A/N: Sorry, sorry, to post this here...again...I really DON'T do A/Ns this much at the start of a chapter. But I'm just...frustrated and sad :'( Yet another person has plagiarized my stories! :( It was brought to my attention that a Quotev user, Time Lord's Unite, had posted a story Starlight|10th Doctor, that, from the 3rd chapter on, was literally copy and pasted of my original Lost and Found chapter of The Hidden Lady of Time with a different OC name and one or two lines changed, one other OC that just took other original lines :( Worse yet, TLU was one of my own followers :'( I had reported the story and put a note on tumblr about it, and either Quotev is very fast or got quite the inflow of reports because the story was gone nearly a half hour later, which was good :)
Unfortunately though, this latest incident had pushed me to do something I was only debating and hesitant in doing. I am going to be posting a page to my tumblr, 'Plagiarizers.' In it I will post screencapped evidence of plagiarisms of my stories in a side-by-side comparison of the stories involved. This is not a page for bashing the plagiarizers, it's not a page for other users to comment harshly on them, I don't intend for it to be that at all. It will simply be a record of when events like this happen. It will just make the plagiarizer's stealing slightly more public and better documented. I offer this as a warning to any who might try to copy stories in the future (not that I think any of you will because you've all be SO supportive when it happens, and I really cannot thank you enough :')), it's just my hope that, if they know that if they're caught it will be there forever, that they won't do it. It's also an example for other authors that it can happen, and it can keep happening and to remind other authors that, if you have the support of your readers, you can push through it and keep going :') I really don't think I would have been able to keep writing if it wasn't for all of you guys (I love you!). I know this may seem a harsh thing to do...but this is the 5th time I've been plagiarized this year, the 2nd within a week :(
~8~
Amy's Choice: I Remember Everything
The Dream Lord laughed, "Work it out mate," he eyed the Doctor, "I'm not helping you."
"Will you tell me then?" Rory asked, taking a step up, he had...
No idea what he was doing.
He admitted it, but...if that man knew where Angel was, and seemed to like him a bit, maybe he'd tell HIM what was going on. He really didn't know why the TARDIS let him touch the controls and not the Doctor or Amy, but maybe the same applied to the Dream Lord too. The man, for all his slight insults against him, seemed to be more at ease and more joking than when he spoke to the Doctor.
"I would," the man nodded, "But I won't."
"Why not?" Rory frowned.
"Because you'll tell the idiot over there," he jerked a thumb at the Doctor, who glared at him for the insult, "He calls everyone else an idiot, humans are stupid apes," he mimicked a North accent, before switching it to normal, "And then there's Mickey the Idiot, yet he's the one who can't seem to notice the obvious!"
"Why would you tell Rory and not the Doctor?" Amy shook her head, not following. Yeah, the Dream Lord seemed to have a grudge with the Doctor, but...what made Rory so remarkable.
"Oh thanks," Rory rolled his eyes, seeming to sense that same thought.
"She has a valid point," the Doctor agreed.
"Oh, Amy," the Dream Lord chuckled at their bicker, "Have to sort your men out. Choose, even."
"I have chosen," Amy said, "Of course I've chosen," and, without taking her eyes off the Dream Lord, she smacked Rory on the chest, "It's you, stupid."
"Oh, good, thanks," Rory scoffed. Nice, call him stupid, wonderful.
"You can't fool me," the Dream Lord smirked, looking at Amy, "I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face. Hmm," he hummed, "So I suppose I'll have to settle for this," and then he set his face in a wide grimace, "Disgusting. You do know he's old enough to be your great grandfather and then some yes? Yet he acts like a child. It's remarkable Angel hasn't grown tired of you and left."
"Oi!" the Doctor glared, his heart racing at the mention of Angel leaving, it was a...lingering fear of his, that something about him was driving her away. She seemed quiet and distant and spent an awful lot of time with Rory instead of him, more and more time away from him really. He didn't like it, "Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" he asked, needing anything to get off the topic of Angel leaving especially when she wasn't there to reassure him that she wasn't going to leave.
"Me? Oh, you're on shaky ground."
"Am I?" he crossed his arms.
The Dream Lord gave him a look before starting in on him, "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student...I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are especially with the fact that you just keep on hurting her and you don't even realize you're doing it!" he sounded almost furious near the end of his rant before he took a breath, "Where was I?"
"You were..." Rory began.
The Dream Lord appeared on the upper level, "I know where I was, thank you Rory," he gave Rory a polite nod, before he smirked dangerously at the Doctor, "So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. This time you've not got Angel to tell you which it is," he shook his head and leaned forward, resting his hands on the railing to look down on them, "But really Doctor is that all she's good for to you anymore? A problem solver? A Visionary? A wielder of the Vortex?"
"Of course not!" the Doctor snapped, glaring up at him, the force of his tone making Amy jump. He sounded truly furious at that moment.
Of course he would be, Angel wasn't that, not to him. He could appreciate, yes, that Angel was a blessing to have in tricky spots, her abilities and powers made her an asset. But she was more than that. She was so much more than that to him. She was the last Time Lady, she was family to his companions, she was his friend, his mate...
Why did he keep wincing at that word?! She was a dear friend and he worried about her. He cared about her. He didn't want her to get hurt.
"Really?" the Dream Lord scoffed, "Well then, just to make it more interesting, you're going to face, in both worlds, a deadly danger. But only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep," the trio started to fall to the floor, "Oh, or are you waking up?"
~8~
"Wake up! Doctor please! Wake up!"
The Doctor jerked awake, feeling almost like he'd been shoved in his sleep, to find himself still in the lounge of the old people's home, Amy and Rory getting up off the floor, the room now empty save for them. None of the elderly were anywhere in sight, there was no one, until the Dream Lord entered, dressed in a suit, holding an x-ray, "Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Look at this x-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor. Not as well as Angel though, she can read you like a book can't she?"
The Doctor's lips pursed, "Of course she can, she's..."
"Psychic?"
"Intuitive."
The man laughed, "I think you know it goes much deeper than that," he eyed the man as the Doctor frowned, confused, "Oh, dear, seems you really don't know. Well that makes this all the more fun for me," he grinned, what fun this would be. It was always so interesting to torment others when they had no idea what they'd done to deserve it, but deserve it they had.
"What fun? Why are you doing this? Have I offended you in some way."
"Yes," the man nodded, playfully thoughtful, "Yes you have."
"When?" the Doctor shook his head, "In the future?" clearly it had to be that, he didn't recognize this man at all, "I haven't done it yet. Don't take it out on me or them," he nodded at the humans, "When I didn't do it yet."
"Where was that sentiment in the forest with River?" the Dream Lord glared at him.
"What about River?" the Doctor tensed.
The Dream Lord shook his head, "Getting defensive of HER?" he let out a disgusted scoff, "Did you really not see what she did? Or were you not able to see past her space hair?"
"Always?" Amy cut in, seeing the Doctor about to start shouting and knowing they couldn't risk angering the man controlling their escape from the challenge, "What do you mean, always?"
"Now then," the Dream Lord took a breath, regaining composure, but ignoring Amy, "The prognosis is this," the Doctor fell back onto Mrs. Poggit's chair, watching the Dream Lord with anger in his eyes, "If you die in the dream you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?"
"What happens?" Rory asked.
"You die, Rory," he said simply, none of the previous bite in his words, "That's why it's called reality."
"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy eyed him, "Do you know him?"
The Dream Lord rolled his eyes, miming jabbering with his hand, "Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Why should I answer YOU?" he nearly sneered at Amy, "You're nothing but a human."
"I'm the Doctor's companion," Amy crossed her arms, offended by the way the man was just brushing her off.
"You're not the first, you're not the last," the Dream Lord's eyes narrowed at her, growing rather annoyed with her arrogance, Rory though, tugged her back a bit, seeing that, "You're certainly NOT the first ginger either, oh no. If anything, Amelia Pond, you are merely Donna's replacement."
"My companions are no one's replacements," the Doctor defended.
Rory frowned though, something about that striking him, "Am...am I a replacement for Mickey?"
The Doctor looked over at him sharply for that, unaware that Angel had told the boy about Mickey. He'd gotten so used to not really speaking at length about his past companions to his other companions that...he'd assumed Angel was the same with her friends. Mickey and Angel had been rather close, he probably would have been her companion, like Rory would have been.
"Would Angel ever replace anyone?" the Dream Lord countered with a fond smile, which seemed quite out of place given how shouty and glarey he was.
Rory shook his head though, no, he couldn't see Angel replacing anyone.
"I don't replace people either," the Doctor added.
"I know about his past companions," Amy nodded, "I saw their pictures."
"Ah yes," the Dream Lord nodded, "He's been around, our boy. And yet very much stationary. Quite monogamous when he wants to be, when he remembers to be. But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor, that's why Angel's sister is trapped in another world isn't it?"
~oOo~
He and Angel walked slowly up to the wall, in shock. He pressed his head against the wall, his hand resting on it like he'd done to the other side. Angel did the same, but placed her hand over his, both of them holding onto the other as they just felt the wall.
Angel closed her eyes tightly, "I told her to stay in the TARDIS," she muttered before she started crying.
He quickly pulled her into his arms, holding her as she sobbed. He pressed a kiss into her hair, realizing she had tried to prevent this, she HAD told Rose to stay in the TARDIS, to stay in there no matter what. It seemed like such a passing thing at the time, but now it held so much more significance, if Rose had listened…
He swallowed hard, pulling Angel to him even tighter as she wrapped her arms around him, the two mourning their loss.
~oOo~
The Dream Lord smirked, seeing the Doctor flinch at the reminder of Rose, "Take two and call me in the morning."
And then he disappeared.
"Ok, I don't like him," Rory muttered.
There was something uncomfortably familiar about the man. Despite how he was seemingly polite to him, not nearly as rude as to Amy or as biting to the Doctor, but still...he really didn't like the fact that the man seemed to know where Angel was and wasn't telling. What if she was in trouble? What if she needed him? Amy'd told him about what Angel had done with the vampire fish, how she'd gotten the focus off of Amy and onto herself, he'd never be able to make it up to Angel or thank her enough for keeping her word, for keeping Amy safe. He just...wanted to return the favor and try to keep Angel safe as well. She struck him as the sort to worry about everyone else first before herself, he was much the same, it was why he wanted to be a doctor, even before he'd met Amy it had been his dream to help people and take care of them.
Amy crossed her arms and looked at the Doctor, "Who is he?"
"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, starting to get a migraine, "It's a big Universe."
"Why is he doing this?"
"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel," he stood up and pulled off the jumper.
"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory frowned, shifting, feeling uncomfortable to face something like that without Angel there.
Unlike how the Dream Lord implied Angel was only good to the Doctor as a psychic, HE wanted her there because...he just felt better with her around. She kept him in the loop, she worried about him, she tried her best to protect him, and she just...made him feel like it would all be ok. And, in a way, she made him feel stronger, like...he could face what was coming because she'd support him, and because he needed to be stronger to protect her.
"Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural wastage, obviously."
"They've all gone. They've all gone," he ran out of the door as the others followed, stopping and watching the children by a playground next to the local ruins before the kids headed into them.
"Why would they leave?"
"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's act?" Amy added.
"One of my tawdry quirks," the Doctor replied, "Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. I can do it without being psychic," he muttered that last part, a feeling of determination hitting him. He'd solve this on his own, prove to the Dream Lord he didn't like having Angel around just because of her abilities, he could work things out himself and keep people safe with just his sonic and his brain, he didn't need Angel there...he just...wanted her. He winced, wanted her THERE! Yes, yes, wanted her there, beside him, the last of the Time Lords together, "So come on, let's think. The mechanics of this split we're stuck in...time asleep matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."
"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time," Rory followed, recalling a few things Angel had explained to him about time travel.
"Yes, sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway. But my mind isn't working because this village is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you two have."
Amy suddenly grabbed her stomach, "Oh. Ow. Really. Ow!" she screamed, "It's coming."
The Doctor turned to Rory, "Help her, you're a doctor."
"You're a doctor!" he countered.
"It's ok, we're doctors," he squatted down before Amy, holding his hands below her as if to catch the baby as it fell out, "What do we do?"
Amy stopped panicking and stood up, "Ok, it's not coming."
The Doctor straightened, "What?"
"This is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet. So don't you call it dull again, ever. Ok?"
"Sorry."
"Yeah," she walked off with Rory following.
The Doctor sighed and looked at the home once more, spotting Angel in one of the windows. He stiffened, refusing to blink this time, needing to see if there was anything he could gleam off her appearance that would tell him if she was ok. Because he was starting to worry about why she wasn't there and where she could be. But instead of looking at him, she was staring off into the distance. He frowned and looked over at the ruins to see Poggit heading for them.
He glanced back at the home but, as with before, Angel was gone.
He shook his head and walked over to where Amy was sitting on a swing set, taking the other swing before Rory could, "Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room…"
"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby," Amy said, exasperated.
"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" he slowly smiled, "You hold him down, I'll cut it off?" Amy chuckled.
"This from the man in the bowtie," Rory remarked.
"Bow ties are cool," he defended as he stood and watched Poggit watch the children, getting a bad feeling off them, and if there was one thing Angel had taught him it was to not ever try to fix the TARDIS without her there...and to trust his feelings, "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter," Poggit turned back and looked at the Doctor, "What's she doing? What does she want?"
The birdsong began again, "Oh, no, here we go," Amy groaned.
~8~
The Doctor was standing at the console as Amy and Rory joined him. Amy rubbed her arms, "It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?"
"What does it matter if we're cold?" he snapped, tensing, his hearts racing, "We have to know what the Dream Lord is up to!"
"Calm down Doctor, shh, it'll be alright, I promise..."
He winced, swearing he could hear Angel's voice, it was...soothing, reassuring, but then again he always felt that way around her, she just...had this way of calming him, "Sorry. Sorry," he rubbed his face, this was really starting to get to him now. He was sure the Dream Lord was lying about where Angel was, the man HAD to have her and that worried him terribly, the sooner he could get this sorted and win the challenge, the sooner he could get Angel returned to him, to them, yes to them, "There should be some stuff down there, have a look."
Amy turned to head down to a small alcove but Rory just looked at the Doctor, "That was rude," he told the man, giving his hoodie a defiant zip before following Amy.
The Doctor moved to the space under the console, setting an enamel mug on a box with a crank. The crank popped off so the Doctor hit the box, opening it to reveal a number of gadgets inside.
Meanwhile Amy opened a chest, looking for warm clothes as Rory came over, "I want the other life," he admitted quietly, "You know, where we're happy and settled and about to have a baby."
"But don't you wonder, if that life is real, then why would we give up all this? Why would anyone?"
"Because we're going to freeze to death?"
"The Doctor'll fix it," she threw him a blanket.
"Ok. Because we're going to get married?" he wrapped Amy in the blanket instead.
Amy giggled a bit at the sweet gesture, "But we can still get married. Some day."
"You don't want to anymore?" he frowned, fearing that might be what she was feeling, "I thought you'd chosen me, not him."
"You are always so insecure."
"You ran off with another man."
"Not in that way. And Angel was here."
"It doesn't matter if Angel was there or not because they aren't together and you tried to kiss him!"
"And Angel hugs you all the time."
"That is NOT the same thing Amy," he countered, crossing his arms, feeling a bit confused though as to why she sounded so cross when she'd mentioned Angel hugging him. They were friends, 'siblings' now, they were allowed t hug. And he knew he was most certainly NOT about to go kiss Angel like Amy had the Doctor, nope, the only woman he wanted like that was Amy, "It was the night before our wedding."
"We're in a time machine. It's the night before our wedding for as long as we want."
"We have to grow up eventually."
"Says who?" she pulled out some other blankets and headed back to the console.
The Doctor, holding some sort of handmade gadget assembled out of kitchen supplies, handed it to Rory, "Ah, Rory, wind," and then handed Amy a wire attached to it, "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please."
"I was promised amazing worlds," Rory sighed as Amy went to do as she was told, "Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitchen windup device."
"Ouch!" Amy winced, pulling her hand away as the wire port sent a small jolt of a spark at her finger.
"Right," the Doctor winced, "Amy!" he took the gadget from Rory and handed it to her instead, "Wind, Rory," he handed the boy the wire, "Attach this?"
Rory rolled his eyes but moved to the monitor, plugging the wire in with ease.
"What is this?" Amy eyed the device oddly.
"It's a generator. Get winding."
"It's not enough," Rory warned them.
"Amy, wind."
Amy sighed but wound as fast as she could, "Better?"
The Doctor squinted at the monitor, "Yup."
"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, why only us?" Amy agreed, she'd noticed the Dream Lord's focus and disdain for her and the Doctor and his civility towards Rory too. But before he could answer, the monitor screen beeped to life to show starscape, Amy squinted at it, "Where are we?"
"We're in trouble," the Doctor admitted.
"What is that?" Rory frowned, seeing a ball of white burning stuff floating in space.
"A star. A cold star," he ran to the door and opened it, letting in a blinding white light and chill, "That's why we're freezing. It's not a malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. That's our danger for this version of reality," he closed the door and peeked out the windows of the doors at the star.
"This must be the dream," Amy said, "There is no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."
"So's this one. It's just burning cold."
"Is that possible?" Rory asked.
"I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?" he headed to the console and sat down dejectedly on the jump seat.
"Ok, this is something you haven't seen before. So does that mean this is the dream?"
"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about 14 minutes until we crash into it. I think," he sighed, Angel was always better at guessing time than him, "But that's not a problem."
"Because you know how to get us out of this?"
The Doctor put on a stethoscope, "Because we'll have frozen to death."
"Then what'll we do?" Amy frowned.
"Stay calm," the Doctor replied, putting the scope on the console, careful not to let his skin touch it, not wanting another spark, "Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose."
"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory shook his head.
"What?"
"What, a weird new star, 14 minutes left to live, and only one man to save the day. I just wanted a nice village and a family."
The Dream Lord suddenly appeared behind the Doctor, "Oh, dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks," he smirked, "Bet you wish Angel was here now. She's the peace keeper, the glue that holds everything together. The rock, the support. Take her away and it all falls apart, just like you will," he sighed, "There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his life away, he let down his friends and..." he stopped at the sound of the birdsong, "Oh, no, we've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."
~8~
The Doctor squinted, putting a hand over his eyes, spotting something...
Angel!
He took off without a word, seeing her standing at the top of the stairs that led to the ruins, staring into them...but, just as he reached the steps...she was gone. How had that happened? He'd kept her in sight the entire time and she was just...not there. He shook his head and rushed up the steps to the ruins, "Where have the children gone?" he looked around to see the area empty save for small piles of ash and cloth. He ran over to them, checking them with the sonic.
"Don't know," Rory called, "Play time's probably over," he turned to Amy, "You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"
"I feel it both places," she admitted.
"I feel it here. It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."
"Not really me, though, is it? Would I be happy settling down in a place with a pub, two shops and a really bad amateur dramatics society? That's why I got pregnant, so I don't have to see them doing Oklahoma. Doctor, what are you doing? And what are those piles of dust?"
The Doctor crouched by a pile, letting it fall through is fingers, "Play time's definitely over," he remarked grimly.
"Oh, my God."
"What happened to them?" Rory's eyes widened.
The Doctor looked out into the village to see the elderly walking along the path, "I think they did."
Amy turned to look, "They're just old people."
"No. They're very old people," he headed down the steps, "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."
The elderly lined up along the path facing them as they headed towards them, "Hello, peasants," the Dream Lord appeared, "What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has got to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS," he looked at the Doctor with a hard look in his eyes, "You first!"
"Leave her alone!" the Doctor snapped.
"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero, 'leave her alone.' I know someone else who happens to love that as well."
"Just leave her!" Rory tried.
The Dream Lord chuckled, "Sorry, not quite so impressive just yet," he waved his hand, "Give it time, Angel'll have you built up soon enough," and then he turned to smirk at Amy, "But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"
"Shut up!" she glared, "Just shut up and leave me alone."
The Dream Lord simply looked to the Doctor, "Just like I know where your hearts lie."
The Doctor frowned, "What are you talking about?"
"Angel."
Rory looked over at the Dream Lord with a small, confused frown on his face before glancing at the Doctor. What did the Dream Lord mean by that? The Doctor and Angel weren't together. He hadn't really seen much of the Doctor seeming to have an interest in Angel either. Well, except that he worried about her, a lot, and that he seemed to like having her around, and he kept bringing her up, and he got really defensive and protective and tense about her in danger, and...well, there was something he'd noticed...once or twice, he swore he'd seen something in the Doctor's eye, like a tiny...sparkle, when he looked at Angel, but it was always gone instantly. And the Doctor did strike him as the person to worry and feel protective of everyone who travelled with him. But...what was the Dream Lord talking about?
"What about her?" the Doctor shook his head, "She's a friend."
"A friend?" the Dream Lord raised an eyebrow, "Yes, right, a friend who's also bonded to your TARDIS."
~oOo~
He stood in the TARDIS, looking at the console, just refueling some more, giving Rose a night home with her mum for Christmas.
Angel popped out from under the grilling, having finished the last bit of cleaning, "All done," she grinned, taking his offered hand and hauling herself out of the hole, dropping the grilling down. She looked up at him, "Anything else that needs to be done?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "One more thing."
She waited a moment, but he said nothing, just looked at her in thought, "What is it?"
"Earlier…I was weakened and the TARDIS didn't work, that could be really dangerous…"
"Alright…so what do you want to do?"
"I want you to bond to the TARDIS too," he said, watching as her mouth dropped open in shock, of anything he could have said, he knew that was NOT what she expected, even being a precog.
~oOo~
"What?" the Doctor's eyes widened at that tidbit of information. He had said in Venice that Angel wasn't bonded to the TARDIS, but now, hearing someone claim the opposite...well, he could have argued that it wasn't so, that it was impossible, that it just...didn't happen. Really, it didn't, typically, more often, there were only two people who would bond themselves to the same TARDIS and that was NOT him and Angel. It couldn't be. But...something inside him, something in his gut wouldn't let him dismiss the thought, it was like...he just knew that it was true. But how? And what did that mean? He and Angel were NOT Mates, not at all, so...why was she apparently bound to the TARDIS.
"You may not remember, but I do," the Dream Lord glared, "I remember everything. Every one. Every moment, every thought, every feeling, everything."
The Doctor blinked, a suspicion hitting him, "I know who you are."
"Course you don't."
"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the Universe who hates me as much as you do."
The Dream Lord snorted, "Just wait till Angel's family comes a'knocking Doctor. When they realize what you've done."
"What do you mean? What did I do?" he frowned, seeming...alarmed that he might have done something to Angel that would anger her 'family' as the Dream Lord called them. No...he hadn't done anything that terrible...had he? No, no, it was just the Dream Lord trying to make him question himself and be distracted. Yes, that was it.
"Never mind that," the Dream Lord smirked, "Maybe you SHOULD worry about them," he nodded at the elderly.
The old people started advancing as the trio glanced at the Dream Lord before looking back, "Hi," Rory greeted them.
"Hello," the Doctor added, pausing, as though waiting for someone to say 'nice to meet you' before he shook his head, reminding himself Angel wasn't there and pushing the rush of fear and worry that raced through him down, "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements! Are you alright? You look a bit tense."
"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory smiled at an old man, taking a step closer.
"Rory..."
"Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee," Mr. Nainby lifted him up by the collar, "Did I not say thank you?" and threw him backwards into the mud, "How did he do that?!" Rory cried as he stood up quickly.
"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."
"Can't we just talk to them?!" Amy tried. The elderly opened their mouths to reveal an eye, "There is an eye in her mouth!"
The Doctor soniced them, "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."
"That is disgusting," Rory grimaced, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else are they?"
Poggit leaned forward and shot a green mist out of her mouth. Rory pulled Amy back to safety as the Doctor put himself in front of them, "RUN!" he shooted as Amy and Rory quickly fled, "Ok, Leave them," he turned to the elderly, "Talk to me. Talk to me. You are Eknodines, a proud, ancient race, you're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"
"We were driven from our pl..." Poggit began.
"…planet by upstart neighbors."
"So we've..." Nainby started.
"…been living here inside the bodies of old humans for...years. No wonder they live so long, you're keeping them alive."
"We were humbled and destroyed," Poggit told him, "Now we will do the same to others."
"Ok, makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough, could be real."
A man came up alongside the Doctor pushing a bike, "Morning."
Poggit shot the green mist at the man and turned him to dust, "You need to leave this planet," the Doctor turned to Poggit as the creature within her screeched.
~8~
Amy and Rory raced back to their cottage, "Wait!" Amy gasped, resting against a post for a moment, "Stop!"
Rory looked over to see some of the elderly following them, "After all I've done for the over-70s in this village," and then noticed a woman waiting for them at the front door of their house, "Ok, this is crazy. She loves me, I fixed her depression, she's just a little old lady."
"Mrs. Hammill, we don't understand..." Amy began but Mrs. Hammill just opened her mouth to reveal an alien as well, making them back away.
"I'll deal with this one, Chubs..." Rory pushed Amy back, "Now..." Hammill emitted the gas at Rory and he dashed back behind the hedges, picking up a stout piece of wood as Hammill walked towards him. He hesitated, backing up, "I can't hit her."
"Whack her!" Amy shouted. Rory whacked her, making her fall to the ground. They ran inside their home as more elderly advanced across the field towards them. Amy collapsed on the stairs as Rory locked the doors, "We just ran away," she breathed, "We just abandoned the Doctor. Don't ever call me Chubs again. We don't see him for years, and somehow we don't really connect anymore and then, then he takes the bullet for us."
"You know the Doctor," Rory went to move the coffee table to block the entrance, "He's Mr. Cool."
~8~
The Doctor half stumbled, half ran down the road as the elderly followed him, fighting off the sleep as he heard the birdsong.
"Doctor…"
He could have sworn he'd heard Angel whispering to him, felt a warmth in his hand like it was being squeezed.
"You can do it. You can beat it. Just fight!"
He straightened up and ran into a butcher shop, locking the door and flipping the sign to 'closed' as the Dream Lord stood behind the counter dressed as a butcher with an apron and boater, "Oh, I love a good butcher's don't you?" he asked, "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss. Won't eat an animal, but you'll certainly kick a puppy wouldn't you given that you're doing it now."
The Doctor pulled a key off a shelf and tried to unlock a back door, "Oh, pipe down. I'm busy."
"Maybe you need a little sleep?" he suggested as the birdsong returned. The Doctor slipped to the floor as he leaned over the counter, "Oh, wait a moment," the song stopped and the Doctor stood, "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things," the Doctor slipped into the hall behind the counter with his fingers in his ears as though it would hold off the song, "Fingers in the ear? Brilliant!" the Doctor slid down the wall, "What's next, shouting boo?" he motioned for the elderly to enter, "Come in. Come in," and they did so, making their way around the counter after the Doctor, "Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at steak. Get it?"
"Doctor please…"
The Doctor jumped up with a burst of energy and gripped a door, "Are these jokes wasted on you?" the Dream Lord sighed.
The Doctor made his way into a second freezer, sliding to the floor as the elderly came closer, "Wait, stop..." he reached into his pocket.
"Oh, I can't watch," the Dream Lord put his hands over his eyes. The Doctor stood with effort and flashed the sonic, unlocking the door. He locked it behind him and fell asleep as the elderly pounded on the door.
A/N: Lol, was the chapter title a little misleading? :) I apologize if it got anyone's hopes up :) I hope you liked this chapter :) To be honest, the plagiarism happening within like...4 days of each other, made editing this chapter hard. I will NOT stop writing because it happens, but it's just...hard at times to get back into it and excited when you find out about it :(
But Rory! :) I like how the TARDIS still only likes him, and I hope the Dream Lord was believable in how he's treating Rory compared to Amy and the Doctor. I also hope you like the other mentions of companions :) We've got Martha (and Sarah Jane) coming up as well ;) I definitely want to incorporate them into this series more beyond just the crossover episodes :)
On a VERY happy note though...I think you all have broken a record! We've got the next sneak peek! Lol, I didn't even notice how close we'd gotten to the next hundred till I went to start answering the 'notes' and saw we had made it! Woo! I can say that cheered me up a lot :)
~8~
"Jack!" Angel gasped, her eyes wide as she gently reached out to grab Jack's hand, gingerly pulling his sleeve up, frowning as she saw what looked like scratches all over his arm...red and raw, "What happened?!"
"Weevil got me," Jack shrugged, trying to play it off.
"It...it hasn't healed," Ianto added, stating what was on all their fearful minds, it SHOULD have healed by now.
Angel turned her hand over, the palm of her right hand resting on the palm of his, her other hand moving to his elbow and concentrating, the team watching on as gentle golden waves wafted out of her hands, meeting in the middle and seeping into his skin, healing the cut.
~8~
Lol, you can probably guess this is from the TW crossover (I couldn't bear to do one of Cold Blood). It's simple, I know, not much happening, but I wanted a sweet sibling moment where Angel was able to help Jack like he so often helped her :)
And, just to end, I'm going to extend the HOTS fanfic challenge into including multi-chapter arc submissions for anyone who's concerned about trying to fit everything they want to write into just one chatper/one-shot :) I'll be editing that on my tumblr :)
Some notes on reviews...
Lol, thanks :) I'm glad you like the baby idea :) I think, looking at it just in the context of this story (and not counting the other series) that it fits with the angst and drama and journey Angel is on :)
I love how Rory noticed Angel missing first :) No worries, there will NOT be a future older child popping up in this story, mostly since we don't know if the baby will even make it, but also because I feel like it makes sense with J since he's friends with River and I think we can all agree there's slim to NO chance of that happening with this River :) Very interesting theory, we'll have to wait and see though :)
I've only ever used that test thing once, for the Doctor, who would believe he'd be a Mary Sue...or at least a Gary Stu? :) Well, he IS perfect to us isn't he? :) I can't say if any other OCs are Mary Sues, I've never read enough to get that much of a sense of them, only really ever got one or two chapters into a couple stories about a year ago :) I'm glad you like Angel though :)
You can submit anything any way you'd like :) You can alter existing/present chapters/moments. One or two people have PMed me about doing that with the angels episodes, having a moment where the Doctor remembers her then, so feel free to do as you'd like. It's really just about how you pictured/wish/hoped/think he might remember :) Thanks, I tried to keep them focused on the danger, but still realizing Angel wasn't there and not completely forgetting her. There was a little more mention of her here but I think, since we see more of the Dream Lord and HE remembers, that she would be brought up just a tiny bit more :) I don't think the Dream Lord will outright tell the Doctor though, nope, mostly because he's only the subconscious so there still is something holding him back completely too :( But I'm glad you're curious as to where Angel is :) I can say Rory will find out very, very soon ;) As for Amy or the Doctor finding out first, we'll have to wait and see :) For the Star Trek fic, for Spock/OC, that one will be an 'alien' like him but she'll appear human and have a quality that will bring them closer, the Kirk/OC will be a human though :) I haven't seen any of the original series or the next generation, nope :( One day I want to, but that'll have to wait till I get through all of Classic Who first :) For Spock/Kirk, I don't have a problem with slash, usually mostly if it's an established pair already in the show/movie/series or if it's an open possibility (like the characters already 'swing that way' but haven't considered each other lol). I think a story would have to be very well written to bring two characters that are of one preference towards another preference but I don't have an issue with it. To me, you love who you love :) I do love their friendship though :)
That's great :) I'm glad that chapter gave you another idea, I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for how they hoped/think the Doctor might remember :) That's awesome though, great minds think alike and I think that'd be interesting to see a multi-chapter submission about it, I honestly was thinking of moments happening but I'm going to add that to possible 'chapter' options for the story instead of just limiting to one-shots :) No worries, I'll be more tight lipped than River with her spoilers lol, not a peep from me. I definitely under the desire for surprises and I won't ruin one for another author :) This chapter sort of brought that up, the how he seems to notice her powers (great minds! I'm telling you! :)) and I liked the Doctor's reaction, like he's completely offended someone would think that's the only reason he keeps her around :) That's ok about Torchwood. I didn't watch the show till I started considering the crossover episodes. I can say it'll be 3 chapters so if anyone wants to skip over them, that's fine too :) I'll try to write it in a way where, if Exit Wounds and Children of Earth were read, it makes sense and those who haven't seen the show can still follow :) Multi-chapter is just fine, I'll definitely add it to the 'submission guidelines' for some reason I was only thinking oneshots would be happening that I completely forgot that some ideas might need more than one chapter :) I wish I had been there too, I would have talked to him :) I saw the scripts too yeah, I'm actually hoping that the script isn't even a hint of 12's personality because I feel like it's really way too similar to 11's and it would just be a repeat of 11 but with a new actor. I think I'll love him either way, but I just got the feeling it was too much like 11 and not a separate and new Doctor :( We'll hae to see how it goes though :)
Flashback moments can be the worst, yeah :( It kills me to look back for the memory-flashes and realize that it was SO fluffy back then and so not now. But I'm glad you're liking the stories so much :) I'm glad you're warming up to the Dream Lord too, I wanted to give him a different reason along with his 'get Amy focused on Rory' thing for being angry and dangerous with the Doctor :) I know! Poor Rory! But just think, after that it'll only be about a week (maybe a little more) before we get him back :)
Lol, breaking his nose...or his jaw... ;) Thanks! I'm glad you're liking the stories despite their evil qualities :) I just try my best to keep it balanced with the feels, despite most of them being sadish. We started off really angsty and there will be moments in the future of it, but slowly it'll keep growing into strength :)
Great minds think alike, we had a bit of a Mating memory-flash here :) Sort of cut off before it happened, but we saw a peek of it :)
Lol, not saying what I've done with Angel, we'll have to wait till tomorrow ;) I definitely wanted to show that his subconscious remembers who Angel is to him in a way and Rory noticing Angel was something I just HAD to do cos it's so Rory :) I can say that Jack's reaction will be touching actually, but I won't say why/how :) I'm glad you like the pregnancy twist, in the context of just this story I think it's fitting too :) I may or may not be that evil though }:) I used to think I wasn't evil, but I've done some pretty 'evil' things so far :) I think it will depend on if Angel manages to carry the baby to term as to whether the Doctor would notice, we'll have to see :) No worries at all, you ramble to your heart's content, I love every length review :) And no problem at all! I've given her her own little Birthday shout out at the end of the A/N, finish in a great note eh? :)
I think Rory's definitely starting to notice something going on with the Doctor and his feelings for Angel. Cue overprotective younger brother Rory lol :) I can say that Rory WILL meet Jack in a future episode ^-^ Yay!
I've watched the SJA episodes on youtube for the crossovers :)
We'll have to wait and see tomorrow just where Angel is :) I can say that there will definitely be a lingering effect of this episode, I thought they got over it a little too quickly as well :)
That's a great theory :) We'll have to wait and see who Clara is to the Time Lords. I can say it's definitely doable, I did something similar in my Lunar Cycle with Clara being a Time Lady on Gallifrey and that carrying over into the story :)
Very interesting theories for this episode :) I love them. I can say you're very close, but we'll have to wait and see just what happened to Angel tomorrow and how she's appearing in the Doctor's worlds :)
Lol, I'm definitely on fluff withdrawal, I keep reading through the memory-flashes as I try to find them and it makes me sad that it's not that fluffly. Lol, I was actually debating doing a tiny AU collection of just key moments where the fluff would have been epic from past episodes to try and help, but I don't think so, I think that we need the angst at this point to sort of balance the fluff of 10 :)
Lol, I'm glad you're excited for the pregnancy twist, and Rory! :) We'll have to wait till tomorrow to see if she's in a good dream or stuck somewhere else :) Oh Idris is amazing in her reactions to every one, I laughed a lot :)
And a very happy birthday to TheDevilsDaughter267! I hope you have a fantastic day :)