Severing of the Strings (Nine/Lucius)

Despite the breeze that pushed itself through Hopefelt, causing the flags to flap and leaves to rustle, it was a lovely day. Such a luxury seemed far and in between during the transition from winter to spring. But with the shining sun and cloudless sky, there was nothing more one could ask for. At least this was the optimism in which Lucius, who had recently turned eight years old, chose to view the day. Even the birds were singing their lovely tunes, joyfully cheering on the radiant rays that warmed their bodies and allowed them to build their nests without the nuisance of rain and cold weather.

Walking out the orphanage door, Lucius glanced back as he shut the door quietly; a sly expression crossed his face as he crept down the steps and bolted towards the park. The run appeared somewhat awkward due to the acoustic guitar held out in his left hand. It was a large musical instrument compared to the boy’s small frame, but that didn’t stop him from carrying it around. When he finally got it back from Robert, the one kid whose hobby was to take other peoples’ stuff and hide it, he didn’t want to take it away from his side even for a second. Luci would forgive Rob this time and just enjoy the fact he would have something to do once he got to his ol’ sycamore.

Once he reached the park with paint-chipped equipment and rotting wood, Lucius slowed his pace, pulled the long strap of his guitar over his shoulder, and rested the instrument along his back. The head of it bumped into his calves repeatedly, but he didn’t let that bother him nor slow him down. Mick Jagger’s signature was sprawled on the face of the guitar, never failing to spark Lucius’ memory of the day he got it. The Doctor had shown up and took Lucius away on one of his rare trips. It just so happened this trip led them to a Rolling Stones concert in the 60’s. Despite becoming separated from one another within the first few moments, it was a trip Luci would never forget and it definitely remained one of his favourites. He shook the hands of famous musicians! And got the guitar Jagger played at the concert.. hence the prized possession he fondly handled.

Weaving his way through the underbrush and trees that ran beyond the park, Lucius took the familiar track and stopped at the sickly yet sturdy looking tree. The urge to climb it caused his fingers to twitch, but with a thought of his guitar and the fear that it might get ruined he decided against it. Instead, the small boy hopped over to the trunk, righted the guitar so it was held at his front, and sat down so his back was against the tree. It was at times like this Lucius wished he could afford a guitar lesson book. He wanted nothing more than to teach himself how to play and tune it… but for now, he would just pluck at the strings and try to memorize what strings made what sound.

Little was anyone aware, not even sharp little Lucius, the clear skies would blacken; the darkened clouds forming miles away would roll in on that pleasant breeze and cause the familiar sense of desperation in the hearts of human men.

It had been a long time since he'd seen Tyler. He'd taken it upon himself to look after his former companion's son as often as he could, but lately he'd been drifting from that promise.  The universe was just so vast, and so much of it needed a doctor.  There'd been that mishap with the king of Algol, the rigged elections of Carsus and the misunderstanding with the Zygons to distract him, and that had only been in the past week.  But now, all he had on his mind was Tyler.

The Doctor moved around the console, hands flicking back and forth over the controls with practiced ease.  He might not always be the best driver in the universe, but he certainly knew his way about his ship.  With a dramatic flip of his jacket that the Doctor was rather glad no one had been around to see, he pressed one last button and went flying off into the Vortex.

His destination was a particular grove of trees that he knew Tyler was partial to.  He'd found the little boy there before and hoped he would again.  The orphanage at Hopefelt was not a place the Doctor wanted to deal with today.  He stepped back from the console and crossed his arms, waiting for his arrival.

As soon as the TARDIS landed, the Doctor yanked open the doors and exited.  The weather was absolutely beautiful, warm despite the breeze and the shade of the branches overhead.  A smile crept on his face upon spotting his target, seated with his back against the tree, looking perfectly at ease.

"Tyler!" he called, walking over to him.  "How've you been?"

The Doctor was pleased to note that Tyler had the guitar with him that the two had stumbled upon in the sixties.  One day, he'd have to go thank Mick Jagger for his role in that little adventure.

The small whirlwind of the TARDIS’ materializing a few feet away is what first drew Lucius’ attention.  The second thing was that familiar feeling that rushed through him everytime the blue box was near.  It was as if the feeling of emptiness that often resided in the recesses of his heart were chased away by the golden light of the time machine.  It was magic.  It was home.  An odd thought considering the only home Lucius admitted to having was one with his mother.

The Doctor burst out the door, an action that shouldn’t have startled the boy as much as it did.  But in all fairness it had been months since he had seen the leather clad Time Lord.  Hell, he even saw Robin sooner than he saw this man.  It was only odd because the two of them were suppose to be together: Pilot and his companion.  

The barriers of Lucius’ trust were confusing.  The majority were raised, hoping for an explanation of some sort before they dared fall again in the other’s presence.  Lucius knew that the TARDIS, being a creature of infinite opportunities, could whisk you away and leave you scattered and clueless about how much time had passed you by.  This was a symptom he often discovered in the Doctor, regardless of which face he wore.

With one last pluck of a guitar string, Luci rose to his feet and held the guitar tentatively in his hands.  “Good.”  The brisk answer was one everyone who knew him should be use to.. except this one sounded colder.  Perhaps the boy felt betrayed, though he knew he shouldn’t place blame on anyone for his loneliness.  He should especially avoid blaming the Doctor, a being who was by no means obligated to spend his time with a little boy.

“Where’ve you been?”  This time when he spoke, the tension had decreased and his tone reflected curiosity instead of hostility.

The Doctor's gut wrenched at Tyler's words, and the smile briefly dropped from his face. The little boy sounded bitter, and he didn't blame him one but. It had been far too long between visits, and the Doctor knew it. It was hard to return, sometimes, knowing all that had gone wrong with Mal, everything he sometimes wondered if he could have prevented had he noticed more. This regeneration, more so than any other before it, was prone to guilty streaks a mile long.

Thankfully, the next sentence was less frosty. Children forgave too quickly and too often. The Doctor's grin returned, and he hesitantly opened his arms that that Tyler could hug him if he wanted to. He wasn't much for the touchy-feely business, but he owed Tyler this.

"Never," he said, "anger Algol royalty. Their prisons are absolute rubbish."

Of course, he'd only spent about a week on the planet and only one night in prison, but it had been disgusting! Then again, what had he expected from slug creatures?

"Learning to play?" the Doctor asked, motioning at the guitar, hoping to divert the conversation to where he'd been.

He hadn't forgotten, not exactly. Tyler always lingered in the back of his mind,a ghost like the rest of his mistakes. The Doctor spent so much of his time pushing those fragments of people away that Tyler often got shoved away as well. At least that's what he told himself. He wouldn't admit to anybody that he was scared of messing up with the boy just as he had Tyler's mother.

The gesture of affection was odd.  Lucius remembered the first- and was it his last?- hug he gave the Doctor.  The Time Lord seemed uncomfortable and unprepared for it.  It was as if hugs were something the old man was hardly use to and would prefer not to repeat the action if were possible at all.  But now the other was holding out his arms, a universal signal of invitation.  Lucius could either stand there and the situation pass itself in a painful manner, or he could give the Doctor the hug he was waiting for, destroying the tension that was strung along with rejection and avoid causing problems.

Twisting the strap on his shoulder, Lucius moved the guitar to his back before taking a casual step forward to wrap his arms around the Doctor.  He let out a content sigh, never being one to hide or even be embarrassed with how he felt.  He liked hugs.  Loved them in fact.  And this particular one was overdue.  Though it was amazing how short he felt next to the alien.  The guy had a whole two feet more than him!  The situation made Lucius hope he grew up to be as tall- if not taller- than the Doctor.  He always wondered what it would be like to see things from above instead of below.

“Algol?”  Lucius inquisitively quipped.  He pulled away and took a step back so he could get a better look at the Doctor’s face.  With blue eyes wide, he went on, “As in aliens?  What’s it like?  They prisons, I mean.  Are the prisons like dungeons?  Like the ones from medieval times?  What’s the planet look like?  The people?  Do they have buildings like ours?”  Trust the kid to bombard a man with a million questions.  Well, actually, he only did it when his curiosity had a thirst that had yet to be sated.

Lucius stopped himself from spewing out all the inquiries his head was buzzing with when the Doctor asked about the guitar.  Pursing his lips, he shook his head vigorously before pausing.  “Not exactly.  But I do want to learn.”  It was more than that.  Lucius wanted to be able to write his own songs one day.  He didn’t care if nothing came out of it, he just loved music and wanted to contribute to it in anyway he could.

Several miles northeast of where the two conversed, a storm was brewing quickly.  Dark clouds generated at a faster pace than anyone who paid attention to these things would have ever seen in their lifetime.  The charcoal mist rolled in waves atop of one another; an abysmal rumbling reverberated in the core of the formulating mass.  The situation drew the deepest interest of the London Storm Chasers, a group of people that were happy to hop into their equipment-ridden van and drive to the heart of the storm.  Little did they know, the footage the team would catch with their cameras of the storm would never make it to the news station… the very news station that would warn people to stay indoors and to- god forbid- open up their doors for any reason.  Even hiding in a bomb shelter would not have been considered too extreme, for remaining exposed to the previously sunny sky would lead to something truly catastrophic.

The Doctor smiled as Tyler hugged him. It had been a long time since he'd been that affectionate with anyone, and it seemed fitting that Tyler would be the one to break the trend. He wasn't the first to let go. The trick with kids was to never be the one to end a hug. Only the kid knew how long they needed it.

Had he ever been that short? The Doctor looked down at the top of his young charge's head, frowning faintly. Tyler had gotten taller in the months since his last visit, another bitter reminder of how long he'd stayed away. It wouldn't be that long next time. He'd make sure of it.

The little boy pulled away and the Doctor quickly put a smile on his face. Never let them see the damage. Especially the little ones. Instead, he launched into an explanation of Algol, chuckling slightly at the outburst of questions.

"It's a pretty little planet--all the landmasses combined about as big as Europe and Asia together. They've got an absolutely dreadful economy, so everyone's always in a foul mood, especially the leaders. I made a joke. Tasteless, really, but it was right there and....anyway, next thing I know, they're dragging me down into this little room. Probably would've been more interesting if it had looked like an medieval prison with chains and the like, but it didn't. The cell was completely white and about ten feet by ten feet. Utterly dull. I managed to talk my way out of it, but it took a while and a couple 'a favors."

"The people are humanoid. Well, 'cept the second head. And the green skin. They're a little taller than humans, usually. Not the friendliest lot in the world. Always arguing over money, who owes who, who's in debt, who isn't. It gets a bit dull after a while."

"The buildings used to be some of the best in the universe, but they've really fallen apart over the past six centuries or so. There's no money in their government to fix it, so they just kinda stand there. Sometimes they fall over. It's not very pretty anymore. It's a shame, really, they used to be one of the richest planets in the universe, and then they got cocky."

The Doctor sat down where Tyler had been minutes before and patted the space beside him. He would have offered to teach Tyler how to play, but it had been ages, and regenerations, since he'd last played himself. Without the muscle memory, playing an instrument was difficult and quite frankly, frustrating.

"We can go get you a book or somethin' like that," he offered. "Dunno how much you can learn from a book, but you can give it a go."

Tyler was clever. If anyone could do it, the Doctor knew that he could.

Wow. The planet, though it sounded like it was crumbling, would be interesting to visit. Unless, of course, the dryness of the aliens living there killed the adventurous spirit as the Doctor described. If they couldn’t even take a joke, how fun could it really be? Actually, Lucius connected the state of the planet with that of earth. Though he didn’t understand the economy nor its significance, he related the cocky, greedy nature of th aliens with the men in suits he had seen strolling through London, looking like they had more important things to do than even look a passerby in the eye. It was a shame. Lucius was sure these people were marvelous; all they lacked was the compassion and care to utilize their true gifts. Money didn’t make a good person like the media would have you believe.

“Sounds like a sci-fi hospital room. Or a holding cell for experiments.” He commented in an absent manner. For some reason, he had the itching feeling that he had seen something like that first-hand. But where would he have? Lucius was certain he would remember being in a pure white room if he was ever in one. Perhaps he saw it in a picture or on the telly.

Lucius watched the Doctor move, just standing in place and staring. If he hadn’t received an invitation to join, he would have stood in that spot until someone or thing showed up and interrupted this little meeting. He was odd, he was aware of that. It was hard not to be when you had people in your life that liked to point it out. The authorities in the orphanage often referred to him as a shadow. Rude, maybe, but Luci didn’t mind. He only cared when someone else’s feelings were being hurt.

Shifting the guitar once again, he shuffled over to the Doctor and plopped down beside him. He never saw the Doctor play an instrument before, but he was sure at least one of his incarnations were capable of music. Probably not this one though. Well, that was an assumption based on observation, of course. But it didn’t matter. Lucius was determined enough to learn to play with or without the help of someone he knew.

“I only learn from books.” Lucius plucked at a string mindlessly. “The teachers think their explanations are helpful but they just use easy words. I think ‘dumbing it down’, as they say, leaves out important information I can just get from a text. Anyway, if I had a guitar books I could learn notes and figure things out. I think. I don’t know.”

There had been other things that happened on Algol too, a woman being chased down and killed for her meager fortune despite the Doctor's best efforts, the prison filled with debtors that weren't really debtors at all, dragged there for saying something at the wrong time or in the wrong place under false accusations. Those were the kind of things he dealt with on a regular basis. But Tyler's view of the universe (he hoped) was untarnished by the bad. His head was filled with sixties rock concerts and signed guitars. That was the main reason the Doctor hadn't simply plucked him from Hopefelt and taken him to the stars. Every single one of his companions got burned.

"A little bit like that, yeah. Remind me to tell you about the experiments in Alexandria when you're a bit older."

It was a good story, but not one he wanted to tell for little kids. Tyler probably wanted to sleep tonight,a and the Doctor wanted him to as well.

The hesitation on the little boy's face was perfectly clear. The Doctor could do nothing but stay where he sat, his eyes trained on Tyler's, willing him to move. He didn't know if it was trust issues or something else, but he wanted to fix it.

He barely stopped a sigh of relief escaping his lips when Tyler settled himself on the ground beside him. The Doctor squinted up through a gap in the leaves at the sky, anything to hide the relief on his face.

"You sound good already," he said as Tyler plucked away at the strings. It wasn't one of those little white lies that adults were so fond of telling, either. For someone who had never had lessons before, Tyler looked natural with the instrument. "Try this."

Even if his hands didn't know how to play anymore, and even if he was as tuneless as your average rock, the Doctor knew how you were supposed to hold a guitar. He readjusted the boy's grip on the guitar until it was settled in the proper position. It was a bit large for him, but he'd grow into it.

"You're cleverer than the other kids. Learn as much as you an from the teachers, but when you need more, you're right about books."

It wasn't going to be easy for Tyler. He'd always have that divide between him and the others.

Lucius let the Doctor move the guitar around. It was hard to get his short arm over the top and it was one of the rare times he didn’t like being so short. If he was larger, this wouldn't be so difficult and perhaps he could play like a real guitarist. It wasn't just about how well you played, performances were about how good you looked while doing it as well.

“I wouldn’t say that.” He moved the guitar away, placing it gently on the grass beside him. With a look over at the Doctor, he murmured, “I’m not much smarter than anyone else. I just.. do different things, I guess. The others would rather play around and act silly than learn or read or discover what their talents are. That’s okay though… they have a long time to worry about all that stuff.”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Lucius turned to the Doctor fully, a stoic expression on his face. It wasn’t that he was afraid to ask, but the topic he wished to bring up often resulted in tension. Well, they normally changed the path of the conversation and then ran away. Conveniently, something would come up and Luci’s company would whisk away.

“Uhm… look, where do you think they are? You must know them better than me, right? I know you know who my mum is- though she never mentioned you; not sure why. But, I mean, why did she go? I know it’s sudden but I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Only met my dad once and don’t know anything about him except he’s.. a little different. ‘M not sure what that means though. Can’t you tell me anything? I don’t like not knowing.”

Miles from the two, the storm kept drifting on. The Storm Catcher van was left destroyed on the road, the bodies of the vehicle’s occupants laid strewn and bloodied around the burning hunk of metal and mechanical parts. The cameras were torn apart, the film ripped from them and cut into shreds. This was a taste of what Hopefelt had coming.

The growing mass was drawing more and more attention. From London, people could see the dark cloud and were beginning to talk. Newscasters assembled their members and began to write a story on the odd looking thing. Word went out that the Storm Catchers had yet to return with a close-up footage. Curiosity and suspicion were increasing to alarming levels. What the hell was that thing? Perhaps this was a job UNIT should get involved in… perhaps even Torchwood. The populations’ paranoia rose and talk of doom and destruction rolled across the land like a tidal wave.

Already, the kid was better then him, not holding himself in high regard, not inflating his own importance. Humility was something that you could not teach. The Doctor should know. He'd tried, so many times.

"That's...good," he said. "That you think like that, Tyler."

Trying to sound like a--God help him--parent was hard, but he felt as if he were managing, at least a little bit. Tyler looked like he needed a good praise every now and then. The Doctor could do that.

The little boy's next words made something hard settle in his chest. How could he tell those big, innocent eyes about Mal? About the companion he'd failed, because he should have seen the signs and he should have been able to stop it? What child could stand to hear that their mother, a person they regarded as the best and kindest person in the universe was really neither, was really quite the opposite? Mal had made mistakes. He'd made mistakes. Neither of which he wanted to tell Tyler about.

And there wasn't much to tell on the Flesh Doctor, the strange child of happenstance. It hadn't even occurred in his timeline yet! Besides, it wasn't like he wanted to get into how that happy union had come about. No child wanted to hear that.

Yet, he knew what it was like to be stranded in the dark without answers and he hated it just as much as Tyler did. The Doctor took a deep breath before answering. Deliberately, he dodged most of the little boy's question.

"Your mum...she needed some time to get things sorted," he said bluntly. "Maybe more time than she thought she did."

He didn't know when Mal was coming back, or if she ever would. There was no use raising Tyler's hopes. Instead, he looked away from the little boy, unable meet his eyes any longer. He plucked a few strands of grass from the ground and focused instead on weaving them together, in and out and in and out. It hadn't been a satisfactory answer and he knew it, but he didn't have the heart to dredge up anything better.

Lucius looked displeased with the answer he received. It was very vague and something he was already aware of. She left him with the words of, I’ll return for you. I’ll fix this and come back. Of course, the small boy was unaware of what, exactly, she was fixing. All he knew is the world wasn’t the nicest of places and there were things out there that would be interested in taking him into custody for their own gain. That was something his mother never lied to him about. Unlike her childhood, she was honest with the abilities Lucius was born with and encouraged he worked to make them better in order to protect himself.

Remaining silent and observing the Doctor’s body language, he concluded that bringing up the topic was, as predicted, a pointless act. He was certain the Time Lord wasn’t going to give him anymore than what he did- which wasn’t much. Apparently he was destined to remain none-the-wiser. Oh well, he was confident things would be revealed to him in due time. All he had to do was wait and be patient.

“It’s okay.” Reaching over, Lucius patted the man’s shoulder before hopping to his feet. He should have known better than to bring it up. Hopefully the Doctor didn’t feel too terrible about it. The last thing Luci wanted was for him to have destroyed whatever good mood the Time Lord was in.

He walked over to the TARDIS, not meaning to abandon his company but he was searching for a way to distract himself from all those questions buzzing in his head. When he was close enough, Lucius placed the flat of his hand on the blue wood, exhaling a heavy breath. It was funny to him how a silly ship could possibly be the only company he needed. Well, that thought should be monitored in case he decided to run away with the ship and isolate himself from humanity.

“Yeah right.” He snorted in amusement. To run away with a box.. where would he go? What would he do? Not to mention that the thing wasn’t even his. To take the TARDIS would be stealing- that was, of course, if he ever managed to learn how to fly it in the first place.

Lucius turned back to the Doctor, opening his mouth to say something but being cut off short in the wake of curiosity. His head tilted upward as the previously bright blue sky began to cloud over with an ugly looking grey. He didn’t know it was suppose to rain today. Well, there was a fairly strong breeze today so it wasn’t that surprising if a storm was rolling in from a different location.

“But I didn’t bring a jacket…”

Tyler's acknowledgement meant more to him an the little boy could ever possibly know. The Doctor had been forgiven many times (more times, he thought, than he deserved) but nothing was ever quite like the forgiveness of a child. Tyler's words also relieved him of some of the guilt of leaving him alone for so long. Gratefully, the smile returned to his face.

"I'm sorry," he managed.

Tyler got up to examine the TARDIS. The Doctor watched with a mixture of pride and fondness. Lady, he knew, liked him quite a bit. It appeared that the feeling was mutual. Tyler had a connection with his ship that didn't come easily. Sometimes it would take years for her to warm up to a companion. With Tyler, she opened herself up. He didn't know if that was simply Tyler's nature or his roundabout connection to him, but Lady had taken a liking to him ever since she'd first met him.

A sudden darkness descended over the clearing. The Doctor looked up at the dark clouds overhead, his brow furrowing. It hadn't looked like rain when he'd arrived, though these definitely suggested it. He hopped quickly to his feet and hurried over to stand beside Tyler outside the TARDIS doors.

"Better step inside, don't you think?" he asked, slightly worried about the boy's lack of warm clothing.

Huh. Maybe this foster parenting thing would work out.

Another sigh left his lips.  Lucius was very contempt at this time.  Funny thing, since he often found himself, in the hours he was alone, regretting and wondering where everybody was and whether or not they were thinking of him, or more importantly, planning on returning.  But Luci let those thoughts fall away from his mind near Lady.  She was a very comforting presence.  

He was curious to know, however, how a box could be alive.  The first time he was informed of its consciousness, he was sceptical. But watching her magic and apparent attitude through disobedience and funny little tricks inside the console, Luci concluded that she must have a mind- regardless of how it was possible.

Lucius looked at the Doctor and nodded his head.  He certainly didn’t want to get cold and sick, that was never fun.  Especially when there were several other things he could be doing than sitting inside, in a bed, trying to rest away a cold.  He supposed he could read at times like that, but it was funny how often a person wanted to so many other things when they were stuck just doing one.  Luci certainly enjoyed reading but it could get tiring if it was the only thing to do.

“Oh, my guitar..”  He stuck up a finger in a ‘one moment’ gesture.  The guitar was sitting on the grass where he left it.  Walking over, he scooped down to pick it up when a cold shiver ran up his spine, causing the tiny hairs on his neck to prickle.  Lucius quickly stood and stared at the sky just in time to watch the cloud start to descend.  Quickly.  Too quickly for it to be explained by the breeze in the air.  But surely there was some scientific reason on how or why the clouds were doing this?  Well, if there was one, Lucius didn’t exactly feel like waiting to figure it out.

With his knuckles white from gripping the neck of the guitar so tight, Lucius turned on his heels and ran the short distance to the TARDIS.  Pushing the door open, he nabbed the Doctor’s sleeve with his free hand and tugged on it, assuming the Time Lord would follow but he wanted to make sure anyhow.  His tiny heart was racing as he turned towards the open door to see the cloud- or whatever that thing was- swooping towards the TARDIS.

“Doctor?!” He wasn’t sure how to formulate his questions. Should he ask what was happening?  Or inquire about what that thing was out there?  Was this something to be afraid of? But of course it was.  Trust your instincts.  His mother would say; and so he did.

The Doctor watched Tyler carefully as the little boy ran to retrieve his instrument. It was a good thing he'd remembered. The Doctor's mind had been elsewhere and it would be terrible if the guitar got wet. It wasn't like he could go to a mall and replace it.

"What the--" he breathed, titling his head back to get a clearer view of the sky above.

Coming down at an almost terrifying rate were dark clouds. In the Doctor's long experience, big dark clouds didn't mean anything good. He stepped back closer to Lady and beckoned for Tyler to come back as quickly as he could. He didn't know what was causing the clouds, but it was t any sort of Earth weather phenomenon, that was for sure. On,y something alien could cause something like that. He should have known. The TARDIS never landed him anywhere ordinary. Even when he was just visiting.

Thankfully, Tyler wheeled around and hurried back as fast as he could. The Doctor allowed the little boy to tug him into the TARDIS. He didn't like the look of things out there. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but unease had settled in his chest. His hearts thudded in his chest, not fear for himself but for the little boy who'd been unwittingly drawn into one of his adventures.

Warranted unease, apparently, seeing as the cloud was now rushing for the doors. He stood and gaped, mind for once completely blank, but Tyler's panicked yell brought him back to reality just in time to take some action.

"Shut the door!" he ordered, bounding forward in case the little boy wasn't enough to close the door on his own.

Lucius didn’t have to be told twice.  Setting his guitar aside, carefully but in haste, he sprang towards the door to obey the Doctor’s command.  The weight of the situation hit Luci and he began to tremble.  Reaching out, he clutched the door and pulled it shut as hard as he could, fiddling with the latch to get it locked.  It was amazing how often timing worked in his favour.  The cloud was so close that if Luci was even a second too late, it wouldn’t have been a good outcome.  The last thing they needed was for whatever was out there to come flying in the TARDIS.  

Almost immediately, the loud thumping of bodies being flung against the blue box was heard, the entirety of the control room shook with the force behind it.  Lucius shouted in surprise and staggered away from the door.  It didn’t take him long to crouch on the ground as if becoming smaller would protect him from whatever was out there.  Granted, he was small enough to not be seen in certain situations, but cowardice wasn’t going to save him.  At least that’s what he’d seen.  If you ran away, nothing got solved and people you cared for would get hurt.  Which brought another thought into his head: what about the orphanage?  His stomach churned again for a different reason.. the concern for the people he lived with.  Sure, they tended to be displeasing on a regular basis but that didn’t mean he wanted them to fall into harms way.  No one deserved that regardless of their past actions and words.

The loud bangs on the TARDIS turned into quieter thumps and scratches.  Whatever that cloud contained was crawling all over the blue box.  Their raptor-esque growls and ghoulish screeches reached Lucius’ ears, causing him to shiver.  What were the going to do?  Something.  They had to do something.  But the small boy found he couldn’t move in his feta posed position.  Nerves had caused him to freeze and he silently scolded himself for acting so uselessly.  He was afraid.  Fear was his sworn enemy and yet Lucius was staring it right in the face.  At least he wasn’t crying.

The Doctor exhaled in a relief the moment the door closed. There was no way that the things out there could get in. Creatures much more powerful than they hadn't managed it. He and Tyler were safe for the time being. Just to make sure, the Doctor aimed his screwdriver at the door and checked the lock.

He turned to Tyler, ready to congratulate him on a job well done, but the boy was sinking to the ground. He curled up in a tiny ball. Instantly, the Doctor was at his side. He didn't reach out for Tyler, afraid that his touch would startle him.

The Doctor didn't have a clue what to do. It had been such a long time since he'd had to comfort any sort of child, much less a terrified one. He was scared he would screw up. The Doctor tugged off his jacket and gingerly wrapped it around Tyler's shoulders. Then, he hesitantly reached out and out his arm around Tyler.

"It's all righ' we're safe now," he soothed, patting his shoulder. "They can't get in."

Silently, he begged Lady to do anything to comfort him. Whatever it was, the TARDIS and Tyler had a connection. Hopefully she could calm Tyler down and they could get on with getting rid of those things.

How could he be such a coward at a time like this? Lucius knew that this was something he should work on. Well, it was alright to feel fear, but what wasn’t okay was how paralysing it was. He let it take control and get the better of him. If people were hurt as a result, it was his fault, wasn’t it? With that logic he could go ahead and assume if anything happened to the others back at Hopefelt, that would be on Luci and the cowardice he let conquer him.

The sudden presence of the jacket on his shoulders provided the kid comfort. To him, the leather piece of clothing resembled authority, power, confidence, and determination- all these qualities made a good leader- or so Lucius thought. He couldn’t leave out the most important trait of them all, and that was compassion. The boy concluded long ago that his Time Lord company possessed all of these things- and he had just placed his trademark item on Lucius’ shoulders. Perhaps that’s what quelled the paralytic feeling and caused the boy to feel lively again.

Even without the Doctor’s arm on his shoulders, Lucius felt sure of himself again. He blinked a few times and looked up at the man, offering a small smile to show he was alright; but his facial expression went sour when he started talking, “What are they? What about the orphanage? There are windows there… and those creatures sounded like the could... What if they break in? What if people get hurt?... What do we do?”

Thankfuly, it didn't look like he had to do anything else to keep Tyler calm. The little boy had pulled himself together, which was more than he could say about a lot of people three or four times his age. He saw people falling apart under stress all the time. It took someone incredible to pull themselves out of it.

"Not sure," the Doctor said, reaching around Tyler to pull his sonic screwdriver from the inside pocket of his jacket.

The readings were unlike anything her ever seen before. They were erratic, and completely unreliable. Whatever these things were,they were disturbing the sonic's frequency.

At the boy's next words, the Doctor sighed. The creatures had given up on them, but that was only because of the TARDIS. He supposed he could fly over and check it out, but he didn't want Tyler any closer than he had to be.

'We'll pop round and see what we can do," he said at getting up to start the TARDIS's flight.