~~OO~~II~~OO~~

((Texas: Part II))

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A smile was lazily spread across my face as I rode Dany along the dusty path, my two best friends (well, best friends besides the Doctor) riding on either side of me. Drevan, a tall man with sparkling eyes and carefully styled hair that made me giggle when he tried to change it every day, rode his own horse, a large Quarter Horse named Milo on my right. And my other friend, Catie, a fairly cheerful girl with dark hair and a grin on her face, rode Twist.

As I rode Dany the next day, I messed with the sonic screwdriver in my pocket, my eyes thoughtful. Clave hid, curled around my neck with my hair carefully arranged him so that nobody would see him. It was hard enough explaining and coming up with a reason as to why I was here without a warning. It's a completely different thing explaining what Clave was and what the thing in my pocket was to people who could barely believe time travel existed.

Speaking of time travel…I glanced at Catie, another wave of relief slipping over me. Thank goodness she was still here, as fine as she'd been when I left England. She hadn't gone back in time. And she hadn't mentioned anything strange, so I'd stayed quiet.

"So where have you been?" Drevan asked suddenly, startling me. I jumped and Clave gave a quiet hiss in my ear, warningly clutching my shoulder with his talons. We'd stopped by Mandy's so that I could change into not bloody clothes. I had replaced my clothes with white shorts and a fancy midnight blue tank top, as well as a pair of white sandals.

"Oh, just around, traveling with a new friend I made in England," I replied with a smirk, trusting Dany and showing it by saying back on his back and closing my eyes. "Went to a few places." And almost got killed a few times.

Catie raised an eyebrow. "And just who is your friend?"

I pursed my lips. Now this could be a hard question to answer. What had been the name he'd given Mandy? John Smith, right? "His name is John Smith. He's…a doctor, just not the kind you'd expect." Damn, shouldn't have said that!

"Then what kind is he?" Catie asked immediately as I'd expected.

I contemplated for a few moments, opening my eyes and looking up at the blue sky as Dany bobbed his head with a snort. Sitting up, I glanced over with a smile. "Oh, just trust me. He's a doctor. Now, what have I missed?" I cast Drevan a sly smile. "Any new guys you haven't told me about Drevan?"

Drevan flushed, scratching the back of his head with a grimace. "No," he said quickly, and I knew immediately that he was lying. "No new guys or nothin'."

Catie rolled her eyes, leaning over to mutter, "The idiot likes the guy that works at the coffee shop."

My eyebrows practically disappeared into my hair. "Oh. Well, then."

"Yeah," she said with a snicker.

In an immediate backfire, my flushing friend asked, "What about you Ali? You're traveling with a guy. You like him?"

"He's a good friend," I said simply, smiling at the thought of the Doctor bouncing around the TARDIS, then frowned. It had only been a few hours and I was worried for him. Would he still be in the TARDIS, or would he actually be running around London doing exactly what I told him not to do? My hands tightened around the reins and I bit my lip. I should've gone with him.

Suddenly, the phone in my pocket rang.

The phone with the shattered screen, which had been sitting in the same pocket as the now buzzing sonic screwdriver… Cursing, I ripped it out of my pocket, and then blinked. Someone was calling, though the phone had been dead for a long time as well as smashed. Except…it wasn't smashed. I felt paper on the back of it and flipped it over, a smile spreading across my face. That sneaky Doctor…

It rang again. "You gonna answer that?" Drevan questioned.

I snorted, raising the phone to my ear. "Who is it, what have I done this time, and what can I do for you? And please hurry it up, I'm attempting to explain to my friends that I'm not insane and no, the guy I ran off with isn't really a madman."

"Well that's a disappointment," a familiar cheeky voice said, tone cheerful. "I would've thought you'd learned by now that I'm the madman with the blue box."

I grinned. "Doctor!" I said cheerfully. Catie was immediately reaching over to snatch my phone away, but I warded her off by swatting her hands away and startling Twist. Twist gave a nervous whinny, sidestepping and she was forced to distract herself by calming him. "Seriously, what can I do for you? You coming back soon?"

"Actually, no, no I'm not," the Doctor replied with a sigh. I could imagine him running a hand through his hair as he sucked in a breath. "You see, the TARDIS is going to need another six hours on top of the original forty eight- No! Don't touch that button, you'll set us into motion before we're ready to leave and blow the entire thing up!"

My eyebrows had to have disappeared into my bangs. "What did you do this time, Doctor? It's only been a day."

He chuckled nervously. "Ah, well. You see, there were these two aliens…"

I groaned. "I told you to stay in the…vehicle and not get out until I was back with you, you idiot! What happened? Were you hurt?"

"No, I wasn't hurt. It was just harder than I thought escaping a prison without my sonic- I told you not to do anything! Go sit over there by the doors! If you touch anything again, I'm kicking you out! I have places to go, you know!"

I rolled my eyes. "So you just called to tell me about the extra time I get to have, right?"

"Yes, yes," the Doctor muttered impatiently, then added, "Oh! I also wanted to give you this number in case you needed me. Call it and I'll answer it."

"Great!" I said cheerfully, smirking. "Now, anything else?"

"No. You have fun; I should be there in a few days. Be careful, Ali. Other species are attracted to you like…any comparison, really. So try to stay out of trouble until I come back for you."

"I know," I said impatiently. "We've had this conversation, remember? Clave got annoyed."

He chuckled, and then there was a click, signaling that the Time Lord had hung up his phone. I quickly added the contact into my phone, and then tucked it away…only to realize that Catie had dug in my pocket, pulling out the sonic screwdriver, showing it to Drevan and muttering between the two.

"HEY!" I snapped, holding my hand out. Cheeks flushing, Catie returned it to my hand. "That thing is very, very important. It isn't a toy. No messing around with it, got it?"

"Alright, alright," Catie muttered, a slight pout appearing on her face as she added, "But tell us what it is? Did your friend give it to you?"

I nodded, gently running my fingers over the sonic screwdriver, relieved. "Yeah," I mumbled. "It's his most treasured belonging besides the thing we travel in and he never lets anyone have it for more than a few minutes, so it's a miracle he let me have it. He had to go for a few days, so it's his promise that he'll come back."

Drevan grinned. "That's sweet," he teased. "So you are-"

"No, Drevan," I huffed. "I assure you! I'm not!" I rolled my eyes, and then sighed. "Now, let's head back, shall we? Mandy is probably waiting on us with dinner done, and Dany's been out here for a while now. He needs his- Ow! Clave, what the hell! Get back here!"

Clave's talons had suddenly dug into my shoulder, and after flying off of my shoulders, he disappeared into the grass with a piercing shriek that chilled my blood. Dany immediately sidestepped, slamming into Milo. Drevan cursed and I threw my reins at Catie before leaping from Dany's back. I winced as pain flared up my knees, but took off running after Clave. We were close to the city, and if he got close…

I nearly tripped over him when I finally reached him again. He was standing on the rise of a hill, hissing quietly with a look of almost fear. When I looked out over the city, the breath left me and my eyes widened.

I knew those silver men, the silver men that stormed around before us, the silver men that caused screaming as they forced people where they wanted them. I'd drawn them. I'd drawn them more than once. I could've sworn the Doctor had mentioned them at some point, too, I thought in distress. Smoke rose from more than one burning building.

A gasp beside me caught my attention and I winced when Catie appeared beside me, her eyes widening as well at the sight of our home being destroyed. Clave whined, scrabbling up my shoulder, but she didn't notice. "What are they?"

Not even bother to come up with something, I said dully, tone blunt, "I don't know. The Doctor would know. He always knows…come on; let's see if we can get him back on the phone again." We turned and darted back for Drevan and the horses. As I swung onto Dany's back when the horse had lowered himself for me, I jerked my phone out of my pocket, calling the number back from earlier.

It rang a few times, but there was no answer. Instead, I got a voice mail saying cheerfully, "Hello, this is Martha Jones! If I'm not answering the phone, call me back later!"

Who the hell is Martha Jones?

I groaned, stuffing my phone away again and wheeling Dany around. I glanced at my friends. Catie was explaining things to Drevan, her face white. I shook my head. "Okay, explanations later. We need to get back to Mandy. We're screwed if we're caught."

I heeled Dany into a gallop. He sprang forward, Twist and Miko easily keeping up. Clave's talons gently digging into my shoulder were a quiet comfort as he purred reassuringly in my ear, wrapped around my neck. Drevan finally noticed him. "What's that thing?"

"This is Clave, and he's a conversation we'll have when there aren't metal men destroying all of Austin," I retorted, thinking intently. What should I do? I had nothing but Clave, my normal friends, and a sonic screwdriver. The Doctor wasn't answering 'Martha Jone's' phone, whoever she was. So what the hell did I do against the silver men?

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

Naturally, the first thing I did was grab an expo marker and draw all over Mandy's nice looking bar. An image of the silver men appeared beneath the marker, my eyes narrowed with concentration as I quickly made notes as to what could be different. When Mandy screeched at me, I snapped back, "There are things destroying the city. Chill. Now, let's see. They're like robots- no, they are robots. So they've gotta have some weakness, right?"

Drevan raised an eyebrow from where he stood, crossing his arms. "You going to tell us full out what's going on?"

"There are metal men destroying the city," I stated bluntly.

Catie tilted her head thoughtfully, pressing her lips together with a huff. "Anything else that you know and we don't?"

I threw my hands in the air, exasperated. "Yes, actually. I travel with a Time Lord that has two hearts and happens to be named the Doctor in his police box called the TARDIS, which actually happens to be bigger on the inside. It goes anywhere in space and time, and is currently fueling up somewhere in London, England, meaning I'm stuck here until around three o' clock tomorrow afternoon without any way of contact since the idiot won't answer the phone, so I'm basically screwed."

"What about that thing?" Catie asked, waving at my pocket. "You know, that thing your friend gave you?"

I pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "You mean this?" I questioned. "It's a sonic screwdriver. It fixes things, unlocks doors, and does nothing against wood. It's nowhere near a weapon. Like I said, we're screwed unless I can figure out how to use it."

"…shit," Catie said in a rare curse, crossing her arms with furrowed brows. "What do we do then? We can't just let those things run around and keep doing what they're doing."

"Why do you think I'm trying to figure out a plan then?" I sighed in exasperation. "Honestly! Stick with my mind, guys! You're so slow today." They glared at me and I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back onto the situation beforehand. "Alright, let me try and call the Doctor again, let me see what he says. If he doesn't answer, I'll take Milo and go check out what's going on since she's the fastest."

"What do we do?" Drevan asked. "You can't just tell us to sit here and do nothing, Ali; we need to help, too."

I bit my lip, narrowing my eyes thoughtfully. "Hm…Mandy, Catie, go drive the animals somewhere safe. Drevan, you keep an eye on the news, see what they're saying."

Mandy pouted, but herded Catie outside to Dany and Twist, and Drevan scowled before going to turn on the TV, calling over his shoulder. "You hurry up and get back as soon as you can," he told me with a tone that left no room for argument. "I don't think they'll be exactly nice to you if they catch you."

I nodded. "Clave," I said sharply, holding out my arm. The small alien scrambled up and whirled around my neck, tightly wrapped around me as I ducked out the front door again. I found Milo tied up, and she nickered to me as I untied the reins, pursing my lips anxiously as I swung up onto her back. "Come on," I murmured to her, clicking my tongue. She took off at a gallop, ears swiveling.

Eventually, after a few minutes of hard riding, I slowed Milo to a canter. She was wheezing slightly, frothing as I swung off of her back. "Sorry, girl, I'll give you treats later," I mumbled, patting her neck before sneaking up a hill to peer over it, checking out the area before me. It was an outskirt of Austin, with houses but parts of the city as well. Houses were up in flames, people gathered in the streets. Children screamed and cried, adults huddled together with silent fear as the silver men stated in monotone tones, "You will be upgraded."

I narrowed my eyes, and Clave hissed from his spot around my neck. Suddenly, something bumped my foot, and I cursed quietly I surprise, looking down as pain flared up me. In a flash, Clave had darted down off of my shoulders, locking his jaws around the small silver mouse-like thing. Its sharp fangs released my foot, squealing as Clave crumpled it between strong jaws. "Good boy," I gasped, clasping my bleeding foot and holding it with a wince.

Then I turned my attention on the thing in my pet's jaws. Its claws clicked open and close, then stopped and Clave dropped it in my hand so that I could examine it with narrowed gray eyes. "Is it part of their thing?" I asked myself softly, pursing my lips. "Does it belong to them? Looks like them…"

The phone in my pocket rang and I dug it out, raising my phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Ali?"

"Drevan," I greeted sharply, stuffing the thing into Milo's saddle bag. "What is it? Anything new?"

Drevan sounded wary as he spoke again. "Uh, yeah. The things made an announcement on TV, the Cybermen they're called. Oh! Here, they're repeating the Cybermen's message…"

He must have held the phone to the TV, because I suddenly heard, "You will give us the Successor. The Successor will be upgraded. Bring the Successor. The Successor will be upgraded."

"Basically, it goes on and on like that," Drevan said into the phone after he'd pulled it away. "Do you know what it means?"

I swallowed, my face paling as I stroked my wonderful Clave's plated head, smiling a dry smile. "Yes, I do. The Successor is me. They want me. I wonder why…damn!" I cursed, hurling a rock away from me. Clave flinched, hiding his head. I guiltily stroked his head. "How many deaths, Drevan?"

"Dozens so far," he answered gravely.

I rubbed my temple, climbing to my feet after letting Clave circle my neck again. Milo shifted as I swung onto her back. "Alright, here's the plan. Get Mandy and Catie to the back of the property, keep them there-"

"They're gone, Ali," Drevan rasped, tone sorrowful. "I saw it out the window. They would've come in here, but Catie convinced them they were the only two. I'm sorry."

My blood ran cold. No. Mandy was the last one. I wouldn't lose her, too. I couldn't lose Mandy. She was the woman who'd taken me in; who'd raised me from the age of four after my family had mysteriously died. She couldn't be gone.

And Catie…

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm going in then. I won't let them be…whatever those things are going to do because of me-"

Beep. Incoming call.

I glanced at the screen, a flare of hope in me as I recognized the number. "Drevan, stay inside. I'm going to call the Doctor again, talk with him. You be careful until I get back. I don't want you disappearing, too. Keep watching the news."

"Got it."

Click!

I immediately switched calls, giving a relieved cry of, "Doctor! Thank God you called! We need you over here as soon as you can if it's possible. I don't care if you have to hunt down Jack and use that manipulator of his, I need you here. Now."

"Why? What's wrong?" the Doctor demanded immediately, tone dark with hardly concealed anger. "Ali, what happened?"

"Have you seen any American news recently?" I demanded in return, not answering his question. "Doctor, there are these things here, they're destroying Austin, Texas. Drevan said they called themselves Cybermen-"

I was interrupted by an impressive growl on the Doctor's part, followed by words that I wouldn't ever repeat in the presence of children. "There are Cybermen?! Why didn't you call me sooner?"

I frowned. "I did. You didn't answer. By the way, who the hell is Martha?"

"Old friend of mine needs help every now and then, this used to be her phone," he answered, then said slowly, "I can't get there any time before tomorrow. My sonic would be able to reverse the effects of Jack's manipulator, but…"

"I have it," I finished, touching the said screwdriver. "What about the TARDIS? Is there anything in it that can help you get over here? I mean, as long as you get here, it'll just be a long flight back to London."

"I have nothing," he stated gently, "I can't get there, Ali, and if I try, it'll be too late. The Cybermen have to have a control center somewhere nearby. Look for that. I'll see what I can find in the TARDIS and keep updated on what's happening through the old girl, too. Don't try the sonic; you might end up destroying it and hurting yourself. If you can't figure anything out…I'll be there tomorrow, as soon as I'm able." To himself, he murmured, "No wonder the TARDIS has been so restless. She kept making this strange sound…"

I bit my lip in distress. "You've gone against them before, haven't you?"

"Yes. And I almost always have close calls. Be careful, Ali. This is the third time I've said that, but this time, I mean it. Hide yourself if you have to, and whoever's with you. I won't lose another companion." His tone became dark, obviously angry. "I'll think of something. I'll see you soon."

Click.

Somewhere in my mind, the thought appeared.

The Oncoming Storm is not happy.

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

By the time I returned to Mandy's home, I was covered in dust, sore, and just tired. Tired of everything for the moment, actually. Clave slid from my shoulders and Milo's back, and I followed, patting Milo's neck gratefully before ducking inside and calling miserably. "Drevan?"

"Here!" He appeared; looking relieved, and hugged me tightly despite the dust. "I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I should've tried to go after them and find out what they're going to do with Mandy and Catie…"

"No," I told him, "You shouldn't have. Then I wouldn't have had my spy for the news. The Doctor can't do anything until he gets here tomorrow. We have less than twelve hours to survive and then he'll be here. That's what he said. Now, did they say anything new?"

He gave a brief smile, looking just as tired as I did. Drevan must have been worrying himself to the point of insanity, I noted dully. "Yeah. They seem smarter than they should be," he mused, attempting to joke, and then said seriously, "They said if the Successor stepped forward, everyone would be released. They would let everyone go and leave, just like that."

"You think they mean it?" I murmured. If Mandy would be alright…

He shook his head though. "No, I don't," Drevan said honestly, his voice soft. He threw himself onto a couch, and I dropped down beside him. Clave climbed into our laps, stretched out happily. "Don't you dare go around getting any ideas."

"I'm not giving myself up to them," I said glumly, half lying. If it came down to it, I would. I'd give myself up in a heartbeat. But I had a few words for the Doctor first…

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Drevan and I froze, going silent until a voice called, "May I come in?"

We exchanged looks. "They're robotic," Drevan muttered. "Let 'em in."

I nodded. "Sure," I called back warily.

And then a woman who looked around forty came in. She was smiling, her eyes practically glowing with amusement. "Hello, Ali," she said with a cheerful tone. She smiled even more broadly at Drevan. "Drevan. Nice to see you."

Drevan flushed, dropping his gaze and I groaned. "Professor," I greeted with a groan. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be running around screaming like everyone else while we think of a plan to save the day?"

"Ah," she said, waving off my rhetorical question. "I'm not like that, I'm much smarter than that, I assure you." Suddenly, she withdrew something from the pocket of the jacket she wore. I frowned as she revealed a book, a blue journal with sketches and writing in it. Her hair seemed to dance around her face as she began skipping through pages. "Let's see…oh!

As Professor pouted, I couldn't help but groan in exasperation. Drevan nudged me reassuringly. Put up with Professor for a few moments and she'd leave, just like she always did.

"Hm..." Professor muttered. "Have you been to England yet?"

I blanched. "I lived there and still do. I've been living there for a while now, Professor. You should know that. I talked with you about that when you questioned me quitting your class."

"Yes," she nodded, "Yes you definitely did…" She scanned through the journal again. "If you're here visiting, then that means you've met the Doctor?"

I froze. "You know the Doctor?" I gasped, snapping forward and narrowing my eyes hopefully at her. "He hasn't mentioned you to me at all, and he's mentioned quite a few people since Canziar… How do you know him?"

A smug smile curved her lips into a crescent as Professor River Song simply said, "Spoilers."

~~OO~~II~~OO~~

A/N: It's terrible. *head desk* I know it is. And I once again have no reviewers to thank…please review on what you thought? I'm going crazy. x_x