Barcelona - Post Three

[just_the_doctor]

The light show last night had been just as brilliant as he'd remembered. All the divers -- as many as twenty at once -- weaving in and out of each other, their suits flickering through pre-programmed patterns to create images of flowers or animals as they descended lazily to the water below. He and Thirteen had even stayed through both shows just to see it again. They'd caught the last shuttle back and didn't get back to the TARDIS until well after midnight.

The results of the scan were waiting for him when they returned, and while Thirteen shuffled off to bed, the Doctor sat in the medical bay and began going through the data. He'd been right about the object being from the Time War. The construction methods and materials were perfect matches for that time period. The purpose of the thing still eluded him -- most of the circuitry was too badly degraded to ascertain its design. That was likely also why the thing had reacted as it had before, a malfunction as the last of the wiring burned itself out. He'd lain back in the diagnostic chair to think about his next move.

Which explains why, the next morning, he's still there, eyes closed, the papers draped across his chest, breathing softly in a not-quite-snore.

Comments

[numbered_doctor]

When morning comes, Thirteen feels considerably less...hyperactive, than the previous day. Shuffling into the kitchen, she's partway though making herself a cup of tea when she notices the Doctor's absence.

Letting it steep, she goes to locate the Time Lord, eventually finding him in the medical room and sleeping. She watches him fondly for just a moment before disappearing from the doorway for just a moment, returning shortly after with a blanket, which she drapes over him carefully after he clears off the papers.

[just_the_doctor]

His eyes crack open slowly at the feeling of things being shifted around him. "Bernice?" he mumbles, still not fully shaken from his dreams of the past.

[numbered_doctor]

Thirteen twitches the blanket into places, absently letting a hand brush over the Doctor's hair.

"Shh. go back to sleep, Doctor."

[just_the_doctor]

"Mmm. Sleep," he mumbles again. Then, his eyes pop open. "Sleep! That's what it was!" He sits up quickly, banging his head on the overhead scanner. He rubs at his head, finally noticing the other person in the room. "Remy! I know what this is! I know what it was for!"

[numbered_doctor]

She bites back a laugh as the Doctor smacks his head, though her eyebrows raise at his explanation.

"You do? What was it for, then?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Sleep!" He rushes over to the object and looks around at the etched writing again. "That's why the few words I could pick out didn't make any sense. I was looking at it all wrong. I was thinking it might be instructions, or a warning, or something like that. But it isn't. It's a lullaby. A Gallifreyan lullaby. Somebody's idea of a joke, no doubt.

"It reacted to the presence of the artron energy in you and I. Time travelers. Like the Daleks. This would get materialized onto one of their ships. It would resonate at their temporal signature, and then release a pulse along that frequency to induce a hibernative state in their organic components. Put them all to sleep."

[numbered_doctor]

She watching him look over the object from a distance, not exactly keen to get close to the device again. Listening carefully to the Doctor's explanation, she nods slowly.

"Makes sense, definitely," she replies. "Especially after what happened. Basically a high-tech sleep-grenade, yeah?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Exactly. So when we touched it, it tried to do the same to us. Only it was already breaking down, so most of the energy got released instead of feeding back through us. Plus, it obviously didn't work on the Daleks. At least, not for very long, or I'd have known about it as a viable weapon."

[numbered_doctor]

"So, it's a failed experiment?" she asks, moving a little closer to look at the device again. "Not going to activate again, is it?"

[just_the_doctor]

"No, all the circuits are fried," he reassures her. "And, yes, as the war dragged on, both sides tried all sorts of unconventional tactics, with varying degrees of success."

[numbered_doctor]

"I guess we're lucky we just found this, and all it did was knock us out. It could've been worse."

[just_the_doctor]

The Doctor nods. "There's no telling what could have happened if it hadn't been so old and degraded by the time we got to it. Though I am curious as to where it came from. Maybe we should go talk to the stall owner again and see if there are any other relics where this one came from."

[numbered_doctor]

A nod.

"Sounds like a plan, then."

She pauses, grinning.

"Unless you planned on sleeping longer?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Sleep, me? Nah, just resting my eyes and letting my mind wander." He starts for the console room, pausing only to look in the mirror over the sink and smooth down his hair a little.

[numbered_doctor]

"Didn't know Time Lords snored when they rested their eyes," she teases gently as they move, putting on her coat.

[just_the_doctor]

"Well, now you do." He grabs his overcoat from the rack beside the door and heads back onto the streets of Barcelona.

[numbered_doctor]

Grinning, she saunters after him, falling into step beside him as she slides her hands into her pockets.

"Anything else I should know, Doctor?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Why, yes, in fact." He leans in close, as if to share a secret. "There's someone following us," he whispers against her ear. "Don't look, just keep walking."

[numbered_doctor]

"Right," she whispers low so only he can hear, tensing slightly at the news. Once he pulls away, she's all smiles again, waggling her eyebrows at him. "Why Doctor, I would have never guessed!"

[just_the_doctor]

"Boggles the mind, I know," he says offhandedly. He drops a hand casually into his pocket, and then stops at a booth to examine the wares as well as take a sideways peek at their tail. His hand grips the sonic screwdriver as he begins walking away again, making sure to keep Thirteen slightly in front of him.

"Do you remember how to get back to the TARDIS from here?" he says softly through clenched teeth.

[numbered_doctor]

"You told anyone else about this?" She looks up at him, grin firmly in place as they weave through the crowd of people.

"Yeah," she murmurs in a matching tone to his. "We going to have to make a run for it?"

[just_the_doctor]

Loudly: "You're the first."

Then, softly: "'Fraid so. On my signal, break right, circle around and get back to the TARDIS." He presses the key into her palm.

[numbered_doctor]

"Nice to know you have such implicit trust in me."

She squeezes his hand gently before she closes hers around the TARDIS key, nodding her understanding ever so slightly. "See you back there."

[just_the_doctor]

At the next crossroads, the Doctor slips the screwdriver from his pocket. In a sudden motion, he spins, aiming the tool toward the low hanging wires strung across the pavilion. Showers of sparks rain down, sending the crowds into a frenzied run to get away.

The Doctor gives Thirteen a nudge to the right before specifically catching the eye of their pursuer and then peeling off to the left.

[numbered_doctor]

Sparks fly, the Doctor nudges her, and Thirteen's off running at full speed down the right road. She doesn't even bother to look back, she just runs and hopes the Doctor's distraction was enough.

There's a few near-collisions with other people in the market as she moves pell-mell through the crowds, but soon enough she makes it back to the familiar, blue police box.

As quickly as she can, she goes to unlock the TARDIS, fumbling slightly with the key.

[just_the_doctor]

He pushes his way through the crowds with a desperate will. Now that he's drawn the attention of his pursuer, he has to do everything in his power to now lose him and get back to the TARDIS undetected.

As he runs, though, he keeps his eye out for the others. They never travel alone, and he could be running straight into an ambush. For the most part, though, the people seem content to get out of the Doctor's way as he barrels through them. He makes a wide circle right out to the edges of the marketplace, working his way slowly back to the TARDIS and hoping to exhaust the creatures hunting him.

At last, the box comes into sight. And almost immediately after, the Doctor spots two more of them at the far end of the alleyway. He pours the last reserves of his strength into a full-out run, needing to reach the TARDIS before the creatures reach him. He remembers at the last moment having given his key to Thirteen, so he doesn't waste seconds looking for it, and just pounds on the door. "Remy!"

[numbered_doctor]

Thirteen's been waiting for the Doctor to show up. Thus, moments after the Doctor begins pounding on the door, it cracks open and the Doctor is yanked inside, and the door slammed behind him.

"Are you okay?" comes the worried query as soon as he's inside and safe.

[just_the_doctor]

He doesn't answer her right away. Instead, he barely slows down as he heads for the console and fires up the engines. The TARDIS dematerializes from Barcelona a few seconds later, and only then does the Doctor begin to relax.

"I'm fine," he says, panting. "For now. But they'll track us soon enough, so we need a plan for when they do."

[numbered_doctor]

She throws herself into one of the chairs, scrubbing at her face as she catches her breath.

"What d'you suggest, then? We going to have to keep running?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Aubertines are hunters," he explains. "Extraordinary sense of smell. And they have a Vortex Manipulator, I saw it on one of their wrists. They can track us across time and space. Right across the universe. But they don't live long, and they're bound to be winding down, which is why they're so desperate to get to me. But they never got close enough to get a good look at our faces. So, we go to ground. We hide and wait for them to die."

[numbered_doctor]

"If they can smell and track us from across space and time, how do you propose we hide from them?"

[just_the_doctor]

The Doctor sighs, pulling a few levers on the console. A strange headset covered in wires descends from the upper reaches of the room.

"It's the scent of Time Lord that they're tracking. So, I have to stop being a Time Lord. I have to become human. Until they die."

[numbered_doctor]

She frowns at the contraption as it makes it's appearance, shooting the Doctor a confused look.

"And this is going to make you human?"

[just_the_doctor]

He nods. "Chameleon Arch. It can rewrite my biology. Change every single cell of my body into another species. I have it set to human." He digs around in a small box attached to the underside of the panel and pulls out a fob watch with Gallifreyan script etched on the outside. He slots this into a depression on the back of the headset.

"The watch will hold all of the Time Lord part of me. As long as it's closed, the Aubertines can't sense it. Now, I already have something of a past programmed in as a contingency, but it doesn't include anyone else. So, we need to decide how to fit you into it, and I need to quickly reprogram the arch before starting it."

[numbered_doctor]

She scrubs a hand though her hair as her mind buzzes, trying to come up with something for them to use.

"A friend, definitely," she decides after a moment. "Someone needs to keep an eye on you."

[just_the_doctor]

He considers that for a moment. "All right, I think I have an idea. Give me two hours, and then meet me back here. I'll give you the background to study, and then I'll make the change."

[numbered_doctor]

A nod.

"Sounds like a plan, then. Anything I should be doing in the meantime?"

[just_the_doctor]

He thinks. "Packing for the two of us would be a tremendous help. England, early 20th century. If you don't mind, of course."

[numbered_doctor]

"Sure, no problem."

She grins a little at him.

"Sending me back into that mess so soon?"

[just_the_doctor]

"Hadn't been my first inclination," he says, having the grace at least to look sheepish over it. "Besides, it's mostly organized by period. Well, when I say 'mostly', I mean 'generally'. Well, when I say 'generally'... eh, you'll figure it out."

[numbered_doctor]

Thirteen manages a laugh as she makes her way out of the console room.

"If you don't see me in two hours, I'm trapped and you need to send a search party."

[just_the_doctor]

The Doctor holds up a hand, then ducks down to pull up one of the floor panels in the console room to rummage around in a box. He finds what he's looking for and stands back up, tossing her a ball of thread. "That should help. Worked for Theseus. He let me keep it as a souvenir."

[numbered_doctor]

She snatches the ball out of the air, turning it over in her hands as she looks it over.

"Theseus? As in, slayed the minotaur, Theseus?"

[just_the_doctor]

He looks up briefly from his keyboard. "Turns out it was actually a Zygon, but yeah."

[numbered_doctor]

She just shakes her head as she walks down the hall, calling back to him over her shoulder.

"Six degrees of separation has nothing on you."

[just_the_doctor]

"I've met Kevin Bacon, too," he calls out after her, then turns his attention fully back to the task at hand.