Fallen Angels (audio story)

2015: When sightseers Joel and Gabby Finch encounter a strange man in Edwardian cricketing garb in the Sistine Chapel, their honeymoon suddenly takes a terrifying turn.

1511: Michelangelo is commissioned to create some very special sculptures by a mysterious sect. But as he carves, angels seem to emerge fully-formed from the rock. Almost as if they are alive...

From Michelangelo's workshop to the catacombs of Rome, the Fifth Doctor must keep his wits about him and his eyes wide open as he confronts the Weeping Angels.

Plot

Upon arriving in the Vatican City in 2015, newly-weds Joel and Gabby Finch were interested in seeing all of Michelangelo's work, they toured around visiting such sites as the Sistine Chapel, but they soon discovered that one of Michel's most famous pieces; his statue of Moses, was not on the tour and was supposedly locked away in other church (part of the building known as 'tomb of Julius II'). Not wanting to have come all the way to not see one of the most iconic pieces of work that Michel ever created Joel was insistent that they break into the locked room but Gabby held back, not wanting to get into any trouble. Eventually she was persuaded to follow Joel into the room when he told her that she'd be left alone outside if she didn't join him. Once all the other tourists had left, they ventured in through a locked door and were once again disappointed to discover that Michelangelo's statue was not there. However, this time there was another statue in it's place; a sole figure of an angel.

They were then interrupted by a man who praised the angel and admired it's beauty. He began to explain that be belonged to the religious order known as 'the three angels'. He insisted that Joel and Gabby gaze upon the statue once more, unbeknownst to them he wanted the angel to hypnotise them (just as it had done to the other members of the order). Joel and Gabby tried to protest but were shocked when the angel suddenly leaped forward and pointed at the pair of them when nobody was looking. The man told them that the angel had chosen them, he explained that they kept three candles burning until the angel had chosen it's next victim and then the candles would be blown out - plunging the room into darkness - to ensure that the victim couldn't freeze the angel with their vision.

Joel and Gabby tried to put up a fight, which angered the man who was furious that they were trying to defy the angel. A scuffle broke out between the three of them as the man stopped them from leaving the room. In the scuffle the candles were knocked over and the flames were extinguished. In the darkness Gabby tried to reach for her phone but she was too slow and the angel touched the pair of them, sending them back in time. Once they'd vanished the man lit the candles again and began praising the angel once more. He was pleased that he had been able to feed his master and knew that because of his success the angel would keep him on as it's servant instead of sending him back in time like the others.

The TARDIS materialised on Earth in 1511 and the Fifth Doctor stepped out. Whilst he surveyed the scene he was shocked to discover a young woman in 21st century clothing. Surrounding the woman was a crowd of locals who at first believed she was a Saint due to her appearing out of nowhere (like a miracle) but they soon started believing she was a witch after seeing her mobile phone. While the crowd began getting ever more adamant that she should be seized the Doctor stepped in to cover for her by telling the crowd that they were sightseers from out of town. Once the crowd had broken up the Doctor introduced himself and was surprised when the young woman; who introduced herself as Gabby Finch, explained that she already knew him from their meeting back at the Sistine Chapel in 2015.

Gabby then explained to the Doctor that she could not remember the specifics of their meeting at the Sistine to which he replied that she was suffering from Temporary Chronological Displacement Deterioration (or 'TCDD' for short). Gabby began to worry for husband, Joel.

Whilst working on an order for a statue, Michelangelo was infuriated when he was indirectly asked to work faster by the Priest who was waiting to collect the work. He furiously explained how he didn't rush his work on the 'vaults of the Sistine' despite doing the work for the Pope. He told the Priest that he should find someone else to complete the work, ignoring the Priest's pleas.

A young man then burst into the room interrupting the Priest and Michelangelo's argument. Michel furiously asked him how he came to be in his workyard, but the young man was too stunned to be in Michel's presence to answer. After revealing his name, Joel, the young man began to praise Michel's work calling him "the greatest painter who ever lived". Warming to Joel, Michel invited him inside to stay for the night whilst also telling the Priest to leave, however, despite his former claims, he announced that he'd still continue the work on the Priest's statue.

Once Michel had left, the Priest began talking to the unfinished statue claiming that Michel had seen the angel in the block of stone and that it would not be long until the angel was "set free".

The Doctor and Gabby later arrived at the Chapel looking for Joel. They admired the ceiling, before Gabby remembered something. In a flashback to 2015, Gabby remembered that Joel had noticed that a portion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling was missing. The Doctor had then approached them and told them that, according to the brochure at the Chapel, Michelangelo had gone missing before ever completing the painting. Joel had been very insistent that it wasn't true, to which the Doctor agreed and advised the pair to go and check on the other works created by Michelangelo. This led to them arriving at the Church of San Pietro where they broke into the 'tomb of Pope Julius II' to see if the statue of Moses was there or not. The same place where they were touched by the angel.

to be added

Cast

References

Individuals

The Doctor mentions that Raphael and Caravaggio had also vanished from history.
Joel considers Michelangelo to be the greatest artist who ever lived.
Joel is from Hemel Hempstead.
Michelangelo finished the first half of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1509 and the second half in 1512.

Literature

The Doctor quotes the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.

Beverages

Joel says that he accidentally invented the sandwich; the Doctor says that's impossible, because it was him who created the sandwich.

Cultural references

Gabby sarcastically tells Joel that she did not google Rome's best prisons.
Joel says, "Hello, Indiana Jones" when the Doctor pushes the heads of the three angel statutes simultaneously to enter the catacomb.
Joel says that remaining in 1511 is not exactly a "Wizard of Oz ending".

Species

The Doctor considers the Weeping Angels to be the most humane psychopaths in the universe.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

The Doctor mentions that "not so long ago" he was at Heathrow Airport in 1981. (TV: Time-Flight)
The Doctor tells Gabby, "brave heart." (TV: Earthshock et al)
Joel and Gabby being history and physics teachers, respectively, mirrors Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright's professions of science and history teachers at Coal Hill School in 1963. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
The Doctor tells Gabby that the works of Michelangelo, Raphael and Caravaggio are fixed points in time. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)
While praising various Renaissance artists, the Doctor mentions Leonardo da Vinci, and how accommodating he was about the multiple Mona Lisas. (TV: City of Death)
The Doctor feels uncomfortable being around Gabby and Joel kissing. By his eighth incarnation, he will start kissing people with more comfort. (TV: Doctor Who, The Parting of the Ways, The Girl in the Fireplace, The Wedding of River Song, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, The Day of the Doctor)
The Doctor tells Joel and Gabby that the Weeping Angels are known as the Lonely Assassins. (TV: Blink)
The Doctor recalls how unamusing it is to be caught in a tunnel with a Minotaur. (TV: The Time Monster)
The Doctor wishes that he still had his sonic screwdriver and mentions the Terileptils. (TV: The Visitation)
The Doctor ignores a person's age, instead seeing their character. (TV: Last Christmas)
The priest who leads the Order of the Three Angels fell under psychic control of the Weeping Angels when he looked one in the eye. (TV: The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone)
The Doctor says, "When I say 'run,' we run." (TV: The Power of the Daleks, et. al)
This is the Doctor's first known encounter with the Weeping Angels, though they would become a much more common adversary later on in his life. (TV: Blink; AUDIO: The Side of the Angels, et al) Previously, he suggested some doubt of their existence when mentioned in conversation. (COMIC: Gaze of the Medusa)
The Doctor uses mirrors to foil the Angels, as he would later do during his eleventh incarnation. (TV: The Time of the Doctor, PROSE: Magic of the Angels)
The Doctor explains that most people see time as a straight line from cause to effect, "but from a nonlinear, non subjective point of view, it's more like..." and then trails off. He swears that he'll find a good ending for that sentence someday. (TV: Time Crash, Blink, et al.)
During his tenth incarnation, the Doctor claimed that he had never met Michelangelo. (PROSE: The Stone Rose)

External links

Official Classic Doctors, New Monsters page at bigfinish.com

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