Darkness and The Doctor

By Bryan Weber

Disclaimer: I own none of this. The characters and series mentioned within are the property of their respective copyright holders. This is not-for-profit work.

The girl from another world sat on a rooftop, watching over the city. She chewed quietly on the taiyaki in her hand as her crimson eyes studied the world around her. The people of this world went to and fro about their daily routines, dashing here and there, on this errand or that. It was noisy and hectic, but, as far as she was concerned, it was a far cry from the things she had seen, and the things that she had done over the years.

Then she saw her quarry, Rito Yuuki. Given the time of day and the direction of travel, he was leaving his school, though he wasn't heading in the direction of his own home yet. His head was slumped, indicating exhaustion and frustration. Trailing behind him was Lala Satalin Deviluke, who was making apologetic gestures with a silly smile on her face, as well as a dark haired girl that she recognized as also being from Yuuki's class. What was her name again? Kokegawa?

Lala tugged on the other girl's arm, and the two of them turned sharply into an ice cream parlor, leaving Rito standing on the street, sighing, and completely inattentive.

Completely vulnerable. How many times would she have to teach him the error of this type of behavior before he learned the importance of keeping his guard up at all times?!

She used her transformative power to alter her hair into a variety of bladed weapons, and prepared to make her move.

"Oi! Miss! I don't want to embarrass you," a voice called up at her, "but I'm afraid that the combination of today's strong breeze and the length of your garment are doing you no favors!"

She turned to see a man standing on the street, wearing tweed, a bow-tie, and a fez, looking to the side and with a hand up blocking his periphery vision.

"I don't like perverted people!" She said harshly, leaping at the man. He reached quickly into his jacket, and she felt herself hit by a high level sonic barrage. Her blades became golden tresses once again, as she landed in a crouching position beside him.

That wasn't Earth level technology. It wasn't even something in line with the Deviluke. Who…?

"You are not from this planet," she said to the man.

He smiled cheerfully, "Then I'm in good company, aren't I? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the assassin they call Golden Darkness?"

"You are well informed. And a fool. Knowing my identity, the last thing you should have done is challenge me."

"Challenge. No, no, no," he waved his hand dismissively, "I was trying to spare your dignity. In case you weren't' aware, several people down here could see your unmentionables. Particularly that bald little man there in sunglasses."

Darkness turned to see the principal of Rito Yuuki's school staring at her from behind a bush, the look of utter disappointment clear on his face.

Darkness raised her arm to transform her hand into a very large blade, only to find that nothing was happening.

"My power?"

"Oh, yes. Didn't want you causing a fuss. It's temporary," He held up a strange looking device, "Sonic screwdriver. I resonated the harmonics of your nanotechnology. You'll be back to yourself in a few minutes. I know you have enemies out there, and you seem nice, so I didn't want to leave you vulnerable to them."

"Who are you?"

And then he said the words. A name. More bloodstained than even she herself.

"Oh, hello. I'm The Doctor."

She blinked, "I always thought you were a legend, meant to terrify the Assassins into compliance with The Shadow Proclamations."

He gestured to himself, a silly grin on his face, "Nope. Quite real, as you can see."

"I don't know whether to bow in the presence of someone as revered as you are, or if I should retreat."

He scratched his head, "Well, I don't really think I'm the bowing down to sort, and unless you see any Daleks or Cybermen or Zygons or the like, I think a casual stroll should be fine."

"Why are you here?"

"Me? Oh, just sampling the local cuisine, and I stopped by to chat with an old acquaintance of mine. I believe you know her. Mikado?
"And then I met you. So, tell me, now that we've covered why I'm here, what is one of the most feared assassins in the cosmos doing here in Japan on a lovely day such as this?"

"That boy is my target," Darkness nodded at Rito, who had just been rejoined by Lala and…was it Kokegawa? No, Kotegawa. Why could she never remember that properly? They were all enjoying soft serve ice cream, and Yuuki's spirits seemed to have been greatly lifted.

"Him? He doesn't really seem your usual type," The Doctor mused.

"I was hired to kill him, being told that he had abducted and enslaved Princess Lala Satalin Deviluke, I learned that this was a ruse by a rival suitor to eliminate Rito Yuuki. However, despite the fraudulent reason for my commission, I am sworn to kill all those I am hired to kill.
"And I have vowed not to leave Earth until I have killed Rito Yuuki."

The Doctor smiled, "Engaged to a Princess of Deviluke? That boy seems to live dangerously. Lucky enough for him, you don't seem to be in any hurry to finish your job."

Her crimson eyes regarded The Doctor, "Your hands are soaked in as much blood as my own. Perhaps more. Yet, I sense you disapprove.."

"I would wager that you do as well, my dear," His smile seemed sad, "I can admit that I'm a killer. But I'm not going to kill…today. That's all it takes, sometimes. Saying to myself, 'I am not going to kill, today.'"

Darkness gave the faintest of smiles, "You borrowed that from a piece of Earth fiction."

"Perhaps. But it's still valid, isn't it? They're a unique bunch, these Earth people. Wouldn't you say?"

She nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"I may have blood on my hands, but most of it isn't there by choice, and I'm not proud of any of it," The Doctor said, "And I know most of it wasn't by choice for you, either. Or would you disagree, Eve?"

Darkness turned, eyes wide. That name! How could he have known that name?

"I knew your mother," he explained, seeing the expression on her face, "When you can travel all of time and space, it really is a rather small universe.
"It's the name she chose for you."

"It's not a name I can use, right now."

"Golden Darkness. You know, bad things hide in the Dark, but there are good things there, too. In fact, I suspect there's more Gold than Darkness in you. And between you and me, I've seen enough of this universe to know."

Darkness looked off after Rito and his friends, who were turning a corner, "You know, I'd bet that if you hurried, you could catch up to them. They seem a nice lot. And if he is your 'target', you might want to keep an eye on him.
"He's still engaged to the Princess. It wouldn't do much for your reputation if someone else eliminated him, instead.
"And besides. It's a nice planet, all things considered. Good, restful stop-off to have a bit of a holiday."

Darkness looked at him a moment, then unfurled a set of white wings, her transformation powers restored, flying off in the direction of Rito and the others. If she was lucky, she'd reach the Yuuki house just in time to sample more of Mikan's cooking.

The Doctor smiled wistfully for a moment, then took out his cell phone, "Oi. Gid, what's this I hear about you trying to destroy the Earth? Do I need to go to Deviluke and have a face-to-face chat with you, again?"