and back for another chapter, as usual i don't own the SJA or any of it's characters, just the plots and originals. now this is my third chapter and it is introducing perhaps my favourite pair of characters as well as allowing Sky to make a triumphant return. without further waffling from me, please enjoy.

"Come on guys mums gonna drop Sky off in a minute" said Luke trying his best to clean the kitchen "if she sees the house like this she'll go mad"

Josh milled around half-heartedly tidying up as he went, however much he wanted to make a good impression with Sarah-Jane it was not worth waking up this early to tidy up. Although looking around he couldn't deny that a fair portion of the mess was his. Working around to the small table he caught a glance at some of the sketches that had been left there.

"Hey Luke did you draw these?" he asked holding up the drawings so his housemate could see.

Luke looked up from the dishes and shook his head. He wanted to be able to draw like that but had never been able to.

"No Clyde drew them" said Luke stacking the dishes before moving on to the worktop "He wants to create his own comics, get them published, he works on them between shifts at the kitchen"

Josh cast another look over the drawings and couldn't help but be impressed. From the back of his mind Josh felt a faint flicker of approval from Reid as well. It was still a little disconcerting having an alien in his head but he was getting used to it. Putting them down Josh continued around the room. A few minutes later and Clyde came down the stairs declaring the upstairs was clean as a whistle.

"You might want to put these somewhere safe" said Josh passing Clyde his sketches "They're good by the way, can't wait to see them finished"

Clyde accepted his drawings with a small proud grin. Luke had paused in his cleaning and didn't miss the expression. It was good Clyde was proud of his work; his friend had many good qualities and didn't give himself nearly enough credit for them.

"Thanks mate" Clyde replied shuffling the drawings into a folder "might have to wait a while for the finished piece though, I've hit a major dead end for inspiration"

Clyde disappeared upstairs just before someone knocked at the door. Casting a despairing eye around the house Luke decided it would do and opened the door. His little sister was on the top step one amused eyebrow raised at the state of the house. Sarah-Jane luckily was nowhere in sight.

"Hah new it" said Sky triumphantly "Rani and Mum had a bet going on how tidy your house would be, umm what's a bet"

Luke ignored the voice in his head that tempted him to close the door again and let his sister into the house. Every now and then Sky would visit to give his mum some free time, and to make sure Luke kept in touch with his sister.

"You must be Sky" said Josh offering his hand "heard a lot about you from Luke is it true you caused a nuclear meltdown?"

Sky took Josh's hand and aimed a glare at Luke. They were brother and sister and it showed. Luke grinned triumphantly and continued tidying. Sky kept hold of Josh's hand, a curious expression on her face.

"It's strange" she said after a minute "I can feel something buzzing around you, like a storm but inside you, hehe it tickles"

Sky released his hand and could still feel a slight buzzing along her arm. Upstairs they heard a muffled yelp from Clyde and a loud thump. After a few seconds they heard him grumbling on the stairs.

"Ok I'm guessing Sparky is here already" said Clyde trudging down the stairs "Someone just blew out my light"

He cast an annoyed glance at Sky who didn't look even close to chastised. Josh and Luke were both trying and failing to hide grins and Clyde's mood didn't improve when he noticed.

"Alright well you two can do the cooking tonight then if you think it's so funny" said Clyde pointing a finger at Josh and Luke "and where's Sarah-Jane anyway?"

Normally Sarah-Jane would come in and check up on them but today there was no sign of her

"Oh Gita has taken mum to the spa today" said Sky with an amused grin on her face "it was Rani's idea, and Gita thought it was brilliant, mum barely got away from her long enough to drop me here. Are you really going to let them cook Clyde?"

Clyde and Luke shared a knowing look about Gita before Josh took a spot beside Sky and pointed at her dramatically.

"You can't make us cook Clyde, think of the children" he cried theatrically

Clyde managed to glare at him for all of a second before bursting into laughter, everyone else soon joined him and Sky blew out another light bulb causing Luke to hold up a hand for silence.

"Ok next person that makes my sister laugh has to go out and buy new light bulbs" he said in a mock serious tone before turning to his sister "what do you want to do today Sky?"

Sky held a hand to her chin and concentrated for a few seconds while Luke hunted through the cupboards for some more light bulbs. Finally she struck on an idea and her eyes lit up.

"Oh I know there was this old bookstore that mum and me drove passed on the way home, can we got there?" she asked in a pleading tone that she had learnt to use on Luke.

She needn't have bothered, Luke gave the plan a nod of approval and even Clyde seemed to stop sulking long enough to agree. Josh had work later in the afternoon and opted out leaving the three of them on their own. Once the house was tidy they all piled into Luke's car and set off towards the mysterious bookstore. There journey was a little haphazard with Sky leading the way but they made it eventually, the building was unassuming and nestled in between a row of buildings scheduled for demolition. Despite the surrounding Luke found himself drawn to the shop, looking at his sister and friend he knew they could feel it to

"Lukey-boy, what is that?" asked Clyde "I feel like a fish on a hook"

Sky nodded in agreement although she appeared slightly distracted. Luke could feel the strange presence at the edge of his mind, subtle and barely there, a compulsion that was drawing them all to the shop. Looking at the other people on the street Luke guessed they were unaffected; none of them were turning to look at the mysterious building.

"There's definitely something there" began Luke trying to pin down the phenomenon "It must be why you were drawn to it on the way home Sky, come on"

Stepping up confidently Luke pulled open the door and stepped inside with his friend and little sister. The inside of the shop was dim but even in the low light they could see the inside was full of books, on the walls in shelves stacked on small tables on the floor, even hanging in makeshift hammocks from the ceiling. Luke realised a moment too late that the confidence he'd felt in entering the shop had not been his own.

"Oh hello my dears" said an old woman as she came out from behind a row of books "not often I get visitors to my shop"

As the woman stepped out Luke realised the presence in his mind has disappeared completely, the need for the bait was gone now they had been caught. He stepped between his sister and the woman protectively and felt Clyde close behind him.

"Who are you?" asked Luke cautiously

The woman smiled and moved closer to them circling a stack of books that was almost as tall as she was. Sky poked her head out from behind her brother and watched the woman curiously.

"Oh dear I've made you distrustful" said the woman with a touch of sadness in her voice "I'm sorry for luring you here like this, but when I saw all those aliens in your mind little one, I believed you might be able to help me, I am the Arachnacaic, but call me Arianna"

As she spoke a small ray of sun poked through the small windows around piles of books and Luke caught sight of Arianna's shadow stretching out behind her. Arianna was definitely not human, but Luke had learned over the years that didn't necessarily make her dangerous

"Why did you lure us here?" asked Sky stepping around Luke

Arianna looked at Sky with a smile before absently wandering around her bookshop; she finally settled on one high up on a shelf and passed it down to Sky.

"Usually when I bring people here I want to share my books" she said passing Sky a copy of the Gruffallo "But in this case I need your help"

Sky took the book and flicked through the first pages, there was illustrations scattered throughout the book and Sky seemed pleased to receive it.

"You see children there is another alien on earth I know of besides me" she began pulling a few more books of the shelf and rearranging them "He and I have a history, and now he is using his own abilities to have me evicted and my home destroyed, I cannot allow this to happen"

She seemed deeply saddened at the idea of losing her shop so Sky moved forwards and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Luke was less convinced and Clyde was not happy with having someone in his head

"I'm sorry Arianna but if you wanted our help you shouldn't have tricked us like that" said Clyde motioning to his friends "messing with our minds is not a way to gain trust"

Sky looked sad at the idea of leaving but left her book on a shelf and took Luke's hand. All three of them turned to leave when Arianna appeared in front of them. They were all stunned, nobody had seen or heard her cross the space. Luke could feel her presence in their minds again trying up their minds and slowing thoughts.

"I can stop them myself children" said Arianna, whose tone was growing in menace "I could weave together such nightmares that nobody would come within miles of my shop, but I would rather save my home without resorting to such measures"

Her menacing tone receded and she had returned to a more tired and depressed demeanour but threatening them with nightmares had made Luke furious. He stepped forwards and made sure he was only inches from Arianna looking her dead in the eyes.

"If you use your powers against anybody on earth it will be me that throws you out Arianna, come on guys we are going" said Luke in a deadly quiet voice.

They all stepped out of the shop and out in the fresh air some of the fear they had all been feeling receded. Sky reached out and touched her brothers hand, Luke realised he had been shaking.

"She was scared as well Luke" said Sky squeezing her brother's hand reassuringly "She doesn't know what to do if she loses her house and it scares her, we should help"

Above Sky's head Clyde and Luke shared a glance. After a few seconds of wordless arguing Clyde gave a miniscule shrug of his shoulders and turned his head to look back at the shop.

"Alright we'd best act fast then, demolition on these places is in a couple of days" he said reading a poster stuck on the wall of a neighbouring building "How are we gonna go about sorting this anyway"

Luke flicked out his phone and quickly calculated the time in America. They wouldn't have time to go hunting through the internet themselves; they needed someone who could cut straight to the source.

"Alright I think we can find the alien behind this with Alan's help, come on we can-"began Luke

"I'm staying here with Arianna; someone has to be here to make sure she doesn't hurt anybody" interrupted Sky

Sky stood in a determined stance in front of Luke who was frowning at his little sister. Part of what she said made sense but Luke was worried about his sister.

"Sky I don't know about this, she's dangerous-"began Luke

"She's lonely Luke not dangerous and I'm staying" Sky interrupted for the second time

Luke's frown deepened for a few seconds before he replaced it with a smile, his little sister was just as stubborn as their mother. Reaching into his coat he pulled out K-9's whistle and blew a short sharp burst.

"K-9 will stay and keep you out of trouble" he said as K-9 trundled up to them "Be careful little sister"

He gave Sky a hug before following Clyde back to his car. They drove quickly back to their house and Luke turned on his laptop. It didn't take long before Maria and Rani appeared on the screen.

"Hey guys, sorry for waking you up but we have a bit of an emergency" said Luke noting the deep yawns his friends were sharing "We need Alan's help"

Maria disappeared to fetch her dad and left Rani to talk to the boys about her time in America. She was really enjoying studying journalism there and having a brilliant time exploring the city. The boys in turn told them about things in London, all three laughing together when Rani heard about Sarah-Jane and the spa day. Finally Alan appeared on the screen.

"Alright boys what can I do for you?" asked Alan

Luke quickly relayed all the information they had received, the location of the shop and the company that had been hired for demolition, once he had learnt all he could Alan got to work on the internet using his computing skills to hunt down the mysterious alien.

"Are you sure we should be helping her Luke?" asked Rani "I mean she's dangerous and has threatened to hurt a lot of people if they try and evict her"

Clyde and Rani had fallen firmly on the same side of the argument, and Luke couldn't deny she had a point, his mum wouldn't allow aliens to threaten anyone on earth.

"That's a bit unfair Rani" countered Maria "her homes in danger and she's scared, the four of us have done some pretty scary things when our home was in danger"

Luke smiled at Maria, he had been considering exactly the same thing and none of them could deny that a lot of aliens that came seeking trouble on earth had ended up worse for wear. Before the argument could continue further Alan reappeared on the screen.

"Right it took a little while but I think I found him" said Alan transferring a couple of files across to Luke's laptop "a mysterious recluse who has been described as a phenomenally good judge of character, from what I've seen of aliens its go to be him, cause why would the do anything original"

The last part was said under his breath and teased a smile out of everyone. Luke looked over the information and had to agree with Alan; Mr Philip Tenson had amassed a considerable business empire beneath him and was the biggest investor in the project that was demolishing the buildings.

"Thanks guys" said Luke finding a business address in the information "We'll see if we can get a meeting with Mr Tenson"

Alan nodded and disappeared from the screen leaving Rani and Maria. Both of them had matching expressions of concern on their faces.

"You both be careful ok boys" said Rani nervously "Arianna must be avoiding confronting Tenson personally for a reason"

Maria nodded behind her and wished the boys luck before they all logged off, finding his Sat-Nav Luke rushed down to the car with Clyde hot on his heels. The business building was in a busy corner of the City and the structure towered above Luke and Clyde when they arrived.

"Great cause that's not intimidating or anything" said Clyde staring up at the building "are you sure we should be doing this alone Luke"

Luke turned to look at his best friend and gave a small shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't sure of any of this, but he was far less scared of the enigmatic Tenson than he was of Arianna. Stepping up to the entrance they both walked into a bright and clinical reception area and made their way towards the front desk. Before either of them could speak the receptionist looked up at them both.

"Ah good you're here, Mr Tenson is expecting you, please go right up" she said pointing towards an elevator.

Stepping into the elevator together they headed for the top floor where they would meet the enigmatic Mr Tenson. However they were both unaware that outside Arianna's shop the demolition crew had already arrived.

"Arianna I spoke to the man in charge!" said Sky bursting back through the door "he said demolition has been moved forwards to 12:00 today, that's in less than an hour"

Arianna looked Sky steadily in the eye before turning her gaze towards the men she could see through the window. For a brief second Sky felt something slip passed her mind, out of the shop.

"No stop it!" cried Sky planting herself between Arianna and the door "give my brother a bit more time, he's never let me down yet, and he won't let you down either"

Arianna considered Sky carefully before returning to her seat. Sky let out her held breath before collapsing into a seat next to Arianna.

"Please Luke hurry up" she said under her breath

Luke and Clyde meanwhile had made it to the top of the elevator and stepped out into a luxurious office. Sat lazily behind his desk in the centre of the room was Mr Tenson. He was Luke thought, kind of short but an air of power buzzed against the edges of his mind as well.

"Ah gentlemen it's good to meet you at last" said Tenson from his seat "do come in, make yourselves at home"

Trying to ignore the supreme confidence being projected into their minds Luke and Clyde both walked into the office and took the seats opposite Tenson

"Mr Tenson we've come to ask you to reconsider-"began Luke

"Yes, yes I already know why you're here" interrupted Tenson "what I really want to hear from you is what you offer in return for my help, afterall to have that old relic evicted is something I would love to make happen"

He let a lazy content smile slip across his face and stared hungrily at the two humans sat in front of him.

"You can't expect money from us; we're barely making enough for rent, let alone paying off some sleezy alien mind-reader"

Luke watched Tenson switch his gaze from him to Clyde but the focus of the aliens mind never left Luke.

"I would never ask for something as trivial as money when you have so many other things to give" said Tenson in a scornful mocking tone "Your creativity for example" he said gesturing at Clyde who looked shocked at the ide "or your intelligence" he continued pointing at Luke whose face dropped into a glare "but I see in your minds that these prices are too high, so instead I will simply ask for a favour, just one to be used at my own discretion"

He sat back in his chair and watched them both. Luke turned to Clyde whose face was a mirror of Luke's. Both of them were worried that if they agreed to this deal they might find themselves in serious trouble.

"You better hurry" said Tenson in a sing-song voice pointing at Luke's phone.

At that second the phone buzzed indicating Luke had a text.

'Luke the demolition crew are early, they say that if Arianna doesn't leave in ten minutes they'll force her to leave, you have to hurry'

Luke showed the text to Clyde who gulped audibly. They didn't have long before Arianna turned her powers on the men outside her shop. Luke turned to look at Tenson who already had his hand out-stretched over the desk. Taking a deep breath Luke reached across and shook hands.

"Excellent" said Tenson pulling out his phone "I'll handle the demolition men you have my word, and I'll be in contact when I have decided what favour to ask of you"

Both Luke and Clyde felt a surge of relief when they finally left the office. They jumped into Luke's car and left the shadow of the building behind them making quick time towards Arianna's shop. It didn't take long and when they got there Arianna and Sky were outside waiting for them. Sky ran to her brother and he caught her in a hug. Smiling at them both Arianna disappeared into her shop and reappeared holding a tray of tea and biscuits. Realising it had been a while since they'd eaten the boy tucked in ravenously as did sky.

"Thank you ever so much for helping me children" said Arianna pouring out more tea "It's good to have my home back"

She smiled at them all and Luke felt a buzz of energy against the edge of his mind. Sky felt it too and even Clyde started grinning.

"You're welcome Arianna, although I have to ask why did you need us at all, couldn't you have stopped Tenson yourself?" asked Luke

Arianna looked at the sky with a curious expression before bursting into laughter. It was a rich sound, like she hadn't made it in a while.

"He had a restraining order filed against me" she said with an amused tone "a condition of our divorce"

Clyde sputtered out some of his tea before looking between Arianna and the general direction of Tenson's office.

"You mean you and him were"-began Clyde in an incredulous tone before descending into fits of laughter.

Sky and Luke joined in and continued for several minutes before the street light blew out. They hadn't realised it was getting quite that light and said goodbyes to Arriana. Before they left Arianna gave Sky back the copy of the Gruffallo and gave Luke a copy of the Wizard of Oz.

"And for you young man I have a very special gift" she said turning to Clyde "I understand you are struggling with your inspiration"

Before Clyde could ask how she knew he felt her reach out gently into his mind and start tying things together. She didn't use anything that wasn't already there but simply connected together ideas that already existed. When she was finished Clyde's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Thank you" he said quietly.

Arianna waved them off as they piled into Luke's car and disappeared into her shop once they were out of sight. Luke looked behind him quickly to see Sky fast asleep in the back seat and Clyde scribbling furiously into a sketch-book. He couldn't help but smile. It had been a pretty good day out after all.

so shoot me i like a soppy ending once in a while. No cliffhanger either, but don't worry the evil lurky guy is still hanging around waiting to cause trouble. in the meantime i have about one more character to introduce as well as a more focused story on Clyde coming in the next chapter. so until next time reviews and comments are always appreciated