Waiting for the Devil {OPEN}

[Rose Tyler]

Rose sighed as she sat near the tall reflective tower that was Torchwood's headquarters. They had followed yet another false lead. She felt drained. All this hoping for nothing was just sucking the life out of her. And on top of that, she was getting the damn headache again. Ever since she traveled with that damn dimension canon, the headaches got worse.

Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes, wondering when she would finally get to the right Doctor. The one from her time. "You know, Doctor, for someone who is so conspicuous, you are so hard to find." she muttered, frowning lightly.

[The Hunter]

So here he was again, The Hunter mused as he once again found himself in Cardiff. It wasn't often that he visited this city, but something had attracted his attention. Something that undoubtedly had also attracted the attention of his Torchwood buddies by now. That, or it was about to, he thought as he stood before the Millennium Centre, their headquarters. He had an identification as to whom, or to be more precise what, had caused the signal he had picked up in his TARDIS, but he was curious as to whether or not they had here. He didn't feel he really needed them on this one, but then he had failed to pinpoint just where this strange signal was emanating from. If the TARDIS couldn't pinpoint it, then he felt that he should at least warn them.

Stepping closer to the building, he saw a familiar blonde rubbing her head and muttering. A mischievous grin appeared as he approached and stopped beside her.

"Well if it isn't Rose Tyler, still looking for your Doctor?", he asked. He wasn't mocking her of course, he would never do that to someone on his side, but he did wonder. Just who was Rose's Doctor anyway? There hadn't been twelve or thirteen, he couldn't quite remember, and he had never asked her. Either way, he wondered if she remembered him. They hadn't spoken, but he had caught her name at least on his last visit to South Wales.

[Rose Tyler]

Rose looked up at the strange man. He spoke to her as if they knew each other. Frowning, she tried to remember who this was, but with no such luck. "I'm sorry, mate, but do I know you?", she asked, one of her eyebrows raised, "If I do, don't take it personally, I have to remember lots of things. Forget most of them, really...", she smiled.

"But, yes... I'm still looking for my Doctor." sighed dejectedly, "It's much harder than I thought, looking for a specific person at a specific time in their life. 'Specially him, since he's always bouncing around...". She chuckled lightly at the memory of the Doctor running around his Tardis, words streaming out of his mouth non-stop. She quickly shook it away before any tears could surface.[/color][/color]

[The Hunter]

"Oh probably not", he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. He couldn't recall physically speaking to her, so it was only natural that she didn't know his name. Truth be told, he was beginning to lose track himself as he had gone by a fair few aliases in his time. He had settled on one in particular, for the time being, only sharing his true name with those he trusted.

Watching as Rose fought back  tears, he wondered if he had gone too far in acting so familiar. His 'grab the bull by the horns' nature had gotten him into trouble more times than one, and not just the physical sort either! Taking a deep breath, he smiled apologetically as he spoke.

"I'm sure it is", he responded regarding the doctor." He could only recall one version of the man, but it was entirely possible he'd seen more of him.

"Anyway, don't know if you've been briefed, but I hang around with your friends at Torchwood from time to time. I go by a great deal of names, but mostly people call me The Hunter." He gave her a cocky grin as he turned back to face her. He wondered if she did know about him, including the fact that he and the doctor had a lot in common. Such as having two hearts, for one thing.

[Rose Tyler]

She sighed when he agreed with her, sounding apologetic. She smiled up at him, appreciating his unspoken sympathy. When he said his name however, she frowned, trying to remember any mention of it from Jack or the other members of Torchwood.

"Hmm... Hunter, Hunter... The Hunter.", she looked up at him, a thought striking her quite suddenly. "Hold on, The Hunter... Do mean to say that you're... that you come from Gallifrey?" A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

[The Hunter]

"Yup", he replied with a grin as she began to smile. "But I'm afraid I don't know where this Doctor of yours is, never mind which one you're looking for. I'm only on my second body here, but last I checked he's had, what, thirteen?" She had been right about one thing, the man was very hard to keep track of. Still, that was probably what made him so interesting to so many people. Personally, he wasn't quite sure how he felt about the guy. He resented him for his role in the end of Gallifrey, but then what would he have done in his shoes?

Taking a seat next to her, he leaned back casually as he placed his crossbow beside him on the ground.

"So, anything interesting been happening around here lately", he asked brightly.

[Rose Tyler]

"Thirteen..." she whispered, watching him with wide eyes. No, she couldn't have been gone for that long. This Timelord was obviously from the future. The was no way in hell that the Doctor-her Doctor-could have regenerated twice since they'd last seen each other. "What a git... I'm going to kill him." she seethed. Yes, anger was better than sadness. Rose wasn't sure what she would do if the sadness took over.

She looked down at the crossbow, seeing it for the first time only now. Frowning in confusion, she glanced up questioningly at the Hunter. Deciding that she'd better not ask, she shrugged. "Oh, not much. Killed a fleet of Daleks, chased away some Slitheen. Same old, same old..." she sighed. Alright, so she wasn't being completely truthful. To be honest, the headaches had come with something else.

She'd looked in the mirror one day, about a week after leaving Pete's World, and found that her irises were gold in color. From that day on, whenever she had a surge of emotion, the powers of the Bad Wolf would come to her. And like the headaches, they were getting stronger. A few days ago, she'd blacked out, losing an entire day. When she woke up, Rose found herself in her room, except all her belongings had turned to dust. She had no recollections of what had triggered the Bad Wolf, or what she'd done during the time she wasn't herself.

Rose shook the thought away, smiling tightly at the Hunter.

[The Hunter]

Had he said something else wrong? It certainly seemed so, but there was no use worrying about it now. It did seem as though he was having a one of those days with people though, in fact he had just come from a place where he had somehow managed to offend a pretty high authority figure on a distant world. Apparently, certain gestures were considered akin to obscene language on that particular planet, leaving him to vow never to put his hands on his hips again!

Turning his attention back to Rose, he smiled as he sat back on the bench.

"Sure sounds like you've been busy", he commented as she casually recounted her latest adventures. He couldn't help but think that she may be exaggerating slightly about the Daleks, but a dark look crossed his face at their mention regardless.

The Slitheen on the other hand, he could well believe. In fact, they were probably the most annoying and infamous Raxacoricofallapatorians out there!

"You know, I think I might have accidentally gotten engaged to one of their lot", he mused as he couldn't help but smile at the memory. "Yep, that'll teach me to visit Raxacoricofallapatorius after a strong curry", he finished, allowing Rose to make her own connections.

Moving the conversation along rather quickly, he sat forward again as he turned to face her.

"So go on then, which Doctor is it you're looking for? Might know him", he asked out of curiosity before his face lit up with and he continued with a hint of excitement. "Not the dandy with the car is it?" He then enquired as he recalled his meeting with the third incarnation of the man. "Cos he was my kind of man, even taught me a little of the old Venusian Aikido. Bit of a strange fellow, but then that's one of the Doc's only constants, isn't it?"

[Rose Tyler]

"It's actually been quite slow... Kind of boring, really." she sighed, pretending not to notice the Timelord's reaction to her mention of Daleks. "Still not quite used to time passing normally. It was much better with a Tardis..." she grinned. Sure, she had a Vortex Manipulator, but it was very uncomfortable to use.

When the Hunter mentioned that he had once gotten engaged with a Slitheen, she shuddered. "Oh, god,", she laughed, grimacing in disgust, "That must have been a very uncomfortable situation."

When he changed subjects quite quickly, she smiled, trying to contain her laughter. Dandy with a car? She frowned in confusion. "Yeah, it must be one of his older ones. I'm looking for..." she hesitated, unsure if she should go meet the most recent Doctor, or stick to what she wanted to do. "Tenth. I'm looking for the Tenth Doctor. He left me in a parallel world. Twice. And both times he was about to admit-", her cheeks flushed pink when she realized what she was about to say. She shook her head quickly and stammered out "Um, yeah. So, have you seen him?"

[The Hunter]

"Well, you can hop in my TARDIS any time you like, love", The Hunter laughed in response to Rose's comment using a flirtatious undertone. In his last incarnation, he had spent a good while living and allowing time to pass normally. Sometimes he still yearned for those days, although he loved traveling and fulfilling his 'contracts'. It was certainly a far more exciting life than that as a London computer programmer, but then he'd had the chance to enjoy some of lifes simple pleasures. He had been a lot less forward than he was now, but he supposed that if he hadn't gotten the TARDIS working again and moved on when he did, then The Silence would have caught up to him a lot sooner than they did. Not only that, but a lot of innocent people could have been hurt too.

Bringing his mind back to the present after a short pause, he shrugged a little as he continued.

"Still, wouldn't be the same as hanging out with the good ol' Doc", he said before she then commented on his little mishap.

"Awkward didn't have a look in", he grinned as he then allowed her to think a little. He could practically see the cogs turning as Rose deducted that it was probably his tenth form she was looking for. Had he met that one, he wondered as he briefly wished that the Time Lords had enforced a law in which they had to wear a number depicting which incarnation of themselves they were currently in. He sincerely hoped that it wasn't the one with the blonde curls, as he had nearly punched him!

"Not sure, met a few of them and they don't come labelled with numbers", he answered as she then went on to describe how she had been left in a parallel world not once but twice! That didn't seem like The Doctor in any incarnation, so he supposed that he'd either had a very good reason or little choice. Either way, he could guess what she was about to admit and the realisation hit him. Did she even know about Demorytor, he wondered as he imagined the cat fight that would break out if they ever met. He wouldn't be the one to tell her that he had moved on though, so instead he stood up and gave himself a stretch.

"Well, no use freezing out here, shall we go in and see if there's anything exciting happening?", he asked as he picked up his crossbow. "Don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for kicking some serious a-butt", he quickly corrected himself so as not to offend her.

[Rose Tyler]

She gave the Timelord a sultry smile, flirting along right back. "Well, dear, I might just take you up on that some day..." When he told her that it wouldn't be the same as being with the Doctor, she shrugged. "I wouldn't want it to be. If you end up hiding bananas all over your Tardis, I might have a fit." she laughed.

When he commented on how Timelords don't come with numbers, she could help but burst out laughing. Just the thought of her spiky haired Doctor walking around with a sign around his neck with a big "10" on it was hilarious to her. Once she was able to catch her breath, she nodded at his suggestion to go somewhere else. "Some serious ass, you mean?" she smirked at his attempt to act more like a gentleman. Getting up, she felt her headache spike again, but ignored it. "Then, by all means, lead the way."

[The Hunter]

"Bananas?", he asked in confusion? "Why in Rassilon's name would I hide bananas around the TARDIS?" What an odd thing to do, he thought as he wondered if that was the kind of thing The Doctor did on a regular basis. If so, then the man was madder than he thought!

Grinning as Rose began to laugh hard, he wondered if what he had said had really been that funny. Then again, the thought of having to wear number tags was quite amusing, especially considering that he would have to practically announce that he was a number two!

As Rose finished his original sentence for him, The Hunter couldn't help but laugh. So much for being more of a gentleman, he thought to himself!

"Alright, you got me", he laughed before turning to face the building that was their headquarters.

"Suit yourself", he responded before making toward the Millennium Centre. It was then though that a scream of fright rang out, and he stood rooted to the spot, before turning back toward Rose with a small smile.

"On second thought, never could resist a scream", he informed her before making off in the direction it had emanated from. It was probably nothing, at least nothing that either he or Torchwood would need to be dealing with, but what if it was? Besides, he could never ignore a cry for help, whatever the reason!

[Rose Tyler]

She decided it was better not to explain the whole banana situation she had with the Doctor. She laughed at his confusion, wondering what he could possibly be thinking of her favorite Timelord.

Grinning, she followed him as he walked to the Milennium Center. When she heard the scream, he smile grew wider, and she turned to looked at him. When he told her he could never resist a scream, she wholeheartedly agreed, chasing after him. Oh, she'd missed the running. It wasn't the same when she was with Torchwood, they always had these safety precautions. Timelords were just so much more fun! She really hoped it was something alien. If it was just some stupid blonde screaming for no good reason, Rose was going to have to slap her silly. You are blonde..., said a voice in her head. Yeah, but I'm not a wimpy little girl who can't contain herself. , she argued back. At least, she hoped she wasn't.

[The Hunter]

It seemed as if he and Rose were quite possibly two of a kind, just the way he liked it! It was always more fun that way, although rather like The Doctor he supposed that sometimes he maybe needed someone to stop him from going too far. This was of course the last thing on his mind as he ran toward the scream, rounding a corner to find...nothing. At least that was how it had seemed at first, but there were several people wearing shocked but confused expressions as they glanced around. Hunter too did for a brief moment as he turned to Rose with an arched eyebrow, but then he quickly got on with things, jogging to a young man that was standing fairly close by.

"What happened here, did someone scream?", he asked, although he knew what he had heard. The man simply looked at him with further confusion as he responded.

"I don't know, some people said they heard something but I didn't hear nothing", he responded in a broad Cardiff accent. Strange, feel like I've forgotten something important...", he continued before shaking his head and wandering off. It didn't take long for him to make an uncomfortable connection, although his smile faltered for only a second before he reached into his pocket, pulling out what appeared to be an eye patch. Surely they wouldn't be foolish enough to...? In a crowded street in broad daylight?

"Well well, so here you are", he muttered as he glanced around the area.

[Rose Tyler]

When they arrived at the area where the scream originated, she was confused to find nothing that looked like a threat. Disappointed she looked up to see Hunter's raised eyebrow for a second, before he went off to question a man near by. Sighing, she followed closely, hoping the Timelord would find something interesting.

When the man said that he had no recollection of what had happened, she frowned. He hadn't even heard the scream... Odd, seeing as he was quite close to where it had come from.Thanking what ever gods there were, she glanced at Hunter. He'd taken some sort of eye patch, and was looking around for something in particular. Cocking her head to one side, she raised an eyebrow. "And how is 'you', exactly?" she asked, wondering what could possibly have wiped these peoples minds so quickly.

[The Hunter]

Taking another look at his sonic pen, The Hunter's brow furrowed in confusion. Something wasn't quite right, but the reading couldn't be wrong, surely...right?

"Probably not what I thought it", he admitted as he looked over his reading some more. Ate first he'd thought it to be a Silent, meaning that The Silence were involved somehow, but then wouldn't the peoples minds have been wiped completely? The man he'd spoken to had remembered that he had forgotten something, which shouldn't have happened as far as he was aware. Another thing was, that a Silent wouldn't act like this. Attacking broad daylight and alerting others, even though those in the immediate vicinity wouldn't remember a thing. No, something about it's movements and behavior didn't make sense...

Sighing, he then turned back to Rose with a smile.

"Looks like things are going to get really interesting anyway", he observed before continuing. "Well, looks like your lot will have to wait, I'm heading back to the TARDIS to analyze this lot", he said as he waved his sonic pen in the air. "You can come with or head back yourself, but either way I might pop in later on when I find something." To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, but no way would he admit that!

[Rose Tyler]

She frowned, thinking back, trying to remember anything alien she may have encountered that erased memories like that. She was under the impression The Hunter knew of something that could do that, but wasn't exactly sure yet. There was something missing. He had that look in his eyes that the Doctor got whenever he was confused but was trying to hide it.

She looked up at him as he spoke, returning his smile wholeheartedly. When he mentioned that she could head back to Torchwood, she laughed. "Oh, please. And work with those silly humans?", she smirked, "I'd rather be with someone who actually knows what he's doing... Tired of being the one explaining everything." So, with eyebrows raised, she crossed her arms defiantly and waited for the Timelord to lead the way.

[The Hunter]

Grinning at Rose's response, The Hunter saw no harm in her tagging along. Might even be fun to have some company in the TARDIS for once! Either way, there were things that needed to be worked out and only one place it could really be done, so he made his way through the streets of cardiff until he came to an alley with a dark navy transit van parked up. Just as he had left it, he thought with a smile as he opened the back door and clambered inside. Instead of a back of a van though, the door led to what Rose would see as a rather familiar sight in a lot of ways. No matter what kind of TARDIS it was, or whatever shape they took, the central console was essentially the same. The room itself though had a rather urban look to it, as if it were a room or street corner from a downtown apartment. A worn leather chair stood as proud as it could muster not too far from the console, alongside a stool that looked like it had been passed down a generation or two.

Making his way over to the console, The Hunter placed his pen into a slot on the machine and gestured to the chair in case Rose wished to sit down. Pulling down the flat screen television, which looked rather out of place with the rest of the decor, analyzed the results with a furrowed brow, before turning to his blonde companion.

"Tell me, Rose Tyler", he implored as he turned from the screen to make eye contact, "what do you know of the Silents?"

[Rose Tyler]

Rose followed him to a van, and watched him carefully as he opened it and clambered inside. She was surprised to see a TARDIS console inside it; she was so used to the blue police telephone box that her Doctor's took. Giggling a little, she climbed in after him. "A transit van? Really?" she laughed as she followed him to the console. She watched as he pulled down a flat screen and read what ever the circular gallifreyan said. When he asked her about the Silents, she frowned light, sitting on the leather chair. "Silents? Can't say I've seen them before. The name rings a bell, though..." She tried to remember where she'd heard the name before, but whenever she did, she encountered a blank. Like a wall keeping her from remembering. Strange...

[The Hunter]

"Hey, this thing has a mind of its own y'know!", he responded defensively to the ridicule regarding the shape his TARDIS had chosen to assume. At least the chameleon circuit worked at all though, even if he couldn't actually control it. At least it hadn't transformed into an outhouse or portaloo this time around, as seemed to be this particular machines favourites.  Trust him to wind up with a TARDIS with a penchant for toilet humour!

As Rose took a seat, The Hunter continued to pour over the data that had appeared on screen. he wasn't surprised that she didn't know anything, in fact he would have been far more surprised if she had.

"They're agents of a religious order known as The Silence, their priests in a sense", he began his explanation as he kept his eyes firmly on the screen. At least to a point, as his gaze kept trailing to the blonde currently sharing the space with him. He never could resist a blonde, a least in women as he rather preferred the tall dark and handsome look when it came to guys...

Resisting the urge to facepalm as he dragged himself back to the topic at hand, he smiled almost apologetically as he continued.

"The point is", as soon as you look away from them, you forget that they were even there. For me I suppose that was a blessing"[/b], he added darkly as he remembered his time in captivity. Forty seven years of torture and imprisonment, only to escape in mysterious circumstances were memories he tried to block out. Seeing as he had regenerated so soon afterward, it was easier to allow himself to believe that it had happened to another person, blocking out the memories as he concentrated on his new life. The life of a hunter.

"I know of them through dealings with The Silence", he explained, "But I don't remember meeting Silents, or what they looked like. I know I did, but I won't bore you with the details. Either way, I know what they are and that what is happening here is very likely their doing." But it wasn't usual behaviour. Unless...

"Their goal is to prevent the revival of the Time Lords, and deal with all those who survived." Survived what, he assumed Rose would know if she had spent so much time with The Doctor. "Including me, so if they're here then this all could be my fault", he realised grimly. If they had tracked him down, then that would explain everything. A trap to lure him out, one he couldn't and hadn't ignored. How could he? Whatever was going on, his mission right now was to find those missing people. He would worry about the rest later.

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