"Oh come on." I pout, folding my arms. "You can't ban me from flying the TARDIS. It wasn't my fault!"

"You crashed us." He swats my hands away from the controls. "Nah-uh. Hands off."

"I warned you! I said there was a light and you said it was nothing! And you never told me about the triggers. How am I meant to just know that? And you can't just say I can't fy the TARDIS because I can and I will. I run around to the opposite side of the console to steady the gravity levers. "See? I'm helping. Now what have you put in for us to go?"

"France - 1900s. A perfect time of tea, bakeries and croissants." He grins at me cheesily.

"You finally did something right for a change?" I grin. "You've got to be joking."

"Oh... yes... I am." The TARDIS takes an unexpected jolt. "I think... maybe... we're just a little off course... hold on!" He races around the console almost running into me. "Out of the way!"

"SHUT IT!" I yell. "I can HELP!  You move! You're blocking the triggers." I yank 2 and 4 up then race around to the stabilisers before the warning lights begin to flash less frequently. After another hectic 5 or so minutes of running back and fourth I stop, realizing I'm the only one running around. He's just standing there, staring at me like he's never seen a human before. I meet his eyes and mine widen. "What?" 

"You're actually... flying the TARDIS." He says.

"Yes. I am." I smirk. "And you thought you were the only one."

"Not the only one." The doors of the TARDIS fly open and someone walks through. Their confident footsteps sound as they walk up the middle aisle. A pleasant voice fills the room, interrupting the various noises of the TARDIS. "Hello Sweetie." 

*****************************

"What?!" The Doctor uses his colloquial expression. "River? What the heck are you doing here?" 

"Hi." River completely ignores him, walking up to me. Her thick leather boots come up to her knees, and her short grey dress sways slightly, her blond, wild, curly hair bouncing against her shoulders. "The name's River." 

"Yeah what he said." I gesture towards the Doctor. "How did you get aboard the TARDIS?" 

"I have my ways." She winks. "Check out your psychic paper sweetie. If you hadn't been so busy arguing you would have read the message." 

"Oh no. NO. NO!" I object. "We're going to Paris, France, Earth, the Universe. 1900s. Nothing is going to stop that, right?" 

"Help me..." The Doctor reads off the card, then races up to the platform and types in numbers furiously, practically pushing River and I out of the way as he flicks up the switches.

"Oh f..." I turn to River. "Did you have to tell him that? We were going to have a lovely time in France - see the Eiffel tower, do some shopping..."

"That's not how it works with the Doctor." River informs me with a smile. "Where he goes, trouble always follows."

"Who are you anyway?" I ask with slight distaste. "What do you mean I'm not the only one?"

"Who can fly the TARDIS." She grins. "I can fly her too. You can count yourselves lucky, we're the only companions who can. And besides, my status allows me to know things I shouldn't."

"Earth speak please." I grumble.

"Spoilers." She says sweetly. The Doctor gives her a smile which they seem to share.

"Oh my goodness... you're not..." I look between them. "But... I thought... Rose?"

"Just do yourself a favour and follow your paper for once." River says. "Adios." She says to me.

"Wait! Where are you g..." I'm cut off as a stream of light teleports her away. I don't move away from the spot, staring at where she used to be. "She..."

"River." The Doctor says with another smile. "She won't ever tell me what happens in my future, but I know I must meet her for the first time somewhere along my time line."

"But she... just teleported on the TARDIS and..." I trail away. Is this possible?

"Stabilisers! Now, please." The Doctor knocks on the computer

 *****************************************

"Well at least you got the country right." I say wryly, swinging the door open. "France. Doesn't look like the 1900s but give or take a few HUNDRED YEARS." I swing around and burst out laughing. 

He stares at me before taking a peek out of the door. "What?"

"Oh you've gone and done it again  haven't you?"

He looks again, still confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know... maybe the GIANT GUILLOTINE will help?" I step outside and take a deep breath. All the foul, putrid smells of France wifts up my nostrils - the smells of animals and the hard work of peasants, and the rotting vegetables, and the stale smell of blood and death.

"Oh, blimey." The Doctor runs his hands through his hair. "I can pick them can't I? Come on!" He pushes through the few scattered people. "Someone needs my help!"

"Who exactly sends you a message on the psychic paper?" I follow after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"An old... friend of mine." He stops short before a huge building."Ah, the manor's still in-tact then." He knocks on the door loudly. 

The door opens very slowly, warily almost. "Don't hurt me, mister!" The maid puts her hands up around her face and takes a step backwards with a small shriek.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He pushes her out of the way gently, making his way confidently down the maze of corridoors, seeming to know where he's going. I stop to gaze around at everything in wonder. This is obviously quite a rich house. The outside wasn't much to judge by but I'm guessing, because we are in fact here during the French Revolution, the rich that hadn't fled France wanted to keep a low profile.

The Doctor stops outside a low wooden door and knocks loudly. The door opens once again, very slowly.

"Oh thank the heavens!" The woman that opens it flings herself at the Doctor, hugging him tightly, tears streaming down her face. "You came! Oh you came."

"Of course I did. I told you I would, Marie." He says comfortingly. "Now what is it? What's wrong?" 

"It's awful." She sobs and sinks into a chair behind her. "I don't know what to do. Louis and I are beside ourselves. What could do such a thing?" She reaches up to touch her intricate hairdo that seems to falling out of its pins.

"Calm down. Tell me what's wrong." The Doctor sits beside her.

"Wait... you can't be..." I look around the room, the two portraits that rest dejectedly beside the mirky fireplace. A brown chest in the corner with a few jewels hanging out of it. "Marie... Antoinette? Queen Marie Antoinette?"

"Yes." Marie brushes a tear from her eyes. "Well... I used to be. Louis and I were ruling the throne, but that was before the people went mad." Her eyes fill with tears again. She sobs into her hands like her heart is breaking. "They were shouting at us... they started to try and break into the palace..." She looks at me with tears streaking down her face. "They wanted to kill us!"

"Well... yeah." I shrug. "Naturally. Because you were starving them! Can you not see those people down there? They'd do anything for food. You have an abundance of food on your table - you go to the theatre, you go to parties, and you have servants who eat better than the people. And when they stole something as simple as a... loaf of bread they were locked up in prison! All they were trying to do was feed their families! You took away their only right to..."

I look at the Doctor whose shaking his head wildly at me, indicating for me to stop. Marie is sobbing again, head in her hands. "I don't know what to do!" She wails.

I take a deep breath to calm my anger and stalk out of the room, shutting the door a little too loudly and taking off down the hallways, not really caring if I get lost.

Somehow I make it to the front door and open it carefully, barely missing a rotten cabbage that's thrown my way.

"OI! Hands off you bastard!" A rough voice shouts. "That was going towards the rent money!"

"I need it more than you do!" A man with wild brown hair and black percing eyes is staring at another man, raising his fist in a threatening manner, while his small child behind him tugs on his arm.

Ah, the French Revolution. Such a wonderful time. I think back to the time I had to do an essay on it - the time I spent pouring over the history of France, and here I am in the very middle of it all. As I look around the market place, I watch everyone run about their busines, and something a little abnormal catches my eye. Posted assumingly randomly around the place are guards, but they're not usual guards. They're dressed completely in black, from the tip of their head to the black sandals on t heir feet, and they carry what look like primitive guns. They stand there, motionless.

"Excuse me?" I whisper to someone beside me. She turns around, scowling.

"What is it?"

"I'm just wondering... what are those?" I point hesitantly at the guards.

"The Blackalls? They've been here for a while. Sent in by a huge... bird in the sky." She scrunches her nose up. "Nothing but trouble if you ask me. We don't even know what they truly are, but they keep the peace." She watches a fight break out next to her as 2 peasants squabble over a loaf of bread. "Well, mostly. If you don't mind, miss, I'd be getting back to my work."

"Yeah OK." I mumble. I turn around to go back inside the manor again when something roughly grabs my shoulder.

"Oi!" A rough voice says. I turn around to find a raggedly dressed man standing there, grinning toothlessly at me. "You know that ring would fetch a fortune." He points down to the ring on my finger - the one that Alex gave me - my only link to him. It was my 18th birthday present. I remember him so clearly, giving me the tiny velvet parcel - so proud of himself. He'd saved up for ages just to be able to afford it.

"Hands off, mister." I try to shove him backwards, try to. I don't exactly want to start a riot.

"But it could fetch a fortune!" His eyes grow wide. "That could feed my family for a year! A whole year!" He shouts. I look up just in time to see one of the black guards standing over us, towering is probably a better word. It doesn't speak, just stands there. The man looks up in fear.

"P...please." He begs, stepping backwards hurriedly. The Blackall reaches out its hand slowly, and suddenly what looks like electricity races around the man, and he falls to the floor with a strangled scream.

"W... did you just kill him?!" I shout at the Blackall. "That's not even right!"

Ignoring me, it shoves me up against the wall and pulls out its gun. I close my eyes, but instead of dying it simply starts beeping. It's... scanning, I realize.

"You are not completely human." It says in its gravelly voice. Seriously - it sounds like it eats rocks. "You will come."

"W.. no! I'm not going anywhere with you!" I pull away from its grip. It turns back and waves its gun in my face again. Instead of beeping it emits a putrid smeling smoke.

"Oh, that's good." I choke on the foul tasting smoke as it clouds my vision. Then I hit the ground in a massive wave of nausea.

*****************************************

"Ouuwww." I groan, sitting upright slowly, banging my head on something above.

"Oi, watch it love." A voice says. My vision finally clears enough to see I'm in some sort of prison. Above me sits a beautiful woman, well, she used to be beautiful. Where her lovely blond hair used to sit there are patches falling out. Her stained ball gown is cut in places and covered in dirt. 

"Where are we?" I moan, feeling my head again, still feeling like I want to throw up.

"The prisons. I thought that was obvious. The prisons under the palace." She says. "The guards will be coming with our food soon." She dangles her feet of the top of the bunk. "You feel bad? Hot at all? Cold?"

"No I'm fine." I jump off the bunk and take a step towards the small door that's letting very little light in. "What's happened in this place?"

"Well everything was going alright, until the peope started getting resteless." She tries to smooth down her hair.

"You're a noble?" I ask.

"An aristocrat, yes. But they all started fleeing the country long before. That massive guillotine out there is enough to frighten any noble." She shivers. "I'm just awaiting my execution down here, but at least there's food." She smiles widely as a creaky cart comes into view, pushed by a vial little man in greasy clothes.

"Notin' but the bes' for our guests." The little man grins.

"Wait!" I stop him. "You have to let me out - let me speak to your leader.

"We don't do that." the man grunts. "once you're in 'ere, you're in 'ere for good."

"I demand to see them. Show me your masters." I use all the force I can muster. "Now."

"Oh isn't she high and mighty?" He grumbles and pulls out a set of keys. "If you try to escape I have orders to kill you." He points to his spear.

"That's fine. I'm not going to escape." I roll my eyes. He leads me up the stairs and into - what I'm guessing is the Versailles palace. Probably long since evacuated, since the royal family left for fear of losing their heads.

I'm marched down a few long corridoors before we come to a massive big room that I can only guess would have been the throne room. It's empty now, well, empty of the chairs I can imagine sitting everywhere, and only the throne remains, where a lazy blackall is lounging, eating grapes while his legs dangle down the other side of the throne.

"Master." The greasy little man bows low to the ground.

The leader Blackall straightens up slightly, glaring at me. "This was the one that registered as questionable?" It asks slightly. I look around as another blackall advances and uses the same machine as before to scan me. The device beeps a few times and the blackall stares at the screen intensly. "It registers human - with traces of alien contact. Though the alien contact is unknown." 

"So you've never heard of him, then?" I muse.

"Who?" The blackall leans forwards, interested. "Who are you with?"

"A man called the Doctor." I stare at their unblinking faces. "Oh you've really never heard of him? Great. Well he's not a human. Have you heard of the Time Lords, then?"

Their faces don't change. They register the same mute look, untrusting but intruiged.

"What's your plan then?" I walk around the empty room, hearing my voice bouncing off the walls. "I'm not going anywhre in a hurry, obviously, so what have you done here?"

"We came in the midsts of chaos." The head blackall says at last, hesitating slightly. "The humans were already fighting against each other. There was no need for us to interfere, so we simply blended in."

"Not to be rude but you don't exactly blend in with your black suits." I point out.

"Ah but that is because you have seen through out perception filter." The blackall leans forwards. "This is very interesting. We block our true form with a very simple version of a perception filter. Not one human has been able to see through it at all, except for you. To others we look like them."

"But what are you doing here?" I ask, frowning. "What's the point? You didn't crash land on Earth did you?"

"We came through a crack in time, caused by a temporal shift in the universe. It wasn't open for long, but once we were here we were trapped." He leans forwards until his face is milimetres from mine. "We may not be human, but on our planet we do have a sense of justice. The way the poor here is treated on your earth is not ethical. Whose side are you on, human?"

I sigh, taking a step backwards. "Well I know what you mean. I also don't agree with the way the poor are treated, but there's no reason to kill all the rich, now is it?" 

"You are conflicted." The blackall notes with a slight sneer. 

"Whose to tell what's right and what's wrong then?" I peer out of the huge windows. The empty space below looms vacant. "Can you say you're completely in the right, killing people? How come you have such a strong sense of justice. What are you?" I turn back around. The blackall sighs, getting off the jewelled throne.

"We are trapped here, human. Trapped until we can figure out a way to get back to our planet."

"It's the 1700s." I shrug. "There isn't going to be enough power. But... I could speak to someone for you. The person I travel with has a spaceship. He can take you back to your home." I say pleadingly. "What do you say?"