Thanks for all the new follows! I'm a little busy with University work right now but updates will be coming as fast as I can physically manage. As always, I love hearing everyone's opinions and criticisms so drop me a review if you have the time!
Also just to clarify after a few PMs I've gotten regarding this query: I don't mind if people want to reference Cassidy or Michael's existence in another fanfiction as long as you note that I'm the one who created them. In fact, I'd be flattered if anyone used them! (^-^) So by all means, go for it.
"So have StormCage started looking for their containment unit yet then?"
The Doctor adjusted the TARDIS' external viewing screen, flicking the knobs left and right with sporadic speeds but definite precision. Every now and then, his head would cock to the side, his eyes intent on making certain he knew River's exact precision.
He trusted his wife, at the end of the day.
But his own feelings aside, River was still River and the Doctor- perhaps more than anyone- knew all too well that she hated returning to StormCage.
He definitely wouldn't put it past her to try something of the mischievous variety before her time to leave came along.
"Oh, sweetie. Why must we talk about that dreadful place? Can't we just enjoy our time together as it is?" she wheedled in velvet tones as she settled back against the railing that surrounded the centre console. "But to answer your question: no, they haven't and I don't suppose they will for another while."
The Doctor squinted at the blurring and focusing screen.
"And when they do? I know we couldn't have done this without you but you really have to watch your recklessness when you're in there…"
"Are you lecturing me about recklessness? Really?"
The Time Lord suddenly felt her warm breath against the back of his neck and shivered, his eyes shooting open and his body jerking as if he'd just received a static jolt.
"How did you-? When did you-?"
One of River's perfectly polished fingers came to slip over the Doctor's quibbling lips, effectively silencing him.
"It's like you don't even know me…you know perfectly well how slippery I can be. I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself. I've also only got two minutes before I have to be sitting in my cell, playing innocent back in StormCage and I don't intend to spend my last few seconds of freedom listening to you preach what you don't practice…"
The Doctor at last found himself capable of speaking again but no sooner had he regained normality of breath, he was instantly grabbed by the collar, his bow-tie straining.
"You know, I've never liked this thing…but it does come in handy…"
"Hey! It's coo-…"
But when the Doctor's lips moved to form words, those very same lips found themselves quickly engaged in activity of an entirely different sort.
A little over ten minutes later, the Doctor stumbled out of the door of the TARDIS, red-faced and dishevelled, only to be greeted by the sight of a very confused looking young woman in a powder blue trench coat.
"H-Hello, sir? Mr Smith? C-Can I help you?"
Edmund's assistant attempted to look over the Doctor's shoulder, only to have him forcibly shut the door behind him.
"This is just a…freezing…unit…for cold artefacts…really, really cold artefacts…freezing cold artefacts…"
"I…I…see," Alexia stammered, looking him up and down.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Edmund and Miss Oswald have scurried off to?"
"Uh…last I saw them, they were somewhere down around the Ancient Egypt section."
"Righteo then," the Doctor saluted her, adjusting one of his suspender braces and starting off down the corridor. "And if you could just leave the box exactly where it is? That would be great…"
"Excuse me, sir?"
The Doctor whipped around. "Yes?"
"You've got a little…something…on your face." Alexia gestured to the shiny, red lipstick smears, latticing the Doctor's cheeks, mouth and chin.
"Oh? Oh. Yes, thank you."
The Doctor frantically began wiping his face as he walked away, mentally cursing the strength and consistency of River Song's cosmetic utensils and his face was only half-clean by the time he made it back to the two humans.
It took close to ten minutes for both Clara and Edmund to stop howling with laughter at the sight of the Doctor's face and it took until they reached the front steps of the museum for the Doctor to finally be able to get a word in edgeways.
"You still look like a toddler who's gotten at a pot of strawberry jam! It doesn't matter how many times you wipe it! Here, Doctor, do you want me to give it a try?"
The Time Lord scowled, swiping Clara's hand away with the air of a clumsy house-cat. "Keep your half-licked wads of Kleenex away from me."
"Suit yourself," Clara smirked with an eye-roll as she made her way to the TARDIS door. "Need a lift home, Ed?"
Edmund shook his head. "No, no no…it's alright. I have to stay here for another little while…"
"Don't offer my TARDIS out like a taxi," the Doctor continued to sulk, joining her in the doorway before turning to Edmund. "And on the note of where you live though, Eddie, do you happen to have a little boy living in your apartment complex named George?"
Edmund blinked. "Where is this coming from?"
"Thought I'd ask earlier but the Operation Stop the Angel kept me a little preoccupied. So which is it then? George or no George?"
"Yes, there's a George…he's eleven…lives two apartments under me. I know his parents. I pass his dad on the way to work every now and then and his mum works in the same hospital as Cass' cousin, Nancy. That's where I met her…"
"Yes, yes, yes…how is he?"
"You know him, I'm guessing? He's good, I guess. He and his friends are always running up and down the halls, playing hide and seek, mucking about in the elevator..."
A slow smile spread across the Doctor's face. "That's good to hear."
"So you know him then?"
"Past acquaintance. It's always nice when they pop up again. Usually, anyway," he muttered absent-mindedly, drumming his fingers along the side of the doorway. "Maybe you'll pop up again Edmund. Maybe or maybe not. We'll see."
"But it's bye for now?"
"It would seem."
"That's what you said last time."
The three of them simply shared a gaze for a moment, a thousand thoughts, silent hopes and unsaid fears passed between them.
"Let's hope that we all mean it this time…"
Tremors shot through her legs from the soles of her feet to the rise of her kneecaps as each footfall harshly connected with the wet concrete.
The archless rubber linings of her converse runners were not made for this kind of physical exertion and the canvas uppers were taking in rain-water as easily as rice paper.
Cassidy ignored the discomfort, as she had become so accustomed to doing and continued to run. Raindrops clung to her eyelashes and her chest was starting to become tight but she kept going.
She dodged sullen-eyed, anorak-hooded pedestrians on the footpath and only allowed her eyes to dart away from her chosen route in order to check the directions that she had carefully logged away into her phone.
"Just hang in there, Abbie. Just hang in there."
She had no idea how the child had managed to and was continuing to evade the Angel but the little girl had been far too upset and far too frightened to explain herself over the phone.
How she had managed to stay alive didn't matter at that moment, though.
What mattered was that Cassidy got to her as soon as possible.
Her lungs were burning by the time she reached the estate where the Drake house was and when she finally got to the property in question, there was absolutely no sign of forced entry.
Her heart pounding and her mouth dry, Cassidy squinted into all of the front windows. The house was dark and there was no moving person visible inside.
She briefly considered flinging a flower-pot through the pane of glass that lined the front door but no sooner had she stooped to finger the rim of a ceramic bowl of hydrangeas, a woman with a dog on a leash rounded a nearby corner.
"No," Cassidy quickly scolded herself. "I can't bring that kind of attention to myself…one quick phone-call to the police and this entire situation becomes a hell of a lot more complicated…"
And the archaeologist, in the last few days and for whatever reason- had found herself becoming slightly distrustful of the police.
Cassidy seized a clump of her own wet hair and pushed the sodden mop away from her neck and face, trying to settle herself.
"Think, think, think, Cass," she murmured under her breath. "Come on. Relax."
The Angel had Abbie cornered somewhere inside.
Cassidy could recall Abbie whimpering something vague about being in her bedroom but even if that was the case, the archaeologist had no idea what part of the house the little girl's bedroom was located in.
She scanned the front of the house, her eyes travelling furiously along the upper set of windows. Her breath was coming in short, harsh gasps and Cassidy tried desperately to even them out as she considered her options.
Angels could move at extremely fast speeds and if this one heard her entering, Cassidy doubted that it would think twice about attacking her- regardless of what its motivations were for attacking Abbie.
She turned her attention to the front door, trying to figure out how she was going to get inside. Under severe time pressure, Cassidy was just eyeing a nearby ceramic flower-pot- considering abandoning her idea not to alert the Angel and risking hurling a plant pot through the window- when she noticed that the door-handle was tilted downward slightly in an awkward manner.
Experimentally, she ran a finger along the faux-brass handle, only to have it bend easily beneath the delicately applied weight; someone had tried to lock the door but hadn't turned the key in the lock properly.
Cassidy swallowed, gathering her courage and opening the door a fraction.
Her legs felt weak from the knee down as she prised the door ajar and coerced herself into slipping inside.
She trembled violently, grabbing the door frame for support as she slowly made her way inside.
The house was dark. The Winter sun had not been generous this evening and the waning light was casting heavy shadows across the glossy wooden floors.
Cassidy closed the door behind her and moved swiftly but quietly.
As she checked each room, she made herself certain of two things.
Firstly, that there was no way this could just be a trick on the part of the Angel. She remembered, with slowly rising bile in her throat, how easily the one called Kyrie had deceived her. She remembered hearing the voice of a frightened, quivering young woman and opening the door to find that vile, stone beast waiting for her.
The voice on the phone had definitely been Abbie.
It must have been.
There was no way it wasn't.
Or at least this is what Cassidy told herself.
Secondly, she assured herself that there was no way that this Angel could her Angel.
Her Michael.
"Abbie would have called him by name," she thought, making her way to the foot of the stairs. "And Michael is locked away now. He can't get out. He's gone forever. That's what the Doctor said…"
She assured herself of this repeatedly.
Cassidy moved up the stairs, gripping the bannister for extra support as she moved in the dark.
It was when she reached the start of the landing that she recognised a sliver of yellowish light, heralding a barely open door.
Cassidy slowly made her way to the door, each step more uncertain than the last but relentless, she moved forward.
The closer to the door that she moved, the more she became aware of a faint whimpering noise.
While the sound made her stomach clench with both abhorrence and despair, it was a clear indication that Abbie was still alive- even if she was currently in a state of terror.
Cassidy's fingers quivered at the knuckles, tracing the doorknob.
She squinted through the crack of the door-frame, realising for the first time that not only had she no apparent weapon with which to fight this Angel but also nothing remotely akin to a plan.
Other than her plan not to blink, of course.
The thought almost drove her to hysterical laughter.
Giving into the immediate fire of impulsivity over the frigid assuredness of common sense was quickly becoming Cassidy's greatest vice.
It was when Abbie's words became audible for the first time that adrenaline overtook her once again.
"Please don't hurt me…leave me alone!"
Her folly urging her forward like the strings of a marionette puppet, Cassidy pushed the door open.
Habitually, her eyes locked on to the gnarled, grey creature standing in the centre of the room.
It wasn't as though she was expecting anything different but all the same, Cassidy felt her body seize up- her palms instantly itching with the cold perspiration of fear.
She swallowed against a dry throat, surveying her adversary.
Even at a side profile, the Angel was imposing.
This one was female- much smaller and much lither than the figure that she was used to but sickeningly familiar nonetheless.
Her claws were extended, her feral visage ultimately shattering the graceful composure suggested by her regal garb and her large stone wings were stretched backwards- set to intimidate.
Cassidy took a step backwards, trying to take stock of her immediate surroundings without taking her eyes from the Angel.
Her hand blindly reached backwards to grasp the doorknob behind her, but they failed to graze their target and she stumbled, her eyelids drooping of their own accord.
But when Cassidy quickly returned her gaze to the Lonely Assassin, it had not moved an inch.
It was when she dared her eyes to carefully sweep over the room that she saw why.
The Angel was facing what appeared to be a large, framed poster.
The reflection from the glass entrapping the poster had trapped the Angel, forcing her to look at herself.
"N-Nooo…no…go away…"
The feeble whimpers alerted Cassidy to Abbie's location in the room.
Directly under the framed poster was a small dressing table and the frightened child had managed to wedge herself between the table and the wall.
Her face was red, her eyes tightly screwed shut and her small hands clamped down over her ears.
Even from the doorway, Cassidy could see the tears that streaked her face and those thin glossy lines all but infuriated the young archaeologist.
She walked over to the little girl and stooped quickly, beckoning her to come forth.
"Abbie! Abbie! It's Cassidy!" Her gaze darted back and forth between Abbie and the Angel. She knew there was no way that the beast could attack her but, all the same, she didn't feel like giving it too much time out of her line of sight.
Abbie's eyes shot open and she looked up.
"Cassy! You…y-you're here…you came…!"
"Of course I did. Come on out, Abbie. It's alright."
It took a few moments of coaxing but soon the girl was tumbling over the ends of her pyjama trousers and all but climbing into the woman's lap.
"It's alright," Cassidy tried to reassure her, patting the unravelled auburn braids that framed her round, apple face. "I'm here…I'm here now…"
"Is…i-is sh-she watching u-us?" Abbie sniffed, whining quietly and burying her face in the crisp, white folds of Cassidy's shirt. "I…is she still there?"
"Yeah…the Angel's there. But it's ok, Abbie. She's frozen. Look…she's stuck looking at herself. See? She won't be able to come near us…" Cassidy tried to smile. "You've been really cle…really clever. You managed to trap the Angel…"
As soon as Abbie's whining ceased, Cassidy lifted the little girl's chin- making certain that the two of them were quite literally eye to eye. "Now, you said your brother wasn't here….where is he?"
"He's on holidays with Shauna."
"How long has he been gone?"
"He went away in a taxi when it was still bright outside…Missus Pattinson was supposed to come over to take care of me but she still hasn't got here yet…"
The relief that filled Cassidy at the knowledge that Leon was safe was drained from her body just as quickly at the realisation that the babysitter's tardiness was probably far from a coincidence.
That would have to be pondered later though.
She did not have the time nor the mental resources to spend on working out what had befallen Mrs Pattinson.
At that very moment in time, her main priority was getting Abbie to safety as quickly as possible.
"Alright, Abbie, listen to me," Cassidy told her, trying to keep her tone even and soothing as she rose to her feet. "You're going to stay with me until your brother gets back. Like a sleepover? Is that ok?"
Abbie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded eagerly. "Yeah…yeah, that's good. Will I pack my night-away bag?"
"Yes," Cassidy replied briskly, switching her gaze to the Angel once more. "Yes. Good idea. Yeah, do that quickly."
Abbie proceeded to scramble around the room, shoving various items of clothing and other assorted goods into a small purple shoulder bag.
All the while, Cassidy kept her eyes on the Angel.
This one was nothing like her Angel.
She was strong-built but her limbs were delicate and much more lithe.
Her feathers also had a different pattern to Michael's, the archaeologist found herself noting out of habit.
Even though she didn't have to, Cassidy continued to stare at the creature, her eyes soon hot and stinging- begging for the relief of a simple blink.
But the woman did not concede.
She allowed tears to spill over her twitching eyelids, hanging like icicles on her lashes before spilling down her cheeks.
Over pale, vein-streaked jowls.
The pus and salt infused liquid cutting straight through the veil of powder.
Glistening over faded cut-marks.
These cut-marks reminded Cassidy that she was no longer the captive of the Angels.
She had no need to fear this lone intruder.
She was a survivor.
She had faced the strongest of their kind and won.
Perhaps she hadn't saved herself alone…but she hadn't broken.
She had been to the very edge of desperation, fear and turmoil and she had found her way back again.
She had no further reasons to be fearful.
But no matter how many times Cassidy assured herself of this, when Abbie grabbed the leg of her trousers- she found herself shaking.
"I'm ready now," the little girl announced, her voice slightly uncertain- almost as though she sensed that something was wrong.
Cassidy forced herself to tear her eyes from the Lonely Assassin and managed to smile down at the child. "Ok, good. Now let's head back to my place…"
Abigail took Cassidy's hand and walked with her, leaving the bedroom.
The older woman noticed that the younger did not look over her shoulder at the Weeping Angel as they left.
Maybe it was better that way.
Maybe not.
Cassidy mulled about the idea of prompting Abbie to be a little more paranoid or just a little more wary.
Part of her wanted the little girl to be without worry but another part of her knew that neither of them had the luxury of complete complacency anymore. There was a reason that this Angel had come after Abigail Drake.
But when the duo reached the foot of the landing- the point where the stairs started to curve downward- thoughts of coincidence and conspiracy fizzled from Cassidy Albright's mind.
Abbie whimpered, her torso suddenly pressed against the side of Cassidy's leg- desperately seeking protection. Cassidy could feel the rise and swell of her little ribcage and the harsh, staccato beats of the child's heart.
Mirroring her own.
At the base of the stairs stood another Angel.
Another female.
Her face was moodless; the eerily mask-like visage showed no trace of age-lines, pock marks or any kind of emotion at all. The Angel's sclera blank eyes, however, were evidently fixated on the two humans who stood, quivering, mere feet away.
This Angel did not have the same almost-pearly grey hide as the ones that Cassidy had seen before.
In fact, her "skin" seemed to coated in an odd greenish haze- almost like moss.
This Angel had no claws out to brandish but both of her slender arms were outstretched, reaching towards them both.
Abbie was already starting to cry again.
Cassidy swallowed back, a coldness spreading from the nape of her neck outward.
"Right…"
She took the little girl's hand firmly in her own and started to tug her towards the stairs, easing her to move to the first step.
She felt Abigail's reluctance but insistently moved still.
"Come on, Abbie," Cassidy said aloud, trying to adopt a bubbly yet firm, soothing yet convincing tone. Almost like the one the Doctor had often used. "Don't be silly. We've fought hundreds of Angels just like this. Bigger ones and stronger ones…and we won…remember?"
Abbie's knees were on the verge of buckling with anxiety but she bravely fell into step behind her newly appointed guardian.
"That's it!" the woman praised, raising her voice slightly. "You're doing great. Remember when we were on the roof of that hotel, in Los Angeles?" Cassidy's lower lip suddenly started to tremble, her own breath threatening to fall short as her heart rate sharply spiked.
She remembered standing on that rooftop, an army of Angels at her back and a death-certain drop only a simple step away.
And it wasn't the thought of the sheer drop that made Cassidy's stomach sick.
It wasn't the fear of the unknown.
Of failure.
Of aliens.
Of dying.
It was the terrible, horrible, loathsome feeling that clung to her insides like a permanent frost.
For a brief moment, he was right behind her, reaching out for her.
He desperately called her name and she had fought to ignore him.
She had fought
She shouldn't have had to fight.
The Doctor should have said "jump" and Cassidy should have obeyed without a second thought.
But that wasn't what happened.
What happened was the Archangel ordered her to return to his side and after hearing a tiny rivulet of what sounded like loneliness- Cassidy felt an urgent need to return to him.
Despite everything that he had done, she still felt compelled to return to his side.
He still had his hand on her; there was still single stretch of her being that he controlled and she had to fight him to take it back.
She had to fight with herself to take it back.
Refusing to allow the memory to bite at her, Cassidy continued to walk with Abbie.
She had to keep moving.
For the sake of the child whom she had endangered and for her own sake too.
"There we go, Abbie…no need to worry…all we have to do is keep moving…it's you and I against her and as long as we keep looking at her, she can't move…"
Cassidy silently feared the effects of a synchronised blink but pushed that thought to a far corner of her mind, as she had become so accustomed to doing.
The easier it became to think, the easier it became to talk and as her speech became more fluid, so did her gait.
"All we have to do is to slip out past her and out the front door and on to the street…and there'll be lots of eyes out there…and the Angels won't be able to follow us…and we'll go to my house in a taxi and everything will be alright…I promise…"
"Y-You promise...?"
"I promise."
The brave archaeologist and the clever little girl were only a few inches away from the Angel at the foot of the staircase when they heard what sounded terrifyingly akin to glass shattering above their heads.
If that sound was enough to paralyse Cassidy from the waist down, what happened next was enough to turn her as rigid as stone.
"Are you the human named Cassidy Albright?"
A woman's voice emanated from the Angel standing before them.
Cassidy's own voice had fled her.
The Angel repeated the question.
Her face and tone, equally unchanging.
"Are you the human named Cassidy Albright?"
Cassidy's fingers slowly came to close around Abbie's hand, holding on to her with a vice like grip but preparing to tell her to run.
"Yes…I…yes, I am….what do y-?"
"Where is Iblis?"
Her brow furrowed, her eyes struggling to remain open.
"Where is what?"
"Where is Iblis? What is his location?"
"Iblis?" she stammered in echo, shaking her head. "I don't kn-…"
"It is imperative that you surrender his location at this instant."
"But I don't …I don't know any…anyone n-named Iblis. I've never even heard- "
"You are lying, human. You will surrender his location now or face judgement for your perjury."
Cassidy's voice was quickly becoming ragged with emotion.
"My…my…perjury? I'm telling you…you have the wrong person…I don't know who-?"
Cassidy halted mid-sentence, her voice deserting her for a second time when a sudden realisation overtook her.
Iblis.
That was his real name.
That was his real name.
Ok! So this one is a shorty! I hope there are some people still reading! :D
Sorry for my absence again. I went through quite a rough patch there for a bit and writing became one of my secondary priorities.
I'm now happy to say however that we can get our story back on track once more! Really hope you're enjoying.
Thank you so much for all the continued faves, follows, reviews and PMs. Thank you also to all those have plugged my fic on Tumblr! Totally proud to have gained your admiration, you beautifully awesome Whovians, you.
See you in the next episode, ;).