Title: For the First Time. Again.

Author: Ties (Amacina, Lyr i'Maire)

Disclaimer (presented by…The Doctor)

Enter the Doctor in bunny ears with a script. Doctor, peers at script, scowls disbelievingly at stage left, and then proceeds: Hello fellow associates. I convey a declaration that the authors, Amacina along with Lyr i'Maire kindly do not possess Doctor Who and revere that he is in fact owned by the BBC. Moreover, no individual owns me, I'm the Doctor! I do what I want, be who want, park where I want. It's all first-rate fun. (turns to look at stage left again, shakes his head, and walks off, muttering about "bloody bunny ears")

Chapter One: Deep in the Catacombs

If there was one thing I loved more than my family, my life, anything, it had to be my grandfather's "Collection". His whole life was dedicated to finding strange creatures and putting them on display. Days, weeks, and- on occasion- years he would spend away from us, searching for another creature, another item, another being to annex into his little world. But his work was hidden from view, stuffed together in a basement gone mad and only ever seen in its entirety by him. Not even the family members closest to him were allowed see into the furthest reaches of the Collection.

That was, at least, until today.

My grandfather had made a habit of showing me around the general Collection every Saturday, when I was off of school. He would clasp my tiny hand in his gnarled paw and lead me carefully through the winding rows of boxes and display cases, telling me by heart all he knew about each and every one; sometimes he even told me how they had been obtained. I couldn't be bothered to even try to read the small plaques that adorned each piece because he would always know more than the little info contained in each one. All I had to do was listen and enjoy the show, and before long I had them all committed to memory.

Now, my grandfather, when not out hunting, was a busy man; he made his fortune through various business ventures throughout the years. It was his talented business management and keen eye for profit that kept him out of the red and the Collection ever expanding. Without that money, my trips with him would not have existed, and I'd have grown to love something other than the individual history of each object or creature I saw.

Things had changed, though, in the last few years. Grandfather had finally passed down his businesses to my father, who had inherited all of Grandfather's business savvy, and my older brother was already being groomed to take over for my father whenever the company was ready to be passed down again. But if there was one thing my father did not appreciate of the legacy he received, and it was the Collection. To my father it was sick and strange, despite Grandfather's assurances the objects' worth far outweighed his personal interest in them. I couldn't begin to fathom my father's repulsion to the treasures hidden in the mad basement, but I was young then. Too young to even begin to comprehend what the collection meant.

However, youth didn't hinder me when it came to understanding that grandfather hid part of his collection from us. There was a door that he'd always avoid whenever we toured about the halls; it was simply locked with a keypad and every time we went past it my curiosity grew. I wanted to know was held behind that door, be it the greatest secret of the collection or a simple broom closet. And my childish curiosity was a strong thing.

I began to watch Grandfather carefully as he input passwords. The string of numbers was long and complex, but I learned how to decipher them; Father always said I had a way with numbers. Watching Grandfather's fingers splay across various keyboards and locks, I saw the patterns and then, the password. He changed it frequently, but he always changed the same two numbers following the same pattern; that was the key to how I figured it out.

Grandfather would always show me around on Saturdays because he loved working on Sundays when no one else was working and could interrupt him. Although my father effectively ran every aspect of the business, Grandfather helped him with the workload, helping to ease the transition from one generation to another. This was the diversion I needed to sneak into the restricted section.

With Sundays off, I had the day I needed set. There would be no second time; this was a one shot deal. I had to prepare and make sure I was ready before attempting my break-in. So I was careful, keeping all plots in my head and a smile on my face. Besides, I was very good at keeping secrets.

Time didn't matter much to me when I was young, but it must have been months before I was certain I could pull it off. When that moment came, I ventured forth boldly into the Collection as was my habit, making it seem like I was just spending another day lost in the items. Once enough time had passed, I slipped carefully to the well memorized path leading me straight to the door. My footsteps were silent and my fear mounted as my heart stopped at every little noise I heard. Eyes wide, I swept the room for any signs of an approach. When no one came, I hurried on, coming up to the door that I so longed to see the other side of.

My fingers trembled as I entered the numbers into the keypad on the lock. The couple of seconds needed for the door to accept the code dragged on, driving me to a higher level anxiety than I had already attained. When I was granted access, I quickly slipped through the door, closing it carefully behind me. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm myself as I walked on down the well lit hallway. It went on for a span before branching off into two directions. I paused, weighing my options. Fifty-fifty either way, I suppose. I went to the left, praying I wouldn't bump into someone. I was lucky.

Soon the walls became wide panes of glass which held back the strangest creatures I'd ever seen. Of course, grandfather's collection had always had its… oddities. But this was different. These things were alive.

One of the first cells had a metal man that though seeming defunct at first glance activated the moment I walked in front of the glass. A light in its mouth blinked, glowing blue every few seconds before it turned and made its way before the glass. I backed up, my eyes widening in fear as its hand touched the glass. Electricity shot out of its hand, making me nearly scream, but the energy simply bounced off the glass, contained. I fell to the floor, dazed as the creature continued its assault, but to no avail. There was a scratch on the glass behind me and I turned slowly, looking into the jaws of a green monster, caterpillar like in appearance. It snapped, shoving itself into the glass, its several eyes staring at me in wild hunger. I backed away from it, only to remember the metal man across the hall. Full-fledged terror coursed though me; I picked myself up and ran further down the hall, wanting desperately to get caught now.

Monsters moved in their glass cages on either side, coming alive at the sight, maybe even smell of me. I finally screamed, glancing behind me to see the creatures attack the glass that held them. Then suddenly there was no more glass, and the walls were solid once more. I slowed down, realizing I had come to the end of the hall and the monsters were behind me. I wanted to leave now, but the only exit I knew of was on the other side, back where I'd come from and I wasn't turning around. Not until I had to.

Walking on, I chose my steps carefully, as to not disturb anything that could be lurking up ahead. When I spotted more glass, I dawdled; terror of the unknown flooded me again. I peered very carefully into the glass, waiting to be greeted by some snarling animal with more teeth than I could count.

Instead, there was a man.

He was sitting on a cot, knees pressed up against his chest as he leaned against a wall. He wasn't looking towards the glass; instead his eyes were trained on the floor as if he was thinking of something. I thought he might be the keeper of the creatures, or somebody who could help me. I banged my tiny fists on the glass, trying to get his attention.

Green eyes locked into mine as he heard, and it looked for all the world as if he was seeing anything for the first time. His head turned to the side, taking me in for a moment before jumping off the cot and sauntering over to the glass. Crouching down to my level, he looked me straight in the eye.

"Can you help me?" I asked. He gave me a confused stare for a moment. Then he spoke, but I realized quickly what was wrong.

I couldn't hear a word he was saying through the glass.

"I don't understand you," I said. He stopped and pointed at his mouth, talking very slowly this time. I shook my head.

"What does that mean?" I asked, dragging out each word. He put his head against the glass, his forehead pressed up against it, and, frowning, he watched me through his eyelashes. I thought to myself quietly, trying to come up with some way of talking to him. I wasn't even sure if he understood me. So I asked.

He nodded to my question, his face never leaving the glass. I smiled a little, knowing I had made some headway.

"Can you come out here and help me?" I said, to which he shook his head no. I blinked, confused. Then my eyes spotted something to the left, on the wall next to the glass. Walking slowly over to it, not even bothering to see the man's reaction, I read the small plague.

The Doctor

Time Lord

Date of Birth: ? Date of Death N/A

No further information at this time.

I backed up, realizing finally, why he was behind the glass. It wasn't to protect him, but to protect people from him.

"You're one of them!" I screamed as I continued backwards. The Doctor's face became panicked and he pushed off from the glass, holding his hands up in surrender. That only scared me further. For all I knew, he could shoot energy beams from his hands.

"You're a monster!" I yelled as my back bumped against the other wall. This time I hit concrete instead of glass. The Doctor stopped, his hands falling to his sides as his expression fell. He looked tormented as his gaze slipped to the floor. Sinking down slowly, he sat on the ground, his head leaning up against the glass again. I stood still for a few minutes before I came forward to stand in front of where he sat behind the glass. It was almost as if he sensed my presence. His head moved up slowly, his eyes looking into mine.

When he did that, I felt like I was staring into time itself. His eyes . . . were so old. My grandfather had eyes like his, eyes that bore the look that came with seeing many great and terrible things. The Doctor's were different though, aged far beyond what my grandfather's would ever be. I pressed my fingers to the glass as I stared, bewildered, but more understanding. I just felt deep down that I could trust this man and he would never lead me astray. And for a moment, he made me think of my grandfather, the one man in the whole entire universe I loved and trusted the most.

"How do I get out?" I asked softly, pleadingly. He thought for a moment before pointing a finger to the left. It was back down the hall of monsters I'd seen. I grimaced, but gathered up all the courage I could muster. Turning the left, I set myself, ready to march back through the fire. However, before I went, I looked back at the Doctor, the curious creature, Time Lord, who looked so human.

"Thank you, Doctor," I said. He perked up, smiling slightly at my words. He said something, but I couldn't understand. I chuckled a little bit in response.

"And I don't think you're a monster. I don't think you belong here," I said to which his smile only broadened. He laughed, his hand banging against the glass as he spoke more words I couldn't hear.

"Good Luck!" I yelled before taking off down the hallway. The creatures came alive around me again, but I didn't scream. I didn't even flinch. I just knew that if the Doctor had yet to escape, no creature would ever get through the glass.

And, even knowing I'd see the monsters again, I looked back, wishing the Doctor was right behind me.

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