(no subject)
Aug. 22nd, 2010 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sozettaslowOk, so I've been writing a lot of crossover drabbles recently, with The World Ends With You and Doctor Who. They're in two different 'verses, this post being full of the verse where the Doctor is Neku's dad (Donna is his mother, and doesn't remember he exists), and River is Joshua's mom. Please do not ask how this got thought of, it's just for fun. XD I attempted to put these in order of how they would have happened, rather than when I wrote them...
Series: The World Ends With You/Doctor Who (Starting with the Tenth Doctor, switching to the Eleventh at 'Fixed')
Genre: General, some angst, slash in the general direction of Joshua and Neku...
Title: When
Rating: PG
Summary: Even though Joshua tries to avoid the 'spoilers,' there's one he can't dodge...
Joshua understood a lot more than he let on. For example, even if people assumed they were just poor, the real reason he and his mother lived in a tattered house was because no one else would let his mother buy one. People moved to the either side of the street not because that was easier, but because they didn’t want to be by his ‘disgrace’ of a mother.
The dreams he had about her someday leaving him for good weren’t dreams, but frighteningly real.
He didn’t care about the first two at all, though. People were stupid, it hadn’t taken him long to work that out. They way they treated him was hard sometimes, insults and cold shoulders a like, the ‘oni-child’ of an unworthy woman. They didn’t understand him, so they didn’t like him, and that was stupid.
It was also obvious why they didn’t like his mother- she was different, too. She wasn’t married, and apparently a lot of people thought that was all she could be good for. Stupid. She was always happy to talk to him, and most of the girls he knew wouldn’t say anything unless you asked them to. She was smart, and she was teaching him how to play music, and she was the best mother ever.
Which was why the third did bother him.
It wasn’t just in dreams, either. Like so many things that he’d seen, and wasn’t supposed to see. He saw ghosts a lot, learned about the Game and everything. But he didn’t try to see the future. “Spoilers~” his mother would tell him, when he brought it up. Sometimes, he couldn’t tell what was now, what was later, and what would never happen at all. But the dreams about her leaving were so often that he’d been able to sort it out, and he didn’t like it.
He knew mostly what would happen now, and why. He didn’t blame her. This place was terrible, with so many cruel and just foolish people, who wouldn’t want to leave? Even if he’d liked it here, he still wouldn’t be able to blame her. So, instead, he secretly blamed the man he saw with her.
This man, who looked more than a little ridiculous, in Joshua’s opinion, didn’t just show up in that dream. He showed up in others, but never smiling, always angry or upset and Joshua didn’t like him. He hadn’t even met the man yet, and he didn’t like him, because he knew what he would do, what he could do, and maybe some of what he had done.
“Joshua?” The boy looked up to see his mother by the door, biwa in hand. He got up eagerly and went over, holding to the loose fabric of her kimono as she patted his head and lead him inside.
The only thing he didn’t know? When.
So he treasured every moment he got, never knowing if it would be the last.
Title: Father and Son
Rating: PG-13, for mild swearing
Summary: It's been a long time since the Doctor's been a parent, and he's run into a new problem.
Neku had never been very outgoing, or very social. The Doctor wasn’t entirely sure where he’d gotten that from, but he was more likely to hang back and watch something happen rather than investigate. Better at being approached than approaching and all that. It left him a little lonely in the years where classes were cliquey, but he’d held onto a best friend, at least. A boy he’d known since elementary school.
Only, said boy had stopped coming around the past several months, and Neku had been getting more and more withdrawn from everything. It got to the point where the Doctor never saw the headphones come off of his head.
His grades were fine, nothing changed there, but he still received a call from Neku’s art teacher, who was obviously concerned. “I don’t know what happened,” she said, “But it was weird. One day, he was with his usual group, and then the next... he was by himself. And now he’s always by himself. No one wants to pair up with him in class, he sits alone at lunch... I don’t know what happened. Maybe they had a falling out?”
It took him a while, to catch Neku and not be blown off immediately. Of course, he had to snatch the boy’s headphones to get him to listen, but that was a minor problem. As was the surly look he got when he refused to return them.
“Neku,” he said, looking the boy in the eye, which was kind of difficult with Neku looking so sour, “What’s been going on?”
“Nothing,” Neku muttered, arms crossed, “Can I have my headphones back?”
“No.” The Doctor said, hand to his forehead, “Neku, I’m not stupid. Something happened, and you’re not telling me. What is it?”
“None of your business,” the teen replied, “Can I have my headphones back now?”
“No! Listen to me.” The Doctor sighed- it was almost easier talking to the Daleks sometimes, and he immediately took that thought back. “Neku, if you tell me what’s wrong, maybe I can help. So will you just--”
“Why do you always say that?” Neku asked, moving back from his face with a scowl, “What makes you think you can help?”
“If you just tell me--”
“No! Why should I?” He finally lifted his head to look at his father in the eyes, and he was glaring. “Why should I tell you anything? You always go on about how little you know about me because I don’t talk to you or whatever, but you know a hell of a lot more about me than I do about you. I can’t even tell people your name. What the hell is that about?”
Neku used the stunned silence that followed to snatch his headphones back, pulling them up around his neck and about to put them on. The Doctor swallowed. Even when he had been a parent before, this wasn’t something he’d...
“Neku, I’m s--”
“Just shut up,” Neku muttered, pulling the headphones over his ears and walking away.
Title: Three Weeks
Rating: PG-13, for mentions of death
Summary: There's been so much lost, all over time and space-- but, for once, the Doctor can't run.
Neku had gone out of the house-- again-- music blasting in his ears and not listening to a word, not that the Doctor had any idea what he’d say, not now. Then it got late, much later than Neku stayed out, and he couldn’t stop pacing. He called Neku’s cell, and got no answer. He went out, looking... but he couldn’t feel any trace of another Time Lord.
He didn’t make it back until morning, not resting but not sure where else to look. Neku was nowhere to be found. The only places he hadn’t checked were the back alleys, and he didn’t want to look there. He didn’t want to believe that Neku would even go back there, but...
He called the police, reluctantly, before he went out again. Starting over by Hachiko, but before he could get far, he got a call. The worst phone call he would ever get.
The Doctor went to identify the body. Neku had been found in the Ugadawa area, in front of a mural. He should have looked there, should have known Neku would be drawn to anything art related. But he hadn’t. The police had found him. Dead.
He’d been shot, which the Doctor didn’t understand, he’d been shot so many times in so many places that he didn’t even consider that much of a problem any more. But Neku was young. He might not have been able to regenerate... Time Lords could, at any age, but Neku was still part human. Had that been enough to stop it?
He didn’t leave Neku’s side, not until they’d forced him to leave anyway. So much lost, all across space and time... the Time Lords, all of them, were gone. Again. Just him now. First Gallifrey... then the Master... then Jenny... he’d been worried, with Neku, if he would just think of them. He hadn’t. Neku had been different, and nothing was like it had been but that didn’t make it bad. And now that was gone too.
Running was all he knew how to do now, and it was all he could do most of the time. But he couldn’t leave this how it was. He had to find out who had done this. He wasn’t sure what he would do when he found out, but he had to know.
The police made no promises, and he couldn’t wait forever. He’d take a month. If it wasn’t resolved by then, he’d skip forward in time to see if it ever was, and then he’d leave. He didn’t visit Japan much, he could avoid it. He wasn’t sure he could face it again.
It looked to be the slowest month of the Doctor’s very long life, and that was saying something. He’d started clearing things out, but it wasn’t until the second week that he even touched Neku’s room. Even then, he didn’t know what he was going to do with any of it. He just sat on Neku’s bed, shifting through things he’d drawn. He couldn’t take it with him, he couldn’t. But he couldn’t leave it. Eventually, he got up, and closed the door, leaving it quiet again.
Three weeks rolled around, and nothing. The police hadn’t gotten anything, and neither had he. He was on edge, in a place he hadn’t been in a long time. The waiting place, waiting for the next event because he couldn’t skip. He sighed, head hitting the wall as he waited for something, anything--
He shot up suddenly, looking around. He was on the sofa. He’d been across the room a minute ago, and standing, and this was not right.
Jumping up, he darted to look at the door. Nothing was wrong, the sky was shining, everything was completely normal. And that was very, very wrong.
Not just because he was in a bad mood, obviously, there’d been a jump. A time jump, and that sort of thing was never a good sign. Just how much time, was the question.
Once he got to the computer, he looked. In five different different places, he looked, and it was all the same.
“Three weeks...” he muttered, running a hand through his hair, “Three weeks back in time. What happened? Besides...” He trailed off before hitting the side of his head. “No, no, that’s. I wish but that’s...”
The Doctor sighed, sinking back down with his head in his hands. He had no idea what had been going on in the past three weeks, he wouldn’t even know what he’d missed.
A room away, a door opened, and slammed shut. “Dad, uh... I’m home.”
The Doctor was completely still for all of three seconds before jumping up and bolting to the door. There, clear as day, was Neku, looking awkward, slightly sheepish, and completely not expecting the hug he was suddenly enveloped in.
“Dad?” Neku looked up at him, confused as the Doctor clung to him, only then his head got pulled into the Doctor’s chest. He was pinned there for several minutes, while the Doctor hugged him tight, before Neku could pull himself out, looking worried now.
“Dad... what’s wrong? D’you...” He stared, and the Doctor stared back, never taking his hand off Neku’s head. “But... you’re not...” Neku closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. “He said that people wouldn’t--”
“Neku,” he said quietly, bending down so he was looking at his face, “I’m not people. I am no where near people.”
The boy was quiet for a moment, before moving forward and hugging his father tightly.
Title: Foreign Exchange
Rating: PG
Summary: The Nobles have taken a Japanese foreign exchange student into their home.
“Donna, would you hurry it up, we have to go!”
Donna rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself as she stepped out into the care with her mother, arms crossed. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Because it’s a good way to learn about new people,” her mother said, simply, “Besides, my friend Beth’s on the foreign exchange commitee for the school board, and they were desperate. If we hadn’t volunteered, the poor boy wouldn’t have been able to come at all.”
“And he’d probably be better for it,” the redhead muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes, having not heard the words but still having a guess as to what Donna had said. “Now, I don’t know how much English he can speak, so it might be a little hard to communicate at first, but for God’s sake, Donna, don’t frighten the poor child.”
“Frighten him, why would I frighten him?” Donna asked, frowning.
“Because it’s what you do.”
Understandably, Donna hadn’t been eager to pick up conversation with her mother after that, and they didn’t speak at all until they were waiting in the pickup area, Sylvia holding up a sign that said ‘Neku Sakuraba’ on it.
“His name’s Neku, then?” Donna asked, looking through the crowd-- there were a lot of other families here, waiting to pick up their foreign exchange students, “Sounds Japanese enough.”
Once the crowd cleared out a bit, Donna spotted a boy with bright red hair and headphones draped around his neck. She couldn’t figure out how she’d picked him out, but as soon as she did he glanced over in her direction and headed over.
“Hello!” Sylvia said as he approached, speaking extremely slowly and quite a bit louder than she normally would have, “My name is Sylvia, and this is Donna.”
The boy just stared at her, eyebrow slightly arched.
“Hm,” Sylvia looked over at Donna, who had her hands on her hips and was feeling very sorry for this kid already, “Maybe he doesn’t speak English at all.”
“Actually,” Neku spoke up, a hand awkwardly rubbing his neck and not a single trace of his Japanese accent in his voice- he sounded like a true Londoner, “I’m fluent.”
Donna barely suppressed a laugh as Sylvia stared, before hurriedly asking if he needed help with his things and where baggage claim was.
“Don’t frighten him now, mum,” Donna smirked as they headed off behind the boy.
For her wit, she received a glare. “Oh, shut up.”
Title: The End of Time
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Shibuya's Composer has a message for the Doctor- the Ood are Calling...
The room was cold, an unnatural chill to the air that would have been uncomfortable no matter the weather, contemporary lines and edges and it was all sharp, clean, and intimidating.
Joshua sat on top of what appeared to be a bar, glancing up as his two guests entered. The Doctor, dragging Neku behind him who had never liked this place but had shown his father the way because apparently it was important.
“Now,” the Doctor said, glaring at the teen who was just watching him mildly, “Usually, when I say things like this, I’m talking to someone or something trying to destroy an awful lot of people. But I don’t know what you are, I don’t know what you want, so you get one chance, and that’s it.”
Joshua smirked, tilting his head to the side playfully while Neku looked like he wasn’t sure who he wanted to punch more. “Now, that’s not very nice, Doctor. I don’t even know what I’ve got one chance at.”
“What are you?” the Doctor asked, “And what do you want?”
Joshua leaned back, glancing at Neku who was positioned strategically behind his father, obviously having been banned from getting but so close to his friend-boyfriend-whatever. “I’m as human as they come. As for what I want, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Don’t even start with me,” the Doctor said, voice low in an almost growl as he took a step forward, “I’m not in the mood for any of your games.”
“Dad, calm down,” Neku said, quiet, “He’s always like this, it’s not--”
“Neku, dear, hush.” Joshua put a finger up to his lips and giggled. “No one under the age of one hundred is allowed to talk now.”
Neku glared, crossing his arms. The Doctor ignored him. “I’ll ask one more time-- what are you?”
Joshua cocked his head to the side. “Human.”
“I don’t believe you.”
The boy lifted his hands up in a shrug. “Scan away, then. Like I said, as human as they come.”
“I’ve already done that.” The Doctor moved again, hiding Neku from Joshua’s view. “You register as human, but something’s off. Something’s allowed you to live for over a hundred years. Now tell me what it is.”
Joshua’s eyes shifted to the side slightly, still smiling before he leaned back again. “I’m human, I’ll promise that much.”
The Doctor gave him a cold, hard look. “You’ll have to do more than that.”
“Or what?” The teen hopped down from his perch on the bar, smiling sweetly with no sincerity. “You’ll kill me? I don’t think you would, especially not here and now, but if you did it wouldn’t matter. You’re a bit late for that, anyway.”
The Doctor stared. “What?”
“He’s dead,” Neku said from behind him, still giving Joshua a look and probably talking just because he could, “He’s been dead for something like a hundred and thirty years.”
The Doctor turned and stared at his son, before staring at Joshua. “No,” he said, looking between the two boys, “But that’s--”
“Impossible?” Joshua interuppted, “Your son was also dead for three weeks, I’d say that’s pretty impossible in itself. I’m Shibuya’s Composer. I run the Reaper’s Game. I revive its winners. And, for the record--” He turned, lifting himself back onto the bar, “What I want? Is for my city to be safe. How else do you think you got in?”
“What are you talking about?” Neku asked, frowning, “We walked in, just like I always--”
“Neku, what did I say about the age limit on talking?” Joshua giggled at the look he received, pushing his hair back before looking back at the Doctor. “There is a barrier around this place. No one gets in, unless I want them to get in.”
“And why did you want me to get in?” the Doctor asked.
“I told you,” Joshua said, sighing dramatically, “I want for my city to be safe. And, unfortunately, you seem to be the only one that can help.”
“What do you need me for? Nothing ever happens in Japan.” The Doctor frowned slightly, thinking. “Which is weird, actually, but part of the reason I chose it. Huh.”
The teen chuckled slightly, pushing his hair back again. “While it might be just a small part of the world, it’s still there. And when the world’s in danger, Shibuya’s in danger.” He leaned forward, watching the Doctor’s face. “Funny thing about you, information gets around. Though I guess ‘The Last of the Time Lords’ is one of your titles that doesn’t apply anymore, hm?”
“How do you know about that?” the Doctor asked, stepping forward.
Joshua laughed. “You’ve lived in my city for fifteen years, and you think I wouldn’t even know your species? You give me too little credit, Doctor. Besides, you know I shot Neku-- two hearts, one bullet, and no regeneration? Come now, put the pieces together.”
The Doctor grew angry once more. “You--”
Joshua held up a hand, expression suddenly very, very solemn. “I let you in here because I have a message for you,” he said quietly, “And... Neku.” He turned at looked at the boy, a muted look on his face that Neku could tell was hiding a trace of sadness. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Neku asked, uncrossing his arms and starting forward, only to be stopped by the Doctor.
“What’s the message?” he asked, curtly.
Joshua closed his eyes, and a hum surrounded him, the Doctor and Neku both taking steps back to avoid the slight glow around the boy. When his eyes opened again, they were lidded, and his voice was distant.
“The Ood are calling, Doctor,” he said, softly, “He will knock four times. Your song is ending soon.”
Title: Points
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sometimes, Neku had really bad timing.
There were few parents in the modern day who didn’t yell at their children for not answering their cell phones. The Doctor had, admittedly, been one of these parents, especially after the incident with said child being dead for three weeks, and it was even rarer that Neku called him.
So why did he call NOW?!
“What’s that?” The Master looked confused, before grinning madly. “You’ve got a mobile! And it’s ringing! I’m certainly not calling you, and it’s not the girl who called the old man, so that means there’s another person out there. Who’s looking for you, I wonder?”
“Don’t.” The Doctor glared as the Master pulled open the Doctor’s jacket, searching until he found the ringing phone, flipping it open and pushing the speaker phone.
To Wilf, it was a jumble of Japanese, but the Doctor and the Master both understood it perfectly. “Dad, what the hell is going on?!” Neku was hissing into the phone- probably hiding somewhere, with everyone around him being turned into the Master, “What’s happened to everyone?”
“Dad?” The Master’s grin grew. “Oh, Doctor. Oh. I should have known. We’ve got another Time Lord on our hands, don’t we?”
Luckily, Neku could speak English just as well as Japanese. “...Who the hell are you?” he asked.
The Master tsked. “Oh, he’s not very polite, is he? Though if he’s yours...” He turned to one of the nearby ‘him’s. “Track him.”
“Neku, get off the phone,” the Doctor said, “Get off the phone now!”
The phone clicked off a second later, but it was too late. “Got him,” one of the Master Race said, “Showing video feed now.”
The TV clicked on, showing the teen near Cat Street, pressed against the wall near an alley and trying to stay out of the way. “Oh, and he’s a ginger!” The Master grinned at the Doctor. “Well, he’s done one thing you’ve never gotten down. Send someone to get him.”
Within seconds, several versions of the Master were advancing on him. Neku looked like he was swearing, trying to move away but only being blocked on the other side. They were advancing, getting closer...
“Who’s that?” the Master snapped suddenly, watching the screen, “How did he get there?!”
Next to Neku there was, quite suddenly, and out of nowhere, a boy. He grabbed Neku’s shoulder, and then as quickly as the boy had appeared, the two vanished.
The Doctor let out a relieved laugh, grinning as the Master looked at him. “Oh, Joshua...” he muttered to himself, “You get points for that. Not many, but still. Points.”
Title: The End of the World
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Neku needed someone to blame, and Joshua was always an easy target.
“What the hell did you do that for?!”
Neku was sitting on the glass floor, the fishes underneath the tiles swimming away from him as he yelled, his voice shaking half the glass in the room. He wanted to yell, to scream, to throw and break things, and Joshua was there, just sitting there and was the perfect target. Even though he hadn’t really done anything.
Even though his father would been walking into death without the message.
“What would you have me do?” Joshua’s voice was quieter now, with the Doctor gone. Not trying to prove anything, or be high and mighty. He trusted Neku enough to talk to him like this, like an actual person who had meaning, but that wasn’t what Neku wanted or needed right now. He needed for Joshua to be a jerk, someone he wouldn’t feel guilty for hating or blaming, and right now he sounded too reasonable and almost sorry and Neku couldn’t handle that. “Neku, if your father doesn’t go, the entire world will end.”
“I don’t care!” Neku growled, “Damnit, Joshua! I only--” His voice broke for a second, having to swallow to get it back. “I only just got to figure out anything about him, and now he’s...”
Joshua rose from his seat, walking over and sitting in front of the teen, pushing a strang of hair out of the boy’s face. “It might not end that way,” he said.
Neku would have none of that. He pushed Joshua away from him, the Composer having to catch himself. “Get away from me,” he muttered, staring at the floor, “Just... go away! I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to even see you right now!”
There was a pause, before Joshua sighed, pulling himself up. “If you say so,” he said simply, vanishing into thin air.
The Doctor was gone the next day, and Neku took out his headphones and blasted music as he walked through Shibuya’s streets. Drowning in his own world was something he hadn’t done in a while, but he didn’t think he could face the world in any other way.
He was getting onto Cat Street, thinking vaguely of visiting Mr. H before seeing that Wildkat was closed, taking off his headphones for just a moment. But then, he noticed the scene around him. People were all frozen in place, and moments after their faces blurred. Flicking images crossed them, changing them, and Neku didn’t know how but he knew it was bad, backing up into a nearby alley and watching as one by one, every single person became the same man.
What the hell.
He stayed quiet, watching the crowd as he pulled out his phone, speed dialing and whispering harshly as soon as it picked up. “Dad, what the hell is going on? What happened to everyone?”
“Dad?” There was a voice on the other end, one he didn’t recognize, and it was speaking in English. “Oh, Doctor. Oh. I should have known. We’ve got another Time Lord on our hands, don’t we?”
Neku froze, staring at the phone for a second before speaking again. “Who the hell are you?”
The voice ‘tsked’ at him. “Oh, he’s not very polite, is he? Though if he’s yours...Track him.”
“Neku, get off the phone.” His father’s voice. “Get off the phone now!”
He didn’t need telling twice, snapping the phone shut. But apparently he was too late, or he’d been too loud. He swore loudly as the people in the street advanced, closing in on him from every side.
Neku nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder, twisting around to see Joshua standing there, looking as smug as ever.
“What did you--”
“We’re in the UG,” Joshua said, calm as anything, “They can’t get you now.”
The people were looking bewildered, dispersing quickly. Neku watched them go before glaring at Joshua and tugging him forward, only to kiss him hard.
When they broke away, Joshua tilted his head to the side, amused. “Are you talking to me now?”
Neku just glared. “The world is ending, and I’m going to kiss you again. Shut up.”
Title: Fixed
Rating: PG
Summary: The Game was a fixed point in time, but the Doctor can't figure out why. Unfortunately, there's only one person to ask.
This would be the first time, the very first, that the Doctor had seen Joshua without his son present. It was also one of the few times where he went to seek the Composer out. But if Joshua had psychic powers, then he might be the only one who could answer the question.
“What would have happened?” Joshua arched an eyebrow. “That’s an unusual question.”
“Fixed points in time are rare, precious moments,” the Doctor said, staying a little bit away- ever since he regenerated, he’d always kept a bit more distance from Joshua-- he hadn't liked that final message, “Usually, they’re followed by important things in history. It’s why they’re there, so that some things progress like they’re supposed to. But with your Game-- nothing connects to it. Neither of you ever pop up in history again. Which means that it’s to prevent something from happening.”
Joshua smiled innocently, tilting his head to the side. “Well, you know why I played that Game, I’m sure. Neku was able to change my mind about it. Not many people can do that. Anyone other than him, and I probably would have gone through with it.”
“And?” the Doctor prompted.
Joshua sighed. “And?”
“Don’t tell me that would be the end of it.”
The Composer paused, smirking in a slightly darker fashion. “I’ve met my Fallen alternate, Doctor. Trust me, you don’t want to know what would have happened.”
“That’s still not it,” the Doctor said, striding over and peering into Joshua’s face, “It’s not just Neku that’s locked-- you are too. You have been, for a very long time. What would happen if you weren’t here?”
That got another surprised look out of Joshua, before he flipped his phone open, pretending he wasn’t interested. There were many reasons he could just not answer the question, but both of them knew how persistent the Doctor could be, as well as how little patience he could have.
“There are two alternatives,” he said, finally, “The more obvious is if a Composer more harsh than I took the position. Someone like that certainly wouldn’t have spared Neku, and might not have even taken up the Game in the first place. They would have Fallen, and then possibly tried to take over another city. Rinse, and repeat, over and over again.”
“What’s the other one?”
There was another silence, before Joshua flipped his phone shut, looking up at the Time Lord once more.
“In many ways, having a Composer more lenient than I would be worse,” he said, quietly, “They wouldn’t have considered destroying it. There would have been have no Game, no proxy, no revival of Shibuya’s spirit. It would have done exactly what I didn’t want it to do- die. The UG would have fizzled, become nothing. A static UG affects the RG. Shibuya would then be devoid of any creativity. Nothing could be created. It would be a dead space.”
The Doctor watched as Joshua leaned back, lost in a faraway world that would hopefully never come to pass. “And, Doctor, a static RG will affect the RGs around it. City after city, they’d fall, not devoid of life but imagination, nothing being created, nothing progressing. It might take years- I don’t know, really.”
He looked over at the Doctor, violet eyes impossibly distant, and the Doctor thought, just for a moment, that he understood what Neku saw in him. “Can you imagine it, Doctor? The Earth, devoid of any art, or creative passion. The imagination that is the only reason the human race has survived this long, and will continue to survive. How long do you think we’d last?”
Title: His Mother's Son
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor meets Joshua's mother, and so much is explained.
It was weird, sometimes, coming back from various aventures in the TARDIS to stay in one place for a longer period of time. But he knew he couldn’t stop coming. That just wasn’t fair to Neku. And taking Neku with him was a bad idea, for a few reasons. Namely, his age, his attachment to the city, and Joshua (though, in many cases, Joshua could be a reason to get Neku as far away from Shibuya as possible).
There was also dealing with the day to day people. He didn’t often answer the door, not anymore, because if it wasn’t someone looking for Neku, they idn’t know who he was and what he was like and it ended up being a very awkward conversation. But today, Neku wasn’t there to answer the door, so when it rang he hand to open it.
Outside the door was a blonde woman with blonde curls, smirking at him. “Hello, sweetie,” she said.
The Doctor stared. “River? What are you doing here?”
She stepped inside without invitation, though the Doctor didn’t stop her and just closed the door behind her. “I was in the area, heard you were here, and thought I’d stop by. Visiting family.”
“Family?” the Doctor replied, incredulously, “And where would you have heard that I was--”
There was a sudden ruckous from the door, Neku flinging it open and storming in, Joshua in a leisurely but close pursuit. He smiled sweetly and waved at the adults, River waving back.
The Doctor paused, and stared at River, looking at Joshua, and staring at River again. “Oh. Oh no. He’s not--”
River nodded, smirking. The Doctor hit his head with his sonic screwdriver.
“That explains so much,” he muttered, before giving River a look, “He’s just like his mother.”
“Thank you~” Joshua chimed innocently, following Neku into the next room with a toss of his hair.
Series: The World Ends With You/Doctor Who (Starting with the Tenth Doctor, switching to the Eleventh at 'Fixed')
Genre: General, some angst, slash in the general direction of Joshua and Neku...
Title: When
Rating: PG
Summary: Even though Joshua tries to avoid the 'spoilers,' there's one he can't dodge...
Joshua understood a lot more than he let on. For example, even if people assumed they were just poor, the real reason he and his mother lived in a tattered house was because no one else would let his mother buy one. People moved to the either side of the street not because that was easier, but because they didn’t want to be by his ‘disgrace’ of a mother.
The dreams he had about her someday leaving him for good weren’t dreams, but frighteningly real.
He didn’t care about the first two at all, though. People were stupid, it hadn’t taken him long to work that out. They way they treated him was hard sometimes, insults and cold shoulders a like, the ‘oni-child’ of an unworthy woman. They didn’t understand him, so they didn’t like him, and that was stupid.
It was also obvious why they didn’t like his mother- she was different, too. She wasn’t married, and apparently a lot of people thought that was all she could be good for. Stupid. She was always happy to talk to him, and most of the girls he knew wouldn’t say anything unless you asked them to. She was smart, and she was teaching him how to play music, and she was the best mother ever.
Which was why the third did bother him.
It wasn’t just in dreams, either. Like so many things that he’d seen, and wasn’t supposed to see. He saw ghosts a lot, learned about the Game and everything. But he didn’t try to see the future. “Spoilers~” his mother would tell him, when he brought it up. Sometimes, he couldn’t tell what was now, what was later, and what would never happen at all. But the dreams about her leaving were so often that he’d been able to sort it out, and he didn’t like it.
He knew mostly what would happen now, and why. He didn’t blame her. This place was terrible, with so many cruel and just foolish people, who wouldn’t want to leave? Even if he’d liked it here, he still wouldn’t be able to blame her. So, instead, he secretly blamed the man he saw with her.
This man, who looked more than a little ridiculous, in Joshua’s opinion, didn’t just show up in that dream. He showed up in others, but never smiling, always angry or upset and Joshua didn’t like him. He hadn’t even met the man yet, and he didn’t like him, because he knew what he would do, what he could do, and maybe some of what he had done.
“Joshua?” The boy looked up to see his mother by the door, biwa in hand. He got up eagerly and went over, holding to the loose fabric of her kimono as she patted his head and lead him inside.
The only thing he didn’t know? When.
So he treasured every moment he got, never knowing if it would be the last.
Title: Father and Son
Rating: PG-13, for mild swearing
Summary: It's been a long time since the Doctor's been a parent, and he's run into a new problem.
Neku had never been very outgoing, or very social. The Doctor wasn’t entirely sure where he’d gotten that from, but he was more likely to hang back and watch something happen rather than investigate. Better at being approached than approaching and all that. It left him a little lonely in the years where classes were cliquey, but he’d held onto a best friend, at least. A boy he’d known since elementary school.
Only, said boy had stopped coming around the past several months, and Neku had been getting more and more withdrawn from everything. It got to the point where the Doctor never saw the headphones come off of his head.
His grades were fine, nothing changed there, but he still received a call from Neku’s art teacher, who was obviously concerned. “I don’t know what happened,” she said, “But it was weird. One day, he was with his usual group, and then the next... he was by himself. And now he’s always by himself. No one wants to pair up with him in class, he sits alone at lunch... I don’t know what happened. Maybe they had a falling out?”
It took him a while, to catch Neku and not be blown off immediately. Of course, he had to snatch the boy’s headphones to get him to listen, but that was a minor problem. As was the surly look he got when he refused to return them.
“Neku,” he said, looking the boy in the eye, which was kind of difficult with Neku looking so sour, “What’s been going on?”
“Nothing,” Neku muttered, arms crossed, “Can I have my headphones back?”
“No.” The Doctor said, hand to his forehead, “Neku, I’m not stupid. Something happened, and you’re not telling me. What is it?”
“None of your business,” the teen replied, “Can I have my headphones back now?”
“No! Listen to me.” The Doctor sighed- it was almost easier talking to the Daleks sometimes, and he immediately took that thought back. “Neku, if you tell me what’s wrong, maybe I can help. So will you just--”
“Why do you always say that?” Neku asked, moving back from his face with a scowl, “What makes you think you can help?”
“If you just tell me--”
“No! Why should I?” He finally lifted his head to look at his father in the eyes, and he was glaring. “Why should I tell you anything? You always go on about how little you know about me because I don’t talk to you or whatever, but you know a hell of a lot more about me than I do about you. I can’t even tell people your name. What the hell is that about?”
Neku used the stunned silence that followed to snatch his headphones back, pulling them up around his neck and about to put them on. The Doctor swallowed. Even when he had been a parent before, this wasn’t something he’d...
“Neku, I’m s--”
“Just shut up,” Neku muttered, pulling the headphones over his ears and walking away.
Title: Three Weeks
Rating: PG-13, for mentions of death
Summary: There's been so much lost, all over time and space-- but, for once, the Doctor can't run.
Neku had gone out of the house-- again-- music blasting in his ears and not listening to a word, not that the Doctor had any idea what he’d say, not now. Then it got late, much later than Neku stayed out, and he couldn’t stop pacing. He called Neku’s cell, and got no answer. He went out, looking... but he couldn’t feel any trace of another Time Lord.
He didn’t make it back until morning, not resting but not sure where else to look. Neku was nowhere to be found. The only places he hadn’t checked were the back alleys, and he didn’t want to look there. He didn’t want to believe that Neku would even go back there, but...
He called the police, reluctantly, before he went out again. Starting over by Hachiko, but before he could get far, he got a call. The worst phone call he would ever get.
The Doctor went to identify the body. Neku had been found in the Ugadawa area, in front of a mural. He should have looked there, should have known Neku would be drawn to anything art related. But he hadn’t. The police had found him. Dead.
He’d been shot, which the Doctor didn’t understand, he’d been shot so many times in so many places that he didn’t even consider that much of a problem any more. But Neku was young. He might not have been able to regenerate... Time Lords could, at any age, but Neku was still part human. Had that been enough to stop it?
He didn’t leave Neku’s side, not until they’d forced him to leave anyway. So much lost, all across space and time... the Time Lords, all of them, were gone. Again. Just him now. First Gallifrey... then the Master... then Jenny... he’d been worried, with Neku, if he would just think of them. He hadn’t. Neku had been different, and nothing was like it had been but that didn’t make it bad. And now that was gone too.
Running was all he knew how to do now, and it was all he could do most of the time. But he couldn’t leave this how it was. He had to find out who had done this. He wasn’t sure what he would do when he found out, but he had to know.
The police made no promises, and he couldn’t wait forever. He’d take a month. If it wasn’t resolved by then, he’d skip forward in time to see if it ever was, and then he’d leave. He didn’t visit Japan much, he could avoid it. He wasn’t sure he could face it again.
It looked to be the slowest month of the Doctor’s very long life, and that was saying something. He’d started clearing things out, but it wasn’t until the second week that he even touched Neku’s room. Even then, he didn’t know what he was going to do with any of it. He just sat on Neku’s bed, shifting through things he’d drawn. He couldn’t take it with him, he couldn’t. But he couldn’t leave it. Eventually, he got up, and closed the door, leaving it quiet again.
Three weeks rolled around, and nothing. The police hadn’t gotten anything, and neither had he. He was on edge, in a place he hadn’t been in a long time. The waiting place, waiting for the next event because he couldn’t skip. He sighed, head hitting the wall as he waited for something, anything--
He shot up suddenly, looking around. He was on the sofa. He’d been across the room a minute ago, and standing, and this was not right.
Jumping up, he darted to look at the door. Nothing was wrong, the sky was shining, everything was completely normal. And that was very, very wrong.
Not just because he was in a bad mood, obviously, there’d been a jump. A time jump, and that sort of thing was never a good sign. Just how much time, was the question.
Once he got to the computer, he looked. In five different different places, he looked, and it was all the same.
“Three weeks...” he muttered, running a hand through his hair, “Three weeks back in time. What happened? Besides...” He trailed off before hitting the side of his head. “No, no, that’s. I wish but that’s...”
The Doctor sighed, sinking back down with his head in his hands. He had no idea what had been going on in the past three weeks, he wouldn’t even know what he’d missed.
A room away, a door opened, and slammed shut. “Dad, uh... I’m home.”
The Doctor was completely still for all of three seconds before jumping up and bolting to the door. There, clear as day, was Neku, looking awkward, slightly sheepish, and completely not expecting the hug he was suddenly enveloped in.
“Dad?” Neku looked up at him, confused as the Doctor clung to him, only then his head got pulled into the Doctor’s chest. He was pinned there for several minutes, while the Doctor hugged him tight, before Neku could pull himself out, looking worried now.
“Dad... what’s wrong? D’you...” He stared, and the Doctor stared back, never taking his hand off Neku’s head. “But... you’re not...” Neku closed his eyes tightly, shaking his head. “He said that people wouldn’t--”
“Neku,” he said quietly, bending down so he was looking at his face, “I’m not people. I am no where near people.”
The boy was quiet for a moment, before moving forward and hugging his father tightly.
Title: Foreign Exchange
Rating: PG
Summary: The Nobles have taken a Japanese foreign exchange student into their home.
“Donna, would you hurry it up, we have to go!”
Donna rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself as she stepped out into the care with her mother, arms crossed. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Because it’s a good way to learn about new people,” her mother said, simply, “Besides, my friend Beth’s on the foreign exchange commitee for the school board, and they were desperate. If we hadn’t volunteered, the poor boy wouldn’t have been able to come at all.”
“And he’d probably be better for it,” the redhead muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes, having not heard the words but still having a guess as to what Donna had said. “Now, I don’t know how much English he can speak, so it might be a little hard to communicate at first, but for God’s sake, Donna, don’t frighten the poor child.”
“Frighten him, why would I frighten him?” Donna asked, frowning.
“Because it’s what you do.”
Understandably, Donna hadn’t been eager to pick up conversation with her mother after that, and they didn’t speak at all until they were waiting in the pickup area, Sylvia holding up a sign that said ‘Neku Sakuraba’ on it.
“His name’s Neku, then?” Donna asked, looking through the crowd-- there were a lot of other families here, waiting to pick up their foreign exchange students, “Sounds Japanese enough.”
Once the crowd cleared out a bit, Donna spotted a boy with bright red hair and headphones draped around his neck. She couldn’t figure out how she’d picked him out, but as soon as she did he glanced over in her direction and headed over.
“Hello!” Sylvia said as he approached, speaking extremely slowly and quite a bit louder than she normally would have, “My name is Sylvia, and this is Donna.”
The boy just stared at her, eyebrow slightly arched.
“Hm,” Sylvia looked over at Donna, who had her hands on her hips and was feeling very sorry for this kid already, “Maybe he doesn’t speak English at all.”
“Actually,” Neku spoke up, a hand awkwardly rubbing his neck and not a single trace of his Japanese accent in his voice- he sounded like a true Londoner, “I’m fluent.”
Donna barely suppressed a laugh as Sylvia stared, before hurriedly asking if he needed help with his things and where baggage claim was.
“Don’t frighten him now, mum,” Donna smirked as they headed off behind the boy.
For her wit, she received a glare. “Oh, shut up.”
Title: The End of Time
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Shibuya's Composer has a message for the Doctor- the Ood are Calling...
The room was cold, an unnatural chill to the air that would have been uncomfortable no matter the weather, contemporary lines and edges and it was all sharp, clean, and intimidating.
Joshua sat on top of what appeared to be a bar, glancing up as his two guests entered. The Doctor, dragging Neku behind him who had never liked this place but had shown his father the way because apparently it was important.
“Now,” the Doctor said, glaring at the teen who was just watching him mildly, “Usually, when I say things like this, I’m talking to someone or something trying to destroy an awful lot of people. But I don’t know what you are, I don’t know what you want, so you get one chance, and that’s it.”
Joshua smirked, tilting his head to the side playfully while Neku looked like he wasn’t sure who he wanted to punch more. “Now, that’s not very nice, Doctor. I don’t even know what I’ve got one chance at.”
“What are you?” the Doctor asked, “And what do you want?”
Joshua leaned back, glancing at Neku who was positioned strategically behind his father, obviously having been banned from getting but so close to his friend-boyfriend-whatever. “I’m as human as they come. As for what I want, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Don’t even start with me,” the Doctor said, voice low in an almost growl as he took a step forward, “I’m not in the mood for any of your games.”
“Dad, calm down,” Neku said, quiet, “He’s always like this, it’s not--”
“Neku, dear, hush.” Joshua put a finger up to his lips and giggled. “No one under the age of one hundred is allowed to talk now.”
Neku glared, crossing his arms. The Doctor ignored him. “I’ll ask one more time-- what are you?”
Joshua cocked his head to the side. “Human.”
“I don’t believe you.”
The boy lifted his hands up in a shrug. “Scan away, then. Like I said, as human as they come.”
“I’ve already done that.” The Doctor moved again, hiding Neku from Joshua’s view. “You register as human, but something’s off. Something’s allowed you to live for over a hundred years. Now tell me what it is.”
Joshua’s eyes shifted to the side slightly, still smiling before he leaned back again. “I’m human, I’ll promise that much.”
The Doctor gave him a cold, hard look. “You’ll have to do more than that.”
“Or what?” The teen hopped down from his perch on the bar, smiling sweetly with no sincerity. “You’ll kill me? I don’t think you would, especially not here and now, but if you did it wouldn’t matter. You’re a bit late for that, anyway.”
The Doctor stared. “What?”
“He’s dead,” Neku said from behind him, still giving Joshua a look and probably talking just because he could, “He’s been dead for something like a hundred and thirty years.”
The Doctor turned and stared at his son, before staring at Joshua. “No,” he said, looking between the two boys, “But that’s--”
“Impossible?” Joshua interuppted, “Your son was also dead for three weeks, I’d say that’s pretty impossible in itself. I’m Shibuya’s Composer. I run the Reaper’s Game. I revive its winners. And, for the record--” He turned, lifting himself back onto the bar, “What I want? Is for my city to be safe. How else do you think you got in?”
“What are you talking about?” Neku asked, frowning, “We walked in, just like I always--”
“Neku, what did I say about the age limit on talking?” Joshua giggled at the look he received, pushing his hair back before looking back at the Doctor. “There is a barrier around this place. No one gets in, unless I want them to get in.”
“And why did you want me to get in?” the Doctor asked.
“I told you,” Joshua said, sighing dramatically, “I want for my city to be safe. And, unfortunately, you seem to be the only one that can help.”
“What do you need me for? Nothing ever happens in Japan.” The Doctor frowned slightly, thinking. “Which is weird, actually, but part of the reason I chose it. Huh.”
The teen chuckled slightly, pushing his hair back again. “While it might be just a small part of the world, it’s still there. And when the world’s in danger, Shibuya’s in danger.” He leaned forward, watching the Doctor’s face. “Funny thing about you, information gets around. Though I guess ‘The Last of the Time Lords’ is one of your titles that doesn’t apply anymore, hm?”
“How do you know about that?” the Doctor asked, stepping forward.
Joshua laughed. “You’ve lived in my city for fifteen years, and you think I wouldn’t even know your species? You give me too little credit, Doctor. Besides, you know I shot Neku-- two hearts, one bullet, and no regeneration? Come now, put the pieces together.”
The Doctor grew angry once more. “You--”
Joshua held up a hand, expression suddenly very, very solemn. “I let you in here because I have a message for you,” he said quietly, “And... Neku.” He turned at looked at the boy, a muted look on his face that Neku could tell was hiding a trace of sadness. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Neku asked, uncrossing his arms and starting forward, only to be stopped by the Doctor.
“What’s the message?” he asked, curtly.
Joshua closed his eyes, and a hum surrounded him, the Doctor and Neku both taking steps back to avoid the slight glow around the boy. When his eyes opened again, they were lidded, and his voice was distant.
“The Ood are calling, Doctor,” he said, softly, “He will knock four times. Your song is ending soon.”
Title: Points
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sometimes, Neku had really bad timing.
There were few parents in the modern day who didn’t yell at their children for not answering their cell phones. The Doctor had, admittedly, been one of these parents, especially after the incident with said child being dead for three weeks, and it was even rarer that Neku called him.
So why did he call NOW?!
“What’s that?” The Master looked confused, before grinning madly. “You’ve got a mobile! And it’s ringing! I’m certainly not calling you, and it’s not the girl who called the old man, so that means there’s another person out there. Who’s looking for you, I wonder?”
“Don’t.” The Doctor glared as the Master pulled open the Doctor’s jacket, searching until he found the ringing phone, flipping it open and pushing the speaker phone.
To Wilf, it was a jumble of Japanese, but the Doctor and the Master both understood it perfectly. “Dad, what the hell is going on?!” Neku was hissing into the phone- probably hiding somewhere, with everyone around him being turned into the Master, “What’s happened to everyone?”
“Dad?” The Master’s grin grew. “Oh, Doctor. Oh. I should have known. We’ve got another Time Lord on our hands, don’t we?”
Luckily, Neku could speak English just as well as Japanese. “...Who the hell are you?” he asked.
The Master tsked. “Oh, he’s not very polite, is he? Though if he’s yours...” He turned to one of the nearby ‘him’s. “Track him.”
“Neku, get off the phone,” the Doctor said, “Get off the phone now!”
The phone clicked off a second later, but it was too late. “Got him,” one of the Master Race said, “Showing video feed now.”
The TV clicked on, showing the teen near Cat Street, pressed against the wall near an alley and trying to stay out of the way. “Oh, and he’s a ginger!” The Master grinned at the Doctor. “Well, he’s done one thing you’ve never gotten down. Send someone to get him.”
Within seconds, several versions of the Master were advancing on him. Neku looked like he was swearing, trying to move away but only being blocked on the other side. They were advancing, getting closer...
“Who’s that?” the Master snapped suddenly, watching the screen, “How did he get there?!”
Next to Neku there was, quite suddenly, and out of nowhere, a boy. He grabbed Neku’s shoulder, and then as quickly as the boy had appeared, the two vanished.
The Doctor let out a relieved laugh, grinning as the Master looked at him. “Oh, Joshua...” he muttered to himself, “You get points for that. Not many, but still. Points.”
Title: The End of the World
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Neku needed someone to blame, and Joshua was always an easy target.
“What the hell did you do that for?!”
Neku was sitting on the glass floor, the fishes underneath the tiles swimming away from him as he yelled, his voice shaking half the glass in the room. He wanted to yell, to scream, to throw and break things, and Joshua was there, just sitting there and was the perfect target. Even though he hadn’t really done anything.
Even though his father would been walking into death without the message.
“What would you have me do?” Joshua’s voice was quieter now, with the Doctor gone. Not trying to prove anything, or be high and mighty. He trusted Neku enough to talk to him like this, like an actual person who had meaning, but that wasn’t what Neku wanted or needed right now. He needed for Joshua to be a jerk, someone he wouldn’t feel guilty for hating or blaming, and right now he sounded too reasonable and almost sorry and Neku couldn’t handle that. “Neku, if your father doesn’t go, the entire world will end.”
“I don’t care!” Neku growled, “Damnit, Joshua! I only--” His voice broke for a second, having to swallow to get it back. “I only just got to figure out anything about him, and now he’s...”
Joshua rose from his seat, walking over and sitting in front of the teen, pushing a strang of hair out of the boy’s face. “It might not end that way,” he said.
Neku would have none of that. He pushed Joshua away from him, the Composer having to catch himself. “Get away from me,” he muttered, staring at the floor, “Just... go away! I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to even see you right now!”
There was a pause, before Joshua sighed, pulling himself up. “If you say so,” he said simply, vanishing into thin air.
The Doctor was gone the next day, and Neku took out his headphones and blasted music as he walked through Shibuya’s streets. Drowning in his own world was something he hadn’t done in a while, but he didn’t think he could face the world in any other way.
He was getting onto Cat Street, thinking vaguely of visiting Mr. H before seeing that Wildkat was closed, taking off his headphones for just a moment. But then, he noticed the scene around him. People were all frozen in place, and moments after their faces blurred. Flicking images crossed them, changing them, and Neku didn’t know how but he knew it was bad, backing up into a nearby alley and watching as one by one, every single person became the same man.
What the hell.
He stayed quiet, watching the crowd as he pulled out his phone, speed dialing and whispering harshly as soon as it picked up. “Dad, what the hell is going on? What happened to everyone?”
“Dad?” There was a voice on the other end, one he didn’t recognize, and it was speaking in English. “Oh, Doctor. Oh. I should have known. We’ve got another Time Lord on our hands, don’t we?”
Neku froze, staring at the phone for a second before speaking again. “Who the hell are you?”
The voice ‘tsked’ at him. “Oh, he’s not very polite, is he? Though if he’s yours...Track him.”
“Neku, get off the phone.” His father’s voice. “Get off the phone now!”
He didn’t need telling twice, snapping the phone shut. But apparently he was too late, or he’d been too loud. He swore loudly as the people in the street advanced, closing in on him from every side.
Neku nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder, twisting around to see Joshua standing there, looking as smug as ever.
“What did you--”
“We’re in the UG,” Joshua said, calm as anything, “They can’t get you now.”
The people were looking bewildered, dispersing quickly. Neku watched them go before glaring at Joshua and tugging him forward, only to kiss him hard.
When they broke away, Joshua tilted his head to the side, amused. “Are you talking to me now?”
Neku just glared. “The world is ending, and I’m going to kiss you again. Shut up.”
Title: Fixed
Rating: PG
Summary: The Game was a fixed point in time, but the Doctor can't figure out why. Unfortunately, there's only one person to ask.
This would be the first time, the very first, that the Doctor had seen Joshua without his son present. It was also one of the few times where he went to seek the Composer out. But if Joshua had psychic powers, then he might be the only one who could answer the question.
“What would have happened?” Joshua arched an eyebrow. “That’s an unusual question.”
“Fixed points in time are rare, precious moments,” the Doctor said, staying a little bit away- ever since he regenerated, he’d always kept a bit more distance from Joshua-- he hadn't liked that final message, “Usually, they’re followed by important things in history. It’s why they’re there, so that some things progress like they’re supposed to. But with your Game-- nothing connects to it. Neither of you ever pop up in history again. Which means that it’s to prevent something from happening.”
Joshua smiled innocently, tilting his head to the side. “Well, you know why I played that Game, I’m sure. Neku was able to change my mind about it. Not many people can do that. Anyone other than him, and I probably would have gone through with it.”
“And?” the Doctor prompted.
Joshua sighed. “And?”
“Don’t tell me that would be the end of it.”
The Composer paused, smirking in a slightly darker fashion. “I’ve met my Fallen alternate, Doctor. Trust me, you don’t want to know what would have happened.”
“That’s still not it,” the Doctor said, striding over and peering into Joshua’s face, “It’s not just Neku that’s locked-- you are too. You have been, for a very long time. What would happen if you weren’t here?”
That got another surprised look out of Joshua, before he flipped his phone open, pretending he wasn’t interested. There were many reasons he could just not answer the question, but both of them knew how persistent the Doctor could be, as well as how little patience he could have.
“There are two alternatives,” he said, finally, “The more obvious is if a Composer more harsh than I took the position. Someone like that certainly wouldn’t have spared Neku, and might not have even taken up the Game in the first place. They would have Fallen, and then possibly tried to take over another city. Rinse, and repeat, over and over again.”
“What’s the other one?”
There was another silence, before Joshua flipped his phone shut, looking up at the Time Lord once more.
“In many ways, having a Composer more lenient than I would be worse,” he said, quietly, “They wouldn’t have considered destroying it. There would have been have no Game, no proxy, no revival of Shibuya’s spirit. It would have done exactly what I didn’t want it to do- die. The UG would have fizzled, become nothing. A static UG affects the RG. Shibuya would then be devoid of any creativity. Nothing could be created. It would be a dead space.”
The Doctor watched as Joshua leaned back, lost in a faraway world that would hopefully never come to pass. “And, Doctor, a static RG will affect the RGs around it. City after city, they’d fall, not devoid of life but imagination, nothing being created, nothing progressing. It might take years- I don’t know, really.”
He looked over at the Doctor, violet eyes impossibly distant, and the Doctor thought, just for a moment, that he understood what Neku saw in him. “Can you imagine it, Doctor? The Earth, devoid of any art, or creative passion. The imagination that is the only reason the human race has survived this long, and will continue to survive. How long do you think we’d last?”
Title: His Mother's Son
Rating: PG
Summary: The Doctor meets Joshua's mother, and so much is explained.
It was weird, sometimes, coming back from various aventures in the TARDIS to stay in one place for a longer period of time. But he knew he couldn’t stop coming. That just wasn’t fair to Neku. And taking Neku with him was a bad idea, for a few reasons. Namely, his age, his attachment to the city, and Joshua (though, in many cases, Joshua could be a reason to get Neku as far away from Shibuya as possible).
There was also dealing with the day to day people. He didn’t often answer the door, not anymore, because if it wasn’t someone looking for Neku, they idn’t know who he was and what he was like and it ended up being a very awkward conversation. But today, Neku wasn’t there to answer the door, so when it rang he hand to open it.
Outside the door was a blonde woman with blonde curls, smirking at him. “Hello, sweetie,” she said.
The Doctor stared. “River? What are you doing here?”
She stepped inside without invitation, though the Doctor didn’t stop her and just closed the door behind her. “I was in the area, heard you were here, and thought I’d stop by. Visiting family.”
“Family?” the Doctor replied, incredulously, “And where would you have heard that I was--”
There was a sudden ruckous from the door, Neku flinging it open and storming in, Joshua in a leisurely but close pursuit. He smiled sweetly and waved at the adults, River waving back.
The Doctor paused, and stared at River, looking at Joshua, and staring at River again. “Oh. Oh no. He’s not--”
River nodded, smirking. The Doctor hit his head with his sonic screwdriver.
“That explains so much,” he muttered, before giving River a look, “He’s just like his mother.”
“Thank you~” Joshua chimed innocently, following Neku into the next room with a toss of his hair.
