Chapter Text
“What on earth was that?”
The Doctor 's eyes flew open as his head whipped up, smacking his forehead against the low-hanging ceiling. “What?” he murmured, rubbing his head with his right hand. He tried focusing on the woman in front of him and winced at her look.
“The carriage, Theta,” Reinette said, her pretty face narrowing in annoyance. “Were you asleep this entire time?”
He smiled sheepishly, his head still smarting. “Not the entire time, no. Just the past,” he looked out the carriage's window and noted the sun's position, “forty-eight minutes and nineteen seconds.”
She huffed. “We've been traveling for only an hour, Theta. Honestly,” she continued, pulling out a mirror and checking her reflection, “sometimes it's as if you're trying to offend me.”
Again he smiled, but felt his face fall when she didn't return it. Sighing, he looked out the window. “What's wrong with the carriage?”
“That's what I'm trying to find out. Louis!” she called to the driver, placing her compact back in her purse. They both heard the quickened footsteps of the driver as he scrambled down from his post and whisked open the door.
“M'lady,” he said, breathing hard, “there seems to be some trouble in the street.”
“Trouble?' she asked. “What kind of trouble?”
“The Pythians, m'lady. They are holding a protest.”
“A protest?” asked the Doctor, “brilliant!”
And with that, he swung the door open the rest of the way and landed on the slightly damp and muddy street. He breathed in the smell of the market place, full of spices and roasting meat, and watched in delight as the flags and colors of the Gallifreyan Houses flew in the wind and along street-side vendors.
There were people everywhere. All of them crowded together, talking, singing, arguing. Reinette's voice calling for him fell in the clamor, and he headed off as if he hadn't heard.
The guard was too busy pushing the crowd into a semblance of order to notice him, and he snorted as a child's ice cream fell on Roranicus' steel-toed boots. He quickly slipped into the crowd and tried to blend in with all the other humans and their single hearts.
He hadn't been on his own like this since, well, ever. The only home he'd ever known was the Academy, and as tenth in line to the throne, the main palace of Arcadia. Neither he nor any of the Timelord Brotherhood were allowed outside of the palace's walls alone. For the first time in his life, he was on his own. Giddy at the thought, he trudged further into the crowd and towards the protest.
The Priestesses of Pythia were holding a fantastic spectacle in the middle of the road, full of raging tigers and flaring torches as they chanted against the Emperor. Considering he was in line to be said-emperor, the Doctor grabbed at a passing flag and threw it around his soldiers, hiding under the dark brown cloth.
The leader he recognized immediately, the Lady Song, the woman whose name the Emperor had cursed since the riots began nearly a year ago.
“Hear me!” cried the head priestess, her curly hair lighting up with the flames. “the Emperor Rassilon lies! He steals from time itself to make him and his followers immortal!”
The crowd answered in angry shouts of agreement, all of them waving the plain red flags of Pythia. The Doctor rolled his eyes. It wasn't stealing from time, not really. More like, borrowing. With every intention of giving it back.
“He's creating another race of beings, beings with two hearts, beings who can change their faces at will and can never die!”
Wellll, that part was partly true. He couldn't change it at will, and had no intention to. Glancing at a nearby mirror, the Doctor preened at his wild hair, smashed as it was under the hood. The rest of her claims, though...
Frowning, the Doctor was wondering where the Priestess got her information when a flash of blue caught his attention. Spinning around, he noticed a a figure across the street, watching him from under a dark blue cloak at an alley's opening.
“Rassilon keeps the mysteries of science locked in the Arcadian Vaults, away from the people!” Lady Song continued to shout, but the Doctor ignored her and remained fixed on the stranger.
Time was folding right in front of him, narrowing down to a single point that gravitated towards the hooded figure. He felt the fabric of space and time bend through his mind, as if the universe itself was memorizing this moment.
'A fixed point,' he thought, his eyes widening at the realization. He'd never seen one in real life, having only read of them in his studies. But the reality was so much more than anything his books could possibly describe. Time, light, and sound slowed down to a crawl and practically hovered in the air. He took a deep breath and reached out with his senses, trying to see where the timelines would converge, but before he could view it clearly, life snapped back into place around him.
He shook his head and blinked, forcing himself to acclimate to the sights, sounds and smells that were so quiet only seconds ago. The Doctor squinted through the crowd, trying to see the figure better, but panicked to find that the stranger was walking away.
“Hey!” he shouted, but it was lost with the rest of the angry cries that rose up around him. The Doctor looked around and saw what was once a peaceful protest was quickly becoming a violent mob. The Arcadian Guard was swarming in from all sides, grabbing at the Pythian flags and herding people into moving jail-units.
He knew he should turn around, find Reinette, and head back to the palace before anything else happened. But even while thinking this, the Doctor felt his feet plotting a course across the street.
He pushed himself through the throng and ducked under thrown debris as the priestesses began charging at the Guard. He pulled forward into the alley just as shots rang through the air. The crowd was thinner here, so he picked up his pace and started running when he saw a bit of blue fabric turn a corner.
Running faster, he weaved through people coming and going, ignoring the smoke that started pouring through the air.
'Oxygen Debilitators' he noted absently, his second respiratory system kicking in. The Guard must have released them. It only gave the sensation of choking, leaving the subject unharmed. It was one of his many inventions for the military division, created as a non-violent way of suppressing an unruly mob.
But even knowing this, the Doctor was still horrified by the look of fear on individual faces as they gasped for air. He began to slow, unsure if he should help, when a strong grip forced him backwards and towards a darkened corner.
Looking around, the Doctor saw he was surrounded by the most fascinating creatures he'd ever seen. They were humanoid in appearance, but their faces were identical and unmoving. The light reflected off the shiny surfaces of their skin and they began to inch in closer.
“Ah,” the Doctor remarked, watching as his captors slowly advanced on him, their movements eerily similar as they raised their arms up as one. “There are many plausible and, frankly, brilliant reasons why you should not resort to violence,” he explained, holding his arms up in defense. “One-”
But the group ignored him and, for one terrifying moment, the Doctor closed his eyes and prepared for the blow.
Fingers interlaced tightly with his, and the Doctor's eyes sprung open and stared into warm, honey-colored brown ones.
“Run!”
The word flew in the wind as the Doctor was wrenched from the creatures towards an opening he hadn't seen before. He ran with his rescuer, trusting them to navigate the labyrinth of tall buildings and side streets as they left the center of Arcadia behind.
The air was clear here, the smoke having long since dissipated, and despite the danger, the Doctor felt a mad grin spreading across his face. His hearts were beating fast and pounded against his chest. Adrenaline was coursing through his body, propelling his legs farther and faster. Every cell was alive and so very, very awake.
Just when he thought his lungs would catch on fire, his companion slowed them down and maneuvered them behind an old stairwell. They watched their pursuers run past, their jerky movements taking them deeper into the city.
Taking a deep breath, the Doctor smiled. “Haha!” he laughed, pumping a fist in the air and jumping off the ground. “That was brilliant! I mean, terrifying, far too close to my death for my own liking, but really, brilliant!” He turned back to his rescuer. “And who do I have to thank for saving my life-” he trailed off as his rescuer lifted the edges of the hood and pulled it backwards, revealing a very blonde, and very pretty, young woman.
The Doctor stared at her in shock, her eyes glinting back in amusement.
“Rose,” she answered, her smile wide. “Rose Tyler.”
“Tyler?” he repeated, the name reverberating in his mind. “But that means you're-”
“Yup,” she nodded, still smiling with her tongue peeking between her teeth. “You've just been saved by the Bad Wolf.”