Chapter Text
(Max's POV)
TW: Alcohol mentions, nothing excessive though. Not sure even anyone cares but I'll put this here just in case.
Max had been following The Doctor down a couple staircases by now. Although he felt more and more conflicted as he thought about the whole situation. Didn't the Time Lord want to get rid of the human? Mayhap it was the initial shock of seeing him again, and here of al places? Maybe his friend just needed to clear his head? And once he did, everything would be okay?
Another wooden door swung open, interrupting Max's thoughts. Behind it was a dark damp room full of racks stocked to the brim. "A... wine cellar?" the human muttered under his breath, inspecting the barrels and bottles lining the shelves.
"Indeed..." An unexpected response came. "...it is." A woman stepped out in front of them, seemingly out of thin air. Her hair was slightly unkempt. Her eyes had dark shadows beneath them, probably painted on with charcoal, but it was hard to tell in the flickering torch light. Her tunic also wasn't sitting on her quite right. One side was smooth, the other... messy. The waistband that tightened the clothing around her stomach also looked stitched together of two or even more totally different ones.
"Well, and here's the crazy witch from the well." Max thought sarcastically. "Guess who ends up as bottled wine and a pile of bones in that dark corner tonight..."
"Ah, it's good to meet you!" Doctor exclaimed, instantly slipping into his cheerful and welcoming persona again. "I'm The Doctor. And this is my companion, Max. We are here to inspect the deep dungeons, entrance to which, if I'm correct, is located in this cellar. And who would you be?"
The woman smiled in return, although it looked slightly crooked on her, and clasped her hands together. "Ah, yee, I've 'een notified that... thy inspectrs were 'ere." She beckoned them. "Well, come on 'n 'en! Nobody shall speak that Jadwiga is a bad keeper! No guest of dis cassstl' shall pass by my little bottlesss without having a taste 'f our fine wine!"
Max noted that she sometimes dragged the letter "s" out way longer than needed.
"Um, Ms... Jadwiga..." The Doctor rubbed his neck. "You see, we are in a bit of a hurry... And not that big on... drinking, to be honest..."
"Never 'eard such nonsssense before! Traditions are traditionsss after all!" Jadwiga exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "Comm'n!" Doctor opened his mouth to protest but the woman pursed her lips and raised a finger, moving it from side to side as if they were little kids getting scolded for something. "I insissst!"
The Time Lord sucked in a breath and finally stepped off the last few steps onto the cellar's floor. He turned back to look at Max who was following, albeit more hesitantly. "I'll have to... distract her while you look for the door." The Doctor handed the human keys to the dungeons. "Oh, and try to stay clear from the-" the wooden door behind them suddenly slammed shut, the sound reverberating through Max's bones. The Doctor winced before continuing "...from the shelves."
"Of course." Max agreed, knowing he didn't have much choice here. "But... what exactly is wrong with the shelves?"
"Ever heard the saying 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'?" Doctor asked the human.
"Something like that..." the human looked at the shelves uncomfortably once more.
"And do you know where that originates from? No? Thought so." Doctor pointed at one of the bottles. "You see, there's a similar saying that roughly translates to 'Who does not take risks does not get champagne' in English. Earlier than your time on Earth, say you wanted a drink? What did you do? You walked down into the cellar to take a bottle of wine for example... And when the outside air warmed the bottles, there was a risk one would just explode from internal pressure. And the cork could pretty much pierce your skull if you just so happened to be in the right spot." With that, The Doctor spun around and followed Jadwiga, who was humming some cheerful tune while uncorking a bottle and setting it down onto a small table.
"Very reassuring." Max nodded, shaking his head before cautiously moving between the shelves in a different direction.
A/N: I imagine Jadwiga to look like a mix of the following two characters:
(The first picture is Cassie Haversham from music video "Neath" by Stupendium. And the second one is Mrs Lovett from 2007 movie "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street")
Max was certain he could smell something rotten as the boy finally entered the deep dungeons. The light here was so faint, he wouldn't be able to see his own nose, if not for the torch he was still clutching in his hand.
"Is someone there?" A terrified voice called out from the darkness beyond where torch light could reach. It sounded like a young girl, but very high pitched for some reason.
"Yes, I'm here!" Max instinctually called out in response, before clasping a hand over his mouth, realizing that, perhaps, giving away his position was not the smartest move in this definitely-haunted basement. Well, it was too late now. The damp walls did provide some echo, but not enough to hide his location. "Who are you?" Max asked, realizing there was no point in staying quiet, especially with the bright fire coming from the torch, a clear indication to anyone down here.
"I-..." The mysterious voice started before some scuffling and hushed whispers erupted. After a few seconds it died down though, and the girl called out again. "My name is Wren."
(Qibli's POV)
Winter still wasn't here, despite Qibli's letter certainly having reached him by now. It was not too out of character for the IceWing royal, still the SandWing felt a bit concerned. But, perhaps, Winter had finally found some scavengers and just made himself busy? Yeah, that must've been it.
Qibli was once again staring off at the sun setting behind the ocean. He was doing this daily now. Moon watched the stars and the moons. He watched the fleeting sun. Subconsciously, the SandWing knew what he really was waiting for. For that familiar, yet so distant wheezing sound to breach the serenity of waves brushing against the hot sands, for the familiar rectangular blue box to appear out of nowhere and for The Doctor to step out like nothing had happened.
Qibli grew more and more doubtful each moonrise whether what they did was right. For others, the SandWing knew, the Time Lord had lashed out for no reason. But he... and probably Startraveler, knew why it was. Darkstalker. Gone. Erased. Just like Hailstorm once was... But, this time... irreversible...
"Alright what's all this?!" Principal Tsunami's voice suddenly broke through the silence as she and Turtle leaped out from the water right in front of Qibli, certainly giving him a small heart attack. "Turtle said you've sent him a letter to abandon everything get here as fast as possible. What's up with that? No more summoning two millennia old NightWings I hope?" the SeaWing princess stared Qibli down pointedly.
"No, nothing like that. Just... well." Qibli pointed his snout at Jerboa's hut. "I have someone for you to meet."
(Max's POV)
"How long have you been down here again?!" Max cried out, accidentally scaring already shivering little human who was sitting on a pale SkyWing's shoulder in front of him.
"Like I said, a week... maybe. The door was locked before you came." Wren repeated. "I don't know what happened, we were just in the forest, and then... here."
"Wren, I don't trust him." The SkyWing told the human girl. His voice sounded slightly different than Wren's, Max presumed he was speaking in the dragon language to her... somehow. "He still hasn't explained why he's so huge or where we are."
"Yeah, about that..." Max scratched the back of his head in thought before noticing the surprised faces of the pair in front of him. "Well, I suppose first of all, I really should explain... I do understand both of you. There's this.. thing, that translates for me." He gestured vaguely behind him. "So I understand both humans and dragons. I was... looking for you I guess. My friend had said there were space-time anomalies down here, or something like that."
"What?" Wren and SkyWing said in unison.
"Look, I don't really understand myself. Point is - you two shouldn't be here. But me and my friend can help, get you back to Pyrrhia."
"Back to... Pyrrhia?" The pale SkyWing asked, head recoiling, suddenly looking very confused.
Max pinched the bridge of his nose. "Last time you've checked, were there any humans my size in Pyrrhia?" He asked with a sigh.
"Huh. I guess not." the dragon agreed, his eye-ridges grew together.
"Oh, and speaking of Pyrrhia and humans." Max suddenly thought of something. "How did you two end up together... being able to understand each other nonetheless?" he asked the pair in front of him. "And, you know, without anyone getting eaten?"
"I've met Sky when I was around seven and had been sacrificed to the dragons by my entire village." Wren weakly smiled. "Been my scaly emotional support cuddly pillow ever since." Sky sputtered at that but both humans ignored him.
"Well. Whatever's the case with that..." Max sighed once more. "We are taking you back home anyway. And also getting fed." He hastily added the last part once he noticed how malnourished both looked. They must've had some rations on them when they had been transported here, but certainly not enough to last a week.
"Give me a minute, I'll grab my friend up there." Max said, turning around. Once he saw Sky taking a step after him, the boy raised his free hand in a sign to stop. "I won't close the door." Max cautiously said, pointing to the heavy door wooden dungeon door. "Just... The people up there, they are not with me and my friend, might get. a little scared at the sight of Sky. Dragons... aren't a thing here. I'll try to explain later."
TW: Extremely drunk Doctor till the end of this chapter :) I'm not adding a summary to this.
Having received a nod of agreement from Wren, Max rushed up the stairs. In the wine cellar, he found The Doctor and Jadwiga sitting at a round wooden table. "O-oh, there you are!" the woman exclaimed. "You know," she tilted her head forward, staring him down. "Your friend 'ere. Doesn't know how to drink a-at all." Jadwiga pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side in disappointment.
The Time Lord was visibly swaying on the barrel he used as a chair. Max decided to look past the spot with multiple empty bottles, clearly freshly emptied. "H-hey, my d-dear M-Maximillian! Wha's u-up?" The Doctor said through hiccups, gaze swimming from side to side.
Max sighed for a hundred's time today. He should have expected this. Unceremoniously yanking his friend up by the shoulders, he practically dragged The Doctor after him. Pausing at the threshold of the stairwell into the deep dungeons, he looked up at the smirking Jadwiga. "Um... Do you happen to have any... bread?"
"Bread?" The woman quickly perked up. "Oh, I have bread." Only swaying a little, Jadwiga walked past Max and opened a small old cabinet. "Spices..." She muttered, tossing jars over her shoulder. They clattered at the boy's feet, some insects scurrying away off them. "Too moldy bread..." Jadwiga mused, taking a bite of something that looked too rotten to be considered bread anymore, before tossing it to the side as well. "A spoon..." A wooden carving hit the floor next. A sickening crunch was heard and Max looked up to see Jadwiga spitting out a piece of bread she must've just taken out. "Too crusty bread..."
"Aha!" She finally exclaimed after another minute and a dozen more items hitting the stone floor. "Only the freshessst for my dear guests." the woman hissed, handing Max a loaf of bread that looked relatively fresh by this place's standards.
"Thank you." Max curtly nodded, grabbing the bread and hurrying down the stairs while making sure the giggling Time Lord stayed upright in his grip. Once they were down, he tossed the food to Sky. "Here. You might have to slice through it so Wren can eat it though. Oh an meet The Doctor - my friend." Max nodded at the delirious man in his grip.
"What happened to him?" Wren asked, muffled by the carefully sized bread crumbs Sky handed to her that her teeth were already eagerly digging into.
"There is a wine cellar upstairs." Max pointed up with his eyes, scowling. "The keeper's a bit..." He thought for a moment on how to characterize Jadwiga. "...overenthusiastic." He finally settled. "And Doctor's gotten a bit tipsy."
Once Sky and Wren were, somewhat, satiated by the bread, Max had thrown The Doctor onto the dragon's back to get him back up the stairs. Once they walked up though... "A beast! Demon!" Jadwiga screamed at the top of her lungs at the sight of Sky, stumbling back. Unluckily, or rather luckily for them, the woman collapsed backward as she slipped on an empty bottle lying on the floor behind her.
"Told ya." Max answered Sky's impending question before the SkyWing could even make a sound. "Common, let's not waste time... I have reasons to return to Pyrrhia too."
"You want to go to Pyrrhia? But why?" Wren asked, she was now riding on Max's shoulder since Sky had to carry The Doctor. "And, no offence, but you wouldn't exactly fir in with this size..."
Max hesitated, but before he could answer they had already stepped out into the sunlight. "I'll tell you later." He hastily looked around, not seeing anyone. "Oh, damn it, I wanted to say goodbye..." He muttered. Then he finally saw where everyone was. On the walls. Looking out and shouting something to each other.
Max finally made out one of the words from the screams. "Siege."
"Alright... Guess it won't be that simple..." the human sighed.
"What? What's w-wrong?" Doctor suddenly asked, voice just as drunk as before. "I'm lying on a giant lizard! N-nothing c-can stop me! Onward, my faithful steed!" He lightly slapped Sky's neck with his hand.
Max facepalmed. "Ignore him. You see, we're in a castle. And... someone is attacking it."
"But he's right!" Wren gasped, pointing at The Doctor. "We have Sky! We can scare them off!"
"By the moo-... By god, you're right." Max muttered. "Alright..." He set Wren down onto the ground, grinning ear to ear, and took out his magic earring. "Here's what we'll do..."
(Third person POV)
The thousands of soldiers had fully surrounded the castle. It wasn't that important in the grand scheme of things, but would allow them to easily hold down a big chunk of territory due to it's position.
The army gasped in unison though, as two winged silhouettes rose into the air from behind the castle walls. They looked absolutely massive to them. One black as night, another orange as sunset, scales glinting in the light.
And someone was riding atop one of the dragons. "God help us!" Someone screamed. almost everyone involuntarily shrank closer to the ground in terror. Screams echoed:
"That's impossible!"
"Run!"
"They have black magic!"
The black dragon flew down in an ark first, flames erupting from it's jaws. And even that much was enough. Thousands of armed and trained men screamed and turned to flee, forgetting the castle or their orders.
(Startraveler's POV)
They landed back onto the castle wall. At first people scrambled away in terror too. But when the dragons didn't move, they slowly calmed down yet didn't risk coming any closer. The man Startraveler recognized to be Tymish approached carefully. "D-Doctor?" He asked the dazed man on Sky's back. "Thank you... You've saved us all with these... beasts... Wh-What do you want in return?!"
"W-want? I-I..." Doctor tried to answer but Startraveler slapped him with his wing, silencing the Time Lord.
"Nothing." The NightWing snapped. "We'll be leaving now. It was a great pleasure meeting all of you!" And just like that, they both swept off, soaring over the hills. Minutes later, Startraveler had spotted the familiar blue outline. Once he heard the TARDIS doors close behind him, the NightWing felt immaculate relief wash over him.
Sky absentmindedly set The Doctor down onto the metallic floor as his jaw hung open in awe. "I-It's bigger..."
"Yes, we know!" Startraveler groaned, grabbing gaping Wren from his back and setting her down back onto Sky's. "Doctor, have you sobered up enough to fly us back?" He nudged his friend lying flat on the floor.
"Me?!" The Time Lord asked. It was clear by his face and tone that he wasn't. "Of course I am!" He proclaimed, leaping upright in one motion and marching towards the console. "Watch me!" He sloppily flipped a few switches and pulled on two levers.
The room groaned and wall round lights on the round walls flickered to red. "Doctor, I don't think-" Startraveler started but was cut off by The Doctor's manic laugh.
"Oh, you come in colors? PREEEETYYY..." The Time Lord slurred, his body swaying more, making him accidentally press half the buttons on the console.
"Just hold onto something." Startraveler sighed, voice full of resignation. He knew he was too late.
"Why?" Sky nervously asked. Just as he did so, The Doctor flicked another switch and the TARDIS began wheezing rapidly, something that sounded like sirens blazed to life in the background, but their roaring was drowned out by the rattling of metal and shaking coming from all around. Startraveler slid over the edge of the walkway, claws scraping the floor. He didn't even get a chance to scream. He smashed through a few support beams on his way down, landing head first onto the floor that he never saw before, as it was too far below and too dark.
Waking up didn't come easy. Startraveler only heard faint sounds. "...one time I flew drunk, I ended up on an asteroid... No air... aliens... had four-... Max! Max, there you are! Are you airtight?!" And then blackness again.
Next time he woke up with no pain at all though. He looked around and found that he was in a neat hospital bed. And then it became clear why he woke up with no pain. His hands were human, any damage he had sustained was completely gone.
A/N: A chapter in less than a week? Over three thousand words?! What happened? I have no idea, but I hope you've liked this one!