Smoke and Sand 12/12
Fandoms: Darkest Night Trilogy / Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language
Timeline: Darkest Night Trilogy - This story is one year after the events of the last book, so everything is fair game.
Doctor Who - New Who seasons 2-4 (10th Doctor), with very heavy emphasis on Blink. However, nothing from season five.
Fandoms - In this story, the end of the second season of filming for Darkest Night takes place in October of 2009, before any information on Waters of Mars was official.
Disclaimer: The characters from the Darkest Night trilogy belong to Tanya Huff and her publisher. The 10th Doctor, Doctor Who, and related characters are all the property of their respective people. David Tennant and Matt Smith (briefly mentioned) are also not mine (more's the pity). In fact, I think the only original character disappears almost immediately. No harm is meant, nor am I making money off of this, so please don't sue. Mistakes are all my own.
A magic spell gone awry soon has Tony and the cast and crew at CB Productions saddled with a stranger who claims he's a Time Lord. When people start disappearing, Tony has to hope the man isn't crazy if he ever wants to see his friends again.
Previous Parts:
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven
"So, what do I do?" Tony asked. He looked around. "I mean, I've never played with time before, I was always told not to and never really had the need. What am I supposed to do?"
"Well," the Doctor said thoughtfully, putting his hands into his pockets and rocking on his feet, "my best guess would be to grab the cord and use your power to follow it to the person in question."
"Right, but how do I do that?"
The taller man frowned slightly. "Why ask me? I'm not a wizard."
Tony blinked. He was so used to the Doctor having the answers that it was strange for him not to know. "But you're a Time Lord."
"There's nothing magic about being a Time Lord. This method of time travel is new to me too. Just..." he shrugged, "grab and tug. See where that takes you. Oh, and take me too." He gave a big, boyish grin. "I'd love to tag along."
"Trust me, I'm not leaving without you." He turned, studying the spot where Lee had disappeared from. "So... I guess the first thing would be to figure out how to see the cord again."
At this, the Doctor blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? You can't see it?"
"Not now, no," Tony said, walking over to the spot. "I'm sure it has something to the glowing eyes thing. I just have to figure out how to..." he gestured a bit vaguely, "repeat what I did."
"Oh, of course." The Doctor turned and studied the empty spot with Tony. After a moment, he leaned in. "Remind me what it was that you actually did."
"That's just it," he said with a sigh. "I don't know. The first time I connected with the energies of the world like that, it was during the demonic invasion last year and I was in pain. The entire time I was playing with the demons I needed pain to connect with the world."
"How did being in pain help?"
Tony shrugged. "I hurt. The rest of the world didn't. It allowed me to find the boundaries then dissolve them. This time, I was angry."
"Well, that's easy enough, then," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Get angry."
Tony turned to peer at him. "What? Just, get angry? That's your solution?"
"Well, that's what you were feeling when your eyes were glowing, yeah?" The Doctor moved to lean against the wall of the studio. "So, do it again."
"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked, bewildered.
It was the Doctor's turn to blink. "You work for a television program with a bunch of actors and you don't know how to play pretend?"
Tony was beginning to regret not blasting the mocking Time Lord. "Playing pretend is different than being genuinely angry," he grumbled. "But keep talking. I'm sure I'll get there soon."
"What's to talk about?" the Doctor said. "If you can't do it, you can't do it. I'd love, however, to be a fly on the wall when your lover finds out that you left him in whatever distant century because you couldn't bother to be angry."
He knew what the man was doing. Obviously, the Doctor was snarking at him to incite him to anger. If he looked at it logically, he could forgive the man for his stinging comment. Then again, looking at it logically didn't help, so Tony decided that it was time to set the third assistant director who took tons of shit for his job aside and let the wizard take over. "Well, perhaps I should have let the angels stay a bit longer. Maybe they would have granted you your wish."
"I just think that you're not trying very hard if you can't be bothered to be angry about losing the man you supposedly love."
"Supposedly?" Tony said hotly. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're just giving up on him fairly quickly, I think."
"Is that what you think?" Tony said. "You know what I think? I think what you think doesn't really matter that much. So far, you've not been particularly helpful in this venture. In fact, I suspect that the only reason you're here is to stand around and laugh at me."
"Oh, I'm not laughing at you," the Doctor said dismissively. "It's more that I'm trying not to weep for the rest of humanity."
Tony scowled darkly at the man, feeling his irritation rise. He fed that anger, thinking of all the stupid little things that the Doctor had done in the last twenty-four hours that had put his life and the lives of his friends in serious danger. "You know who I feel sorry for? Martha. Your companions. I've spent twenty-four hours with you and can't wait to get rid of you. I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to want to spend any real length of time with you."
"Of course you can," the alien replied calmly. "Just imagine the intelligence of your co-workers. After all, they are the ones who work day in and day out in a building with a wizard and the energetic residue left behind by various invasions. Perhaps it's just me, but after the first few demons tried to eat me, I might find other employment."
"We beat the demons!"
"No thanks to you. Would anyone here have been in danger of being eaten if it hadn't been for you? What of those who were sent back by the angels? None of them would have been sent back if not for you."
"I was trying to help you!" Tony said angrily.
"Some help you've been," the Doctor replied, watching him coolly.
That pissed Tony off. His hand tightened into fists, then his fingers spread, curled like claws. He could almost feel the pull of the energy of the world around him as he considered the strong desire to ash the Time Lord where he stood. Instead, he grabbed the man by the lapels of his blazer, turned, and grabbed one of the golden cords he could see out of the corner of his eyes. The power that surged up his hand from the cord felt like sticking his finger in a power socket. The world around him swum in a dizzying blur.
It took a moment after the crazy spinning stopped for Tony to take stock and see what had happened. He considered throwing up for a moment before deciding that joyous activity wouldn't be necessary. He felt long hands touch his wrists and jerked his head up. The Doctor was in front of him, close enough to kiss, with Tony's hands holding the lapels of his jacket in a white-knuckled death grip. No sooner did Tony pry his hands off than the Doctor bounded to his feet, looking around.
"Well, look at that!" he said expansively, turning on the spot to study their surroundings. "You actually did it! Molto bene!"
Tony snorted. "Stop pretending you're not shitting your pants." He managed to make it to his feet and saw the Doctor peering at him, the mask of jovial entertainment gone.
"No human should be able to do what you just did."
"I agree," he said, suddenly exhausted and starving. "But unfortunately, I can, so let's not repeat the obvious." He looked around, seeing nothing but rows of soft, black earth. "Where are we?"
"A field," the Doctor replied.
Tony rolled his eyes. "What did I just say about being obvious and redundant?"
"I don't exactly see a sign naming which farm. Do you?" the Doctor asked pointedly.
"No," he grumbled. "How about when are we?"
"Hard to say." The Doctor peered up at the sky. "Maybe early nineteen hundreds."
"One hundred years in the past?" Tony asked, incredulous.
"Give or take." He studied the soil they were standing on and pointed. "It appears Lee when that way," he said, pointing North.
"You mean in the direction of the obvious and redundant footprints?" the wizard asked innocently.
The Doctor headed off. "You know, I think I liked you better when you weren't a wizard."
Tony grinned.
~~~
"How far could he have gotten?" Tony said, leaning against the first structure they'd actually come across. He leaned against the stone wall, peering around. They'd reached the ends of the fields and had lost Lee's trail. Tony suspected they could actually find it if they tried, but he didn't know how good of a tracker the Doctor was. Tony himself had no idea where to begin to look.
"That depends on how long he's been here," the Doctor replied. He was crouched just off the field, studying the grass. He plucked a few blades and touched them to his tongue, thinking.
"It's only been a few hours," Tony pointed out.
"For us. Not necessarily for him."
"So, if it's been days, he won't be anywhere around here. How are we supposed to find him?"
"Don't ask me," the Doctor said, rising. "You're the wizard. How do you find things?"
Tony was getting really tired of that reply. Before he had time to answer, though, there were shouts coming from not too far away. He ducked behind the wall, the Doctor following him, then they both moved to get a closer look. Peering over the edge of the wall, they could see a group of people, mostly men with a few women, moving toward a large tree. A couple of the men were dragging something between them. When they reached the tree, a rope was thrown over one of the sturdier branches and tied to the object the men had been dragging. That object turned out to be Lee. The actor looked battered, James Taylor Grant's leather coat torn in places and the slacks he wore filthy with black dirt. He hands were tied behind his back and he struggled against the ropes desperately, the noose looped around his throat.
"I swear, I'm just lost. I didn't mean any harm," Lee said quickly, apparently continuing a protest that had been going on for some time.
"You're not 'just lost,'" one of the men snarled. "There's nothing around here but farmers, and you are no farmer." The man, obviously the ringleader of the pack, nodded to the others. Three of the others were holding the other end of the rope Lee was attached to, and they started to pull.
Tony sprang to his feet, power practically igniting in his hand to rescue the actor, but the Doctor rose as well, both his hands up. "Everyone just hold on one moment. Let that man go."
The trio paused, leaving Lee standing on tiptoe, the rope tight against his neck. His face was starting to look red. The ringleader peered darkly at the oddly attired strangers. "And just who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor, and I'm with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. This is my associate, Tony Foster." The Time Lord pulled out a familiar leather wallet, showing it to the man.
The ringleader glanced at it with a scowl. "If you're with the RNWMP, then where are your horses?"
"We're a foot patrol unit, sent out to check on the local farmers. That man you're about to hang is Constable Lee Nicholas. He's on our team, so I suggest you let him go," the Doctor said coolly.
The trio didn't seem sure and the ringleader didn't seem inclined to help them. However, one of the women came forward. "For heaven's sake, Joseph! You can't hang an officer of the law! They'll take the farm, and it makes a lot more sense than a thief wandering the fields alone in clothing as strange as that."
"Look at them!" Joseph, the ringleader said. "Look at their clothes. Do they look like they could be the police to you?"
"They could be from the city. Only the Lord knows what wild things folks do there. Let's just let him go and make sure they leave."
"And if you're wrong?" Joseph asked darkly. "What if they come back?"
"Then you can shoot them."
"Any time now," Tony growled, angry that they were leaving Lee half strung up from the tree while they debated this.
Joseph narrowed his eyes at the slighter man, unaware of just how dangerous the ground he walked on was. "In a minute. I'm thinking."
The Doctor suspected they didn't have a minute. He covertly pulled out his sonic screwdriver and held it behind his back, pointing it at the rope Lee was being hung with. There was a blue glow and a high-pitched whine, then the rope frayed and snapped, toppling Lee forward. The actor fell to his knees, coughing and gasping. Tony moved forward to help him as the Doctor casually put his tool away. "Your rope must be old. Would you rather spend your money on new rope, or on the fines I could give you for attacking an officer of the law?"
None of the men moved to stop Tony from untying Lee and helping him back over to the Doctor, although they looked like they wanted to. The three men headed back out over the fields, Lee stumbling quickly and rubbing at his throat. "I hate being strangled," he finally muttered.
"Get used to it," Tony said. "Just wait until Peter sees your costume." He looked at the Doctor, relaxing a bit now that Lee was safe. "Royal Northwest Mounted Police?"
"It was the police force in the Northwestern territories of Canada up until nineteen twenty," the Doctor said. "If we've gone back a century, then they wouldn't know who the RCMP was."
Lee frowned, looking at the alien. "Doctor, it's nineteen twenty-one."
The Doctor looked over at him sharply. "Really? Then I guess it's a good thing news doesn't travel very fast in these parts."
"You're impossible," Tony said, amused. "It's disgusting how lucky you are."
The Doctor grinned. "Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely."
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language
Timeline: Darkest Night Trilogy - This story is one year after the events of the last book, so everything is fair game.
Doctor Who - New Who seasons 2-4 (10th Doctor), with very heavy emphasis on Blink. However, nothing from season five.
Fandoms - In this story, the end of the second season of filming for Darkest Night takes place in October of 2009, before any information on Waters of Mars was official.
Disclaimer: The characters from the Darkest Night trilogy belong to Tanya Huff and her publisher. The 10th Doctor, Doctor Who, and related characters are all the property of their respective people. David Tennant and Matt Smith (briefly mentioned) are also not mine (more's the pity). In fact, I think the only original character disappears almost immediately. No harm is meant, nor am I making money off of this, so please don't sue. Mistakes are all my own.
A magic spell gone awry soon has Tony and the cast and crew at CB Productions saddled with a stranger who claims he's a Time Lord. When people start disappearing, Tony has to hope the man isn't crazy if he ever wants to see his friends again.
Previous Parts:
One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven
"So, what do I do?" Tony asked. He looked around. "I mean, I've never played with time before, I was always told not to and never really had the need. What am I supposed to do?"
"Well," the Doctor said thoughtfully, putting his hands into his pockets and rocking on his feet, "my best guess would be to grab the cord and use your power to follow it to the person in question."
"Right, but how do I do that?"
The taller man frowned slightly. "Why ask me? I'm not a wizard."
Tony blinked. He was so used to the Doctor having the answers that it was strange for him not to know. "But you're a Time Lord."
"There's nothing magic about being a Time Lord. This method of time travel is new to me too. Just..." he shrugged, "grab and tug. See where that takes you. Oh, and take me too." He gave a big, boyish grin. "I'd love to tag along."
"Trust me, I'm not leaving without you." He turned, studying the spot where Lee had disappeared from. "So... I guess the first thing would be to figure out how to see the cord again."
At this, the Doctor blinked in surprise. "What do you mean? You can't see it?"
"Not now, no," Tony said, walking over to the spot. "I'm sure it has something to the glowing eyes thing. I just have to figure out how to..." he gestured a bit vaguely, "repeat what I did."
"Oh, of course." The Doctor turned and studied the empty spot with Tony. After a moment, he leaned in. "Remind me what it was that you actually did."
"That's just it," he said with a sigh. "I don't know. The first time I connected with the energies of the world like that, it was during the demonic invasion last year and I was in pain. The entire time I was playing with the demons I needed pain to connect with the world."
"How did being in pain help?"
Tony shrugged. "I hurt. The rest of the world didn't. It allowed me to find the boundaries then dissolve them. This time, I was angry."
"Well, that's easy enough, then," the Doctor said cheerfully. "Get angry."
Tony turned to peer at him. "What? Just, get angry? That's your solution?"
"Well, that's what you were feeling when your eyes were glowing, yeah?" The Doctor moved to lean against the wall of the studio. "So, do it again."
"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked, bewildered.
It was the Doctor's turn to blink. "You work for a television program with a bunch of actors and you don't know how to play pretend?"
Tony was beginning to regret not blasting the mocking Time Lord. "Playing pretend is different than being genuinely angry," he grumbled. "But keep talking. I'm sure I'll get there soon."
"What's to talk about?" the Doctor said. "If you can't do it, you can't do it. I'd love, however, to be a fly on the wall when your lover finds out that you left him in whatever distant century because you couldn't bother to be angry."
He knew what the man was doing. Obviously, the Doctor was snarking at him to incite him to anger. If he looked at it logically, he could forgive the man for his stinging comment. Then again, looking at it logically didn't help, so Tony decided that it was time to set the third assistant director who took tons of shit for his job aside and let the wizard take over. "Well, perhaps I should have let the angels stay a bit longer. Maybe they would have granted you your wish."
"I just think that you're not trying very hard if you can't be bothered to be angry about losing the man you supposedly love."
"Supposedly?" Tony said hotly. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You're just giving up on him fairly quickly, I think."
"Is that what you think?" Tony said. "You know what I think? I think what you think doesn't really matter that much. So far, you've not been particularly helpful in this venture. In fact, I suspect that the only reason you're here is to stand around and laugh at me."
"Oh, I'm not laughing at you," the Doctor said dismissively. "It's more that I'm trying not to weep for the rest of humanity."
Tony scowled darkly at the man, feeling his irritation rise. He fed that anger, thinking of all the stupid little things that the Doctor had done in the last twenty-four hours that had put his life and the lives of his friends in serious danger. "You know who I feel sorry for? Martha. Your companions. I've spent twenty-four hours with you and can't wait to get rid of you. I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to want to spend any real length of time with you."
"Of course you can," the alien replied calmly. "Just imagine the intelligence of your co-workers. After all, they are the ones who work day in and day out in a building with a wizard and the energetic residue left behind by various invasions. Perhaps it's just me, but after the first few demons tried to eat me, I might find other employment."
"We beat the demons!"
"No thanks to you. Would anyone here have been in danger of being eaten if it hadn't been for you? What of those who were sent back by the angels? None of them would have been sent back if not for you."
"I was trying to help you!" Tony said angrily.
"Some help you've been," the Doctor replied, watching him coolly.
That pissed Tony off. His hand tightened into fists, then his fingers spread, curled like claws. He could almost feel the pull of the energy of the world around him as he considered the strong desire to ash the Time Lord where he stood. Instead, he grabbed the man by the lapels of his blazer, turned, and grabbed one of the golden cords he could see out of the corner of his eyes. The power that surged up his hand from the cord felt like sticking his finger in a power socket. The world around him swum in a dizzying blur.
It took a moment after the crazy spinning stopped for Tony to take stock and see what had happened. He considered throwing up for a moment before deciding that joyous activity wouldn't be necessary. He felt long hands touch his wrists and jerked his head up. The Doctor was in front of him, close enough to kiss, with Tony's hands holding the lapels of his jacket in a white-knuckled death grip. No sooner did Tony pry his hands off than the Doctor bounded to his feet, looking around.
"Well, look at that!" he said expansively, turning on the spot to study their surroundings. "You actually did it! Molto bene!"
Tony snorted. "Stop pretending you're not shitting your pants." He managed to make it to his feet and saw the Doctor peering at him, the mask of jovial entertainment gone.
"No human should be able to do what you just did."
"I agree," he said, suddenly exhausted and starving. "But unfortunately, I can, so let's not repeat the obvious." He looked around, seeing nothing but rows of soft, black earth. "Where are we?"
"A field," the Doctor replied.
Tony rolled his eyes. "What did I just say about being obvious and redundant?"
"I don't exactly see a sign naming which farm. Do you?" the Doctor asked pointedly.
"No," he grumbled. "How about when are we?"
"Hard to say." The Doctor peered up at the sky. "Maybe early nineteen hundreds."
"One hundred years in the past?" Tony asked, incredulous.
"Give or take." He studied the soil they were standing on and pointed. "It appears Lee when that way," he said, pointing North.
"You mean in the direction of the obvious and redundant footprints?" the wizard asked innocently.
The Doctor headed off. "You know, I think I liked you better when you weren't a wizard."
Tony grinned.
~~~
"How far could he have gotten?" Tony said, leaning against the first structure they'd actually come across. He leaned against the stone wall, peering around. They'd reached the ends of the fields and had lost Lee's trail. Tony suspected they could actually find it if they tried, but he didn't know how good of a tracker the Doctor was. Tony himself had no idea where to begin to look.
"That depends on how long he's been here," the Doctor replied. He was crouched just off the field, studying the grass. He plucked a few blades and touched them to his tongue, thinking.
"It's only been a few hours," Tony pointed out.
"For us. Not necessarily for him."
"So, if it's been days, he won't be anywhere around here. How are we supposed to find him?"
"Don't ask me," the Doctor said, rising. "You're the wizard. How do you find things?"
Tony was getting really tired of that reply. Before he had time to answer, though, there were shouts coming from not too far away. He ducked behind the wall, the Doctor following him, then they both moved to get a closer look. Peering over the edge of the wall, they could see a group of people, mostly men with a few women, moving toward a large tree. A couple of the men were dragging something between them. When they reached the tree, a rope was thrown over one of the sturdier branches and tied to the object the men had been dragging. That object turned out to be Lee. The actor looked battered, James Taylor Grant's leather coat torn in places and the slacks he wore filthy with black dirt. He hands were tied behind his back and he struggled against the ropes desperately, the noose looped around his throat.
"I swear, I'm just lost. I didn't mean any harm," Lee said quickly, apparently continuing a protest that had been going on for some time.
"You're not 'just lost,'" one of the men snarled. "There's nothing around here but farmers, and you are no farmer." The man, obviously the ringleader of the pack, nodded to the others. Three of the others were holding the other end of the rope Lee was attached to, and they started to pull.
Tony sprang to his feet, power practically igniting in his hand to rescue the actor, but the Doctor rose as well, both his hands up. "Everyone just hold on one moment. Let that man go."
The trio paused, leaving Lee standing on tiptoe, the rope tight against his neck. His face was starting to look red. The ringleader peered darkly at the oddly attired strangers. "And just who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor, and I'm with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. This is my associate, Tony Foster." The Time Lord pulled out a familiar leather wallet, showing it to the man.
The ringleader glanced at it with a scowl. "If you're with the RNWMP, then where are your horses?"
"We're a foot patrol unit, sent out to check on the local farmers. That man you're about to hang is Constable Lee Nicholas. He's on our team, so I suggest you let him go," the Doctor said coolly.
The trio didn't seem sure and the ringleader didn't seem inclined to help them. However, one of the women came forward. "For heaven's sake, Joseph! You can't hang an officer of the law! They'll take the farm, and it makes a lot more sense than a thief wandering the fields alone in clothing as strange as that."
"Look at them!" Joseph, the ringleader said. "Look at their clothes. Do they look like they could be the police to you?"
"They could be from the city. Only the Lord knows what wild things folks do there. Let's just let him go and make sure they leave."
"And if you're wrong?" Joseph asked darkly. "What if they come back?"
"Then you can shoot them."
"Any time now," Tony growled, angry that they were leaving Lee half strung up from the tree while they debated this.
Joseph narrowed his eyes at the slighter man, unaware of just how dangerous the ground he walked on was. "In a minute. I'm thinking."
The Doctor suspected they didn't have a minute. He covertly pulled out his sonic screwdriver and held it behind his back, pointing it at the rope Lee was being hung with. There was a blue glow and a high-pitched whine, then the rope frayed and snapped, toppling Lee forward. The actor fell to his knees, coughing and gasping. Tony moved forward to help him as the Doctor casually put his tool away. "Your rope must be old. Would you rather spend your money on new rope, or on the fines I could give you for attacking an officer of the law?"
None of the men moved to stop Tony from untying Lee and helping him back over to the Doctor, although they looked like they wanted to. The three men headed back out over the fields, Lee stumbling quickly and rubbing at his throat. "I hate being strangled," he finally muttered.
"Get used to it," Tony said. "Just wait until Peter sees your costume." He looked at the Doctor, relaxing a bit now that Lee was safe. "Royal Northwest Mounted Police?"
"It was the police force in the Northwestern territories of Canada up until nineteen twenty," the Doctor said. "If we've gone back a century, then they wouldn't know who the RCMP was."
Lee frowned, looking at the alien. "Doctor, it's nineteen twenty-one."
The Doctor looked over at him sharply. "Really? Then I guess it's a good thing news doesn't travel very fast in these parts."
"You're impossible," Tony said, amused. "It's disgusting how lucky you are."
The Doctor grinned. "Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely."