darted out of the tree tops from a rope, catching her, and gripping a hand hole for dear life, halfway down the cliff. It was a man. A young man, with tangled shoulder-length black hair, and intense grey eyes. He had frayed and ragged trouser on, a worn out white shirt, now more of a brownish grey, and bare feet. He was muscular, but silent.
"Aaron…?" Jeremy was wide-eyed.
Ruby really didn't care who it was. She clung to his shirt, refusing to look down. As soon as he had caught her the Azara retreated, jumping up and into the small cave near where they had been. Aaron turned to follow them, still holding Ruby. When she realised he intended to go with them, she looked at him, wide-eyed.
"RUBY!!" called the Doctor, as she disappeared.
Jade, stranded on the ledge now, looked down at the three below her; all of them were shocked in to silence. The Doctor immediately ran to the cliff, intending on climbing it, he was incensed. Martha ran up to try and stop him, but it wasn't much use, especially as Jade suddenly started calling out for Jeremy.
"Dad! Dad!! They got Ruby! It's my fault!" she whimpered.
All it needed for Jeremy to join the Doctor was that. They helped each other, and Martha, as she gave in, up to the ledge, where Jade ran over, flinging her arms around Jeremy, sobbing. The Doctor ran in to the cave where Ruby had disappeared, and Kit, who until then had been with Jade, was hot on his heels. Or, shoulder, rather. Martha hurried in after him.
"Ruby?!" called the Doctor.
"Ruby, where are you?!" echoed Martha.
They didn't get any answers. It was damp and cold in there, so much so you could see your breath mist in front of you, using what little light there was available. It was enhanced by the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, but as they went further in to the cave, they left the light of the entrance behind them.
Ruby was gently set down by Aaron in some kind of alcove, overlooking the sea in the distance, whilst still being sheltered. Were the passages really that long? She was still a little disorientated at the whole thing, as the Azara came in behind them. Much to her surprise, her 'captor' immediately began cleaning the various cuts and scrapes she had gathered on the way.
"Where am I?" she questioned, finally finding her voice again, "And why did you bring me here?"
"You can understand us. Other's can't." answered the head Azara. "We took you away from the others, because the hunters might have singled a large group out."
"You could have at least let them know I was ok." she replied.
"They'll know."
The voice came from an unusual source. It was Aaron, currently bandaging a cut on her ankle. Even the Azara seemed surprised to hear him speak, judging by the way they all turned and looked at him in unison.
Martha and the Doctor were hopelessly lost. They must have taken a wrong turning without realising it, because as far as they could tell, they were going around and around in circles. The Doctor growled in frustration, and Martha wondered where Jade and Jeremy had gotten to.
"Don't you have a tracking device or something?" questioned Martha.
"Just how happy do you think Ruby would be with that?" was the response, "Far too Big Brother."
"Can't you pick up her…bio data or…something?"
They both froze as they turned and heard something. A lot of somethings, coming steadily towards them. They automatically ducked around a corner, and as they did, a beam of light bounced off the wall near where they had just been standing. The Doctor made a shushing motion, and they looked out on more beams of light, torches. They were soon followed by silhouettes.
"Martha?!" came the call, Jeremy.
"Doctor?" Jade was next to him.
With sighs of relief, the pair stepped out to meet up with their friends. Only to find that behind them, was the fox flower seller from before, and half a dozen others like him. Jeremy and Jade ran up to meet them, More than relieved to have tracked them down.
"How did you find us?" asked Martha, ecstatic, "We don't even know where we are ourselves."
But something wasn't quite right. Although the father and daughter really were delighted to see them, their smiles were forced, and they looked overly tense, like they wanted to run out as soon as they could. The flower seller gave a smile, walking over, and plucking the flower out of Martha's hair. Well, at least someone had a tracking device.
"How did you end up here Aaron? Why didn't you try getting home?" questioned Ruby.
"I did. But I always got lost. Then the hunters came after me." was the calm, slightly gravely, reply. "They thought I was hiding something." He shrugged. "The Azara took care of me."
"We tried to communicate to his father that he was safe…but he didn't understand us." backed up the leader.
"Who are these hunters?" pressed Ruby, acting surprisingly Doctor-like.
The Azara all exchanged glances, nervous and wary of divulging their knowledge. But they couldn't expect the Tardis crew to help, whilst concealing the fact from them. The Leader, relaxed enough to lie down, moved position, although he was still about the same height as Ruby standing, and turned to her.
"The hunters are our opposition, the Kazara. Distant cousins of ours traditionally. We lived perfectly peacefully for a long time. But then, each side wanted to expand their territory. I'm sure you're smart enough to realise the knock on effects. Now they're the bane of our existence." He sighed.
"Very Darwin." agreed Ruby. She was met with blank looks.
"They find us, wherever we go. We thought we were safe when the humans picked us up, on route here. But they always find us."
"And today, that's no different."
All of them looked up with a start, as the flower seller from before appeared in the alcove. In front of him were Martha, Jade, Jeremy, and the Doctor. All held at laser gun point. Kit was being restrained by another, although frantically flapping to try and get free.
"What the?!" breathed Ruby. "Let them go!" she cried.
Aaron brought an arm around her, pulling her back so she didn't run up to them. It was for her own safety. He was only about two years older, but seemed so much more as he eyed the Kazara warily. The Azara immediately started growling, on the defensive as they sprung up.
"Perfect tour guide, one who doesn't know they are one." The flower seller grinned.
"You what?!" exclaimed Ruby.
Then she realised, looking down at the sunflower attached to her bag. Great, the first time a guy had given her flowers, and he had an ulterior motive. She was cut off from the others as the Azara all lined up in front of her and Aaron.
"Ruby…just keep it together." The Doctor called coolly over to her. You'd think he'd faced certain death before.
"Why…why do you keep following us?" demanded the Azara leader.
"If you want room to expand, you have to clear the area." was the sinister reply.
"Why can't you just expand somewhere else?" challenged the Doctor.
"Wherever we go, they're always there." replied the Kazara.
"You're the ones that follow us!" retorted the Azara.
Martha, Jade and Jeremy looked over desperately at Ruby and Aaron, stranded on the other side of the conflict. It wasn't a particularly desirable situation for any of them. They just seemed to have a habit of ending up in the middle of things, whether they wanted to or not. Oh well, at least the Doctor had kept his promise, they'd found Aaron. Ideas were already whirring around in his head, as the Kazara leader eyed the Azara one.
"You can come to us of your own accord, or we'll use this little gang of yours to our advantage."
"Why don't we just settle this the normal way?" the Azara side suggested.
Ruby cried out as the two aliens suddenly lunged at each other, both aiming for the throat of the other. They missed, and landed again, circling each other, like any animal. Even the fox man was on all fours, which looked decidedly odd. Ruby was so involved watching the fight that she didn't see the Doctor trying to get her attention. There was a howl, and a snarl and fur suddenly started flying. Her and Aaron were forced further back, towards the exit, and Aaron visibly tensed, dearly wanting to help his friends, but he was still holding on to Ruby.
"Ruby...you might want to pick your bag up." hinted the Doctor.
"Huh?" she'd completely missed the point.
"So it doesn't get spoiled." He hinted more heavily, "You never know when it might come in useful."
"You're joking right?"
"Perfectly serious."
"Just grab it Ruby!!" hollered Jade.
She did so, a split second before one of the Kazara tried to grab it for himself, minus the sunflower. He lunged at her, pressing the two of them back against the wall, but a stray Azara ran into him, knocking him away.
"Ouch!" cried Ruby, as something burned her hand.
Panicking, she muddled around in her bag, before drawing out something that was rather warm to the touch. She the end of her t-shirt to hold it. It was, of all things, her pen, glowing a bright magenta.
"Point and click." instructed the Doctor, motioning above him.
Thinking he was utterly nuts, but desperate enough to try anything, Ruby held it up, and clicked it on. Much to her astonishment, the sound of something sonic emitted from it. The Doctor grabbed Martha and Jade, either side of him, and yanked them out of the way. The three of them, plus Jeremy, Kit in his arms, dove out of the way, as the roof of the tunnel collapsed just where they had been standing, landing right on the Kazara's front line.
"When did you do that?!" exclaimed Ruby, staring in disbelief at her pen.
"Just run! Aaron, can you get us out?!"
Aaron nodded, and Ruby yelped as he suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the way and to the opening of the alcove, where they met up with the others, who had skirted the fight.
"Go with them!" demanded the Azara leader, seeing their chance before their foe pulled themselves up.
The bizarre ensemble all just ran, paws and tails avoiding feet and arms, on to a narrow ledge. This was Ruby's worst nightmare. The only way out, was up. They all headed up before her, gripping and climbing on to a grassy ridge above. Aaron and the Doctor were all too aware that she didn't want to go anywhere. As they rushed the others up and out, each of them held down a hand to her.
"Come on, we've got you!" reassured Aaron.
She was sure they had. But it didn't make the fact that she'd been silly enough to look behind her go away. Her heart rate and blood pressure went through the roof. The supportive yells of her friends, ahead of the two in front of her, were just tinny noise. All she could hear was the blood in her veins, and her vision started to blur. Then a voice rang out clearly, and fuzzily, she looked up. She had a major case of tunnel vision, but she could see, clear as day, the Doctor, reaching out to her.
"Ruby…" he coaxed. "Close your eyes, and trust me."
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and flew at the hands. She was hoisted up into the air, and then the Doctor kept a hold of her hand as they ran, Aaron shot her a dazzling smile before running up to lead the others to safety. The Doctor turned to her, and grinned. Meekly, she smiled back. Then they went to catch up with the howls of victory, coming from the Azara, way ahead of all of them.
The scene that greeted a number of park goers was a strange one. There was a rumbling, and then huge black dog-like creatures burst out of the woods, causing people to scream and run out of the way, but they were followed by an assembly of a newly youthful man, a squealing girl clutching his hand, a wild boy laughing at them, a junior doctor from London, a hybrid teenage girl and her alien, and a Timelord, clutching her hand. They all collapsed in a heap, exhausted from the run, but delirious on adrenalin and relief at being safe.
"Are they shooting a film or something?" commented one man from across the park.
Another passer by just so happened to be Sally Brass. Who, as soon as she saw the congregated on the grass, dropped her groceries, and ran over, throwing herself into her long-lost son's arms. Jade clung to him too, and Jeremy wrapped his arms around all three of them.
"Now that's what it's all about." gloated the Doctor.
Sally turned to him, and tears were streaming down her face. She hurried over, and hugged him too, much to his surprise, and Martha and Ruby's amusement. Kit just chirruped away happily.
"Thank you, thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever repay you. If there's anything I can do…" she insisted.
"Well…I did have one idea…" he started, pretending to be coy.
"Name it!"
"Could you take care of some friends for me?" he pointed his thumb behind him, where the Azara were all laying down next to each other.
"Of course, I'd do anything for you. All of you." Sally gave a watery smile.
Jeremy walked over whilst Jade was busily nattering away to her brother. He held out his hand, and shook the Doctor's, before bringing him into a hug. A manly hug, just to keep up appearances.
"You're one of the good ones, Doctor." Jeremy nodded. "You can stay with us as long as you like, free of charge."
"Oh, that's very kind. But, we should probably get going." said the Doctor mildly.
"So soon?!" complained Jade, "But we've only just all come back together! Being held at gun point sparing."
"I think this should be a time for your family Miss Brass." The Doctor said with a wink. "But duty calls us elsewhere, I'm afraid."
"I'm
really glad everything worked out for you." beamed Martha. "He's
brilliant is the Doctor."
"Ah, well…" grinned the Doctor
modestly.
The only person who remained quiet was Ruby. She hadn't quite taken on board everything, as it all seemed to happen so fast. Besides, she didn't want to say goodbye. She was quite attached to the Brass family. She looked at the leader of the Azara, peering at him curiously.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Sirius." He replied.
Without warning, she was suddenly drawn back into the real world, so to speak, as Jade seemed to be talking to her. She slowly turned around, and found herself being pulled up, and embraced in a very firm hug, courtesy of her friend. Jeremy ruffled her hair and she smiled slightly, blowing it out of her eyes. Sally took her hand in both of hers beaming profusely.
"Thank you so much Ruby. You don't know how much you helped us today."
"Any time." Ruby shrugged, genuinely shy.
"I wish you could stay with us." Sighed Sally.
"But you'll write, or phone or something?" said Jade eagerly, "Promise?!"
Ruby nodded, and was hugged again for her efforts. Then she caught Aaron staring at her, not blinking at all. She didn't really notice when Jeremy called Jade over to help with something in the house, shortly followed by Sally. Martha and the Doctor were walking the path on the way to the Tardis, and still Aaron just stared at her. Eventually, he made a move, and whipped out something from behind his back. It was a little crumpled, but still glowing brilliantly. A dark purple sunflower, which he presented to her.
"Tracking device not included." He quipped, and she could see the cheeky, happy-go-lucky, warm-hearted boy he was those eight years ago when he disappeared, she liked what she saw. "I hope I see you again some time, Ruby Arduino."
She was knocked speechless, as he planted a kiss on her lips, before grinning cheekily and disappearing. She was so stunned, she didn't even realise she'd never told Aaron her last name. She was brought back to earth with a thud as Martha called over to her.
"Come on slow coach, things to do, people to see!"
Ruby smiled, and jogged to catch up with her friends, and was greeted by a furry bundle launching itself in to her arms.
