1Author's Note: The first Settlers crossover on this site! Who says we need to be realistic? :P Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, The Settlers: Rise of an Empire to Ubisoft. The T Rex belongs to no one.
Alandra dived to one side as the beast charged. Its enormous jaws missed her by inches. She rolled and sprung to her feet, drawing her sword. Marcus was sprinting across the field towards her, but the monster was between her and him. She'd need to look after herself. Not that she wasn't capable …
The beast managed to skid to a stop, turning to face her again. It stood on two legs, balanced by a huge scaly tail. Its head was like a big green brick; two little arms clawed the air as it roared.
The thing had turned up out of nowhere. A flash of orange light, and the beast had appeared in the middle of a Vestholm grain field in front of a few settlers. She and Marcus had come to investigate immediately, as befitted a Knight of Darion and protector of Westerlin.
The monster ran at her again. She jumped sideways, swinging wildly at its jaws as it passed. The blade connected with scaly skin, and the creature roared in pain. Alandra took advantage of its momentary distraction to run behind a convinient oak tree. Marcus joined her there after a moment, panting.
"Are you okay?" he gasped out.
"Yes. What is that thing?"
"Not sure." He peered around the trunk. "A dragon, perhaps?"
She considered. "It must have been brought here by magic. The Red Prince getting creative, perhaps?"
"Perhaps. What are we going to do?"
The creature roared again. Then the world exploded.
Alandra recovered consciousness a few moments later. She raised her head from the mud with a groan, forcing her eyes to focus.
The oak tree had been completely uprooted. It looked as if the dragon had rammed into it at full speed. She'd been thrown about twenty feet away; Marcus was nowhere to be seen. She forced herself not to panic. He was fine. He had to be.
The creature itself was standing on the other side of the oak tree, breathing heavily. She probably had only a few moments before it recovered and attacked again.
Slowly, she got to her feet, muscles aching. She looked around for her sword; she'd lost it in the wheat somewhere. Brilliant.
The dragon focused one very large yellow eye upon her. She froze. Judging by its earlier speed, it could reach her in a few seconds. If it charged, she'd be done for. If only she had a horse.
She glanced around carefully without moving her head. No help was in sight. All the settlers were in their homes, as ordered by the Queen in this state of emergency, and the backup troops from the western barracks wouldn't be here for a few minutes.
The creature turned its head to look at her with the other eye. Alandra's heart beat like a drum; her breath came in shallow gasps. She couldn't move. Couldn't alert it. Anything could -
A whoosing, grating noise filled the air. Alandra resisted the temptation to cover her ears; the movement would surely set the beast off. The volume of the strange sound escalated until it was deafening, then settled with a clatter.
The dragon's head snapped around, and Alandra instinctively followed its gaze. A blue wooden box, big enough to hold a man, had appeared next to what was left of the oak tree. Her jaw dropped.
The beast turned to face the box fully, snorting. It took a step. A door in the side of the box swung open and a man stepped out.
"Oi, beastie!" he adressed the creature, as his odd beige cloak billowed around him in the morning wind. "About time you went back when you belong!" He glanced back over his shoulder with a proud grin. "About time," he said, addressing a redheaded woman behind him who had also just emerged from the box. "When you belong. No?"
"No." The woman shook her head.
The man shrugged. "Worth a try. Pass me the spatio-temporal stabiliser."
It was then that he noticed Alandra, who was still standing openmouthed. "Oh, hello!" he said with a manic grin. "I'm the Doctor. Sorry to burst in on your dragon slaying like this, but I'm afraid Rexie here is late for a very important date with the Cretaceous Period."
"I see," said Alandra. She didn't.
"Thanks for understanding." He accepted a strange silver box from the woman and began toying with it. The dragon roared.
"Oi, be patient!" the Doctor yelled. "Won't take a sec."
He pressed something on the surface of the box, and the beast disappeared just as it had arrived. Alandra blinked.
The Doctor grinned at her again. "See? Not a problem. I'm afraid I might have fiddled with the wrong buttons when I was testing this on prehistoric Earth, but no harm done. Right, Donna?"
"Whatever you say, Spaceman," said the redhead, rolling her eyes.
"Exactly. Cos I'm brilliant." He shoved his hands in his pockets, box and all.
"If you're so brilliant, where are we, exactly?"
He looked around, face blank. "Ah."
Alandra found her voice. "Just outside the city of Vestholm, capital of the Darion Empire."
The Doctor looked confused for a moment, then everything seemed to click into place. "Oh, of course! Altdarios! Nice planet. Bit dull. They'll discover interstellar travel in about – who's ruling the Empire now?"
"Her Royal Majesty Queen Laela the Second." Alandra raised an eyebrow. What with the war, her world was anything but dull right now.
"Right. In about three thousand years from now. Better let you get on with it. Allons-y, Donna!"
He and the redhead re-entered the box, waving casually as the door closed. The whoosing noise started again, and the box faded slowly away.
It took about thirty seconds for Alandra to stop gaping. Then she started guiltily. Marcus!
She rushed over to the trunk of the oak tree and climbed up on it, hoping for a better view of the grain field. She spun around, and her heart sank.
He was lying motionless on the ground about thirty feet away. She jumped down from the log and ran to him, dropping to her knees at his side. Fear gripped her. "Come on, Marcus, don't – I – "
He coughed. Relief rushed through her veins. "Marcus," she said gently, touching his shoulder.
His blue eyes flickered open. "Ouch." Then he grinned. Alandra laughed thankfully, helping him into a sitting position.
"Don't do that to me again," she scolded.
"I'll try not to. Where did it go?" he asked, looking around.
Alandra hesitated, trying to think of a way of explaining it which didn't sound insane. "Well, this man appeared in a blue box and – sent it away," she finished lamely. "Said he was a physician."
"More like magician." Marcus scrambled to his feet. "How precisely do you intend to explain all of this to Her Majesty?"
Alandra shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea."
Marcus laughed. Then, taking in her troubled face, touched her arm. "Are you all right?" he said softly.
"Yes."
"Good."
She slipped her arm through his.