A/N: And lo and behold! I have emerged from the quietness of school and non-inspiration! Haha. I'm so glad I got my inspiration back for this book and in written form, it's almost done. Just got to catch up with the typing. However, I got a tough class this term so I'm hoping that months don't go by before I continue adding to this story so you can read. Thank you for your continuing patience!

Doctor Who

Bazar of Dreams

Part Two

"Rose, whatever you do, don't blink while you're looking at them!"

Shit on a cracker. Too many Angels to stare at.

She squeaked, but none of the Angels moved, so she must be listening. "What? Why? Jessie, what are these things?" Well, at least she was listening and not in full-on panic mode.

My eyes burned. "Long story. Can you reach my…."

"Now, now. There's no need to be dramatic, Miss Galestrossi." A man with a coat similar to Jack's stood from the chair he'd hidden in. "You can blink. These fine gentle-folk are just so you don't go running off first thing."

I frowned. What had he called me? "Uh, yeah. Who are you again? Cause you basically kidnapped us so why should I believe you?"

My eyes burned so much, I knew I'd give in eventually.

The man chuckled with a shrug. "They would've killed you by now if I told them to. You got no choice…as usual."

I froze, trying to think of something to change this cluster into our favor.

"He's right, Jessie," Rose grumbled. "Let's not get killed before the Doctor gets back, yeah?"

Of course. Had to survive until the Doctor showed up again. Reluctantly, I closed my eyes for a couple seconds. A rush of air hit my face. The Angels had backed up to the edges of the tent. We were free to move, but no way out of the room.

A wave of emotions pulled at my barriers. Not from the guy, but from the Angels.

"If you're hoping your Time Lord can save the day, forget it." The guy came closer, light falling on his features at last. Had it been different circumstances, I would've been attracted to him quite a bit. Thick ginger braid hung over his shoulder. Fierce green eyes narrowed like a snake in a pale face. Pretty, but deadly so. "He might've gotten away, but I've put measures in place to stop that box from making it back."

"You don't know him, then." Rose snorted, though her hands clenched out of fear. It rolled off of her in noxious sour waves. "The Doctor's gonna kick your arse when he breaks his way in."

Those familiar feelings drew on me again. It took all my effort to not look towards the source. Why? Why did someone in the room feel like someone I'd met before?

The man snorted. A sudden growth in malice snapped my attention back front. He'd come even closer to me. A sort of disappointed twist to his mouth. "You're being way to quiet, Galestrossi. Not happy to see your old partner?"

Everything about him made me uneasy. "Sorry, but my last name is Gale and I've never seen you before in my life." As clumsy with my abilities as I was, I knew there was something about him that I felt I was missing.

"No, I got the right gal, all right." A flicker of disappointment I'd seen in Jack's eyes once made his nastiness soften a fraction. "DNA doesn't lie, either. Well this is unfortunate. That brain purge must have been stronger than we thought."

Whatever Rose scolded him for, her words were lost on me as that presence roared to life again. Images exploded in my head: My apartment; Jack and I kissing; me threatening with a mirror…and letting them go.

I froze. One of the Angels behind me had been one of the two who tried to kill me. How it had ended up far from that time and planet, I had no idea.

Bitter regret and apology preceded a gust of wind at my back.

Instinct had me grabbing Rose's arm. That Angel had something planned.

The guy's face darkened as he looked over my shoulder. "What…."

We got sucked away with a feeling like the Vortex Manipulator.

And ended up in a dingy alleyway with a noise like the world's most crowded mall crashing around us.

No Angels in sight. Just Me and Rose.

"Okay. What…the hell…was that?" Rose pressed her hands to her head, looking pale and potentially nauseous. Even with all her experiences with the Doctor, going by something akin to a Vortex Manipulator had to be a first.

Thankfully, my stomach behaved itself. "Well, we were kidnapped by some guy who thinks I'm someone else. Then a Weeping Angel I met in two-thousand and something decided to either send us somewhere else on the planet or back in time." I made a face as the realization dawned on me. "Didn't have time to ask where we were either."

"Weeping what?" Rose tried pulling herself together with a sigh and pinch of her nose. "You knew what those things were already? How?" She wagged a finger in my general direction, leaning against the wall. "Don't you go dancing around the subject either. The Doctor does enough of that."

I shrugged, scrambling to feel grounded again. "After Downing Street, I…lagged behind and was on my own for a better part of a year. Ran into the Angels then by accident." Way too simplified, but she hadn't met Jack yet, so it had to do.

"So the statues are aliens? That's just great."

"They're only statues when someone living looks at them. If you blink or look away, they're super fast and sometimes send you back in time." I snorted as an adrenaline-borne thought danced through my head. "They'd put the Flash to shame, actually."

"Really? Jokes now?" Rose shuddered and held her breath, struggling to get her stomach back in line.

I pressed my hand to my forehead as the influx of people and emotions shoved hard on my barriers. My jaw ached from clenching it shut against a grunt. Small groups I could manage just fine, but a crowd on this scale…with the backlash from the Angel's emotions still thrumming through me, I was in for a huge mental exercise.

After a time, Rose managed to look better and straightened. I could almost see the wheels beginning to spin again in her head. "Okay." She patted my shoulder, probably to reassure herself more than me. "Do you know that guy? I know you said you didn't but…."

I frowned and shook my head, irritation and fear dancing around each other in a sick tango. "Nope. I haven't seen him before. However, if he could lure us into a trap from outside the TARDIS, I wouldn't put it past him to find us now. Whenever that is."

Right. Time to think like the Doctor. Or Jack. What would they do in my shoes?

That made Rose brighten just a bit. "Right. That guy said he could keep the Doctor away, but if we've been sent to a time before that, we could have a chance." Scared as she might be, she knew how to fake it, at least. "First off, we probably need to look around. Good old fashion recon, yeah?"

If she could fake it, so could I. Grinning in my best "Doctor" impression, I gestured at the end of the alley. A main walkway seemed to cross there; beings I couldn't begin to describe walked by in throngs. "After you, then. Mind you, my fancy armband only works when it wants to." I gave it a scolding rap. "So it's useless right now."

Rose clasped my hand almost like the Doctor. "We'll just have to use our brains, then. Speaking of, how's yours?"

"Huh? Feels like a giant bear hug around my brain that won't let up but it's fine right now. Why?"

"Oh, you get this tiny squint when you're focusing on that," she smiled a little bashfully. "Plus your eyes go a bit lights-are-on-but-nobody's-home sort of thing."

Was I that obvious? I could feel the blush appear just a bit and nudged her with my shoulder. "Thanks. I'll let you know if it gets to be a problem. Or I'll look like I just walked into a wall. Either way."

That drew a bit of a laugh out of her. "Nothing to worry about, then. Let's try and go invisible, shall we?"

Oh, I could think of a million and one things to worry about. The clouds that darkened Rose's eyes after she spoke gave away that she'd developed her own list. We paused just shy of the road.

I gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm sure he'll find us, but from what we've been through, I don't see us as the damsels-in-distress types. Let's see if we can give him a hand and try to save ourselves." My own misgivings about our predicament got shoved aside. Calm, positive vibes were all I sent towards her.

We both stepped out into the street…and got nearly run over by the throng. Many, many "sorry's" were exchanged as the two of us got pulled along in a current of people. After some time, we pulled ourselves to a quieter area of what I assumed was a gigantic market. Mostly odds and ends were on display. Probably more of a spare parts/junk area of the place and not popular at the moment.

"Really, what were we thinking, Jessie?" Rose giggled, leaning against a tent-pole. She felt somewhat overwhelmed, if the little bit of panic was to be believed. It hadn't gotten to complete freak-out yet. "This is insane. Are you all right?"

I shook my head as a wave similar to a mental dizziness clouded my vision for a moment. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just peachy. Have to make the Doctor give me a few more lessons in crowd control, I think. You?"

"Lost in a bloody sea of aliens on a bloody alien planet with no bloody idea how to get to a place we can help the Doctor." Rose paused, a blush of her own appearing. "Yeah, just fine. I think I saw a quieter place down the road a bit. Might help you and I can't hear myself think anyway."

I caught a blue flash out of the corner of my eye and grumbled…then my eyebrows flew to my hairline as I saw the person wearing it. He owned the crowd with an air that made most get out of his way. Only one guy I knew besides the Doctor could work a crowd of aliens with that much confidence and get away with it.

"Crap."

"What is it? That guy again?" Rose's head snapped back and forth as she tried to look for our kidnapper.

"No, no, no. Not him." I quickly shoved her behind the tent, ignoring her protest. "Sorry, but I just saw someone I know that you haven't met yet. He's a friend, but trust me and stay here. No peeking."

Rose made several attempts to speak, but I gave her a Doctor-like look. She searched my face for a moment then nodded. Without another word, she got behind a basket and out of sight.

When I went back around the tent, Jack had come within speaking distance with the most guarded and smile-less demeanor I'd ever seen on him. "I don't know why I'm risking my neck for you like this," Jack growled as soon as he got closer. In his eyes, there was an emptiness and lack of familiarity that I hadn't seen before."

I swallowed past a very dry throat and thick tongue. "Ah, since I don't know what you're talking about, I'm going to assume that you're here because I asked you to?" I tried a little grin. One that had always made him break down before.

"Don't!" Jack's hand snapped up, betrayal and hurt breaking into a muddy mess of anger. "Don't pull that on me, Jess. Not now. All I'm supposed to say is that you can trust those Angel bastards. The one that sent you here, anyway. Can't speak for the rest." He kept himself at a distance as he ripped a letter from his pocket. "There. Don't open that until we meet for my first time. Then give it to me."

Jack spun away as soon as I took it, mumbling along the lines of "happy now?"

Chewing my lip, I reached out and caught his arm. "Jack, whatever I did…will do…whatever…I'm sorry." I kept my voice to a murmur, though I doubted I could raise it higher than that past the knot in my throat.

Jack remained as frozen and stiff as my Doctor until a sigh whooshed out of him like he'd been kicked in the gut. "I know, Jess. I know."

Then he was gone. Striding through the crowd with the new air of a lost soul.

"Okay, who the hell was that?" Rose popped out after a few seconds of silence. "I didn't peek, I promise." She paused, a fierce scowl appearing on her face. "What did he do to you and where'd he go so I can smack him where it hurts?"

I glanced at the envelope in my hand and gently tucked it into my bag.

Rose shrugged awkwardly. "It's…it's just that you got a very open face, sorry. Probably none of my business."

Shaking my head, I forced all that to the side to process once we got back to the TARDIS. "No need to unman him, but thanks for the vote of confidence. I can't tell you, sorry, but he's not usually like that."

"So you trust him when he's not being…."

"Yeah. I trust the Doctor more, obviously, but he comes in a close second as far as not from Earth guys go."

"Alright then." Rose draped her arm over my shoulders and guided me towards another part of the market. "He said when we meet for his first time. Am I to take it that we'll meet him in our future?"

"Yep, and don't you dare say anything to him about this." I glanced at her. "I'm sure the Doctor's told you about how time isn't exactly 'A' to 'Z?'"

Rose smirked and made a face. "Yeah. Back when I thought I was gonna die in 1869, give or take a year." The wheels in Rose's head slowed into a more clear-headed manner; her emotional chaos slowing down. "Do we just act like we've never seen him, then?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, but we can worry about that later. We're going to run into the Angels again…."

Rose jumped and backpedaled a bit. "Trouble," she nodded over my shoulder. "Don't know how, but Mister Kidnapper just popped onto that roof."

I had no reason to doubt her, but I found myself turning in the direction she indicated.

There, only two buildings away. He loomed over us with a disappointed and amused shake of his head. A Vortex Manipulator glimmered on his arm.

"Crap. He can follow us for sure. Time to hide."

"Just like that Disney movie?"

I grinned, adrenaline surging again, knowing exactly the one she referenced. "Let's go make some shopkeeps mad."

Time passed in a blur for a while. We'd go hide behind one shop, be calm for a few minutes, then he'd come strolling around the corner. Calm and with an irritating indulgent smirk. Like he was just letting us run for our satisfaction. Like we'd already been caught.

A dozen shops later, we skidded into a dead end. My lungs burned, but didn't distract me from feeling like a cornered animal. I only wished I could fight like a cornered animal.

"Any ideas?"

I made a face. "Nope. Fresh out."

"Got to hand it to you," our pursuer chuckled, strolling around the corner at a leisurely pace. "You haven't lost one bit of your tenacity and spunk. Twenty0first century laziness hasn't held you down much."

"What the hell do you want from me?" I snapped, fed up with being chased and very, very scared that he could be telling the truth in some fashion. "Who are you?"

He smirked, snake eyes narrowing. "Very well, since you're so stubborn. I'm Torvin Ansel, Time Agent and your partner." His mocking bow dug even deeper into my nerves. "You're an empath, Jay. Tell me I'm lying."

I clenched my jaw, already knowing that he believed he was saying the truth. A part of me still thought he lied in order to get me to go with him, but the emotions, guarded as they were, felt too raw. Some things people just couldn't hide.

"She doesn't have to do anything." Rose took my hand, standing a little bit in front of me. "You might have us pinned, but you kidnapped us, used Jessie's brain to get us here, and you've been stalking us for the last three hours. Way I see it, we have no reason to cooperate with you at all."

Torvin actually laughed. "Very nice! Brave, but you, Blondie, have nothing to worry about, though the Bad Wolf folks are trying to make us do something about you." A gloved finger aimed at me. "The recall and additional bounty is on Jaylene Galestrossi and no one else. You're just getting in the way."

My brain latched onto that with such voracity Rose wasn't the target. I put her in danger. "We're stuck here without the Doctor. If I go with you, can you get Rose back to where he can get her?"

"What are you doing?" Rose hissed. Her peach concern and lemon-sour fear actually came across as comforting.

"Of course, she's free to go." Torvin shrugged. "I've no quarrel with your friend until I'm ordered to and I'd rather not have the Time Lord royally pissed at me. In fact….."

Within a span of an eye-blink, three Angels ambushed him. One hand even covered his eyes.

"Seriously, fellas? This is how you're going to do this?" Torvin seethed in a surge of anger, but it emerged as a chuckle, which actually came as more terrifying.

The one Angel's consciousness brushed my mind as a stone hand materialized on my shoulder.

"Here we go again." I nudged Rose's side. "Do try not to throw up, okay?"

Rose groaned…and then we got sucked through time again.

Torvin cussing us out non-stop.