It was raining in London again. Not surprising—but there was something almost cozy about the familiar drizzle, Ruby thought, as the Doctor nearly threw open the TARDIS doors.
"Oh, look at that!" the dark-skinned man said with a smile, glancing back at Ruby warmly. "London has such a talent for the dramatic." He'd chosen to wear a long, high-necked blue coat, bright enough to contrast with the dreary atmosphere.
Ruby laughed as she stepped out behind him skipping ahead happily. She looked around, taking in the buildings and sense of her own time, appreciating the way the reflection of the streetlights flickered like old film reels on the slick pavement. The TARDIS had materialized between two crumbling brick buildings in an alley that smelled of old oil and forgotten curry—but it was still home.
She opened the umbrella in her hand as the Doctor shut the door to the telephone box. Then he turned and put his arm around her. The older brother she'd never had, even with all her mother's foster children. Their boots squelched in the gray puddles of collected grime.
She still loved it.
"Mum'd call it grim," she pointed out. "Gran'd say naff."
"She'd say more than that," the Doctor replied with that familiar smile.
Ruby grinned right back. "She would, wouldn't she. They'd be right." Not that she cared. After the war-planet where it didn't snow at all…
Except when she'd made it snow.
Somehow.
Shaking her head, she focused back on the Doctor, nodding almost thoughtfully if it weren't for that teasing glint in his eyes.
"They would be. It is perfectly miserable," the Doctor agreed, flashing that unmistakable grin of his. "But you love it."
She laughed again. "I do."
"Then it makes for a perfect breather."
"A vacation!" she added.
"Time out," he continued. "Because sometimes, a rainy Earth evening in London is exactly what the doctor orders."
Ruby snorted and rolled her eyes, skipping ahead to catch up with him. "Is that why you didn't land in Mum's flat?"
He seemed to think on that for a moment before grinning. "Basically, yeah."
"You think it'll help us avoid catastrophes?" she teased.
He seemed to think about that. "Hmm… No."
She sent him a pointed look. "Doctor."
"I'm sure whatever's around that corner," he pointed to the opening of the alley not a metre away, "will be young and sweet and innocent and completely in trouble."
"We came here for a vacation!"
He just shrugged and turned to walk into the street, the git. Ruby sighed and followed. Maybe she and the Doctor shouldn't go directly home just yet. Traveling with the Doctor had maybe made her a little paranoid, but could anyone blame her?
She opened her mouth to comment on her thoughts when a child turned the corner and almost ran straight into her.
"Whoa!" she said, trying to stop her forward momentum, waving the arm not holding her umbrella to keep her balance. She thankfully managed to avoid knocking the child over.
The Doctor stepped to the side, glanced at his companion to make sure she was okay (and shoot her an 'I-told-you-so' look—had she mentioned he's a git?) before he crouched in front of the kid. A girl, Ruby tentatively thought. She couldn't have been older than seven: pale, with a blue raincoat clinging to her and dripping with water. She had wide, brown eyes that seemed to take everything in with both childlike wonder and worry.
"Hello there," the Doctor said, voice soft and kind, par for the course when dealing with children.
The girl looked down. "Hi," she said quietly.
"Are you lost?" Ruby asked.
The girl bit her lip and looked past them. She shouldn't have been able to see the TARDIS or it shouldn't stand out to her, but whatever she did see seemed to help her collect herself.
"I'm looking for a doctor."
What?
Ruby and the Doctor exchanged a concerned glance.
"What kind of doctor?" Ruby asked slowly.
"She told me to find the box—the blue one, with the stars in it. The doctor she needs would be nearby."
Ruby felt her heart skip a beat as she exchanged worried glances with the Doctor. He said he had allies on Earth in her time, but none of them would bring in a child like this.
Would they? Ruby had certainly never met them.
"She?" the Doctor asked—his voice still kind, but with a steel edge underneath.
"My stone lady. She talks to me."
Ruby had seen the Doctor angry, frustrated, upset, and downright terrified to a point of crying, but she'd never seen his face got stone-cold blank like that. Normally, when they came across something serious, she could still get a read on what he was trying to hide. But just then? The only other time she'd seen him so still was when he'd stepped on that landmine.
Just to check, she looked down to make sure nothing was there, but just saw dirty, wet pavement.
"She said to go find a Doctor," the child continued. "I think she's sick."
"Doctor?" Ruby asked slowly.
"Did she?" the Doctor said to the girl, his voice carefully calm as he stood from his crouch. "And where might this stone lady be?"
"On the corner, near the sweets shop. She's in the rain, and she's always so cold. I tried to bring her my favorite blanket yesterday, but it didn't help."
The Doctor's jaw tightened for just a second—before his usual warm smile returned. Though she could still see the strain. He was starting to scare her again.
"Well then. Lead the way!" he said.
The girl tipped her head to one side skeptically. "Are you a doctor?"
He leaned down and said in a stage whisper, "I'm The Doctor."
"Oh, good! I wanted to help, but Mum said I gotta get home soon."
The Time Lord nodded. "You should always listen to your Mum." He shot a look at Ruby that said to stay alert. She just nodded and fell into step beside him as they followed the girl into London.
Minutes later, they stood on a quiet street corner, staring at… a statue.
Ruby didn't visit this part of town often, but she was sure she would've remembered a statue of an Angel. Was it a new marketing gimmick? Or…
She realized the Doctor had stopped several feet back—his smile long gone, face once again carefully blank.
"So, can you help?" the child asked.
Ruby realized neither she nor the girl had introduced themselves and opened her mouth to do just that—when the Doctor spoke up.
"Absolutely, we can help. Though we'll have to take your friend somewhere safe. So why not say goodbye and head home, yeah?"
The girl tipped her head, reluctant. "You promise you'll help?"
"I promise I'll do the best I can," he said.
Ruby frowned. That didn't sound like the Doctor. Sure, he could be cryptic, but he didn't usually dodge questions like that.
The girl didn't seem to notice. "Okay," the she said with a nod. Then she rushed forward and threw her arms around the statue.
The Doctor rushed forward instantly, making Ruby jump. An alarmed noise strangled in his throat and one arm outstretched as if he expected something to happen. But he slowed to a stop next to his companion when nothing did.
Ruby looked between him and the girl, wondering what she'd missed. She really hated it when he reacted to thinks she didn't—couldn't—understand sometimes.
"Goodbye!" the girl called, waving and running off down the street. "Take care!"
"Bye!" Ruby called after her.
When the girl disappeared down another street, the blonde dropped her pleasant expression and turned to look at the Doctor, wanting an explanation. To her frustration, he didn't seem to notice. No, he was too busy glaring at the statue as if it had personally offended him.
She looked back at it, searching for something she'd missed. But it was just a statue. The rain coating it flickered in the streetlight. It stood with a blank expression, hands locked together in front.
Ruby glanced around—but whether due to the rain or the time of day, this part of the city wasn't busy. She could see a couple of people farther down the street, but no one nearby.
No one else for the Doctor to glare at.
Right. Well, he always had a reason for acting the way he did.
"Doctor?" she asked carefully.
For once, he ignored her. "What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.
"Excuse me?" she said, offended. It took her several seconds to realize he wasn't talking to her.
Was he talking to the statue?
Before she could finish processing that, something flitted at the corner of her vision. She whipped her head to follow the flicker. If it had been warmer, she might've thought it was a shimmer of heat in the distance. But after a moment, the disturbance stopped. Buzzing faintly and hovering in the air, Ruby came face-to-face with a tiny, insect-like shape with luminous wings. Its body shimmered in hues of sea-glass green and coppery gold, looking almost organic but gleaming with a subtle metallic sheen. It looked natural, but carried an undeniable hum of automation—like alien tech mimicking life.
"Oh," she breathed, unable to keep the awe out of her voice. Then she remembered they were on Earth. In 2024.
"Oh," she said with a completely different inflection.
"The client wishes to enter into a discussion with only the entity known as the Doctor," it said in a mechanical voice.
The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Of course! A Tether-Mite. Disparian technology. Sentient translator drone. She can't speak, so she found a Mite to speak for her. Also—Ruby stays. That's non-negotiable."
"Wait—can't speak?" Ruby asked, grateful the Doctor finally seemed to be addressing her again.
She watched him almost shut down—like something heavy had dropped inside him—before he visibly steeled himself, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Ruby noticed he hadn't turned away from the statue. Not entirely.
"I was hoping we wouldn't run into one of these," he said quietly. "This is a Weeping Angel. One of the most terrifying and dangerous creatures in the universe."
Ruby looked between him and the statue several times.
Was he serious?
This couldn't be a joke, right? He could have an… intense sense of humor, but not this kind of elaborate setup wasn't his style. However... had she mentioned it was a statue? She thought the Doctor was just humoring the girl—or maybe there was something going on but…
It was a literally a. Stone. Statue.
The Doctor must have sensed she wasn't quite buying it, because he took a deep breath.
"Let me tell you about two of my previous companions: Amy Pond and her husband, Rory Williams."
And he did.
It had happened hundreds of years ago for him, when he'd been a completely different person.
Ruby had known he was old, but that drove the point home. She didn't interrupt, though.
Then he launched into an explanation on how some creatures were quantum-locked to a point where they became stone when they were observed. Like Schrödinger's cat—except they were always dead when you saw them, but the moment you looked away, they came back to life.
She'd followed that… mostly. Even though the Doctor was still watching the statue, Ruby decided she would too. In case he needed to blink or something. Could the Angel move when someone blinked? She asked.
Apparently, yes they could. She gulped and the Doctor went on.
He explained how they fed—how they would send people into the past and feed on all their lost possibilities. That's what had happened to Amy and Rory. They'd been sent back in time, and he'd only been able to find their graves afterward.
That… didn't sound so bad to Ruby. Not something she wanted, sure, but still—not so bad.
But then the Doctor spoke of how people had to find new ways to integrate into the older world. How difficult it could be. How frustrating and depressing. It could be good for some victims—but very, very bad for others.
That had been why he was so afraid when the girl hugged the statue. He'd expected the Angel to send her back in time.
But she hadn't.
He said all of that while glaring the Angel in the eyes. Those blank, stone eyes.
Once he finally seemed to run out of steam, he let out a long breath and took a step back, looking the Angel up and down, frowning.
When Ruby had first started traveling with the Doctor, she probably would've stepped closer out of sheer curiosity.
Fear had never been something to hold her back.
Several hard lessons had taught her to be more cautious, especially with things (or people) the Doctor was wary of. Truthfully, she wanted to touch the statue, make sure it (no, her—the Doctor had said 'her') was as stone as she looked, but the blond held back.
For now.
"Okay," Ruby finally said, watching her companion carefully. "I do have a question, though."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "Just one?" He said it with a wan smile, but he was trying.
She rolled her eyes fondly, then let her attention drift back to the statue. "If they're supposed to be Weeping Angels—always covering their eyes—why isn't this one?"
The Doctor's jaw tightened. "Unless there are others—and there aren't. I scanned the area first—there's no need to hide her eyes. She won't make another Angel freeze into rock because there are none."
"Do not speak of the dead so casually," a more feminine voice said coldly, making both Ruby and the Doctor jump. Ruby whipped her head around, but only saw the Tether-Mite. Anyone else was either blocks away or inside, sheltered from the rain, and it was late enough that that part of the city felt empty. The occasional car drove by, but otherwise, they were still alone.
"Wait, did you…?" she started, taking a step closer to the Tether-Mite.
"I speak for the client," the Mite said robotically, its voice mechanical and lacking inflection.
That seemed to make sense to the Doctor, because he moved on. Right. Well Ruby could roll with punches."She's not in a normal position. That means this is no coincidence," the Doctor finally said quietly, though his voice was anything but soft. "She's been following and waiting. For me."
Well, that wasn't creepy at all.
Ruby took a step back. "Why?" she asked slowly.
The Doctor stepped forward, arms crossed. He was completely soaked by the rain at this point but didn't seem to notice in the least.
"That's a good question. Alright, Angel, I'm here. So talk."
The Tether-Mite pulsed, light rippling down its sides, and it spoke once again in the more feminine tone. Ruby could hear the underlying fear, though. She was sure of it.
"Please," the Angel said through the Mite. "I need help. They're all gone. All of them. He came for us and now it's just… me. Please."
The Doctor didn't answer. Ruby looked between him and the Angel, trying to read nuance she wasn't sure she could understand.
"Who's he?"
The Tether-Mite twisted in the air, backing away. In… fear? Was it projecting the statue's fear? Or was that its own?
"Our oldest enemy. The one we needed to hide from."
The Doctor's eyes narrowed.
The mite continued in the second voice. "I know who you are. My host was a small group who managed to survive New York. I know… you destroyed us once. I know you can do it again. But he's worse. He's not of this universe. Not of any universe. He used to eat us, but we could hide. Now he eats time. It's how he finds us."
The Doctor's eyes burned and his fists clenched.
"Beings like that don't just pop up overnight," he said calmly, though with a tightness Ruby wasn't used to seeing in his jaw. "The Time Lords would have known about something like that. We had records of every major time predator throughout all of time. There's nothing—nothing—that fits that description." He paused and frowned. "Nothing real in any case."
The shiver that ran up Ruby's spine made her squirm.
The Tether-Mite twisted and turned in the air anxiously.
"I speak the truth," it insisted in the Angel's voice.
"Really?" The Doctor scoffed derisively. "You know, you have some nerve coming to me after everything. Were you on that planet? Did you try to kill Amy first? Or was it just New York? You're part of the reason why—" he paused, cutting himself off and taking a deep breath. Ruby's thoughts went back to his story, and how he'd finally had to say goodbye to his friends for good. Apparently, talking about it once was his limit.
Understandable. Ruby put a hand on his arm, ignoring how wet it was from the rain.
His face settled back into a more neutral expression. "And then you come here without even an apology. Hundreds of years and I still can't find it in my hearts to forgive you for that—for any of it. I once called your species the nicest psychopaths in the universe. I thought it was kind of you to let people live their lives. You're really just the cruelest."
The Angel didn't move, of course, but the Tether-Mite floated a little lower, mildly more calm if still twitching oddly. Ruby kept a wary eye on it.
"Doctor," the Mite said in the Angel's voice, "I am the last. I do not know how to live without my host, but I will try. I just… I want to live. Please."
A long, uncomfortable silence fell between them, but her words seemed to have reached the Time Lord. Ruby knew he had trauma regarding the loss of his entire species—how could he not? The fear in the being's voice had struck a chord, though; in both of them.
Finally, he let out a long breath. "You're not coming in the TARDIS."
The Tether-Mite seemed to perk up at that. Ruby wasn't sure how to describe it, but it seemed more... hopeful?
"I still don't think it's as bad as you're saying, but I can look into it. And if you can survive the Vortex hanging on like a gargoyle, we'll talk once we get there."
He turned to Ruby, finally taking his eyes off of the Angel for the first time. Ruby couldn't help but watch it—her—in his place.
"Get where?" she asked before he could say anything. She didn't like the sound of any of this. She didn't like how upset the Doctor seemed. She didn't like the idea of something feeding off of something like this. It… scared her, a lot, but she wanted to be there—to support him. Like any good friend would. Like he'd supported her.
He glanced between her and the Angel one final time before marching past her, face grim. She decided to follow him, but backwards so as to keep her eye on the Angel. It was awkward, but she wasn't sure she trusted the being with her back—or with the Doctor's. Not yet.
For a moment, she didn't think he'd answer her question, but thankfully, after a couple of blocks, he did. "If there's a being out there I don't know about, we need to find information on it. There's only one place that would have any of that information. We're going to a Time Lord archive buried in the Edge Nebula on a lost moon. TARDIS will know the one I mean. No one's been there for centuries. Except me."
Ruby nodded slowly as they turned a corner. The Doctor paused and glanced back at the empty edge of the building. Ruby couldn't help but look at him worriedly. After a moment, he gestured back the way they'd come with his head. Slowly, she crept to the edge and peeked around.
The Angel stood right there.
Ruby couldn't help it if she let out a shriek.
"Remember," The Doctor said, sounding tired, "she physically can't move while any sentient, sapient being is watching her. And she's somehow avoiding all the cameras. Naturally." He let out a long breath. "Of course not. Leaving images behind would just draw a time predator to her."
And Ruby couldn't help but feel a little bad that that was the first time she'd truly believed everything the Doctor had said. Not that she hadn't believed him before, but it had been a statue. Now it was a moving statue. That was... incredibly creepy.
Swallowing, she turned and hurried to walk closer to the Doctor, facing forward this time, though she continued to glance back. The Angel kept changing positions, getting closer—following them. The Tether-Mite stayed at her shoulder.
"We really don't get normal nights, do we?" she finally said, hoping to lighten the mood a little. "Haven't ever since I met you."
It worked. The Doctor finally smiled, even though he still held his sonic screwdriver in his hand. He'd relaxed though, so she'd call it a win. "Wouldn't know what to do with one."
It was her turn to laugh. And maybe it was a little strained, but could anyone blame her?
The TARDIS finally came into view, and the Doctor paused, turning to the Angel, who had appeared behind them again. The Tether-Mite seemed surprised and hid behind the angel's head. Ruby almost wanted to do the same with the Doctor—hide behind him. But she'd never hidden from anything in her life and wasn't about to start now, creepy statue or not.
"If you even think about trying to get inside, the deal's off," he said, pointing his screwdriver at the statue. "Understand?"
The Tether-Mite peeked around the side of the Angel. "Yes," it said in the Angel's voice.
The Doctor pursed his lips but nodded. Then, to Ruby's surprise, and while staying focused on the Angel, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. She frowned, wondering why, when the TARDIS door opened. Ruby felt her eyebrows rise. Oh. He didn't do that often, and never so blatantly.
"The Tether-Mite can come inside."
The little creature (robot? Android?) paused in the air for a beat, pulsing a gentle gold-green—an almost uncertain flicker—before it zipped into the TARDIS with a soft whir. The Doctor kept staring at the Angel, as if looking for some reason—any reason—to tell her to figure her situation out herself. It was so unlike him.
Ruby shifted uncomfortably. Finally, the Doctor turned and marched inside. Gulping, his companion followed behind. She looked back only once more and caught a glimpse of the Angel standing next to the TARDIS, hand reaching out as if about to grip onto the corners.
The blond just swallowed again and walked inside.
Once the doors closed, she let out a long breath, relieved. She hadn't realized how tense she'd been or how unsafe she'd felt outside.
"Hold on," the Doctor said.
She nodded and reached out to the nearest rail as the engines roared—screeched really, but it was about the same in her opinion—to life.
Outside, the blue box and the Angel statue holding onto it vanished into the wind.