And we're back with the final part of our adventures at 'The Blue Angel'! If you're new to the story, you might want to take a look at Part One and Part Two before continuing with the final instalment...
*****
[The group quickly darts back round the corner before the mini-angel and her bodyguards spot them. There are plenty of worried-looking faces...]
Clara: OK, what do we do? Doctor, a plan would be nice - right about now?
Doctor: [Pacing] Think, let me think... [He takes out his sonic screwdriver and starts twiddling nervously with it in his hand.]
Tony: [Looking at the screwdriver] What's that?
Clara: It's his favourite toy. It fixes electronics and stuff, unlocks doors, sends out sonic signals...
Tony: [Smiling] I think I might just have an idea... [Turns to the Doctor] I need to make a phone call, but I don't appear to have any reception...
Doctor: Unsurprising given the year, but still... [He points the sonic screwdriver at Tony's phone, and it lights up, making a buzzing noise. Tony starts tapping away.]
Caroline: What are you doing?
Lizzy: [Sarcastically] Who are you going to call? I don't think Ghostbusters are going to help here!
Tony: I'm just sending a text... [Looks up] Aha - any second now...
[Suddenly, there's a familiar, loud whirring noise. Everyone freezes, wondering where the sound is coming from. Around the corner, the performers and the mini-angel start looking around in confusion.]
Tony: OK, time to get moving - our ride is here...
[A wind gusts through the corridor, and, amid bright lights and an ear-splitting noise, the German Literature Month bus materialises, sending the angel and the performers screaming down the corridor. The door of the bus opens, and a familiar figure sticks his head out.]
Gary: Quick, jump in!
Doctor: [Jaw dropping] A bus that can travel through time and space? You're joking, right?
Stu: It looks like you're not the only one round here with a fancy getaway vehicle...
[Everyone jumps into the bus. Tony, Stu and Lohmann disappear for a moment before reappearing with a few survivors who eagerly climb on board. In a matter of seconds, the doors close and Gary goes to drive off, but the Doctor grabs his arm...]
Doctor: No, we can't leave yet, I have to get the TARDIS!
Gary: Relax and take a seat - don't worry about a thing. The bus had a recent upgrade...
[Outside, a hole appears at the back of the bus - a mechanical arm shoots out and attaches itself to the TARDIS...]
Caroline: [Looking out of the back window] OK, Gary, it's on - let's get out of here!
[Gary starts the engine, and the whirring sound returns. As he reverses the bus slowly, a scream reverberates through the bus...]
Lizzy: [Pointing through the windscreen] It's the Angel!
[Sure enough, at the far end of the corridor, the Angel stands, glowing defiantly. She spreads her wings, lets out an enormous roar and flies towards the bus...]
Gary: Hang on - this might be a bumpy ride...
[He changes gears and drives off, this time towards the Angel. Just as the two are about to collide, the bus dematerialises, vanishing along with the TARDIS. All that can be heard is the Doctor's voice, complaining bitterly about buses, plot holes and timey-wimey stuff...
...the Angel stops just before it hits the wall. It floats down to the floor, at which point it turns back into Rosa. She looks around her and, with a sigh, walks back to the main hall.
The hall is almost empty now, with only a few performers sitting dazed around a table. A little girl is sitting on the floor, sobbing into her dress. There's an awful smell in the air, and the floor of the hall is dotted with sizzling pools of grease. Chairs and tables are lying upended all throughout the room. Rosa looks around and sighs. Then she claps her hands and addresses the performers.]
Rosa: Come on, everyone. Let's get this mess cleared up. We've got a matinée tomorrow...
[As the performers slowly get up and begin the task of clearing up the hall, Rosa walks over and picks up her daughter. Holding her in her arms, she walks away humming 'Falling in Love Again'. The scene fades to black as a familiar tune kicks in...]
Today, we continue with the second part of our story about this year's German Literature Month end-of-challenge excursion. If you missed the first part, click here, and read that first ;)
*****
[The Doctor turns on his heel and walks back to Tony angrily. Just as he is about to say something, the sudden sound of screaming comes from outside the TARDIS, from the direction of the dance hall. Tony and Clara quickly run to the door and open it - the screaming gets louder. The Doctor sighs...]
Doctor: Sorry about that. Always seems to happen when I'm in the neighbourhood...
Tony: [Grinning] Me too, funnily enough... [He beckons outside.] Allons-y?
Clara: [Looking at the Doctor and stifling a giggle] With pleasure. [She walks through the door and Tony follows her out.]
Doctor: [Angrily] That's my line! [He shakes his head and follows the others out of the TARDIS.]
*****
[As Tony, Clara and the Doctor run around the corner, they see the chaos unfolding in the dance hall. The blue angel is moving around the hall slowly, focusing on men trapped in corners with no way out. The air is heavy with the smell of smoke and burnt flesh. The other performers, all with a strange gleam in their eyes, are running around the hall, blocking off doorways and directing the guests in the direction of the angel...
...from the opposite direction, Lohmann, von Ertzum and the other bloggers come running towards Tony, Clara and the Doctor...]
Doctor: [Turning to Tony] I presume these are your friends, then. [Bows to the ladies] Enchanté! I'm the Doctor, and this is...
Clara: [Interrupting] Erm, shall we leave the introductions for later, yeah? Let's get back to the TARDIS...
Tony: [Pointing to the corridor behind them] I think we might need to hold off on that...
[The angel has turned in their direction, blocking off their retreat. She slowly moves towards them...]
Caroline: So, that running I was talking about before...
Lizzy: Yep, I'm with you...
[The group race off in search of an escape route, scattering to escape from the clutches of the performers. As Caroline and Lizzy look for a door at the side of the hall, Stu spots a shadow of a door by the side of the stage and jumps up onto the stage. Before he can get to the opening though, Kieselack appears, locking the door and throwing the key across the hall. As he turns to Stu with a sneer on his face, the angel begins to climb the steps...]
Kieselack: [Running to the angel] Fräulein Rosa! I trapped this one - I know you're fond of tall men... [The angel begins to move across the stage. Stu backs into the corner opposite...]
Rosa: Thank you, little one - such devotion. You deserve a little reward...
[As Kieselack moves towards her expectantly, the angel reaches out her hand and caresses his face. Instantly, he collapses and melts into a puddle of grease on the floor. The angel glides slowly around the mess and moves towards Stu...]
Rosa: Now my dear - I think it's your turn. Would you like to dance? I'm sure you'll enjoy i...
[Metres from Stu, in mid-step, the angel plunges through the stage floor into a hole - one which wasn't there before. Stu hears a whistle and turns to see Caroline holding a lever for the trap door...]
Caroline: [Moving the lever again] Hopefully that'll hold her for a while - let's get out of here...
*****
[As the performers flock to the stage to find the angel, the bloggers and their companions take the opportunity to get out of the hall. They run back down the corridor towards the TARDIS...]
Lizzy: [Panting] Is there any point going down here? There can't be any doors in this part of the building...
Doctor: Don't worry, I've got it all figured out. You see, I've got a getaway car - of sorts.
[He turns the corner and promptly comes to a stop. This causes a chain reaction with the others crashing into the person in front of them.]
Clara: What are you doing Doctor? Let's... [Looks ahead] Oh.
[At the end of the corridor, the TARDIS can be seen, but in front of the familiar blue box, barring entry, are the two overweight comic performers - and what looks suspiciously like a small blue angel...]
Stu: What. Is. That?
Lohmann: I believe that's the daughter - and I think she's looking for the people who messed with her mummy...
*****
Will the junior angel stop the bloggers?
How will the Doctor get his TARDIS back?
Where is mummy angel?
Find out in Part Three of 'The Blue Angel'!
German Literature Month is drawing to a close, and that means it's time for me to express my gratitude by organising another outing on the German Literature Month Tour Bus. Unfortunately, my choices over the past two years haven't been a great success: in 2011, we never actually got to see Kafka's castle, and last year's trip to a restaurant was very grim(m) indeed. Still, things can't go wrong three years in a row - can they?
*****
[The camera fades in from black to reveal a large coach driving around a small town with narrow, winding streets. It drives past a harbour, leaving several astonished fishermen in its wake, most of whom alternate looks between the bus and the bottles in their hands. Eventually the coach comes to a halt outside a large building. Just in front of the bus is a blue lantern, by the light of which we can see a sign reading 'Zum blauen Engel'.
A handful of figures get off the bus, breath steaming in the winter air. As they are about to walk off, the driver calls out after them...]
Gary: I'll catch you up in a bit. I've just got to work out where to park this thing...
Tony: Surely there'll be a car park around the back?
Caroline: It's 1905 - I doubt there's one in the whole country...
[The door closes, and the coach drives off. Tony opens the door of the building, and the others walk in, their ears immediately assaulted by loud music...
...after walking down a long, brightly-lit corridor, with the noise growing ever louder, they reach a sort of box office and, after Tony slips the clerk a few coins, they open another door and enter a dance hall...
...on stage, a rather overweight couple are singing comic songs, and judging by the roars of laughter coming from the people in the audience (mostly men), they seem to be doing a great job. The room is packed with tables, most of which are full, but the bloggers make their way to a half-empty table to the side of the hall.]
Caroline: [Looking around] Wow - this is definitely a lively place!
Stu: Better than last year, Tony, at any rate.
Lizzy: [Darkly] Well, now, that wouldn't exactly be difficult, would it? It's not surprising that you didn't get a great turn-out this time around...
Tony: [Nervously] Let's just forget about that... [He turns and sees the few people seated at the table, an old, shabby-looking man and three teenagers.] Excuse me - could we join you? [The man stands up and bows, showering the table in front of him with dandruff.]
Man: Naturally, my pleasure. [Bows again] Allow me to introduce myself - Raat is my name, Professor Raat of the local grammar school. This here [Pointing to a small, greasy-looking youth] is Master Kieselack, this [Pointing to a fat, fair-haired giant] is Master von Ertzum, and this [Pointing, with a grimace, to a sallow-faced young man inspecting his fingernails] is Master Lohmann - all my students.
Stu: Pleased to meet you [There are handshakes and bows all round.]
Lizzy: [Sitting down] What's that smell? [The boys struggle to stifle a smirk - the professor is momentarily agitated.]
Raat: Perhaps it is the toilets - although they are a fair way from here...
Tony: Speaking of which, I'll be back in a minute...
[He nods at the others and heads towards the back of the room, leaving everyone else to chat...]
*****
[We cut to a corridor somewhere inside the dance hall. Tony is walking quickly down the corridor, trying every door he passes - in vain.]
Tony: Where is it? There's got to be something, somewhere... Aha!
[Finally, Tony finds a door which opens. In the darkness, he fails to notice the faded blue colour, or the writing across the top... He opens the door and rushes into a bright room, where a man and a woman stare at him open-mouthed.]
Tony: [Still walking] Sorry, could you tell me where the loo is?
Man: [Flustered] Erm, straight on, first on the left, but... what? How? Who?
[Tony rushes on, turning right by mistake in his desperation to reach the toilet.]
Woman: No, left, not right! Watch out for the... [Splash!] ...swimming pool...
*****
[Back in the dance hall, the bloggers are still chatting with the professor and the students when Raat - or Unrat as Lohmann calls him behind his back - suddenly stops dead and turns to the stage. The reason for his action is soon evident as an attractive red-haired singer smiles and begins to sing.]
Singer: 'Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt'... [Winks at the bloggers' table] ...and for our English-speaking guests 'I can't help it' [She blows a kiss towards the table, and Unrat Raat leaps up to intercept it.]
Stu: [Leaning towards Lohmann] Who's that?
Lohmann: [Behind his hand] Rosa Fröhlich, star of the show and Unrat's girlfriend, believe it or not...
Raat: [Turning to Stu] Don't worry, I'll introduce you after her set. Isn't she wonderful?
*****
[Elsewhere in the club, Tony is drying himself off with a towel, as the man tries to explain just exactly who he is. Tony stops, suddenly, the penny dropping...]
Tony: Wait - you're the Doctor?
Doctor: Aha, yes, now you've got it!
Tony: Alien? Magic blue travelling box?
Doctor: Yep, [Smiles smugly] that's me.
Tony: Timey-wimey stuff, plot holes you could drive a bus through? [The Doctor storms off, and the woman, Clara, stifles a giggle.]
Clara: Yeah, that's him alright...
*****
[Back in the main salon, Unrat Raat has just walked up to Rosa, wanting to introduce her to the bloggers.]
Unrat: Darling, please come over and meet our foreign guests, they're dying to meet you!
Rosa: Dying, you say? [Her eyes gleam brightly as she follows the professor back to the table. Unrat strides back, not noticing that Rosa isn't following him that closely...]
Unrat: Everyone, this is... [The others begin moving backwards slowly.] What's the matter with you? I... [He turns around.]
[Behind him, Rosa is bathed in a bright, shimmering blue light. Her body illuminates the whole hall, and what seem to be wings begin to appear behind her, long bright appendages, formed purely from light...]
Rosa: Unratchen, come to me, darling...
Unrat: [Nervously] What is it, darling?
Rosa: [Smiling] I just want a kiss, that's all... [She moves forward.]
Unrat: Ahem, I'm not sure if this is the place, liebling...
[Rosa grabs Unrat and kisses him. Immediately, the professors body glows bright blue and disintegrates, leaving nothing but a pile of dandruff - and a foul smell - behind... The bloggers stare in shock.]
Caroline: Time to run?
Lizzy: Yep, Malone's done it again...
*****
Has Tony really met a time-travelling alien?
Will the bloggers escape from the mysterious blue angel?
Will Gary ever find a parking spot?
Find out in Part Two of 'The Blue Angel'!
[Everyone jumps into the bus. Tony, Stu and Lohmann disappear for a moment before reappearing with a few survivors who eagerly climb on board. In a matter of seconds, the doors close and Gary goes to drive off, but the Doctor grabs his arm...]
