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Chapter 4 – Embrace the Darkness!
The Doctor slammed the door of TARDIS, just narrowly avoiding the shadow claw that smashed through the window.
"Sorry about that old girl," he whispered. "I should've gone with double glazed windows but no, you had to be a cheapskate and get single panes." He turned away from the broken glass and ran to the central column to activate the dematerialisation circuit. He looked up to see Aaron standing by the column, staring at the ship's interior with amazement.
"Okay," the Doctor said, a smile forming at the prospect of having to hear the predictable response. "Go on and say it, you know you want to."
Aaron looked away from the central column. "All right then, why have you got a hat stand in here?"
"Well, the interior of the ship exists within a different dimension to the exterior and… what?" That had thrown the Doctor for a loop. Most companions had stated the obvious, that the TARDIS was "bigger on the inside" and he had prepared a whole speech for it. Aaron's observation was kind of out of the blue.
"It's just that you've got this hat stand by the door…" he started, pointing to the aforementioned article "… and it looks a bit out of place."
The Doctor laughed. "You're the first person to mention that. What drew your attention to the hat stand? Why not… I dunno, a gigantic room inside a little blue box?"
"Why point out the obvious?" Aaron replied.
"Sometimes the obvious can be the most important factor," The Doctor countered. "Depends on your perspective." The Doctor looked at Aaron. He looked like the sort of person who would stick out of a crowd like a sore thumb. Not so much his appearance, more of the fact that what he was wearing looked like a parrot had exploded. It was like this guy hadn't been told that the eighties were over. Any colour that could be named, and a few that couldn't, took up some form of residence on his outfit. What confused the Doctor more was that this person seemed somewhat familiar. Almost as if they had met before. The problem was that he couldn't remember. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he flicked a few switches on the console.
"For example to you, your fashion sense is obvious. To others, people would think you're colour blind," the Doctor said, trying not to laugh.
"Bloody cheek!"
"But then again, I used to dress like that so I really can't point fingers can I?" the Doctor said, more to himself than Aaron as he remembered his sixth incarnation. "Anyway, full introduction. I am the Doctor." He gave a cheesy smile and a wave to emphasise the point. "Hello. Anyway, I am a time lord and this is my TARDIS, which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."
"You're telling me that this box can go anywhere…"
"…and anywhen, yep!" the Doctor finished with a proud grin on his face.
"Could you take me home then?" Aaron asked.
A look of confusion crossed over the Doctor's face. "I thought you said you wanted to help."
"I do, I've just got a thing or two to pick up that might be handy." Aaron thought for a second. "On top of that, that Necrofear thing won't be able to track us straight away."
"But…" the Doctor paused. It did make sense. The Necrofear had no experience of Earth and no discernable way of tracking them down. Accessing Doyle's surface memories wouldn't help either as he hadn't even known this planet existed. On top of that, the pod had been severely damaged on its entry into Earth's atmosphere. It was unlikely that it would be functional enough to track them down. "… That's actually a good idea. Not so much a retreat but a tactical withdrawal."
"Doctor," said Aaron. "What exactly was that thing and what happened to Doyle?"
The Doctor consulted the computer on the console. "From what I can make out, it is a mutated form of the Vashta Nerada that I was telling you about. They used to resemble shadows. Now they are shadows. Pure sentient darkness. They chose Doyle as a host, practically consuming him from within. Now he's just a puppet with the Necrofear pulling the strings."
"How exactly do they know you?" asked Aaron.
"I don't think that one knew me personally. He mentioned something about ancestors. Anyway, I made a deal with the Vashta Nerada a while back. Something must have happened and they think I've gone back on my word. After all, that Necrofear didn't seem too happy to see me."
"And you deal with all of this on a daily basis?" questioned Aaron.
"Pretty much," said the Doctor. "Unless you count last Thursday when I… Oh wait. Nope, I prevented the Quetravorgas from invading Calabos 3."
"Busy day then?" asked Aaron. He hadn't really understood what the Doctor was on about but he just decided to accept it.
"Y'know Aaron," the Doctor said. "You seem to be taking all of this pretty well. "
"Well… All the stuff that's happened in the last few years, it's kinda hard not to believe in life outside Earth. Beside, if this really was a hoax, the government would've come up with a more plausible explanation. Honestly, drugs in the water supply? I really don't see what "terrorists" would achieve by making us all see aliens every time we had a cup of tea or a shower."
The Doctor started sniggering as he consulted a monitor.
"Oh well, at the very worst, Torchwood can always help," Aaron stated. The Doctor decided that there was a time and a place to ask how this guy knew about the supposedly secret organisation and ran the sonic screwdriver over one of the monitors, trying to assimilate everything that had happened in the last hour.
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The Necrofear that had once been Conrad Doyle stepped out from the shadows. That was the advantage of being a creature of darkness. A simple bit of molecular reconstitution and you could get anywhere in a matter of minutes. Travelling through the shadows and the darkness. Emerging from behind a large building, the creature looked around in order to get its bearings. As the Necrofear surveyed its surroundings, it noticed a large sign displaying the location as Bae Caerdydd – Cardiff Bay. The words didn't mean much to the Necrofear but from what he could ascertain was that he had successfully travelled from that pathetic patch of wasteland outside the town to the nearest populated location. It had to plan its next strategy. He remembered the orders that the shadow commander had given him.
"Try to hinder the Doctor's progress. Assimilate any inhabitants you require."
It was the best plan it had at the moment. Most of the pod's guidance systems had been destroyed in the landing and the soldier he assimilated had no experiences of this planet. As a result, it was stranded on an unknown planet. At least until the reinforcements traverse the anomaly. The best thing that the Necrofear could do would be to possess others and delegate the task at hand.
The Necrofear looked at its reflection in the window of the building. If it kept a low profile, it could just about pass for human. The only problem was its eyes. Perhaps it was the Necrofear's vanity or maybe it was to prevent drawing attention to itself, but it felt its first objective was to find something that would obscure its eyes. It moved out of the shadows towards a small building around the corner. The Necrofear looked through the window of the building at the contents inside.
Glasses.
Dark Glasses.
The Necrofear entered the building, looking at the selection of glasses.
"Can I help you sir?"
A saleswoman approached her potential "customer." The Necrofear glanced in her direction. She was young and looked fairly athletic. Definitely able to hold her own in a fight.
"Perhaps you can…" it mused. The Necrofear grabbed the woman's arm and looked directly into her eyes. He smirked as she gasped in horror. "You will be a great asset to me…" It glanced at her name tag. "… Nadine, I need to divide and conquer. Embrace the Darkness!"
As the Necrofear spoke these words, black shadowy tendrils emanated from its eyes to Nadine's eyes. Her screams of fear were quickly impeded. Within a few minutes, Nadine's appearance displayed similar characteristics to the Necrofear in front of her. It handed her a pair of shades.
"Protocol 1," it stated. "Assimilate anyone you need to."
"I obey" the female Necrofear replied blankly, putting on the shades before merging into the shadows.
"Humans," it thought as it walked out the building. "Trapped like rats on a pathetic little planet" He sniffed the air. "Reeking of foetor and decay and…" He stopped and sniffed the air again. An unmistakable odour. A look of absolute fury crossed its face.
"Time Agent!" it snarled.
Please R&R