Somewhere Back in Time 6/21
Title: Somewhere Back in Time (chapter 6)
Author: rose_of_pollux
Rating: eventual PG13
Summary: Sequel to Red Sky. Mr. Zero had promised that it wasn't over. Now, he's ready to inflict more misery upon our heroes as they find themselves on the run again--through the very depths of the space-time continuum.
In this Chapter: Mr. Zero attempts to make a deal.
Warnings: There will be perilous situations in later chapters. Also, this is a Doctor Nez fic, so wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey elements will be ahead, as well.
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Pairing: None
Main Character(s): Mike, Davy, Micky, Peter, Mr. Zero
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is; fictional personas from the TV show.
Notes: N/A
Chapter 6: Time Could Not Keep This Heart from Letting Go
A mix of emotions were swelling within the Texan’s heart-anger and fear being the most dominating. Yet, when he turned to face Mr. Zero, Mike was incredibly calm.
“Well, you’re right on cue, aren’t you?” he asked, hoping that the quiver in his voice wasn’t noticeable.
Mr. Zero smirked.
“Of course. It’s only fair that I help repair things here-pay for what my handiwork has done. Just as you need to pay for what your handiwork has done,” he said. “Because we both know that this is your fault.”
“You were the one who sicced the Angel on us!” Mike retorted.
“But you were the one who promised poor David-poor, frightened David-that you wouldn’t let anything happen to him,” Zero reminded him. “What do you think is going through his mind right now? He’s completely alone, stranded in the past-not a soul to turn to. How long do you think a young man can stay sane in a situation like that?”
“Davy is strong,” Mike said, trying to reassure himself with those words more than anything else.
“Well, he certainly didn’t pick that up from you,” Zero scoffed. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? He is lost to history; he no longer has any relevance in this age. Such is his fate… unless you’re willing to make a deal.”
“Let me guess,” Mike said, quietly. “My soul in exchange for Davy’s safe return?”
“Precisely.”
“That still leaves us as a trio,” the Texan said. “How is that any better than our situation right now?”
“Because the most deserving will have his chance to live,” Zero said. “Do you not agree that David deserves his happy life back more than you?”
Mike looked down at his feet, face burning with shame.
“Yes…” he said. “He deserves all the happiness in the world.”
“And he can’t be happy trapped forever in the past, now can he?”
“Of course not,” Mike said. “But how can he be happy knowing that I made a deal with you to get him back?”
“Do you honestly think that David still feels kindly towards you after everything you’ve put him through?!” Zero asked, laughing. “After being hurled through the Time Vortex and left all alone by the thing he feared most, you would be most fortunate if the boy could spare so much as a kind thought for you!”
Mike cringed.
“At this point in time, the only decent thing you can do is make this deal with me and save him!
Zero snapped his fingers, and a contract and pen appeared in his hands.
“You know how it works,” he said. “Just sign on the dotted line, and the deal will be made. In fact, I am feeling generous enough to allow you to say goodbye to David before I take you-assuming, of course, that he’d be bothered to say goodbye to the one who put him through so much misery.”
Mike stared at the contract for a moment, his thoughts running through his head at a mile a minute. He exhaled, making his decision.
“No,” he said.
Zero frowned.
“No? You’re abandoning poor David to his terrible fate?”
“I’ll never abandon Davy,” Mike vowed. “Never. But it’s going to be a cold day in your neighborhood before I sign one of your contracts. I was just thinking about how I hadn’t wanted Davy to make a deal with the Forbidden One to save me from the golden curse. I know that even if Davy hates me right now for what I’ve put him through-and he has every right to-the last thing he would want would be for me to make a deal with you.”
“Are you so certain?”
“Yeah. Davy’s a good person. He won’t let his anger or hatred for me cloud that part of his judgment,” the Texan said. “He couldn’t hate a person that much.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my entire existence-and it has been a very long one-it’s that there is no limit to how much a person can hate,” Zero said.
“There’s also no limit to how much a person can love,” Mike retorted. A smirk twitched upon his lips. “And that’s what I’m counting on.”
“The love and friendship you seem to rely on so much will not always prevail,” Zero warned him.
“It’s done its work so far,” Mike said. “The four of us have gotten through years’ worth of hardships-and Davy and I go back even further than that.”
“All things must end, Michael,” came the reply. And Mike saw the unspoken addendum in Zero’s eyes-If not by the Weeping Angel, then by some other means; I’ll see to it myself if I have to.
Something snapped in the Texan as he realized that, and without even thinking, he charged at Mr. Zero, aiming a solid punch at that smug smirk… that never hit its target; Zero raised a hand and swept his arm aside, the motion sent Mike flying backwards across the expanse of beach, stopping as he collided with the seaweed-covered TARDIS, still parked where he and Davy had hidden it after their first and last trip.
He sat there, stunned for a moment, when two voices called his name, jolting him back to awareness while simultaneously bringing a scowl to Mr. Zero’s face.
“Mike!” Peter was yelling, horrified.
“Mike, are you okay?!” Micky cried, as they both ran over to him.
They had been going over the notes of the Forbidden One that Davy’s grandfather had copied-and that Professor Song had translated during their last adventure-in the hopes of further narrowing down the time period where Davy had been sent to. Peter had just happened to glance out the alcove windows and had seen Mr. Zero; neither he nor Micky had been about to let things go any further; Micky had even dragged their suitcase out and was using it as a shield.
A slight smile managed to find its way to Mike’s face in spite of himself as Zero furiously glared at Micky and Peter.
“What’s your damage, man?!” Micky asked, trying not to betray his fear as he looked out from the suitcase-shield. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”
“We never meant to cause any trouble for you!” Peter added. “All I wanted was a harp-not any of this!”
“Well, now you’ve got it!” Zero retorted. “And it will not end until I have your pathetic excuse for a leader in my grasp! Ideally, I’d have all four of you, but I’m willing to settle for just one.”
“Well, we’re not letting you get him,” Peter vowed, gripping Mike’s shoulder.
The Texan gave his head a shake, trying to clear off the mental cobwebs from his collision. His head leaned against the wooden door of the TARDIS, and that was when he suddenly became aware of an odd sound.
It was the sound of a high-pitched musical instrument-a wind instrument. A recorder? No… An ocarina…
Mike shut his eyes, trying to concentrate. And that was when he realized that he recognized the tune: “I Wanna Be Free.”
Mike’s eyes snapped open.
“Davy…!”
Everyone stared at him now as Mike struggled to his feet, getting the TARDIS key out of the band of his woolhat. He barely noticed them; his mind could only register the fact that Davy must have had the ocarina with him when the Angel sent him back in time-and, somehow, that ocarina was something the TARDIS could pick up on.
“Micky! Peter! Inside! Now!”
Zero’s scowl deepened as Mike unlocked the door and practically pulled his bandmates inside. They didn’t even bother taking a moment to appreciate the time machine’s spacious interior; a video panel on the console was relaying the sound waves of the ocarina.
“That song!” Micky exclaimed. “That’s-!”
“Davy!” Peter gasped.
“Exactly,” Mike said, randomly pressing some buttons on the console panel. The TARDIS make a couple of noises in protest at this action, and then began to guide Mike on what to do, slowly locking in on the exact point in the space-time continuum that the song was coming from.
“Keep playing, Davy,” Mike pleaded. “Just a little bit more; I’ve almost got your position pinpointed… Come on, El Dorado-you gotta come through for me here… Please…” He held his breath as the console whirred, and a date, time, and location appeared on the console’s monitor.
2235hrs 7/7, 1288 BC, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt
Mike stared at the date, hardly daring to believe it.
“Is that it?” Peter asked.
“I… I think so,” Mike said, quietly.
There was silence as the ocarina stopped playing, but the date, time, and location remained on the panel.
“So, what are we waiting for?” Micky asked.
Mike sighed.
“Look, we don’t know what’s waiting for us there-Zero’s probably listening in on every word we’re saying right now. He’ll probably have a whole bunch of nasty things in store to stop us from getting Davy back.”
“What are you saying?” Peter asked.
“I’m saying that it’s going to be dangerous,” Mike said. “And that I’m not going to force you to come along-”
“Save it,” Micky said, with a wave of his hand. “This is for Davy; of course we’re in.”
“No matter what,” Peter agreed.
Mike managed a smile and nodded, confirming the date on the panel and throwing the TARDIS’s lever to start it.
“Hang in there, Davy,” Mike said, as a vwoorp-vwoorp-vwoorp sound filled the air. “We’re coming to bring you home.”
********************************
The journey through time and space, though brief, was far bumpier and violent than the last time Mike had used the El Dorado. He couldn’t account for it, save for the possibility that Zero tearing the pages from the Book of Ages had, indeed, made the continuum turbulent.
Micky, who had brought the suitcase he had been using as a shield, now opened it, looking for their eight-button shirts.
“We’re going to wear those in Ancient Egypt?” Peter asked. “Shouldn’t we wear something that would help us fit in?”
“Yeah, but I don’t have any easy access to ancient fashion styles,” the brunet said.
“Luckily, the El Dorado’s got rooms full of stuff,” Mike said, arriving from one of the rooms with some Egyptian garb. “This’ll help us fit in visually; dunno what we’ll do about the language barrier, though-guess we’ll just have to do the best we can…”
Peter opened the door to the outside, blinking.
“They’re speaking English,” he said, amazed.
“That’s not possible,” Micky said, shaking his head.
The console whirred again, causing the three to turn to face it.
“Translation matrix, huh?” Mike asked. “That’ll help us out a lot-now all we have to do is ask around for Davy. Someone has to have seen him…”
One quick-change later, the three left the TARDIS in a back alley as they soon found themselves in the local marketplace. Their hairstyles garnered them some odd looks, despite the proper clothing; this proved to be an inconvenience, for whenever they would approach someone to ask about Davy, the person would usually flee, mistaking them as being prepared to chide them for staring.
It was a traveling soothsayer, calmly walking beside a cat; he beckoned the boys to him.
“Why do you fret, Children? Good fortune is due to befall us. The hero destined to save us from the Forbidden One has been found-he who goes by the name of Djonessu! Early this morning, before the dawn rose, they found him, as it was foretold, unconscious in the desert.”
“Unconscious!?” Mike repeated, going pale.
“Is he okay?” Peter asked. “Where is he now?!”
“He is in the palace of the great Pharaoh, being tended to. Once his strength has recovered, the Pharaoh will send the great Djonessu to face the Forbidden One so that he can save us all! So, you see, there is nothing to fear-rejoice!”
The soothsayer continued down the street, the cat following him with a swish of its tail. Mike could only stare.
“So… they’re giving Davy the royal treatment now… just so that they can send him to fight that thing-all alone?” Micky asked.
“Does he even realize what they’re setting him up for?” Peter wondered aloud.
“He might even be too weak to even process what’s going on,” Mike said. “That guy just said that they found him passed out in the desert; I mean… what has Davy been through?” And, unbidden, came the question that Zero had planted in his head-would Davy ever forgive him?
It was Micky’s next words that jolted him back to reality.
“So… what do we do now?”
Mike looked to the others, suppressing his own doubts.
“We’re going to get into that palace,” he vowed.
Author: rose_of_pollux
Rating: eventual PG13
Summary: Sequel to Red Sky. Mr. Zero had promised that it wasn't over. Now, he's ready to inflict more misery upon our heroes as they find themselves on the run again--through the very depths of the space-time continuum.
In this Chapter: Mr. Zero attempts to make a deal.
Warnings: There will be perilous situations in later chapters. Also, this is a Doctor Nez fic, so wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey elements will be ahead, as well.
Genre: Adventure/Drama
Pairing: None
Main Character(s): Mike, Davy, Micky, Peter, Mr. Zero
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (except for the OCs), and the story is; fictional personas from the TV show.
Notes: N/A
Chapter 6: Time Could Not Keep This Heart from Letting Go
A mix of emotions were swelling within the Texan’s heart-anger and fear being the most dominating. Yet, when he turned to face Mr. Zero, Mike was incredibly calm.
“Well, you’re right on cue, aren’t you?” he asked, hoping that the quiver in his voice wasn’t noticeable.
Mr. Zero smirked.
“Of course. It’s only fair that I help repair things here-pay for what my handiwork has done. Just as you need to pay for what your handiwork has done,” he said. “Because we both know that this is your fault.”
“You were the one who sicced the Angel on us!” Mike retorted.
“But you were the one who promised poor David-poor, frightened David-that you wouldn’t let anything happen to him,” Zero reminded him. “What do you think is going through his mind right now? He’s completely alone, stranded in the past-not a soul to turn to. How long do you think a young man can stay sane in a situation like that?”
“Davy is strong,” Mike said, trying to reassure himself with those words more than anything else.
“Well, he certainly didn’t pick that up from you,” Zero scoffed. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? He is lost to history; he no longer has any relevance in this age. Such is his fate… unless you’re willing to make a deal.”
“Let me guess,” Mike said, quietly. “My soul in exchange for Davy’s safe return?”
“Precisely.”
“That still leaves us as a trio,” the Texan said. “How is that any better than our situation right now?”
“Because the most deserving will have his chance to live,” Zero said. “Do you not agree that David deserves his happy life back more than you?”
Mike looked down at his feet, face burning with shame.
“Yes…” he said. “He deserves all the happiness in the world.”
“And he can’t be happy trapped forever in the past, now can he?”
“Of course not,” Mike said. “But how can he be happy knowing that I made a deal with you to get him back?”
“Do you honestly think that David still feels kindly towards you after everything you’ve put him through?!” Zero asked, laughing. “After being hurled through the Time Vortex and left all alone by the thing he feared most, you would be most fortunate if the boy could spare so much as a kind thought for you!”
Mike cringed.
“At this point in time, the only decent thing you can do is make this deal with me and save him!
Zero snapped his fingers, and a contract and pen appeared in his hands.
“You know how it works,” he said. “Just sign on the dotted line, and the deal will be made. In fact, I am feeling generous enough to allow you to say goodbye to David before I take you-assuming, of course, that he’d be bothered to say goodbye to the one who put him through so much misery.”
Mike stared at the contract for a moment, his thoughts running through his head at a mile a minute. He exhaled, making his decision.
“No,” he said.
Zero frowned.
“No? You’re abandoning poor David to his terrible fate?”
“I’ll never abandon Davy,” Mike vowed. “Never. But it’s going to be a cold day in your neighborhood before I sign one of your contracts. I was just thinking about how I hadn’t wanted Davy to make a deal with the Forbidden One to save me from the golden curse. I know that even if Davy hates me right now for what I’ve put him through-and he has every right to-the last thing he would want would be for me to make a deal with you.”
“Are you so certain?”
“Yeah. Davy’s a good person. He won’t let his anger or hatred for me cloud that part of his judgment,” the Texan said. “He couldn’t hate a person that much.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my entire existence-and it has been a very long one-it’s that there is no limit to how much a person can hate,” Zero said.
“There’s also no limit to how much a person can love,” Mike retorted. A smirk twitched upon his lips. “And that’s what I’m counting on.”
“The love and friendship you seem to rely on so much will not always prevail,” Zero warned him.
“It’s done its work so far,” Mike said. “The four of us have gotten through years’ worth of hardships-and Davy and I go back even further than that.”
“All things must end, Michael,” came the reply. And Mike saw the unspoken addendum in Zero’s eyes-If not by the Weeping Angel, then by some other means; I’ll see to it myself if I have to.
Something snapped in the Texan as he realized that, and without even thinking, he charged at Mr. Zero, aiming a solid punch at that smug smirk… that never hit its target; Zero raised a hand and swept his arm aside, the motion sent Mike flying backwards across the expanse of beach, stopping as he collided with the seaweed-covered TARDIS, still parked where he and Davy had hidden it after their first and last trip.
He sat there, stunned for a moment, when two voices called his name, jolting him back to awareness while simultaneously bringing a scowl to Mr. Zero’s face.
“Mike!” Peter was yelling, horrified.
“Mike, are you okay?!” Micky cried, as they both ran over to him.
They had been going over the notes of the Forbidden One that Davy’s grandfather had copied-and that Professor Song had translated during their last adventure-in the hopes of further narrowing down the time period where Davy had been sent to. Peter had just happened to glance out the alcove windows and had seen Mr. Zero; neither he nor Micky had been about to let things go any further; Micky had even dragged their suitcase out and was using it as a shield.
A slight smile managed to find its way to Mike’s face in spite of himself as Zero furiously glared at Micky and Peter.
“What’s your damage, man?!” Micky asked, trying not to betray his fear as he looked out from the suitcase-shield. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”
“We never meant to cause any trouble for you!” Peter added. “All I wanted was a harp-not any of this!”
“Well, now you’ve got it!” Zero retorted. “And it will not end until I have your pathetic excuse for a leader in my grasp! Ideally, I’d have all four of you, but I’m willing to settle for just one.”
“Well, we’re not letting you get him,” Peter vowed, gripping Mike’s shoulder.
The Texan gave his head a shake, trying to clear off the mental cobwebs from his collision. His head leaned against the wooden door of the TARDIS, and that was when he suddenly became aware of an odd sound.
It was the sound of a high-pitched musical instrument-a wind instrument. A recorder? No… An ocarina…
Mike shut his eyes, trying to concentrate. And that was when he realized that he recognized the tune: “I Wanna Be Free.”
Mike’s eyes snapped open.
“Davy…!”
Everyone stared at him now as Mike struggled to his feet, getting the TARDIS key out of the band of his woolhat. He barely noticed them; his mind could only register the fact that Davy must have had the ocarina with him when the Angel sent him back in time-and, somehow, that ocarina was something the TARDIS could pick up on.
“Micky! Peter! Inside! Now!”
Zero’s scowl deepened as Mike unlocked the door and practically pulled his bandmates inside. They didn’t even bother taking a moment to appreciate the time machine’s spacious interior; a video panel on the console was relaying the sound waves of the ocarina.
“That song!” Micky exclaimed. “That’s-!”
“Davy!” Peter gasped.
“Exactly,” Mike said, randomly pressing some buttons on the console panel. The TARDIS make a couple of noises in protest at this action, and then began to guide Mike on what to do, slowly locking in on the exact point in the space-time continuum that the song was coming from.
“Keep playing, Davy,” Mike pleaded. “Just a little bit more; I’ve almost got your position pinpointed… Come on, El Dorado-you gotta come through for me here… Please…” He held his breath as the console whirred, and a date, time, and location appeared on the console’s monitor.
2235hrs 7/7, 1288 BC, Thebes (Luxor), Egypt
Mike stared at the date, hardly daring to believe it.
“Is that it?” Peter asked.
“I… I think so,” Mike said, quietly.
There was silence as the ocarina stopped playing, but the date, time, and location remained on the panel.
“So, what are we waiting for?” Micky asked.
Mike sighed.
“Look, we don’t know what’s waiting for us there-Zero’s probably listening in on every word we’re saying right now. He’ll probably have a whole bunch of nasty things in store to stop us from getting Davy back.”
“What are you saying?” Peter asked.
“I’m saying that it’s going to be dangerous,” Mike said. “And that I’m not going to force you to come along-”
“Save it,” Micky said, with a wave of his hand. “This is for Davy; of course we’re in.”
“No matter what,” Peter agreed.
Mike managed a smile and nodded, confirming the date on the panel and throwing the TARDIS’s lever to start it.
“Hang in there, Davy,” Mike said, as a vwoorp-vwoorp-vwoorp sound filled the air. “We’re coming to bring you home.”
********************************
The journey through time and space, though brief, was far bumpier and violent than the last time Mike had used the El Dorado. He couldn’t account for it, save for the possibility that Zero tearing the pages from the Book of Ages had, indeed, made the continuum turbulent.
Micky, who had brought the suitcase he had been using as a shield, now opened it, looking for their eight-button shirts.
“We’re going to wear those in Ancient Egypt?” Peter asked. “Shouldn’t we wear something that would help us fit in?”
“Yeah, but I don’t have any easy access to ancient fashion styles,” the brunet said.
“Luckily, the El Dorado’s got rooms full of stuff,” Mike said, arriving from one of the rooms with some Egyptian garb. “This’ll help us fit in visually; dunno what we’ll do about the language barrier, though-guess we’ll just have to do the best we can…”
Peter opened the door to the outside, blinking.
“They’re speaking English,” he said, amazed.
“That’s not possible,” Micky said, shaking his head.
The console whirred again, causing the three to turn to face it.
“Translation matrix, huh?” Mike asked. “That’ll help us out a lot-now all we have to do is ask around for Davy. Someone has to have seen him…”
One quick-change later, the three left the TARDIS in a back alley as they soon found themselves in the local marketplace. Their hairstyles garnered them some odd looks, despite the proper clothing; this proved to be an inconvenience, for whenever they would approach someone to ask about Davy, the person would usually flee, mistaking them as being prepared to chide them for staring.
It was a traveling soothsayer, calmly walking beside a cat; he beckoned the boys to him.
“Why do you fret, Children? Good fortune is due to befall us. The hero destined to save us from the Forbidden One has been found-he who goes by the name of Djonessu! Early this morning, before the dawn rose, they found him, as it was foretold, unconscious in the desert.”
“Unconscious!?” Mike repeated, going pale.
“Is he okay?” Peter asked. “Where is he now?!”
“He is in the palace of the great Pharaoh, being tended to. Once his strength has recovered, the Pharaoh will send the great Djonessu to face the Forbidden One so that he can save us all! So, you see, there is nothing to fear-rejoice!”
The soothsayer continued down the street, the cat following him with a swish of its tail. Mike could only stare.
“So… they’re giving Davy the royal treatment now… just so that they can send him to fight that thing-all alone?” Micky asked.
“Does he even realize what they’re setting him up for?” Peter wondered aloud.
“He might even be too weak to even process what’s going on,” Mike said. “That guy just said that they found him passed out in the desert; I mean… what has Davy been through?” And, unbidden, came the question that Zero had planted in his head-would Davy ever forgive him?
It was Micky’s next words that jolted him back to reality.
“So… what do we do now?”
Mike looked to the others, suppressing his own doubts.
“We’re going to get into that palace,” he vowed.