The next morning I woke up with an unbearable pain in my back and neck and Tardis' hand had disappeared and she was laying the opposite way curled up in the fetal position. I stood up from the chair and stretched my arms up to the ceiling. While trying not to wake my daughter up, I tip toed out of the room, but tripped on my feet once her bedroom door shut. I'm sure that would've woken her up, but I continued to tip toe up the stairs to the console room. I checked the time and it was nowhere remotely close to the evening. Impatient, I pushed some buttons, pulled some levers, and the TARDIS took off.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Tardis appeared behind me. "Flying. What else?" I pushed a button and the TARDIS jerked violently, knocking me off my feet to my back. "Dad!" Tardis put her hands on her hips and the ship leveled out. "You've gotta watch what you're doing before you get us lost!" She shut her eyes tight and the TARDIS slowed to land gently. "I'm not going to get us lost!" I stood up quickly and adjusted my bow tie. Her look of doubt was burning my forehead, but I turned to the monitor to see what time it was outside. It was about evening, so I told Tardis to get ready. "Make sure it's appropriate!" I yelled before the door downstairs closed and sat down to think of what could happen. The meeting could go well, there seemed to be nothing suspicious of wanting to meet with me. I was a figure in their "religion, " so they just want to talk with me.
Tardis returned in a purple tunic and a gold wreath circlet in her hair. "Ready to go learn?" I asked and she nodded "I already know a lot, Dad. It'll just be a review." She unconsciously boasted and I couldn't help but think about me when she said that. "Well, I'm supposed to be meeting with Theosis today, so let's get going!" I opened the door for her and locked it behind me. "Doctor!" I almost jumped at the sudden voice from ahead and looked up to see who it was. Theosis was coming from his front door to the TARDIS with Phoebus and a stranger, the teacher most likely, by his side. "I was thinking we should talk in the church, if you don't mind that is." He quickly added and stroked his thick beard. "That sounds good. Tardis," I turned us away and mumbled important advice to her. "I don't want that boy talking to you. Just go along with the lesson and ignore him. No eye contact, no contact period." Tardis rolled her eyes and I kept ranting on. "I don't care if he bribes you with custard, you can't have any relationship with this boy. You are mere acquaintances. Got it?" She nodded without looking at me. "Got it?" I repeated with a little more force. "I'll be fine, Dad. I'm not a little kid." She turned to go with Phoebus and his teacher back into their house and Theosis and I started to stroll towards the church.
"I'd like to hear more about this blue box of yours, Doctor." Theosis started after we were away from his home. "Well, what do you want to know about it?" I put my hands in my pockets and stared around at my surroundings. "How do you fit inside of it? It doesn't look big enough to fit you, your daughter, and whatever powers your box." I couldn't help but chuckle. "That's a very popular question I get. I could show you-" "Oh no! It's fine. I don't want to waste time walking back." He insisted, and I went on with describing the TARDIS. "Well, it's bigger on the inside. There's an infinite amount of rooms in it, including bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, a library with a swimming pool, and so many more that even I don't know of." I smiled, almost forgetting about the pool. Me and Tardis have to go swimming some time... "I've read that you can also travel to yesterday, or even tomorrow!" I nodded and added, "It can travel to the time you were born and the time you die."
Theosis opened a familiar wooden door and politely let me into the church. "Thank you." I nodded and waited for him to join me. "Doctor, it's said that you are not from around here, and that you come from the stars. Is it true?" I raised a brow in suspicion, but answered truthfully. "Yes. I'm from a different planet. So I am alien to you humans." Theosis' eyes widened. Before I could ask a question, we were interrupted by a voice that echoed from inside the main room. "Theosis? Is that you?" Our heads turned and we followed the voice.
Inside was a priest in white robes with three red-robed people. "Ah, Father Gracio!" Theosis gave a small, polite bow and so did Father. "I see you've brought the Doctor." He acknowledged my presence and I waved. "We never met, I am Gracio." He unmasked himself and shook hands with me. It stroke me odd that they were fully dressed in their robes, but even more so by the fact that we shook hands instead of bowing like Theosis. "Hello, Gracio." I greeted and he invited the two of us to sit with him. "If you really want us to. Is that okay, Doctor?" It felt strange having someone ask my permission, but I nodded. Gracio led us into a room behind a curtain which had a table set up, complete with plates, cups, and silverware. "Sit. I'll have refreshments out in a moment." Gracio nodded and disappeared through another door.
"How long have you been in town, Doctor?" Gracio returned with a platter of cheese and bread. "Not very long. Me and Tardis just got here." I took some of the food and took a big bite. "Hm, she's your daughter, correct?" I nodded, not wanting to get too much into detail about her. "How old is she?" "Honestly, I have no idea." "You must surely know your own daughter's age, Doctor?" Theosis frowned and took a drink from his cup. It was true, though. She was born in the TARDIS and doesn't really have a birthday. I'd estimate her to be maybe nine years old, by technicality. She looked no older than 13, though, so it'd be strange telling them she was only nine. "It is said that she was born from time itself." This raised my suspicion and I stood up. "I better go check on Tardis. She has medicine to take." I lied but Gracio and Theosis laughed. "Oh, Doctor, you're not going anywhere." I pushed aside the curtain that we came through but almost fell back when I saw what was standing in the way.
There, lifeless and frozen was a statue. Not just any statue, but a Weeping Angel. I kept my gaze on it and started to think about what was going on. "The Angels have gotten restless since you and your daughter arrived, Doctor. But we've been expecting you for a long time now." "And how long would that be?" I never took my eyes off of the statue and felt someone's hands grab my shoulders from behind. "Don't worry. They're with us." Gracio pulled me back and forced me into a chair and jammed something around my wrists. I felt it tighten and make a mechanical sound. "Did you just put self-adjusting handcuffs on me?" That was a bit advanced for ancient Rome. "Where did you even get these?"
"They're ours, of course. Theosis had reentered the room with different clothes on. It seemed to be a uniform, but I didn't recognize it from any group I'd met before. It was just a one piece skin suit that was black with a logo on the chest. There was an arc stretching from shoulder to shoulder and an upside down V that went to his waist and wrapped around to his back. It formed a capital "A." These two weren't from this time, and I wanted to know why they were here. "Theosis," "That's not my real name, Doctor. It's Krato." He snapped and I sighed. "Krato, what organization do you work for?" He noticed that I was staring at the "A" on his chest. "It stands for-" "Krato, we must retrieve the girl." I just realized that she was with Krato's son, if that even was his real son, and was in danger. "Don't you lay a finger on her!" I struggled to get myself free, though my attempts were futile. "We won't hurt her, Doctor. We're just going to bring her here." Gracio tried to reassure, but I knew he really didn't care about what I believed.
I finally remembered to ask what the Angels were doing here. "We've formed an alliance. Ever since we came here, we've been sending people back by using the Angels. That's what the 'Choosing' is every Wednesday. A random citizen is chosen and they are sent back, leaving the Angels to feast on the energy." Gracio explained. "The Angels didn't consume all of it though, we wanted to create an anomaly that would attract the TARDIS here. Therefore trapping you and your daughter." Krato finished. "How long have you been here?" I gave up trying to break free and sat calmly in my chair. "Only a couple years to us, but about 50 years to them." "What about the church?" Gracio smirked. "I'm glad you asked. I know this has been bothering you since you came here." He started to pace slowly around the table. "Well, after we made the alliance with the Angels a couple years ago, we decided to try and trap you somewhere, but we'd have to lure you somewhere very discreet and unsuspecting. Made up a religion based on the Angels then started to spread it around the locals. We would sit in our ship just above the city monitoring all the conversations and seeing when it'd die out. When it did start to decline, we sent a troop down to spark the idea up again." "You used time travel though. You don't look like you're older than fifty." Gracio nodded. "You're as clever as they claim." I smiled at the compliment and he continued.
"Skip a decade or so in the future, and the people of this city recognized this religion. It grew more and more popular, but we managed to keep it strictly in this city. Soon enough, maybe twenty-five years after setting up our operation here, a church was brought into the picture. The people got their suggestion accepted and the church was to be built on the hill where the temple for Poseidon previously sat. Thus we sent down troops to pose as priests and I became the leader of that objective. Krato over here was at the top of the hierarchy, so we had a man on the inside, just in case. And he proved to be useful, you're sitting in handcuffs right now, aren't you?" Gracio finished and I shrugged. "It's not the first time I've been handcuffed, and it won't be the last." I suddenly remembered Pond and River. I hid my emotions from my captors and looked to the other end of the table to see guns.
"What do you need those for?" Krato smirked with a dark chuckle. I frowned almost instantly and struggled in the chair as I yelled in rage, "You better not shoot my daughter!" Krato slipped his toga over his suit and put the sandals on. "What are you going to do, Doctor? You don't kill." He scoffed, but before he walked out the door I replied with fire in my eyes, "You obviously don't know me." As soon as it slipped out, I regretted it, thinking about what Tardis would say. The look on her face would be utter fear, I couldn't handle that. Gracio left with Krato in his snow white robes and glared back at me with... was that guilt in his eyes? The door shut and I was left alone with the silence and the table.
The silence was eating at my brain and I couldn't sit still for long, so I started to think about escape plans. If my hands weren't behind me, it'd be so much easier to grab my sonic screwdriver. "My screwdriver!" I exclaimed. I kept it in my coat pocket at all times for situations like this. I curled my head into my chest and tilted my head to my left into my coat. Thank goodness for this inside pocket. It took a moment to grab a mouthful of the screwdriver, but I finally got it so I could bite the button. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was my ticket out of here. I pointed the tip of it towards my hands, and felt it loosen. It was enough for me to wiggle up out of the chair and finally unlock the cuffs.
I was glad I looked up after that, because I completely forgot about the Angel. It had its arms up over its head, ready to scare the daylight out of me. My heart pounded and I kept close to the wall so none, if there were any more, could get me from behind. The Angel kept still and I started to shuffle to the side, not taking my eyes off it. Just one blink could get me trapped in another time without my TARDIS. Then the unbelievable happened: I tripped and blinked. As soon as I realized my mistake, I looked up, but the Angel had disappeared. I was hesitant, but I blinked once more, and no Angels appeared. There were footsteps, though, which caught me off guard. There was a closet and I hid inside before they could find me.
"We've got a surprise for you Doc-" Krato's voice stopped abruptly and it turned into an enraged howl. "What? How did he escape?" "Because he's better than you!" I was put at ease at my daughter's voice, but then heard her squeal in pain. "You could be a little gentler, at least!" She snapped and I thought about why they needed her. To get to me. That's usually why they kidnap my companions... I thought and waited for Krato to leave. After it was silent for a couple moments, I came out of hiding and put my sonic screwdriver away before peeking in the crack of the curtains that led to the main entrance. "He can't be gone! Those are the best handcuffs in the universe! It's impossible to get out of them!" Gracio's voice echoed through the vast room. "Well, he's not there!" Krato growled back. "Never mind him, he'll come back for the girl." Gracio calmed down and Tardis snapped, "He's cleverer than that! He'll come and save everyone before you even know what hit you!" At that point I was proud to call her my daughter. "Oh shut up. Once we're through with you, our job is done! We can finally go back to our families and live normal lives." Krato rolled his eyes and pulled Tardis, who was bound in the same cuffs I was trapped in, behind him towards the door. Gracio followed close behind and once they'd disappeared I looked around the room for any Angels.
Why did they say that? "Once we're done with you?" So they really are going to kill her? Well, I'm not going to let them. I tiptoed to the front doors and climbed up the stone benches that flanked it. I peeked up out the window and was horrified at what I saw. There, high and tall, was a wooden platform. There were winding stairs that led to the top and a crowd was gathered below it. It seemed like they had everything ready for a ritual of some sort. Gracio, Krato, and two guards escorted Tardis across the stage towards a wooden stake. The handcuffs were taken off her and she kicked Krato with all of her strength. "How dare-!" Gracio put a hand on Krato's shoulder and the two guards tied her arms behind her back and around the wooden stake. "Citizens, it seems that our guests were imposters! This isn't the real Child of Time, nor was her companion the Doctor," Gracio greeted the crowd with a fake loss of hope. "This young lady, though, has been Chosen!" He pointed at Tardis from the other end of the stage. The crowd murmured restlessly and quieted down when Gracio lifted his hands up to quiet them. "We must show these impersonators the glory of being chosen. It is an honor, no doubt." The people all looked sad and afraid. Probably afraid of what this "Choosing" was.
"First, we must bow our heads down and pray." Everyone looked down with their eyes closed and started to repeat what Gracio was announcing. The guard to the left blindfolded Tardis, who started to panic, and closed his own eyes as he relaxed. No one was looking... "Oh no." I finally realized what was going on, and tried to run out the doors before it could happen. I forced the big heavy doors open and ran towards the platform. I was about to shout, but something stopped me from moving and it caught me off guard. I looked behind me, and instantly regretted it. "Tardis!" I yelled, and she blindly turned her head in my direction. "Da-?" Her words were cut off. And I looked up, too little too late. The Angel that was holding me had ran off somewhere else and I stood there, feeling like an empty shell. Standing where Tardis was just a second ago was a stone Angel with its finger pointed out. It had gotten her. She was trapped in another time and I couldn't save her. She slipped from my fingers just like all my other friends had.
"It was for your own good, Doctor." Gracio was looking down at me from the platform. My head whipped up and glared at him. "What good can come from taking my only family away from me?" "We'd explain, but I don't know if you're ready for it..." Gracio bowed his head. "You've taken away my little girl, don't tell me what you did was right!" I fell to my knees and fought the tears that hadn't been shed for many years since Clara had gone. "Doctor," Gracio had appeared behind me and had his hand gently resting on my shoulder. I didn't feel anything after that. The crowd of people disappeared, all their voices, Krato, Gracio; they were all nonexistent from that point on. I couldn't feel my hands or my legs. All control in my arms were lost, so they just hung to my sides limply. It seemed like a lifetime before I looked up and acknowledged the fact that everyone was gone, even the stone Angel that zapped Tardis back in time.
It was then that I heard a familiar vworp noise.
My head whipped up towards the noise and I could see that the TARDIS was materializing, disappearing and reappearing with every vworp. There was only one way that could be happening, and it was very unlikely, for that matter. When the blue box was solid, I waited until the door swung open. Standing there was a teenage girl with firey ginger hair and a smirk from ear to ear. I stared in awe at her as she ran to me. I jumped to my feet and she lealed a
nd gave me a hug. I swung her off her feet and didn't let go. "How?" Was all I could get out of my mouth and she explained. "I brought the TARDIS to me and came back here." Her voice was muffled by my shirt and coat as she dug her face into my chest. "Okay, can't... breathe..." I choked out and she loosened her death grip on me. "I still can't believe you're here. I thought... I thought I'd-" "Never see me again?" I said no more and hugged her, not wanting to let go ever again.
I stroked her thick ginger hair and kissed the top of her head. "How
about we get some lunch and settle down, eh?" She let go of me then snapped her fingers and the doors swung open. "How does fish fingers and custard sound?" I put my arm around her shoulder and led her downstairs to the kitchen. "How long was I gone, Dad?" She asked while I searched through the fridge for the instant custard and frozen fish fingers. "I don't know... I lost track of time..." I looked down at my feet guiltily but when I turned to go back to the fridge I smiled at Tardis. "Do you want fruit with yours?" She nodded. "Blueberries, please." The fridge didn't seem to have any, but I kept digging through. Finally, I stood up, not without hitting my head on the fridge, and put on a fake sad face. "Seems like we're out of blueberries," Tardis sighed in disappointment, but I continued. "I've heard that the best blueberries grow on a mountain on Stroyat. We could always take a field trip..." I tried to keep myself from smiling. Tardis nodded with anticipation, and didn't have to wait for me to tell her to get dressed.