Path: netnews.upenn.edu!blue.seas.upenn.edu!cliff
From: cliff@blue.seas.upenn.edu (Cliff K Chen)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: "Fugitive" DrWho/XFiles X-Over (3/3)
Date: 6 Dec 1994 18:11:51 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 474
Message-ID: <3c29h7$34t@netnews.upenn.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: blue.seas.upenn.edu

Fugitive -- Part 3
by Richard Salter

A light mist drifted over the streets of London, lending an eerie
atmosphere to the scene as the little party made their way towards the
last sighting place of the alien. A group of late evening revellers
were processing along one avenue, probably midway through a pub crawl,
Ace guessed. As they passed, one of them made some comment about
Scully's suit, but she ignored it.
   Ace watched a couple hurrying towards a tube station, their arms
linked possessively. She saw people talking, walking, holding hands,
late-night shopping, enjoying themselves. She felt a stab of regret
that she would never again be a part of this society. She was a girl
from the future now, and Perivale was a long way behind her.
   The Doctor motioned for them to follow him down a side street, and
the five left the main road. It was quieter down here, and certainly
darker. Mulder and Scully brought out their torches, but the Doctor
silently forbade their use with a hissed warning. "It's sensitive to
bright light," he explained.
   The Time Lord stopped and crouched down on the ground. He had his
back to them, so Ace couldn't see exactly what he was doing. Something
involving the device he had taken from the TARDIS. The first time she
and the Doctor had seen the Ragamon had been by chance. They had been
on their way back to the TARDIS when the Doctor had pulled her into an
alley and had pointed. She had looked and had seen nothing for a
moment. Then it was clear that something was moving in the dim light
of the closed-in alleyway.
   It was hard to determine what she had seen, it had moved so damn
fast, but it was certainly alien. Too big to be a cat, but fast enough
that was for sure. It had moved like lightning when the Doctor tried
to talk to it. Probably felt too exposed to confront them, despite the
multi-storey blocks on either side blocking the daylight. Maybe they
had just scared it. But if it could kill, why hadn't it attacked them?
   Hopefully her question would be answered soon enough, since the
Doctor appeared to be ready. He whispered to them all to stay quiet,
and then turned on the device.
   Ace was vaguely aware of a slight vibration in the air. There was
something, almost outside her range of hearing: a king of bassy
throbbing noise that reminded her of a far off rave party.
   For a long time nothing happened. Ace let out a breath she hadn't
realised she'd been holding and was about to point out that this was
getting them nowhere, when they heard a noise.
   The two agents drew guns and pointed them towards the source of the
disturbance. Bernice took a step forwards but the Doctor, still
crouching by the machine, waved her back.
   Ace stared into the darkness. To her surprise, two fiery red eyes
stared back at her. She took an involuntary step backwards and let out
a gasp as the Ragamon stepped from the shadows and into the moonlight.
It was hard to make out its shape in the mist, but it was roughly
humanoid, with a large, domed head and graceful figure. Points of
light reflected from its body, making it difficult to ascertain its
colour. It's legs and arms were thin, but moved so smoothly as to be
almost unreal.
   "It's a female," whispered the Doctor. Quite how he could tell was
beyond Ace, but she was happy to take his word for it.
   "That's a Ragamon?" Scully breathed, her gun unwavering in its
position, locked onto its target. Ace looked at her. She was having
trouble taking all this in. According to the Doctor these two had
worked together on many cases involving the paranormal, as well as
mysteries involving UFOs and the like. Obviously she had never seen
anything quite like this before.
   Mulder on the other hand seemed quite happy to accept it all, as if
he was already sure that there was other life in the universe, as if
the possibility that other life might not exist had never crossed his
mind. He had a look on his face that she'd seen many times on that of
the Doctor. It was a childish curiosity, a desire to know and to
understand. She admired his enthusiasm. When you'd seen one alien,
you'd seen them all.
   She had to admit that the cosmic designer had done a stunning job
with this particular species though. The Ragamon moved as if it was
unrestricted by gravity, but in total control. It didn't walk, it
glided. It didn't raise its arms, they floated into that position. She
fingered her blaster. As beautiful as she was, she had already killed
and could do so again.
   "Hello," said the Doctor simply. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a friend. I
mean you no harm."
   The creature regarded him for a moment, taking a step forward like
some enchanted ballerina. A hole opened in the centre of her face like
a dilating pupil of a human eye.
   "I am Tarr She'ash of the Ragamon Dynasty," she said in a voice
that was so sweet and mellow it evoked feelings in Ace of peaceful
meadows in the summer.
   Scully coughed, causing She'ash to flow backwards about a foot in
retreat. "It speaks English!" she exclaimed.
   "*She*," the Doctor corrected her, "speaks Ragmesh actually."
   "Then how come...?"
   "It's hard to explain," Ace told her. "Not now."
   Scully lapsed into silence. Mulder shot her a derisory look but she
ignored him. Ace noticed that Mulder had dropped his gun arm to his
side, and now Scully hesitantly followed suit.
   The Doctor turned back to the alien. "Tarr She'ash," he began. "I
know you've been left behind. I offer you a chance to leave this
planet and rejoin your people."
   The creature's face creased at the sides of the opening, and Ace
guessed this passed for a smile when the Doctor returned the smile in
the conventional way. "They are coming back for me," She'ash
explained. "They left me here intentionally."
   "Why?" Bernice asked as gently as she could so as not to alarm her.
   She'ash turned her head towards the archaeologist, reflected light
glittering off her head. "Because of the little ones."
   "Little ones?" Bernice repeated.
   Suddenly it all became clear to Ace. "You were pregnant!" she
exclaimed.
   "Correct," she replied. "I gave birth before the time. The little
ones could not be moved. Now I look after them."
   "You couldn't leave with your babies, so you had to stay here," the
Doctor confirmed. "It makes sense now. What about the man you killed?"
   Her head turned a slight shade of scarlet. Perhaps this was regret,
Ace thought. "Unfortunate," she explained, "but necessary. He was
threatening the little ones. I killed him, and then moved him so that
the hunters would not find them when they found the body."
   "When can you leave?" Mulder asked her.
   "Not until they are strong enough to survive the launch of our
ship."
   "How long until they are strong enough?"
   "Forty-eight planet rotations."
   "That's quite a while.
   The Doctor frowned. "Where is your ship?"
   "It waits, beyond the moon."
   "Doctor, we could..." Ace began.
   "I know, Ace." The Time Lord turned back to the creature. "I can
get you back to your ship now. I have a craft that can take off with
no risk to your little ones."
   "You would help me?"
   "Of course. You are stranded here. I have the means to move you and
your family."
   "I am grateful. We are not safe here."
   "Quickly, take us to your children."
   The creature swung about and gracefully took off into the dark. The
Doctor picked up the oscillator and hurried off in pursuit, as did his
four companions. She moved fast, but Ace had no problem keeping up.
She'd been maintaining her training since Space Fleet got her so fit,
and long distance pacing was little problem. Mulder and Scully were
obviously used to it as well, and they held up well. The Doctor was
unstoppable such was his enthusiasm, and even Bernice was keeping up
without protest. Hopefully this would present a good image to the
alien, who Ace suspected was only travelling at a fraction of her
capable speed for their benefit.
   She vaulted over a five foot wall which the Ragamon has simply
glided over as if it weren't there. She'd lost track of where they
were, this part of London was unfamiliar to her. There seemed to be
nobody about, which confirmed that the Ragamon had chosen the most
secluded area to conceal her young.
   She dropped back behind the two agents to talk with Bernice. "You
okay?" she enquired.
   "Fine," she replied between deep breaths. Her voice wobbled every
time she placed a foot down. "I... really need... to do this... more
often." She smiled briefly before having to inhale deeply again.
   "You're doing fine," Ace reassured her. She looked back over her
shoulder and thought she saw a shadow duck back behind a corner. "I'll
catch you up," she said as she stopped running and ducked behind a
clusters of rubbish bins.
   Once Bernice and the others were out of sight, Ace emerged from her
hiding place. Drawing her blaster, she stealthily moved back the way
she had come, each of her short breaths turning into mist as it
reacted with the cold air. Pressing herself up against a wall she
waited quietly in the darkness.
   Seconds later a man in uniform came running past her. With a flying
leap she brought him down. She pushed him onto his back and pressed
her knee into the man's throat. Pointing her blaster at his head she
asked, "Why are you following us?"
   The policeman, young, with blond, curly hair and a handsome face,
struggled to formulate words through his choked windpipe. Ace released
the pressure a little and repeated the question. "Come on," she added.
"It's not often I assault a police officer."
   "We're following the UFO," he choked, his eyes wide with fear as
his gaze shifted between Ace's gun and her stern face.
   She frowned. "UF?"
   "Unidentified Fugitive."
   "You mean the alien, yeah?"
   "Yes." He struggled to draw in breath. Obviously his first time out
of training school, Ace mused. Poor guy hadn't expected a gun to be
held against his head on his first job.
   "How much do you know?"
   "We know the man who escaped from prison yesterday is involved with
it, and that it killed someone. We were hoping you would lead us to
it."
   "We'd already found it. What's your name, Constable?"
   "Derek," he hissed. "Derek Harman."
   "Well Constable Harman, this is your lucky night." Ace adjusted a
setting on her blaster and shot him in the chest. He convulsed once
and lay still. Ace stood and dragged the prone body behind the bins,
covering him over with various items of spilled rubbish.
   Ace glanced around her to make sure nobody had seen or heard her,
and then hurried off into the night.

Dana Scully was running out of breath. Field work usually involved
skulking around in gravel pits looking for dead bodies, not running
after a fleeing alien from Ragmesh or Ragman or something. In all her
experiences with 'Spooky' Mulder, she had to admit that this was the
most bizarre. There were so many inexplicable elements to all this, it
was hard to doubt. Somewhere in her shocked mind, she clung to the
stern belief that this was still just some induced dream. Maybe she
was testing some truth drug for the FBI to boost her pay packet.
Unlikely, but it was a possibility, and possibility was something akin
to reality. Reality was what she was losing a grip on.
   When they finally came to a halt, Scully bent over, placing hands
on kneecaps in order to avoid cramp. She didn't care where she was,
she was just grateful to have stopped running at long last.
   Her breath finally returned and she straightened. The alien was
patiently waiting for them to regain their composure, whilst the
Doctor stood quietly next to it, not even breathing heavily. Bernice
was still bent double and Mulder, like her she suspected, looked
flushed but had straightened up. Of the girl, Ace, there was no sign.
Still, that wasn't her concern.
   She looked around for the missing companion anyway, noticing for
the first time that they had arrived in a narrow alleyway closed in on
both sides by two disused factories, complete with sprayed graffiti
and broken windows. She shivered, not entirely due to the cold.
   "Are we here?" Bernice asked.
   "I think so," the Doctor replied. He turned to She'ash - if that
was her name - and asked, "Are your young ones close by?"
   She nodded, one gesture that Scully could easily recognise, and
then ducked down a flight of stairs that led down beneath the street.
The Doctor followed her, and Scully and the others tagged along
behind. She wondered what they would find inside as the alien pushed
open the door. Judging by the signs of inflicted damage, it had
obviously been forced at some point.
   They followed her inside, and she led them down another flight of
stairs to an old office. There, from the far corner, something rose
out of the darkness and came to greet She'ash. As it approached it was
evident that it was much like the alien who had brought them here.
   "Another Ragamon?" the Doctor said in hushed tones.
   The two Ragamon brushed faces for a second. A kiss? Scully laughed
to herself. Could this be the creature's mate?
   "A male," the Doctor confirmed as the two aliens held each other
close and performed what to Scully looked like a brief, rhythmic
dance.
   Bernice's voice was filled with delight. "So the male looks after
the children, while the female goes out to hunt for food!" She turned
to Dana. "How's that for equality?"
   Scully laughed. "There's hope for us yet," she agreed.
   "Welcome, friends," the male said to them. He was slightly smaller
than She'ash, and there was an odd fold of skin attached to his
abdomen that resembled a kangaroo's pouch. Scully smiled despite
herself. She found herself warming to his very happy couple.
   The Doctor raised his hat, grinning broadly. "How nice to know that
our friend She'ash here was not left alone to look after the little
ones."
   The male Ragamon bristled slightly. "I am her pair-bond. I would
not abandon her. It is my duty to care for the little ones."
   "Where are they?" Bernice asked, obviously as eager to see them as
Scully.
   His face creased in that odd smile and he took them silently to the
back of the room. There, wrapped in a large, shiny silver blanket that
resembled the Ragamon's skin in colour, were three perfect miniatures
of the parents. Their wide, red eyes regarded the humans who bent over
them with childlike curiosity.
   Something almost maternal was stirring in Scully. Images of her
nephew floated into her mind and she was lost for a moment in dreams
of one day holding her own child in her arms. She looked up at the
Ragamon as she asked, "Can I hold one?"
   He gave that smile again and nodded.
   Scully reached down and carefully drew back the blanket. She then
picked up one of the baby Ragamon, cradling the creature's body with
one hand and supporting its head with the other. All thoughts of this
being some sort of elaborate hoax faded from her mind. Holding this
baby close to her breast was more real to her than meeting the Doctor,
entering the extraordinary TARDIS, or meeting She'ash for the first
time.
   She was vaguely aware of Bernice picking up another of the babies,
and Mulder muttering something about women and various highly
scientific chemical reactions involved in child-rearing.
   "I think the word you are looking for," the Doctor told him, "is
clucky!"
   Scully smiled at the Doctor. She felt a sudden urge to hug him. He
seemed so friendly, so warm, so genuine. At that moment she fully
realised for the first that she could trust this odd little man with
anything. It was the most peculiar feeling, and it brought home the
reason why Mulder could annoy her so much sometimes. It was ironic.
Apparently the Doctor was just as alien as the Ragamon, yet he was far
more human than most people she knew, Mulder included.
   She looked down at the innocent child in her arms. It couldn't stay
here. It would be tested and dissected, incarcerated and studied,
filed and indexed. She felt a new determination to get these people
back to their own environment.
   "We must get them back to the TARDIS," she found herself saying.
"It's their only chance."
   The Doctor nodded, lost in thought. "Maybe it would be better to
bring the TARDIS here rather than move them."
   "Not an option, I'm afraid."
   They all turned to the entrance. Ace had walked in, blaster in
hand. "I just put a policeman out of action who was following us here,
but I doubt he was alone."
   The Doctor gave her a stern look. "I only stunned him," she
insisted in hurt tones.
   "Then we must go now," the Doctor decided. "Mulder, Scully, I need
you two to hold up the police somehow, whilst Ace, Bernice and myself
get these good people to the TARDIS."
   "I'll go with these two," Ace suggested, indicating the FBI agents.
"I have an idea. I'll meet you back at the TARDIS."
   "You know the way?" the Doctor asked her. Scully noted the almost
parental tone to his voice.
   "Of course I know the bloody way!" Ace replied explosively. "I grew
up in London!"
   The male Ragamon took his children from Scully and Bernice, placing
them with the third in his pouch. He was about to wrap up the blanket
when Ace reached out a hand. "Can I have that?" she asked.
   "Souvenir?" Bernice asked her as the she took the cloak and stuffed
it into her backpack.
   "Not exactly." Ace turned back to the Doctor. "Don't wait for me,"
she said. "Just get these two lovebirds out of here. I can take care
of myself as long as you promise to come back and pick me up
eventually."
   The Doctor grinned. "Of course. Time to go."

"There they are!"
   Bernice watched from where she was hiding as the hordes of police
officers charged past, kicking up the discarded litter that lined the
streets. Luckily they didn't have the dogs, or they might have noticed
the Doctor, the two aliens and herself crouched in the shadows. She
knew what their target was. They also considered it to a be dangerous
target, since they had several armed officers in their ranks.
   Leaning forward around the edge of the recessed doorway, Bernice
could see Scully lying still in the middle of the road. Mulder stood
in front of her, shielding her body from the advancing law enforcers.

Before they reached him, Mulder took a step forwards and pulled out
his identification. Immediately the officers scattered, looking for
any cover they could find. The armed police snapped their weapons to
target the agent. They visibly relaxed when they realised he was
simply taking out his wallet. Hell they were jumpy, he thought.
   "Special Agent Fox Mulder," he called loudly to the highest ranking
officer he could see. "FBI."
   One of the officers stepped forward, two others covering Mulder
with pistols. He was a tall, broad shouldered man wearing riot gear
and a dangerous expression. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a
distinctly London accent.
   "Investigating aliens," said Mulder seriously.
   The officer looked shifty for a moment. Mulder could tell that a
few days ago the man would have laughed in Mulder's face. Now
however...
   "What's wrong with her?" the officer asked, indicating Scully.
   "The alien shot her," Mulder answered. "I'd appreciate it if she
could have some medical assistance."
   The burly man nodded and waved two men forward. They brought with
them emergency medical supplies and set about examining the prone
Scully.
   A bright light flashed. One of the medical orderlies cried out in
pain and surprise before crashing to the ground beside Scully.
   Mulder and the police officers spun around to the source of the
shot to see a silver figure disappear over a nearby wall.
   "Shoot to kill!" cried the officer who had questioned Mulder.
"After him."
   "This way," Mulder shouted and started off after the fleeing
figure, police in tow.

Taking their cue from Mulder, Bernice and the Doctor led the two
aliens from their hiding place and in the opposite direction to the
one the London constabulary had taken. Keeping low so as to avoid the
medical orderlies who attended Scully and the fallen man, they crept
away down the street.
   The Doctor led the way, Bernice taking up the rear guard, watching
for any stray police.

Stowing the blaster away in her jacket, Ace leapt at the wall, hooking
eager fingers over the top. Hoisting herself over she landed nimbly on
the far side and took off through the car park. Dammit, this was too
open. She needed to get back to familiar territory.
   She glanced quickly at her surroundings before coming to a
decision. She had to find somewhere with a lot of people, where she
could ditch the cloak without being seen by the police. A perfect
place came to her and she changed her direction slightly. A single
warning shot whistled over her head and she resisted the urge to duck,
her training telling her to keep moving as fast as possible.
   She burst into the main street and leapt out of the way of a group
of European tourists who filled the entire pavement. The police
wouldn't fire on her here: too many people in the way.
   Taking a sharp left, she disappeared into Oxford Circus underground
station. Without stopping to see if she was being followed, she leapt
over the turnstiles, startling many travellers in the process and
causing all manner of alarms to go off. She was already haring down
the escalator, running past everyone by keeping to the left and taking
the steps three at a time. She nearly pushed one poor man off the
escalator because he wasn't moving fast enough, but somehow they both
kept their balance and someone else made way for her.
   She knew the police down on the platform would have been notified
by now, but she was still wearing the cloak which she kept covering
her face. This wasn't the first time she'd run from the police and
dodged the Underground fare, and memories of a misspent youth came
flooding back to her. She remembered the time she, Midge and Shreela
had been chased down onto the underground by a bunch of white kids,
threatening to smash their faces in.
   The images in her mind faded in a blur as she tore down the
connecting tunnel. She was approaching the platform now. She had to
get rid of the cloak. The police hadn't caught up on either side yet
so she threw off her cover. Jumping up, she flung the cloak over a
length of piping before hurrying off towards the Central Line
Westbound platform.
   Emerging, she strolled innocently past the policeman on duty who
was receiving instructions from his lapel radio.
   Ace was lucky. The train thundered into the station causing a wind
tunnel that blew dust into her eyes. It was a familiar feeling, and
the sounds and smells were rich with nostalgia. When the doors opened
she leapt on as the police spilled out onto the platform.
   "Someone stop all these bloody trains!" called one of them.
   "Sarge," called another. "I think it was spotted heading north on
Bakerloo."
   And then the doors slammed shut, and Ace was whisked away from
trouble at a rate of knots. One up for Ace's gang. She hadn't lost her
edge.

Dana Scully sat disconsolately, her feet up on Mulder's desk, leaning
back on his office chair. The chair's owner was placing a thick file
of papers into a battered filing cabinet.
   "I miss him," she said after sitting in silence for a long while.
   "It was a missed opportunity," Mulder agreed. "We could have learnt
so much from him."
   Scully dropped her feet off the desk and swivelled the chair round
to face him. "I don't mean that. I mean I'll miss *him*."
   "You worry me sometimes, Scully, you know that?"
   "I worry you?" Dana scoffed. "You're the spooky one, remember?"
   Mulder smiled at her. "You have to admit, it was all real."
   Scully frowned. "I'm not so sure," she said. "It all felt like a
dream to me."
   Mulder moved over to a nearby table and poured himself a cup of
coffee from a jug. "How's the field report coming along?"
   Scully smiled. She knew what Mulder thought of her field reports.
"It's interesting," she admitted as he handed her a cup of coffee. "So
far." She knew she couldn't write in it everything she'd seen,
everyone would think she was as weird as Mulder. She was getting quite
a reputation as it was, just being assigned to him. It was such a
dilemma. She could still remember how she had felt when she held that
tiny life in her arms. How could she deny it? How could she afford not
to?
   Mulder seemed to read her mind, or at least her face. He advanced
on her, gripping the arms of his chair and leaning over her. "Scully,
you can't withhold evidence from your report because of what people
will think of you," he insisted. "Think what would have happened if
Newton or Einstein had got too scared to write down their discoveries
because they might be written off as heretics."
   Scully felt guilty. Had she really been that obvious?
   "You have evidence. You have the pictures you took of the TARDIS."
   She shook her head as she sipped at her coffee. "They all came out
blank, Mulder."
   He turned away from her, his eyes raising skywards as he did so,
muttering profanities under his breath. "I don't believe it!" he said
at last.
   "Oh come on, Mulder. You knew they wouldn't come out. I certainly
did. I'm not even sure the last forty-eight hours even happened."
   He sighed and dropped into a soft-cushioned chair by the door.
   "Never mind," she told him, as much for her own benefit as for his,
"I'm sure he'll be back. He's too concerned about this planet to leave
it alone for long."
   "Oh I'm sure he will," Mulder agreed. "I'm sure he's here already."

The Doctor stood leaning against the familiar bulk of the TARDIS, idly
twirling his fedora on the tip of his umbrella. He wasn't paying
attention to her, but she knew he had seen her approach.
   "Been having fun?" he asked her without looking up.
   "Mmm," she replied simply. "It's been a while. Our friends get home
OK?"
   "Fine," he replied, gazing intently at the spinning hat. "They were
more than willing to leave this system alone such was their
gratitude."
   The Doctor looked at her at last, regarding her with a slightly
disapproving look. "The last time you were here, the TARDIS doors
disappeared."
   "Hardly my fault," she protested, walking up to him and giving him
a friendly hug. He returned it, smiling at her as they pulled apart.
   "I know," he said simply. She knew he wasn't just talking about the
last time they had come here.
   "You knew where I'd be." It was a statement.
   He gave her one of his all-knowing, all-seeing smiles and chuckled.
A shiver went down her spine. He almost sounded like the Master.
"Ace," he said. "You didn't even have to change Underground lines to
get here." He paused, looking around himself distantly. "You've come a
long way since then haven't you?"
   She shrugged. "I've learnt a lot."
   The Doctor moved towards the TARDIS door and held it open for her.
"Ready to face the enemy?"
   "Yeah why not."

The End