| An hour and a half away from sunset.....
Across Socorro, Inquirer's eyes are wide open in surprise as she views
a bronze scaled dragon swooping down from the sky to land well within walking
distance (everything is walking distance within Socorro) from the parking
lot she was at. The female AI had been wondering what the shouting had
been about outside the building she'd placed her call to Betty's trailer
and had gone out to investigate. No problem, since it was not out of the
pathway to the pickup point with the Doctor.....
"Great.....just great," Inquirer sighs as she waves away frantic calls
for her to 'seek shelter' from the 'monster' in the sky.
Outside Betty Ragan's trailer, near a rental car. People are in the
process of getting the heck out of Dodge. Oddly enough, the area around
Betty's trailer is oddly calm in the chaos.
The Doctor shakes his head slowly as he watches Sigin land. Apparently,
the problems that will arise from a large dragon appearing over Socorro
was part of that "hardship" that the Agent and Rules mentioned earlier
before his arrival on this world....
"At least I don't have to try to explain this to the Brigadier," the
Doctor sighed as he turned back to the shocked looking Kathy and Gary Arndt
(the sister and sister's husband of Betty Ragan). The shock of the sight
of a real dragon seemed to have oddly.....subdued Kathy for them moment
(dragons due tend to make a body take a step back in pause...eh?)
"Don't worry....he's a friend," the Doctor said in a soothing voice.
"A dragon is a friend?" Gary says, still not sure what to make of this
oddly dressed man who, he's been told by his wife, is the 'Doctor' of Dr.
Who. "Since when? What in the Hell is going on here?!"
"That isn't a refugee from the 'Land of Fiction'.....is it?" Kathy asks
with an odd look, drawing a surprised look from the Doctor and an odd look
from Gary.
A surprised look from the Doctor because he still isn't used to the
idea of his life being public domain.....as it were.
A strange look form Gary, who while is a fan of fantasy (and some science
fiction) novels, didn't have the background knowledge of the classic television
show that Kathy and Betty had.
"No.....not that," the Time Lord says, "Rather.....something more akin
to a citizen from a parallel world where....magic works."
The humans look at the Doctor strangely.
"Parallel worlds like from Inferno?" Kathy asks. "And I thought
you only began to believe in magic LATER in the series......."
"Actually, the people there are on average more friendly than that of
the Republic of England," the Doctor qualified, remembering the fascist
version of the Brigadier right near the time that version of the Earth
was ending. "As for my...... misconception about magic.....let's just say
that my mind has been opened to a wider view on things and leave at that."
"Ah.....well," Gary swallows, beginning to ask for further details.....and
then decides that it may NOT be a good thing to delay the Doctor overly
long. Kathy did say this gentleman was off to save the universe,
again. Details had been sparse but Kathy had been sure of the validity
of the Doctor's need to borrow their car!
No, best to....just go with it. Things have been happening too fast
and right NOW it seemed like a perfect time to 'seek shelter' as this 'Time
Lord' had suggested. The guy had been.....vague.....about the upcoming
events, but he'd been adamant about how serious things would get.
Kathy looked like she wanted to stay and help, but a gentle negation
from this odd man finally got Gary's wife to go with him.
The Doctor is about to drive off (after reminding himself that this
was America....and the "Yanks" had a tendency to drive on the right side
of the road....if not the correct side) when Betty and Ragan drive up and
jump out of their borrowed car....along with the missing members of the
group.
Betty and Ragan had finally been able to pick them up while they'd been
en route via foot to the Doctor. Sigin had dropped the glamour and the
the elves had returned to looking like their normal selves (vice the children
they'd looked like before). Small magic though it may have been, Sigin
wasn't one to needlessly waste magical reserves when there was no need.
The Doctor suppresses a chuckle as Sigin fusily straightens out his
vest upon getting out of the car. Of all those present, Sigin had - in
the Doctor's opinion- was the best dressed besides himself.....
Later
As they pick Inquirer up from the parking lot minutes later (after Betty
gives the Doctor directions on the quickest rout around traffic trouble
spots caused by Sigin's flyover).
-
 "Okaaay, we
have maybe fifteen minutes before this Earth shifts to Terra Prime's universe,"
Inquirer begins, "May I make a small suggestion?"
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