Sorry for the wait. I've been busy lately, but I should be getting chapters out a bit more regularly now. Enjoy.
The inside of the TARDIS was quiet and still. The gentle hum of the time vortex permeated every part of the ship. Every now and again a small light would blink on the console as the automated procedures kept the Eye of Harmony at optimum efficiency. Everything was peaceful and calm. Then the doors burst open and Alex sprinted inside, closely followed by the Doctor. If the TARDIS had a voice box it would have sighed, and if it had eyes it would have rolled them. Alex slammed the doors closed as the Doctor ran up to the console. They were both grinning, clearly having enjoyed themselves.
"Emperor Nero definitely doesn't like you," Alex said. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, with a roman helmet sitting on his head as an afterthought.
"I think he liked you less," the Doctor said.
"Hey, all I said was that his gods most likely didn't exist. Is that so hard to believe?"
The Doctor laughed. "For him, yes. I think they were actually about to start worshiping you."
"Really?" Alex looked interested.
"Don't even think about it."
Alex shrugged. "I wouldn't want to be a god anyway. Sounds way too boring."
The Doctor looked up from the console, noticed the helmet on Alex's head and frowned. "Where'd the helmet come from?" he asked.
"Hmm? Oh" Alex took off the helmet and grinned. "It's Nero's. I… borrowed it."
There was a loud thump-thump-thump and the doors rattled as someone banged on them. "Doctor!" someone outside shouted. "There is no escape! I know you're in there!"
Alex raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. "No escape?"
The Doctor grinned and pulled a lever. The TARDIS groaned, moaned and shook as it took off. The shouting outside faded into silence. The Doctor pulled another lever and the shaking eased, the TARDIS simply floating listlessly in the time vortex. Alex tossed the helmet away and sighed contentedly.
"That was relaxing," he said, taking a seat. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"Relaxing? We just got chased through the streets of Rome."
Alex shrugged. "Well it started off relaxing. What's that?" A high pitched beeping had started up, coming from the console. The Doctor frowned and brought the screen around, clicking a few buttons.
"Huh," he said. "Tank's getting low. Figuratively speaking, the TARDIS doesn't actually have a fuel tank. But she is getting low on fuel."
"And that means…?"
The Doctor grinned and flicked a switch. "We've got to make a pit stop."
"I can't imagine you can refuel at any old place. How do you fill up a time machine anyway?"
"You ever heard of Cardiff?" That Doctor asked.
"So let me get this straight. There's a city on Earth called Cardiff."
"Yep."
"And it's got a rift in time and space running through it."
"Yep."
"And you fill up the TARDIS by landing right on top of it and waiting?"
"Yep."
"Isn't landing a time machine on a rift in time and space dangerous?"
"Maybe a bit. But don't worry, I've done this before and nothing bad has happened. Well, nothing bad that I couldn't fix."
"That's comforting. What do we do while we wait?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Get some food, have a look around the city. Try to stay inconspicuous."
"That could be an issue," Alex said, wiggling his wings. "I can't exactly make these disappear."
The Doctor frowned. "That's a good point. Hmm… Oh hang on a tick." Alex raised an eyebrow as the Doctor ran off. A few minutes later he was back carrying a small box. "I picked this up a little while ago," he explained as he opened the box's lid. "This," he pulled out a small bracelet, "is a camouflage filter. It'll stop people from seeing your wings."
"What, does it make them invisible?"
"Not invisible so much, but unnoticed. A camouflage filter is sort of like an amped up perception filter. It alters the perception of anyone who looks at you, but instead of not noticing you they'll see you as what they think of as completely normal."
"That's actually pretty clever," Alex said as he took the perception filter. It was a thin ring of gold coloured metal. It was, on the whole, rather unremarkable. Alex slipped it over his hand and it hung loosely on his arm. A couple of shakes, however, proved that it wouldn't slip off again. A slight tingle ran over him.
"What do you think?" he asked the Doctor, who shook his head.
"It won't work on me because you already look normal to me. Plus I'm a bit harder to fool than a human."
Alex looked over his shoulder at the door. There was a thump as the TARDIS landed. "Well," he said. "One way to test it." He looked back at the Doctor. "If you hear screaming it probably hasn't worked."
The Doctor laughed as Alex walked out the doors. The angel shivered as a chill breeze washed over him. The cold didn't actually bother him, but approximating a human response would help him to blend in. He sighed inwardly. Humans and their fragile little bodies, he thought. How do they get around in those things?
The TARDIS had landed in the middle of a large square, paved in stone. One end ran out to a pier and at the other was a tall metal tower with water running down the sides. Several humans were wandering across the square.
"Excuse me," Alex called to one of them as he jogged over. The woman turned around, her pink coat pulled tight about her. "Hi, sorry to bother you," Alex said with a friendly smile, "but do you have the time?"
"Oh, yes it's uh…" the woman looked at her watch. "Nearly ten. Say, aren't you cold dressed like that?"
Alex laughed a bit and hugged himself, making it look like he was cold. "A bit. I was in a rush this morning and left my jacket at home."
The woman laughed a little. "Well it happens to all of us. Have a nice day."
"You too," Alex said as she walked away. He turned and walked back to the TARDIS. The Doctor was leaning on it with a smile.
"It works," Alex said.
"I noticed. That was a nice bit of fast talking there."
Alex shrugged. "Telling a lie is easy when you know what they'll believe."
"You know most species consider reading someone's mind without permission rude."
"Are humans one of them?"
"…No but that's not the point."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll try to keep the mind walking to a minimum. No promises though. Now, where do you want to go?"
"Well," The Doctor said, giving the area a sweeping look. "There is a nice little restaurant just down the road. I went there once with a Slitheen. Lovely chips."
"What's a Slitheen?"
"Mm. These are nice," Alex said as he tried the chips. The restaurant was fairly packed today. It looked like there was some kind of party going on across the other side of the room. Several tables had been pushed together and nearly a dozen people were sitting around, laughing, chatting and eating.
"I wonder what their celebrating," Alex said.
"Dunno," said the Doctor. "Probably a birthday or something."
At that moment several people came out of the kitchen, carrying a large cake topped with flickering candles. The people around the table cheered, one woman blushing furiously, and started to sing 'Happy Birthday'. Alex watched on as they finished the song and cheered again, several other people in the restaurant joining in. He smiled a little sadly.
"Is this what life is like for most beings?" he asked. The Doctor looked at him questioningly.
"What do you mean?"
Alex sighed. "I spent most of my life either as a statue or hiding from the sight of any other creature. Experiences like those… most of those emotions… they're completely foreign to me. I've never really known about enjoying company or… or throwing a party. I guess… I guess I'm just wondering what I've been missing out on." He paused, then gave the Doctor a smile. "Do you mind if I take a walk by myself for a bit?"
"Course," The Doctor said. "If I'm not here when you get back I'll be in the TARDIS."
"Got it," Alex said, getting up from his chair. "I'll see you later."
"See you."
Alex wasn't really sure where he wanted to go. He wasn't really sure why he wanted to leave either. Everything had suddenly got so complex. There was suddenly so much he didn't understand, hadn't experienced. He'd gone from being disconnected from the lives of other beings, to being lost in the midst of them. It was… jarring, to say the least.
Alex paused and frowned. For a second there… He took a deep sniff of the air. There it was. Something… not human. Definitely not from Earth. The smell of human was masking most of it, but underlying it was the scent of something alien. I'm turning into a sniffer-dog, Alex thought as he followed the scent. He followed it through the streets, sometimes losing it for a few moments before a fresh breeze would blow it towards him. Eventually he found himself in the back alleys. The alien scent was very strong now, but there was something else too. Some sort of metallic tang he didn't recognise. He turned a corner and stopped, eye wide.
"Oh," was all he said.
The alley before him was overturned. Trashcans lay on their sides, rubbish was strewn everywhere and covering it all was what once may have been a human. Blood had been splattered high up on the walls, and bone and viscera were scattered around carelessly. Whoever this person had been, something had torn them apart in the most violent manner possible. Alex slowly walked forward, careful not to step in any guts. The violence may not bother him, but that didn't mean he had to be impolite. Plus he didn't want blood all over his shoes.
"Hold it right there," came a voice from behind him. Alex whipped around, affecting a look of terror. The man before him was fairly tall, his build covered by the long, navy blue coat he wore. His hair was brown and short, his face handsome, with a strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. Oh, and he was pointing a gun at Alex.
"Please don't shoot me," Alex cried, acting scared out of his wits. "I – I don't know what happened. I just found it like this. This isn't real is it?"
The gun didn't waver and the man said, "Cut the act. Whatever cloaking tech you've got on isn't gonna work on me. Now what did you do to this person."
Realising he'd been caught, Alex dropped the act. "I didn't do anything," he said in an icy voice. "I really did just find it like this. And I would thank you not to attempt to threaten me," his wings flared behind him, "unless you want to get yourself killed."
The man tensed, cocking the hammer of his gun. Alex drew up his energy, preparing to kill.
Then, "Stop, stop! Don't shoot!" The man whipped around and Alex's eyes widened as the Doctor rushed around the corner.
"Doctor?" Alex and the man said. The man turned back to Alex. "You know him?" they chorused again. "He knows you?" They asked the Doctor. "How do you know him?" they asked each other.
"I travel with him," Alex said, crossing his arms. The man's eyebrows shot up.
"Oh," he said, lowering the gun slightly. He looked at the Doctor. "He telling the truth?" The Doctor nodded. "Huh. Alright then," he said as he holstered the gun. "In that case, sorry I was about to shoot you." Alex shrugged.
"You wouldn't have been able to hit me anyway," he said.
The man arched an eyebrow. "Well how about we start over." He offered his hand. Alex thought for a moment, then smiled and stepped forward.
"Sure. Hi, I'm Alexander Silver," he said, shaking the man's hand.
"Hi," The man said. "I'm Captain Jack Harkness."
"Oh here we go," The Doctor muttered to himself.
For Jack that's flirting.
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