A few minutes later, the Doctor was at work helping Tony and Nasreen set up their equipment. Their current hiding place, the church, was a true oddity. Dozens of boxes and crates packed with household items such as dishes, brooms, and lamps were stacked up around them, as though the occupant was currently in the process of moving in or moving out. A little distance away, Tony's daughter Ambrose, his grandson Elliot, and Rory were watching them work.
So far, Ambrose wasn't really buying the whole 'aliens are coming up from the ground' thing. "So, we can't get out, we can't contact anyone, and something – something that took my husband – is coming up through the Earth." Her voice reeked of skepticism and doubt.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed. "If we move quickly enough, we can be ready."
"No, stop!" Ambrose snapped. "This has gone far enough! What is this?!"
"He's telling the truth, love," Tony said, trying to calm her down. The Doctor continued working, wishing again that Alex was here. She'd have that woman calmed down in five seconds flat. She had a strange knack for doing that.
"Come on!" Ambrose protested. "It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals! Reception's always rubbish!"
Nasreen looked up. "Look, Ambrose," she began, "we saw the Doctor's friends get taken, okay? You saw the lightning in the sky! I have seen the impossible today and the only person who's made any sense of it for me is the Doctor."
Ambrose stared at the Doctor doubtfully. "Him?!" she scoffed.
"Me!" the Doctor confirmed, grinning madly at her before turning back to his work.
Ambrose still looked pretty doubtful, but her son Elliot actually seemed inspired. He stepped forward as the Doctor lifted an extension cord. "Can you get my dad back?" he asked.
He stopped and turned to the boy, vaguely aware that all eyes were now fixated on him. He didn't wish that Alex was here to inspire any confidence in him; she didn't need to be here for this. The Doctor already knew his answer. He bent down to Elliot's eye level, gaze never wavering, and said, "Yes." He now looked up at Ambrose. "But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards, because we are running out of time."
Ambrose looked at him but even though she appeared slightly more trusting of him, the Doctor could still see the doubt in her eyes and stiff body language. He absently wondered what Alex might say if she were here. She'd probably be a bit hesitant in asking this woman to do anything. "So tell us what to do," Ambrose said, the uncertainty all too clear in her voice.
"Thank you," the Doctor said sincerely while privately deciding to keep an eye on the woman. Thinking about what Alex might do had inspired him to think like her. He knew Alex well enough by now to know how she'd react to certain people and he was fairly confident that she'd be pretty hesitant and cautious but polite towards Ambrose.
He looked around the room before checking his watch. "We have eight minutes to set up a line of defense. Bring me every phone, every camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find. Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light! I want the whole area covered with sensors!"
~Living the Life of Ally~
Within just a few minutes, all of the equipment was set up. Elliot was currently off somewhere drawing a map of the area and everyone else was busy scuttling around, making last minute alterations and corrections. Four minutes remained on the clock and currently, the Doctor was examining the interior of Ambrose's meals-on-wheels van.
"Oi!" Ambrose called, heading towards him with a large bundle in her arms. "What're you doing?"
"Resources!" the Doctor answered back. "Every little helps! Meals-on-wheels. What've you got here, then? Warmer in the front, refrigerated in the back." He pulled himself out of the vehicle and watched with a frown as Ambrose placed her bundle, which consisted of a bunch of rifles and a cricket bat, on the backseat.
"Bit chilly for a hideout, mind," she warned, stepping away from the door, not even noticing his disapproving look.
"What are those?" the Doctor questioned, nodding towards the weapons.
Ambrose shrugged, not appearing to notice his displeasure with her new course of action. "Like you say," she replied, "every little helps."
And you took that to mean weapons?! The Doctor thought. He could practically hear Alex groaning and saying something snippy and sarcastic like Yes, attacking the mean aliens will go over really well! Coming back to the present, he shook his head and objected. "No. No weapons. It's not the way I do things."
Ambrose stared at him, indignant. "You said we're supposed to be defending ourselves!"
"Oh, Ambrose, you're better than this!" The Doctor smiled coldly at her, feeling that raw anger and fury seep up again. "I'm asking nicely. Put them away."
He turned and walked off back to the church, feeling Ambrose's frown digging a hole into his back, but not caring in the slightest.
Once he was back inside, the Doctor headed over to the computer bank. He sighed as he examined the screens. The dots were moving upward very, very quickly, leaving them now with less than three and a half minutes. Three and a half minutes until he could capture the aliens that had taken Amy and his Ally away from him.
The Doctor wasn't sure when he had started thinking of Alex as his but it seemed a pretty accurate statement, in his opinion. He and Alex spent the majority of their time with each-other and he was very protective and possessive of her. He knew Alex probably wouldn't like feeling owned, but the idea of her being his struck him as being very, very nice.
The Doctor turned away from the screen and reached into his jacket pocket. His pockets were bigger on the inside like the TARDIS and it took him a moment to feel the edges of a photograph. He grabbed it and pulled it out, eagerly examining it.
The photo was one of Alex that he had insisted on taking of her on their trip last week to New New York. While Amy and Rory were off doing whatever, he and Alex had explored the city. Alex had wondered whether he had come here before and he told her about his previous trips with Rose and Martha. Alex had laughed or stayed silent at all of the appropriate parts and never once judged him.
Later, as they were admiring the New Statue of Liberty – which Alex happily noted was not covered in green corrosion and sea-salt like the other one – the Doctor happened to notice that everyone around them was staring at them. At first, he assumed it was because of his attire, which got an awful lot of staring for some reason, until he then noticed the majority were actually looking at Alex. When he looked over at her, he realized why. Alex was drop-dead gorgeous and her personality, filled with confidence and enthusiasm, radiated off her.
Alex had laughed when he tried to pose her. No way, I look awful! she'd protested, trying to shake off his arms half-heartedly. I have, like, three zits!
Of course, the Doctor couldn't see them. Alex looked as she always did; beautiful. Her eyes were shining and the wind had made her hair perfectly tousled. Despite Alex's giggling protests, he still took it and she was forced to admit that the photo wasn't half bad. Either Alex had no idea how truly beautiful she was or she was just very, very modest.
He sighed. He had to get Alex back. He just had to.
His reminiscing came to a screeching halt when Elliot suddenly rushed in, clutching a colorful piece of paper. "Look at that!" the Doctor cried, taking the map and examining it. He had to admit, this kid had talent. "Perfect! Dyslexia never stopped Da Vinci or Einstein. It's not stopping you."
Elliot blushed a little, pleased with the words of encouragement. "I don't understand what you're going to do though," he admitted.
"Two phase plan," the Doctor began. "First, the sensors and cameras will tell us when something arrives. Second, if something does arrive. . ." He trailed off and held up his sonic to demonstrate his next point, ". . .I use this to send a sonic pulse through that network of devices. A pulse which would temporarily incapacitate most things in the universe."
"Knock them out," Elliot nodded, understanding. "Cool."
The Doctor shrugged, trying to downplay Elliot's approval. He liked that he was getting it though. With Alex MIA, there was no one who would eagerly tell him that he had a genius idea or scold him for how the plan was really bad. He couldn't help but think Alex would approve of this plan.
He looked around the church. "Lovely place to grow up around here," he commented, hoping to get the subject away from his continuing worries over Alex.
Thankfully, Elliot took the bait. "Suppose," he shrugged. "I want to live in a city one day. Soon as I'm old enough, I'll be off."
The Doctor chuckled, thinking of the similarities between himself and Elliot and even Alex. Like Elliot, Alex had longed for a more exciting life outside of Bristol. "I was the same where I grew up," he revealed. "A friend of mine, she was like you, too. She wanted to get away from her small town and do exciting things."
Elliot looked amazed. "Did she get away? Did you get away?"
"Yeah," the Doctor said, answering his second question. "And my friend, she did as well. She's doing amazing things."
"Do you ever miss it?" Elliot wondered.
The Doctor swallowed thickly, remembering Gallifrey. Despite its slightly insane inhabitants, there were good parts, too. "So much," he admitted.
Elliot nodded, noticing the slight pain in the Doctor's eyes. For whatever reason, the Doctor didn't like talking about his hometown and it would be rude to continue pushing the subject. Instead, he decided to ask what he had meant to ask when he first came in here. "Is it monsters coming? Have you met monsters before?"
"Yeah."
"You scared of them?"
"No," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "They're scared of me."
Now for the million-dollar question. Elliot watched his face carefully as he asked, "Will you really get my dad back?"
The Doctor bent down and looked him right in the eye. "No question," he promised. "And I'll tell you why. Those monsters took two friends of mine, one of whom I am very close to. Nothing can prevent me from getting her back safely."
Elliot nodded, seeing the truth in his eyes. Whoever this friend of the Doctor's was, it was clear she was someone special. "Is that her?" he asked, nodding to the photo still clutched in the Doctor's hand. "Your girlfriend?"
The Doctor visibly started. "Girlfriend?!" he repeated, standing back up in shock. Elliot had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the flabbergasted look on his face. "Wh-wha-what would m-make you say that?" he stammered.
Elliot shrugged. "From the way you talk about her and look like when you talk about her," he said matter-of-factly, reminding the Doctor of how noticeable children were about things. He then shrugged. "Then again, that's what Mum says happens in all of her girly books."
The Doctor laughed hoarsely. Alex as his girlfriend? The idea of attaching such a juvenile label to Alex was truly laughable. And even if he wanted to attach such a term to her, he couldn't because he could not feel that way about her. At all.
"She's not," he said, just barely managing to force the words out. "Alex is beautiful, smart, funny, and everything else in between but she's not my . . . girlfriend."
Elliot shrugged. Suit yourself, he thought. "I left my headphones at home," he announced before running back up the church aisle.
The Doctor nodded, barely hearing this last part. Elliot's other words rang in his ears. Alex as his girlfriend? It sounded so strange, but so right at the same time. He sighed and focused back on the countdown.
One minute and counting.
~Living the Life of Ally~
As the countdown ticked down from sixty, the Doctor went out to the graveyard. Rory was setting up a camera on a gravestone as he approached. "How're you doing?" he asked.
Rory seemed about to respond when he looked up to see the sky turning darker, and not in a natural way. "It's getting darker," he pointed out as the sun's light was replaced with a deep, dark black. "How can it be getting darker so quickly?"
The Doctor looked up to study this new phenomenon. "Shutting out light from within the barricade," he explained as the blackness fully set in, making it look like they were out in the middle of the night when it was only two in the afternoon. "Trying to isolate us in the dark. Which means. . ." Just as he trailed off, there came a sudden rumbling. He looked all around. "It's here!"
The two immediately took off towards the church. As they approached the building, they came upon Ambrose, who was desperately trying to get the ancient door open.
"I can't open it!" she cried. "It keeps sticking! The wood's warped."
The Doctor immediately moved to help her, but not even his efforts could make any difference. He turned to Rory, who was watching them with a puzzled expression on his face. The Doctor frowned at him. "Any time you want to help!" he snapped.
"Can't you sonic it?" Rory asked.
The Doctor somehow resisted the urge to cringe sheepishly. "It doesn't do wood," he admitted.
"That is rubbish!" Rory exclaimed.
"Oi!" the Doctor yelled before turning away from the door to approach his male companion. "Don't diss the sonic!" He turned back to the door, Rory now following him, and with their help, they succeeded in helping Ambrose get the door open. They dove inside just as the heavy door slammed closed behind them. Just as they were approaching Tony and Nasreen, who were stationed at a bank of computers, the ground started shaking severely, like an earthquake on steroids.
"See if we can get a fix!" the Doctor shouted as he somehow managed to run to the center of the room despite the shaking and the number of items that were toppling off shelves all around him. He ran up to a computer and started typing frantically, but then the computers and everything else electric suddenly went dark.
"No power," Tony said, stating the obvious as he looked around confusedly.
"It's deliberate," the Doctor grimaced.
"What do we do now?" Rory asked.
"Nothing," he answered as Tony turned a flashlight on. "We've got nothing. They sent an energy surge to wreck our systems."
Well, that was reassuring. Trying to take his mind off this unsettling development, Rory called out, "Is everyone okay? Is anyone hurt?"
"I'm fine," Nasreen responded.
"Me too," Ambrose confirmed.
As if wanting to challenge this, there was another burst of rumbling. "Doctor, what was that?" Rory demanded.
"It's like the holes at the drill station," Tony recalled.
"Is this how they happened?" Nasreen asked.
The Doctor knelt down and pressed his ear to the ground. After a moment, he answered. "It's coming through the final layer of earth."
"What is?"
But before he could answer, the rumbling stopped, a loud silence now replacing it.
"The banging's stopped," Tony remarked, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Where's Elliot?" Ambrose's voice rang out. Everyone turned to her, seeing her look all around the room frantically. "Has anyone seen Elliot? Did he come in? Was he in when the door was shut? Who counted him back in? Who saw him last?"
The Doctor suddenly felt ill. He was positive that if Alex was here right now, she'd whack him over the head and yell at him for not keeping an eye on Elliot. But how could he focus on anything else when she was under the earth with God-knows-what happening to her? But he knew it was no excuse. "I did," he said quietly.
"Where is he?" Ambrose questioned.
"He said he was going to get headphones."
Ambrose frowned at him. "And you let him go?! He was out there on his own?!"
Then, confirmation. "Mum!" Elliot suddenly called, his voice just audible through the thick wooden door. He pounded the wood with both fists. "Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"
"Elliot!" Ambrose cried, sprinting towards the door.
"Let me in!"
"He's out there!" Ambrose tugged on the door, but the warped wood was once again conspiring against them. "Help me!"
"Open the door! Mum! There's something out here!"
With this new development, everyone ran over to the door, desperately trying to get it open. "Push, Elliot, push, Elliot!" Ambrose called to him. "Give it a shove!"
"Mum! Hurry up! Mum!"
"Come on!" Tony groaned, before finally getting the door open.
Ambrose dashed out onto the church porch. "Elliot!" she shouted worriedly. But there was no sign of him. "Where is he? He was here. He was here! Elliot!" With that, she took off towards the graveyard in search of her only son.
"Ambrose, don't go running off!" the Doctor called after her, despite knowing it wouldn't do any good.
"Ambrose!" Tony cried, before rushing after his daughter.
The Doctor and Rory looked at each-other before they both rushed off after Tony. It didn't take long to reach them. They found the two in part of the graveyard, Tony sitting against a tombstone, looking rather ill, while Ambrose stood, looking frantic and worried as she tended to him.
"What happened?" the Doctor demanded.
"My dad's hurt."
"Get him into the church now!" the Doctor ordered.
Ambrose looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Elliot's gone," she sniffled. "They've killed him, haven't they?"
The Doctor shook his head. "I don't think so. They've taken three people, when they could've just killed them up here. There's still hope, Ambrose. There is always hope."
"Then why've they taken him?"
"I don't know," the Doctor admitted, shaking his head again. "I'll find Elliot, I promise. But first I've gotta stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."
Though Ambrose looked a little reluctant, she ultimately nodded. "Let's go, Dad," she said, gently prodding her father up and leading him up to the structure.
"So what now?" Rory wondered once the two were out of sight and earshot.
"Now. . ." The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and his sonic. "I find out what's out here."
Rory eyed the sunglasses skeptically. He didn't know how a pair of sunglasses was going to help them, but he had learned a long time ago to just go with the flow when dealing with the Doctor. Sooner or later, all would be revealed.
~Living the Life of Ally~
Five minutes later, the two had formulated a plan and the Doctor was now wandering around the graveyard, his new pair of infrared sunglasses on. As he walked, he quickly spotted something moving through some bushes. However, there was no heat signature. "Cold blood," he murmured. "I know who they are."
He headed over to the meals-on-wheels van, whistling as he tapped the side so as to signal Rory. He opened the front door and removed a fire extinguisher. As he shut the door, he looked over in the side mirror to see a creature rushing towards him. Hardly bothered, he spun around and released the pin on the extinguisher. Cold foam and gas gushed out, the creature screaming as Rory jumped out the back of the van. He and the Doctor each grabbed one of the creature's arms, pushing it back into the van before locking the door.
"We got it!" Rory laughed in relief.
"Defending the planet with meals-on-wheels!" the Doctor chuckled, wondering how Alex would react to this if she was here. She'd probably be surprised, but he was pretty sure she'd approve. He moved to high-five Rory, something they both forgot when a bunch of rumbling started again.
"What was that?" Rory asked.
"Sounds like they're leaving."
"Without this one?" Rory nodded back to the van just as the blackness overhead disappeared, the sun shining once again. He looked up in shock. "Looks like we scared them off!"
If it were only that, the Doctor thought. He shook his head. "I don't think so," he said grimly. "Now both sides have hostages."
~Living the Life of Ally~
Alex felt like weights had been pressed down on her eyes, preventing her from fully opening them. She felt like she was half-awake, where you were both a part of and not at all part of your surroundings.
She grimaced and rolled over only to hit . . . wood. Something solid at least. Her eyes fully opened and she rolled over onto her back, staring at the space she was enclosed in. She seemed to be in some type of rectangular box with a glass lid. Alex squinted, trying to look out, but the glass was wavy, making her vision distorted.
She opened her mouth, about to call out, when she distantly heard something. Alex strained to hear the faint words. ". . .alive in here! Let me out! I know you're out there!"
Amy! She was alive! Alex felt a rush of relief run through her and she immediately began pounding on the glass. "Amy!" she called, her voice a little rough from swallowing dirt as she was sucked underground. "Amy! It's Alex! Where are you?"
"Alex?" Amy distantly repeated. "Alex! You're okay! You're alive!"
"I could say the same about you!" Alex replied. "Where are we? Do you see anyone?"
"Hold on," Amy instructed. "Hello? Anybody there?" Alex noticed a little movement which she knew Amy had immediately pounced on. "My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me I am going to kick your backside!" There was a pause and then a meeker sounding, "Please?"
Alex tried to lift herself up closer to the glass lid so she could hear. She could vaguely hear someone making a shushing sound, but it wasn't very clear. "Did you just shush me?" an irate voice cried out. Amy again, only a very pissed Amy this time. "Did you just shush me?" There was another pause and then the sound of Amy banging on the glass. "No, no, no!" she screamed. "No, don't do that! No gas, no gas!"
"Amy!" Alex screamed, banging rapidly. "Amy! What's happening? Are you okay? Amy!"
Alex growled as her friend remained silent and a second later, a figure appeared over her as well. "Look," she tried peacefully, "I know you're angry for some reason but trapping us is not the answer. Please, just let me out and then, maybe we can reach some understanding."
But the figure only moved away, making Alex's patience level drop. "Let me out!" she screamed. "Let me out!" Then Alex became aware of a hissing noise by her ears. She gasped just as a bunch of gray gas began flooding the tiny, enclosed space.
"No, no, no!" she screamed, covering her mouth with her arm to try and block the gas out. "No, please! Please!" Alex coughed, feeling the gas sink into her lungs despite her best efforts and within a few seconds, she was fully unconscious.
A/N: Not much happening with this chapter, I know, but it'll pick up in 'Cold Blood'. Poor Doctor. He really can't function without Alex beside him, can he?
Also, I've officially decided on the pairing name for this story. It is . . . Dalex! Yes, I know it sounds like 'Daleks', but I think this one works. Also, I promise that this pairing name will be mentioned in the series sometime and we'll see how Alex and the Doctor react to it! :) And thank you all so much for your suggestions! :)
Notes on reviews. . .
rycbar15 - Ooh, yeah, Alex is not going to be a happy camper in 'The Curse of the Black Spot'. However, something will happen before that that lightens her mood a little :)
babewithbrains132008 - I think the suspense is killing everyone! I can't say, but rest assured, it WILL happen sometime! :)
ElysiumPhoenix - Glad you liked the twist with the Dream Lord and the Doctor dying in the Leadworth reality. :) And yes, poor Rory, having to deal with an angry Doctor since Alex is MIA. Thanks! I think you'll like it. :)
Gwilwillith - Thanks! And yeah, they ARE pretty clueless, aren't they? :)
Timey-Wimey Somn-Like Lass - Glad you liked that part! :D Hmm, I don't see a dark side in Alex, at least not here. She's pretty young and hasn't seen all the stuff the Doctor has. Never say never though. I can't say much about whether or not Alex is human, but I will say this; the truth is something I'm pretty sure hasn't been done on here before. Lol, yeah, a lot happens in this fic! Hmm, I can't see the Doctor being jealous if Alex is grieving Rory. For one thing, Rory is completely devoted to Amy, something easily seen in his interactions with her. Also, the two have an established brother-sister relationship, and the Doctor would likely notice that. But you never know. Something Rory does like making her laugh could make him a little envious. :) And don't worry about rambling. I don't mind!
TheGirlWhoWaited - The Doctor doesn't like being without Alex, does he? You're right, stuff that happens with Alex in this episode and the following episode will definitely make the Doctor pissed... }:)
ShadowTier - Glad you loved the chapter! I love writing Dark Doctor because he's truly threatening and it almost always ties in with Alex being in danger. Lol, I was hoping people would enjoy that part! Even though Rory wants Alex and the Doctor to be together, I don't think he'd appreciate the Doctor 'dancing' with his little sister so suddenly like that! :)
Cigar Fancy Pants - Thank you! Here's more!
SopherGopher'sAwesomeSister - Um...for privacy and anonymity purposes, I can't say. Sorry! Glad you liked the chapter though! :)
SopherGopherroxursox - In the original episode, they saw their future 10-years-older selves and still winded up in Manhattan. Based off dialogue in 'The Power of Three', Amy and Rory have known and traveled with the Doctor for 10 years, so that part in 'The Hungry Earth' probably took place shortly before 'The Angels Take Manhattan'. BUT, I will say that I have a super-duper, mega-awesome twist for Amy and Rory involving that episode! I have many issues with that episode (which we'll get to when that time rolls around), but for now, I will say that there will be differences between show-canon and this story-canon. :) Oh, and don't worry! I don't mind! Some stuff I just can't answer for privacy and anonymity purposes, but I encourage everyone to keep asking questions. :)
TimeyWimey12 - Yeah, I guess it is! The OC stories I've read have that feeling too. I have to admit, when I'm watching an older episode of the show, I wish Alex was there! :)
jesterlover - You're not messed up! I think if everything just worked out for the OC's, it would get pretty boring and unrealistic. And yes, more Doctor possessiveness and protectiveness! :)
