Alex steered the TARDIS, dressed in his black hoodie and gray blazer again. He went through the trouble of tucking the ends of his black pants into his boots. K-9 observed this upon entering. "Wearing that again, are we Master?" "Yeah?" "So you liked what I had chosen for you after all." K-9 presumed. "It was a good idea, just executed poorly." "Whatever you say, Master." "I'm gonna delete that backtalk in your programming and replace it with a sense of fashion." Alex muttered under his breath as K-9 exited. Aquila entered the room.
"Did you send for me?" She asked softy. "Yes, Aquila. I believe that I've found a place where you can live." "You have?" Alex nodded. "It's a planet where peaceful people live harmoniously with nature; it's got a lot of freshwater. The people living on it have long pointy ears, but otherwise look kinda like humans. They actually inspired the myths of elves millenniums ago, but that's a time travel story I don't have time to tell right now." Alex rambled. "Oh, thank you Doctor!" Aquila hugged him, and he stiffened a little. "Alright alright. Calm down, you're going to get my clothes all wet." She let go of him as the TARDIS landed. "Let's go outside and see your new home." Alex said, leading an excited Aquila outside the TARDIS doors. "You'll love it here, Aquila, they have this large...lake." Alex looked ahead, where the body of water was supposed to be, but no water laid ahead...
***
Back on Earth in the present day, in a secluded wooded area, Kaiden (Agent K) set down a log in front of him. "Maybe this time..." He thought hopelessly. He took a step back, then kicked the log. He felt a throbbing sensation in his lower leg, which hadn't come from the kick, but it wasn't the result he was going for either. He sat on the log, submitting to defeat. He thought back to how his luck had gone sour...
After his failed mission with the Doctor, he had become a laughing stock to the agency. Humiliated, Kaiden grew reclusive. Soon after, an accident happened. At a power plant/ research facility, two brothers had gotten caught in an explosion. Kato (Kaiden), who was part of an infiltration mission there, attempted to save them, and had almost gotten killed himself. Now he could hear their voices in his head, making constant noise. Though their bodies were ashes, their minds seemed to haunt him now. It was beyond his comprehension, and beyond his control. He couldn't focus anymore, and was forced into retirement because he couldn't use his abilities. They had been declining for months now, but without being able to gather his thoughts, it was like he never had them. His head lowered a bit. He'd given up on himself...
A low thrum echoed, and his head perked. The sound of groaning engines seemed to surround him, but he didn't recognize the noise. He looked around, but saw nothing. "What is that?" He muttered aloud. Arms wrapped around his neck and covered his eyes; quickly, Kaiden was unconscious.
***
Kaiden began to stir. He looked around. His surroundings now looked like the inside of a spaceship. "Oh no. Did I get abducted?" Kaiden said out loud. "In a way, that is correct." A voice omitted from directly in front of him. Kaiden noticed the small robotic dog sitting in front of him, with beady red eyes and wheels underneath its chassis. It looked like it was remote control. "What are you?" Kaiden asked. "You may call me K-9." K-9 said politely. "Okay? I'm Kaiden. You can call me K or Kato." "Hello Kaiden." There was a brief silence. "The master asked me to inform him when you were awake. Please wait here, and please don't touch anything." K-9 rolled off.
Several minutes later, it was Alex who returned to the control panel, where Kato had been waiting patiently yet curiously. "You must be the master here." Alex sighed. "Yes. Hello Kaiden." Kaiden's eyes narrowed. "How do you know my name?" Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember me?" He asked. Kato looked into Alex's eyes. He began to recall all of his unfortunate events, then he remembered how that snowball had started. Hit teeth clenched. "Yeah, I do." Alex nodded. "There's things that you haven't been telling me, Kato. Dangerous things, that you and your agency seem to have been keeping secret." Kato's resentment grew at the mention of the agency. "Let's talk about Energon." Alex said.
