Burning Stars {A Doctor Who Fan Fiction} [REWRITE IN PROGRESS!]

Chapter 26

So, fair warning, from here on out, this'll all be in third person! It's a nice change, don't you think?

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October 30th, 1890, was when things changed.

The day began like any other: Annabelle began the trek to 13 Paternoster Row, but before she could escape the TARDIS, the Doctor stopped her.

He stood near the doors, arms akimbo. "Be careful, okay?" he said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "There's been a lot of reports of people going missing lately."

"So you still care about what happens down there, huh?" she challenged, almost positive she might snap some string holding his dignity in place.

There were days where Annabelle had random bursts of confidence; days that she knew there'd be cases to solve. But, now and then, there were the bad days, where she would rather stay in the TARDIS library, hunting down and rereading books. With Harley, there had been less bad days.

The Doctor smiled all the way for a few moments. "Just for your own good," he muttered. He moved forward, kissing the top of her head as he left the console room. It was slowly changing, becoming more mechanical than homey. "Tell Vastra I said hello," he added.

Annabelle smiled after him. She knew it was impossible to keep anything from him.

On the way to Paternoster Row, she snagged a newspaper from a vendor, unnoticed. Sure enough, there was a growing list of people going missing. No evidence, no bodies, no signs of anything at all.

Once she arrived, she went straight to Vastra's office. A board supported by an easel was already collaged with tacked-up files and black and white pictures. Vastra stood in front of it, inspecting every detail. "So, you've picked up on it, too," Annabelle said, dropping the newspaper on the table, paging right to the list.

"The Yard did, actually." Vastra turned and picked up the paper. "I thought it was nothing. People fall off the grid frequently, for their own choices. But in such vast quantities, and so suddenly, it seemed peculiar enough."

Annabelle read over the list again, not recognizing any of the names of people given. One small, almost miniscule ad next to the listings caught her eye. It was only three words, printed boldly, destined to be singled out. 

BEWARE THE ANGEL.

"No..." she murmured. "That couldn't..."

Her mind worked briskly, throwing information together faster than she wanted to admit it was true. There was enough evidence that lead to something plausible.

Annabelle stood and turned on her heel, leaving the office and entering the hallway, finding Harley almost immediately. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off, latching onto his sleeve. "You're coming with me."

"Where? You just got here!" he protested. Over the past months, Harley had gotten used to the way things worked. But he still wasn't always on board with her ideas.

"We are going to go and hunt down the newest local cults, and very quickly." She pulled him towards the door.

"What are you doing?" Vastra questioned, now leaning out of her office.