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Howling ghosts – they reappear
In mountains that are stacked with fear
But you're a king and I'm a lionheart
King and Lionheart - Of Monsters and Men
If friends are what you're looking for
Consider me a friend
But I'll break apart
and take your heart before this story ends
Make You Mine - Us The Duo
At Aliya's show of bravery, Liline just laughed.
"You are an amusing little non-human," the shapeshifter said, flexing her clawed hands, "And I do not know what you or your mate are doing here, but if you are standing with the humans, then you will die with them."
"One doesn't abandon blind children to wolves," Aliya said, her hands shaking a little, "Or in this case, bears."
Liline then lunged at them, only to be hit in the head by a flying incense holder and sent stumbling backward. Aliya looked over her shoulder to see Laura with empty hands and a tremble in her small frame.
"Good shot," the older of the two said, and the girl managed a weak smile before she clutched her chest and started breathing too rapidly to be healthy.
Panic attack. And Aliya didn't have time to help, because when she checked, Liline had recovered from Laura's throwing of the metal ball and fine chain, and was snarling in their direction.
This time, when Liline tried to attack, Aliya managed to parry it with a swing of candlestick. It was heavy enough to work as an effective weapon, but her lack of strength made her movements slow. Fighting a creature as lithe and quick as Liline meant a moment's sluggishness could be the difference in life or death.
"Any help would be appreciated here!" She yelled to the others as she was driven further back, towards the front of the church. She was hoping that Cecily was getting Laura somewhere out of the way and making sure she was alright if the girl was having a panic attack as Aliya suspected, considering the girl was no longer behind her. "Father Robin…"
When she listened out while swinging to the candlestick every time Liline made a swipe at her, all Aliya could hear from him were mutterings of variations on 'cursed creature of Lucifer' and 'may the good Lord take mercy on our immortal souls'. Brilliant.
"Helpful," Aliya murmured to herself, while her mind raced through various possibilities of how she might be able to take down Liline. Nothing plausible stuck, because she wasn't a warrior she was a mechanic and what the hell was she supposed to do to protect these people? She was going to fail them, fail the Doctor, and worst of all, fail herself.
My strongest asset is my mind, she thought, but it can only do so - oh. Now there's a thought. It wasn't a sensible thought. Not by a long shot. It was barely sane and not even entirely likely to work, but what else was there?
When Liline's claws hooked around the candlestick and yanked it from her hands to send it clattering onto the floor several metres away, Aliya knew that her new idea had just become her only option and last resort.
Her hands flew to her temples and she squeezed her eyes shut to gather all the mental energy she could muster, letting her legs frantically carry her backward to gain her a few more precious seconds. She inhaled as deeply as she could.
Doctor, forgive me.
In the second after she tripped backward over a ridge and the second before Liline's claws raked her torso, she pushed out with her mind as forcefully as possible in the direction of her attacker. It was borderline suicidal. Within half a moment she could feel all of her strength having left her and her mind fogging over as her body continued its descent to the floor. But when her eyes opened she had just enough time to see Liline hitting the ground before her own world went pitch black too quickly for her to scream.
When the Doctor could stand again, Roger and Thomas had just managed to subdue Kane, or at least get him on the ground. The shapeshifter was still wrestling with the humans and trying to shift into his full form. The Doctor rushed over and at risk of losing limb, knelt and held Kane's head in his hands and rammed his head against the other alien's furry one. The projected sleep wouldn't be more than temporary, but his superior Time Lord mind knocked him right out for now.
The Doctor would have a bit of a headache for a few hours, but it was more worth it to be sure Kane couldn't escape from any bonds they put him in and kill them all when they weren't looking.
"Look, I need you two to take him to the church, as quickly as possible," he told the other men, "I've got to run and grab something, and it might take a while. But I'll be back, promise."
He ran through the forest in the direction of the TARDIS, using the sonic to keep himself on track. When he finally reached it, a good half an hour later, he rushed inside and worked the controls until he materialised the box at the church. Or rather, right outside it, so as to not alarm the primitive humans inside.
The first thing he saw when he dashed into the church was Kane bound on the floor next another furred creature, a smaller one which had to be Liline. Both were completely unconscious.
"What happened?" He asked Laura and Cecily, who were standing by one of the pews with worried looks on their faces.
"We can't be sure," the younger of the two said, her eyes darting downward to something out of his sight. "It was Aliya, I think. One moment the creature was about to - and then they were both on the ground."
"What?" The Doctor approached them to see what exactly was on the pew. Sprawled across the wood in a dignified way that could only have been Cecily and Laura's work, Aliya was completely devoid of consciousness, her eyes shut and head tilted to meet the ceiling. "Aliya."
He instantly knelt on the floor directly opposite her upturned face. Her body barely moved even with breath, and when he checked for heartbeats, he found only one.
"I tried to wake her," Cecily told him, frowning at them, "No matter how I yelled or shook her, she simply-"
That news was not at all good for his hearts but didn't entirely surprise him. He thought of the apparent lack of visible conflict that had somehow led to Liline's state of dormancy, and then of how he had dealt with Kane.
She wouldn't have - no, she would. His fingers gingerly touched her temple. Sure enough, her mind was completely dormant because it had no choice. He could sense just how much mental energy she'd expended to take down Liline, and it was a half miracle she hadn't turned herself into a breathing vegetable. Time Lords didn't really have non-contact mental abilities that went any further than background awareness; physical contact was necessary because anything to do with the mind was so incredibly intricate.
"You incredible, brave little idiot," he whispered, his thumb grazing her cheek before he pulled his hand away. In her exhausted state, she looked so strangely peaceful that he almost wanted to savour it, since usually when they slept side by side on the couch she faced away from him and was a bit of a wriggler. Here, she was so still it was both eerie and picturesque.
"John," Thomas said as he and Roger came to stand with them, "What are we doing with the creatures?"
"Aliya and I will be taking them with us," the Doctor told them, straightening up and tearing his gaze away from his best friend. "I'll get them into my...transport...and then I'll be back for her. She won't be waking up for a while yet."
"But what if they wake?" Laura asked him, her eyes flicking nervously to the creatures on the floor by the broken doors.
"They shouldn't do, if I'm quick enough."
"I'll assist you," Roger offered, but the Doctor shook his head. They needed to go into the TARDIS, and the thought of what the highly superstitious folk of the middle ages might think of his magical box was too uncertain to allow any of them to assist him.
"I can manage. It's been a long night, and you've all been brilliant. Take a breather."
It only took a few minutes for the Doctor to carry Kane and then Liline into the TARDIS and program the ship to put a containment vortex around them should they start to stir. He stopped to catch his breath - the shapeshifters were not light - and returned to the church to find that Father Robin had joined the main group along with Robert and Nicholas.
"How did she do it?" Laura asked the Doctor as he came to stand with them all. "Because I was watching, and she didn't even touch it."
"That creature was of the Devil," Father Robin said gravely, but then his face lit in a smile so wide that it puzzled everyone around him. "But it is plain that it was destroyed through the power of an angel."
The Doctor laughed. "Sorry, what?"
"Are you one also, sir? Or is she your guardian?"
He could only blink and realise there was no point in arguing with the rather adamant little man. Better to let them think she was an angel than a witch or something else altogether.
Aliya, as my guardian angel. Sort of laughable, but I could certainly do a lot worse. Did I even call her that once? I think she hit me. Or looked like she was thinking about it.
"Now, that would be telling," he ended up saying, unable to resist a slight air of mystery. Father Robin just nodded as if he had expected such an answer, but the family and hunters present exchanged shocked looks at the idea of an angel, possibly two, in their midst.
"I don't think she's an angel," Laura said, frowning, "She's too...odd."
"And too angry," Roger added.
"Also, the way you two look at each other," the girl continued, looking at the Doctor, "It's not the way of angels. It couldn't be."
"The way we look at each other?" He asked, not knowing what in the world she meant.
"The way of husbands and wives and of lovers in songs."
I think I preferred angel. Still, denying their fake marriage at this point probably wasn't a smart move either.
"It could have been borrowed power for a moment of great need," Robert suggested, and the others quickly accepted this as their new theory, though Father Robin remained with his initial impression. The Doctor decided it was probably a good time to get going before the conversation progressed any further.
He knelt by the pew again and slid his arms underneath Aliya so that he could hoist her into his arms, one behind her back and the other under her knees.
"Well, sadly, we've got to get going now," he said, smiling at the people whose company he had enjoyed over the last couple of days, "But it's been a pleasure."
"But she's still asleep," Laura protested immediately, "I want to be able to say goodbye."
"Laura, we've got to get these creatures somewhere isolated before they wake up, and Aliya's not going to wake for hours. I'm sorry."
The girl's face fell. "But - she's my friend, and she saved my life...please, isn't there any way?"
The Doctor thought hard about it. Aliya's mental energy was going to need hours of rest to replenish, but if he were to give her some, she might last long enough to make goodbyes. Short goodbyes. "Er, Thomas, could you…?"
Thomas gently took Aliya out of the Doctor's arms and held her easily as the Doctor brought his hands to either side of his friend's head and leaned down to press their foreheads together. With a deep breath to steady himself, he poured a supply of his own energy into her mind, enough to give her a minute or two. She jerked in Thomas's arms and the man was surprised enough that he half dropped her on the floor but was quick to steady her.
"What-" Aliya muttered, visibly dazed.
"Aliya, you and I are going to talk later, right now there's someone who wants to say goodbye to you and you've got about a minute," the Doctor said, turning her by the shoulders to face Laura.
"Alright," the Time Lady said, blinking rapidly but slowly focussing. That was when Laura hugged her fiercely, and the two blondes laughed a little. "It's been fun, Laura."
"Thank you, for everything," Laura half whispered, "I was so worried about getting married, but I've seen how it can be now."
"We're not the best examples," Aliya told her, making a face, "It'll be what you make it, and knowing you, I think it's going to be wonderful." Her hand pulled out a necklace that the Doctor didn't recognise. "And I really am going to keep this forever." That was when Nicholas tugged on her skirt and she knelt to give the boy a quick hug only to receive a wet kiss on the cheek in return. Grinning like an idiot, she got back on her feet and looked at the others, "It's been good to meet you all, and is even better to see that you're all alright. Cecily, thank you for-" Her voice trailed off and the Doctor ran to catch her as her entire body slumped and started to fall.
Her head thumped back against his shoulder while his arms wrapped around her torso and he stumbled backward a step or two. Without even touching her head he could sense the dormant mental state she had returned to, this one even deeper than the last due to forcing her mind to work a lot sooner than it should have, off borrowed energy. She was all but dead to the world in his arms, and the most he could do was hoist her up properly so that he could carry her to the TARDIS.
"Stay safe, you lot," he said, smiling at the group of humans in front of him before walking through the wreckage of the church doors and heading into the police box that lay outside. He set Aliya down gently on the jumpseat and tucked her legs under her body, making sure her head was resting neatly on the top of the seat before he moved to the controls.
After finding a nice remote planet and leaving Kane and Liline there to wake up and be able to live peacefully with no one to exact revenge on, the Doctor returned to the console room and gathered his friend in his arms again so that he could take her to her bedroom. After all, she was going to need at least another sixteen hours before her mind would be strong enough to handle consciousness.
He pushed the door to her windowless bedroom open with his foot and stepped inside the space that had over the years become very personalised by Aliya. Various t-shirts, sundresses, converse shoes and pairs of jeans were strewn over almost every available surface, and the suspicious spell of banana flavoured sweets lingered in the air. The slice of green wall that wasn't covered in Gallifreyan calligraphy played host to a collage of photos and he paused in his tracks to smile at them. As he didn't frequent her room much, he'd not seen them before.
River, Aliya and himself in Vienna, laughing as a nice stranger took the photo and captured the happiness the three of them had between them so easily.
Aliya and Jenny out on the Cardiff pier, wind whipping in their faces but with their arms around each other's shoulders as they grinned at the camera.
A goofy one of Jack and Jenny that likely was one of Aliya's own taking.
Aliya's fourth body with Tegan Jovanka, in a badly taken photo that suggested Turlough as the person who'd been saddled with the camera.
One of young Anna and Aliya's third self, but on an angle that had the Doctor surmising that the young girl had taken it without her guardian's knowing.
Several were just landscapes of places they had visited, places he had seen her snap pictures of on the phone he had gotten her.
There was one of just the two of them, on a beach with pink sand, wonky because his hand had nearly dropped the camera just as he'd pressed the button, but it had resulted in both of them laughing in what had turned out to be a better photo than what the original would have been because it captured a far more real moment.
Another one of the two of them contained the most ridiculous faces known to the cosmos, and he laughed outright at the sight of them, remembering when they had given those silly selfies a try after Aliya had received an outrageous picture text from Rani and Clyde.
A single shot of himself was there too. It was just in the TARDIS, him without his coat and with incredibly messy hair from tinkering under the console, beaming at something on the scanner and looking up just in time for her to snap the picture. He remembered it well, he'd chased her for a good five minutes trying to get a look at the photo but never succeeded. She'd printed it in black and white, and he had to admit - it was a flattering picture.
The Doctor glanced down at the woman in his arms and his mouth quirked into a tiny, fond smile. His fingers brushed back a few of the golden curls which were in her face where her head was against his shoulder. You really do feel at home here, he thought with great satisfaction, and I'm glad for it. He crossed to the unmade circular bed and lowered her onto it, stopping to take her boots off. The thick covers fit neatly under her chin when he tucked them around her, and he dropped a light kiss onto her forehead.
"See you later," he said, rather pointlessly, before leaving the room. He set about making her some hot chocolate in a thermos that could retain the heat for hours upon hours, so that it would still be hot when she woke up. It gave him the freedom to head back to the console room and make some improvements under the platform until she woke.
It was eighteen hours of peacefully tinkering before he heard the sound of Aliya's bare feet on the glass above him. He only remembered at the last second that it was probably best not to look up given that she would still be wearing a dress and that the console platform was made of glass.
"Down here," he called instead, keeping his eyes on his work.
"I know," she replied simply. Whether it was because she could sense him or just knew him well enough to know where he would be, or a combination of the two, he didn't know. She came into view down the stairs, with the thermos in both hands. "Thanks for this, by the way. And for making me comfortable."
"Well, I considered leaving you on the glass floor, but then I figured you'd get in my way," he teased. She grinned as she took a long sip of the hot chocolate and sat on the third bottom step to watch him.
"I didn't get a chance to ask. I'm assuming from everyone being alive back there that I did stop Liline."
He lifted up his goggles to rest them on his hair so that he could frown at her. "Yes. And I've been waiting to talk to you about that."
"I bet you have," she said, completely unsurprised. "Go on then. Aliya, that was stupid. Aliya, that was dangerous. Aliya, you're an idiot. Aliya, you could have killed yourself." When his frown only deepened, she smirked. "How am I doing?"
He shut and opened his mouth several times before saying, "Rather well. But not taking it seriously."
"I was, actually." Her voice, true to its words, had more solemnity as she regarded him over the thermos. "I knew it might kill me or damage my mind somehow, but there wasn't another option. It was risking myself, or letting all of us die brutally. There was no choice in what I did, not really."
The Doctor sighed heavily. He hated to admit it, even merely to himself, but she did have a point. "I just-"
"I know."
He smiled weakly and decided there wasn't much more to say on the matter. That was when he took in the charming visual that was her fluffy bed hair, her mussed dress and her bare feet. He laughed a little, and when she shot him an inquisitive look, he just pointed. She got the message and groaned but made no move to fix it. He'd seen it enough times at this point that it wouldn't have helped much.
"So how are you feeling?" He asked.
She shrugged. "Pretty good, considering. Just a bit of a headache, but it's getting better already."
"I may have put a painkiller in the hot chocolate," he said, with a smug smile, and she returned it before taking a large gulp of the hot drink.
"Thanks."
"Now, you drink up, because I've got a trip planned and you need to get dressed. Though, you could wear that, but I think you might want something more colourful. Come on, I've got something in mind."
He got up and left the goggles behind him. She glanced at him curiously before following him up the stairs, sipping her hot chocolate all the while. When they reached the wardrobe it only took him a few minutes to relocate the outfit he had discovered a few hours before.
It was a near ankle length sky blue skirt, an elbow length white blouse, and a brown corset to wear over the top. Similar to the style she was already wearing, but more colourful and more suited to her by half.
Aliya grinned at it and gulped down the last of her drink so she could set the thermos down nearby and take the hanger holding the outfit off him and hold it up against herself.
"I love it," she said excitedly, before peering at him, "Where are you taking me?"
"I...am making up for several horrible things I've done over this last trip, by taking you somewhere you'll love. Don't worry about shoes, where we're going, no one wears them."
"What about you?"
With a jolt of surprise he realised he hadn't considered that even a little. "Ah. Yes, well, I suppose I'll take my boots off before we step out. So, you sort out your hair and get that on, and I'll meet you back in the console room."
He left her to it and when she returned to the console room five minutes later, he had removed his boots and socks and rolled his trousers up a few times. Not the most dignified look, but where they were going it wasn't going to matter.
Sure enough, when he finally looked up at Aliya, the outfit he'd selected fit her well and suited her near perfectly.
"Now, what horrible things are you making up for? I'd quite like them listed out," she said as she came down the stairs. He came to stand directly in front of her so that he could comply in a grave manner that ensured she knew he was aware of his mistakes and truly wanted forgiveness.
"For going along with how they were diminishing you," he began, "For leaving you behind multiple times, sometimes in more danger even though I was trying to protect you. And most of all, for touching your mind without your permission. That one I'm not so sure I'll ever be able to make up for, but this is me making an effort."
"And I really appreciate it," she said quietly, eyeing him with a funny smile, "But to be honest, even just hearing you admit that you were wrong is enough, or near enough. You don't have to take me anywhere."
"And miss out on this? This isn't just for you, Aliya," he scoffed. "Come on." He offered her his arm and they strolled out of the TARDIS. They were standing in a street of wooden and thatch houses that was lined with colourful decorations. Above them a light yellow sky held few clouds, and the very slight breeze blowing past was warm against their cheeks.
The characteristic sound of folk music could be heard coming from their left, with the sounds of pipes and flutes and string instruments calling to any who were far away.
Aliya glanced at the Doctor curiously, a tiny smile starting to play on her lips, and she grabbed his hand to drag him towards the sound. When they finally came out into the town square, she halted and gaped at the sight of the huge maypole in the center of it and the people who were dancing around it. True to the Doctor's word, they were all dressed similarly to Aliya in bright colours, with no shoes.
It was a whirling rainbow in front of their eyes and the grin on Aliya's face was so large he was worried it was going to break her face.
"We're on Pantone," he told her, "This is their Summer Solstice festival. Came here once, with Nyssa. She loved it, cause everyone here is as nice as she is. Took me a long time for me to figure out the dancing, but she was a natural and taught me the moment she got the hang of it. Hopefully these feet haven't forgotten."
"Do they usually? My feet have had fairly good memory so far."
"Care to find out?"
When the Doctor nodded towards the mass of people, she instantly frowned at him. "But I don't know the dance." Before he could reply, she flung her hand out in front of him and added, "Actually, hang on." He watched her eyes follow the figures in the crowd in front of them with precise concentration, biting her lip as she did so. As the seconds passed, her head moved from side to side as she took in the steps of the people flashing past, eyes darting to keep track of them all.
After thirty seconds, she nodded, more to herself than him.
"Got it?" He asked, smiling.
"I think so," she said, and let him take her hand and lead her to the edge of the outer circle of dancers. They grinned at each other before his hand came to rest on her waist and hers on his shoulder while their other hands joined. Then they jumped into the fray.
The Doctor found, thankfully, that his feet and mind did remember how to do the Pantone maypole dances, and Aliya's mental analysis of the dance proved successful. The Time Lord pair side galloped around the maypole with the rest of their line and stopped to twirl without having to look at the others for their cues.
"Best idea ever," she said breathlessly to him as he spun her around on the spot.
"Forgiven?"
"Yeah."
He let his hand settle on the small of her back as they followed the dips and turns of the folk dance and they both couldn't help laughing from the sheer amount of fun they were having. They continued until the song came to an end with one short note from the flute.
Every person stopped and began applauding, clapping everyone around them on the back as if to congratulate them. Aliya and the Doctor initially jumped in surprise when the strangers turned to them with bright smiles and friendly hands but only took a few seconds to go along with it and begin chatting to all the people around them.
"They really are as friendly as Nyssa, and more lively," Aliya remarked as the locals began to get in place for the next dance and the two Time Lords hurried to get back to the outside so that they could learn this one before joining back in. "Oh, this isn't a pair one."
Both of them analysed the new dance, and within a minute she'd jumped into the fray to link arms with a very tall ginger woman who was all too happy to have her in the procession. Instead of following after her, the Doctor found himself stuck watching instead.
Aliya's hair spun along with her body as the group briefly split into pairs to spin each other before continuing as before, and her bare feet kicked the dust up off the ground as if she'd been made to do it and not Loomed an aristocrat who didn't go outside for the first two centuries of her life. After having seen her cry so many times in the past (and being the cause of her tears more times than he would ever be able to forgive himself for), it brought a warmth to his hearts and a lump to his throat seeing her so blatantly happy as she laughed and twirled around and around and around.
She's so beautiful when she smiles like that, like her grin is going to take over her entire face, he thought. This regeneration of hers was in a way so singular in comparison to her other selves. Quite literally born of freedom, she was always craving adventure and sights. Craving life itself and all the wonders it brought. It was the fruition of the wide-eyed wonder she'd always had, now finally having blossomed within her in a way that made her perfectly suited to be by his side, just as he'd always wanted her to be.
And it was one of the things that made him love her so much.
That thought abruptly halted the smile that had been creeping onto his face.
Wait no, I don't - I don't love her, at least not like that, she's just my friend, my best friend -
Are you really going to try and deny it? Deny that right now there's nothing you'd like to do better than waltz up to her and kiss that ridiculous grin off her face before she's even finished laughing?
He immediately tore his eyes from Aliya's spinning form before any part of his brain decided that was a good idea. Denial was a beautiful thing, especially when it was so bad that one wasn't even aware of it. But it became instantly apparent, like multiple freight trains hitting him at once, that he'd been in denial for years about no longer having feelings for Aliya. Feelings of the kissing and flowers and cuddling kind, anyway. And it seemed that now he was aware of them, they had all hit him at once, every impulse and skipped heartbeat that he should have had at the time now slamming into him until he physically clutched at his chest to be sure everything was still in working order.
"Oh no," he said quietly, frowning. "This is not remotely good."
What about River? You love River.
River's dead. I've loved people and lost them only to fall in love with sometime else. It happens. It's the only constant I've even got.
River Song isn't people.
Neither is Aliya.
That was when Aliya's eyes met his through the crowd and her hands beckoned for him to join her in the fast dance that had turned her cheeks so red he could notice over the distance. One half of him wanted to bolt in the other direction and lock himself in the TARDIS until he could learn to deal with his new revelation, and the other half of him wanted to do exactly as she was suggesting, if only for a chance to be close to her.
The second impulse won. Barely. He entered the mass of moving people and followed the steps until he could get himself next to Aliya just in time for a part of the dance that involved everyone in the line holding hands with each other. She grabbed his hand without hesitation and grinned up at him while he tried to ignore the tingling where she was touching him.
Great job, Doctor, marvelous, you've turned back into a hopeless lovesick teenager, he scolded himself. Get a grip.
"Why were you staring at me?" Aliya asked him, forced to half yell over the loud sound of the pipes. "Have I got something on my face?"
Other than your overly large grin that makes me want to snog the life out of you, no. He had to mentally slap himself for that thought the moment it properly registered. "No, you...er…" He floundered while trying to say something that wouldn't somehow give away his sudden inner emotional turmoil. "You looked like a spinning top," he said hurriedly, "It was funny."
Thankfully, she laughed at that. "You're so ridiculous," she said with fondness in her eyes, "But then I wouldn't want you any other way."
He let out a nervous laugh. "Me neither."
After that had been clarified, they continued to dance the afternoon away, and the Doctor with every second became more and more aware of the magnitude of the problem he was now facing.
The Doctor's finally worked it out! But of course, there's a lot for his poor emotionally-challenged brain to work through, which may or may not have something to do with the next arc... ;)
I really hope you guys enjoyed that, and do be excited for the next arc because it's going to be a real kicker if I do say so myself. Also, it will probably shock/utterly confuse you to begin with but just roll with it, I promise there will be reasons for the apparent madness.
Thanks a bunch for reading, and reviews are love!
-MayFairy :)
p.s. I've got a couple of Twelve/Missy oneshots if anyone is interested, and Missy has now appeared in an AU of Death In Heaven for my Kate Stewart/The Rani fic. I'm not obsessed with her or anything, not at all. *lies*