(Graphic violence and dark themes ahead. Reader discretion is advised? That sounds so weird :D Anyway, you guys know the drill, here you go!)

When the Doctor pushed the swinging door open and practically heaved you through it, you expected it to get quiet as the drunkards hesitated at the sight of strangers, but instead, the noise grew louder.

There were choruses of cheers and whistles and calls, but none of them disrespectful.

"Hello, friends! Welcome to the shit hole!" One man yelled. The bar responded with clapping and laughter.

"Someone buy a drink for the beautiful girl!" Called a woman, her loud words slurred.

You smiled proudly, trying not to giggle, and the Doctor was clearly taken back by the noise. There was an adorable look on his face, and you just barely noticed him drop an instinctual karate stance that he had formed with his arms when the noise had begun. His gaze quickly hardened again, and he straightened his coat.

"You okay over there, old man?" You shouted over the (now singing) crowd.

He glared at you, looking stingy. Then, he cracked his neck with a grumble. "Shut up."

He stomped up to the bar and sat stiffly into one of the wooden stools. You stumbled after him, finally calm enough to notice how annoying your long dress had been so far.

When you eventually slid into the stool next to him, ignoring how your dress wrapped around your legs like an itchy burrito of fabric, the Doctor slid a jug of mystery alcohol towards you. You glanced up at him, eyebrows raised. He leaned back to let you see past him as a man with an ale-stained, gray, beard gave you a thumbs up.

You giggled involuntarily and the Doctor brought his own mug to his lips. "You apparently have a sponsor."

"Yeah, my grandpa," You smirked, eyeing the old man happily as he slid his arm around his friend's shoulder and they joined in sloppily to help the rest of the pub sing their folk song.

The Doctor hummed in agreement and took a sip of his drink, before immediately letting it pour out of his open mouth, back into the cup, his nose crinkling.

An easy laugh spilled out of your mouth at his behavior before you stifled it wth your hand. Even though you were no longer making noise, your shoulders' bounced with silent giggles bubbling in your chest.

He glared at you, but the look quickly softened. He didn't smile, but he wasn't glowering anymore.

"What do you make of places like this, Doc?" You asked, glancing around at the warm tone colors and friendly music.

"They're fine, I suppose. Better than that bloody sewer, I'll tell you that."

You giggled and could've sworn you heard him chuckle over himself. "I thought humans were 'gross babies'?" You teased, crossing your arms atop the bar counter.

"Yeah, well, you sure know how to have a good time."

You scoffed and took a drink. "I'm sure a Time King doesn't think of this as fun."

"Time Lord, and I don't know about that. I happen to be invested in you lot."

"Oh yeah? I mean, you did solve my parents' murder," You paused to do air quotes. "'Just because'."

It was then that an hourglass of a barmaid appeared on the otherside of the counter. "Can I get you lot anything besides what was given to ya'?"

"Yes, actually. Have you heard anything about the tunnels in the forest?" Doc stated plainly, propping one arm against the wooden surface in front of him.

"Well that was blunt."

He responded by giving a benign flick at the back of your head. You quickly swatted his arm away before smiling awkwardly at the barmaid.

"A tunnel? Sorry, I haven't heard anything like that 'round here. But the forest-- that place's got stories."

The Doctor seemed to comically lean in, intrigued by the ginger's words. You kept yourself straight on the stool, holding back a grin. The barmaid simply sat down her tray of empty cups on the bar counter.

"Well, one of the noble women, Lady Eluned, is always goin' out there. Why should she? I mean, there ain't nothin' out there. I don't know how she gets out of the castle and away from the main part of town after the sun goes down but, we see her. 'Sneakin' past this tavern in the middle of the night. It's not civil!"

"What, she does this by herself?" You asked, the confusion detectable in your voice. "Aren't nobles supposed to be guarded or something?"

She raised her eyebrows and nodded passionately. "Isn't it weird?"

Your eyes jumped to the Doctor as he leaned back, rubbing his chin. You leaned toward him to whisper.

"That was the woman we saw, wasn't it?"

"I think so, but why the bodies? Why the tech? Where'd all the Sontarians go?" He asked, using his hand to gesture at nothing. You shrugged in an exaggerated way, scrunching your shoulders close to your ears before letting them drop. Doc turned back to the barmaid. "Which way might we go to find the castle?"

"Straight out that door and head left. But at this hour, you won't arrive until sunrise. I suggest you stay the night somewhere."

You glanced toward the Doctor. "What do you think?"

He raised his eyebrows at you.

-

You trailed after the Doctor as he pushed out of the tavern and onto the empty street.

"You want to head to the castle now?"

He ignored your question, pacing up to a horse-drawn cart, reaching into the inside pocket of his coat. A young man sat on the front seat, eating a stale biscuit, a bag of bread in his lap. The cart behind him was empty, save a clay pot or two.

"Can I 'elp you?" The man asked, his voice disinterested. You came to an abrupt stop as the Doctor flashed a blank badge at him. The man panicked, and after a flurry of motions was siting straight, his balled fists in his lap. "T-The noble garrison! My apologies."

The Doctor crinkled his nose and spun the badge towards himself like he was checking it. Sighing, he tucked it back in his coat. "Alright then, that's us. I'm the Doctor, and this is my..." He trailed off, staring at you. "... specialist."

You rolled your eyes heavily. "Hello." You turned away and began to brush off your dress.

"Right, we need your cart."

"M-My cart, sir?" Tensing, the man tied off his bag of bread, as if to protect it.

"Afraid so. We'll return it... eventually."

"My horse, too?" He asked. You cocked your head. This seemed... unfair.

You cleared your throat, before speaking up. "You'll be rewarded for helping us, of course." You elbowed the Doctor gently and he straightened.

The Doctor didn't seem to care either way, but the man brightened, before asking with a hunger in his eyes, "How much?"

-

You held the Doctor's mauve coat tighter around your torso, the soft sleeves long enough to reach your knuckles. It hadn't taken much complaining for him to lend you the long suit jacket. He sat stiffly next to you, the leather reigns in his hands.

You could hear crickets faintly, as the Clydesdale horse snorted, walking leisurely down the dirt road.

You'd been on the road for hours now, and you were sure the sun would be rising soon. Towards the horizon, you could see the sky growing lighter.

You turned your gaze to the Doctor. His brown hair seemed to be hanging in his eyes a little, but he looked too lost in thought to notice. You'd never noticed his waistcoat housed a golden stopwatch on a chain until now. He'd even rolled up his white sleeves a little.

He had untied his bowtie, and left it to hang around his neck. You hadn't known him long, but you'd never seen it undone before. You stared at it until he noticed you and spoke.

"Is something wrong?" He grumbled. He didn't seem like he really wanted to know the answer, but then again, that seemed to be just how he talked.

"Your bowtie."

Doc glanced down at it, before turning his attention back to the road sourly. "What about it?"

After a heavy eye roll, you moved to sit on your legs, facing him with a huff. You reached forward, grabbing either end of the fabric.

He tensed, glancing at you. You began to retie it as you spoke to him. "My dad taught me how to tie one when I was little. And when prom rolled around, Andrew and my brother didn't really know how."

"That doesn't explain why you're so... adamant about mine."

You noticed then that the Doctor smelled sort of sweet-- faint aromas of ale and fruit had clung to his clothes. His bowtie felt slightly itchy and rough, but the fabric led you to believe it had once been soft and new. He was cold to the touch.

Swallowing down the feelings of butterflies in your stomach, you forced a shrug, siting back once you'd finished. "... You look weird without it."

He gave you a final glance before returning his focus to leading the horse. You were quiet for only about thirty seconds before you remembered another curiosity.

"What was with that weird badge you showed the cart driver? It looked blank to me but the man... he looked almost brainwashed. You don't brainwash people do you?"

Doc sighed heavily. "It doesn't brainwash... It's psychic paper." He nodded towards his jacket around your shoulders.

It took you awhile to find the right pocket and pull out the the leather bound paper. You flipped it open and a blank page stared back at you.

"It tells you whatever I want it to tell you," He grumbled simply.

"That sounds a lot like brainwashing," You mumbled lowly, but when you glanced down at it again, it was no longer blank.

The scribbled words "This is psychic paper" stared back at you. You cocked your head at the Doctor, who was now glancing at the paper out of the corner of his eye. "Is this your handwriting?" You asked.

"That's your next question?"

"Well is it?"

Exhaling, he craned his neck to check the paper. "Yes, it is."

You couldn't stop a giggle from tumbling out of your mouth, and the Doctor stiffened. "How old are you? 30? You'd think an alien time traveler's handwriting would be better than mine." You tucked the psychic paper away. "I mean, it's not bad. At least I can read it," You giggled.

"A little over a thousand now."

"What is?"

"I am."

You froze. "I'm sorry, you're... over a thousand years old?"

"I'm a Time Lord, remember? My lifespan isn't like yours."

You found yourself laughing again. "So when I called you an old man, that wasn't just me being funny, that was accurate?"

"Well... yes. Even for Time Lord standards I suppose. I could be your granddad."

"If you're even old for Time Lord standards then how do you look so young?"

He took in a sharp breath. "It's complicated... I didn't always look this young. I suppose I just got lucky this time."

"This time?"

He didn't answer.

"What, you reincarnate or something?"

"If you like."

You cocked your head, faltering. "You're confusing me."

"Well how you think I feel?" He grumbled. "A thousand years is a long time to be alive. It's not exactly easy."

You shot up your hands in surrender, smiling. "Alright, alright. I get it, you're old and stingy."

He rolled his eyes, but the way he did it reminded you of a sarcastic child, dropping his shoulders and tilting his chin up with the eye roll. Why is he so strange?

It was then that the two of you jostled abruptly as the horse froze in its spot. You cocked your head at the sudden stop. The Doctor's eyebrows pushed together and he tried to urge the Clydesdale forward.

The horse refused to move.

Freezing, you tried to listen for any noise in the forest around you, but you heard nothing.

"Copper~?" The Doctor called cautiously. The horse snorted, anxiously scraping his hoof against the dirt. "Easy, boy..."

The horse let out a squeal and started to fidget, taking steps backwards and forwards, shaking his head angrily.

"Copper-" The Doctor was cut off by the horse rearing up loudly, rocking the cart on it's wheels. Panicking, you used one hand to grip your seat, the other to grab the Doctor's shoulder. "- Copper, what's wrong?!"

"What's the matter with him?!" You shouted over the horse's grunts and pawing.

"I don't know! He won't talk to me!"

You screamed as "Copper" bucked and knocked the front of the cart up, before it slammed back down.

The next thing you heard made you want to throw up.

The rage-powered human scream tore through the forest, loud enough to make your ears ring. You squeezed your eyes shut as the noise slammed your ear drums, letting go of the Doctor to cover your ears with both hands. You nearly fell out of the cart a couple of times as the horse refused to calm.

Once the noise disappeared, you were forced to grip the cart again as Copper continued to panic. Your eyes shot to Doc, who was staring terrified at the source of the noise.

Begrudgingly, you forced yourself to follow his gaze to the darkness behind you.

It was a human scream after all. An almost battle cry. You couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but they stood unnaturally up the walkway behind you, their ear pressed to their shoulder. Machinery claimed over 70% of their body, tubing and metal intertwining in and out of their form. They were dirty, and covered in dried blood. The only clue to their gender was the medieval underwear they wore, pants that were once white and loose were now a pale moss color. You could just make out a corset underneath all the tubes, stained the same color. Any sleeves she'd had, had been ripped from her gown.

You could just make out the anger and hunger in her face before she roared again.

She bounded for the cart.

Doc and you both erupted into screams before he rushed to whip the reigns. Copper surged into motion.

Wind whipped against your face as the two (three, if you count the horse) of you rushed through the forest.

You sat sideways on the bench, facing the Doctor and deathly griping the cart. You kept your eyes on the woman. She ran after the two of you, her steps so wide that every so often she'd trip, before throwing herself back to her feet, either on all fours or two legs.

But she was keeping up.

"What the Hell is that thing?!"

"Lady Eluned's finished work!"

"Why wasn't it there when we checked out the sewer?!"

"Maybe she wanted to keep her prized possession somewhere safer!"

You waited to talk while it-- she?-- screamed at you.

"So she let it loose in the forest?!"

"Well, I don't know!"

You were too busy bantering with the Doctor to notice her gaining on you.

She lunged for the cart, snarling. You let out a scream as she grabbed hold of the open end of the cart, letting herself drag across the ground. Bits of metal and tubing were left behind as the ground tore them from her torso. Blood poured from her as if she were painting the dirt.

The smell of gore and sweat and wet soil replaced the sweet scent the Doctor had emitted. Once again, you tried not to vomit.

"We need to knock her off!" He shouted over the wind. "We can't let her reach the city! Take the reigns!"

"But- I don't know anything about leading a medieval horse! Their commands aren't anything like ours, are they?!"

The Doctor groaned, flustered by his thoughts. His eyes jittered back and forth as he considered the limited options. The cyborg slammed her fist against the wood of the cart so hard in an attempt to climb up that you felt the whole thing rock violently, forcing another scream from you.

Finally, Doc moved both reigns to one hand, moving to cup his free hand against your cheek. "You need to kick her off!"

"I'm sorry-- what?!"

"I'm sorry! But you need to! We can't let her hurt the townspeople!"

Anxiety crashing over you, you snapped your head toward her as she brung her whole arm into the cart. She roared at you in a way that made her jaw look unhinged. Half groaning/half whining, you stood on your wobbling legs. The cart continued to speed at 40, 45 miles an hour.

It was a tricky maneuver to get over the front of the cart that acted as the back of you and the Doctor's bench. Once you'd made it over, you quickly steadied yourself.

You could only hear the wind whipping past your ears and the woman's occasional screams of rage.

Heart racing, you moved to swing for her head with a yelp. But, the second you lifted your foot off the wood, the cyberwoman kept her grip firm on the cart and kicked against the road as hard as she could, trying to rocket herself aboard. Instead, she just made the end of the wagon lurch a foot into the air, enough to make even the Doctor yell in surprise.

You screamed as you lost your balance, your shoulder blades slamming hard into the floor of the cart as its back wheels crashing back onto the road. The woman clawed desperately at your ankles, roaring.

Her snarling face sneered up at you, one eye bloodshot, the other nothing more than an empty socket. When she yelled, furious at you, you noticed tubing and wires sticking out from the back of her throat. She'd been shaved bald, but most of her scalp remained intact. Had this really once been a person?

Her hand snapped around your laced boot, crushing your heel in her grip, before trying to yank you from the wagon. You shrieked as you were jerked across the wood towards her.

You heard the Doctor scream your name in concern, clearly watching over his shoulder. This only made your heart beat faster, you anxiety and panic claiming your lungs and making it hard to breathe.

Panting, your hands moved to push against the floor, trying to lug your body away from her, but she held firm. You brought up your free leg before slamming your heel into the center of her head. There was a crunching noise, a growl, and the feeling of her releasing your leg.

Gasping, you hauled your feet away from her. You wanted nothing more than to run in the opposite direction of this thing-- but you remembered the Doctor's words.

You need to kick her off!

We can't let her reach the city!

Biting your lip and ignoring the tinging in your nose, you puffed up your chest. You lifted your shoe again, letting out a squeak of fear and you kicked at her head. The ball of your foot slammed against her jaw this time, and she made a strange mix of a gurgle and a choking sound.

After that, it took a few more adrenaline-powered kicks until her grip gave way, and she was left behind on the road. You scrambled away from the ledge of the cart as the woman ran away into the forest, screaming shrilly.

You stayed there for a moment, staring at the dirt road as it sped by, panting. You didn't think that'd be the last of her.

(YAAYYY I FINISHED IT! This one is my longest chapter so far, and I had a LOT of fun writing it :D I've been neglecting homework so I could write it 😅 I've also been watching a lot of Markiplier so I accidentally started reading this in his voice XD.
Thanks again for the comments and support! You guys are the real MVP ;))) Have I said that before? I might've :).
This fanfiction is my first kind of introduction to writing action scenes, so if you guys have any tips, feel free to let me know. I'm trying to balance action and fluff so :P
Anyway, thanks for reading! Love you guys! : DD

-TheMatriarch (AKA "halp i might drown in homework and the Doctor's eyes")