( impossible darkness ) noir nights.

[oswinforthewin]

DUE TO DELAYS THE 7:00PM BUS IS CANCELLED. PLEASE REROUTE.

Annabell sighed in irritation, looking at the watch on her wrist. For all the advancements The Conclave spoke of? Things were constantly breaking down. Still, they were led to believe this was life as normal. Only those from The Belly (as it was oh so affectionately called) knew different. She had been born in The Belly, and when she saw the world up above for the first time? She couldn't believe it. Now it made her skin crawl, but she had to keep the role up.

Even if she did miss teaching.

Her legs uncrossed and Annabell pushed herself up from the bench in the bus station. She straightened her dress and grabbed her coat. From the pockets she pulled out a small case of cigarettes and started to light it. It would be a long walk back to her apartment, so she might as well enjoy herself. Maybe she'd see some of the sights on her way back. It was a dream of hers as she chased the imaginary amber leaves that they said fell from real trees in the fall. A dream that soured and dried up when she finally got to the surface.

She almost regretted the decision to move upwards. Regrets, bitterness, and cheap wine was the life that Annabell lived, when she wasn't singing for the people she couldn't stand. They said she was a rising star in the music scene. Not that she cared. Her dark red lipstick stained the end of the cigarette as she shrugged on her coat. All she hoped for at the moment was that some fan wouldn't find her. Unless, of course, they wanted to offer her a ride home.

Comments

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor was running around the corner of the building when he ran into another person - a sharply dressed woman smoking a cigarette. Said cigarette, flew out of her hand, and the Doctor reacted quickly enough to catch it.

Having the ability to slow down time for a fraction of a moment was so beneficial. In his head, he often recited We're not suppose be involved; only observe, but he was finding out more and more to what extent that a Time Lord could manipulate it. Exactly 0.0045 seconds before, he watched the timeline of the cigarette collapsing on the ground in a smoldering stick.

And so deep within him: Time is Mine.

"Sorry 'bout that." He held the cigarette between two fingers, "Figured you didn't want it to go to waste." Realization struck him that moment that he was looking into the face of Clara, but not-Clara. It couldn't be possible she was here.

[oswinforthewin]

A sound of surprise escaped her lips as he rounded into her, sending her back a few steps. Her hands fumbled to catch the lit cigarette, pausing as the mysterious man's reflexes quickly snagged it. Annabell couldn't help but stare in surprise. It was only for a moment though, as she reached up and took it from him.

"If you were watching where you were going, sir, then it wouldn't have happened." Her tone was filled with annoyance and her accent most definitely different from Clara Oswald. "You'd do well to remember that next time you're running around like a madman."

With that? She stepped around him and continued on her way.

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor's back straightened and his face was a bit... Well, miffed! He hadn't expected to run into Clara here, not of all places!

"Wait!" He dashes in her direction, "I am a bit mad, that's not unsual... I'm sorry, what's your name?" This was happening way too frequently - why was he seeing different Claras? This didn't even remotely make sense!

He hoped she didn't think he was a lunatic.

[oswinforthewin]

Annabell glanced up at him from under her heavy make up and rolled her eyes. "Annabell Nyghtngale. Although I do prefer to be called Miss Nyghtngale by new acquaintances."

Her index finger tapped the cigarette before she placed it back between her lips. If anything? Annabell found him annoyingly upbeat. Who was this happy this late at night? Unless, for some ungodly reason, they had a brilliant night. Which he apparently seemed to be having.

"Do you always talk to people you've run into without introducing yourself?"

[nevermindtherunning]

"Right, sorry," He seemed flustered only because her name seemed to change each time they crossed pathes. How odd! But it was her, wasn't it? Even a little?

"I'm the Doctor." He offers her a smile and a nod with a tip of his hat. "Nice to meet you on this lovely... night." He hadn't even realized the time of day had changed as he dashed about the city looking around. "Are you from here?"

[oswinforthewin]

Maybe. If he really knew Clara Oswald. Did he? How much about the girl nicknamed The Impossible Girl did he actually know? That'd answer his question. Not the bigger one he had, but, the one he had about all the different Claras being the same.

An eyebrow perked up at his apparently use of manners. Someone had to have them these days, she supposed. Even if he did like running into women at night. "Lovely isn't the word I would use for it." Lovely would mean things would work right and she could get 'home.'

"Everyone here is from here." Annabell eyed him. Was he one of those secret agents from the Conclave? Someone made to make sure that everyone fit right where they were supposed to?

Time to change the subject. "Doctor isn't a name, its a title you earn. Should I be asking 'a doctor of what?' Or, maybe: 'Doctor Who?" She paused. "I imagine that is a question you like being asked. Doctor Who?"

It was just a hunch she had.

[nevermindtherunning]

Oh, he always had a liking when that question came up. It was music to his ears! "Sometimes it's fun to hear, yes. And the Doctor will suffice." Her name nearly slipped off the tip of his tongue with his reply, but he caught himself just in time.

"And where are you going this evening Miss Nyghtngale?" Her time line lit up in front of him, there were a few choices she could take, but none quite made sense beyond 'home'.

"It's a bit late out, innit?"

[oswinforthewin]

"If not a wife then she has some kind of eyes for you." Annabell shrugged simply and closed the door behind the Doctor. That sway in her hips was a bit more obvious without her coat, but if she was doing it on purpose was up to anyone to decide.

The woman who was not Clara, but still like her somehow, moved over to the curtained wall. Her fingers slid behind it and an audible click echoed in the room. A table in the center of a room had one of the decorative panels slide back into itself, revealing a scanning mechanism. The decor and style might of been like those mysterious noir Earth days, but the technology wasn't. Annabell sat down on the edge of the table and hovered her lower arm over the revealed mechanism.

"You wanted into the Belly. Didn't you? Bit late to turn back now."

[nevermindtherunning]

A wicked grin over came his face, after brushing off her comment on the card. There was very little he knew of Professor Song, so he hadn't a clue what her intentions were.

"Ohhh, I'm definitely not turning back!" He sat in the chair adjacent to her, bouncing his legs like an eager child, watching closely, and waiting for something to happen.

[oswinforthewin]

Oh, he probably wasn't going to like this bit at all.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're like a big kid?" She asked as she turned her eyes down to the table. There was a slight hesitation before Annabell took in a sharp inhale.

The mechanism activated then. A thick needle sprung out from it, jabbing straight into her arm. Somehow she managed to not make a sound as her hand straightened out from the piercing pain. The needle attached to the chip in her arm. Blood started to run down the needle, but Annabell was more concerned with the pain than that. Chips could only work to unlock the way if they also had the imprint of the person the chip was assigned to. The process was entirely normal, really, but it still hurt every time.

[nevermindtherunning]

There was a moment where the Doctor's brows furrowed, confused for a second and even grossly curious to what was happening. Stepping up, he looks down with a scientific curiosity with what was taking place before him. "It matches with your DNA?"

He glances over to Clara, trying to gauge her reaction to the process. There's a moment where he regrets making her do this; he should've gone on his own, but something was stopping him from doing that.

And then he wondered how Professor Song got in.

[oswinforthewin]

At least she could a tad interesting then. Her eyes dart up to him, with a frown on her face. What she was frowning about really was up for debate though. "Otherwise anyone could just walk into the Belly. It doesn't exist. Remember?"

Finally the mechanism let go of her arm and Annabell pulled her arm back to inspect the damage. She turned her head to flick her hair over her other shoulder. It was definitely going to bruise - after all she hadn't been "home" in some time now. Other than that, everything seemed to be in order. Her legs crossed as she waited a few seconds.

...Two, one. Click.

Behind the curtain she had inspected earlier, a door slid open. Annabell glanced over her shoulder at the Doctor with a sly smile on her face. "Well, you clever boy. Go on."

[nevermindtherunning]

"Aw, you can't have done all that hard work and not join me." That smile is there, "It might be fun." He lingers a moment, his tongue poking at the corner of his mouth and he's posed: ready and waiting for her to move with him.

Glancing back he looks to the door, noticing the darkness, assuming there's steps there. "ALLONS-Y!" And being patient no more, takes Clara's hand and dashes onwards.

[nevermindtherunning]

"It does." He comments, buttoning his brown long coat as he followed her down the stairs. Although he needed her to get inside, he wouldn't be a lost puppy for long. He was attempting to stay on his best behavior until he was physically in the city, but now after reading this letter, he wondered what was happening.

The stairs indeed looked unused, which begged the Doctor to wonder when was the last time they had been in use. They had to skip a couple steps due to the wear, but finally they reached the bottom. "They need to invest in a lift." He commented, stepping past piles of trash and old newspapers.

Dimly, off to the side was a long hallway with a single light bulb flickering over the door. "I suppose this is our exit?" He looked over to Clara with a raised eyebrow.

[oswinforthewin]

"Restoration projects don't exist down here." Annabell said simply, giving him a look. He was the one that tried to take apart the lift they had just been in. A set of stairs couldn't have been that bad to use after that. Not to mention you could go down them at your own pace.

She gestured to the door and pressed it open, revealing the musty road with street lights and a few classic cars driving past. If one went to the edge of the bridge beside the building they exited, the entire scope of the Belly could be seen. A multi-tiered underground city with fog covering most of it. The sound of hums, presumably from fans that filtered the fog out, could be heard in the distance. Annabell sighed and placed her letters under her arm.

"This is it. The Belly." She glanced up at the Doctor. "Not what you were expecting, is it?"

[nevermindtherunning]

He shakes his head, "No, it's more or less exactly what I had in mind." It made him think of New New York and the gridlock with Martha, though that hardly was any worse than this place.

Looking around, he watches as dark figures move in the distance, everyone seeming in a hurry to get somewhere, and he turned back to Clara. "Are you familiar with the Laughing Man? It's a club of some sort." Or at least he guessed as much. "That's where I've been told to go."

[oswinforthewin]

At this point, Annabell wasn't surprised by the fact he wanted to go to one of the more questionable establishments in the Belly. There was still a mystery to him, but she had picked up enough in the last hour or so to understand he thrived on this sort of thing. She didn't. In fact she rather didnt understand why he kept talking to her at this pony.

"It is three levels down under a large neon sign. You would have to be blind to miss it." Annabell said. She looked around him and nodded to the toll lift down the street. "Tell them you are on business from the Conclave."

As for her, well, she had already started to walk in the other direction. "Don't cause too much of a scene while you are there. The security isn't fond of messes."

[nevermindtherunning]

"Not coming with?" He raises an eyebrow, then finally nods. It'd probably be safer that way, anyway. He lingers for a moment, thinking of something to say before dropping it and letting it go. "Well then, thank you, Clara." There was a smile, before he began taking off in his own direction.

The Laughing Man was exactly where she said it would be. Waltzing in, he unbuttons his jacket, flashing his psychic paper, "Conclave business." And saddles up to the bar.

There were a few stares in his direction, most people in business suits, and women dressed in form-flattering dresses, and a singer with a piano player up on the stage for everyone to listen and enjoy. This was clearly a well-looked after establishment given the dress of the population. It didn't phase the Doctor in the slightest as he placed an order for a drink. Sitting there nursing it, he waited, hoping what River's game plan might make its presence known.

Time lines flashed before his eyes, as he looked around at everyone around him. You'll know what to do. Was what the letter said, but the Doctor, at the moment at least, wasn't officially sure of that just yet.

Hours passed, the Doctor conversed with various people, ingesting just as many drinks. It turns out there were some extreme rebels here, angered at the upper world and spoke with animosity and venom punctuating their words. At some point, the Doctor found a paper lingering on an empty table, and he breezed through the titles.



It was late, oh quite late, when there was a knock on Annabell's door, or rather pounding. Becoming frustrated in her slow reply, it only took a moment for the Doctor to let himself in. His hair looked a bit tussled, his tie loosened around his neck, and brown eyes presenting with a wild look.

[oswinforthewin]

Annabell shook her head at his question and said her goodbyes. Then she was on her way out of sight. Even if she was extremely nervous, to the point of being sick, about going to her old flat? Sleep was a priority if she had a summon to the Conclave. They were not only the government but her direct bosses. Which meant being sleep deprived was not an option.

She placed her hand on the doorhandle of her flat and opened the door. Quickly and quietly, she slipped in snd closed the door with her back. Her gaze tilted down as her heart pounded, memories flooding back. Annabell forced her eyes shut and a deep breath to calm herself. It would take a push of courage and fortgetfulness to enter the bedroom, change and grab her things. Which she did manage to do.

Pillows and blankets dropped to the couch as she walked passed all the undecorated walls - the pictures had long been removed - moving into the bathroom to take off her makeup. The Conclave took care of her flat as she was away on business, so nothing properly expired. A nice touch considering if she died on a mission that it would be rather useless. Perhaps the only thing that hadn't been removed were the Old Earth Classic Literature books on her shelves. She looked at them with a frown as she fixed her nightgown for bed. Her eyes remained on them even as she laid down to go to sleep.

Amazingly she didn't wake up until the noisy Time Lord entered her flat. She sat up om the couch, staring at him in shock. At the moment she couldn't process shouting at him for barging in, but she would.

[nevermindtherunning]

"No."

He simply answered, only because he knew he couldn't save everyone, but he could at least make the situation better. Plus, it didn't have to happen. Innocent people didn't have to die over selfish, corrupt reasons. The Doctor had the advantage of knowing what was to happen and had time on his side to change that.

[oswinforthewin]

She studied him for a moment. "Doctors usually take some sort of oath to do no harm. They're never cruel or cowardly, and they never give up or give in." Clara leaned towards him with a curious look in her eyes, but what she said was out of kindness. "That's you, isn't it?"

"Look, I don't got the time for stupid interviews!"

Clara rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the stairs as the presumed owner hurried down them. He waved off the bartender and made his way over to the pair, clearly intending to tell them to buzz off until he saw who they were. His eyes widened as he stopped beside Clara.

"Hey." Johnny said and glanced up at the Doctor. "I didn't expect to see you here again."

"I do what I can to avoid you, actually." Clara said with a slightly playful tone. She then gestured to the Doctor. "My business partner needs a word with you. Apparently the only way to see you these days is if I personally ask."

"Except for the fact where you asked my bartender." Johnny eyed her. "Business partner, huh? Well, you two are going to have to wait. I need to put on a show. So, stick around for forty minutes or more. Have a few drinks on me."

Clara glanced at the Doctor and knew that stunt wasn't going to work. Not with what she had seen back in her flat. She reached up and grabbed Johnny's arm and tugged him back. She didn't speak until their eyes had locked. "You owe me one, Johnny."

That made him pause. "You're seriously going to use that for this? Just talking to this guy?"

"Yes. I am." Clara let go of his arm. "His name is the Doctor. He got a letter from a friend of his with directions to the Belly. You'll want to talk to him."

Johnny glanced between the two before he straightened his suit. "And what about that performance I'm supposed to do?"

"I'll do it." She reached up and took off her hat. "I've got to do something while the two of you entertain yourselves sizing each other up anyways." Clara looked up at the Doctor with a playful smirk. "Try not to scare him."

Clara walked off towards the stage, leaving Johnny sighing annoyingly. He turned to the Doctor then and extended his hand. "John Powell. This is going to go easier if we're in my office."

[nevermindtherunning]

At Annabel's statement, the Doctor balked at her, and was ready with a reply when the familiar man reappeared before them giving Annabel a hard time. So much for his own reply to her on that topic.

Taking her hat, the Doctor followed Johnny back to his office and took a seat, crossing his legs and balancing Annabel's hat on his shin. He looks disinterested for a bit, just sitting there watching the man light his own cigarette before taking a seat.

Briefly the Doctor was curious to know what show Annabel was referring to, but shrugged it off as he begun his conversation. They'd be in there for a good 45 minutes.

[oswinforthewin]

He'd probably find another time to make that reply. Annabell watched as the two made their way to the office and then stepped on stage. She shared a brief word with a few of the band members before taking the stage. The lights dimmed after the moment and the band began to play.

Johnny on the other hand sat in front of the Doctor and offered him a cigarette. "Assuming you're the same man, I think you are going to need some background. Professor Song said she was sending for a doctor. I thought she meant some sort of medical supplies. Good thing she was wrong. That isn't what we really need down here."

While he was talking, Johnny opened his desk and pulled out a folder. Through the office door, the band could be heard performing. Within a few moments, Annabell's voice came through the club as she began to sing.

"Did Professor Song tell you anything? She said she was going to leave you a letter." Johnny looked up at the Doctor.

[nevermindtherunning]

The Doctor holds his hand up, passing on the cigarette and is vaguely listening to Johnny before turning his head, listening to Clara. He hadn't a clue she had a voice on her.

"She left me a letter, telling me to find this place." The Doctor replied, attention still on the performance outside, "But nothing more. The rest I found out on my own when I was here earlier."

Now he turned and focused on him, "What did she tell you?"

[oswinforthewin]

Johnny made a gesture as if to say Your loss before placing the cigarettes away. He flipped through the folder before handing it over for the Doctor to see. "She just told me that you were the best man in the universe to help us with our problem. I'm hoping she is right about that."

He pointed to the folder. "I made the call for Professor Song's help. She might be an archeologist, but she's got more skills in other areas than that. Her name came up from another informant I have when we suspected who might be helping the Conclave." Johnny took a moment to take a bit off the cigarette. "For the last few years we've had the people in our resistance ring come up murdered or questionable suicides. The latest one is what I requested Professor Song for. Take a look."