Tag: nightmares06

Prompt: Children are the Future

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BTaS Canon – ???

Based on the prompts Glance from this list of 100 one-word prompts, and Dollhouse from this similar list of G/t themed prompts from @nightmares06 and @bee-wrecker respectively. Finally getting around to these!

It had been going so well for Zepheera.

There were only two humans in the small flat, one of them a child. For six months, Zepheera had been living comfortably in their walls, and for nearly seventy years of fighting to survive, she trusted herself to keep hidden and make this home last for once.

And all it had taken was a glance from the child to ruin it all.

Desperate for any kind of barrier between herself and the human, she ducked into the child’s dollhouse. Any human was bad news for a borrower like Zepheera, but children were frightfully unpredictable and prone to grabbing and playing. At 68 years old, even with the body of a young adult, Zepheera was not in the mood for any of that nonsense.

The ground trembled beneath Zepheera as the child approached. Even a little girl, nine years old and much smaller than any adult human, greatly outsized the four and a half inch tall woman cornered in the dollhouse. As the child drew closer, Zepheera could clearly hear each and every breath rushing in and out of lungs larger than the room the borrower had made her prison.

“Hello?”

The little girl’s voice was mercifully light, a quiet rumble that washed over Zepheera through the plastic wall her back was pressed against. A wide blue eye peered in through one window, causing the borrower to jump and dart into the next room. Her eyes flashed frantically around for an exit, regretting her choice of hiding place, especially as the girl shifted outside.

With a loud click and a rush of air, half the dollhouse swung open. Zepheera was left exposed, blinking through the sudden light up at a gigantic child.

The human’s head tilted, brow pinched as she sat back on her heels. “Did I scare ya?” she inquired.

Zepheera frowned, realizing that it wasn’t curiosity that made the girl pursue her anymore, but concern. Those blue eyes, each the size of Zepheera’s head, were filled with it.

Bemused, Zepheera shook her head no.

The blonde girl’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Good. Why’dja run away, then, if you weren’t scared? How come you’re so small? What’s your name? I’m Rose!”

Zepheera’s brow lifted at the bombardment of curious questions. Maybe, if she played her cards right, she wouldn’t have to move out just yet.

“I ran because I was nervous,” said Zepheera, peeling herself from the wall sheepishly. “It’s my first day, you see, being an imaginary friend. I’m Zepheera.”

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18 sounds about right

Based on this post

Cybermats! Zepheera silently cursed, turning to run away from the rat-sized mechanical extensions of the cybermen. They were scouts for the most part, but she knew firsthand that they had a bite to them. Her stomach turned at the memory. 

A glance over her shoulder revealed there were four cybermats chasing her inside the walls, and she only had one electromagnetic charge that might not even work! She’d modeled it off a similar device she’d seen the humans use to fight off cybermen, but she hadn’t had time to test it out before the whole place had been overrun by the cyber-vermin in pursuit of her, separating her from the Doctor. 

She had no need to worry about him, he always managed to find a clever way to escape certain death. She could only hope some of that luck had rubbed off on her, because being four and a half inches tall chased by four foot-long bitey machines, Zepheera was beginning to question her chances.

Rounding a sharp corner, she caught sight of a power outlet a few yards ahead. There! She just needed to make it to there. She risked one more look behind and picked up speed. The cybermats were gaining a little too close for her liking. The second she ducked past the wires connected to the outlet, she activated her charge and thrust it towards them. The miniscule device magnetized itself to the wires and blasted them with its power, creating a surge that effectively knocked out all four cybermats before they could chew their way through to Zepheera. 

She allowed herself a triumphant “Woohoo!” before climbing her way into the room outside.

The place was empty, had long been evacuated. It was pitch dark, the boarded-up windows allowing in no light; evidently, her charge had knocked out the room’s power as well. She made a mental note to make more of those devices as she crept carefully toward the nearest door. She needed to find—

Before she could finish her thought, she was swept up in a tangle of limbs and giant fingers. She began to struggle immediately; the place had been full of humans before the ambush, and she was most definitely not in the mood for this.

“Get your over-sized mitts off me!” she demanded as the hands cupped around her, allowing her to reach the small knife kept hidden in her boot. Not nearly large enough to do any human real damage, but it was enough to sting, and sometimes that was all a borrower needed to stay alive.

She’d only just got her hand around the handle when her captor replied: “Easy there, pipsqueak, it’s just me!”

Looking up and seeing the Doctor’s familiar silhouette filled her with equal amounts of relief and annoyance. “I thought I told you not to call me that. Or sneak up on me and grab me when I’m not looking!”

“Well sor-ry for checking to make sure my friend didn’t get nibbled by cybermats!” Despite the sarcastic tone, there was actual apology in his eyes. “I was worried.”

Zepheera sighed, unable to stay mad at him for long. He wore his hearts on his sleeves, and she never once doubted that he truly cared about her. “Yeah, well I didn’t. See? All four limbs. Fine. No nibbles off me. Get us out of here, big fella, I’ll tell you all about it!”

Thanks for the prompt @nightmares06!

17 sounds fun

Indeed it does. 

The TARDIS door creaked as the Doctor stepped out cautiously.

“Here we are. Tertas, circa five-thousand-ish. And it’s springtime! Love a good ol’ Tertatian spring! What do you think?” He turned to his companion Zepheera as she shifted on his shoulder, admiring the surroundings.

The borrower gaped at the bright green sky, streaked with mauve clouds that moved sluggishly in the light breeze. “I think it’s gorgeous,” she answered, a grin to match the Doctor’s plastered to her face.

“This’ll be an experience,” the Doctor mused as he closed the blue box behind them and sauntered off at a steady pace up a hill. “For once, you’ll be the one that fits in better than I do.”

Zepheera frowned, but knew better than to ask what he meant. Knowing him, either she’d never know the answer or she’d know in a matter of seconds.

This time, he went with the latter.

Once at the top of the hill, a tiny town could be seen in the valley below. Quite literally, a town small enough to perfectly fit hundreds of people Zepheera’s size. Her breath caught at the sight.

To her shock, the Doctor strode right in. Apparently he’d visited before, and the townspeople were rather amiable toward him. Knowing the Doctor, he’d probably saved them from utter destruction.

“Doctor!” someone called down by the Time Lord’s feet. The Doctor smiled widely when he looked down.

“Matzy!” he greeted, crouching slowly in the courtyard he’d found himself in. Zepheera peered down from her perch to see a middle-aged Tertatian man, who looked rather like a borrower if not for the purple-ish tint to his skin. “It’s been a dog’s age, how’ve you been mate? How’s the farm?”

“Going strong, thanks to you! How’s that Martha of yours getting on?”

“Oh, she’s fine, found her own way.” the Doctor practically waved off the question. “I actually want you to meet somebody. This is Zepheera. She travels with me now.” He lifted a hand to act as a ferry between his shoulder and the cobbled street, one which Zepheera eagerly took.

“Lovely to meet you!” she beamed.

“Likewise.” The Tertatian offered a hand for Zepheera to shake. “The name’s Matz, no matter what he says,” he said, cutting his eyes at the Doctor.

“That’s how I remember you!” teased the Doctor. “It’s what you went by when we met.”

“I was ten years old.” Matz laughed anyway, then turned to Zepheera once more. “Would you like to come in for tea? I’ve just put the kettle on, and I can tell you all about the Doctor’s last visit here. I assume he hasn’t told you already.”

“Only because you tell it better, Matzy ol’ pal.” The Doctor reached down and ruffled the grown man’s graying hair.

“Tea would be great, thanks!” Excited beyond belief to learn firsthand about an alien race the same size as her, Zepheera hurried into the man’s humble house. 

Matz started to follow her before glancing back at the Doctor. “I would invite you in, but you won’t fit in the house.“ 

“No worries,” said the Doctor with a grin. He stood with the intention of exploring the town further. It had expanded quite a lot since he’d last visited, and he was sure to encounter some new faces along the way.

…wow, that ended up long. Hope you liked it though ^-^