I do not own Doctor Who or Fatal Frame. I am only an avid fan of both.

This story features the 8th doctor, played by Paul Mcgann. Aside from him, Tom Baker was the best. In anycase, on with the story. If you are not aware of this doctor, his only screen time, as far as I know, is in the Doctor Who movie. He has numerous audio stories, however...

The daleks in this story are the white kind, with small lights on their heads and golden bumps on their casings; the imperial daleks. I chose them for the fact that they can hover up stairs whilst the renegades, to my knowledge, cannot.

For completion's sake :

White casing and golden bumps : Imperial daleks, loyal to Davros.

Grey casings with black bumps : Renegade daleks. The originals, who turned on their master.

I have no idea what loyalty the new series daleks have, being golden and bronze.

Regarding my other fanfiction; I have not forgotten it. Indeed, the end is done; I must work on the middle. But, as we all are, I am busy.

Note on continuity : Consider this set recently after the short story 'Totem' for the 8th doctor.

Lastly : I apologize if my geography of the village is incorrect. I haven't played the game for ages. I can't remember which house is which...or which interior belongs to which house...oh well...

Sae and the Daleks

(Cue opening music...)

Episode One

There was a tension in the air, but not the eerie sort she was used to. Mio looked about, more curious than frightened. Then she heard it; a wheezing groan; faint at first, but rapidly rising in intensity. She backed away as a blue box materialized before her. The light on its top flared in time with the sound, which was now almost deafening. Then, all of a sudden, with a final, roar, the light faded, and all was once again dark and silent.

Mio stared at it, utterly dumfounded. What was it? She paced about it, momentarily forgetting the horrors that surrounded her. On closer inspection, she noted English inscribed about the top, and on a small sign on the door. She shone her torch, trying to read. She didn't glean much information from them though. She could read 'box', but that part was pretty self explanatory. The writing on the small sign was beyond her, so she tried the words along the top. Police Box. Police Box? What was that? She knew the words, but couldn't grasp the context of the meaning. Whatever it was, it seemed to have done all it was going to do.

Shrugging, Mio turned to leave, feeling somewhat less frightened. Until she heard the creaking of hinges behind her...

She spun about, camera at the ready.

A man emerged from the box! Mio blinked, then looked harder...a Caucasian man? He was dressed in beige trousers with a green jacket. His hair was brown, slightly curly and came to his shoulders. He didn't look very threatening, but Mio wasn't taking any chances. She took a photo.

The man started and whirled around, blinking a bit after the flash.

"What – " he broke off, seeing Mio. "Oh...well, hello there." He glanced about. "It's a cold night, shouldn't you be in bed?"

Mio was too astonished to answer. The man was speaking perfect Japanese! She shook her head, trying to get a hold of what had just happened. Nothing she had experienced in the village so far had prepared her for this!

The man was still looking about. He frowned. "Japan, by the looks of things, slightly after the feudal era, though I'd have to take a closer look at the architecture." He regarded Mio critically. "Your clothes are oddly modern. Who are you?"

Mio panicked. She edged away and snapped another photo.

Caught completely in the flash, the man groaned and covered his eyes. "Please! Do not do that again! Really, I was aware that the Japanese had a penchant for photography but this is ridiculous."

Mio faltered. Two shots and he wasn't hurt; only mildly annoyed. He spoke perfect Japanese...and she concluded then that he ought to understand it. Hesitantly, she spoke.

"Are you...alive?"

"Most certainly, unless I'm a ghost," he gave her an odd smile, "and I don't believe in ghosts."

"There are many here." Mio said. Her voice was tight.

"Well, that remains to be seen." The man said. He stepped forward and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm the Doctor, and you are?"

Mio stared at his hand...ah! Yes! That was the Western custom! She accepted it. He shook it gently, though his grip was strong and firm...and most importantly; warm. "I'm Amakura Mio."

"Well, Miss Mio, can you take me to your parents? I'd like to talk to them a bit; and make sure that you get home safely. A young girl like you shouldn't be wandering a quiet town like this at night!"

"This isn't my hometown!" Mio returned. "I..." the mention of home upset her; its warmth, its safety, her parents...her Mayu! It was too much. After all she had endured in the village, Mio burst into tears.

The man rushed to her side, his face full of concern. "Mio, what's wrong?" he asked. "If I have offended you then I apologize – "

"No, no...you haven't offended me!" Mio choked. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. To her surprise the man offered her a freshly pressed handkerchief from his jacket pocket. She accepted it gratefully and dabbed her eyes dry. "It is a long story...why I am here...I don't even understand it myself, I...I don't know! You're the first living thing I've met here! Please!" she gripped him tightly, "don't leave me alone!"

"No, of course not," the Doctor murmured. "Something's got you spooked pretty badly. I'd like to find out what. If your home isn't near here, then I suppose we'd better head back into the TARDIS. I'll make you some tea and we can have a nice long chat about your problems. How does that sound?" he smiled, a friendly smile. It filled Mio with hope.

"Okay...sure...but...what's a TARDIS?"

"This old thing." The Doctor said, patting the blue box.

Mio frowned. "It says Police Box, not TARDIS." She pointed out.

The Doctor glanced up and sighed. "Oh, pay that no mind. The chameleon circuit of the Old Girl broke years ago. My first trip to Earth; England, mid 1960's, I think..."

"So...why a blue box?" Mio asked.

"That's what English phone booths looked like back then – or should I say will look like; we're in old Japan here after all. To my annoyance I found that I was forever after stuck with it. Tried to fix it numerous times, cost me one of my lives once too, and the blasted thing was still broken at the end of it all..." he shook his head, scowling. "Ah, that's right – tea." He held the door open for her.

Mio was staring at him, puzzled. "One...of your lives?"

The Doctor glanced up. "Oh that? Nevermind...come on, in you go."

"It's awfully small..."

"It's much bigger than it looks, trust me, now, can we go in before the sun rises?"

Despite the cold night and the haunted village around her, Mio smiled. She nodded and walked inside.

"I told you – much bigger!" the Doctor said as he vanished into another room. "Make yourself at home. I'll make the tea – but please, don't touch any of the controls!"

Controls. Controls for what? Mio thought wildly. The place was enormous! The first room had the controls – a console of some sort, with a glowing blue column. Further up the first hallway was a sitting room. It was here that Mio now stood. She marveled at the interior of the TARDIS. The room she was in looked like an ordinary room, from a Western house – carpet, chairs, tables; even little odds and ends like photos...and a record player! The console room was a different matter entirely, and Mio decided that to keep herself sane, she'd be content to stay in the sitting room.

The Doctor returned after a good ten minutes －Mio had been watching a clock on one of the shelves – bearing a tray, with Japanese style cups and a teapot. "I'm sorry about the wait. One thing about these old type-40's, the kitchen is an intolerable distance from the console room. Please, take a seat, and tell me your story."

So Mio let it all out. She cried now and then, but was often cheered by the Doctor's witty remarks. When the story shifted from the ghosts to her sister, the Doctor looked truly concerned. At last the tale was finished. Mio drank her tea. It was perfectly brewed. She was beginning to wonder if the Doctor had been raised in Japan.

He sat back, arms folded, frowning. "Ghosts...ghosts...specters of the dead, supposedly. And a camera...the Camera Obscura..." he glanced at the camera, sitting on the table between them. "May I take a look at it?"

"Of course," Mio faltered. She drained her cup and set it down. "Doctor...may I ask why you are here? And what is this…this TARDIS? Is it your house?"

"You could say so." He answered, turning the camera over in his hands. "I live in it most of the time. Its primary function, however, is a time machine."

"A…a time machine?" Mio tried not to laugh.

"What was that snicker for?" The Doctor asked, peering up at her.

"Well…a time machine!" Mio grinned. "Everyone knows that it is impossible to travel through time."

"Everyone knows that the dead stay dead too," he retorted. "Yet you claim to have met ghosts."

Mio went silent. She hadn't thought of that.

"As to why I'm here..." he shrugged. "I'm not quite certain. The TARDIS is sensitive to anomalies in time and to signals; technological, biological, even emotional, or psychological at least." He paused. "I wonder what face Sarah really did see back then..." he shook his head and continued fiddling with the camera. He produced a thin cylindrical instrument and held it to the camera. There came a shrill whine. He set the instrument down.

"Well this is certainly not the kind of camera you buy down at the shops. Even the sonic screwdriver won't undo these latches." He handed it back to Mio and wondered what to do.

"I must find my sister..." Mio said after a minute. She felt suddenly guilty; relaxing and drinking tea while her poor sister was lost in the haunted village.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes...your sister. What shall we do? Do you know why these ghosts want her? They haven't possessed you, have they?"

Mio shook her head. "As I said, I don't understand. It has something to do with us being twins...that's all I have learned so far..."

"Let's go," the Doctor said suddenly and stood up.

"Where are we going?"

"To look for Mayu, what else? With luck, I'll find what I'm looking for along the way."

They took leave of the TARDIS and went out into the village. Mio led, having the torch. The Doctor walked briskly by her side, occasionally commenting on the architecture, or on notable points of Japanese history. Mio felt inexplicably safe in his company; he was so confident, so smart. She felt he could handle anything.

They came at last to the Kurosawa House. Mio hesitated. "I don't like this house."

"Why is that?" the Doctor asked.

"The torch goes out."

"Goes out?"

"Yes...it cuts out whenever I go in...and it comes on when I leave. Leaving can be...difficult though."

"Is that right? Then we'd best keep on our toes. Someone might have set up a cancellation field around the house...but why? Mio, lets go inside."

Mio was in for a shock; the torch did not cut out. She stared at it, mystified.

"Well, that's an encouraging sign at least." The Doctor said.

"Yes...I guess..." Mio agreed.

They searched the first few rooms but found nothing. No Mayu, and Mio was pleasantly surprised, no ghosts. In fact, since she had met the Doctor, she hadn't even felt anything uneasy. It was all very strange.

They arrived in a room with several guardian statues, demons, and in the centre stood a curious structure. Several books lay about it. The Doctor picked one up and flicked through it.

Mio wandered around the room, idly waiting for him to finish. But the book had well and truly caught his interest.

"Did you know that they sacrificed people here?" he asked, horrified. "Children even, and strangers! I'm glad I came here after the place is dead, I don't think they would have taken too well to me, had I turned up whilst they were alive."

In spite of everything, Mio grew bored.

"Why don't you take a walk?" the Doctor said. "Not too far; you need only call out if you find trouble, or it finds you. As for me, I won't be going anywhere in a hurry, not until I've finished this chapter in any case."

"Alright," Mio agreed. "I won't go far. But I'll take the camera with me, just in case. Don't you leave...please..."

"Mio, I'm not going anywhere!" he answered in mock exasperation. "I'll be here when you get back!"

"You promise?" Mio's voice was low and serious.

"I cross both my hearts, but hope not to die." He gave her a reassuring smile.

Mio wasn't sure what he meant by that, but accepted it as a promise nonetheless.

She continued down the corridor, until she came to a room with a flight of stairs. She looked up them, but did not ascend. Instead, she wandered around to an opening further on, leading to another corridor. A curtain hung low across the entrance.

Mio pulled it aside and peered in. It was dark. She shone her torch into the gloom. Before she could focus, something pushed its way out of the corridor, forcing Mio to retreat before it. She gave a strangled cry, thinking it was some kind of ghost. The thing glided silently out of the corridor and into the room. Its eyestalk focused on the terrified girl. The lights on its domed head lit up as it spoke, its voice harsh and menacing.

I-DEN-TI-FY! I-DEN-TI-FY! It glided further into the room. DO NOT MOVE!

Mio screamed wildly. "Doctor...Doctor!" she turned and scrambled away. As she did so, she heard its mechanical voice resonate through the hall.

HU-MAN CHILD EN-COUN-TERED! SEEK OUT AND CAP-TURE!

Mio ran on, heedless of running into a ghost. "Doctor! Doctor!" she screamed, running back to the statue room. "Doctor!" she burst through the door and slammed it behind her.

"Mio!" he glanced up from the book he was reading. "What on earth is the matter?"

"The...they...big metal things! What are they?" They're coming! What do we do?"

"Big metal things?" The Doctor frowned. He moved to the door.

"No!" Mio begged. "Don't! Let's go! Now! Through that other door! Quickly!"

"Not till I see what's there! It might explain why the TARDIS was drawn here – " he opened the door.

Mio shrieked and hid behind one of the statues.

The Doctor backed up, somewhat anxious. "Well...that does explain it..."

The dalek glided into the room, another was visible in the hall behind it...

DOC-TOR! YOU ARE AN EN-EMY OF THE DAL-EKS! EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!

(Cue ending music…)

Stay tuned for episode two...

Notes

The 4th doctor perished trying to get a new chameleon circuit in Logopolis.

The point about Sarah relates to the story Pyramids of Mars, with the 4th doctor, when Sarah Jane Smith saw an image of Sutek projected into the TARDIS.

The remark about the kitchen of the type 40's is mentioned in the 8th doctor story Shada