Lady A: Hey everyone and welcome back to Soul of the Doctor! Sorry for the long wait for an update, but I haven't been able to get back to this story to write up Into the Dalek. However, several people have asked for an update so I will be typing up one of the two chapters that I currently have finished just for you guys.
Special Shout Out: To my good buddy, Matthew Cortes. This is the person you should thank for the update. Constantly bringing it up and making me think about it so all ya tell Matt how much you love 'em!
Much love and thanks to all those who have faved, followed, and reviewed this story and all of my other ones as well! You guys are the greatest and I just love you all so much!
Brief Recap: The Doctor healed Artimes of her injuries while she slept and when she awoke, she gave him the chalk. He started writing and scribbling all over the place and then they had a bit of an adventure scrambling across rooftops. The T-Rex was burned to death and the duo procured themselves a horse.
They made it to the bridge and the ginger haired woman was hard pressed not to slap a certain brunette companion because of how she was treating the Doctor like some sort of wounded animal. Eventually the two thousand year old Timelord jumped into the Thames and Artimes went in search of him, but not before giving Clara a piece of her mind first.
Now on with the show!
Chapter Three: The Doctor's Artz
The crimson haired woman known as Artimes spent the rest of the night searching London town for the missing two thousand year old time traveler. She spent most of the evening shivering in the saddle, trying not to freeze to death. She had been a Floridian back in the other world, and she was not used to such cold temperatures.
Sometime during the wee hours of the morning, she actually fell asleep in the saddle and the horse continued searching for the wayward Timelord, always mindful of his sleeping rider. As the sky began to lighten, casting the streets in a dull grey light, the horse neighed loudly, rousing the cold and barely asleep woman from her light slumber.
"What is it, my friend? Have you found him?" She asked her voice partially slurred from sleep.
She kept the reins in one hand as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the other, trying desperately to wake up. The horse nodded again and slowly walked into a nearby alleyway. The red head giggled softly, seeing the two thousand year old time traveler trying to reason with a homeless man to give up his coat.
"Doctor." She called getting his attention easily.
The Timelord's face whipped around until his eyes landed on her. She could see the happiness practically springing forth from his eyes and he actually smiled at her.
"Ah Artz! Perfect timing! Perhaps you could reason with this atrocious fellow. I need that coat." The Doctor stated moving over to the left side of the horse rather quickly.
"No need. I have some clothes for you already." She replied smiling down at him and patting the messenger bag sitting on her left hip.
She had packed it the previous night before the whole fiasco with Clara, knowing what the Timelord was going to do in advance. She swung her leg over the saddle and dismounted, nearly collapsing to the ground and would have to if the Doctor hadn't caught her around the waist. Her legs were a bit numb from riding all night and from the cold temperatures as well, but she was starting to regain some feeling in them.
The two thousand year old time traveler was staring at her, worry and a small amount of panic in his eyes. She smiled at him and straightened up, showing him that she was alright, albeit a little stiff. He did not release her, his hands staying firmly around her, and she was trying very hard not to blush at how close they were to one another.
"Have you been searching for me all night?" He asked quietly as the homeless man made himself scarce.
"Someone has to look after you." Artimes answered cheekily, her eyes dancing with humor.
Gratitude and warmth flooded his eyes and the blush she had been fighting, finally revealed itself and turned her cheeks a rosy red. She pulled back slightly from his arms, but he didn't like that and he pulled her back to him. He wrapped his arms completely around her, holding her close and with her ear right about his hearts.
She was incredibly surprised that he was, in a sense, hugging her. He had told Clara that he wasn't a hugging person anymore and he seemed to shy away from such acts of affectionate physical contact. She shivered when the wind blew through the alley, making the Timelord acutely aware of how wet he still was and was undoubtedly making her colder by holding her so close.
He finally released her but stayed very near, almost as if he was afraid that she would disappear at any moment. She pulled out the long coat and gloves from her bag and handed them to him. She then helped him put the coat on and shifted the sonic screwdriver from the night shirt to the inner pocket of the coat so he could have better access to it. Once he was done dressing, he started patting himself down like he was looking for something.
"I should give you something…a gift, yes, a gift. Something nice." He rambled searching his pockets which she was starting to believe were bigger on the inside, given how far his arm had gone into one of them.
"Oh no, you don't have to. I was happy to help." The ginger protested trying to still his frantic movements with her hands.
"Nonsense, my Artz needs something nice, something shiny and pretty, for putting up with me all the time." He countered still searching.
It was moments like these that really made her believe that the two thousand year old Timelord had met her before and she didn't mean when she had suddenly appeared in the Tardis either. He was always looking at her with such warm and soft eyes like she was incredibly important to him. Then there was little comments like the one he had just said and his actions back at Vastra's place that all pointed in the direction of a prior awareness of her.
The big thing was that he seemed to trust her so implicitly, which should not be possible considering they had known each other for less than twenty four hours. He spoke and acted like he had known her for years and it was similar to how Clara had acted around her. Vastra, Jenny, and Strax had all accepted her so easily as well which really did give credence to her very outlandish theory.
She was pulled from her thoughts when he let out a cry of triumph. He had pulled out a beautifully crafted fob watch and she recognized it instantly. It was the Eleventh Doctor's favorite fob watch, the one he had supposedly given to the homeless man in trade for his coat. The two thousand year old time traveler placed the watch in her hands, a wild and almost happy look on his face.
"Are you sure?" She asked quietly.
He nodded vigorously and she clutched the watch with both hands, holding it close to her chest. The Doctor had given her a gift, something that was precious and important to him…even if it was only important to his previous regeneration. She honestly felt like crying. It was one of the most wonderful things that anyone had ever given her and she was very happy. She looked up at him with tear filled and happy eyes, a smile on her lips.
"That's better. You look so much more beautiful when you're happy. Simply stunning." The Doctor commented softly, causing her to blush deeply.
His words coupled with how he was looking at her now…it made her feel extremely hot and her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies.
"Thank you, but shouldn't you be off to meet up with the Impossible Girl?" She asked pocketing the fob watch while glancing away, feeling a little shy from all the attention she was getting from him.
"Quite right." He answered turning his attention to the horse, "He seems rather fond of you."
Artimes reached up and petted the horse's neck and mane.
"He was kind enough to allow me to ride him again so I could find you. He's been very sweet to me and even let me sleep in the saddle. You've been very good to me, haven't you, my friend?" She replied petting the horse's head in a loving manner.
"You always did have a way with animals and people." The Timelord commented gazing at her fondly.
She looked away quickly, her blush returning full force and the butterflies in her stomach intensifying. Why did he have to look at her like that? It made her want to go all fan girl which was entirely inappropriate considering he was a real live person and not just a fictional character.
"We should get going. The restaurant is on the other side of town and if we want to get there by lunch time then we need to leave now." She stated focusing on the matter at hand and not a certain Timelord that she would love to snog at that moment.
"Yes, yes we should." He responded softly.
She tried to hoist herself into the saddle but was still very stiff from riding all night and she nearly fell down onto the cold, wet ground. She gasped slightly when she felt the Doctor's hands her hips and backside. With his help, she finally mounted the horse again. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she couldn't seem to slow it down.
She would admit it, if only to herself, that she was in love with the Doctor. She had always loved him, ever since the moment she had first seen Nine in the episode called Rose. Her love for him grew with Ten and Eleven and it eventually sparked the desire to know all of his past selves.
She went back and watched all the Classic Who episodes she could find and after all of that, she knew beyond any shadow of doubt that she loved him, no matter what face he had. It was the reason why she did not have a boyfriend back in the other world. No one could claim her heart because it already belonged to the Doctor.
The two thousand year old Timelord climbed on behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling him closer to her. She tried to remember how to breathe and her eyes widened when he leaned down and kissed her cheek, making her freeze in shock. She finally blinked out of her stupor, scowling slightly at the silently chuckling alien behind her. That jerk! Who knew what he was doing to her and was doing it on purpose! But could she honestly say that she wasn't happy about it?
She shoved down her feelings as she urged the horse back out of the alleyway and nudged him into trotting in the general direction of Mancini's Family Restaurant.
Artimes waited outside the establishment filled with killer droids while the Doctor went inside to meet up with Clara. The Timelord may have been in the Thames but he had heard her telling off the brunette, so he thought it would be a better idea for her to wait outside rather than for her to lose her temper. She had whole heartedly agreed because she was still pissed at the brown haired girl for the way she had treated the two thousand year old alien.
The horse, or should she say Benedict, insisted on staying with her. Yeah, don't ask her how she could speak horse, she honestly had no clue. She did manage to get the four legged creature to go and wait for her by the Tardis which was at Vastra's place. Funny thing was, Benedict wanted to stay with her forever and live with her. The Timelord had not been kidding when he had said that the horse was fond of her…in love with her was more like it.
She leaned against the wall, sighing slightly from her boredom, and decided to pull out the fob watch Theta had given her. It was exceptionally crafted and intricately designed and she could honestly see why Eleven had loved it so much. She blushed prettily when she remembered how the Doctor had said she was beautiful when she was happy.
Every fiber of her being was praying, pleading, and hoping beyond all hope that her crazy theory was true and that a future version of herself traveled with the Timelord in his past. However, with that theory came its own problems, namely it would mean that Vastra, Jenny, Strax, and Clara all knew her and were pretending not to. What would be the point in keeping such knowledge from her?
She wondered if her future self had said something about them trying to hide it. Perhaps trying to make a stable time loop which is why they were treating her like they had just met her. Another thing she knew was that she must still travel with the two thousand year old Timelord, because he always looked at her with such warm and bright eyes rather than sad and forlorn eyes, meaning that she had not been lost, trapped, or had died.
She could understand why her future self would not be traveling with the Doctor now. Being as her future self would know that she appeared on the Tardis shortly before the events of Deep Breath then she would have made certain not to be in the sentient time ship when she arrived. The Old Girl had already been crashing, but having two versions of herself from two different points in her personal time stream would have resulted in a massive paradox that would not only make the Tardis explode, but would have taken out a good chunk of the universe as well.
Her head snapped up when Vastra's carriage arrived and the trio entered the building. Artimes put away the fob watch and left her little hiding spot. She went inside the restaurant which was now void of the killer droids from the SS Marie Antoinette. She explored the establishment for a bit, meandered around the bar, and picked up a few items.
The ginger haired woman cleaned off one of the tables and set her acquired items on the surface. She made herself at home in one of the chairs and propped her feet up in another chair off to her left, sighing in relief to be off her feet. While she had been exploring the bar, she had taken a bottle of Scotch so she poured herself a full glass. She then grabbed the final item, a bowl of popcorn, and rested it in her lap. Don't ask her where she got it from because that was one secret she would take to the grave.
She sipped her alcoholic beverage, relishing the warmth as it defrosted her insides. Riding around London during the dead of night had pretty much turned her into a meat popsicle, so she was very glad for the Scotch that ignited her blood and warmed her up a few degrees. She raised an eyebrow as the police chose that moment to walk in, looking around in a dazed confusion. She inwardly rolled her eyes at Scotland Yard's finest…what morons.
She took another swallow of her drink as she heard the lift begin to rise. The half man/half droid rose from his seat and brandished his flamethrower like arm at the policemen and the idiotic inspector.
"The restaurant is closed." The droid man stated lighting the flamethrower in menacing like fashion.
Artimes yawned quietly, slightly bored, and watched the idiots run away like they were on fire. The half man/half droid looked at her with an almost curious expression, the flamethrower extinguishing with a puff. She blinked in surprise when he nodded his head, lifting his top hat in greeting. He then turned around and proceeded to ignore her, activating a nearby control panel on the wall.
She semi-glared at him, unhappy that he had dismissed her so casually, and just munched angrily on her popcorn. The two thousand year old time traveler finally made an appearance and thus commenced a long winded discussion that she didn't really pay any attention to, still slightly groggy from her long night. She looked back up when they started fighting with one another and trading a few snappy remarks here and there.
She continued to watch and was actually making silent bets in her mind as to how this would actually end. It had been unclear in the show as to what actually had happened and it had been left up to the audience to decide who did what. The choice was murder or suicide, and the audience had to pick which one they believed to have happened.
Would the Timelord kill the half droid/half man by pushing him out the open door or would the half droid go against his original programming and commit suicide by jumping to his death? Was it sad to think that it would be the former and not the latter? No, because the ginger haired woman knew that crazy two hearted alien very well and there was nothing that he would not do to protect to the Earth and its people.
She downed the rest of the glass, making a slight face at the intense surge of heat to her system, before placing the glass and the bowl of popcorn on the table. She let her feet drop to the floor and she sat up straighter, crossing one leg over the other and her hands resting in her lap.
"You realize, of course, one of us is lying about our basic programming." The Doctor commented leaning against one side of the open doorway while the half droid was leaning against the other.
"Yes." The droid man replied in a very monotone voice.
"And I think we both know who that is." The Timelord continued his eyes serious and focused.
The half man/half droid looked over at the crimson haired woman, who was watching them with sad and kind eyes.
"It is said that the Paradigm knows all. Tell me, Lady Artz, if I were to ignore my basic programming…would I reach the Promised Land?" The droid man asked shocking the ginger with his question.
Why would he think that she would know the answer? What was all that about a paradigm? She knew about two different paradigms; the first was the Skasis Paradigm which was the God Maker, the universal equation that if solved would grant the solver the power over the building blocks of the universe. The second Paradigm was in regard to the Andromeda series starring Kevin Sorbo and that Paradigm was a certain race of people, generally in human form, that actually had control over time itself and could travel anywhere simply by thinking it.
Both men were looking at her now and she attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. She had to choose between assisted suicide and cold blooded murder. That was one hell of a choice and she did not condone either action, given that she had a deep respect for life. She glanced over at the time traveler that held her heart. He carried so much guilt and for so many things…there was no need for him to have blood on his hands yet again.
The crimson haired woman looked back the half man/half droid and her heart made the decision for her. There was nothing she would not do for that impossible mad man because she was The Doctor's Artz.
Lady A: There you have it, folks! Chapter Three: The Doctor's Artz is over and done with! Oh my God, I had so much fun typing this up because I kept adding more and more things to it. Right, rambling. Leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter Four: Truths and Spoilers! Stay Tuned!
Sneak Preview
Artimes made her way back to the control room or at least tried to, but the Tardis kept changing the corridors on her. She sighed in exasperation and just sat down, too tired to really fight with the Old Girl right now. She jumped slightly when her phone started playing the Sherlock theme tune, meaning that she had a call which was quite frankly odd because she hadn't given out her number to anyone…yet. She pulled it out and her heart skipped a beat when she looked at the caller ID. The tears began to form as she accepted the call.
"Hello?" She asked her tone quiet as she fought against her surging emotions.
Lady A: Oh my, that is one hell of a place to leave off at. Well, you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out who called her and why. *smirks knowingly* Yes, I know I'm wicked. See you next time, cats. *winks*