What's in a Name (Meds, Maria, Rio, Chris LW)

[Alec Harrison]

Running through Alec's head were twelve ways to kill a mocking-bird as he gazed into the rocks drifting through space. In millions and millions of years, they would come together to form planets and stars and form galaxies. But the earth wasn't going to form for billions of  years.

There he was, gazing upon the gigantic hole-riddled astroid that was the hive for the witch-like Carrionites. Alec felt a chill run down his spine the more he thought of the alien menaces. The power of words... Find the right word, you could down them. He just needed the right speech. 

Of course, Alec was quite accustomed to chills down his spine in this Seventh Incarnation. Sometimes in pain, mostly in that first millisecond of grief when disaster struck. Sometimes he caused the disaster. 
No, he thought to himself, Not  anymore.

The traditional destroyer of the Carrionites had reached some trouble with his timeline, so Alec was filling in.    He didn't expect it to be easy, it never was. From what he could tell, the Carrionites had no government, so political corruption was a sad no-go. Running in guns ablarin' was sure to get both of his hearts stopped, so he'd have to sneak in if he wanted to accomplish anything.

A few options were plausible for stealth. The subtle black cloak would surely get him in but when his face was seen he'd be exposed. Then there was a mask, make-up to look like one of the aliens, but it just wouldn't work the same as a perception filter. He would loo just like a Carrionite.

He readied his Tardis to leave, and in a flicker of anxiety he sent out a message to all nearby ships, which didn't appear to be many.
Destroying Carrionites. Need help. -AH it read simply.

He had no idea that there might've been more ships out there than expected. 
 

[The Phantom]

Maria stared at her Tardis door, wondering if she should step out or not. It wasn't like she didn't know what was out there, it was earth after all. So there wasn't really any danger at all.

Unless... Of course the past caught up to her.

The Phantom sighed as she ran her right hand through her dark red hair. She knew what might happen, she was just afraid of something going wrong. After all she hadn't seen him in several years.

Maria had landed right where she first met him. His bright green eyes, that thick accent of his, his way of making her laugh. One of the few people she thought of as family.

She wondered if he would even know it was her, after all she only met him once in this incarnation and he was ten. Not to mention the Maria that traveled with him was blond, and short, and had sea-green eyes. Now Maria was taller than her second self, had red hair, a trigger finger when it came to her Screwdriver, and blueish eyes.

Just as she was contemplating about walking outside... The Tardis doors were opened, and in walked none other than Riocard himself.

"You know... you could've knocked." The Phantom pointed out in mock exasperation, only to smile at him a few seconds after. It was good to see him again.

[Alec Harrison]

Of course, having gone with the perception filter, a new Carrionite walked into the astroid. Alec fought the urge to grimace as he looked at all the hideous mockery of what humans would become. They looked ancient, even now. 

He hadn't made his way into the first part of the city when he was slammed against a wall. A mob of angry Carrionites were charging him while one held him in place. 
"We name thee Dark Lord!" they said in  unison.

Even as he blinked, Alec found himself back on his Tardis, with a bad head-ache and a killer pain in his stomache. He stood up, wincing as if his insides had been grabbed and twisted up, he dug his hand inside of his jacket and brought out a pain-killer pill, forcing it into his mouth.

He didn't feel much better, but it got the job done. He started turning knobs and soon he had his contacts list up on the monitor. He typed in another message. This one included a time and a place, with the initials AH yet again ending it out.

He sent it to the Meddler, the Phantom, and refrained from sending to Flynn Delta. 

Alec had not meant to send it to the Third Phantom, he really hadn't. But instead of getting kind Ms. Congeniality, if she came at all he was going to get a visit from the trigger-happy redhead of doom. 

It didn't make him feel much better.

[The 11th Doctor]

Christan hadn't meant to press the button. Yet here he was, in some god-forsaken day and age, again. He glanced down at his Vortex manipulator. The stupid thing was more trouble than it was worth. He hadn't seen any sign of life, and for a brief second, he wondered if he was at the end of the universe.

He'd heard tales, time-travelers tales, of the horrors that awaited there, at the end of all things. He shuddered and looked down at his Vortex Manipulator. Fiddling with it for a minute, he pressed a button and was gone in a flash of light...only to reappear less than a foot away from where he had been standing. "AGH! dang-"

And then he spotted someone. Life. Life on this godforsaken rock. "Hey!! You!!! Hey!!" He began walking towards them.

(It's either Alec or the Phantom, take your pick)

[The Phantom]

She didn't really give Rio much time to talk, considering her monitor started going off as if the world was ending. Not more then a second later, her central column began to move, signaling a take off.

"Oi! No don't do that, I'm not even sure if I want to go... where ever your taking me!" She argued with her Tardis.

Managing to get a look at the monitor, she groaned with irritation. So this was why her Tardis decided to take over the controls, all because of Alec.

Destroying Carrionites. Need help. -AH The message read on the screen. Maria grumbled quietly under her breathe, not particularly wanting to help him out. However, it seemed she didn't have a choice at the moment.

"Fine... seeing as your now taking control. Fine, I'll help out." The Phantom mutter under her breathe, before glancing at Rio and giving him a weak smile. "Ready for another adventure Rio?"

[The First Doctor]

The Doctor grinned. He grinned because all seemed right with the world. The time rotor was running smoothly and without turbulence. His ancient stuffed panda sat on the railing, watching. Sarah was examining the rose quartz shrub he'd managed to grab as they were leaving Zarmina's World.

Oh, yeah. They also had the proof they needed to bring the heavy Judoon arm of the Shadow Proclamation down on the Bane for illegal genetic tampering with a protected species.

He felt so good about things that the prospect of taking Sarah back to South Croyden didn't even bother him. Plenty of time to think about that, later.

And then a message popped up on his monitor. It was one of the old Gallifreyan codes, one used during the Time War. Destroying Carrionites, in read, Need help. -AH

He stared at the message. "A? H?" he said out loud.

Truth be told, he wasn't interested in another war. But it was a Time Lord code, and he couldn't ignore it. Not now, when it meant there might be survivors.

"Sarah?" he half said, half asked, "We've got a bit of a detour to make. A little side jaunt, only about -" he looked at the screen, "About five billion years. Then we'll get underway back to South Croyden."

He began resetting the controls. "Shouldn't take too long, really. But there's a surviving Time Lord, and I need to check it out."

The pitch of the time rotor changed as the TARDIS altered course.

[Rio Keâts]

It’d been three years – to the date – that Riocard had first met the Phantom. Maybe he’d spent more than three years with her. She’d seemed to have a natural proclivity for keeping time, whereas he could hardly manage to keep track. How many seconds of his life had he burnt away in places and times he didn’t belong in? How many years had he whittled away with her? Had it been years? Maybe only days? Months? Hours? It’d felt like hours. Hours spent with his best friend – but it’d ended. He’d wanted it to end. He had enjoyed the beauties of the universe, but she’d shown him the horrors. And he knew – he knew very well – that there were still horrors on Earth. He had needed to fix that the best he could.

Still, every year he went back to England. He sat beside the warehouse that had changed his mind, imagined that he could hear the sounds of the TARDIS. He imagined he’d walk in on a carnivorous statue, a kindly old man with a recorder, and three evil gerbils from outer space. He’d draw in the dirt, pretending that he wasn’t just Riocard; he was… someone that she could be proud of. He desperately wanted Phantom to know that despite the horrific things he’d done in his past, he was still someone she could be proud of.

And then he heard it. The sound of everything shuddering and condensing into a shape, the wheezes and gasps of a dead civilization. He nearly tripped over himself with the way he got up, running to the source of the sound and nearly kicking down the door. He paused outside and leaned against the door, praying this was the right one. Who else would go there? On that day? He opened the doors instead of his initial reaction to kick them down, and walked in calmly. The lazy smile on his face was at war with the heart hammering steadily in his chest.

She was different. She was familiar. Instead of his little blond pixie, she was a tall(ish) ginger sprite. Riocard narrowed his eyes slowly, trying desperately to place her in his mind. But this was her. He didn’t doubt it; there was something… something he could feel. And the first day they’d met, she’d talked about how Time Lords change. “You know… you could’ve knocked.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “I could have,” he admitted, walking over her. “But where would be the fun in that, my dear Maria?” he inquired, enveloping her in a quick hug. He let her go, perching himself on one of the rails. He opened his mouth to continue a rapid-fire line of questioning, when her monitor went psycho. He winced. “Did you break it again?” he teased.

“I’m not even sure if I want to go… where ever your taking me!” she shouted to the TARDIS. Riocard laughed merrily, quite glad to be back where he felt… at home. “Ready for another adventure, Rio?” she questioned.

Riocard laughed again, bouncing from the railing he was on. He wrapped an arm around her, leaning lightly against her. “I was born ready, mon lapin,” he said, grinning happily.

[The First Doctor]

From deep within the assembling TARDISes welled a sound, the slow, insistent ringing of a large bell.

Gong.

Gong.

The Cloister Bell, tolling a warning of imminent destruction or existential danger.

Gong.

Gong.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it faded away.

[Sarah Jane]

It was good that she had taken this last trip with the Doctor. Good for many reasons. She was also glad to be headed home. It would be easier to say goodbye to her friend this time. He really was her best friend, there was no doubt of that left in her, but now that she was nearly 24, it was time for her to go live her own life now. She could see that so clearly. Now that they are safely back in the TARDIS, she is simply watching him in his new rakish form and feeling quite fondly of him. The Doctor.

But then, he was reading. Reading and frowning. Frowning and reading aloud. This was never a good sign.

"A? H? Sarah --"

"Doctor?" She said with exactly 6% more question than he'd used when he spoke her name.

"We've got a bit of a detour to make. A little side jaunt, only about -"

"This is one of your little jokes, right Doctor?"

"About five billion years. Then we'll get underway back to South Croyden."

"Five billion years! But you're only 30 years from my house!"

He began resetting the controls. "Shouldn't take too long, really. But there's a surviving Time Lord, and I need to check it out."

Well, that shut her up. What did he mean 'surviving Time Lord'? Last Sarah Jane had heard the Time Lords were a plenty and running the universe like their personal plaything. What had happened to the almighty Time Lords? And then she knew it was alright not to ask. She wanted to travel through time like any other person for a while, one second per second, straight on ahead with not so many whorls and loops like a starry starry night.

However, she was currently hurtleing at some unimaginable speed through time in a way she did not even know how to begin to understand.

"Sometimes I think ---" A bell, impossible and deep, was suddenly tolling, rich and menacing inside the TARDIS. She covered one ear with the flat of her hand, and held on to the rail with the other, just in case.

Gong

Gong

"Doctor, what is it?"

Gong

[The Phantom]

“Did you break it again?” Rio teased.

"Oi! ... Well I could hav-... Hey!" She tried not to laugh, but ended up cracking up in a fit of giggles. "So what have you been up too?"

It had been awhile since he'd seen her, however for her, it had only been a short time since she saw his ten year old self.

[Rio Keâts]

“Oi!... Well I could hav-… Hey!” Maria said, giggling. Rio raised his eyebrows, poking out his tongue childishly at her. “So what have you been up to?” she asked. The Frenchman frowned thoughtfully, sliding off the TARDIS railing quietly. A lot had changed during the three years that he’d been separated from the Phantom. He still hadn’t found anywhere that could settle his thirst for adventure. He still got ensnared on plots that went above his head, and, with the knowledge that he’d gotten from Maria, he knew now that some things he’d never be able to change. There were some problems that no human – no Time Lord, even – could ever solve.

“I’ve been finding out a lot about who I am,” he said, giving her a small smile. “Every day, you know? I find something new and exciting. I find people who need my help.” He looked over at her, a sheepish smile plastered to his lips, a blush tinging his cheeks. “And you?” he asked. “What have you been up to? Kidnap any alien gerbils lately?”

He flinched only slightly as the TARDIS settled back. “By the way…” he trailed off, and looked down at his feet. “You look familiar. Like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Ah, I know that I’ve seen you quite a lot, but I mean….” he floundered off again, visibly frustrated he couldn’t associate the name with anything other than ‘Phantom’. “Forget it.”

Riocard bounded over to the TARDIS doors enthusiastically. “Come along, mi conejito! Onwards and forwards! Exploration! Discovery!”

[The Ninth Doctor]

"Sometimes I think---" Sarah Jane said then paused listening to the noise had he had. "Doctor what is it?" He stared at the screen for a few long moments without answering. "I honestly have no idea, it sounded like an alarm of some sort that was detecting some form of danger or destruction." He told her thoughtfully without removing his eyes from the screen. "Interesting," he muttered partly to himself and partly not. "But I've gotta figure where that distress call had come from." He glanced at her finally. "You could stay here if you like while I check it out. Up to you." he winked slightly at her and headed toward the door. Curiosity was bubbling under his skin, and yet slight excitement.

[/blockquote]

[Sarah Jane]

How very tongue in cheek. "Yes, I suppose it would be danger and destruction, wouldn't it? No one sets an alarm for rainbows and puppies in a basket." she quipped as the Doctor addressed the gonging sound in short, dismissing it really. Whatever message he had gotten had his full attention. She was almost surprised he'd remembered to invite her along. She was already at his elbow just in case he thought he was getting out of her site so far from home.

"Someone has to keep an eye on you." She grinned at him and followed him out.

They were on some small asteroid. She bet it didn't even count as a planetoid, though the air was thick enough. The sky was busy with a complex solar system that filled the sky with beauty and wonder. Some things moved so quickly, they almost seemed to tumble against the sky, others holding still and bright like moons. A spay of some cosmic cloud lit up in delicate gold from the system's sun. She looked at him and smiled.

"Nice Encore, Doctor. So, what are we looking for?"

((Best guess on location. Someone tell me if I"m wrong.))