Plans Changeby Authora97ChaptersAlmost People/Rebel FleshGod ComplexMummy on the Orient ExpressGridlockThe Unquiet Dead42Town Called MercyFather's DayHuman Nature/Family of BloodDeep BreathFirst Night/Last NightCrimson HorrorSontaran Stratagem/Poison SkyThe Doctor's DaughterJourney to the Centre of the TARDISName Of The DoctorAmy's ChoiceNight Of First'sAngels Take ManhattanDominic Chamberlin Must DieGirl in the FireplaceTooth and ClawBlinkEnd of TimePrologueGood Man Goes To WarGirls Who WaitedAlmost People/Rebel FleshThe (More) Cleaves: “Don’t tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor.” “Terra!” A voice yelled. Turning around, I saw the Doctor along with the people from Rebel Flesh. They were all giving me curious looks. “D-Do-Doctor?” I stuttered, feeling a little out of it. The Doctor ran to my side, grabbing my arm. He held me up, waiting for me to get balanced before doing anything more. “Who is she?” “She’s Terra.” Amelia answered. “Our friend.” I groaned, feeling like my head was in a blender. “What...What’s going on?” I asked him. My head really was rushing, but I could hold off on it. “Yes. Okay.” The Doctor did this fumbling around thing. It was my favorite. Can’t talk without moving his arms. (More) The Doctor: “You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour.” Cleaves: “Sorry, I just assumed-” The Doctor: “Well, it’s not your fault. Like I said, they’re disoriented. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness? Amelia: “Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out.” The Doctor: “Jennifer?” Amelia: “She was standing on her own when we got to her.” (The microwave dings. The Doctor hands the plate to Cleaves.) The Doctor: “It’s hot.” (Cleaves drops the plate.) The Doctor: “Trans-matter’s still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly.” Cleaves: “What are you talking about?” The Doctor: “It’s okay.” Cleaves: “Why didn’t I feel that?” The Doctor: “You will. You’ll stabilize.” Cleaves: “No, stop it. You’re playing stupid games. Stop it!” The Doctor: “You don’t have to hide. Please, trust me. I’m the Doctor.” (Cleaves turns around with a Ganger face. Buzzer grabs a knife and Jimmy holds him back.) Buzzer: “Where’s the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?” The Doctor: “That’s it. Good, you remember. This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn.” Amelia: “Doctor, what’s happened to her?” The Doctor: “She can’t stabilize. She’s shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least.” Cleaves: “We are living.” (She runs out of the room, screaming.) The Doctor: “Let her go.” Amelia: “Doctor, Rory.” The Doctor: “Rory?” Amelia: “Rory!” The Doctor: “Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory.” (More) Jimmy: “Explosion must’ve ruptured the acid feeds. We’re going to need the acid suits.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. We haven’t got time. Back, back, back!” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Rory.” (There is a hole punched in the wall to the outside.) The Doctor: “Of course, Jennifer’s a Ganger too.” Amelia: “Doctor, you said they wouldn’t be violent.” The Doctor: “But I did say they were scared and angry.” Jimmy: “And early technology, is what you said. You seem to know something about the Flesh.” Amelia: “Do you? Doctor?” Jimmy: “You’re no weatherman. Why are you really here?” The Doctor: “I have to talk to them. I can fix this.” Jimmy: “Wait. What’s going on? Where’s the real Jennifer?” (More) The Doctor: “It is too dangerous out here with acid leaks.” Amelia: “We have to find Rory.” The Doctor: “Yes. I’m going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together, okay. No more wandering off.” Amelia: “And what about Rory?” The Doctor: “Well, it would be safer to look for Rory and Jennifer with the TARDIS.” Jimmy: “Here we go. Distress flares.” The Doctor: “Exit?” Jimmy: “Keep going straight. Can’t miss it. But you’re never going to get your vehicle in here.” The Doctor: “I’m a great parker.” Jimmy: “We really need those acid suits. I’ve sent Buzzer and Dicken to get them.” Amelia: “Fine and dandy. I’m just going to find my husband, so cheers.” Jimmy: “Amy, I wouldn’t.” Amelia: “Nor would I. What can you do, eh?” Jimmy: “At least wait for an acid suit.” (More) ==PC== (More) He scanned the vat with his screwdriver, and I knew it wouldn’t be much longer now. (More) The Doctor: “Oh. What are you doing down there?” (More) The Doctor: “Hello. How are you all getting on?” G-Cleaves: “Why don’t you tell us?” The Doctor: “Well, we have two choices. The first is to tear each other apart. Not my favourite. The second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you.” (More) The Doctor: “Now, I know its hard for you to hold your fully human form. That’s why you keep shifting between the Flesh stages, but do try. It’ll make the others less scared of you.” (More) AMELIA + The Doctor: “Until the Doctor gets here. Hello.” (The Gangers look fully human. This is going to get confusing.) Jimmy: “This is-” G-Jimmy: “You’re telling me.” G-Cleaves: “All right, Doctor, you’ve brought us together. Now what?” The Doctor: “Before we do anything, I have one very important question. Has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size ten. Although I should warn you, I have very wide feet.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “The Flesh was never merely moss. These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people.” Jimmy: “With souls?” DICKEN: “Rubbish! Achoo.” The Doctor: “Bless you. We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop.” Amelia: “Yeah, thanks. Too much information.” The Doctor: “We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about sacred life. Do you understand? Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers, eh? How does that sound?” Jimmy: “Can I make it home for Adam’s birthday?” G-Jimmy: “What about me? He’s my son too.” Jimmy: “You? You really think that?” G-Jimmy: “I feel it.” Jimmy: “Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?” G-Jimmy: “Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea, then they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing. No idea why. I miss home, as much as you.” The Doctor: “Look, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a right old mess, this. But as you might say up North, oh well, I’ll just go to’t foot of stairs. Eee by by gum. Or not. Good. Right. First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then, get everyone out of here.” Amelia: “But we’re still missing Jennifer and Cleaves.” Jimmy: “I’ll go and look for them.” G-Jimmy: “I’ll give you a hand, if you like. Cover more ground.” Jimmy: “Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Cleaves: “This circus has gone on long enough.” G-Cleaves: “Oh, great. You see, that is just so typically me.” Cleaves: “Doctor, tell it to shut up!” The Doctor: “Cleaves, no. No, no.” Cleaves: “Circuit probe. Fires about ooo, forty thousand volts? Would kill any one of us, so I guess she’ll work on Gangers just the same.” The Doctor: “It’s interesting you refer to them as it, but you call a glorified cattle prod a she.” Cleaves: “When the real people are safely off this island, then I’ll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor.” Amelia: “What are you going to do to them?” Cleaves: “Sorry. They’re monsters. Mistakes. They have to be destroyed.” The Doctor: “Give me the probe, Cleaves.” Cleaves: “We always have to take charge, don’t we, Miranda. Even when we don’t really know what the hell is going on.” (Ganger Buzzer tries to rush her. Cleaves zaps him.) The Doctor: “Argh! He’s dead!” Cleaves: “We call it decommissioned.” The Doctor: “You stopped his heart. He had a heart. Aorta, valves, a real human heart. And you stopped it.” Rory: “Jen?” G-JENNIFER: “What happened to Buzzer will happen to all of us if we trust you.” The Doctor: “Wait, wait, just wait.” Rory: “No!” (Rory jumps Cleaves and disconnects the power from the probe. The Gangers run away.) Amelia: “You idiot!” The Doctor: “Wait! Look at what you have done, Cleaves.” Cleaves: “If it’s war, then it’s war. You don’t get it, Doctor. How can you? It’s us and them now. Us and them.” DICKEN: “Us and them.” Jimmy: “(sighs) Us and them.” (More) Rory: “Look, I just wanted to help her.” Amelia: “Well, we all do, okay?” Rory: “Don’t be like that. Listen, she’s-” Amelia: “I said I agree with you. Drop it.” The Doctor: “The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery. Cleaves, the most fortified and defendable room in the monastery.” Cleaves: “The chapel.” The Doctor: “Thank you.” Cleaves: “Only one way in. Stone walls two feet thick.” The Doctor: “You’ve crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves. You’ve killed one of them. They’re coming back, in a big way.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “What about the flares?” The Doctor: “We’ll worry about the flares when we’re locked inside. Rory, Pond.” (There is a scream.) Amelia: “Rory, come on.” Rory: “Jen’s out there. She’s out there and she’s on her own.” The Doctor: “Well, if she’s got any sense, then she’s hiding. Rory!” Rory: “I can’t leave her out there!” The Doctor: “Rory.” Rory: “I know you understand that.” Amelia: “Get in here. Get in here!” (The Gangers approach. Rory ducks down a side corridor.) G-Cleaves: “There they are.” The Doctor: “Amy.” Amelia: “Rory!” (More) The Doctor: “Amy, they are not after him, they’re after us.” VOICE: “Why? Why?” The Doctor: “Show yourself. Show yourself!” (More) Amelia: “Doctor!” Cleaves: “Pass me the barrel.” DICKEN: “We need something heavy. Anything you can find.” (They barricade the door.) Jimmy: “This is insane. We’re fighting ourselves.” The Doctor: “Yes. Yes, it’s insane, and it’s about to get even more insanerer. Is that a word? Show yourself, right now!” Amelia: “Doctor, we are trapped in here and Rory’s out there with them. Hello? We can’t get to the TARDIS and we can’t even leave the island.” G-The Doctor: “Correct in every respect, Pond. It’s frightening, unexpected, frankly a total, utter splattering mess on the carpet, but I am certain, one hundred percent certain, that we can work this out. Trust me. I’m the Doctor.” (More) ==PC== (More) I groaned. “I had enough problems with one Doctor.” (More) (More) BOTH: “Hello. Sorry, but we had to establish a few ground rules.” The Doctor: “Formulate a protocol.” G-The Doctor: “Protocol? Very posh.” The Doctor: “A protocol between us. Otherwise-” G-Doctor: “It gets horribly embarrassing.” The Doctor: “And potentially confusing.” Amelia: “I’m glad you’ve solved the problem of confusing.” G-Doctor: “That’s sarcasm.” The Doctor: “She’s very good at sarcasm.” BOTH: “Breathe.” Amelia: “What?” The Doctor: “We have to get you off this island. And the Gangers too.” Cleaves: “Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting? They are trying to kill us!” The Doctor: “They’re scared.” Amelia: “Doctor, we’re trapped in here.” The Doctor: “Right, See, I don’t think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above.” G-Doctor: “But where are the earthing conduits?” The Doctor: “All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?” (He finds a grating in the wall.) The Doctor: “Yowza. An escape route.” Amelia: “Yowza?” The Doctor: “You know, I’m starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me.” G-Doctor: “Do we tend to say yowza?” The Doctor: “That’s enough, let it go, okay? We’re under stress.” (More) ==PC== (More) Buzzer: “The army will send a recon team our.” Cleaves: “We need to find a way to contact the mainland.” Amelia: “What about Rory and Jen? They are both out there.” The Doctor: “No, this place is a maze. Takes a long time to find someone in a maze. I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven’t you?” Cleaves: “If we can get power running, we can scan for them. Be a lot quicker.” (They start coughing.) Amelia: “Doctor, you said earlier to breathe.” The Doctor: “Very important, Pond. Breathe.” Amelia: “Yeah, well, I’m struggling to.” The Doctor: “Acid interacting with the stone.” G-Doctor: “Creating an asphyxiant miasma.” Cleaves: “A what?” The Doctor: “Choking gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it.” Cleaves: “The evac tower. It’s this way.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Oh. I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something. It’s okay, it’s better. It’s easing off.” (The church bell starts ringing.) Jimmy: “It’s midnight. It’s Adam’s birthday. My son’s five. Happy birthday, bud.” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “Can you really get the power back?” G-Doctor: “Oh, there’s always some power floating around.” The Doctor: “Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint.” Amelia: “Can you stop finishing each other’s-” The Doctor: “Sentences? No probs.” G-Doctor: “Yes.” Amelia: “No, hang on. You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won’t she be damaged?” The Doctor: “Nah, she’s a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy.” G-Doctor: “Tough, dependable, sexy.” Amelia: “Come on. Okay, how can how can you both be real?” G-Doctor: “Well, because we are. I’m the Doctor.” The Doctor: “Yeah and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over nine hundred years of memory and experience.” The Doctor: “We both wear the same bow tie, which is cool.” G-Doctor: “Because bow ties are-” The Doctor: “And always will be.” Amelia: “But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren’t linked up to the it.” The Doctor: “Well, it must’ve been after I examined it. Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created.” G-Doctor: “Ta-da.” Amelia: “No getting away from it. One of you was here first.” The Doctor: “Well, okay. After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now, new shoes. A situation which did not confront me learned self here.” G-Doctor: “That satisfy you, Pond?” “Terra, you can tell the difference.” Amy pleaded. “You can always tell the difference. You know the Doctor better than anyone.” Gulping, I turned to the two Doctors. One in boots, and one in not-boots. I don’t know how, but I could feel it. The not-boots one was the Doctor. I could see it in his eyes. I could feel it in my soul. The Doctors smirked back at me. The Ganger Doctor had this strange feeling about him, like he was remembering something important but trying not to. The...I don’t want to say real...The Other Doctor had this heartbroken look deep in his eyes. But, in the end, they were the same. The Ganger was a slightly more confused Doctor, no other changes. I shrugged, nervously rubbing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know! They’re identical!” Amelia blinked. “But...he isn’t the Doctor.” The Ganger Doctor came up to me, wrapping an arm around me. “Oh, come on Pond. Of course I’m me.” “Don’t call me Pond, please. What?” G-Doctor: “Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me.” Amelia: “No, no, I. Look, you’re fine and everything, but he’s the Doctor. No offence. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive. G-Doctor: “Being almost the Doctor’s like being no Doctor at all.” Amelia: “Don’t overreact.” G-Doctor: “You might as well call me Smith.” Amelia: “Smith?” G-Doctor: “John Smith.” “Amy Williams, don’t be so rude!” I snapped. The ginger woman turned to me with a shocked look. “You only call me that when you’re cross.” “Well I am mad at you!” I argued. “Stop being so racist!” “They aren’t real.” Amy argued. “I have so many in my family that weren’t born the normal way, Amy. Why would I treat anyone else any different?” I asked then laughed. “Oh wow! Now that I think about it, who in my family wasn’t made like that?” “You actually think they’re real.” Amelia commented. “Pretty bad first impression, Pondecai.” I said. “Well, I’ve already met you, but this is a bad second impression.” The Doctor: “Yes! Communication a go-go.” (Cleaves rushes to the console.) Amelia: “Find Rory! Show me the scanning tracking screen. Come on, Rory, let’s be having you.” Cleaves: “There’s no sign of him anywhere.” Amelia: “Come on. Come on, baby, show yourself.” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “Saint John’s calling. Emergency Alpha. Saint John’s calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in. We’ll never get a signal through this storm. Saint John’s calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent.” CAPTAIN: “We’re just about reading you, Saint John’s. How are you doing? We’ve had all kinds of trouble here.” Cleaves: “Request immediate evacuation. We’re under attack. The storm’s affected our Gangers. They’re running amok.” CAPTAIN: “Your Gangers?” Cleaves: “Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out.” CAPTAIN: “Copy that, Saint John’s. Shuttle’s despatched. Hang on.” Cleaves: “You’ll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower.” “And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following codeword. I’m typing it, in case they’re listening in.” CAPTAIN: “Got it. We’ll swing in, get you out and decommission the Flesh.” (More) The Ganger Doctor kept an arm wrapped around me. It was oddly calming. Buzzer: “We’ve got to get out of here. We are, we’re going to get out.” Amelia: “We’re not leaving without them.” Buzzer: “I want them found too, but it’s about casualties, innit? Can’t be helped.” Amelia: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “Making a phone call.” Amelia: “Who to?” The Doctor: “No one yet. It’s on delay.” Amelia: “Right. Not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?” The Doctor: “Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. The wheels are in motion. Done.” (More) I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Okay. That’s good. That’s enough.” The Ganger Doctor gave me a confused look. He looked at the Doctor as if asking a question. Then he turned to me. There was an almost physical change on him. Amelia: “You know really there can be only one.” The Doctor: “Hmm?” Amelia: “Oh, nothing. Carry on. Be amazing.” (Amy is drawn to the far wall. A hatch opens and she sees the Eye Patch Lady again.) The Doctor: “Amy? What happened?” Amelia: “It’s her again.” The Doctor: “It’s who again?” Amelia: “There’s a woman I keep seeing. A woman with an eyepatch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me. Doctor?” The Doctor: “It’s nothing.” Amelia: “Doesn’t seem like nothing.” The Doctor: “It’s a time memory. Like a mirage. It’s nothing to worry about.” G-Doctor: “It’s in my head.” (The Ganger Doctor leaves.) Jimmy: “Hey, hold on.” Cleaves: “Don’t let him go.” Amelia: “No, leave it to me.” (More) “It’s my early days.” I grumbled. “As you so eloquently put it.” (More) The Doctor: “Why?” Amelia: “Keep him away from me.” G-Doctor: “Did you sense it?” The Doctor: “Briefly. Not as strong as you.” G-Doctor: “Amy, I’m sorry.” Amelia: “No, you keep away. We can’t trust you.” G-Doctor: “It would appear I can connect to the Flesh.” Amelia: “You are Flesh.” G-Doctor: “I’m beginning to understand what it’s been through, what it needs.” Amelia: “What you want. You are it.” G-Doctor: “It’s much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?” Cleaves: “Its cells can divide.” G-Doctor: “Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge. It’s in pain, angry. It wants revenge.” Amelia: “I was right. You’re not the Doctor. You can’t ever be. You’re just a copy.” Cleaves: “Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?” The Doctor: “Hold on a minute, hold your horses. I thought I’d explained this. I’m him, he’s me.” Cleaves: “Doctor, we have no issue with you, but when it comes to your Ganger-” The Doctor: “Don’t be so absurd.” Cleaves: “Buzzer.” Buzzer: “Sure, boss.” (Buzzer puts out a barrel for the Ganger Doctor to sit on.) Buzzer: “Take a seat, mate.” G-Doctor: “Nice barrel, very comfy. Why not? Is this really what you want?” (More) (More) ==PC== Doctor (More) “But Doctor, why is she acting like that?” Amelia asked me. “Terra always loved you, never done anything else.” I looked at Terra. She was looking at the Doctor, the real Doctor, with such understanding. That was just how she was. Even in her early days, she still saw me as I was. She could see right through me. She always did. She turned to look at me, then it changed to heartbreak. I leaned over towards Amelia Pond. “She told me once that one day everything changed. That she couldn’t fight her feelings anymore than I could. This is before that day.” (More) ==PC== Terra (More) PILOT: “This is the shuttle. We’re right above you, but we can’t get low enough. Gamma static could fry our nav-controls. Sit tight. We’ll get to you. Just-” (The Doctor scans Cleaves with his sonic screwdriver.) Jimmy: “Hello? Can you hear me?” Amelia: “I can’t find Rory. I’m going out there.” The Doctor: “We could use the sonic to track him. Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic needs to tell the difference.” Amelia: “Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different. The other Doctor is different.” The Doctor: “He is the Doctor.” Amelia: “Not to me. I can tell.” The Doctor: “Sure you’re not prejudiced?” Amelia: “Nice try, but I know, okay? We’ve been through too much. You’re my Doctor. End of.” (More) Buzzer: “Hey, there’s a camera up. We’ve got a visual.” Amelia: “That’s Rory and Jennifer.” Cleaves: “They’re heading for the thermostatic room.” Amelia: “Let’s go get them.” (The Doctor throws the sonic screwdriver to his counterpart.) Amelia: “Hang on.” Cleaves: “We can’t let him go. Are you crazy?” The Doctor: “Am I crazy, Doctor?” G-Doctor: “Well, you did want to plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet.” Amelia: “He can’t go rescue them. I’m going.” The Doctor: “Do you know, I want him to go. And I’m rather adamant.” Buzzer: “Well then, he’ll need company. Right, boss? It’s fine. I’ll handle it.” G-Doctor: “Thank you, Buzzer. It’ll be alright. I’ll find him.” The Doctor: “Can’t explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him. Can you do that for me, Amy?” Amelia: “And what if you’re wrong?” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents.” DICKEN: “Why do that? They’ll kill us.” Cleaves: “There’s a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet.” The Doctor: “And now it’s heating up the whole island. How long till it blows?” (Rumble.) DICKEN: “Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here.” Cleaves: “Shuttle, we need evac. Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you-” (Cleaves is struck by a stabbing headache.) The Doctor: “Cleaves? Cleaves? Cleaves, sit down.” Cleaves: “I’m fine.” (More) Cleaves: “I’m waiting for results, so let it go.” The Doctor: “It’s a very deep parietal clot.” Cleaves: “How can you possibly? Inoperable?” The Doctor: “On Earth, yes.” Cleaves: “Well, seeing as Earth’s all that’s on offer. Hmm. I’m no healthy spring chicken, and you’re no weatherman. Right?” (Big rumble.) Amelia: “Something just cracked. I heard it.” The Doctor: “Yeah, we can’t stay here. Let’s go.” Jimmy: “He’s right. Let’s shift.” Cleaves: “Cleaves to Shuttle. Respond. We need to move, and we can’t be collected from the Evac tower.” PILOT: “Give us the codeword.” Cleaves: “The codeword is-” (Rumble. Bang. Alarms.) The Doctor: “Cleaves? Cleaves, it’s dead. It’s dead. We need to get out of here. We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on. Come on.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Ah. The eyes have it.” Amelia: “Why are they here?” The Doctor: “To accuse us.” Cleaves: “Ignore them. It’s not far.” (More) The Doctor: “It’s a chemical chain reaction now. I can’t stop it. This place is going to blow sky high.” Cleaves: “Exactly how long have we got?” The Doctor: “An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between.” (A klaxon wails.) The Doctor: “Out!” (More) Rory: “Thank God. All right?” Amelia: “Oh, Rory. Oh, Rory.” Rory: “There’s a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt.” Cleaves: “From the crypt? It’s not on the schematics.” Rory: “It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “We can’t leave without Buzzer.” Cleaves: “I’ll go back for him.” Rory: “Er, Doctor, look. I’d better tell you. I haven’t been quite straight with you.” (More) The Doctor: “Rory!” Rory: “Hang on, Jen. We don’t need to lock them up. We should just show them what we’ve found.” G-JENNIFER: “I don’t think so.” The Doctor: “Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!” Amelia: “Rory, What the hell are you playing at?” Rory: “They’ve been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot. Alive. I think the world should see that.” The Doctor: “Rory, there is no time. The factory’s about to explode.” Rory: “Are you sure about this? Because I’m not. Let them out.” G-JENNIFER: “The little girl got strong.” Rory: “What?” G-JENNIFER: “The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies, looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?” Rory: “But that wasn’t. It was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl.” G-JENNIFER: “Oh? What other Jennifer?” Rory: “Well, the, the er. Wait, you tricked me? Let me go. I’m opening the door. Let me. I’m sorry!” (Ganger Jennifer drags Rory away.) Amelia: “No!” G-Cleaves: “We have to be free.” Cleaves: “I’m sorry too, Miranda. Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot. But hey, them’s the breaks. Welcome to the human race.” (More) “OF COURSE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!” I screamed. “I can see the differences in them like two sides of a coin! I always have!” “Then why did you lie?” Amy snapped. “You said you couldn’t.” “Because there wasn’t!” I shot back. “The Doctors were both so similar. But one knew so much about me, and couldn’t tell me anything. The other was confused, and scared. He wanted to know why I wasn’t what he remembered. It was messing his head up.” (More) The Doctor: “This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest. Cleaves: “And we can’t stop it?” The Doctor: “Just as a point of interest? No.” (More) Jimmy: “It’ll never hold her.” The Doctor: “If you have a better plan, I’m all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I’ll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears.” (More) Cleaves: “The acid’s eating through.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “Argh.” G-Jimmy: “Let me through.” The Doctor: “There’s nothing we can do. The acid’s reached his heart.” G-Jimmy: “Hang in there, mate.” Jimmy: “I’m quite handsome from this angle.” G-Jimmy: “I’m sorry. I’m the fake. Adam deserves his real dad.” Jimmy: “Shut up.” G-Jimmy: “What do you want me to do? Anything. Just say.” Jimmy: “The way things are, mate, it’s up to you now. Be a dad. You remember how.” (Jimmy hands over his wedding ring then dies.) The Doctor: “Jimmy Wicks, you’re a dad.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The rescued group enters. Amy and Rory hug. The two Cleaves stare at each other.) Adam: “Daddy, it’s me.” G-Jimmy: “Hey, sunshine. What are you up to?” Adam: “Opening all my presents.” G-Jimmy: “Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember your dad, he loves you very, very much.” Adam: “When are you coming home?” The Doctor: “Daddy’s coming home today, Adam.” Adam: “Yay.” The Doctor: “Now we need to move.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Run. Run. Run! Ooo, roof’s going to give.” (They get to a security door marked No Humans.) G-DICKEN: “We have to stop her. This door doesn’t lock.” DICKEN: “No, but the far one does.” (Dicken runs back along the passage and struggles with the jammed door as the monster approaches. He finally gets it shut with himself on the wrong side.) DICKEN: “Argh.” G-DICKEN: “No!” G-Doctor: “Here she comes.” (The TARDIS crashes through.) The Doctor: “Oh, she does like to make an entrance.” (He opens the door.) The Doctor: “Everyone move.” G-Doctor: “Go. Go, go, go.” G-Cleaves: “Get on board. Go.” Cleaves: “I’m not leaving.” G-Cleaves: “Go.” Amelia: “Hey, hey. Now’s our chance.” G-Doctor: “I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize.” Amelia: “Oh, don’t be crazy. Okay, what happens to you?” The Doctor: “Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her.” Amelia: “Both of you can survive this, okay? There has to be a way.” The Doctor: “Or perhaps you think I should stay instead? Mister Smith.” Amelia: “No, of course not. But look, this man, I’ve flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you’re not him. I’m sorry.” G-Doctor: “Amy, we swapped shoes.” The Doctor: “I’m the Doctor.” G-Doctor: “And I’m the Flesh.” Amelia: “You can’t be. You’re the real him.” G-Doctor: “No, I’m not, and I haven’t been all along.” Amelia: “What?” The Doctor: “I’m the original Doctor, Amy. We had to know if we were truly the same. It was important, vital we learn about The Flesh, and we could only do that through your eyes.” “Goodbye, Doctor.” I said, hugging the Ganger. “I wasn’t the Doctor.” He murmured. “You are to me.” I whispered. Amelia: “I never thought it possible.” G-Doctor: “What?” Amelia: “You’re twice the man I thought you were.” G-Doctor: “Push, Amy. But only when she tells you to.” Rory: “Amy, come on!” G-Doctor: “Well, my death arrives, I suppose.” The Doctor: “But this one, we’re not invited to.” G-Doctor: “Pardon?” The Doctor: “Nothing. Your molecular memory can survive this, you know. It may not be the end.” (The Doctor throws a sonic screwdriver to his Ganger.) G-Doctor: “Yeah, well, if I turn up to nick all your biscuits, then you’ll know you were right, won’t you.” Amelia: “Doctor! No, please.” G-Doctor: “You too, Cleaves. Off you pop.” G-Cleaves: “I’m staying.” G-Doctor: “This is not the time for grand gestures.” G-Cleaves: “Says the king of grand gestures. This is my factory. I’m not going anywhere.” G-Doctor: “Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvellous. Beware of imitations.” G-Cleaves: “Clear off out of here, the lot of you.” (The Doctor, Amy and Rory run into the TARDIS to join the others. It dematerializes.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “The energy from the TARDIS will stabilize the Gangers for good. They’re people now.” Cleaves: “And what happens to me? I still have this.” The Doctor: “Ah, that’s not a problem. I have something for that. It’s small and red and tastes like burnt onions. Ha. But it’ll get rid of your blood clot.” (The Doctor throws a small vial to Cleaves, then plucks a red balloon from somewhere.) The Doctor: “Happy endings.” (More) ==PC== (More) G-Jimmy: “Hey! Hello, bud.” Adam: “Daddy, you’re back.” G-Jimmy: “Hello, my boy. How are you doing?” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “You really want us to do this?” The Doctor: “Your company’s telling the world that the situation is over. You need to get in there and tell them that the situation’s only just begun. Make them understand what they’re doing to the Flesh. Make them stop. Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don’t hate them, will you?” G-DICKEN: “How can I hate them? I’m one of them now.” The Doctor: “Yeah. And just remember, people died. Don’t let that be in vain. Make what you say in that room count.” Cleaves: “Ready? Side by side.” G-DICKEN: “You got it, boss.” (They open the door on the press conference.) REPORTER: “Have the army dealt with the imposters, sir?” WOMAN: “What sort of threat is there to the public?” Amelia: “You okay?” The Doctor: “I said breathe, Pond. Remember? Well, breathe.” Amelia: “Why?” The Doctor: “Breathe.” (Amy doubles over in pain.) Amelia: “Oh!” Rory: “Whoa.” Amelia: “Oh.” Rory: “What’s wrong with her?” The Doctor: “Get her into the TARDIS.” Amelia: “Oh.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “Doctor! What is happening to her?” The Doctor: “Contractions.” Rory: “Contractions?” “I’m not a doctor, I don’t even play one on TV, but Amelia Pond you’re going into labor.” I said. Amelia: “Did he say? No. No, no. Of course he didn’t. Rory, I don’t like this. Ow.” Rory: “You’re going to have to start explaining some of this to me, Doctor.” The Doctor: “What, the birds and the bees? She’s having a baby. I needed to see the Flesh in its early days. That’s why I scanned it. That’s why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans. Beautiful word, shenanigans.” Amelia: “It hurts.” Rory: “But you’re okay?” The Doctor: “Breathe. I needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh.” Amelia: “What signal?” The Doctor: “The signal to you.” Amelia: “Doctor. Doctor.” The Doctor: “Stand away from her, Rory.” Rory: “Why? No. And why?” The Doctor: “Given what we’ve learned, I’ll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you need to stand away!” Amelia: “No. No. Doctor, I am frightened. I’m properly, properly scared.” The Doctor: “Don’t be. Hold on. We’re coming for you. I swear it. Whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you.” Amelia: “I’m right here.” The Doctor: “No, you’re not. You haven’t been here for a long, long time.” Amelia: “Oh, no.” (More) I bit my lip. “Doctor, whatever happens, just promise me you won’t get mad.” The Doctor looked away from the Flesh puddle. He already looked like a kicked puppy. “What?” “I’m not Flesh.” I said, trying to think of the best way to say this. “You had me tested for that. Just, please, don’t do anything stupid.” “Why?” The Doctor asked, coming up to me. “Why?” “Because...” I reminded myself to hold back. “Because if you’re not, then you might do something you don’t want to.” The Doctor took a gentle grip on my arm. “Terra, what’s wrong?” I shook my head. “Doc, manboy, I won’t be there to help you save Amelia.” His eyes widened. “I am sorry, but things have to happen this way.” He gave me the saddest look I have ever seen on him. “Terra, please tell me you aren’t there.” He pleaded. “Tell me you aren’t with Amelia.” The manipulator activated. God ComplexMummy on the Orient ExpressThe (More) (The TARDIS materialises in a space at the back of the car, amidst racks of suitcases, and the Doctor steps out wearing a black suit with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket and a loose bow tie with very long ends, sort of Western style. He holds out his hand to his companion, a fashionable flapper with jaw-length bobbed hair.) The Doctor: “Your train awaits, my lady. Clara: “Wonderful. The Doctor: “The baggage car. But thanks for lying. The real wonderful is through here. (The train’s bell rings. Music is coming from nearby.) The Doctor: “There were many trains to take the name Orient Express, but only one in space. (More) ==PC== (More) (Comfortable chairs down the side of the carriage, a bar at one end, and armed men standing guard. The band is playing a slow jazz version of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen. The singer is a young lady called Foxes, so that’s what I’ll call her instead of just Singer.) Clara: “Of course it is.” FOXES: “(sings) So don’t stop me now.” The Doctor: “Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail.” (A man with a bald head, big red beard and steampunk eyepatch barges in between them.) FOXES: “(sings) I’m a rocket ship on my way to Mars.” The Doctor: “Most of the time.” (The Doctor rubs his bruised arm.) FOXES: “(sings) On a collision course I am a satellite, I’m out of control. I’m a sex machine ready to reload. Like an atom bomb about to oh, oh, oh.” The Doctor: “You’re doing it again.” Clara: “Doing what?” The Doctor: “The smile.” Clara: “Yeah, I’m smiling.” The Doctor: “It’s the sad smile. It’s a smile but you’re sad. It’s confusing. It’s like two emotions at once. It’s like you’re malfunctioning.” Clara: “Sorry.” FOXES: “(sings) Travelling at the speed of light. Wanna make a supersonic woman of you.” The Doctor: “I just thought this would be a good one to-” Clara: “To end it. Yeah. It is. It’s a good choice. A good one to end on.” The Doctor: “Yeah?” Clara: “Mmm hmm.” The Doctor: “Shall we?” (The maid approaches with a tray of champagne flutes. The Doctor offers Clara his arm.) Clara: “Mmm hmm.” FOXES: “(sings) Gimme a call. Don’t stop me now Don’t stop me.” (An indicator changes from a monocle to a thumbs up with a ting! The onboard computer speaks.) GUS: “Ladies and gentlemen. If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you’ll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole.” The Doctor: “Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast. And there’s that smile again. I don’t even know how you do that.” Clara: “I really thought I hated you, you know?” The Doctor: “Well, thank God you kept that to yourself. There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness.” Clara: “I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks.” The Doctor: “Good, fine. Well, I’m glad that we cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs.” Clara: “I went to a concert once. Can’t remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?” The Doctor: “Frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know.” Clara: “She said, ‘hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don’t like’.” The Doctor: “Were people really confused? Cos I’m confused. Did everybody leave?” Clara: “Shush. Shut up. Look, what I’m trying to say is, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. But I can’t do this any more. Not the way you do it.” The Doctor: “Can I talk about the planets now?” Clara: “Yes. Go.” The Doctor: “Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask.” MAISIE: “That’s a lie.” Clara: “I’m sorry?” MAISIE: “That’s a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn’t have been there.” (The chief train guard comes over. He wears a uniform with two medals, lots of gold frogging and has a gun in a holster.) QUELL: “Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn’t rather rest in your room?” MAISIE: “That man’s a liar.” QUELL: “Perhaps you’d allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back.” (Another uniformed guard.) CARLYLE: “It’ll be all right, miss. Just come with me.” QUELL: “Sorry about that. I suppose it’s understandable in the circumstances. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. Captain Quell.” Clara: “I’m Clara. This is the Doctor.” QUELL: “Ah, another one.” Clara: “Sorry? Another what?” QUELL: “Well, we’ve got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip. So, what are you a doctor of?” The Doctor: “Now, there’s a question that’s never asked often enough. Let’s say intestinal parasites.” QUELL: “I’m beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you.” Clara: “What’s wrong with her? Did something happen?” QUELL: “You mean you really don’t know?” (More) ==PC== (More) (They take their champagne out into the corridor to talk.) Clara: “There’s a body and there’s a mummy. I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?” The Doctor: “It might be nothing. Old ladies die all the time. It’s practically their job description.” Clara: “And the monster?” The Doctor: “Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn’t there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucinations. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old.” Clara: “Says the two thousand year old man.” The Doctor: “Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to be a thing. Do you?” Clara: “No. No, look, fine. You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me.” The Doctor: “Are you sure?” Clara: “Ah, yes, I’m sure.” The Doctor: “To our last hurrah.” Clara: “Our last, yeah. I mean, it’s not like I’m never going to see you again.” The Doctor: “Isn’t it?” Clara: “Is it?” The Doctor: “I thought that’s what you wanted.” Clara: “No, what I mean, you’re going to come round for dinner or something, aren’t you? Do you, do you do that? Do you come round to people’s houses for dinner?” The Doctor: “Of course. Why wouldn’t I do that?” Clara: “I don’t know. I thought you might find it boring.” The Doctor: “Is it boring?” Clara: “No.” (She raises her champagne flute.) Clara: “To the last hurrah.” The Doctor: “The last hurrah.” (Clink.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor is lying down on his bed. He flexes his fingers and argues with himself.) The Doctor: “It’s nothing. Nothing. Definitely. Sure. Ninety nine percent sure. Really? Ninety nine percent? That’s quite high. Is that the figure you’re sticking with? Okay, okay. Seventy five. Well, that’s jumped quite a bit. You’ve just lost twenty four percent.” “No, you’ve just officially gone insane.” I laughed. The Doctor looked up at me, a bit startled at my arrival it seemed. “Good thing too. I was about to lose a bet.” (More) “Hello Terra.” The Doctor greeted me. “Hey.” I tried to play it cool, but something about that Scottish accent was driving me nuts. (More) The Doctor grabbed my face in his hands, pulling me to him. Then, he kissed me. Well, I say kissed. It was more like he fucking snogged me. (More) The Doctor’s hands roamed over me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just rolled with it. (More) It was amazing, almost exactly what I think this new body wanted. Until his thumbs worked into my pants. “Stop!” I yelped, jumping out of his velvety hands. My cheeks turning bright red. My hand clamped over my mouth, as if trying to catch the word in my throat. The Doctor stepped back, looking at me with that-Okay. My brain stopped functioning properly from the look he was giving me. Was I drooling? I might be drooling. Way to go, Terra, your first time with Twelve and you humiliate yourself. “What’s wrong? You usually like doing it in public places like this.” My blush spread out on my cheeks, practically burning my hand. Sweet suffering sassafras leaves, was he saying what I think he was? That just made this whole thing better. Don’t get me wrong, something about this body wanted to jump the Doctor any chance she got. It was just that...well...I may be...in certain regards (all of them)...I wasn’t as...experienced shall we say in...that. Oh dear. The blush spread to my ears. “Four.” I squeaked, nervously. “No, no. It was way more than four places.” The Doctor tilted his head. “Hold on. Haven’t you done the one with the-” “This is my fourth jump.” I said. The Doctor’s eyes widened as he realized how he had jumped the gun. Especially by making me want to jump his gun. Wow. Apparently Horny Me can’t come up with good one-liners. “No.” “Yeah.” “No, this can’t have-” “Yeah.” The Doctor was stumped by this bit of knowledge. “That was...” The Doctor dragged on. “That was your first kiss.” I nodded, feeling a blissful smile. “Y-Yeah.” The word came out almost as a sigh. I cleared my throat. “Yeah.” The word came out stronger than the other. He smirked. That damned ‘I’m the Doctor, feel free to be impressed by me’ look. “You enjoyed it, I take it?” He asked, his Scottish accent thick. My stutter got worse. I nodded. “Y-Yeah. Really, really good.” I admitted. My mind wanted to make more words, but I just couldn’t get them to reach my mouth. “Umm...so...why were you talking to yourself on a train?” The Doctor: “Because you know what this sounds like, don’t you? No, do tell me. A mummy that only the victim can see. I was being rhetorical. I know exactly what this sounds like.” (He puts on his jacket and goes out into the corridor. ) (More) “Well then.” He leaned forward. “Want to go investigate this train?” “Thought you would never ask.” I said, feeling my usual self come back into play. ==PC== (More) (Computer screens above a workbench, blueprints on a drafting table. Racks of tools. The Doctor finds a piece of equipment bubbling to itself, and apparently powering up according to the display. He removes the plastic wrapping and scans it with the screwdriver. The Chief Engineer startles him.) Perkins: “Beautiful bit of kit, isn’t it, sir? The Excelsior Life Extender. It’s like driving around in a portable hospital.” (Perkins is holding a heavy piece of metal.) The Doctor: “Yes, well, it didn’t do Mrs Pitt much good, did it?” Perkins: “Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there. Maybe it malfunctioned.” The Doctor: “Oh, I don’t think so. The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive.” Perkins: “Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it.” The Doctor: “What do you know?” Perkins: “Well, I know that when I find a man fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it’s best to play my cards close to my chest.” The Doctor: “Really? Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same.” Perkins: “Perkins. Chief Engineer.” The Doctor: “The Doctor. Nosey Parker.” Perkins: “(chuckles) Pleased to meet you, Doctor.” (They shake hands.) Perkins: “Course, there’s a rumor that someone or something else might be responsible.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor walks up to a man with a thin moustache who is reading a book, and points at him.) The Doctor: “What’s the most interesting thing about the Foretold?” Moorhouse: “I’m terribly sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.” The Doctor: “You know. The Foretold. Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you’re a dead man.” Moorhouse: “Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be-” The Doctor: “Emil Moorhouse, professor of alien mythology. I’m the Doctor. Pleased to meet you. So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go.” (The Doctor sits down on the other side of Moorhouse’s small table.) Moorhouse: “Er, well, it would have to be the time limit given before it kills you. I can’t think of another myth where it’s so specific. How does it go? Er, The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold’s stare have sixty six seconds to live.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Nice try. Very atmospheric. But that’s not it. Try again.” Moorhouse: “A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information.” The Doctor: “The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago. In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail.” (The Doctor opens the silver cigarette case he has taken from his jacket pocket and offers the Professor a jelly baby.) Moorhouse: “Well, you certainly know a little mythology.” The Doctor: “I know a lot. Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true.” Moorhouse: “But that’s the great appeal, isn’t it? Earth legends are such dry, dusty affairs, and always fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything’s possible. That’s why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster.” The Doctor: “Isn’t that everyone’s dream? But you still haven’t answered my riddle. What’s the most interesting thing about the Foretold?” Moorhouse: “Well, you can’t run from it, that’s for sure. There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it’s always right there behind you.” The Doctor: “Nope. Even colder.” Moorhouse: “All right, I give up, you tell me.” The Doctor: “Mrs Pitt, the old woman who died.” Moorhouse: “She died of old age. Nothing supernatural.” The Doctor: “No. That’s my answer.” Moorhouse: “Her death?” The Doctor: “No. The fact that you were here to witness it.” (There is a commotion behind them.) The Doctor: “Excuse me, Professor.” Quell: “In which carriage?” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “I think we need to talk.” Quell: “This matter does not concern the passengers.” The Doctor: “I’m not a passenger. I’m your worst nightmare.” (The Doctor hands Quell his psychic paper.) Quell: “A mystery shopper. Oh, great.” The Doctor: “Really? That’s your worst? Okay, I’m a mystery shopper. I could do with an extra pillow and I’m very disappointed with your breakfast bar and all of the dying.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Quell gets two glasses and pours drinks. On the wall is a framed Certificate of Bravery awarded to Capt. Hector Quell by United Galaxy Tours. The time on the clock is 11:24) Quell: “This is not exactly within your job description.” The Doctor: “Come on, Captain. Where would we all be if we all followed our job descriptions, hmm? Good question. Glad you asked. In your case, you’d be doing something instead of climbing inside a bottle.” Quell: “I have followed the procedure for accidental death to the letter.” The Doctor: “Yes, I’m sure you have. And I’m sure you do just enough of your job to avoid complaints.” Quell: “You don’t know anything about me.” The Doctor: “Wounded in battle, honorable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you’ve had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I’m sorry. As of today, that dream is over.” Quell: “There is no evidence of any attack or other parties-” The Doctor: “Yes, let’s just sit around and wait for the evidence while the bodies pile up. Or here’s a crazy thought. We could do something to stop it. Why am I even talking to you?” (More) (Perkins is waiting outside with rolls of papers.) Perkins: “Er, passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months.” The Doctor: “Quick work, Perkins. Maybe too quick.” Perkins: “Yes, sir. I’m obviously the mummy. Or perhaps I was already looking into this.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor is timing the recorded attack on Mrs Pitt, as recorded by CCTV, while Moorhouse and Perkins look on.) MRS PITT [on screen]: “No! No! Get it out! Argh!” The Doctor: “Sixty six seconds. It fits the myth. Did you see the lights flicker?” Moorhouse: “Mmm.” Perkins: “Yeah, the lights went in the kitchen as well just before the chef saw it.” Moorhouse: “In all of the accounts, conventional weapons have no effect on the Foretold. It’s immortal, unstoppable, unkillable.” Perkins: “Can we get a new expert?” (The train continues on its way, trailing smoke.) (More) The Doctor gave me a look. “Go to sleep.” He almost ordered. I gave him a quick frown. “Fine, I’ll take a nap, but only because I want to.” The Doctor made a ‘yeah right’ look, then walked over towards he computer. “Terra.” “I’m going, I’m going.” I waved him off, having one last yawn and then fell asleep. ==PC== (More) Clara: “Doctor?” The Doctor: “Wake up sleepy-head. Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it’ll taste amazing.” Clara: “Doctor, please, I’m in trouble-” The Doctor: “Can’t even get that right, huh?” Clara: “Doctor-” The Doctor: “Bad food on trains is traditional.” Clara: “Doctor, please, just li-” The Doctor: “Listen, there’s been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah-” Clara: “Doc-” The Doctor: “Just became a bit more interesting.” Clara: “I’m trapped!” The Doctor: “What? Where are you?” (Perkins and Moorhouse wake up as the Doctor dashes out.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor hammers on the strong room door.) The Doctor: “Clara! Is that you?” Clara: “Yes. Yes. Hello. Can you hear us?” (The Doctor tries sonicking the lock and gets a shock.) The Doctor: “Ow! Computer, can you open the door, please?” GUS: “Call me Gus. I’m afraid this door can only be opened by executive order.” The Doctor: “Oh. Forget it.” (The Doctor tries scanning the door with the screwdriver. It stutters then stops.) The Doctor: “Oh. Now the stupid sonic.” Clara: “What?” The Doctor: “Screwdriver’s not working.” Clara: “What? What do you mean, it’s not working? Why?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. Some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdriver’s not working. What are you even doing in there?” Clara: “Well, I was looking for you Mister Nothing To Worry About.” The Doctor: “What, was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed because I had a hunch? I thought you didn’t want to do this any more.” Clara: “Look, look, please, can we just not do this now? I think we might not be alone in here.” (sotto) “There’s a sarcophagus.” The Doctor: “Is it in there?” Clara: “I think we might just be about to find out. Turns out the sonic is working. Just not on the door we need.” (The lights flicker. The clock at the bottom of the screen starts counting down from 66.) The Doctor: “Clara, it’s coming.” (The Doctor is works frantically on the lock.) (Clara walks up to the sarcophagus.) Clara: “Doctor?” (The sarcophagus lid swings fully open.) “Doctor, it’s okay. It’s er, it’s full of bubble wrap.” The Doctor: “But the lights?” Quell: “Doctor, move away from the door.” (Quell points at the Doctor. Two other armed guards are with him, one pointing a gun.) The Doctor: “My friend’s inside.” Quell: “Then they’re in trouble, too. I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper. You’re not even on the passenger list.” The Doctor: “Clara, I’m going to have to call you back.” Quell: “Come on.” (30 seconds. They handcuff the Doctor.) The Doctor: “You know, I’m going to have to mark you down for this.” Quell: “You are not a mystery shopper. For all I know, you’re the one behind the killings.” The Doctor: “Oh, come on, Captain. How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?” (More) ==PC== (More) (A guard is shooting at something only he can see.) GUARD: “Get back! Stay back!” (His shots break glasses on tables. Nine seconds.) Quell: “What do you think you’re doing, man?” GUARD: “Please, please! Stop! No!” Quell: “Get up, man. That’s an order!” (The mummy holds the guard’s head, then he falls back. The doctor in the white coat and Edward VII beard checks for a pulse and shakes his head. Moorhouse give Quell the guard’s gun. He hands it off to another guard.) Quell: “It turns out it’s three. The amount of people that had to die before I stopped looking the other way.” (The Doctor is released.) The Doctor: “Thank you.” Perkins: “Same as the others?” (He has appeared suddenly and silently at the Doctor’s elbow.) GUARD: “Excuse me please. Take his feet. Excuse me please.” (The other guards carry their late colleague away.) The Doctor: “Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There’s a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn’t even the strangest thing. Do you know what is? You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I’d pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?” Perkins: “The engines. They’ve stopped.” (In a flurry of electronic activity, the 1920s railway carriage decor is replaced by a high-tech laboratory.) The Doctor: “And the facade drops away because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?” (A large number of people disappear. One of those remaining looks remarkably like Albert Einstein.) Perkins: “Teleporter?” The Doctor: “No. Hard light holograms. They were never really here. Fake passengers to make up the numbers.” (Hard light? Red Dwarf!) Quell: “That was my best guard.” (Ting! The thumbs up icon on a monitor is replaced by a monocle.) GUS: “Good morning, everyone. Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold’s true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn’t this exciting?” The Doctor: “You said capture, implying that you can’t control this thing. And yet somehow you got it on board. How?” GUS: “There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience. For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact.” (A small spotlight turns to illuminate the scroll on the door at the end of the car. It has cuneiform writing on it, which is interesting as that is really marks made in moist clay, not painted on papyrus or fabric.) The Doctor: “And kills at regular intervals.” Quell: “Then just maybe we should throw this thing out in the airlock.” The Doctor: “No! No! No!” (Quell gets an electric shock when he tries to touch the scroll.) Perkins: “Looks like they’ve thought of that.” Moorhouse: “What if we say no? Down tools. Refuse to work.” GUS: “That is your choice, of course. But it would be very upsetting were you all to die at the hands of the Foretold.” Perkins: “So hurry up, before it kills you.” The Doctor: “But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can’t even see? We don’t even know what the species is.” (The light flickers.) The Doctor: “Perkins, start the clock.” Moorhouse: “Approximately one point eight metres tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn’t nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be.” (The mummy drags its left foot as it approaches.) The Doctor: “Oh, dear. Hard cheese. What can you see? Details.” Moorhouse: “Yes. Yes, of course, of course. Uh Well, it just looks like er, a man in bandages. I-” The Doctor: “What kind of bandages? Old? New?” Moorhouse: “Old.” The Doctor: “Whole? Ragged?” Moorhouse: “Ragged. Falling off in places. I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” The Doctor: “Listen to me! You can see this thing. We can’t. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one.” Moorhouse: “The next one? You mean you can’t save me?” The Doctor: “Well, that is implied, isn’t it? Yes, this is probably the end for you. But make it count. Details, please.” Moorhouse: “Er, flesh. Some of it is visible-” Perkins: “Thirty seconds.” Moorhouse: “Er, leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved.” The Doctor: “Keep talking. Don’t waste this chance.” Moorhouse: “I want to bargain for my life.” The Doctor: “W-w-w-what?” Moorhouse: “Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go.” The Doctor: “This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see.” Moorhouse: “This is my life, my death. I’m going to fight for it how I want. Er, I give you-” Perkins: “Ten seconds.” Moorhouse: “My soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods. Only, please, please, please. No!” (The mummy holds Moorhouse’s head, then he falls.) Perkins: “Zero.” GUS: “We apologize for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I’m sure you’ve all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!” Perkins: “It’s recording every death.” The Doctor: “Of course it is. That’s why we’re here. To study our own demise. So let’s get to work. Come on. Chop, chop.” (The Doctor hands out white lab coats. Later, the phone rings. The bald man checks his inside pocket.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Clara Oswald.” Clara: “Okay. So, first things first. The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit.” The Doctor: “Yes. It’s where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it.” Clara: “Well, that would have been good to know.” The Doctor: “Sorry. Teeny bit busy round here. What else?” GUS: “Please terminate your call and return to work.” Clara: “We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognized a couple of the names. These are missing ships.” The Doctor: “So, we’re not the first.” Clara: “No.” GUS: “Please terminate your call and return to work.” Clara: “I’ve got some progress reports. The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor.” GUS: “Warning. Decompression imminent. Please vacate the area.” CHEF 2: “No!” Clara: “The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising.” GUS: “Please terminate the call and return to work.” Quell: “I think you should do as it says.” (Because the catering staff and equipment are floating past the window.) The Doctor: “Clara, I have to go.” GUS: “I’m sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you. But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers.” The Doctor: “Less valuable passengers? How does it choose?” Perkins: “Well, I’m assuming qualifications-” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Not the computer, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We’ve assumed it’s random. What if it’s not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal.” GUS: “Well done.” The Doctor: “Don’t mention it.” (More) ==PC== (More) Perkins: “Doesn’t seem to be any pattern. Their travel history, interests, health. It’s all over the shop. Health?” The Doctor: “Health? Are you sure? Mrs Pitt, the first victim. She was over a hundred years old. The frailest passenger on board.” Perkins: “Oh but the next to go, the chef, was young and fit. It’s random.” Quell: “The chef was ill.” The Doctor: “What?” Quell: “A rare blood disorder. Not contagious, but we kept it quiet.” The Doctor: “Because he worked with food. The next one, the guard?” Quell: “He wasn’t ill as such, but he did have synthetic lungs implanted last year.” Perkins: “Professor Moorhouse. It seems he was physically fine but suffering from, here we are. Regular panic attacks after a car crash last year.” The Doctor: “It’s picking off the weakest first. Sensing the illness somehow. The fake organs, even psychological issues. But this is good news, because it means we can work out who is next. I want the medical records of everybody alive who is still on board. If anyone’s had as much as a cold, I want to know about it.” Quell: “You really think it can sense psychological issues?” The Doctor: “It seems so. Why?” Quell: “When you said I’d lost the stomach for a fight, I wasn’t wounded in battle as such, but. My unit was bombed. I was the sole survivor. Not a scratch on me. But post-traumatic stress. Nightmares. Still can’t sleep without pills.” The Doctor: “Which means that you are probably next. Which is good to know.” Quell: “Well, not for me.” The Doctor: “Well, of course not for you, because you’re going to die. But I mean for us, from a research point of view.” Quell: “You know, for a doctor, your bedside manner leaves-” (Lights flicker.) The Doctor: “Well, there’s goes our head start. Perkins, start the clock.” (The mummy appears at the far end of the carriage.) The Doctor: “What can you see?” Quell: “Almost feels out of focus. Gives me a headache just looking at it.” (Quell draws his service weapon.) The Doctor: “Oh no, no, no, no. That didn’t work before.” Quell: “What kind of soldier would I be, dying with bullets in my gun?” (Quell shoots a flask.) Perkins: “Fifty seconds.” Quell: “Someone shut that man up! For the record, it didn’t even flinch.” The Doctor: “Where is it now?” Quell: “Approximately twenty feet in front of me and closing.” Perkins: “Forty seconds.” The Doctor: “Am I close?” (We are treated to the view of the mummy’s outstretched fingers coming out of the Doctor’s eyes before the rest of its bandaged hand passes through his head.) Quell: “It’s passing right through you, like a ghost.” (Perkins is holding out a scanner and reading his tablet.) Perkins: “It’s not a hologram.” The Doctor: “If you move, will it follow?” Quell: “Do you want me to move? Because I can certainly do that.” The Doctor: “Keep looking at it, but back off quick as you like.” Quell: “It’s teleported away. It’s behind me.” Perkins: “Twenty seconds.” Quell: “I think this is it. Still, suppose it’s not a bad way to go. Blood pumping, enemy at the gates and all that. And thank you, Doctor, for waking me up. It’s reaching for me. Hands on my head.” Perkins: “Zero.” Quell: “Ah!” The Doctor: “Teleporter. That means tech. Then sixty six seconds to do what? Sixty six seconds. That seems very, very specific. Too specific for organic. So, what, more tech? What? More? A countdown clock? Something charging?” Perkins: “A man just died in front of us. Can we not just have a moment?” The Doctor: “No. No, no, no. We can’t do that. We can’t mourn. People with guns to their heads, they cannot mourn. We do not have time to mourn. Everybody, what takes sixty six seconds to charge up or to change state? Anyone? Am I surrounded by idiots? If only I could see this thing.” Perkins: “Don’t even joke about that The Doctor: “I’m not joking about it. One minute with me and this thing, it would be over!” Perkins: “You know, Doctor, I can’t tell if you’re a genius or just incredibly arrogant.” The Doctor: “Well, ah, on a good day, I’m both. Ancient tech. This thing has been around for centuries. How? Tech that keeps it alive. Tech that drains energy from the living. Scanner.” (He takes Perkin’s scanner and uses it on Quell’s corpse, then throws it back to Perkins.) The Doctor: “Deep tissue scan. He’s been leached of almost all energy on a cellular level. The heart attack is just a, is just a side effect.” Perkins: “Oh, it’s not just a mummy, it’s a vampire. Metaphorically speaking.” The Doctor: “But why take sixty six seconds to drain us? Why not just pounce?” Perkins: “Phase. Moving energy out of phase. That takes about a minute, doesn’t it?” The Doctor: “That’s why only the victims can see it. It takes them out of phase so it can drain their energy. You, sir, are a genius! This explains everything! Apart from what it is and how it’s doing it. Sorry, I jumped the gun there with the you’re a genius, that explains everything remark.” Perkins: “Doctor, I think we know the next victim.” (Perkins hands the Doctor his tablet.) The Doctor: “Ah, of course. That makes perfect sense.” (More) ==PC== (More) (He phones Clara.) Clara (sotto) “Look, she’s had a bad day. That’s all.” The Doctor: “Clara, it doesn’t care. Her bad day, her bereavement, her little breakdown puts her squarely in its cross hairs. She’s next. Every simulation we’ve run confirms it.” Clara “Okay, but, but we’re in here and, if we stay in here, that thing can’t-” The Doctor: “This thing can teleport. We need her here. Even the computer agrees.” Clara “Okay, so you can save her? Right? The Doctor: “Of course not. Why would you think that? This is another chance to observe it in action.” Clara: “As it kills her.” The Doctor: “Of course, as it kills her. If it happens in there, it’ll be a waste so bring her to us.” Clara: “How? How exactly? She’s never going to agree to this.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t know. Lie to her. Tell her I can save her. Whatever it takes to get her here.” (Perkins watches closely as the Doctor throws down the phone and walks away.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Gus opens the door and lets the women in. The Doctor runs to shake Maisie’s hand.) MAISIE: “Hello, again. I’m Maisie.” The Doctor: “Good for you.” Clara: “We passed the TARDIS on the way here. Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn’t even get in. There was a forcefield around it.” (The Doctor uses Perkins’ scanner on Maisie.) The Doctor: “It’s probably Gus trying to block our escape route.” Clara: “But how does he even know what it is? Cos if he knows what it is, then he knows what you are.” The Doctor: “Well, he has tried to entice me here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even phoned the TARDIS number. Do you know how difficult a number-” Clara: “You knew. You knew this was no relaxing break. You knew this was dangerous.” The Doctor: “I didn’t know. I certainly hoped.” Clara: “Okay, this. You see, this. This is why I’m leaving you. This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again. And now you’ve made me lie. You’ve made me your accomplice.” MAISIE: “What? Sorry? When did you lie? Clara?” Clara: “Maisie, I am, I am so sorry.” (Maisie points at the mummy as the lights flicker.) Perkins: “Do we start the clock?” The Doctor: “Not yet.” (The Doctor stands in front of Maisie and flashes the scanner in her face.) The Doctor: “Focus. Focus. Focus! All of that is your grief, your trauma, your resentment. And now-” (He puts the scanner to his own head and zaps himself.) The Doctor: “It’s mine.” (The mummy growls and vanishes.) MAISIE: “It’s gone.” The Doctor: “No. No, it’s not. Not for me. Cos now it thinks I’m you.” (He throws the scanner onto a table.) The Doctor: “Start the clock.” (to the mummy) “Hello.” (It reaches for him.) The Doctor: “I’m so pleased to finally see you. I’m the Doctor and I will be your victim this evening. Are you my mummy?” I gaped. “Doctor, I can’t exactly make out with you if you die! And none of you mention that again.” “But you can’t hurt me until my time is up. I think. So are there magic words? Is there a way to stop you in your tracks? Oh, you really didn’t like your gran, did you? There’s something visible under the bandages. By the way, you weren’t being paranoid. She really did poison your pony.” MAISIE: “Oh!” The Doctor: “Markings like the ones the scroll. Oh, and your father. Sorry.” MAISIE: “What-” The Doctor: “A tattered piece of cloth attached to a length of wood that you will kill for.” Perkins: “Thirty seconds.” The Doctor: “That doesn’t sound like a scroll. That sounds like a flag! And if that sounds like a flag, if this is a flag, that means that you are a soldier, wounded in a forgotten war thousands of years ago. But they’ve worked on you, haven’t they, son? They’ve filled you full of kit. State of the art phase camouflage, personal teleporter.” Perkins: “Ten seconds.” The Doctor: “And all that tech inside you, it just won’t let you die, will it? It won’t let the war end. It just won’t let you stop until the war is over. We surrender!” Perkins: “Zero.” MAISIE: “(gasps) I can see it again.” (The mummy steps back from the Doctor and lowers its arms.) Clara: “It’s okay. I think we all can.” Perkins: “Do I start the clock?” The Doctor: “No.” (The mummy salutes the Doctor.) The Doctor: “The clock has stopped. You’re relieved, soldier.” (The mummy disintegrates into a pile of dust and old bandages.) Perkins: “Phew. He’s not the only one.” (The Doctor picks up a piece of blue tech with wires from the remains.) Clara: “We were fighting that?” The Doctor: “So was he.” Clara: “Listen, what I said-” The Doctor: “Save it. We’re not out of the woods yet. Well, Gus, I think we solved your little puzzle. Ancient soldier being driven by malfunctioning tech.” GUS: “Thank you so much for your efforts. They are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required.” (The Doctor has sonicked the tech, and now gets another tool from a different table.) The Doctor: “Ah, well, there’s a shocker.” (People clutch their throats, gasping.) GUS: “Air will now be removed from the entire train. We hope you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express.” Clara: “I take it you know a way out?” The Doctor: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Especially when he has a built in teleporter.” (Perkins and Maisie pass out.) Clara: “Great! So use it!” The Doctor: “A little more work.” Clara: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Couple of minutes. Max. I’ll give you a shout.” (Clara hits the floor with an unlady-like thud. The Orient Express explodes.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Clara wakes up wrapped in a blanket and lying on another plaid one. The Doctor is back in his dark blue suit sans tie and is scratching at the little visible sand with a stick, doing his Gallifreyan maths. The sky is pink.) The Doctor: “Oh hello, again. Sleep well?” Clara: “Weren’t we just on a train?” The Doctor: “Oh, that was ages ago.” Clara: “And?” The Doctor: “And what? Oh, and we got off the train. Oh, well, the teleporter worked eventually. Beamed everyone into the TARDIS. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking Gus from the TARDIS, find out who set this all up. He really didn’t like that. Set off some fail-safe thing. Blew up the train.” Clara: “Blew up the train?” The Doctor: “Blew up the train. But we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilized planet, which happened to be here.” (View of a city with tall pointed buildings in the background.) The Doctor: “You seemed happy asleep so I just left you.” Clara: “So you saved everyone.” The Doctor: “No, I just saved you and I let everyone else suffocate. Ha, ha, ha.” Clara: “Hmm.” The Doctor: “Yeah, this is just my cover story.” Clara: “So, when you lied to Maisie, when you made me lie to Maisie-” The Doctor: “I couldn’t risk Gus finding out my plan and stopping me.” Clara: “So you were pretending to be heartless.” The Doctor: “Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn’t know if I could save her. I couldn’t save Quell, I couldn’t save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she’d die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes, the only choices we have are bad ones.” The Doctor said. “But we still have to choose.” I rubbed Clara’s back. The woman just sat there with a thoughtful look on her face. (More) “Oh. I forgot.” I held my hand out to her. Clara looked at the hand with a raised brow. “Nice to meet you. I’m Terra.” The woman blinked at me, clearly shocked. She looked down at the outstretched hand, then up at me. “It’s called a handshake.” I teased, though it sounded more like bark. My hand waved. “You’re supposed to grab it.” Clara faintly smiled, taking my hand almost like accepting a challenge. “Clara Oswald.” (More) The manipulator started up. GridlockThe Unquiet DeadThe first thing I felt was the wonderful snow, wonderful glorious snow. (More) So, as my old tradition with Christmas carols. “Everyone knows about Rudolph, our fleet footed friend from the north.” I skipped around in the snow, licking some of it up. “Who lights Santa’s way through the darkness as he drives he sleigh back and forth.” In a burst of happiness, I fell back into the snow. I started making a snow angel. Oh, it had just been ages since I saw this much snow. “But there’s someone else we should mention if we want the whole story told.” I sang, giggling like a child as I moved my arms about. “He carried the first gift of Christmas, more precious than diamonds or gold.” I stood up, briefly looking at my snow angel before starting on the next one. The TARDIS noise started, just around the corner. I didn’t dare stop making a singing, but I did start making some snowballs. Snow angels could wait, a surprise attack could not. “Nestor was a donkey who seldom laughed or played cause no one ever used him in the stable where he stayed.” I sang, phasing about three snow balls already. The TARDIS noise was slowing down, so I didn’t have much longer. Oh, I love today. “And all the camels tease him, the other donkeys too. They said ‘look at little Nestor, there’s nothing he can do’.” Despite the somewhat sad song, I was smiling bright. “‘Look at little Nestor, his ears hang down to his knees. When he looks at his reflection, his ears are all he sees.’” The sound stopped, telling me it was time to hide. “Nestor’s heart was broken and his eyes were full of tears, if only there was something he could do about his ears.” I sang, hiding in an alleyway with my amo. Then, I heard it. That deep, deep voice that could only belong to the Ninth Doctor. “Ready for this?” Not even a little bit. Holy shit, Nine. Back Home Nine did make me have the occasional private moment, but based on my last two days I had a feeling Terra would jump his leather clad body as life support. He would be sarcastic, which I would adore. It would be exactly like those memes described, if Nine traveled with Donna, nothing would get done. The two of us would probably just be exchanging witty banter for days on end. It would be hilarious, don’t get me wrong, but I could be a big distraction when I wanted to be. There would be extreme moments of anger, from both parties let’s be honest. I know I would end up getting pissed at him with the reapers on Father’s Day after that fight with Rose. It had been way too harsh of him, in my opinion. Holy crap. The driving. I could make fun of his driving! Sweet Merciful Storyline, thank you. “Here we go.” The Doctor said. “History.” Leaning back, I prepared my bait. “One dark night two strangers gave Nestor a surprise.” I sang, feeling like a siren bringing sailors to the rocks. The Doctor and Rose took the bait. I could hear their footfalls in the snow. My first snowball was in my hand, with the other ready to be grabbed in my over hand. “They chose him from all the others for they loved his gentle eyes.” “Is that what I think it is?” Rose’s voice asked, piercing through the somewhat silent night. There was a small pause from the Doctor. “Could be.” “A man was called by Joseph, and Mary was his bride. She needed help to Bethlehem and Nestor’s back to ride.” Soon, I saw the two walking by. My eyes widened as I had the absolute best view of 1869. Rose was wearing a dress, it had a deep red skirt, billowing in the cold air, and a black corset which clung to her chest. A black cape was tied around her neck, as well as a black feather tied to her blonde bun. The Doctor, that leather clad Doctor. The black leather jacket hung over his body, hiding it from me. His black shirt, however, clung in all the right ways. Those black pants of his weren’t doing me any favors either. “Where is she?” Rose asked. Then came the faces. Rose had those shiny brown eyes, smooth white skin without freckle or blemish. Her dirty blonde hair held back into a bun. She had painted her lips pink, a similar shade to her dress. The Doctor had very set in features. The big nose, the bigger ears, those lips in a look of pure befuddlement. His eyebrows were scrunched up, like he was thinking about something important. He had thin brown hair, almost a buzz cut. He moved too fast for me to see his eyes. The blue eyes, the only ones I haven’t seen. “Knowing her, it would be the biggest place here.” The Doctor said. Time to see the eyes. “Bonsai!” I shouted, leaping out into the street to pelt them with snowballs. The Doctor and Rose turned towards me, startled. I began pelting them with snowballs, faster than they could defend themselves. The funniest part was the noise the Doctor shouted as I pelted him. It was a cross between an angry shout and a scared yelp. Once they realized it was me, I started to shake in a fit of laughter. I wished I had a camera to get a look at their faces! Rose looked furious, guess she didn’t like snowball fights. The Doctor was looking at me with confusion, like of all the things I could do it was throw snowballs. I smiled at them, tossing another snowball in the air. “Such a lovely night for a dance in the snow, no?” The ball was tossed between my two hands. Rose was still gaping at me. “Terra?” I forced proud smirk. “Ah. My reputation precedes me. Just what I needed, I was really hoping to meet people in order.” My posture changed from to a much more chill one. Hand on my hip, head lolled to the side, the whole shebang. “Who am I meeting this time?” Rose seemed a bit surprised by my attitude, if not slightly offended. “Rose Tyler.” My response was a head nod. “Rosita Tyler. Nice name. Like it.” I turned to the Doctor, giving him a once over. “Which Doc are you?” He was still staring at me, surprised. A apart of me was worried. This wasn’t his first day seeing me was it? No. Rose said my name. Did something happen to me on the space station? Was I dead? No. Rose wasn’t that surprised to see me. “You look beautiful.” The Doctor suddenly said. My jaw dropped. Oh. Wow. This explains why Ten was stuttering after seeing me in this dress. “Shut up.” The blue eyes were looking at me. In those eyes, I saw how old he was. Nine hundred years of pain in those eyes, the pain of being completely alone in the universe. He thought I was pretty? This guy, who had lost so much been through so much, thought I looked pretty? “You are.” He said. “Considering.” The Doctor covered his earlier sentence. My jaw picked itself up. Right. I was just a human. I wasn’t overly beautiful. He had only known me, what, a day? Plus, I was competing with Rose in the looks department. Rose, Sara Jane, Leela, any of the Romana’s. These were lines I had learned by heart. It was a scene I watched with a giddy smile, watching him try not to fall in love with Rose Tyler. Now that it was happening to me, I didn’t know how to feel. “Think your next words carefully.” I said under my breath. I forcefully smiled at him. “Considering what?” The Doctor didn’t heed my warning. “Considering you’re human.” That did it. “Yeah.” It reminded me of all the others who said I was lesser. They were the people who called me a freak, or a weirdo, or kept me out of all the reindeer games. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make small of it. Making horrid jokes is my way of coping. Funny thing was, I wasn’t even human. A part of me wanted to tell him that, but was scared of the negative response he would give. “I guess that’s as good as it gets.” I sighed. “Which Doc are you?” I repeated my earlier question. Gosh, two hundred and fifty and I still had low self esteem. What the fuck? You’d think after becoming a mom it would go away, but if anything I think it got worse after that. “Ninth.” He took a step closer. My eyebrows queued as he did. It gave me a better look at his rather handsome face. “What number are you on?” The Doctor asked, slowly. “6.” I answered. “Nice to know you catch on so quick. It’ll save me time training you.” The Doctor glanced down at the snowball still in my hand. “Snowballs?” I nodded. The ball in my hand got tossed in the air, caught in my other hand. “Nothing says snow day like a snowball fight.” “How did you know it was me?” The Doctor asked. My head motioned in the direction of the TARDIS. “Like a neon sign, she is.” I said. “Seriously, why does she make that sound? I’ve asked you and you never said.” The Doctor ignored my question, though hesitant. He instead went to look out at the Cardiff street. “Where did you get that dress?” The Doctor said, avoiding my question. “Future you.” I shot back. “He said I was going into the past, so I needed the right dress.” Rose walked up to me, seemingly nervous. “Yes?” I said, a bit condescending. Apparently, I did not like Rose Tyler. Don’t know why, she was a perfectly good girl who would take the Doctor’s hea- Oh. That’s why. Terra has a crush on the Doctor, and is apparently very jealous. Lovely. Never been possessive before. This would be fun. Also, sad. I was really hoping Rose and I would get along. Maybe if she proved she wasn’t after the Doctor I would come to like her. Once she established no sort of romantic feelings would I welcome friendship. An image of all four of the Doctor’s I’ve met flashed in my mind’s eyes. They were all grinning at me, all in my favorite outfit of their’s, and I bit my lip in appreciation. Rose apparently had been speaking. “Sorry?” I said. Rose sighed. “I was asking you if you were alright.” I shrugged. “I’m okay. Why’re you askin’?” The blonde paused, as if saying something she shouldn’t have. “No reason. Just...asking.” Okay. Game time. The episode just before this was End of the World. The Doctor takes Rose to the space station to see Earth explode. Had something happened to make Rose concerned? I knew too little to figure it out. “Yeah.” I nodded my head in disbelief. “Sure.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “I got the flight a bit wrong.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “It’s not 1860, it’s 1869.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “And it’s not Naples.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “It’s Cardiff.” (That stops Rose in her tracks.) Rose: “Right.” (The Doctor and Rose hear the screams.) The Doctor: “That’s more like it!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Fantastic.” (The corpse collapses.) The Doctor: “Did you see where it came from?” Charles: “Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you’re satisfied, sir!” (Sneed and Gwyneth pick up the corpse.) Rose: “Oi! Leave her alone! Doctor, I’ll get them.” The Doctor: “Be careful! Did it say anything? Can it speak? I’m the Doctor, by the way.” Charles: “Doctor? You look more like a navvie.” The Doctor: “What’s wrong with this jumper?” (More) (The blue entity flies into a gas light.) The Doctor: “Gas! It’s made of gas.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Rose!” Charles: “You’re not escaping me, sir. What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?” The Doctor: “Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks. Oi, you! Follow that hearse!” (The Doctor gets into a nearby carriage.) The driver: “I can’t do that, sir.” The Doctor: “Why not?” Charles “I’ll tell you why not. I’ll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach.” The Doctor: “Well, get in, then. Move!” (More) (The driver cracks the whip and the carriage moves down the street.) The Doctor: “Come on, you’re losing them.” The driver: “Everything in order, Mister Dickens?” Charles “No! It is not!” The Doctor: “What did he say?” Charles “Let me say this first. I’m not without a sense of humor.” The Doctor: “Dickens?” Charles “Yes.” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens?” Charles “Yes.” The Doctor: “The Charles Dickens?” The driver: “Should I remove the gentleman, sir?” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens? You’re brilliant, you are. Completely one hundred percent brilliant. I’ve read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what’s the other one, the one with the ghost?” Charles “A Christmas Carol?” The Doctor: “No, no, no, the one with the trains. The Signal Man, that’s it. Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You’re a genius.” The driver: “You want me to get rid of him, sir?” Charles “Er, no, I think he can stay.” The Doctor: “Honestly, Charles. Can I call you Charles? I’m such a big fan.” Charles “A what? A big what?” The Doctor: “Fan. Number one fan, that’s me.” Charles “How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?” The Doctor: “No, it means fanatic, devoted to. Mind you, I’ve got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what’s that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it’s rubbish, that bit.” Charles “I thought you said you were my fan.” The Doctor: “Ah, well, if you can’t take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up. No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!” Charles “Who exactly is in that hearse?” The Doctor: “My friend. She’s only nineteen. It’s my fault. She’s in my care, and now she’s in danger.” Charles “Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!” The driver: “Yes, sir!” The Doctor: “Attaboy, Charlie.” Charles “Nobody calls me Charlie.” The Doctor: “The ladies do.” Charles “How do you know that?” The Doctor: “I told you, I’m your number one-” Charles “Number one fan.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “I’m sorry, sir. We’re closed.” Charles “Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don’t die on schedule. I demand to see your master.” Gwyneth: “He’s not in, sir.” Charles “Don’t lie to me, child. Summon him at once.” Gwyneth: “I’m awfully sorry, Mister Dickens, but the master’s indisposed.” (A gas lamp flares.) The Doctor: “Having trouble with your gas?” Charles “What the Shakespeare is going on?” (The Doctor goes past Gwyneth to the flaring gas lamp.) Gwyneth: “You’re not allowed inside, sir.” The Doctor: “There’s something inside the walls.” (Mrs Redpath reanimates in her coffin.) The Doctor: “The gas pipes. Something’s living inside the gas.” Rose: “Let me out! Open the door!” The Doctor: “That’s her.” Rose: “Please, please, let me out!” (The Doctor runs down the corridor and into Sneed.) Sneed: “How dare you, sir. (to Dickens.) This is my house!” Charles “Shut up.” Sneed: “(to Gwyneth)I told you.” Rose: “Let me out! Somebody open the door! Open the door!” (Redpath grabs Rose. The Doctor kicks the door in.) The Doctor: “I think this is my dance.” (The Doctor pulls Rose away from Redpath.) Charles “It’s a prank. It must be. We’re under some mesmeric influence.” The Doctor: “No, we’re not. The dead are walking. Hi.” Rose: “Hi. Who’s your friend?” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens.” Rose: “Okay.” The Doctor: “My name’s the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?” (Redpath replies with several voices.) REDPATH: “Failing. Open the rift. We’re dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us. Argh!” (More) ==PC== (More) “The snow’s piled up outside the door. The weatherman says it’s best to stay inside tonight. The mercury’s falling, the streets lights are shivering. You know to let you go wouldn’t be right.” I sang, bobbing my head along with the music playing in my head. “It’s the last week of December, so let’s wait out this snow together.” Rose: “First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don’t think I didn’t feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man.” Sneed: “I won’t be spoken to like this!” Rose: “Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain’t enough, you swan off and leave me to die! So come on, talk!” Sneed: “It’s not my fault. It’s this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs, the er, dear departed started getting restless.” Charles “Tommyrot.” Sneed: “You witnessed it. Can’t keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it’s the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps.” (Gwyneth places the Doctor’s cup on the mantelpiece beside him.) Gwyneth: “Two sugars, sir, just how you like it.” She handed me the other cup. “Five sugars, though that’s very bad for you.” Sneed: “One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned.” Charles “Morbid fancy.” The Doctor: “Oh, Charles, you were there.” Charles “I saw nothing but an illusion.” The Doctor: “If you’re going to deny it, don’t waste my time. Just shut up. What about the gas?” Sneed: “That’s new, sir. Never seen anything like that.” The Doctor: “Means it’s getting stronger, the rift’s getting wider and something’s sneaking through.” Rose: “What’s the rift?” The Doctor: “A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That’s the cause of ghost stories, most of the time.” Sneed: “That’s how I got the house so cheap. Stories going back generations.” (Dickens slams the door as he leaves.) Sneed: “Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it’s been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “Please, miss, you shouldn’t be helping. It’s not right.” Rose: “Don’t be daft. Sneed works you to death. How much do you get paid?” Gwyneth: “Eight pound a year, miss.” Rose: “How much?” Gwyneth: “I know. I would’ve been happy with six.” Rose: “So, did you go to school or what?” Gwyneth: “Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper.” Rose: “What, once a week?” Gwyneth: “We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second.” Rose: “Me too.” Gwyneth: “Don’t tell anyone, but one week, I didn’t go and ran on the heath all on my own.” Rose: “I did plenty of that. I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. We used to go and look at boys.” Gwyneth: “Well, I don’t know much about that, miss.” Rose: “Come on, times haven’t changed that much. I bet you’ve done the same.” Gwyneth: “I don’t think so, miss.” Rose: “Gwyneth, you can tell me. I bet you’ve got your eye on someone.” Gwyneth: “I suppose. There is one lad. The butcher’s boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him.” Rose: “I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum.” “Yes.” I sighed. “I like ‘um with a deep voice. Something about him talking to you.” Gwyneth: “Well, I have never heard the like.” Rose: “Ask him out. Give him a cup of tea or something, that’s a start.” Gwyneth: “I swear it is the strangest thing, miss. You’ve got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing.” Rose: “Maybe I am. Maybe that’s a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mister Sneed.” Gwyneth: “Oh, now that’s not fair. He’s not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to me to take me in because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve.” Rose: “Oh, I’m sorry.” Gwyneth: “Thank you, miss. But I’ll be with them again, one day, sitting with them in paradise. I shall be so blessed. They’re waiting for me. Maybe your dad’s up there waiting for you too, miss.” Rose: “Maybe. Er, who told you he was dead?” Gwyneth: “I don’t know. Must have been the Doctor.” Rose: “My father died years back.” Gwyneth: “But you’ve been thinking about him lately more than ever.” Rose: “I suppose so. How do you know all this?” Gwyneth: “Mister Sneed says I think too much. I’m all alone down here. I bet you’ve got dozens of servants, haven’t you, miss?” Rose: “No, no servants where I’m from.” Gwyneth: “And you’ve come such a long way.” Rose: “What makes you think so?” “You, you have traveled the farthest.” Gwen spoke. Gwyneth: “You’re from London. I’ve seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about half naked, for shame. And the noise, and the metal boxes racing past, and the birds in the sky, no, they’re metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People are flying. And you, you’ve flown so far.” She shuddered, turning to me. “Oh, but you especially ma’am. Further than anyone. The things you’ve seen, the things you’ve done, the things you will do. The darkness, the silence, the fields, the tiger, the big bad wolf. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, miss.” Rose: “It’s alright.” Gwyneth: “I can’t help it. Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said I had the sight. She told me to hide it.” The Doctor: “But it’s getting stronger, more powerful, is that right?” Gwyneth: “All the time, sir. Every night, voices in my head.” The Doctor: “You grew up on top of the rift. You’re part of it. You’re the key.” Gwyneth: “I’ve tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts.” The Doctor: “Well, that should help. You can show us what to do.” Gwyneth: “What to do where, sir?” The Doctor: “We’re going to have a séance.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands.” Charles “I can’t take part in this.” The Doctor: “Humbug? Come on, open mind.” Charles “This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing.” The Doctor: “Now, don’t antagonise her. I love a happy medium.” Rose: “I can’t believe you just said that.” The Doctor: “Come on, we might need you.” (Dickens sits down between Rose and Gwyneth.) The Doctor: “Good man. Now, Gwyneth, reach out.” Gwyneth: “Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden.” (The whispering starts.) Rose: “Can you hear that?” Charles “Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly.” Rose: “Look at her.” Gwyneth: “I see them. I feel them.” (Gas tendrils drift above their heads.) Rose: “What’s it saying?” The Doctor: “They can’t get through the rift. Gwyneth, it’s not controlling you, you’re controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through. “ Gwyneth: “I can’t!” The Doctor: “Yes, you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link.” Gwyneth: “Yes.” (Blue outlines of people appear behind Gwyneth.) Sneed: “Great God! Spirits from the other side.” The Doctor: “The other side of the universe.” (The figures speak with two children’s voices, and Gwyneth speaks with them.) The Gelth “Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us.” The Doctor: “What do you want us to do?” The Gelth “The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge.” The Doctor: “What for?” The Gelth “We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction.” The Doctor: “Why, what happened?” The Gelth “Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came.” Charles “War? What war?” The Gelth “The Time War. The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We’re trapped in this gaseous state.” The Doctor: “So that’s why you need the corpses.” The Gelth “We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They’re going to waste. Give them to us.” Rose: “But we can’t.” The Doctor: “Why not?” Rose: “It’s not. I mean, it’s not-” The Doctor: “Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives.” The Gelth “Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We’re dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth.” (The Gelth go back into the gas lamps and Gwyneth collapses across the table.) Rose: “Gwyneth?” Charles “All true.” Rose: “Are you okay?” Charles “It’s all true.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rose: “It’s all right. You just sleep.” Gwyneth: “But my angels, miss. They came, didn’t they? They need me?” The Doctor: “They do need you, Gwyneth. You’re their only chance of survival.” Rose: “I’ve told you, leave her alone. She’s exhausted and she’s not fighting your battles. Drink this.” Sneed: “Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?” The Doctor: “Aliens.” Sneed: “Like foreigners, you mean?” The Doctor: “Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there.” Sneed: “Brecon?” The Doctor: “Close. And they’ve been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road’s blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they’re weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes.” Charles “Which is why they need the girl.” Rose: “They’re not having her.” The Doctor: “But she can help. Living on the rift, she’s become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through.” Charles “Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers.” The Doctor: “Good system. It might work.” Rose: “You can’t let them run around inside of dead people.” The Doctor: “Why not? It’s like recycling.” Rose: “Seriously though, you can’t.” The Doctor: “Seriously though, I can.” Rose: “It’s just wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them even in death.” The Doctor: “Do you carry a donor card?” Rose: “That’s different. That’s-” The Doctor: “It is different, yeah. It’s a different morality. Get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time’s short. I can’t worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying.” “Doctor, do you have any family?” I asked him, trying to sound curt and angry. The Doctor gave me an angry look, it was sad in his eyes. He did have family, but they died. All of his family was dead. “What’s that got to do with anything?” “How would you feel if they came back?” I asked him. “But, they weren’t really your family? The person in that body had no idea who you even were?” The Doctor flinched back. He hadn’t thought of it that way before. “You’re asking for us to bring back the dead, so their bodies can be used as puppets.” I snapped. “And from what we saw with the old lady and Charlie, they still have some of the original human inside. We’re trapping thousands of humans with aliens, because you want us to.” “Now, there is also the problem with the bodies.” I went on. “Say we give them what they want. Once people are alright with the dead coming back, and that they aren’t really dead relatives, the bodies could start to decay. Who knows how long the Gelth could keep them together, or if they even can. This doesn’t even begin to cover land disputes, resources, basic human rights.” As my explanation went on, you could see the surprised looks on everyone’s faces. They never thought of these little things. How could they? They were all probably still in shock over the Gelth coming up. “It’s only a matter of time before wars are fought. People start treating the Gelth as lessers, things instead of people.” I explained. “Wars have already been started by this time because people were being treated as less than human. Putting aliens in the mix? I don’t like our odds.” Gwyneth: “Don’t I get a say, miss?” “Of course you do.” I said. “I just don’t want you to do something for someone else’s war.” Rose: “Look, you don’t understand what’s going on.” Gwyneth: “You would say that, miss, because that’s very clear inside your head, that you think I’m stupid.” Rose: “That’s not fair.” Gwyneth: “It’s true, though. Things might be very different where you’re from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me. Doctor, what do I have to do?” The Doctor: “You don’t have to do anything.” Gwyneth: “They’ve been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mam on a holy mission. So tell me.” The Doctor: “We need to find the rift. This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that’s weaker than any other. Mister Sneed, what’s the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?” Sneed: “That would be the morgue.” Rose: “No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Urgh. Talk about Bleak House.” I was smiling like an idiot. Rose stared at me like I was insane. “Why’re you so happy?” “Inside joke.” I snickered. “Morgues.” Rose: “The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don’t succeed, ‘cos I know they don’t. I know for a fact there weren’t corpses walking around in 1869.” The Doctor: “Time’s in flux, changing every second. Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that. Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing.” Charles “Doctor, I think the room is getting colder.” Rose: “Here they come.” (A Gelth comes out of a gas lamp by the door and stands under a stone archway.) The Gelth “You’ve come to help. Praise the Doctor. Praise him.” Rose: “Promise you won’t hurt her.” The Gelth “Hurry! Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth.” The Doctor: “I’ll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn’t a permanent solution, all right?” Gwyneth: “My angels. I can help them live.” The Doctor: “Okay, where’s the weak point?” The Gelth “Here, beneath the arch.” Gwyneth: “Beneath the arch.” (Gwyneth stands under the arch, inside the Gelth.) Rose: “You don’t have to do this.” Gwyneth: “My angels.” The Gelth “Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through!” Gwyneth: “Yes, I can see you. I can see you. Come!” The Gelth “Bridgehead establishing.” Gwyneth: “Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls!” The Gelth “It is begun. The bridge is made.” (Gwyneth opens her mouth, and blue gas comes out.) The Gelth “She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend.” (The sweet blue apparition turns flame red with sharp teeth. It’s voice deepens and hardens.) The Gelth “The Gelth will come through in force.” Charles “You said that you were few in number.” The Gelth “A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses.” (The dead get up.) Sneed: “Gwyneth, stop this. Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you-” Rose: “Mister Sneed, get back!” (A corpse grabs Sneed and snaps his neck. A Gelth zooms into his mouth.) The Doctor: “I think it’s gone a little bit wrong.” Sneed: “I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come, march with us.” Charles “No.” The Gelth “We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead.” The Doctor: “Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back now!” The Gelth “Three more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth.” (Dead Sneed backs Rose and the Doctor up against a metal gate.) Charles “Doctor, I can’t. I’m sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me. I’m so-” (The Doctor and Rose hide behind the metal gate, where the corpses cannot reach them.) The Gelth “Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth.” The Doctor: “I trusted you. I pitied you!” The Gelth “We don’t want your pity. We want this world and all it’s flesh.” The Doctor: “Not while I’m alive.” The Gelth “Then live no more.” (Dickens runs out of the house, but blue gas seeps out round the door. He runs down the street, chased by a Gelph.) Rose: “But I can’t die. Tell me I can’t. I haven’t even been born yet. It’s impossible for me to die. Isn’t it?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry.” Rose: “But it’s 1869. How can I die now?” The Doctor: “Time isn’t a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it’s all my fault. I brought you here.” Rose: “It’s not your fault. I wanted to come.” The Doctor: “What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I’m going to die in a dungeon in Cardiff.” Rose: “It’s not just dying. We’ll become one of them.” (Dickens runs back into Sneed’s house and turns the gas lamps off then on again. He holds a handkerchief to his mouth to try and stop himself choking on the unlit town gas as he goes.) Rose: “We’ll go down fighting, yeah?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Rose: “Together?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” (They hold hands.) The Doctor: “I’m so glad I met you.” Rose: “Me too.” “He said ‘what the Shakespeare’.” I laughed. (Dickens runs in.) Charles “Doctor! Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!” The Doctor: “What’re you doing?” Charles “Turn it all on. Flood the place!” The Doctor: “Brilliant. Gas.” Rose: “What, so we choke to death instead?” Charles “Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous.” The Doctor: “Fill the room with gas, it’ll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!” (The corpses leave the Doctor and Rose, and start shambling towards Dickens.) Charles “I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately.” The Doctor: “Plenty more!” (The Doctor rips a gas pipe from the wall. The Gelphs leave the corpses.) Charles “It’s working.” (The Doctor and Rose come out of the alcove.) The Doctor: “Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They’re not angels.” Gwyneth: “Liars?” The Doctor: “Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they’d tell you the same. They’d give you the strength. Now send them back!” Rose: “I can’t breathe.” The Doctor: “Charles, get her out.” Rose: “I’m not leaving her.” Gwyneth: “They’re too strong.” The Doctor: “Remember that world you saw? Rose’s world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift.” Gwyneth: “I can’t send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out.” (Gwyneth takes a box of matches from her apron pocket.) Rose: “You can’t!” Gwyneth: “Leave this place!” The Doctor: “Rose, get out. Go now. I won’t leave her while she’s still in danger. Now go!” (Rose and Dickens leave.) The Doctor: “Come on, leave give that to me.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Right then, Charlie boy, I’ve just got to go into my, er, shed. Won’t be long.” Rose: “What are you going to do now?” Charles “I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I’ve learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital.” The Doctor: “You’ve cheered up.” Charles “Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I’ve just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I’m inspired. I must write about them.” Rose: “Do you think that’s wise?” Charles “I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy’s uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word, tell the truth.” The Doctor: “Good luck with it. Nice to meet you. Fantastic.” Rose: “Bye, then, and thanks.” (Rose shakes Dickens’ hand then kisses his cheek.) Charles “Oh, my dear. How modern. Thank you, but, I don’t understand. In what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?” The Doctor: “You’ll see. In the shed.” Charles “Upon my soul, Doctor, it’s one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there’s one mystery you still haven’t explained. Answer me this. Who are you?” The Doctor: “Just a friend passing through.” Charles “But you have such knowledge of future times. I don’t wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?” The Doctor: “Oh, yes!” Charles “For how long?” The Doctor: “Forever. Right. Shed. Come on, Rose.” Charles “In the box? Both of you?” The Doctor: “Down boy. See you.” (More) Rose: “Doesn’t that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?” The Doctor: “In a week’s time it’s 1870, and that’s the year he dies. Sorry. He’ll never get to tell his story.” Rose: “Oh, no. He was so nice.” The Doctor: “But in your time, he was already dead. We’ve brought him back to life, and he’s more alive now than he’s ever been, old Charlie boy. Let’s give him one last surprise.” (More) (More) 42Town Called MercyThe (More) “Gunslinger.” I gaped at the man. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) “You’re hurt!” Jex said. “No duh, Sherlock.” I hissed. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) My head shot up. “Doc!” (More) “Can I do the shouty thing?” (A mustachioed man fires a shot in the air. Ben Browder, everyone.) Terra: “Doctor!” I shouted, sounding a little too close to a drill sergeant. The Western accent I used certainly made me sound more stern. The Doctor turned sharply, suddenly smiling widely once he found me. “You drag your tweed covered body over that line before Ah drag ya by the bowtie!” “Hey! This is private business!” The man who started all of this shouted. Isaac walked up to my side, pulling back his coat to reveal the Marshall badge to the Brits. “She’s with me.” Isaac said, before looking towards the Doctor. “Get over that line. Now.” (The Doctor steps over the rocks and wood, and the Cyborg stops then vanishes.) “This that fella you was talkin’ about?” Isaac asked me. I crossed my arms, glaring his direction. “Believe me, he gets worse.” WALTER: “Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor.” Isaac: “That a reason to hand him to his death?” WALTER: “Isaac, it could be him.” Isaac: “You know it ain’t.” (Isaac walks back down the street, nodding to Amy.) Isaac: “Ma’am.” Amelia looked at my shirt, for the first time, then cracked a smile. “Nice shirt.” I nervously smiled, feeling a bit weird wearing it now. “Shut up.” It was a TARDIS blue shirt, with the saying ‘KEEP CALM’ in bold white words. The rest of the saying said ‘AND WAIT FOR A MAD MAN WITH A BOX’. “Oh, really?” Amelia said, starting to laugh. “It worked, didn’t it?” I said. “I kept calm, and waited for m- a madman.” I almost said ’my madman’. The Doctor wasn’t Mine. WALTER: “Just letting him go like that? Be seeing you, boy.” “Nurse boy!” I shouted, wincing in pain. Rory looked back to me, eyes widening. “Terra? When did you get here?” “An hour ago.” I stumbled a bit, my broken foot dragging behind me. “Doctor!” I shouted louder, off towards the town line. The Time Lord turned to me, smiling. “Terra!” His smile shook when he saw my shaky leg. “What happened?” “Nothing. Just tripped.” I shrugged, still in pain over my leg. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor moved his glowing hand near my ankle. I smacked it away. “You keep that regeneratin’ hand ‘way from me.” My country accent came out, strongly. The Doctor looked me in the eyes, and I saw the silent plea. He didn’t want me hurt, it was even worse when I technically got hurt running away from him after he said he loved me. He just felt guilty, neither more nor less. Even with the guilt trip, I shook my head. Those were years he was giving me, his years. I don’t want to walk around knowing Eleven gave up however many days of his life. “Ah don’t want ya wastin’ yer days on a broken ankle. Ah’ll be fine.” The Doctor didn’t let up. “I won’t be wasting them. I’m giving them to you.” He said. I sighed. The Doctor had a way of making it sound like something small, like giving me a flower. These were years, energy he would need in Trenzalore. Then a sad thought crossed my mind, that every day he gave me was a day he didn’t spend in a long war. Tasha Lem brought Clara to Trenzalore because the Doctor was about to die. So I guess, it wasn’t that bad. Plus, he looked so sad with those puppy dog eyes. ‘Story damn my golden heart.’ I inwardly cursed. “Doc.” I sighed. He smirked. “Ah hate when ya do that, but get it over with.” (More) The Doctor: “What was that outside? Isaac: “The Gunslinger. Showed up three weeks back. We’ve been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town’s going to starve to death. Rory: “But you let us in. Isaac: “You ain’t carrying any food. Just three more mouths to feed. We’ll all die even sooner now. The Doctor: “What happens if someone crosses the line? (Isaac throws the Doctor a Stetson with a neat hole in it.) The Doctor: “Ah, well, he wasn’t a very good shot, then. Isaac: “He was aiming for the hat. The Doctor: “He shoots people’s hats? Amelia: “It was a warning shot. The Doctor: “Ah, no, yes. I see. Hmm. Amelia: “What does he want? Has he issued some kind of demand? Isaac: “Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor. Amelia: “But that’s you. Why would he want to kill you? Unless he’s met you. Rory: “And how could he know that we’d be here?” (sotto) “We didn’t even know we’d be here. Amelia: “We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival.” Isaac: “Mexico’s two hundred miles due south.” The Doctor: “Well, that’s what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console. Anyway, I think it’s about time I met him, don’t you?” Isaac: “Who?” The Doctor: “The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn’t, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. We’re like buses. Resident eighty one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I’m guessing he’s in here, because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I’d want to be.” Isaac: “I don’t know what you-” (The man in the cell throws back his blanket. He has a curved mark down the left side of his face, similar but not the same as Mas had.) Jex: “Isaac, I think the time for subterfuge has passed. Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I’m the doctor.” (The Gunslinger watches the town from a distant ridge.) The Doctor: “The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They’re one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss.” Amelia: “All right. How did you get here?” Jex: “My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn’t pulled me from the wreckage.” The Doctor: “And you stayed, as their doctor.” Jex: “On my world I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them.” Isaac: “Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera.” Jex: “Now, Isaac, I’m sure our guests are-” Isaac: “Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died.” Jex: “A minor infection we’d found a treatment for centuries ago.” Isaac: “No, no, what, what do you call them? The electrics?” Jex: “Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town.” The Doctor: “So why does the Gunslinger want you?” Isaac: “It don’t matter.” The Doctor: “I’m just saying, if we knew that-” Isaac: “America’s the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don’t feel that way.” Jex: “Now, Isaac, we’ve discussed this.” Isaac: “People whose lives you’ve saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over.” Jex: “They’re scared, that’s all. You can hardly blame them.” Isaac: “Them being scared scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos.” The Doctor: “Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills-” Jex: “It really was very badly damaged.” The Doctor: “We evacuate the town. Our ship’s just over the hills, room for everyone. I’ll pop out, bring it back here, Robert’s your uncle.” Amelia: “Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations.” The Doctor: “I’ve matured. I’m twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don’t want to miss The Archers.” Amelia: “Oh, so you’re not even a tiny bit curious?” The Doctor: “Why would I be curious? It’s a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I’m not curious.” Isaac: “Son? You’ve still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?” (The Doctor puts on the Stetson.) The Doctor: “With a little sleight of hand.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “When this is all done, do you want us to take you home? Jex: “Thank you, but I’ve already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That’s all I ever wanted to do, end suffering. Amelia: “Here. (She puts Isaac’s coat over Jex’s shoulders.) Jex: “You’re a mother, aren’t you. Amelia: “How did you know? Jex: “There’s kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too. Amelia: “Life’s not exactly straightforward. Jex: “It seldom is. Amelia: “And what about you? Are you a father? Jex: “Yes. In a way, I suppose I am. (More) (The alarm can even be heard in town.) Jex: “That’s the alarm on my ship. Amelia: “Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again? Jex: “But that wasn’t the plan. He’s not following the plan. Amelia: “Welcome to my world. (More) ==PC== (More) “Amelia, he’s gonna try to shoot you.” The ginger scoffed. “Terra, he’s a nice guy. There’s no possible way he could-” (Amy enters to discover Jex pointing a revolver at her head.) Jex: “I’m sorry, Amy. He really should have followed the plan. I elbowed her. “Told ya.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jex: “Isaac says he doesn’t care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it’s best we beat a hasty retreat. Amelia: “We? We’re coming with you? Jex: “It’s unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I’m with the two of you. As far as I can tell, he’s programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary. Amelia: “Oh, well, color me reassured. (Jex opens the door and gets a gun in the back of his neck.) Isaac: “Doc? What are you doing? Jex: “It was stupid of me, I realize that now. I just thought I’d put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left (The Doctor enters.) The Doctor: “He’s lying. Every word, every thing he says, it’s all lies. This man is a murderer. Jex: “I am a scientist. The Doctor: “Sit down. Sit down! Tell them what you are. Jex: “What am I? A war hero. Isaac: “Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on? The Doctor: “The Gunslinger is a Cyborg. Isaac: “A what? The Doctor: “Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they’d been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill. Isaac: “Okay. Why? Why would you do that, Doc? Jex: “We’d been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives? The Doctor: “And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage? Jex: “War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did. Rory: “What happened then? How come you’re here? Jex: “When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here. Rory: “So, what do we do with Jex? Isaac: “What do we do with him? Rory: “Yeah. I mean, he’s a war criminal. Isaac: “No, he’s the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light. Amelia: “Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy Jex: “And still in the room. Amelia: “But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution. Rory: “Another solution? It’s him or us. Amelia: “When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, tell him. The Doctor: “Hmm? Yes. I don’t know. Whatever Amy said. Jex: “Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There’s rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren’t relying on you to save them.” ‘The son of a bitch wants to die today, didn’t he?’ The Doctor: “No. No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out! (Rory stops Amy at the door.) Amelia: “Oh, you’re really letting him do this? Rory: “Save us all? Yeah, I really am. (More) ==PC== (More) Jex: “No! (The Doctor pushes Jex along the street.) The Doctor: “Go on. (The townsfolk follow Isaac to see the Doctor push Jex over the boundary.) The Doctor: “Get over, and don’t come back. (The Doctor takes a gun from a man’s holster and points it at Jex as he tries to return.) Jex: “You wouldn’t. The Doctor: “I genuinely don’t know. Isaac: “Doctor. Doctor.” (Terra gets another gun and fires in the air.) Terra: “Let him come back, Doctor.” I ordered. The Doctor: “Or what? You won’t shoot me, Terra.” Terra: “How do you know? I’m young. I’m impulsive. Plus, if you get to go Sith Lord, why can’t I? I mean, you’ve clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last.” (So Isaac fires to get everyone’s attention.) Isaac: “Everyone who ain’t from this town, drop your gun.” The Doctor: “We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now.” Terra: “This is not how we roll, and you know it. What happened to you, Doctor? At what point in your timeline did killing someone become an option?” The Doctor: “Jex has to answer for his crimes.” Terra: “And who’s next? Hmm? Who will you go after next? Are you going to hunt down everyone who’s made a gun or a bullet or a bomb? Ya know what’s lets go back and kill Hitler! Second time’s the charm!” The Doctor: “But they keep coming back, don’t you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honor the victims first. His, the Master’s, the Dalek’s, all the people who died because of my mercy!” Terra: “You see, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long. This is why you need companions, need people like Amelia and Rory.” “Well, manboy, you better listen and listen good. We can’t be like him. We have to be better than him. We can’t lose the last bit of humanity we have left.” The Doctor: “Terra Song. Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I’m betting on the Gunslinger.” (The Doctor gives his gun back and holds out his hand.) The Doctor: “Jex, move over the line. Now. “ (Because the Gunslinger is right behind him. Jex turns around.) Gunslinger: “Make peace with your gods.” Jex: “Kahler-Tek, isn’t it? I remember all your names, even now. I’ll never hurt anyone again. I’m even helping people here.” Gunslinger: “Last chance. Make peace with your gods. The Gunslinger aimed his weapon at Jex. “No!” I tried to move the gun away. “Terra!” The Doctor screamed. (More) “Did I save Isaac?” I asked. (More) The Doctor: “Isaac. Isaac. Isaac. It’s okay, it’s okay. We can get you to Jex’s surgery. He can save you.” Isaac: “Listen to me. You’ve got to stay. You’ve got to look after everyone. The Doctor: “It won’t come to that, Isaac. Isaac: “Protect Jex. Protect my town. You’re both good men. You just forget it sometimes. (Isaac dies, handing on his Marshal’s badge. The Doctor stands up and pins it on his jacket.) The Doctor: “Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you’ll have me to answer to. (Jex is escorted away. The Doctor speaks to the Gunslinger.) The Doctor: “This has gone on long enough. Gunslinger: “You are right. You’ve got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I’ll kill you all. (The Gunslinger vanishes.) “Oh my God, you’re the Marshal.” Amelia groaned. “And she’s the Deputy.” The Doctor said, looking over at me. ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Come in. PREACHER: “Marshal. Deputy. Ma’am. Fella. You need to come outside. The Doctor: “Why, what’s wrong? PREACHER: “Just come outside. And you should put that on. (More) The Doctor: “What’s going on? WALTER: “He in there? Leave the keys and take a walk. By the time you get back, this’ll all be done. The Doctor: “I promised Isaac I’d protect him. WALTER: “Protecting him got Isaac dead. Tomorrow, it’s going to be us all, dead. DOCKERY: “We thought Isaac was right to fight, but it’s different now. We’ve got to say, all right we lost, and give that thing what it wants. SADIE: “What it wants is to kill our friend. WALTER: “We don’t got any ill feeling towards the Doc. We just thinking about our families. Hand him over and we all safe again. The Doctor: “You know I can’t do that. WALTER: “We got us a problem. The Doctor: “Please don’t do this. WALTER: “Why, reckon you’re quicker than me? The Doctor: “Oh, certainly not, but this? Lynch mobs? A town turning against itself? This is everything Isaac didn’t want. “Put the gun down, boy.” I instructed. He gulped. “I-” “You’re eighteen, right?” I asked. His eyes widened. “First time holding a gun. Never killed a man. I am not letting you kill Jex, or take him to the Gunslinger.” The boy looked ready to argue. “Last time someone I knew was executed, I stabbed the executor’s heart. You really wanna see what I can do to a twiggy little thing like you?” I challenged, reaching for my water gun in my Infinity Bag. “No one is laying a finger on Jex.” I didn’t like him, but Isaac wanted him safe. This was the least I could do. (More) “Were you going to-” I sprayed the Doctor with the gun. “Haha.” I laughed, going back inside. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ABRAHAM: “Fresh coffee, Marshal. For what it’s worth, I know you’re going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you’re good enough for him, you’re good enough for me. Reckon you should know that. The Doctor: “Thank you. (Abraham continues to take his measurements.) The Doctor: “Oi. Get out of it. (Abraham leaves.) Jex: “Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You’d be a hero. The Doctor: “But I can’t, can I. Because then Isaac’s death would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know? Jex: “You think I’m unaffected by what I did? That I don’t hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn’t it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who’s dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I’m both bewilders you. The Doctor: “Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don’t get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but justice doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to decide when and how your debt is paid. Jex: “In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac, he was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There’s no shame in that. But you won’t. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality. The Doctor: “We all carry our prisons with us. Ha! (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Go! Just go! I can’t save them while you’re here. (More) Gunslinger: “Deactivate automatic targeting. Switch to manual. (He locates the Doctor hiding around the corner of a building. He’s got the Jex mark, too.) The Doctor: “Right. Gunslinger: “Where is he? The Doctor: “He’s gone. Gunslinger: “Where? Answer me. The Doctor: “Away from here. Look up. Any second now you’ll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge. Lookup, go after him, take this battle away from-” Jex: “Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek. Gunslinger: “Jex. Coward. Where are you? Jex: “I’m in my ship. The Doctor: “What are you doing? Just go! Jex: “Where are you from? Where on Kahler? The Doctor: “Now? You’re asking him this now? Gunslinger: “Gabriah. Jex: “I know it. It’s beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back? Gunslinger: “How can I? I am a monster now. Jex: “So am I. The Doctor: “Just go! Finish this! Gunslinger: “I’ll find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you. Jex: “I don’t doubt that. You’ll chase me to another planet and another race will be caught in the cross-fire. Gunslinger: “Face me! “Countdown to self-destruct resumed. Gunslinger: “Face me! Jex: “No. You’ve killed enough. I’m ending the war for you, too. “Countdown to self-destruct resumed. The Doctor: “What’s going on? “Ten. The Doctor: “The count down. What’s going on? Jex! Jex: “Thank you, Doctor. I have to face the souls of those I’ve wronged. “Five Jex: “Perhaps they will be kind. “Three, two, one, zero. (The white egg goes KaBOOM.) (The black smoke rises above the roof tops. The Gunslinger bows his head.) Gunslinger: “He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me. The Doctor: “We could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction. Gunslinger: “I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I’m a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace. The Doctor: “Except maybe to protect it. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Okay, so, our next trip. Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them. Amelia: “Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we’re aging faster than them. The Doctor: “Another time? No worry. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “Ask me.” The Doctor asked, giving me a deep, meaningful stare. I stared back, wondering if I had been to open with my emotions. “No.” I said. “Terra, you’ve been wanting to ask all day.” The Doctor said with a sigh. “Please tell me. I know how it’s hurting you.” “You’ll lie.” I said, my voice wavering. The Doctor looked me in the eyes. Somehow, I was able to keep looking back. “I won’t.” “You were just saying it.” I shrugged away the feelings. “It was just cause you were dying, you don’t really feel that way about me.” The Doctor walked up to me, cupping a cheek with his hand. He shook his head. “No, I wasn’t then and I’m not now.” (More) “Do you...really love me?” (More) The Doctor backed me into the TARDIS wall. One of his arms slammed into the wall, effectively keeping me from escaping. It was dangerous, making my breath catch in my throat. The Doctor had that look in his eyes, the kind of look Twelve had. Those eyes made my knees weak. “Does this answer your question?” The Doctor’s voice was deeper, almost a growl. He leaned down, while pulling my face up to meet his. He pressed his lips against mine with a bruising force. I could only whimper in response, almost trembling against the wall. His hand let go of my cheek, taking ahold of my hip. The hand on the wall moved to my neck, keeping my head from turning away. Not that I wanted to anyway. (More) “Yes.” I got out. “Answers. Question. Good.” The Doctor chuckled, bopping me on the nose. “By the way, I love the shirt.” He said softly into my ear before walking down the hall. I was too breathless to shout at him, to demand that he come back here and finish what he started. (More) “I need to wear more shirts like this.” I decided, stumbling off towards my room. The TARDIS apparently planned that, cause the first shirt I found I knew I had to wear. It was white, with two words written in a gold spray paint font. Just two words. Bad Wolf. Father's DayHuman Nature/Family of BloodThe (More) I changed my clothes. The Bad Wolf shirt was kinda old at this point. I needed something...prettier. “So Idris.” I smirked. “Anything for the times?” (More) I smiled. This was gorgeous. ==PC== Day One (More) My dress was (More) ==PC== Month One (More) “You are far too lazy.” Matron complained I rolled my eyes. “Lazy is such a strong word. I prefer ‘selective participation’.” Martha snickered. I smirked. Joan huffed. “Terra, please. Could you at least try to be serious?” Kicking my feet up, I thought it over. “Life’s too short to be serious all the time.” I told Matron. “I prefer to have fun.” (More) “Well, my class and I are extremely busy.” I said to Joan. “So Joan, would you be so kind as to vacate the room?” The matron glared at me, leaving the room and closing the door. I smirked, turning back to all of them. “Now then, students, let’s continue with the class.” ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “Martha, I’m falling in love with him.” I admitted. Martha raised a brow. “You weren’t always?” I shook my head. “He’s...the Doctor is off-limits. If my family found out, if my friends find out.” I sighed. “I’ll be become a laughing stock.” “Because you’re falling in love with him?” “Because he’s falling back.” I admitted. “The more I’m falling, the more he’s there to catch me.” (More) “The Doctor, one day, will be old and gray, and he still wanted me.” I explained. “He kissed me, Martha, and I was...I didn’t care. He still loved me.” (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== Month Two (More) Baines shuffled in his seat. “Perhaps you are doing an improper job of teaching us.” “Perhaps you are doing an improper job of listening to me.” I replied. Baines frowned at me, almost annoyingly. (More) ==PC== (More) “I’m trying to write a poem for my next class, to show that you can explain it without just telling it.” I began. “And I need a little help with it.” (More) “Well, I have about a million for blue and green.” I sighed. My hands ran over my tired face. “Three for red, even five for purple. I have just one for yellow.” John thought it over a moment. “Amber.” I blinked. “That’s...that’s actually good. All I had was the sun.” I admitted, smiling proudly at him. “Thanks John.” (More) “You know, my eyes are amber. It’s kinda funny to forget the color of your eyes.” I pointed out him. “I know.” John said, sounding completely and utterly human. My previously mentioned eyes snapped up at him, giving him a curious look. John smiled, letting out a small laugh. “I don’t think I could ever forget the color of your eyes.” John said. “Amber’s my favorite color.” My jaw dropped, and stayed that way until long after John left. My eyes were his favorite color? ==PC== When Martha walked into Terra’s room, it was to the same sight. Terra was nearly curled up in a fetal position under her blanket, hands clutching tightly onto a bright blue doodle bear. Martha frowned at the sight. Terra had been embarrassed at first about the bear. It had been a gift from her favorite aunt, and Terra would sleep with it when her nightmares came back. Terra had seen a lot of dark things before traveling with the Doctor. (More) “Is he alright?” Terra asked her. Martha looked down at the tea tray. “No. He had those dreams last night.” Terra sighed, running a hand over her unbrushed black hair. “Damn Doctor can’t even turn himself human right.” (More) ==PC== (More) BOY: “Excuse me, ma’am.” (A neat woman in starched nurse’s uniform meets John, who is carrying a large pile of books.) Terra: “Good morning, Professor Smith.” (He drops some of the books.) John: “There we go.” Terra: “Let me help you.” John: “No, no, I’ve got it, no. Er, how best to retrieve? Tell you what. If you could take these-” (Terra takes the books from his arms, and he picks up the fallen ones.) Terra: “Good.” John: “No harm done. So, er, how was Jenkins?” Terra: “You didn’t hear it from me, but he needed help writing to his mother. He’s getting homesick.” John: “Oh, we can’t have that.” Terra: “He received a letter this morning, so he’s excited.” I looked at the books in my hands. “Professor Smith.” “Yes?” “I’m still holding your books.” John: “Yes, so you are. Sorry, sorry. Just let me.” Terra: “No, why don’t I take half?” John: “Ah, brilliant idea. Brilliant. Perfect. Division of labor.” Terra: “We make quite a team.” John: “Don’t we just.” Terra: “So, these books. Were they being taken in any particular direction?” John: “Yes. This way.” (In a smaller corridor.) John: “I always say, Professor, give the boys a good head of steam, they’ll soon wear themselves out.” Terra: “Truth be told, when it’s just you and me, I’d much rather you call me Terra. Professor just seems, well, uptight.” John: “Terra?” Terra: “That’s my name.” John: “Well, obviously.” Terra: “And it’s John, isn’t it?” John: “Yes, yes, it is, yes.” (At the notice board at the top of a flight of stairs.) Terra: “Have you seen this, John? The annual dance at the village hall tomorrow. It’s nothing formal, but rather fun by all accounts. Do you think you’ll go?” John: “I hadn’t thought about it.” Terra: “It’s been ages since I’ve been to a dance, only no one’s asked me.” (John starts backing away nervously.) John: “Well, I should imagine that you’d be, er, I mean, I never thought you’d be one for. I mean, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. If you do, you may not. I, I probably won’t, but even if I did then I couldn’t. I mean I wouldn’t want to-” Terra: “The stairs.” John: “What about the stairs?” Terra: “They’re right behind you!” I pulled him away from the stairs, spinning him about so we were switched. The downside was that I ended up falling down the stairs. “Terra!” (More) ==PC== (More) I whimpered. It hurt really bad. Joan: “Stop it. I get boys causing less fuss than this.” Joan reached for it. I flinched back. “No! Don’t touch it!” (Martha bursts in.) Martha: “Is she alright?” Joan: “Excuse me, Martha. It’s hardly good form to enter a mistress’ study without knocking.” Martha: “Sorry. Right. Yeah.” (She goes back to the door and knocks on it.) “Come in!” I cheered, wincing at the pain in my skull. Gah, I’ve had gunshot wounds that hurt less. Martha: “But is she alright? They said you fell down the stairs, Ma’am.” “No, it was just a tumble, that’s all.” I shrugged. “You know me, always one for stunts.” Martha: “Have you checked for concussion?” Joan: “I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you.” “Hey! Apologize!” I scolded. The nurse smiled triumphantly. Martha: “Sorry. I’ll just tidy your things.” “Not Martha. You.” “What?” Joan turned to me, surprised. “Martha is not just my maid, she is also a close friend and trusted advisor.” I explained, angrily glaring at Joan. “And you were rude. Apologize.” (More) John: “I was just telling Terra, Professor Song, about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I’m someone else, and that I’m hiding.” Terra: “Hiding? In what way?” John: “They’re almost every night. This is going to sound silly.” Terra: “Tell me.” John: “I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts.” Joan: “Well, then. I can be the judge of that. Let’s find out.” (Joan uses her stethoscope to listen to John’s chest.) “I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular.” John: “I have er, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction. Not that it would be of any interest.” Terra: “I’d be very interested.” John: “Well, I’ve never actually shown it to anyone before.” (John gives Terra the handwritten book.) Terra: “A Journal of Impossible Things.” (Lots of inky scrawl and pictures.) “Just look at these creatures.” (A Dalek.) “Such imagination.” John: “It’s become quite a hobby.” (The Moxx of Balhoon, Autons labelled as plastic men, one of the Pompadour clockwork robots.) Terra: “It’s wonderful.” I smiled at the sight of Rose scrawled in charcoal. “And quite an eye for the pretty girls.” John: “Oh no, no, she’s just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her, Rose. Seems to disappear later on.” (Cybermen and the TARDIS, labelled magic box.) John: “Ah, that’s the box. The blue box. It’s always there. Like a like a magic carpet. This funny little box that transports me to far away places.” Joan: “Like a doorway?” John: “Mmm.” (Sketches of earlier Doctors.) “I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true.” Joan: “If only.” John: “It’s just a dream.” “They say if you dream something more than once, it is sure to come true.” I said, smiling at the many drawings. (More) ==PC== (More) (John arrives.) John: “Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don’t you.” Joan: “There, there. Look in the sky.” (A light crosses the sky.) Jenny: “Oh, that’s beautiful.” John: “All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It’s just rocks falling to the ground, that’s all.” Joan: “It came down in the woods.” John: “No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they’re miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?” Martha: “No, we’re fine, thanks.” John: “Then I shall bid you goodnight.” (More) ==PC== (More) “You stole the watch.” I looked up at Timothy. The boy gaped at me. (More) ==PC== (More) There were gun shots. “Finish the next two chapters, write a paper.” I said quickly. “Class dismissed.” (More) (More) (The boys are practising firing machine guns at rough targets on ground below the terrace wall, watched by John and the Headmaster. Latimer is feeding in the ammo belt for Hutchinson.) John: “Concentrate.” (Joan comes out of the school.) John: “Hutchinson, excellent work.” Rocastle: “Cease fire!” John: “Good day to you, Headmaster.” Rocastle: “Your crew’s on fine form today, Mister Smith.” Hutchinson: “Excuse me, Headmaster. We could do a lot better. Latimer’s being deliberately shoddy.” Timothy: “I’m trying my best.” Rocastle: “You need to be better than the best. Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent.” Timothy: “That’s exactly the problem, sir. They only have spears.” Rocastle: “Oh, dear me. Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realize how wrong we all are. I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself. Now, resume firing.” (The machine gun has stopped firing.) Hutchinson: “Stoppage. Immediate action. Didn’t I tell you, sir? This stupid boy is useless. Permission to give Latimer a beating, sir.” Rocastle: “It’s your class, Mister Smith.” John: “Permission granted.” Hutchinson: “Right. Come with me, you little oik.” (Hutchinson and his friends leads the stunned Latimer away. Baines looks at John and sniffs.) John: “Anything the matter, Baines?” Baines: “I thought. No, sir. Nothing, sir.” (Baines leaves.) Rocastle: “As you were, Mister Smith.” John: “Ah, Pemberton, Smythe, Wicks, take post.” (John walks up to the wall.) “Ah, Professor Terra.” Terra: “Er, I’ll give you back your journal when next I see you.” John: “No, no, no. You don’t have to.” Terra: “If you’ll excuse me, Professor Smith. I was just thinking about the day my sister was shot.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Two workmen are hoisting an upright piano up to the first floor window of the Ironmongers. John and Terra are walking together.) Terra: “Her name was Darcy. She died saving my life, right before my eyes. We were twins. But you see, I was angry a really long time.” John: “You still are.” Terra: “And now, I find myself as part of that school watching boys learn how to kill.” John: “Don’t you think discipline is good for them?” Terra: “Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, war isn’t all fun and games.” John: “Well, Great Britain is at peace, long may it reign.” Terra: “In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. Nineteen fourteen.” John: “That was just a dream.” Terra: “All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow. A shadow falling across the entire world.” John: “Well then, we can be thankful it’s not true. And I’ll admit mankind doesn’t need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honor and valor, and let’s hope that from now on this, this country can find its heroes in smaller places.” (A woman rings her bicycle bell as she peddles along. The men with the piano struggle as it dangles from a fraying rope. Then a woman pushing a perambulator comes around the corner.) John: “In the most.” (He sees a boy standing next to him, with a cricket ball in his hand. Some more of the rope frays and the piano drops a bit.) John: “Ordinary of, of deeds.” (John grabs the cricket ball, throws it at the scaffolding outside the Ironmongers, which falls and hits a plank that sends a brick flying through the air to knock down a milk churn in front of the perambulator, stopping it just before the rope finally gives up and drops the piano to the ground mere feet in front. The piano falls to pieces and the baby starts crying.) WORKMAN: “Are you alright? How’s the little one?” John: “Lucky.” Terra: “You have to be the luckiest man I have ever met. Lucky...” John: “Terra, might I invite you to the village dance this evening, as my guest?” Terra: “I do believe I shall.” (More) ==PC== (More) (John and Terra are walking along a cart track. There is a scarecrow nearby.) Terra: “Oh, it’s all becoming clear now. The Doctor is the man you’d like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls.” John: “Well, I discovered a talent, that’s certainly true.” Terra: “But the Doctor has an eye for the ladies.” John: “The devil.” Terra: “A girl at every fireplace.” John: “Ah, now, there I have to protest, Terra. That is hardly me.” Terra: “Says the man dancing with me tonight.” John: “That scarecrow’s all skewed.” (They walk up to it, and John ties its arm back onto the cross-member.) Terra: “Ever the artist. Where did you learn to draw?” John: “Gallifrey.” Terra: “Is that in Ireland?” John: “Yes, it must be, yes.” Terra: “But you’re not Irish?” John: “Not at all, no. My father Sidney was a watchmaker from Nottingham, and my mother Verity was, er. Well, she was a nurse, actually.” Terra: “Hmm. Must be why you have such great people skills.” John: “Really? Right. Yes. Well, my work is done. What do you think?” Terra: “Masterpiece.” John: “All sorts of skills today!” (As they walk away, the scarecrow turns its head to watch them.) “What if your mother and father?” John asked. I steeled my features, keeping a pleasant smile. John saw through it, wincing. “Bad topic?” “No.” I said too quickly. “The relationship I have with my parents is...strained.” John gave me look of gentlemanly patience. “My father is in charge of athletics at my old school, as well as maths. My mother was, well, the matron.” This made John grin. “Ah. That explains it.” “Explains what, exactly, John?” “Your distrust of the Matron.” (More) ==PC== (More) (John is making a sketch of Terra.) Terra: “Can I see?” (John sits next to her on the Chesterfield.) I felt my cheeks turn red. “Oh.” I bit my bottom lip, looking the drawing again. It, it was a very detailed drawing of me. The girl in that drawing looked gorgeous, with light eyes and a bright smile. Her black hair fell delicately onto her shoulders, and the locks practically shined. I laughed, nervously. “You need to work on your art. You’ve made me far too beautiful.” John: “Well, that’s how I see you.” “Lots of people said I wasn’t pretty.” I commented, comparing the differences between the drawing and myself. “They said I would never amount to anything. That when Darcy died, she took both our souls with her.” My eyes watered, thinking back on those years she had been dead. “Then, I became something, and I still felt like...a nothing.” John: “That’s not fair at all.” (He strokes her hair and then kisses her.) John: “I’ve never er-” (They kiss again, then the door opens.) A mousy squeak came from my lips, hands clasping over my mouth. I looked towards the door to see Martha standing there. “Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?!” “It’s fine!” I said, trying to calm him down. My hands reached out, one holding his shoulder and the other resting on my lap. “H-honest.” John was gaped at me with his brown, puppy dog eyes. The anger in his eyes faded, leaving behind a look that could only be described as mesmerized. Then, I realized what was wrong with putting my hand on his shoulder. I lowered it into my lap, standing up from my seat. I brushed the creases from my dress, walking towards Martha. I heard John get up. “Terra-” “I need to go anyway.” I excused, practically marching out of the room. “Good day Professor Smith.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Rarity, I have a fashion emergency!” I nearly shouted. My friend cheered. “Oh! What kind of emergency?” “First date.” I answered, flopping down in the pilot seat. Rarity squealed, as I expected. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra shows off her party dress.) John: “You look wonderful.” Terra: “You’d best give me some warning. Er, can you actually dance?” John: “I’m not certain.” Terra: “There’s a surprise. Is there anything you’re certain about?” John: “Yes. Yes.” (He takes her hands.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Martha bursts in, breathless.) Martha: “They’ve found us.” Terra: “Actually, Butterfly-” John: “Martha, I’ve warned you.” Martha: “They’ve found us, and I’ve seen them. They look like people, like us, like normal. I’m sorry, but you’ve got to open the watch. Where is it?” (She searches the mantlepiece.) “Oh, my God. Where’s it gone? Where’s the watch?” John: “What are you talking about?” Martha: “You had a watch. A fob watch. Right there.” John: “Did I? I don’t remember.” Terra: “Martha, could you listen to me for a-” Martha: “But we need it! Oh, my God, Doctor, we’re hiding from aliens, and they’ve got Jenny and they’ve possessed her or copied her or something, and you’ve got to tell me, where’s the watch?” John: “Oh, I see. Cultural differences. It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story.” Martha: “Oh you complete. This is not you. This is nineteen thirteen.” John: “Good. This is nineteen thirteen.” Martha: “I’ve sorry. I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to snap you out of this.” (Martha slaps the John, hard.) Terra: “Martha!” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) Terra: “Martha was just nervous about the dance.” John: “You’ve taken my arm in public.” Terra: “I’m very scared.” (Latimer watches from around the corner.) BEGGAR: “Spare a penny for the veterans of the Crimea, sir?” John: “Yes, of course. There you are.” (John and Terra go inside. Latimer follows as the beggar checks the coins in his cup.) (More) ==PC== (More) CHAMBERS: “Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your partners for a waltz.” (The village band starts playing.) Terra: “You can dance.” John: “I surprise myself.” (They bump into another couple.) John: “Sorry.” I snorted. (More) ==PC== (More) Martha was talking to Joan. I sighed. (More) (John returns to the table.) John: “Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave.” (Martha holds up the sonic screwdriver.) Martha: “Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it.” I glanced up at John. He was staring at the screwdriver, the one Martha must have swiped while helping me get dressed, with hesitation. He recognized it. “John, you know what that is, don’t you?” (John takes the screwdriver.) Martha: “You’re not John Smith. You’re called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he’s real. He’s you.” (Latimer is already there. He looks out of a window and a scarecrow pops up in front of him, so he closes the curtain again.) Clark: “There will be silence! All of you!” (Scarecrows enter.) Clark: “I said, silence!” CHAMBERS: “Mister Clarke, what’s going on?” (He gets vapourised.) Martha: “Mister Smith? Everything I told you, just forget it! Don’t say anything.” Baines: “We asked for silence! Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith.” Lucy: “No, better than that. The teacher. He’s the Doctor. I heard them talking.” Baines: “You took human form.” John: “Of course I’m human. I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness.” Baines: “Ooo, and a human brain, too. Simple, thick and dull.” Jenny: “But he’s no good like this.” Clark: “We need a Time Lord.” Baines: “Easily done.” (Baines steps forward and raises his ray gun.) “Change back.” “Oh, cause that plan works.” John: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Baines: “Change back!” John: “I literally do not know-” (Jenny grabs Martha, and puts a gun to her head.) Martha: “Get off me!” Jenny: “She’s your friend, isn’t she? Doesn’t this scare you enough to change back?” John: “I don’t know what you mean!” Jenny: “Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Professor. That woman, there.” Clark: “Then let’s have you.” (Clark takes Terra and puts his gun to her head.) I struggled against Father of Mine. “Don’t you dare.” Baines: “Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let’s see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend or your lover? Your choice.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “Make your decision, Mister Smith.” Baines: “Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge.” (Out of sight, Latimer takes the watch from his pocket, and opens it. Golden energy shimmers and the Family turn their heads quickly.) VOICE: “Time Lord.” Baines: “It’s him!” (Latimer closes the watch. Terra gets the gun off Clark and uses her as a shield while she aims it at Baines.) Terra: “All right! One more move and I shoot.” Baines: “Oh, the teacher is full of fire.” Terra: “And you can shut up!” (She fires the gun at the ceiling.) Clark: “Careful, Son of Mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever.” Baines: “Shoot you down.” Terra: “Try it. I dare you.” Baines: “Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared.” Terra: “An American teenager who had just had her first dance ruined by aliens? Do you want to risk it?” (The family lower their guns. Martha returns to the Terra.) Terra: “Martha, get everyone out. There’s a door at the side. It’s over there. Go on. Do it. Mister Smith, you help.” Joan: “Do what she said. Everybody out, now. Don’t argue, Mister Jackson. They’re mad. That’s all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you.” (The villagers run out, screaming.) John: “Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly.” Terra: “And you. Go on. Just shift.” John: “What about you?” Terra: “Mister Smith, I would greatly appreciate it if you took Martha someplace safe.” (Jenny gets away from Terra and rejoins her Family.) Terra: “Don’t try anything. I’m warning you, or Sonny boy gets it.” Baines: “She’s almost brave, this one.” Jenny: “I should have taken her form. Much more fun. So much spirit.” (Terra backs away as the Family move forward.) Terra: “What happened to Jenny? Is she gone?” Jenny: “She is consumed. Her body’s mine.” Terra: “You mean she’s dead.” Jenny: “Yes. And she went with precious little dignity. All that screaming.” (A scarecrow grabs Terra from behind.) Baines: “Get the gun!” (The scarecrow takes the gun and Terra runs out of the hall.) (More) Terra: “Don’t just stand there, move! God, you’re rubbish as a human. Come on!” (Martha, the John and Joan run.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The John closes the main doors behind them, grabs the bell and starts ringing it.) Martha: “What are you doing?” John: “Maybe one man can’t fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!” Martha: “You can’t do that!” John: “You want me to fight, don’t you? Take arms! Take arms!” Hutchinson: “I say sir, what’s the matter?” John: “Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!” (More) ==PC== (More) (The guns are being passed out.) Martha: “You can’t do this, Doctor. Mister Smith!” John: “Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That’s it.” Martha: “They’re just boys. You can’t ask them to fight. They don’t stand a chance.” John: “They’re cadets, Miss Jones. They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties.” (The Headmaster enters.) Rocastle: “What in thunder’s name is this? Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?” John: “Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack.” Rocastle: “Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private.” John: “No, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Matron. It’s Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mister Clark from Oakham Farm. They’ve gone mad, sir. They’ve got guns. They’ve already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen.” Rocastle: “Matron, is that so?” Joan: “I’m afraid it’s true, sir.” Rocastle: “Murder on our own soil?” Joan: “I saw it. Yes.” Rocastle: “Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith. What makes you thing the danger’s coming here?” John: “Well, sir, they said-” Joan: “Baines threatened Mister Smith, sir. Said he’d follow him. We don’t know why.” Rocastle: “Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone for the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate.” Martha: “No! But it’s not safe out there.” Rocastle: “Mister Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir.” “Martha, I’m sorry.” I began. “For?” “What I’m about to do.” I stormed up to the headmaster. (More) “When you fight barbarians, what must they think of you?” I asked him. Rocastle scoffed. “Where do they think you come from?” Rocastle glared at me. “A place too complex for their tiny minds to comprehend! Now, Professor-” I brought out a ray gun, blasting a nearby bookcase. The men in the room flinched away, staring at me in shock and the disappeared bookcase in horror. “You’re the barbarians now.” I scolded. “And those things out there know that. You need my help, whether you like it or not.” My eyes scanned Rocastle, a firm frown on my face. “Can I do my job now? Or, does someone else have an argument?” (More) ==PC== (More) Rocastle: “So. Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There’s always a woman involved. Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?” Baines: “Headmaster, sir. Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?” Rocastle: “Keep a civil tongue, boy.” PHILIPS: “Now come on, everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this.” (The Doctor watches from a window.) PHILIPS: “Let’s all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines, in fancy dress?” Baines: “Do you like them, Mister Phillips? I made them myself. I’m ever so good at science, sir. Look.” (He pulls the arm off a scarecrow.) Baines: “Molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men. My own private army, sir. It’s ever so good, sir.” “Interesting, I’ll give you that.” I complimented him, keeping the gun steady. “But, you, are going to leave this planet, and the Doctor, alone.” Baines: “No, ma’am. You, ma’am, you will send us Mister John Smith. That’s all we want, ma’am, Mister John Smith and whatever he’s done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we’d be very happy to leave you alone.” “Baines died long ago, I can tell.” I commented. “Care to tell me who I’m speaking with?” Baines: “We are the Family of Blood.” “You’ve killed today.” I pointed out. Baines: “Yes, sir. And they were good, sir.” “I keep to my earlier threat. I’ll shoot you down myself.” I reminded him. “This school is armed.” Rocastle felt the need to share. Baines: “All your little tin soldiers. But tell me, sir, will they thank you?” “I don’t understand.” Rocastle said. “Shut up, Rocastle!” I barked. Baines: “What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?” Rocastle: “You’re not making sense, Baines.” Baines: “1914, sir. Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mister Smith and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?” Rocastle: “Don’t you forget, boy, I’ve been a soldier. I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country!” I whacked him with my gun. He fell to the ground like a potato. In a flash, my gun was pointed back at Baines. “He talked too much.” Baines: “Run along, Professer. Run back to school. And send us Mister Smith!” (More) ==PC== (More) I walked up to John, ignoring the confused look on his face. “Okay. The Family isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Any luck with the phones?” John: “The telephone line’s been disconnected. We are on our own.” “Yeah, that’s the first thing I’d have done.” I sighed, thinking through a new strategy. “Alright. New plan.” I turned to the school boys. “Hutchinson, you build a barricade in the courtyard. Fortify the entrances, build our defences. Boys, you’re about to learn the joys of playing with fire.” (More) ==PC== (More) “I’m training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine.” Joan: “Well that certainly is nonsense. Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of your color.” Martha: “Oh, do you think? Bones of the hand. Carpal bones, proximal row. Scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform. Distal row. Trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges. Proximal, middle, distal.” Joan: “You read that in a book.” Martha: “Yes, to pass my exams. Can’t you see this is true?” Joan: “I must go.” Martha: “If we find that watch, then we can stop them.” Joan: “Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I’m still their nurse. They need me.” “Hello Martha Jones.” I smirked. “Ya like my new clothes?” Martha nodded. “You look...good.” “Great.” I corrected. It was a prep school girl uniform. It was dark red, with long sleeves. It had a stitch on open book where the school uniform bit goes. There was also a small black tie. If you thought that was bad, you haven’t seen the skirt. Then again, I don’t think there’s much to see. It was a pleated skirt, the same color as my shirt. It was a very short skirt. I had knee socks too, white. My shoes were black, and shiny. I felt like a naughty schoolgirl. I was determined to play this part. (More) John: “You’re with Armitage and Thwaites. They know the drill. Terra, it’s not safe.” Terra: “I’m doing my duty, just as much as you. Fine evening we’ve had together.” John: “Not quite as planned.” Terra: “Tell me about Nottingham.” John: “Sorry?” Terra: “That’s where you were brought up. Tell me about it.” John: “Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber.” Terra: “That sounds like an encyclopaedia. Where did you live?” John: “Broadmoor Street. Adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade.” Terra: “But more that facts. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places, the dens and hideaways that only a child knows? Tell me, John. Please tell me.” John: “How can you think that I’m not real? When I kissed you, was that a lie?” Terra: “No, it wasn’t. No.” John: “But this Doctor sounds like some, some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that? Am I not enough?” Terra: “No, that’s not true. Stop putting words in my mouth.” John: “I’ve got to go.” Terra: “Martha was right about one thing, though. Those boys, they’re children. John Smith wouldn’t want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I was getting to know, he knows it’s wrong, doesn’t he?” “You’re making them fight as well.” John pointed out. “I’m teaching them to defend.” I argued. “Defense is different.” Rocastle [OC]: “Mister Smith, if you please!” John: “What choice do I have?” (More) ==PC== (More) “Burn ‘em boys!” (More) Rocastle: “They’re straw. Like he said, straw.” Hutchinson: “The no one’s dead, sir? We killed no one?” (Footsteps on the gravel.) Rocastle: “Stand to!” (It is Lucy and her balloon.) Rocastle: “You, child. Come out of the way. Come into the school. You don’t know who’s out there. It’s the Cartwright girl, isn’t it? Come here. Come to me.” (Martha runs out of the school.) Martha: “Mister Rocastle! Please, don’t go near her.” Rocastle: “You were told to be quiet.” Martha: “Just listen to me. She’s part of it. Terra, tell him.” “She’s the daughter.” I snapped at Rocastle. “She’s one of them! She’s here to kill us all.” Martha: “Mister Smith.” John: “She was, she was with, with Baines in the village.” Rocastle: “Mister Smith, I’ve seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God’s Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir. Come with me.” Lucy: “You’re funny.” Rocastle: “That’s right. Now take my hand.” Lucy: “So funny.” I shot the gun out of her hands. Lucy turned to me in slight fear. “No one else dies tonight, you hear me? No one dies!” I warned. “Everyone inside.” “Professor, now really-” “Get. Inside!” I ordered. “You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way.” Hutchinson: “But ma’am-” John: “I said, lead the way.” Baines: “Well, go on, then. Run!” (Baines fires his gun into the air.) Martha: “Come on!” (More) ==PC== (More) (The boys scatter through the buildings, followed by the reanimated scarecrows. Latimer runs upstairs.) John: “Let’s go. Quick as you can.” Martha: “Don’t go to the village. It’s not safe.” John: “And you, ladies.” Joan: “Not till we’ve got the boys out.” John: “Now, I insist. The pair of you, just go. If there are any more boys inside, I’ll find them.” (He opens the door. There are scarecrows on the other side. He slams it shut and locks it.) John: “I think, retreat.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Latimer is running for the woods when Baines and Jenny get to the dormitory. Clark stands outside the building, shouting, as John, Joan and Martha hide in the bushes.) Clark: “Doctor! Doctor!” (He has the Tardis with him.) Clark: “Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize.” Baines: “Out you come, Doctor. There’s a good boy. Come to the Family.” Jenny: “Time to end it now.” Martha: “You recognise it, don’t you?” Jenny: “Come out, Doctor. Come to us!” John: “I’ve never seen it in my life.” Martha: “Do you remember its name?” Terra: “I’m sorry, John, but you wrote about it. The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box.” John: “I’m not. I’m John Smith. That’s all I want to be. John Smith, with his life, and his job, and his love. Why can’t I be John Smith? Isn’t he a good man?” Terra: “Yes. Yes, he is.” John: “Why can’t I stay?” Martha: “But we need the Doctor.” John: “What am I, then? Nothing. I’m just a story.” “We’re all stories in the end.” I told him. “It’s up to you to make it a good one.” (The Doctor runs away and the women follow.) Baines: “One more phase and we won’t have to hunt. The Doctor, Mister Smith, the boy, the watch, they will come to us. Soldiers, guard this thing.” (More) ==PC== (More) Joan: “This way. I think I know somewhere we can hide.” John: “We’ve got to keep going.” Joan: “Just listen to me for once, John. Now, follow me.” (More) ==PC== (More) Joan: “Oh, here we are. It should be empty. Oh, it’s a long time since I’ve run that far.” Martha: “But who lives here?” Joan: “If I’m right, no one.” (More) Joan: “Hello? No one home. We should be safe here.” Martha: “Whose house is it, though?” Joan: “Er, the Cartwrights. That little girl at the school, she’s Lucy Cartwright, or she’s taken Lucy Cartwright’s form. If she came home this afternoon and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then they were vanished.” (Joan touches the teapot.) Joan: “Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas.” John: “I must go to them, before anyone else dies.” Joan: “You can’t. Martha, there must be something we can do.” Martha: “Not without the watch.” John: “You’re this Doctor’s companion. Can’t you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?” Martha: “Because he’s lonely.” John: “And that’s what you want me to become.” (A knock at the door.) Joan: “What if it’s them?” Martha: “I’m not an expert, but I don’t think scarecrows knock.” (Martha opens the door.) Timothy: “I brought you this.” (The watch.) Martha: “Hold it.” John: “I won’t.” Martha: “Please, just hold it.” Timothy: “It told me to find you. It wants to be held.” Joan: “You’ve had this watch all this time? Why didn’t you return it?” Timothy: “Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared of the Doctor.” Joan: “Why?” Timothy: “Because I’ve seen him. He’s like fire and ice and rage. He’s like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun.” John: “Stop it.” Timothy: “He’s ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe.” John: “Stop it! I said stop it.” Timothy: “And he’s wonderful.” Terra: “I’ve still got this. The journal.” John: “Those are just stories.” Terra: “Now we know that’s not true. Perhaps there’s something in here.” (Big bang. The cottage shakes.) Martha: “What the hell?” (Fireballs are falling to earth a little way away.) (More) Joan: “They’re destroying the village.” John: “The watch.” Joan: “John, don’t.” Timothy: “Can you hear it?” John: “I think he’s asleep. Waiting to awaken.” Timothy: “Why did he speak to me?” John: “Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-” “Is that how he talks?” Martha: “That’s him. All you have to do is open it and he’s back.” John: “You knew this all along and yet you watched while Nurse Redfern and I-” Martha: “I didn’t know how to stop you. He gave me a list of things to watch out, for but that wasn’t included.” (Joan looks in the journal by moonlight through the window.) John: “Falling in love? That didn’t even occur to him?” Martha: “No.” John: “Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?” Martha: “It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family’s got a limited lifespan, and that’s why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said.” John: “So your job was to execute me.” Martha: “People are dying out there. They need him and I need him. Because you’ve got no idea of what he’s like. I’ve only just met him. It wasn’t even that long ago. But he is everything. He’s just everything to me and he doesn’t even look at me, but I don’t care, because I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won’t remember me saying this.” (A explosion close by.) Timothy: “It’s getting closer.” John: “I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am.” Martha: “You can’t do that!” John: “If they want the Doctor, they can have him.” Martha: “He’ll never let you do it.” John: “If they get what they want, then, then” Terra: “Then it all ends in destruction. Those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child. Martha, Timothy, Joan, would you leave us alone, please?” (More) I turned to John, a sad look was on his face. “If I could do this instead of you, then I would. I’d hoped. But my hopes aren’t important.” John: “He won’t love you.” Terra: “I never deserved it, not the way it was with you. I never thought I should be so blessed. And then you were so-” John: “And it was real. I wasn’t. I really thought.” Terra: “Let me see. Blasted thing. Blasted, blasted thing. Can’t even hear it. It says nothing to me, which is unlike him cause he loves talk-” (John puts his hands over Terra’s and the watch.) ==PC== (More) John and Terra’s wedding day. (More) ==PC== (More) Their firstborn. (More) ==PC== (More) Two kids in the woods. (More) ==PC== (More) John: “They’re all safe, aren’t they? The children, the grandchildren. Everyone’s safe?” Terra: “Everyone’s safe, and they all send their love, John.” John: “Well, it’s time. Thank you.” (More) ==PC== (More) John: “Did you see?” Terra: “The Time Lord has such adventures, but he could never have a life like that.” John: “And yet I could.” Terra: “What are you going to do?” John Smith kissed me. Hard. At first, I wanted to pull him off. He was just really really good at it. His hands reached up to my head, running his fingers through my hair. (More) “Hey Doc.” I said, nervously looking down at my shoes. The Doctor brushed a lock of hair out of my face. “How could you tell?” My face felt like it was going to blush. Twelve’s passionate kiss came back to mind, his hands threading into my hair. “You like putting your hands in my hair.” (More) ==PC== (More) I chuckled. “This was my tenth jump, and I’m with ten.” The Doctor smirked. “If I end up with Eleven next time, I’m gonna die laughing.” The Doctor nervously scratched his head. He looked very nervous. “So...John kissed you.” “Repeatedly.” I nodded. The Doctor gave me a curious look. “Was...was it-” “Good?” I smiled, feeling a blush. “No.” The Doctor looked a little put off. “Oh.” “It was amazing.” I smirked. “I wouldn’t mind another.” “What?” The Doctor asked. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, Doc.” I smirked. “Oh. I need to give you a nickname...” A terrible idea came to me. “Lucky.” (More) Deep BreathThe (More) I waved at the lizard woman. (More) Vastra: “This is not a day for jumping to conclusions. Strax, if you wouldn’t mind?” (Strax knocks on the TARDIS door. It is smeared with sputum from its previous location.) Strax: “Hello? Exit the box, and surrender to the glory of the Sontaran empire.” (A tall grey-haired man opens the door and looks out. Smoke comes out as well.) The Doctor: “Shush.” (He shuts the door again.) I snorted. Strax: “Doctor?” (The door opens again.) The Doctor: “I was being chased by a giant dinosaur, but I think I managed to give it the slip.” (The door shuts again, then is opened slowly.) The Doctor: “Sleepy?” Strax: “Sir?” The Doctor: “Bashful? Sneezy? Dopey? Grumpy.” (Then he sees the two women and walks towards them.) The Doctor: “Oh, you two. The green one and the not-green one. Or it could be the other way round, I mustn’t prejudge.” (Clara appears, very dishevelled. She is wearing a black fitted jacket with an ‘outline of bow tie’ motif and tartan mini-kilt.) The Doctor: “Oh, you remember, er. Thingy. The, er, the not-me one. The asking questions one. Names not my area.” Clara: “Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, it might be Clara. Might not be. It’s a lottery.” Clara: “It is Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, I’m not ruling it out.” (The dinosaur bellows.) The Doctor: “Oi, big man, shut it. Oh, you’ve got a dinosaur too. Big woman, sorry.” Clara: “Doctor, listen to me. You, you need to calm down.” The Doctor turned to me. “I’m not flirting, by the way.” Clara: “I think something’s gone wrong.” The Doctor: “Wrong? What’s gone wrong? Have you regenerated?” (to Clara) “I remember you. You’re Handles. You used to be a little, a little robot head, and now you. You’ve really let yourself go.” (The dinosaur bellows again.) The Doctor: “Reduce the frequency.” Clara: “I’m sorry?” The Doctor: “Your sonic lanterns, turn them down. You’re giving her a headache.” Jenny: “Giving who a headache?” The Doctor: “My lady friend. Just an expression, don’t get any ideas.” Strax: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “Come on, Clara. You know that I speak dinosaur.” Clara: “He’s not Clara. I’m Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, you’re very similar heights. Maybe you should wear labels? Why, why are you all doing that? Why are you? You’re all going dark and wobbly. Stop that.” Clara: “I don’t think we are.” The Doctor: “Never mind. Everyone take five.” (The Doctor closes his eyes, sways, then falls over.) Clara: “What do we do?” Jenny: “I don’t understand. Who is he? Where’s the Doctor?” Clara: “Right here. That’s him. That’s the Doctor.” Vastra: “Well then, here we go again.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Nightime, with a full moon. At Vastra’s house, the Doctor is now wearing a full length night shirt. Clara and Jenny are listening at the door.) The Doctor: “It’s simply misunderstandable to me. I don’t know what it is. Who invented this room?” (He opens the door and Clara and Jenny nearly fall inside.) Clara: “Doctor, please, you have to lie down.” The Doctor: “It doesn’t make sense. Look, it’s only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?” Clara: “Because it’s a bedroom. It’s for sleeping in.” The Doctor: “Okay, what do you do when you’re awake?” Jenny: “You leave the room.” The Doctor: “So you’ve got a whole room for not being awake in. But what’s the point? You’re just missing the room. And don’t look in that mirror. It’s absolutely furious.” Clara: “Doctor, please. You have to lie down. You keep passing out.” The Doctor: “Well, of course I keep passing out. There’s all these beds.” The Doctor complained. He worriedly glanced at Clara. While he did that, I was setting up the bed. “Why do you keep talking like that? What’s gone wrong with your accent? Why?” Jenny: “Nothing’s wrong with her accent.” The Doctor: “You sound the same. It’s spreading. You all sound all English. Now you’ve all developed a fault.” “Doctor.” I spoke up, using my Scottish accent. I went to Brave some time ago, and the accent stayed behind. “I need your help.” The Doctor: “Finally, someone who can talk properly.” Terra: “I’m having difficulty sleeping.” The Doctor: “Oh? Oh, well, I wouldn’t bother with that, I never bother with sleep, and I just do standy-up catnaps.” Terra: “Oh really, how interesting. And when do you do those?” The Doctor: “Well, generally whenever anyone else starts talking. I like to skip ahead to my bits. It saves time.” (Terra gently leads him to the bed and they sit down.) Terra: “Save me time, Doctor. Project an image of perfect sleep into the centre of my mind.” The Doctor: “What, do you want a psychic link with me? The size of my brain, it would be like dropping a piano on you.” Terra: “Be gentle, then.” The Doctor: “I ususlly am with you. Brace yourself. Piano.” (They put their fingers to the others temple. Boing! Doctor falls back onto the bed, sound asleep.) Vastra: “I love monkeys. They’re so funny.” Jenny: “Oh, I see. So people are monkeys now, are they?” Vastra: “No, dear. People are apes. Men are monkeys.” (They tuck the Doctor up in bed.) Clara: “So what now?” Vastra: “He needs rest.” Clara: “So what do we do? How do we fix him?” Jenny: “Fix him?” Clara: “How do we change him back?” Vastra: “Jenny, I will be in my chamber. Would you be kind enough to fetch my veil?” Jenny: “Why, are we expecting strangers?” Vastra: “It would seem there’s already one here.” (Vastra leaves.) Clara: “What have I done wrong?” (The sound of a sad dinosaur drifts into the room.) Jenny: “The dinosaur doesn’t seem very happy.” Clara: “What’s wrong with it?” Jenny: “I dunno. The Doctor’s the one that speaks dinosaur. Excuse me, ma’am. The wife doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Clara: “Where did he get that face? Why’s it got lines on it? It’s brand new. How can his hair be all grey? He only just got it.” Jenny: “It’s still him, ma’am. You saw him change.” Clara: “I know. I do. I, I know that.” Jenny: “Good.” Clara: “It’s just-” Jenny: “What?” Clara: “Nothing. If. If Vastra changed, if she was different, if she wasn’t the person that you liked?” Jenny: “I don’t like her, ma’am. I love her. And as to different? Well, she’s a lizard.” (Clara goes to the window and hears the moaning dinosaur.) The Doctor: “I am alone. The world which shook at my feet, and the trees and the sky, have gone. And I am alone now. Alone.” Clara: “Are you translating?” The Doctor: “The wind bites now, and the world is grey, and I am alone here. Can’t see me. Doesn’t see me. Can’t see me.” Clara: “Who can’t see it? I think all of London can see it.” Strax: “Boy? Madame Vastra is waiting.” Clara: “Okay. Whatever.” Strax: “I will convey you to her chamber. May I take your coat?” Clara: “Not wearing a coat.” Strax: “What’s all that?” Clara: “Clothes.” Strax: “May I take your clothes?” Clara: “(sotto) Probably not.” Strax: “Are you wearing a hat?” Clara: “It’s hair.” Strax: “No, I think it’s a hat. Would you like me to check?” “Terra?” Clara asked. “I’ll stay in here.” I said, my voice soft. I leaned back in the chair. My eyes stayed on the sleeping Doctor. “Are you sure?” Clara asked. “Vastra is waiting.” I said impatiently. “I’d get going.” (More) ==PC== (More) (A conservatory. Vastra is sitting in her peacock chair. A fountain is playing.) Vastra: “And then?” Clara: “Why are you wearing your veil?” Vastra: “And then?” Clara: “And then we got swallowed by a big dinosaur. You probably noticed.” Jenny: “How did it happen?” Clara: “I don’t know. I don’t know. We were crashing about everywhere. The Doctor was gone. The TARDIS went haywire.” Jenny: “He’s not gone. He’s upstairs.” Clara: “Okay, he changed.” Vastra: “He regenerated. Renewed himself.” Clara: “Renewed. Fine.” Vastra: “Such a cynical smile.” Clara: “I’m not smiling.” Vastra: “Not outwardly. But I’m accustomed to seeing through a veil. How have I amused you?” Clara: “You said renewed. He doesn’t. He doesn’t look renewed. He looks older.” Vastra: “You thought he was young?” Clara: “He looked young.” Vastra: “He looked like your dashing young gentleman friend. Your lover, even.” “Shut up.” Clara snapped. She had seen the Doctor with Terra, how close the two were. They were the ones that were together, Terra had made that very clear when they first met. “And the same is true for Terra.” Vastra said. Clara blinked. “Sorry?” “Terra may look young, but she is far older and has seen far worse than you can comprehend. She had seen the absolute worst humanity has to offer, and carried the weight of such horror everyday.” Vastra said, her tone harsh. “And he is the Doctor. He has walked this universe for centuries untold, he has seen stars fall to dust. You might as well flirt with mountain ranges.” Clara: “I did not flirt with them.” Vastra: “They flirted with you.” Clara: “How?” Vastra: “He looked young, and she smiled. Who do you think that was for? Clara: “Me? Vastra: “Everyone. I wear a veil as they wore faces and smiles for the same reason.” Clara: “What reason? Vastra: “The oldest reason there is for anything. To be accepted.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Up in the guest bedroom, the Doctor wakes and sniffs the air. He gets out of bed and crawls around on the carpet, sniffing. He goes to the radiator and finds a piece of chalk which he uses to make marks on it.) He rose up. A startled look on his face. He looked around the room, in a confused state. (More) ==PC== (More) Vastra: “Jenny and I are married. Yet for appearance’s sake, we maintain a pretence, in public, that she is my maid.” Jenny: “Doesn’t exactly explain why I’m pouring tea in private.” Vastra: “Hush now.” Jenny: “Good pretence, isn’t it?” Vastra: “I wear a veil to keep from view what many are pleased to call my disfigurement. I do not wear it as a courtesy to such people, but as a judgment on the quality of their hearts.” Clara: “Are you judging me?” Vastra: “The Doctor regenerated in your presence, and Terra opened up to you. The young man disappeared, the joy filled girl vanished, their veils lifted. They trusted you. Are you judging them?” Clara: “How dare you? How dare you?” (More) ==PC== (More) “Door. Not me.” The Doctor went to the window. “Me.” Running to his side, I smiled. “Mind if I join you?” (More) ==PC== (More) Clara: “Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor. Last of the five good ‘uns. Stoic philosopher.” Vastra: “Superlative bass guitarist. The Doctor really knows how to put a band together.” Clara: “And the only pin-up I ever had on my wall when I was fifteen. The only one I ever had. I am not sure who you think you’re talking to right now, Madam Vastra, but I have never had the slightest interest in pretty young men. And for the record, if there ever was anybody who could flirt with a mountain range, she’s probably standing in front of you right now. Just because my pretty face has turned your head, do not assume that I am so easily distracted.” (Vastra is no longer wearing her veil. Jenny applauds.) Jenny: “Whoo. Whoo. Sorry.” Vastra: “Well, goodness me. The lake is ruffled at last. I often wondered what you’d be like when you lost your temper.” Jenny: “Oi. Married.” Vastra: “The Doctor needs us, you more than anyone. He is lost in the ruin of himself, and we must bring him home.” Clara: “When did you stop wearing your veil?” Vastra: “When you stopped seeing it.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor is making his way towards the river.) The Doctor: “Oi. Oi. Oi, big, sexy woman. Oi. Sorry. Sorry, it’s all my fault. My time machine got stuck in your throat. It happens. I brought you along by accident. That’s mostly how I meet girls, but don’t worry, I promise I will get you home. I swear. Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. You will be at home again.” (The dinosaur suddenly bursts into flames. It roars in pain before collapsing.) The Doctor: “Stop that. Who’s doing that? No, don’t do that.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor leaps from a roof into a tree. The upper bough breaks under the strain, dropping him down.) The Doctor: “Argh. Argh. Oh.” (He finishes hanging upside down from the lowest branch by his knees. A hansom cab, or growler, trots into his view.) The Doctor: “Halt. Sorry, I’m going to have to relieve you of your pet.” CABBIE: “You’re what?” The Doctor: “Shut up, I was talking to the horse.” (The Doctor somersaults on to the horse’s back and uses his sonic screwdriver to sever the traces and reins.) CABBIE: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “Forwards.” (The Doctor is cantering along the cobbles.) The Doctor: “Left. No, no. Right, right, right, right. Sorry, it’s my new hands. I can’t tell them apart.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor dismounts and stands on the parapet over the burning remains, muttering to himself.) The Doctor: “(sotto) Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry, sorry, sorry.” (Strax brings the carriage to a halt behind him, and the ladies get out.) Strax: “Whoa.” Jenny: “The Doctor.” Clara: “What’s he doing here?” (Vastra secures her carriage using the remote control in her hat.) Vastra: “There is trouble. Where else would he be?” The Doctor: “She was scared. She was scared and alone. I brought her here and look what they did.” Vastra: “Who or what could have done this thing?” “Still not the question.” I sang. Vastra: “I’m sorry?” The Doctor: “No. That is not the question. That is not where we start.” Strax: “The question is how. The flesh itself has been combusted.” The Doctor: “No, no, shut up. What do you all have for brains, pudding? Look at you. Why can’t I meet a decent species? Planet of the pudding brains.” Clara: “Doctor, I know you’re upset, but you need to calm down and talk to us. What is the question?” The Doctor: “A dinosaur is burning in the heart of London. Nothing left but smoke and flame. The question is, have there been any similar murders?” Vastra: “Yes. Yes, by the Goddess, there have.” The Doctor: “Look at them all, gawking.” The Doctor: “Question two. If all the pudding brains are gawking, then what is he?” (One man is walking away calmly.) Vastra: “He seems remarkably unmoved by the available spectacle.” Clara: “Do you think that is whoever-” (There is a splash. The Doctor is no longer standing on the parapet.) (More) I rolled my eyes. “Great Story, I’m marrying an idiot.” I chased after him. ==PC== (More) “Aren’t you cold?” The Doctor asked, looking over my outfit. His eyes lingered on the legs. “Nope.” I smiled. “I actually don’t think it’s cold enough.” The Doctor kept his eyes on my legs. “Yes...uh...you sure you don’t want a change of clothes?” “Do you?” I asked. “You’re in a night dress.” “You’re in pants.” The Doctor retorted. “No. I’m in a skirt.” I said, feigning innocence. The Doctor’s eyebrows turned cross. “What? You got something to say?” (More) The Doctor: “Bitey. The air, it’s bitey. It’s wet, and bitey.” BARNEY: “Oh, it’s cold.” The Doctor: “That’s right. It’s cold. It’s cold, I knew it was a thing. I need um, I need clothes. I need clothes, that’s what I need. And a big, long scarf. No, no, move on from that. Looked stupid. Er, have you seen this face before?” BARNEY: “No.” The Doctor: “Are you sure?” BARNEY: “Sir, I have never seen that face.” The Doctor: “It’s funny, because I’m sure that I have. You know, I never know where the faces come from. They just pop up. Zap. Faces like this one. Come on, look at it, have a look, come on, look, look, look.” (The Doctor pulls Barney over to look in the mirror on the ground.) The Doctor: “Look, it’s covered in lines. But I didn’t do the frowning. Who frowned me this face? Do you ever look in the mirror and think I’ve seen that face before?” BARNEY: “Yes.” The Doctor: “Really? When?” BARNEY: “Well, every time I look in the mirror.” The Doctor: “Oh, yes, yes, yes. Fair enough. Good point. My face is fresh on, though.” BARNEY: “Er-” (Barney moves away from the nutter in the nightshirt.) The Doctor: “Why this one? Why did I choose this face? It’s like I’m trying to tell myself something. Like I’m trying to make a point. But what is so important that I can’t just tell myself what I’m thinking?” BARNEY: “Er-” The Doctor: “I’m not just being rhetorical here. You can join in.” BARNEY: “I don’t like it.” The Doctor: “What?” BARNEY: “Your face.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t like it either. Well, it’s all right up until the eyebrows. Then it just goes haywire. Look at the eyebrows. These are attack eyebrows. You could take bottle tops off with these.” BARNEY: “They are mighty eyebrows indeed, sir.” The Doctor: “They’re cross. They’re crosser than the rest of my face. They’re independently cross. They probably want to cede from the rest of my face and set up their own independent state of eyebrows. That’s Scot. I am Scottish. I’ve gone Scottish?” BARNEY: “Oh yes, you are. You are definitely Scots, sir. I, I ’ear it in your voice.” The Doctor: “Oh no, that’s good. Oh.” (He practices the long rolling Scottish ’oh’ sound.) The Doctor: “It’s good I’m Scottish. I’m Scottish. I am Scottish. I can complain about things, I can really complain about things. Now, give me your coat.” BARNEY: “No.” The Doctor: “I am cold.” BARNEY: “I’m cold.” The Doctor: “I’m cold. There’s no point in us both being cold. Give me your coat. Give me your coat. No, wait. Shut up, shut up. Shut up. I missed something. It was here, it was here. It was. What was it I saw? What did I see?” (He pick up an old newspaper.) The Doctor: “This is what I saw. Spontaneous combustion.” (Fourth case of spontaneous combustion. The death of Margaret Roberts occurred on Friday, outside her home address in London, in what the police are describing as a curious case of spontaneous combustion. She was aged 68 years. Born in Scotland, Mrs Roberts etc, etc.) BARNEY: “What devilry is this, sir?” The Doctor: “I don’t know, but I probably blame the English.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Clara crosses the street and looks up at the building, which is just as depicted in the advert. She goes inside and sits by herself on a curved bench seat in a wall alcove, with a small round table in front of it. The restaurant has other customers, but is very quiet. She examines the advert again, then sniffs. Then she coughs as she fans the air with the paper. Her companion is wearing a noisome coat.) The Doctor: “What’s wrong?” Clara: “I don’t know. Maybe the smell?” The Doctor: “I know. It’s everywhere.” Clara: “Where did you get that coat?” The Doctor: “Er, ahem, I bought it.” Clara: “From where?” The Doctor: “Er, a shop?” Clara: “No.” The Doctor: “Might have been a tramp.” Clara: “You don’t have any money.” The Doctor: “Er, I had a watch.” Clara: “No. That watch was beautiful.” The Doctor: “It was my favorite.” Clara: “You swapped your favorite watch for that coat. That’s maybe not a good deal.” The Doctor: “Well, I was in a hurry. There was a terrible smell.” Clara: “Okay.” (The Doctor smiles and laughs a little.) Clara: “No. No, don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t smile. I will smile first and then you know it’s safe to smile.” The Doctor: “Are you cross with me?” Clara: “I am not cross. But if I was cross it would be your fault and. Yes, I am cross.” The Doctor: “I guessed that.” Clara: “I am extremely cross.” The Doctor: “And if I hadn’t changed my face, would you be cross?” Clara: “I would be cross if I wasn’t cross.” The Doctor: “Why?” Clara: “Why? An ordinary person wants to meet someone that they know very well for lunch. What do they do?” The Doctor: “Well, they probably get in touch and suggest lunch.” Clara: “Mmm hmm. Okay, so what sort of person would put a cryptic note in, in a newspaper advert?” The Doctor: “Well, I wouldn’t like to say.” Clara: “Oh, go on, do say.” The Doctor: “Well, I would say that that person would be an egomaniac, needy, game-player sort of person.” Clara: “Ah, thank you. Well, at least that hasn’t changed.” The Doctor: “And I don’t suppose it ever will.” Clara: “No, I don’t suppose it will, either.” The Doctor: “Clara, honestly, I don’t want you to change. It was no bother, really. I saw your advert, I figured it out. I’m happy to play your game.” Clara: “No. No, no. I didn’t place the ad. You placed the ad.” The Doctor: “No, I didn’t.” Clara: “Yes, you placed the ad, I figured it out. Impossible Girl, see? Lunch.” The Doctor: “No, look, the Impossible. That is a message from the Impossible Girl.” Clara: “For the Impossible Girl.” The Doctor: “Ooo.” Clara: “Oh.” The Doctor: “Well, if neither of us placed that ad, who placed that ad?” Clara: “Hang on. Egomaniac, needy, game-player?” The Doctor: “This could be a trap.” Clara: “That was me?” The Doctor: “Never mind that.” Clara: “Yes, I am minding that.” The Doctor: “Clara.” Clara: “You were talking about me?” The Doctor: “Clara, what is happening right now in this restaurant to you and me is more important than your egomania.” Clara: “Nothing is more important than my egomania.” The Doctor: “Right, you actually said that.” Clara: “You never mention that again.” The Doctor: “It’s a vanity trap. You’re so busy congratulating yourself on solving the puzzle, you don’t notice that you’re sticking your head in a noose.” Clara: “What are you doing?” (The Doctor pulls a hair from his head.) Clara: “And that isn’t the only grey one, if you are, er, having a cull.” The Doctor: “What, do you have a problem with the grey ones?” Clara: “If I got new hair and it was grey, I would have a problem.” The Doctor: “Yeah, I bet you would.” Clara: “Meaning?” The Doctor: “It’s too short.” (He pulls a hair from Clara’s head.) Clara: “Ow.” The Doctor: “Sorry, it was the only one out of place. I’m sure that you would want it killed.” Clara: “Ooo. Are you trying to tell me something?” The Doctor: “I’m trying to measure the air disturbance in the room.” Clara: “Right. Moments when you know you are boring.” (He holds the hair below the table edge and lets it go. It falls slowly downwards.) The Doctor: “There is something extremely wrong with everybody else in this room.” Clara: “Mmm. Basically, don’t you always think that?” The Doctor: “Look at them. Don’t look.” Clara: “You just said to look.” The Doctor: “Look without looking.” Clara: “They look fine to me. They’re just eating.” The Doctor: “Are they?” (A soup spoon is repeatedly brought up to the mouth and lowered again, still full. Knifes and forks lift and fall over plates.) Clara: “Okay, no. No, they’re not eating.” The Doctor: “Something else they’re not doing.” (Another short grey hair falls to the floor.) The Doctor: “(sotto) Breathing.” Clara: “(sotto) What do we do?” The Doctor: “Well, you don’t want to eat, do you?” Clara: “Hmm. Slightly lost my appetite. Ahem. How long before they notice that we’re different?” The Doctor: “Not long. Clara: “Anything we can do?” The Doctor: “How long can you hold your breath?” Clara: “We could just casually stroll out of here, like we’ve changed our minds.” The Doctor: “Happens all the time.” Clara: “Ha. Course it does.” (They stand. The other diners stop and stand with a clatter of clockwork. They take a step, the diners move towards them.) Clara: “We could take another look at the menu.” (So they sit down again and the diners return to their tables.) Clara: “What are they?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. But don’t worry, because that’s not the question. The question is, what is this restaurant?” Clara: “Okay, what is this restaurant?” The Doctor: “I don’t know.” (They look at the small menus. A waiter appears at their table.) The Doctor: “Er, no sausages? Do you? And there’s no pictures either. Do you have a children’s menu?” (The waiter shines a small green light at the Doctor from the tip of his pencil.) The Doctor: “Any specials?” WAITER: “Liver.” The Doctor: “I don’t like liver.” WAITER: “Spleen. Brain stem. Eyes.” Clara: “Mmm. Is there a lot of demand for those?” The Doctor: “I don’t think that’s what’s on the menu. I think we are the menu.” WAITER: “Lungs. Skin.” The Doctor: “Excuse me.” (The Doctor reaches up and pulls off the waiter’s face. There is a metal mesh beneath with a flame behind it.) Clara: “Okay. Robot in a mask.” The Doctor: “It’s a face.” Clara: “Yeah, it’s very convincing.” (The Doctor puts it over Clara’s face.) The Doctor: “No, it’s a face.” Clara: “Oh!” (She throws it down.) WAITER: “Yes.” The Doctor: “Yes, what?” WAITER: “Yes, we have a children’s menu.” (Metal arms come out of the back of the bench and hold them tightly around the arms and legs. They are very nice arms, with hands on the end to clasp together firmly. Then the bench descends.) The Doctor: “You’ve got to admire their efficiency.” Clara: “Is it okay if I don’t?” (They cry out as they go down.) (More) ==PC== (More) (A large steampunk circular place, all brass and rivets. There are various people standing still in small alcoves around the wall, and the Half-Face Man is seated in a chair in the centre.) The Doctor: “Hello? Hello, are you the manager? I demand to speak to the manager.” Clara: “This is not a real restaurant, is it?” The Doctor: “Well now, it’s more a sort of automated organ collection station for the unwary diner. Sweeney Todd without the pies.” Clara: “So where are we now?” The Doctor: “Factually? An ancient spaceship, probably buried for centuries. Functionally? A larder.” Clara: “So why hasn’t somebody come for us?” The Doctor: “We’re alive.” Clara: “We’re alive in a larder.” The Doctor: “Exactly. It’s cheaper than freezing us.” Clara: “Okay.” (The Doctor has shaken his sonic screwdriver out from under his coat.) The Doctor: “Are you ready?” Clara: “Go for it.” The Doctor: “Don’t let it roll away.” Clara: “No.” The Doctor: “We’ve got one shot at this.” Clara: “Next time, make one that doesn’t roll.” The Doctor: “Go.” (The Doctor manages to shake the sonic screwdriver onto the floor near Clara’s feet.) The Doctor: “Have you got it?” Clara: “I can only just about reach it.” The Doctor: “Oh, it’s at times like this I miss Amy.” Clara: “Who?” The Doctor: “Nothing.” (Clara gathers the screwdriver between her feet and aims upwards it at the Doctor.) Clara: “Ready?” The Doctor: “Don’t miss.” (She flicks it up into his lap. He winces.) The Doctor: “Oh.” Clara: “Sorry, did I hit something?” The Doctor: “Oh, the symbolism.” (He gets the screwdriver into his hands and unfastens his bonds with it, then Clara’s.) Clara: “You should make that thing voice-activated. Oh, for God’s sake, it is, isn’t it?” The Doctor: “I don’t want to talk about it.” Clara: “Doctor?” (There is a Chinaman in the nearest alcove.) The Doctor: “Dormant.” Clara: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “I don’t. I’m just hoping.” (They tiptoe away.) Clara: “So, is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?” The Doctor: “Well, if they’re harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have some great stuff.” Clara: “Why would robots need organs? Burke and Hare from space?” The Doctor: “No, but that’s a good theory. Droids harvesting spare parts. That rings a bell.” (He stares at the Half-Face Man in the chair in the middle.) The Doctor: “Captain, my Captain.” Clara: “Can he see us?” The Doctor: “Dormant.” Clara: “Hoping?” The Doctor: “Yep. Oh, look. He’s recharging. He’s asleep. Doesn’t even know we’re here.” Clara: “Are you sure?” The Doctor: “Sure. Not sure. One or the other.” Clara: “Okay. So, half-man, half-robot. A cyborg, yeah?” The Doctor: “Oh.” Clara: “Oh?” BOTH: “Oh.” The Doctor: “Look at the hands.” Clara: “What about them?” The Doctor: “Look at them.” Clara: “I’m looking.” The Doctor: “They don’t match. These hands don’t belong to the same body.” (One is large and fleshy, a workman’s hand. The other is slim and dainty, never scrubbed a floor in its life.) Clara: “I don’t understand.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t blame you. See this, this is not your normal cyborg. This isn’t a man turning himself into a robot. This is a robot turning himself into a man, piece by piece.” Clara: “That’s what the restaurant’s for.” The Doctor: “Well, it would need a constant supply of spare parts. You can tan skin, but organs rot. Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it’s been around, how much of the original is even left? The eyeballs look very fresh, though.” (The arms move. They jump back.) Clara: “Ah.” (It takes hold of the chair arms, and clockwork whirrs.) Clara: “(sotto) Is it awake?” The Doctor: “It’s waking up. I think. Okay, let’s go.” (They tiptoe away, then run through a doorway into a brightly lit corridor. The Doctor turns back.) The Doctor: “I’ve seen this before. I’m missing something.” Clara: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “It’s the brand new head, rebooting.” Clara: “Come on.” The Doctor: “I’ve seen this before.” Clara: “Oh, hurry up. Get out.” (Clara returns and pushes the Doctor through the doorway as the Half-Face Man raises his arm and touches his palm. The door comes down between the Doctor and Clara. He tries to sonic it open.) Clara: “Doctor. Quickly.” (The door lifts a short way. The Half-Face Man is unplugging himself from his chair.) The Doctor: “Sorry, too slow. There’s no point in them catching us both.” Clara: “Well, give me the screwdriver.” The Doctor: “I might need it.” (The Doctor closes the door fully and leaves her.) Clara: “No. Doctor?” (More) ==PC== (More) Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one? There was another. Where is he? Where is the other? You will tell us, or you will be destroyed.” Clara: “What did you say?” Half-Face Man: “You will tell us.” Clara: “Yeah, I know. Or what?” Half-Face Man: “You will die.” (Clara stands.) Clara: “Go on, then. Do it. I’m not going to answer any of your questions, so you have to do it. You have to kill me. Threats don’t work unless you deliver.” Half-Face Man: “You will tell us where the other one is.” Clara: “Nope.” Half-Face Man: “You will be destroyed.” Clara: “Destroy me, then. And if you don’t, then I’m not going to believe a single threat you make from now on. Of course, if I’m dead, then I can’t tell you where the other one went then. You need to keep this place down here a secret, don’t you? Never start with your final sanction. You’ve got nowhere to go but backwards.” Half-Face Man: “Humans feel pain.” Clara: “Ah. Bigger threat to smaller threat. See what I mean? Backwards.” Half-Face Man: “The information can be extracted by means of your suffering.” Clara: “Are you trying to scare me? Well, cos I’m already bloody terrified of dying. And I’ll endure a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that’s keeping me alive. How long have you got?” (The clockwork whirs, then the Half-Face Man stands up.) Clara: “All you can offer me is my life. What you can’t do is threaten it. You can negotiate.” (The Half-Face Man removes his big right hand and clamps it onto his lapel.) Clara: “Okay, okay, okay. Okay, yes, yes, yes, I’m crying and it’s just because I am very frightened of you. If you know anything about human beings, that means you, you’re in a lot trouble.” (The robot has a flame-thrower where his hand was, ready to go.) Half-Face Man: “We will not negotiate.” Clara: “You don’t have a choice. I tell you what. I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions.” Clara: “We’ll take turns. I’ll go first. Why did you kill the dinosaur?” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions.” Clara: “Why’d you kill the dinosaur?” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions!” Clara: “Then you might as well kill me, because I’m not talking again till you do.” Half-Face Man: “Within the optic nerve of the dinosaur is material of use to our computer systems.” Clara: “You burned a whole dinosaur for a spare part? No. No, hang on. You know what’s in a dinosaur’s optic nerve, which means you’ve seen them before.” Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one?” Clara: “How long have you been rebuilding yourselves? Look at the state of you. Is there any real you left? What’s the point?” Half-Face Man: “We will reach the promised land.” Clara: “The what? The promised land? What’s that?” Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one?” Clara: “I don’t know. But I know where he will be. Where he will always be. If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have my back.” (Clara reaches behind her.) Clara: “I’m right, aren’t I? Go on. Please, please, go on, say I’m right.” (A hand grabs hers and pulls her back. Then the bald robot removes the skin from his face.) The Doctor: “Ah. Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time. Thank you for all the gratuitous information. Five foot one and crying. You never stood a chance. Stop it.” (The Doctor pulls the flame-thrower arm down and puts his sonic screwdriver into the recharger in the chair. The lights go out.) The Doctor: “This is your power source. And feeble though it is, I can use it to blow this whole room if I see one thing that I don’t like. And that includes karaoke and mime, so take no chances. See Clara, that’s how you disguise yourself as a droid!” The Doctor yelled. Clara growled. “Yeah, well I didn’t have a lot of time. I’d been suddenly abandoned!” “Yeah, sorry.” He shook his head. “No, actually, I’m not.” The Doctor glared at the robot. “You’re brilliant on adrenaline. And you were out of your depths. Never try and control a control freak.” “I am not a control freak!” Clara snapped. “Yes ma’am.” The Doctor quipped. I held back my smile. Clara: “Oh.” Half-Face Man: “Why are you here?” The Doctor: “Why did you invite us? The message, in the paper. That was you, wasn’t it? Oh.” (He takes back his screwdriver.) The Doctor: “I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened. Clara, say the word.” Clara: “What word?” The Doctor: “They never sent you in here without a word.” Clara: “I don’t want to say it.” The Doctor: “I’ve guessed already.” (Clara touches her top button, which glows bright blue.) BOTH: “Geronimo.” (Two ladies in tight leather catsuits descend from the ceiling by means of long pieces of fabric wrapped around their waists, then pull large swords from the scabbard on their backs.) Vastra: “Remain still, and lay down your weapons in the name of the British Empire.” Strax: “Argh.” (Their short but robust companion didn’t have fabric long enough. He just falls to the floor with his honking great gun.) Vastra: “Strax.” Strax: “Sorry.” Jenny: “I’ve told you before. Take the stairs.” The Doctor: “Oh, look. The cavalry.” Half-Face Man: “I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve. What do you think you can accomplish, little man?” The Doctor: “What do you? Vastra?” (Vastra blocks the flame-thrower with her sword.) Vastra: “The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudice, and the authorities summoned.” Clara: “Hang on, she called the police? We never do that. We should start.” The Doctor: “You see? Destroy us if you will, they’re still going to close your restaurant. That was going to sound better.” Half-Face Man: “Then we will destroy you.” (All the robots have swords for arms.) The Doctor: “No, you won’t. You’re logical. You have restraint. You killed to survive. You’re not a murderer.” Clara: “He’s not a what? This is a slaughterhouse.” The Doctor: “And how does that make it different from any other restaurant? You weren’t vegetarian the last time I checked. This is over. Killing us won’t change that. What would be the point?” Half-Face Man: “To find the promised land.” The Doctor: “You’re millions of years old. It’s time you knew, there isn’t one.” Half-Face Man: “I am in search of paradise.” The Doctor: “Yeah, well, me too. I’m not going to make it either.” (The Half-Face Man knocks the Doctor down.) Clara: “Doctor!” Half-Face Man: “I will leave in the escape capsule. Destroy where necessary.” Vastra: “Escape capsule? This ship is millions of years old. It’ll never fly.” Half-Face Man: “It has been repaired.” Clara: “What with?” Half-Face Man: “You.” Strax: “Defensive positions, everyone.” Clara: “Doctor. He’s getting away.” (The Half-Face Man goes up on the bench seat while the rest of the robots encircle our heroes.) Half-Face Man: “Your friend is intelligent. He’ll know better than to follow me.” (The Doctor is holding on to a convenient brass handle on the underside of the seat.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor pours two glasses of whiskey.) “Would you like a drink?” I asked, pouring us all whiskey. Half-Face Man: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “I’ve got the horrible feeling I’m going to have to kill you. I thought you might appreciate a drink first. I know I would.” (The Half-Face Man turns back to the control panel in the wall and pulls down a small lever. There is a grinding sound.) The Doctor: “Fifty first century, right? Time travelling spaceship crashed in the past. You’re trying to get home the long way round.” Half-Face Man: “I go to the promised land.” The Doctor: “So you keep saying. Okay, so your restaurant is made out of your old ship. But you’re wasting your time. It can’t ever fly.” (The Doctor picks up a posy that had been on a table.) Half-Face Man: “The escape pod is viable.” The Doctor: “How? You can’t patch up a spaceship with human remains. You know, this really is ringing a bell.” (The room shakes.) The Doctor: “Okay, that’s clever. How are you powering it?” Half-Face Man: “Skin.” (The escape pod is the main room of the restaurant, carried aloft by the pink balloon. The Doctor removes a fuse from the board and reads the inscription.) The Doctor: “SS Marie Antoinette. Out of control repair droids cannibalising human beings. I know that this is familiar, but I just can’t seem to place it.” Half-Face Man: “How would you kill me?” The Doctor: “Sister ship of the Madame De Pompadour. No, not getting it.” (He sniffs the posy then throws it aside.) Half-Face Man: “How would you kill me?” The Doctor: “Why don’t you have a drink first? It’s only human.” Half-Face Man: “I am not human.” The Doctor: “Neither am I.” (The balloon and its gondola float over Saint Pauls Cathedral.) The Doctor: “What do you think of the view?” Half-Face Man: “I do not think of it.” The Doctor: “I don’t think of it. I don’t. Droids and apostrophes, I could write a book. Except you are barely a droid any more. There’s more human in you than machine. So tell me, what do you think of the view?” (The Half-Face Man gets up and draws back the net curtain. They are heading towards Westminster.) Half-Face Man: “It is beautiful.” The Doctor: “No, it isn’t. It’s just far away. Everything looks too small. I prefer it down there. Everything is huge. Everything is so important. Every detail, every moment, every life clung to.” Half-Face Man: “How could you kill me?” The Doctor: “For the same reason that you’re asking me that question, because you don’t really want to carry on. What’ll happen to the other droids when you die? You’re the control node, aren’t you? Presumably they’ll deactivate.” Half-Face Man: “I will not die. I will reach the promised land.” The Doctor: “There isn’t any promised land. This is just. It’s a superstition that you have picked up from all the humanity you’ve stuffed inside yourself.” Half-Face Man: “I am not dead.” The Doctor: “You are a broom. Question. You take a broom, you replace the handle, and then later you replace the brush, and you do that over and over again. Is it still the same broom? Answer? No, of course it isn’t. But you can still sweep the floor. Which is not strictly relevant, skip that last part. You have replaced every piece of yourself, mechanical and organic, time and time again. There’s not a trace of the original you left. You probably can’t even remember where you got that face from.” (The Doctor holds up a silver plate between himself and the Half-Face Man. The droid takes it, looks carefully, then drops it.) Half-Face Man: “It cannot end.” The Doctor: “It has to. You know it does. And there’s only one way out.” (The Doctor opens the doors.) Half-Face Man: “Self-destruction is against my basic programme.” The Doctor: “And murder is against mine.” (They struggle in the doorway.) Half-Face Man: “You are stronger than you look.” The Doctor: “And I’m hoping you are too. This is over. Are you capable of admitting that?” Half-Face Man: “Do you have it in you to murder me?” The Doctor: “Those people down there. They’re never small to me. Don’t make assumptions about how far I will go to protect them, because I’ve already come a very long way. And unlike you, I don’t expect to reach the promised land.” (The Half-Face Man turns off his flame thrower. They release each other.) The Doctor: “You realize, of course, one of us is lying about our basic programming.” Half-Face Man: “Yes.” The Doctor: “And I think we both know who that is.” (More) ==PC== (More) I tossed the clothes at him. The Doctor looked at me curiously. “Go on. Get dressed. I’m not gonna have my future husband be a homeless guy anymore.” The Doctor grunted. “Well now that we’re being honest, why don’t you change? I don’t want you wearing that getup. Far too much skin.” A smirk came onto my face. “What? Don’t like my clothes? Or...do you like them too much?” I walked past him. The Doctor paused in his confident steps. He turned to me, that confidence moved to his smirk. “Yes. I do.” He said in utter seriousness. “Now go take it off.” It had been a joke, a tease to see how far the Doctor would go. He was honest, totally and purely honest with me. It felt good. He walked off into the TARDIS, to get on his new clothes. I braced myself on the console, realizing just then I hadn’t exactly been breathing. ==PC== (More) My outfit was a little more mild. The TARDIS was probably doing this to keep the Doctor from having a heartsattack. I wore a short sleeve white peasant shirt, with some blue designs along the collar. My skirt had been replaced with tan capri pants. I wore roman sandals, which I wasn’t in love with but they would do. My hair had been done into a shoulder braid, tied with a purple ribbon. There was a bohemian teal blue scarf tied over my head, looking delightful. It looked gorgeous. Simple, yet alluring. The Doctor seemed to approve. “Hello Morgan Spencer.” The Doctor said, in the tone he always uses when speaking his companions names. I loved that tone. “Hello Theta Sigma.” I greeted. The Doctor shook his shoulders. “I like that outfit better.” “No, you liked the other one.” I corrected. “You just didn’t like that you weren’t the only one looking at it.” The Doctor went to flipping switches. “Of course. How would you feel if I wore something like that?” “I would wonder how you got the skirt.” I quipped. The Doctor gave me a flat look. I just kept my smirk up. “No. I meant, if I went around in just my pants.” I blushed. Pants were what British people called underwear. I wondered what kind the Doctor wore...or if he had any at all. “Need I remind you that I’m at 11?” The Doctor smirked, flipping one last switch. “Oh. Trust me, I would’ve remembered if you ever showed up in that skirt.” I blushed deeper, not sure why. “Yeah.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The dinosaur sputum has gone from the outside.) Clara: “You’ve redecorated.” The Doctor: “Yes.” Clara: “I don’t like it.” The Doctor: “Not completely entirely convinced myself. I think there should be more round things on the walls. I used to have lots of round things. I wonder where I put them? I’m the Doctor. I’ve lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I’ve made many mistakes, and it’s about time that I did something about that. Clara, I’m not your boyfriend.” Clara: “I never thought you were.” The Doctor: “I never said it was your mistake.” (He sets the TARDIS flying then shows off the red silk lining of his dark blue Crombie coat.) The Doctor: “What do you think?” Clara: “Who put that advert in the paper?” The Doctor: “Who gave you my number? A long time ago, remember? You were given the number of a computer helpline, and you ended up phoning the TARDIS. Who gave you that number?” Clara: “The woman. The woman in the shop.” The Doctor: “Then there’s a woman out there who’s very keen that we stay together.” (The TARDIS lands. Sadly, the time rotor does not go up and down.) The Doctor: “How do you feel on the subject?” Clara: “Am I home?” The Doctor: “If you want to be.” Clara: “I’m sorry. I’m, I’m so, so sorry. But I don’t think I know who you are any more.” (Her mobile phone rings.) The Doctor: “You’d better get that. It might be your boyfriend.” Clara: “Shut up.” She snapped. “Terra’s standin’ right there!” The Doctor looked over at me, I just shrugged. Why was she dragging me into all of this? This was the moment where they would start getting along. “I’m not her boyfriend either.” The Doctor commented, making me snort. ‘The way his kissed me on that train says he has gone way beyond boyfriend.’ I thought, remembering the kiss fondly. (Clara goes outside to answer the call.) (More) The Doctor: “So who is it?” “Is that the Doctor? Clara: “Yes.” “Yes. Clara held out the phone. “He says it’s your turn.” “Hello Manboy.” I said. “Terra.” Eleven breathed. In that same way he did at Demons Run. “Hello my dear.” I smiled. “You’re dying.” “Yes.” He admitted. “I love you.” I suddenly said. “That’s the first time I’ve said that to anyone. Next time, I’m saying that to your face got it Doc?” The Doctor laughed. “Morgan, I promise, that no matter how I change, I will still love you.” The Doctor promised. I laughed, happy. “I know. I know. I’ve met this Doctor before. It was...unforgettable.” I couldn’t stop the blush over that kiss. “But, manboy, no matter what happens to me, I forgive you. I will always forgive you, as long as I will love you. Totally-” “And completely.” The Doctor finished my thought. I laughed. That was gonna be our thing. No question. There was an almost uncomfortable silence on his end. “Take care of him, Morgan, please.” The Doctor pleaded. “I Pinkie promise, Theta.” I said. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” (More) The Doctor: “Well?” Clara: “Well what?” “He asked you both a question.” The Doctor pointed out. Clara still looked heartbroken. “Will you help me?” Clara: “You shouldn’t have been listening.” The Doctor: “I wasn’t. I didn’t need to. That was me talking. You can’t see me, can you? You look at me, and you can’t see me. Have you any idea what that’s like? I’m not on the phone, I’m right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me.” (Clara walks forward and studies his face carefully. Then she smiles a little.) Clara: “Thank you.” The Doctor: “For what?” Clara: “Phoning.” (She throws her arms around his neck.) I joined in on the hug fest, knowing how this Doctor would react. The Doctor: “I, I don’t think that I’m a hugging person now.” Clara: “I’m not sure you get a vote.” “He did. We just ignored it.” I snickered, holding Doc just a little bit tighter. The Doctor: “Whatever you say.” Clara: “This isn’t my home, by the way.” (She lets go.) The Doctor: “Sorry. I’m sorry about that. I missed.” Clara: “Where are we?” The Doctor: “Glasgow, I think.” Clara: “Ah. You’ll fit right in.” (Scots) “Scottish.” The Doctor: “Right. Shall we, er. Do you want to go and get some coffee, or chips, or something? Or chips and coffee?” Clara: “Coffee. Coffee would be great. You’re buying.” The Doctor: “I don’t have any money.” Clara: “You’re fetching, then.” The Doctor: “I’m not sure that I’m the fetching sort.” Clara: “Yeah, still not sure you get a vote.” (More) ==PC== (More) I held his hand, getting used to the feeling. It was old, and wrinkly. I brushed my thumb against his knuckles. The Doctor smiled at me. I smiled back. Bringing his hand up to me, I kissed his fist. I just held it there, getting a better feel of it than the last time. It was kinda like kissing leather. “I love you.” I whispered into his fist. “I love you, Theta.” The Doctor smiled. “Yes. Good to know.” I gulped, still holding his fist. “Sorry for asking, but, when did you realize you loved me?” The Doctor paused, looking me over. His free arm wrapped around me. I kept his hand held close to me. The hug told me everything I needed to know. “Knew it.” I smirked. “You are a hugger.” (More) “Arrivederci, mi Amore.” I decided, Jumping away in a flash. ==PC== The Half-Faced Man awoke in a garden, with a tea set made out on a table beside him. In the seat just across, a woman sat. She smiled at him, pink lips framing shining white teeth vaguely reminding him of a shark. She wore a bright green twenty first century sundress, and a pure white overcoat. Her honey blonde hair was done back into a bun, but she did have some bangs on her forehead. She had lime green eyes, covered by brass framed glasses. The android looked around his new surroundings, wondering how he got there. The last thing he remembered was fighting the Doctor. The woman tilted her head to the side, the look in her green eyes suggesting she was a predator and he was prey. The look vanished instantly, replaced with warm kindness. She reached for the tea pot, pouring herself a small cuppa. “Hello. I’m Meredith.” She spoke in an English accent. She had a soothing voice, almost matronly. There was something beneath it, something diabolical. The blonde flinched sympathetically, holding her teacup closer to her chest. She frowned at the Half Face Man. “Sorry about my boyfriend.” She shrugged, sheepish. “He’s Scottish.” She took a sip of the tea. Half-Face Man tilted his head. His mechanics hissing and his gears grinding. “Boy friend?” Meredith avoided the question. “Now, did he push you out of that thing, or did you fall?” Meredith asked, using one hand to reach out to him in a gesture of comfort. “Couldn’t really tell. He can be quite mean sometimes.” She moved her hand back, placing her teacup down. She looked out onto the garden, smiling fondly. “Except to me, of course, because he loves me so much.” Meredith glanced at Half-Face Man. “I do like his new accent, though.” She smiled, that predatory smile. “Think I might keep it.” Half-Face Man tilted his head the other way, glancing at the garden. It gave no clues as to where he was. The machine did not like the lack of knowledge. “Where am I?” He said in a threatening tone. Meredith scoffed, rolling her eyes and smiling like he was about to get a big surprise. “Where do you think you are? Look around you. You made it.” She rose up from her seat, picking up an dark pink umbrella from her side of the table. Using it as a walking stick, Meredith joyfully walked out into the garden. Half Face Man watched her warily. Her simple peasant shoes hardly making a sound. “The Promised Land. Paradise.” Meredith spun in a circle, grinning madly at Half Face Man. She threw her arms out, including the umbrella. “Welcome...to Heaven!” (She snaps her teeth together and dances around the water feature.) (More) First Night/Last NightCrimson HorrorThe (More) I flashed in, seeing Vastra holding up a photo of a dead man’s eye. I ran up to it, seeing what looked like the Doctor frozen in his eyeball. Vastra: “Good grief.” THURSDAY: “Oh, god.” (More) I tilted my head, curiously staring at the man. “Hmm. Never had that reaction before.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra and Vastra make enlargements of the photographs.) Terra: “I leave him on his own, and he screws it up.” (The enlargement reveals an image of a red-faced, screaming Doctor.) (More) (More) Vastra: “According to my research, Sweetville’s proprietor holds recruitment drives for her little community. She is only interested in the fittest and the most beautiful.” Strax: “You may rely on me, ma’am.” Vastra: “I was, in fact, speaking to Terra.” Strax: “Terra. If this weak and fleshy boy is to represent us, I strongly recommend the issuing of scissor grenades, limbo vapour and triple blast brain splitters.” “What did you just call me?” I snapped at Strax. The potato held up his arms. “Nothing sir!” “That’s what I thought.” I grinned, turning back to Vastra. Vastra: “What for?” Strax: “Just generally. Remember, we are going to the north.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The poster advertising the meeting proclaims Mrs Winifred Gillyflower on the Present Moral Decay and the Coming Apocalypse.) Gillyflower: “Bradford, that Babylon of the moderns with its crystal light and its glitter, all aswarm with the wretched ruins of humanity. Men and women crushed by the devil’s juggernaut.” (She has a good congregation, who agree with her. Terra is listening carefully.) Gillyflower: “And moral turpitude can destroy the most delicate of lives. Believe me, I know. I know.” (A curtain is drawn back.) Gillyflower: “Me own daughter, blinded in a drunken rage by my late husband. Her once beautiful eyes, pale and white as mistletoe berries.” (The daughter gets up from a chair and taps her way to a covered board.) Gillyflower: “And what, my friends, is your story? Will you be found wanting when the End of Days is come, when judgement rains down upon us all? Or will you be preserved against the coming apocalypse? Do not despair. I offer a way out. There is a different path. Sweetville!” (The blind woman pulls the cover from an illustration of an ideal community. Factory with two rows of terraced homes, its own chapel and bandstand and gardens. Think along the lines of the original model village of Bourneville.) Gillyflower: “Join us. Join us in this shining city on the hill.” (sings) “Bring me my bow of burning gold. Bring me my arrows of desire.” (Later, the congregation are queuing up in front of the pulpit.) Gillyflower: “You wish to join us, my dear?” Terra: “If it’s all the same with you, ma’am.” Gillyflower: “Oh yes, dear. You’ll do very nicely.” (Terra signs the big book.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Prospective employees both male and female are queuing up. A red-headed woman is talking to Terra.) Abigail: “I’m dead nervous, aren’t you? They have to be sure, you see. Only the best for Sweetville. I hope me teeth don’t let me down. I’m Abigail.” Terra: “Pleased to meet you.” Abigail: “You’re not local, are you.” Terra: “Nah. Up from London.” Abigail: “Different here, I bet. Terra: “Yeah. Like a bleeding horse market. Do you know anyone who’s come to live here? In Sweetville, I mean.” Abigail: “I had a pal who come here three month back. She wrote to tell me how perfect it all were. Funny, though. I’ve not heard a peep from her since.” PILGRIM: “Next, please!” Abigail: “Hang on, we’re moving.” (Terra steps aside to a door and gets her roll of lockpicking tools out.) Abigail: “What’re you doing?” Terra: “Do me a favor. Cause a distraction.” Abigail: “What?” Terra: “Swoon. Have a funny turn. Fit of the vapors.” Abigail: “Are you crackers?” Terra: “Go on. There’s a guinea in it for you.” Abigail: “Done.” (Abigail gasps for breath loudly then faints. A crowd gathers around her and Terra gets through the locked door. It takes her to the factory floor, where the deafening thumps of machinery are being broadcast through three large gramophone horns. There is nothing else here. Terra sees two men carry a large bottle of red liquid through the room and get into a lift.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra has taken the lift up to the corridor with the red lit door. There is a rhythmic thumping noise coming from above, so she climbs a spiral staircase to another floor and finds another locked door. The one with the hatch at the bottom. She raises the hatch and a red hand grabs her. She struggles free and the hatch slides shut again.) Terra: “You do that again, and I am going to break you in ways you can’t even dream of. Understood?” There was a thump, but softer this time. The chain rattled. “You are an impatient little bugger.” I commented, as I brought out my lock picking needles. “I could open this door. Would you like that?” Another thump. “Thought you might. But you and I are going to come to an arrangement. Got it?” (thump) “Now, you stand back, do you hear me? I don’t want to hurt to you, but you try anything funny and I’ll do bad things to you. Is that understood?” (thump, thump) “Right.” (More) Terra: “Doctor!” I saw the Doctor. His eyes widened by just so at seeing me. I ran up to him. “Manboy, are you okay?” I looked him over. The Doctor just made that groaning sound. “Don’t talk. I’ve been wax before, and it wasn’t very comfortable.” I said, carefully helping him to his feet. “Let’s...get you...out of here.” (More) (Terra helps the Doctor stagger stiff-legged along the corridor.) Terra: “Come on.” (The lift comes up.) Terra: “Come on!” (It is Ada. She hears their footsteps but heads for the stairs while Terra guides the Doctor into the red glow room.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Through a window they watch people on a frame being manoeuvred over a large vat of bubbling red liquid, then lowered in.) Terra: “Oh my Story.” (The Doctor struggles to point at a row of metal doors behind them.) It was nerve racking. (More) The Doctor walked out, a confident look on his face. The Doctor: “Ah! Missed me?” Terra: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Terra. Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra. Just when you think your favorite time jumping Traveller Queen will never turn up. Terra.” He grabbed me, and kissed me. I reached my hand up, running a hand through his hair. Man, this guy liked kissing me. And my hair. (The Doctor takes her in his arms, bends her backwards and kisses her long and hard on the lips. She slaps his face.) The Doctor: “You have no idea how good that feels. Right. Mrs Gillyflower. We’ve got to stop her. And then there’s Clara. Poor Clara. Where’s Clara?” Terra: “Doctor, wait.” The Doctor: “Can’t. Clara. Got to find.” Terra: “I leave you to your own devices, and you turn into a waxy red thing. What did you do?” The Doctor: “Days, weeks, don’t know. Long story. I’ll keep it short.” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Poor Edmund must have come looking for us and then fallen into a vat of the pure venom. Or was pushed. Didn’t stand a chance.” Terra: “What is that stuff, though?” The Doctor gave me a curious look. “You already know.” He reminded me. “Yes, but I like hearing your speeches.” I gave him a flirty smile. The Doctor: “Deadly poison. And Mrs Gillyflower’s been dipping her pilgrims in a dilute form to protect them. Preserve them. Process didn’t work on me. Maybe because I’m not human. I ended up on the reject pile.” Terra: “Preserve them against what?” The Doctor: “Well, according to her, the coming apocalypse.” (The Doctor makes the universal cuckoo gesture.) Terra: “Not gonna argue with you there.” I said. “When the End of Days is come and judgement rains down upon us all.” The Doctor: “What?” Terra: “Something Mrs. Gillyflower said. One of her sermons. Vastra and Jenny will come looking for me. We’d best get on.” The Doctor: “Yes, Clara. Got to find Clara.” (More) ==PC== (More) “If Clara is dead, you will join her.” I promised him. (He runs over to a house and looks inside.) The Doctor: “I couldn’t see much from where I was, but I think she survived the process. She must be here somewhere.” Terra: “It’s been a year!” “You’re you.” The Doctor pointed out. “So? You think I memorized every house in the show?” I scoffed. “I skipped that.” (The Doctor bursts in to find Clara in a bell jar with another man. He breaks it with a chair.) (More) ==PC== (More) (They have put Clara into a metal cubicle.) Terra: “Can she be revived, like you were?” The Doctor: “I hope so.” (Pilgrims enter.) Terra: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “Oh, great. Great. Attack of the supermodels. Time for a plan.” Terra: “Nah, Doctor. This one’s on me.” (Terra removed her bonnet and dress to reveal a tight all leather outfit. She deals with the three male pilgrims in three moves.) The Doctor: “That is a plan.” (More pilgrims advance, with rounders bats.) The Doctor: “Okay, time for a new plan. Run!” STRAX: “Sontar ha!” (Enter Strax, in his Sontaran armour, firing his honking big gun. The pilgrims flee. Vastra is close behind with a sword.) Vastra: “Let’s go.” Terra: “No, ma’am. We’re not escaping. We’ve got to help the Doctor with Clara.” Jenny: “But, Doctor. Clara’s dead. The Ice Lady? Doctor.” The Doctor: “Long story.” Strax: “What now, madam? We could lay mimetic cluster mines.” Vastra: “Strax.” Strax: “Or dig trenches and fill them with acid.” Vastra: “Strax! You’re overexcited. Have you been eating Miss Jenny’s sherbet fancies again?” Strax: “No.” Vastra: “Go outside and wait for me until I call for you.” Strax: “But madam, I-” Vastra: “Go!” Strax: “I’m going to go play with my grenades.” (Strax leaves.) The Doctor: “Okay, I think she’s about done.” (The Doctor opens the cubicle.) “I know who you think she is, but she isn’t. She can’t be.” Vastra: “I was right, then. You and Clara have unfinished business.” (Clara falls into the Doctor’s arms.) The Doctor: “There, there. Hello, stranger.” Clara: “Doctor. Terra.” The Doctor: “Ah ha.” “Howdy. 14.” Clara: “Hi. What’s going on?” The Doctor: “Oh, haven’t you heard, love? There’s trouble at mill. She’s a lizard.” (More) ==PC== (More) Vastra: “My people once ruled this world, as well you know, but we did not rule it alone. Just as humanity fights a daily battle against nature, so did we. And our greatest plague, the most virulent enemy, was the repulsive red leech.” The Doctor: “Ooo, the Repulsive Red Leech. Nah. On balance I think I prefer the Crimson Horror. What was it, exactly?” Vastra: “A tiny parasite. It infected our drinking water. And once in our systems, it secreted a fatal poison.” The Doctor: “If it’s been hanging around, lurking in the shadows, maybe it’s evolved. Or maybe it’s had help.” Clara: “Doctor, I’ve been thinking. The chimney-” The Doctor: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Way past that now. Yucky red parasite from the time of the dinosaurs pitches up in Victorian Yorkshire. Didn’t see that one coming.” Clara: “Yeah, but the chimney-” The Doctor: “But what’s the connection to Mrs Gillyflower? Judgement will rain down on us all. An empty mill.” Clara: “A chimney that doesn’t blow smoke.” The Doctor: “Clever clogs.” Clara: “Missed me?” The Doctor: “Yeah, lots.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “She’s going to poison the air.” Jenny: “How?” (A pilgrim pulls a lever. They are looking at the base of a rocket.) Clara: “With that, I should think.” The Doctor: “And there’s the poison. All right, gang, I’ve got a plan.” (They stand up and something metal clatters. They duck down as the pilgrims turn towards the sound.) The Doctor: “Shush. Okay.” (Mrs Gillyflower pulls out the stops on a small pipe organ then presses a lever. The contraption turns to present a control board to her.) (More) ==PC== (More) Ada: “Who is that? Who is there?” I walked up to Ada. “Hello.” She froze, trying to find me. “Who are you?” “My name is Terra.” I said kindly. “I am your monster’s...future wife. Apparently.” Ada slowly rose up, using her stick to guide her to me. “What?” “Your monster. He is someone I...” I looked back to him, seeing an encouraging smile on his face. I looked back to Ada. “Sorry. I’m still working those out.” Ada: “You. It’s you. My monster. You’ve come back. But you’re The Doctor: “Warm. And alive, thanks to you, Ada. You saved me from your mother’s human rubbish tip. Now then, what’s wrong? Ada: “She does not want me, monster. I am not to be chosen. Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart that my father saw in me. “I thought that too, for a long, long time.” I told Ada, carefully holding her hand. “Kids treated me horribly, and I just sat there and took it. I thought, maybe there was something wrong with me. I thought that they were just trying to fix me, to stop whatever darkness they saw, that I deserved it.” The Doctor’s eyes burned on the back of my head. I knew he wasn’t staring in anger, but in empathy. He knew this story, I had probably told one of his earlier selves. It wasn’t an easy story to share at first, but it got easier as time went on. Once I embraced the story, and what really happened, it became as easy as walking on air. “But you know what Ada?” I got back to it. “What I realized? “She sniffled, her hand reaching up to wipe her white eyes. “They had it backwards.” She sniffled again. “B-Backwards?” “They saw the light in you, in us.” I explained, smiling. Ada started to blink rapidly as tears started to fall. “They saw it because of the darkness in them, and hated it. So they did they one thing they knew to do, they blew it out. They blew out our light because they didn’t have it, Ada, that’s all.” Ada was nearly starting to cry, so I held her hand tighter. “You are amazing, Ada. You’re just a shining light that they wanted to put out.” (More) Clara: “What is it?” Ada: “Who is that?” Clara: “I’m, I’m a friend. A friend of his.” Ada: “Then you are fortunate indeed. It isn’t good to be alone.” The Doctor: “Now, Ada, I need you to tell me something. Who is Mister Sweet? Ada?” Ada: “Oh, dear monster-” The Doctor: “Please, tell me.” Ada: “I cannot. Even now, I cannot. I cannot betray Mama.” The Doctor: “Well, come with us, then. There’s something you need to know.” (More) ==PC== (More) (This is where the control mechanism is.) Gillyflower: “Oh, you do seem to keep turning up like a bad penny, young man.” The Doctor: “Force of habit.” Gillyflower: “Can I offer you something? Tea? Seed cake? Oh, a glass of Amontillado?” The Doctor: “No, thanks. We’ve had a skinful already, as you might say.” Gillyflower: “Ha, ha. Very funny.” The Doctor: “Yes. I’m the Doctor, you’re nuts and I’m going to stop you.” Gillyflower: “I’m afraid Mister Sweet and I cannot allow that.” The Doctor: “Ah, yes. Would it be impolite to ask why you and Mister Sweet are petrifying your workforce with diluted prehistoric leech venom?” Clara: “So when do we get to meet him, this silent partner of yours? Why’s he so shy.” Gillyflower: “Mister Sweet is always with us.” The Doctor: “You seem to have a very close relationship, you and your pal.” Gillyflower: “Oh yes, Doctor. Exceedingly close. Symbiotic, you might say.” (She opens the top of her dress to reveal a large red leech attached to her skin. Meanwhile, the pilgrims continue to load bottles of venom into the rocket.) Clara: “Doctor, what is it?” Gillyflower: “A survivor. He has grown fat on the filth humanity has pumped into the rivers. That’s where I found him.” The Doctor: “Very enterprising.” Gillyflower: “His needs are simple, and in return he gives me his nectar.” The Doctor: “Mrs Gillyflower, you have no idea what you are dealing with. In the wrong hands, that venom could wipe out all life on this planet.” (Mrs Gillyflower holds out her hands.) Gillyflower: “Do you know what these are? Ha, ha! The wrong hands.” (She goes to the control panel and pulls a lever. Red lights come on all the way up the factory chimney. Young Thomas Thomas points them out to Strax.) The Doctor: “Planning a little fireworks party, are we?” Gillyflower: “You have forced me to advance the Great Work somewhat, Doctor, but my colossal scheme remains as it was. My rocket will explode high in the atmosphere, raining down Mister Sweet’s beneficence onto all humanity.” Clara: “And wiping us all out. You can’t!” Gillyflower: “My new Adam and Eve’s will sleep for but a few months before stepping out into a golden dawn. Is it not beautiful, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Now, tell us about Ada, Mrs Gillyflower.” Gillyflower: “What?” The Doctor: “Your daughter. You do remember your daughter? Tell us about your daughter.” Gillyflower: “How can you speak of such trivia when my hour is at hand? The child is of no consequence.” The Doctor: “Is that why you experimented on her?” Clara: “Experimented?” The Doctor: “The signs are all there. The pattern of scarring. You used her as a guinea pig, didn’t you.” Clara: “God.” Gillyflower: “Sometimes sacrifices must be made.” The Doctor: “Sacrifices?” Gillyflower: “It was necessary. I had to find out how much of the venom would produce an antitoxin to immunise myself. Don’t you see? It was necessary!” Ada: “Mama? Is it, is it true?” Gillyflower: “Ada.” Ada: “It is. It’s true. True.” Gillyflower: “Ada, listen to me.” Ada: “You hag! You perfidious hag! You virago! You harpy! All these years I have helped you, served you, looked after you. Do they count for nothing, nothing at all?” (Ada starts slashing at her mother with her white stick.) Gillyflower: “No, stop. Stop.” (Clara runs forward.) The Doctor: “Hang on, I’ve got a sonic screwdriver.” Clara: “Yeah? I’ve got a chair!” (Clara smashes it into the control panel, with a satisfying shower of sparks.) Gillyflower: “No!” The Doctor: “Yeah. That worked. I’m afraid your rocket isn’t going anywhere, Mrs G.” Gillyflower: “Please, come to me, Ada. Oh, my child. You have always been so very useful.” (Mrs Gillyflower puts a small revolver to Ada’s head.) The Doctor: “No, Mrs Gillyflower. & Ada: “Please, Mama. No more. No more.” Gillyflower: “And now, if you’ll please forgive us, we must be going. It is long past Ada’s bedtime.” (Mrs Gillyflower forces Ada out of the room and locks the door behind her.) The Doctor: “No, no, Clara. If we follow straight after her, she’ll shoot Ada on the spot.” Clara: “She wouldn’t.” The Doctor: “She would. Chairs are useful.” (He pulls the chair out of the panel and uses it to break the window.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Mrs Gillyflower drags Ada up the staircase encircling the rocket. The Doctor and Clara run through Sweetville and get to the bottom of the stairs.) Gillyflower: “Stop!” The Doctor: “Just let her go, Mrs Gillyflower. Let Ada go.” Gillyflower: “Secondary firing mechanism, Doctor. Mister Sweet and I are too smart for you, after all.” The Doctor: “Just let your daughter go, Mrs Gillyflower.” (Ada gets free and stumbles down to the corner between the Doctor and Mrs Gillyflower.) Gillyflower: “Ada!” Ada: “Shoot if you wish, Mama. It is of no matter, for you killed me a long time ago.” (Mrs Gillyflower shoots at the Doctor, making him retreat.) Gillyflower: “(sings) I’ll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.” (The Doctor gets to Ada as Mrs Gillyflower pulls the lever and the rocket’s engines ignite. He shields her with his body as it takes off, with so little flame as to not even singe any of them as it passes mere inches away.) Gillyflower: “Now, Mister Sweet, now the whole world will taste your lethal kiss!” The Doctor: “I don’t think so, Mrs Gillyflower.” (The Doctor snaps his fingers. Jenny and Vastra appear, in pilgrim clothes, holding a bottle of venom.) Gillyflower: “Very well, then. If I can’t take the world with me, you will have to do. Die, you freaks. Die! Die!” (Strax points his honking big gun down the chimney.) Strax: “Put down your weapon, human female.” (Mrs Gillyflower shoots at Strax. He returns fire, sending her tumbling over the railing to the floor two stories below.) The Doctor: “Ouch.” (The leech detaches itself from her, and drags itself across the floor by its suckered forelimbs.) Gillyflower: “No. No. Mister Sweet, where are you going? You can’t leave me now, Mister Sweet.” Clara: “What’s it doing?” The Doctor: “It knows she’s dying. She’s no longer of any use to it.” Gillyflower: “Mister Sweet. Ada?” (Ada taps her way down the stairs.) Gillyflower: “Ada. Are you there?” Ada: “I’m here, Mama.” Gillyflower: “Forgive me, my child. Forgive me.” Ada: “Never.” Gillyflower: “That’s my girl.” (Mrs Winifred Gillyflower dies. The rocket explodes in the sky.) Jenny: “What will you do with that thing?” The Doctor: “Take it back to the Jurassic era, maybe. Out of harm’s way.” (Ada taps her way across the floor until her stick finds something squishy. She smashes the leech to smithereens.) The Doctor: “On the other hand.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Right. Right, London. We were heading for London, weren’t we?” Clara: “Was there any particular reason?” The Doctor: “No. No. Just thought you might like it.” Clara: “Yeah. Maybe had enough of Victorian values for a bit.” The Doctor: “You’re the boss.” Clara: “Am I?” The Doctor: “No. No. Get in.” (Clara enters the TARDIS. The Doctor walks back to Ada and the Paternoster Gang.) The Doctor: “Now, Ada, I’d love to stay and help clear up the mess, but-” Ada: “I know, dear monster. You have things to do.” The Doctor: “And what about you?” Ada: “Oh, there are many things a bright young lady can do to occupy her time. It’s time I stepped out of the darkness and into the light.” The Doctor: “Good luck, Ada. You know, I think you will be just-” (He kisses her cheek.) The Doctor: “Splendid. Well, thanks a million, you three, as ever. Have some Pontefract cakes on me. I love Pontefract cakes. See you around, eh, I shouldn’t wonder.” Jenny: “But Doctor. That girl, Clara. You haven’t explained.” The Doctor: “No, I haven’t.” (He goes to the TARDIS.) The Doctor: “Ah, look at the muck in here. Right!” (More) ==PC== (More) I swallowed the lump in my throat, looking up at him. “My first day here.” I briefly looked at him, seeing a sad look in his eyes. “You knew something, a secret.” The Doctor paused, leaning against the walls of his TARDIS. “The show.” I nodded. “I would only tell it to you if I cared a lot of about you.” (More) “S-so...what?” I asked, my voice quivering. “I said I figured it out, I said nothing about fixing it. I’m not worth it. I never was. Other people out there need it, like Rose is gonna need it and River, and maybe even Clara. Why should I get it, and cut them off from it?” (More) ==PC== (More) “New clothes.” I called back. “This one is way too constrictive.” (More) I loved it. It was similar to a bellboy uniform. It was red, with gold tassels along the shirt. It came with black jeans, and boots. I had my manipulator on one wrist, and a watch on the other. I ran out to the TARDIS, showing off my clothing. “It any good?” The Doctor nodded, looking me up and down. “Everything you wear is good.” I blushed, biting my lip. “Yeah...thanks.” The Doctor flicked a switch. “Tell Donna I said hello.” I gave him a shocked look as the manipulator turned on. “DONNA NOBLE?!” Sontaran Stratagem/Poison SkyThe Doctor's DaughterThe (More) “Ah!” I screamed as they pushed my hand into the machine. (More) A male walked out. He had my black hair, but styled like Ten’s. His eyes were a golden yellow, curiously looking about. His head was Ten shaped too, but he had my round cheekbones. He was, maybe six feet? He wasn’t thin like Ten, more like me. He was wearing the same clothes as everyone else. There was a tingling sensation in my spine, and a knot at the base. He was like me. They gave him a gun, letting him look it over before guiding him to the side. I gaped at the boy. They pulled my hand out of the machine, then roughly back in. “Gah!” I felt the skin be ripped off a second time. The rest of the process was kinda blurry as I noticed another soldier come out of the machine. She was very much like me, more so than her brother. Her hair was long, and chestnut brown. Her eyes were blue, like an ocean. She was my height. I loved them already. They were both armed. They were dangerous. They were Spencers. ==PC== (More) I glared at the General. “You send my babies out there, and I will execute you.” He looked down at me. “Is that a warning?” “It’s a promise.” I said. “And when I promise something, I keep that promise.” (More) “You follow my orders!” The General ordered. “You listen to your mother!” I barked. The two kids froze. In a blink, they turned around and marched to my side. “You will obey me!” The General ordered. “We obey Mom.” The boy corrected. “She’s scary.” The girl admitted. She had an accent. My jaw dropped. “Hold up. Why does she get the cool Scottish accent?” (More) “Take them all to the Brig.” General ordered. Soldiers grabbed our arms, dragging us away. (More) ==PC== (More) (A large room with a slightly domed roof and a gallery. There are more clone chambers here. The ambient lighting is red.) The Doctor: “So, where are we? What planet’s this?” Cline: “Messaline. Well, what’s left of it.” TANNOY: “Six six three seventy five deceased. Generation six six seven one, extinct. Generation six six seven two, forty six deceased. Generation six six eight zero, fourteen deceased. Generation six-” Donna: “But this is a theatre.” The Doctor: “Maybe they’re doing Miss Saigon.” Donna: “It’s like a town or a city underground. But why?” (A man with a neatly trimmed white beard approaches.) The Doctor: “General Cobb, I presume.” Cobb: “Found in the western tunnels, I’m told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the eastern zone three generations back, before we lost contact. Is that where you came from?” The Doctor: “Eastern zone, that’s us, yeah. Yeah. I’m The Doctor, this is Donna.” Jenny: “And I’m Jenny.” Cobb: “Don’t think you can infect us with your peacemaking. We’re committed to the fight, to the very end.” The Doctor: “Well, that’s all right. I can’t stay, anyway. I’ve got to go and find my friend.” Cobb: “That’s not possible. All movement is regulated. We’re at war.” The Doctor: “Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, eastern zone and all that. So who exactly are the Hath?” (The Hath take Martha to a very similar room, complete with clone chambers, but the ambient lighting is blue.) Cobb: “Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning. A colony where human and Hath would work and live together.” The Doctor: “So what happened?” Cobb: “The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival.” Donna: “There’s nothing but earth outside, why’s that? Why build everything underground?” Cline: “The surface is too dangerous.” Donna: “Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?” (601707 something on a plaque.) Cobb: “The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meaning’s lost in time.” The Doctor: “How long’s this war gone on for?” Cobb: “Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead.” Donna: “What, fighting all this time?” Jenny: “Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It’s our inheritance. It’s all we know. How to fight, and how to die.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The same thing is going on.) The Doctor: “Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?” Cobb: “Yes. Why?” The Doctor: “Well, it’ll help us find Martha.” Cline: “We’ve more important things to do. The progenation machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they’re active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two.” Donna: “I’m not having sons and daughters by some great big flipping machine. Sorry, no offence, but you’re not. Well, I mean, you’re not real.” Jenny: “You’re no better than him. I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thought. How am I not real? What makes you better than me?” Cobb: “Well said, soldier. We need more like you, if ever we’re to find the Source.” The Doctor: “Ooo, the Source. What’s that, then? What’s a Source? I like a Source. What is it?” Cobb: “The Breath of Life.” The Doctor: “And that would be?” Cline: “In the beginning, the great one breathed life into the universe. And then she looked at what she’d done, and she sighed.” Jenny: “She. I like that.” The Doctor: “Right. So it’s a creation myth.” Cobb: “It’s not myth. It’s real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it’s here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet.” (The Doctor makes the map buzz.) The Doctor: “Ah! I thought so. There’s a suppressed layer of information in this map. If I can just-” (He uses his sonic screwdriver on it, and up come more tunnels and chambers.) Donna: “What is it, what’s it mean?” The Doctor: “See? A whole complex of tunnels hidden from sight.” The Doctor’s ears perked. He could hear someone...singing. “That’s singing.” Donna pointed out. “Why is there singing? Didn’t think you boys had a choir.” She joked. “The Songbird.” The boy explained. “She’s been here for generations, fallen from the sky like a star. According to General Cobb, she’s been here longer than him.” “How?” Jenny asked. “And why is she singing?” “They say ‘because her songs mean victory’.” The boy answered. The Doctor listened closer. “Hold me close, from now until forever. I’ll be unafraid. Hold me close. Give me back my reason to believe. Come and save me.” The Doctor wondered on this Songbird, just as much as the Breath of Life. “They also say she knows the end of this war.” The boy commented. “She knows who will get the Source.” Cobb: “Tell them to prepare to move out. We’ll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last.” The Doctor: “Er, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace, couldn’t you just stop fighting?” Cobb: “Only when we have the Source. It’ll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet.” The Doctor: “Hang on, hang on. A second ago it was peace in our time. Now you’re talking about genocide.” Cobb: “For us, that means the same thing.” The Doctor: “Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You’ll see a little picture of me there, and the caption will read, over my dead body.” Cobb: “And you’re the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms.” Donna: “Oi, oi, oi. All right. Cool the beans, Rambo.” Cobb: “Take them. I won’t have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I’ll see that your woman dies first.” The Doctor: “No, we’re, we’re not a couple.” Donna: “I am not his woman.” Cline: “Come on. This way.” The Doctor: “I’m going to stop you, Cobb. You need to know that.” Cobb: “I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor. What’ll you have?” The Doctor: “This.” (His brain.) Cobb: “Lock them up and guard them.” Cline: “What about the new soldier?” Cobb: “Can’t trust her. She’s from pacifist stock. Take them all.” (More) ==PC== (More) “...when you’re gone, I don’t belong. An empty wallet with the gas tank full. Taking our chances here we go.” A familiar voice sang. The three arrived at the cell, seeing three more people inside. The first was a male, with wild black hair and yellow eyes. The other two were women. The first was laying down, her head in the lap of the first. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, curling all over. Her eyes a lovely shade of ocean blue. The third was the most familiar. Her raven black hair was long, held back in a ponytail. Her amber eyes were looking down at the brunette. She was dressed in bellboy-wear. A dark red shirt, gold bands, and long black pants. She was the girl who had been singing. “We’re singing to the radio, and there’s no place that I would rather be. Cause you’re home to me.” She sang. “Terra?” Donna asked. The woman looked up, still brushing the brunette’s hair. “Donna? Doctor?” She smiled. “Jenny.” ==PC== (More) “You got kids!” Donna gaped. “This is Max.” I introduced. “And this is Jane.” “Hello.” My son greeted. “Good ta meet you.” My daughter greeted, still laying her head in my lap. “Jane?” Donna chuckled. “You named her Jane?” “It means a gift from God.” I said, hugging my daughter. “Her middle is still iffy. Got any ideas?” “Mom, I told you, I don’t need a middle name.” Jane said. I clapped my hands. “Jane Darling! You are Jane Darling!” “Mom!” Jane blushed from embarrassment. I leaned over to Donna. “I named her after Jane from those Peter Pan movies. Cause I’m Wendy and he is Peter Pan.” I pointed at the Doctor. “And Wendy’s daughter is named Jane.” “If she’s your daughter, why is she Scottish?” Donna asked. “I was asking myself the same thing.” I admitted, looking down at Jane. “I ain’t even mad, that’s impressive.” “Why Max?” Jenny asked. “Cause I’m goofy, and Goofy’s son is Max.” I explained, grinning at my boy. Jenny frowned, confused. “What does that mean?” My eyes widened in horror. “First thing after this, ultimate Disney marathon. My kids will not be ignorant on Disney.” “But, Jenny’s not your daughter.” Donna said. “She’s the Doctor.” I smirked. “I know.” A quick glance from the Doctor told me everything. He was switching between the three newborns in the room. He looked at them with trepidation. “They said you’d be here generations.” The Doctor commented. “Longer than General Cobb.” “Do they? Wonder why.” I said. “Hey, Donna, you know anything about those?” (A large cage, numbered 60120716.) Donna: “More numbers. They’ve got to mean something.” The Doctor: “Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story.” Jenny: “You mean that’s not true?” Donna: “No, it’s a myth. Isn’t it, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple. Something that’s become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon.” Donna: “So the Source could be a weapon and we’ve just given directions to Captain Nutjob?” The Doctor: “Oh, yes.” Donna: “Not good, is it?” The Doctor: “That’s why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath. What, what are you, what are you, what are you staring at?” Jenny: “You keep insisting you’re not a soldier, but look at you, drawing up strategies like a proper general.” The Doctor: “No, no. I’m trying to stop the fighting.” Jenny: “Isn’t every soldier?” The Doctor: “Well, I suppose, but that’s, that’s. Technically, I haven’t got time for this. Donna, give me your phone. Time for an upgrade.” Jenny: “And now you’ve got a weapon.” The Doctor: “It’s not a weapon.” Jenny: “But you’re using it to fight back. I’m going to learn so much from you. You are such a soldier.” The Doctor: “Donna, will you tell her?” Donna: “Oh, you are speechless. I’m loving this. You keep on, Jenny.” (The Doctor sonics Donna’s phone and calls Martha.) Martha: “Doctor?” The Doctor: “Martha, you’re alive!” Martha: “Doctor! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice. Are you alright?” The Doctor: “I’m with Donna. We’re fine. What about you?” Donna: “And, and Jenny. She’s fine too.” The Doctor: “Yes, all right. And, and Jenny. That’s the woman from the machine. The soldier. My daughter, except she isn’t, she’s, she’s.” I snatched the phone. “Hiya Butterfly. Guess who’s here?” “Terra!” Martha cheered. “When did you get here?” “Not important.” I brushed off. “I’m here with my kids. I got two.” I smugly grinned at the Doctor. “I beat him.” “Were we just used to help Mom win a bet?” Jane asked her brother. “Contest.” Max corrected. “And I’m actually okay with that.” “Two kids?” “Max and Jane.” I said. “I’ll introduce you later.” The Doctor took the phone back. I rolled my eyes. “Anyway. where are you?” Martha: “I’m in the Hath camp. I’m okay, but something’s going on. The Hath are all marching off to some place that’s appeared on this map thing.” The Doctor: “Oh, that was me. If both armies are heading that way, there’s going to be a bloodbath.” Martha: “What do you want me to do?” The Doctor: “Just stay where you are. If you’re safe there, don’t move, do you hear?” Martha: “But I can help.” SOLDIERS: “To war!” The Doctor: “They’re getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard.” Jenny: “I can deal with him.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no. You’re not going anywhere.” Jenny: “What?” The Doctor: “You belong here with them.” Donna: “She belongs with us. With you. She’s your daughter.” The Doctor: “She’s a soldier. She came out of that machine.” Donna: “Oh yes, I know that bit. Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on.” Jenny: “What are you doing?” Donna: “It’s all right. Just hold still.” (Donna listens to Jenny’s chest.) Donna: “Come here. Listen, and then tell me where she belongs.” The Doctor: “Two hearts.” Donna: “Exactly.” Jenny: “What’s going on?” Donna: “Does that mean she’s a, what do you call a female Time Lord?” Jenny: “What’s a Time Lord?” The Doctor: “It’s who I am. It’s where I’m from.” Jenny: “And I’m from you.” The Doctor: “You’re an echo, that’s all. A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering. Only it’s gone now, all of it. Gone forever.” Jenny: “What happened?” The Doctor: “There was a war.” Jenny: “Like this one?” The Doctor: “Bigger. Much bigger.” Jenny: “And you fought, and killed?” The Doctor: “Yes.” Jenny: “Then how are we different?” (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “Hey.” Cline: “I’m not supposed to talk to you. I’m on duty.” Jenny: “I know. Guarding me. So, does that mean I’m dangerous, or that I need protecting?” Cline: “Protecting from what?” Jenny: “Oh, I don’t know. Men like you?” (Jenny kisses Cline through the bars whilst taking his pistol.) Jenny: “Keep quiet and open the door.” Donna: “I’d like to see you try that.” (More) ==PC== (More) (There is a guard on the lower flight of metal stairs.) The Doctor: “That’s the way out.” (Jenny raises the pistol.) The Doctor: “Don’t you dare.” Donna: “Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years.” The Doctor: “Let’s save your wiles for later. In case of emergency.” (The Doctor rummages in his coat pockets, and a few moments later a clockwork mouse grinds to a halt behind the guard. He picks it up and Jenny karate chops him from behind.) The Doctor: “I was going to distract him, not clobber him.” Jenny: “Well, it worked, didn’t it?” The Doctor: “They must all have a copy of that new map. Just stay there. Don’t hurt anyone.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor checks the map he took from the guard.) The Doctor: “Wait. This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel.” Donna: “It’s another one of those numbers. They’re everywhere.” (60120714.) The Doctor: “The original builders must have left them. Some old cataloguing system.” Donna: “You got a pen? Bit of paper? Because, do you see, the numbers are counting down. This one ends in one four. The prison cell said one six.” Jenny: “Always thinking, both of you. Who are you people?” The Doctor: “I told you. I’m the Doctor.” Jenny: “The Doctor. That’s it?” Donna: “That’s all he ever says. Jenny: “So, you don’t have a name either? Are you an anomaly, too?” The Doctor: “No.” Donna: “Oh, come off it. You’re the most anomalous bloke I’ve ever met.” (The Doctor gets into the control panel.) The Doctor: “Here it is.” Jenny: “And Time Lords. What are they for, exactly?” The Doctor: “For? They’re not, they’re not for anything.” Jenny: “So what do you do?” The Doctor: “I travel through time and space.” Donna: “He saves planets, rescues civilisations, defeats terrible creatures. And runs a lot. Seriously, there’s an outrageous amount of running involved.” (The door opens.) The Doctor: “Got it!” Cobb: “Squad five, with me.” The Doctor: “Now, what were you saying about running?” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor stops running just before the array of laser beams criss-crossing the passage.) Donna: “That’s not mood lighting, is it?” (The Doctor tosses the clockwork mouse into the lasers. It gets disintegrated.) Donna: “No, I didn’t think so.” The Doctor: “Arming device.” (He works on a blue box nearby.) Donna: “There’s more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get.” (60120713.) The Doctor: “Right, here we go.” Donna: “You’d better be quick.” Cobb: “Corridor.” Jenny: “The General.” The Doctor: “Where are you going?” Jenny: “I can hold them up.” The Doctor: “No, we don’t need any more dead.” Jenny: “But it’s them or us.” The Doctor: “It doesn’t mean you have to kill them.” Jenny: “I’m trying to save your life.” The Doctor: “Listen to me. The killing. After a while, it infects you. And once it does, you’re never rid of it.” Jenny: “We don’t have a choice.” The Doctor: “We always have a choice.” Jenny: “I’m sorry.” The Doctor: “Jenny.” SOLDIER: “This door, now.” (Jenny runs around the corner and readies a machine gun at the approaching voices.) SOLDIER: “There she is. At arms. Fire!” (Jenny exchanges gunfire with Cobb and his soldiers.) The Doctor: “I told you. Nothing but a soldier.” Donna: “She’s trying to help.” (Jenny ducks out of sight to think.) The Doctor: “Jenny, come on.” Jenny: “I’m coming.” Cobb: “Cease fire. Cease fire.” (The lasers go out.) Donna: “That’s it.” The Doctor: “Jenny, leave it! Let’s go.” (The Doctor and Donna run down the corridor.) Cobb: “You’re a child of the machine. You’re on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath. It’s in your blood, girl. Don’t deny it.” (Jenny stands and takes aim, then shoots a hole in a steam pipe above Cobb before running back.) The Doctor: “Jenny, come on. That’s it.” Donna: “Hurry up.” (The lasers reappear.) The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no, no. The circuit’s looped back.” Donna: “Zap it back again.” The Doctor: “The controls are back there.” Jenny: “They’re coming.” The Doctor: “Wait. Just. There isn’t. Jenny, I can’t-” Jenny: “I’ll have to manage on my own. Watch and learn, Father.” (Jenny throws away the weapon and somersaults her way through the laser beams.) Donna: “No way. But that was impossible.” The Doctor: “Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely. Brilliant! You were brilliant. Brilliant.” Jenny: “I didn’t kill him. General Cobb, I could have kill him but I didn’t. You were right. I had a choice.” (Cobb and the soldiers appear at the other side of the lasers. Donna and Jenny run.) Cobb: “At arms.” The Doctor: “I warned you, Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I’m going to make sure you never use it.” Cobb: “One of us is going to die today and it won’t be me.” (The Doctor runs away from the hail of bullets.) (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “So, you travel together, but you’re not together?” Donna: “What? No. No. No way. No, no, we’re friends, that’s all. I mean, we’re not even the same species. There’s probably laws against it.” Jenny: “And what’s it like, the travelling?” Donna: “Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I’ve seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds.” Jenny: “Oh, I’d love to see new worlds.” Donna: “You will. Won’t she, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Hmm?” Donna: “Do you think Jenny will see any new worlds?” The Doctor: “I suppose so.” Jenny: “You mean. You mean you’ll take me with you?” The Doctor: “Well, we can’t leave you here, can we?” Jenny: “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Come on, let’s get a move on.” The Doctor: “Careful, there might be traps.” Donna: “Kids. They never listen. Oh, I know that look. I see it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You’ve got dad-shock.” The Doctor: “Dad-shock?” Donna: “Sudden unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to.” The Doctor: “No, it’s not that.” Donna: “Well, what is it then? Having Jenny in the TARDIS, is that it? What’s she going to do, cramp your style? Like you’ve got a sports car and she’s going to turn it into a people-carrier?” The Doctor: “Donna, I’ve been a father before.” Donna: “What?” The Doctor: “I lost all that a long time ago, along with everything else.” Donna: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? You talk all the time, but you don’t say anything.” The Doctor: “I know. I’m just. When I look at her now, I can see them. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. I just don’t know if I can face that every day.” Donna: “It won’t stay like that. She’ll help you. We both will.” The Doctor: “But when they died, that part of me died with them. It’ll never come back. Not now.” Donna: “I tell you something, Doctor. Something I’ve never told you before. I think you’re wrong.” (Gunfire. Jenny runs back.) Jenny: “They’ve blasted through the beams. Time to run again. Love the running. Yeah?” The Doctor: “Love the running.” (Up on the surface, Martha can see the protruding construction of the Temple.) Donna: “We’re trapped.” The Doctor: “Can’t be. This must be the Temple. This is a door.” (60120712.) Donna: “And again. We’re down to one two now-” The Doctor: “I’ve got it!” Jenny: “I can hear them.” The Doctor: “Nearly done.” Donna: “These can’t be a cataloguing system.” Jenny: “They’re getting closer.” The Doctor: “Then get back here.” Donna: “They’re too similar. Too familiar.” Jenny: “Not yet.” The Doctor: “Now! Got it.” (The Doctor gets the plain door open and they go through. A similar door opens for Martha on the surface.) Jenny: “They’re coming. Close the door.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor locks the door.) Jenny: “Oh, that was close.” The Doctor: “No fun otherwise.” Donna: “It’s not what I’d call a temple.” Jenny: “It looks more like-” The Doctor: “Fusion drive transport. It’s a spaceship.” Donna: “What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?” The Doctor: “Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time. This one’s still powered-up and functioning. Come on.” (They head up a flight of stairs to see someone is cutting their way through another door.) Jenny: “It’s the Hath. That door’s not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war’s going to break out.” The Doctor: “Look, look, look, look, look. Ship’s log.” (The screen says Messaline Leader One mission log designation XG2482942-372.) The Doctor: “(reads) First wave of Human/Hath co-colonisation of planet Messaline.” (Core subterranean deployment successful. Online and active. Phase one initiated. Construction drones deployed. Construction of sections 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3C & 3D complete. Phase one in progress. Construction drones active. Construction of sections 1C, 1D, 2C, 2D, 3A & 3C complete.) Jenny: “So it is the original ship.” Donna: “What happened?” The Doctor: “Phase one, construction. They used robot drones to build the city.” Donna: “But does it mention the war?” (The Doctor scrolls down through Phase One in progress. Construction of western quadrant complete. Phase two initiated. Commencing colonisation protocol 0.7. Designated pioneer progenation in progress. Mission commander quarantined due to eruption of byzantine fever. Prognosis negative. The Doctor: “Final entry.” (reads) “Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions. That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines, suddenly you’ve got two armies fighting a never-ending war.” Jenny: “Two armies who are now both outside.” Donna: “Look at that.” (60120724 on a display above a screen showing the whole planet.) The Doctor: “It’s like the numbers in the tunnels.” Donna: “No, no, no, no. But listen, I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I’m good with numbers. It’s staring us in the face.” Jenny: “What is?” Donna: “It’s the date. Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you’ve got year, month, day. It’s the other way round, like it is in America-” The Doctor: “Oh! It’s the New Byzantine Calendar.” Donna: “The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren’t counting down, they’re going out from here, day by day, as the city got built.” The Doctor: “Yes. Oh, good work, Donna.” Donna: “Yeah. But you’re still not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was sixty twelve oh seven seventeen. Well, look at the date today.” The Doctor: “Oh seven twenty four. No.” Jenny: “What does it mean?” The Doctor: “Seven days.” Donna: “That’s it. Seven days.” The Doctor: “Just seven days.” Jenny: “What do you mean, seven days?” The Doctor: “Seven days since war broke out.” Donna: “This war started seven days ago. Just a week. A week!” Jenny: “They said years.” Donna: “No, they said generations. And if they’re all like you, and they’re products of those machines-” The Doctor: “They could have twenty generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. Oh, Donna, you’re a genius.” Jenny: “But all the buildings, the encampments. They’re in ruins.” The Doctor: “No, they’re not ruined. They’re just empty. Waiting to be populated. Oh, they’ve mythologised their entire history. The Source must be part of that too. Come on.” (Further along, they meet up with Martha for a joyous reunion.) Martha: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Martha! Oh, I should have known you wouldn’t stay away from the excitement.” Martha: “Donna.” Donna: “Oh, you’re filthy. What happened?.” Martha: “I, er, took the surface route.” Cobb: “Positions.” The Doctor: “That’s the General. We haven’t got much time.” Donna: “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” Martha: “Is it me, or can you smell flowers?” Cobb: “Maintain defensive positions.” The Doctor: “Yes. Bougainvillea. I say we follow our nose.” Cobb: “Squads seven to ten, advance. With me.” (More) ==PC== (More) (It’s on a spaceship and it is filled with plants. What else should I call it?) The Doctor: “Oh, yes. Yes. Isn’t this brilliant?” (They walk up to a glowing globe on a pedestal with wires running to it. There is a control panel and screen nearby.) Donna: “Is that the Source?” Jenny: “It’s beautiful.” Martha: “What is it?” The Doctor: “Terraforming. It’s a third generation terraforming device.” Donna: “So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?” The Doctor: “Because that’s what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger. It’s in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally-” (The Hath and the soldiers run in from opposite sides.) The Doctor: “Stop! Hold your fire!” Cobb: “What is this, some kind of trap?” The Doctor: “You said you wanted this war over.” Cobb: “I want this war won.” The Doctor: “You can’t win. No one can. You don’t even know why you’re here. Your whole history, it’s just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it’s passed on. This is the Source. This is what you’re fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet’s ecosystem. It’s nothing mystical. It’s from a laboratory, not some creator. It’s a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It’s used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It’s not for killing, it’s bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing.” (The Doctor takes the globe.) The Doctor: “I’m the Doctor, and I declare this war is over.” (He throws the globe onto the floor, where it smashes and releases gas and energy. Everyone watches it slowly rise up, then they start to put down their weapons. All except Cobb.) Jenny: “What’s happening?” The Doctor: “The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process.” Jenny: “What does that mean?” The Doctor: “It means a new world.” Jenny: “No!” *BANG* The crowd looked to Cobb in shock, the rifle still in his hands. I glared at him, eyes burning in rage. Jenny still stood in front of the Doctor, protecting him. She would be dead right now. My daughter would be dead protecting her own, like in a pack. The barrel of his gun was in my hand, my other was trying to pry his hand off the trigger. The gun was hot, just on the edge of scalding. The general didn’t even look remorseful. He was proud of what he had done. I was too. The barrel was pointed skywards. I had just enough time to mess up his aim before the gun fired. Just enough time to save Jenny. The Doctor might never know Jenny almost died, but I knew. I knew. She was alive. I could save somebody. I yanked the rifle out of his hands, throwing it to the ground. The world around us bloomed, filling this new world with life and fresh chances. Cobb looked between the gun and I, wanting it back in his control so he could kill the Doctor. Then Jenny would step in the way and the Doctor would think she was dead for the rest of his life. “I said.” I seethed. “That if you want to hurt my kids, you gotta go through me.” (Jenny takes the bullet Cobb intends for the Doctor. He lays her on the ground.) Jenny: “A new world. It’s beautiful.” The Doctor: “Jenny, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me? We’ve got things to do, you and me, hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose.” Jenny: “That sounds good.” The Doctor: “You’re my daughter, and we’ve only just got started. You’re going to be great. You’re going to be more than great. You’re going to be amazing. You hear me? Jenny?” (Jenny dies in the Doctor’s arms.) The Doctor: “Two hearts. Two hearts. She’s like me. If we wait. If we just wait.” Martha: “There’s no sign, Doctor. There is no regeneration. She’s like you, but maybe not enough.” The Doctor: “No. Too much. That’s the truth of it. She was too much like me.” (The Doctor lays Jenny down and kisses her forehead, then goes over to Cobb. Cline and another soldier are holding his arms and making him kneel. The Doctor picks up the pistol and points it at Cobb’s head for a very long time before putting the safety back on.) The Doctor: “I never would. Have you got that? I never would. When you start this new world, this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (Jenny is lying in state when sunlight beings to stream through the stained glass windows.) Martha: “It’s happening. The terraforming.” Donna: “Build a city, nice and safe underground, strip away the topsoil and there it is. And what about Jenny?” Cline: “Let us give her a proper ceremony. I think it’d help us. Please.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox. Time to go home?” Martha: “Yeah. Home.” (More) “Doctor, promise me something.” I asked. The Doctor turned to me, almost hesitant. “Yes?” I gulped. “I can’t bring Max or Jane into this life. I won’t let their first years of experience be bouncing around the universe on the whim of a broken toy.” I held up the manipulator. “Or, an alien who failed his driving test.” The Doctor scoffed. “I need you to take them someplace. Someplace I know they’ll be safe. Someplace you can show me and let me know they won’t be hurt.” I gave him a warning glance. “Cause I can go to your future. If my kids are hurt in any way, Pinstripes, I won’t be afraid to smack future you into regeneration.” The Doctor smirk, as if I was joking. I kept my face stern. Then his smile dropped. “You aren’t joking.” “A mother nevers jokes about her children’s safety.” (More) The Doctor grabbed the sides of my head. He pulled me up to him, his brown eyes looking into my amber. Then he... The Doctor... Ten kissed me. It was a quick kiss, so I couldn’t really enjoy it. He pulled himself off me. His eyes were wide, then he smirked. I could only blink. “You...what?” “Not too often I get to stun you into silence.” The Doctor gloated. I blushed. The kissing was still new to me. This guy thought he could get a one up on me? Not a damn chance of that going on. I grabbed his head, pulling him down to me. This time, I made the kiss long and deep. There was some snickering off to the side. Then a groan or two from the kids. “Mom, Dad, you can stop any time now.” Max offered. “Is this what embarrassment feels like?” Jane asked. The Doctor and I kept kissing. It was really good. He was running his fingers through my hair, I gripped the lapels in his pinstripe suit. Too bad honest, I wanted to flip the kids off, but Momma shouldn’t act that way. The only reason we stopped is because of my manipulator. I groaned. “I wanted to kiss you for much longer.” “You’re not the only one.” The Doctor said. We were still so close. It felt kinda awkward to be this close to the Doctor after such a big kiss. Journey to the Centre of the TARDISName Of The DoctorAmy's ChoiceThe (More) My eyes widened. I ran to the console, noticing the specks much clearer than before. (More) ==PC== (More) “19.” I panted. My head was kinda rushing. The Doctor grinned. “Ah. Very early days.” I strained for words. “Doc...Doc...we’ve...you’re...” The Doctor looked a bit worried. “Terra? What’s wrong?” He asked. I strained at words again, like that man in the Library calling out for Donna. “Okay.” The Doctor said, looking over the Ponds. “Terra, what’s wrong?” I would’ve told him, but then the birds began to chirp. “Oh. That’s a good way to relax.” Rory pointed out. “Yeah, see? Birds. Those are nice. Rory: “We didn’t get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days, did we? (The bird is very loud.) The Doctor: “Oh blimey, my head’s a bit. Ooo. Er, no, you’re right, there wasn’t a lot of time for birdsong back in the good old-” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Days. What? No, yes, sorry, what? Oh, you’re okay. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don’t ask. You don’t want to know. You’re safe now. (The Doctor hugs Amy.) Amelia: “Oh, okay. The Doctor: “That’s what counts. Blimey. Never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I’m getting on a bit, you see. Don’t let the cool gear fool you. Now, what’s wrong with the console? Red flashing lights. I bet they mean something. Rory: “Er, Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing. Amelia: “Yeah, so did I. Rory: “Not a nightmare, though, just, er, we were married. Amelia: “Yeah. In a little village. Rory: “A sweet little village, and you were pregnant. Amelia: “Yes, I was huge. I was a boat. Rory: “So you had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream? Amelia: “Are you calling me a boat? Rory: “And Doctor, you were visiting. Amelia: “Yeah, yeah, you came to our cottage. Rory: “How can we have the same dream? It doesn’t make any sense. Amelia: “And you had a nightmare about us. What happened to us in the nightmare? The Doctor: “It was a bit similar, in some aspects. Rory: “Which aspects? The Doctor: “Well, all of them. Amelia: “You had the same dream. The Doctor: “Basically. Rory: “You said it was a nightmare. The Doctor: “Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good mare. Look, it doesn’t matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track or something. Forget it. We’re back to reality now. (A bird is singing.) Amelia: “Doctor? If we’re back to reality, how come I can still hear birds? Rory: “Yeah, the same birds. The same ones we heard in the (More) ==PC== ory: “Dream. Oh! Sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS. (The Doctor checks his braces and walks away.) Rory: “You had the same dream, didn’t you? Amelia: “Weren’t we just saying the same thing? Rory: “But we thought this was the dream, didn’t we? Amelia: “I think so. Why do dreams have to fade so quickly? Rory: “Doctor, what is going on? Amelia: “Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you’ve shown up again? The Doctor: “Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel. Rory: “But we’re awake now. The Doctor: “Yeah. You thought you were awake on the TARDIS, too. Amelia: “But we’re home. The Doctor: “Yeah, you’re home. You’re also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky one. The Doctor: “Oh, this is bad. I don’t like this. (He kicks the console, and hurts his leg.) The Doctor: “Argh. Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you’re cross, in which case, always use force. Amelia: “Shall I run and get the manual? The Doctor: “I threw it in a supernova. Amelia: “You threw the manual in a supernova? Why? The Doctor: “Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I’m cross. Rory: “Okay, but whatever’s wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future? The Doctor: “If we were dreaming of the future. Amelia: “Well, of course we were. We were in Leadworth. Rory: “Upper Leadworth. The Doctor: “Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this. Don’t you get it? Amelia: “No, okay? No, this is real. I’m definitely awake now. The Doctor: “And you thought you were definitely awake when you were all elephanty. Amelia: “Hey. Pregnant. The Doctor: “And you could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you. Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don’t ring true. Rory: “Okay, we’re in a spaceship that’s bigger on the inside than the outside. Amelia: “With a bow tie-wearing alien. Rory: “So maybe what rings true isn’t so simple. The Doctor: “Valid point. (The TARDIS switches off. There is just a faint glow from the time rotor left.) The Doctor: “It’s dead. We’re in a dead time machine. (A bird sings. Rory hugs Amy.) The Doctor: “Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels. Amelia: “It is real. I know it’s real. (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Okay, this is the real one. Definitely this one. It’s all solid. My eyes widened. “That’s it! Guys, ne-” ==PC== I gasped, rising up from the bed. (More) “Oh, I hate the Dream Lord.” I grumbled, petting the Doctor’s face. “I know he’s just your subconscious, but still.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Terra! What happened earlier?” The Doctor asked. I tilted my head. What did happen? “I...I don’t know.” (More) POGGIT: “Hello, Rory love. Rory: “Hello, Mrs Poggit. How’s your hip? POGGIT: “A bit stiff. The Doctor: “Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus. No, you don’t have that yet. Forget that. POGGIT: “Who’s your friend? A junior doctor? Rory: “Yes. POGGIT: “Can I borrow you? You’re the size of my grandson. (The Doctor has to try on the sweater Mrs Poggit is knitting.) The Doctor: “Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out. You’re incredibly old, aren’t you? (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real. It’s definitely this one. I keep saying that, don’t I? Rory: “It’s bloody cold. The Doctor: “The heating’s off. Rory: “The heating’s off? The Doctor: “Yeah. Put on a jumper. That’s what I always do. Rory: “Er, yes. Sorry about Mrs Poggit. She’s so lovely though. The Doctor: “I wouldn’t believe her nice old lady act if I were you. Amelia: “What do you mean, act? The Doctor: “Everything’s off. Sensors, core power. We’re drifting. The scanner’s down so we can’t even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something, is overriding my controls. (A little man in a red bow tie and tweed jacket suddenly appears on the stairs behind the Doctor.) Dream Lord: “Well, that took a while. Honestly, I’d heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie. “You...” I whispered. The Dream Lord grinned at me. The Doctor: “How did you get into my TARDIS? What are you? Dream Lord: “What shall we call me? Well, if you’re the Time Lord, let’s call me the Dream Lord. The Doctor: “Nice look. Dream Lord: “This? No, I’m not convinced. Bow ties? (The Doctor throws his sonic screwdriver through the Dream Lord.) Dream Lord: “Interesting. I’d love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It’s in the name, isn’t it? Spooky. Not quite there. (He pops up behind them.) Dream Lord: “And yet, very much here. The Doctor: “I’ll do the talking, thank you. Amy, want to take a guess at what that is? Amelia: “Er, Dream Lord. He creates dreams. The Doctor: “Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks. Dream Lord: “And what about the gooseberry, here. Does he get a guess? Rory: “Er, listen, mate. If anyone’s the gooseberry round here, it’s the Doctor. Dream Lord: “Well now, there’s a delusion I’m not responsible for. Rory: “No, he is. Isn’t he, Amy. Dream Lord: “Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even. Amelia: “I have chosen. Of course I’ve chosen. (Amy is standing close to the Doctor, but she hits Rory.) Amelia: “It’s you, stupid. Rory: “Oh, good. Thanks. Dream Lord: “You can’t fool me. I’ve seen your dreams. Some of them twice. Amy. Blimey, I’d blush if I had a blood supply or a real face. The Doctor: “Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act? Dream Lord: “Me? Oh, you’re on shaky ground. The Doctor: “Am I? Dream Lord: “If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student. I’m surprised you haven’t got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. Where was I? Rory: “You were Dream Lord: “I know where I was. So, here’s your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other’s fake. And just to make it more interesting, you’re going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. “And, as for you, Little Miss Terra.” The Dream Lord said, snapping his fingers. The chirping started. “Can’t have you ruining everything.” Then, the chirping stopped cold. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep.” “Oh. Or are you waking up? (More) “No!” I screamed. I held the unconscious Doctor. “Wake up! Please! You need to wake up!” (More) ==PC== I woke up in the playground. (More) I held the Doctor’s hand. “Please. I need you to wake up.” (More) “Hello my dear.” I turned around, seeing the Dream Lord. “Please, I know who you are. Just make this stop. You can stop this.” (More) I kissed the Dream Lord. He was blushing. “Please, manboy, I love you. You don’t have to hurt anyone.” The Dream Lord gained back his composure. “You should just learn to stay away from him. It’ll save me the trouble.” I growled. “Leave him alone.” (More) ==PC== (More) I was back in the cold TARDIS. “You sure this is the Doctor’s dream? Cause I wouldn’t mind being stuck here.” I said, shivering slightly. The Dream Lord just glared. “You should just leave. Look at me. I’ve been trying to get rid of you from the start!” “You’re his subconscious. He does that naturally.” I shrugged. Turning my head, I saw the sleeping Doctor. I giggled. “He’s subconsciously pushing me away. Haha.” The Dream Lord scoffed. “Your jokes are horrid.” “Says the pot to the kettle.” I teased him. “He tries to push them away, but it only makes them hold on tighter.” “Yes, but how tight can you hold onto him before he lets you go?” The Dream Lord asked. “Lets you down?” “As long as it takes.” I snapped. “You should know that by now.” (More) I laid out their ponchos. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor stuck the two of us in a freezer. How lovely of him. (More) The Dream Lord fumbled, slightly. “Oh dear. It seems he noticed my blush.” I smirked. “Oh? How lovely.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor had wrapped me up in his tweed coat. I shook my head, taking it off, and put it back onto him. (More) Dream Lord: “Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn’t he, alone in the dark. Never apologises. Amelia: “He doesn’t have to. Dream Lord: “That’s good, because he never will. And now he’s left you with me. Spooky old, not to be trusted me. Anything could happen. “You leave Amelia alone!” I snapped at the Dream Lord. He gave me a curious look. “You actually care about Amy?” “Amelia.” I corrected. “And why wouldn’t I?” The Dream Lord scoffed. “Oh, I could show you the list. It’s at least five pages long, and that’s just today!” I growled at him. “Leave Amelia alone!” I snarled. “She’s family, and no one hurts my family!” The Dream Lord blinked, a little surprised by this. “That’s what you think she is? Family?” “She’s been helping me for a long time.” I said. “Long before I started traveling with the Doctor. She helped me become brave, and be who I was. She actually helped me with my sarcasm, and wit. She taught me the truest form of bravery, and sacrifice. Amelia Jessica Pond is my favorite superhero.” I shoved the Dream Lord into the TARDIS railing. “And I don’t care who you are, you mess with someone I hold in high esteem, I kick your ass!” The Dream Lord glared at me. “She has to choose!” “Who said?” I snapped. “Who said Amelia has to choose between life in space and life with Rory? It’s you idiot men and your bloody pissing contests!” I shoved myself away from him, I let out an almost yell of anger. “I’ve met werewolves that were less stubborn than you!” “Terra, who is he?” “Amy, bigger picture.” I snapped. “It doesn’t matter.” Amelia just glared at the Dream lord. “But what does he want?” She turned her attention to him. “The Doctor knows him, but he’s not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him awhile sometimes, but he tells me.” She gave him a once over. “So you’re something different.” “Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?” “Actually, yes.” Amelia said, prideful. “The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?” “Leave her alone.” I growled. The Dream Lord gave me a look that said be quiet. “I could send you right back to where you started and keep you out.” My eyes stayed on him, filled with fire. I couldn’t be kicked out again. I didn’t have the strength to fight off a defended Doctor. “Yes.” Amelia said, going back to the Dream Lord’s question. He actually grinned. “So what’s his name?” He challenged. “What’s his favorite color? What’s his favorite planet? Who was his first companion? Why does he really love you earth girls?” “Amber.” The word flew out of my mouth. The two turned to me. “The Doctor’s favorite color. His favorite planet is the Earth, which surprises everyone he tells. He could tell you it was the lost moon of Poosh, or the Rings of Akhaten, or even his home planet, but it’s Earth. His first companion was the TARDIS, since the two of them traveled together. If you want to get technical, it was Susan. And he loves us ‘earth girls’ because we inspire him, and give him the encouragement he needs to go on. He gets lost without us.” The Dream Lord started to beam. He turned to Amelia, as if he had won. Amelia was looking at me in shock. “How did you know all of that?” I shrugged, suddenly feeling nervous. “The Doctor told me.” The Dream Lord made himself known. “Hmm. Now that that’s settled, which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?” Amelia: “Stop it. Dream Lord: “But maybe it’s better than loving and losing the Doctor. Pick a world, and this nightmare will all be over. They’ll listen to you. It’s you they’re waiting for. Amy’s men. Amy’s choice.” Amelia was gone again, and I lunged at the Dream Lord. He vanished, and I screamed at him. “YOU LEAVE AMELIA ALONE!” (More) ==PC== Third Person (More) (The Doctor gets rid of his passengers.) The Doctor: “Everybody, out, out, out. Into the church, that’s right. Don’t answer the door. (He drives off.) (More) (The Dream Lord appears wearing a peach racing suit and holding a full face helmet.) The Dream Lord: “It’s make your mind up time in both worlds. The Doctor: “Fine. I need to find my friends. The Dream Lord: “Friends? Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they’ve grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not? (The Dream Lord vanishes again, and the Doctor arrives outside the cottage to see the slow motion onslaught of the elderly.) The Doctor: “Okay. (More) ==PC== (More) (The window opens, making them jump.) The Doctor: “Sorry. I had to stop off at the butcher’s. Rory: “What are we going to do? The Doctor: “I don’t know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real but now I’m not so sure. Amy: “Oh! I think the baby’s starting. Rory: “Honestly? Amy: “Would I make it up at a time like this? Rory: “Well, you do have a history of (gets a Look) being very lovely.” “Nice save, Nurse boy.” Terra snarked. “Why are they so desperate to kill us? The Doctor: “They’re scared. Fear generates savagery. (Something is thrown through a window. A gnome, I think. Mrs Poggit breaths at Rory, and some of the green gas touches him.) Amy: “Rory!” “Terra!” The Doctor shouted. (The Doctor knocks Mrs Poggit off the porch roof.) Rory: “No, I’m not ready.” Amy: “Stay.” The Doctor held Terra’s hand, watching in mute horror as it slowly faded into dust. “Terra.” She smiled at him, fondness in her amber eyes. “Hey.” She said in a sing song tune. “No.” The Doctor shook his head. “No. You’re not dying today.” Terra only laughed. “Demanding much?” (Rory begins to turn to dust.) Rory: “Look after our baby.” Amy: “No. No. Come back. Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It’s what you do.” The Doctor: “Not always. I’m sorry.” Amy: “Then what is the point of you? (Amy touches the pile of dust then gets up.) “This is the dream. Definitely this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?” The Doctor: “Unless we just die.” Amy: “Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream.” The Doctor: “How do you know?” Amy: “Because if this is real life, I don’t want it. I don’t want it.” (More) The Doctor wouldn’t say it, but he had thought the same. ==PC== (More) Amy: “Why aren’t they attacking?” The Doctor: “Either because this is just a dream or because they know what we’re about to do.” (Amy holds out her hand for the camper van key.) The Doctor knew she was serious about going through with it, she was Amy. He also knew that he still had some of Terra’s ashes on his hand. He knew that Terra hadn’t died today, that she was still alive. He knew who the Dream Lord was. The Doctor: “Be very sure. This could be the real world.” The Doctor lied. Amy: “It can’t be. Rory isn’t here. I didn’t know. I didn’t, I didn’t, I honestly didn’t, till right now. I just want him.” The Doctor: “Okay. Okay.” (Amy starts the engine. The Doctor looks at the Dream Lord then gets in the passenger side.) (More) Amy: “I love Rory, and I never told him. But now he’s gone.” Then, Amy turned on the camper. ==PC== Terra My eyes widened. We were waking up! “Doctor!” I cheered, holding him close. The Doctor was momentarily confused. He looked down at his jacket, then up at me. “I gave you the jacket.” The Doctor said, almost stern. “You should have on the jacket.” I shook my head. “No. You put it on now.” Keeping my gaze on the glass floor, I held out the tweed jacket. “I can regulate my body temperature. You can’t.” The Doctor said. “Put the jacket on, or I cannot be responsible for happens next.” I warned. My mind’s eye brought up images of Eleven without his jacket on. Just those red braces and blue button up. Thank the Story I was sitting down already, or my knees would have given out. “Terra, are you blushing?” Amelia snickered. “Amelia.” I said in a warning tone. My eyes squeezed shut, lest I accidentally get a peek at him without his jacket. “I will jump him with you in the console room, and it will not be pretty.” Then, an image of the Doctor and I doing it in the console room with Amelia and Rory watching came to me. Woah, that looked dangerous. Was that what I liked now, voyeur? I mean, I kinda liked it before too, but this felt a little extreme. Also, why aren’t the Ponds making out in my fantasy? That made the whole thing awkward. “Terra?” “Take the jacket.” I threw it in the direction of the Doctor. Son of a bitch, my eyes were open! The Doctor was just wearing a blue button up shirt, and one of those ponchos. My jaw dropped. I could see muscles under his shirt. The Doctor looked at me, seemingly confused, but then smirked. “Like what you see?” Instead of words, my mouth spewed out random gurgles. This only made the Doctor’s smirk even wider. He grabbed the sides of my face, and kissed me. (More) “So, you chose this world.” The Dream Lord said, suddenly appearing. “Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair’s fair. Let’s warm you up.” (restores power) “I hope you’ve enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I’ll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell.” “Something happened. I... What happened to me? I...” (Amelia slowly takes him in a hug) “Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?” (Amelia releases the hug and looks at him) “Can you tell what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays.” They both turn at the sound of the TARDIS starting up again. Amelia: “What are we doing now?” The Doctor: “Me, I’m going to blow up the TARDIS.” Rory: “What?” The Doctor: “Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality.” Amelia: “What are you doing?!” “Doctor! The Dream Lord conceded! This isn’t the dream!” Rory yelled. “Yes, it is!” The Doctor Amelia: “Stop him.” The Doctor: “Star burning cold? Do me a favor. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams.” Amelia: “How do you know that?” The Doctor: “Because I know who he is.” (More) I held his hand, waiting to wake up. ==PC== I rose up, letting out a small gasp. “Oh. My head.” (More) The Doctor looked like a deer in headlights. “Terra! You’re-We’re-” “In a bed? Gold star, manboy.” I mumbled, climbing out of it. This felt extremely awkward, especially since I only just recently admitted I was in love with him. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Any questions?” Amelia: “Er, what’s that?” The Doctor: “A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us.” (He takes it to the door and blows it into space.) Rory: “So that was the Dream Lord then? Those little specks.” The Doctor: “No, no. No. Sorry, wasn’t it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It’s a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you. I’m nine hundred and seven. It had a lot to go on.” Amelia: “But why didn’t it feed on us, too?” The Doctor: “The darkness in you pair, it would’ve starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I’m stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out.” Amelia: “But those things he said about you. You don’t think any of that’s true?” The Doctor: “Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention.” Rory: “Yeah. Actually, yeah.” The Doctor: “There it is.” Rory: “Because what I don’t get is, you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?” Amelia: “We crashed the camper van.” Rory: “Oh, right. I don’t remember that bit.” Amelia: “No, you weren’t there. You were already.” Rory: “Already what?” Amelia: “Dead. You died in that dream. Mrs Poggit got you.” Rory: “Okay. But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn’t just die?” Amelia: “I didn’t.” Rory: “Oh.” Amelia: “Yeah.” Rory: “Oh.” Amelia: “Yeah, oh.” (Rory kisses Amy, then she kisses him back.) The Doctor: “So, well then, where now? Or should I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?” Rory: “I don’t know. Anywhere’s good for me. I’m happy anywhere. It’s up to Amy this time. Amy’s choice.” (More) Night Of First'sThe sounds of my own laughter echoed in the TARDIS media room. Idris knew exactly what I wanted to see, it was amazing! ‘You’re like, ‘how many times she’s been rear ended’ Haha!” Sal walked over to Q. “Anal sex, Joe. Anal sex. Anal sexy.” Q turned to his friend. “Could you never-” He paused. “Creep up behind me and yell ‘anal sex’ into my ear? I love you but-. Just as a rule going forward?” I laughed. “I love these guys!” “What are they talking about?” Amy asked, walking into the media room. “It’s a big setup. Shh!” I hushed her so I could keep listening to the show. “Alright. Moving on. Stimulation Aids, some things I use during ‘alone time’.” Q explained. “This is the part where I tell my mother what I jerk off to.” I laughed. “Oh, this is gonna be brutal.” “You find this stuff funny?” Amelia questioned. “I find it downright hilarious.” I said. “These guys made their friend give the birds and bees talk to his parents. It took forty five minutes. These are all the slides that didn’t make it into the show.” Amelia winced, then laughed. “They made him give his parents the talk?” I nodded. “Why?” “Because it’s a hidden camera show.” I laughed. Amelia sat down next to me. She looked at the screen, curious. “And you like it?” “Love it.” I corrected her. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “And you like this movie?” Amelia asked. I nodded. “Orphans, man. They tug at my heartstrings.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Alright, who was your first kiss?” Amelia asked. I blushed, then giggled. “The Doctor.” Amelia gave me an oh really look. “Seriously, come on, who?” “The Doctor.” I repeated. “It was my past, and his future.” The memory came to me, and I just kept laughing. “He thought I was a future version, but really I was on my fourth. He kissed me.” I could feel the blush come back with a vengeance. “Then...he tried doing...other things...” “Oh gosh.” Amelia gaped. “Did you-” “That’s where it gets embarrassing.” I said, nervously. “I kinda screamed. Then the Doctor asked what was wrong. I had to tell him it was my fourth jump. That stopped him in his tracks.” I laughed, feeling anxious. (More) ==PC== (More) “I was your first kiss.” The Doctor grinned, proudly. I nodded. “Eeyup.” “Was it good?” “It was you.” I reminded. “The first time I kissed you. One kiss, I was totally hooked. Addicted to you.” The Doctor wrapped his arms around me, I kept looking in his eyes. “I could never love anyone the way I love you.” (More) “Amy drove the camper because of Rory. You try saying no to that angry Scottish ginger.” The Doctor lied, and it was weak. I gave him a look. The Doctor paused, nervously frowning. “I died too, didn’t I?” The Doctor’s silence was answer enough. “That was why you didn’t argue with her.” The Doctor walked up to me, brushing his fingers on my cheek. I ignored the fact that my knees wanted to give out under me. To keep myself strong, I bit my lip to distract myself. “ (More) He kissed me. It lasted five long seconds. This was all I aware of, since my mind went blank once the Doctor’s lips touched mine. “Would you like to finish what he started?” I sighed, pushing myself closer to him. “Please.” Wait...what? What were we doing? I had completely spaced. He was really good at kissing when he wanted. ==PC== Oh. This is what he was talking about. (More) (More) The Doctor stopped. I groaned, trying to encourage him to keep going. “Why did you stop?” I whimpered. “This is your first time.” Nodding my head, I tried pushing myself onto the Doctor. “Yes, so do not leave me hanging. Please.” The Doctor brushed some of my hair back. I opened my eyes, seeing him staring down at me with shocked eyes. I reached up, brushing his hair back. “Doc, I am okay with this.” I told him. The Doctor shook his head. “Your first time.” The Doctor breathed. “I don’t want it to be rushed.” “I love you.” I told him. He smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me. I want to give this to you. Now.” I gripped his shoulders. “Nail me into the bed.” The Doctor smirked. He kissed me. “Morgan Spencer, you are dashing.” The way my name just flowed off his lips made me blush. It didn’t even sound like he was saying my name, it was like he was promising by it. His words were the thing binding together a promise. So, I tried matching his tone. “You’re not so bad yourself, Theta Sigma.” I purred. The Doctor growled in that perfect way I had wanted. He kissed me, in the most possessive way. My lips kinda hurt from the kiss, but I loved it. “20.” I whispered into his lips. Angels Take ManhattanThe (More) “Hello, sweetie.” I turned back, seeing River Song. “Melody? What’s happening? Where are we?” River sighed. “New York Town, 1939.” My eyes widened. “Angels Take Manhattan.” ==PC== (More) “Marry me.” I said. River just laughed. “I’m not kidding.” I admitted. “Melody Pond, marry me.” River blinked, realization in her eyes. “You’re serious.” “Melody, I am 251 years old. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife?” I requested again. River seemed more and more surprised. “Where did this come from?” “What? I’m not allowed to propose to the girl I have had a massive crush on since I met her?” I asked, walking closer to the blonde. “I love you, River Song. You a brash, flirty, insane, hot chick.” I leaned in. “And that insanity sealed the deal.” River started to smile. “Same here.” “I finally realized if I want the person I love, I need to tell them. So, Melody Pond, will you say yes to the girl in the dress?” (More) “I’m a rebel.” I winked at my future wife. She laughed. “Alright.” (More) “Morgan Spencer.” I whispered in her ear. (More) Melody kissed me. (More) ==PC== (More) I lounged on her couch, reading a book. “Terra?” “Present.” I lifted up an arm. (More) River held up her journal. “I think my father is in.” (More) ==PC== (More) ‘New York growled at my window, but I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet.’ Amelia: “Doctor, you’re doing it again.” The Doctor: “I’m reading!” Amelia: “Aloud. Please could you not?” The Doctor: “There’s something different about you, isn’t there?” Rory: “What’s the book?” The Doctor: “Melody and Tiana Malone. They’re private detectives in old town New York.” Amelia: “Melody’s got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden. Tiana is far more reserved. Her heart burns like fire, and her eyes seem as ancient as the sun. She’s got her heart on her sleeve.” The Doctor: “Oh, you’ve read it?” Amelia: “You read it. Aloud. And then went yowzah!” Rory: “Only you could fancy someone in a book.” The Doctor: “I’m just reading it. I just like the cover.” Amelia: “Ooo, can we see the cover?” The Doctor: “No, no, I’m busy. It’s your hair! Is it your hair?” Amelia: “Oh, shut up. It’s the glasses. I’m wearing reading glasses now, on my nose, see? There you go.” The Doctor: “I don’t like them. They make your eyes look all liney. No, actually, sorry. They’re fine. Carry on.” Amelia: “You walk among fire pits, Centurion.” Rory: “Do I have to come over there?” Amelia: “You can if you like.” Rory: “Well, we have company.” Amelia: “I’ll get a babysitter.” (Rory and Amy kiss.) The Doctor: “Oh, do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that.” Rory: “Coffee?” Amelia: “Coffee.” The Doctor: “Can I have a go?” (The Doctor puts on Amy’s reading glasses.) The Doctor: “Oh, actually, that is much better. That is exciting.” Amelia: “Read to me.” The Doctor: “I thought you didn’t like my reading aloud.” Amelia: “Shut up, and read me a story. Just don’t go yowzah.” Amelia: “Why did you do that?” The Doctor: “I always rip out the last page of a book. Then it doesn’t have to end. I hate endings.” (He puts the page in the picnic basket.) The Doctor: “(reads) “As I crossed the street, I saw the thin guy, but he didn’t see me. I guess that’s how it began.” (Rory is walking back with the coffees past a fountain with cherubs. After he has past it, one of the cherubs is snarling, then it vanishes. A child laughs. It’s giggles make Rory keep looking around.) The Doctor: “(reads) I followed the skinny guy for two more blocks before he turned and I could ask exactly what he was doing here. He looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes.” (Amy is playing Pooh sticks off the bridge.) Amelia: “Beware the yowzah. Do not, at this point, yowz. Doctor? What did the skinny guy say?” The Doctor just kept looking at the book. “He said ‘I just went to get coffees for the Doctor and Amy. Hello River, Hello Terra.” ==PC== I smiled. “Hello Nurse.” “Hello Dad.” River greeted. Rory looked between us, confused and holding up drinks. “At least one good thing came out of this.” I shrugged, looking up at River. “The Doctor can’t get any coffee. The last thing my boyfriend needs is more caffeine.” River snorted. “That’s certainly true.” Rory: “Where am I? How the hell did I get here?” River: “I haven’t the faintest idea, but you’ll probably want to put your hands up.” (Because the man behind him is pointing a gun straight at him. Rory puts his hands up. A big black man walks up behind River.) “Melody and Tiana Malone?” The man asked. Rory: “You’re Melody?” He turned to me. “And you’re Tiana?” (A limousine pulls up.) “Get in.” The burly man ordered. (More) Rory: “What is going on?” “April 3rd, 1938.” I told Rory. (More) River: “You didn’t come here in the TARDIS, obviously.” Rory: “Why?” River: “He couldn’t have.” River: “This city’s full of time distortions. It’d be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard. Even I couldn’t do it.” River said. “He’ll just bounce off of it.” I said. “Sorry, manboy.” Rory: “So how did you get here?” I held up my manipulator. Rory nodded. “Ah.” River: “Vortex manipulator. Less bulky than a TARDIS. A motorbike through traffic. You?” Rory: “I’m not sure.” “A weeping angel.” (More) ==PC== (More) I saw the yowzah jar. It was still funny. River: “Ah. Early Qin dynasty, I’d say.” Grayle: “Correct. Are you an archaeologist as well as a detective?” River just gave him her all knowing smile. Grayle: “Early Qin, just as you say. You’re very well informed.” River: “And you’re very afraid. That’s an awful lot of locks for one door.” Rory: “River, I’m translating.” (Chinese characters resolve themselves into English for Rory.) River: “It’s a gift of the TARDIS. It hangs around.” “That yowzah better be for me.” I commented under my breath. Grayle: “This one. Put him somewhere uncomfortable.” HOOD 1: “With the babies, sir?” Grayle: “Yes, why not? Give him to the babies.” River gave me a warning look. I gave her a reluctant look of acceptance. I didn’t like this, not one bit. (More) River: “Hello, sweetie.” “Let’s see, crime boss with a collecting fetish. Whatever you don’t let anyone else see has got to be your favourite. Or possibly your girlfriend.” (River pulls the curtains to reveal a snarling Angel with manacles and chains on it.) River: “So, girlfriend, then.” (River starts tapping on her Vortex manipulator keypad.) Grayle: “What are you doing?” River: “Oh, you know, texting a boy.” Grayle: “These things are all over, but people don’t seem to notice. It never moves while you’re looking.” River: “Oh, I know how they work.” Grayle: “So I understand. Melody and Tiana Malone, the detectives who investigates Angels.” River: “Badly damaged.” Grayle: “I wanted to know if it could feel pain.” River: “You realize it’s screaming? The others can hear. Is that why you need all the locks?” “Melody!” I yelped. The Angel held my hand. Grayle: “You’re going to tell me all about these creatures. And you’re going to do it quickly.” River: “The Angels are predators. They’re deadly. What do you want with them?” Grayle: “I’m a collector. What collector could resist these? I’m only human.” River: “That’s exactly what they’re thinking.” (Then all the lights go out.) Grayle: “What’s that? What’s happening? Is it an earthquake?” (The wheezing sound of a struggling Type 40 can be heard, and papers start blowing around.) Grayle: “What is it?” “Oh, you bad boy. You could burn New York.” I grinned, feeling relieved but at the same time scared. Grayle: “What does that mean?” River: “It means, Mister Grayle, just you wait till our husband gets home.” (More) Amelia: “Rory? Rory? Rory?” The Doctor: “Sorry I’m late, honey. Traffic was hell. Shock. He’ll be fine.” “Not if I can get loose.” I growled. The Doctor: “So where are we now, Doctor Song? How’s prison?” River: “Oh, I was pardoned ages ago. And it’s Professor Song to you.” The Doctor: “Pardoned?” River: “Mmm. Turns out the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently, there’s no record of him. It’s almost as if someone’s gone around deleting himself from every database in the universe.” The Doctor: “You said I got too big.” River: “And now no one’s ever heard of you. Didn’t you used to be somebody?” The Doctor: “Weren’t you the woman who killed the Doctor?” River: “Doctor who?” “Not getting any younger.” I said in a sing song tune. The Doctor ran to my side, his hand automatically reaching for my hip. “Hello Terra.” The Doctor purred in my ear. “And might I say, that yowzah is always for you.” I smirked, bashfully smiling. He liked the outfit. I was hoping he would. My body leaned into his touch, just oh so still in a honeymoon phase. Whichever relationship, our’s or River’s, it was unclear. Maybe both. “Thought it would impress you.” “I’m always impressed by you.” The Doctor said, giving me a flirty smile. “Made to New York, surrounded by weeping angels, stopped a mob boss, and all because of a vase. Have I impressed you?” “Totally and completely.” I flirted. The Doctor smirked, smug. The Doctor looked up at my wrist. “She’s holding you very tight.” Terra: “She also didn’t send me back in time.” The Doctor: “I doubt she’s strong enough.” I nodded. “Well, I need a hand back, so which is it going to be? Are you going to break my wrist or hers?” The Doctor frowned, and knew it still had to be broken. “Oh. Alright then.” “I’m sorry.” The Doctor said. “Amy read it in a book, and now I have no choice.” The Doctor: “You see? River: “What book? The Doctor: “Your book. Which you haven’t written yet, so we can’t read.” River: “I see. I don’t like the cover much.” “That’s cause it’s not me, right?” I teased. River’s smile told me ‘yes’ though her eyes said ‘my mother is in the room shut up’. Amelia: “But if River’s going to write that book, she’d make it useful, yeah?” River: “I’ll certainly try. But we can’t read ahead, it’s too dangerous.” Amelia: “I know, but there must be something we can look at.” The Doctor: “What, a page of handy hints, previews, spoiler free?” “Chapter titles.” Amelia suggested. The Doctor grinned. He opened the book, going to the beginning of the book. He read down the list of chapter titles. “He’s in the Cellar!” “Gimme!” Amelia said, before running out to cellar. I paused, though, to hear the Doctor read the last chapter. River: “Doctor? Doctor, what is it? What’s wrong? Tell me. Doctor? Doctor, what is it, tell me. Okay, I know that face. Calm down. Calm down! Talk to me. Doctor!” “No! Get her wrist out.” The Doctor yelled. “You get her wrist out without breaking it!” (More) “If I can do this, I can change everything else too!” I pleaded. “Please River, just please!” (More) I was right. It did hurt. ==PC== (More) Amelia: “So, is this what’s going to happen? We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?” River: “He isn’t back in time. I’m reading a displacement, but there are no temporal markers. He’s been moved in space, not in time, and it’s not that far from here by the look of it.” The Doctor: “You got out.” Amelia: “So, where is he?” The Doctor: “Well, come on, come on, come on, where is he?” River: “If it was that easy, I’d get you to do it.” The Doctor: “How did you get your wrist out without breaking it?” Terra: “You asked, I did. Problem?” The Doctor: “You just changed the future.” “My job, manboy.” I said, trying to keep my wrist out of hand reach. “Terra. What number are we at?” The Doctor asked, out of nowhere I gulped. Should I lie? “21.” Damn. I couldn’t lie to him, could I? The Doctor was a bit shocked at that. No. No, that was outright horror. His eyes were wide in shock, as if I just pulled out a knife coated in my own blood. “You mean-” “I mean a month ago I lost my virginity to you.” I smirked, giddy. His horrific expression softened into one of a kicked puppy. I had just kicked that puppy, dear Story. “It was fun.” River: “It’s called marriage, honey. Now, hush, I’m working.” The Doctor: “She’s good, have you noticed? Really, really good.” River: “Ah, wherever it is, it’s within a few blocks. There’s a car out front. Shall we steal it?” The Doctor: “Show me!” “Gah!” I whimpered, holding my wrist in my other hand. The Doctor: “Okay, when all those numbers on both units go to zero, that’s when we’ve got a lock, okay? It’s how we find Rory.” Amelia: “Got it.” (More) The Doctor: “Why did you lie to me?” “Rule Three When Traveling With the Doctor.” I whimpered, my wrist hurting like crazy. “Never let him see the damage.” The Doctor: “It must hurt. Come here.” I shook my head, pulling away from him. The Doctor came closer, and grabbed my hand. To stop any pain, I let him hold it. “Don’t.” I pleaded. “I’ll be fine.” “Terra.” He said, the word a plea. How was it that he could make my name mean so many different things? “Doctor.” I said, trying to say everything. ‘I’m not backing down.’ (More) Terra: “No. No. No, stop that. Stop that. Stop it!” The Doctor: “There you go. How’s that?” (He kisses Terra’s hand.) Terra: “Let me check.” (She slaps his face.) Terra: “That was a stupid waste of regeneration energy. Ah told ya never to save that glowin’ hand at me again! You just threw away your days.” The Doctor: “Terra-” “No!” I snapped, going outside. “You embarrass me.” (More) Amelia: “Okay, why did you lie?” River: “Rule Three, never let him see the damage. Rule Four, never ever let him see you age. He doesn’t like endings.” The Doctor: “Got it. He’s at a place called Winter Quay. The car, yes? Let’s go.” (More) ==PC== (More) River: “Why would they send him here? Why not zap him back in time, like they normally do?” The Doctor: “We’ll know that when we know what this place is.” Amelia: “Winter Quay.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Rory?” River: “He’s close.” Amelia: “Rory!” (Apartment 802) Amelia: “Rory!” Rory: “Amy.” River: “Doctor, look at this. Why is it smiling?” (The Doctor seems the nameplate by the door - R Williams.) The Doctor: “Amy. Rory!” (More) The Doctor: “Get out of here! Don’t look at anything. Don’t touch-” Amelia: “Who’s that?” (An old man in the bed. He points at them, very 2001 A Space Odyssey.) OLD Rory: “Amy. Amy, please. Amy, please. Please.” Amelia: “Rory? He’s you.” OLD Rory: “Amy.” (Old Rory dies.) Rory: “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry, Rory, but you just died.” “I consider this a norm.” I admitted. The Doctor: “This place is policed by Angels. Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time.” Amelia: “So this place belongs to the Angels? They built it?” The Doctor: “Displacing someone back in time creates time energy, and that is what the Angels feed on. But normally, it’s a one off, a hit and run. If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again. This place is a farm. A battery farm. How many Angels in New York?” River: “It’s like they’ve taken over every statue in the city.” The Doctor: “The Angels take Manhattan because they can, because they’ve never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps.” (Slow heavy footsteps outside the window.) Rory: “What was that?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. But I think they’re coming for you.” Rory: “What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?” The Doctor: “The Angels will come for you. They’ll zap you back in time to this very spot, thirty, forty years ago. And you’ll live out the rest of your life in this room, until you die in that bed.” Rory: “And will Amy be there?” The Doctor: “No.” Amelia: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “Because he was so pleased to see you again.” Rory: “Okay. Well, they haven’t taken me yet. What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens.” The Doctor: “It’s already happened. Rory, you’ve just witnessed your own future.” River: “Doctor, he’s right.” The Doctor: “No, he isn’t.” River: “If Rory got out, it would create a paradox.” (Still the slow heavy footsteps.) Amelia: “What is that?” River: “This is the Angels’ food source. The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen.” The Doctor: “It would be almost impossible.” River: “Loving the almost.” The Doctor: “But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power. What have we got, eh? Tell me. Come on, what?” Amelia: “I won’t let them take him. That’s what we’ve got.” Rory: “Whatever that thing is, it’s getting closer.” The Doctor: “Rory, even if you got out, you’d have to keep running for the rest of your life. They would be chasing you for ever.” Amelia: “Well, then. Better get started.” (She opens the apartment door. There is an Angel outside.) Amelia: “Husband, run!” (Amy and Rory run past the Angels. The lights flicker.) Amelia: “Up!” Rory: “What good’s up?” Amelia: “Better than down!” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “I always wanted to visit the Statue Of Liberty. I guess she got impatient.” (Rory runs to the opposite edge, behind Amy’s back.) Amelia: “What? What is it, what?” Rory: “Just keep your eyes on that.” Amelia: “Is there a way down?” Rory: “Er, no. But there’s a way out.” (Rory climbs up onto the ledge.) Amelia: “What are you doing? Rory, what are you doing?” (Amy turns around and goes to him.) Amelia: “Rory, stop it. You’ll die.” Rory: “Yeah, twice, in the same building on the same night. Who else could do that?” Amelia: “Just come down, please.” Rory: “This is the right thing to do. This will work. If I die now, it’s a paradox, right? The paradox kills the Angels. Tell me I’m wrong. Go on, please, because I’m really scared. Oh, great. The one time you can’t manage it. Amy, I’m going to need a little help here.” (Rory takes Amy’s hand and puts it on his chest.) Amelia: “Just stop it!” Rory: “Just think it through. This will work, this will kill the Angels.” Amelia: “It’ll kill you too.” Rory: “Will it? River said that this place would be erased from time, never existed. If this place never existed, what did I fall off?” Amelia: “You think you’ll come back to life?” Rory: “When don’t I?” Amelia: “Rory.” Rory: “And anyway, what else is there? Dying of old age downstairs, never seeing you again? Amy, please. If you love me, then trust me, and push.” Amelia: “I can’t.” Rory: “You have to!” Amelia: “Could you? If it was me, could you do it?” Rory: “To save you, I’d do anything.” (Amy gets up on the ledge next to Rory.) Amelia: “Prove it.” Rory: “No, I can’t take you too.” Amelia: “You said we’d come back to life. Money where your mouth is time.” Rory: “Amy, look.” Amelia: “Shut up. Together, or not at all.” (More) The Doctor: “What the hell are you doing!” Amelia: “Changing the future. It’s called marriage.” (Gazing into each others eyes, Amy and Rory fall off Winter Quay.) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy!” (Balls of energy gather and flicker around the roof.) River: “Doctor! What’s happening?” The Doctor: “The paradox. It’s working! The paradox is working!” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “Where are we?” The Doctor: “Back where we started. You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong.” Rory: “What, in a graveyard?” Amelia: “This happened the last time. Why always here?” The Doctor: “Does it matter? We got lucky. We could’ve blown New York off the planet. I can’t ever take the TARDIS back there. The timelines are too scrambled. I could have lost you both. Don’t ever do that again.” Rory: “What did we do? We fixed it. We solved the problem.” The Doctor: “I was talking to myself.” (More) River: “It could do with a repaint.” The Doctor: “I’ve been busy.” River: “Does the bulb on top need changing?” The Doctor: “I just changed it.” River: “So. Rory and Amy, then.” The Doctor: “Yes. I know, I know.” River: “I’m just saying. They’re going to get terribly bored hanging round here all day.” Rory: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “Ha!” Rory: “Look, next time, could we could just go to the pub?” The Doctor: “I want go to the pub right now. Are there video games there? I love video games.” River: “Right. Family outing, then.” “Rory, get back in the TARDIS, now.” I ordered. “But-” “Now!” I barked. My eyes went back to the area behind Rory. The Angel would be there any second. “Terra, what’s wrong?” Amelia asked. “He’s fine.” “What about the Angel that sent him back to 1938?” I asked. “What happened to that one? It existed in this time, so it wasn’t have been killed during the Paradox. It wants revenge.” “You’re talking like you know it’s coming.” Amelia said. I growled. “Rory, get to the TARDIS now!” “Doctor, Terra’s-RORY!” (More) River: “Where the hell did that come from?” The Doctor: “It’s a survivor. Very weak, but keep your eyes on it.” Amelia: “Where’s Rory?” (The Doctor sees Rory’s gravestone - aged 82.) The Doctor: “I’m sorry. Amelia, I’m so, so sorry.” Amelia: “No. No, we can just go and get him in the TARDIS. One more paradox.” The Doctor: “Would rip New York apart.” Amelia: “No, that’s not true. I don’t believe you.” River: “Mother, it’s true.” The Doctor: “Amy, what are you doing?” Amelia: “That gravestone, Rory’s, there’s room for one more name, isn’t there?” The Doctor: “What are you talking about? Back away from the Angel. Come back to the TARDIS. We’ll figure something out.” Amelia: “The Angel, would it send me back to the same time? To him?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. Nobody knows.” Amelia: “But it’s my best shot, yeah?” The Doctor: “No!” River: “Doctor, shut up. Yes. Yes, it is.” The Doctor: “Amy.” Amelia: “Well, then. I just have to blink, right?” The Doctor: “No!” Amelia: “It’ll be fine. I know it will. I’ll be with him, like I should be. Me and Rory together. Melody?” The Doctor: “Stop it. Just, just stop it!” Amelia: “You look after them. You be a good girl, and you look after them.” The Doctor: “You are creating fixed time. I will never be able to see you again.” Amelia: “I’ll be fine. I’ll be with him.” The Doctor: “Amy, please, just come back into the TARDIS. Come along, Pond, please.” Amelia: “Raggedy man, goodbye!” I took a deep breath, trying to hold in my emotions. (More) “You could have done something!” The Doctor snapped. *SLAP* I fell to the ground, reaching up to my cheek. It stung, horribly. I hissed when I touched it. There was a sharp pain on the back of my head. Reaching back to it, I felt I had landed on Amelia and Rory’s grave. It hurt so much. I looked up the Doctor, to see if what happened really did. The Doctor was looking down at his hand like it betrayed him. His green eyes were large, filled with a whole other type of heartbreak. He just slapped me. Good. I deserved it. I couldn’t save the Ponds. “Doctor! The Angel!” River yelled. I screamed as I felt the Angel grab me. “TERRA!” The Doctor screamed. The manipulator activated. I jumped away. Dominic Chamberlin Must DieI dropped to the ground, brushing away tears. I let out a sigh. That was scary as shit. I just needed a breather. A chance to inhale and exhale. Absorb this latest episode. That would get me ready for whatever happened ne- Who am I kidding? I need a corner to go sit and cry in. The Ponds are dead, and it’s all my fault. What the hell was wrong with me? “Morgan Spencer, oh how the time has flown.” A voice echoed in the room. I jumped back. No one in this reality knew my name, just the Doctor and Darcy. “Who are you?” I asked. There was a dark laugh. “I am surprised you haven’t figured it out.” I raised a brow. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot. You change your name so many times.” The voice admitted. “Oh...what was it...Frederica Rose?” My eyes widened. A horrifying thought came to mind. If it was who I thought it was... “No. No. Megan Quinn? No.” The voice mulled over in thought. “Not him. Not him. Please oh Great Merciful Storyline don’t make it be him.” I pleaded. “Machiko? That one was a fun discovery. So many versions of you with that name. What, no creativity? Well, you did name the Created after her scale color.” My throat closed. Only one person spat out Created like the word was a sin. “No. No, please no. Not him.” I stared at the door. A strange feeling was filling my spin. It was getting stronger. “He died. He died. I know he died.” The door creaked. “Let’s not forget my absolute favorite.” The voice said, as a hand appeared in the opening door. A tear burned in my eyes. “Someone please tell me it isn’t him. It can’t be him.” The man entered the room, almost making me scream. “Raspberry Stardust.” The man smirked. “Dominic Chamberlin.” I gaped. My mouth was open in a silent scream. Dominic grinned. “How did you get here, Terra?” He asked almost mockingly. I realized where he thought I was. “Made a portal. I jumped away.” I was aware words were coming out, but couldn’t control how. “A coward, even in death.” Dominic’s grin was dark. “No matter. You will return. You care too much about those pathetic Createds to leave them behind.” He taunted. I gulped. “We are here to observe.” Dominic said. “Never interfere.” “That’s wasting a perfectly good gift.” I spat, finally finding my voice. “A gift? You think this life is a gift?” Dominic scoffed. “It is a harsh curse.” “It is a gift because it brings us things and shows us wonders we would rarely see at Home.” I defended. “Why would we be given such abilities if not to use them?” Unbeknownst to me, he had been walking closer and closer to me as I spoke. Dominic hit me, a slap right across my face. It was so strong, I hit the floor with a loud thud. He pulled me up by my ponytail. His lime green eyes bore into my amber ones. I didn’t want his green eyes. I wanted manboy’s. I wanted my Manboy. But, he hated me. I killed his best friends. I was just useless... “I have better plan in mind this time.” Dominic sneered. A shiver went down my spine, resting in my gut. ‘I’m not even worth saving.’ ==PC== “My name is Ellen.” I stared blankly forward, not listening to the girl in the cell beside mine. It had been days since I had been brought in, and each day was worse than the last. Dominic had beaten me to a pulp that first night, ‘breaking me in’ he called it. Then he- I winced, curling in on myself. It still hurt, it always hurt now. His dirty hands on me, practically wiping away any of the Doctor’s gentle touches. Dominic used a cat o nine tails, leather belts, and one time he just poked me with a burning fire stoker. It was torture. He was never kind like the Doctor had been. I bled for days after, for a while I thought I would bleed out. Then Dominic brought me out into the public for his club. A BDSM club, called Dominic's House of Pain. A part of me laughed at his lack of creativity, then I remembered I named my daughter after her scale color and did the same for myself. Every Sunday (unless someone paid extra), I was a punching bag. You could hit me as hard as you wanted, for as long as you wanted. The rest of the week I was your run of the mill stripper. Dominic insisted he be called Master, making me think of the Master which made me think of the Doctor. That made it hurt all over again. Dominic was my Master, but he wasn’t the Master. The Master was a Time Lord driven mad by his own kind, forced into doing horrible things because of those drums in his head. He was eight years old. Master Dominic used me almost every night, as well as giving some of the clients a chance to have a turn. I wish I could say I lost count of how many men I was forced to be with. I wish I could say I didn’t know how many times Master Dominic had tortured me, used me. My mind didn’t let me lose track. I didn’t fight against Dominic, I never could. He was the thing I was most scared of. I did, however, fight the clients. A little spitting here, biting there, and kicks to the groin to spice things up. Dominic beat me twice as hard those nights, but I couldn’t change my ways. Only one guy could touch me, and the Doctor was out. Today, it wasn’t Sunday. Master Dominic had left me behind in my cell, letting my wounds at least scab over or let some wounds heal so his new ones would show. There were other girls here, all looking in the same boat I was. They didn’t want to be here. Some nights you could hear them crying, or screaming to be sent home. “What’s your name?” The girl in the cell on my left tried to make conversation. “Punching bag.” I answered before I knew the words were in my throat. It was Master Dominic’s main name for me, others were useless, whore, slut, and cunt. The girl grabbed her bars. “That’s the name he gave you. I asked you for your name.” She said it so kindly, that it didn’t even sound like a command. It sounded like something I would say if I was in her shoeless feet. “Terra.” I almost whispered. Ellen hummed. “That’s a wonderful name.” I leaned back in my cell, the cool metal on my back like heaven after today. “Ellen is too.” There was a moment of silence. “How did Dominic bring you here?” Ellen asked. I winced, letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” Ellen said. “I know it hurts, but you’ll go mad if you don’t talk to anyone.” I snorted, already feeling the creeping claws of depression in my bones. “Can’t lose what you never had.” Ellen paused, then laughed. “True.” She agreed. “Which is why I don’t understand, Terra, how Dominic got you-” I winced, letting out a small hiss. “P-please. Don’t say his name.” My voice was a whimper. “Okay.” Ellen said quickly, almost apologetically. “Okay. I won’t. I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. If one of the guards heard I was panicking they might bring Master in here. I didn’t want him in here. He still gave me nightmares from our first encounter. “Tell me about your life.” Ellen suggested. I scoffed. “I’m in a BDSM club with no hope of getting out.” “Your real life.” Ellen corrected. My heart ached as I thought about it. I had finally become used to it, used to be with the Doctor and saving the day. Now I was here, because of what I did. “What does it matter?” I sighed, looking down at my new outfit. “This is my life now. I’ve earned this.” “I doubt that.” Ellen lightly teased. “No one earns this.” “Well, I’m a rebel.” I barked. “And I don’t want my old life. It’s just that. An old life. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to think about how I killed Rory and Amelia. I don’t want to think about how I’m gonna kill Rose, and Donna, and the Master, and the Doctor, and River, and who knows? Maybe I’ll kill Clara too. You never know with me. People just die around me and it’s my fault. So no, I don’t want to talk about my old life. I would much rather stay here as far away from my loved ones as possible!” The speech left me panting, not so much at how much I was saying but the memories that came with. The Ponds dying, River’s ghost on Trenzalore, Clara jumping into his time stream, the Silence taking Melody away on my First Day. “Did I say you could talk, you whore?” My heart stopped. Oh no... ==PC== He had his guards drag us to the Pain Room. That’s what I called it, apparently it was where I teleported in. I was forced onto my knees, my arms handcuffed behind me. Ellen had her arms chained over her head, exposing her bare back to Master Dominic. I knew what he was going to do to her, it was the worst part of my brain. Years of my life spent training it to think five steps ahead of the other person, of putting myself in the minds of monsters to decode them. It was my job to get inside Dominic’s head and figure out how to bring him down. I had done it once before, and it led me into this mess. Master Dominic whipped Ellen’s back with the nine tails. She screamed in pain, probably still reeling from wounds she had before. I let out a plea for him to stop. “This is what you do, you worthless slut!” Master Dominic yelled, whipping her again. “People get hurt because of you!” “Stop it!” I pleaded, trying to pull on my restraints. “I’ll take her place, just please stop!” Master Dominic sneered at me. “No. You need to learn what happens when you forget your place!” He raised his arm. “And I don’t remember saying you could talk!” He whipped Ellen so hard it shook in my ears. She let out a loud scream of pain. That one had to have cut through her skin. Some drops of blood plopped onto the floor, only making it that much worse. I had done that to her...she was in pain because of me...they were all in pain because of me. My mouth was kept shut. When I talked, he whipped her harder. The only way to keep from being hit to stop making yourself a target. Woah. I hadn’t thought like that since I was twelve years old. The thought came back almost like a temptation. Should I give into it? Should I ruin all the hard work Darcy and Lilac and the Mane 6 put into rebuilding me? Master Dominic whipped Ellen again. I knew then that yes, I did have to give in. This was my punishment for all I had done. Maybe once the Doctor knows how sorry I was for the Ponds, how I punished myself for the wrongs I had done, he would let me back in. Maybe River would too, I had killed her parents in front of her. The only way to keep this from happening to Ellen again was if I stayed quiet, if I became a victim again. I needed to let go of Terra Song, I needed to be the Punching Bag. I may not be able to save Amelia and Rory, but I would be able to save her. It was the only way. With that decided, I lowered my head. My mouth was clamped shut, my eyes stayed firmly on the black marble floor. Master Dominic was about to whip Ellen again. He walked closer to me, his rubber boots rubbing the floor in a way that almost made them squeal. Ellen’s blood had done little to help. “You have another show tonight.” Master Dominic said, dropping the whip by my side. “Best behavior, bag.” His tone didn’t say he wanted a response, so I kept my gaze on the ground below me. “Good girl.” Master Dominic sneered. He kicked me, his boot hitting me so hard I knew a bruise would appear. Doctor, please save us. ==PC== The Doctor brought out his psychic paper, feeling it buzz with a message. Doctor, please save us. The message was repeating, like it had with the Face of Boe on New Earth. The Doctor sadly thought back to the death of the giant head. Terra had been there, nearly crying. Something he had only seen her do a handful of times. She never really showed her emotions, closing herself off to anyone and everyone. Well, everyone except the Doctor. “What is it?” Martha asked. The Doctor looked over to the new companion on the TARDIS. Well, not really a companion. She was only here for a few trips as thank you for saving him and Terra’s life, then he would take her home. He had taken her on three trips already, and a fourth would just be over the top… Then again. He had been running into Terra at each of the places they had gone together...and the two of them had nearly mended fences back in New New York. Terra might appear on this adventure as well! The Doctor grinned at Martha. “Psychic paper, remember?” “Shows you want you want it to.” Martha recalled. The Doctor nodded. “Someone is sending me a message on this. A call for help.” Martha read the repeating message. “Is it an emergency, like some space 911?” “I’d say so.” The Doctor said, putting the paper in his coat pocket. He started dashing about the console. “You need a lot of telepathic power to reach us here in the vortex.” Martha nodded, trying again to try and understand how space travel worked in this mad box. She did remember one thing, as she braced herself on the handrails, just in time for the TARDIS to start shaking with the Doctor’s familiar horrid driving. It took about a moment for her to land, Martha said it was the Doctor’s personal best. The Doctor had a different theory. The TARDIS had been running to this place as well. She was as concerned about the message as the Doctor. Barely a second passed after the landing before the Doctor was out of the TARDIS. “January 20, 1979.” The Doctor sensed. Martha stumbled out, looking around where they were now. It seemed every place the Doctor took was in someway a dump. The TARDIS landed in an alleyway, that smelled of mold and cat pee. “Aberdeen.” The Doctor went on. “Aberdeen?” Martha asked. “Why did the paper send us here?” The Doctor walked towards the street, trying to find the source of power from the message. A message with that much peer behind it had to be easily noticeable, he should see it from here. The TARDIS would have parked herself as close as she could. “Aberdeen is good.” The Doctor said. “Had a friend who lived here once.” “Really?” Martha asked, skeptic. That friend was Rose, she was willing to bet. “Well.” The Doctor pulled on his ear. He had remembered the friend in Aberdeen. “Not live here, exactly. The TARDIS had been a little off on the navigation back then.” He paused, as if waiting for Terra’s witty joke. None came. He hated that most, the silence after she was gone. The Doctor finally caught sight of the psychic trail. It led into a large dark building, blocked by a large guard. (More) ==PC== (More) “Who could be calling us here?” Martha asked. “I don’t know.” The Doctor said, giving his companion a brief look. “And I don’t say that often.” (More) A woman walked up to them, dressed in a black leather corset dress. Her blonde hair was held back in a tight bun, and her face was covered in makeup. Around her neck was a black choker with a metal ring attached, almost like a collar. She spoke in a calm, sultry voice. “Welcome to Master Dominic’s House of Pain. How may we serve you tonight?” “Hello, ladies and gentlemen!” A loud voice shouted from the stage. The Doctor watched a man, around six feet tall with thin limbs, almost peach skin, and brown hair. The Doctor was barely able to see his green eyes. The man was dressed in a tight black shirt, long thin trousers, and black slacks. “I am Master Dominic Chamberlin.” The man said. His tone was firm, demanding. The Doctor was put on edge just with that. Who needed saving? Who could have sent him that message? “Welcome to my House of Pain.” The audience applauded. The man accepted in all with a smug grin. “It’s eight o’clock, everybody.” The man said. A few men began to cheer. “And you know what that means.” More men cheered. “It’s time for the main event.” The Doctor looked over them in disgust. Humans. Some were great, others were like this. They gave in to their deepest instincts, and treated each other like this. “Bring in The Bag!” Dominic ordered. At this commanded, a young woman walked into the stage. Her hands clasped behind her back and her gaze on the ground. The Doctor’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God.” Martha gaped. “It’s her.” Her skin was pale, almost sickly. She was thin. He could see her ribs. Her Raven black hair, usually held back in a ponytail and full of life, looked dull and lifeless in the ballerina bun it was in. Her lips were pale, and frowning. She was looking down at the ground in shame, as he noticed from all the years spent with her. She was wearing barely any clothing. A bright red lace set of bra, looking brand new, with matching underwear. What made the Doctor horrified, were the injuries. Bruises. In every color. Yellow, black, brown, purple. They were all over her skin. Her stomach had the biggest ones. Her arms were fresh, up near her shoulder as if someone had grabbed her there repeatedly. Her legs were bruised, with some mended cuts. It looked some people had kicked her. Faded pink marks littered her arms and stomach, like someone had been cutting into the flesh. The worse one was definitely a thin one over her stomach, to the left of her belly button. It was old, at least ten years. It looked like it received no medical attention once she got it. The Doctor wanted to retch. That means she was injured in such a way as a child. To top it off she had burn marks arms, varying in sizes. Some were small, like from a fire stoker. A few were from tasers, and there was an electrical burns on her legs. The Doctor looked closer and he saw old burns on her arms, faded and at least a few months old. It was Terra. “The Punching Bag, ladies and gentlemen!” Dominic announced. The crowd cheered. She had sent that message, she had to have. The Doctor knew Terra had some telepathic abilities, and she had been around more than enough to reach the TARDIS. She had called for him to save people, but was he just saving her? “For those of you who are new.” Dominic began. “Let me explain.” He walked up to Terra. The girl tensed, if only slightly. The Doctor almost ran up there. She was so afraid. That man did this to her. He made his Terra sick with pain, and made her a show for these horrid people. He could feel the Oncoming Storm brewing inside him. The Doctor had to save her! “Who are you?” Dominic asked. “Nobody.” Terra said. Her voice was weak, and strained from disuse. She was probably dehydrated on top of that. That word broke the Doctor’s hearts. That was the furthest thing from the truth. Terra was beautiful, stunning, and a shining light. He can barely remember a time where she wasn’t helping someone else. Terra was so important to so many, but to none more so than him. “That’s a lie.” The Doctor stated. It took everything he had not to run over there and save her. He didn’t want her getting hurt anymore than she already was. “Good.” Dominic congratulated. “What are you?” “Whatever my Master wants me to be.” Terra responded. “What’ve they done to her, Doctor?” Martha asked. “She looks sick.” “She is.” The Doctor shook his head, growling. “She is sick. These people made her sick.” Dominic took this all in pride. “I want you to be a punching bag tonight. That a problem?” “Never, Master.” Terra never looked up. “Thank you for letting this useless nobody be a punching bag, Master.” “She isn’t a nobody.” The Doctor snarled. This made his blood boil. “She’s someone important.” Dominic just smiled. “Why do you like being a punching bag?” “Because I deserve it.” The Doctor growled. Terra did not deserve this. She deserved to be treated with kindness, and love. She deserved to be happy. She deserved a life with Matt, the one she craved to return to whenever she was with him. “You bet you do.” Dominic replied, punching Terra in her stomach. She doubled over in pain. After a moment’s pause, she returned to her early stance. Her face was void of all emotion. Martha held the Doctor back. “Docto-” “They are assaulting her!” The Time Lord hissed. Martha met his hateful brown eyes. “They’ve also got guns trained on her, so she can’t run. We go up there, she’ll get shot.” The Doctor reeled back. Sure enough, three of the guards had their weapons pointed at her. Dominic had a long stick in his belt, that Doctor guessed was an electric torture device. They had ways of keeping Terra there. “For those who are new.” Dominic lurked behind Terra. The girl just kept staring forward, her eyes foggy like she was lost in a memory. “Let me add some background. It’s their favorite part.” The Doctor admitted it, he wanted to know too. Dominic grinned. He stood at Terra’s left side. “The Punching Bag used to go by a name, used to have a family, but then, tell these lovely gentlemen what you did.” “I ruined it, like I ruin everything.” Terra said, her voice flat. “I put them in harm’s way. You tried to save them, you tried to get them to run away from me, but I was stubborn.” “Yes you were.” Dominic said. “And what happened to them?” “They died.” Terra said, her voice cracking near the end. Dominic grinned, darkly. “Even her own children were put into danger. Tell them what happened to your daughter.” Terra almost cried. The Doctor could see it in her eyes. If she wasn’t so broken, she might be crying right there on stage. “She is to be de-constructed as part of the Created Removal Process. I was foolish to bring her to life.” He had never heard Terra speak about her children in such a way. Any time they were brought up, she spoke of them as if they were more precious than gold. She loved them, and became violent towards others if there was even an implied damage done to them. The same protective ferocity was applied to her sister, and her friends. Terra had done many things to keep Rose and him from being hurt, most of the time it meant she herself was injured. She would do it with a smile on her face, not a dead frown. She would do it with fire burning from every pore, not with this cold icy exterior. Was...no...this wasn’t her first day. It couldn’t be. The Doctor knew it was a dark day, from her brief explanation. This was pretty dark by his standards. But the manipulator was already wrapped around her wrist, chaining her to his timeline. There would be a day darker than this? “Yes.” Dominic grinned. “But don’t worry, you can repay your mistakes here.” “Thank you, Master.” Terra said. “Remember everyone.” Dominic walked closer to Terra. Both she and the Doctor tensed. “Nothing on the face but slaps, and no touching.” The vile man grabbed her rear. “That’s all mine.” The Doctor decided. Dominic would end up dead by the end of this. ==PC== Dominic walked into his office, proud. His top guard had come to him, a silent alarm had triggered in his office. Dominic knew it wasn’t Terra, was mildly disappointed with that. He never needed a reason to beat her, but having one made her much more terrified. He had a simple office. Well, simple for a narcissist. Dark brown walls, black tile floors, a big black desk covered in paperwork and his 70’s laptop. It was outmoded for him, but it was all this decade had. One of his walls was Windows, allowing him to keep watching Terra’s Sunday Night Show. You could still hear her screaming, the whoosh of a whip that cracked her back. It helped when he was bored. The wall across the window was covered in framed photos. Some were of his accomplishments, legal documents proving his power and some of the girls. What got his attention tonight, was the man sitting and playing on the computer. “Hello!” The Doctor cheered. “Sorry. I got bored, and this computer has Pong!” Dominic glanced at the woman standing behind the Doctor, dark skinned with her black hair held back into a messy ponytail. “Not many people come up to this room.” Dominic said. “The door’s locked.” The Doctor kept grinning like an idiot. “I have a key.” He lied. Dominic smirked. “I suppose you do, Doctor.” The Doctor dropped his smile, instead leaning back in the big chair. It was one of those boring grown-up chairs, no wheels. He liked the wheelie chair. Martha nervously shifted in her seat, feeling a bit like a stray dog between two wolves. “Not a lot of people know who I am.” The Doctor commented. “Of course I know who you are. Both of you.” Dominic said, glancing back at Martha. “You both mattered to her.” Martha’s eyes quickly went to the stage, where Terra was currently being shoved down to the ground after a harsh punch. “Whatever she was to you, I suggest you just leave.” Dominic explained. “The bitch doesn’t exactly like company, not unless I’m around.” The Doctor tensed. “Don’t call her that.” “Oh.” Dominic grinned. “Struck a nerve?” “I will get her out.” The Doctor stated. His voice became dark. “You can’t stop me.” “Go ahead and try.” Dominic challenged. “She won’t get far.” The Doctor kept himself very calm. This man was his only way of getting Terra back. Dominic grinned, confidently walking over the wall of photos. “She was so confident when I met her, so long ago. Now she’s as she should be, weak and at my mercy.” “Because of your abuse!” The Doctor argued in a growl. “Ask her about Matt.” Dominic grinned. “And you’ll see I barely had to lift a finger to whip her into shape.” “Matt?” Martha asked. “Her boyfriend.” Dominic said, adding an eye roll. “Her first time, if she told the truth.” Oh, now the Doctor was pissed. It didn’t help that you could still hear Terra screaming. A part of him scolded him that he should’ve known Terra wouldn’t have just been beaten. Dominic had crossed a line! No matter how angry he had ever been at the woman, or whatever harsh words he said in the heat of the moment, Terra never should have gone through this. She may have faults, she may have a darkness about her, but she had the biggest heart the Doctor had ever seen. “Enjoy the show tomorrow night, Doctor.” Dominic sneered. “I plan on making her dance.” ==PC== (More) “Doctor?” A voice asked. The Doctor and Martha stopped in their steps, looking in the dark cell to find a young girl, at least nineteen, dressed in a black version of Terra’s clothes. She had dirty blonde hair, which had probably once been very light, brown eyes like coffee, and very pale skin. “The Doctor?” The girl repeated, pointing curiously at the Doctor. The Doctor walked up to her cell. It was the one right next to where Terra’s had been. This girl’s voice was stronger, not scratchy like Terra’s had been. “That’s me. Hello.” The Doctor grinned widely, almost like an idiot, waving at the girl. “Do you know me?” The girl admitted. She motioned with her head to Terra’s cell. “Terra talked about you. You know, back when she actually talked.” The Doctor almost frowned. He was positive that this regeneration took his impossibly big gob from Terra. Lord knew how fast she talked when excited. Martha was more shocked than anything. Terra was sometimes quiet, but only when she was scared. Really scared. Martha remembered back when she met Shakespeare how quiet Terra had been once they went into that asylum. She stayed within three feet of the Doctor at all times. The girl looked at them with pleading eyes. “Tell me you’ll get her out. Promise me. Please.” “We promise.” The Doctor swore. “Thank you-” “Ellen Cassidy.” The woman said. “My name is Ellen Cassidy.” The Doctor gave her an appreciative smile, walking over to the next cell. Martha followed, after briefly looking at Ellen’s fresh wounds. ==PC== The door to my cell opened, far too early for Sunday night’s private dance for Master Dominic. “Terra, Terra! It’s me!” A man shouted. A man I could never forget, even though I tried. I couldn’t look up. Master Dominic never said I could look up. Besides, what were the chances it was actually the Doctor? “Terra, please. It’s me. The Doctor.” He pleaded. I flinched away, not wanting another one of Master’s tricks to attack. I shook my head. He never liked it when I spoke when he didn’t give permission. There was a pause, and it made my heart break. It was a sad silence, strengthened by the tears building in my eyes. What was his game? What did he want? I did that dance as he wanted. Did I not do a good job? Was he giving me hope just so he could take it away? Didn’t he know I lost hope before I even came here? “Terra, it’s the Doctor. That rude and not ginger Doctor, with the gob that won’t stop.” The Doctor’s voice went on. “Do you know who I am?” ‘Just stop, please just stop.’ “Doctor, hold on.” Martha? No. That couldn’t be Martha. Why would Dominic use Martha? I would sooner believe it was Rose with him, or even Donna, not Martha. Martha could never come here. She was better than this place. The man in front of me got up. I could feel the absence of him, as air replaced where he had previously kneeled. What were they doing? Was I going to be beaten for something? Did they want me to react? Did they want to punish me? Master usually tells me when people get a personal session... “She’s scared.” Whoever was using Martha’s voice explained in shushed tone to the Doctor. “Look at her. Who knows how long she’s been like this. Forcing her to talk might make it worse.” “Martha, she’s-” The Doctor half growled. I shrunk back. I was right. I was right, he was angry. He was a client that wanted to hurt me. They always want to. I remind them of some wife, or rebellious daughter, or haughty coworker. I was a punching bag. My only purpose was to take the punishment, like a good girl would. “I know, Doctor, I know!” The female client snapped. “But I’ve seen girls like her before. You’re angry, and she can tell. They always can tell when a male is angry around them, and prepare against it. We can’t help her if she closes off. She doesn’t need that, she needs to know we can be trusted.” I wanted to believe it was her. I really, really did. What if she wasn’t? She could just be one of the client’s, made to make my life even more like hell. Or maybe I finally snapped. Was this my psyche in a last ditch effort to save me? Why wouldn’t my own body agree with me? I was doomed in here. The Doctor was never coming for me. River was never coming for me. My friends were never coming for me. I don’t want them to. I got Amelia and Rory killed. How can the Doctor forgive me for that? How can River forgive me for killing her parents? She was my wife and I murdered my in-laws. They died because I failed. Another figure walked up towards me. I tried to back away. “It’s alright.” Martha’s voice soothed. “My name is Martha Jones. I just want to help, alright?” My hope came up. That was a voice filled with emotion. Master couldn’t fake that. “Ma-Martha?” I asked, tentatively. “Is-Is it r-really you?” Someone put their hands on my shoulder. I winced. The hands stilled, only slightly. They were gentle, not looking to bruise me. “Yes. I’m here to get you out of here, and the Doctor’s here to help.” I flinched. No. Not the Doctor. “H-He hates me.” Martha sucked in breath. I felt her hands let go of my shoulders, moving to my forearms. “Why would you think that, Terra? The Doctor’s your best friend, your partner in crime. You said that to me.” “I ruined his life.” I hiccuped on a side. “I can’t do anything right. I don’t know why he hasn’t gotten rid of me yet. It would just be better on everybody if I was just gone.” “Don’t say that.” Martha said, her voice soft. “It’s true. My friends got hurt because of me. All I ever do is get people hurt. I failed, Martha. I failed them, I failed my family, I failed the Doctor.” My voice broke on the last word. I never wanted to fail him, ever. He was the Doctor, and I fell in love with him. I fell hard. He was the Doctor. He loved me even when he was Twelve, the old Scottish magician with a knack for being goddamn hilarious. He stole my first kiss, and I loved it. He held my hand when I was in doubt, and was my only constant now. Story, I even gave the idiot Time Lord my virginity! He knew the pain of losing your friends, time and time again. He knew what it was like to be alone for so long, only every now and then getting a glimpse at true family. The Doctor was the father of one of my children, dramatic little Maxy. He liked old timey (wimey) cartoons, Jammie Dodgers, making up words, fish fingers and custard, bananas, converse, leather jackets, pinstripe suits, long beautiful speeches, and don’t even think about touching his tea! He was my friend. The Doctor was the Doctor. He doesn’t have a tank, he has a blue box that’s bigger on the inside. He doesn’t carry a gun, he has a screwdriver. He doesn’t have three heads or tentacles, he had two hearts. He is the Doctor, the man who makes people better. Loving him, that was the help I needed. To love someone, and have them love me back. It felt so good to know he loved me like that. And I had to go and stab him in the back. I had to go and killed the Ponds. How could I do that to him? It was a betrayal, a complete and utter betrayal. “Just g-go.” I asked, curling my arms around myself. “Please. If h-he finds you both here, he’ll-he’ll k-k...hurt you.” Martha gave me a reassuring squeeze on my arm, telling me what I already suspected. There was a long pause. The Doctor walked towards me, kneeling down on Martha’s level. “You could never let me down, Terra.” The Doctor promised. “I did.” I whimpered. “Don’t you see? I let you down. I am always letting you down. It’s all I know how to do.” “You’re only human. Even humans make mistakes.” The Doctor said. “I don’t know what happened, but even I know that you did everything you could to stop it.” I bit my lip to keep the sob in. He was right. What with the chapter title, and dead Rory, and the marked grave. I still could have tried. Silencio was a fixed point, and we worked around that. There had to be a way to get the Ponds out of New York. The buzzing of the sonic screwdriver echoed in my cell. The sound of my chains falling to the floor made me slowly turn my head to try and detect where they were, eyes clamped shut. “Terra, please, look at me.” The Doctor pleaded, cupping my cheeks in his hands. “I don’t want you to see.” I said, looking down again. The Doctor kept his hands on me. “Terra, what else is there to see?” “My eyes.” I admitted, feeling ashamed that I had let myself become like this again. That I let Dominic have control over me again. I kept my eyes shut tight as he made our faces eye level. “I see your eyes all the time.” I shook my head, feeling comfort in him holding me. “Not like this.” I whimpered. “Never like this.” My arms wrapped themselves around me. There were a lot of scars on my body, ones I didn’t want him to see. Not this young. “Terra, I promise. I’m going to get you out of here.” The Doctor said. “I deserved it.” I said, automatically. “I’m not Terra, I’m a punching bag.” “No. No you are not.” The Doctor denied. He sounded angry, just underneath the surface. “You never could be.” “I failed, like I always do.” I said, trying to get him to run. I would never forgive myself if Dominic got to him. “I deserve this, I earned this.” “That...That is nonsense, Terra, absolute nonsense and you know it!” The Doctor argued. “You should be treated so much better than this.” I shook my head. “You do.” The Doctor argued. “You do, Terra.” “No, I don’t.” I snapped at him. “You don’t know anything, Doctor.” I wanted to stand, but kept myself curled in a ball. My voice stayed soft in case Dominic was listening. “Dominic and I have a complicated past, how he’s treating me is nothing compared to how I treated him.” The Doctor was shocked. “You knew him before?” I closed my mouth, trying to look strong as that week flashed in my mind.My gaze lowered to my shoes. I grabbed my chains, locking them over my wrists. “Master is coming soon for my dance. You need to leave.” “Terra, I am not leaving you in this place.” The Doctor said firmly. “Master will kill you.” I said, my voice cracking. “It’s what he does. He takes the people I love, forces me to put them in dangerous situations, and then he kills them. That’s what happened last time. That’s why Ellen’s all bruised. That’s how I lost Darcy..” Just saying her name in this instance brought back the phantom pain. The blade running through her neck, the agony of my heart turning to dust in my chest. The monster that followed after. My friends seeing me like that. All because of Dominic. “Darcy? She’s alive.” The Doctor said, confused. “I can explain later.” I snapped. “Master is coming, and you need to go!” The Doctor was about to argue, when the main doors opened. They could be heard all the way from down here. I could hear Martha inhale sharply. “She’s right.” The Doctor said to Martha. “If the guards find us in here, they’ll kill us and her.” “I don’t want to leave her like this.” Martha argued. The footsteps were getting louder. “I think we don’t have a choice.” With that, the Doctor and Martha left my room. They were far quieter than I have ever seen Ten. I heard them open the cell door across from mine, hiding in their until the guards passed. It was a safe bet. That cell was empty anyway. The Doctor was safe for now. But people always get hurt around me. People always will get hurt around me. ==PC== Once the guards were gone, the Doctor and Martha snuck back into the main room. It was safer to hide in the crowd than the dungeons. They sat at one of the booths, trying to stay at least somewhat hidden. “Who’s Darcy?” Martha asked, delicately. The Doctor was just staring off in the distance. Dominic and Terra had met before? He suspected as much with the backstory Dominic told everyone. He hadn’t killed Darcy or Lilac, so why were they both saying he did? “Darcy is Terra’s sister. Her twin.” The Doctor said, almost absentmindedly. He leaned forward on the table, scrunching up his face in thought. “Thing is, I’ve met her. Darcy’s alive and well, same for her daughter Lilac. Neither of them are dead, but Terra talked about them as if they died.” “She might think they have. Dominic could’ve lied to her.” Martha tried. “No.” The Doctor said. “Terra doesn’t believe someone is dead unless she sees it with her own eyes.” Martha frowned at that. She had been wracking her brain too, and one thing kept sticking out to her. “What about that girl, Ellen?” “What?” The Doctor asked. “What about that message on the psychic paper?” Martha asked. “Terra had to have sent it to you, but why?” The Doctor considered it. “Doctor please save us.” The Doctor frowned. “Terra wasn’t asking for me to save her, she wants me to save all of them. Every girl trapped here.” “But we can’t just leave her here!” Martha argued, trying to stay quiet lest security hear. “That message said save us. Terra wants us to save her too.” The Doctor found himself glaring at Martha with such intensity that it worried his companion. “I would never leave her in here to rot.” Martha flinched back at the ferocity Doctor’s voice, and in his eyes. Terra meant a lot to him, she had seen it in the two days she knew them. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, but Martha saw all those glances Terra sent the Doctor and vice versa. “I’m not saying we do.” Martha said. “But, I’m just asking, how do we?” (More) Terra was dressed in red again. A red lace corset, a red miniskirt, and knee high red leather boots. Her hair had been pulled up into a ballerina bun, exposing a bruise on her neck. Not one human’s could see. The Doctor only could because of his Time Lord superior biology. He could see handfuls of other bruises on her arms, legs, neck, and face. They had used makeup to cover them, hide them for the show. The Doctor could see it in her amber eyes, the ones usually shining as bright as the twin suns on his home planet of Gallifrey. She was in pain, but she was still fighting. Terra never backed down from a fight, ever. He fondly remembered one such argument, it led to the two of them rolling on the floor laughing. To this day, the Doctor wondered how he and Terra had gotten anything done. The music changed to add a drumbeat. Terra changed her dance in tune with it, swinging faster around her pole. (More) “Why, Martha Jones.” The Doctor said. “I just came up with a plan.” ==PC== (More) Ellen nodded, determination in her eyes. “You don’t have much time.” “Where is she?” The Doctor asked, panicking. “She’s not in her cell.” The young woman frowned, almost in pity. “She danced tonight.” “We saw.” Martha admitted, feeling her heart breaking seeing Terra like that. “You don’t understand. She never dances.” Ellen explained, worried. “She’s always too hurt after being the punching bag. She only dances when he comes.” “What do you mean ‘when he comes’?” The Doctor asked. “Dominic’s always here.” Ellen shook her head. “The only nights she dances are when the Tiger comes in. I don’t know his real name, none of us do. We call him Tiger because he likes to scratch. Terra turned into his favorite girl pretty soon after she showed. Like, the next day.” She ran up to the bars, looking between the Doctor and Martha. “He pays extra so Dominic will make her dance.” “How do you know all this?” Martha asked, suspicious of the woman. “Dominic likes to brag about Terra to us.” Ellen explained. “She’s the girl he likes to hit most, and hardest.” She tripped the bars tighter. The Doctor took in the new information, planning on asking Terra later. “Dominic picks her up after the dance, closes up any of her bad wounds, and gives her to Tiger. If you hurry, you can get to her in the med room. When Tiger shows he has her at eleven.” “Ellen, you have to listen to me cause this is important.” The Doctor said, a wild look in his eyes. He was on to something. “Just how many of the women here are his victims?” “Right now, the only one who isn’t is your friend there.” Ellen nodded at Martha. The future doctor’s face dropped in shock. There were a lot of girls in this place...almost thirty. “So he took all of them from their lives?” “Yeah.” Ellen said. “Me, I was a barmaid not too far away. Heard some trouble down the block, so I go check it out. Next thing I know, I’m stuffed into this cell. Lots of the girls here have similar stories.” “Alright.” The Doctor said, determination in his brown eyes. “And there’s something I need you to do.” The Doctor soniced her lock open. Ellen looked at him in shock. “What are you-” “I need you to get as far from here as you can.” The Doctor said. He turned to Martha. “Same for you. Get all the other girls out of here and run.” “But the guards-” Martha reminded him. “Come on.” The Doctor said. “Gather the masses. Those idiot guards against all of you?” The Doctor encouraged. “I’d be terrified.” Martha stood her ground. “I’m not leaving without Terra.” “Listen, if you go in there with Terra then I can’t promise you’ll come out.” The Doctor said. “These girls need to be saved, and I can’t be in two places at once. Okay, I did one time, but it was very complicated circumstances. Actually, there was five of me in one place-” “Alright. Fine. How do I get thirty or so girls out of a place with the same amount of guards and guns?” Martha asked. She was trying to sound skeptic, it came out that way unfortunately. “The roof.” Ellen piped in. “There’s a door on the roof. Some of the clients go up there to smoke. I went up once, it wasn’t that far a jump to the next building.” “There we go. Everything straightened out.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “The girls are all gone.” The Doctor said. “All of them.” My head shot up. Ellen? He saved Ellen? My breathing slowed, as if finally able to take in air. “My guards-” Dominic growled. “Gone.” The Doctor said, in a sort of cheer. That dangerous cheer that I recognized from The Idiot’s Lantern. I don’t like it. It made me nervous. My skin felt prickly, as did the air around me. The Doctor was angry. “Left with the girls. Martha may have even told some of them to bring the police.” (More) The Doctor wrapped an arm over my shoulders, holding me close. I felt his hearts beating under my palm, making a gentle smile grow on my face. The man chuckled, making my hair stand on end. Nothing good happened when the bad guy laughed. I didn’t turn my back, cause I knew that if I faced him I would end up killing him. “How does it feel to know you failed?” Oh, my Story. His words stabbed me right in my heart. The air left my lungs with the realization that he was right. The Doctor held my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “I’ve got Terra back, all of your girls are going home, and most of your clients are going to jail, so how is that a failure?” “Who said I was talking to you?” Dominic hissed. I felt his eyes burn the back of my head. The Doctor’s protective hand gripped tighter on mine. I almost whimpered, trying hard not to cry. “Leave her be.” The Doctor warned, his voice low. “You failed. The one thing you are supposed to be good at, and you failed.” Dominic taunted. I started to shake, my knees felt weak. My Doctor held me up. “No. She didn’t.” The Doctor snapped. He leaned down to my ear. “You stayed strong, Terra. He didn’t break you. You never failed.” I intended to glance up at him, but the Doctor’s brown eyes had me locked. They were being honest, they were full of love. Damn that Doctor and his emotional brown eyes. “Then why are they dead?” Dominic said. A loud cry emerged from my mouth. I knew exactly who he was talking about. Amy and Rory were dead. I killed them. They were dead, and Dominic knew that. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. I killed the Ponds. I would be seeing them for decades and they had died because of me. I would see River and know I killed her parents. I would see ClaraEleven and know I cost him his best friends. I would see Twelve, and my heart would shatter. Story, how could I face them? What would I even say? I would get closer to them with the guilt of being their killer. My special talent was helping, why couldn’t I help them? The Doctor wrapped his other arm around me, holding me in an embrace. His duel heartbeats a harsh reminder against my own chest. Dominic was right, I killed the Ponds. The Doctor didn’t know how horrible I was. I killed his friends. Why was he being nice to me? “How many times have you failed, Terra? Or did you prefer Frederica?” Dominic taunted. The man looked down at the podium in front of him. “She was fun. Cost this boy his life, melted right in front her.” “Freddie.” I choked. My clone. He had been unstable, parts of him turning to goop if he got too emotional. “No. Not Freddie. Please not my Freddie.” “Terra, don’t listen.” The Doctor comforted, holding me closer. My face pressed into his shoulder, taking a deep breath. “He’s lying. That boy is alive.” I almost snorted. Freddie was half dead when he was born. “Oh. Sorry.” Dominic laughed darkly. “Wrong name again. Megan Quinn. One of the BAU’s best and brightest.” He glanced at me. “How is Spencer? Still going to support groups after you got him addicted on Dilaudid?” “Tobias fucking Hankel got him on that shit.” I mumbled. “Ah, but you had a chance to stop it.” Dominic reminded. “Same for Aaron Hotchner, and Elle, and Gideon, and Derek, and Prentiss, and Garcia-” “Touch Garcia and I end you!” I snapped. The Doctor held onto me, as if to keep either of us from running up and punching his stupid face. Dominic laughed. “Just how many people have you let down, Raspberry?” I froze. He wouldn’t dare. The Doctor kept holding me. He recognized the name, he knew Dominic was talking about me. He knew Dominic was breaking me down. “How are those girls of your’s?” Dominic looked at the podium. “Lilac, Cookie, and Hannah. Can you name anything right?” “Why do you keep looking at that podium?” I asked, glancing between Dominic and the podium. “What’s on it?” The Doctor added. Dominic grinned. “Oh, this old thing?” He patted the side. “It shows me everything your little girlfriend did wrong. Helps with some of my other girls, keeps them docile. Terra never needed the extra kick until tonight.” The Doctor didn’t let me go. “Everyone makes mistakes. You shouldn’t have been forcing these women-” “They came here and decided they wanted to stay.” Dominic explained away. “Why, if some of them needed to be reminded, then I feel I have to help.” “Really? Thirty women signed for this?” I snapped. “To be physically and mentally tortured for the rest of their lives?” “Some people have extreme tastes, Raspberry.” Dominic said, leaning on the podium. “Those three girls. You really fucked up with those three. I mean, letting one be used as a hostage, by me? Another was attacked by a demon?” He chuckled. “Dear God, what are they doing to Hannah?” I lashed out, trying to kick the Doctor to get him to let me go. “Don’t you say her name!” Dominic chuckled. “She’s being sacrificed. Holy shit!” “No she wasn’t!” I reminded myself. “We got her out in time! She didn’t die! She was saved.” “But not by you, you huge fucking screw up.” Dominic said. “Oh. I was wondering when Darcy would show up on this thing. And damn this is a long one.” The Doctor started moving me towards the door. “Come on, Terra. We need to leave.” “How did it feel, your sister dying?” Dominic asked. The Doctor tried to unlock the door. “It’s deadlocked, isn’t?” I almost growled. Dominic needs to stop talking about her. “Some twins say it’s like losing half a lung, or your heart stops beating. Was it like that? How many times has your heart stopped?” Dominic said in absent thought. “How many times have you let people down?” Too many. “How many have died because of your inaction?” Too many. “How many have you saved?” Never enough. The Doctor was guiding me to another door, not too far from the other one. “Don’t listen to him.” “But he’s-he’s right.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. The Doctor stopped, turning to me and holding my shoulders in his hands. “No. He’s not. He is telling you lies-” “But I have killed. And there were people I could’ve saved but didn’t.” Tears burned as the fell down my cheeks. A girl made of fire, putting herself out with her own tears. Poetic. “And no matter how many I save it’s never enough.” “You saved everyone in this building.” The Doctor assured. “You! Martha and I would never have known about this without you.” “Dominic only did all of this because of me.” I argued, my voice weak. “He wanted to show me that I always fail. That I can never get it right, and I can’t.” “Yes you can. I’ve seen you do it!” The Doctor encouraged. “Terra, please, I know what you’re feeling and I know you think you need to be punished, but you’re wrong. No one, least of all you, has done anything worthy of this.” “Really? After what happened to Rose, you still think I’m innocent? After what happened to you? To those friends you have in the future that I let die? All those lives I ruined, even before I met you. I can’t do anything right. I can’t save anyone. I can’t-” The last words died on my tongue, but I still knew what I wanted to say. I can’t help anyone. ==PC== “I can’t help anyone.” The words came out as a defeated sigh. “Terra, that’s not true.” The Doctor assured. “It has never, ever been true.” Terra fell to her knees, her face void of emotion. The Doctor looked at her worry. While the sadist only looked at the broken girl with glee. A gray halo appeared over head, slowly falling down her body. The parts on her body it passed became gray. The Doctor watched in horror as her beautiful amber eyes changed to dull gray. He glared at Dominic, the Fire in his eyes blazing. “What did you do?” The man only grinned with devilish pride. “I only heard legends-” “What did you do?!” The Doctor shouted, running up to Dominic. He grabbed the man by his shoulders, holding him up. The Doctor’s face twisted into a mad snarl. “Tell me! What is wrong with Terra? Why is she gray? Tell me!” He demanded. Dominic laughed. “The Gray.” He said in a dark undertone. “It’s Equestrian magic. It only happens when you stop following your cutiemark.” He tried to look at Terra. The Doctor shook Dominic’s gaze away. “How do you stop it?” The Doctor barked. Dominic took longer than he liked to answer. “How do you stop it?!” Dominic met the Doctor’s heated gaze. “You can’t!” Dominic laughed madly. “Equestrian magic is all based on the user! The more powerful the emotion, the more powerful the magic. She’s the most powerful user I have ever seen, and now the magic is turning on her! Cutiemark Madness is the one thing not even Terra herself can cure.” The Doctor glared at Dominic, defiantly. He held up his sonic screwdriver. “Well, let’s just reverse the polarity then.” He aimed it at the podium, letting it do it’s work. Another click of the screwdriver activated the mental wavelength sent the images straight to Terra’s mind. It played her moments of greatest achievement. The Doctor watched them, smiling. ‘Terra busted open a car window, freeing the crying baby inside.’ ‘Terra watched a man take photos down from his wall, tossing them in the trash. LDSK, one of the papers read.’ ‘Terra held a little girl’s hand, telling her a story that made the girl’s purple eyes twinkle.’ ‘Terra hugged a small girl with blue hair, watching her blow out birthday candles.’ ‘In a small hotel room, Terra brushed a small kitten’s fur.’ ‘In a damp dark basement, Terra held a newborn child close to her chest. Darcy stood by her side, brushing the newborn’s black hair.’ ‘Two teenagers walked up to Terra, guns in their arms and military garb on their bodies. Terra stood tall, smirking at them.’ The rest of the memories had gone too fast for the Doctor to catch. The last one was the biggest. It glowed bright white, though the Doctor would later say it was pink. ‘“I love you.” Terra said into a cellphone. She smiled, freely. “That’s the first time I’ve said it to anyone. The next one I say to your face, got it Doc?”’ The Doctor looked over at Terra, notching a blush on her cheeks that she tried to hide using her hair. “You son of a bitch!” Dominic growled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Her buyer demanded that she’d be broken! You’ve ruined everything!” “Shut your damn mouth.” The Doctor felt a smile come on his face. He knew that voice. “What?” Dominic gaped at the speaker. Terra looked up at him, eyes an almost glowing amber. “Shut. Your damn. Mouth!” Her body exploded in a rainbow glow. Once it faded, the Doctor was shocked to see to had changed her form much like his own regenerations. Her hair looked brushed out now, falling onto her shoulders in beautiful elegant curls. Resting on her head was a golden tiara, decorated with sapphires and pink pearls. Instead of red lingerie, Terra was wearing a raspberry pink medieval dress. It had silver dressings on the bust, as well as silver tassels. Terra glared at Dominic. For a split second, the Doctor was reminded of the Bad Wolf. Her eyes glowed that same amber, as if the Time Vortex itself was running through her head. She ran towards the dark hearted man. She took ahold of his shirt collar, slamming him against the wall. “Don’t you ever say that to him again!” She screamed. “No one talks to the Doctor that way! Not on my watch!” “Mercy...” Dominic pleaded. “Why should I? You never did.” Terra snapped. She slammed him against it again. “Terra!” The Doctor called out. The woman with goddess like power snapped her head to the Doctor, so fast some of her hair brushed over her face. Her face, twisted into a snarl, fell into a gentle smile. She dropped Dominic to the ground, backing away to give him space. Dominic was sputtering. “He-He said your magic-” “Only comes out when you threaten what’s important to me.” Terra explained calmly, almost sweetly. “And you threatened him. He’s important to me, wouldn’t you say?” Dominic sputtered for a second more, then growled. “You won’t kill me.” The Doctor watched as Terra raised her hands, which started to glow in a bright amber light. “Correct, dearie. Killing you makes a mess.” Terra said. “And I happen to know the best way to get rid of the dark in the least messy way possible.” She took a step back, holding out her hands palm up. She shut her eyes in concentration. “You’re never gonna bring me down. You’re never gonna break this part of me. My friends are here to bring me ‘round, not singing just for popularity.” Her hands started to glow with prismatic energy. The Doctor and Dominic stared in shock. “I’m here to let you know that I won’t let it go. My music is a bomb and it’s about to blow.” Her eyes opened, revealing nothing but white light. “And you can try to fight, but I’ve got the light of friendship on my side!” The dress billowed, an strong breeze somehow appearing in the room. Terra floated up into the air, inch by inch. “Got the music in our hearts! Here to blow this thing apart! And together we will never be afraid of the dark!” “No.” Dominic shook his head. “No! Impossible!” Terra smirked. “I think of six impossible things before breakfast!” She shouted, raising her arms above her head. The rainbow glow got brighter. “Here to sing my song outloud! Get you dancing with the crowd, as the music of our friendship survives!” She threw her hands down, sending a rainbow blast straight at Dominic. “NO!” He screamed. ==PC== The Doctor had to look away when the beam hit Dominic. There had been a bright white light at the impact, like a small explosion. When he could look without going blind, Terra was back on her own two feet and in that red lingerie. A dazed look on her face, and an exhausted sway to her body. He got to his feet, rushing to get side. The Doctor barely managed to catch her before she could slam into the floor. In a small act of tenderness, the Doctor brushed away a loose strand of her black hair. She looked peaceful, something the Doctor knew she hadn’t had in a long time. There was a slight shimmer on the right side of her body. The Doctor saw a strange, intricate black tattoo form on her skin. They almost like new veins, or ivy. He could only stare in slight awe as the markings appeared along the side of her body, all the way from her shoulder to her hip bone. Something about them made him feel ferocious, protective. His finger reached out, lightly touching one of the intricate curves. The instant his skin touched her’s Terra moaned loudly. She arched her back, falling back down with a whimper. The marks started to fade from her skin. The Doctor, previously panicking over their arrival, panicked at the absence. Terra’s skin returned to that pale skin, slightly decorated with scars. He heard the distant calls of the police. He had wondered when they would show. The Doctor needed to check Terra in his TARDIS, with proper medical scanners. And yet, for the first time in awhile, the Doctor couldn’t find it in him to scold himself. Not when it concerned his feelings towards her. But...what if her tattoos came back? The thought of letting anyone see her in that state made him feel dangerous. No one else needed to see them. The Doctor knew it in his hearts that those tattoos were for his eyes only. ==PC== I held his jacket tighter around me, taking a deep breath of the Doctor’s scent. He smelled ancient, of dust after rain and hair gel and some of his favorite biscuits. There was also the faint metal smell from the TARDIS. Martha was by my side. She seemed a little worse for wear, at least on the inside. (More) “Majesty, we need to take your statement.” I frowned. “Doctor-” “We need to get you to the-” “They’re talking to me.” I said, pulling myself from his grasp. The Doctor and Martha gaped at me. I sighed, walking over to the woman who had been calling for me. “Your Majesty.” Tracy spoke. “My name is Henrietta.” I giggled. Of course she would get the stupidest name. “Your statement?” “The victim is one Dominic Chamberlin.” Tracy’s eyes widened. “Keep writing.” Tracy nodded, writing it all down. “This was a BDSM bar run by Dominic. Yes, I was the star attraction. No, I was unwilling in the whole thing. Yes.” I gulped. “He did sexually assault me, every night. I’ve been here for three weeks.” Tracy nodded. A cold expression on her face. What was I expecting? “I was called the Punching Bag.” Tracy scribbled. “We’ll need to take some pictures of the injuries.” “If you want to take pictures, take the camera and shove it up your ass.” Tracy gave me a look. “Eloquent as always.” She commented. I only smirked. “How did he die?” The medical people pulled away the body bag, wheeling it to the ambulance. I put on a cold face. “A rainbow killed him.” I said, impassively look back to Tracy. She was just writing on the notepad. “And who controlled this rainbow?” I shrugged. “Rather not say.” Tracy nodded. “I have to tell your bosses.” My eyes widened. “No. No please don’t. I will give you twenty bucks if you don’t tell them.” I pleaded. “You have bosses?” Martha asked. “No.” “Yes.” I glared at Tracy. I huffed, noticing one figure standing by the ambulance. “Ellen?” “It’s Henri-” “Ellen!” I shouted, wrapping the coat tighter around me as I looked at the girl I thought dead. The girl snapped her head up at me, brown eyes wide. “Terra?” “Ellen!” I cheered, running as fast as my tired legs would carry me. The girl smiled, brightly. She held her arms out as I met her, wrapping then around me in a hug. I hugged her back, which was harder than you would think with a blanket on. The two of us started laughing, though I had no idea why. Maybe it was that I knew that Ellen hadn’t died because of me. “You’re okay.” Ellen half whispered into my hair. I squeezed her arms, the only thing I could reach with this blanket. “We’re okay.” I corrected. “Get your pronouns right.” Ellen laughed, I joined in. It was that relieving laughter. The kind you have when that weight is lifted off your shoulders, almost like crying. She hugged me tighter, like she was making sure I was alive. “I knew he would save you.” Ellen sighed, then laughed. “Right when I saw him I knew he was going to save you.” I was a bit confused, until I heard the unmistakable sound of the Doctor’s converse hitting the black top. “Ellen!” The Doctor cheered. “Hello!” Ellen let go of my arms, letting me turn to face the Doctor. He was smiling giddily at Ellen. I looked at Ellen, shocked. “Ellen, Dominic could have killed you.” She gripped my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. “He would have killed you.” I hugged her, tightly. “Please. Never do that again. I’m going to lose people I care about one by one. Don’t make me lose you too.” Ellen squeezed me back. It didn’t feel like she was saying yes… I knew I liked this chick. ==PC== Immediately upon entering the TARDIS, the Doctor brought me to the med bay. Martha gaped at all the futuristic technology in here, whereas I was silently panicking over...well the shock was wearing off. The Doctor started me off by using some medicinal cream from the 47th century on my back. It stung, but according to him it would keep any of those scratches clean as well as clean the ones already there. He also said they smelled like bubblegum, which I thought was pointless. Why have flavored cream if I can’t lick it? Then again, future of earth, dancing. Once the cream was done, the Doctor used some patches to cover up some of the bad bruises. They felt warm, almost too warm. Then, Martha brought up an interesting point. My bones. Who’s to say one of them hadn’t healed properly? I’ve been hit with a baseball bat more than once, it was bound to happen. So the all mighty Time Lord of Gallifrey admitted that he had forgotten about that. He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot. The scanner looked a lot like the computer Eleven used as a screen, except it was brown. As it scanned me, I sent a small message to the TARDIS asking her to hide anything about my powers. The last thing I needed was for the Doctor to see that, especially so soon after Rose. I just survived that hell, rather not jump into a new one. The TARDIS sent back an acknowledging hum. She would do it, but only because I was uncomfortable about it still. The scan completed, making a loud ding noise. The Doctor was “Terra...” The Doctor dragged out. “What?” I asked, trying to look at the screen. “What does it say?” The Doctor hesitated. “You sent away Martha. It had to be bad. What does it say?” “How long’s it been since you’ve seen Matt?” Was what he said instead. I gave him a wary look. “Why?” The Doctor gaped at me. He started to smile. “Terra.” The Doctor apologized. He walked up to me, looking his brown eyes into my amber. “You’re pregnant.” A part of me wanted to laugh at him. “No. No way. No.” I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t-” Then I frowned. It had made a bit of sense. I mean, we did have some pretty intense sex. “I’m not.” The Doctor frowned. He showed me the screen. I could barely understand the mumbo jumbo until I found the word ‘pregnancy’. I read the sentence twice. ‘Two and a half weeks pregnant.’ “I’m...” I gaped at the screen. “Having a...” The words were stuck in my throat. “And I...” I sighed. “My life just gets better and better.” The Doctor hugged me. I pushed my head into his shoulder, trying not to cry. As with most things, I failed. We couldn’t be having a baby. This just couldn’t be possible. It could be the result of the TARDIS in transit, but that couldn’t be right. That just didn’t sound right. We couldn’t have created another River Song, she’ll never let me hear the end of it. Plus the pregnancy wasn’t old enough. It had been three since I saw My Doctor. It couldn’t be his...and that only left one other person who could be the father. Did I even want to bring this baby into the world, knowing who it’s father was? There was no chance in hell I was going to abort it, not now or ever, but what if the Doctor found out? What if he knew that the baby wasn’t his? This baby, it could have died in there. Dominic, with all his beatings and torments and other crap could have killed her. That was terrifying. What would I have done then? This was all just so messed up. I stayed still, just holding him close. For a second, I could pretend things were okay. I could pretend Martha-Ten wasn’t angry with me. I could pretend January never happened. I could pretend I wasn’t...yeah. It was a long time before the Doctor spoke. “Terra, the things Dominic said...” “It was in the past.” I said. “He said you were abused.” The Doctor said. I pushed the Doctor away. My jaw had dropped. “No! You would never hit me! I hit my head on a gravestone, that was it! I swear! Dominic is a liar!” Oh, it was horrifying to even think about. The Doctor abusive? Dominic has done a lot of horrible things, but saying the Doctor that he abused me in the future was just too far! The Doctor hadn’t meant to push me, not that hard. He was angry about the Ponds, about how I hadn’t saved them. It was easier to be mad at me than himself. Only now...he actually was even more heartbroken. The Eleventh Doctor was off on a cloud in Victorian London with the Paternoster Gang, without me. Oh Storyline, my heart hurt thinking about him alone. The Doctor should never be alone. It’s why he had them, the companions. They kept him together when I wasn’t around. It occurred to me that the Doctor had been entirely too quiet. I brought myself back to attention, seeing the Doctor look at me with an almost shocked expression. “Doctor?” I asked. “You really don’t hit me. Ever. You’d sooner admit you can’t fly the TARDIS.” I tried to joke. The joke was enough to bring him back. “Terra.” The Doctor said, his voice serious. He walked closer to me. My hand went to grab his as if an instinct. The Doctor’s hand melded into mine, almost like magic. It was bigger than mine, and surprisingly manly fingers despite his matchstick body. My hand felt like it always was supposed to be with his, like all those goofy couples on TV who were always giggling and smiling. I didn’t want that. That was a pipe dream for naive teenage girls. I wanted something real. I wanted us to fight like a married couple, talk like best friends, flirt like we were each other’s first, and protect the other like siblings. More than anything, I wanted this Doctor to realize it. I wanted him to know I love him, with all I had. The Doctor seemed just as in proud at our joined hands as I was. He was smiling like an idiot, making me laugh (really laugh) for the first time in three weeks. That thought hit me hard. It only made me laugh harder, so much my shoulders started to shake. The Doctor started laughing too. The two of us laughed for a couple more minutes. It felt good to laugh with my Doctor. In the midst of our laughter, he wrapped his arms slowly rocking us back and forth on the med bay table. My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling us close together. Nope. I was wrong. I never wanted to stop hugging him. I’m not one for hugs, but hugs with the Doctor felt like magic. This was magic. “Why are we laughing?” I said, as our laughter slowed. The Doctor backed away, officially ending the hug. I almost pouted, already missing his arms around me. He didn’t seem to be getting over the laughter, stupid Time Lord biology. He leaned down, kissing my forehead. I smiled, letting out an appreciative hum. “I was your first, wasn’t I?” I was a bit surprised that he figured it, almost horrified. What did that mean for us? When that night actually happened, did he only do it because I told him my first time was with him? “How did-” The Doctor held me tighter. “You can hide a lot of things about yourself, Terra. Who you are, where you came from, and what you are.” He pressed his nose into my hair, giving my forehead another peck. “But you can’t hide how you feel.” A pause. “Neither of us can.” I bashfully looked down at my hands. “It was you.” I glanced up at him, scrunching up my face with a fake scowl. “Plus, if I told you, it would only boost your already over inflated ego.” The Doctor chuckled. “So, it was that good huh?” I blushed. I whacked his chest. “Asshole.” The Doctor paused, as if holding back. “Stop swearing, Terra, nasty habit.” “You love my habits.” I shot back. There was another pause. “Yes, I do.” The Doctor admitted, still pressing his face against my head. I giggled. “I love your habits, too. All of them.” The Doctor leaned back. He was still hugging me, so I couldn’t look in his eyes. That was the only flaw in my profiling powers. I needed to look at him to see if he was lying. “Really?” “Yep.” I said. “Totally and completely.” “Totally and completely.” The Doctor murmured. He didn’t know what meaning those words had, not yet. Or, if he did know, he just wasn’t saying it with enough emotion to fully grasp. I was gonna show him. One of these days, I was gonna show him. ==PC== The library was a safe haven for now, at least until I could get this shit storm in my head to calm down. The TARDIS had my favorite book series, Grey Wolf Series by Quinn Loftis, even the ones that hadn’t been published yet. I had just finished the eighth book in the series when Martha came in. I put the books in my bag, so as to keep it for later. You never when you’ll need a good book. “There’s something that’s still bothering me about all of this.” Martha said. “The library is bigger on the inside. Time Lord science.” I motioned to the enormous library. “Well, he says that, but I have this bag that proves otherwise.” “No. Not that.” Martha walked closer to my watch. “It’s about...what happened.” I paused, looking at her with hesitance. “In...there.” “I know. I was making jokes.” I said, grinning. “How did you meet him?” Martha asked. I winced. “Sorry.” Martha added immediately after. “It’s just...you said you earned it because of what you did to him.” There was a long pause. It wasn’t hard to remember, that week (commonly referred to as January) had been in my nightmares for decades. “I was fifteen.” I mumbled, curling my fists around my bag. Martha sat next to me, encouraging me to go on. “I...I thought I was the only one...I had been alone for so long.” “You’re an alien too?” Martha said. I shook my head. “Closest thing I heard was a subspecies of the human race.” I mumbled. “There’s thousands of them, millions. I never really paid attention to the numbers they used.” Wow, did I really just say I missed those boring meetings? I must be going crazy. “But, for a while, it was just me. My parents aren’t like me, my brothers aren’t like me, not even my twin sister is like me.” Looking up at Martha, my eyes had to be showing my real age. “Do you have any idea how much that hurts a person’s soul? Being alone for all of those years, with the only people who should understand you have no idea what you’re talking about? I remember trying so many times I tried to tell Mom what I was going through, and she would be talking on the phone or with my dad. They never paid attention long enough for me to tell them.” “I’m sure that’s not true.” Martha said. “Your parents love you, Terra.” I snorted. “Really? Cause the day they found out it was all restricted. Everything I did was monitored, reported back to them. That woman, Henrietta? The one with as much expression as a wall? She’s the one who reports it to them. I’ll never be let out of the house again, much less see the Doctor.” Martha smiled, bittersweetly. “You really love him, don’t ya?” My lower lip trembled. One of my hands loosened on my bag, instead wrapping around my stomach. My now pregnant stomach. “I don’t really know how to stop, or that I even want to.” I admitted. I looked up at her, adding a small smile. “Sorry for asking, but, where did we just come from?” Martha hesitated. “You don’t need to tell me every detail, just name a place. I’m good at figuring things out, but not so good that I can say everything that happened just because you name it.” I said, hoping it would encourage her. The doctor in training paused again. “Manhattan, 1940’s.” She finally said. I kept emotion off my face, but remembered the episodes she had to be talking about. The Daleks in Manhattan. Great. It was an early Martha. I mean, I could tell from her clothes but I hadn’t guessed it was that early. This is going to be fun, when I go to the Lazarus party. Trust me, I’m going to that party. It’s going to be amazing. What wasn’t amazing was that I had just come back from a Manhattan, where the Ponds had died. “There, ya see?” I said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The sentence was broken up, choked in my throat. “Terra, what’s wrong?” The doctor in Martha asked. “I just came from Manhattan.” I admitted, sucking in a pained breath. “Lost some good friends in that Storyline forsaken town.” It came out much harsher than intended. “The Doctor hates me now because of Manhattan. His future self had only be sympathetic with me because he thought I would maybe find some way of changing it. I tried. I tried so damn hard and it all failed. Their future was carved in stone, a fixed point just like he said.” Martha held my hand, squeezing it. “Terra, stop it.” “But don’t you see, Martha?” I growled. “I killed them. I let them die. I let them die twice. He has to hate me for that. I killed his best friends-” “You’re his best friend.” Martha stated. “I lost that right.” I argued. “Since when is friendship a right you have to earn?” Martha challenged. I paused, thinking back onto some very bright people who taught me about the right kind of friendship. The keys to good friendship were; generosity, honesty, laughter, kindness, loyalty, and a bond to tie it all together. The Doctor and the Ponds had that, and I stole it from him. “I cost him so much.” I said. “I see it every time I meet someone new in his life.” Martha looked surprised. “Seeing you, I know I cost him Rose. Seeing his tenth self, I know I cost him his ninth. The same for his Eleventh and Twelfth faces. Seeing Donna told me I cost him you, and seeing the Ponds told me I cost him Donna. Seeing Clara told me I cost him the Ponds.” “And you saw that just by meeting them?” Martha said, disbelievingly. “My brain doesn’t work like your’s does.” I said. “My people. We see the world like...like you see a parade from overhead. We see all the twists and turns it could take, and then see all the ones it does. We see the speed bumps and speed limits miles before you do. My people chose to let it happen, to let you hit the bumps.” My hand reached up to my heart. “I saw that, and could hardly stand it. My friends were in pain, complete agony, and I was just supposed to sit there and let them take it? What kind of human being does that?” I sniffled, remembering all the times my friends were in that pain. Some happy memories came, of saving them from that. The Doctor’s heartbroken face after Amelia said goodbye was the biggest face in my mind. “So, that’s why I’m here. Even if I can’t stop the pain, I can at least lessen it.” I explained to Martha. “That’s why I chose the name Terra. It was my promise, that I would watch and protect you all like a mother would.” Martha shook her head, looking heartbroken at the revelation. “But how does Dominic tie into this?” Clevely little butterfly, saw right through that whole speech. “Dominic used to lead my people. He had killed their Queen, and in the broken pieces of the kingdom he ruled over a portion of it.” I explained. “No one knew what he did until I came along and told them.” “But how did you know?” Martha asked. “Their Queen died September 17, 1997. She died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 2:37 in the morning.” I said. “That’s when I was born. That’s why no one in my family is like me. That’s why Dominic wanted me dead.” Martha’s jaw dropped. “He thought you were the Queen?” “No.” I said. “I am the Queen. She cast a spell giving her soul to me.” Martha paused a moment, absorbing all of that information. It took her a minute. “That’s why you believe in magic, you’re proof that magic is real.” “Living and breathing.” I added. “Last I checked.” My friend stood up, pacing the room. “And Dominic wanted to kill you because he knew you were the Queen?” I nodded. “How did he know?” “He knew because-” I stopped. Wait...how did he know? “Huh.” “Terra, how did he know you were the Queen?” “I...don’t know.” I admitted, wracking my brain trying to figure it out. “What?” Martha asked. “I have no idea.” I said. “That is such a weird sentence. I’m surprised I knew how to pronounce it.” The two of us relaxed on the couch, thinking over that latest development. How had Dominic learned I was the Queen? Anyone with basic hacker skills could look the information up online, but Dominic wasn’t nearly paranoid enough to think that Danielle had been born again as me. There was no stressor. An outside force had to have told him about me. Darcy was the only one at that time who knew, and she would never have told him. She didn’t even know who he was. “Anyway.” I said, deciding I’ll figure it out later. “Dominic tricked me into thinking he was going to tell me about our people, but instead he tied me to a chair with a gun to my back. I got out, and became a more powerful Traveller (my species name) because of it.” Martha nodded. “You said Darcy died.” “Getting to that.” I said. “After the chair, my friends and I broke into his building to try and bring him down. He had a plan for that, locking us all up in a dungeon. My friends were let go, Dominic just saw them as useless humans. My daughter and sister...they didn’t get out as easy.” I shook my head, unable to look Martha in the eye as I finished my story. “Darcy disguised herself to look like me, knocking me out so I couldn’t argue. When I woke up she was about to be executed.” Martha gasped. “I couldn’t do it anymore.” I said, sucking in a pained breath. “It hurt too much. My people had betrayed me, my friends had left me behind. I was going to be as dead as Darcy was soon enough. Why even fight it?” Another pained breath. “Twins are connected, some science says. I felt Darcy die, felt like my heart was being crushed in my chest.” “That’s horrible.” Martha said. “You were just kids.” “We looked fifteen.” I admitted. “I was able to get out after that.” I purposefully left out what I did to get out. “Took a couple of years, but I found a way to bring Darcy back. My daughter was safe, same for my friends. My people crowned me Queen, seeing as I was her in a past life.” I clapped my hands. “There. That’s Dominic and I’s story, right where I left it.” My friend squeezed my hand. There was a long pause. “The Doctor was about to take me home, before we found you.” “I won’t let him.” I promised. “You’re a companion as far as I’m concerned.” Martha looked touched. “Really?” “You’re helping him a lot more than you realize, than both of you do.” I explained, proud of Martha Jones later Smith. “He needed someone after Rose, and I can’t be that person because of my part in him losing her. You became that person by being his friend. You’re his support, and I can never thank you enough for that Doctor Martha Jones.” Martha bashfully looked away. “I’m not a doctor yet. I need to pass my exams.” “You’ll find that I don’t give a fuck.” I joked, laughing. “You’re a doctor, best doctor I know. I can’t trust the Doctor with a toaster, okay? He can’t even drive the TARDIS properly.” Martha started laughing, too. “He is a rubbish driver.” “Well, he thinks he’s driving. Really she’s letting him think he’s the pilot just to give him an ego boost.” I patted the wall. “A woman after my own heart.” I blew the TARDIS a kiss. The wall hummed, lightly. “What are you doing?” Martha laughed. “Showing the TARDIS my love.” I said, pretending to sound sultry. “How dare you, dark maiden, come between my love and I?” “You’re talking like Shakespeare.” Martha doubled over in laughter. “Nah, I just like Old English.” I shrugged, laughing with her. Man, it actually felt good to tell someone what happened. Now I just need to tell the Doctor. Yay. ==PC== It was a week before anything else happened. The TARDIS seemed content just letting them coast in the vortex. The Doctor was thankful, since it gave Terra a chance to heal. The bruises on her arms and legs were gone, but the ones on her stomach were only just turning a healing yellow. Some of her injuries would become scars, ones he has seen on occasion but never really knew before now. He would admit, he had been avoiding her since her revelation in the medbay. Martha had been more than happy to take over Terra’s care. The Doctor just hadn’t wanted to see her, get himself in order. His TARDIS had other ideas. That was how the Doctor found himself in front of the closet. Terra was inside. She was wearing a period dress. It was dark pink (a color he noticed she wore often) with a long skirt and long sleeves. A darker pink covered her chest going down to the skirt line, brass buttons decorating this portion, as if to make it out like a vest. The sleeves ended in small ruffles, which the Doctor knew Terra loved. Her hair was no different. She had worked it up into an Athen’s bun. The Doctor was nearly floored at how the dress looked on her. The Doctor remembered her wearing that dress before, of where she would go next. It had explained a lot, if he was honest. Also, Terra looked gorgeous in it. The Doctor was struck as speechless as when he first saw her in it. “I had a dream about a burning house.” Terra started to sing, leaning back against the wall. “You were stuck inside I couldn’t get you out. I laid beside you and pulled you close, and the two of us went up in smoke.” She slumped down to the floor, eyes staring off in the distance. The Doctor listened to every word. A lot of Terra’s songs were unemotional, or just a bit dead. This one was somehow different, it almost sounded alive. He leaned against the corridor. He didn’t want to talk to her, not while she was singing. The Doctor quite liked it when she sang. “Love isn’t all that it seems, I did you wrong.” Terra curled her arms around herself, giving herself a hug. The Doctor faintly heard music playing. It didn’t sound like the TARDIS. “I’ll stay here with you, til this dream is gone.” The Doctor realized something as the corridor darkened. This was who Terra really was, underneath all of the sarcasm and quotes. She wasn’t a powerful goddess from parts unknown, she wasn’t a villain in some lunatic’s dark game, she wasn’t a girl with a heart full of love. Terra was a lonely little girl, who wanted someone to say they loved her with all they had. Terra had her powers back, if only for a few days. Equestrian Magic Dominic had said, and the Doctor was hesitant to believe, was magic that relied on the user. The more powerful the emotion, the more powerful the spell. This song she was singing as that magic pouring right out of her soul. Terra was so much older than he had thought, the Doctor saw it in her bright sunshine filled eyes. The Doctor briefly wondered what this meant for her future self. How old was she? How much of what he saw was from this moment? “I’ve been sleepwalking, been wandering all night. Trying to take what’s lost, and broke, and make it right.” Terra’s voice drifted back into the Doctor’s ears, like a dandelion seed in the breeze. “I’ve been sleepwalking to close to the fire, but it’s the only place that I can hold you tight, in this burning house.” The Doctor smiled at that. There was a warm feeling in his hearts, as if the magic had poured onto them. He briefly looked to Terra, partially in awe over her. Terra was smiling fondly, eyes closed in the bliss. She almost seemed to be glowing. Then he remembered. She was carrying a child, with a man who wasn’t him. Any him. The Doctor would eventually have moments like that with Terra, of their first time, but who knows if anything would ever come of it. This life was too dangerous for children. No little Time Tot with his eyes and her smile, his hair and her sense of humor. It was a damper on his otherwise good mood. The child would be Dominic’s. Terra would always have proof that this happened to her, of what Dominic did. The Doctor couldn’t find it in him to blame the child, parish the thought. That child was Terra’s as well, and her heart was more than big enough to cover Dominic’s share. “See you at a party and you look the same.” Terra rolled herself over, making the dress bunch up around her knees. Some strands of her curly black hair fell over her freckled face. Terra brushed them back, but the Doctor wished it had been him. “I could take you back, but people don’t ever change.” He almost got up and ran in. It took practically everything in him not to barrel up to her, wrap her up in his arms, breath in the smell of Terra, and never let her go. She was saying she loved him. Oh that darker part of him was saying that it could very well be another version of him, or another person entirely, but the Doctor just knew. That warm feeling in his hearts told him otherwise. This song was his. “Wish that we could go back in time. I’d be the one you’d thought you’d find.” Terra smiled dreamily. She loved him back. Terra loved the Doctor back. This emotionally scarred girl, who had gone through things the Doctor might never know, who had lost things he could never understand, loved him. “Love isn’t all that it seems, I did you wrong. I’ll stay here with you til this dream is gone.” Terra got up, walking to the center of her room. Then, she started to dance. The Doctor gaped. It was like Terra had become light as a feather, dancing in tune with the music in her head as well as the faint song playing in the corridor. “I’ve been sleepwalking, been wandering all night. Trying to take what’s lost, and broke, and make it right.” Terra sang. “I’ve been sleepwalking, too close to the fire, but it’s the only place that I can hold you tight. In this burning house.” The Doctor didn’t trust himself with her, not the way Terra trusted him. He had done such horrible things, things he could never be forgiven for. He had treated Terra poorly in some of their early days, like a traitor. Every Christmas, she would sing any carol she knew. Terra would always crack jokes when they were almost dead. She would dress in period clothes, like she was now. The Doctor had yelled at her for it. She had only been herself, the Doctor realized. She felt secure enough with him to show the Doctor who she was. Terra loved him, felt safe with him, which is why she had been so broken thinking she had let him down. The Doctor understood that pain. Looking back, he had let her down. He had rubbed some of her defeats in her face, practically in the same manner as Dominic. “The flames are getting bigger now, in this burning house.” Terra sang. “I can hang onto you somehow, in this bur-” The song faded, abruptly. The Doctor wondered if the song had been that short, when he noticed the warmth in his hearts had vanished. They had become cold, almost to the point of pain. “Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?” Her voice broke through his slight concern. The Doctor stopped, instead actually looking at her face. She was facing him, revealing her amber eyes full of hurt and pain. He recognized that look, he knew that look from when it came from his own eyes. “Terra?” The Doctor spoke for the first time in minutes. His personal best, let’s admit. “When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?” Terra asked, quoting Shakespeare. The Doctor wondered when she had memorized Midsummer Night’s Dream. That question was pushed away when Terra spoke again. “Is’t not enough, is’t not enough, young man, that I did never, no, nor never can, deserve a sweet look at my family, but you must flout my insufficiency?” Terra choked on a sob, apparently holding back on just completely shattering in front of him. The Doctor stepped towards her, wanting to offer a hug as comfort. “Terra-” “Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth you do.” Terra continued, not even bothering to let the Doctor speak. “In such disdainful manner me to woo.” Okay. The Doctor knew enough about Terra to know that she would never tell you what she was feeling. She would hint at it, give you clues so you could figure it out yourself. Why was she using Shakespeare? It got his attention, if anything. It could have been her way of making sure the Doctor actually paid attention. Terra hated when she quoted and the Doctor didn’t hear it. Why that scene? In the play, Lysander had been tricked into falling in love with Helena, who then saw it as a big joke. She thought Lysander was laughing at her lack of love, so he shoved it in her face. Did Terra think that was what the Doctor was doing? Laughing at her pain? “But fare you well: perforce I must confess.” Terra said, adding a sorrowful laugh. “I thought you a lord of more true gentleness.” She had twisted an earlier line. Instead of ‘a sweet look from Demetrius’ eye, it was ‘a sweet look at my family’. She had lost her family, he learned that a while ago. He never learned how. The Doctor had brought up her title as Queen, asking what she was Queen of. Was that it? Had the Doctor just touched a nerve? Worse yet, the Doctor remembered that look of complete pain in her eyes. The only time he had that look was- The Doctor’s brown eyes widened at the revelation. After he destroyed Gallifrey. After he lost his home. Terra had lost her home, and the Doctor had been reminding her of that loss. Dominic had done no better, talking about she had failed her family and failed at keeping them safe. She had lost her home, as the Doctor lost his. She was a drifter, the Lonely Goddess without roots, just like him. The Doctor knew that feeling better than anyone, he should have seen it sooner. “O, that a lady, of one man refused.” Terra half growled. “Should of another therefore be abused!” The Doctor looked at her in shock. Something inside of him was screaming, demanding that he do anything to get that look of utter betrayal from her tear filled eyes. Terra should smile, she should be teasing him and laughing at him and calling him Lucky. It hurt him to realize she hadn’t called him that even once since this all started. “Terra-” There was a beep, and Terra vanished in a bright flash of light. Once again, Terra had left before the Doctor could apologize. Girl in the FireplaceTooth and ClawBlinkEnd of TimeIt is said that in the final days of planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams. To the west of the north of that world, the human race did gather, in the celebration of a pagan rite to banish the cold and the dark. Each and every one of those people had dreamt of the terrible things to come. But they forgot, because they must. They forgot their nightmares of fire and war and insanity. They forgot. Except for two. ==PC== The Master’s mad laugh woke me up. It had been a few months since I left the Doctor in 1969. More specifically, five months. My baby was due in less than a week. Tests had shown it would be a boy, so I had the name all picked out for him. It had been a rollercoaster to make it to this point. Right now, I was in the house in Glasgow, Montana. It was 2009, or at least looked like it. The children had been here, though Jenny was only for about a week or so around my birthday. I had shown up a month late for their’s so that meant we all got to have a birthday party. I thought it was nice, would have been nicer if the Doctor had been here. I used this time to familiarize myself with my new town. It had no beach, and was cold enough to snow. The had one Walmart, and it was a twenty minute drive without traffic. The hospital was a twenty-five. Everything was at least a fifteen minute drive. Thirty if traffic was shit. People here barely knew about my family and I, and the same in return. River had come by a few times. It was good seeing my wife, and the kids loved her. She was surprised to see my eight months pregnant stomach, which means I got to explain 22 to her. That had made her angry. She hated hearing about how I got hurt, with the Doctor unable to stop it. (More) Max had already made breakfast. “It’s really good, Mum.” Ruby said, taking a bite of her omelette. Her Scottish accent reminding me of Twelve. “I make the breakfast.” I said, disheartened. Max pulled out a seat for me, showing me the plate of the french toast with a side of scrambled eggs. Damn it, he cooks like his father. “Mom, you’re ten months pregnant. You’re due in a few days. You need to keep off your feet.” I sat in the seat, pouting. The baby had been kicking hard today. He wasn’t even related to the Doctor, and he hated kidneys. “You’re ten months old.” I grumbled, cutting apart the food. The twins chuckled at my expense. I rolled my eyes, picking at my plate. “We’re twenty months old, right?” Ruby asked Max. He shook his head. “Nineteen.” He corrected. I held back a sigh, digging into my food. “Talking to the baby.” I grumbled, stuffing my face. (More) Ruby and Max exchanged a look. Max shrugged off his sister’s worries, apparently agreeing with me. He had his father’s trust apparently. Ruby had inherited my worry wart self, worried about not only me but her younger brother. Yes. Brother. I had seen a proper doctor in these months. (More) “Did you guys have bad dreams last night?” (More) (More) ==PC== The (More) “Hello.” I said, sipping at my tea. “Wondered when I would be seeing you.” The woman just stared her cold yet warm brown eyes at mine. “Events are moving, Terra.” “Oh, they’re not the only thing.” I remarked, rubbing my hand over my stomach to sooth the baby. He kicked my stomach, hard. I hissed. “I know it’s coming.” “Faster than we thought.” I huffed, trying to calm the baby. “You can shut up when you’d like.” “Mum?” Ruby asked from the kitchen. “Bit busy yelling at the TV lady.” I remarked. Ruby walked up behind me. She leaned over the brown leather couch, making it squeak. “I thought you were the TV lady?” The woman “Only you can see. You are half of what stands at the heart of coincidence.” “Go get Max.” I advised Ruby. “Why, what have I done?” I asked, carefully. The baby was acting up again, making me huff in pain. “What makes me so relevant to this?” The woman “You’re a Queen, ma’am.” The use of the old title made me shoulders square as if a switch was flipped. I gazed a the screen with firm amber eyes. “A Queen does what she must to protect her people.” Terra “I do what I have to.” The woman “You killed a man.” Terra “Yes, I did. Don’t say that like it’s something to be proud of.” I said. “He may have been a bastard, but he didn’t deserve that.” The woman “The time will come when you must take arms.” “I can’t.” I said. “I won’t. It’s too dangerous now.” My hand clenched my baggy shirt, taking deep breaths to calm down. Terra “Who are you?” The woman “Tell the Doctor nothing of this. His life could still be saved, so long as you tell the Doctor nothing.” The screen went to black, making me flinch back. (More) “You needed me, Mom?” Max asked. “Yes!” I sat up in my seat, wincing at the sudden pain. My teacup was placed on the coffee table, so as not to be spilled. “Call Martha.” Max looked at me curiously, then his eyes moved to how tightly I was gripping my stomach and the couch. “Baby?” “Yep.” I wheezed. “Baby born on Christmas. Sound like a good present, right?” “Martha is in England, Mom.” Max said, rushing to my side. “We’re in Montana.” “Birth takes a long time.” I said. (More) ==PC== The (More) “Mom, we need to get to an actual hospital.” “She’s the only person Doc will actually answer with that phone!” (More) All I saw was black. ==PC== The Doctor The (More) The Doctor: “Ah! Now, sorry. There you are. So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn’t I? An Ood in the snow, calling to me.” Sigma blinked, blankly. “Well, I didn’t exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know.” The Doctor said. “Travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble. You know me. It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison.” “Got married. That was a mistake.” The Doctor winced. Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Terra had been there, he remembered. She had hit him so hard he wondered why he hadn’t regenerated. “Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer.” Oh that had been the thing Terra nearly killed him for. It seemed the Ood had the opposite reaction. “Ahem. Anyway, what do you want?” Sigma: “You should not have delayed.” The Doctor: “The last time I was here you said my song would be ending soon, and I’m in no hurry for that.” Sigma: “You will come with me.” The Doctor: “Hold on. Better lock the TARDIS.” (The Doctor points a remote key at the TARDIS. The door locks and the light flashes at it beeps.) The Doctor: “See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like. It’s funny. No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh. Terra’d love it. I can hear her laughing at it now. So how old are you now, Ood Sigma? Ah.” (He sees the Ood city.) The Doctor: “Magnificent. Oh, come on, that is splendid. You’ve achieved all this in how long?” Sigma: “One hundred years.” The Doctor: “Then we’ve got a problem. Because all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century. Something’s accelerating your species way beyond normal.” Sigma: “And the Mind of the Ood is troubled.” The Doctor: “Why, what’s happened?” Sigma: “Every night, Doctor, every night we have bad dreams.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Elder Ood “Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood. Always returning, returning to this world. It is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come.” Sigma: “Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming.” The Doctor: “So. Right. Hallo.” Ood: “You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join.” (The Doctor links hands with the Ood and sees the laughing face.) The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” The Elder Ood “He comes to us every night. I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now.” The Doctor: “That man is dead.” The Elder Ood “There is yet more. Join us. Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man-” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” The Elder Ood “So scared.” The Doctor: “Wilfred. Is he all right? What about Donna, is she safe?” The Elder Ood “You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his Counting house.” (The Doctor is given images of a black man and his daughter being photographed.) The Doctor: “I don’t know who they are.” The Elder Ood “And there are others. The Queen.” The Elder Ood said, pouring the images into the shared vision. The Doctor could only watch at the images. It was Terra, but she was nine months pregnant. Her hair wasn’t in a neat ponytail, it was messy and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a week. She was dressed in a white hospital gown. She was panting, face coated in sweat. “The child. The child is coming.” The Elder went on. “The child of death is coming.” The Terra in the vision scrunched up her face in pain, letting out a loud scream. “And the last. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten.” (A woman in a cage.) The Doctor: “The Master’s wife.” Sigma: “We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?” The Doctor: “She was. It wasn’t her fault, she was. The Master, he’s a Time Lord, like me. I can show you.” (The Doctor shows the Ood images from Last of the Time Lords.) The Doctor: “The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he’d done so it never even happened, but Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body. The Master is dead.” The Elder Ood “And yet, you did not see.” The Doctor: “What’s that?” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” (A woman picking up the Master’s signet ring.) The Doctor: “Part of him survived. I have to go!” The Elder Ood “But something more is happening, Doctor. The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark. The Ood have gained this power to see through time, because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil, and these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future, and the present, and the past.” The Doctor: “What do you mean?” The Elder Ood “This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing.” Ood: “The end of time itself.” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” (The Doctor runs outside and back to the TARDIS.) The Elder Ood “Events that have happened are happening now.” (More) ==PC== Terra My contractions were getting closer together. (More) The world started getting fuzzy, the pain piercing through me. (More) (More) (More) ==PC== The Doctor The Master had run off, destabilizing in his resurrected form. The Doctor almost gave chase, til Martha’s phone rang. It was he pulled it out to see it was Max calling him. “Bit busy, Max.” The Doctor said, chasing after the Master in the Wastelands. “We can’t find Mom!” His son shouted into the phone. “Probably popped off. You know it’s random-Hold on what?” The Doctor stopped running. “Slow down. She was with you. What was she doing?” The Ood vision had shown him Terra, screaming in pain. They said the child of death was coming. What could that mean? “What number was she?” “She never said.” Max said. “She would only tell you.” The Doctor nearly sighed in exasperation. “Terra.” “Mom was going into labor, so we got in the car-” “Labor? She’s pregnant?” The Doctor found himself growing more and more concerned. This was bad, very bad. She could have been in Broadwell. “And you can’t find her? When was this?” “Just this morning.” Okay. So not Broadfell. This took a weight off the Doctor’s shoulders. “Ruby and I were attacked getting Mom to the car. Ruby’s trying to call Uncle Jack to see if he can trace her manipulator. Have you seen anything?” “Working on it right now, actually.” The Doctor said, resuming his chase of the Master. “Another thing, might be nothing, but better safe than sorry.” Max said. “We’ve been having bad dreams, but Mom’s the only one who remembers them.” (More) The Doctor “Please, let me help. You’re burning up your own life force.” (They run again, then Wilf appears in the Doctor’s way, with the rest of the Silver Cloak close behind.) Wilf “Oh, my gosh, Doctor. You’re a sight for sore eyes.” ==PC== (More) Wilf “Oh, we had some good times, didn’t we though? I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun. I keep seeing things, Doctor. This face at night.” The Doctor “Who are you?” Wilf “I’m Wilfred Mott.” The Doctor “No. People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours. Terra could do that, but she cheats.” Wilf “Well, I’m just lucky I suppose.” The Doctor “No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again like something’s still connecting us.” Wilf “What’s so important about me?” The Doctor “Exactly. Why you? I’m going to die.” Wilf “Well, so am I, one day.” The Doctor “Don’t you dare.” Wilf “All right, I’ll try not to.” The Doctor “But I was told. He will knock four times. That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then.” Wilf “Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body.” The Doctor “I can still die. If I’m killed before regeneration, then I’m dead. Even then, even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away, and I’m dead. What?” (Wilf has spotted Donna outside in the street getting out of her car.) Wilf “I’m sorry, but I had to. Look, can’t you make her better?” The Doctor “Stop it.” Wilf “No, but you’re so clever. Can’t you just go over and say hello? Look, just go to her now. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello.” The Doctor “She said never to come back, Wilf She never wanted to see me again, not after what happened.” (They hear Donna speak to the traffic warden.) DONNA “Don’t you touch this car.” The Doctor “She’s not changed.” Wilf “Nah. Oh, there he is.” (A Mickey Smith lookalike meets Donna.) Wilf “Shaun Temple. They’re engaged. Getting married in the spring.” The Doctor “Another wedding.” Wilf “Yeah.” The Doctor “Hold on, she’s not going to be called Noble-Temple? That sounds like a tourist spot.” Wilf “No, it’s Temple-Noble.” The Doctor “Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?” Wilf “Yeah, he’s sweet enough. He’s a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he’s on minimum wage, she’s earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she’s so sad, but she stops when she knows I’m in the room.” The Doctor “She’s got him.” Wilf “She’s making do.” The Doctor “Aren’t we all?” Wilf “Yeah, how about you? Who have you got now?” The Doctor “No one. Travelling alone. I thought it was better. But I did some things. It went wrong. Terra came too late, and she was. I need.” (The Doctor starts crying.) Wilf “Oh, my word. I’m sorry.” The Doctor “Merry Christmas.” Wilf “Yeah, and you.” The Doctor “Look at us.” Wilf “But don’t you see? You know, you need her, Doctor. I mean, look. Wouldn’t she make you laugh again? Good old Donna?” (Donna and Shaun drive away.) Wilf “Eh?” (More) ==PC== Terra NARRATOR “And so it came to pass that the players took their final places, making ready the events that were to come. The madman sat in his empire of dust and ashes, little knowing of the glory he would achieve. While his savior looked upon the wilderness, in the hope of changing his inevitable fate. Far away, the idiots and fools dreamt of a shining new future. A future now doomed to never happen. As Earth rolled onwards into night, the people of that world did sleep, and shiver, somehow knowing that dawn would bring only one thing. “...the final day.” I sighed as I woke up. (More) (More) I growled at them. “I am missing an important conversation because of you!” I yelled. (More) “Where’s my baby?” I growled at Naismith. “What did you do to my baby?!” The man smiled a dark smile at me, confirming what I feared. “Someone brought to my attention that your son could be a hinder to my plans.” My jaw dropped. My hand went to my now empty stomach, praying that maybe it was all just a nightmare. Story, tell me he didn’t, tell me this man was not that stupid. My baby couldn’t be dead...he can’t be dead. Naismith’s evil smile told me that he was. “So we removed him from the occasion.” I blinked, feeling my body start to heat up in rage. “Say that again.” I ordered, my voice a whisper. “Saying it again will not change the facts-” Naismith began. “No. I want you to say it again so my conscience will be clear.” “Of what?” “Of you.” (More) ==PC== The Doctor (More) Night. The Doctor walks towards the Master, who fires bolts of energy at him from his hands. He misses, and sets fires burning behind the Doctor. The third try hits the Doctor squarely in the chest, stopping him moving forward. Finally the energy stops and the Doctor falls to his knees. The Master catches him, then lets him fall to the ground.) The Master “I had estates. Do you remember my father’s land back home? Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky. Look at us now.” The Doctor “All that eloquence. But how many people have you killed?” The Master “I am so hungry.” The Doctor “Your resurrection went wrong. That energy. Your body’s ripped open. Now you’re killing yourself.” The Master “That human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It’s so hot.” The Doctor “Stop it.” The Master “Sliced. Sliced. Sliced.” The Doctor “Stop it.” The Master “It’s mine. It’s mine. It’s mine to eat and eat and eat.” The Doctor “Stop it. What if I ask you for help? There’s more at work tonight than you and me.” The Master “Oh yeah?” The Doctor “I’ve been told something is returning.” The Master “And here I am.” The Doctor “No, something more.” The Master “But it hurts.” The Doctor “I was told the end of time.” The Master “It hurts. Doctor, the noise. The noise in my head, Doctor. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before. Can’t you hear it?” The Doctor “I’m sorry.” The Master “Listen, listen, listen, listen. Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is, calling to me. Please listen.” (We can hear the four beats of the start of the Doctor Who theme being played out by an iron bar on an oil drum somewhere.) The Doctor “I can’t hear it.” The Master “Listen.” (The Master mind-melds with the Doctor. The Doctor hears the beats and pulls away.) The Master “What?” The Doctor “But-” The Master “What!” The Doctor “I heard it. But there’s no noise. There never has been. It’s just your insanity. What is it? What’s inside your head?” The Master “It’s real. It’s real. It’s real!” (The Master flies off and the Doctor runs after him.) (More) ==PC== Terra (More) Master “I’m starving.” Naismith “You’ve my daughter to thank for this. It’s all her idea. She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return. It’s the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling.” Abigail: “And I was right. He’s back. The very man we need, and he’s here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful.” (More) “We brought the Star Queen.” Naismith explained. Two of the guards dragged me into the room, keeping a firm grip on my arms. They I put on a smile, burying my urge to kill Naismith. He would pay for what happened, I would make sure of it. Screw the fact that he doesn’t actually get killed, I will track him down and kill him. (More) “First time meeting you.” I answered, my voice full of fake cheer. I starting walking around him in circles. “Hmm. Honey, that blonde hair is really stupid.” “What?” The Master gaped. “I meet people in reverse.” I shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know. Couldn’t help it. Seriously though, why blonde?” (More) The Master looked down at me. “How far along were you?” A tear burned in the side of my eye, I pushed it away. “Full term.” “And it’s Dominic’s?” The Master said. My eyes widened. I flinched back. “H-h-how do you know about that?” The Master frowned. “You said you meet people out of order. I didn’t understand it until right now.” (More) “Koschei.” The Master whispered. My eyes widened. That was his name from the Academy! Why was he telling me that? “What?” “My nickname, from when I was a boy. You’ll use that word to prove we’re friends.” The Master explained. “I will try to hurt you, but you gotta make me believe you.” I grinned. “Oh! I survive that long.” The Master grinned. “I made sure of that.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Stop it.” The Master said suddenly. I glanced up at him. “Stop what?” I sighed tiredly. The Master flared over at me. “It’s Christmas time, and you’re being quiet.” “So?” I snapped. “Since when do you care?” “It’s Christmas, and you’re being quiet.” The Master went on. “You sing Christmas Carols in the middle of July, and whenever else they float in your head. Christmas is the one time of year you feel comfortable screaming them out to the heavens. You’ve been here for two hours, and you haven’t even hummed a single note, much less to a Christmas Carol.” The Master was almost glaring at me. “You and I became somewhat close in that Year, and I learned that when Terra Song is quiet I should get ready for fireworks.” “Duh.” I scolded. “No one plans a murder out loud.” (More) “I finally came up with a name.” I said, exhausted. The Master gave me a brief glance. “For him.” “Harold Idris Song.” I admitted. “Sounds right, for him. It would have been anyway.” (More) “Miss Addams?” “Miss Addams? If you’ll just excuse me.” (Rossiter leaves.) Naismith: “Now, please don’t imagine I’m a slave-driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mister Saxon.” The Master “My name is the Master.” (The Master has completed his work. He presses enter and the lights dim. A wormhole develops inside the Gate.) Naismith: “Oh, excellent. Excellent! Mister Danes?” DANES: “The visitor will be restrained.” The Master “What? But I repaired it.” Naismith: “I’m not an idiot. Don’t let him anywhere near that thing.” (More) Naismith: “Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you’ve laid traps. Perhaps explosives. A means of escape, or murder. But everything you’ve done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside.” (More) Naismith: “But it’s time for the broadcast. The President’s grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend it’s own problems.” AMN News: “And now, anticipation is rising as we go live to Washington. Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the worldwide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity.” SPOKESWOMAN: “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.” OBAMA: “I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy-” (More) The Doctor: “Turn the Gate off right now!” DANES: “At arms!” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don’t let him near that device.” The Master “Oh, like that was ever going to happen.” (The Master throws off the strait jacket and leaps over their heads on pillars of energy from his hands, into the Gate.) The Master “Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now.” The Doctor: “Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” Naismith: “He’s inside my head.” The Doctor: “Get out of there!” (The Master’s blast of energy knocks the Doctor down.) Wilf: “Doctor! Doctor, there’s, there’s this face.” The Doctor: “What is it? What can you see?” Wilf: “Well, it’s him. I can see him.” AMN News: “There’s something wrong. It seems to be affecting the President.” (The President of the United States has his face in his hands. The Doctor goes to the computer and tries to shut down the Gate.) The Doctor: “I can’t turn it off.” The Master “That’s because I locked it, idiot.” The Doctor: “Wilfred! Get inside. Get him out.” (The Doctor enters one of a pair of glass sided cubicles, and Wilfred swaps places with a technician in the other.) The Doctor: “Just need to filter the levels.” Wilf: “Oh, I can see again! He’s gone.” The Doctor: “Radiation shielding. Now press the button. Let me out.” Wilf: “You what?” The Doctor: “I can’t get out until you press the button. That button there.” (Wilf does. Wilf’s cubicle is now Locked and the Doctor’s is Open.) The Master “Fifty seconds and counting.” The Doctor: “To what?” The Master “Oh, you’re going to love this.” The Doctor: “What is it, hypnotism? Mind control. You’re grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?” The Master “Oh, that’s way too easy. No, no, no. They’re not going to think like me, they’re going to become me. And, zero!” (More) ==PC== (More) Wilf: “Doctor? She’s starting to remember.” (Everyone’s face resolves into the Master’s.) Wilf: “What is it? What have you done, you monster?” The Master “Oh, I’m sorry, are you talking to me?” Naismith-The Master “Or to me?” AbiGAIL-The Master “Or to me?” DANES-The Master “Or to me?” SECURITY-The Master “Or to us?” AMN NEWS-The Master “Breaking news. I’m everyone. And everyone in the world is me!” OBAMA-The Master “I’m President. President of the United States. Look at me!” (The audience of Master’s applauds him.) OBAMA-The Master “Ooo, financial solution. Deleted. Ha ha!” The Master “The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race. Bwahahahahahaha!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Master “Now then, I’ve got a planet to run. Is everybody ready?” Naismith-The Master “Six billion, seven hundred and twenty seven million, nine hundred and forty nine thousand three hundred and thirty eight versions of us awaiting orders.” OBAMA-The Master “This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth’s defences.” GENERAL-The Master “UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir.” CHINESE-The Master “And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!” The Master “Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor? What’s that? Pardon? Sorry?” The Master turned to me, seeming to almost start scolding me. “And you, Terra Song? Chatterbox of the Valiant? Nothing?” I glared at him, almost tiredly. Right now, all I wanted to do was curl up by a fireplace with a nice cup of cocoa with some marshmallows. I wanted the Doctor to wrap his arms around mine, which were also holding the newborn baby, and be gently rocking him to sleep. But that was never going to happen. My baby died. Naismith had killed him. He had killed my baby because it would stop his plans. The dumbass. I was going to be the one stopping his plan today, then hunting him down like sport. It would make what Dominic himself cringe. Right now, the Master just made me annoyed. Like a little brother who kept knocking on my door. “Have you even told him what number you were on?” The Master asked. I glared, taking a quick breath to quell my murderous attitude at the Master. I wouldn’t look good in prison orange. I wouldn’t look good in prison orange. Wilf: “You let them go, you swine.” The Master “Oh, your dad’s still kicking up a fuss.” Wilf: “Yeah? Well, I’d be proud if I was.” The Master “Hush, now. Listen to your Master.” (Ring, ring.) The Master “But that’s a mobile.” Wilf: “Yeah, it’s mine. Let me turn it off.” The Master “No, no, no, no, no. I don’t think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I’m not phoning you, so who the hell is that?” Wilf: “It’s nobody. I tell you, it’s nothing. It’s probably one of them ringback calls.” (The Master searches Wilf’s pockets and finds the revolver.) The Master “Ooo, and look at this. Good man!” (He tosses it on the floor and gets the phone.) The Master “Donna. Who’s Donna?” Wilf: “She’s no one. Just leave it.” Donna: “Gramps, don’t hang up. You’ve got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing.” The Master “Who is she? Why didn’t she change?” Donna: “Gramps, I can’t hear you.” Wilf: “Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The Metacrisis.” The Master “Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh!” Donna: “Are you there?” (More) The Master “Find her. Trace the call.” Naismith-The Master “Trace the call.” (More) Donna: “Are you still there? Can you hear me?” The Master “Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad.” Wilf: “Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there. I’m telling you, run!” Naismith-The Master “She’s on Wessex Lane, Chiswick. Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane. Red alert.” Donna: “What do I do?” Wilf: “Run, sweetheart, that’s all. Run for your life!” (More) Wilf: “Donna? What’s happening? Are you still there?” Donna: “They’re everywhere.” CHISWICK-The Master “Oh, I’m starving.” Wilf: “Look, I’m telling you to run, Donna.” CHISWICK-MASTER 2: “I’m still hungry.” Wilf: “Just run, sweetheart. Just run.” (All the local Masters advance on Donna.) Donna: “Hold on. I know that face. It’s...it’s him. The Master. How do I know that?” Wilf: “Donna, don’t think about that. Donna, my love. Don’t!” Donna: “And it hurts. My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!” Donna: “What did I-” Wilf: “Donna? What was that? Donna? Donna, are you there? Donna! Donna! Donna!” (More) The Doctor: “That’s better. Hello. But really, did you think I’d leave my best friend without a defence mechanism?” Wilf: “Doctor? What happened?” The Doctor: “She’s all right. She’s fine, I promise. She’ll just sleep.” The Master “Tell me, where’s your TARDIS?” The Doctor: “You could be so wonderful.” The Master “Where is it?” The Doctor: “You’re a genius. You’re stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor. Because you don’t need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That’s ownership enough.” The Master “Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?” The Doctor: “I can help.” The Master “I don’t know what I’d be without that noise.” The Doctor: “I wonder what I’d be, without you.” The Master “Yeah.” Wilf: “What does he mean? What noise?” The Master “It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you’d call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism.” Wilf: “What does that mean?” The Doctor: “It’s a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts.” The Master “They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums.” (More) The Master “Listen to it. Listen.” The Doctor: “Then let’s find it. You and me.” The Master “Except. Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that’s good.” The Doctor: “What? What is?” The Master “The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes.” (The Master’s skeleton becomes briefly visible again.) The Doctor: “The Gate wasn’t enough. You’re still dying.” The Master “This body was born out of death. All it can do is die.” The Master growled. “So was mine, you don’t see me throwing a hissy fit.” I snapped dryly. “But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time.” The Doctor: “I said something is returning. I was shown a prophecy. That’s why I need your help.” The Master “What if I’m part of it? Don’t you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it’s been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That’s what your prophecy was. Me!” (He slaps the Doctor.) The Master “Where’s the TARDIS?” The Doctor: “No. Just stop. Just think.” The Master “Kill him.” (A helmeted guard goes over to Wilf.) The Master “I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead.” Wilf: “Don’t tell him.” The Master “I’ll kill him right now!” The Doctor: “Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you’re still bone dead stupid.” The Master “Take aim.” The Doctor: “You’ve got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can’t see the obvious, can you?” The Master “Like what?” The Doctor: “That guard is one inch too tall.” (The guard knocks out the Master with his rifle butt, then removes his helmet to reveal a green spiky head.) Rossiter: “Oh my God, I hit him. I’ve never hit anyone in my life.” (Green Addams runs in.) Addams: “Well, come on. We need to get out of here fast.” (She frees Wilf while Rossiter releases the Doctor.) Wilf: “God bless the cactuses!” The Doctor: “That’s cacti.” Rossiter: “That’s racist!” (More) Addams: “Come on! We’ve got to get out.” Rossiter: “There’s too many buckles and straps.” Addams: “Just wheel him.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Get me out. No, no, no, don’t. Don’t! No, no, no.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rossiter: “Which way?” Addams: “This way.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no. The other way. I’ve got my TARDIS.” Addams: “I know what I’m doing.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, just just listen to me!” (More) The Doctor: “Not the stairs. Not the stairs!” The Doctor: “Worst rescue ever!” (More) The Doctor: “Just, just stop and listen to me!” (The Master runs in with armed guards.) The Master “Gotcha.” Addams: “You think so?” (She presses her wristwatch.) The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, don’t!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Now get me out of this thing!” Addams: “Don’t say thanks, will you.” The Doctor: “He’s not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out!” (Wilf looks out of a nearby window.) Wilf: “Oh, my goodness me. We’re in space!” The Doctor: “Come on.” Addams: “All right!” The Doctor: “Oh, get a move on.” The Doctor: “Come on!” Addams: “All right.” The Doctor: “Where’s your flight deck?” Addams: “But we’re safe. We’re a hundred thousand miles above the Earth.” The Doctor: “And he’s got every single missile on the planet ready to fire.” Addams: “Good point.” (Addams, Rossiter and the Doctor runs out. The Doctor returns to gently lead Wilf away from the window.) Wilf: “But we’re in space!” The Doctor: “Yep.” (More) The Doctor: “We’ve got to close it down!” Rossiter: “No chance, mate. We’re going home.” Addams: “We’re just a salvage team. Local politics has got nothing to do with us. Not unless there’s a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better.” The Doctor: “We’re not leaving.” The Doctor: “Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush.” (More) ==PC== (More) Addams: “No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything. You’ve wrecked the place!” Rossiter: “The engines are burnt out. All we’ve got is auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can’t move. We’re stuck in orbit.” Addams: “Thanks to you, you idiot!” (Addams leaves.) Wilf: “I know you, though. I bet you’ve got a plan, haven’t you? Eh? Come on. You’ve always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam, (Tommy Cooper impression) sort of thing? Eh? Oh, blimey.” (More) ==PC== (More) “What number are you on?” The Doctor asked. I paused, not looking up from my phone. The headphones were still playing the music, so I could faintly hear the Imagine Dragons song playing. “Does it matter?” I asked, reaching to put the headphone back in. The Doctor took my hand in his, the fingers threading in mine were they belonged. I sucked in a cry of pain. My mind going back to the fantasy life I had imagined with him and Harry. “It matters to you.” The Doctor stated. “That’s enough for me.” I snorted. What had to go wrong for him to believe that? What made the Doctor so eager to hear my number? “It’s nothing, okay? The Master is just trying to get in your head. You need to get this ship working again.” “Don’t do that.” The Doctor said, disappointment in his voice. That made my head snap up. Why was he sounding so disappointed? Why was he looking at me with those big brown eyes like I had just kicked a puppy? “Do what?” I almost panicked. I didn’t want to tell him my number, okay! That meant telling him about Harry and telling him about Harry would make him angry, because he might think the Master did it. Or worse, he would stop me from getting vengeance. The Doctor gave me an assuring look. He squeezed my hand in an attempt of comfort. “Putting everyone else’s needs before your’s. You matter to me, so please tell me what’s wrong.” I didn’t want his pity. It was the last thing I wanted. I wrenched my hand from his, holding it closer to my chest. It went for the headphone, pushing it back into my ear. “26.” I almost whispered, staring down at my phone to get lost in the music. The music player loudly in my ears, tuning the Doctor out and keeping me from wanting to look up at him. Even though I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me in his arms, kiss my forehead, and never let me go. (More) “Don’t even say it. I’m already doing it to myself.” I snapped, not looking up from my iPhone. “Say what?” The Doctor said. “What else?” I asked in a tear filled voice. “That I’m a bad mother.” (More) “You’re the best mother, Terra.” The Doctor said. “I saw you with Max and Ruby. Even with Jenny, and she wasn’t your own.” I scoffed at his ignorance. “My eldest had a gun to her head at seven, then trapped in a basement for a week. At ten, she was a prisoner of war and our captor put a bunch of ideas in her head that I hated her. My second has been attacked by a demon, and thinks no one wants her because she’s an orphan.” I was starting to rant, scolding myself for past mistakes. The Doctor stared at me, looking horrified at the words coming out of my mouth. He needed to know. I was a shitty mom. “My third was almost used as a pagan sacrifice for a demon god to unleash hell on earth.” I felt tears burn my eyes, remembering the horrified cries of my infant daughter. To this day, I wonder why she’s not completely fucked in the head. “And the Twins! They were made into soldiers for a war that wasn’t even there’s! And Jenny.” My voice choked at the mention of the blonde soldier. “She was that close to dying that day.” I wiped away the tears, forcing myself to admit the rest. It wouldn’t do me any good to hide my wrongs. “And Harry.” “You named him Harry?” The Doctor said, sitting down on the stairs next to me. I nodded, still wiping away tears. “Th-The-They s-sai-said he w-would st-stop they’re p-p-plans.” I choked on a sob. I pulled my knees to my chest, hiding my face in my knees. “Ah never even got ta look at him.” The Doctor reached his arm out, holding it over my shoulders. I cried for a minute, just letting tears fall into his pinstripe jacket. “I had an old companion named Harry.” The Doctor said, almost out of nowhere. A smile broke out in my face. Of course he would bring that up. “A good bloke. I called him an imbecile.” (More) Wilf: “Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?” The Doctor: “Just trying to fix the heating.” Wilf: “Oh. I’ve always dreamt of a view like that. Hee, hee. I’m an astronaut. It’s dawn over England, look. Brand new day. My wife’s buried down there. I might never visit her again now. Do you think he changed them, in their graves?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry.” Wilf: “No, not your fault.” The Doctor: “Isn’t it? Wilf: “Oh, 1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad. Yeah, you don’t want to listen to an old man’s tales, do you?” The Doctor: “I’m older than you.” Wilf: “Get away.” The Doctor: “I’m nine hundred and six.” Wilf: “What, really, though?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf turned to me. “And what about you? You older too?” I snorted. “253.” I admitted. Wilf scoffed. The Doctor himself seemed a little surprised. “I am! 253 years old, 7 months, three weeks, and a day.” “You actually count?” The Doctor asked. “You actually don’t?” I countered. “Blimey. Are you an alien like the Doctor?” Wilf asked. I chuckled. Wilf could always make people smile, everybody could agree on that. “No. I’m human, just a different kind of human.” “Oh, there’s just no end to the two of ya.” Wilf laughed, good heartedly. Story, Wilf is amazing. “What kind of a human are you?” “The kind that gets made in another dimension.” Wow. I know I should be freaking out over so much about what I am coming out, but I just couldn’t hide it anymore. It was painful to even try hiding things at this point, hiding half of Harry’s heritage... “Oh, get away.” Wilf said, disbelieving. “Aliens are easy enough to believe, but other dimensions too?” “Another reality, technically.” I said. “We don’t have aliens on my earth, so we compensate with people like me.” “Don’t be offended, Terra, but I don’t think there’s anyone out there like you.” Wilf complimented. “That actual means a lot, thank you.” I looked over at the Doctor, realizing he had been quiet for far longer than I’d like. He was staring at me in shock, with dropped jaw and eyes wide. Then I questioned, did Ten know what I was yet? Had I not told him what I was? That’s...that’s awkward. “We call ourselves Travelers, cause we travel through realities. I’ve been doing this since I was ten years old, though I met the Doctor when I was two hundred and fifty one.” Wilf paused. “Anything else?” I laughed at his tone. “In my world, I was the Queen of ‘um.” The Doctor already knew this fact, I remember 22. “My whole race, spanning over all of the planet Earth in my reality. Almost thirty million people, and I was Queen of all of them.” “A queen?” Wilf guffawed. He quickly stood, and I felt extremely embarrassed. “Well hello Your Majesty.” “No! No please.” I face palmed, adding in a sigh. “I’m not a Queen anymore, I’m just Terra. Please stop.” Wilf sat back down, looking gobsmacked. “A blooming Queen. I’m actually talking to a Queen.” I was starting to get flustered. “No. No, please, it’s just Terra Song. Not a Queen here. Please. I don’t like my friends calling me a Queen anyway.” “Nine hundred, and a Queen of Planet Earth. We must look like insects to you both.” The Doctor: “I think you look like giants.” My hand reached over, gently squeezing Wilf’s. “I .” Wilf: “Listen, I, I want you to have this. I’ve kept it all this time, and I thought.” (Wilf offers his revolver to the Doctor.) The Doctor: “No.” Wilf: “No, but if you take it, you could-” The Doctor: “No. You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then.” Wilf: “Too scared, I suppose.” The Doctor: “I’d be proud.” Wilf: “Of what?” The Doctor: “If you were my dad.” Wilf: “Oh, come on, don’t start. But you said, you were told he will knock four times and then you die. Well, that’s him, isn’t it? The Master. That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf: “Then kill him first.” The Doctor: “And that’s how the Master started. It’s not like I’m an innocent. I’ve taken lives. I got worse. I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long. I can’t. I just can’t.” Wilf: “If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?” The Doctor: “I don’t know.” Wilf: “Doctor, what happens?” The Doctor: “The template snaps.” Wilf: “What, they go back to being human? They’re alive, and human. Then don’t you dare, sir. Don’t you dare put him before them. Now you take this. That’s an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life. And please don’t die. You’re the most wonderful man and I don’t want you to die.” The Doctor: “Never.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Master “A star fell from the sky. Don’t you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor.” Addams: “It’s an open broadcast. Don’t reply, or he’ll know where we are.” The Master “The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond, and the diamond is a Whitepoint Star. And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be spectacular.” “Over and out.” Wilf: “What’s he on about? What’s he doing? Doctor, what does that mean?” The Doctor: “A Whitepoint star is only found on one planet. Gallifrey. Which means it’s the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning.” Wilf: “Well, I mean, that’s good, isn’t it? I mean, that’s your people.” (More) Addams: “What’s that?” Rossiter: “Coming from Earth. It’s on every single wavelength.” (More) Wilf: “But you said your people were dead. Past tense.” The Doctor: “Inside the Time War. And the whole War was Timelocked. Like, sealed inside a bubble. It’s not a bubble but just think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the Timelock. Don’t you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there.” Wilf: “The signal. Since he was a kid.” The Doctor: “If they can follow the signal, they can escape before they die.” Wilf: “Well, then, big reunion. We’ll have a party.” The Doctor: “There will be no party.” Wilf: “But I’ve heard you talk about your people like they’re wonderful.” The Doctor: “That’s how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old. But then they went to war. An endless war, and it changed them right to the core. You’ve seen my enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them.” Addams: “Time Lords, what lords? Anyone want to explain?” The Doctor: “Right, yes, you. This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?” Addams: “Yeah, what about it?” The Doctor: “So, you’ve got asteroid lasers!” Rossiter: “Yeah, but they’re all frazzled.” (The Doctor throws a lever and two gun alcoves open on either side of the flight controls.) The Doctor: “Consider them unfrazzled. You there, what’s your name?” (Addams) I’m going to need you on navigation.” (to Rossiter) And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred.” Wilf: “Yeah?” The Doctor: “Laser number two. The old soldier’s got one more battle.” Addams: “This ship can’t move. It’s dead!” The Doctor: “Fix the heating?” (The Doctor throws two levers forward, and the ship powers up. Addams: “But now they can see us.” The Doctor: “Oh, yes!” (More) Addams: “This is my ship, and you’re not moving it. Step away from the wheel.” The Doctor: “There’s an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need.” Addams: “What’s that, then?” The Doctor: “Allons-y!” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Come on! Come on!” Addams: “You are blinking, flipping mad.” The Doctor: “You two. What did I say? Lasers.” Rossiter: “What for?” The Doctor: “Because of the missiles. We’ve got to fight off an entire planet.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) Addams: “We’ve got incoming.” Rossiter: “Look at this one! Oh, my God!” The Doctor: “You two, open fire!” (The Doctor skims the ocean, dodging the missiles.) Rossiter: “Oh, my word!” Wilf: “Whoa. Whoa!” Rossiter: “No, no, no, no, no!” The Doctor: “Open fire! Come on, Wilf!” (Wilf shoots down a missile.) Wilf: “Whoo! Oh, I wish Donna could see me now.” (More) Addams: “And there’s more. Sixteen of them. Oh, and another sixteen.” The Doctor: “Then get on the rear gun lasers! You two, open fire! Now!” Rossiter: “Yes!” The Doctor: “No, you don’t!” (They keep destroying missiles.) Wilf: “Come on!” The Doctor: “Come on! Fire!” (The front window gets blown in.) Wilf: “Whoa! Wow!” Rossiter: “Yes!” The Doctor: “Lock the navigation.” Addams: “Onto what?” The Doctor: “England. The Naismith mansion” (More) The Doctor: “Destination?” Addams: “Fifty kliks and closing. We’ve locked on to the house. We are going to stop, though. Doctor? We are going to stop?” Wilf: “Doctor? Doctor, you said you were going to die.” Addams: “He said what?” Wilf: “But is that all of us? I won’t stop you, sir. But is this it?” (More) We jumped. (More) Rassilon: “My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end.” ==PC== (More) The Master “But, I did this. I get the credit. I’m on your side.” (Wilf pushes his way in.) Wilf: “Come on, get out of the way. Get out of the way! Doctor?” The Doctor: “Wilf, don’t. Don’t!” (Wilf unlocks the other booth.) Wilf: “I’ve got you. Come on. Go on.” (The freed technician runs.) The Master “But this is fantastic, isn’t it? The Time Lords restored.” The Doctor: “You weren’t there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. But if the Timelock’s broken, then everything’s coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The War turned into hell. And that’s what you’ve opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending.” The Master “My kind of world.” The Doctor: “Just listen! Because even the Time Lords can’t survive that.” Rassilon: “We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart.” The Master “That’s suicide.” RASSILON: “We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be.” The Doctor: “You see now? That’s what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them.” I glared at the Time Lord. “Get off my planet.” I demanded. The Lord Rassilon scoffed. “Get off my planet.” I repeated. “Ah. The Empty Queen.” Rassilon commented. My hand flinched, wanting to rest over my stomach. “We were warned you would try and stop this. You’re too late. We’ve already won.” “Get. Off. My. Planet.” I growled. He glared at me, I glared back. “It’s no longer your planet.” My lips formed a tight line, eyes nearly popping out of my head in anger. “I breathe it’s air, I walk it’s ground, and I stare at it’s moon. That makes it mine. So get off my planet!” “It is a wasteland!” Rassilon barked. The other Time Lords seemed unfazed by his rantings. The Doctor, however, was still too weak to rise to his feet. “And we have come back to purify the universe of your filth!” Rassilon blasted me with the gauntlet. “No!” The Doctor screamed as I fell to the floor. I gasped, trying to block out the pain. (More) “Terra!” Wilf shouted, trying the break out of the glass. (More) I giggled, delirious. My face cupped his cheek. “My name is Morgan Spencer.” I whispered. His eyes widened. “What?” “But I like it when they call me ‘Morgue’.” I smiled. “Say my name.” He shook his head, holding my head in his hands. “Don’t die. Please.” I shook my head, closing my eyes. “Please say it. I want to hear it at least once from someone I love before I go.” I said that last part while looking into his brown eyes. The Doctor looked like he was going to start crying. “Morgan Spencer, don’t you dare die.” I gasped, feeling this warm feeling spread in my body. It felt like there had been a locked door, but someone found a way to unlock it. It was cool water on my soul. My amber eyes kept contact with his brown, and all of sudden the rest of the world fell away. It was just the Doctor and Terra. It felt wonderful. The Doctor seemed to be having a similar effect. His eyes went out of focus for a brief second, locking back with mine in that instance. I smiled at him, feeling lighter than air. I have no idea what just happened, but I knew it was game changing. “I’ll do my very best.” As if to call me a liar, a pain filled groan pushed it’s way out of my mouth. He just held me a bit tighter. “Why did you tell me your name?” He asked. I kept smiling, staring into those beautiful brown eyes. “Because you made me feel worth it.” My eyes closed, and I felt my heart stop. ==PC== My eyes opened, seeing nothing but the darkness of my office. I leapt up from the couch, stumbling in my steps. “No.” I said, looking up to see the episode had ended long ago. “No!” I went to my laptop, setting it up to play End of Time Part Two. That would not be how I ended! Not after I just got the Doctor! “Hey Morgue!” My sister said, slipping into my office. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come back-” I let out a pain filled gasp, feeling the Pull come back over me. “Morgue!” Darcy shouted, running up to my side. I was gone before she could hold my hand. ==PC== I gasped, rising up from the ground. Why did my chest hurt? “Terra!” The Doctor yelled, shocked. I started coughing as he wrapped his arm around me. There was this weird feeling inside of me. “My lungs!” I yelled. “I hate the color!” “Of your lungs?!” The Doctor asked. “They’re raspberry pink!” I groaned. “That’s the universe just laughing at me.” “You come back from the dead, and the first thing you do is complain about your lungs.” The Doctor said, starting to laugh. (More) (More) “Impossible.” The Doctor breathed. “What?” I asked. “You’re.” The Doctor could only stare. “You’re a Time Lady.” My jaw dropped. “I died, and became a Time Lady!? What kind of messed up logic is that?!” (More) The Doctor: “I’m alive. I’ve. There was. I’m still alive.” (Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock.) Wilf: “They gone, then? Yeah, good-o. If you could let me out?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf: “Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise.” The Doctor: “The Master left the Nuclear Bolt running. It’s gone into overload.” Wilf: “And that’s bad, is it?” The Doctor: “No, because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing.” Wilf: “Oh. Well, you’d better let me out, then.” The Doctor: “Except it’s gone critical. Touch one control and it floods. Even this would set it off.” (The sonic screwdriver.) Wilf: “I’m sorry.” The Doctor: “Sure.” Wilf: “Look, just leave me.” The Doctor: “Okay, right then, I will. Because you had to go in there, didn’t you? You had to go and get stuck, oh yes. Because that’s who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time.” Wilf: “No really, just leave me. I’m an old man, Doctor. I’ve had my time.” The Doctor: “Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it’s not fair! Oh. Oh. I’ve lived too long.” Wilf: “No. No, no, please, please don’t. No, don’t! Please don’t! Please!” The Doctor: “Wilfred, it’s my honor. Better be quick. Three, two, one.” (The Doctor quickly goes into the open booth and unlocks Wilf’s side. Wilf runs out and red light floods the Doctor’s booth. It hurts a lot. The Doctor curls up into a ball. Then the power shuts down. After a few moments, the Doctor gets up.) Wilf: “What? Hello.” The Doctor: “Hi.” Wilf: “Still with us?” The Doctor: “The system’s dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing’s kaput. Oh. Now it opens, yeah.” (The Doctor comes out of the booth.) Wilf: “Well, there we are, then. Safe and sound. Mind you, you’re in hell of a state. You’ve got some battle scars there.” (The Doctor rubs his face and the cuts vanish.) Wilf: “But they’ve. Your face. How did you do that?” The Doctor: “It’s started.” (Wilf hugs the Doctor.) I popped off, only able to kiss his cheek. ==PC== He had one last stop to make, one last person to visit. (More) It was her house, but it was older. A decade, at least. That didn’t matter to him, just the person he hoped was inside. A man walked out. He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt, with baggy jeans and a pair of black and blue sneakers. He had scraggly black hair, shaded as a raven’s wing. His eyes were like the time vortex in color, the Doctor wondered if it was the same in power. The man glared at him. He was faintly reminiscent of his mother in that glare. The Doctor had been on the opposing side of it. “What are you-” “Max, dearie.” A kind voice spoke. She walked out of the house, although she looked completely different. Her hair was golden blonde, held back atop her head in a bun. Her eyes were a kind, compassionate motherly green. Her heart shaped lips were painted cherry red. She was wearing a pair of pajamas, with a cloudy sky for a shirt and gray sweatpants. He could see a wedding ring on her slightly tan finger, as well as a star shaped burn on her left wrist. She had on gray slippers, though they looked old and worn. Around her neck was a silver infinity necklace, proving to him who the woman was. “Go back inside.” Terra told her son. Max shook his head at her. “I’m not letting him in.” “Nor am I. I’m not an idiot.” Terra scoffed. “Spoilers aplenty in that house. He’s Ten. Who do you think taught you how to keep secrets?” She stared her green eyes into the man’s. Max looked down. He had the Doctor’s attitude, that was for sure. “I’ll just go inside, then.” “Thatta boy.” Terra smiled. “Don’t forget, your favorite show comes back on tonight. I’m looking forward to hearing about it.” Max grinned. “Oh yeah. I’ve been waiting months to see how they absolve that cliffhanger.” “Betcha they won’t.” Terra smirked. “Don’t even joke like that.” Their son snorted, walking towards the house. “I’ll make popcorn.” “That’s my boy.” Terra cheered, clapping her hands together. The Doctor waited until the back door closed to speak. “Terra.” He sighed, lightly grimacing in pain. She smiled, looking at him with sad eyes. “Doctor.” She said, in a way that could only be a sad hello. The Doctor couldn’t help the giddy laugh that came out. “I’m dying.” “Rule Four.” Terra said, still smiling sadly. “She knows everything.” The Doctor answered. The two laughed. “It’s soon.” “You will be dead in five minutes.” Terra informed, in a robotic Scottish voice. She snickered. “Sorry. Old reference. Well, old to me. Still funny. I still laugh at everything, which of course ticks you off to no end.” The Doctor nodded, feeling his hearts warm at knowing he was still by her side. “I doubt that. You always looked your best when you were laughing.” Terra blushed, her lightly tanned skin turning pink. “Of course I did. You were always smiling with me.” The Doctor laughed, ending it with a pained gasp. It took a second for Terra to be at his side, helping him down onto his knees. The ground was covered in snow, so the Doctor’s trousers were getting soaked. “Stay with me.” The Doctor pleaded with Terra, green meeting brown. She frowned, saddened. “Please. I need to be with someone. I don’t want to be alone, without you.” “But you have all of those other days to come.” Terra cupped his cheek. The Doctor shut his eyes, focusing on the feeling of her skin on his. “Centuries, and centuries of days to come. It is quite the adventure.” “And you’re there?” “Not always.” Terra said, disappointment in her voice. “I came when I was needed, not a day sooner.” This made him frown. “I always need you.” “True, true.” Terra nodded, then smiled. “And I always need you.” He almost laughed, but a choked sound came instead. The Doctor gripped at his chest. It was starting to burn...he was starting to burn. “Go on.” Terra said, placing a hand on his arm. The Doctor felt himself calm down, as if Terra was his balm. “Go on and be the man I know you are.” “And you’ll help?” The Doctor begged, his voice cracking. “Every step I can.” Terra promised, tears in her own eyes. She pulled him closer, resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes caught sight of a strange sight. An Ood stood in her backyard. The Doctor looked up, confused by the appearance of the Ood. “We will sing to you, Doctor.” The Ood said. Terra gripped his arm tighter. “The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending, but the story never ends.” The Doctor grimaced. Terra helped him to his feet, opening the door to the TARDIS. “When life leaves you high and dry, I’ll be at your door tonight. If you you need help, if you need help.” Her voice floated around his head, soaking in through his pores. He liked that song... “When you fall like a statue, I will be there to catch you and put you on your feet, you on your feet.” Terra sang. She guided him down the walkway, the Doctor gripping the handrails. “I surrender honestly. You’ve always done the same for me.” The Doctor gained his footing near the console, feeling the regeneration about to begin. Terra made sure he was sturdy before letting him go. She walked maybe two steps before “I don’t want you to go.” The Doctor pleaded. Terra stopped in her steps. She turned back to him, gaping. She steeled herself- Running up to the Doctor to give him one last kiss. He was too weak to hold her to him, to keep her by his side before she could walk away. She did, though. She got to the door before restarting her song. “And I’ll love you long after you’re gone, gone, gone.” The door closed, and the Doctor felt the last of his restraint fall. “I don’t want to go.” The Doctor said. ‘Not without her.’ And just like Terra had just done, he left. PrologueIt was the 27th of December, a Saturday. The night air was much colder in Charleston that time of year, yet not cold enough for a Christmas snow. The sky was clear, letting everyone see the bright stars. One woman, the main character of our story, was watching Last Christmas for the tenth time. She had seen it with her three brothers and three kids when it aired, as was the tradition in their family. Have the youngest jump on the bed to wake you up, make chocolate chip pancakes (and ruby pancakes and fish pancakes) for breakfast, then opening presents with the whole family. Oh, the other types of pancakes? Our hero didn’t have normal children. The eldest daughter, Lilac, was a dragon, and she liked eating gemstones. The middle daughter, Cookie, was a griffon, who loved anything with fish. The youngest, Hannah, was a human, if not a bit strange regardless. Yes. Single mother of three, what a cliche right? Don’t be so quick to judge. There’s the kicker. The woman sitting watching the credits roll, she’s seventeen. See? Told you not to judge. She wasn’t human, obviously. She only looked seventeen. This was a girl who had seen the fires of war. She was barely a girl anymore, more of a woman. She hid this age well. So, as she changed it to Deep Breath, she allowed herself to connect to those human emotions of her’s. Morgan Spencer. That was her name (for now), though if she decided it would be Morgue. Morgan watched as the Doctor struggled to find himself, watched as Clara struggled to find her Doctor in him. Morgan could understand that, your best friend not being able to tell you who you were. Morgan had a big family. A father, an old preacher who now worked as a principal/math teacher at her high school. A mother, a schoolmarm who tutored children and coached cheerleading in her spare time. Three brothers, ages from 15 to 5. They were all athletic, all in math levels higher than their grades, and all of them were favored over Morgan. They were at home right now, her brothers probably playing with videogames or Nerf guns. Her parents might be in another area of the Centre, her mother She wasn’t home right now, though she wanted to be spending time with her daughters. Morgan was at her work, a place simply called The Centre. She had the big office at the top of the building, she had been all day. Morgan had hoped her twin sister, Darcy, would barge in with some outrageous idea to kill boredom. No such luck, not for her. Morgan thought it was strange. Her sister hated when she was at work. Darcy should have brought something dangerous, saying she couldn’t handle Morgan’s mother or father anymore. Or maybe brought something Hannah had made to show it off. Morgan eyed the door with her bright amber eyes, warily. She was suspicious at the quiet now. Nothing good was happening when the Centre was this quiet. She paused Deep Breath on the big screen the Centre had given her, getting up from her chair. *knock* *knock* Morgan sighed, relieved. “Come in.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t her sister or any of her daughters. It was her mother. Morgan and her mother, Sara, were as different as night and day. Morgan had raven black hair in a curly messy ponytail and a pair of bright amber eyes. Sara had straight blonde hair, and ocean blue eyes. Morgan watched Doctor Who, Supernatural, My Little Pony, Impractical Jokers, and Once Upon a Time. Sara watched Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Scandal, and Orange is the New Black. Beyond that, the mother and daughter had different opinions on everything. Morgan would rather lie in bed all day, Sara was a workaholic. Morgan loved Lilac and Cookie, even though they were not human or biologically her’s. Sara didn’t like the idea of being a grandmother to animals that could eat her family. That opinion was not one she told her daughter. Sara walked into her daughter’s office, switching on the lights. Her daughter winced at the sudden brightness. “I don’t understand why you like it so dark in here.” “It’s better for watching TV.” Morgan explained, rubbing at her eyes. She hated when her mother surprised her with the lights. “Is everything going alright?” Sara sighed, shoulders dropping with dejection. “Darcy is acting up again.” The not exactly human girl sighed, reaching up to her forehead. “Mom, please tell me you didn’t try taking away her Christmas present.” She sighed. Her mother gaped at the question. Her daughter was speaking to her like Sara was the problem with the situation. “You bought her a weapon! What was I supposed to do? She’s seventeen, I was going to put it in a safe place.” Morgan held back a groan. “She likes weapons, Mom. She’s fully trained in anything sharp. She wouldn’t just toss the ninja stars around like crazy, we’ve talked about this.” Sara shook her head. She brushed some of her blonde hair of of her face, walking closer to her eldest child. “I know you care about her, Morgan, but please try to remember.” Morgan paused, pushing her hands into the pockets of her new pajamas shorts. She eyed her mother patiently. It was going to be another one of the ‘preacher’s daughters must behave a certain way’ speeches. She always hated those. “When we took in Darcy, your father and I only asked that she follow the rules of our house.” Sara explained, not noticing her daughter’s eyes rolling. “We have certain standards to meet as heads of a school. Darcy has to fit into those standards, or else we’ll lose credibility with the parents.” Morgan almost pouted. Her mother was guilt tripping her on how to raise Darcy. Morgan had done that ever since she met the girl. Morgan Spencer was one hundred fifty by then, and Darcy only six. Darcy was from another universe, you’d understand it as the gingerbread house effect from Rise of the Cybermen. After Darcy lost her family (including that world’s Morgan), Morgan took the girl in. It had been ages since then, for both girls. ‘The funny thing is, Darcy is older than Mom.’ Morgan thought. ‘And I think my sister knows that.’ “So you see? We can’t let Darcy have such violent things.” Sara said. Morgan remembered her mother had been talking, and faked a smile. “It’s not safe for your younger brothers, or your children. I know you don’t want them getting hurt accidentally.” Morgan’s eyes narrowed slightly. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve said her mother had just threatened her children. Morgan did know better, so she knows her mother was just thinking about this as baby proofing. It almost made her smile, because two of her children could grow claws and were known as carnivores. “Can you explain this to her?” Sara asked. “She’s always listened to you.” ‘I like breathing, actually, so no.’ Morgan thought. “Sure thing, Mom. I’ll get right on it.” Morgan said, a small bit of sarcasm in her words. Sara smiled, completely missing the sarcasm. She was relieved. “Thank you.” She made her way to the door. “She’ll see this is for the best.” “Yeah-huh.” Morgan nodded, skeptical. She walked up to her TV remote, deciding she couldn’t heart watching Deep Breath right now. It was better to watch from the beginning, let it be white noise. “Could you turn off the lights?” The door closed, telling Morgan her mother had already left. “Not even a goodbye.” Morgan commented dryly. She walked over to the switch she had put into her desk, this not the first occurence of people not turning off the light when leaving. She should really put that sign up. She heard music playing from the TV. The show had begun. Morgan smiled, sitting down on the couch she had installed after getting the job. She could tell Darcy about her mother later...when the holidays were over. New Years was coming up, after all. Before Morgan could get to comfortable, there was an uncomfortable tugging feeling on her chest. She winced, reaching up to rub over her heart. It was a moment later when her breathing slowed, like she had something stuck in her throat. Her eyes widened fearfully, looking up at how Rose wandered around the basement of Hendricks. Morgan knew what this feeling was. It couldn’t be, not for- She shut her eyes, falling limp on the couch. She was Traveling again. ==PC== Morgan Spencer took a gasp of air as she appeared in this universe. She wasn’t any place special, from what she was seeing. It just a normal room, basic and boring. She knew better...she had been Pulled into Doctor Who. She was a beautiful girl, in this dimension. She had skin that was barely tanning, with freckles splashed onto her face. Her hair was long, and black as a raven’s wing. It was very curly, held back in a tight ponytail. Her alert amber eyes were scanning the room, in case of enemies in the shadows. She looked young. Seventeen, if she was guessing, so she didn’t have the shock of looking ten years older than she actually was. Her clothing was simple now, not very complex. A simple green t-shirt, with camouflage pants. She also had black sneakers. If Morgan was guessing, she was dressed like a soldier. A door opened to her right. Morgan stepped back, her fists balling. She never knew what could happen on First Day. Truth is, Morgan Spencer was not a human. She had human parents, human siblings, but she herself was not a human. Not completely. A special evolution of the human race. Not only that, but she was their queen. Queen to nearly a billion people. She had only been queen for a fifth of her life, Morgan hated every second. She had been Pulled into this world. She could count the number of times she’d been Pulled on one hand. The first time she Traveled, when she met Darcy, when she met Lilac and Cookie, and right now. Being Pulled for her people meant one thing, she wasn’t allowed to leave until she had accomplished what she had been sent to do. Morgan never knew why until she left, as she hoped wouldn’t be the case here. She hadn’t even Planned for this. Morgan had little to no idea of what she was going to do here, she didn’t have enough information. She would have to Plan-And-Go. She hated having to do that. Morgan Spencer’s eyes widened when she saw it was Madame Kovarian walking into the room. She would know that woman anymore. She took it almost as a personal offense when Melody had been taken, even know she hadn’t met Amy Pond yet. The vile woman grinned. “Oh, it must be my lucky day.” The young girl made herself strong. “How so, Madame?” She asked mockingly. The older (and it showed) woman walked up to the girl. Morgan stayed still, just watching her with interest. Madame Kovarian suddenly reached out, grabbing Morgan’s arm. Morgan leapt back, glaring at the eyepatch wearing woman. “This ain’t my first rodeo, Kovy.” She spat. The annoyance on Kovarian’s face was all the reward she needed. “Oh, we know, Terra, we know.” Morgan felt fear in her spine. She refused to show it. Terra? Was that her name now? She always liked hearing her new names, new identity. It was like a new level of fun. Or, could Terra just be the name she was known by with the Silence? Soldiers stormed into the room. Ones Morgan recognized. She knew who they were. She knew where she was. They grabbed her. Morgan fought, but it didn’t work. There was too many. They were too strong. Kovarian walked forward, just as Morgan became restrained. She lifted up a Vortex Manipulator. “We were told we would need this.” Kovarian said, igniting Morgan’s anger. “Oh la de freakin’ da.” Morgan said with an eye roll. “Why do I care?” Kovarian put the Manipulator on Morgan’s arm. She gave Morgan a smile that would give children nightmares. “Terra, that’s not even the best part.” Morgan was curious for all of five seconds. Way off inside Demon’s Run, in a sterile white room, a ginger woman held onto her baby tightly. Her brown eyes widened when she heard the pain filled screams of one of her best friends. Good Man Goes To WarThe day had started so well, at least in my track record. Guards came every few hours to give me food, to take me away for experiments, then toss me back into my room. I was dressed in white scrubs now. They were super annoying. There was some cuts made on my body which made me question the all white. Like, what if I bled? Then I would be stuck in bloody clothes. That meant Kovy would have to keep replacing the clothes every time they got bloody. Bad idea, overall. Anyway, back to my day. I know you have probably been waiting for it. I was finished with my plate of lumpy oatmeal, a bad side of brown block, and the worst pudding cup ever (it may have been just funky milk) when two of these guards came to get me. I’ve been calling them monkeys. Two monkeys came to me, and I was expecting more experiments. I began my teasing of the monkeys, when I realized that they weren’t the ones I had spent the past few days around. One was the Thin Gay Man from Good Man Goes to War, and the other was some random guy. Thin Gay Man walked up to me, I smiled at him. “You are not my monkeys.” I said, staying on the mat they gave me to sleep on. The random guy gave me a look. They wished up, not responding back to me. “Aww. I liked those other two.” I frown as random guy picked up my dish, Thin Gay Man kept watch of me. “They talked back.” Thin Gay man was almost glaring at me. A part of me wanted to be bitch, just to have him talk to me. If I went a month without talking to anyone other than just Kovarian I would go insane. “That might be why you two are here today.” I commented, adding a small smile at the end. “Kovy doesn’t like it when I make friends.” The random guy walked toward the door, while Thin Gay Man kept his eyes on me. Once random opened the door, I felt my heart speed up in fear. I would not be left alone like this. “How’s your husband?” I asked, wincing a bit near the end. “Short Fat Gay one?” That got Thin Gay’s attention. “Do not respond to the prisoner.” The random guy stated. I rolled my eyes. “I’m trying to be friendly, make conversation. Since when is that a crime?” The random one walked up to the still confused Thin Gay. He leaned in. “You heard what they said, she’s a trickster. She gets inside your head, that’s all.” I snorted. “Why would I want to be in your head?” The monkey ignored me. Thin Gay one didn’t. I smirked at him. “But how did she know about-” “She is the Doctor’s Queen.” The random one warned. Thin Gay still looked worried. You know what, I had enough. “What is your name? I’ve been calling you Thin Gay in my head and it feels offensive.” Oh, now they were both on edge. “You look like a Greg. Is your name Greg?” I asked, leaning back on the wall. “Greg. I like it.” Random guy pulled Thin Gay back, stuffing something into his hand. “We have our orders.” I tried to get a peek at what was in his hand, and what I saw made me groan. “Seriously?” Thin Gay walked up to me, scoring me the burlap sack big enough to cover my head. “Burlap? You couldn’t stand to be a little more creative?” I scoffed. “Like, why not a pillowcase, or a sack of cloth? Does it really need to be burlap, Greg?” Thin Gay ignored me, and just put the sack over my head. ==PC== The two men held me back. I impatiently waited for them to guide me into the experimentation room. The experiments weren’t so bad. Not since First Day, that hurt like a bitch. Half the time I think the experiments weren’t even for anything, that Kovarian was just a plain old bitch. She would watch the experiments with that stupid grin on her face. There tests were painful that first time. It felt like they were tearing apart my very soul, then stuffing it back in all sloopy. They would do this a hundred more times before I passed out from the pain. I stuck it out, I had to. This could last a month, maybe more. I had no way of knowing when it would end, or if it even would. The worst part was that not knowing like that was the tiniest bit exciting. Then, I felt the atmosphere changed. It was like walking into a tension filled room. It was not an experiment. This was something worse, I could feel it in my bones. “He is not the devil.” No. No. No, it couldn’t be. Not today. It could not have been that long already, could it? Had I passed out for longer than I thought? Were the experiments longer than a few hours? Colonel Manton continued his speech. Based on how loud he sound in relation to the room, I assumed I was at the edge of the stairs to it. “He is not a god. He is not a goblin, or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man, and as I look around this room I know one thing. We’re sure as hell going to fix that.” The crowd of soldiers cheered, even the two holding me. As he did, the random one and Greg dragged me towards the stage. I kept myself calm, knowing that as soon as I started freaking out that the soldiers would take me away. They wouldn’t just bring me out here if they wanted me to freak out. If they did, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. The Colonel kept talking as I was dragged onto the stage. “He will not attack. He will not seek to harm any of us.” The shoved me onto the stage, keeping a firm grip on my arms. “Why? Because we have his precious Queen.” The crowd of soldiers cheered for this. The bag over my head was removed, letting my disheveled black hair fall over my face. I shook some of it off, missing my ponytail so much. This was another form of torture I swear. Colonel Manton stood next to me, a confident look on his face. “On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall.” Manton continued. Greg and Random walked off the stage, leaving me with Manton. I rolled my eyes, already annoyed with him. “The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies, will meet the perfect answer.” Manton went on. I spat at him. He looked unfazed. “Sorry.” I apologized. “I missed.” I spat at him again. This time it hit his boot. “That’s better.” Colonel Manton was again unfazed. I felt a twinge of disappointment that the Doctor couldn’t laugh, which would have been nice to hear. The Colonel turned back to his soldiers. “Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks.” Manton began, marching to the other side of the stage. He dragged me over there with him. “Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them Headless.” I smirked, unable to hide my reaction at the Doctor’s plan. Yet as I looked out onto the crowd of soldiers, I was able to see Lorna Bucket. Nice to know she was able to make it. “It’s time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith.” I huffed a bit, trying not to freak out over the fact I had two headless dudes behind me. “As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth.” I held back the urge to flinch as Manton walked up to the first monk. He took a grip on his hood, pulling it down. “Because these guys never can be persuaded.” There was no head. A part of me was screaming, but the other part was smacking the first part so that it would shut up. “They never can be afraid.” Three. “And they can never.” Two. “Ever be-” One. “Surprised!” The Doctor cheered, tossing the hood back. “Ha, ha! Hello, everyone. Guess who.” I snorted, leaning back to watch. This was the Doctor, I was meeting the Doctor. He looked really good, especially as Eleven. The floppy brown hair, the emerald green eyes, hell even that chin. Not gonna lie, I was checking him out. Was that another thing this personality did? Check people out? I can’t complain to be honest. My cheeks started to blush though, and I heard a faint buzzing in my mind. Hope that isn’t bad. “Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax.” The Doctor encouraged, making me grin. He always thought he was cool when he did that. Everyone prepared their weapons, including the monks. “You’re only human.” The soldiers all aimed their guns at him. I rolled my eyes, a smirk coming onto my face. “Someone took their sweet time getting here.” I said as he walked up to my side. The Doctor smirked at me. “Traffic was hell.” “Oh, like I believe that.” I snorted. The Doctor was about to answer when Manton spoke up. “Doctor, you will come with me right now.” The two of us turned to Manton, smiling almost condescendingly at the gun he had aimed at the Doctor. “Three minutes forty seconds.” The Doctor informed. “Three forty two.” I corrected, leaning up so it reached his ear. The Doctor grinned at me. “Amelia Pond! Get your coat!” He shouted as the lights went out. The Doctor grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the stage. I stayed calm and simply let him control our movements. He stopped close to a door. I hid behind one of the many boxes they had around here, just in time for the lights to come back on. “I’m not a phantom.” The Doctor said, his voice somehow echoing everywhere in the base. “Doctor?” Manton called out. “I’m not a trickster.” “Doctor?” Manton tried again. “I’m a monk.” The Doctor said, almost sounding smug. “Doctor, show yourself.” Manton ordered. The Doctor lifted me to my feet, taking a firm grip on me. He buried his head into my hair, taking a deep inhale. I probably just smelled like chemicals and bleach. I shrugged off his hug, keeping a wary eye of the monks. “Three forty two.” I reminded him. He grinned, a smile that told me to just watch the magic. The Monks had stopped shooting at the soldiers as Manton commanded them to. The Doctor wiped out the screwdriver, using it to unlock the door. He never stopped hugging me. The two of us ran down a hallway. The Doctor moved with purpose, practically marching down the corridor at a fast pace. He was determined to get it all down in three minutes and forty seconds. He kept holding me as he talked. “This must be one of your early days. You look almost seventeen, that’s something I don’t get that much anymore. Where are you? No, wait, don’t tell me.” Suddenly, he let me go. He started looking over my body, lifting up my arms if he felt it necessary. “Are you okay? Did they do anything to hurt you? You told me that the Silence could be very violent, back in Florida. What did you call it? The Impossible Astronaut. Don’t know what was so impossible about her.” Then, the Doctor pulled off his monk outfit. He gave me a once over. My eyes were getting widener as my breath slowed. What he was saying was catching up with the rest of me. He said Impossible Astronaut. Apparently, he had noticed my growing unease. “Oh! Early days! Yes. I know at first the transitions are a little rough, but you got used to them.” I blinked. Well, this sucks. The Doctor paused in his rants, looking into my eyes. “Terra?” “They kept calling me that.” I said with a shake of my head looking down at his boots. “I love the name, but gosh, it makes me sound like a vengeful goddess or something.” “Terra, do you recognize me?” He pleaded. I blinked. This was Silence in the Library, for him. This must be breaking his hearts. “You’re the Doctor.” I said, lifting up my arm to reveal the Manipulator. “I’m guessing you can’t take this off.” This was what they did on my First Day. They took put this on me. It was fine at first, felt completely normal. Then it started to burn. He eyes looked down, seeing the black box on my arm. He glared at it with hate, and then his face turned into rage. The rage I saw on A Town Called Mercy. Something pissed him off. “Terra, you have to tell me, this is important, how did you get here?” The Doctor asked. I gulped. He wouldn’t like my answer. “I showed up yesterday. They seemed so happy to know I was here. I heard one of them say ‘we have his Queen’, like that Colonel said. They put this on my arm.” He took my arm, lifting up the manipulator. “They used those nanogenes to attach it to me. It’s a part of my flesh. I can’t take it off. I’m guessing I won’t be able to for a really long time, if at all.” The Doctor had hate rolling off him in waves. I feel it start to exist in the air. It was maddening. “Doctor, don’t get emotional.” I warned. “I know you just want to hit something, but don’t. It’s not that bad. Like you said, I’ll get used to it. It’s not that annoying. Maybe I can add some stuff to it, like paint or stickers.” His grip tightened. “Doc.” I said. “Doc, let me go.” “They did that to you.” He was getting emotional. “They put that thing on you. They’re the reason-” “Manboy let go of my arm! That hurts” I ordered. The Doctor let go of my arm like it was on fire. I yanked back, unsure of how to behave around this Doctor. He was still angry, but was forcing himself to be calm. It put a weight on my heart when I realized he felt this way because of me. He gave me a pitying look. The Doctor held my face in his hands. “Terra.” He breathed, as if the word was gold. By this point, we were where the Doctor had planned for us to be. “This base is now under our command.” I heard Strax’s voice. The Doctor reached down, not looking at me as he pulled out this little radio set. I frowned a bit at this sudden change. I would never say this to his face, but I liked his hand on my cheek. My own hand reached up, as if trying to recreate the feeling of the Doctor’s hand. I would figure it out later. Woah. I was checking him out again. It had taken me this long to appreciate his normal clothes. The brown tweed jacket, framing his broad shoulders. A light blue button up shirt, making him seem just adorable. That bright red bowtie was like icing on the hot cake. Don’t even get me started on his black trousers, perfectly surrounding his- “I have a fleet out there. If Demon’s Run goes down, there’s an automatic distress call.” Manton argued. Oh. Checking people out. This is really fun. “Not if we knock out your communications array.” The Doctor said, perfectly hiding any trace of our conversation. “And you’ve got incoming.” “Danny Boy to the Doctor. Danny Boy to the Doctor.” “Give ‘em hell, Danny Boy.” The Doctor said, adding a little fake airplane noise at the end. Fake gunshot noises included. I couldn’t help but join in on the fun. The base started to the shake, some pieces falling to the ground as it did so. “Target destroyed.” The pilot informed as the base stopped quaking. The Doctor let out a triumphant laugh. “Woohoo!” I cheered, clapping. Even though I knew they thought they were doing the right thing, I was glad this base was going down. ==PC== The Doctor and I were sitting in the main control room. He was in one of those spinny chairs, while I took the other one. “Told ya.” I smirked. The Doctor pouted at me. “Shut up.” “I said three forty two-” “I heard, I heard.” The Doctor grumbled. He was apparently a sore loser. “Aw, come on.” I teased, lightly poking his arm. “Don’t be a Mister Grumpy Gills.” The Doctor fought the smirk. “Nobody likes a showoff.” I laughed, clapping my hands. “Says you.” The Doctor didn’t fight his smirk that time. He purely smiled at me, I smiled back. I was still confused as to our relationship together. I mean, what was supposed to happen now? Was there another version of me somewhere on this base? Did the Doctor need to take me back to 2005? I was ready for Rose, and ready to meet Nine and Rose. Meeting Eleven was not what I was expecting. That sounded wrong. The Doctor was talking about my early days, so that meant I was probably one of those people who bounced along his timeline. Cause, ya know, who needs stability? “Doctor, Terra.” Vastra spoke, breaking the moment. That was when I realized I had been staring off into his eyes as I put it together. I got up from my chair, running up to the lizard, trying to avoid the awkward situation back there. “All airlocks sealed.” Strax’s voice came up from down the hall. “Resistance neutralised.” The Doctor spun in his chair. “Sorry Colonel. I lied. Three minutes forty two seconds.” “*ahem* I’m always right *ahem*.” I coughed. The Doctor stuck his tongue out at me. I leaned towards Vastra. “Hey, did you find my Infinity Bag?” Vastra handed me the brown bag. It had a lot of buttons on it, every button symbolizing a place I Traveled to. “Thank you.” I said. I held it tightly. They couldn’t have gotten passed the spell over it. The bag was enchanted so that only I could reach inside of it, if anyone else tried it would bite them. Yep, I said bite. The opening would turn into a mouth and straight up bite whoever’s hand was inside. I opened the bag, reaching inside to search for my iPhone. The cool metal felt great against my hands. Three days without it had driven me nuts. I pulled it out, happy to see the white iPhone 5 with the raspberry pink case. My cutiemark was stamped on the back, making me smile fondly. I pressed the on button, waiting as the phone started up. “Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw.” Strax instructed, keeping his gun aimed at the Colonel. The Doctor held up his hands, a dark look hidden behind his green eyes. It put me a little on edge, making me shift in my seat. “No. Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away.” I was concerned with the sudden change of his tone at the end. That angry lilt at the end, almost taunting. Some people recognize it as the tone the eldest kid uses when they hold the remote higher than their sibling can reach. The rest of the people in the control room noticed it too. “You what?” Manton asked. “Those words. Run away.” The Doctor stressed. “I want you to be famous for those exact words. Run away.” I saw the anger in the Doctor’s... everything. A part of me knew exactly why he was like this, that it had something to do with my manipulator. Or, it could have everything to do with it. I knew too little. This was not a thing I needed to hear now. I nervously made my way to the door. “I’m gonna help Rory find Amelia.” I offered, walking out of the room. I could feel the Doctor’s eyes on me briefly as I walked away. ==PC== It was much more difficult to find her room than I thought. He knows. The Doctor knows. Holy fucking shit. Biscuit eating frog turd. Great Merciful Storyline. He knows about me, about my Gift, and about my me-ness. What the fuck am I supposed to do?! How am I supposed to adapt to this shit?! Okay. Breathe Yellow, breathe. You can do it. Maybe this was just my role. They all thought I was one of those girls who was pulled into this universe, and that today was my first ever adventure. I could work with that, I could work with that. I took another breath, and kept on towards Amelia’s room. Now, if I am to take on the persona of Terra I need to figure out what she does. She feels kinda sarcastic, possibly even the tiniest bit violent. Definitely protective. I love new personalities. There was a nearby opened door, so I approached it cautiously. The last thing I needed was to run into a stray soldier who would blow my head off. The room was Amelia’s, I recognized it. The Ponds were standing in the middle, fawning over little Melody. I smiled at the small baby. Something about babies always made me smile. I stepped into the room, leaning on the door frame. It was nice to see them happy, especially when I first meet them. Did River still exist here? Could I stop this? Well, if the timing on the show was right, then Melody was already Flesh. The only way to save her was to get to her in Florida. Saving her would be difficult, but manageable. I can do it. Wow. Okay. I was smug. I am okay with that. I shouldn’t be, but I am. “Oh God, I was going to be cool. I wanted to be cool. Look at me.” “Crying is actually seen as a sign of great bravery back in the Roman times.” I informed. The Ponds turned to me. “If you were a real roman, you’d know that.” Amelia looked so pale, more so than a Scottish person was. Her ginger hair was partially pulled back in a ponytail, but was mostly left down. She was really working those white scrubs, even though they were, well, white scrubs. She had some tears on her cheeks, happy tears if her smile was to be believed. “Terra!” “Amelia!” I cheered, running up to her. I wrapped my arms around her, making sure to be mindful of Melody. I was meeting Amelia Pond! The hug ended and I turned to her husband. Rory looked pretty good in that Centurion costume. “Rory!” I cheered, hugging him. Rory would have hugged me back, but he had Melody in his arms. “Terra, I just saw you a month ago.” I tilted my head. “Meh.” I partially winced, waving my hand in a so-so motion. Then, I smiled at Melody. “She is beautiful, Ponds.” “Thank you Terra.” Amelia smiled at me. “And a crying Roman is cool, wouldn’t you agree?” I asked. Amelia nodded, looking to Rory. “Yeah. Crying Roman with a baby. Definitely cool.” She grabbed Rory’s head. “Come here, you.” The two kissed. I winced, taking a step back. It was always weird watching these two make-out, even though it was on TV. That was when I heard the Doctor’s footsteps. “Urgh. Kissing and crying. I’ll, I’ll be back in a bit.” Rory pulled away from his wife, glaring back at the Doctor. “Oi, you. Get in here, now.” The Doctor accepted defeat, coming down the stairs to meet Baby Pond. I pulled out my phone, taking a quick picture once he pointed at Melody. “My daughter. What do you think?” The Doctor grinned. “Hello. Hello, baby.” Amelia spoke up. “Melody.” The Doctor and Rory looked up at her, I smiled at the baby. “Melody? Hello, Melody Pond.” The Doctor corrected himself. “Hi Mini Pond.” I cooed, lightly tickling the baby’s stomach. She swatted at me, but I kept going. Melody was just adorable! “Melody Williams.” “Is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero.” “Well yes, I suppose she does smell nice.” The Doctor commented, apparently having a chat with the baby. “Never really sniffed her. Maybe I should give it a go. Amelia Pond, come here.” The Doctor reached over, hugging Amelia and giving her head a whiff. I laughed. She smelled like strawberries and spice. Perks of having a partial werewolf nose. “Doctor.” Amelia questioned. “I’m sorry we were so long.” The Doctor said in an undertone. “It’s okay. I knew you were coming. Both of you. Our boys.” Amelia smiled at me. I smiled back, even though I had only a faint idea as to what she was talking about. Melody cooed. The Doctor calmed her. “It’s okay. She’s still all yours. And really, you should call her mummy, not big milk thing.” “Okay, what are you doing?” Amelia laughed. “I speak Baby.” “No, you don’t.” “I speak everything, don’t I, Melody Pond.” She gurgled. “No, it’s not. It’s cool.” “Doctor? Take a look. They’re leaving.” The four of us looked up to see Vastra leaning over the metal railing. The Doctor walked up to the window. “Demon’s Run is ours without a drop of blood spilled. My friend, you have never risen higher.” I frowned, not needing to look at Rory’s face to know it was gonna get so much worse. “Why are you wearing those?” Amelia asked. I turned to her, pretending to be confused. “What?” “Those clothes. Why are you wearing them?” Amelia asked, a bit more forceful. I shrugged, coming up with a quick lie. “Rory was a Roman, the Doctor was the Doctor, I wanted to be a ghost. There weren’t any bedsheets so I had to improvise.” What? I said quick, not convincing. Amelia almost glared. “I heard you screaming. Three days ago.” She stated. I paused, glaring at the ginger. “Yes, Amy. Thank you. I really wanted the Doctor to know that.” I said under my breath. “I was just trying to find the right time.” “Sorry, wait, your were here how long?” The Doctor said, rushing up to me. Before he could get too close, I marched towards the door. “Terra?” Rory called out. “Terra?” Amelia added. “At least tell us what number you’re on!” I scoffed, walking out of the room. “1!” There was silence as I marched down the hallway. Time for work. ==PC== Instead of taking a first look at the TARDIS, I just sat really close to it and did random things on my phone. I checked my texts just to make sure it was clear, I started up a list to say what order of episodes I went in. So far all it had was this one, not too great. Then I checked my contacts to see if any had been added thanks to the TARDIS. When there weren’t any, I looked up at the blue box with a look of almost hurt. “Really? Why you gotta play me like that?” I asked. The box didn’t answer. There was nothing else really for me to do, not until I could get an actual minute alone with the Doctor. I looked down at my wrist, looking over the manipulator. The nanogenes had fused it to my skin, so there was little chance of getting it off. If they did, Kovarian had a failsafe installed to make sure I would die shortly after. Evil bitch. She was just an outerspace nun, with stupid hair. Wow. That was childish. Am I childish now? Great. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Rory suddenly said. I glanced up from my manipulator, watching the couple with curiosity. They knew about my traveling about his timeline. How far back could I go? Would I end up all the way back on his first adventure, back on Gallifrey? Story I hope not. That would get problematic, seeing as I hadn’t seen Classic Who at all. Hey, you try finding those episodes! The best I could get was Netflix, and that place was shit! “She doesn’t like the TARDIS noise.” Amelia explained. I snorted, looking back at my manipulator. River never did. “I asked him to turn something off, but it was all, but I don’t want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum. Shush.” Amelia tried to quiet down her baby. Speaking of River, what did she think of me? Who was I to her? I mean, I did have a bit of a crush on her, but come on who didn’t? Was I her sister, her best friend, dare I even say her wife? I’d be happy with any of the three. Movements caught my attention. I looked over to see Jenny walking up with Strax. Shrugging, I continued looking over my manipulator. “Rory! The Judoon have escorted the Clerics out of the quadrant. Spitfires have returned to their own time. Captain Avery and his men are going. Is she alright?” “Okay. This thing does not have any games on it. What is the point of you?” It took a quick look from Rory to tell me I had said that last part out loud. Oops. “Yes, she’s just crying.” Amelia said as Melody started sobbing. “Give her to me, human fool.” Strax demanded. I snorted. Ah, Strax, my favorite homicidal potato. He was in competition with Mr. Potato Head’s Angry Eyes, so it was close. “She needs changing.” “I just changed her.” Amelia explained, gently bouncing the crying baby. “I think she might need a feed.” “A feed, of course.” Strax held out his arm. “I’ll take care of everything.” I snorted again, watching the scene a pleased smile. Wow, this was fun. “Er, I really don’t think you will, actually.” Rory said. Strax was offended. “I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid.” “Roman’s got a sword, I wouldn’t push it.” I commented, silently pleased that I came up with something somewhat smart sounding. I laughed loudly once Strax reached up to grab his own boob. That was just too much for me. Strax is the best. The Doctor ran out from the TARDIS, the old cot in his hands. “She’s not hungry, she’s tired.” The Doctor put down the cot. “Sorry, Melody, they’re just not listening.” He pushed aside the mobile, making space for Melody to put placed in it. “What’s this?” Amelia said, keeping a grip on Melody. “Very pretty, according to your daughter.” The Doctor said, lightly brushing a finger on Melody’s cheek. Rory was staring at the cot, apparently confused by it’s presence. “It’s a, it’s a cot.” The Doctor blinked. “No flies on the Roman.” He held his arms out. “Give her here.” Amelia smiled. She carefully passed Melody onto the Doctor. “Hey, there we go.” The Doctor held the small child, resting her down in the cot. I got up from my seat, walking up to the small cot. My fingers danced along the side, feeling the old wood under my fingers. It was like it was calling out to me...it was a warm feeling, I might have to ask the Doctor about it later. Rory turned to the Doctor. “But where would you get a cot?” The next thing that caught my attention was the circular writing on the side. The TARDIS wouldn’t translate, but something about the circles made me smile. I traced one of the circles, careful not to make a mark. They were old “It’s old. Really old.” Amelia tried to look at the Doctor’s eyes, but he was too focused on Melody. “Doctor, er, do you have children?” “No.” He paused, face twisting in confusion. “Have you ever had children?” Amelia asked, her voice soft. The Doctor ran a hand in his hair. “No, it’s real. It’s my hair.” I giggled again, standing up from the ground. I reached my hand inside the cradle, letting Melody grab ahold of my finger. “Nice job, Mini Pond.” The baby smiled up at me, and then I wondered. Could I stop today? Could I tell the Doctor where Melody would be? If I told him that she was the Astronaut, he could find her and bring her home. Mels had said on the show that she turned into a newborn, so that would be kinda nice. No. Melody was named after herself. As horrible as it sounds, there’s nothing I can do. Her fate is sealed. She’s already a flesh baby, so the only way to stop this it to stop Kovarian from leaving the base, since her’s would be the one with the real Melody inside of it. Of course, we can’t do that now. She was probably the first to go. I already established that I could do nothing. Why was I still thinking I could? Because Terra doesn’t give up. Have I really started to call myself by that name? You know you love it. You would have chosen something like that anyway. Arguing with myself on naming choices? Okay. I have said this before and I’ll say it again. I love new personalities. Amelia apparently hasn’t given up. “Who slept in here?” The Doctor and I ignored the question. “Terra, you said this was your first day.” Rory brought up, although there was some hesitance. I huffed, trying to hide any discomfort from that question. “Yes. It is. And?” “Just, how do you already know so much?” Rory asked. “Like, who we are?” Saved by the Silurian. “Doctor, we need you in the main control room.” The Doctor stood up from the cot. I could see it in his eyes that it felt like being awakened from a daydream. “Be right there!” He shouted up at Vastra. He made his way to the staircase. “Things to do. I’ve still got to work out what this base is for. We can’t leave till we know.” Amelia: “But this is where I was? The whole time I thought I was on the TARDIS, I was really here?” The Doctor: “Er, Centurion, permission to hug?” Rory: “Be aware, I do have a sword.” The Doctor: “At all times. You were on the TARDIS, too. Your heart, your mind, your soul. But physically, yes, you were still in this place.” Amelia: “And when I saw that face looking through the hatch, that woman looking at me.” The Doctor: “Reality bleeding through. They must have taken you quite a while back. Just before America.” Rory: “That’s probably enough hugging now. So her Flesh avatar was with us all that time. But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the TARDIS wherever we were in time and space.” The Doctor: “Yeah, they’re very clever.” Amelia: “Who are?” Rory: “Whoever wants our baby.” Amelia: “But why do they want her?” The Doctor: “Exactly.” Rory: “Is there anything you’re not telling us? You knew Amy wasn’t real. You never said.” The Doctor: “Well, I couldn’t be sure they weren’t listening.” Amelia: “But you always hold out on us. Please, not this time. Doctor, it’s our baby. Tell us something. One little thing.” The Doctor: “It’s mine.” Rory: “What is?” The Doctor: “The cot. It’s my cot. I slept in there.” Amelia: “Oh, my God. It’s the Doctor’s first stars.” Rory: “She’s.” (Amy wipes Melody’s dribble with the prayer leaf.) Strax: “Drop your weapons. State your rank and intent. I found it listening at the door.” (More) ==PC== (More) Lorna: “I heard her talking. This is a trap. Why would I lie to you?” Rory: “Well, you might want to take a look at your uniform.” Lorna: “The only reason I joined the Clerics was so I could meet the Doctor again.” Jenny: “You wanted to meet him, so you joined an army to fight him?” Lorna: “Well, how else do you meet a great warrior?” Amelia: “He’s not a warrior.” Lorna: “Then why is he called the Doctor?” (The lights go out.) Lorna: “It’s starting. Please, listen to me.” Strax: “Confirmed. No life forms registering on this base, except us and the Silurians.” Lorna: “The Headless Monks aren’t alive. They don’t register as life forms.” (And one is creeping up on a Silurian warrior.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Monks are on the move. A white light cone appears around the Tardis.) Amelia: “What’s that?” Vastra: “A force field.” Lorna: “And those are the doors locking.” Vastra: “Apparently we’re not leaving.” Rory: “Is that the Monks?” Dorium: “Oh, dear God. That’s the attack prayer.” Rory: “Quick, come with me.” Vastra: “Commander Strax!” Strax: “I’m trying to seal off this area of the lighting grid.” Vastra: “This is where we’ll make our stand. Clear lines of sight on all approaches.” (Rory hides Amy and Melody behind some boxes.) Amelia: “Rory, no offence to the others, but you let them all die first, okay?” Rory: “You’re so Scottish.” Vastra: “Centurion, you’re needed!” Lorna: “There should be some plasma pistols somewhere. They left everything.” Strax: “Then find them, boy!” Vastra: “She’s definitely a girl.” Jenny: “Oh, stop it!” Dorium: “We don’t have to fight them. I’m friends to the Monks. They know me.” Rory: “Yeah, and they know you just sold them out to the Doctor.” Dorium: “Oh, they’ll understand it’s only me. Only silly old me. You understand, don’t you?” Vastra: “Mister Maldovar, get back here!” Strax: “Arm yourself, fool!” Rory: “Dorium!” (Dorium walks into the darkness, arms outstretched. There is a swish of metal, and something falls to the floor.) Vastra: “Mister Maldovar?” Rory: “Dorium?” (Two Monks escort the headless Dorium back into view.) Vastra: “The child. At all costs, protect the child!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy!” The Doctor: “Amy!” (Melody suddenly goes splat in Amy’s arms.) Amelia: “Rory? Rory! Rory!” (The Doctor is behind a locked door.) The Doctor: “Amy, she’s not real! Melody, she’s a Flesh avatar. Amy!” (The Doctor runs in. Everything is quiet.) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy.” Rory: “Yeah, we know.” (The Monks are dead, and Strax is wounded.) Strax: “It’s strange. I have often dreamed of dying in combat. I’m not enjoying it as much as I’d hoped.” Rory: “Come on, Strax. Don’t give up.” Strax: “It’s all right. I’ve had a good life. I’m nearly twelve.” Rory: “Listen to me. You’ll be back on your feet in no time. You’re a warrior.” Strax: “Rory, I’m a nurse.” (The Doctor goes to where Jenny is comforting Amy.) Amelia: “So they took her anyway. All this was for nothing.” The Doctor: “I am so sorry.” Jenny: “Amy, it’s not his fault.” Amelia: “I know. I know.” Vastra: “Doctor, there’s someone who wants to speak to you. Her name is Lorna. She came to warn us.” (Lorna is also dying.) The Doctor: “Hey. Hello.” Lorna: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “You helped my friends. Thank you.” Lorna: “I met you once, in the Gamma Forests. You don’t remember me.” The Doctor: “Hey, of course I remember. I remember everyone. Hey, we ran, you and me. Didn’t we run, Lorna?” (Lorna dies.) The Doctor: “Who was she?” Vastra: “I don’t know, but she was very brave.” The Doctor: “They’re always brave. They’re always brave.” Vastra: “So, what now? They’d almost certainly have taken her to Earth. Raise her in the correct environment.” The Doctor: “Yes, they did. And it’s already too late.” Vastra: “You’re giving up? You never do that.” The Doctor: “Yeah, and don’t you sometimes wish I did?” There was a bright flash. “Hello soldier, how goes the day?” I squealed. “River Song!” Yep. There she was. In all her awesomeness. I ran up to her, fangirling against my will. “Hi.” River grinned. “Hello.” I let out a squeal. “Oh my gosh. I’m fangirling. Don’t know how to stop. I love this. You are amazing.” I cheered. River gave me her signature smile. “So are you.” My jaw dropped. I kept smiling. “River Song just called me amazing. I love today. I met the Doctor, Amelia Pond, Rory Pond, the Doctor, Madame Vastra, Jenny, Strax, the Doctor, River Song, the TARDIS, and the Doctor in one day!” River laughed. “You said the Doctor four times.” “I did.” I nodded. “Where were you?” The Doctor snapped, marching up to River. “Every time you have asked of me I was there. Every time you’ve asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?” River: “I couldn’t have prevented this.” The Doctor: “You could have tried!” River: “And so, my love, could you. I know you’re not alright. But hold tight, Amy, because you’re going to be.” River took my hand. “And Terra, I know you’re frightened, and confused, but everything’s going to be okay.” I nodded. “Okay.” I said. “If you say so, then I believe you. My life is in your hands, River Song.” I warned. River smiled, though it was held back. The Doctor: “You think I wanted this? I didn’t do this. This, this wasn’t me!” River: “This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you’d become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means mighty warrior. How far you’ve come. And now they’ve taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they’re going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you.” The Doctor: “Who are you?” River: “Oh look, your cot. Haven’t seen that in a very long while.” The Doctor: “No, no, you tell me. Tell me who you are.” River: “I am telling you. Can’t you read?” (More) The Doctor: “Hello.” River: “Hello.” The Doctor: “But but that means-” River: “I’m afraid it does.” The Doctor: “Ooo. But you and I, we, we, we, er.” (kiss kiss) River: “Yes.” (The Doctor is getting all excited with anticipation.) The Doctor: “How do I look?” River: “Amazing.” The Doctor: “I’d better be.” River: “Yes, you’d better be.” The Doctor: “Vastra and Jenny, till the next time. Rory and Amy, I know where to find your daughter, and on my life, she will be safe. River, get them all home.” Rory: “Doctor!” Amelia: “No! Where are you going?” (More) “It’s smaller on the outside.” I said. The Doctor gave me a flat look. (More) “I’m...just gonna go...change.” I murmured, walking off towards...anywhere. ==PC== Analyze. The Doctor knows I am a Traveler. He knows this is all a TV show. (More) Deduce. (More) Conclusion? I’m screwed. (More) Now, I was wearing a better outfit. It had long faded jeans, with a brown belt and brown worker boots. I had a rose pink shirt on, with a jean jacket over it. Around my neck I had a white writer’s scarf. My Infinity Bag was added to the look. So happy I brought it with me. It was isomorphic, so only I could access the Infinity-ness, others just ended up with a bag. (More) I walked out, holding the strap to my bag nervously. “So...” I shuffled my boot on the TARDIS floor nervously. “Hi.” The Doctor looked over at me. This, heartbreaking look on his face. I hated it. It was a face I had a seen a hundred times while watching Doctor Who, and it made my what to get rid of it as fast as I could. “Hello.” “Are you okay?” I asked him. He gave me a smirk. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I frowned. I walked up to him, despite my body saying not too. Once I reached him, I put my hands on the side of his face. “Okay. Stop that.” I snapped. “Don’t you dare go all emotional on me. I’m gonna guess by the way you’re acting that I didn’t tell you a damn thing about where I started. I have a good reason, Manboy. Believe it or not.” “What reason would that be?” The Doctor snapped. “You were tortured here! I could have saved you from it!” “Maybe I’m being tortured right now!” (More) “In two minutes, you managed to destroy any sort of sanity I had.” I told him. “Do you know how hard I have to work to keep my identity a secret from you lot? How much Planning I have to do so that my knowledge doesn’t look suspicious?” I was almost shouting. “And you come sauntering in, telling me you know it all. You know about the show, you know about me, you know that I came here to fix stuff.” I pulled at my hair. “It’s...it’s the fastest any plan of mine’s fallen apart! My mind can’t handle it!” The Doctor looked stunned. “Yeah, maybe Future Me trusts you enough to tell you.” I shrugged. “But I don’t. And after this whole fiasco? I know it won’t be any time soon.” (More) Girls Who Waited
Almost People/Rebel FleshThe (More) Cleaves: “Don’t tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor.” “Terra!” A voice yelled. Turning around, I saw the Doctor along with the people from Rebel Flesh. They were all giving me curious looks. “D-Do-Doctor?” I stuttered, feeling a little out of it. The Doctor ran to my side, grabbing my arm. He held me up, waiting for me to get balanced before doing anything more. “Who is she?” “She’s Terra.” Amelia answered. “Our friend.” I groaned, feeling like my head was in a blender. “What...What’s going on?” I asked him. My head really was rushing, but I could hold off on it. “Yes. Okay.” The Doctor did this fumbling around thing. It was my favorite. Can’t talk without moving his arms. (More) The Doctor: “You told me we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour.” Cleaves: “Sorry, I just assumed-” The Doctor: “Well, it’s not your fault. Like I said, they’re disoriented. Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness? Amelia: “Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out.” The Doctor: “Jennifer?” Amelia: “She was standing on her own when we got to her.” (The microwave dings. The Doctor hands the plate to Cleaves.) The Doctor: “It’s hot.” (Cleaves drops the plate.) The Doctor: “Trans-matter’s still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly.” Cleaves: “What are you talking about?” The Doctor: “It’s okay.” Cleaves: “Why didn’t I feel that?” The Doctor: “You will. You’ll stabilize.” Cleaves: “No, stop it. You’re playing stupid games. Stop it!” The Doctor: “You don’t have to hide. Please, trust me. I’m the Doctor.” (Cleaves turns around with a Ganger face. Buzzer grabs a knife and Jimmy holds him back.) Buzzer: “Where’s the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?” The Doctor: “That’s it. Good, you remember. This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn.” Amelia: “Doctor, what’s happened to her?” The Doctor: “She can’t stabilize. She’s shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least.” Cleaves: “We are living.” (She runs out of the room, screaming.) The Doctor: “Let her go.” Amelia: “Doctor, Rory.” The Doctor: “Rory?” Amelia: “Rory!” The Doctor: “Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory.” (More) Jimmy: “Explosion must’ve ruptured the acid feeds. We’re going to need the acid suits.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. We haven’t got time. Back, back, back!” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Rory.” (There is a hole punched in the wall to the outside.) The Doctor: “Of course, Jennifer’s a Ganger too.” Amelia: “Doctor, you said they wouldn’t be violent.” The Doctor: “But I did say they were scared and angry.” Jimmy: “And early technology, is what you said. You seem to know something about the Flesh.” Amelia: “Do you? Doctor?” Jimmy: “You’re no weatherman. Why are you really here?” The Doctor: “I have to talk to them. I can fix this.” Jimmy: “Wait. What’s going on? Where’s the real Jennifer?” (More) The Doctor: “It is too dangerous out here with acid leaks.” Amelia: “We have to find Rory.” The Doctor: “Yes. I’m going back to the TARDIS. Wait for me in the dining hall. I want us to keep together, okay. No more wandering off.” Amelia: “And what about Rory?” The Doctor: “Well, it would be safer to look for Rory and Jennifer with the TARDIS.” Jimmy: “Here we go. Distress flares.” The Doctor: “Exit?” Jimmy: “Keep going straight. Can’t miss it. But you’re never going to get your vehicle in here.” The Doctor: “I’m a great parker.” Jimmy: “We really need those acid suits. I’ve sent Buzzer and Dicken to get them.” Amelia: “Fine and dandy. I’m just going to find my husband, so cheers.” Jimmy: “Amy, I wouldn’t.” Amelia: “Nor would I. What can you do, eh?” Jimmy: “At least wait for an acid suit.” (More) ==PC== (More) He scanned the vat with his screwdriver, and I knew it wouldn’t be much longer now. (More) The Doctor: “Oh. What are you doing down there?” (More) The Doctor: “Hello. How are you all getting on?” G-Cleaves: “Why don’t you tell us?” The Doctor: “Well, we have two choices. The first is to tear each other apart. Not my favourite. The second is to knuckle down and work together. Try to work out how best we can help you.” (More) The Doctor: “Now, I know its hard for you to hold your fully human form. That’s why you keep shifting between the Flesh stages, but do try. It’ll make the others less scared of you.” (More) AMELIA + The Doctor: “Until the Doctor gets here. Hello.” (The Gangers look fully human. This is going to get confusing.) Jimmy: “This is-” G-Jimmy: “You’re telling me.” G-Cleaves: “All right, Doctor, you’ve brought us together. Now what?” The Doctor: “Before we do anything, I have one very important question. Has anybody got a pair of shoes I could borrow? Size ten. Although I should warn you, I have very wide feet.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “The Flesh was never merely moss. These are not copies. The storm has hardwired them. They are becoming people.” Jimmy: “With souls?” DICKEN: “Rubbish! Achoo.” The Doctor: “Bless you. We were all jelly once. Little jelly eggs sitting in goop.” Amelia: “Yeah, thanks. Too much information.” The Doctor: “We are not talking about an accident that needs to be mopped up. We are talking about sacred life. Do you understand? Good. Now, the TARDIS is trapped in an acid pool. Once I can reach her, I can get you all off this island, humans and Gangers, eh? How does that sound?” Jimmy: “Can I make it home for Adam’s birthday?” G-Jimmy: “What about me? He’s my son too.” Jimmy: “You? You really think that?” G-Jimmy: “I feel it.” Jimmy: “Oh, so you were there when he was born, were you?” G-Jimmy: “Yeah. I drank about eight pints of tea, then they told me I had a wee boy and I just burst out laughing. No idea why. I miss home, as much as you.” The Doctor: “Look, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a right old mess, this. But as you might say up North, oh well, I’ll just go to’t foot of stairs. Eee by by gum. Or not. Good. Right. First step is we get everyone together, then get everyone safe. Then, get everyone out of here.” Amelia: “But we’re still missing Jennifer and Cleaves.” Jimmy: “I’ll go and look for them.” G-Jimmy: “I’ll give you a hand, if you like. Cover more ground.” Jimmy: “Yeah, okay. Thanks.” Cleaves: “This circus has gone on long enough.” G-Cleaves: “Oh, great. You see, that is just so typically me.” Cleaves: “Doctor, tell it to shut up!” The Doctor: “Cleaves, no. No, no.” Cleaves: “Circuit probe. Fires about ooo, forty thousand volts? Would kill any one of us, so I guess she’ll work on Gangers just the same.” The Doctor: “It’s interesting you refer to them as it, but you call a glorified cattle prod a she.” Cleaves: “When the real people are safely off this island, then I’ll happily talk philosophy over a pint with you, Doctor.” Amelia: “What are you going to do to them?” Cleaves: “Sorry. They’re monsters. Mistakes. They have to be destroyed.” The Doctor: “Give me the probe, Cleaves.” Cleaves: “We always have to take charge, don’t we, Miranda. Even when we don’t really know what the hell is going on.” (Ganger Buzzer tries to rush her. Cleaves zaps him.) The Doctor: “Argh! He’s dead!” Cleaves: “We call it decommissioned.” The Doctor: “You stopped his heart. He had a heart. Aorta, valves, a real human heart. And you stopped it.” Rory: “Jen?” G-JENNIFER: “What happened to Buzzer will happen to all of us if we trust you.” The Doctor: “Wait, wait, just wait.” Rory: “No!” (Rory jumps Cleaves and disconnects the power from the probe. The Gangers run away.) Amelia: “You idiot!” The Doctor: “Wait! Look at what you have done, Cleaves.” Cleaves: “If it’s war, then it’s war. You don’t get it, Doctor. How can you? It’s us and them now. Us and them.” DICKEN: “Us and them.” Jimmy: “(sighs) Us and them.” (More) Rory: “Look, I just wanted to help her.” Amelia: “Well, we all do, okay?” Rory: “Don’t be like that. Listen, she’s-” Amelia: “I said I agree with you. Drop it.” The Doctor: “The most fortified and defendable room in the monastery. Cleaves, the most fortified and defendable room in the monastery.” Cleaves: “The chapel.” The Doctor: “Thank you.” Cleaves: “Only one way in. Stone walls two feet thick.” The Doctor: “You’ve crossed one hell of a line, Cleaves. You’ve killed one of them. They’re coming back, in a big way.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “What about the flares?” The Doctor: “We’ll worry about the flares when we’re locked inside. Rory, Pond.” (There is a scream.) Amelia: “Rory, come on.” Rory: “Jen’s out there. She’s out there and she’s on her own.” The Doctor: “Well, if she’s got any sense, then she’s hiding. Rory!” Rory: “I can’t leave her out there!” The Doctor: “Rory.” Rory: “I know you understand that.” Amelia: “Get in here. Get in here!” (The Gangers approach. Rory ducks down a side corridor.) G-Cleaves: “There they are.” The Doctor: “Amy.” Amelia: “Rory!” (More) The Doctor: “Amy, they are not after him, they’re after us.” VOICE: “Why? Why?” The Doctor: “Show yourself. Show yourself!” (More) Amelia: “Doctor!” Cleaves: “Pass me the barrel.” DICKEN: “We need something heavy. Anything you can find.” (They barricade the door.) Jimmy: “This is insane. We’re fighting ourselves.” The Doctor: “Yes. Yes, it’s insane, and it’s about to get even more insanerer. Is that a word? Show yourself, right now!” Amelia: “Doctor, we are trapped in here and Rory’s out there with them. Hello? We can’t get to the TARDIS and we can’t even leave the island.” G-The Doctor: “Correct in every respect, Pond. It’s frightening, unexpected, frankly a total, utter splattering mess on the carpet, but I am certain, one hundred percent certain, that we can work this out. Trust me. I’m the Doctor.” (More) ==PC== (More) I groaned. “I had enough problems with one Doctor.” (More) (More) BOTH: “Hello. Sorry, but we had to establish a few ground rules.” The Doctor: “Formulate a protocol.” G-The Doctor: “Protocol? Very posh.” The Doctor: “A protocol between us. Otherwise-” G-Doctor: “It gets horribly embarrassing.” The Doctor: “And potentially confusing.” Amelia: “I’m glad you’ve solved the problem of confusing.” G-Doctor: “That’s sarcasm.” The Doctor: “She’s very good at sarcasm.” BOTH: “Breathe.” Amelia: “What?” The Doctor: “We have to get you off this island. And the Gangers too.” Cleaves: “Sorry, would you like a memo from the last meeting? They are trying to kill us!” The Doctor: “They’re scared.” Amelia: “Doctor, we’re trapped in here.” The Doctor: “Right, See, I don’t think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above.” G-Doctor: “But where are the earthing conduits?” The Doctor: “All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?” (He finds a grating in the wall.) The Doctor: “Yowza. An escape route.” Amelia: “Yowza?” The Doctor: “You know, I’m starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me.” G-Doctor: “Do we tend to say yowza?” The Doctor: “That’s enough, let it go, okay? We’re under stress.” (More) ==PC== (More) Buzzer: “The army will send a recon team our.” Cleaves: “We need to find a way to contact the mainland.” Amelia: “What about Rory and Jen? They are both out there.” The Doctor: “No, this place is a maze. Takes a long time to find someone in a maze. I bet you lot have got a computer map, haven’t you?” Cleaves: “If we can get power running, we can scan for them. Be a lot quicker.” (They start coughing.) Amelia: “Doctor, you said earlier to breathe.” The Doctor: “Very important, Pond. Breathe.” Amelia: “Yeah, well, I’m struggling to.” The Doctor: “Acid interacting with the stone.” G-Doctor: “Creating an asphyxiant miasma.” Cleaves: “A what?” The Doctor: “Choking gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it.” Cleaves: “The evac tower. It’s this way.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Oh. I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something. It’s okay, it’s better. It’s easing off.” (The church bell starts ringing.) Jimmy: “It’s midnight. It’s Adam’s birthday. My son’s five. Happy birthday, bud.” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “Can you really get the power back?” G-Doctor: “Oh, there’s always some power floating around.” The Doctor: “Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint.” Amelia: “Can you stop finishing each other’s-” The Doctor: “Sentences? No probs.” G-Doctor: “Yes.” Amelia: “No, hang on. You said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won’t she be damaged?” The Doctor: “Nah, she’s a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy.” G-Doctor: “Tough, dependable, sexy.” Amelia: “Come on. Okay, how can how can you both be real?” G-Doctor: “Well, because we are. I’m the Doctor.” The Doctor: “Yeah and so am I. We both contain the knowledge of over nine hundred years of memory and experience.” The Doctor: “We both wear the same bow tie, which is cool.” G-Doctor: “Because bow ties are-” The Doctor: “And always will be.” Amelia: “But how did the Flesh read you? Because you weren’t linked up to the it.” The Doctor: “Well, it must’ve been after I examined it. Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created.” G-Doctor: “Ta-da.” Amelia: “No getting away from it. One of you was here first.” The Doctor: “Well, okay. After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now, new shoes. A situation which did not confront me learned self here.” G-Doctor: “That satisfy you, Pond?” “Terra, you can tell the difference.” Amy pleaded. “You can always tell the difference. You know the Doctor better than anyone.” Gulping, I turned to the two Doctors. One in boots, and one in not-boots. I don’t know how, but I could feel it. The not-boots one was the Doctor. I could see it in his eyes. I could feel it in my soul. The Doctors smirked back at me. The Ganger Doctor had this strange feeling about him, like he was remembering something important but trying not to. The...I don’t want to say real...The Other Doctor had this heartbroken look deep in his eyes. But, in the end, they were the same. The Ganger was a slightly more confused Doctor, no other changes. I shrugged, nervously rubbing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know! They’re identical!” Amelia blinked. “But...he isn’t the Doctor.” The Ganger Doctor came up to me, wrapping an arm around me. “Oh, come on Pond. Of course I’m me.” “Don’t call me Pond, please. What?” G-Doctor: “Interesting. You definitely feel more affection for him than me.” Amelia: “No, no, I. Look, you’re fine and everything, but he’s the Doctor. No offence. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive. G-Doctor: “Being almost the Doctor’s like being no Doctor at all.” Amelia: “Don’t overreact.” G-Doctor: “You might as well call me Smith.” Amelia: “Smith?” G-Doctor: “John Smith.” “Amy Williams, don’t be so rude!” I snapped. The ginger woman turned to me with a shocked look. “You only call me that when you’re cross.” “Well I am mad at you!” I argued. “Stop being so racist!” “They aren’t real.” Amy argued. “I have so many in my family that weren’t born the normal way, Amy. Why would I treat anyone else any different?” I asked then laughed. “Oh wow! Now that I think about it, who in my family wasn’t made like that?” “You actually think they’re real.” Amelia commented. “Pretty bad first impression, Pondecai.” I said. “Well, I’ve already met you, but this is a bad second impression.” The Doctor: “Yes! Communication a go-go.” (Cleaves rushes to the console.) Amelia: “Find Rory! Show me the scanning tracking screen. Come on, Rory, let’s be having you.” Cleaves: “There’s no sign of him anywhere.” Amelia: “Come on. Come on, baby, show yourself.” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “Saint John’s calling. Emergency Alpha. Saint John’s calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in. We’ll never get a signal through this storm. Saint John’s calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent.” CAPTAIN: “We’re just about reading you, Saint John’s. How are you doing? We’ve had all kinds of trouble here.” Cleaves: “Request immediate evacuation. We’re under attack. The storm’s affected our Gangers. They’re running amok.” CAPTAIN: “Your Gangers?” Cleaves: “Yes, our Gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out.” CAPTAIN: “Copy that, Saint John’s. Shuttle’s despatched. Hang on.” Cleaves: “You’ll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower.” “And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following codeword. I’m typing it, in case they’re listening in.” CAPTAIN: “Got it. We’ll swing in, get you out and decommission the Flesh.” (More) The Ganger Doctor kept an arm wrapped around me. It was oddly calming. Buzzer: “We’ve got to get out of here. We are, we’re going to get out.” Amelia: “We’re not leaving without them.” Buzzer: “I want them found too, but it’s about casualties, innit? Can’t be helped.” Amelia: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “Making a phone call.” Amelia: “Who to?” The Doctor: “No one yet. It’s on delay.” Amelia: “Right. Not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?” The Doctor: “Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. The wheels are in motion. Done.” (More) I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Okay. That’s good. That’s enough.” The Ganger Doctor gave me a confused look. He looked at the Doctor as if asking a question. Then he turned to me. There was an almost physical change on him. Amelia: “You know really there can be only one.” The Doctor: “Hmm?” Amelia: “Oh, nothing. Carry on. Be amazing.” (Amy is drawn to the far wall. A hatch opens and she sees the Eye Patch Lady again.) The Doctor: “Amy? What happened?” Amelia: “It’s her again.” The Doctor: “It’s who again?” Amelia: “There’s a woman I keep seeing. A woman with an eyepatch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me. Doctor?” The Doctor: “It’s nothing.” Amelia: “Doesn’t seem like nothing.” The Doctor: “It’s a time memory. Like a mirage. It’s nothing to worry about.” G-Doctor: “It’s in my head.” (The Ganger Doctor leaves.) Jimmy: “Hey, hold on.” Cleaves: “Don’t let him go.” Amelia: “No, leave it to me.” (More) “It’s my early days.” I grumbled. “As you so eloquently put it.” (More) The Doctor: “Why?” Amelia: “Keep him away from me.” G-Doctor: “Did you sense it?” The Doctor: “Briefly. Not as strong as you.” G-Doctor: “Amy, I’m sorry.” Amelia: “No, you keep away. We can’t trust you.” G-Doctor: “It would appear I can connect to the Flesh.” Amelia: “You are Flesh.” G-Doctor: “I’m beginning to understand what it’s been through, what it needs.” Amelia: “What you want. You are it.” G-Doctor: “It’s much more powerful than we thought. The Flesh can grow, correct?” Cleaves: “Its cells can divide.” G-Doctor: “Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge. It’s in pain, angry. It wants revenge.” Amelia: “I was right. You’re not the Doctor. You can’t ever be. You’re just a copy.” Cleaves: “Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?” The Doctor: “Hold on a minute, hold your horses. I thought I’d explained this. I’m him, he’s me.” Cleaves: “Doctor, we have no issue with you, but when it comes to your Ganger-” The Doctor: “Don’t be so absurd.” Cleaves: “Buzzer.” Buzzer: “Sure, boss.” (Buzzer puts out a barrel for the Ganger Doctor to sit on.) Buzzer: “Take a seat, mate.” G-Doctor: “Nice barrel, very comfy. Why not? Is this really what you want?” (More) (More) ==PC== Doctor (More) “But Doctor, why is she acting like that?” Amelia asked me. “Terra always loved you, never done anything else.” I looked at Terra. She was looking at the Doctor, the real Doctor, with such understanding. That was just how she was. Even in her early days, she still saw me as I was. She could see right through me. She always did. She turned to look at me, then it changed to heartbreak. I leaned over towards Amelia Pond. “She told me once that one day everything changed. That she couldn’t fight her feelings anymore than I could. This is before that day.” (More) ==PC== Terra (More) PILOT: “This is the shuttle. We’re right above you, but we can’t get low enough. Gamma static could fry our nav-controls. Sit tight. We’ll get to you. Just-” (The Doctor scans Cleaves with his sonic screwdriver.) Jimmy: “Hello? Can you hear me?” Amelia: “I can’t find Rory. I’m going out there.” The Doctor: “We could use the sonic to track him. Humans and Gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic needs to tell the difference.” Amelia: “Oh, so the sonic knows Gangers are different. The other Doctor is different.” The Doctor: “He is the Doctor.” Amelia: “Not to me. I can tell.” The Doctor: “Sure you’re not prejudiced?” Amelia: “Nice try, but I know, okay? We’ve been through too much. You’re my Doctor. End of.” (More) Buzzer: “Hey, there’s a camera up. We’ve got a visual.” Amelia: “That’s Rory and Jennifer.” Cleaves: “They’re heading for the thermostatic room.” Amelia: “Let’s go get them.” (The Doctor throws the sonic screwdriver to his counterpart.) Amelia: “Hang on.” Cleaves: “We can’t let him go. Are you crazy?” The Doctor: “Am I crazy, Doctor?” G-Doctor: “Well, you did want to plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet.” Amelia: “He can’t go rescue them. I’m going.” The Doctor: “Do you know, I want him to go. And I’m rather adamant.” Buzzer: “Well then, he’ll need company. Right, boss? It’s fine. I’ll handle it.” G-Doctor: “Thank you, Buzzer. It’ll be alright. I’ll find him.” The Doctor: “Can’t explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him. Can you do that for me, Amy?” Amelia: “And what if you’re wrong?” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “These temperature gauges are rising. Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents.” DICKEN: “Why do that? They’ll kill us.” Cleaves: “There’s a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet.” The Doctor: “And now it’s heating up the whole island. How long till it blows?” (Rumble.) DICKEN: “Gangers or no Gangers, we need to get the hell out of here.” Cleaves: “Shuttle, we need evac. Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you-” (Cleaves is struck by a stabbing headache.) The Doctor: “Cleaves? Cleaves? Cleaves, sit down.” Cleaves: “I’m fine.” (More) Cleaves: “I’m waiting for results, so let it go.” The Doctor: “It’s a very deep parietal clot.” Cleaves: “How can you possibly? Inoperable?” The Doctor: “On Earth, yes.” Cleaves: “Well, seeing as Earth’s all that’s on offer. Hmm. I’m no healthy spring chicken, and you’re no weatherman. Right?” (Big rumble.) Amelia: “Something just cracked. I heard it.” The Doctor: “Yeah, we can’t stay here. Let’s go.” Jimmy: “He’s right. Let’s shift.” Cleaves: “Cleaves to Shuttle. Respond. We need to move, and we can’t be collected from the Evac tower.” PILOT: “Give us the codeword.” Cleaves: “The codeword is-” (Rumble. Bang. Alarms.) The Doctor: “Cleaves? Cleaves, it’s dead. It’s dead. We need to get out of here. We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on. Come on.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Ah. The eyes have it.” Amelia: “Why are they here?” The Doctor: “To accuse us.” Cleaves: “Ignore them. It’s not far.” (More) The Doctor: “It’s a chemical chain reaction now. I can’t stop it. This place is going to blow sky high.” Cleaves: “Exactly how long have we got?” The Doctor: “An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between.” (A klaxon wails.) The Doctor: “Out!” (More) Rory: “Thank God. All right?” Amelia: “Oh, Rory. Oh, Rory.” Rory: “There’s a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt.” Cleaves: “From the crypt? It’s not on the schematics.” Rory: “It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “We can’t leave without Buzzer.” Cleaves: “I’ll go back for him.” Rory: “Er, Doctor, look. I’d better tell you. I haven’t been quite straight with you.” (More) The Doctor: “Rory!” Rory: “Hang on, Jen. We don’t need to lock them up. We should just show them what we’ve found.” G-JENNIFER: “I don’t think so.” The Doctor: “Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!” Amelia: “Rory, What the hell are you playing at?” Rory: “They’ve been throwing away old Flesh and leaving it to rot. Alive. I think the world should see that.” The Doctor: “Rory, there is no time. The factory’s about to explode.” Rory: “Are you sure about this? Because I’m not. Let them out.” G-JENNIFER: “The little girl got strong.” Rory: “What?” G-JENNIFER: “The little girl lost on the moors in her red wellies, looking for a way home? Well, she got strong, Rory. I told you, remember?” Rory: “But that wasn’t. It was the other Jennifer that told me about being a little girl.” G-JENNIFER: “Oh? What other Jennifer?” Rory: “Well, the, the er. Wait, you tricked me? Let me go. I’m opening the door. Let me. I’m sorry!” (Ganger Jennifer drags Rory away.) Amelia: “No!” G-Cleaves: “We have to be free.” Cleaves: “I’m sorry too, Miranda. Of all the humans in the world, you had to pick the one with the clot. But hey, them’s the breaks. Welcome to the human race.” (More) “OF COURSE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!” I screamed. “I can see the differences in them like two sides of a coin! I always have!” “Then why did you lie?” Amy snapped. “You said you couldn’t.” “Because there wasn’t!” I shot back. “The Doctors were both so similar. But one knew so much about me, and couldn’t tell me anything. The other was confused, and scared. He wanted to know why I wasn’t what he remembered. It was messing his head up.” (More) The Doctor: “This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest. Cleaves: “And we can’t stop it?” The Doctor: “Just as a point of interest? No.” (More) Jimmy: “It’ll never hold her.” The Doctor: “If you have a better plan, I’m all ears. In fact, if you have a better plan, I’ll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears.” (More) Cleaves: “The acid’s eating through.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jimmy: “Argh.” G-Jimmy: “Let me through.” The Doctor: “There’s nothing we can do. The acid’s reached his heart.” G-Jimmy: “Hang in there, mate.” Jimmy: “I’m quite handsome from this angle.” G-Jimmy: “I’m sorry. I’m the fake. Adam deserves his real dad.” Jimmy: “Shut up.” G-Jimmy: “What do you want me to do? Anything. Just say.” Jimmy: “The way things are, mate, it’s up to you now. Be a dad. You remember how.” (Jimmy hands over his wedding ring then dies.) The Doctor: “Jimmy Wicks, you’re a dad.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The rescued group enters. Amy and Rory hug. The two Cleaves stare at each other.) Adam: “Daddy, it’s me.” G-Jimmy: “Hey, sunshine. What are you up to?” Adam: “Opening all my presents.” G-Jimmy: “Ha ha, good lad. You have fun today. And remember your dad, he loves you very, very much.” Adam: “When are you coming home?” The Doctor: “Daddy’s coming home today, Adam.” Adam: “Yay.” The Doctor: “Now we need to move.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Run. Run. Run! Ooo, roof’s going to give.” (They get to a security door marked No Humans.) G-DICKEN: “We have to stop her. This door doesn’t lock.” DICKEN: “No, but the far one does.” (Dicken runs back along the passage and struggles with the jammed door as the monster approaches. He finally gets it shut with himself on the wrong side.) DICKEN: “Argh.” G-DICKEN: “No!” G-Doctor: “Here she comes.” (The TARDIS crashes through.) The Doctor: “Oh, she does like to make an entrance.” (He opens the door.) The Doctor: “Everyone move.” G-Doctor: “Go. Go, go, go.” G-Cleaves: “Get on board. Go.” Cleaves: “I’m not leaving.” G-Cleaves: “Go.” Amelia: “Hey, hey. Now’s our chance.” G-Doctor: “I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize.” Amelia: “Oh, don’t be crazy. Okay, what happens to you?” The Doctor: “Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her.” Amelia: “Both of you can survive this, okay? There has to be a way.” The Doctor: “Or perhaps you think I should stay instead? Mister Smith.” Amelia: “No, of course not. But look, this man, I’ve flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you’re not him. I’m sorry.” G-Doctor: “Amy, we swapped shoes.” The Doctor: “I’m the Doctor.” G-Doctor: “And I’m the Flesh.” Amelia: “You can’t be. You’re the real him.” G-Doctor: “No, I’m not, and I haven’t been all along.” Amelia: “What?” The Doctor: “I’m the original Doctor, Amy. We had to know if we were truly the same. It was important, vital we learn about The Flesh, and we could only do that through your eyes.” “Goodbye, Doctor.” I said, hugging the Ganger. “I wasn’t the Doctor.” He murmured. “You are to me.” I whispered. Amelia: “I never thought it possible.” G-Doctor: “What?” Amelia: “You’re twice the man I thought you were.” G-Doctor: “Push, Amy. But only when she tells you to.” Rory: “Amy, come on!” G-Doctor: “Well, my death arrives, I suppose.” The Doctor: “But this one, we’re not invited to.” G-Doctor: “Pardon?” The Doctor: “Nothing. Your molecular memory can survive this, you know. It may not be the end.” (The Doctor throws a sonic screwdriver to his Ganger.) G-Doctor: “Yeah, well, if I turn up to nick all your biscuits, then you’ll know you were right, won’t you.” Amelia: “Doctor! No, please.” G-Doctor: “You too, Cleaves. Off you pop.” G-Cleaves: “I’m staying.” G-Doctor: “This is not the time for grand gestures.” G-Cleaves: “Says the king of grand gestures. This is my factory. I’m not going anywhere.” G-Doctor: “Foreman Miranda Cleaves, marvellous. Beware of imitations.” G-Cleaves: “Clear off out of here, the lot of you.” (The Doctor, Amy and Rory run into the TARDIS to join the others. It dematerializes.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “The energy from the TARDIS will stabilize the Gangers for good. They’re people now.” Cleaves: “And what happens to me? I still have this.” The Doctor: “Ah, that’s not a problem. I have something for that. It’s small and red and tastes like burnt onions. Ha. But it’ll get rid of your blood clot.” (The Doctor throws a small vial to Cleaves, then plucks a red balloon from somewhere.) The Doctor: “Happy endings.” (More) ==PC== (More) G-Jimmy: “Hey! Hello, bud.” Adam: “Daddy, you’re back.” G-Jimmy: “Hello, my boy. How are you doing?” (More) ==PC== (More) Cleaves: “You really want us to do this?” The Doctor: “Your company’s telling the world that the situation is over. You need to get in there and tell them that the situation’s only just begun. Make them understand what they’re doing to the Flesh. Make them stop. Dicken, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don’t hate them, will you?” G-DICKEN: “How can I hate them? I’m one of them now.” The Doctor: “Yeah. And just remember, people died. Don’t let that be in vain. Make what you say in that room count.” Cleaves: “Ready? Side by side.” G-DICKEN: “You got it, boss.” (They open the door on the press conference.) REPORTER: “Have the army dealt with the imposters, sir?” WOMAN: “What sort of threat is there to the public?” Amelia: “You okay?” The Doctor: “I said breathe, Pond. Remember? Well, breathe.” Amelia: “Why?” The Doctor: “Breathe.” (Amy doubles over in pain.) Amelia: “Oh!” Rory: “Whoa.” Amelia: “Oh.” Rory: “What’s wrong with her?” The Doctor: “Get her into the TARDIS.” Amelia: “Oh.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “Doctor! What is happening to her?” The Doctor: “Contractions.” Rory: “Contractions?” “I’m not a doctor, I don’t even play one on TV, but Amelia Pond you’re going into labor.” I said. Amelia: “Did he say? No. No, no. Of course he didn’t. Rory, I don’t like this. Ow.” Rory: “You’re going to have to start explaining some of this to me, Doctor.” The Doctor: “What, the birds and the bees? She’s having a baby. I needed to see the Flesh in its early days. That’s why I scanned it. That’s why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans. Beautiful word, shenanigans.” Amelia: “It hurts.” Rory: “But you’re okay?” The Doctor: “Breathe. I needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh.” Amelia: “What signal?” The Doctor: “The signal to you.” Amelia: “Doctor. Doctor.” The Doctor: “Stand away from her, Rory.” Rory: “Why? No. And why?” The Doctor: “Given what we’ve learned, I’ll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you need to stand away!” Amelia: “No. No. Doctor, I am frightened. I’m properly, properly scared.” The Doctor: “Don’t be. Hold on. We’re coming for you. I swear it. Whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you.” Amelia: “I’m right here.” The Doctor: “No, you’re not. You haven’t been here for a long, long time.” Amelia: “Oh, no.” (More) I bit my lip. “Doctor, whatever happens, just promise me you won’t get mad.” The Doctor looked away from the Flesh puddle. He already looked like a kicked puppy. “What?” “I’m not Flesh.” I said, trying to think of the best way to say this. “You had me tested for that. Just, please, don’t do anything stupid.” “Why?” The Doctor asked, coming up to me. “Why?” “Because...” I reminded myself to hold back. “Because if you’re not, then you might do something you don’t want to.” The Doctor took a gentle grip on my arm. “Terra, what’s wrong?” I shook my head. “Doc, manboy, I won’t be there to help you save Amelia.” His eyes widened. “I am sorry, but things have to happen this way.” He gave me the saddest look I have ever seen on him. “Terra, please tell me you aren’t there.” He pleaded. “Tell me you aren’t with Amelia.” The manipulator activated.
Mummy on the Orient ExpressThe (More) (The TARDIS materialises in a space at the back of the car, amidst racks of suitcases, and the Doctor steps out wearing a black suit with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket and a loose bow tie with very long ends, sort of Western style. He holds out his hand to his companion, a fashionable flapper with jaw-length bobbed hair.) The Doctor: “Your train awaits, my lady. Clara: “Wonderful. The Doctor: “The baggage car. But thanks for lying. The real wonderful is through here. (The train’s bell rings. Music is coming from nearby.) The Doctor: “There were many trains to take the name Orient Express, but only one in space. (More) ==PC== (More) (Comfortable chairs down the side of the carriage, a bar at one end, and armed men standing guard. The band is playing a slow jazz version of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen. The singer is a young lady called Foxes, so that’s what I’ll call her instead of just Singer.) Clara: “Of course it is.” FOXES: “(sings) So don’t stop me now.” The Doctor: “Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail.” (A man with a bald head, big red beard and steampunk eyepatch barges in between them.) FOXES: “(sings) I’m a rocket ship on my way to Mars.” The Doctor: “Most of the time.” (The Doctor rubs his bruised arm.) FOXES: “(sings) On a collision course I am a satellite, I’m out of control. I’m a sex machine ready to reload. Like an atom bomb about to oh, oh, oh.” The Doctor: “You’re doing it again.” Clara: “Doing what?” The Doctor: “The smile.” Clara: “Yeah, I’m smiling.” The Doctor: “It’s the sad smile. It’s a smile but you’re sad. It’s confusing. It’s like two emotions at once. It’s like you’re malfunctioning.” Clara: “Sorry.” FOXES: “(sings) Travelling at the speed of light. Wanna make a supersonic woman of you.” The Doctor: “I just thought this would be a good one to-” Clara: “To end it. Yeah. It is. It’s a good choice. A good one to end on.” The Doctor: “Yeah?” Clara: “Mmm hmm.” The Doctor: “Shall we?” (The maid approaches with a tray of champagne flutes. The Doctor offers Clara his arm.) Clara: “Mmm hmm.” FOXES: “(sings) Gimme a call. Don’t stop me now Don’t stop me.” (An indicator changes from a monocle to a thumbs up with a ting! The onboard computer speaks.) GUS: “Ladies and gentlemen. If you would be good enough to look from the windows on the right of the train, you’ll be able to see the soaring majesty of the Magellan black hole.” The Doctor: “Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast. And there’s that smile again. I don’t even know how you do that.” Clara: “I really thought I hated you, you know?” The Doctor: “Well, thank God you kept that to yourself. There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness.” Clara: “I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks.” The Doctor: “Good, fine. Well, I’m glad that we cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs.” Clara: “I went to a concert once. Can’t remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?” The Doctor: “Frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know.” Clara: “She said, ‘hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don’t like’.” The Doctor: “Were people really confused? Cos I’m confused. Did everybody leave?” Clara: “Shush. Shut up. Look, what I’m trying to say is, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. But I can’t do this any more. Not the way you do it.” The Doctor: “Can I talk about the planets now?” Clara: “Yes. Go.” The Doctor: “Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask.” MAISIE: “That’s a lie.” Clara: “I’m sorry?” MAISIE: “That’s a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn’t have been there.” (The chief train guard comes over. He wears a uniform with two medals, lots of gold frogging and has a gun in a holster.) QUELL: “Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn’t rather rest in your room?” MAISIE: “That man’s a liar.” QUELL: “Perhaps you’d allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back.” (Another uniformed guard.) CARLYLE: “It’ll be all right, miss. Just come with me.” QUELL: “Sorry about that. I suppose it’s understandable in the circumstances. I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. Captain Quell.” Clara: “I’m Clara. This is the Doctor.” QUELL: “Ah, another one.” Clara: “Sorry? Another what?” QUELL: “Well, we’ve got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip. So, what are you a doctor of?” The Doctor: “Now, there’s a question that’s never asked often enough. Let’s say intestinal parasites.” QUELL: “I’m beginning to think Miss Pitt was right about you.” Clara: “What’s wrong with her? Did something happen?” QUELL: “You mean you really don’t know?” (More) ==PC== (More) (They take their champagne out into the corridor to talk.) Clara: “There’s a body and there’s a mummy. I mean, can you not just get on a train? Did a wizard put a curse on you about mini-breaks?” The Doctor: “It might be nothing. Old ladies die all the time. It’s practically their job description.” Clara: “And the monster?” The Doctor: “Well, seen by no one except her, which suggests that it wasn’t there. A dying brain, lack of oxygen, hallucinations. Anyway, people do just die sometimes. She was over a hundred years old.” Clara: “Says the two thousand year old man.” The Doctor: “Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to be a thing. Do you?” Clara: “No. No, look, fine. You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me.” The Doctor: “Are you sure?” Clara: “Ah, yes, I’m sure.” The Doctor: “To our last hurrah.” Clara: “Our last, yeah. I mean, it’s not like I’m never going to see you again.” The Doctor: “Isn’t it?” Clara: “Is it?” The Doctor: “I thought that’s what you wanted.” Clara: “No, what I mean, you’re going to come round for dinner or something, aren’t you? Do you, do you do that? Do you come round to people’s houses for dinner?” The Doctor: “Of course. Why wouldn’t I do that?” Clara: “I don’t know. I thought you might find it boring.” The Doctor: “Is it boring?” Clara: “No.” (She raises her champagne flute.) Clara: “To the last hurrah.” The Doctor: “The last hurrah.” (Clink.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor is lying down on his bed. He flexes his fingers and argues with himself.) The Doctor: “It’s nothing. Nothing. Definitely. Sure. Ninety nine percent sure. Really? Ninety nine percent? That’s quite high. Is that the figure you’re sticking with? Okay, okay. Seventy five. Well, that’s jumped quite a bit. You’ve just lost twenty four percent.” “No, you’ve just officially gone insane.” I laughed. The Doctor looked up at me, a bit startled at my arrival it seemed. “Good thing too. I was about to lose a bet.” (More) “Hello Terra.” The Doctor greeted me. “Hey.” I tried to play it cool, but something about that Scottish accent was driving me nuts. (More) The Doctor grabbed my face in his hands, pulling me to him. Then, he kissed me. Well, I say kissed. It was more like he fucking snogged me. (More) The Doctor’s hands roamed over me. I didn’t know what to do, so I just rolled with it. (More) It was amazing, almost exactly what I think this new body wanted. Until his thumbs worked into my pants. “Stop!” I yelped, jumping out of his velvety hands. My cheeks turning bright red. My hand clamped over my mouth, as if trying to catch the word in my throat. The Doctor stepped back, looking at me with that-Okay. My brain stopped functioning properly from the look he was giving me. Was I drooling? I might be drooling. Way to go, Terra, your first time with Twelve and you humiliate yourself. “What’s wrong? You usually like doing it in public places like this.” My blush spread out on my cheeks, practically burning my hand. Sweet suffering sassafras leaves, was he saying what I think he was? That just made this whole thing better. Don’t get me wrong, something about this body wanted to jump the Doctor any chance she got. It was just that...well...I may be...in certain regards (all of them)...I wasn’t as...experienced shall we say in...that. Oh dear. The blush spread to my ears. “Four.” I squeaked, nervously. “No, no. It was way more than four places.” The Doctor tilted his head. “Hold on. Haven’t you done the one with the-” “This is my fourth jump.” I said. The Doctor’s eyes widened as he realized how he had jumped the gun. Especially by making me want to jump his gun. Wow. Apparently Horny Me can’t come up with good one-liners. “No.” “Yeah.” “No, this can’t have-” “Yeah.” The Doctor was stumped by this bit of knowledge. “That was...” The Doctor dragged on. “That was your first kiss.” I nodded, feeling a blissful smile. “Y-Yeah.” The word came out almost as a sigh. I cleared my throat. “Yeah.” The word came out stronger than the other. He smirked. That damned ‘I’m the Doctor, feel free to be impressed by me’ look. “You enjoyed it, I take it?” He asked, his Scottish accent thick. My stutter got worse. I nodded. “Y-Yeah. Really, really good.” I admitted. My mind wanted to make more words, but I just couldn’t get them to reach my mouth. “Umm...so...why were you talking to yourself on a train?” The Doctor: “Because you know what this sounds like, don’t you? No, do tell me. A mummy that only the victim can see. I was being rhetorical. I know exactly what this sounds like.” (He puts on his jacket and goes out into the corridor. ) (More) “Well then.” He leaned forward. “Want to go investigate this train?” “Thought you would never ask.” I said, feeling my usual self come back into play. ==PC== (More) (Computer screens above a workbench, blueprints on a drafting table. Racks of tools. The Doctor finds a piece of equipment bubbling to itself, and apparently powering up according to the display. He removes the plastic wrapping and scans it with the screwdriver. The Chief Engineer startles him.) Perkins: “Beautiful bit of kit, isn’t it, sir? The Excelsior Life Extender. It’s like driving around in a portable hospital.” (Perkins is holding a heavy piece of metal.) The Doctor: “Yes, well, it didn’t do Mrs Pitt much good, did it?” Perkins: “Got me there, sir. Certainly got me there. Maybe it malfunctioned.” The Doctor: “Oh, I don’t think so. The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive.” Perkins: “Yeah. And almost drained the battery doing it.” The Doctor: “What do you know?” Perkins: “Well, I know that when I find a man fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it’s best to play my cards close to my chest.” The Doctor: “Really? Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same.” Perkins: “Perkins. Chief Engineer.” The Doctor: “The Doctor. Nosey Parker.” Perkins: “(chuckles) Pleased to meet you, Doctor.” (They shake hands.) Perkins: “Course, there’s a rumor that someone or something else might be responsible.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor walks up to a man with a thin moustache who is reading a book, and points at him.) The Doctor: “What’s the most interesting thing about the Foretold?” Moorhouse: “I’m terribly sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.” The Doctor: “You know. The Foretold. Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you’re a dead man.” Moorhouse: “Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be-” The Doctor: “Emil Moorhouse, professor of alien mythology. I’m the Doctor. Pleased to meet you. So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go.” (The Doctor sits down on the other side of Moorhouse’s small table.) Moorhouse: “Er, well, it would have to be the time limit given before it kills you. I can’t think of another myth where it’s so specific. How does it go? Er, The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold’s stare have sixty six seconds to live.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Nice try. Very atmospheric. But that’s not it. Try again.” Moorhouse: “A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information.” The Doctor: “The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago. In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail.” (The Doctor opens the silver cigarette case he has taken from his jacket pocket and offers the Professor a jelly baby.) Moorhouse: “Well, you certainly know a little mythology.” The Doctor: “I know a lot. Because, from time to time, it turns out to be true.” Moorhouse: “But that’s the great appeal, isn’t it? Earth legends are such dry, dusty affairs, and always fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything’s possible. That’s why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster.” The Doctor: “Isn’t that everyone’s dream? But you still haven’t answered my riddle. What’s the most interesting thing about the Foretold?” Moorhouse: “Well, you can’t run from it, that’s for sure. There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it’s always right there behind you.” The Doctor: “Nope. Even colder.” Moorhouse: “All right, I give up, you tell me.” The Doctor: “Mrs Pitt, the old woman who died.” Moorhouse: “She died of old age. Nothing supernatural.” The Doctor: “No. That’s my answer.” Moorhouse: “Her death?” The Doctor: “No. The fact that you were here to witness it.” (There is a commotion behind them.) The Doctor: “Excuse me, Professor.” Quell: “In which carriage?” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “I think we need to talk.” Quell: “This matter does not concern the passengers.” The Doctor: “I’m not a passenger. I’m your worst nightmare.” (The Doctor hands Quell his psychic paper.) Quell: “A mystery shopper. Oh, great.” The Doctor: “Really? That’s your worst? Okay, I’m a mystery shopper. I could do with an extra pillow and I’m very disappointed with your breakfast bar and all of the dying.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Quell gets two glasses and pours drinks. On the wall is a framed Certificate of Bravery awarded to Capt. Hector Quell by United Galaxy Tours. The time on the clock is 11:24) Quell: “This is not exactly within your job description.” The Doctor: “Come on, Captain. Where would we all be if we all followed our job descriptions, hmm? Good question. Glad you asked. In your case, you’d be doing something instead of climbing inside a bottle.” Quell: “I have followed the procedure for accidental death to the letter.” The Doctor: “Yes, I’m sure you have. And I’m sure you do just enough of your job to avoid complaints.” Quell: “You don’t know anything about me.” The Doctor: “Wounded in battle, honorable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you’ve had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I’m sorry. As of today, that dream is over.” Quell: “There is no evidence of any attack or other parties-” The Doctor: “Yes, let’s just sit around and wait for the evidence while the bodies pile up. Or here’s a crazy thought. We could do something to stop it. Why am I even talking to you?” (More) (Perkins is waiting outside with rolls of papers.) Perkins: “Er, passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months.” The Doctor: “Quick work, Perkins. Maybe too quick.” Perkins: “Yes, sir. I’m obviously the mummy. Or perhaps I was already looking into this.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor is timing the recorded attack on Mrs Pitt, as recorded by CCTV, while Moorhouse and Perkins look on.) MRS PITT [on screen]: “No! No! Get it out! Argh!” The Doctor: “Sixty six seconds. It fits the myth. Did you see the lights flicker?” Moorhouse: “Mmm.” Perkins: “Yeah, the lights went in the kitchen as well just before the chef saw it.” Moorhouse: “In all of the accounts, conventional weapons have no effect on the Foretold. It’s immortal, unstoppable, unkillable.” Perkins: “Can we get a new expert?” (The train continues on its way, trailing smoke.) (More) The Doctor gave me a look. “Go to sleep.” He almost ordered. I gave him a quick frown. “Fine, I’ll take a nap, but only because I want to.” The Doctor made a ‘yeah right’ look, then walked over towards he computer. “Terra.” “I’m going, I’m going.” I waved him off, having one last yawn and then fell asleep. ==PC== (More) Clara: “Doctor?” The Doctor: “Wake up sleepy-head. Time for breakfast. Knowing this train, it’ll taste amazing.” Clara: “Doctor, please, I’m in trouble-” The Doctor: “Can’t even get that right, huh?” Clara: “Doctor-” The Doctor: “Bad food on trains is traditional.” Clara: “Doctor, please, just li-” The Doctor: “Listen, there’s been another mummy murder. So our last hurrah-” Clara: “Doc-” The Doctor: “Just became a bit more interesting.” Clara: “I’m trapped!” The Doctor: “What? Where are you?” (Perkins and Moorhouse wake up as the Doctor dashes out.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor hammers on the strong room door.) The Doctor: “Clara! Is that you?” Clara: “Yes. Yes. Hello. Can you hear us?” (The Doctor tries sonicking the lock and gets a shock.) The Doctor: “Ow! Computer, can you open the door, please?” GUS: “Call me Gus. I’m afraid this door can only be opened by executive order.” The Doctor: “Oh. Forget it.” (The Doctor tries scanning the door with the screwdriver. It stutters then stops.) The Doctor: “Oh. Now the stupid sonic.” Clara: “What?” The Doctor: “Screwdriver’s not working.” Clara: “What? What do you mean, it’s not working? Why?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. Some sort of a suppression field, I would guess. And it has to be a guess because, as I say, the stupid sonic screwdriver’s not working. What are you even doing in there?” Clara: “Well, I was looking for you Mister Nothing To Worry About.” The Doctor: “What, was I supposed to waken you up? Drag you out of bed because I had a hunch? I thought you didn’t want to do this any more.” Clara: “Look, look, please, can we just not do this now? I think we might not be alone in here.” (sotto) “There’s a sarcophagus.” The Doctor: “Is it in there?” Clara: “I think we might just be about to find out. Turns out the sonic is working. Just not on the door we need.” (The lights flicker. The clock at the bottom of the screen starts counting down from 66.) The Doctor: “Clara, it’s coming.” (The Doctor is works frantically on the lock.) (Clara walks up to the sarcophagus.) Clara: “Doctor?” (The sarcophagus lid swings fully open.) “Doctor, it’s okay. It’s er, it’s full of bubble wrap.” The Doctor: “But the lights?” Quell: “Doctor, move away from the door.” (Quell points at the Doctor. Two other armed guards are with him, one pointing a gun.) The Doctor: “My friend’s inside.” Quell: “Then they’re in trouble, too. I spoke to Head Office. There is no mystery shopper. You’re not even on the passenger list.” The Doctor: “Clara, I’m going to have to call you back.” Quell: “Come on.” (30 seconds. They handcuff the Doctor.) The Doctor: “You know, I’m going to have to mark you down for this.” Quell: “You are not a mystery shopper. For all I know, you’re the one behind the killings.” The Doctor: “Oh, come on, Captain. How many people have to die before you stop looking the other way?” (More) ==PC== (More) (A guard is shooting at something only he can see.) GUARD: “Get back! Stay back!” (His shots break glasses on tables. Nine seconds.) Quell: “What do you think you’re doing, man?” GUARD: “Please, please! Stop! No!” Quell: “Get up, man. That’s an order!” (The mummy holds the guard’s head, then he falls back. The doctor in the white coat and Edward VII beard checks for a pulse and shakes his head. Moorhouse give Quell the guard’s gun. He hands it off to another guard.) Quell: “It turns out it’s three. The amount of people that had to die before I stopped looking the other way.” (The Doctor is released.) The Doctor: “Thank you.” Perkins: “Same as the others?” (He has appeared suddenly and silently at the Doctor’s elbow.) GUARD: “Excuse me please. Take his feet. Excuse me please.” (The other guards carry their late colleague away.) The Doctor: “Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There’s a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn’t even the strangest thing. Do you know what is? You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I’d pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?” Perkins: “The engines. They’ve stopped.” (In a flurry of electronic activity, the 1920s railway carriage decor is replaced by a high-tech laboratory.) The Doctor: “And the facade drops away because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?” (A large number of people disappear. One of those remaining looks remarkably like Albert Einstein.) Perkins: “Teleporter?” The Doctor: “No. Hard light holograms. They were never really here. Fake passengers to make up the numbers.” (Hard light? Red Dwarf!) Quell: “That was my best guard.” (Ting! The thumbs up icon on a monitor is replaced by a monocle.) GUS: “Good morning, everyone. Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold’s true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn’t this exciting?” The Doctor: “You said capture, implying that you can’t control this thing. And yet somehow you got it on board. How?” GUS: “There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience. For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact.” (A small spotlight turns to illuminate the scroll on the door at the end of the car. It has cuneiform writing on it, which is interesting as that is really marks made in moist clay, not painted on papyrus or fabric.) The Doctor: “And kills at regular intervals.” Quell: “Then just maybe we should throw this thing out in the airlock.” The Doctor: “No! No! No!” (Quell gets an electric shock when he tries to touch the scroll.) Perkins: “Looks like they’ve thought of that.” Moorhouse: “What if we say no? Down tools. Refuse to work.” GUS: “That is your choice, of course. But it would be very upsetting were you all to die at the hands of the Foretold.” Perkins: “So hurry up, before it kills you.” The Doctor: “But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can’t even see? We don’t even know what the species is.” (The light flickers.) The Doctor: “Perkins, start the clock.” Moorhouse: “Approximately one point eight metres tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn’t nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be.” (The mummy drags its left foot as it approaches.) The Doctor: “Oh, dear. Hard cheese. What can you see? Details.” Moorhouse: “Yes. Yes, of course, of course. Uh Well, it just looks like er, a man in bandages. I-” The Doctor: “What kind of bandages? Old? New?” Moorhouse: “Old.” The Doctor: “Whole? Ragged?” Moorhouse: “Ragged. Falling off in places. I don’t know what you want me to tell you.” The Doctor: “Listen to me! You can see this thing. We can’t. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one.” Moorhouse: “The next one? You mean you can’t save me?” The Doctor: “Well, that is implied, isn’t it? Yes, this is probably the end for you. But make it count. Details, please.” Moorhouse: “Er, flesh. Some of it is visible-” Perkins: “Thirty seconds.” Moorhouse: “Er, leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved.” The Doctor: “Keep talking. Don’t waste this chance.” Moorhouse: “I want to bargain for my life.” The Doctor: “W-w-w-what?” Moorhouse: “Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go.” The Doctor: “This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see.” Moorhouse: “This is my life, my death. I’m going to fight for it how I want. Er, I give you-” Perkins: “Ten seconds.” Moorhouse: “My soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods. Only, please, please, please. No!” (The mummy holds Moorhouse’s head, then he falls.) Perkins: “Zero.” GUS: “We apologize for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I’m sure you’ve all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!” Perkins: “It’s recording every death.” The Doctor: “Of course it is. That’s why we’re here. To study our own demise. So let’s get to work. Come on. Chop, chop.” (The Doctor hands out white lab coats. Later, the phone rings. The bald man checks his inside pocket.) (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Clara Oswald.” Clara: “Okay. So, first things first. The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit.” The Doctor: “Yes. It’s where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it.” Clara: “Well, that would have been good to know.” The Doctor: “Sorry. Teeny bit busy round here. What else?” GUS: “Please terminate your call and return to work.” Clara: “We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognized a couple of the names. These are missing ships.” The Doctor: “So, we’re not the first.” Clara: “No.” GUS: “Please terminate your call and return to work.” Clara: “I’ve got some progress reports. The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor.” GUS: “Warning. Decompression imminent. Please vacate the area.” CHEF 2: “No!” Clara: “The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising.” GUS: “Please terminate the call and return to work.” Quell: “I think you should do as it says.” (Because the catering staff and equipment are floating past the window.) The Doctor: “Clara, I have to go.” GUS: “I’m sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you. But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers.” The Doctor: “Less valuable passengers? How does it choose?” Perkins: “Well, I’m assuming qualifications-” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Not the computer, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We’ve assumed it’s random. What if it’s not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal.” GUS: “Well done.” The Doctor: “Don’t mention it.” (More) ==PC== (More) Perkins: “Doesn’t seem to be any pattern. Their travel history, interests, health. It’s all over the shop. Health?” The Doctor: “Health? Are you sure? Mrs Pitt, the first victim. She was over a hundred years old. The frailest passenger on board.” Perkins: “Oh but the next to go, the chef, was young and fit. It’s random.” Quell: “The chef was ill.” The Doctor: “What?” Quell: “A rare blood disorder. Not contagious, but we kept it quiet.” The Doctor: “Because he worked with food. The next one, the guard?” Quell: “He wasn’t ill as such, but he did have synthetic lungs implanted last year.” Perkins: “Professor Moorhouse. It seems he was physically fine but suffering from, here we are. Regular panic attacks after a car crash last year.” The Doctor: “It’s picking off the weakest first. Sensing the illness somehow. The fake organs, even psychological issues. But this is good news, because it means we can work out who is next. I want the medical records of everybody alive who is still on board. If anyone’s had as much as a cold, I want to know about it.” Quell: “You really think it can sense psychological issues?” The Doctor: “It seems so. Why?” Quell: “When you said I’d lost the stomach for a fight, I wasn’t wounded in battle as such, but. My unit was bombed. I was the sole survivor. Not a scratch on me. But post-traumatic stress. Nightmares. Still can’t sleep without pills.” The Doctor: “Which means that you are probably next. Which is good to know.” Quell: “Well, not for me.” The Doctor: “Well, of course not for you, because you’re going to die. But I mean for us, from a research point of view.” Quell: “You know, for a doctor, your bedside manner leaves-” (Lights flicker.) The Doctor: “Well, there’s goes our head start. Perkins, start the clock.” (The mummy appears at the far end of the carriage.) The Doctor: “What can you see?” Quell: “Almost feels out of focus. Gives me a headache just looking at it.” (Quell draws his service weapon.) The Doctor: “Oh no, no, no, no. That didn’t work before.” Quell: “What kind of soldier would I be, dying with bullets in my gun?” (Quell shoots a flask.) Perkins: “Fifty seconds.” Quell: “Someone shut that man up! For the record, it didn’t even flinch.” The Doctor: “Where is it now?” Quell: “Approximately twenty feet in front of me and closing.” Perkins: “Forty seconds.” The Doctor: “Am I close?” (We are treated to the view of the mummy’s outstretched fingers coming out of the Doctor’s eyes before the rest of its bandaged hand passes through his head.) Quell: “It’s passing right through you, like a ghost.” (Perkins is holding out a scanner and reading his tablet.) Perkins: “It’s not a hologram.” The Doctor: “If you move, will it follow?” Quell: “Do you want me to move? Because I can certainly do that.” The Doctor: “Keep looking at it, but back off quick as you like.” Quell: “It’s teleported away. It’s behind me.” Perkins: “Twenty seconds.” Quell: “I think this is it. Still, suppose it’s not a bad way to go. Blood pumping, enemy at the gates and all that. And thank you, Doctor, for waking me up. It’s reaching for me. Hands on my head.” Perkins: “Zero.” Quell: “Ah!” The Doctor: “Teleporter. That means tech. Then sixty six seconds to do what? Sixty six seconds. That seems very, very specific. Too specific for organic. So, what, more tech? What? More? A countdown clock? Something charging?” Perkins: “A man just died in front of us. Can we not just have a moment?” The Doctor: “No. No, no, no. We can’t do that. We can’t mourn. People with guns to their heads, they cannot mourn. We do not have time to mourn. Everybody, what takes sixty six seconds to charge up or to change state? Anyone? Am I surrounded by idiots? If only I could see this thing.” Perkins: “Don’t even joke about that The Doctor: “I’m not joking about it. One minute with me and this thing, it would be over!” Perkins: “You know, Doctor, I can’t tell if you’re a genius or just incredibly arrogant.” The Doctor: “Well, ah, on a good day, I’m both. Ancient tech. This thing has been around for centuries. How? Tech that keeps it alive. Tech that drains energy from the living. Scanner.” (He takes Perkin’s scanner and uses it on Quell’s corpse, then throws it back to Perkins.) The Doctor: “Deep tissue scan. He’s been leached of almost all energy on a cellular level. The heart attack is just a, is just a side effect.” Perkins: “Oh, it’s not just a mummy, it’s a vampire. Metaphorically speaking.” The Doctor: “But why take sixty six seconds to drain us? Why not just pounce?” Perkins: “Phase. Moving energy out of phase. That takes about a minute, doesn’t it?” The Doctor: “That’s why only the victims can see it. It takes them out of phase so it can drain their energy. You, sir, are a genius! This explains everything! Apart from what it is and how it’s doing it. Sorry, I jumped the gun there with the you’re a genius, that explains everything remark.” Perkins: “Doctor, I think we know the next victim.” (Perkins hands the Doctor his tablet.) The Doctor: “Ah, of course. That makes perfect sense.” (More) ==PC== (More) (He phones Clara.) Clara (sotto) “Look, she’s had a bad day. That’s all.” The Doctor: “Clara, it doesn’t care. Her bad day, her bereavement, her little breakdown puts her squarely in its cross hairs. She’s next. Every simulation we’ve run confirms it.” Clara “Okay, but, but we’re in here and, if we stay in here, that thing can’t-” The Doctor: “This thing can teleport. We need her here. Even the computer agrees.” Clara “Okay, so you can save her? Right? The Doctor: “Of course not. Why would you think that? This is another chance to observe it in action.” Clara: “As it kills her.” The Doctor: “Of course, as it kills her. If it happens in there, it’ll be a waste so bring her to us.” Clara: “How? How exactly? She’s never going to agree to this.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t know. Lie to her. Tell her I can save her. Whatever it takes to get her here.” (Perkins watches closely as the Doctor throws down the phone and walks away.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Gus opens the door and lets the women in. The Doctor runs to shake Maisie’s hand.) MAISIE: “Hello, again. I’m Maisie.” The Doctor: “Good for you.” Clara: “We passed the TARDIS on the way here. Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn’t even get in. There was a forcefield around it.” (The Doctor uses Perkins’ scanner on Maisie.) The Doctor: “It’s probably Gus trying to block our escape route.” Clara: “But how does he even know what it is? Cos if he knows what it is, then he knows what you are.” The Doctor: “Well, he has tried to entice me here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even phoned the TARDIS number. Do you know how difficult a number-” Clara: “You knew. You knew this was no relaxing break. You knew this was dangerous.” The Doctor: “I didn’t know. I certainly hoped.” Clara: “Okay, this. You see, this. This is why I’m leaving you. This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again. And now you’ve made me lie. You’ve made me your accomplice.” MAISIE: “What? Sorry? When did you lie? Clara?” Clara: “Maisie, I am, I am so sorry.” (Maisie points at the mummy as the lights flicker.) Perkins: “Do we start the clock?” The Doctor: “Not yet.” (The Doctor stands in front of Maisie and flashes the scanner in her face.) The Doctor: “Focus. Focus. Focus! All of that is your grief, your trauma, your resentment. And now-” (He puts the scanner to his own head and zaps himself.) The Doctor: “It’s mine.” (The mummy growls and vanishes.) MAISIE: “It’s gone.” The Doctor: “No. No, it’s not. Not for me. Cos now it thinks I’m you.” (He throws the scanner onto a table.) The Doctor: “Start the clock.” (to the mummy) “Hello.” (It reaches for him.) The Doctor: “I’m so pleased to finally see you. I’m the Doctor and I will be your victim this evening. Are you my mummy?” I gaped. “Doctor, I can’t exactly make out with you if you die! And none of you mention that again.” “But you can’t hurt me until my time is up. I think. So are there magic words? Is there a way to stop you in your tracks? Oh, you really didn’t like your gran, did you? There’s something visible under the bandages. By the way, you weren’t being paranoid. She really did poison your pony.” MAISIE: “Oh!” The Doctor: “Markings like the ones the scroll. Oh, and your father. Sorry.” MAISIE: “What-” The Doctor: “A tattered piece of cloth attached to a length of wood that you will kill for.” Perkins: “Thirty seconds.” The Doctor: “That doesn’t sound like a scroll. That sounds like a flag! And if that sounds like a flag, if this is a flag, that means that you are a soldier, wounded in a forgotten war thousands of years ago. But they’ve worked on you, haven’t they, son? They’ve filled you full of kit. State of the art phase camouflage, personal teleporter.” Perkins: “Ten seconds.” The Doctor: “And all that tech inside you, it just won’t let you die, will it? It won’t let the war end. It just won’t let you stop until the war is over. We surrender!” Perkins: “Zero.” MAISIE: “(gasps) I can see it again.” (The mummy steps back from the Doctor and lowers its arms.) Clara: “It’s okay. I think we all can.” Perkins: “Do I start the clock?” The Doctor: “No.” (The mummy salutes the Doctor.) The Doctor: “The clock has stopped. You’re relieved, soldier.” (The mummy disintegrates into a pile of dust and old bandages.) Perkins: “Phew. He’s not the only one.” (The Doctor picks up a piece of blue tech with wires from the remains.) Clara: “We were fighting that?” The Doctor: “So was he.” Clara: “Listen, what I said-” The Doctor: “Save it. We’re not out of the woods yet. Well, Gus, I think we solved your little puzzle. Ancient soldier being driven by malfunctioning tech.” GUS: “Thank you so much for your efforts. They are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required.” (The Doctor has sonicked the tech, and now gets another tool from a different table.) The Doctor: “Ah, well, there’s a shocker.” (People clutch their throats, gasping.) GUS: “Air will now be removed from the entire train. We hope you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express.” Clara: “I take it you know a way out?” The Doctor: “My enemy’s enemy is my friend. Especially when he has a built in teleporter.” (Perkins and Maisie pass out.) Clara: “Great! So use it!” The Doctor: “A little more work.” Clara: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Couple of minutes. Max. I’ll give you a shout.” (Clara hits the floor with an unlady-like thud. The Orient Express explodes.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Clara wakes up wrapped in a blanket and lying on another plaid one. The Doctor is back in his dark blue suit sans tie and is scratching at the little visible sand with a stick, doing his Gallifreyan maths. The sky is pink.) The Doctor: “Oh hello, again. Sleep well?” Clara: “Weren’t we just on a train?” The Doctor: “Oh, that was ages ago.” Clara: “And?” The Doctor: “And what? Oh, and we got off the train. Oh, well, the teleporter worked eventually. Beamed everyone into the TARDIS. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking Gus from the TARDIS, find out who set this all up. He really didn’t like that. Set off some fail-safe thing. Blew up the train.” Clara: “Blew up the train?” The Doctor: “Blew up the train. But we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilized planet, which happened to be here.” (View of a city with tall pointed buildings in the background.) The Doctor: “You seemed happy asleep so I just left you.” Clara: “So you saved everyone.” The Doctor: “No, I just saved you and I let everyone else suffocate. Ha, ha, ha.” Clara: “Hmm.” The Doctor: “Yeah, this is just my cover story.” Clara: “So, when you lied to Maisie, when you made me lie to Maisie-” The Doctor: “I couldn’t risk Gus finding out my plan and stopping me.” Clara: “So you were pretending to be heartless.” The Doctor: “Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn’t know if I could save her. I couldn’t save Quell, I couldn’t save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she’d die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes, the only choices we have are bad ones.” The Doctor said. “But we still have to choose.” I rubbed Clara’s back. The woman just sat there with a thoughtful look on her face. (More) “Oh. I forgot.” I held my hand out to her. Clara looked at the hand with a raised brow. “Nice to meet you. I’m Terra.” The woman blinked at me, clearly shocked. She looked down at the outstretched hand, then up at me. “It’s called a handshake.” I teased, though it sounded more like bark. My hand waved. “You’re supposed to grab it.” Clara faintly smiled, taking my hand almost like accepting a challenge. “Clara Oswald.” (More) The manipulator started up.
The Unquiet DeadThe first thing I felt was the wonderful snow, wonderful glorious snow. (More) So, as my old tradition with Christmas carols. “Everyone knows about Rudolph, our fleet footed friend from the north.” I skipped around in the snow, licking some of it up. “Who lights Santa’s way through the darkness as he drives he sleigh back and forth.” In a burst of happiness, I fell back into the snow. I started making a snow angel. Oh, it had just been ages since I saw this much snow. “But there’s someone else we should mention if we want the whole story told.” I sang, giggling like a child as I moved my arms about. “He carried the first gift of Christmas, more precious than diamonds or gold.” I stood up, briefly looking at my snow angel before starting on the next one. The TARDIS noise started, just around the corner. I didn’t dare stop making a singing, but I did start making some snowballs. Snow angels could wait, a surprise attack could not. “Nestor was a donkey who seldom laughed or played cause no one ever used him in the stable where he stayed.” I sang, phasing about three snow balls already. The TARDIS noise was slowing down, so I didn’t have much longer. Oh, I love today. “And all the camels tease him, the other donkeys too. They said ‘look at little Nestor, there’s nothing he can do’.” Despite the somewhat sad song, I was smiling bright. “‘Look at little Nestor, his ears hang down to his knees. When he looks at his reflection, his ears are all he sees.’” The sound stopped, telling me it was time to hide. “Nestor’s heart was broken and his eyes were full of tears, if only there was something he could do about his ears.” I sang, hiding in an alleyway with my amo. Then, I heard it. That deep, deep voice that could only belong to the Ninth Doctor. “Ready for this?” Not even a little bit. Holy shit, Nine. Back Home Nine did make me have the occasional private moment, but based on my last two days I had a feeling Terra would jump his leather clad body as life support. He would be sarcastic, which I would adore. It would be exactly like those memes described, if Nine traveled with Donna, nothing would get done. The two of us would probably just be exchanging witty banter for days on end. It would be hilarious, don’t get me wrong, but I could be a big distraction when I wanted to be. There would be extreme moments of anger, from both parties let’s be honest. I know I would end up getting pissed at him with the reapers on Father’s Day after that fight with Rose. It had been way too harsh of him, in my opinion. Holy crap. The driving. I could make fun of his driving! Sweet Merciful Storyline, thank you. “Here we go.” The Doctor said. “History.” Leaning back, I prepared my bait. “One dark night two strangers gave Nestor a surprise.” I sang, feeling like a siren bringing sailors to the rocks. The Doctor and Rose took the bait. I could hear their footfalls in the snow. My first snowball was in my hand, with the other ready to be grabbed in my over hand. “They chose him from all the others for they loved his gentle eyes.” “Is that what I think it is?” Rose’s voice asked, piercing through the somewhat silent night. There was a small pause from the Doctor. “Could be.” “A man was called by Joseph, and Mary was his bride. She needed help to Bethlehem and Nestor’s back to ride.” Soon, I saw the two walking by. My eyes widened as I had the absolute best view of 1869. Rose was wearing a dress, it had a deep red skirt, billowing in the cold air, and a black corset which clung to her chest. A black cape was tied around her neck, as well as a black feather tied to her blonde bun. The Doctor, that leather clad Doctor. The black leather jacket hung over his body, hiding it from me. His black shirt, however, clung in all the right ways. Those black pants of his weren’t doing me any favors either. “Where is she?” Rose asked. Then came the faces. Rose had those shiny brown eyes, smooth white skin without freckle or blemish. Her dirty blonde hair held back into a bun. She had painted her lips pink, a similar shade to her dress. The Doctor had very set in features. The big nose, the bigger ears, those lips in a look of pure befuddlement. His eyebrows were scrunched up, like he was thinking about something important. He had thin brown hair, almost a buzz cut. He moved too fast for me to see his eyes. The blue eyes, the only ones I haven’t seen. “Knowing her, it would be the biggest place here.” The Doctor said. Time to see the eyes. “Bonsai!” I shouted, leaping out into the street to pelt them with snowballs. The Doctor and Rose turned towards me, startled. I began pelting them with snowballs, faster than they could defend themselves. The funniest part was the noise the Doctor shouted as I pelted him. It was a cross between an angry shout and a scared yelp. Once they realized it was me, I started to shake in a fit of laughter. I wished I had a camera to get a look at their faces! Rose looked furious, guess she didn’t like snowball fights. The Doctor was looking at me with confusion, like of all the things I could do it was throw snowballs. I smiled at them, tossing another snowball in the air. “Such a lovely night for a dance in the snow, no?” The ball was tossed between my two hands. Rose was still gaping at me. “Terra?” I forced proud smirk. “Ah. My reputation precedes me. Just what I needed, I was really hoping to meet people in order.” My posture changed from to a much more chill one. Hand on my hip, head lolled to the side, the whole shebang. “Who am I meeting this time?” Rose seemed a bit surprised by my attitude, if not slightly offended. “Rose Tyler.” My response was a head nod. “Rosita Tyler. Nice name. Like it.” I turned to the Doctor, giving him a once over. “Which Doc are you?” He was still staring at me, surprised. A apart of me was worried. This wasn’t his first day seeing me was it? No. Rose said my name. Did something happen to me on the space station? Was I dead? No. Rose wasn’t that surprised to see me. “You look beautiful.” The Doctor suddenly said. My jaw dropped. Oh. Wow. This explains why Ten was stuttering after seeing me in this dress. “Shut up.” The blue eyes were looking at me. In those eyes, I saw how old he was. Nine hundred years of pain in those eyes, the pain of being completely alone in the universe. He thought I was pretty? This guy, who had lost so much been through so much, thought I looked pretty? “You are.” He said. “Considering.” The Doctor covered his earlier sentence. My jaw picked itself up. Right. I was just a human. I wasn’t overly beautiful. He had only known me, what, a day? Plus, I was competing with Rose in the looks department. Rose, Sara Jane, Leela, any of the Romana’s. These were lines I had learned by heart. It was a scene I watched with a giddy smile, watching him try not to fall in love with Rose Tyler. Now that it was happening to me, I didn’t know how to feel. “Think your next words carefully.” I said under my breath. I forcefully smiled at him. “Considering what?” The Doctor didn’t heed my warning. “Considering you’re human.” That did it. “Yeah.” It reminded me of all the others who said I was lesser. They were the people who called me a freak, or a weirdo, or kept me out of all the reindeer games. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make small of it. Making horrid jokes is my way of coping. Funny thing was, I wasn’t even human. A part of me wanted to tell him that, but was scared of the negative response he would give. “I guess that’s as good as it gets.” I sighed. “Which Doc are you?” I repeated my earlier question. Gosh, two hundred and fifty and I still had low self esteem. What the fuck? You’d think after becoming a mom it would go away, but if anything I think it got worse after that. “Ninth.” He took a step closer. My eyebrows queued as he did. It gave me a better look at his rather handsome face. “What number are you on?” The Doctor asked, slowly. “6.” I answered. “Nice to know you catch on so quick. It’ll save me time training you.” The Doctor glanced down at the snowball still in my hand. “Snowballs?” I nodded. The ball in my hand got tossed in the air, caught in my other hand. “Nothing says snow day like a snowball fight.” “How did you know it was me?” The Doctor asked. My head motioned in the direction of the TARDIS. “Like a neon sign, she is.” I said. “Seriously, why does she make that sound? I’ve asked you and you never said.” The Doctor ignored my question, though hesitant. He instead went to look out at the Cardiff street. “Where did you get that dress?” The Doctor said, avoiding my question. “Future you.” I shot back. “He said I was going into the past, so I needed the right dress.” Rose walked up to me, seemingly nervous. “Yes?” I said, a bit condescending. Apparently, I did not like Rose Tyler. Don’t know why, she was a perfectly good girl who would take the Doctor’s hea- Oh. That’s why. Terra has a crush on the Doctor, and is apparently very jealous. Lovely. Never been possessive before. This would be fun. Also, sad. I was really hoping Rose and I would get along. Maybe if she proved she wasn’t after the Doctor I would come to like her. Once she established no sort of romantic feelings would I welcome friendship. An image of all four of the Doctor’s I’ve met flashed in my mind’s eyes. They were all grinning at me, all in my favorite outfit of their’s, and I bit my lip in appreciation. Rose apparently had been speaking. “Sorry?” I said. Rose sighed. “I was asking you if you were alright.” I shrugged. “I’m okay. Why’re you askin’?” The blonde paused, as if saying something she shouldn’t have. “No reason. Just...asking.” Okay. Game time. The episode just before this was End of the World. The Doctor takes Rose to the space station to see Earth explode. Had something happened to make Rose concerned? I knew too little to figure it out. “Yeah.” I nodded my head in disbelief. “Sure.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “I got the flight a bit wrong.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “It’s not 1860, it’s 1869.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “And it’s not Naples.” Rose: “I don’t care.” The Doctor: “It’s Cardiff.” (That stops Rose in her tracks.) Rose: “Right.” (The Doctor and Rose hear the screams.) The Doctor: “That’s more like it!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Fantastic.” (The corpse collapses.) The Doctor: “Did you see where it came from?” Charles: “Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you’re satisfied, sir!” (Sneed and Gwyneth pick up the corpse.) Rose: “Oi! Leave her alone! Doctor, I’ll get them.” The Doctor: “Be careful! Did it say anything? Can it speak? I’m the Doctor, by the way.” Charles: “Doctor? You look more like a navvie.” The Doctor: “What’s wrong with this jumper?” (More) (The blue entity flies into a gas light.) The Doctor: “Gas! It’s made of gas.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Rose!” Charles: “You’re not escaping me, sir. What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?” The Doctor: “Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks. Oi, you! Follow that hearse!” (The Doctor gets into a nearby carriage.) The driver: “I can’t do that, sir.” The Doctor: “Why not?” Charles “I’ll tell you why not. I’ll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach.” The Doctor: “Well, get in, then. Move!” (More) (The driver cracks the whip and the carriage moves down the street.) The Doctor: “Come on, you’re losing them.” The driver: “Everything in order, Mister Dickens?” Charles “No! It is not!” The Doctor: “What did he say?” Charles “Let me say this first. I’m not without a sense of humor.” The Doctor: “Dickens?” Charles “Yes.” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens?” Charles “Yes.” The Doctor: “The Charles Dickens?” The driver: “Should I remove the gentleman, sir?” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens? You’re brilliant, you are. Completely one hundred percent brilliant. I’ve read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what’s the other one, the one with the ghost?” Charles “A Christmas Carol?” The Doctor: “No, no, no, the one with the trains. The Signal Man, that’s it. Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You’re a genius.” The driver: “You want me to get rid of him, sir?” Charles “Er, no, I think he can stay.” The Doctor: “Honestly, Charles. Can I call you Charles? I’m such a big fan.” Charles “A what? A big what?” The Doctor: “Fan. Number one fan, that’s me.” Charles “How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?” The Doctor: “No, it means fanatic, devoted to. Mind you, I’ve got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what’s that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it’s rubbish, that bit.” Charles “I thought you said you were my fan.” The Doctor: “Ah, well, if you can’t take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up. No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!” Charles “Who exactly is in that hearse?” The Doctor: “My friend. She’s only nineteen. It’s my fault. She’s in my care, and now she’s in danger.” Charles “Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!” The driver: “Yes, sir!” The Doctor: “Attaboy, Charlie.” Charles “Nobody calls me Charlie.” The Doctor: “The ladies do.” Charles “How do you know that?” The Doctor: “I told you, I’m your number one-” Charles “Number one fan.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “I’m sorry, sir. We’re closed.” Charles “Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don’t die on schedule. I demand to see your master.” Gwyneth: “He’s not in, sir.” Charles “Don’t lie to me, child. Summon him at once.” Gwyneth: “I’m awfully sorry, Mister Dickens, but the master’s indisposed.” (A gas lamp flares.) The Doctor: “Having trouble with your gas?” Charles “What the Shakespeare is going on?” (The Doctor goes past Gwyneth to the flaring gas lamp.) Gwyneth: “You’re not allowed inside, sir.” The Doctor: “There’s something inside the walls.” (Mrs Redpath reanimates in her coffin.) The Doctor: “The gas pipes. Something’s living inside the gas.” Rose: “Let me out! Open the door!” The Doctor: “That’s her.” Rose: “Please, please, let me out!” (The Doctor runs down the corridor and into Sneed.) Sneed: “How dare you, sir. (to Dickens.) This is my house!” Charles “Shut up.” Sneed: “(to Gwyneth)I told you.” Rose: “Let me out! Somebody open the door! Open the door!” (Redpath grabs Rose. The Doctor kicks the door in.) The Doctor: “I think this is my dance.” (The Doctor pulls Rose away from Redpath.) Charles “It’s a prank. It must be. We’re under some mesmeric influence.” The Doctor: “No, we’re not. The dead are walking. Hi.” Rose: “Hi. Who’s your friend?” The Doctor: “Charles Dickens.” Rose: “Okay.” The Doctor: “My name’s the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?” (Redpath replies with several voices.) REDPATH: “Failing. Open the rift. We’re dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us. Argh!” (More) ==PC== (More) “The snow’s piled up outside the door. The weatherman says it’s best to stay inside tonight. The mercury’s falling, the streets lights are shivering. You know to let you go wouldn’t be right.” I sang, bobbing my head along with the music playing in my head. “It’s the last week of December, so let’s wait out this snow together.” Rose: “First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don’t think I didn’t feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man.” Sneed: “I won’t be spoken to like this!” Rose: “Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain’t enough, you swan off and leave me to die! So come on, talk!” Sneed: “It’s not my fault. It’s this house. It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs, the er, dear departed started getting restless.” Charles “Tommyrot.” Sneed: “You witnessed it. Can’t keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it’s the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps.” (Gwyneth places the Doctor’s cup on the mantelpiece beside him.) Gwyneth: “Two sugars, sir, just how you like it.” She handed me the other cup. “Five sugars, though that’s very bad for you.” Sneed: “One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned.” Charles “Morbid fancy.” The Doctor: “Oh, Charles, you were there.” Charles “I saw nothing but an illusion.” The Doctor: “If you’re going to deny it, don’t waste my time. Just shut up. What about the gas?” Sneed: “That’s new, sir. Never seen anything like that.” The Doctor: “Means it’s getting stronger, the rift’s getting wider and something’s sneaking through.” Rose: “What’s the rift?” The Doctor: “A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That’s the cause of ghost stories, most of the time.” Sneed: “That’s how I got the house so cheap. Stories going back generations.” (Dickens slams the door as he leaves.) Sneed: “Echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it’s been good for business. Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like mine.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “Please, miss, you shouldn’t be helping. It’s not right.” Rose: “Don’t be daft. Sneed works you to death. How much do you get paid?” Gwyneth: “Eight pound a year, miss.” Rose: “How much?” Gwyneth: “I know. I would’ve been happy with six.” Rose: “So, did you go to school or what?” Gwyneth: “Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper.” Rose: “What, once a week?” Gwyneth: “We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second.” Rose: “Me too.” Gwyneth: “Don’t tell anyone, but one week, I didn’t go and ran on the heath all on my own.” Rose: “I did plenty of that. I used to go down the shops with my mate Shareen. We used to go and look at boys.” Gwyneth: “Well, I don’t know much about that, miss.” Rose: “Come on, times haven’t changed that much. I bet you’ve done the same.” Gwyneth: “I don’t think so, miss.” Rose: “Gwyneth, you can tell me. I bet you’ve got your eye on someone.” Gwyneth: “I suppose. There is one lad. The butcher’s boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him.” Rose: “I like a nice smile. Good smile, nice bum.” “Yes.” I sighed. “I like ‘um with a deep voice. Something about him talking to you.” Gwyneth: “Well, I have never heard the like.” Rose: “Ask him out. Give him a cup of tea or something, that’s a start.” Gwyneth: “I swear it is the strangest thing, miss. You’ve got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing.” Rose: “Maybe I am. Maybe that’s a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mister Sneed.” Gwyneth: “Oh, now that’s not fair. He’s not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to me to take me in because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve.” Rose: “Oh, I’m sorry.” Gwyneth: “Thank you, miss. But I’ll be with them again, one day, sitting with them in paradise. I shall be so blessed. They’re waiting for me. Maybe your dad’s up there waiting for you too, miss.” Rose: “Maybe. Er, who told you he was dead?” Gwyneth: “I don’t know. Must have been the Doctor.” Rose: “My father died years back.” Gwyneth: “But you’ve been thinking about him lately more than ever.” Rose: “I suppose so. How do you know all this?” Gwyneth: “Mister Sneed says I think too much. I’m all alone down here. I bet you’ve got dozens of servants, haven’t you, miss?” Rose: “No, no servants where I’m from.” Gwyneth: “And you’ve come such a long way.” Rose: “What makes you think so?” “You, you have traveled the farthest.” Gwen spoke. Gwyneth: “You’re from London. I’ve seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about half naked, for shame. And the noise, and the metal boxes racing past, and the birds in the sky, no, they’re metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People are flying. And you, you’ve flown so far.” She shuddered, turning to me. “Oh, but you especially ma’am. Further than anyone. The things you’ve seen, the things you’ve done, the things you will do. The darkness, the silence, the fields, the tiger, the big bad wolf. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, miss.” Rose: “It’s alright.” Gwyneth: “I can’t help it. Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said I had the sight. She told me to hide it.” The Doctor: “But it’s getting stronger, more powerful, is that right?” Gwyneth: “All the time, sir. Every night, voices in my head.” The Doctor: “You grew up on top of the rift. You’re part of it. You’re the key.” Gwyneth: “I’ve tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts.” The Doctor: “Well, that should help. You can show us what to do.” Gwyneth: “What to do where, sir?” The Doctor: “We’re going to have a séance.” (More) ==PC== (More) Gwyneth: “This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands.” Charles “I can’t take part in this.” The Doctor: “Humbug? Come on, open mind.” Charles “This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing.” The Doctor: “Now, don’t antagonise her. I love a happy medium.” Rose: “I can’t believe you just said that.” The Doctor: “Come on, we might need you.” (Dickens sits down between Rose and Gwyneth.) The Doctor: “Good man. Now, Gwyneth, reach out.” Gwyneth: “Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden.” (The whispering starts.) Rose: “Can you hear that?” Charles “Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly.” Rose: “Look at her.” Gwyneth: “I see them. I feel them.” (Gas tendrils drift above their heads.) Rose: “What’s it saying?” The Doctor: “They can’t get through the rift. Gwyneth, it’s not controlling you, you’re controlling it. Now, look deep. Allow them through. “ Gwyneth: “I can’t!” The Doctor: “Yes, you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link.” Gwyneth: “Yes.” (Blue outlines of people appear behind Gwyneth.) Sneed: “Great God! Spirits from the other side.” The Doctor: “The other side of the universe.” (The figures speak with two children’s voices, and Gwyneth speaks with them.) The Gelth “Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us.” The Doctor: “What do you want us to do?” The Gelth “The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge.” The Doctor: “What for?” The Gelth “We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction.” The Doctor: “Why, what happened?” The Gelth “Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came.” Charles “War? What war?” The Gelth “The Time War. The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We’re trapped in this gaseous state.” The Doctor: “So that’s why you need the corpses.” The Gelth “We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They’re going to waste. Give them to us.” Rose: “But we can’t.” The Doctor: “Why not?” Rose: “It’s not. I mean, it’s not-” The Doctor: “Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives.” The Gelth “Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We’re dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth.” (The Gelth go back into the gas lamps and Gwyneth collapses across the table.) Rose: “Gwyneth?” Charles “All true.” Rose: “Are you okay?” Charles “It’s all true.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rose: “It’s all right. You just sleep.” Gwyneth: “But my angels, miss. They came, didn’t they? They need me?” The Doctor: “They do need you, Gwyneth. You’re their only chance of survival.” Rose: “I’ve told you, leave her alone. She’s exhausted and she’s not fighting your battles. Drink this.” Sneed: “Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?” The Doctor: “Aliens.” Sneed: “Like foreigners, you mean?” The Doctor: “Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there.” Sneed: “Brecon?” The Doctor: “Close. And they’ve been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road’s blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they’re weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes.” Charles “Which is why they need the girl.” Rose: “They’re not having her.” The Doctor: “But she can help. Living on the rift, she’s become part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through.” Charles “Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers.” The Doctor: “Good system. It might work.” Rose: “You can’t let them run around inside of dead people.” The Doctor: “Why not? It’s like recycling.” Rose: “Seriously though, you can’t.” The Doctor: “Seriously though, I can.” Rose: “It’s just wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them even in death.” The Doctor: “Do you carry a donor card?” Rose: “That’s different. That’s-” The Doctor: “It is different, yeah. It’s a different morality. Get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time’s short. I can’t worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying.” “Doctor, do you have any family?” I asked him, trying to sound curt and angry. The Doctor gave me an angry look, it was sad in his eyes. He did have family, but they died. All of his family was dead. “What’s that got to do with anything?” “How would you feel if they came back?” I asked him. “But, they weren’t really your family? The person in that body had no idea who you even were?” The Doctor flinched back. He hadn’t thought of it that way before. “You’re asking for us to bring back the dead, so their bodies can be used as puppets.” I snapped. “And from what we saw with the old lady and Charlie, they still have some of the original human inside. We’re trapping thousands of humans with aliens, because you want us to.” “Now, there is also the problem with the bodies.” I went on. “Say we give them what they want. Once people are alright with the dead coming back, and that they aren’t really dead relatives, the bodies could start to decay. Who knows how long the Gelth could keep them together, or if they even can. This doesn’t even begin to cover land disputes, resources, basic human rights.” As my explanation went on, you could see the surprised looks on everyone’s faces. They never thought of these little things. How could they? They were all probably still in shock over the Gelth coming up. “It’s only a matter of time before wars are fought. People start treating the Gelth as lessers, things instead of people.” I explained. “Wars have already been started by this time because people were being treated as less than human. Putting aliens in the mix? I don’t like our odds.” Gwyneth: “Don’t I get a say, miss?” “Of course you do.” I said. “I just don’t want you to do something for someone else’s war.” Rose: “Look, you don’t understand what’s going on.” Gwyneth: “You would say that, miss, because that’s very clear inside your head, that you think I’m stupid.” Rose: “That’s not fair.” Gwyneth: “It’s true, though. Things might be very different where you’re from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me. Doctor, what do I have to do?” The Doctor: “You don’t have to do anything.” Gwyneth: “They’ve been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mam on a holy mission. So tell me.” The Doctor: “We need to find the rift. This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that’s weaker than any other. Mister Sneed, what’s the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?” Sneed: “That would be the morgue.” Rose: “No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Urgh. Talk about Bleak House.” I was smiling like an idiot. Rose stared at me like I was insane. “Why’re you so happy?” “Inside joke.” I snickered. “Morgues.” Rose: “The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don’t succeed, ‘cos I know they don’t. I know for a fact there weren’t corpses walking around in 1869.” The Doctor: “Time’s in flux, changing every second. Your cozy little world can be rewritten like that. Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing.” Charles “Doctor, I think the room is getting colder.” Rose: “Here they come.” (A Gelth comes out of a gas lamp by the door and stands under a stone archway.) The Gelth “You’ve come to help. Praise the Doctor. Praise him.” Rose: “Promise you won’t hurt her.” The Gelth “Hurry! Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth.” The Doctor: “I’ll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn’t a permanent solution, all right?” Gwyneth: “My angels. I can help them live.” The Doctor: “Okay, where’s the weak point?” The Gelth “Here, beneath the arch.” Gwyneth: “Beneath the arch.” (Gwyneth stands under the arch, inside the Gelth.) Rose: “You don’t have to do this.” Gwyneth: “My angels.” The Gelth “Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through!” Gwyneth: “Yes, I can see you. I can see you. Come!” The Gelth “Bridgehead establishing.” Gwyneth: “Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls!” The Gelth “It is begun. The bridge is made.” (Gwyneth opens her mouth, and blue gas comes out.) The Gelth “She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend.” (The sweet blue apparition turns flame red with sharp teeth. It’s voice deepens and hardens.) The Gelth “The Gelth will come through in force.” Charles “You said that you were few in number.” The Gelth “A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses.” (The dead get up.) Sneed: “Gwyneth, stop this. Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you-” Rose: “Mister Sneed, get back!” (A corpse grabs Sneed and snaps his neck. A Gelth zooms into his mouth.) The Doctor: “I think it’s gone a little bit wrong.” Sneed: “I have joined the legions of the Gelth. Come, march with us.” Charles “No.” The Gelth “We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead.” The Doctor: “Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back now!” The Gelth “Three more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth.” (Dead Sneed backs Rose and the Doctor up against a metal gate.) Charles “Doctor, I can’t. I’m sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me. I’m so-” (The Doctor and Rose hide behind the metal gate, where the corpses cannot reach them.) The Gelth “Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives for the Gelth.” The Doctor: “I trusted you. I pitied you!” The Gelth “We don’t want your pity. We want this world and all it’s flesh.” The Doctor: “Not while I’m alive.” The Gelth “Then live no more.” (Dickens runs out of the house, but blue gas seeps out round the door. He runs down the street, chased by a Gelph.) Rose: “But I can’t die. Tell me I can’t. I haven’t even been born yet. It’s impossible for me to die. Isn’t it?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry.” Rose: “But it’s 1869. How can I die now?” The Doctor: “Time isn’t a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it’s all my fault. I brought you here.” Rose: “It’s not your fault. I wanted to come.” The Doctor: “What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I’m going to die in a dungeon in Cardiff.” Rose: “It’s not just dying. We’ll become one of them.” (Dickens runs back into Sneed’s house and turns the gas lamps off then on again. He holds a handkerchief to his mouth to try and stop himself choking on the unlit town gas as he goes.) Rose: “We’ll go down fighting, yeah?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Rose: “Together?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” (They hold hands.) The Doctor: “I’m so glad I met you.” Rose: “Me too.” “He said ‘what the Shakespeare’.” I laughed. (Dickens runs in.) Charles “Doctor! Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!” The Doctor: “What’re you doing?” Charles “Turn it all on. Flood the place!” The Doctor: “Brilliant. Gas.” Rose: “What, so we choke to death instead?” Charles “Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous.” The Doctor: “Fill the room with gas, it’ll draw them out of the host. Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!” (The corpses leave the Doctor and Rose, and start shambling towards Dickens.) Charles “I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately.” The Doctor: “Plenty more!” (The Doctor rips a gas pipe from the wall. The Gelphs leave the corpses.) Charles “It’s working.” (The Doctor and Rose come out of the alcove.) The Doctor: “Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They’re not angels.” Gwyneth: “Liars?” The Doctor: “Look at me. If your mother and father could look down and see this, they’d tell you the same. They’d give you the strength. Now send them back!” Rose: “I can’t breathe.” The Doctor: “Charles, get her out.” Rose: “I’m not leaving her.” Gwyneth: “They’re too strong.” The Doctor: “Remember that world you saw? Rose’s world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift.” Gwyneth: “I can’t send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out.” (Gwyneth takes a box of matches from her apron pocket.) Rose: “You can’t!” Gwyneth: “Leave this place!” The Doctor: “Rose, get out. Go now. I won’t leave her while she’s still in danger. Now go!” (Rose and Dickens leave.) The Doctor: “Come on, leave give that to me.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Right then, Charlie boy, I’ve just got to go into my, er, shed. Won’t be long.” Rose: “What are you going to do now?” Charles “I shall take the mail coach back to London, quite literally post-haste. This is no time for me to be on my own. I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I’ve learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital.” The Doctor: “You’ve cheered up.” Charles “Exceedingly! This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I’ve just started. All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I’m inspired. I must write about them.” Rose: “Do you think that’s wise?” Charles “I shall be subtle at first. The Mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy’s uncle. Perhaps he was not of this Earth. The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Blue Elementals. I can spread the word, tell the truth.” The Doctor: “Good luck with it. Nice to meet you. Fantastic.” Rose: “Bye, then, and thanks.” (Rose shakes Dickens’ hand then kisses his cheek.) Charles “Oh, my dear. How modern. Thank you, but, I don’t understand. In what way is this goodbye? Where are you going?” The Doctor: “You’ll see. In the shed.” Charles “Upon my soul, Doctor, it’s one riddle after another with you. But after all these revelations, there’s one mystery you still haven’t explained. Answer me this. Who are you?” The Doctor: “Just a friend passing through.” Charles “But you have such knowledge of future times. I don’t wish to impose on you, but I must ask you. My books. Doctor, do they last?” The Doctor: “Oh, yes!” Charles “For how long?” The Doctor: “Forever. Right. Shed. Come on, Rose.” Charles “In the box? Both of you?” The Doctor: “Down boy. See you.” (More) Rose: “Doesn’t that change history if he writes about blue ghosts?” The Doctor: “In a week’s time it’s 1870, and that’s the year he dies. Sorry. He’ll never get to tell his story.” Rose: “Oh, no. He was so nice.” The Doctor: “But in your time, he was already dead. We’ve brought him back to life, and he’s more alive now than he’s ever been, old Charlie boy. Let’s give him one last surprise.” (More) (More)
Town Called MercyThe (More) “Gunslinger.” I gaped at the man. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) “You’re hurt!” Jex said. “No duh, Sherlock.” I hissed. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) My head shot up. “Doc!” (More) “Can I do the shouty thing?” (A mustachioed man fires a shot in the air. Ben Browder, everyone.) Terra: “Doctor!” I shouted, sounding a little too close to a drill sergeant. The Western accent I used certainly made me sound more stern. The Doctor turned sharply, suddenly smiling widely once he found me. “You drag your tweed covered body over that line before Ah drag ya by the bowtie!” “Hey! This is private business!” The man who started all of this shouted. Isaac walked up to my side, pulling back his coat to reveal the Marshall badge to the Brits. “She’s with me.” Isaac said, before looking towards the Doctor. “Get over that line. Now.” (The Doctor steps over the rocks and wood, and the Cyborg stops then vanishes.) “This that fella you was talkin’ about?” Isaac asked me. I crossed my arms, glaring his direction. “Believe me, he gets worse.” WALTER: “Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor.” Isaac: “That a reason to hand him to his death?” WALTER: “Isaac, it could be him.” Isaac: “You know it ain’t.” (Isaac walks back down the street, nodding to Amy.) Isaac: “Ma’am.” Amelia looked at my shirt, for the first time, then cracked a smile. “Nice shirt.” I nervously smiled, feeling a bit weird wearing it now. “Shut up.” It was a TARDIS blue shirt, with the saying ‘KEEP CALM’ in bold white words. The rest of the saying said ‘AND WAIT FOR A MAD MAN WITH A BOX’. “Oh, really?” Amelia said, starting to laugh. “It worked, didn’t it?” I said. “I kept calm, and waited for m- a madman.” I almost said ’my madman’. The Doctor wasn’t Mine. WALTER: “Just letting him go like that? Be seeing you, boy.” “Nurse boy!” I shouted, wincing in pain. Rory looked back to me, eyes widening. “Terra? When did you get here?” “An hour ago.” I stumbled a bit, my broken foot dragging behind me. “Doctor!” I shouted louder, off towards the town line. The Time Lord turned to me, smiling. “Terra!” His smile shook when he saw my shaky leg. “What happened?” “Nothing. Just tripped.” I shrugged, still in pain over my leg. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor moved his glowing hand near my ankle. I smacked it away. “You keep that regeneratin’ hand ‘way from me.” My country accent came out, strongly. The Doctor looked me in the eyes, and I saw the silent plea. He didn’t want me hurt, it was even worse when I technically got hurt running away from him after he said he loved me. He just felt guilty, neither more nor less. Even with the guilt trip, I shook my head. Those were years he was giving me, his years. I don’t want to walk around knowing Eleven gave up however many days of his life. “Ah don’t want ya wastin’ yer days on a broken ankle. Ah’ll be fine.” The Doctor didn’t let up. “I won’t be wasting them. I’m giving them to you.” He said. I sighed. The Doctor had a way of making it sound like something small, like giving me a flower. These were years, energy he would need in Trenzalore. Then a sad thought crossed my mind, that every day he gave me was a day he didn’t spend in a long war. Tasha Lem brought Clara to Trenzalore because the Doctor was about to die. So I guess, it wasn’t that bad. Plus, he looked so sad with those puppy dog eyes. ‘Story damn my golden heart.’ I inwardly cursed. “Doc.” I sighed. He smirked. “Ah hate when ya do that, but get it over with.” (More) The Doctor: “What was that outside? Isaac: “The Gunslinger. Showed up three weeks back. We’ve been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town’s going to starve to death. Rory: “But you let us in. Isaac: “You ain’t carrying any food. Just three more mouths to feed. We’ll all die even sooner now. The Doctor: “What happens if someone crosses the line? (Isaac throws the Doctor a Stetson with a neat hole in it.) The Doctor: “Ah, well, he wasn’t a very good shot, then. Isaac: “He was aiming for the hat. The Doctor: “He shoots people’s hats? Amelia: “It was a warning shot. The Doctor: “Ah, no, yes. I see. Hmm. Amelia: “What does he want? Has he issued some kind of demand? Isaac: “Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor. Amelia: “But that’s you. Why would he want to kill you? Unless he’s met you. Rory: “And how could he know that we’d be here?” (sotto) “We didn’t even know we’d be here. Amelia: “We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival.” Isaac: “Mexico’s two hundred miles due south.” The Doctor: “Well, that’s what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console. Anyway, I think it’s about time I met him, don’t you?” Isaac: “Who?” The Doctor: “The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn’t, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. We’re like buses. Resident eighty one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I’m guessing he’s in here, because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I’d want to be.” Isaac: “I don’t know what you-” (The man in the cell throws back his blanket. He has a curved mark down the left side of his face, similar but not the same as Mas had.) Jex: “Isaac, I think the time for subterfuge has passed. Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I’m the doctor.” (The Gunslinger watches the town from a distant ridge.) The Doctor: “The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They’re one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss.” Amelia: “All right. How did you get here?” Jex: “My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn’t pulled me from the wreckage.” The Doctor: “And you stayed, as their doctor.” Jex: “On my world I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them.” Isaac: “Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera.” Jex: “Now, Isaac, I’m sure our guests are-” Isaac: “Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died.” Jex: “A minor infection we’d found a treatment for centuries ago.” Isaac: “No, no, what, what do you call them? The electrics?” Jex: “Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town.” The Doctor: “So why does the Gunslinger want you?” Isaac: “It don’t matter.” The Doctor: “I’m just saying, if we knew that-” Isaac: “America’s the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don’t feel that way.” Jex: “Now, Isaac, we’ve discussed this.” Isaac: “People whose lives you’ve saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over.” Jex: “They’re scared, that’s all. You can hardly blame them.” Isaac: “Them being scared scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos.” The Doctor: “Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills-” Jex: “It really was very badly damaged.” The Doctor: “We evacuate the town. Our ship’s just over the hills, room for everyone. I’ll pop out, bring it back here, Robert’s your uncle.” Amelia: “Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations.” The Doctor: “I’ve matured. I’m twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don’t want to miss The Archers.” Amelia: “Oh, so you’re not even a tiny bit curious?” The Doctor: “Why would I be curious? It’s a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I’m not curious.” Isaac: “Son? You’ve still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?” (The Doctor puts on the Stetson.) The Doctor: “With a little sleight of hand.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “When this is all done, do you want us to take you home? Jex: “Thank you, but I’ve already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That’s all I ever wanted to do, end suffering. Amelia: “Here. (She puts Isaac’s coat over Jex’s shoulders.) Jex: “You’re a mother, aren’t you. Amelia: “How did you know? Jex: “There’s kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too. Amelia: “Life’s not exactly straightforward. Jex: “It seldom is. Amelia: “And what about you? Are you a father? Jex: “Yes. In a way, I suppose I am. (More) (The alarm can even be heard in town.) Jex: “That’s the alarm on my ship. Amelia: “Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again? Jex: “But that wasn’t the plan. He’s not following the plan. Amelia: “Welcome to my world. (More) ==PC== (More) “Amelia, he’s gonna try to shoot you.” The ginger scoffed. “Terra, he’s a nice guy. There’s no possible way he could-” (Amy enters to discover Jex pointing a revolver at her head.) Jex: “I’m sorry, Amy. He really should have followed the plan. I elbowed her. “Told ya.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jex: “Isaac says he doesn’t care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it’s best we beat a hasty retreat. Amelia: “We? We’re coming with you? Jex: “It’s unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I’m with the two of you. As far as I can tell, he’s programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary. Amelia: “Oh, well, color me reassured. (Jex opens the door and gets a gun in the back of his neck.) Isaac: “Doc? What are you doing? Jex: “It was stupid of me, I realize that now. I just thought I’d put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left (The Doctor enters.) The Doctor: “He’s lying. Every word, every thing he says, it’s all lies. This man is a murderer. Jex: “I am a scientist. The Doctor: “Sit down. Sit down! Tell them what you are. Jex: “What am I? A war hero. Isaac: “Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on? The Doctor: “The Gunslinger is a Cyborg. Isaac: “A what? The Doctor: “Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they’d been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill. Isaac: “Okay. Why? Why would you do that, Doc? Jex: “We’d been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives? The Doctor: “And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage? Jex: “War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did. Rory: “What happened then? How come you’re here? Jex: “When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here. Rory: “So, what do we do with Jex? Isaac: “What do we do with him? Rory: “Yeah. I mean, he’s a war criminal. Isaac: “No, he’s the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light. Amelia: “Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy Jex: “And still in the room. Amelia: “But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution. Rory: “Another solution? It’s him or us. Amelia: “When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, tell him. The Doctor: “Hmm? Yes. I don’t know. Whatever Amy said. Jex: “Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There’s rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren’t relying on you to save them.” ‘The son of a bitch wants to die today, didn’t he?’ The Doctor: “No. No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out! (Rory stops Amy at the door.) Amelia: “Oh, you’re really letting him do this? Rory: “Save us all? Yeah, I really am. (More) ==PC== (More) Jex: “No! (The Doctor pushes Jex along the street.) The Doctor: “Go on. (The townsfolk follow Isaac to see the Doctor push Jex over the boundary.) The Doctor: “Get over, and don’t come back. (The Doctor takes a gun from a man’s holster and points it at Jex as he tries to return.) Jex: “You wouldn’t. The Doctor: “I genuinely don’t know. Isaac: “Doctor. Doctor.” (Terra gets another gun and fires in the air.) Terra: “Let him come back, Doctor.” I ordered. The Doctor: “Or what? You won’t shoot me, Terra.” Terra: “How do you know? I’m young. I’m impulsive. Plus, if you get to go Sith Lord, why can’t I? I mean, you’ve clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last.” (So Isaac fires to get everyone’s attention.) Isaac: “Everyone who ain’t from this town, drop your gun.” The Doctor: “We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now.” Terra: “This is not how we roll, and you know it. What happened to you, Doctor? At what point in your timeline did killing someone become an option?” The Doctor: “Jex has to answer for his crimes.” Terra: “And who’s next? Hmm? Who will you go after next? Are you going to hunt down everyone who’s made a gun or a bullet or a bomb? Ya know what’s lets go back and kill Hitler! Second time’s the charm!” The Doctor: “But they keep coming back, don’t you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honor the victims first. His, the Master’s, the Dalek’s, all the people who died because of my mercy!” Terra: “You see, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long. This is why you need companions, need people like Amelia and Rory.” “Well, manboy, you better listen and listen good. We can’t be like him. We have to be better than him. We can’t lose the last bit of humanity we have left.” The Doctor: “Terra Song. Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I’m betting on the Gunslinger.” (The Doctor gives his gun back and holds out his hand.) The Doctor: “Jex, move over the line. Now. “ (Because the Gunslinger is right behind him. Jex turns around.) Gunslinger: “Make peace with your gods.” Jex: “Kahler-Tek, isn’t it? I remember all your names, even now. I’ll never hurt anyone again. I’m even helping people here.” Gunslinger: “Last chance. Make peace with your gods. The Gunslinger aimed his weapon at Jex. “No!” I tried to move the gun away. “Terra!” The Doctor screamed. (More) “Did I save Isaac?” I asked. (More) The Doctor: “Isaac. Isaac. Isaac. It’s okay, it’s okay. We can get you to Jex’s surgery. He can save you.” Isaac: “Listen to me. You’ve got to stay. You’ve got to look after everyone. The Doctor: “It won’t come to that, Isaac. Isaac: “Protect Jex. Protect my town. You’re both good men. You just forget it sometimes. (Isaac dies, handing on his Marshal’s badge. The Doctor stands up and pins it on his jacket.) The Doctor: “Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you’ll have me to answer to. (Jex is escorted away. The Doctor speaks to the Gunslinger.) The Doctor: “This has gone on long enough. Gunslinger: “You are right. You’ve got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I’ll kill you all. (The Gunslinger vanishes.) “Oh my God, you’re the Marshal.” Amelia groaned. “And she’s the Deputy.” The Doctor said, looking over at me. ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Come in. PREACHER: “Marshal. Deputy. Ma’am. Fella. You need to come outside. The Doctor: “Why, what’s wrong? PREACHER: “Just come outside. And you should put that on. (More) The Doctor: “What’s going on? WALTER: “He in there? Leave the keys and take a walk. By the time you get back, this’ll all be done. The Doctor: “I promised Isaac I’d protect him. WALTER: “Protecting him got Isaac dead. Tomorrow, it’s going to be us all, dead. DOCKERY: “We thought Isaac was right to fight, but it’s different now. We’ve got to say, all right we lost, and give that thing what it wants. SADIE: “What it wants is to kill our friend. WALTER: “We don’t got any ill feeling towards the Doc. We just thinking about our families. Hand him over and we all safe again. The Doctor: “You know I can’t do that. WALTER: “We got us a problem. The Doctor: “Please don’t do this. WALTER: “Why, reckon you’re quicker than me? The Doctor: “Oh, certainly not, but this? Lynch mobs? A town turning against itself? This is everything Isaac didn’t want. “Put the gun down, boy.” I instructed. He gulped. “I-” “You’re eighteen, right?” I asked. His eyes widened. “First time holding a gun. Never killed a man. I am not letting you kill Jex, or take him to the Gunslinger.” The boy looked ready to argue. “Last time someone I knew was executed, I stabbed the executor’s heart. You really wanna see what I can do to a twiggy little thing like you?” I challenged, reaching for my water gun in my Infinity Bag. “No one is laying a finger on Jex.” I didn’t like him, but Isaac wanted him safe. This was the least I could do. (More) “Were you going to-” I sprayed the Doctor with the gun. “Haha.” I laughed, going back inside. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ABRAHAM: “Fresh coffee, Marshal. For what it’s worth, I know you’re going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you’re good enough for him, you’re good enough for me. Reckon you should know that. The Doctor: “Thank you. (Abraham continues to take his measurements.) The Doctor: “Oi. Get out of it. (Abraham leaves.) Jex: “Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You’d be a hero. The Doctor: “But I can’t, can I. Because then Isaac’s death would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know? Jex: “You think I’m unaffected by what I did? That I don’t hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn’t it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who’s dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I’m both bewilders you. The Doctor: “Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don’t get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but justice doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to decide when and how your debt is paid. Jex: “In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac, he was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There’s no shame in that. But you won’t. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality. The Doctor: “We all carry our prisons with us. Ha! (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Go! Just go! I can’t save them while you’re here. (More) Gunslinger: “Deactivate automatic targeting. Switch to manual. (He locates the Doctor hiding around the corner of a building. He’s got the Jex mark, too.) The Doctor: “Right. Gunslinger: “Where is he? The Doctor: “He’s gone. Gunslinger: “Where? Answer me. The Doctor: “Away from here. Look up. Any second now you’ll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge. Lookup, go after him, take this battle away from-” Jex: “Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek. Gunslinger: “Jex. Coward. Where are you? Jex: “I’m in my ship. The Doctor: “What are you doing? Just go! Jex: “Where are you from? Where on Kahler? The Doctor: “Now? You’re asking him this now? Gunslinger: “Gabriah. Jex: “I know it. It’s beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back? Gunslinger: “How can I? I am a monster now. Jex: “So am I. The Doctor: “Just go! Finish this! Gunslinger: “I’ll find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you. Jex: “I don’t doubt that. You’ll chase me to another planet and another race will be caught in the cross-fire. Gunslinger: “Face me! “Countdown to self-destruct resumed. Gunslinger: “Face me! Jex: “No. You’ve killed enough. I’m ending the war for you, too. “Countdown to self-destruct resumed. The Doctor: “What’s going on? “Ten. The Doctor: “The count down. What’s going on? Jex! Jex: “Thank you, Doctor. I have to face the souls of those I’ve wronged. “Five Jex: “Perhaps they will be kind. “Three, two, one, zero. (The white egg goes KaBOOM.) (The black smoke rises above the roof tops. The Gunslinger bows his head.) Gunslinger: “He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me. The Doctor: “We could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction. Gunslinger: “I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I’m a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace. The Doctor: “Except maybe to protect it. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Okay, so, our next trip. Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them. Amelia: “Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we’re aging faster than them. The Doctor: “Another time? No worry. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “Ask me.” The Doctor asked, giving me a deep, meaningful stare. I stared back, wondering if I had been to open with my emotions. “No.” I said. “Terra, you’ve been wanting to ask all day.” The Doctor said with a sigh. “Please tell me. I know how it’s hurting you.” “You’ll lie.” I said, my voice wavering. The Doctor looked me in the eyes. Somehow, I was able to keep looking back. “I won’t.” “You were just saying it.” I shrugged away the feelings. “It was just cause you were dying, you don’t really feel that way about me.” The Doctor walked up to me, cupping a cheek with his hand. He shook his head. “No, I wasn’t then and I’m not now.” (More) “Do you...really love me?” (More) The Doctor backed me into the TARDIS wall. One of his arms slammed into the wall, effectively keeping me from escaping. It was dangerous, making my breath catch in my throat. The Doctor had that look in his eyes, the kind of look Twelve had. Those eyes made my knees weak. “Does this answer your question?” The Doctor’s voice was deeper, almost a growl. He leaned down, while pulling my face up to meet his. He pressed his lips against mine with a bruising force. I could only whimper in response, almost trembling against the wall. His hand let go of my cheek, taking ahold of my hip. The hand on the wall moved to my neck, keeping my head from turning away. Not that I wanted to anyway. (More) “Yes.” I got out. “Answers. Question. Good.” The Doctor chuckled, bopping me on the nose. “By the way, I love the shirt.” He said softly into my ear before walking down the hall. I was too breathless to shout at him, to demand that he come back here and finish what he started. (More) “I need to wear more shirts like this.” I decided, stumbling off towards my room. The TARDIS apparently planned that, cause the first shirt I found I knew I had to wear. It was white, with two words written in a gold spray paint font. Just two words. Bad Wolf.
Human Nature/Family of BloodThe (More) I changed my clothes. The Bad Wolf shirt was kinda old at this point. I needed something...prettier. “So Idris.” I smirked. “Anything for the times?” (More) I smiled. This was gorgeous. ==PC== Day One (More) My dress was (More) ==PC== Month One (More) “You are far too lazy.” Matron complained I rolled my eyes. “Lazy is such a strong word. I prefer ‘selective participation’.” Martha snickered. I smirked. Joan huffed. “Terra, please. Could you at least try to be serious?” Kicking my feet up, I thought it over. “Life’s too short to be serious all the time.” I told Matron. “I prefer to have fun.” (More) “Well, my class and I are extremely busy.” I said to Joan. “So Joan, would you be so kind as to vacate the room?” The matron glared at me, leaving the room and closing the door. I smirked, turning back to all of them. “Now then, students, let’s continue with the class.” ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “Martha, I’m falling in love with him.” I admitted. Martha raised a brow. “You weren’t always?” I shook my head. “He’s...the Doctor is off-limits. If my family found out, if my friends find out.” I sighed. “I’ll be become a laughing stock.” “Because you’re falling in love with him?” “Because he’s falling back.” I admitted. “The more I’m falling, the more he’s there to catch me.” (More) “The Doctor, one day, will be old and gray, and he still wanted me.” I explained. “He kissed me, Martha, and I was...I didn’t care. He still loved me.” (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== Month Two (More) Baines shuffled in his seat. “Perhaps you are doing an improper job of teaching us.” “Perhaps you are doing an improper job of listening to me.” I replied. Baines frowned at me, almost annoyingly. (More) ==PC== (More) “I’m trying to write a poem for my next class, to show that you can explain it without just telling it.” I began. “And I need a little help with it.” (More) “Well, I have about a million for blue and green.” I sighed. My hands ran over my tired face. “Three for red, even five for purple. I have just one for yellow.” John thought it over a moment. “Amber.” I blinked. “That’s...that’s actually good. All I had was the sun.” I admitted, smiling proudly at him. “Thanks John.” (More) “You know, my eyes are amber. It’s kinda funny to forget the color of your eyes.” I pointed out him. “I know.” John said, sounding completely and utterly human. My previously mentioned eyes snapped up at him, giving him a curious look. John smiled, letting out a small laugh. “I don’t think I could ever forget the color of your eyes.” John said. “Amber’s my favorite color.” My jaw dropped, and stayed that way until long after John left. My eyes were his favorite color? ==PC== When Martha walked into Terra’s room, it was to the same sight. Terra was nearly curled up in a fetal position under her blanket, hands clutching tightly onto a bright blue doodle bear. Martha frowned at the sight. Terra had been embarrassed at first about the bear. It had been a gift from her favorite aunt, and Terra would sleep with it when her nightmares came back. Terra had seen a lot of dark things before traveling with the Doctor. (More) “Is he alright?” Terra asked her. Martha looked down at the tea tray. “No. He had those dreams last night.” Terra sighed, running a hand over her unbrushed black hair. “Damn Doctor can’t even turn himself human right.” (More) ==PC== (More) BOY: “Excuse me, ma’am.” (A neat woman in starched nurse’s uniform meets John, who is carrying a large pile of books.) Terra: “Good morning, Professor Smith.” (He drops some of the books.) John: “There we go.” Terra: “Let me help you.” John: “No, no, I’ve got it, no. Er, how best to retrieve? Tell you what. If you could take these-” (Terra takes the books from his arms, and he picks up the fallen ones.) Terra: “Good.” John: “No harm done. So, er, how was Jenkins?” Terra: “You didn’t hear it from me, but he needed help writing to his mother. He’s getting homesick.” John: “Oh, we can’t have that.” Terra: “He received a letter this morning, so he’s excited.” I looked at the books in my hands. “Professor Smith.” “Yes?” “I’m still holding your books.” John: “Yes, so you are. Sorry, sorry. Just let me.” Terra: “No, why don’t I take half?” John: “Ah, brilliant idea. Brilliant. Perfect. Division of labor.” Terra: “We make quite a team.” John: “Don’t we just.” Terra: “So, these books. Were they being taken in any particular direction?” John: “Yes. This way.” (In a smaller corridor.) John: “I always say, Professor, give the boys a good head of steam, they’ll soon wear themselves out.” Terra: “Truth be told, when it’s just you and me, I’d much rather you call me Terra. Professor just seems, well, uptight.” John: “Terra?” Terra: “That’s my name.” John: “Well, obviously.” Terra: “And it’s John, isn’t it?” John: “Yes, yes, it is, yes.” (At the notice board at the top of a flight of stairs.) Terra: “Have you seen this, John? The annual dance at the village hall tomorrow. It’s nothing formal, but rather fun by all accounts. Do you think you’ll go?” John: “I hadn’t thought about it.” Terra: “It’s been ages since I’ve been to a dance, only no one’s asked me.” (John starts backing away nervously.) John: “Well, I should imagine that you’d be, er, I mean, I never thought you’d be one for. I mean, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. If you do, you may not. I, I probably won’t, but even if I did then I couldn’t. I mean I wouldn’t want to-” Terra: “The stairs.” John: “What about the stairs?” Terra: “They’re right behind you!” I pulled him away from the stairs, spinning him about so we were switched. The downside was that I ended up falling down the stairs. “Terra!” (More) ==PC== (More) I whimpered. It hurt really bad. Joan: “Stop it. I get boys causing less fuss than this.” Joan reached for it. I flinched back. “No! Don’t touch it!” (Martha bursts in.) Martha: “Is she alright?” Joan: “Excuse me, Martha. It’s hardly good form to enter a mistress’ study without knocking.” Martha: “Sorry. Right. Yeah.” (She goes back to the door and knocks on it.) “Come in!” I cheered, wincing at the pain in my skull. Gah, I’ve had gunshot wounds that hurt less. Martha: “But is she alright? They said you fell down the stairs, Ma’am.” “No, it was just a tumble, that’s all.” I shrugged. “You know me, always one for stunts.” Martha: “Have you checked for concussion?” Joan: “I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you.” “Hey! Apologize!” I scolded. The nurse smiled triumphantly. Martha: “Sorry. I’ll just tidy your things.” “Not Martha. You.” “What?” Joan turned to me, surprised. “Martha is not just my maid, she is also a close friend and trusted advisor.” I explained, angrily glaring at Joan. “And you were rude. Apologize.” (More) John: “I was just telling Terra, Professor Song, about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I’m someone else, and that I’m hiding.” Terra: “Hiding? In what way?” John: “They’re almost every night. This is going to sound silly.” Terra: “Tell me.” John: “I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts.” Joan: “Well, then. I can be the judge of that. Let’s find out.” (Joan uses her stethoscope to listen to John’s chest.) “I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular.” John: “I have er, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction. Not that it would be of any interest.” Terra: “I’d be very interested.” John: “Well, I’ve never actually shown it to anyone before.” (John gives Terra the handwritten book.) Terra: “A Journal of Impossible Things.” (Lots of inky scrawl and pictures.) “Just look at these creatures.” (A Dalek.) “Such imagination.” John: “It’s become quite a hobby.” (The Moxx of Balhoon, Autons labelled as plastic men, one of the Pompadour clockwork robots.) Terra: “It’s wonderful.” I smiled at the sight of Rose scrawled in charcoal. “And quite an eye for the pretty girls.” John: “Oh no, no, she’s just an invention. This character, Rose. I call her, Rose. Seems to disappear later on.” (Cybermen and the TARDIS, labelled magic box.) John: “Ah, that’s the box. The blue box. It’s always there. Like a like a magic carpet. This funny little box that transports me to far away places.” Joan: “Like a doorway?” John: “Mmm.” (Sketches of earlier Doctors.) “I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true.” Joan: “If only.” John: “It’s just a dream.” “They say if you dream something more than once, it is sure to come true.” I said, smiling at the many drawings. (More) ==PC== (More) (John arrives.) John: “Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don’t you.” Joan: “There, there. Look in the sky.” (A light crosses the sky.) Jenny: “Oh, that’s beautiful.” John: “All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It’s just rocks falling to the ground, that’s all.” Joan: “It came down in the woods.” John: “No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they’re miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?” Martha: “No, we’re fine, thanks.” John: “Then I shall bid you goodnight.” (More) ==PC== (More) “You stole the watch.” I looked up at Timothy. The boy gaped at me. (More) ==PC== (More) There were gun shots. “Finish the next two chapters, write a paper.” I said quickly. “Class dismissed.” (More) (More) (The boys are practising firing machine guns at rough targets on ground below the terrace wall, watched by John and the Headmaster. Latimer is feeding in the ammo belt for Hutchinson.) John: “Concentrate.” (Joan comes out of the school.) John: “Hutchinson, excellent work.” Rocastle: “Cease fire!” John: “Good day to you, Headmaster.” Rocastle: “Your crew’s on fine form today, Mister Smith.” Hutchinson: “Excuse me, Headmaster. We could do a lot better. Latimer’s being deliberately shoddy.” Timothy: “I’m trying my best.” Rocastle: “You need to be better than the best. Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent.” Timothy: “That’s exactly the problem, sir. They only have spears.” Rocastle: “Oh, dear me. Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realize how wrong we all are. I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself. Now, resume firing.” (The machine gun has stopped firing.) Hutchinson: “Stoppage. Immediate action. Didn’t I tell you, sir? This stupid boy is useless. Permission to give Latimer a beating, sir.” Rocastle: “It’s your class, Mister Smith.” John: “Permission granted.” Hutchinson: “Right. Come with me, you little oik.” (Hutchinson and his friends leads the stunned Latimer away. Baines looks at John and sniffs.) John: “Anything the matter, Baines?” Baines: “I thought. No, sir. Nothing, sir.” (Baines leaves.) Rocastle: “As you were, Mister Smith.” John: “Ah, Pemberton, Smythe, Wicks, take post.” (John walks up to the wall.) “Ah, Professor Terra.” Terra: “Er, I’ll give you back your journal when next I see you.” John: “No, no, no. You don’t have to.” Terra: “If you’ll excuse me, Professor Smith. I was just thinking about the day my sister was shot.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Two workmen are hoisting an upright piano up to the first floor window of the Ironmongers. John and Terra are walking together.) Terra: “Her name was Darcy. She died saving my life, right before my eyes. We were twins. But you see, I was angry a really long time.” John: “You still are.” Terra: “And now, I find myself as part of that school watching boys learn how to kill.” John: “Don’t you think discipline is good for them?” Terra: “Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, war isn’t all fun and games.” John: “Well, Great Britain is at peace, long may it reign.” Terra: “In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year. Nineteen fourteen.” John: “That was just a dream.” Terra: “All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow. A shadow falling across the entire world.” John: “Well then, we can be thankful it’s not true. And I’ll admit mankind doesn’t need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honor and valor, and let’s hope that from now on this, this country can find its heroes in smaller places.” (A woman rings her bicycle bell as she peddles along. The men with the piano struggle as it dangles from a fraying rope. Then a woman pushing a perambulator comes around the corner.) John: “In the most.” (He sees a boy standing next to him, with a cricket ball in his hand. Some more of the rope frays and the piano drops a bit.) John: “Ordinary of, of deeds.” (John grabs the cricket ball, throws it at the scaffolding outside the Ironmongers, which falls and hits a plank that sends a brick flying through the air to knock down a milk churn in front of the perambulator, stopping it just before the rope finally gives up and drops the piano to the ground mere feet in front. The piano falls to pieces and the baby starts crying.) WORKMAN: “Are you alright? How’s the little one?” John: “Lucky.” Terra: “You have to be the luckiest man I have ever met. Lucky...” John: “Terra, might I invite you to the village dance this evening, as my guest?” Terra: “I do believe I shall.” (More) ==PC== (More) (John and Terra are walking along a cart track. There is a scarecrow nearby.) Terra: “Oh, it’s all becoming clear now. The Doctor is the man you’d like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls.” John: “Well, I discovered a talent, that’s certainly true.” Terra: “But the Doctor has an eye for the ladies.” John: “The devil.” Terra: “A girl at every fireplace.” John: “Ah, now, there I have to protest, Terra. That is hardly me.” Terra: “Says the man dancing with me tonight.” John: “That scarecrow’s all skewed.” (They walk up to it, and John ties its arm back onto the cross-member.) Terra: “Ever the artist. Where did you learn to draw?” John: “Gallifrey.” Terra: “Is that in Ireland?” John: “Yes, it must be, yes.” Terra: “But you’re not Irish?” John: “Not at all, no. My father Sidney was a watchmaker from Nottingham, and my mother Verity was, er. Well, she was a nurse, actually.” Terra: “Hmm. Must be why you have such great people skills.” John: “Really? Right. Yes. Well, my work is done. What do you think?” Terra: “Masterpiece.” John: “All sorts of skills today!” (As they walk away, the scarecrow turns its head to watch them.) “What if your mother and father?” John asked. I steeled my features, keeping a pleasant smile. John saw through it, wincing. “Bad topic?” “No.” I said too quickly. “The relationship I have with my parents is...strained.” John gave me look of gentlemanly patience. “My father is in charge of athletics at my old school, as well as maths. My mother was, well, the matron.” This made John grin. “Ah. That explains it.” “Explains what, exactly, John?” “Your distrust of the Matron.” (More) ==PC== (More) (John is making a sketch of Terra.) Terra: “Can I see?” (John sits next to her on the Chesterfield.) I felt my cheeks turn red. “Oh.” I bit my bottom lip, looking the drawing again. It, it was a very detailed drawing of me. The girl in that drawing looked gorgeous, with light eyes and a bright smile. Her black hair fell delicately onto her shoulders, and the locks practically shined. I laughed, nervously. “You need to work on your art. You’ve made me far too beautiful.” John: “Well, that’s how I see you.” “Lots of people said I wasn’t pretty.” I commented, comparing the differences between the drawing and myself. “They said I would never amount to anything. That when Darcy died, she took both our souls with her.” My eyes watered, thinking back on those years she had been dead. “Then, I became something, and I still felt like...a nothing.” John: “That’s not fair at all.” (He strokes her hair and then kisses her.) John: “I’ve never er-” (They kiss again, then the door opens.) A mousy squeak came from my lips, hands clasping over my mouth. I looked towards the door to see Martha standing there. “Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?!” “It’s fine!” I said, trying to calm him down. My hands reached out, one holding his shoulder and the other resting on my lap. “H-honest.” John was gaped at me with his brown, puppy dog eyes. The anger in his eyes faded, leaving behind a look that could only be described as mesmerized. Then, I realized what was wrong with putting my hand on his shoulder. I lowered it into my lap, standing up from my seat. I brushed the creases from my dress, walking towards Martha. I heard John get up. “Terra-” “I need to go anyway.” I excused, practically marching out of the room. “Good day Professor Smith.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Rarity, I have a fashion emergency!” I nearly shouted. My friend cheered. “Oh! What kind of emergency?” “First date.” I answered, flopping down in the pilot seat. Rarity squealed, as I expected. (More) ==PC== (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra shows off her party dress.) John: “You look wonderful.” Terra: “You’d best give me some warning. Er, can you actually dance?” John: “I’m not certain.” Terra: “There’s a surprise. Is there anything you’re certain about?” John: “Yes. Yes.” (He takes her hands.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Martha bursts in, breathless.) Martha: “They’ve found us.” Terra: “Actually, Butterfly-” John: “Martha, I’ve warned you.” Martha: “They’ve found us, and I’ve seen them. They look like people, like us, like normal. I’m sorry, but you’ve got to open the watch. Where is it?” (She searches the mantlepiece.) “Oh, my God. Where’s it gone? Where’s the watch?” John: “What are you talking about?” Martha: “You had a watch. A fob watch. Right there.” John: “Did I? I don’t remember.” Terra: “Martha, could you listen to me for a-” Martha: “But we need it! Oh, my God, Doctor, we’re hiding from aliens, and they’ve got Jenny and they’ve possessed her or copied her or something, and you’ve got to tell me, where’s the watch?” John: “Oh, I see. Cultural differences. It must be so confusing for you. Martha, this is what we call a story.” Martha: “Oh you complete. This is not you. This is nineteen thirteen.” John: “Good. This is nineteen thirteen.” Martha: “I’ve sorry. I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to snap you out of this.” (Martha slaps the John, hard.) Terra: “Martha!” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) Terra: “Martha was just nervous about the dance.” John: “You’ve taken my arm in public.” Terra: “I’m very scared.” (Latimer watches from around the corner.) BEGGAR: “Spare a penny for the veterans of the Crimea, sir?” John: “Yes, of course. There you are.” (John and Terra go inside. Latimer follows as the beggar checks the coins in his cup.) (More) ==PC== (More) CHAMBERS: “Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your partners for a waltz.” (The village band starts playing.) Terra: “You can dance.” John: “I surprise myself.” (They bump into another couple.) John: “Sorry.” I snorted. (More) ==PC== (More) Martha was talking to Joan. I sighed. (More) (John returns to the table.) John: “Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave.” (Martha holds up the sonic screwdriver.) Martha: “Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it.” I glanced up at John. He was staring at the screwdriver, the one Martha must have swiped while helping me get dressed, with hesitation. He recognized it. “John, you know what that is, don’t you?” (John takes the screwdriver.) Martha: “You’re not John Smith. You’re called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he’s real. He’s you.” (Latimer is already there. He looks out of a window and a scarecrow pops up in front of him, so he closes the curtain again.) Clark: “There will be silence! All of you!” (Scarecrows enter.) Clark: “I said, silence!” CHAMBERS: “Mister Clarke, what’s going on?” (He gets vapourised.) Martha: “Mister Smith? Everything I told you, just forget it! Don’t say anything.” Baines: “We asked for silence! Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith.” Lucy: “No, better than that. The teacher. He’s the Doctor. I heard them talking.” Baines: “You took human form.” John: “Of course I’m human. I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness.” Baines: “Ooo, and a human brain, too. Simple, thick and dull.” Jenny: “But he’s no good like this.” Clark: “We need a Time Lord.” Baines: “Easily done.” (Baines steps forward and raises his ray gun.) “Change back.” “Oh, cause that plan works.” John: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Baines: “Change back!” John: “I literally do not know-” (Jenny grabs Martha, and puts a gun to her head.) Martha: “Get off me!” Jenny: “She’s your friend, isn’t she? Doesn’t this scare you enough to change back?” John: “I don’t know what you mean!” Jenny: “Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Professor. That woman, there.” Clark: “Then let’s have you.” (Clark takes Terra and puts his gun to her head.) I struggled against Father of Mine. “Don’t you dare.” Baines: “Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let’s see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend or your lover? Your choice.” (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “Make your decision, Mister Smith.” Baines: “Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge.” (Out of sight, Latimer takes the watch from his pocket, and opens it. Golden energy shimmers and the Family turn their heads quickly.) VOICE: “Time Lord.” Baines: “It’s him!” (Latimer closes the watch. Terra gets the gun off Clark and uses her as a shield while she aims it at Baines.) Terra: “All right! One more move and I shoot.” Baines: “Oh, the teacher is full of fire.” Terra: “And you can shut up!” (She fires the gun at the ceiling.) Clark: “Careful, Son of Mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever.” Baines: “Shoot you down.” Terra: “Try it. I dare you.” Baines: “Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared.” Terra: “An American teenager who had just had her first dance ruined by aliens? Do you want to risk it?” (The family lower their guns. Martha returns to the Terra.) Terra: “Martha, get everyone out. There’s a door at the side. It’s over there. Go on. Do it. Mister Smith, you help.” Joan: “Do what she said. Everybody out, now. Don’t argue, Mister Jackson. They’re mad. That’s all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside, all of you.” (The villagers run out, screaming.) John: “Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly.” Terra: “And you. Go on. Just shift.” John: “What about you?” Terra: “Mister Smith, I would greatly appreciate it if you took Martha someplace safe.” (Jenny gets away from Terra and rejoins her Family.) Terra: “Don’t try anything. I’m warning you, or Sonny boy gets it.” Baines: “She’s almost brave, this one.” Jenny: “I should have taken her form. Much more fun. So much spirit.” (Terra backs away as the Family move forward.) Terra: “What happened to Jenny? Is she gone?” Jenny: “She is consumed. Her body’s mine.” Terra: “You mean she’s dead.” Jenny: “Yes. And she went with precious little dignity. All that screaming.” (A scarecrow grabs Terra from behind.) Baines: “Get the gun!” (The scarecrow takes the gun and Terra runs out of the hall.) (More) Terra: “Don’t just stand there, move! God, you’re rubbish as a human. Come on!” (Martha, the John and Joan run.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The John closes the main doors behind them, grabs the bell and starts ringing it.) Martha: “What are you doing?” John: “Maybe one man can’t fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!” Martha: “You can’t do that!” John: “You want me to fight, don’t you? Take arms! Take arms!” Hutchinson: “I say sir, what’s the matter?” John: “Enemy at the door, Hutchinson. Enemy at the door. Take arms!” (More) ==PC== (More) (The guns are being passed out.) Martha: “You can’t do this, Doctor. Mister Smith!” John: “Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That’s it.” Martha: “They’re just boys. You can’t ask them to fight. They don’t stand a chance.” John: “They’re cadets, Miss Jones. They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties.” (The Headmaster enters.) Rocastle: “What in thunder’s name is this? Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?” John: “Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack.” Rocastle: “Really? Is that so? Perhaps you and I should have a word in private.” John: “No, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Matron. It’s Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mister Clark from Oakham Farm. They’ve gone mad, sir. They’ve got guns. They’ve already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen.” Rocastle: “Matron, is that so?” Joan: “I’m afraid it’s true, sir.” Rocastle: “Murder on our own soil?” Joan: “I saw it. Yes.” Rocastle: “Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith. What makes you thing the danger’s coming here?” John: “Well, sir, they said-” Joan: “Baines threatened Mister Smith, sir. Said he’d follow him. We don’t know why.” Rocastle: “Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone for the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate.” Martha: “No! But it’s not safe out there.” Rocastle: “Mister Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. You will control her, sir.” “Martha, I’m sorry.” I began. “For?” “What I’m about to do.” I stormed up to the headmaster. (More) “When you fight barbarians, what must they think of you?” I asked him. Rocastle scoffed. “Where do they think you come from?” Rocastle glared at me. “A place too complex for their tiny minds to comprehend! Now, Professor-” I brought out a ray gun, blasting a nearby bookcase. The men in the room flinched away, staring at me in shock and the disappeared bookcase in horror. “You’re the barbarians now.” I scolded. “And those things out there know that. You need my help, whether you like it or not.” My eyes scanned Rocastle, a firm frown on my face. “Can I do my job now? Or, does someone else have an argument?” (More) ==PC== (More) Rocastle: “So. Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There’s always a woman involved. Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?” Baines: “Headmaster, sir. Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?” Rocastle: “Keep a civil tongue, boy.” PHILIPS: “Now come on, everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this.” (The Doctor watches from a window.) PHILIPS: “Let’s all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines, in fancy dress?” Baines: “Do you like them, Mister Phillips? I made them myself. I’m ever so good at science, sir. Look.” (He pulls the arm off a scarecrow.) Baines: “Molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men. My own private army, sir. It’s ever so good, sir.” “Interesting, I’ll give you that.” I complimented him, keeping the gun steady. “But, you, are going to leave this planet, and the Doctor, alone.” Baines: “No, ma’am. You, ma’am, you will send us Mister John Smith. That’s all we want, ma’am, Mister John Smith and whatever he’s done with his Time Lord consciousness. Then we’d be very happy to leave you alone.” “Baines died long ago, I can tell.” I commented. “Care to tell me who I’m speaking with?” Baines: “We are the Family of Blood.” “You’ve killed today.” I pointed out. Baines: “Yes, sir. And they were good, sir.” “I keep to my earlier threat. I’ll shoot you down myself.” I reminded him. “This school is armed.” Rocastle felt the need to share. Baines: “All your little tin soldiers. But tell me, sir, will they thank you?” “I don’t understand.” Rocastle said. “Shut up, Rocastle!” I barked. Baines: “What do you know of history, sir? What do you know of next year?” Rocastle: “You’re not making sense, Baines.” Baines: “1914, sir. Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for Mister Smith and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?” Rocastle: “Don’t you forget, boy, I’ve been a soldier. I was in South Africa. I used my dead mates for sandbags. I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country!” I whacked him with my gun. He fell to the ground like a potato. In a flash, my gun was pointed back at Baines. “He talked too much.” Baines: “Run along, Professer. Run back to school. And send us Mister Smith!” (More) ==PC== (More) I walked up to John, ignoring the confused look on his face. “Okay. The Family isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Any luck with the phones?” John: “The telephone line’s been disconnected. We are on our own.” “Yeah, that’s the first thing I’d have done.” I sighed, thinking through a new strategy. “Alright. New plan.” I turned to the school boys. “Hutchinson, you build a barricade in the courtyard. Fortify the entrances, build our defences. Boys, you’re about to learn the joys of playing with fire.” (More) ==PC== (More) “I’m training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine.” Joan: “Well that certainly is nonsense. Women might train to be doctors, but hardly a skivvy and hardly one of your color.” Martha: “Oh, do you think? Bones of the hand. Carpal bones, proximal row. Scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform. Distal row. Trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges. Proximal, middle, distal.” Joan: “You read that in a book.” Martha: “Yes, to pass my exams. Can’t you see this is true?” Joan: “I must go.” Martha: “If we find that watch, then we can stop them.” Joan: “Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I’m still their nurse. They need me.” “Hello Martha Jones.” I smirked. “Ya like my new clothes?” Martha nodded. “You look...good.” “Great.” I corrected. It was a prep school girl uniform. It was dark red, with long sleeves. It had a stitch on open book where the school uniform bit goes. There was also a small black tie. If you thought that was bad, you haven’t seen the skirt. Then again, I don’t think there’s much to see. It was a pleated skirt, the same color as my shirt. It was a very short skirt. I had knee socks too, white. My shoes were black, and shiny. I felt like a naughty schoolgirl. I was determined to play this part. (More) John: “You’re with Armitage and Thwaites. They know the drill. Terra, it’s not safe.” Terra: “I’m doing my duty, just as much as you. Fine evening we’ve had together.” John: “Not quite as planned.” Terra: “Tell me about Nottingham.” John: “Sorry?” Terra: “That’s where you were brought up. Tell me about it.” John: “Well, it lies on the River Leen, its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent which flows from Stoke to the Humber.” Terra: “That sounds like an encyclopaedia. Where did you live?” John: “Broadmoor Street. Adjacent to Hotley Terrace in the district of Radford Parade.” Terra: “But more that facts. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places, the dens and hideaways that only a child knows? Tell me, John. Please tell me.” John: “How can you think that I’m not real? When I kissed you, was that a lie?” Terra: “No, it wasn’t. No.” John: “But this Doctor sounds like some, some romantic lost prince. Would you rather that? Am I not enough?” Terra: “No, that’s not true. Stop putting words in my mouth.” John: “I’ve got to go.” Terra: “Martha was right about one thing, though. Those boys, they’re children. John Smith wouldn’t want them to fight, never mind the Doctor. The John Smith I was getting to know, he knows it’s wrong, doesn’t he?” “You’re making them fight as well.” John pointed out. “I’m teaching them to defend.” I argued. “Defense is different.” Rocastle [OC]: “Mister Smith, if you please!” John: “What choice do I have?” (More) ==PC== (More) “Burn ‘em boys!” (More) Rocastle: “They’re straw. Like he said, straw.” Hutchinson: “The no one’s dead, sir? We killed no one?” (Footsteps on the gravel.) Rocastle: “Stand to!” (It is Lucy and her balloon.) Rocastle: “You, child. Come out of the way. Come into the school. You don’t know who’s out there. It’s the Cartwright girl, isn’t it? Come here. Come to me.” (Martha runs out of the school.) Martha: “Mister Rocastle! Please, don’t go near her.” Rocastle: “You were told to be quiet.” Martha: “Just listen to me. She’s part of it. Terra, tell him.” “She’s the daughter.” I snapped at Rocastle. “She’s one of them! She’s here to kill us all.” Martha: “Mister Smith.” John: “She was, she was with, with Baines in the village.” Rocastle: “Mister Smith, I’ve seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God’s Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir. Come with me.” Lucy: “You’re funny.” Rocastle: “That’s right. Now take my hand.” Lucy: “So funny.” I shot the gun out of her hands. Lucy turned to me in slight fear. “No one else dies tonight, you hear me? No one dies!” I warned. “Everyone inside.” “Professor, now really-” “Get. Inside!” I ordered. “You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way.” Hutchinson: “But ma’am-” John: “I said, lead the way.” Baines: “Well, go on, then. Run!” (Baines fires his gun into the air.) Martha: “Come on!” (More) ==PC== (More) (The boys scatter through the buildings, followed by the reanimated scarecrows. Latimer runs upstairs.) John: “Let’s go. Quick as you can.” Martha: “Don’t go to the village. It’s not safe.” John: “And you, ladies.” Joan: “Not till we’ve got the boys out.” John: “Now, I insist. The pair of you, just go. If there are any more boys inside, I’ll find them.” (He opens the door. There are scarecrows on the other side. He slams it shut and locks it.) John: “I think, retreat.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Latimer is running for the woods when Baines and Jenny get to the dormitory. Clark stands outside the building, shouting, as John, Joan and Martha hide in the bushes.) Clark: “Doctor! Doctor!” (He has the Tardis with him.) Clark: “Come back, Doctor. Come home. Come and claim your prize.” Baines: “Out you come, Doctor. There’s a good boy. Come to the Family.” Jenny: “Time to end it now.” Martha: “You recognise it, don’t you?” Jenny: “Come out, Doctor. Come to us!” John: “I’ve never seen it in my life.” Martha: “Do you remember its name?” Terra: “I’m sorry, John, but you wrote about it. The blue box. You dreamt of a blue box.” John: “I’m not. I’m John Smith. That’s all I want to be. John Smith, with his life, and his job, and his love. Why can’t I be John Smith? Isn’t he a good man?” Terra: “Yes. Yes, he is.” John: “Why can’t I stay?” Martha: “But we need the Doctor.” John: “What am I, then? Nothing. I’m just a story.” “We’re all stories in the end.” I told him. “It’s up to you to make it a good one.” (The Doctor runs away and the women follow.) Baines: “One more phase and we won’t have to hunt. The Doctor, Mister Smith, the boy, the watch, they will come to us. Soldiers, guard this thing.” (More) ==PC== (More) Joan: “This way. I think I know somewhere we can hide.” John: “We’ve got to keep going.” Joan: “Just listen to me for once, John. Now, follow me.” (More) ==PC== (More) Joan: “Oh, here we are. It should be empty. Oh, it’s a long time since I’ve run that far.” Martha: “But who lives here?” Joan: “If I’m right, no one.” (More) Joan: “Hello? No one home. We should be safe here.” Martha: “Whose house is it, though?” Joan: “Er, the Cartwrights. That little girl at the school, she’s Lucy Cartwright, or she’s taken Lucy Cartwright’s form. If she came home this afternoon and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then they were vanished.” (Joan touches the teapot.) Joan: “Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas.” John: “I must go to them, before anyone else dies.” Joan: “You can’t. Martha, there must be something we can do.” Martha: “Not without the watch.” John: “You’re this Doctor’s companion. Can’t you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?” Martha: “Because he’s lonely.” John: “And that’s what you want me to become.” (A knock at the door.) Joan: “What if it’s them?” Martha: “I’m not an expert, but I don’t think scarecrows knock.” (Martha opens the door.) Timothy: “I brought you this.” (The watch.) Martha: “Hold it.” John: “I won’t.” Martha: “Please, just hold it.” Timothy: “It told me to find you. It wants to be held.” Joan: “You’ve had this watch all this time? Why didn’t you return it?” Timothy: “Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared of the Doctor.” Joan: “Why?” Timothy: “Because I’ve seen him. He’s like fire and ice and rage. He’s like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun.” John: “Stop it.” Timothy: “He’s ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time and he can see the turn of the universe.” John: “Stop it! I said stop it.” Timothy: “And he’s wonderful.” Terra: “I’ve still got this. The journal.” John: “Those are just stories.” Terra: “Now we know that’s not true. Perhaps there’s something in here.” (Big bang. The cottage shakes.) Martha: “What the hell?” (Fireballs are falling to earth a little way away.) (More) Joan: “They’re destroying the village.” John: “The watch.” Joan: “John, don’t.” Timothy: “Can you hear it?” John: “I think he’s asleep. Waiting to awaken.” Timothy: “Why did he speak to me?” John: “Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engram causing-” “Is that how he talks?” Martha: “That’s him. All you have to do is open it and he’s back.” John: “You knew this all along and yet you watched while Nurse Redfern and I-” Martha: “I didn’t know how to stop you. He gave me a list of things to watch out, for but that wasn’t included.” (Joan looks in the journal by moonlight through the window.) John: “Falling in love? That didn’t even occur to him?” Martha: “No.” John: “Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me to die?” Martha: “It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family’s got a limited lifespan, and that’s why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said.” John: “So your job was to execute me.” Martha: “People are dying out there. They need him and I need him. Because you’ve got no idea of what he’s like. I’ve only just met him. It wasn’t even that long ago. But he is everything. He’s just everything to me and he doesn’t even look at me, but I don’t care, because I love him to bits. And I hope to God he won’t remember me saying this.” (A explosion close by.) Timothy: “It’s getting closer.” John: “I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am.” Martha: “You can’t do that!” John: “If they want the Doctor, they can have him.” Martha: “He’ll never let you do it.” John: “If they get what they want, then, then” Terra: “Then it all ends in destruction. Those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child. Martha, Timothy, Joan, would you leave us alone, please?” (More) I turned to John, a sad look was on his face. “If I could do this instead of you, then I would. I’d hoped. But my hopes aren’t important.” John: “He won’t love you.” Terra: “I never deserved it, not the way it was with you. I never thought I should be so blessed. And then you were so-” John: “And it was real. I wasn’t. I really thought.” Terra: “Let me see. Blasted thing. Blasted, blasted thing. Can’t even hear it. It says nothing to me, which is unlike him cause he loves talk-” (John puts his hands over Terra’s and the watch.) ==PC== (More) John and Terra’s wedding day. (More) ==PC== (More) Their firstborn. (More) ==PC== (More) Two kids in the woods. (More) ==PC== (More) John: “They’re all safe, aren’t they? The children, the grandchildren. Everyone’s safe?” Terra: “Everyone’s safe, and they all send their love, John.” John: “Well, it’s time. Thank you.” (More) ==PC== (More) John: “Did you see?” Terra: “The Time Lord has such adventures, but he could never have a life like that.” John: “And yet I could.” Terra: “What are you going to do?” John Smith kissed me. Hard. At first, I wanted to pull him off. He was just really really good at it. His hands reached up to my head, running his fingers through my hair. (More) “Hey Doc.” I said, nervously looking down at my shoes. The Doctor brushed a lock of hair out of my face. “How could you tell?” My face felt like it was going to blush. Twelve’s passionate kiss came back to mind, his hands threading into my hair. “You like putting your hands in my hair.” (More) ==PC== (More) I chuckled. “This was my tenth jump, and I’m with ten.” The Doctor smirked. “If I end up with Eleven next time, I’m gonna die laughing.” The Doctor nervously scratched his head. He looked very nervous. “So...John kissed you.” “Repeatedly.” I nodded. The Doctor gave me a curious look. “Was...was it-” “Good?” I smiled, feeling a blush. “No.” The Doctor looked a little put off. “Oh.” “It was amazing.” I smirked. “I wouldn’t mind another.” “What?” The Doctor asked. “I’ll tell you when you’re older, Doc.” I smirked. “Oh. I need to give you a nickname...” A terrible idea came to me. “Lucky.” (More)
Deep BreathThe (More) I waved at the lizard woman. (More) Vastra: “This is not a day for jumping to conclusions. Strax, if you wouldn’t mind?” (Strax knocks on the TARDIS door. It is smeared with sputum from its previous location.) Strax: “Hello? Exit the box, and surrender to the glory of the Sontaran empire.” (A tall grey-haired man opens the door and looks out. Smoke comes out as well.) The Doctor: “Shush.” (He shuts the door again.) I snorted. Strax: “Doctor?” (The door opens again.) The Doctor: “I was being chased by a giant dinosaur, but I think I managed to give it the slip.” (The door shuts again, then is opened slowly.) The Doctor: “Sleepy?” Strax: “Sir?” The Doctor: “Bashful? Sneezy? Dopey? Grumpy.” (Then he sees the two women and walks towards them.) The Doctor: “Oh, you two. The green one and the not-green one. Or it could be the other way round, I mustn’t prejudge.” (Clara appears, very dishevelled. She is wearing a black fitted jacket with an ‘outline of bow tie’ motif and tartan mini-kilt.) The Doctor: “Oh, you remember, er. Thingy. The, er, the not-me one. The asking questions one. Names not my area.” Clara: “Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, it might be Clara. Might not be. It’s a lottery.” Clara: “It is Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, I’m not ruling it out.” (The dinosaur bellows.) The Doctor: “Oi, big man, shut it. Oh, you’ve got a dinosaur too. Big woman, sorry.” Clara: “Doctor, listen to me. You, you need to calm down.” The Doctor turned to me. “I’m not flirting, by the way.” Clara: “I think something’s gone wrong.” The Doctor: “Wrong? What’s gone wrong? Have you regenerated?” (to Clara) “I remember you. You’re Handles. You used to be a little, a little robot head, and now you. You’ve really let yourself go.” (The dinosaur bellows again.) The Doctor: “Reduce the frequency.” Clara: “I’m sorry?” The Doctor: “Your sonic lanterns, turn them down. You’re giving her a headache.” Jenny: “Giving who a headache?” The Doctor: “My lady friend. Just an expression, don’t get any ideas.” Strax: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “Come on, Clara. You know that I speak dinosaur.” Clara: “He’s not Clara. I’m Clara.” The Doctor: “Well, you’re very similar heights. Maybe you should wear labels? Why, why are you all doing that? Why are you? You’re all going dark and wobbly. Stop that.” Clara: “I don’t think we are.” The Doctor: “Never mind. Everyone take five.” (The Doctor closes his eyes, sways, then falls over.) Clara: “What do we do?” Jenny: “I don’t understand. Who is he? Where’s the Doctor?” Clara: “Right here. That’s him. That’s the Doctor.” Vastra: “Well then, here we go again.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Nightime, with a full moon. At Vastra’s house, the Doctor is now wearing a full length night shirt. Clara and Jenny are listening at the door.) The Doctor: “It’s simply misunderstandable to me. I don’t know what it is. Who invented this room?” (He opens the door and Clara and Jenny nearly fall inside.) Clara: “Doctor, please, you have to lie down.” The Doctor: “It doesn’t make sense. Look, it’s only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?” Clara: “Because it’s a bedroom. It’s for sleeping in.” The Doctor: “Okay, what do you do when you’re awake?” Jenny: “You leave the room.” The Doctor: “So you’ve got a whole room for not being awake in. But what’s the point? You’re just missing the room. And don’t look in that mirror. It’s absolutely furious.” Clara: “Doctor, please. You have to lie down. You keep passing out.” The Doctor: “Well, of course I keep passing out. There’s all these beds.” The Doctor complained. He worriedly glanced at Clara. While he did that, I was setting up the bed. “Why do you keep talking like that? What’s gone wrong with your accent? Why?” Jenny: “Nothing’s wrong with her accent.” The Doctor: “You sound the same. It’s spreading. You all sound all English. Now you’ve all developed a fault.” “Doctor.” I spoke up, using my Scottish accent. I went to Brave some time ago, and the accent stayed behind. “I need your help.” The Doctor: “Finally, someone who can talk properly.” Terra: “I’m having difficulty sleeping.” The Doctor: “Oh? Oh, well, I wouldn’t bother with that, I never bother with sleep, and I just do standy-up catnaps.” Terra: “Oh really, how interesting. And when do you do those?” The Doctor: “Well, generally whenever anyone else starts talking. I like to skip ahead to my bits. It saves time.” (Terra gently leads him to the bed and they sit down.) Terra: “Save me time, Doctor. Project an image of perfect sleep into the centre of my mind.” The Doctor: “What, do you want a psychic link with me? The size of my brain, it would be like dropping a piano on you.” Terra: “Be gentle, then.” The Doctor: “I ususlly am with you. Brace yourself. Piano.” (They put their fingers to the others temple. Boing! Doctor falls back onto the bed, sound asleep.) Vastra: “I love monkeys. They’re so funny.” Jenny: “Oh, I see. So people are monkeys now, are they?” Vastra: “No, dear. People are apes. Men are monkeys.” (They tuck the Doctor up in bed.) Clara: “So what now?” Vastra: “He needs rest.” Clara: “So what do we do? How do we fix him?” Jenny: “Fix him?” Clara: “How do we change him back?” Vastra: “Jenny, I will be in my chamber. Would you be kind enough to fetch my veil?” Jenny: “Why, are we expecting strangers?” Vastra: “It would seem there’s already one here.” (Vastra leaves.) Clara: “What have I done wrong?” (The sound of a sad dinosaur drifts into the room.) Jenny: “The dinosaur doesn’t seem very happy.” Clara: “What’s wrong with it?” Jenny: “I dunno. The Doctor’s the one that speaks dinosaur. Excuse me, ma’am. The wife doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” Clara: “Where did he get that face? Why’s it got lines on it? It’s brand new. How can his hair be all grey? He only just got it.” Jenny: “It’s still him, ma’am. You saw him change.” Clara: “I know. I do. I, I know that.” Jenny: “Good.” Clara: “It’s just-” Jenny: “What?” Clara: “Nothing. If. If Vastra changed, if she was different, if she wasn’t the person that you liked?” Jenny: “I don’t like her, ma’am. I love her. And as to different? Well, she’s a lizard.” (Clara goes to the window and hears the moaning dinosaur.) The Doctor: “I am alone. The world which shook at my feet, and the trees and the sky, have gone. And I am alone now. Alone.” Clara: “Are you translating?” The Doctor: “The wind bites now, and the world is grey, and I am alone here. Can’t see me. Doesn’t see me. Can’t see me.” Clara: “Who can’t see it? I think all of London can see it.” Strax: “Boy? Madame Vastra is waiting.” Clara: “Okay. Whatever.” Strax: “I will convey you to her chamber. May I take your coat?” Clara: “Not wearing a coat.” Strax: “What’s all that?” Clara: “Clothes.” Strax: “May I take your clothes?” Clara: “(sotto) Probably not.” Strax: “Are you wearing a hat?” Clara: “It’s hair.” Strax: “No, I think it’s a hat. Would you like me to check?” “Terra?” Clara asked. “I’ll stay in here.” I said, my voice soft. I leaned back in the chair. My eyes stayed on the sleeping Doctor. “Are you sure?” Clara asked. “Vastra is waiting.” I said impatiently. “I’d get going.” (More) ==PC== (More) (A conservatory. Vastra is sitting in her peacock chair. A fountain is playing.) Vastra: “And then?” Clara: “Why are you wearing your veil?” Vastra: “And then?” Clara: “And then we got swallowed by a big dinosaur. You probably noticed.” Jenny: “How did it happen?” Clara: “I don’t know. I don’t know. We were crashing about everywhere. The Doctor was gone. The TARDIS went haywire.” Jenny: “He’s not gone. He’s upstairs.” Clara: “Okay, he changed.” Vastra: “He regenerated. Renewed himself.” Clara: “Renewed. Fine.” Vastra: “Such a cynical smile.” Clara: “I’m not smiling.” Vastra: “Not outwardly. But I’m accustomed to seeing through a veil. How have I amused you?” Clara: “You said renewed. He doesn’t. He doesn’t look renewed. He looks older.” Vastra: “You thought he was young?” Clara: “He looked young.” Vastra: “He looked like your dashing young gentleman friend. Your lover, even.” “Shut up.” Clara snapped. She had seen the Doctor with Terra, how close the two were. They were the ones that were together, Terra had made that very clear when they first met. “And the same is true for Terra.” Vastra said. Clara blinked. “Sorry?” “Terra may look young, but she is far older and has seen far worse than you can comprehend. She had seen the absolute worst humanity has to offer, and carried the weight of such horror everyday.” Vastra said, her tone harsh. “And he is the Doctor. He has walked this universe for centuries untold, he has seen stars fall to dust. You might as well flirt with mountain ranges.” Clara: “I did not flirt with them.” Vastra: “They flirted with you.” Clara: “How?” Vastra: “He looked young, and she smiled. Who do you think that was for? Clara: “Me? Vastra: “Everyone. I wear a veil as they wore faces and smiles for the same reason.” Clara: “What reason? Vastra: “The oldest reason there is for anything. To be accepted.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Up in the guest bedroom, the Doctor wakes and sniffs the air. He gets out of bed and crawls around on the carpet, sniffing. He goes to the radiator and finds a piece of chalk which he uses to make marks on it.) He rose up. A startled look on his face. He looked around the room, in a confused state. (More) ==PC== (More) Vastra: “Jenny and I are married. Yet for appearance’s sake, we maintain a pretence, in public, that she is my maid.” Jenny: “Doesn’t exactly explain why I’m pouring tea in private.” Vastra: “Hush now.” Jenny: “Good pretence, isn’t it?” Vastra: “I wear a veil to keep from view what many are pleased to call my disfigurement. I do not wear it as a courtesy to such people, but as a judgment on the quality of their hearts.” Clara: “Are you judging me?” Vastra: “The Doctor regenerated in your presence, and Terra opened up to you. The young man disappeared, the joy filled girl vanished, their veils lifted. They trusted you. Are you judging them?” Clara: “How dare you? How dare you?” (More) ==PC== (More) “Door. Not me.” The Doctor went to the window. “Me.” Running to his side, I smiled. “Mind if I join you?” (More) ==PC== (More) Clara: “Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor. Last of the five good ‘uns. Stoic philosopher.” Vastra: “Superlative bass guitarist. The Doctor really knows how to put a band together.” Clara: “And the only pin-up I ever had on my wall when I was fifteen. The only one I ever had. I am not sure who you think you’re talking to right now, Madam Vastra, but I have never had the slightest interest in pretty young men. And for the record, if there ever was anybody who could flirt with a mountain range, she’s probably standing in front of you right now. Just because my pretty face has turned your head, do not assume that I am so easily distracted.” (Vastra is no longer wearing her veil. Jenny applauds.) Jenny: “Whoo. Whoo. Sorry.” Vastra: “Well, goodness me. The lake is ruffled at last. I often wondered what you’d be like when you lost your temper.” Jenny: “Oi. Married.” Vastra: “The Doctor needs us, you more than anyone. He is lost in the ruin of himself, and we must bring him home.” Clara: “When did you stop wearing your veil?” Vastra: “When you stopped seeing it.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor is making his way towards the river.) The Doctor: “Oi. Oi. Oi, big, sexy woman. Oi. Sorry. Sorry, it’s all my fault. My time machine got stuck in your throat. It happens. I brought you along by accident. That’s mostly how I meet girls, but don’t worry, I promise I will get you home. I swear. Whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. You will be at home again.” (The dinosaur suddenly bursts into flames. It roars in pain before collapsing.) The Doctor: “Stop that. Who’s doing that? No, don’t do that.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor leaps from a roof into a tree. The upper bough breaks under the strain, dropping him down.) The Doctor: “Argh. Argh. Oh.” (He finishes hanging upside down from the lowest branch by his knees. A hansom cab, or growler, trots into his view.) The Doctor: “Halt. Sorry, I’m going to have to relieve you of your pet.” CABBIE: “You’re what?” The Doctor: “Shut up, I was talking to the horse.” (The Doctor somersaults on to the horse’s back and uses his sonic screwdriver to sever the traces and reins.) CABBIE: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “Forwards.” (The Doctor is cantering along the cobbles.) The Doctor: “Left. No, no. Right, right, right, right. Sorry, it’s my new hands. I can’t tell them apart.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor dismounts and stands on the parapet over the burning remains, muttering to himself.) The Doctor: “(sotto) Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry, sorry, sorry.” (Strax brings the carriage to a halt behind him, and the ladies get out.) Strax: “Whoa.” Jenny: “The Doctor.” Clara: “What’s he doing here?” (Vastra secures her carriage using the remote control in her hat.) Vastra: “There is trouble. Where else would he be?” The Doctor: “She was scared. She was scared and alone. I brought her here and look what they did.” Vastra: “Who or what could have done this thing?” “Still not the question.” I sang. Vastra: “I’m sorry?” The Doctor: “No. That is not the question. That is not where we start.” Strax: “The question is how. The flesh itself has been combusted.” The Doctor: “No, no, shut up. What do you all have for brains, pudding? Look at you. Why can’t I meet a decent species? Planet of the pudding brains.” Clara: “Doctor, I know you’re upset, but you need to calm down and talk to us. What is the question?” The Doctor: “A dinosaur is burning in the heart of London. Nothing left but smoke and flame. The question is, have there been any similar murders?” Vastra: “Yes. Yes, by the Goddess, there have.” The Doctor: “Look at them all, gawking.” The Doctor: “Question two. If all the pudding brains are gawking, then what is he?” (One man is walking away calmly.) Vastra: “He seems remarkably unmoved by the available spectacle.” Clara: “Do you think that is whoever-” (There is a splash. The Doctor is no longer standing on the parapet.) (More) I rolled my eyes. “Great Story, I’m marrying an idiot.” I chased after him. ==PC== (More) “Aren’t you cold?” The Doctor asked, looking over my outfit. His eyes lingered on the legs. “Nope.” I smiled. “I actually don’t think it’s cold enough.” The Doctor kept his eyes on my legs. “Yes...uh...you sure you don’t want a change of clothes?” “Do you?” I asked. “You’re in a night dress.” “You’re in pants.” The Doctor retorted. “No. I’m in a skirt.” I said, feigning innocence. The Doctor’s eyebrows turned cross. “What? You got something to say?” (More) The Doctor: “Bitey. The air, it’s bitey. It’s wet, and bitey.” BARNEY: “Oh, it’s cold.” The Doctor: “That’s right. It’s cold. It’s cold, I knew it was a thing. I need um, I need clothes. I need clothes, that’s what I need. And a big, long scarf. No, no, move on from that. Looked stupid. Er, have you seen this face before?” BARNEY: “No.” The Doctor: “Are you sure?” BARNEY: “Sir, I have never seen that face.” The Doctor: “It’s funny, because I’m sure that I have. You know, I never know where the faces come from. They just pop up. Zap. Faces like this one. Come on, look at it, have a look, come on, look, look, look.” (The Doctor pulls Barney over to look in the mirror on the ground.) The Doctor: “Look, it’s covered in lines. But I didn’t do the frowning. Who frowned me this face? Do you ever look in the mirror and think I’ve seen that face before?” BARNEY: “Yes.” The Doctor: “Really? When?” BARNEY: “Well, every time I look in the mirror.” The Doctor: “Oh, yes, yes, yes. Fair enough. Good point. My face is fresh on, though.” BARNEY: “Er-” (Barney moves away from the nutter in the nightshirt.) The Doctor: “Why this one? Why did I choose this face? It’s like I’m trying to tell myself something. Like I’m trying to make a point. But what is so important that I can’t just tell myself what I’m thinking?” BARNEY: “Er-” The Doctor: “I’m not just being rhetorical here. You can join in.” BARNEY: “I don’t like it.” The Doctor: “What?” BARNEY: “Your face.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t like it either. Well, it’s all right up until the eyebrows. Then it just goes haywire. Look at the eyebrows. These are attack eyebrows. You could take bottle tops off with these.” BARNEY: “They are mighty eyebrows indeed, sir.” The Doctor: “They’re cross. They’re crosser than the rest of my face. They’re independently cross. They probably want to cede from the rest of my face and set up their own independent state of eyebrows. That’s Scot. I am Scottish. I’ve gone Scottish?” BARNEY: “Oh yes, you are. You are definitely Scots, sir. I, I ’ear it in your voice.” The Doctor: “Oh no, that’s good. Oh.” (He practices the long rolling Scottish ’oh’ sound.) The Doctor: “It’s good I’m Scottish. I’m Scottish. I am Scottish. I can complain about things, I can really complain about things. Now, give me your coat.” BARNEY: “No.” The Doctor: “I am cold.” BARNEY: “I’m cold.” The Doctor: “I’m cold. There’s no point in us both being cold. Give me your coat. Give me your coat. No, wait. Shut up, shut up. Shut up. I missed something. It was here, it was here. It was. What was it I saw? What did I see?” (He pick up an old newspaper.) The Doctor: “This is what I saw. Spontaneous combustion.” (Fourth case of spontaneous combustion. The death of Margaret Roberts occurred on Friday, outside her home address in London, in what the police are describing as a curious case of spontaneous combustion. She was aged 68 years. Born in Scotland, Mrs Roberts etc, etc.) BARNEY: “What devilry is this, sir?” The Doctor: “I don’t know, but I probably blame the English.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Clara crosses the street and looks up at the building, which is just as depicted in the advert. She goes inside and sits by herself on a curved bench seat in a wall alcove, with a small round table in front of it. The restaurant has other customers, but is very quiet. She examines the advert again, then sniffs. Then she coughs as she fans the air with the paper. Her companion is wearing a noisome coat.) The Doctor: “What’s wrong?” Clara: “I don’t know. Maybe the smell?” The Doctor: “I know. It’s everywhere.” Clara: “Where did you get that coat?” The Doctor: “Er, ahem, I bought it.” Clara: “From where?” The Doctor: “Er, a shop?” Clara: “No.” The Doctor: “Might have been a tramp.” Clara: “You don’t have any money.” The Doctor: “Er, I had a watch.” Clara: “No. That watch was beautiful.” The Doctor: “It was my favorite.” Clara: “You swapped your favorite watch for that coat. That’s maybe not a good deal.” The Doctor: “Well, I was in a hurry. There was a terrible smell.” Clara: “Okay.” (The Doctor smiles and laughs a little.) Clara: “No. No, don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t smile. I will smile first and then you know it’s safe to smile.” The Doctor: “Are you cross with me?” Clara: “I am not cross. But if I was cross it would be your fault and. Yes, I am cross.” The Doctor: “I guessed that.” Clara: “I am extremely cross.” The Doctor: “And if I hadn’t changed my face, would you be cross?” Clara: “I would be cross if I wasn’t cross.” The Doctor: “Why?” Clara: “Why? An ordinary person wants to meet someone that they know very well for lunch. What do they do?” The Doctor: “Well, they probably get in touch and suggest lunch.” Clara: “Mmm hmm. Okay, so what sort of person would put a cryptic note in, in a newspaper advert?” The Doctor: “Well, I wouldn’t like to say.” Clara: “Oh, go on, do say.” The Doctor: “Well, I would say that that person would be an egomaniac, needy, game-player sort of person.” Clara: “Ah, thank you. Well, at least that hasn’t changed.” The Doctor: “And I don’t suppose it ever will.” Clara: “No, I don’t suppose it will, either.” The Doctor: “Clara, honestly, I don’t want you to change. It was no bother, really. I saw your advert, I figured it out. I’m happy to play your game.” Clara: “No. No, no. I didn’t place the ad. You placed the ad.” The Doctor: “No, I didn’t.” Clara: “Yes, you placed the ad, I figured it out. Impossible Girl, see? Lunch.” The Doctor: “No, look, the Impossible. That is a message from the Impossible Girl.” Clara: “For the Impossible Girl.” The Doctor: “Ooo.” Clara: “Oh.” The Doctor: “Well, if neither of us placed that ad, who placed that ad?” Clara: “Hang on. Egomaniac, needy, game-player?” The Doctor: “This could be a trap.” Clara: “That was me?” The Doctor: “Never mind that.” Clara: “Yes, I am minding that.” The Doctor: “Clara.” Clara: “You were talking about me?” The Doctor: “Clara, what is happening right now in this restaurant to you and me is more important than your egomania.” Clara: “Nothing is more important than my egomania.” The Doctor: “Right, you actually said that.” Clara: “You never mention that again.” The Doctor: “It’s a vanity trap. You’re so busy congratulating yourself on solving the puzzle, you don’t notice that you’re sticking your head in a noose.” Clara: “What are you doing?” (The Doctor pulls a hair from his head.) Clara: “And that isn’t the only grey one, if you are, er, having a cull.” The Doctor: “What, do you have a problem with the grey ones?” Clara: “If I got new hair and it was grey, I would have a problem.” The Doctor: “Yeah, I bet you would.” Clara: “Meaning?” The Doctor: “It’s too short.” (He pulls a hair from Clara’s head.) Clara: “Ow.” The Doctor: “Sorry, it was the only one out of place. I’m sure that you would want it killed.” Clara: “Ooo. Are you trying to tell me something?” The Doctor: “I’m trying to measure the air disturbance in the room.” Clara: “Right. Moments when you know you are boring.” (He holds the hair below the table edge and lets it go. It falls slowly downwards.) The Doctor: “There is something extremely wrong with everybody else in this room.” Clara: “Mmm. Basically, don’t you always think that?” The Doctor: “Look at them. Don’t look.” Clara: “You just said to look.” The Doctor: “Look without looking.” Clara: “They look fine to me. They’re just eating.” The Doctor: “Are they?” (A soup spoon is repeatedly brought up to the mouth and lowered again, still full. Knifes and forks lift and fall over plates.) Clara: “Okay, no. No, they’re not eating.” The Doctor: “Something else they’re not doing.” (Another short grey hair falls to the floor.) The Doctor: “(sotto) Breathing.” Clara: “(sotto) What do we do?” The Doctor: “Well, you don’t want to eat, do you?” Clara: “Hmm. Slightly lost my appetite. Ahem. How long before they notice that we’re different?” The Doctor: “Not long. Clara: “Anything we can do?” The Doctor: “How long can you hold your breath?” Clara: “We could just casually stroll out of here, like we’ve changed our minds.” The Doctor: “Happens all the time.” Clara: “Ha. Course it does.” (They stand. The other diners stop and stand with a clatter of clockwork. They take a step, the diners move towards them.) Clara: “We could take another look at the menu.” (So they sit down again and the diners return to their tables.) Clara: “What are they?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. But don’t worry, because that’s not the question. The question is, what is this restaurant?” Clara: “Okay, what is this restaurant?” The Doctor: “I don’t know.” (They look at the small menus. A waiter appears at their table.) The Doctor: “Er, no sausages? Do you? And there’s no pictures either. Do you have a children’s menu?” (The waiter shines a small green light at the Doctor from the tip of his pencil.) The Doctor: “Any specials?” WAITER: “Liver.” The Doctor: “I don’t like liver.” WAITER: “Spleen. Brain stem. Eyes.” Clara: “Mmm. Is there a lot of demand for those?” The Doctor: “I don’t think that’s what’s on the menu. I think we are the menu.” WAITER: “Lungs. Skin.” The Doctor: “Excuse me.” (The Doctor reaches up and pulls off the waiter’s face. There is a metal mesh beneath with a flame behind it.) Clara: “Okay. Robot in a mask.” The Doctor: “It’s a face.” Clara: “Yeah, it’s very convincing.” (The Doctor puts it over Clara’s face.) The Doctor: “No, it’s a face.” Clara: “Oh!” (She throws it down.) WAITER: “Yes.” The Doctor: “Yes, what?” WAITER: “Yes, we have a children’s menu.” (Metal arms come out of the back of the bench and hold them tightly around the arms and legs. They are very nice arms, with hands on the end to clasp together firmly. Then the bench descends.) The Doctor: “You’ve got to admire their efficiency.” Clara: “Is it okay if I don’t?” (They cry out as they go down.) (More) ==PC== (More) (A large steampunk circular place, all brass and rivets. There are various people standing still in small alcoves around the wall, and the Half-Face Man is seated in a chair in the centre.) The Doctor: “Hello? Hello, are you the manager? I demand to speak to the manager.” Clara: “This is not a real restaurant, is it?” The Doctor: “Well now, it’s more a sort of automated organ collection station for the unwary diner. Sweeney Todd without the pies.” Clara: “So where are we now?” The Doctor: “Factually? An ancient spaceship, probably buried for centuries. Functionally? A larder.” Clara: “So why hasn’t somebody come for us?” The Doctor: “We’re alive.” Clara: “We’re alive in a larder.” The Doctor: “Exactly. It’s cheaper than freezing us.” Clara: “Okay.” (The Doctor has shaken his sonic screwdriver out from under his coat.) The Doctor: “Are you ready?” Clara: “Go for it.” The Doctor: “Don’t let it roll away.” Clara: “No.” The Doctor: “We’ve got one shot at this.” Clara: “Next time, make one that doesn’t roll.” The Doctor: “Go.” (The Doctor manages to shake the sonic screwdriver onto the floor near Clara’s feet.) The Doctor: “Have you got it?” Clara: “I can only just about reach it.” The Doctor: “Oh, it’s at times like this I miss Amy.” Clara: “Who?” The Doctor: “Nothing.” (Clara gathers the screwdriver between her feet and aims upwards it at the Doctor.) Clara: “Ready?” The Doctor: “Don’t miss.” (She flicks it up into his lap. He winces.) The Doctor: “Oh.” Clara: “Sorry, did I hit something?” The Doctor: “Oh, the symbolism.” (He gets the screwdriver into his hands and unfastens his bonds with it, then Clara’s.) Clara: “You should make that thing voice-activated. Oh, for God’s sake, it is, isn’t it?” The Doctor: “I don’t want to talk about it.” Clara: “Doctor?” (There is a Chinaman in the nearest alcove.) The Doctor: “Dormant.” Clara: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “I don’t. I’m just hoping.” (They tiptoe away.) Clara: “So, is it these guys that killed the dinosaur?” The Doctor: “Well, if they’re harvesting organs, a dinosaur would have some great stuff.” Clara: “Why would robots need organs? Burke and Hare from space?” The Doctor: “No, but that’s a good theory. Droids harvesting spare parts. That rings a bell.” (He stares at the Half-Face Man in the chair in the middle.) The Doctor: “Captain, my Captain.” Clara: “Can he see us?” The Doctor: “Dormant.” Clara: “Hoping?” The Doctor: “Yep. Oh, look. He’s recharging. He’s asleep. Doesn’t even know we’re here.” Clara: “Are you sure?” The Doctor: “Sure. Not sure. One or the other.” Clara: “Okay. So, half-man, half-robot. A cyborg, yeah?” The Doctor: “Oh.” Clara: “Oh?” BOTH: “Oh.” The Doctor: “Look at the hands.” Clara: “What about them?” The Doctor: “Look at them.” Clara: “I’m looking.” The Doctor: “They don’t match. These hands don’t belong to the same body.” (One is large and fleshy, a workman’s hand. The other is slim and dainty, never scrubbed a floor in its life.) Clara: “I don’t understand.” The Doctor: “Well, I don’t blame you. See this, this is not your normal cyborg. This isn’t a man turning himself into a robot. This is a robot turning himself into a man, piece by piece.” Clara: “That’s what the restaurant’s for.” The Doctor: “Well, it would need a constant supply of spare parts. You can tan skin, but organs rot. Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it’s been around, how much of the original is even left? The eyeballs look very fresh, though.” (The arms move. They jump back.) Clara: “Ah.” (It takes hold of the chair arms, and clockwork whirrs.) Clara: “(sotto) Is it awake?” The Doctor: “It’s waking up. I think. Okay, let’s go.” (They tiptoe away, then run through a doorway into a brightly lit corridor. The Doctor turns back.) The Doctor: “I’ve seen this before. I’m missing something.” Clara: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “It’s the brand new head, rebooting.” Clara: “Come on.” The Doctor: “I’ve seen this before.” Clara: “Oh, hurry up. Get out.” (Clara returns and pushes the Doctor through the doorway as the Half-Face Man raises his arm and touches his palm. The door comes down between the Doctor and Clara. He tries to sonic it open.) Clara: “Doctor. Quickly.” (The door lifts a short way. The Half-Face Man is unplugging himself from his chair.) The Doctor: “Sorry, too slow. There’s no point in them catching us both.” Clara: “Well, give me the screwdriver.” The Doctor: “I might need it.” (The Doctor closes the door fully and leaves her.) Clara: “No. Doctor?” (More) ==PC== (More) Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one? There was another. Where is he? Where is the other? You will tell us, or you will be destroyed.” Clara: “What did you say?” Half-Face Man: “You will tell us.” Clara: “Yeah, I know. Or what?” Half-Face Man: “You will die.” (Clara stands.) Clara: “Go on, then. Do it. I’m not going to answer any of your questions, so you have to do it. You have to kill me. Threats don’t work unless you deliver.” Half-Face Man: “You will tell us where the other one is.” Clara: “Nope.” Half-Face Man: “You will be destroyed.” Clara: “Destroy me, then. And if you don’t, then I’m not going to believe a single threat you make from now on. Of course, if I’m dead, then I can’t tell you where the other one went then. You need to keep this place down here a secret, don’t you? Never start with your final sanction. You’ve got nowhere to go but backwards.” Half-Face Man: “Humans feel pain.” Clara: “Ah. Bigger threat to smaller threat. See what I mean? Backwards.” Half-Face Man: “The information can be extracted by means of your suffering.” Clara: “Are you trying to scare me? Well, cos I’m already bloody terrified of dying. And I’ll endure a lot of pain for a very long time before I give up the information that’s keeping me alive. How long have you got?” (The clockwork whirs, then the Half-Face Man stands up.) Clara: “All you can offer me is my life. What you can’t do is threaten it. You can negotiate.” (The Half-Face Man removes his big right hand and clamps it onto his lapel.) Clara: “Okay, okay, okay. Okay, yes, yes, yes, I’m crying and it’s just because I am very frightened of you. If you know anything about human beings, that means you, you’re in a lot trouble.” (The robot has a flame-thrower where his hand was, ready to go.) Half-Face Man: “We will not negotiate.” Clara: “You don’t have a choice. I tell you what. I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions.” Clara: “We’ll take turns. I’ll go first. Why did you kill the dinosaur?” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions.” Clara: “Why’d you kill the dinosaur?” Half-Face Man: “We will not answer questions!” Clara: “Then you might as well kill me, because I’m not talking again till you do.” Half-Face Man: “Within the optic nerve of the dinosaur is material of use to our computer systems.” Clara: “You burned a whole dinosaur for a spare part? No. No, hang on. You know what’s in a dinosaur’s optic nerve, which means you’ve seen them before.” Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one?” Clara: “How long have you been rebuilding yourselves? Look at the state of you. Is there any real you left? What’s the point?” Half-Face Man: “We will reach the promised land.” Clara: “The what? The promised land? What’s that?” Half-Face Man: “Where is the other one?” Clara: “I don’t know. But I know where he will be. Where he will always be. If the Doctor is still the Doctor, he will have my back.” (Clara reaches behind her.) Clara: “I’m right, aren’t I? Go on. Please, please, go on, say I’m right.” (A hand grabs hers and pulls her back. Then the bald robot removes the skin from his face.) The Doctor: “Ah. Hello, hello, rubbish robots from the dawn of time. Thank you for all the gratuitous information. Five foot one and crying. You never stood a chance. Stop it.” (The Doctor pulls the flame-thrower arm down and puts his sonic screwdriver into the recharger in the chair. The lights go out.) The Doctor: “This is your power source. And feeble though it is, I can use it to blow this whole room if I see one thing that I don’t like. And that includes karaoke and mime, so take no chances. See Clara, that’s how you disguise yourself as a droid!” The Doctor yelled. Clara growled. “Yeah, well I didn’t have a lot of time. I’d been suddenly abandoned!” “Yeah, sorry.” He shook his head. “No, actually, I’m not.” The Doctor glared at the robot. “You’re brilliant on adrenaline. And you were out of your depths. Never try and control a control freak.” “I am not a control freak!” Clara snapped. “Yes ma’am.” The Doctor quipped. I held back my smile. Clara: “Oh.” Half-Face Man: “Why are you here?” The Doctor: “Why did you invite us? The message, in the paper. That was you, wasn’t it? Oh.” (He takes back his screwdriver.) The Doctor: “I hate being wrong in public. Everybody forget that happened. Clara, say the word.” Clara: “What word?” The Doctor: “They never sent you in here without a word.” Clara: “I don’t want to say it.” The Doctor: “I’ve guessed already.” (Clara touches her top button, which glows bright blue.) BOTH: “Geronimo.” (Two ladies in tight leather catsuits descend from the ceiling by means of long pieces of fabric wrapped around their waists, then pull large swords from the scabbard on their backs.) Vastra: “Remain still, and lay down your weapons in the name of the British Empire.” Strax: “Argh.” (Their short but robust companion didn’t have fabric long enough. He just falls to the floor with his honking great gun.) Vastra: “Strax.” Strax: “Sorry.” Jenny: “I’ve told you before. Take the stairs.” The Doctor: “Oh, look. The cavalry.” Half-Face Man: “I burned an ancient, beautiful creature for one inch of optic nerve. What do you think you can accomplish, little man?” The Doctor: “What do you? Vastra?” (Vastra blocks the flame-thrower with her sword.) Vastra: “The establishment upstairs has been disabled with maximum prejudice, and the authorities summoned.” Clara: “Hang on, she called the police? We never do that. We should start.” The Doctor: “You see? Destroy us if you will, they’re still going to close your restaurant. That was going to sound better.” Half-Face Man: “Then we will destroy you.” (All the robots have swords for arms.) The Doctor: “No, you won’t. You’re logical. You have restraint. You killed to survive. You’re not a murderer.” Clara: “He’s not a what? This is a slaughterhouse.” The Doctor: “And how does that make it different from any other restaurant? You weren’t vegetarian the last time I checked. This is over. Killing us won’t change that. What would be the point?” Half-Face Man: “To find the promised land.” The Doctor: “You’re millions of years old. It’s time you knew, there isn’t one.” Half-Face Man: “I am in search of paradise.” The Doctor: “Yeah, well, me too. I’m not going to make it either.” (The Half-Face Man knocks the Doctor down.) Clara: “Doctor!” Half-Face Man: “I will leave in the escape capsule. Destroy where necessary.” Vastra: “Escape capsule? This ship is millions of years old. It’ll never fly.” Half-Face Man: “It has been repaired.” Clara: “What with?” Half-Face Man: “You.” Strax: “Defensive positions, everyone.” Clara: “Doctor. He’s getting away.” (The Half-Face Man goes up on the bench seat while the rest of the robots encircle our heroes.) Half-Face Man: “Your friend is intelligent. He’ll know better than to follow me.” (The Doctor is holding on to a convenient brass handle on the underside of the seat.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor pours two glasses of whiskey.) “Would you like a drink?” I asked, pouring us all whiskey. Half-Face Man: “What are you doing?” The Doctor: “I’ve got the horrible feeling I’m going to have to kill you. I thought you might appreciate a drink first. I know I would.” (The Half-Face Man turns back to the control panel in the wall and pulls down a small lever. There is a grinding sound.) The Doctor: “Fifty first century, right? Time travelling spaceship crashed in the past. You’re trying to get home the long way round.” Half-Face Man: “I go to the promised land.” The Doctor: “So you keep saying. Okay, so your restaurant is made out of your old ship. But you’re wasting your time. It can’t ever fly.” (The Doctor picks up a posy that had been on a table.) Half-Face Man: “The escape pod is viable.” The Doctor: “How? You can’t patch up a spaceship with human remains. You know, this really is ringing a bell.” (The room shakes.) The Doctor: “Okay, that’s clever. How are you powering it?” Half-Face Man: “Skin.” (The escape pod is the main room of the restaurant, carried aloft by the pink balloon. The Doctor removes a fuse from the board and reads the inscription.) The Doctor: “SS Marie Antoinette. Out of control repair droids cannibalising human beings. I know that this is familiar, but I just can’t seem to place it.” Half-Face Man: “How would you kill me?” The Doctor: “Sister ship of the Madame De Pompadour. No, not getting it.” (He sniffs the posy then throws it aside.) Half-Face Man: “How would you kill me?” The Doctor: “Why don’t you have a drink first? It’s only human.” Half-Face Man: “I am not human.” The Doctor: “Neither am I.” (The balloon and its gondola float over Saint Pauls Cathedral.) The Doctor: “What do you think of the view?” Half-Face Man: “I do not think of it.” The Doctor: “I don’t think of it. I don’t. Droids and apostrophes, I could write a book. Except you are barely a droid any more. There’s more human in you than machine. So tell me, what do you think of the view?” (The Half-Face Man gets up and draws back the net curtain. They are heading towards Westminster.) Half-Face Man: “It is beautiful.” The Doctor: “No, it isn’t. It’s just far away. Everything looks too small. I prefer it down there. Everything is huge. Everything is so important. Every detail, every moment, every life clung to.” Half-Face Man: “How could you kill me?” The Doctor: “For the same reason that you’re asking me that question, because you don’t really want to carry on. What’ll happen to the other droids when you die? You’re the control node, aren’t you? Presumably they’ll deactivate.” Half-Face Man: “I will not die. I will reach the promised land.” The Doctor: “There isn’t any promised land. This is just. It’s a superstition that you have picked up from all the humanity you’ve stuffed inside yourself.” Half-Face Man: “I am not dead.” The Doctor: “You are a broom. Question. You take a broom, you replace the handle, and then later you replace the brush, and you do that over and over again. Is it still the same broom? Answer? No, of course it isn’t. But you can still sweep the floor. Which is not strictly relevant, skip that last part. You have replaced every piece of yourself, mechanical and organic, time and time again. There’s not a trace of the original you left. You probably can’t even remember where you got that face from.” (The Doctor holds up a silver plate between himself and the Half-Face Man. The droid takes it, looks carefully, then drops it.) Half-Face Man: “It cannot end.” The Doctor: “It has to. You know it does. And there’s only one way out.” (The Doctor opens the doors.) Half-Face Man: “Self-destruction is against my basic programme.” The Doctor: “And murder is against mine.” (They struggle in the doorway.) Half-Face Man: “You are stronger than you look.” The Doctor: “And I’m hoping you are too. This is over. Are you capable of admitting that?” Half-Face Man: “Do you have it in you to murder me?” The Doctor: “Those people down there. They’re never small to me. Don’t make assumptions about how far I will go to protect them, because I’ve already come a very long way. And unlike you, I don’t expect to reach the promised land.” (The Half-Face Man turns off his flame thrower. They release each other.) The Doctor: “You realize, of course, one of us is lying about our basic programming.” Half-Face Man: “Yes.” The Doctor: “And I think we both know who that is.” (More) ==PC== (More) I tossed the clothes at him. The Doctor looked at me curiously. “Go on. Get dressed. I’m not gonna have my future husband be a homeless guy anymore.” The Doctor grunted. “Well now that we’re being honest, why don’t you change? I don’t want you wearing that getup. Far too much skin.” A smirk came onto my face. “What? Don’t like my clothes? Or...do you like them too much?” I walked past him. The Doctor paused in his confident steps. He turned to me, that confidence moved to his smirk. “Yes. I do.” He said in utter seriousness. “Now go take it off.” It had been a joke, a tease to see how far the Doctor would go. He was honest, totally and purely honest with me. It felt good. He walked off into the TARDIS, to get on his new clothes. I braced myself on the console, realizing just then I hadn’t exactly been breathing. ==PC== (More) My outfit was a little more mild. The TARDIS was probably doing this to keep the Doctor from having a heartsattack. I wore a short sleeve white peasant shirt, with some blue designs along the collar. My skirt had been replaced with tan capri pants. I wore roman sandals, which I wasn’t in love with but they would do. My hair had been done into a shoulder braid, tied with a purple ribbon. There was a bohemian teal blue scarf tied over my head, looking delightful. It looked gorgeous. Simple, yet alluring. The Doctor seemed to approve. “Hello Morgan Spencer.” The Doctor said, in the tone he always uses when speaking his companions names. I loved that tone. “Hello Theta Sigma.” I greeted. The Doctor shook his shoulders. “I like that outfit better.” “No, you liked the other one.” I corrected. “You just didn’t like that you weren’t the only one looking at it.” The Doctor went to flipping switches. “Of course. How would you feel if I wore something like that?” “I would wonder how you got the skirt.” I quipped. The Doctor gave me a flat look. I just kept my smirk up. “No. I meant, if I went around in just my pants.” I blushed. Pants were what British people called underwear. I wondered what kind the Doctor wore...or if he had any at all. “Need I remind you that I’m at 11?” The Doctor smirked, flipping one last switch. “Oh. Trust me, I would’ve remembered if you ever showed up in that skirt.” I blushed deeper, not sure why. “Yeah.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The dinosaur sputum has gone from the outside.) Clara: “You’ve redecorated.” The Doctor: “Yes.” Clara: “I don’t like it.” The Doctor: “Not completely entirely convinced myself. I think there should be more round things on the walls. I used to have lots of round things. I wonder where I put them? I’m the Doctor. I’ve lived for over two thousand years, and not all of them were good. I’ve made many mistakes, and it’s about time that I did something about that. Clara, I’m not your boyfriend.” Clara: “I never thought you were.” The Doctor: “I never said it was your mistake.” (He sets the TARDIS flying then shows off the red silk lining of his dark blue Crombie coat.) The Doctor: “What do you think?” Clara: “Who put that advert in the paper?” The Doctor: “Who gave you my number? A long time ago, remember? You were given the number of a computer helpline, and you ended up phoning the TARDIS. Who gave you that number?” Clara: “The woman. The woman in the shop.” The Doctor: “Then there’s a woman out there who’s very keen that we stay together.” (The TARDIS lands. Sadly, the time rotor does not go up and down.) The Doctor: “How do you feel on the subject?” Clara: “Am I home?” The Doctor: “If you want to be.” Clara: “I’m sorry. I’m, I’m so, so sorry. But I don’t think I know who you are any more.” (Her mobile phone rings.) The Doctor: “You’d better get that. It might be your boyfriend.” Clara: “Shut up.” She snapped. “Terra’s standin’ right there!” The Doctor looked over at me, I just shrugged. Why was she dragging me into all of this? This was the moment where they would start getting along. “I’m not her boyfriend either.” The Doctor commented, making me snort. ‘The way his kissed me on that train says he has gone way beyond boyfriend.’ I thought, remembering the kiss fondly. (Clara goes outside to answer the call.) (More) The Doctor: “So who is it?” “Is that the Doctor? Clara: “Yes.” “Yes. Clara held out the phone. “He says it’s your turn.” “Hello Manboy.” I said. “Terra.” Eleven breathed. In that same way he did at Demons Run. “Hello my dear.” I smiled. “You’re dying.” “Yes.” He admitted. “I love you.” I suddenly said. “That’s the first time I’ve said that to anyone. Next time, I’m saying that to your face got it Doc?” The Doctor laughed. “Morgan, I promise, that no matter how I change, I will still love you.” The Doctor promised. I laughed, happy. “I know. I know. I’ve met this Doctor before. It was...unforgettable.” I couldn’t stop the blush over that kiss. “But, manboy, no matter what happens to me, I forgive you. I will always forgive you, as long as I will love you. Totally-” “And completely.” The Doctor finished my thought. I laughed. That was gonna be our thing. No question. There was an almost uncomfortable silence on his end. “Take care of him, Morgan, please.” The Doctor pleaded. “I Pinkie promise, Theta.” I said. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” (More) The Doctor: “Well?” Clara: “Well what?” “He asked you both a question.” The Doctor pointed out. Clara still looked heartbroken. “Will you help me?” Clara: “You shouldn’t have been listening.” The Doctor: “I wasn’t. I didn’t need to. That was me talking. You can’t see me, can you? You look at me, and you can’t see me. Have you any idea what that’s like? I’m not on the phone, I’m right here, standing in front of you. Please, just, just see me.” (Clara walks forward and studies his face carefully. Then she smiles a little.) Clara: “Thank you.” The Doctor: “For what?” Clara: “Phoning.” (She throws her arms around his neck.) I joined in on the hug fest, knowing how this Doctor would react. The Doctor: “I, I don’t think that I’m a hugging person now.” Clara: “I’m not sure you get a vote.” “He did. We just ignored it.” I snickered, holding Doc just a little bit tighter. The Doctor: “Whatever you say.” Clara: “This isn’t my home, by the way.” (She lets go.) The Doctor: “Sorry. I’m sorry about that. I missed.” Clara: “Where are we?” The Doctor: “Glasgow, I think.” Clara: “Ah. You’ll fit right in.” (Scots) “Scottish.” The Doctor: “Right. Shall we, er. Do you want to go and get some coffee, or chips, or something? Or chips and coffee?” Clara: “Coffee. Coffee would be great. You’re buying.” The Doctor: “I don’t have any money.” Clara: “You’re fetching, then.” The Doctor: “I’m not sure that I’m the fetching sort.” Clara: “Yeah, still not sure you get a vote.” (More) ==PC== (More) I held his hand, getting used to the feeling. It was old, and wrinkly. I brushed my thumb against his knuckles. The Doctor smiled at me. I smiled back. Bringing his hand up to me, I kissed his fist. I just held it there, getting a better feel of it than the last time. It was kinda like kissing leather. “I love you.” I whispered into his fist. “I love you, Theta.” The Doctor smiled. “Yes. Good to know.” I gulped, still holding his fist. “Sorry for asking, but, when did you realize you loved me?” The Doctor paused, looking me over. His free arm wrapped around me. I kept his hand held close to me. The hug told me everything I needed to know. “Knew it.” I smirked. “You are a hugger.” (More) “Arrivederci, mi Amore.” I decided, Jumping away in a flash. ==PC== The Half-Faced Man awoke in a garden, with a tea set made out on a table beside him. In the seat just across, a woman sat. She smiled at him, pink lips framing shining white teeth vaguely reminding him of a shark. She wore a bright green twenty first century sundress, and a pure white overcoat. Her honey blonde hair was done back into a bun, but she did have some bangs on her forehead. She had lime green eyes, covered by brass framed glasses. The android looked around his new surroundings, wondering how he got there. The last thing he remembered was fighting the Doctor. The woman tilted her head to the side, the look in her green eyes suggesting she was a predator and he was prey. The look vanished instantly, replaced with warm kindness. She reached for the tea pot, pouring herself a small cuppa. “Hello. I’m Meredith.” She spoke in an English accent. She had a soothing voice, almost matronly. There was something beneath it, something diabolical. The blonde flinched sympathetically, holding her teacup closer to her chest. She frowned at the Half Face Man. “Sorry about my boyfriend.” She shrugged, sheepish. “He’s Scottish.” She took a sip of the tea. Half-Face Man tilted his head. His mechanics hissing and his gears grinding. “Boy friend?” Meredith avoided the question. “Now, did he push you out of that thing, or did you fall?” Meredith asked, using one hand to reach out to him in a gesture of comfort. “Couldn’t really tell. He can be quite mean sometimes.” She moved her hand back, placing her teacup down. She looked out onto the garden, smiling fondly. “Except to me, of course, because he loves me so much.” Meredith glanced at Half-Face Man. “I do like his new accent, though.” She smiled, that predatory smile. “Think I might keep it.” Half-Face Man tilted his head the other way, glancing at the garden. It gave no clues as to where he was. The machine did not like the lack of knowledge. “Where am I?” He said in a threatening tone. Meredith scoffed, rolling her eyes and smiling like he was about to get a big surprise. “Where do you think you are? Look around you. You made it.” She rose up from her seat, picking up an dark pink umbrella from her side of the table. Using it as a walking stick, Meredith joyfully walked out into the garden. Half Face Man watched her warily. Her simple peasant shoes hardly making a sound. “The Promised Land. Paradise.” Meredith spun in a circle, grinning madly at Half Face Man. She threw her arms out, including the umbrella. “Welcome...to Heaven!” (She snaps her teeth together and dances around the water feature.) (More)
Crimson HorrorThe (More) I flashed in, seeing Vastra holding up a photo of a dead man’s eye. I ran up to it, seeing what looked like the Doctor frozen in his eyeball. Vastra: “Good grief.” THURSDAY: “Oh, god.” (More) I tilted my head, curiously staring at the man. “Hmm. Never had that reaction before.” (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra and Vastra make enlargements of the photographs.) Terra: “I leave him on his own, and he screws it up.” (The enlargement reveals an image of a red-faced, screaming Doctor.) (More) (More) Vastra: “According to my research, Sweetville’s proprietor holds recruitment drives for her little community. She is only interested in the fittest and the most beautiful.” Strax: “You may rely on me, ma’am.” Vastra: “I was, in fact, speaking to Terra.” Strax: “Terra. If this weak and fleshy boy is to represent us, I strongly recommend the issuing of scissor grenades, limbo vapour and triple blast brain splitters.” “What did you just call me?” I snapped at Strax. The potato held up his arms. “Nothing sir!” “That’s what I thought.” I grinned, turning back to Vastra. Vastra: “What for?” Strax: “Just generally. Remember, we are going to the north.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The poster advertising the meeting proclaims Mrs Winifred Gillyflower on the Present Moral Decay and the Coming Apocalypse.) Gillyflower: “Bradford, that Babylon of the moderns with its crystal light and its glitter, all aswarm with the wretched ruins of humanity. Men and women crushed by the devil’s juggernaut.” (She has a good congregation, who agree with her. Terra is listening carefully.) Gillyflower: “And moral turpitude can destroy the most delicate of lives. Believe me, I know. I know.” (A curtain is drawn back.) Gillyflower: “Me own daughter, blinded in a drunken rage by my late husband. Her once beautiful eyes, pale and white as mistletoe berries.” (The daughter gets up from a chair and taps her way to a covered board.) Gillyflower: “And what, my friends, is your story? Will you be found wanting when the End of Days is come, when judgement rains down upon us all? Or will you be preserved against the coming apocalypse? Do not despair. I offer a way out. There is a different path. Sweetville!” (The blind woman pulls the cover from an illustration of an ideal community. Factory with two rows of terraced homes, its own chapel and bandstand and gardens. Think along the lines of the original model village of Bourneville.) Gillyflower: “Join us. Join us in this shining city on the hill.” (sings) “Bring me my bow of burning gold. Bring me my arrows of desire.” (Later, the congregation are queuing up in front of the pulpit.) Gillyflower: “You wish to join us, my dear?” Terra: “If it’s all the same with you, ma’am.” Gillyflower: “Oh yes, dear. You’ll do very nicely.” (Terra signs the big book.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Prospective employees both male and female are queuing up. A red-headed woman is talking to Terra.) Abigail: “I’m dead nervous, aren’t you? They have to be sure, you see. Only the best for Sweetville. I hope me teeth don’t let me down. I’m Abigail.” Terra: “Pleased to meet you.” Abigail: “You’re not local, are you.” Terra: “Nah. Up from London.” Abigail: “Different here, I bet. Terra: “Yeah. Like a bleeding horse market. Do you know anyone who’s come to live here? In Sweetville, I mean.” Abigail: “I had a pal who come here three month back. She wrote to tell me how perfect it all were. Funny, though. I’ve not heard a peep from her since.” PILGRIM: “Next, please!” Abigail: “Hang on, we’re moving.” (Terra steps aside to a door and gets her roll of lockpicking tools out.) Abigail: “What’re you doing?” Terra: “Do me a favor. Cause a distraction.” Abigail: “What?” Terra: “Swoon. Have a funny turn. Fit of the vapors.” Abigail: “Are you crackers?” Terra: “Go on. There’s a guinea in it for you.” Abigail: “Done.” (Abigail gasps for breath loudly then faints. A crowd gathers around her and Terra gets through the locked door. It takes her to the factory floor, where the deafening thumps of machinery are being broadcast through three large gramophone horns. There is nothing else here. Terra sees two men carry a large bottle of red liquid through the room and get into a lift.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Terra has taken the lift up to the corridor with the red lit door. There is a rhythmic thumping noise coming from above, so she climbs a spiral staircase to another floor and finds another locked door. The one with the hatch at the bottom. She raises the hatch and a red hand grabs her. She struggles free and the hatch slides shut again.) Terra: “You do that again, and I am going to break you in ways you can’t even dream of. Understood?” There was a thump, but softer this time. The chain rattled. “You are an impatient little bugger.” I commented, as I brought out my lock picking needles. “I could open this door. Would you like that?” Another thump. “Thought you might. But you and I are going to come to an arrangement. Got it?” (thump) “Now, you stand back, do you hear me? I don’t want to hurt to you, but you try anything funny and I’ll do bad things to you. Is that understood?” (thump, thump) “Right.” (More) Terra: “Doctor!” I saw the Doctor. His eyes widened by just so at seeing me. I ran up to him. “Manboy, are you okay?” I looked him over. The Doctor just made that groaning sound. “Don’t talk. I’ve been wax before, and it wasn’t very comfortable.” I said, carefully helping him to his feet. “Let’s...get you...out of here.” (More) (Terra helps the Doctor stagger stiff-legged along the corridor.) Terra: “Come on.” (The lift comes up.) Terra: “Come on!” (It is Ada. She hears their footsteps but heads for the stairs while Terra guides the Doctor into the red glow room.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Through a window they watch people on a frame being manoeuvred over a large vat of bubbling red liquid, then lowered in.) Terra: “Oh my Story.” (The Doctor struggles to point at a row of metal doors behind them.) It was nerve racking. (More) The Doctor walked out, a confident look on his face. The Doctor: “Ah! Missed me?” Terra: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Terra. Terra, Terra, Terra, Terra. Just when you think your favorite time jumping Traveller Queen will never turn up. Terra.” He grabbed me, and kissed me. I reached my hand up, running a hand through his hair. Man, this guy liked kissing me. And my hair. (The Doctor takes her in his arms, bends her backwards and kisses her long and hard on the lips. She slaps his face.) The Doctor: “You have no idea how good that feels. Right. Mrs Gillyflower. We’ve got to stop her. And then there’s Clara. Poor Clara. Where’s Clara?” Terra: “Doctor, wait.” The Doctor: “Can’t. Clara. Got to find.” Terra: “I leave you to your own devices, and you turn into a waxy red thing. What did you do?” The Doctor: “Days, weeks, don’t know. Long story. I’ll keep it short.” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Poor Edmund must have come looking for us and then fallen into a vat of the pure venom. Or was pushed. Didn’t stand a chance.” Terra: “What is that stuff, though?” The Doctor gave me a curious look. “You already know.” He reminded me. “Yes, but I like hearing your speeches.” I gave him a flirty smile. The Doctor: “Deadly poison. And Mrs Gillyflower’s been dipping her pilgrims in a dilute form to protect them. Preserve them. Process didn’t work on me. Maybe because I’m not human. I ended up on the reject pile.” Terra: “Preserve them against what?” The Doctor: “Well, according to her, the coming apocalypse.” (The Doctor makes the universal cuckoo gesture.) Terra: “Not gonna argue with you there.” I said. “When the End of Days is come and judgement rains down upon us all.” The Doctor: “What?” Terra: “Something Mrs. Gillyflower said. One of her sermons. Vastra and Jenny will come looking for me. We’d best get on.” The Doctor: “Yes, Clara. Got to find Clara.” (More) ==PC== (More) “If Clara is dead, you will join her.” I promised him. (He runs over to a house and looks inside.) The Doctor: “I couldn’t see much from where I was, but I think she survived the process. She must be here somewhere.” Terra: “It’s been a year!” “You’re you.” The Doctor pointed out. “So? You think I memorized every house in the show?” I scoffed. “I skipped that.” (The Doctor bursts in to find Clara in a bell jar with another man. He breaks it with a chair.) (More) ==PC== (More) (They have put Clara into a metal cubicle.) Terra: “Can she be revived, like you were?” The Doctor: “I hope so.” (Pilgrims enter.) Terra: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “Oh, great. Great. Attack of the supermodels. Time for a plan.” Terra: “Nah, Doctor. This one’s on me.” (Terra removed her bonnet and dress to reveal a tight all leather outfit. She deals with the three male pilgrims in three moves.) The Doctor: “That is a plan.” (More pilgrims advance, with rounders bats.) The Doctor: “Okay, time for a new plan. Run!” STRAX: “Sontar ha!” (Enter Strax, in his Sontaran armour, firing his honking big gun. The pilgrims flee. Vastra is close behind with a sword.) Vastra: “Let’s go.” Terra: “No, ma’am. We’re not escaping. We’ve got to help the Doctor with Clara.” Jenny: “But, Doctor. Clara’s dead. The Ice Lady? Doctor.” The Doctor: “Long story.” Strax: “What now, madam? We could lay mimetic cluster mines.” Vastra: “Strax.” Strax: “Or dig trenches and fill them with acid.” Vastra: “Strax! You’re overexcited. Have you been eating Miss Jenny’s sherbet fancies again?” Strax: “No.” Vastra: “Go outside and wait for me until I call for you.” Strax: “But madam, I-” Vastra: “Go!” Strax: “I’m going to go play with my grenades.” (Strax leaves.) The Doctor: “Okay, I think she’s about done.” (The Doctor opens the cubicle.) “I know who you think she is, but she isn’t. She can’t be.” Vastra: “I was right, then. You and Clara have unfinished business.” (Clara falls into the Doctor’s arms.) The Doctor: “There, there. Hello, stranger.” Clara: “Doctor. Terra.” The Doctor: “Ah ha.” “Howdy. 14.” Clara: “Hi. What’s going on?” The Doctor: “Oh, haven’t you heard, love? There’s trouble at mill. She’s a lizard.” (More) ==PC== (More) Vastra: “My people once ruled this world, as well you know, but we did not rule it alone. Just as humanity fights a daily battle against nature, so did we. And our greatest plague, the most virulent enemy, was the repulsive red leech.” The Doctor: “Ooo, the Repulsive Red Leech. Nah. On balance I think I prefer the Crimson Horror. What was it, exactly?” Vastra: “A tiny parasite. It infected our drinking water. And once in our systems, it secreted a fatal poison.” The Doctor: “If it’s been hanging around, lurking in the shadows, maybe it’s evolved. Or maybe it’s had help.” Clara: “Doctor, I’ve been thinking. The chimney-” The Doctor: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Way past that now. Yucky red parasite from the time of the dinosaurs pitches up in Victorian Yorkshire. Didn’t see that one coming.” Clara: “Yeah, but the chimney-” The Doctor: “But what’s the connection to Mrs Gillyflower? Judgement will rain down on us all. An empty mill.” Clara: “A chimney that doesn’t blow smoke.” The Doctor: “Clever clogs.” Clara: “Missed me?” The Doctor: “Yeah, lots.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “She’s going to poison the air.” Jenny: “How?” (A pilgrim pulls a lever. They are looking at the base of a rocket.) Clara: “With that, I should think.” The Doctor: “And there’s the poison. All right, gang, I’ve got a plan.” (They stand up and something metal clatters. They duck down as the pilgrims turn towards the sound.) The Doctor: “Shush. Okay.” (Mrs Gillyflower pulls out the stops on a small pipe organ then presses a lever. The contraption turns to present a control board to her.) (More) ==PC== (More) Ada: “Who is that? Who is there?” I walked up to Ada. “Hello.” She froze, trying to find me. “Who are you?” “My name is Terra.” I said kindly. “I am your monster’s...future wife. Apparently.” Ada slowly rose up, using her stick to guide her to me. “What?” “Your monster. He is someone I...” I looked back to him, seeing an encouraging smile on his face. I looked back to Ada. “Sorry. I’m still working those out.” Ada: “You. It’s you. My monster. You’ve come back. But you’re The Doctor: “Warm. And alive, thanks to you, Ada. You saved me from your mother’s human rubbish tip. Now then, what’s wrong? Ada: “She does not want me, monster. I am not to be chosen. Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart that my father saw in me. “I thought that too, for a long, long time.” I told Ada, carefully holding her hand. “Kids treated me horribly, and I just sat there and took it. I thought, maybe there was something wrong with me. I thought that they were just trying to fix me, to stop whatever darkness they saw, that I deserved it.” The Doctor’s eyes burned on the back of my head. I knew he wasn’t staring in anger, but in empathy. He knew this story, I had probably told one of his earlier selves. It wasn’t an easy story to share at first, but it got easier as time went on. Once I embraced the story, and what really happened, it became as easy as walking on air. “But you know what Ada?” I got back to it. “What I realized? “She sniffled, her hand reaching up to wipe her white eyes. “They had it backwards.” She sniffled again. “B-Backwards?” “They saw the light in you, in us.” I explained, smiling. Ada started to blink rapidly as tears started to fall. “They saw it because of the darkness in them, and hated it. So they did they one thing they knew to do, they blew it out. They blew out our light because they didn’t have it, Ada, that’s all.” Ada was nearly starting to cry, so I held her hand tighter. “You are amazing, Ada. You’re just a shining light that they wanted to put out.” (More) Clara: “What is it?” Ada: “Who is that?” Clara: “I’m, I’m a friend. A friend of his.” Ada: “Then you are fortunate indeed. It isn’t good to be alone.” The Doctor: “Now, Ada, I need you to tell me something. Who is Mister Sweet? Ada?” Ada: “Oh, dear monster-” The Doctor: “Please, tell me.” Ada: “I cannot. Even now, I cannot. I cannot betray Mama.” The Doctor: “Well, come with us, then. There’s something you need to know.” (More) ==PC== (More) (This is where the control mechanism is.) Gillyflower: “Oh, you do seem to keep turning up like a bad penny, young man.” The Doctor: “Force of habit.” Gillyflower: “Can I offer you something? Tea? Seed cake? Oh, a glass of Amontillado?” The Doctor: “No, thanks. We’ve had a skinful already, as you might say.” Gillyflower: “Ha, ha. Very funny.” The Doctor: “Yes. I’m the Doctor, you’re nuts and I’m going to stop you.” Gillyflower: “I’m afraid Mister Sweet and I cannot allow that.” The Doctor: “Ah, yes. Would it be impolite to ask why you and Mister Sweet are petrifying your workforce with diluted prehistoric leech venom?” Clara: “So when do we get to meet him, this silent partner of yours? Why’s he so shy.” Gillyflower: “Mister Sweet is always with us.” The Doctor: “You seem to have a very close relationship, you and your pal.” Gillyflower: “Oh yes, Doctor. Exceedingly close. Symbiotic, you might say.” (She opens the top of her dress to reveal a large red leech attached to her skin. Meanwhile, the pilgrims continue to load bottles of venom into the rocket.) Clara: “Doctor, what is it?” Gillyflower: “A survivor. He has grown fat on the filth humanity has pumped into the rivers. That’s where I found him.” The Doctor: “Very enterprising.” Gillyflower: “His needs are simple, and in return he gives me his nectar.” The Doctor: “Mrs Gillyflower, you have no idea what you are dealing with. In the wrong hands, that venom could wipe out all life on this planet.” (Mrs Gillyflower holds out her hands.) Gillyflower: “Do you know what these are? Ha, ha! The wrong hands.” (She goes to the control panel and pulls a lever. Red lights come on all the way up the factory chimney. Young Thomas Thomas points them out to Strax.) The Doctor: “Planning a little fireworks party, are we?” Gillyflower: “You have forced me to advance the Great Work somewhat, Doctor, but my colossal scheme remains as it was. My rocket will explode high in the atmosphere, raining down Mister Sweet’s beneficence onto all humanity.” Clara: “And wiping us all out. You can’t!” Gillyflower: “My new Adam and Eve’s will sleep for but a few months before stepping out into a golden dawn. Is it not beautiful, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Now, tell us about Ada, Mrs Gillyflower.” Gillyflower: “What?” The Doctor: “Your daughter. You do remember your daughter? Tell us about your daughter.” Gillyflower: “How can you speak of such trivia when my hour is at hand? The child is of no consequence.” The Doctor: “Is that why you experimented on her?” Clara: “Experimented?” The Doctor: “The signs are all there. The pattern of scarring. You used her as a guinea pig, didn’t you.” Clara: “God.” Gillyflower: “Sometimes sacrifices must be made.” The Doctor: “Sacrifices?” Gillyflower: “It was necessary. I had to find out how much of the venom would produce an antitoxin to immunise myself. Don’t you see? It was necessary!” Ada: “Mama? Is it, is it true?” Gillyflower: “Ada.” Ada: “It is. It’s true. True.” Gillyflower: “Ada, listen to me.” Ada: “You hag! You perfidious hag! You virago! You harpy! All these years I have helped you, served you, looked after you. Do they count for nothing, nothing at all?” (Ada starts slashing at her mother with her white stick.) Gillyflower: “No, stop. Stop.” (Clara runs forward.) The Doctor: “Hang on, I’ve got a sonic screwdriver.” Clara: “Yeah? I’ve got a chair!” (Clara smashes it into the control panel, with a satisfying shower of sparks.) Gillyflower: “No!” The Doctor: “Yeah. That worked. I’m afraid your rocket isn’t going anywhere, Mrs G.” Gillyflower: “Please, come to me, Ada. Oh, my child. You have always been so very useful.” (Mrs Gillyflower puts a small revolver to Ada’s head.) The Doctor: “No, Mrs Gillyflower. & Ada: “Please, Mama. No more. No more.” Gillyflower: “And now, if you’ll please forgive us, we must be going. It is long past Ada’s bedtime.” (Mrs Gillyflower forces Ada out of the room and locks the door behind her.) The Doctor: “No, no, Clara. If we follow straight after her, she’ll shoot Ada on the spot.” Clara: “She wouldn’t.” The Doctor: “She would. Chairs are useful.” (He pulls the chair out of the panel and uses it to break the window.) (More) ==PC== (More) (Mrs Gillyflower drags Ada up the staircase encircling the rocket. The Doctor and Clara run through Sweetville and get to the bottom of the stairs.) Gillyflower: “Stop!” The Doctor: “Just let her go, Mrs Gillyflower. Let Ada go.” Gillyflower: “Secondary firing mechanism, Doctor. Mister Sweet and I are too smart for you, after all.” The Doctor: “Just let your daughter go, Mrs Gillyflower.” (Ada gets free and stumbles down to the corner between the Doctor and Mrs Gillyflower.) Gillyflower: “Ada!” Ada: “Shoot if you wish, Mama. It is of no matter, for you killed me a long time ago.” (Mrs Gillyflower shoots at the Doctor, making him retreat.) Gillyflower: “(sings) I’ll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.” (The Doctor gets to Ada as Mrs Gillyflower pulls the lever and the rocket’s engines ignite. He shields her with his body as it takes off, with so little flame as to not even singe any of them as it passes mere inches away.) Gillyflower: “Now, Mister Sweet, now the whole world will taste your lethal kiss!” The Doctor: “I don’t think so, Mrs Gillyflower.” (The Doctor snaps his fingers. Jenny and Vastra appear, in pilgrim clothes, holding a bottle of venom.) Gillyflower: “Very well, then. If I can’t take the world with me, you will have to do. Die, you freaks. Die! Die!” (Strax points his honking big gun down the chimney.) Strax: “Put down your weapon, human female.” (Mrs Gillyflower shoots at Strax. He returns fire, sending her tumbling over the railing to the floor two stories below.) The Doctor: “Ouch.” (The leech detaches itself from her, and drags itself across the floor by its suckered forelimbs.) Gillyflower: “No. No. Mister Sweet, where are you going? You can’t leave me now, Mister Sweet.” Clara: “What’s it doing?” The Doctor: “It knows she’s dying. She’s no longer of any use to it.” Gillyflower: “Mister Sweet. Ada?” (Ada taps her way down the stairs.) Gillyflower: “Ada. Are you there?” Ada: “I’m here, Mama.” Gillyflower: “Forgive me, my child. Forgive me.” Ada: “Never.” Gillyflower: “That’s my girl.” (Mrs Winifred Gillyflower dies. The rocket explodes in the sky.) Jenny: “What will you do with that thing?” The Doctor: “Take it back to the Jurassic era, maybe. Out of harm’s way.” (Ada taps her way across the floor until her stick finds something squishy. She smashes the leech to smithereens.) The Doctor: “On the other hand.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Right. Right, London. We were heading for London, weren’t we?” Clara: “Was there any particular reason?” The Doctor: “No. No. Just thought you might like it.” Clara: “Yeah. Maybe had enough of Victorian values for a bit.” The Doctor: “You’re the boss.” Clara: “Am I?” The Doctor: “No. No. Get in.” (Clara enters the TARDIS. The Doctor walks back to Ada and the Paternoster Gang.) The Doctor: “Now, Ada, I’d love to stay and help clear up the mess, but-” Ada: “I know, dear monster. You have things to do.” The Doctor: “And what about you?” Ada: “Oh, there are many things a bright young lady can do to occupy her time. It’s time I stepped out of the darkness and into the light.” The Doctor: “Good luck, Ada. You know, I think you will be just-” (He kisses her cheek.) The Doctor: “Splendid. Well, thanks a million, you three, as ever. Have some Pontefract cakes on me. I love Pontefract cakes. See you around, eh, I shouldn’t wonder.” Jenny: “But Doctor. That girl, Clara. You haven’t explained.” The Doctor: “No, I haven’t.” (He goes to the TARDIS.) The Doctor: “Ah, look at the muck in here. Right!” (More) ==PC== (More) I swallowed the lump in my throat, looking up at him. “My first day here.” I briefly looked at him, seeing a sad look in his eyes. “You knew something, a secret.” The Doctor paused, leaning against the walls of his TARDIS. “The show.” I nodded. “I would only tell it to you if I cared a lot of about you.” (More) “S-so...what?” I asked, my voice quivering. “I said I figured it out, I said nothing about fixing it. I’m not worth it. I never was. Other people out there need it, like Rose is gonna need it and River, and maybe even Clara. Why should I get it, and cut them off from it?” (More) ==PC== (More) “New clothes.” I called back. “This one is way too constrictive.” (More) I loved it. It was similar to a bellboy uniform. It was red, with gold tassels along the shirt. It came with black jeans, and boots. I had my manipulator on one wrist, and a watch on the other. I ran out to the TARDIS, showing off my clothing. “It any good?” The Doctor nodded, looking me up and down. “Everything you wear is good.” I blushed, biting my lip. “Yeah...thanks.” The Doctor flicked a switch. “Tell Donna I said hello.” I gave him a shocked look as the manipulator turned on. “DONNA NOBLE?!”
The Doctor's DaughterThe (More) “Ah!” I screamed as they pushed my hand into the machine. (More) A male walked out. He had my black hair, but styled like Ten’s. His eyes were a golden yellow, curiously looking about. His head was Ten shaped too, but he had my round cheekbones. He was, maybe six feet? He wasn’t thin like Ten, more like me. He was wearing the same clothes as everyone else. There was a tingling sensation in my spine, and a knot at the base. He was like me. They gave him a gun, letting him look it over before guiding him to the side. I gaped at the boy. They pulled my hand out of the machine, then roughly back in. “Gah!” I felt the skin be ripped off a second time. The rest of the process was kinda blurry as I noticed another soldier come out of the machine. She was very much like me, more so than her brother. Her hair was long, and chestnut brown. Her eyes were blue, like an ocean. She was my height. I loved them already. They were both armed. They were dangerous. They were Spencers. ==PC== (More) I glared at the General. “You send my babies out there, and I will execute you.” He looked down at me. “Is that a warning?” “It’s a promise.” I said. “And when I promise something, I keep that promise.” (More) “You follow my orders!” The General ordered. “You listen to your mother!” I barked. The two kids froze. In a blink, they turned around and marched to my side. “You will obey me!” The General ordered. “We obey Mom.” The boy corrected. “She’s scary.” The girl admitted. She had an accent. My jaw dropped. “Hold up. Why does she get the cool Scottish accent?” (More) “Take them all to the Brig.” General ordered. Soldiers grabbed our arms, dragging us away. (More) ==PC== (More) (A large room with a slightly domed roof and a gallery. There are more clone chambers here. The ambient lighting is red.) The Doctor: “So, where are we? What planet’s this?” Cline: “Messaline. Well, what’s left of it.” TANNOY: “Six six three seventy five deceased. Generation six six seven one, extinct. Generation six six seven two, forty six deceased. Generation six six eight zero, fourteen deceased. Generation six-” Donna: “But this is a theatre.” The Doctor: “Maybe they’re doing Miss Saigon.” Donna: “It’s like a town or a city underground. But why?” (A man with a neatly trimmed white beard approaches.) The Doctor: “General Cobb, I presume.” Cobb: “Found in the western tunnels, I’m told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the eastern zone three generations back, before we lost contact. Is that where you came from?” The Doctor: “Eastern zone, that’s us, yeah. Yeah. I’m The Doctor, this is Donna.” Jenny: “And I’m Jenny.” Cobb: “Don’t think you can infect us with your peacemaking. We’re committed to the fight, to the very end.” The Doctor: “Well, that’s all right. I can’t stay, anyway. I’ve got to go and find my friend.” Cobb: “That’s not possible. All movement is regulated. We’re at war.” The Doctor: “Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, eastern zone and all that. So who exactly are the Hath?” (The Hath take Martha to a very similar room, complete with clone chambers, but the ambient lighting is blue.) Cobb: “Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning. A colony where human and Hath would work and live together.” The Doctor: “So what happened?” Cobb: “The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival.” Donna: “There’s nothing but earth outside, why’s that? Why build everything underground?” Cline: “The surface is too dangerous.” Donna: “Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?” (601707 something on a plaque.) Cobb: “The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meaning’s lost in time.” The Doctor: “How long’s this war gone on for?” Cobb: “Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead.” Donna: “What, fighting all this time?” Jenny: “Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It’s our inheritance. It’s all we know. How to fight, and how to die.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The same thing is going on.) The Doctor: “Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?” Cobb: “Yes. Why?” The Doctor: “Well, it’ll help us find Martha.” Cline: “We’ve more important things to do. The progenation machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they’re active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two.” Donna: “I’m not having sons and daughters by some great big flipping machine. Sorry, no offence, but you’re not. Well, I mean, you’re not real.” Jenny: “You’re no better than him. I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thought. How am I not real? What makes you better than me?” Cobb: “Well said, soldier. We need more like you, if ever we’re to find the Source.” The Doctor: “Ooo, the Source. What’s that, then? What’s a Source? I like a Source. What is it?” Cobb: “The Breath of Life.” The Doctor: “And that would be?” Cline: “In the beginning, the great one breathed life into the universe. And then she looked at what she’d done, and she sighed.” Jenny: “She. I like that.” The Doctor: “Right. So it’s a creation myth.” Cobb: “It’s not myth. It’s real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it’s here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet.” (The Doctor makes the map buzz.) The Doctor: “Ah! I thought so. There’s a suppressed layer of information in this map. If I can just-” (He uses his sonic screwdriver on it, and up come more tunnels and chambers.) Donna: “What is it, what’s it mean?” The Doctor: “See? A whole complex of tunnels hidden from sight.” The Doctor’s ears perked. He could hear someone...singing. “That’s singing.” Donna pointed out. “Why is there singing? Didn’t think you boys had a choir.” She joked. “The Songbird.” The boy explained. “She’s been here for generations, fallen from the sky like a star. According to General Cobb, she’s been here longer than him.” “How?” Jenny asked. “And why is she singing?” “They say ‘because her songs mean victory’.” The boy answered. The Doctor listened closer. “Hold me close, from now until forever. I’ll be unafraid. Hold me close. Give me back my reason to believe. Come and save me.” The Doctor wondered on this Songbird, just as much as the Breath of Life. “They also say she knows the end of this war.” The boy commented. “She knows who will get the Source.” Cobb: “Tell them to prepare to move out. We’ll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last.” The Doctor: “Er, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace, couldn’t you just stop fighting?” Cobb: “Only when we have the Source. It’ll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet.” The Doctor: “Hang on, hang on. A second ago it was peace in our time. Now you’re talking about genocide.” Cobb: “For us, that means the same thing.” The Doctor: “Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You’ll see a little picture of me there, and the caption will read, over my dead body.” Cobb: “And you’re the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms.” Donna: “Oi, oi, oi. All right. Cool the beans, Rambo.” Cobb: “Take them. I won’t have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I’ll see that your woman dies first.” The Doctor: “No, we’re, we’re not a couple.” Donna: “I am not his woman.” Cline: “Come on. This way.” The Doctor: “I’m going to stop you, Cobb. You need to know that.” Cobb: “I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor. What’ll you have?” The Doctor: “This.” (His brain.) Cobb: “Lock them up and guard them.” Cline: “What about the new soldier?” Cobb: “Can’t trust her. She’s from pacifist stock. Take them all.” (More) ==PC== (More) “...when you’re gone, I don’t belong. An empty wallet with the gas tank full. Taking our chances here we go.” A familiar voice sang. The three arrived at the cell, seeing three more people inside. The first was a male, with wild black hair and yellow eyes. The other two were women. The first was laying down, her head in the lap of the first. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, curling all over. Her eyes a lovely shade of ocean blue. The third was the most familiar. Her raven black hair was long, held back in a ponytail. Her amber eyes were looking down at the brunette. She was dressed in bellboy-wear. A dark red shirt, gold bands, and long black pants. She was the girl who had been singing. “We’re singing to the radio, and there’s no place that I would rather be. Cause you’re home to me.” She sang. “Terra?” Donna asked. The woman looked up, still brushing the brunette’s hair. “Donna? Doctor?” She smiled. “Jenny.” ==PC== (More) “You got kids!” Donna gaped. “This is Max.” I introduced. “And this is Jane.” “Hello.” My son greeted. “Good ta meet you.” My daughter greeted, still laying her head in my lap. “Jane?” Donna chuckled. “You named her Jane?” “It means a gift from God.” I said, hugging my daughter. “Her middle is still iffy. Got any ideas?” “Mom, I told you, I don’t need a middle name.” Jane said. I clapped my hands. “Jane Darling! You are Jane Darling!” “Mom!” Jane blushed from embarrassment. I leaned over to Donna. “I named her after Jane from those Peter Pan movies. Cause I’m Wendy and he is Peter Pan.” I pointed at the Doctor. “And Wendy’s daughter is named Jane.” “If she’s your daughter, why is she Scottish?” Donna asked. “I was asking myself the same thing.” I admitted, looking down at Jane. “I ain’t even mad, that’s impressive.” “Why Max?” Jenny asked. “Cause I’m goofy, and Goofy’s son is Max.” I explained, grinning at my boy. Jenny frowned, confused. “What does that mean?” My eyes widened in horror. “First thing after this, ultimate Disney marathon. My kids will not be ignorant on Disney.” “But, Jenny’s not your daughter.” Donna said. “She’s the Doctor.” I smirked. “I know.” A quick glance from the Doctor told me everything. He was switching between the three newborns in the room. He looked at them with trepidation. “They said you’d be here generations.” The Doctor commented. “Longer than General Cobb.” “Do they? Wonder why.” I said. “Hey, Donna, you know anything about those?” (A large cage, numbered 60120716.) Donna: “More numbers. They’ve got to mean something.” The Doctor: “Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story.” Jenny: “You mean that’s not true?” Donna: “No, it’s a myth. Isn’t it, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple. Something that’s become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon.” Donna: “So the Source could be a weapon and we’ve just given directions to Captain Nutjob?” The Doctor: “Oh, yes.” Donna: “Not good, is it?” The Doctor: “That’s why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath. What, what are you, what are you, what are you staring at?” Jenny: “You keep insisting you’re not a soldier, but look at you, drawing up strategies like a proper general.” The Doctor: “No, no. I’m trying to stop the fighting.” Jenny: “Isn’t every soldier?” The Doctor: “Well, I suppose, but that’s, that’s. Technically, I haven’t got time for this. Donna, give me your phone. Time for an upgrade.” Jenny: “And now you’ve got a weapon.” The Doctor: “It’s not a weapon.” Jenny: “But you’re using it to fight back. I’m going to learn so much from you. You are such a soldier.” The Doctor: “Donna, will you tell her?” Donna: “Oh, you are speechless. I’m loving this. You keep on, Jenny.” (The Doctor sonics Donna’s phone and calls Martha.) Martha: “Doctor?” The Doctor: “Martha, you’re alive!” Martha: “Doctor! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice. Are you alright?” The Doctor: “I’m with Donna. We’re fine. What about you?” Donna: “And, and Jenny. She’s fine too.” The Doctor: “Yes, all right. And, and Jenny. That’s the woman from the machine. The soldier. My daughter, except she isn’t, she’s, she’s.” I snatched the phone. “Hiya Butterfly. Guess who’s here?” “Terra!” Martha cheered. “When did you get here?” “Not important.” I brushed off. “I’m here with my kids. I got two.” I smugly grinned at the Doctor. “I beat him.” “Were we just used to help Mom win a bet?” Jane asked her brother. “Contest.” Max corrected. “And I’m actually okay with that.” “Two kids?” “Max and Jane.” I said. “I’ll introduce you later.” The Doctor took the phone back. I rolled my eyes. “Anyway. where are you?” Martha: “I’m in the Hath camp. I’m okay, but something’s going on. The Hath are all marching off to some place that’s appeared on this map thing.” The Doctor: “Oh, that was me. If both armies are heading that way, there’s going to be a bloodbath.” Martha: “What do you want me to do?” The Doctor: “Just stay where you are. If you’re safe there, don’t move, do you hear?” Martha: “But I can help.” SOLDIERS: “To war!” The Doctor: “They’re getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard.” Jenny: “I can deal with him.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no. You’re not going anywhere.” Jenny: “What?” The Doctor: “You belong here with them.” Donna: “She belongs with us. With you. She’s your daughter.” The Doctor: “She’s a soldier. She came out of that machine.” Donna: “Oh yes, I know that bit. Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on.” Jenny: “What are you doing?” Donna: “It’s all right. Just hold still.” (Donna listens to Jenny’s chest.) Donna: “Come here. Listen, and then tell me where she belongs.” The Doctor: “Two hearts.” Donna: “Exactly.” Jenny: “What’s going on?” Donna: “Does that mean she’s a, what do you call a female Time Lord?” Jenny: “What’s a Time Lord?” The Doctor: “It’s who I am. It’s where I’m from.” Jenny: “And I’m from you.” The Doctor: “You’re an echo, that’s all. A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering. Only it’s gone now, all of it. Gone forever.” Jenny: “What happened?” The Doctor: “There was a war.” Jenny: “Like this one?” The Doctor: “Bigger. Much bigger.” Jenny: “And you fought, and killed?” The Doctor: “Yes.” Jenny: “Then how are we different?” (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “Hey.” Cline: “I’m not supposed to talk to you. I’m on duty.” Jenny: “I know. Guarding me. So, does that mean I’m dangerous, or that I need protecting?” Cline: “Protecting from what?” Jenny: “Oh, I don’t know. Men like you?” (Jenny kisses Cline through the bars whilst taking his pistol.) Jenny: “Keep quiet and open the door.” Donna: “I’d like to see you try that.” (More) ==PC== (More) (There is a guard on the lower flight of metal stairs.) The Doctor: “That’s the way out.” (Jenny raises the pistol.) The Doctor: “Don’t you dare.” Donna: “Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years.” The Doctor: “Let’s save your wiles for later. In case of emergency.” (The Doctor rummages in his coat pockets, and a few moments later a clockwork mouse grinds to a halt behind the guard. He picks it up and Jenny karate chops him from behind.) The Doctor: “I was going to distract him, not clobber him.” Jenny: “Well, it worked, didn’t it?” The Doctor: “They must all have a copy of that new map. Just stay there. Don’t hurt anyone.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor checks the map he took from the guard.) The Doctor: “Wait. This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel.” Donna: “It’s another one of those numbers. They’re everywhere.” (60120714.) The Doctor: “The original builders must have left them. Some old cataloguing system.” Donna: “You got a pen? Bit of paper? Because, do you see, the numbers are counting down. This one ends in one four. The prison cell said one six.” Jenny: “Always thinking, both of you. Who are you people?” The Doctor: “I told you. I’m the Doctor.” Jenny: “The Doctor. That’s it?” Donna: “That’s all he ever says. Jenny: “So, you don’t have a name either? Are you an anomaly, too?” The Doctor: “No.” Donna: “Oh, come off it. You’re the most anomalous bloke I’ve ever met.” (The Doctor gets into the control panel.) The Doctor: “Here it is.” Jenny: “And Time Lords. What are they for, exactly?” The Doctor: “For? They’re not, they’re not for anything.” Jenny: “So what do you do?” The Doctor: “I travel through time and space.” Donna: “He saves planets, rescues civilisations, defeats terrible creatures. And runs a lot. Seriously, there’s an outrageous amount of running involved.” (The door opens.) The Doctor: “Got it!” Cobb: “Squad five, with me.” The Doctor: “Now, what were you saying about running?” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor stops running just before the array of laser beams criss-crossing the passage.) Donna: “That’s not mood lighting, is it?” (The Doctor tosses the clockwork mouse into the lasers. It gets disintegrated.) Donna: “No, I didn’t think so.” The Doctor: “Arming device.” (He works on a blue box nearby.) Donna: “There’s more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get.” (60120713.) The Doctor: “Right, here we go.” Donna: “You’d better be quick.” Cobb: “Corridor.” Jenny: “The General.” The Doctor: “Where are you going?” Jenny: “I can hold them up.” The Doctor: “No, we don’t need any more dead.” Jenny: “But it’s them or us.” The Doctor: “It doesn’t mean you have to kill them.” Jenny: “I’m trying to save your life.” The Doctor: “Listen to me. The killing. After a while, it infects you. And once it does, you’re never rid of it.” Jenny: “We don’t have a choice.” The Doctor: “We always have a choice.” Jenny: “I’m sorry.” The Doctor: “Jenny.” SOLDIER: “This door, now.” (Jenny runs around the corner and readies a machine gun at the approaching voices.) SOLDIER: “There she is. At arms. Fire!” (Jenny exchanges gunfire with Cobb and his soldiers.) The Doctor: “I told you. Nothing but a soldier.” Donna: “She’s trying to help.” (Jenny ducks out of sight to think.) The Doctor: “Jenny, come on.” Jenny: “I’m coming.” Cobb: “Cease fire. Cease fire.” (The lasers go out.) Donna: “That’s it.” The Doctor: “Jenny, leave it! Let’s go.” (The Doctor and Donna run down the corridor.) Cobb: “You’re a child of the machine. You’re on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath. It’s in your blood, girl. Don’t deny it.” (Jenny stands and takes aim, then shoots a hole in a steam pipe above Cobb before running back.) The Doctor: “Jenny, come on. That’s it.” Donna: “Hurry up.” (The lasers reappear.) The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no, no. The circuit’s looped back.” Donna: “Zap it back again.” The Doctor: “The controls are back there.” Jenny: “They’re coming.” The Doctor: “Wait. Just. There isn’t. Jenny, I can’t-” Jenny: “I’ll have to manage on my own. Watch and learn, Father.” (Jenny throws away the weapon and somersaults her way through the laser beams.) Donna: “No way. But that was impossible.” The Doctor: “Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely. Brilliant! You were brilliant. Brilliant.” Jenny: “I didn’t kill him. General Cobb, I could have kill him but I didn’t. You were right. I had a choice.” (Cobb and the soldiers appear at the other side of the lasers. Donna and Jenny run.) Cobb: “At arms.” The Doctor: “I warned you, Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I’m going to make sure you never use it.” Cobb: “One of us is going to die today and it won’t be me.” (The Doctor runs away from the hail of bullets.) (More) ==PC== (More) Jenny: “So, you travel together, but you’re not together?” Donna: “What? No. No. No way. No, no, we’re friends, that’s all. I mean, we’re not even the same species. There’s probably laws against it.” Jenny: “And what’s it like, the travelling?” Donna: “Oh, never a dull moment. It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I’ve seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds.” Jenny: “Oh, I’d love to see new worlds.” Donna: “You will. Won’t she, Doctor?” The Doctor: “Hmm?” Donna: “Do you think Jenny will see any new worlds?” The Doctor: “I suppose so.” Jenny: “You mean. You mean you’ll take me with you?” The Doctor: “Well, we can’t leave you here, can we?” Jenny: “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Come on, let’s get a move on.” The Doctor: “Careful, there might be traps.” Donna: “Kids. They never listen. Oh, I know that look. I see it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You’ve got dad-shock.” The Doctor: “Dad-shock?” Donna: “Sudden unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to.” The Doctor: “No, it’s not that.” Donna: “Well, what is it then? Having Jenny in the TARDIS, is that it? What’s she going to do, cramp your style? Like you’ve got a sports car and she’s going to turn it into a people-carrier?” The Doctor: “Donna, I’ve been a father before.” Donna: “What?” The Doctor: “I lost all that a long time ago, along with everything else.” Donna: “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? You talk all the time, but you don’t say anything.” The Doctor: “I know. I’m just. When I look at her now, I can see them. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. I just don’t know if I can face that every day.” Donna: “It won’t stay like that. She’ll help you. We both will.” The Doctor: “But when they died, that part of me died with them. It’ll never come back. Not now.” Donna: “I tell you something, Doctor. Something I’ve never told you before. I think you’re wrong.” (Gunfire. Jenny runs back.) Jenny: “They’ve blasted through the beams. Time to run again. Love the running. Yeah?” The Doctor: “Love the running.” (Up on the surface, Martha can see the protruding construction of the Temple.) Donna: “We’re trapped.” The Doctor: “Can’t be. This must be the Temple. This is a door.” (60120712.) Donna: “And again. We’re down to one two now-” The Doctor: “I’ve got it!” Jenny: “I can hear them.” The Doctor: “Nearly done.” Donna: “These can’t be a cataloguing system.” Jenny: “They’re getting closer.” The Doctor: “Then get back here.” Donna: “They’re too similar. Too familiar.” Jenny: “Not yet.” The Doctor: “Now! Got it.” (The Doctor gets the plain door open and they go through. A similar door opens for Martha on the surface.) Jenny: “They’re coming. Close the door.” (More) ==PC== (More) (The Doctor locks the door.) Jenny: “Oh, that was close.” The Doctor: “No fun otherwise.” Donna: “It’s not what I’d call a temple.” Jenny: “It looks more like-” The Doctor: “Fusion drive transport. It’s a spaceship.” Donna: “What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?” The Doctor: “Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time. This one’s still powered-up and functioning. Come on.” (They head up a flight of stairs to see someone is cutting their way through another door.) Jenny: “It’s the Hath. That door’s not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war’s going to break out.” The Doctor: “Look, look, look, look, look. Ship’s log.” (The screen says Messaline Leader One mission log designation XG2482942-372.) The Doctor: “(reads) First wave of Human/Hath co-colonisation of planet Messaline.” (Core subterranean deployment successful. Online and active. Phase one initiated. Construction drones deployed. Construction of sections 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3C & 3D complete. Phase one in progress. Construction drones active. Construction of sections 1C, 1D, 2C, 2D, 3A & 3C complete.) Jenny: “So it is the original ship.” Donna: “What happened?” The Doctor: “Phase one, construction. They used robot drones to build the city.” Donna: “But does it mention the war?” (The Doctor scrolls down through Phase One in progress. Construction of western quadrant complete. Phase two initiated. Commencing colonisation protocol 0.7. Designated pioneer progenation in progress. Mission commander quarantined due to eruption of byzantine fever. Prognosis negative. The Doctor: “Final entry.” (reads) “Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions. That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines, suddenly you’ve got two armies fighting a never-ending war.” Jenny: “Two armies who are now both outside.” Donna: “Look at that.” (60120724 on a display above a screen showing the whole planet.) The Doctor: “It’s like the numbers in the tunnels.” Donna: “No, no, no, no. But listen, I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I’m good with numbers. It’s staring us in the face.” Jenny: “What is?” Donna: “It’s the date. Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you’ve got year, month, day. It’s the other way round, like it is in America-” The Doctor: “Oh! It’s the New Byzantine Calendar.” Donna: “The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren’t counting down, they’re going out from here, day by day, as the city got built.” The Doctor: “Yes. Oh, good work, Donna.” Donna: “Yeah. But you’re still not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was sixty twelve oh seven seventeen. Well, look at the date today.” The Doctor: “Oh seven twenty four. No.” Jenny: “What does it mean?” The Doctor: “Seven days.” Donna: “That’s it. Seven days.” The Doctor: “Just seven days.” Jenny: “What do you mean, seven days?” The Doctor: “Seven days since war broke out.” Donna: “This war started seven days ago. Just a week. A week!” Jenny: “They said years.” Donna: “No, they said generations. And if they’re all like you, and they’re products of those machines-” The Doctor: “They could have twenty generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. Oh, Donna, you’re a genius.” Jenny: “But all the buildings, the encampments. They’re in ruins.” The Doctor: “No, they’re not ruined. They’re just empty. Waiting to be populated. Oh, they’ve mythologised their entire history. The Source must be part of that too. Come on.” (Further along, they meet up with Martha for a joyous reunion.) Martha: “Doctor!” The Doctor: “Martha! Oh, I should have known you wouldn’t stay away from the excitement.” Martha: “Donna.” Donna: “Oh, you’re filthy. What happened?.” Martha: “I, er, took the surface route.” Cobb: “Positions.” The Doctor: “That’s the General. We haven’t got much time.” Donna: “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” Martha: “Is it me, or can you smell flowers?” Cobb: “Maintain defensive positions.” The Doctor: “Yes. Bougainvillea. I say we follow our nose.” Cobb: “Squads seven to ten, advance. With me.” (More) ==PC== (More) (It’s on a spaceship and it is filled with plants. What else should I call it?) The Doctor: “Oh, yes. Yes. Isn’t this brilliant?” (They walk up to a glowing globe on a pedestal with wires running to it. There is a control panel and screen nearby.) Donna: “Is that the Source?” Jenny: “It’s beautiful.” Martha: “What is it?” The Doctor: “Terraforming. It’s a third generation terraforming device.” Donna: “So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?” The Doctor: “Because that’s what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger. It’s in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally-” (The Hath and the soldiers run in from opposite sides.) The Doctor: “Stop! Hold your fire!” Cobb: “What is this, some kind of trap?” The Doctor: “You said you wanted this war over.” Cobb: “I want this war won.” The Doctor: “You can’t win. No one can. You don’t even know why you’re here. Your whole history, it’s just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it’s passed on. This is the Source. This is what you’re fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet’s ecosystem. It’s nothing mystical. It’s from a laboratory, not some creator. It’s a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It’s used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It’s not for killing, it’s bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing.” (The Doctor takes the globe.) The Doctor: “I’m the Doctor, and I declare this war is over.” (He throws the globe onto the floor, where it smashes and releases gas and energy. Everyone watches it slowly rise up, then they start to put down their weapons. All except Cobb.) Jenny: “What’s happening?” The Doctor: “The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process.” Jenny: “What does that mean?” The Doctor: “It means a new world.” Jenny: “No!” *BANG* The crowd looked to Cobb in shock, the rifle still in his hands. I glared at him, eyes burning in rage. Jenny still stood in front of the Doctor, protecting him. She would be dead right now. My daughter would be dead protecting her own, like in a pack. The barrel of his gun was in my hand, my other was trying to pry his hand off the trigger. The gun was hot, just on the edge of scalding. The general didn’t even look remorseful. He was proud of what he had done. I was too. The barrel was pointed skywards. I had just enough time to mess up his aim before the gun fired. Just enough time to save Jenny. The Doctor might never know Jenny almost died, but I knew. I knew. She was alive. I could save somebody. I yanked the rifle out of his hands, throwing it to the ground. The world around us bloomed, filling this new world with life and fresh chances. Cobb looked between the gun and I, wanting it back in his control so he could kill the Doctor. Then Jenny would step in the way and the Doctor would think she was dead for the rest of his life. “I said.” I seethed. “That if you want to hurt my kids, you gotta go through me.” (Jenny takes the bullet Cobb intends for the Doctor. He lays her on the ground.) Jenny: “A new world. It’s beautiful.” The Doctor: “Jenny, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me? We’ve got things to do, you and me, hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose.” Jenny: “That sounds good.” The Doctor: “You’re my daughter, and we’ve only just got started. You’re going to be great. You’re going to be more than great. You’re going to be amazing. You hear me? Jenny?” (Jenny dies in the Doctor’s arms.) The Doctor: “Two hearts. Two hearts. She’s like me. If we wait. If we just wait.” Martha: “There’s no sign, Doctor. There is no regeneration. She’s like you, but maybe not enough.” The Doctor: “No. Too much. That’s the truth of it. She was too much like me.” (The Doctor lays Jenny down and kisses her forehead, then goes over to Cobb. Cline and another soldier are holding his arms and making him kneel. The Doctor picks up the pistol and points it at Cobb’s head for a very long time before putting the safety back on.) The Doctor: “I never would. Have you got that? I never would. When you start this new world, this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make the foundation of this society a man who never would.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) (Jenny is lying in state when sunlight beings to stream through the stained glass windows.) Martha: “It’s happening. The terraforming.” Donna: “Build a city, nice and safe underground, strip away the topsoil and there it is. And what about Jenny?” Cline: “Let us give her a proper ceremony. I think it’d help us. Please.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox. Time to go home?” Martha: “Yeah. Home.” (More) “Doctor, promise me something.” I asked. The Doctor turned to me, almost hesitant. “Yes?” I gulped. “I can’t bring Max or Jane into this life. I won’t let their first years of experience be bouncing around the universe on the whim of a broken toy.” I held up the manipulator. “Or, an alien who failed his driving test.” The Doctor scoffed. “I need you to take them someplace. Someplace I know they’ll be safe. Someplace you can show me and let me know they won’t be hurt.” I gave him a warning glance. “Cause I can go to your future. If my kids are hurt in any way, Pinstripes, I won’t be afraid to smack future you into regeneration.” The Doctor smirk, as if I was joking. I kept my face stern. Then his smile dropped. “You aren’t joking.” “A mother nevers jokes about her children’s safety.” (More) The Doctor grabbed the sides of my head. He pulled me up to him, his brown eyes looking into my amber. Then he... The Doctor... Ten kissed me. It was a quick kiss, so I couldn’t really enjoy it. He pulled himself off me. His eyes were wide, then he smirked. I could only blink. “You...what?” “Not too often I get to stun you into silence.” The Doctor gloated. I blushed. The kissing was still new to me. This guy thought he could get a one up on me? Not a damn chance of that going on. I grabbed his head, pulling him down to me. This time, I made the kiss long and deep. There was some snickering off to the side. Then a groan or two from the kids. “Mom, Dad, you can stop any time now.” Max offered. “Is this what embarrassment feels like?” Jane asked. The Doctor and I kept kissing. It was really good. He was running his fingers through my hair, I gripped the lapels in his pinstripe suit. Too bad honest, I wanted to flip the kids off, but Momma shouldn’t act that way. The only reason we stopped is because of my manipulator. I groaned. “I wanted to kiss you for much longer.” “You’re not the only one.” The Doctor said. We were still so close. It felt kinda awkward to be this close to the Doctor after such a big kiss.
Amy's ChoiceThe (More) My eyes widened. I ran to the console, noticing the specks much clearer than before. (More) ==PC== (More) “19.” I panted. My head was kinda rushing. The Doctor grinned. “Ah. Very early days.” I strained for words. “Doc...Doc...we’ve...you’re...” The Doctor looked a bit worried. “Terra? What’s wrong?” He asked. I strained at words again, like that man in the Library calling out for Donna. “Okay.” The Doctor said, looking over the Ponds. “Terra, what’s wrong?” I would’ve told him, but then the birds began to chirp. “Oh. That’s a good way to relax.” Rory pointed out. “Yeah, see? Birds. Those are nice. Rory: “We didn’t get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days, did we? (The bird is very loud.) The Doctor: “Oh blimey, my head’s a bit. Ooo. Er, no, you’re right, there wasn’t a lot of time for birdsong back in the good old-” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Days. What? No, yes, sorry, what? Oh, you’re okay. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don’t ask. You don’t want to know. You’re safe now. (The Doctor hugs Amy.) Amelia: “Oh, okay. The Doctor: “That’s what counts. Blimey. Never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I’m getting on a bit, you see. Don’t let the cool gear fool you. Now, what’s wrong with the console? Red flashing lights. I bet they mean something. Rory: “Er, Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing. Amelia: “Yeah, so did I. Rory: “Not a nightmare, though, just, er, we were married. Amelia: “Yeah. In a little village. Rory: “A sweet little village, and you were pregnant. Amelia: “Yes, I was huge. I was a boat. Rory: “So you had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream? Amelia: “Are you calling me a boat? Rory: “And Doctor, you were visiting. Amelia: “Yeah, yeah, you came to our cottage. Rory: “How can we have the same dream? It doesn’t make any sense. Amelia: “And you had a nightmare about us. What happened to us in the nightmare? The Doctor: “It was a bit similar, in some aspects. Rory: “Which aspects? The Doctor: “Well, all of them. Amelia: “You had the same dream. The Doctor: “Basically. Rory: “You said it was a nightmare. The Doctor: “Did I say nightmare? No, more of a really good mare. Look, it doesn’t matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track or something. Forget it. We’re back to reality now. (A bird is singing.) Amelia: “Doctor? If we’re back to reality, how come I can still hear birds? Rory: “Yeah, the same birds. The same ones we heard in the (More) ==PC== ory: “Dream. Oh! Sorry. Nodded off. Stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS. (The Doctor checks his braces and walks away.) Rory: “You had the same dream, didn’t you? Amelia: “Weren’t we just saying the same thing? Rory: “But we thought this was the dream, didn’t we? Amelia: “I think so. Why do dreams have to fade so quickly? Rory: “Doctor, what is going on? Amelia: “Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lordy thing because you’ve shown up again? The Doctor: “Listen to me. Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel. Rory: “But we’re awake now. The Doctor: “Yeah. You thought you were awake on the TARDIS, too. Amelia: “But we’re home. The Doctor: “Yeah, you’re home. You’re also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forwards or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky one. The Doctor: “Oh, this is bad. I don’t like this. (He kicks the console, and hurts his leg.) The Doctor: “Argh. Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you’re cross, in which case, always use force. Amelia: “Shall I run and get the manual? The Doctor: “I threw it in a supernova. Amelia: “You threw the manual in a supernova? Why? The Doctor: “Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I’m cross. Rory: “Okay, but whatever’s wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future? The Doctor: “If we were dreaming of the future. Amelia: “Well, of course we were. We were in Leadworth. Rory: “Upper Leadworth. The Doctor: “Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this. Don’t you get it? Amelia: “No, okay? No, this is real. I’m definitely awake now. The Doctor: “And you thought you were definitely awake when you were all elephanty. Amelia: “Hey. Pregnant. The Doctor: “And you could be giving birth right now. This could be the dream. I told you. Trust nothing we see or hear or feel. Look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don’t ring true. Rory: “Okay, we’re in a spaceship that’s bigger on the inside than the outside. Amelia: “With a bow tie-wearing alien. Rory: “So maybe what rings true isn’t so simple. The Doctor: “Valid point. (The TARDIS switches off. There is just a faint glow from the time rotor left.) The Doctor: “It’s dead. We’re in a dead time machine. (A bird sings. Rory hugs Amy.) The Doctor: “Remember, this is real. But when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels. Amelia: “It is real. I know it’s real. (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Okay, this is the real one. Definitely this one. It’s all solid. My eyes widened. “That’s it! Guys, ne-” ==PC== I gasped, rising up from the bed. (More) “Oh, I hate the Dream Lord.” I grumbled, petting the Doctor’s face. “I know he’s just your subconscious, but still.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Terra! What happened earlier?” The Doctor asked. I tilted my head. What did happen? “I...I don’t know.” (More) POGGIT: “Hello, Rory love. Rory: “Hello, Mrs Poggit. How’s your hip? POGGIT: “A bit stiff. The Doctor: “Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus. No, you don’t have that yet. Forget that. POGGIT: “Who’s your friend? A junior doctor? Rory: “Yes. POGGIT: “Can I borrow you? You’re the size of my grandson. (The Doctor has to try on the sweater Mrs Poggit is knitting.) The Doctor: “Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out. You’re incredibly old, aren’t you? (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Okay, I hate this, Doctor. Stop it, because this is definitely real. It’s definitely this one. I keep saying that, don’t I? Rory: “It’s bloody cold. The Doctor: “The heating’s off. Rory: “The heating’s off? The Doctor: “Yeah. Put on a jumper. That’s what I always do. Rory: “Er, yes. Sorry about Mrs Poggit. She’s so lovely though. The Doctor: “I wouldn’t believe her nice old lady act if I were you. Amelia: “What do you mean, act? The Doctor: “Everything’s off. Sensors, core power. We’re drifting. The scanner’s down so we can’t even see out. We could be anywhere. Someone, something, is overriding my controls. (A little man in a red bow tie and tweed jacket suddenly appears on the stairs behind the Doctor.) Dream Lord: “Well, that took a while. Honestly, I’d heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm. Him in the bow tie. “You...” I whispered. The Dream Lord grinned at me. The Doctor: “How did you get into my TARDIS? What are you? Dream Lord: “What shall we call me? Well, if you’re the Time Lord, let’s call me the Dream Lord. The Doctor: “Nice look. Dream Lord: “This? No, I’m not convinced. Bow ties? (The Doctor throws his sonic screwdriver through the Dream Lord.) Dream Lord: “Interesting. I’d love to be impressed, but Dream Lord. It’s in the name, isn’t it? Spooky. Not quite there. (He pops up behind them.) Dream Lord: “And yet, very much here. The Doctor: “I’ll do the talking, thank you. Amy, want to take a guess at what that is? Amelia: “Er, Dream Lord. He creates dreams. The Doctor: “Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks. Dream Lord: “And what about the gooseberry, here. Does he get a guess? Rory: “Er, listen, mate. If anyone’s the gooseberry round here, it’s the Doctor. Dream Lord: “Well now, there’s a delusion I’m not responsible for. Rory: “No, he is. Isn’t he, Amy. Dream Lord: “Oh, Amy, have to sort your men out. Choose, even. Amelia: “I have chosen. Of course I’ve chosen. (Amy is standing close to the Doctor, but she hits Rory.) Amelia: “It’s you, stupid. Rory: “Oh, good. Thanks. Dream Lord: “You can’t fool me. I’ve seen your dreams. Some of them twice. Amy. Blimey, I’d blush if I had a blood supply or a real face. The Doctor: “Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act? Dream Lord: “Me? Oh, you’re on shaky ground. The Doctor: “Am I? Dream Lord: “If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student. I’m surprised you haven’t got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are. Where was I? Rory: “You were Dream Lord: “I know where I was. So, here’s your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other’s fake. And just to make it more interesting, you’re going to face in both worlds a deadly danger, but only one of the dangers is real. “And, as for you, Little Miss Terra.” The Dream Lord said, snapping his fingers. The chirping started. “Can’t have you ruining everything.” Then, the chirping stopped cold. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep.” “Oh. Or are you waking up? (More) “No!” I screamed. I held the unconscious Doctor. “Wake up! Please! You need to wake up!” (More) ==PC== I woke up in the playground. (More) I held the Doctor’s hand. “Please. I need you to wake up.” (More) “Hello my dear.” I turned around, seeing the Dream Lord. “Please, I know who you are. Just make this stop. You can stop this.” (More) I kissed the Dream Lord. He was blushing. “Please, manboy, I love you. You don’t have to hurt anyone.” The Dream Lord gained back his composure. “You should just learn to stay away from him. It’ll save me the trouble.” I growled. “Leave him alone.” (More) ==PC== (More) I was back in the cold TARDIS. “You sure this is the Doctor’s dream? Cause I wouldn’t mind being stuck here.” I said, shivering slightly. The Dream Lord just glared. “You should just leave. Look at me. I’ve been trying to get rid of you from the start!” “You’re his subconscious. He does that naturally.” I shrugged. Turning my head, I saw the sleeping Doctor. I giggled. “He’s subconsciously pushing me away. Haha.” The Dream Lord scoffed. “Your jokes are horrid.” “Says the pot to the kettle.” I teased him. “He tries to push them away, but it only makes them hold on tighter.” “Yes, but how tight can you hold onto him before he lets you go?” The Dream Lord asked. “Lets you down?” “As long as it takes.” I snapped. “You should know that by now.” (More) I laid out their ponchos. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor stuck the two of us in a freezer. How lovely of him. (More) The Dream Lord fumbled, slightly. “Oh dear. It seems he noticed my blush.” I smirked. “Oh? How lovely.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor had wrapped me up in his tweed coat. I shook my head, taking it off, and put it back onto him. (More) Dream Lord: “Poor Amy. He always leaves you, doesn’t he, alone in the dark. Never apologises. Amelia: “He doesn’t have to. Dream Lord: “That’s good, because he never will. And now he’s left you with me. Spooky old, not to be trusted me. Anything could happen. “You leave Amelia alone!” I snapped at the Dream Lord. He gave me a curious look. “You actually care about Amy?” “Amelia.” I corrected. “And why wouldn’t I?” The Dream Lord scoffed. “Oh, I could show you the list. It’s at least five pages long, and that’s just today!” I growled at him. “Leave Amelia alone!” I snarled. “She’s family, and no one hurts my family!” The Dream Lord blinked, a little surprised by this. “That’s what you think she is? Family?” “She’s been helping me for a long time.” I said. “Long before I started traveling with the Doctor. She helped me become brave, and be who I was. She actually helped me with my sarcasm, and wit. She taught me the truest form of bravery, and sacrifice. Amelia Jessica Pond is my favorite superhero.” I shoved the Dream Lord into the TARDIS railing. “And I don’t care who you are, you mess with someone I hold in high esteem, I kick your ass!” The Dream Lord glared at me. “She has to choose!” “Who said?” I snapped. “Who said Amelia has to choose between life in space and life with Rory? It’s you idiot men and your bloody pissing contests!” I shoved myself away from him, I let out an almost yell of anger. “I’ve met werewolves that were less stubborn than you!” “Terra, who is he?” “Amy, bigger picture.” I snapped. “It doesn’t matter.” Amelia just glared at the Dream lord. “But what does he want?” She turned her attention to him. “The Doctor knows him, but he’s not telling me who you are. And he always does. Takes him awhile sometimes, but he tells me.” She gave him a once over. “So you’re something different.” “Oh, is that who you think you are? The one he trusts?” “Actually, yes.” Amelia said, prideful. “The only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor tells everything?” “Leave her alone.” I growled. The Dream Lord gave me a look that said be quiet. “I could send you right back to where you started and keep you out.” My eyes stayed on him, filled with fire. I couldn’t be kicked out again. I didn’t have the strength to fight off a defended Doctor. “Yes.” Amelia said, going back to the Dream Lord’s question. He actually grinned. “So what’s his name?” He challenged. “What’s his favorite color? What’s his favorite planet? Who was his first companion? Why does he really love you earth girls?” “Amber.” The word flew out of my mouth. The two turned to me. “The Doctor’s favorite color. His favorite planet is the Earth, which surprises everyone he tells. He could tell you it was the lost moon of Poosh, or the Rings of Akhaten, or even his home planet, but it’s Earth. His first companion was the TARDIS, since the two of them traveled together. If you want to get technical, it was Susan. And he loves us ‘earth girls’ because we inspire him, and give him the encouragement he needs to go on. He gets lost without us.” The Dream Lord started to beam. He turned to Amelia, as if he had won. Amelia was looking at me in shock. “How did you know all of that?” I shrugged, suddenly feeling nervous. “The Doctor told me.” The Dream Lord made himself known. “Hmm. Now that that’s settled, which one of these men would you really choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero. Would you really give him up for a bumbling country doctor who thinks the only thing he needs to be interesting is a ponytail?” Amelia: “Stop it. Dream Lord: “But maybe it’s better than loving and losing the Doctor. Pick a world, and this nightmare will all be over. They’ll listen to you. It’s you they’re waiting for. Amy’s men. Amy’s choice.” Amelia was gone again, and I lunged at the Dream Lord. He vanished, and I screamed at him. “YOU LEAVE AMELIA ALONE!” (More) ==PC== Third Person (More) (The Doctor gets rid of his passengers.) The Doctor: “Everybody, out, out, out. Into the church, that’s right. Don’t answer the door. (He drives off.) (More) (The Dream Lord appears wearing a peach racing suit and holding a full face helmet.) The Dream Lord: “It’s make your mind up time in both worlds. The Doctor: “Fine. I need to find my friends. The Dream Lord: “Friends? Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they’ve grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not? (The Dream Lord vanishes again, and the Doctor arrives outside the cottage to see the slow motion onslaught of the elderly.) The Doctor: “Okay. (More) ==PC== (More) (The window opens, making them jump.) The Doctor: “Sorry. I had to stop off at the butcher’s. Rory: “What are we going to do? The Doctor: “I don’t know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real but now I’m not so sure. Amy: “Oh! I think the baby’s starting. Rory: “Honestly? Amy: “Would I make it up at a time like this? Rory: “Well, you do have a history of (gets a Look) being very lovely.” “Nice save, Nurse boy.” Terra snarked. “Why are they so desperate to kill us? The Doctor: “They’re scared. Fear generates savagery. (Something is thrown through a window. A gnome, I think. Mrs Poggit breaths at Rory, and some of the green gas touches him.) Amy: “Rory!” “Terra!” The Doctor shouted. (The Doctor knocks Mrs Poggit off the porch roof.) Rory: “No, I’m not ready.” Amy: “Stay.” The Doctor held Terra’s hand, watching in mute horror as it slowly faded into dust. “Terra.” She smiled at him, fondness in her amber eyes. “Hey.” She said in a sing song tune. “No.” The Doctor shook his head. “No. You’re not dying today.” Terra only laughed. “Demanding much?” (Rory begins to turn to dust.) Rory: “Look after our baby.” Amy: “No. No. Come back. Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It’s what you do.” The Doctor: “Not always. I’m sorry.” Amy: “Then what is the point of you? (Amy touches the pile of dust then gets up.) “This is the dream. Definitely this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?” The Doctor: “Unless we just die.” Amy: “Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream.” The Doctor: “How do you know?” Amy: “Because if this is real life, I don’t want it. I don’t want it.” (More) The Doctor wouldn’t say it, but he had thought the same. ==PC== (More) Amy: “Why aren’t they attacking?” The Doctor: “Either because this is just a dream or because they know what we’re about to do.” (Amy holds out her hand for the camper van key.) The Doctor knew she was serious about going through with it, she was Amy. He also knew that he still had some of Terra’s ashes on his hand. He knew that Terra hadn’t died today, that she was still alive. He knew who the Dream Lord was. The Doctor: “Be very sure. This could be the real world.” The Doctor lied. Amy: “It can’t be. Rory isn’t here. I didn’t know. I didn’t, I didn’t, I honestly didn’t, till right now. I just want him.” The Doctor: “Okay. Okay.” (Amy starts the engine. The Doctor looks at the Dream Lord then gets in the passenger side.) (More) Amy: “I love Rory, and I never told him. But now he’s gone.” Then, Amy turned on the camper. ==PC== Terra My eyes widened. We were waking up! “Doctor!” I cheered, holding him close. The Doctor was momentarily confused. He looked down at his jacket, then up at me. “I gave you the jacket.” The Doctor said, almost stern. “You should have on the jacket.” I shook my head. “No. You put it on now.” Keeping my gaze on the glass floor, I held out the tweed jacket. “I can regulate my body temperature. You can’t.” The Doctor said. “Put the jacket on, or I cannot be responsible for happens next.” I warned. My mind’s eye brought up images of Eleven without his jacket on. Just those red braces and blue button up. Thank the Story I was sitting down already, or my knees would have given out. “Terra, are you blushing?” Amelia snickered. “Amelia.” I said in a warning tone. My eyes squeezed shut, lest I accidentally get a peek at him without his jacket. “I will jump him with you in the console room, and it will not be pretty.” Then, an image of the Doctor and I doing it in the console room with Amelia and Rory watching came to me. Woah, that looked dangerous. Was that what I liked now, voyeur? I mean, I kinda liked it before too, but this felt a little extreme. Also, why aren’t the Ponds making out in my fantasy? That made the whole thing awkward. “Terra?” “Take the jacket.” I threw it in the direction of the Doctor. Son of a bitch, my eyes were open! The Doctor was just wearing a blue button up shirt, and one of those ponchos. My jaw dropped. I could see muscles under his shirt. The Doctor looked at me, seemingly confused, but then smirked. “Like what you see?” Instead of words, my mouth spewed out random gurgles. This only made the Doctor’s smirk even wider. He grabbed the sides of my face, and kissed me. (More) “So, you chose this world.” The Dream Lord said, suddenly appearing. “Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Fair’s fair. Let’s warm you up.” (restores power) “I hope you’ve enjoyed your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I’ll leave you to ponder on that. I have been defeated. I shall withdraw. Farewell.” “Something happened. I... What happened to me? I...” (Amelia slowly takes him in a hug) “Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?” (Amelia releases the hug and looks at him) “Can you tell what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays.” They both turn at the sound of the TARDIS starting up again. Amelia: “What are we doing now?” The Doctor: “Me, I’m going to blow up the TARDIS.” Rory: “What?” The Doctor: “Notice how helpful the Dream Lord was? Okay, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality.” Amelia: “What are you doing?!” “Doctor! The Dream Lord conceded! This isn’t the dream!” Rory yelled. “Yes, it is!” The Doctor Amelia: “Stop him.” The Doctor: “Star burning cold? Do me a favor. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams.” Amelia: “How do you know that?” The Doctor: “Because I know who he is.” (More) I held his hand, waiting to wake up. ==PC== I rose up, letting out a small gasp. “Oh. My head.” (More) The Doctor looked like a deer in headlights. “Terra! You’re-We’re-” “In a bed? Gold star, manboy.” I mumbled, climbing out of it. This felt extremely awkward, especially since I only just recently admitted I was in love with him. (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Any questions?” Amelia: “Er, what’s that?” The Doctor: “A speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava. Must have been hanging around for ages. Fell in the time rotor, heated up and induced a dream state for all of us.” (He takes it to the door and blows it into space.) Rory: “So that was the Dream Lord then? Those little specks.” The Doctor: “No, no. No. Sorry, wasn’t it obvious? The Dream Lord was me. Psychic pollen. It’s a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you, gives it a voice, turns it against you. I’m nine hundred and seven. It had a lot to go on.” Amelia: “But why didn’t it feed on us, too?” The Doctor: “The darkness in you pair, it would’ve starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care. Otherwise, I’m stuck with my own company, and you know how that works out.” Amelia: “But those things he said about you. You don’t think any of that’s true?” The Doctor: “Amy, right now a question is about to occur to Rory. And seeing as the answer is about to change his life, I think you should give him your full attention.” Rory: “Yeah. Actually, yeah.” The Doctor: “There it is.” Rory: “Because what I don’t get is, you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?” Amelia: “We crashed the camper van.” Rory: “Oh, right. I don’t remember that bit.” Amelia: “No, you weren’t there. You were already.” Rory: “Already what?” Amelia: “Dead. You died in that dream. Mrs Poggit got you.” Rory: “Okay. But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn’t just die?” Amelia: “I didn’t.” Rory: “Oh.” Amelia: “Yeah.” Rory: “Oh.” Amelia: “Yeah, oh.” (Rory kisses Amy, then she kisses him back.) The Doctor: “So, well then, where now? Or should I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?” Rory: “I don’t know. Anywhere’s good for me. I’m happy anywhere. It’s up to Amy this time. Amy’s choice.” (More)
Night Of First'sThe sounds of my own laughter echoed in the TARDIS media room. Idris knew exactly what I wanted to see, it was amazing! ‘You’re like, ‘how many times she’s been rear ended’ Haha!” Sal walked over to Q. “Anal sex, Joe. Anal sex. Anal sexy.” Q turned to his friend. “Could you never-” He paused. “Creep up behind me and yell ‘anal sex’ into my ear? I love you but-. Just as a rule going forward?” I laughed. “I love these guys!” “What are they talking about?” Amy asked, walking into the media room. “It’s a big setup. Shh!” I hushed her so I could keep listening to the show. “Alright. Moving on. Stimulation Aids, some things I use during ‘alone time’.” Q explained. “This is the part where I tell my mother what I jerk off to.” I laughed. “Oh, this is gonna be brutal.” “You find this stuff funny?” Amelia questioned. “I find it downright hilarious.” I said. “These guys made their friend give the birds and bees talk to his parents. It took forty five minutes. These are all the slides that didn’t make it into the show.” Amelia winced, then laughed. “They made him give his parents the talk?” I nodded. “Why?” “Because it’s a hidden camera show.” I laughed. Amelia sat down next to me. She looked at the screen, curious. “And you like it?” “Love it.” I corrected her. (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “And you like this movie?” Amelia asked. I nodded. “Orphans, man. They tug at my heartstrings.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Alright, who was your first kiss?” Amelia asked. I blushed, then giggled. “The Doctor.” Amelia gave me an oh really look. “Seriously, come on, who?” “The Doctor.” I repeated. “It was my past, and his future.” The memory came to me, and I just kept laughing. “He thought I was a future version, but really I was on my fourth. He kissed me.” I could feel the blush come back with a vengeance. “Then...he tried doing...other things...” “Oh gosh.” Amelia gaped. “Did you-” “That’s where it gets embarrassing.” I said, nervously. “I kinda screamed. Then the Doctor asked what was wrong. I had to tell him it was my fourth jump. That stopped him in his tracks.” I laughed, feeling anxious. (More) ==PC== (More) “I was your first kiss.” The Doctor grinned, proudly. I nodded. “Eeyup.” “Was it good?” “It was you.” I reminded. “The first time I kissed you. One kiss, I was totally hooked. Addicted to you.” The Doctor wrapped his arms around me, I kept looking in his eyes. “I could never love anyone the way I love you.” (More) “Amy drove the camper because of Rory. You try saying no to that angry Scottish ginger.” The Doctor lied, and it was weak. I gave him a look. The Doctor paused, nervously frowning. “I died too, didn’t I?” The Doctor’s silence was answer enough. “That was why you didn’t argue with her.” The Doctor walked up to me, brushing his fingers on my cheek. I ignored the fact that my knees wanted to give out under me. To keep myself strong, I bit my lip to distract myself. “ (More) He kissed me. It lasted five long seconds. This was all I aware of, since my mind went blank once the Doctor’s lips touched mine. “Would you like to finish what he started?” I sighed, pushing myself closer to him. “Please.” Wait...what? What were we doing? I had completely spaced. He was really good at kissing when he wanted. ==PC== Oh. This is what he was talking about. (More) (More) The Doctor stopped. I groaned, trying to encourage him to keep going. “Why did you stop?” I whimpered. “This is your first time.” Nodding my head, I tried pushing myself onto the Doctor. “Yes, so do not leave me hanging. Please.” The Doctor brushed some of my hair back. I opened my eyes, seeing him staring down at me with shocked eyes. I reached up, brushing his hair back. “Doc, I am okay with this.” I told him. The Doctor shook his head. “Your first time.” The Doctor breathed. “I don’t want it to be rushed.” “I love you.” I told him. He smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me. I want to give this to you. Now.” I gripped his shoulders. “Nail me into the bed.” The Doctor smirked. He kissed me. “Morgan Spencer, you are dashing.” The way my name just flowed off his lips made me blush. It didn’t even sound like he was saying my name, it was like he was promising by it. His words were the thing binding together a promise. So, I tried matching his tone. “You’re not so bad yourself, Theta Sigma.” I purred. The Doctor growled in that perfect way I had wanted. He kissed me, in the most possessive way. My lips kinda hurt from the kiss, but I loved it. “20.” I whispered into his lips.
Angels Take ManhattanThe (More) “Hello, sweetie.” I turned back, seeing River Song. “Melody? What’s happening? Where are we?” River sighed. “New York Town, 1939.” My eyes widened. “Angels Take Manhattan.” ==PC== (More) “Marry me.” I said. River just laughed. “I’m not kidding.” I admitted. “Melody Pond, marry me.” River blinked, realization in her eyes. “You’re serious.” “Melody, I am 251 years old. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife?” I requested again. River seemed more and more surprised. “Where did this come from?” “What? I’m not allowed to propose to the girl I have had a massive crush on since I met her?” I asked, walking closer to the blonde. “I love you, River Song. You a brash, flirty, insane, hot chick.” I leaned in. “And that insanity sealed the deal.” River started to smile. “Same here.” “I finally realized if I want the person I love, I need to tell them. So, Melody Pond, will you say yes to the girl in the dress?” (More) “I’m a rebel.” I winked at my future wife. She laughed. “Alright.” (More) “Morgan Spencer.” I whispered in her ear. (More) Melody kissed me. (More) ==PC== (More) I lounged on her couch, reading a book. “Terra?” “Present.” I lifted up an arm. (More) River held up her journal. “I think my father is in.” (More) ==PC== (More) ‘New York growled at my window, but I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick was combat ready, and I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet.’ Amelia: “Doctor, you’re doing it again.” The Doctor: “I’m reading!” Amelia: “Aloud. Please could you not?” The Doctor: “There’s something different about you, isn’t there?” Rory: “What’s the book?” The Doctor: “Melody and Tiana Malone. They’re private detectives in old town New York.” Amelia: “Melody’s got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden. Tiana is far more reserved. Her heart burns like fire, and her eyes seem as ancient as the sun. She’s got her heart on her sleeve.” The Doctor: “Oh, you’ve read it?” Amelia: “You read it. Aloud. And then went yowzah!” Rory: “Only you could fancy someone in a book.” The Doctor: “I’m just reading it. I just like the cover.” Amelia: “Ooo, can we see the cover?” The Doctor: “No, no, I’m busy. It’s your hair! Is it your hair?” Amelia: “Oh, shut up. It’s the glasses. I’m wearing reading glasses now, on my nose, see? There you go.” The Doctor: “I don’t like them. They make your eyes look all liney. No, actually, sorry. They’re fine. Carry on.” Amelia: “You walk among fire pits, Centurion.” Rory: “Do I have to come over there?” Amelia: “You can if you like.” Rory: “Well, we have company.” Amelia: “I’ll get a babysitter.” (Rory and Amy kiss.) The Doctor: “Oh, do you know, it is so humiliating when you do that.” Rory: “Coffee?” Amelia: “Coffee.” The Doctor: “Can I have a go?” (The Doctor puts on Amy’s reading glasses.) The Doctor: “Oh, actually, that is much better. That is exciting.” Amelia: “Read to me.” The Doctor: “I thought you didn’t like my reading aloud.” Amelia: “Shut up, and read me a story. Just don’t go yowzah.” Amelia: “Why did you do that?” The Doctor: “I always rip out the last page of a book. Then it doesn’t have to end. I hate endings.” (He puts the page in the picnic basket.) The Doctor: “(reads) “As I crossed the street, I saw the thin guy, but he didn’t see me. I guess that’s how it began.” (Rory is walking back with the coffees past a fountain with cherubs. After he has past it, one of the cherubs is snarling, then it vanishes. A child laughs. It’s giggles make Rory keep looking around.) The Doctor: “(reads) I followed the skinny guy for two more blocks before he turned and I could ask exactly what he was doing here. He looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes.” (Amy is playing Pooh sticks off the bridge.) Amelia: “Beware the yowzah. Do not, at this point, yowz. Doctor? What did the skinny guy say?” The Doctor just kept looking at the book. “He said ‘I just went to get coffees for the Doctor and Amy. Hello River, Hello Terra.” ==PC== I smiled. “Hello Nurse.” “Hello Dad.” River greeted. Rory looked between us, confused and holding up drinks. “At least one good thing came out of this.” I shrugged, looking up at River. “The Doctor can’t get any coffee. The last thing my boyfriend needs is more caffeine.” River snorted. “That’s certainly true.” Rory: “Where am I? How the hell did I get here?” River: “I haven’t the faintest idea, but you’ll probably want to put your hands up.” (Because the man behind him is pointing a gun straight at him. Rory puts his hands up. A big black man walks up behind River.) “Melody and Tiana Malone?” The man asked. Rory: “You’re Melody?” He turned to me. “And you’re Tiana?” (A limousine pulls up.) “Get in.” The burly man ordered. (More) Rory: “What is going on?” “April 3rd, 1938.” I told Rory. (More) River: “You didn’t come here in the TARDIS, obviously.” Rory: “Why?” River: “He couldn’t have.” River: “This city’s full of time distortions. It’d be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard. Even I couldn’t do it.” River said. “He’ll just bounce off of it.” I said. “Sorry, manboy.” Rory: “So how did you get here?” I held up my manipulator. Rory nodded. “Ah.” River: “Vortex manipulator. Less bulky than a TARDIS. A motorbike through traffic. You?” Rory: “I’m not sure.” “A weeping angel.” (More) ==PC== (More) I saw the yowzah jar. It was still funny. River: “Ah. Early Qin dynasty, I’d say.” Grayle: “Correct. Are you an archaeologist as well as a detective?” River just gave him her all knowing smile. Grayle: “Early Qin, just as you say. You’re very well informed.” River: “And you’re very afraid. That’s an awful lot of locks for one door.” Rory: “River, I’m translating.” (Chinese characters resolve themselves into English for Rory.) River: “It’s a gift of the TARDIS. It hangs around.” “That yowzah better be for me.” I commented under my breath. Grayle: “This one. Put him somewhere uncomfortable.” HOOD 1: “With the babies, sir?” Grayle: “Yes, why not? Give him to the babies.” River gave me a warning look. I gave her a reluctant look of acceptance. I didn’t like this, not one bit. (More) River: “Hello, sweetie.” “Let’s see, crime boss with a collecting fetish. Whatever you don’t let anyone else see has got to be your favourite. Or possibly your girlfriend.” (River pulls the curtains to reveal a snarling Angel with manacles and chains on it.) River: “So, girlfriend, then.” (River starts tapping on her Vortex manipulator keypad.) Grayle: “What are you doing?” River: “Oh, you know, texting a boy.” Grayle: “These things are all over, but people don’t seem to notice. It never moves while you’re looking.” River: “Oh, I know how they work.” Grayle: “So I understand. Melody and Tiana Malone, the detectives who investigates Angels.” River: “Badly damaged.” Grayle: “I wanted to know if it could feel pain.” River: “You realize it’s screaming? The others can hear. Is that why you need all the locks?” “Melody!” I yelped. The Angel held my hand. Grayle: “You’re going to tell me all about these creatures. And you’re going to do it quickly.” River: “The Angels are predators. They’re deadly. What do you want with them?” Grayle: “I’m a collector. What collector could resist these? I’m only human.” River: “That’s exactly what they’re thinking.” (Then all the lights go out.) Grayle: “What’s that? What’s happening? Is it an earthquake?” (The wheezing sound of a struggling Type 40 can be heard, and papers start blowing around.) Grayle: “What is it?” “Oh, you bad boy. You could burn New York.” I grinned, feeling relieved but at the same time scared. Grayle: “What does that mean?” River: “It means, Mister Grayle, just you wait till our husband gets home.” (More) Amelia: “Rory? Rory? Rory?” The Doctor: “Sorry I’m late, honey. Traffic was hell. Shock. He’ll be fine.” “Not if I can get loose.” I growled. The Doctor: “So where are we now, Doctor Song? How’s prison?” River: “Oh, I was pardoned ages ago. And it’s Professor Song to you.” The Doctor: “Pardoned?” River: “Mmm. Turns out the person I killed never existed in the first place. Apparently, there’s no record of him. It’s almost as if someone’s gone around deleting himself from every database in the universe.” The Doctor: “You said I got too big.” River: “And now no one’s ever heard of you. Didn’t you used to be somebody?” The Doctor: “Weren’t you the woman who killed the Doctor?” River: “Doctor who?” “Not getting any younger.” I said in a sing song tune. The Doctor ran to my side, his hand automatically reaching for my hip. “Hello Terra.” The Doctor purred in my ear. “And might I say, that yowzah is always for you.” I smirked, bashfully smiling. He liked the outfit. I was hoping he would. My body leaned into his touch, just oh so still in a honeymoon phase. Whichever relationship, our’s or River’s, it was unclear. Maybe both. “Thought it would impress you.” “I’m always impressed by you.” The Doctor said, giving me a flirty smile. “Made to New York, surrounded by weeping angels, stopped a mob boss, and all because of a vase. Have I impressed you?” “Totally and completely.” I flirted. The Doctor smirked, smug. The Doctor looked up at my wrist. “She’s holding you very tight.” Terra: “She also didn’t send me back in time.” The Doctor: “I doubt she’s strong enough.” I nodded. “Well, I need a hand back, so which is it going to be? Are you going to break my wrist or hers?” The Doctor frowned, and knew it still had to be broken. “Oh. Alright then.” “I’m sorry.” The Doctor said. “Amy read it in a book, and now I have no choice.” The Doctor: “You see? River: “What book? The Doctor: “Your book. Which you haven’t written yet, so we can’t read.” River: “I see. I don’t like the cover much.” “That’s cause it’s not me, right?” I teased. River’s smile told me ‘yes’ though her eyes said ‘my mother is in the room shut up’. Amelia: “But if River’s going to write that book, she’d make it useful, yeah?” River: “I’ll certainly try. But we can’t read ahead, it’s too dangerous.” Amelia: “I know, but there must be something we can look at.” The Doctor: “What, a page of handy hints, previews, spoiler free?” “Chapter titles.” Amelia suggested. The Doctor grinned. He opened the book, going to the beginning of the book. He read down the list of chapter titles. “He’s in the Cellar!” “Gimme!” Amelia said, before running out to cellar. I paused, though, to hear the Doctor read the last chapter. River: “Doctor? Doctor, what is it? What’s wrong? Tell me. Doctor? Doctor, what is it, tell me. Okay, I know that face. Calm down. Calm down! Talk to me. Doctor!” “No! Get her wrist out.” The Doctor yelled. “You get her wrist out without breaking it!” (More) “If I can do this, I can change everything else too!” I pleaded. “Please River, just please!” (More) I was right. It did hurt. ==PC== (More) Amelia: “So, is this what’s going to happen? We just keep chasing him and they keep pulling him further back?” River: “He isn’t back in time. I’m reading a displacement, but there are no temporal markers. He’s been moved in space, not in time, and it’s not that far from here by the look of it.” The Doctor: “You got out.” Amelia: “So, where is he?” The Doctor: “Well, come on, come on, come on, where is he?” River: “If it was that easy, I’d get you to do it.” The Doctor: “How did you get your wrist out without breaking it?” Terra: “You asked, I did. Problem?” The Doctor: “You just changed the future.” “My job, manboy.” I said, trying to keep my wrist out of hand reach. “Terra. What number are we at?” The Doctor asked, out of nowhere I gulped. Should I lie? “21.” Damn. I couldn’t lie to him, could I? The Doctor was a bit shocked at that. No. No, that was outright horror. His eyes were wide in shock, as if I just pulled out a knife coated in my own blood. “You mean-” “I mean a month ago I lost my virginity to you.” I smirked, giddy. His horrific expression softened into one of a kicked puppy. I had just kicked that puppy, dear Story. “It was fun.” River: “It’s called marriage, honey. Now, hush, I’m working.” The Doctor: “She’s good, have you noticed? Really, really good.” River: “Ah, wherever it is, it’s within a few blocks. There’s a car out front. Shall we steal it?” The Doctor: “Show me!” “Gah!” I whimpered, holding my wrist in my other hand. The Doctor: “Okay, when all those numbers on both units go to zero, that’s when we’ve got a lock, okay? It’s how we find Rory.” Amelia: “Got it.” (More) The Doctor: “Why did you lie to me?” “Rule Three When Traveling With the Doctor.” I whimpered, my wrist hurting like crazy. “Never let him see the damage.” The Doctor: “It must hurt. Come here.” I shook my head, pulling away from him. The Doctor came closer, and grabbed my hand. To stop any pain, I let him hold it. “Don’t.” I pleaded. “I’ll be fine.” “Terra.” He said, the word a plea. How was it that he could make my name mean so many different things? “Doctor.” I said, trying to say everything. ‘I’m not backing down.’ (More) Terra: “No. No. No, stop that. Stop that. Stop it!” The Doctor: “There you go. How’s that?” (He kisses Terra’s hand.) Terra: “Let me check.” (She slaps his face.) Terra: “That was a stupid waste of regeneration energy. Ah told ya never to save that glowin’ hand at me again! You just threw away your days.” The Doctor: “Terra-” “No!” I snapped, going outside. “You embarrass me.” (More) Amelia: “Okay, why did you lie?” River: “Rule Three, never let him see the damage. Rule Four, never ever let him see you age. He doesn’t like endings.” The Doctor: “Got it. He’s at a place called Winter Quay. The car, yes? Let’s go.” (More) ==PC== (More) River: “Why would they send him here? Why not zap him back in time, like they normally do?” The Doctor: “We’ll know that when we know what this place is.” Amelia: “Winter Quay.” (More) ==PC== (More) Amelia: “Rory?” River: “He’s close.” Amelia: “Rory!” (Apartment 802) Amelia: “Rory!” Rory: “Amy.” River: “Doctor, look at this. Why is it smiling?” (The Doctor seems the nameplate by the door - R Williams.) The Doctor: “Amy. Rory!” (More) The Doctor: “Get out of here! Don’t look at anything. Don’t touch-” Amelia: “Who’s that?” (An old man in the bed. He points at them, very 2001 A Space Odyssey.) OLD Rory: “Amy. Amy, please. Amy, please. Please.” Amelia: “Rory? He’s you.” OLD Rory: “Amy.” (Old Rory dies.) Rory: “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry, Rory, but you just died.” “I consider this a norm.” I admitted. The Doctor: “This place is policed by Angels. Every time you try to escape, you get zapped back in time.” Amelia: “So this place belongs to the Angels? They built it?” The Doctor: “Displacing someone back in time creates time energy, and that is what the Angels feed on. But normally, it’s a one off, a hit and run. If they could keep hold of their victims, feed off their time energy over and over again. This place is a farm. A battery farm. How many Angels in New York?” River: “It’s like they’ve taken over every statue in the city.” The Doctor: “The Angels take Manhattan because they can, because they’ve never had a food source like this one. The city that never sleeps.” (Slow heavy footsteps outside the window.) Rory: “What was that?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. But I think they’re coming for you.” Rory: “What does that mean? What is going to happen to me? What is physically going to happen?” The Doctor: “The Angels will come for you. They’ll zap you back in time to this very spot, thirty, forty years ago. And you’ll live out the rest of your life in this room, until you die in that bed.” Rory: “And will Amy be there?” The Doctor: “No.” Amelia: “How do you know?” The Doctor: “Because he was so pleased to see you again.” Rory: “Okay. Well, they haven’t taken me yet. What if I just run? What if I just get the hell out of here? Then that never happens.” The Doctor: “It’s already happened. Rory, you’ve just witnessed your own future.” River: “Doctor, he’s right.” The Doctor: “No, he isn’t.” River: “If Rory got out, it would create a paradox.” (Still the slow heavy footsteps.) Amelia: “What is that?” River: “This is the Angels’ food source. The paradox poisons the well. It could kill them all. This whole place would literally unhappen.” The Doctor: “It would be almost impossible.” River: “Loving the almost.” The Doctor: “But to create a paradox like that takes almost unimaginable power. What have we got, eh? Tell me. Come on, what?” Amelia: “I won’t let them take him. That’s what we’ve got.” Rory: “Whatever that thing is, it’s getting closer.” The Doctor: “Rory, even if you got out, you’d have to keep running for the rest of your life. They would be chasing you for ever.” Amelia: “Well, then. Better get started.” (She opens the apartment door. There is an Angel outside.) Amelia: “Husband, run!” (Amy and Rory run past the Angels. The lights flicker.) Amelia: “Up!” Rory: “What good’s up?” Amelia: “Better than down!” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “I always wanted to visit the Statue Of Liberty. I guess she got impatient.” (Rory runs to the opposite edge, behind Amy’s back.) Amelia: “What? What is it, what?” Rory: “Just keep your eyes on that.” Amelia: “Is there a way down?” Rory: “Er, no. But there’s a way out.” (Rory climbs up onto the ledge.) Amelia: “What are you doing? Rory, what are you doing?” (Amy turns around and goes to him.) Amelia: “Rory, stop it. You’ll die.” Rory: “Yeah, twice, in the same building on the same night. Who else could do that?” Amelia: “Just come down, please.” Rory: “This is the right thing to do. This will work. If I die now, it’s a paradox, right? The paradox kills the Angels. Tell me I’m wrong. Go on, please, because I’m really scared. Oh, great. The one time you can’t manage it. Amy, I’m going to need a little help here.” (Rory takes Amy’s hand and puts it on his chest.) Amelia: “Just stop it!” Rory: “Just think it through. This will work, this will kill the Angels.” Amelia: “It’ll kill you too.” Rory: “Will it? River said that this place would be erased from time, never existed. If this place never existed, what did I fall off?” Amelia: “You think you’ll come back to life?” Rory: “When don’t I?” Amelia: “Rory.” Rory: “And anyway, what else is there? Dying of old age downstairs, never seeing you again? Amy, please. If you love me, then trust me, and push.” Amelia: “I can’t.” Rory: “You have to!” Amelia: “Could you? If it was me, could you do it?” Rory: “To save you, I’d do anything.” (Amy gets up on the ledge next to Rory.) Amelia: “Prove it.” Rory: “No, I can’t take you too.” Amelia: “You said we’d come back to life. Money where your mouth is time.” Rory: “Amy, look.” Amelia: “Shut up. Together, or not at all.” (More) The Doctor: “What the hell are you doing!” Amelia: “Changing the future. It’s called marriage.” (Gazing into each others eyes, Amy and Rory fall off Winter Quay.) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy!” (Balls of energy gather and flicker around the roof.) River: “Doctor! What’s happening?” The Doctor: “The paradox. It’s working! The paradox is working!” (More) ==PC== (More) Rory: “Where are we?” The Doctor: “Back where we started. You collapsed the timeline. The paradox worked. We all pinged back where we belong.” Rory: “What, in a graveyard?” Amelia: “This happened the last time. Why always here?” The Doctor: “Does it matter? We got lucky. We could’ve blown New York off the planet. I can’t ever take the TARDIS back there. The timelines are too scrambled. I could have lost you both. Don’t ever do that again.” Rory: “What did we do? We fixed it. We solved the problem.” The Doctor: “I was talking to myself.” (More) River: “It could do with a repaint.” The Doctor: “I’ve been busy.” River: “Does the bulb on top need changing?” The Doctor: “I just changed it.” River: “So. Rory and Amy, then.” The Doctor: “Yes. I know, I know.” River: “I’m just saying. They’re going to get terribly bored hanging round here all day.” Rory: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “Ha!” Rory: “Look, next time, could we could just go to the pub?” The Doctor: “I want go to the pub right now. Are there video games there? I love video games.” River: “Right. Family outing, then.” “Rory, get back in the TARDIS, now.” I ordered. “But-” “Now!” I barked. My eyes went back to the area behind Rory. The Angel would be there any second. “Terra, what’s wrong?” Amelia asked. “He’s fine.” “What about the Angel that sent him back to 1938?” I asked. “What happened to that one? It existed in this time, so it wasn’t have been killed during the Paradox. It wants revenge.” “You’re talking like you know it’s coming.” Amelia said. I growled. “Rory, get to the TARDIS now!” “Doctor, Terra’s-RORY!” (More) River: “Where the hell did that come from?” The Doctor: “It’s a survivor. Very weak, but keep your eyes on it.” Amelia: “Where’s Rory?” (The Doctor sees Rory’s gravestone - aged 82.) The Doctor: “I’m sorry. Amelia, I’m so, so sorry.” Amelia: “No. No, we can just go and get him in the TARDIS. One more paradox.” The Doctor: “Would rip New York apart.” Amelia: “No, that’s not true. I don’t believe you.” River: “Mother, it’s true.” The Doctor: “Amy, what are you doing?” Amelia: “That gravestone, Rory’s, there’s room for one more name, isn’t there?” The Doctor: “What are you talking about? Back away from the Angel. Come back to the TARDIS. We’ll figure something out.” Amelia: “The Angel, would it send me back to the same time? To him?” The Doctor: “I don’t know. Nobody knows.” Amelia: “But it’s my best shot, yeah?” The Doctor: “No!” River: “Doctor, shut up. Yes. Yes, it is.” The Doctor: “Amy.” Amelia: “Well, then. I just have to blink, right?” The Doctor: “No!” Amelia: “It’ll be fine. I know it will. I’ll be with him, like I should be. Me and Rory together. Melody?” The Doctor: “Stop it. Just, just stop it!” Amelia: “You look after them. You be a good girl, and you look after them.” The Doctor: “You are creating fixed time. I will never be able to see you again.” Amelia: “I’ll be fine. I’ll be with him.” The Doctor: “Amy, please, just come back into the TARDIS. Come along, Pond, please.” Amelia: “Raggedy man, goodbye!” I took a deep breath, trying to hold in my emotions. (More) “You could have done something!” The Doctor snapped. *SLAP* I fell to the ground, reaching up to my cheek. It stung, horribly. I hissed when I touched it. There was a sharp pain on the back of my head. Reaching back to it, I felt I had landed on Amelia and Rory’s grave. It hurt so much. I looked up the Doctor, to see if what happened really did. The Doctor was looking down at his hand like it betrayed him. His green eyes were large, filled with a whole other type of heartbreak. He just slapped me. Good. I deserved it. I couldn’t save the Ponds. “Doctor! The Angel!” River yelled. I screamed as I felt the Angel grab me. “TERRA!” The Doctor screamed. The manipulator activated. I jumped away.
Dominic Chamberlin Must DieI dropped to the ground, brushing away tears. I let out a sigh. That was scary as shit. I just needed a breather. A chance to inhale and exhale. Absorb this latest episode. That would get me ready for whatever happened ne- Who am I kidding? I need a corner to go sit and cry in. The Ponds are dead, and it’s all my fault. What the hell was wrong with me? “Morgan Spencer, oh how the time has flown.” A voice echoed in the room. I jumped back. No one in this reality knew my name, just the Doctor and Darcy. “Who are you?” I asked. There was a dark laugh. “I am surprised you haven’t figured it out.” I raised a brow. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot. You change your name so many times.” The voice admitted. “Oh...what was it...Frederica Rose?” My eyes widened. A horrifying thought came to mind. If it was who I thought it was... “No. No. Megan Quinn? No.” The voice mulled over in thought. “Not him. Not him. Please oh Great Merciful Storyline don’t make it be him.” I pleaded. “Machiko? That one was a fun discovery. So many versions of you with that name. What, no creativity? Well, you did name the Created after her scale color.” My throat closed. Only one person spat out Created like the word was a sin. “No. No, please no. Not him.” I stared at the door. A strange feeling was filling my spin. It was getting stronger. “He died. He died. I know he died.” The door creaked. “Let’s not forget my absolute favorite.” The voice said, as a hand appeared in the opening door. A tear burned in my eyes. “Someone please tell me it isn’t him. It can’t be him.” The man entered the room, almost making me scream. “Raspberry Stardust.” The man smirked. “Dominic Chamberlin.” I gaped. My mouth was open in a silent scream. Dominic grinned. “How did you get here, Terra?” He asked almost mockingly. I realized where he thought I was. “Made a portal. I jumped away.” I was aware words were coming out, but couldn’t control how. “A coward, even in death.” Dominic’s grin was dark. “No matter. You will return. You care too much about those pathetic Createds to leave them behind.” He taunted. I gulped. “We are here to observe.” Dominic said. “Never interfere.” “That’s wasting a perfectly good gift.” I spat, finally finding my voice. “A gift? You think this life is a gift?” Dominic scoffed. “It is a harsh curse.” “It is a gift because it brings us things and shows us wonders we would rarely see at Home.” I defended. “Why would we be given such abilities if not to use them?” Unbeknownst to me, he had been walking closer and closer to me as I spoke. Dominic hit me, a slap right across my face. It was so strong, I hit the floor with a loud thud. He pulled me up by my ponytail. His lime green eyes bore into my amber ones. I didn’t want his green eyes. I wanted manboy’s. I wanted my Manboy. But, he hated me. I killed his best friends. I was just useless... “I have better plan in mind this time.” Dominic sneered. A shiver went down my spine, resting in my gut. ‘I’m not even worth saving.’ ==PC== “My name is Ellen.” I stared blankly forward, not listening to the girl in the cell beside mine. It had been days since I had been brought in, and each day was worse than the last. Dominic had beaten me to a pulp that first night, ‘breaking me in’ he called it. Then he- I winced, curling in on myself. It still hurt, it always hurt now. His dirty hands on me, practically wiping away any of the Doctor’s gentle touches. Dominic used a cat o nine tails, leather belts, and one time he just poked me with a burning fire stoker. It was torture. He was never kind like the Doctor had been. I bled for days after, for a while I thought I would bleed out. Then Dominic brought me out into the public for his club. A BDSM club, called Dominic's House of Pain. A part of me laughed at his lack of creativity, then I remembered I named my daughter after her scale color and did the same for myself. Every Sunday (unless someone paid extra), I was a punching bag. You could hit me as hard as you wanted, for as long as you wanted. The rest of the week I was your run of the mill stripper. Dominic insisted he be called Master, making me think of the Master which made me think of the Doctor. That made it hurt all over again. Dominic was my Master, but he wasn’t the Master. The Master was a Time Lord driven mad by his own kind, forced into doing horrible things because of those drums in his head. He was eight years old. Master Dominic used me almost every night, as well as giving some of the clients a chance to have a turn. I wish I could say I lost count of how many men I was forced to be with. I wish I could say I didn’t know how many times Master Dominic had tortured me, used me. My mind didn’t let me lose track. I didn’t fight against Dominic, I never could. He was the thing I was most scared of. I did, however, fight the clients. A little spitting here, biting there, and kicks to the groin to spice things up. Dominic beat me twice as hard those nights, but I couldn’t change my ways. Only one guy could touch me, and the Doctor was out. Today, it wasn’t Sunday. Master Dominic had left me behind in my cell, letting my wounds at least scab over or let some wounds heal so his new ones would show. There were other girls here, all looking in the same boat I was. They didn’t want to be here. Some nights you could hear them crying, or screaming to be sent home. “What’s your name?” The girl in the cell on my left tried to make conversation. “Punching bag.” I answered before I knew the words were in my throat. It was Master Dominic’s main name for me, others were useless, whore, slut, and cunt. The girl grabbed her bars. “That’s the name he gave you. I asked you for your name.” She said it so kindly, that it didn’t even sound like a command. It sounded like something I would say if I was in her shoeless feet. “Terra.” I almost whispered. Ellen hummed. “That’s a wonderful name.” I leaned back in my cell, the cool metal on my back like heaven after today. “Ellen is too.” There was a moment of silence. “How did Dominic bring you here?” Ellen asked. I winced, letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” Ellen said. “I know it hurts, but you’ll go mad if you don’t talk to anyone.” I snorted, already feeling the creeping claws of depression in my bones. “Can’t lose what you never had.” Ellen paused, then laughed. “True.” She agreed. “Which is why I don’t understand, Terra, how Dominic got you-” I winced, letting out a small hiss. “P-please. Don’t say his name.” My voice was a whimper. “Okay.” Ellen said quickly, almost apologetically. “Okay. I won’t. I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. If one of the guards heard I was panicking they might bring Master in here. I didn’t want him in here. He still gave me nightmares from our first encounter. “Tell me about your life.” Ellen suggested. I scoffed. “I’m in a BDSM club with no hope of getting out.” “Your real life.” Ellen corrected. My heart ached as I thought about it. I had finally become used to it, used to be with the Doctor and saving the day. Now I was here, because of what I did. “What does it matter?” I sighed, looking down at my new outfit. “This is my life now. I’ve earned this.” “I doubt that.” Ellen lightly teased. “No one earns this.” “Well, I’m a rebel.” I barked. “And I don’t want my old life. It’s just that. An old life. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to think about how I killed Rory and Amelia. I don’t want to think about how I’m gonna kill Rose, and Donna, and the Master, and the Doctor, and River, and who knows? Maybe I’ll kill Clara too. You never know with me. People just die around me and it’s my fault. So no, I don’t want to talk about my old life. I would much rather stay here as far away from my loved ones as possible!” The speech left me panting, not so much at how much I was saying but the memories that came with. The Ponds dying, River’s ghost on Trenzalore, Clara jumping into his time stream, the Silence taking Melody away on my First Day. “Did I say you could talk, you whore?” My heart stopped. Oh no... ==PC== He had his guards drag us to the Pain Room. That’s what I called it, apparently it was where I teleported in. I was forced onto my knees, my arms handcuffed behind me. Ellen had her arms chained over her head, exposing her bare back to Master Dominic. I knew what he was going to do to her, it was the worst part of my brain. Years of my life spent training it to think five steps ahead of the other person, of putting myself in the minds of monsters to decode them. It was my job to get inside Dominic’s head and figure out how to bring him down. I had done it once before, and it led me into this mess. Master Dominic whipped Ellen’s back with the nine tails. She screamed in pain, probably still reeling from wounds she had before. I let out a plea for him to stop. “This is what you do, you worthless slut!” Master Dominic yelled, whipping her again. “People get hurt because of you!” “Stop it!” I pleaded, trying to pull on my restraints. “I’ll take her place, just please stop!” Master Dominic sneered at me. “No. You need to learn what happens when you forget your place!” He raised his arm. “And I don’t remember saying you could talk!” He whipped Ellen so hard it shook in my ears. She let out a loud scream of pain. That one had to have cut through her skin. Some drops of blood plopped onto the floor, only making it that much worse. I had done that to her...she was in pain because of me...they were all in pain because of me. My mouth was kept shut. When I talked, he whipped her harder. The only way to keep from being hit to stop making yourself a target. Woah. I hadn’t thought like that since I was twelve years old. The thought came back almost like a temptation. Should I give into it? Should I ruin all the hard work Darcy and Lilac and the Mane 6 put into rebuilding me? Master Dominic whipped Ellen again. I knew then that yes, I did have to give in. This was my punishment for all I had done. Maybe once the Doctor knows how sorry I was for the Ponds, how I punished myself for the wrongs I had done, he would let me back in. Maybe River would too, I had killed her parents in front of her. The only way to keep this from happening to Ellen again was if I stayed quiet, if I became a victim again. I needed to let go of Terra Song, I needed to be the Punching Bag. I may not be able to save Amelia and Rory, but I would be able to save her. It was the only way. With that decided, I lowered my head. My mouth was clamped shut, my eyes stayed firmly on the black marble floor. Master Dominic was about to whip Ellen again. He walked closer to me, his rubber boots rubbing the floor in a way that almost made them squeal. Ellen’s blood had done little to help. “You have another show tonight.” Master Dominic said, dropping the whip by my side. “Best behavior, bag.” His tone didn’t say he wanted a response, so I kept my gaze on the ground below me. “Good girl.” Master Dominic sneered. He kicked me, his boot hitting me so hard I knew a bruise would appear. Doctor, please save us. ==PC== The Doctor brought out his psychic paper, feeling it buzz with a message. Doctor, please save us. The message was repeating, like it had with the Face of Boe on New Earth. The Doctor sadly thought back to the death of the giant head. Terra had been there, nearly crying. Something he had only seen her do a handful of times. She never really showed her emotions, closing herself off to anyone and everyone. Well, everyone except the Doctor. “What is it?” Martha asked. The Doctor looked over to the new companion on the TARDIS. Well, not really a companion. She was only here for a few trips as thank you for saving him and Terra’s life, then he would take her home. He had taken her on three trips already, and a fourth would just be over the top… Then again. He had been running into Terra at each of the places they had gone together...and the two of them had nearly mended fences back in New New York. Terra might appear on this adventure as well! The Doctor grinned at Martha. “Psychic paper, remember?” “Shows you want you want it to.” Martha recalled. The Doctor nodded. “Someone is sending me a message on this. A call for help.” Martha read the repeating message. “Is it an emergency, like some space 911?” “I’d say so.” The Doctor said, putting the paper in his coat pocket. He started dashing about the console. “You need a lot of telepathic power to reach us here in the vortex.” Martha nodded, trying again to try and understand how space travel worked in this mad box. She did remember one thing, as she braced herself on the handrails, just in time for the TARDIS to start shaking with the Doctor’s familiar horrid driving. It took about a moment for her to land, Martha said it was the Doctor’s personal best. The Doctor had a different theory. The TARDIS had been running to this place as well. She was as concerned about the message as the Doctor. Barely a second passed after the landing before the Doctor was out of the TARDIS. “January 20, 1979.” The Doctor sensed. Martha stumbled out, looking around where they were now. It seemed every place the Doctor took was in someway a dump. The TARDIS landed in an alleyway, that smelled of mold and cat pee. “Aberdeen.” The Doctor went on. “Aberdeen?” Martha asked. “Why did the paper send us here?” The Doctor walked towards the street, trying to find the source of power from the message. A message with that much peer behind it had to be easily noticeable, he should see it from here. The TARDIS would have parked herself as close as she could. “Aberdeen is good.” The Doctor said. “Had a friend who lived here once.” “Really?” Martha asked, skeptic. That friend was Rose, she was willing to bet. “Well.” The Doctor pulled on his ear. He had remembered the friend in Aberdeen. “Not live here, exactly. The TARDIS had been a little off on the navigation back then.” He paused, as if waiting for Terra’s witty joke. None came. He hated that most, the silence after she was gone. The Doctor finally caught sight of the psychic trail. It led into a large dark building, blocked by a large guard. (More) ==PC== (More) “Who could be calling us here?” Martha asked. “I don’t know.” The Doctor said, giving his companion a brief look. “And I don’t say that often.” (More) A woman walked up to them, dressed in a black leather corset dress. Her blonde hair was held back in a tight bun, and her face was covered in makeup. Around her neck was a black choker with a metal ring attached, almost like a collar. She spoke in a calm, sultry voice. “Welcome to Master Dominic’s House of Pain. How may we serve you tonight?” “Hello, ladies and gentlemen!” A loud voice shouted from the stage. The Doctor watched a man, around six feet tall with thin limbs, almost peach skin, and brown hair. The Doctor was barely able to see his green eyes. The man was dressed in a tight black shirt, long thin trousers, and black slacks. “I am Master Dominic Chamberlin.” The man said. His tone was firm, demanding. The Doctor was put on edge just with that. Who needed saving? Who could have sent him that message? “Welcome to my House of Pain.” The audience applauded. The man accepted in all with a smug grin. “It’s eight o’clock, everybody.” The man said. A few men began to cheer. “And you know what that means.” More men cheered. “It’s time for the main event.” The Doctor looked over them in disgust. Humans. Some were great, others were like this. They gave in to their deepest instincts, and treated each other like this. “Bring in The Bag!” Dominic ordered. At this commanded, a young woman walked into the stage. Her hands clasped behind her back and her gaze on the ground. The Doctor’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God.” Martha gaped. “It’s her.” Her skin was pale, almost sickly. She was thin. He could see her ribs. Her Raven black hair, usually held back in a ponytail and full of life, looked dull and lifeless in the ballerina bun it was in. Her lips were pale, and frowning. She was looking down at the ground in shame, as he noticed from all the years spent with her. She was wearing barely any clothing. A bright red lace set of bra, looking brand new, with matching underwear. What made the Doctor horrified, were the injuries. Bruises. In every color. Yellow, black, brown, purple. They were all over her skin. Her stomach had the biggest ones. Her arms were fresh, up near her shoulder as if someone had grabbed her there repeatedly. Her legs were bruised, with some mended cuts. It looked some people had kicked her. Faded pink marks littered her arms and stomach, like someone had been cutting into the flesh. The worse one was definitely a thin one over her stomach, to the left of her belly button. It was old, at least ten years. It looked like it received no medical attention once she got it. The Doctor wanted to retch. That means she was injured in such a way as a child. To top it off she had burn marks arms, varying in sizes. Some were small, like from a fire stoker. A few were from tasers, and there was an electrical burns on her legs. The Doctor looked closer and he saw old burns on her arms, faded and at least a few months old. It was Terra. “The Punching Bag, ladies and gentlemen!” Dominic announced. The crowd cheered. She had sent that message, she had to have. The Doctor knew Terra had some telepathic abilities, and she had been around more than enough to reach the TARDIS. She had called for him to save people, but was he just saving her? “For those of you who are new.” Dominic began. “Let me explain.” He walked up to Terra. The girl tensed, if only slightly. The Doctor almost ran up there. She was so afraid. That man did this to her. He made his Terra sick with pain, and made her a show for these horrid people. He could feel the Oncoming Storm brewing inside him. The Doctor had to save her! “Who are you?” Dominic asked. “Nobody.” Terra said. Her voice was weak, and strained from disuse. She was probably dehydrated on top of that. That word broke the Doctor’s hearts. That was the furthest thing from the truth. Terra was beautiful, stunning, and a shining light. He can barely remember a time where she wasn’t helping someone else. Terra was so important to so many, but to none more so than him. “That’s a lie.” The Doctor stated. It took everything he had not to run over there and save her. He didn’t want her getting hurt anymore than she already was. “Good.” Dominic congratulated. “What are you?” “Whatever my Master wants me to be.” Terra responded. “What’ve they done to her, Doctor?” Martha asked. “She looks sick.” “She is.” The Doctor shook his head, growling. “She is sick. These people made her sick.” Dominic took this all in pride. “I want you to be a punching bag tonight. That a problem?” “Never, Master.” Terra never looked up. “Thank you for letting this useless nobody be a punching bag, Master.” “She isn’t a nobody.” The Doctor snarled. This made his blood boil. “She’s someone important.” Dominic just smiled. “Why do you like being a punching bag?” “Because I deserve it.” The Doctor growled. Terra did not deserve this. She deserved to be treated with kindness, and love. She deserved to be happy. She deserved a life with Matt, the one she craved to return to whenever she was with him. “You bet you do.” Dominic replied, punching Terra in her stomach. She doubled over in pain. After a moment’s pause, she returned to her early stance. Her face was void of all emotion. Martha held the Doctor back. “Docto-” “They are assaulting her!” The Time Lord hissed. Martha met his hateful brown eyes. “They’ve also got guns trained on her, so she can’t run. We go up there, she’ll get shot.” The Doctor reeled back. Sure enough, three of the guards had their weapons pointed at her. Dominic had a long stick in his belt, that Doctor guessed was an electric torture device. They had ways of keeping Terra there. “For those who are new.” Dominic lurked behind Terra. The girl just kept staring forward, her eyes foggy like she was lost in a memory. “Let me add some background. It’s their favorite part.” The Doctor admitted it, he wanted to know too. Dominic grinned. He stood at Terra’s left side. “The Punching Bag used to go by a name, used to have a family, but then, tell these lovely gentlemen what you did.” “I ruined it, like I ruin everything.” Terra said, her voice flat. “I put them in harm’s way. You tried to save them, you tried to get them to run away from me, but I was stubborn.” “Yes you were.” Dominic said. “And what happened to them?” “They died.” Terra said, her voice cracking near the end. Dominic grinned, darkly. “Even her own children were put into danger. Tell them what happened to your daughter.” Terra almost cried. The Doctor could see it in her eyes. If she wasn’t so broken, she might be crying right there on stage. “She is to be de-constructed as part of the Created Removal Process. I was foolish to bring her to life.” He had never heard Terra speak about her children in such a way. Any time they were brought up, she spoke of them as if they were more precious than gold. She loved them, and became violent towards others if there was even an implied damage done to them. The same protective ferocity was applied to her sister, and her friends. Terra had done many things to keep Rose and him from being hurt, most of the time it meant she herself was injured. She would do it with a smile on her face, not a dead frown. She would do it with fire burning from every pore, not with this cold icy exterior. Was...no...this wasn’t her first day. It couldn’t be. The Doctor knew it was a dark day, from her brief explanation. This was pretty dark by his standards. But the manipulator was already wrapped around her wrist, chaining her to his timeline. There would be a day darker than this? “Yes.” Dominic grinned. “But don’t worry, you can repay your mistakes here.” “Thank you, Master.” Terra said. “Remember everyone.” Dominic walked closer to Terra. Both she and the Doctor tensed. “Nothing on the face but slaps, and no touching.” The vile man grabbed her rear. “That’s all mine.” The Doctor decided. Dominic would end up dead by the end of this. ==PC== Dominic walked into his office, proud. His top guard had come to him, a silent alarm had triggered in his office. Dominic knew it wasn’t Terra, was mildly disappointed with that. He never needed a reason to beat her, but having one made her much more terrified. He had a simple office. Well, simple for a narcissist. Dark brown walls, black tile floors, a big black desk covered in paperwork and his 70’s laptop. It was outmoded for him, but it was all this decade had. One of his walls was Windows, allowing him to keep watching Terra’s Sunday Night Show. You could still hear her screaming, the whoosh of a whip that cracked her back. It helped when he was bored. The wall across the window was covered in framed photos. Some were of his accomplishments, legal documents proving his power and some of the girls. What got his attention tonight, was the man sitting and playing on the computer. “Hello!” The Doctor cheered. “Sorry. I got bored, and this computer has Pong!” Dominic glanced at the woman standing behind the Doctor, dark skinned with her black hair held back into a messy ponytail. “Not many people come up to this room.” Dominic said. “The door’s locked.” The Doctor kept grinning like an idiot. “I have a key.” He lied. Dominic smirked. “I suppose you do, Doctor.” The Doctor dropped his smile, instead leaning back in the big chair. It was one of those boring grown-up chairs, no wheels. He liked the wheelie chair. Martha nervously shifted in her seat, feeling a bit like a stray dog between two wolves. “Not a lot of people know who I am.” The Doctor commented. “Of course I know who you are. Both of you.” Dominic said, glancing back at Martha. “You both mattered to her.” Martha’s eyes quickly went to the stage, where Terra was currently being shoved down to the ground after a harsh punch. “Whatever she was to you, I suggest you just leave.” Dominic explained. “The bitch doesn’t exactly like company, not unless I’m around.” The Doctor tensed. “Don’t call her that.” “Oh.” Dominic grinned. “Struck a nerve?” “I will get her out.” The Doctor stated. His voice became dark. “You can’t stop me.” “Go ahead and try.” Dominic challenged. “She won’t get far.” The Doctor kept himself very calm. This man was his only way of getting Terra back. Dominic grinned, confidently walking over the wall of photos. “She was so confident when I met her, so long ago. Now she’s as she should be, weak and at my mercy.” “Because of your abuse!” The Doctor argued in a growl. “Ask her about Matt.” Dominic grinned. “And you’ll see I barely had to lift a finger to whip her into shape.” “Matt?” Martha asked. “Her boyfriend.” Dominic said, adding an eye roll. “Her first time, if she told the truth.” Oh, now the Doctor was pissed. It didn’t help that you could still hear Terra screaming. A part of him scolded him that he should’ve known Terra wouldn’t have just been beaten. Dominic had crossed a line! No matter how angry he had ever been at the woman, or whatever harsh words he said in the heat of the moment, Terra never should have gone through this. She may have faults, she may have a darkness about her, but she had the biggest heart the Doctor had ever seen. “Enjoy the show tomorrow night, Doctor.” Dominic sneered. “I plan on making her dance.” ==PC== (More) “Doctor?” A voice asked. The Doctor and Martha stopped in their steps, looking in the dark cell to find a young girl, at least nineteen, dressed in a black version of Terra’s clothes. She had dirty blonde hair, which had probably once been very light, brown eyes like coffee, and very pale skin. “The Doctor?” The girl repeated, pointing curiously at the Doctor. The Doctor walked up to her cell. It was the one right next to where Terra’s had been. This girl’s voice was stronger, not scratchy like Terra’s had been. “That’s me. Hello.” The Doctor grinned widely, almost like an idiot, waving at the girl. “Do you know me?” The girl admitted. She motioned with her head to Terra’s cell. “Terra talked about you. You know, back when she actually talked.” The Doctor almost frowned. He was positive that this regeneration took his impossibly big gob from Terra. Lord knew how fast she talked when excited. Martha was more shocked than anything. Terra was sometimes quiet, but only when she was scared. Really scared. Martha remembered back when she met Shakespeare how quiet Terra had been once they went into that asylum. She stayed within three feet of the Doctor at all times. The girl looked at them with pleading eyes. “Tell me you’ll get her out. Promise me. Please.” “We promise.” The Doctor swore. “Thank you-” “Ellen Cassidy.” The woman said. “My name is Ellen Cassidy.” The Doctor gave her an appreciative smile, walking over to the next cell. Martha followed, after briefly looking at Ellen’s fresh wounds. ==PC== The door to my cell opened, far too early for Sunday night’s private dance for Master Dominic. “Terra, Terra! It’s me!” A man shouted. A man I could never forget, even though I tried. I couldn’t look up. Master Dominic never said I could look up. Besides, what were the chances it was actually the Doctor? “Terra, please. It’s me. The Doctor.” He pleaded. I flinched away, not wanting another one of Master’s tricks to attack. I shook my head. He never liked it when I spoke when he didn’t give permission. There was a pause, and it made my heart break. It was a sad silence, strengthened by the tears building in my eyes. What was his game? What did he want? I did that dance as he wanted. Did I not do a good job? Was he giving me hope just so he could take it away? Didn’t he know I lost hope before I even came here? “Terra, it’s the Doctor. That rude and not ginger Doctor, with the gob that won’t stop.” The Doctor’s voice went on. “Do you know who I am?” ‘Just stop, please just stop.’ “Doctor, hold on.” Martha? No. That couldn’t be Martha. Why would Dominic use Martha? I would sooner believe it was Rose with him, or even Donna, not Martha. Martha could never come here. She was better than this place. The man in front of me got up. I could feel the absence of him, as air replaced where he had previously kneeled. What were they doing? Was I going to be beaten for something? Did they want me to react? Did they want to punish me? Master usually tells me when people get a personal session... “She’s scared.” Whoever was using Martha’s voice explained in shushed tone to the Doctor. “Look at her. Who knows how long she’s been like this. Forcing her to talk might make it worse.” “Martha, she’s-” The Doctor half growled. I shrunk back. I was right. I was right, he was angry. He was a client that wanted to hurt me. They always want to. I remind them of some wife, or rebellious daughter, or haughty coworker. I was a punching bag. My only purpose was to take the punishment, like a good girl would. “I know, Doctor, I know!” The female client snapped. “But I’ve seen girls like her before. You’re angry, and she can tell. They always can tell when a male is angry around them, and prepare against it. We can’t help her if she closes off. She doesn’t need that, she needs to know we can be trusted.” I wanted to believe it was her. I really, really did. What if she wasn’t? She could just be one of the client’s, made to make my life even more like hell. Or maybe I finally snapped. Was this my psyche in a last ditch effort to save me? Why wouldn’t my own body agree with me? I was doomed in here. The Doctor was never coming for me. River was never coming for me. My friends were never coming for me. I don’t want them to. I got Amelia and Rory killed. How can the Doctor forgive me for that? How can River forgive me for killing her parents? She was my wife and I murdered my in-laws. They died because I failed. Another figure walked up towards me. I tried to back away. “It’s alright.” Martha’s voice soothed. “My name is Martha Jones. I just want to help, alright?” My hope came up. That was a voice filled with emotion. Master couldn’t fake that. “Ma-Martha?” I asked, tentatively. “Is-Is it r-really you?” Someone put their hands on my shoulder. I winced. The hands stilled, only slightly. They were gentle, not looking to bruise me. “Yes. I’m here to get you out of here, and the Doctor’s here to help.” I flinched. No. Not the Doctor. “H-He hates me.” Martha sucked in breath. I felt her hands let go of my shoulders, moving to my forearms. “Why would you think that, Terra? The Doctor’s your best friend, your partner in crime. You said that to me.” “I ruined his life.” I hiccuped on a side. “I can’t do anything right. I don’t know why he hasn’t gotten rid of me yet. It would just be better on everybody if I was just gone.” “Don’t say that.” Martha said, her voice soft. “It’s true. My friends got hurt because of me. All I ever do is get people hurt. I failed, Martha. I failed them, I failed my family, I failed the Doctor.” My voice broke on the last word. I never wanted to fail him, ever. He was the Doctor, and I fell in love with him. I fell hard. He was the Doctor. He loved me even when he was Twelve, the old Scottish magician with a knack for being goddamn hilarious. He stole my first kiss, and I loved it. He held my hand when I was in doubt, and was my only constant now. Story, I even gave the idiot Time Lord my virginity! He knew the pain of losing your friends, time and time again. He knew what it was like to be alone for so long, only every now and then getting a glimpse at true family. The Doctor was the father of one of my children, dramatic little Maxy. He liked old timey (wimey) cartoons, Jammie Dodgers, making up words, fish fingers and custard, bananas, converse, leather jackets, pinstripe suits, long beautiful speeches, and don’t even think about touching his tea! He was my friend. The Doctor was the Doctor. He doesn’t have a tank, he has a blue box that’s bigger on the inside. He doesn’t carry a gun, he has a screwdriver. He doesn’t have three heads or tentacles, he had two hearts. He is the Doctor, the man who makes people better. Loving him, that was the help I needed. To love someone, and have them love me back. It felt so good to know he loved me like that. And I had to go and stab him in the back. I had to go and killed the Ponds. How could I do that to him? It was a betrayal, a complete and utter betrayal. “Just g-go.” I asked, curling my arms around myself. “Please. If h-he finds you both here, he’ll-he’ll k-k...hurt you.” Martha gave me a reassuring squeeze on my arm, telling me what I already suspected. There was a long pause. The Doctor walked towards me, kneeling down on Martha’s level. “You could never let me down, Terra.” The Doctor promised. “I did.” I whimpered. “Don’t you see? I let you down. I am always letting you down. It’s all I know how to do.” “You’re only human. Even humans make mistakes.” The Doctor said. “I don’t know what happened, but even I know that you did everything you could to stop it.” I bit my lip to keep the sob in. He was right. What with the chapter title, and dead Rory, and the marked grave. I still could have tried. Silencio was a fixed point, and we worked around that. There had to be a way to get the Ponds out of New York. The buzzing of the sonic screwdriver echoed in my cell. The sound of my chains falling to the floor made me slowly turn my head to try and detect where they were, eyes clamped shut. “Terra, please, look at me.” The Doctor pleaded, cupping my cheeks in his hands. “I don’t want you to see.” I said, looking down again. The Doctor kept his hands on me. “Terra, what else is there to see?” “My eyes.” I admitted, feeling ashamed that I had let myself become like this again. That I let Dominic have control over me again. I kept my eyes shut tight as he made our faces eye level. “I see your eyes all the time.” I shook my head, feeling comfort in him holding me. “Not like this.” I whimpered. “Never like this.” My arms wrapped themselves around me. There were a lot of scars on my body, ones I didn’t want him to see. Not this young. “Terra, I promise. I’m going to get you out of here.” The Doctor said. “I deserved it.” I said, automatically. “I’m not Terra, I’m a punching bag.” “No. No you are not.” The Doctor denied. He sounded angry, just underneath the surface. “You never could be.” “I failed, like I always do.” I said, trying to get him to run. I would never forgive myself if Dominic got to him. “I deserve this, I earned this.” “That...That is nonsense, Terra, absolute nonsense and you know it!” The Doctor argued. “You should be treated so much better than this.” I shook my head. “You do.” The Doctor argued. “You do, Terra.” “No, I don’t.” I snapped at him. “You don’t know anything, Doctor.” I wanted to stand, but kept myself curled in a ball. My voice stayed soft in case Dominic was listening. “Dominic and I have a complicated past, how he’s treating me is nothing compared to how I treated him.” The Doctor was shocked. “You knew him before?” I closed my mouth, trying to look strong as that week flashed in my mind.My gaze lowered to my shoes. I grabbed my chains, locking them over my wrists. “Master is coming soon for my dance. You need to leave.” “Terra, I am not leaving you in this place.” The Doctor said firmly. “Master will kill you.” I said, my voice cracking. “It’s what he does. He takes the people I love, forces me to put them in dangerous situations, and then he kills them. That’s what happened last time. That’s why Ellen’s all bruised. That’s how I lost Darcy..” Just saying her name in this instance brought back the phantom pain. The blade running through her neck, the agony of my heart turning to dust in my chest. The monster that followed after. My friends seeing me like that. All because of Dominic. “Darcy? She’s alive.” The Doctor said, confused. “I can explain later.” I snapped. “Master is coming, and you need to go!” The Doctor was about to argue, when the main doors opened. They could be heard all the way from down here. I could hear Martha inhale sharply. “She’s right.” The Doctor said to Martha. “If the guards find us in here, they’ll kill us and her.” “I don’t want to leave her like this.” Martha argued. The footsteps were getting louder. “I think we don’t have a choice.” With that, the Doctor and Martha left my room. They were far quieter than I have ever seen Ten. I heard them open the cell door across from mine, hiding in their until the guards passed. It was a safe bet. That cell was empty anyway. The Doctor was safe for now. But people always get hurt around me. People always will get hurt around me. ==PC== Once the guards were gone, the Doctor and Martha snuck back into the main room. It was safer to hide in the crowd than the dungeons. They sat at one of the booths, trying to stay at least somewhat hidden. “Who’s Darcy?” Martha asked, delicately. The Doctor was just staring off in the distance. Dominic and Terra had met before? He suspected as much with the backstory Dominic told everyone. He hadn’t killed Darcy or Lilac, so why were they both saying he did? “Darcy is Terra’s sister. Her twin.” The Doctor said, almost absentmindedly. He leaned forward on the table, scrunching up his face in thought. “Thing is, I’ve met her. Darcy’s alive and well, same for her daughter Lilac. Neither of them are dead, but Terra talked about them as if they died.” “She might think they have. Dominic could’ve lied to her.” Martha tried. “No.” The Doctor said. “Terra doesn’t believe someone is dead unless she sees it with her own eyes.” Martha frowned at that. She had been wracking her brain too, and one thing kept sticking out to her. “What about that girl, Ellen?” “What?” The Doctor asked. “What about that message on the psychic paper?” Martha asked. “Terra had to have sent it to you, but why?” The Doctor considered it. “Doctor please save us.” The Doctor frowned. “Terra wasn’t asking for me to save her, she wants me to save all of them. Every girl trapped here.” “But we can’t just leave her here!” Martha argued, trying to stay quiet lest security hear. “That message said save us. Terra wants us to save her too.” The Doctor found himself glaring at Martha with such intensity that it worried his companion. “I would never leave her in here to rot.” Martha flinched back at the ferocity Doctor’s voice, and in his eyes. Terra meant a lot to him, she had seen it in the two days she knew them. It wasn’t exactly a friendship, but Martha saw all those glances Terra sent the Doctor and vice versa. “I’m not saying we do.” Martha said. “But, I’m just asking, how do we?” (More) Terra was dressed in red again. A red lace corset, a red miniskirt, and knee high red leather boots. Her hair had been pulled up into a ballerina bun, exposing a bruise on her neck. Not one human’s could see. The Doctor only could because of his Time Lord superior biology. He could see handfuls of other bruises on her arms, legs, neck, and face. They had used makeup to cover them, hide them for the show. The Doctor could see it in her amber eyes, the ones usually shining as bright as the twin suns on his home planet of Gallifrey. She was in pain, but she was still fighting. Terra never backed down from a fight, ever. He fondly remembered one such argument, it led to the two of them rolling on the floor laughing. To this day, the Doctor wondered how he and Terra had gotten anything done. The music changed to add a drumbeat. Terra changed her dance in tune with it, swinging faster around her pole. (More) “Why, Martha Jones.” The Doctor said. “I just came up with a plan.” ==PC== (More) Ellen nodded, determination in her eyes. “You don’t have much time.” “Where is she?” The Doctor asked, panicking. “She’s not in her cell.” The young woman frowned, almost in pity. “She danced tonight.” “We saw.” Martha admitted, feeling her heart breaking seeing Terra like that. “You don’t understand. She never dances.” Ellen explained, worried. “She’s always too hurt after being the punching bag. She only dances when he comes.” “What do you mean ‘when he comes’?” The Doctor asked. “Dominic’s always here.” Ellen shook her head. “The only nights she dances are when the Tiger comes in. I don’t know his real name, none of us do. We call him Tiger because he likes to scratch. Terra turned into his favorite girl pretty soon after she showed. Like, the next day.” She ran up to the bars, looking between the Doctor and Martha. “He pays extra so Dominic will make her dance.” “How do you know all this?” Martha asked, suspicious of the woman. “Dominic likes to brag about Terra to us.” Ellen explained. “She’s the girl he likes to hit most, and hardest.” She tripped the bars tighter. The Doctor took in the new information, planning on asking Terra later. “Dominic picks her up after the dance, closes up any of her bad wounds, and gives her to Tiger. If you hurry, you can get to her in the med room. When Tiger shows he has her at eleven.” “Ellen, you have to listen to me cause this is important.” The Doctor said, a wild look in his eyes. He was on to something. “Just how many of the women here are his victims?” “Right now, the only one who isn’t is your friend there.” Ellen nodded at Martha. The future doctor’s face dropped in shock. There were a lot of girls in this place...almost thirty. “So he took all of them from their lives?” “Yeah.” Ellen said. “Me, I was a barmaid not too far away. Heard some trouble down the block, so I go check it out. Next thing I know, I’m stuffed into this cell. Lots of the girls here have similar stories.” “Alright.” The Doctor said, determination in his brown eyes. “And there’s something I need you to do.” The Doctor soniced her lock open. Ellen looked at him in shock. “What are you-” “I need you to get as far from here as you can.” The Doctor said. He turned to Martha. “Same for you. Get all the other girls out of here and run.” “But the guards-” Martha reminded him. “Come on.” The Doctor said. “Gather the masses. Those idiot guards against all of you?” The Doctor encouraged. “I’d be terrified.” Martha stood her ground. “I’m not leaving without Terra.” “Listen, if you go in there with Terra then I can’t promise you’ll come out.” The Doctor said. “These girls need to be saved, and I can’t be in two places at once. Okay, I did one time, but it was very complicated circumstances. Actually, there was five of me in one place-” “Alright. Fine. How do I get thirty or so girls out of a place with the same amount of guards and guns?” Martha asked. She was trying to sound skeptic, it came out that way unfortunately. “The roof.” Ellen piped in. “There’s a door on the roof. Some of the clients go up there to smoke. I went up once, it wasn’t that far a jump to the next building.” “There we go. Everything straightened out.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) “The girls are all gone.” The Doctor said. “All of them.” My head shot up. Ellen? He saved Ellen? My breathing slowed, as if finally able to take in air. “My guards-” Dominic growled. “Gone.” The Doctor said, in a sort of cheer. That dangerous cheer that I recognized from The Idiot’s Lantern. I don’t like it. It made me nervous. My skin felt prickly, as did the air around me. The Doctor was angry. “Left with the girls. Martha may have even told some of them to bring the police.” (More) The Doctor wrapped an arm over my shoulders, holding me close. I felt his hearts beating under my palm, making a gentle smile grow on my face. The man chuckled, making my hair stand on end. Nothing good happened when the bad guy laughed. I didn’t turn my back, cause I knew that if I faced him I would end up killing him. “How does it feel to know you failed?” Oh, my Story. His words stabbed me right in my heart. The air left my lungs with the realization that he was right. The Doctor held my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “I’ve got Terra back, all of your girls are going home, and most of your clients are going to jail, so how is that a failure?” “Who said I was talking to you?” Dominic hissed. I felt his eyes burn the back of my head. The Doctor’s protective hand gripped tighter on mine. I almost whimpered, trying hard not to cry. “Leave her be.” The Doctor warned, his voice low. “You failed. The one thing you are supposed to be good at, and you failed.” Dominic taunted. I started to shake, my knees felt weak. My Doctor held me up. “No. She didn’t.” The Doctor snapped. He leaned down to my ear. “You stayed strong, Terra. He didn’t break you. You never failed.” I intended to glance up at him, but the Doctor’s brown eyes had me locked. They were being honest, they were full of love. Damn that Doctor and his emotional brown eyes. “Then why are they dead?” Dominic said. A loud cry emerged from my mouth. I knew exactly who he was talking about. Amy and Rory were dead. I killed them. They were dead, and Dominic knew that. I don’t know how he knew, but he did. I killed the Ponds. I would be seeing them for decades and they had died because of me. I would see River and know I killed her parents. I would see ClaraEleven and know I cost him his best friends. I would see Twelve, and my heart would shatter. Story, how could I face them? What would I even say? I would get closer to them with the guilt of being their killer. My special talent was helping, why couldn’t I help them? The Doctor wrapped his other arm around me, holding me in an embrace. His duel heartbeats a harsh reminder against my own chest. Dominic was right, I killed the Ponds. The Doctor didn’t know how horrible I was. I killed his friends. Why was he being nice to me? “How many times have you failed, Terra? Or did you prefer Frederica?” Dominic taunted. The man looked down at the podium in front of him. “She was fun. Cost this boy his life, melted right in front her.” “Freddie.” I choked. My clone. He had been unstable, parts of him turning to goop if he got too emotional. “No. Not Freddie. Please not my Freddie.” “Terra, don’t listen.” The Doctor comforted, holding me closer. My face pressed into his shoulder, taking a deep breath. “He’s lying. That boy is alive.” I almost snorted. Freddie was half dead when he was born. “Oh. Sorry.” Dominic laughed darkly. “Wrong name again. Megan Quinn. One of the BAU’s best and brightest.” He glanced at me. “How is Spencer? Still going to support groups after you got him addicted on Dilaudid?” “Tobias fucking Hankel got him on that shit.” I mumbled. “Ah, but you had a chance to stop it.” Dominic reminded. “Same for Aaron Hotchner, and Elle, and Gideon, and Derek, and Prentiss, and Garcia-” “Touch Garcia and I end you!” I snapped. The Doctor held onto me, as if to keep either of us from running up and punching his stupid face. Dominic laughed. “Just how many people have you let down, Raspberry?” I froze. He wouldn’t dare. The Doctor kept holding me. He recognized the name, he knew Dominic was talking about me. He knew Dominic was breaking me down. “How are those girls of your’s?” Dominic looked at the podium. “Lilac, Cookie, and Hannah. Can you name anything right?” “Why do you keep looking at that podium?” I asked, glancing between Dominic and the podium. “What’s on it?” The Doctor added. Dominic grinned. “Oh, this old thing?” He patted the side. “It shows me everything your little girlfriend did wrong. Helps with some of my other girls, keeps them docile. Terra never needed the extra kick until tonight.” The Doctor didn’t let me go. “Everyone makes mistakes. You shouldn’t have been forcing these women-” “They came here and decided they wanted to stay.” Dominic explained away. “Why, if some of them needed to be reminded, then I feel I have to help.” “Really? Thirty women signed for this?” I snapped. “To be physically and mentally tortured for the rest of their lives?” “Some people have extreme tastes, Raspberry.” Dominic said, leaning on the podium. “Those three girls. You really fucked up with those three. I mean, letting one be used as a hostage, by me? Another was attacked by a demon?” He chuckled. “Dear God, what are they doing to Hannah?” I lashed out, trying to kick the Doctor to get him to let me go. “Don’t you say her name!” Dominic chuckled. “She’s being sacrificed. Holy shit!” “No she wasn’t!” I reminded myself. “We got her out in time! She didn’t die! She was saved.” “But not by you, you huge fucking screw up.” Dominic said. “Oh. I was wondering when Darcy would show up on this thing. And damn this is a long one.” The Doctor started moving me towards the door. “Come on, Terra. We need to leave.” “How did it feel, your sister dying?” Dominic asked. The Doctor tried to unlock the door. “It’s deadlocked, isn’t?” I almost growled. Dominic needs to stop talking about her. “Some twins say it’s like losing half a lung, or your heart stops beating. Was it like that? How many times has your heart stopped?” Dominic said in absent thought. “How many times have you let people down?” Too many. “How many have died because of your inaction?” Too many. “How many have you saved?” Never enough. The Doctor was guiding me to another door, not too far from the other one. “Don’t listen to him.” “But he’s-he’s right.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. The Doctor stopped, turning to me and holding my shoulders in his hands. “No. He’s not. He is telling you lies-” “But I have killed. And there were people I could’ve saved but didn’t.” Tears burned as the fell down my cheeks. A girl made of fire, putting herself out with her own tears. Poetic. “And no matter how many I save it’s never enough.” “You saved everyone in this building.” The Doctor assured. “You! Martha and I would never have known about this without you.” “Dominic only did all of this because of me.” I argued, my voice weak. “He wanted to show me that I always fail. That I can never get it right, and I can’t.” “Yes you can. I’ve seen you do it!” The Doctor encouraged. “Terra, please, I know what you’re feeling and I know you think you need to be punished, but you’re wrong. No one, least of all you, has done anything worthy of this.” “Really? After what happened to Rose, you still think I’m innocent? After what happened to you? To those friends you have in the future that I let die? All those lives I ruined, even before I met you. I can’t do anything right. I can’t save anyone. I can’t-” The last words died on my tongue, but I still knew what I wanted to say. I can’t help anyone. ==PC== “I can’t help anyone.” The words came out as a defeated sigh. “Terra, that’s not true.” The Doctor assured. “It has never, ever been true.” Terra fell to her knees, her face void of emotion. The Doctor looked at her worry. While the sadist only looked at the broken girl with glee. A gray halo appeared over head, slowly falling down her body. The parts on her body it passed became gray. The Doctor watched in horror as her beautiful amber eyes changed to dull gray. He glared at Dominic, the Fire in his eyes blazing. “What did you do?” The man only grinned with devilish pride. “I only heard legends-” “What did you do?!” The Doctor shouted, running up to Dominic. He grabbed the man by his shoulders, holding him up. The Doctor’s face twisted into a mad snarl. “Tell me! What is wrong with Terra? Why is she gray? Tell me!” He demanded. Dominic laughed. “The Gray.” He said in a dark undertone. “It’s Equestrian magic. It only happens when you stop following your cutiemark.” He tried to look at Terra. The Doctor shook Dominic’s gaze away. “How do you stop it?” The Doctor barked. Dominic took longer than he liked to answer. “How do you stop it?!” Dominic met the Doctor’s heated gaze. “You can’t!” Dominic laughed madly. “Equestrian magic is all based on the user! The more powerful the emotion, the more powerful the magic. She’s the most powerful user I have ever seen, and now the magic is turning on her! Cutiemark Madness is the one thing not even Terra herself can cure.” The Doctor glared at Dominic, defiantly. He held up his sonic screwdriver. “Well, let’s just reverse the polarity then.” He aimed it at the podium, letting it do it’s work. Another click of the screwdriver activated the mental wavelength sent the images straight to Terra’s mind. It played her moments of greatest achievement. The Doctor watched them, smiling. ‘Terra busted open a car window, freeing the crying baby inside.’ ‘Terra watched a man take photos down from his wall, tossing them in the trash. LDSK, one of the papers read.’ ‘Terra held a little girl’s hand, telling her a story that made the girl’s purple eyes twinkle.’ ‘Terra hugged a small girl with blue hair, watching her blow out birthday candles.’ ‘In a small hotel room, Terra brushed a small kitten’s fur.’ ‘In a damp dark basement, Terra held a newborn child close to her chest. Darcy stood by her side, brushing the newborn’s black hair.’ ‘Two teenagers walked up to Terra, guns in their arms and military garb on their bodies. Terra stood tall, smirking at them.’ The rest of the memories had gone too fast for the Doctor to catch. The last one was the biggest. It glowed bright white, though the Doctor would later say it was pink. ‘“I love you.” Terra said into a cellphone. She smiled, freely. “That’s the first time I’ve said it to anyone. The next one I say to your face, got it Doc?”’ The Doctor looked over at Terra, notching a blush on her cheeks that she tried to hide using her hair. “You son of a bitch!” Dominic growled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Her buyer demanded that she’d be broken! You’ve ruined everything!” “Shut your damn mouth.” The Doctor felt a smile come on his face. He knew that voice. “What?” Dominic gaped at the speaker. Terra looked up at him, eyes an almost glowing amber. “Shut. Your damn. Mouth!” Her body exploded in a rainbow glow. Once it faded, the Doctor was shocked to see to had changed her form much like his own regenerations. Her hair looked brushed out now, falling onto her shoulders in beautiful elegant curls. Resting on her head was a golden tiara, decorated with sapphires and pink pearls. Instead of red lingerie, Terra was wearing a raspberry pink medieval dress. It had silver dressings on the bust, as well as silver tassels. Terra glared at Dominic. For a split second, the Doctor was reminded of the Bad Wolf. Her eyes glowed that same amber, as if the Time Vortex itself was running through her head. She ran towards the dark hearted man. She took ahold of his shirt collar, slamming him against the wall. “Don’t you ever say that to him again!” She screamed. “No one talks to the Doctor that way! Not on my watch!” “Mercy...” Dominic pleaded. “Why should I? You never did.” Terra snapped. She slammed him against it again. “Terra!” The Doctor called out. The woman with goddess like power snapped her head to the Doctor, so fast some of her hair brushed over her face. Her face, twisted into a snarl, fell into a gentle smile. She dropped Dominic to the ground, backing away to give him space. Dominic was sputtering. “He-He said your magic-” “Only comes out when you threaten what’s important to me.” Terra explained calmly, almost sweetly. “And you threatened him. He’s important to me, wouldn’t you say?” Dominic sputtered for a second more, then growled. “You won’t kill me.” The Doctor watched as Terra raised her hands, which started to glow in a bright amber light. “Correct, dearie. Killing you makes a mess.” Terra said. “And I happen to know the best way to get rid of the dark in the least messy way possible.” She took a step back, holding out her hands palm up. She shut her eyes in concentration. “You’re never gonna bring me down. You’re never gonna break this part of me. My friends are here to bring me ‘round, not singing just for popularity.” Her hands started to glow with prismatic energy. The Doctor and Dominic stared in shock. “I’m here to let you know that I won’t let it go. My music is a bomb and it’s about to blow.” Her eyes opened, revealing nothing but white light. “And you can try to fight, but I’ve got the light of friendship on my side!” The dress billowed, an strong breeze somehow appearing in the room. Terra floated up into the air, inch by inch. “Got the music in our hearts! Here to blow this thing apart! And together we will never be afraid of the dark!” “No.” Dominic shook his head. “No! Impossible!” Terra smirked. “I think of six impossible things before breakfast!” She shouted, raising her arms above her head. The rainbow glow got brighter. “Here to sing my song outloud! Get you dancing with the crowd, as the music of our friendship survives!” She threw her hands down, sending a rainbow blast straight at Dominic. “NO!” He screamed. ==PC== The Doctor had to look away when the beam hit Dominic. There had been a bright white light at the impact, like a small explosion. When he could look without going blind, Terra was back on her own two feet and in that red lingerie. A dazed look on her face, and an exhausted sway to her body. He got to his feet, rushing to get side. The Doctor barely managed to catch her before she could slam into the floor. In a small act of tenderness, the Doctor brushed away a loose strand of her black hair. She looked peaceful, something the Doctor knew she hadn’t had in a long time. There was a slight shimmer on the right side of her body. The Doctor saw a strange, intricate black tattoo form on her skin. They almost like new veins, or ivy. He could only stare in slight awe as the markings appeared along the side of her body, all the way from her shoulder to her hip bone. Something about them made him feel ferocious, protective. His finger reached out, lightly touching one of the intricate curves. The instant his skin touched her’s Terra moaned loudly. She arched her back, falling back down with a whimper. The marks started to fade from her skin. The Doctor, previously panicking over their arrival, panicked at the absence. Terra’s skin returned to that pale skin, slightly decorated with scars. He heard the distant calls of the police. He had wondered when they would show. The Doctor needed to check Terra in his TARDIS, with proper medical scanners. And yet, for the first time in awhile, the Doctor couldn’t find it in him to scold himself. Not when it concerned his feelings towards her. But...what if her tattoos came back? The thought of letting anyone see her in that state made him feel dangerous. No one else needed to see them. The Doctor knew it in his hearts that those tattoos were for his eyes only. ==PC== I held his jacket tighter around me, taking a deep breath of the Doctor’s scent. He smelled ancient, of dust after rain and hair gel and some of his favorite biscuits. There was also the faint metal smell from the TARDIS. Martha was by my side. She seemed a little worse for wear, at least on the inside. (More) “Majesty, we need to take your statement.” I frowned. “Doctor-” “We need to get you to the-” “They’re talking to me.” I said, pulling myself from his grasp. The Doctor and Martha gaped at me. I sighed, walking over to the woman who had been calling for me. “Your Majesty.” Tracy spoke. “My name is Henrietta.” I giggled. Of course she would get the stupidest name. “Your statement?” “The victim is one Dominic Chamberlin.” Tracy’s eyes widened. “Keep writing.” Tracy nodded, writing it all down. “This was a BDSM bar run by Dominic. Yes, I was the star attraction. No, I was unwilling in the whole thing. Yes.” I gulped. “He did sexually assault me, every night. I’ve been here for three weeks.” Tracy nodded. A cold expression on her face. What was I expecting? “I was called the Punching Bag.” Tracy scribbled. “We’ll need to take some pictures of the injuries.” “If you want to take pictures, take the camera and shove it up your ass.” Tracy gave me a look. “Eloquent as always.” She commented. I only smirked. “How did he die?” The medical people pulled away the body bag, wheeling it to the ambulance. I put on a cold face. “A rainbow killed him.” I said, impassively look back to Tracy. She was just writing on the notepad. “And who controlled this rainbow?” I shrugged. “Rather not say.” Tracy nodded. “I have to tell your bosses.” My eyes widened. “No. No please don’t. I will give you twenty bucks if you don’t tell them.” I pleaded. “You have bosses?” Martha asked. “No.” “Yes.” I glared at Tracy. I huffed, noticing one figure standing by the ambulance. “Ellen?” “It’s Henri-” “Ellen!” I shouted, wrapping the coat tighter around me as I looked at the girl I thought dead. The girl snapped her head up at me, brown eyes wide. “Terra?” “Ellen!” I cheered, running as fast as my tired legs would carry me. The girl smiled, brightly. She held her arms out as I met her, wrapping then around me in a hug. I hugged her back, which was harder than you would think with a blanket on. The two of us started laughing, though I had no idea why. Maybe it was that I knew that Ellen hadn’t died because of me. “You’re okay.” Ellen half whispered into my hair. I squeezed her arms, the only thing I could reach with this blanket. “We’re okay.” I corrected. “Get your pronouns right.” Ellen laughed, I joined in. It was that relieving laughter. The kind you have when that weight is lifted off your shoulders, almost like crying. She hugged me tighter, like she was making sure I was alive. “I knew he would save you.” Ellen sighed, then laughed. “Right when I saw him I knew he was going to save you.” I was a bit confused, until I heard the unmistakable sound of the Doctor’s converse hitting the black top. “Ellen!” The Doctor cheered. “Hello!” Ellen let go of my arms, letting me turn to face the Doctor. He was smiling giddily at Ellen. I looked at Ellen, shocked. “Ellen, Dominic could have killed you.” She gripped my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. “He would have killed you.” I hugged her, tightly. “Please. Never do that again. I’m going to lose people I care about one by one. Don’t make me lose you too.” Ellen squeezed me back. It didn’t feel like she was saying yes… I knew I liked this chick. ==PC== Immediately upon entering the TARDIS, the Doctor brought me to the med bay. Martha gaped at all the futuristic technology in here, whereas I was silently panicking over...well the shock was wearing off. The Doctor started me off by using some medicinal cream from the 47th century on my back. It stung, but according to him it would keep any of those scratches clean as well as clean the ones already there. He also said they smelled like bubblegum, which I thought was pointless. Why have flavored cream if I can’t lick it? Then again, future of earth, dancing. Once the cream was done, the Doctor used some patches to cover up some of the bad bruises. They felt warm, almost too warm. Then, Martha brought up an interesting point. My bones. Who’s to say one of them hadn’t healed properly? I’ve been hit with a baseball bat more than once, it was bound to happen. So the all mighty Time Lord of Gallifrey admitted that he had forgotten about that. He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot. The scanner looked a lot like the computer Eleven used as a screen, except it was brown. As it scanned me, I sent a small message to the TARDIS asking her to hide anything about my powers. The last thing I needed was for the Doctor to see that, especially so soon after Rose. I just survived that hell, rather not jump into a new one. The TARDIS sent back an acknowledging hum. She would do it, but only because I was uncomfortable about it still. The scan completed, making a loud ding noise. The Doctor was “Terra...” The Doctor dragged out. “What?” I asked, trying to look at the screen. “What does it say?” The Doctor hesitated. “You sent away Martha. It had to be bad. What does it say?” “How long’s it been since you’ve seen Matt?” Was what he said instead. I gave him a wary look. “Why?” The Doctor gaped at me. He started to smile. “Terra.” The Doctor apologized. He walked up to me, looking his brown eyes into my amber. “You’re pregnant.” A part of me wanted to laugh at him. “No. No way. No.” I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t-” Then I frowned. It had made a bit of sense. I mean, we did have some pretty intense sex. “I’m not.” The Doctor frowned. He showed me the screen. I could barely understand the mumbo jumbo until I found the word ‘pregnancy’. I read the sentence twice. ‘Two and a half weeks pregnant.’ “I’m...” I gaped at the screen. “Having a...” The words were stuck in my throat. “And I...” I sighed. “My life just gets better and better.” The Doctor hugged me. I pushed my head into his shoulder, trying not to cry. As with most things, I failed. We couldn’t be having a baby. This just couldn’t be possible. It could be the result of the TARDIS in transit, but that couldn’t be right. That just didn’t sound right. We couldn’t have created another River Song, she’ll never let me hear the end of it. Plus the pregnancy wasn’t old enough. It had been three since I saw My Doctor. It couldn’t be his...and that only left one other person who could be the father. Did I even want to bring this baby into the world, knowing who it’s father was? There was no chance in hell I was going to abort it, not now or ever, but what if the Doctor found out? What if he knew that the baby wasn’t his? This baby, it could have died in there. Dominic, with all his beatings and torments and other crap could have killed her. That was terrifying. What would I have done then? This was all just so messed up. I stayed still, just holding him close. For a second, I could pretend things were okay. I could pretend Martha-Ten wasn’t angry with me. I could pretend January never happened. I could pretend I wasn’t...yeah. It was a long time before the Doctor spoke. “Terra, the things Dominic said...” “It was in the past.” I said. “He said you were abused.” The Doctor said. I pushed the Doctor away. My jaw had dropped. “No! You would never hit me! I hit my head on a gravestone, that was it! I swear! Dominic is a liar!” Oh, it was horrifying to even think about. The Doctor abusive? Dominic has done a lot of horrible things, but saying the Doctor that he abused me in the future was just too far! The Doctor hadn’t meant to push me, not that hard. He was angry about the Ponds, about how I hadn’t saved them. It was easier to be mad at me than himself. Only now...he actually was even more heartbroken. The Eleventh Doctor was off on a cloud in Victorian London with the Paternoster Gang, without me. Oh Storyline, my heart hurt thinking about him alone. The Doctor should never be alone. It’s why he had them, the companions. They kept him together when I wasn’t around. It occurred to me that the Doctor had been entirely too quiet. I brought myself back to attention, seeing the Doctor look at me with an almost shocked expression. “Doctor?” I asked. “You really don’t hit me. Ever. You’d sooner admit you can’t fly the TARDIS.” I tried to joke. The joke was enough to bring him back. “Terra.” The Doctor said, his voice serious. He walked closer to me. My hand went to grab his as if an instinct. The Doctor’s hand melded into mine, almost like magic. It was bigger than mine, and surprisingly manly fingers despite his matchstick body. My hand felt like it always was supposed to be with his, like all those goofy couples on TV who were always giggling and smiling. I didn’t want that. That was a pipe dream for naive teenage girls. I wanted something real. I wanted us to fight like a married couple, talk like best friends, flirt like we were each other’s first, and protect the other like siblings. More than anything, I wanted this Doctor to realize it. I wanted him to know I love him, with all I had. The Doctor seemed just as in proud at our joined hands as I was. He was smiling like an idiot, making me laugh (really laugh) for the first time in three weeks. That thought hit me hard. It only made me laugh harder, so much my shoulders started to shake. The Doctor started laughing too. The two of us laughed for a couple more minutes. It felt good to laugh with my Doctor. In the midst of our laughter, he wrapped his arms slowly rocking us back and forth on the med bay table. My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling us close together. Nope. I was wrong. I never wanted to stop hugging him. I’m not one for hugs, but hugs with the Doctor felt like magic. This was magic. “Why are we laughing?” I said, as our laughter slowed. The Doctor backed away, officially ending the hug. I almost pouted, already missing his arms around me. He didn’t seem to be getting over the laughter, stupid Time Lord biology. He leaned down, kissing my forehead. I smiled, letting out an appreciative hum. “I was your first, wasn’t I?” I was a bit surprised that he figured it, almost horrified. What did that mean for us? When that night actually happened, did he only do it because I told him my first time was with him? “How did-” The Doctor held me tighter. “You can hide a lot of things about yourself, Terra. Who you are, where you came from, and what you are.” He pressed his nose into my hair, giving my forehead another peck. “But you can’t hide how you feel.” A pause. “Neither of us can.” I bashfully looked down at my hands. “It was you.” I glanced up at him, scrunching up my face with a fake scowl. “Plus, if I told you, it would only boost your already over inflated ego.” The Doctor chuckled. “So, it was that good huh?” I blushed. I whacked his chest. “Asshole.” The Doctor paused, as if holding back. “Stop swearing, Terra, nasty habit.” “You love my habits.” I shot back. There was another pause. “Yes, I do.” The Doctor admitted, still pressing his face against my head. I giggled. “I love your habits, too. All of them.” The Doctor leaned back. He was still hugging me, so I couldn’t look in his eyes. That was the only flaw in my profiling powers. I needed to look at him to see if he was lying. “Really?” “Yep.” I said. “Totally and completely.” “Totally and completely.” The Doctor murmured. He didn’t know what meaning those words had, not yet. Or, if he did know, he just wasn’t saying it with enough emotion to fully grasp. I was gonna show him. One of these days, I was gonna show him. ==PC== The library was a safe haven for now, at least until I could get this shit storm in my head to calm down. The TARDIS had my favorite book series, Grey Wolf Series by Quinn Loftis, even the ones that hadn’t been published yet. I had just finished the eighth book in the series when Martha came in. I put the books in my bag, so as to keep it for later. You never when you’ll need a good book. “There’s something that’s still bothering me about all of this.” Martha said. “The library is bigger on the inside. Time Lord science.” I motioned to the enormous library. “Well, he says that, but I have this bag that proves otherwise.” “No. Not that.” Martha walked closer to my watch. “It’s about...what happened.” I paused, looking at her with hesitance. “In...there.” “I know. I was making jokes.” I said, grinning. “How did you meet him?” Martha asked. I winced. “Sorry.” Martha added immediately after. “It’s just...you said you earned it because of what you did to him.” There was a long pause. It wasn’t hard to remember, that week (commonly referred to as January) had been in my nightmares for decades. “I was fifteen.” I mumbled, curling my fists around my bag. Martha sat next to me, encouraging me to go on. “I...I thought I was the only one...I had been alone for so long.” “You’re an alien too?” Martha said. I shook my head. “Closest thing I heard was a subspecies of the human race.” I mumbled. “There’s thousands of them, millions. I never really paid attention to the numbers they used.” Wow, did I really just say I missed those boring meetings? I must be going crazy. “But, for a while, it was just me. My parents aren’t like me, my brothers aren’t like me, not even my twin sister is like me.” Looking up at Martha, my eyes had to be showing my real age. “Do you have any idea how much that hurts a person’s soul? Being alone for all of those years, with the only people who should understand you have no idea what you’re talking about? I remember trying so many times I tried to tell Mom what I was going through, and she would be talking on the phone or with my dad. They never paid attention long enough for me to tell them.” “I’m sure that’s not true.” Martha said. “Your parents love you, Terra.” I snorted. “Really? Cause the day they found out it was all restricted. Everything I did was monitored, reported back to them. That woman, Henrietta? The one with as much expression as a wall? She’s the one who reports it to them. I’ll never be let out of the house again, much less see the Doctor.” Martha smiled, bittersweetly. “You really love him, don’t ya?” My lower lip trembled. One of my hands loosened on my bag, instead wrapping around my stomach. My now pregnant stomach. “I don’t really know how to stop, or that I even want to.” I admitted. I looked up at her, adding a small smile. “Sorry for asking, but, where did we just come from?” Martha hesitated. “You don’t need to tell me every detail, just name a place. I’m good at figuring things out, but not so good that I can say everything that happened just because you name it.” I said, hoping it would encourage her. The doctor in training paused again. “Manhattan, 1940’s.” She finally said. I kept emotion off my face, but remembered the episodes she had to be talking about. The Daleks in Manhattan. Great. It was an early Martha. I mean, I could tell from her clothes but I hadn’t guessed it was that early. This is going to be fun, when I go to the Lazarus party. Trust me, I’m going to that party. It’s going to be amazing. What wasn’t amazing was that I had just come back from a Manhattan, where the Ponds had died. “There, ya see?” I said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The sentence was broken up, choked in my throat. “Terra, what’s wrong?” The doctor in Martha asked. “I just came from Manhattan.” I admitted, sucking in a pained breath. “Lost some good friends in that Storyline forsaken town.” It came out much harsher than intended. “The Doctor hates me now because of Manhattan. His future self had only be sympathetic with me because he thought I would maybe find some way of changing it. I tried. I tried so damn hard and it all failed. Their future was carved in stone, a fixed point just like he said.” Martha held my hand, squeezing it. “Terra, stop it.” “But don’t you see, Martha?” I growled. “I killed them. I let them die. I let them die twice. He has to hate me for that. I killed his best friends-” “You’re his best friend.” Martha stated. “I lost that right.” I argued. “Since when is friendship a right you have to earn?” Martha challenged. I paused, thinking back onto some very bright people who taught me about the right kind of friendship. The keys to good friendship were; generosity, honesty, laughter, kindness, loyalty, and a bond to tie it all together. The Doctor and the Ponds had that, and I stole it from him. “I cost him so much.” I said. “I see it every time I meet someone new in his life.” Martha looked surprised. “Seeing you, I know I cost him Rose. Seeing his tenth self, I know I cost him his ninth. The same for his Eleventh and Twelfth faces. Seeing Donna told me I cost him you, and seeing the Ponds told me I cost him Donna. Seeing Clara told me I cost him the Ponds.” “And you saw that just by meeting them?” Martha said, disbelievingly. “My brain doesn’t work like your’s does.” I said. “My people. We see the world like...like you see a parade from overhead. We see all the twists and turns it could take, and then see all the ones it does. We see the speed bumps and speed limits miles before you do. My people chose to let it happen, to let you hit the bumps.” My hand reached up to my heart. “I saw that, and could hardly stand it. My friends were in pain, complete agony, and I was just supposed to sit there and let them take it? What kind of human being does that?” I sniffled, remembering all the times my friends were in that pain. Some happy memories came, of saving them from that. The Doctor’s heartbroken face after Amelia said goodbye was the biggest face in my mind. “So, that’s why I’m here. Even if I can’t stop the pain, I can at least lessen it.” I explained to Martha. “That’s why I chose the name Terra. It was my promise, that I would watch and protect you all like a mother would.” Martha shook her head, looking heartbroken at the revelation. “But how does Dominic tie into this?” Clevely little butterfly, saw right through that whole speech. “Dominic used to lead my people. He had killed their Queen, and in the broken pieces of the kingdom he ruled over a portion of it.” I explained. “No one knew what he did until I came along and told them.” “But how did you know?” Martha asked. “Their Queen died September 17, 1997. She died in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 2:37 in the morning.” I said. “That’s when I was born. That’s why no one in my family is like me. That’s why Dominic wanted me dead.” Martha’s jaw dropped. “He thought you were the Queen?” “No.” I said. “I am the Queen. She cast a spell giving her soul to me.” Martha paused a moment, absorbing all of that information. It took her a minute. “That’s why you believe in magic, you’re proof that magic is real.” “Living and breathing.” I added. “Last I checked.” My friend stood up, pacing the room. “And Dominic wanted to kill you because he knew you were the Queen?” I nodded. “How did he know?” “He knew because-” I stopped. Wait...how did he know? “Huh.” “Terra, how did he know you were the Queen?” “I...don’t know.” I admitted, wracking my brain trying to figure it out. “What?” Martha asked. “I have no idea.” I said. “That is such a weird sentence. I’m surprised I knew how to pronounce it.” The two of us relaxed on the couch, thinking over that latest development. How had Dominic learned I was the Queen? Anyone with basic hacker skills could look the information up online, but Dominic wasn’t nearly paranoid enough to think that Danielle had been born again as me. There was no stressor. An outside force had to have told him about me. Darcy was the only one at that time who knew, and she would never have told him. She didn’t even know who he was. “Anyway.” I said, deciding I’ll figure it out later. “Dominic tricked me into thinking he was going to tell me about our people, but instead he tied me to a chair with a gun to my back. I got out, and became a more powerful Traveller (my species name) because of it.” Martha nodded. “You said Darcy died.” “Getting to that.” I said. “After the chair, my friends and I broke into his building to try and bring him down. He had a plan for that, locking us all up in a dungeon. My friends were let go, Dominic just saw them as useless humans. My daughter and sister...they didn’t get out as easy.” I shook my head, unable to look Martha in the eye as I finished my story. “Darcy disguised herself to look like me, knocking me out so I couldn’t argue. When I woke up she was about to be executed.” Martha gasped. “I couldn’t do it anymore.” I said, sucking in a pained breath. “It hurt too much. My people had betrayed me, my friends had left me behind. I was going to be as dead as Darcy was soon enough. Why even fight it?” Another pained breath. “Twins are connected, some science says. I felt Darcy die, felt like my heart was being crushed in my chest.” “That’s horrible.” Martha said. “You were just kids.” “We looked fifteen.” I admitted. “I was able to get out after that.” I purposefully left out what I did to get out. “Took a couple of years, but I found a way to bring Darcy back. My daughter was safe, same for my friends. My people crowned me Queen, seeing as I was her in a past life.” I clapped my hands. “There. That’s Dominic and I’s story, right where I left it.” My friend squeezed my hand. There was a long pause. “The Doctor was about to take me home, before we found you.” “I won’t let him.” I promised. “You’re a companion as far as I’m concerned.” Martha looked touched. “Really?” “You’re helping him a lot more than you realize, than both of you do.” I explained, proud of Martha Jones later Smith. “He needed someone after Rose, and I can’t be that person because of my part in him losing her. You became that person by being his friend. You’re his support, and I can never thank you enough for that Doctor Martha Jones.” Martha bashfully looked away. “I’m not a doctor yet. I need to pass my exams.” “You’ll find that I don’t give a fuck.” I joked, laughing. “You’re a doctor, best doctor I know. I can’t trust the Doctor with a toaster, okay? He can’t even drive the TARDIS properly.” Martha started laughing, too. “He is a rubbish driver.” “Well, he thinks he’s driving. Really she’s letting him think he’s the pilot just to give him an ego boost.” I patted the wall. “A woman after my own heart.” I blew the TARDIS a kiss. The wall hummed, lightly. “What are you doing?” Martha laughed. “Showing the TARDIS my love.” I said, pretending to sound sultry. “How dare you, dark maiden, come between my love and I?” “You’re talking like Shakespeare.” Martha doubled over in laughter. “Nah, I just like Old English.” I shrugged, laughing with her. Man, it actually felt good to tell someone what happened. Now I just need to tell the Doctor. Yay. ==PC== It was a week before anything else happened. The TARDIS seemed content just letting them coast in the vortex. The Doctor was thankful, since it gave Terra a chance to heal. The bruises on her arms and legs were gone, but the ones on her stomach were only just turning a healing yellow. Some of her injuries would become scars, ones he has seen on occasion but never really knew before now. He would admit, he had been avoiding her since her revelation in the medbay. Martha had been more than happy to take over Terra’s care. The Doctor just hadn’t wanted to see her, get himself in order. His TARDIS had other ideas. That was how the Doctor found himself in front of the closet. Terra was inside. She was wearing a period dress. It was dark pink (a color he noticed she wore often) with a long skirt and long sleeves. A darker pink covered her chest going down to the skirt line, brass buttons decorating this portion, as if to make it out like a vest. The sleeves ended in small ruffles, which the Doctor knew Terra loved. Her hair was no different. She had worked it up into an Athen’s bun. The Doctor was nearly floored at how the dress looked on her. The Doctor remembered her wearing that dress before, of where she would go next. It had explained a lot, if he was honest. Also, Terra looked gorgeous in it. The Doctor was struck as speechless as when he first saw her in it. “I had a dream about a burning house.” Terra started to sing, leaning back against the wall. “You were stuck inside I couldn’t get you out. I laid beside you and pulled you close, and the two of us went up in smoke.” She slumped down to the floor, eyes staring off in the distance. The Doctor listened to every word. A lot of Terra’s songs were unemotional, or just a bit dead. This one was somehow different, it almost sounded alive. He leaned against the corridor. He didn’t want to talk to her, not while she was singing. The Doctor quite liked it when she sang. “Love isn’t all that it seems, I did you wrong.” Terra curled her arms around herself, giving herself a hug. The Doctor faintly heard music playing. It didn’t sound like the TARDIS. “I’ll stay here with you, til this dream is gone.” The Doctor realized something as the corridor darkened. This was who Terra really was, underneath all of the sarcasm and quotes. She wasn’t a powerful goddess from parts unknown, she wasn’t a villain in some lunatic’s dark game, she wasn’t a girl with a heart full of love. Terra was a lonely little girl, who wanted someone to say they loved her with all they had. Terra had her powers back, if only for a few days. Equestrian Magic Dominic had said, and the Doctor was hesitant to believe, was magic that relied on the user. The more powerful the emotion, the more powerful the spell. This song she was singing as that magic pouring right out of her soul. Terra was so much older than he had thought, the Doctor saw it in her bright sunshine filled eyes. The Doctor briefly wondered what this meant for her future self. How old was she? How much of what he saw was from this moment? “I’ve been sleepwalking, been wandering all night. Trying to take what’s lost, and broke, and make it right.” Terra’s voice drifted back into the Doctor’s ears, like a dandelion seed in the breeze. “I’ve been sleepwalking to close to the fire, but it’s the only place that I can hold you tight, in this burning house.” The Doctor smiled at that. There was a warm feeling in his hearts, as if the magic had poured onto them. He briefly looked to Terra, partially in awe over her. Terra was smiling fondly, eyes closed in the bliss. She almost seemed to be glowing. Then he remembered. She was carrying a child, with a man who wasn’t him. Any him. The Doctor would eventually have moments like that with Terra, of their first time, but who knows if anything would ever come of it. This life was too dangerous for children. No little Time Tot with his eyes and her smile, his hair and her sense of humor. It was a damper on his otherwise good mood. The child would be Dominic’s. Terra would always have proof that this happened to her, of what Dominic did. The Doctor couldn’t find it in him to blame the child, parish the thought. That child was Terra’s as well, and her heart was more than big enough to cover Dominic’s share. “See you at a party and you look the same.” Terra rolled herself over, making the dress bunch up around her knees. Some strands of her curly black hair fell over her freckled face. Terra brushed them back, but the Doctor wished it had been him. “I could take you back, but people don’t ever change.” He almost got up and ran in. It took practically everything in him not to barrel up to her, wrap her up in his arms, breath in the smell of Terra, and never let her go. She was saying she loved him. Oh that darker part of him was saying that it could very well be another version of him, or another person entirely, but the Doctor just knew. That warm feeling in his hearts told him otherwise. This song was his. “Wish that we could go back in time. I’d be the one you’d thought you’d find.” Terra smiled dreamily. She loved him back. Terra loved the Doctor back. This emotionally scarred girl, who had gone through things the Doctor might never know, who had lost things he could never understand, loved him. “Love isn’t all that it seems, I did you wrong. I’ll stay here with you til this dream is gone.” Terra got up, walking to the center of her room. Then, she started to dance. The Doctor gaped. It was like Terra had become light as a feather, dancing in tune with the music in her head as well as the faint song playing in the corridor. “I’ve been sleepwalking, been wandering all night. Trying to take what’s lost, and broke, and make it right.” Terra sang. “I’ve been sleepwalking, too close to the fire, but it’s the only place that I can hold you tight. In this burning house.” The Doctor didn’t trust himself with her, not the way Terra trusted him. He had done such horrible things, things he could never be forgiven for. He had treated Terra poorly in some of their early days, like a traitor. Every Christmas, she would sing any carol she knew. Terra would always crack jokes when they were almost dead. She would dress in period clothes, like she was now. The Doctor had yelled at her for it. She had only been herself, the Doctor realized. She felt secure enough with him to show the Doctor who she was. Terra loved him, felt safe with him, which is why she had been so broken thinking she had let him down. The Doctor understood that pain. Looking back, he had let her down. He had rubbed some of her defeats in her face, practically in the same manner as Dominic. “The flames are getting bigger now, in this burning house.” Terra sang. “I can hang onto you somehow, in this bur-” The song faded, abruptly. The Doctor wondered if the song had been that short, when he noticed the warmth in his hearts had vanished. They had become cold, almost to the point of pain. “Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?” Her voice broke through his slight concern. The Doctor stopped, instead actually looking at her face. She was facing him, revealing her amber eyes full of hurt and pain. He recognized that look, he knew that look from when it came from his own eyes. “Terra?” The Doctor spoke for the first time in minutes. His personal best, let’s admit. “When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?” Terra asked, quoting Shakespeare. The Doctor wondered when she had memorized Midsummer Night’s Dream. That question was pushed away when Terra spoke again. “Is’t not enough, is’t not enough, young man, that I did never, no, nor never can, deserve a sweet look at my family, but you must flout my insufficiency?” Terra choked on a sob, apparently holding back on just completely shattering in front of him. The Doctor stepped towards her, wanting to offer a hug as comfort. “Terra-” “Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth you do.” Terra continued, not even bothering to let the Doctor speak. “In such disdainful manner me to woo.” Okay. The Doctor knew enough about Terra to know that she would never tell you what she was feeling. She would hint at it, give you clues so you could figure it out yourself. Why was she using Shakespeare? It got his attention, if anything. It could have been her way of making sure the Doctor actually paid attention. Terra hated when she quoted and the Doctor didn’t hear it. Why that scene? In the play, Lysander had been tricked into falling in love with Helena, who then saw it as a big joke. She thought Lysander was laughing at her lack of love, so he shoved it in her face. Did Terra think that was what the Doctor was doing? Laughing at her pain? “But fare you well: perforce I must confess.” Terra said, adding a sorrowful laugh. “I thought you a lord of more true gentleness.” She had twisted an earlier line. Instead of ‘a sweet look from Demetrius’ eye, it was ‘a sweet look at my family’. She had lost her family, he learned that a while ago. He never learned how. The Doctor had brought up her title as Queen, asking what she was Queen of. Was that it? Had the Doctor just touched a nerve? Worse yet, the Doctor remembered that look of complete pain in her eyes. The only time he had that look was- The Doctor’s brown eyes widened at the revelation. After he destroyed Gallifrey. After he lost his home. Terra had lost her home, and the Doctor had been reminding her of that loss. Dominic had done no better, talking about she had failed her family and failed at keeping them safe. She had lost her home, as the Doctor lost his. She was a drifter, the Lonely Goddess without roots, just like him. The Doctor knew that feeling better than anyone, he should have seen it sooner. “O, that a lady, of one man refused.” Terra half growled. “Should of another therefore be abused!” The Doctor looked at her in shock. Something inside of him was screaming, demanding that he do anything to get that look of utter betrayal from her tear filled eyes. Terra should smile, she should be teasing him and laughing at him and calling him Lucky. It hurt him to realize she hadn’t called him that even once since this all started. “Terra-” There was a beep, and Terra vanished in a bright flash of light. Once again, Terra had left before the Doctor could apologize.
End of TimeIt is said that in the final days of planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams. To the west of the north of that world, the human race did gather, in the celebration of a pagan rite to banish the cold and the dark. Each and every one of those people had dreamt of the terrible things to come. But they forgot, because they must. They forgot their nightmares of fire and war and insanity. They forgot. Except for two. ==PC== The Master’s mad laugh woke me up. It had been a few months since I left the Doctor in 1969. More specifically, five months. My baby was due in less than a week. Tests had shown it would be a boy, so I had the name all picked out for him. It had been a rollercoaster to make it to this point. Right now, I was in the house in Glasgow, Montana. It was 2009, or at least looked like it. The children had been here, though Jenny was only for about a week or so around my birthday. I had shown up a month late for their’s so that meant we all got to have a birthday party. I thought it was nice, would have been nicer if the Doctor had been here. I used this time to familiarize myself with my new town. It had no beach, and was cold enough to snow. The had one Walmart, and it was a twenty minute drive without traffic. The hospital was a twenty-five. Everything was at least a fifteen minute drive. Thirty if traffic was shit. People here barely knew about my family and I, and the same in return. River had come by a few times. It was good seeing my wife, and the kids loved her. She was surprised to see my eight months pregnant stomach, which means I got to explain 22 to her. That had made her angry. She hated hearing about how I got hurt, with the Doctor unable to stop it. (More) Max had already made breakfast. “It’s really good, Mum.” Ruby said, taking a bite of her omelette. Her Scottish accent reminding me of Twelve. “I make the breakfast.” I said, disheartened. Max pulled out a seat for me, showing me the plate of the french toast with a side of scrambled eggs. Damn it, he cooks like his father. “Mom, you’re ten months pregnant. You’re due in a few days. You need to keep off your feet.” I sat in the seat, pouting. The baby had been kicking hard today. He wasn’t even related to the Doctor, and he hated kidneys. “You’re ten months old.” I grumbled, cutting apart the food. The twins chuckled at my expense. I rolled my eyes, picking at my plate. “We’re twenty months old, right?” Ruby asked Max. He shook his head. “Nineteen.” He corrected. I held back a sigh, digging into my food. “Talking to the baby.” I grumbled, stuffing my face. (More) Ruby and Max exchanged a look. Max shrugged off his sister’s worries, apparently agreeing with me. He had his father’s trust apparently. Ruby had inherited my worry wart self, worried about not only me but her younger brother. Yes. Brother. I had seen a proper doctor in these months. (More) “Did you guys have bad dreams last night?” (More) (More) ==PC== The (More) “Hello.” I said, sipping at my tea. “Wondered when I would be seeing you.” The woman just stared her cold yet warm brown eyes at mine. “Events are moving, Terra.” “Oh, they’re not the only thing.” I remarked, rubbing my hand over my stomach to sooth the baby. He kicked my stomach, hard. I hissed. “I know it’s coming.” “Faster than we thought.” I huffed, trying to calm the baby. “You can shut up when you’d like.” “Mum?” Ruby asked from the kitchen. “Bit busy yelling at the TV lady.” I remarked. Ruby walked up behind me. She leaned over the brown leather couch, making it squeak. “I thought you were the TV lady?” The woman “Only you can see. You are half of what stands at the heart of coincidence.” “Go get Max.” I advised Ruby. “Why, what have I done?” I asked, carefully. The baby was acting up again, making me huff in pain. “What makes me so relevant to this?” The woman “You’re a Queen, ma’am.” The use of the old title made me shoulders square as if a switch was flipped. I gazed a the screen with firm amber eyes. “A Queen does what she must to protect her people.” Terra “I do what I have to.” The woman “You killed a man.” Terra “Yes, I did. Don’t say that like it’s something to be proud of.” I said. “He may have been a bastard, but he didn’t deserve that.” The woman “The time will come when you must take arms.” “I can’t.” I said. “I won’t. It’s too dangerous now.” My hand clenched my baggy shirt, taking deep breaths to calm down. Terra “Who are you?” The woman “Tell the Doctor nothing of this. His life could still be saved, so long as you tell the Doctor nothing.” The screen went to black, making me flinch back. (More) “You needed me, Mom?” Max asked. “Yes!” I sat up in my seat, wincing at the sudden pain. My teacup was placed on the coffee table, so as not to be spilled. “Call Martha.” Max looked at me curiously, then his eyes moved to how tightly I was gripping my stomach and the couch. “Baby?” “Yep.” I wheezed. “Baby born on Christmas. Sound like a good present, right?” “Martha is in England, Mom.” Max said, rushing to my side. “We’re in Montana.” “Birth takes a long time.” I said. (More) ==PC== The (More) “Mom, we need to get to an actual hospital.” “She’s the only person Doc will actually answer with that phone!” (More) All I saw was black. ==PC== The Doctor The (More) The Doctor: “Ah! Now, sorry. There you are. So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn’t I? An Ood in the snow, calling to me.” Sigma blinked, blankly. “Well, I didn’t exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know.” The Doctor said. “Travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble. You know me. It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison.” “Got married. That was a mistake.” The Doctor winced. Just thinking about it gave him a headache. Terra had been there, he remembered. She had hit him so hard he wondered why he hadn’t regenerated. “Good Queen Bess. And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer.” Oh that had been the thing Terra nearly killed him for. It seemed the Ood had the opposite reaction. “Ahem. Anyway, what do you want?” Sigma: “You should not have delayed.” The Doctor: “The last time I was here you said my song would be ending soon, and I’m in no hurry for that.” Sigma: “You will come with me.” The Doctor: “Hold on. Better lock the TARDIS.” (The Doctor points a remote key at the TARDIS. The door locks and the light flashes at it beeps.) The Doctor: “See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like. It’s funny. No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh. Terra’d love it. I can hear her laughing at it now. So how old are you now, Ood Sigma? Ah.” (He sees the Ood city.) The Doctor: “Magnificent. Oh, come on, that is splendid. You’ve achieved all this in how long?” Sigma: “One hundred years.” The Doctor: “Then we’ve got a problem. Because all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century. Something’s accelerating your species way beyond normal.” Sigma: “And the Mind of the Ood is troubled.” The Doctor: “Why, what’s happened?” Sigma: “Every night, Doctor, every night we have bad dreams.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Elder Ood “Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood. Always returning, returning to this world. It is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come.” Sigma: “Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming.” The Doctor: “So. Right. Hallo.” Ood: “You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join.” (The Doctor links hands with the Ood and sees the laughing face.) The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” The Elder Ood “He comes to us every night. I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now.” The Doctor: “That man is dead.” The Elder Ood “There is yet more. Join us. Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man-” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” The Elder Ood “So scared.” The Doctor: “Wilfred. Is he all right? What about Donna, is she safe?” The Elder Ood “You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his Counting house.” (The Doctor is given images of a black man and his daughter being photographed.) The Doctor: “I don’t know who they are.” The Elder Ood “And there are others. The Queen.” The Elder Ood said, pouring the images into the shared vision. The Doctor could only watch at the images. It was Terra, but she was nine months pregnant. Her hair wasn’t in a neat ponytail, it was messy and looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a week. She was dressed in a white hospital gown. She was panting, face coated in sweat. “The child. The child is coming.” The Elder went on. “The child of death is coming.” The Terra in the vision scrunched up her face in pain, letting out a loud scream. “And the last. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten.” (A woman in a cage.) The Doctor: “The Master’s wife.” Sigma: “We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?” The Doctor: “She was. It wasn’t her fault, she was. The Master, he’s a Time Lord, like me. I can show you.” (The Doctor shows the Ood images from Last of the Time Lords.) The Doctor: “The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he’d done so it never even happened, but Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body. The Master is dead.” The Elder Ood “And yet, you did not see.” The Doctor: “What’s that?” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” (A woman picking up the Master’s signet ring.) The Doctor: “Part of him survived. I have to go!” The Elder Ood “But something more is happening, Doctor. The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark. The Ood have gained this power to see through time, because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil, and these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future, and the present, and the past.” The Doctor: “What do you mean?” The Elder Ood “This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing.” Ood: “The end of time itself.” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” (The Doctor runs outside and back to the TARDIS.) The Elder Ood “Events that have happened are happening now.” (More) ==PC== Terra My contractions were getting closer together. (More) The world started getting fuzzy, the pain piercing through me. (More) (More) (More) ==PC== The Doctor The Master had run off, destabilizing in his resurrected form. The Doctor almost gave chase, til Martha’s phone rang. It was he pulled it out to see it was Max calling him. “Bit busy, Max.” The Doctor said, chasing after the Master in the Wastelands. “We can’t find Mom!” His son shouted into the phone. “Probably popped off. You know it’s random-Hold on what?” The Doctor stopped running. “Slow down. She was with you. What was she doing?” The Ood vision had shown him Terra, screaming in pain. They said the child of death was coming. What could that mean? “What number was she?” “She never said.” Max said. “She would only tell you.” The Doctor nearly sighed in exasperation. “Terra.” “Mom was going into labor, so we got in the car-” “Labor? She’s pregnant?” The Doctor found himself growing more and more concerned. This was bad, very bad. She could have been in Broadwell. “And you can’t find her? When was this?” “Just this morning.” Okay. So not Broadfell. This took a weight off the Doctor’s shoulders. “Ruby and I were attacked getting Mom to the car. Ruby’s trying to call Uncle Jack to see if he can trace her manipulator. Have you seen anything?” “Working on it right now, actually.” The Doctor said, resuming his chase of the Master. “Another thing, might be nothing, but better safe than sorry.” Max said. “We’ve been having bad dreams, but Mom’s the only one who remembers them.” (More) The Doctor “Please, let me help. You’re burning up your own life force.” (They run again, then Wilf appears in the Doctor’s way, with the rest of the Silver Cloak close behind.) Wilf “Oh, my gosh, Doctor. You’re a sight for sore eyes.” ==PC== (More) Wilf “Oh, we had some good times, didn’t we though? I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun. I keep seeing things, Doctor. This face at night.” The Doctor “Who are you?” Wilf “I’m Wilfred Mott.” The Doctor “No. People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours. Terra could do that, but she cheats.” Wilf “Well, I’m just lucky I suppose.” The Doctor “No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again like something’s still connecting us.” Wilf “What’s so important about me?” The Doctor “Exactly. Why you? I’m going to die.” Wilf “Well, so am I, one day.” The Doctor “Don’t you dare.” Wilf “All right, I’ll try not to.” The Doctor “But I was told. He will knock four times. That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then.” Wilf “Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body.” The Doctor “I can still die. If I’m killed before regeneration, then I’m dead. Even then, even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away, and I’m dead. What?” (Wilf has spotted Donna outside in the street getting out of her car.) Wilf “I’m sorry, but I had to. Look, can’t you make her better?” The Doctor “Stop it.” Wilf “No, but you’re so clever. Can’t you just go over and say hello? Look, just go to her now. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello.” The Doctor “She said never to come back, Wilf She never wanted to see me again, not after what happened.” (They hear Donna speak to the traffic warden.) DONNA “Don’t you touch this car.” The Doctor “She’s not changed.” Wilf “Nah. Oh, there he is.” (A Mickey Smith lookalike meets Donna.) Wilf “Shaun Temple. They’re engaged. Getting married in the spring.” The Doctor “Another wedding.” Wilf “Yeah.” The Doctor “Hold on, she’s not going to be called Noble-Temple? That sounds like a tourist spot.” Wilf “No, it’s Temple-Noble.” The Doctor “Right. Is she happy? Is he nice?” Wilf “Yeah, he’s sweet enough. He’s a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he’s on minimum wage, she’s earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she’s so sad, but she stops when she knows I’m in the room.” The Doctor “She’s got him.” Wilf “She’s making do.” The Doctor “Aren’t we all?” Wilf “Yeah, how about you? Who have you got now?” The Doctor “No one. Travelling alone. I thought it was better. But I did some things. It went wrong. Terra came too late, and she was. I need.” (The Doctor starts crying.) Wilf “Oh, my word. I’m sorry.” The Doctor “Merry Christmas.” Wilf “Yeah, and you.” The Doctor “Look at us.” Wilf “But don’t you see? You know, you need her, Doctor. I mean, look. Wouldn’t she make you laugh again? Good old Donna?” (Donna and Shaun drive away.) Wilf “Eh?” (More) ==PC== Terra NARRATOR “And so it came to pass that the players took their final places, making ready the events that were to come. The madman sat in his empire of dust and ashes, little knowing of the glory he would achieve. While his savior looked upon the wilderness, in the hope of changing his inevitable fate. Far away, the idiots and fools dreamt of a shining new future. A future now doomed to never happen. As Earth rolled onwards into night, the people of that world did sleep, and shiver, somehow knowing that dawn would bring only one thing. “...the final day.” I sighed as I woke up. (More) (More) I growled at them. “I am missing an important conversation because of you!” I yelled. (More) “Where’s my baby?” I growled at Naismith. “What did you do to my baby?!” The man smiled a dark smile at me, confirming what I feared. “Someone brought to my attention that your son could be a hinder to my plans.” My jaw dropped. My hand went to my now empty stomach, praying that maybe it was all just a nightmare. Story, tell me he didn’t, tell me this man was not that stupid. My baby couldn’t be dead...he can’t be dead. Naismith’s evil smile told me that he was. “So we removed him from the occasion.” I blinked, feeling my body start to heat up in rage. “Say that again.” I ordered, my voice a whisper. “Saying it again will not change the facts-” Naismith began. “No. I want you to say it again so my conscience will be clear.” “Of what?” “Of you.” (More) ==PC== The Doctor (More) Night. The Doctor walks towards the Master, who fires bolts of energy at him from his hands. He misses, and sets fires burning behind the Doctor. The third try hits the Doctor squarely in the chest, stopping him moving forward. Finally the energy stops and the Doctor falls to his knees. The Master catches him, then lets him fall to the ground.) The Master “I had estates. Do you remember my father’s land back home? Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition. We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky. Look at us now.” The Doctor “All that eloquence. But how many people have you killed?” The Master “I am so hungry.” The Doctor “Your resurrection went wrong. That energy. Your body’s ripped open. Now you’re killing yourself.” The Master “That human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It’s so hot.” The Doctor “Stop it.” The Master “Sliced. Sliced. Sliced.” The Doctor “Stop it.” The Master “It’s mine. It’s mine. It’s mine to eat and eat and eat.” The Doctor “Stop it. What if I ask you for help? There’s more at work tonight than you and me.” The Master “Oh yeah?” The Doctor “I’ve been told something is returning.” The Master “And here I am.” The Doctor “No, something more.” The Master “But it hurts.” The Doctor “I was told the end of time.” The Master “It hurts. Doctor, the noise. The noise in my head, Doctor. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before. Can’t you hear it?” The Doctor “I’m sorry.” The Master “Listen, listen, listen, listen. Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is, calling to me. Please listen.” (We can hear the four beats of the start of the Doctor Who theme being played out by an iron bar on an oil drum somewhere.) The Doctor “I can’t hear it.” The Master “Listen.” (The Master mind-melds with the Doctor. The Doctor hears the beats and pulls away.) The Master “What?” The Doctor “But-” The Master “What!” The Doctor “I heard it. But there’s no noise. There never has been. It’s just your insanity. What is it? What’s inside your head?” The Master “It’s real. It’s real. It’s real!” (The Master flies off and the Doctor runs after him.) (More) ==PC== Terra (More) Master “I’m starving.” Naismith “You’ve my daughter to thank for this. It’s all her idea. She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return. It’s the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling.” Abigail: “And I was right. He’s back. The very man we need, and he’s here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful.” (More) “We brought the Star Queen.” Naismith explained. Two of the guards dragged me into the room, keeping a firm grip on my arms. They I put on a smile, burying my urge to kill Naismith. He would pay for what happened, I would make sure of it. Screw the fact that he doesn’t actually get killed, I will track him down and kill him. (More) “First time meeting you.” I answered, my voice full of fake cheer. I starting walking around him in circles. “Hmm. Honey, that blonde hair is really stupid.” “What?” The Master gaped. “I meet people in reverse.” I shrugged. “It’s stupid, I know. Couldn’t help it. Seriously though, why blonde?” (More) The Master looked down at me. “How far along were you?” A tear burned in the side of my eye, I pushed it away. “Full term.” “And it’s Dominic’s?” The Master said. My eyes widened. I flinched back. “H-h-how do you know about that?” The Master frowned. “You said you meet people out of order. I didn’t understand it until right now.” (More) “Koschei.” The Master whispered. My eyes widened. That was his name from the Academy! Why was he telling me that? “What?” “My nickname, from when I was a boy. You’ll use that word to prove we’re friends.” The Master explained. “I will try to hurt you, but you gotta make me believe you.” I grinned. “Oh! I survive that long.” The Master grinned. “I made sure of that.” (More) ==PC== (More) “Stop it.” The Master said suddenly. I glanced up at him. “Stop what?” I sighed tiredly. The Master flared over at me. “It’s Christmas time, and you’re being quiet.” “So?” I snapped. “Since when do you care?” “It’s Christmas, and you’re being quiet.” The Master went on. “You sing Christmas Carols in the middle of July, and whenever else they float in your head. Christmas is the one time of year you feel comfortable screaming them out to the heavens. You’ve been here for two hours, and you haven’t even hummed a single note, much less to a Christmas Carol.” The Master was almost glaring at me. “You and I became somewhat close in that Year, and I learned that when Terra Song is quiet I should get ready for fireworks.” “Duh.” I scolded. “No one plans a murder out loud.” (More) “I finally came up with a name.” I said, exhausted. The Master gave me a brief glance. “For him.” “Harold Idris Song.” I admitted. “Sounds right, for him. It would have been anyway.” (More) “Miss Addams?” “Miss Addams? If you’ll just excuse me.” (Rossiter leaves.) Naismith: “Now, please don’t imagine I’m a slave-driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mister Saxon.” The Master “My name is the Master.” (The Master has completed his work. He presses enter and the lights dim. A wormhole develops inside the Gate.) Naismith: “Oh, excellent. Excellent! Mister Danes?” DANES: “The visitor will be restrained.” The Master “What? But I repaired it.” Naismith: “I’m not an idiot. Don’t let him anywhere near that thing.” (More) Naismith: “Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you’ve laid traps. Perhaps explosives. A means of escape, or murder. But everything you’ve done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside.” (More) Naismith: “But it’s time for the broadcast. The President’s grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend it’s own problems.” AMN News: “And now, anticipation is rising as we go live to Washington. Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the worldwide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity.” SPOKESWOMAN: “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.” OBAMA: “I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy-” (More) The Doctor: “Turn the Gate off right now!” DANES: “At arms!” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don’t let him near that device.” The Master “Oh, like that was ever going to happen.” (The Master throws off the strait jacket and leaps over their heads on pillars of energy from his hands, into the Gate.) The Master “Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now.” The Doctor: “Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!” The Master “Bwahahahahahaha!” Naismith: “He’s inside my head.” The Doctor: “Get out of there!” (The Master’s blast of energy knocks the Doctor down.) Wilf: “Doctor! Doctor, there’s, there’s this face.” The Doctor: “What is it? What can you see?” Wilf: “Well, it’s him. I can see him.” AMN News: “There’s something wrong. It seems to be affecting the President.” (The President of the United States has his face in his hands. The Doctor goes to the computer and tries to shut down the Gate.) The Doctor: “I can’t turn it off.” The Master “That’s because I locked it, idiot.” The Doctor: “Wilfred! Get inside. Get him out.” (The Doctor enters one of a pair of glass sided cubicles, and Wilfred swaps places with a technician in the other.) The Doctor: “Just need to filter the levels.” Wilf: “Oh, I can see again! He’s gone.” The Doctor: “Radiation shielding. Now press the button. Let me out.” Wilf: “You what?” The Doctor: “I can’t get out until you press the button. That button there.” (Wilf does. Wilf’s cubicle is now Locked and the Doctor’s is Open.) The Master “Fifty seconds and counting.” The Doctor: “To what?” The Master “Oh, you’re going to love this.” The Doctor: “What is it, hypnotism? Mind control. You’re grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?” The Master “Oh, that’s way too easy. No, no, no. They’re not going to think like me, they’re going to become me. And, zero!” (More) ==PC== (More) Wilf: “Doctor? She’s starting to remember.” (Everyone’s face resolves into the Master’s.) Wilf: “What is it? What have you done, you monster?” The Master “Oh, I’m sorry, are you talking to me?” Naismith-The Master “Or to me?” AbiGAIL-The Master “Or to me?” DANES-The Master “Or to me?” SECURITY-The Master “Or to us?” AMN NEWS-The Master “Breaking news. I’m everyone. And everyone in the world is me!” OBAMA-The Master “I’m President. President of the United States. Look at me!” (The audience of Master’s applauds him.) OBAMA-The Master “Ooo, financial solution. Deleted. Ha ha!” The Master “The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race. Bwahahahahahaha!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Master “Now then, I’ve got a planet to run. Is everybody ready?” Naismith-The Master “Six billion, seven hundred and twenty seven million, nine hundred and forty nine thousand three hundred and thirty eight versions of us awaiting orders.” OBAMA-The Master “This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth’s defences.” GENERAL-The Master “UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir.” CHINESE-The Master “And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!” The Master “Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor? What’s that? Pardon? Sorry?” The Master turned to me, seeming to almost start scolding me. “And you, Terra Song? Chatterbox of the Valiant? Nothing?” I glared at him, almost tiredly. Right now, all I wanted to do was curl up by a fireplace with a nice cup of cocoa with some marshmallows. I wanted the Doctor to wrap his arms around mine, which were also holding the newborn baby, and be gently rocking him to sleep. But that was never going to happen. My baby died. Naismith had killed him. He had killed my baby because it would stop his plans. The dumbass. I was going to be the one stopping his plan today, then hunting him down like sport. It would make what Dominic himself cringe. Right now, the Master just made me annoyed. Like a little brother who kept knocking on my door. “Have you even told him what number you were on?” The Master asked. I glared, taking a quick breath to quell my murderous attitude at the Master. I wouldn’t look good in prison orange. I wouldn’t look good in prison orange. Wilf: “You let them go, you swine.” The Master “Oh, your dad’s still kicking up a fuss.” Wilf: “Yeah? Well, I’d be proud if I was.” The Master “Hush, now. Listen to your Master.” (Ring, ring.) The Master “But that’s a mobile.” Wilf: “Yeah, it’s mine. Let me turn it off.” The Master “No, no, no, no, no. I don’t think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I’m not phoning you, so who the hell is that?” Wilf: “It’s nobody. I tell you, it’s nothing. It’s probably one of them ringback calls.” (The Master searches Wilf’s pockets and finds the revolver.) The Master “Ooo, and look at this. Good man!” (He tosses it on the floor and gets the phone.) The Master “Donna. Who’s Donna?” Wilf: “She’s no one. Just leave it.” Donna: “Gramps, don’t hang up. You’ve got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing.” The Master “Who is she? Why didn’t she change?” Donna: “Gramps, I can’t hear you.” Wilf: “Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The Metacrisis.” The Master “Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh!” Donna: “Are you there?” (More) The Master “Find her. Trace the call.” Naismith-The Master “Trace the call.” (More) Donna: “Are you still there? Can you hear me?” The Master “Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad.” Wilf: “Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there. I’m telling you, run!” Naismith-The Master “She’s on Wessex Lane, Chiswick. Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane. Red alert.” Donna: “What do I do?” Wilf: “Run, sweetheart, that’s all. Run for your life!” (More) Wilf: “Donna? What’s happening? Are you still there?” Donna: “They’re everywhere.” CHISWICK-The Master “Oh, I’m starving.” Wilf: “Look, I’m telling you to run, Donna.” CHISWICK-MASTER 2: “I’m still hungry.” Wilf: “Just run, sweetheart. Just run.” (All the local Masters advance on Donna.) Donna: “Hold on. I know that face. It’s...it’s him. The Master. How do I know that?” Wilf: “Donna, don’t think about that. Donna, my love. Don’t!” Donna: “And it hurts. My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!” Donna: “What did I-” Wilf: “Donna? What was that? Donna? Donna, are you there? Donna! Donna! Donna!” (More) The Doctor: “That’s better. Hello. But really, did you think I’d leave my best friend without a defence mechanism?” Wilf: “Doctor? What happened?” The Doctor: “She’s all right. She’s fine, I promise. She’ll just sleep.” The Master “Tell me, where’s your TARDIS?” The Doctor: “You could be so wonderful.” The Master “Where is it?” The Doctor: “You’re a genius. You’re stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor. Because you don’t need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That’s ownership enough.” The Master “Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?” The Doctor: “I can help.” The Master “I don’t know what I’d be without that noise.” The Doctor: “I wonder what I’d be, without you.” The Master “Yeah.” Wilf: “What does he mean? What noise?” The Master “It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you’d call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism.” Wilf: “What does that mean?” The Doctor: “It’s a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts.” The Master “They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums.” (More) The Master “Listen to it. Listen.” The Doctor: “Then let’s find it. You and me.” The Master “Except. Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that’s good.” The Doctor: “What? What is?” The Master “The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes.” (The Master’s skeleton becomes briefly visible again.) The Doctor: “The Gate wasn’t enough. You’re still dying.” The Master “This body was born out of death. All it can do is die.” The Master growled. “So was mine, you don’t see me throwing a hissy fit.” I snapped dryly. “But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time.” The Doctor: “I said something is returning. I was shown a prophecy. That’s why I need your help.” The Master “What if I’m part of it? Don’t you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it’s been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That’s what your prophecy was. Me!” (He slaps the Doctor.) The Master “Where’s the TARDIS?” The Doctor: “No. Just stop. Just think.” The Master “Kill him.” (A helmeted guard goes over to Wilf.) The Master “I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead.” Wilf: “Don’t tell him.” The Master “I’ll kill him right now!” The Doctor: “Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you’re still bone dead stupid.” The Master “Take aim.” The Doctor: “You’ve got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can’t see the obvious, can you?” The Master “Like what?” The Doctor: “That guard is one inch too tall.” (The guard knocks out the Master with his rifle butt, then removes his helmet to reveal a green spiky head.) Rossiter: “Oh my God, I hit him. I’ve never hit anyone in my life.” (Green Addams runs in.) Addams: “Well, come on. We need to get out of here fast.” (She frees Wilf while Rossiter releases the Doctor.) Wilf: “God bless the cactuses!” The Doctor: “That’s cacti.” Rossiter: “That’s racist!” (More) Addams: “Come on! We’ve got to get out.” Rossiter: “There’s too many buckles and straps.” Addams: “Just wheel him.” The Doctor: “No, no, no. Get me out. No, no, no, don’t. Don’t! No, no, no.” (More) ==PC== (More) Rossiter: “Which way?” Addams: “This way.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, no. The other way. I’ve got my TARDIS.” Addams: “I know what I’m doing.” The Doctor: “No, no, no, just just listen to me!” (More) The Doctor: “Not the stairs. Not the stairs!” The Doctor: “Worst rescue ever!” (More) The Doctor: “Just, just stop and listen to me!” (The Master runs in with armed guards.) The Master “Gotcha.” Addams: “You think so?” (She presses her wristwatch.) The Doctor: “No, no, no, no, don’t!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Now get me out of this thing!” Addams: “Don’t say thanks, will you.” The Doctor: “He’s not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out!” (Wilf looks out of a nearby window.) Wilf: “Oh, my goodness me. We’re in space!” The Doctor: “Come on.” Addams: “All right!” The Doctor: “Oh, get a move on.” The Doctor: “Come on!” Addams: “All right.” The Doctor: “Where’s your flight deck?” Addams: “But we’re safe. We’re a hundred thousand miles above the Earth.” The Doctor: “And he’s got every single missile on the planet ready to fire.” Addams: “Good point.” (Addams, Rossiter and the Doctor runs out. The Doctor returns to gently lead Wilf away from the window.) Wilf: “But we’re in space!” The Doctor: “Yep.” (More) The Doctor: “We’ve got to close it down!” Rossiter: “No chance, mate. We’re going home.” Addams: “We’re just a salvage team. Local politics has got nothing to do with us. Not unless there’s a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better.” The Doctor: “We’re not leaving.” The Doctor: “Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush.” (More) ==PC== (More) Addams: “No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything. You’ve wrecked the place!” Rossiter: “The engines are burnt out. All we’ve got is auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can’t move. We’re stuck in orbit.” Addams: “Thanks to you, you idiot!” (Addams leaves.) Wilf: “I know you, though. I bet you’ve got a plan, haven’t you? Eh? Come on. You’ve always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam, (Tommy Cooper impression) sort of thing? Eh? Oh, blimey.” (More) ==PC== (More) “What number are you on?” The Doctor asked. I paused, not looking up from my phone. The headphones were still playing the music, so I could faintly hear the Imagine Dragons song playing. “Does it matter?” I asked, reaching to put the headphone back in. The Doctor took my hand in his, the fingers threading in mine were they belonged. I sucked in a cry of pain. My mind going back to the fantasy life I had imagined with him and Harry. “It matters to you.” The Doctor stated. “That’s enough for me.” I snorted. What had to go wrong for him to believe that? What made the Doctor so eager to hear my number? “It’s nothing, okay? The Master is just trying to get in your head. You need to get this ship working again.” “Don’t do that.” The Doctor said, disappointment in his voice. That made my head snap up. Why was he sounding so disappointed? Why was he looking at me with those big brown eyes like I had just kicked a puppy? “Do what?” I almost panicked. I didn’t want to tell him my number, okay! That meant telling him about Harry and telling him about Harry would make him angry, because he might think the Master did it. Or worse, he would stop me from getting vengeance. The Doctor gave me an assuring look. He squeezed my hand in an attempt of comfort. “Putting everyone else’s needs before your’s. You matter to me, so please tell me what’s wrong.” I didn’t want his pity. It was the last thing I wanted. I wrenched my hand from his, holding it closer to my chest. It went for the headphone, pushing it back into my ear. “26.” I almost whispered, staring down at my phone to get lost in the music. The music player loudly in my ears, tuning the Doctor out and keeping me from wanting to look up at him. Even though I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me in his arms, kiss my forehead, and never let me go. (More) “Don’t even say it. I’m already doing it to myself.” I snapped, not looking up from my iPhone. “Say what?” The Doctor said. “What else?” I asked in a tear filled voice. “That I’m a bad mother.” (More) “You’re the best mother, Terra.” The Doctor said. “I saw you with Max and Ruby. Even with Jenny, and she wasn’t your own.” I scoffed at his ignorance. “My eldest had a gun to her head at seven, then trapped in a basement for a week. At ten, she was a prisoner of war and our captor put a bunch of ideas in her head that I hated her. My second has been attacked by a demon, and thinks no one wants her because she’s an orphan.” I was starting to rant, scolding myself for past mistakes. The Doctor stared at me, looking horrified at the words coming out of my mouth. He needed to know. I was a shitty mom. “My third was almost used as a pagan sacrifice for a demon god to unleash hell on earth.” I felt tears burn my eyes, remembering the horrified cries of my infant daughter. To this day, I wonder why she’s not completely fucked in the head. “And the Twins! They were made into soldiers for a war that wasn’t even there’s! And Jenny.” My voice choked at the mention of the blonde soldier. “She was that close to dying that day.” I wiped away the tears, forcing myself to admit the rest. It wouldn’t do me any good to hide my wrongs. “And Harry.” “You named him Harry?” The Doctor said, sitting down on the stairs next to me. I nodded, still wiping away tears. “Th-The-They s-sai-said he w-would st-stop they’re p-p-plans.” I choked on a sob. I pulled my knees to my chest, hiding my face in my knees. “Ah never even got ta look at him.” The Doctor reached his arm out, holding it over my shoulders. I cried for a minute, just letting tears fall into his pinstripe jacket. “I had an old companion named Harry.” The Doctor said, almost out of nowhere. A smile broke out in my face. Of course he would bring that up. “A good bloke. I called him an imbecile.” (More) Wilf: “Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?” The Doctor: “Just trying to fix the heating.” Wilf: “Oh. I’ve always dreamt of a view like that. Hee, hee. I’m an astronaut. It’s dawn over England, look. Brand new day. My wife’s buried down there. I might never visit her again now. Do you think he changed them, in their graves?” The Doctor: “I’m sorry.” Wilf: “No, not your fault.” The Doctor: “Isn’t it? Wilf: “Oh, 1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad. Yeah, you don’t want to listen to an old man’s tales, do you?” The Doctor: “I’m older than you.” Wilf: “Get away.” The Doctor: “I’m nine hundred and six.” Wilf: “What, really, though?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf turned to me. “And what about you? You older too?” I snorted. “253.” I admitted. Wilf scoffed. The Doctor himself seemed a little surprised. “I am! 253 years old, 7 months, three weeks, and a day.” “You actually count?” The Doctor asked. “You actually don’t?” I countered. “Blimey. Are you an alien like the Doctor?” Wilf asked. I chuckled. Wilf could always make people smile, everybody could agree on that. “No. I’m human, just a different kind of human.” “Oh, there’s just no end to the two of ya.” Wilf laughed, good heartedly. Story, Wilf is amazing. “What kind of a human are you?” “The kind that gets made in another dimension.” Wow. I know I should be freaking out over so much about what I am coming out, but I just couldn’t hide it anymore. It was painful to even try hiding things at this point, hiding half of Harry’s heritage... “Oh, get away.” Wilf said, disbelieving. “Aliens are easy enough to believe, but other dimensions too?” “Another reality, technically.” I said. “We don’t have aliens on my earth, so we compensate with people like me.” “Don’t be offended, Terra, but I don’t think there’s anyone out there like you.” Wilf complimented. “That actual means a lot, thank you.” I looked over at the Doctor, realizing he had been quiet for far longer than I’d like. He was staring at me in shock, with dropped jaw and eyes wide. Then I questioned, did Ten know what I was yet? Had I not told him what I was? That’s...that’s awkward. “We call ourselves Travelers, cause we travel through realities. I’ve been doing this since I was ten years old, though I met the Doctor when I was two hundred and fifty one.” Wilf paused. “Anything else?” I laughed at his tone. “In my world, I was the Queen of ‘um.” The Doctor already knew this fact, I remember 22. “My whole race, spanning over all of the planet Earth in my reality. Almost thirty million people, and I was Queen of all of them.” “A queen?” Wilf guffawed. He quickly stood, and I felt extremely embarrassed. “Well hello Your Majesty.” “No! No please.” I face palmed, adding in a sigh. “I’m not a Queen anymore, I’m just Terra. Please stop.” Wilf sat back down, looking gobsmacked. “A blooming Queen. I’m actually talking to a Queen.” I was starting to get flustered. “No. No, please, it’s just Terra Song. Not a Queen here. Please. I don’t like my friends calling me a Queen anyway.” “Nine hundred, and a Queen of Planet Earth. We must look like insects to you both.” The Doctor: “I think you look like giants.” My hand reached over, gently squeezing Wilf’s. “I .” Wilf: “Listen, I, I want you to have this. I’ve kept it all this time, and I thought.” (Wilf offers his revolver to the Doctor.) The Doctor: “No.” Wilf: “No, but if you take it, you could-” The Doctor: “No. You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then.” Wilf: “Too scared, I suppose.” The Doctor: “I’d be proud.” Wilf: “Of what?” The Doctor: “If you were my dad.” Wilf: “Oh, come on, don’t start. But you said, you were told he will knock four times and then you die. Well, that’s him, isn’t it? The Master. That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf: “Then kill him first.” The Doctor: “And that’s how the Master started. It’s not like I’m an innocent. I’ve taken lives. I got worse. I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long. I can’t. I just can’t.” Wilf: “If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?” The Doctor: “I don’t know.” Wilf: “Doctor, what happens?” The Doctor: “The template snaps.” Wilf: “What, they go back to being human? They’re alive, and human. Then don’t you dare, sir. Don’t you dare put him before them. Now you take this. That’s an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life. And please don’t die. You’re the most wonderful man and I don’t want you to die.” The Doctor: “Never.” (More) ==PC== (More) The Master “A star fell from the sky. Don’t you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor.” Addams: “It’s an open broadcast. Don’t reply, or he’ll know where we are.” The Master “The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond, and the diamond is a Whitepoint Star. And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be spectacular.” “Over and out.” Wilf: “What’s he on about? What’s he doing? Doctor, what does that mean?” The Doctor: “A Whitepoint star is only found on one planet. Gallifrey. Which means it’s the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning.” Wilf: “Well, I mean, that’s good, isn’t it? I mean, that’s your people.” (More) Addams: “What’s that?” Rossiter: “Coming from Earth. It’s on every single wavelength.” (More) Wilf: “But you said your people were dead. Past tense.” The Doctor: “Inside the Time War. And the whole War was Timelocked. Like, sealed inside a bubble. It’s not a bubble but just think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the Timelock. Don’t you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there.” Wilf: “The signal. Since he was a kid.” The Doctor: “If they can follow the signal, they can escape before they die.” Wilf: “Well, then, big reunion. We’ll have a party.” The Doctor: “There will be no party.” Wilf: “But I’ve heard you talk about your people like they’re wonderful.” The Doctor: “That’s how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old. But then they went to war. An endless war, and it changed them right to the core. You’ve seen my enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them.” Addams: “Time Lords, what lords? Anyone want to explain?” The Doctor: “Right, yes, you. This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?” Addams: “Yeah, what about it?” The Doctor: “So, you’ve got asteroid lasers!” Rossiter: “Yeah, but they’re all frazzled.” (The Doctor throws a lever and two gun alcoves open on either side of the flight controls.) The Doctor: “Consider them unfrazzled. You there, what’s your name?” (Addams) I’m going to need you on navigation.” (to Rossiter) And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred.” Wilf: “Yeah?” The Doctor: “Laser number two. The old soldier’s got one more battle.” Addams: “This ship can’t move. It’s dead!” The Doctor: “Fix the heating?” (The Doctor throws two levers forward, and the ship powers up. Addams: “But now they can see us.” The Doctor: “Oh, yes!” (More) Addams: “This is my ship, and you’re not moving it. Step away from the wheel.” The Doctor: “There’s an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need.” Addams: “What’s that, then?” The Doctor: “Allons-y!” ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Come on! Come on!” Addams: “You are blinking, flipping mad.” The Doctor: “You two. What did I say? Lasers.” Rossiter: “What for?” The Doctor: “Because of the missiles. We’ve got to fight off an entire planet.” (More) (More) ==PC== (More) Addams: “We’ve got incoming.” Rossiter: “Look at this one! Oh, my God!” The Doctor: “You two, open fire!” (The Doctor skims the ocean, dodging the missiles.) Rossiter: “Oh, my word!” Wilf: “Whoa. Whoa!” Rossiter: “No, no, no, no, no!” The Doctor: “Open fire! Come on, Wilf!” (Wilf shoots down a missile.) Wilf: “Whoo! Oh, I wish Donna could see me now.” (More) Addams: “And there’s more. Sixteen of them. Oh, and another sixteen.” The Doctor: “Then get on the rear gun lasers! You two, open fire! Now!” Rossiter: “Yes!” The Doctor: “No, you don’t!” (They keep destroying missiles.) Wilf: “Come on!” The Doctor: “Come on! Fire!” (The front window gets blown in.) Wilf: “Whoa! Wow!” Rossiter: “Yes!” The Doctor: “Lock the navigation.” Addams: “Onto what?” The Doctor: “England. The Naismith mansion” (More) The Doctor: “Destination?” Addams: “Fifty kliks and closing. We’ve locked on to the house. We are going to stop, though. Doctor? We are going to stop?” Wilf: “Doctor? Doctor, you said you were going to die.” Addams: “He said what?” Wilf: “But is that all of us? I won’t stop you, sir. But is this it?” (More) We jumped. (More) Rassilon: “My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end.” ==PC== (More) The Master “But, I did this. I get the credit. I’m on your side.” (Wilf pushes his way in.) Wilf: “Come on, get out of the way. Get out of the way! Doctor?” The Doctor: “Wilf, don’t. Don’t!” (Wilf unlocks the other booth.) Wilf: “I’ve got you. Come on. Go on.” (The freed technician runs.) The Master “But this is fantastic, isn’t it? The Time Lords restored.” The Doctor: “You weren’t there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. But if the Timelock’s broken, then everything’s coming through. Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-have-been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres. The War turned into hell. And that’s what you’ve opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending.” The Master “My kind of world.” The Doctor: “Just listen! Because even the Time Lords can’t survive that.” Rassilon: “We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart.” The Master “That’s suicide.” RASSILON: “We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be.” The Doctor: “You see now? That’s what they were planning in the final days of the War. I had to stop them.” I glared at the Time Lord. “Get off my planet.” I demanded. The Lord Rassilon scoffed. “Get off my planet.” I repeated. “Ah. The Empty Queen.” Rassilon commented. My hand flinched, wanting to rest over my stomach. “We were warned you would try and stop this. You’re too late. We’ve already won.” “Get. Off. My. Planet.” I growled. He glared at me, I glared back. “It’s no longer your planet.” My lips formed a tight line, eyes nearly popping out of my head in anger. “I breathe it’s air, I walk it’s ground, and I stare at it’s moon. That makes it mine. So get off my planet!” “It is a wasteland!” Rassilon barked. The other Time Lords seemed unfazed by his rantings. The Doctor, however, was still too weak to rise to his feet. “And we have come back to purify the universe of your filth!” Rassilon blasted me with the gauntlet. “No!” The Doctor screamed as I fell to the floor. I gasped, trying to block out the pain. (More) “Terra!” Wilf shouted, trying the break out of the glass. (More) I giggled, delirious. My face cupped his cheek. “My name is Morgan Spencer.” I whispered. His eyes widened. “What?” “But I like it when they call me ‘Morgue’.” I smiled. “Say my name.” He shook his head, holding my head in his hands. “Don’t die. Please.” I shook my head, closing my eyes. “Please say it. I want to hear it at least once from someone I love before I go.” I said that last part while looking into his brown eyes. The Doctor looked like he was going to start crying. “Morgan Spencer, don’t you dare die.” I gasped, feeling this warm feeling spread in my body. It felt like there had been a locked door, but someone found a way to unlock it. It was cool water on my soul. My amber eyes kept contact with his brown, and all of sudden the rest of the world fell away. It was just the Doctor and Terra. It felt wonderful. The Doctor seemed to be having a similar effect. His eyes went out of focus for a brief second, locking back with mine in that instance. I smiled at him, feeling lighter than air. I have no idea what just happened, but I knew it was game changing. “I’ll do my very best.” As if to call me a liar, a pain filled groan pushed it’s way out of my mouth. He just held me a bit tighter. “Why did you tell me your name?” He asked. I kept smiling, staring into those beautiful brown eyes. “Because you made me feel worth it.” My eyes closed, and I felt my heart stop. ==PC== My eyes opened, seeing nothing but the darkness of my office. I leapt up from the couch, stumbling in my steps. “No.” I said, looking up to see the episode had ended long ago. “No!” I went to my laptop, setting it up to play End of Time Part Two. That would not be how I ended! Not after I just got the Doctor! “Hey Morgue!” My sister said, slipping into my office. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come back-” I let out a pain filled gasp, feeling the Pull come back over me. “Morgue!” Darcy shouted, running up to my side. I was gone before she could hold my hand. ==PC== I gasped, rising up from the ground. Why did my chest hurt? “Terra!” The Doctor yelled, shocked. I started coughing as he wrapped his arm around me. There was this weird feeling inside of me. “My lungs!” I yelled. “I hate the color!” “Of your lungs?!” The Doctor asked. “They’re raspberry pink!” I groaned. “That’s the universe just laughing at me.” “You come back from the dead, and the first thing you do is complain about your lungs.” The Doctor said, starting to laugh. (More) (More) “Impossible.” The Doctor breathed. “What?” I asked. “You’re.” The Doctor could only stare. “You’re a Time Lady.” My jaw dropped. “I died, and became a Time Lady!? What kind of messed up logic is that?!” (More) The Doctor: “I’m alive. I’ve. There was. I’m still alive.” (Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock, knock.) Wilf: “They gone, then? Yeah, good-o. If you could let me out?” The Doctor: “Yeah.” Wilf: “Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise.” The Doctor: “The Master left the Nuclear Bolt running. It’s gone into overload.” Wilf: “And that’s bad, is it?” The Doctor: “No, because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing.” Wilf: “Oh. Well, you’d better let me out, then.” The Doctor: “Except it’s gone critical. Touch one control and it floods. Even this would set it off.” (The sonic screwdriver.) Wilf: “I’m sorry.” The Doctor: “Sure.” Wilf: “Look, just leave me.” The Doctor: “Okay, right then, I will. Because you had to go in there, didn’t you? You had to go and get stuck, oh yes. Because that’s who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time.” Wilf: “No really, just leave me. I’m an old man, Doctor. I’ve had my time.” The Doctor: “Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it’s not fair! Oh. Oh. I’ve lived too long.” Wilf: “No. No, no, please, please don’t. No, don’t! Please don’t! Please!” The Doctor: “Wilfred, it’s my honor. Better be quick. Three, two, one.” (The Doctor quickly goes into the open booth and unlocks Wilf’s side. Wilf runs out and red light floods the Doctor’s booth. It hurts a lot. The Doctor curls up into a ball. Then the power shuts down. After a few moments, the Doctor gets up.) Wilf: “What? Hello.” The Doctor: “Hi.” Wilf: “Still with us?” The Doctor: “The system’s dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing’s kaput. Oh. Now it opens, yeah.” (The Doctor comes out of the booth.) Wilf: “Well, there we are, then. Safe and sound. Mind you, you’re in hell of a state. You’ve got some battle scars there.” (The Doctor rubs his face and the cuts vanish.) Wilf: “But they’ve. Your face. How did you do that?” The Doctor: “It’s started.” (Wilf hugs the Doctor.) I popped off, only able to kiss his cheek. ==PC== He had one last stop to make, one last person to visit. (More) It was her house, but it was older. A decade, at least. That didn’t matter to him, just the person he hoped was inside. A man walked out. He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt, with baggy jeans and a pair of black and blue sneakers. He had scraggly black hair, shaded as a raven’s wing. His eyes were like the time vortex in color, the Doctor wondered if it was the same in power. The man glared at him. He was faintly reminiscent of his mother in that glare. The Doctor had been on the opposing side of it. “What are you-” “Max, dearie.” A kind voice spoke. She walked out of the house, although she looked completely different. Her hair was golden blonde, held back atop her head in a bun. Her eyes were a kind, compassionate motherly green. Her heart shaped lips were painted cherry red. She was wearing a pair of pajamas, with a cloudy sky for a shirt and gray sweatpants. He could see a wedding ring on her slightly tan finger, as well as a star shaped burn on her left wrist. She had on gray slippers, though they looked old and worn. Around her neck was a silver infinity necklace, proving to him who the woman was. “Go back inside.” Terra told her son. Max shook his head at her. “I’m not letting him in.” “Nor am I. I’m not an idiot.” Terra scoffed. “Spoilers aplenty in that house. He’s Ten. Who do you think taught you how to keep secrets?” She stared her green eyes into the man’s. Max looked down. He had the Doctor’s attitude, that was for sure. “I’ll just go inside, then.” “Thatta boy.” Terra smiled. “Don’t forget, your favorite show comes back on tonight. I’m looking forward to hearing about it.” Max grinned. “Oh yeah. I’ve been waiting months to see how they absolve that cliffhanger.” “Betcha they won’t.” Terra smirked. “Don’t even joke like that.” Their son snorted, walking towards the house. “I’ll make popcorn.” “That’s my boy.” Terra cheered, clapping her hands together. The Doctor waited until the back door closed to speak. “Terra.” He sighed, lightly grimacing in pain. She smiled, looking at him with sad eyes. “Doctor.” She said, in a way that could only be a sad hello. The Doctor couldn’t help the giddy laugh that came out. “I’m dying.” “Rule Four.” Terra said, still smiling sadly. “She knows everything.” The Doctor answered. The two laughed. “It’s soon.” “You will be dead in five minutes.” Terra informed, in a robotic Scottish voice. She snickered. “Sorry. Old reference. Well, old to me. Still funny. I still laugh at everything, which of course ticks you off to no end.” The Doctor nodded, feeling his hearts warm at knowing he was still by her side. “I doubt that. You always looked your best when you were laughing.” Terra blushed, her lightly tanned skin turning pink. “Of course I did. You were always smiling with me.” The Doctor laughed, ending it with a pained gasp. It took a second for Terra to be at his side, helping him down onto his knees. The ground was covered in snow, so the Doctor’s trousers were getting soaked. “Stay with me.” The Doctor pleaded with Terra, green meeting brown. She frowned, saddened. “Please. I need to be with someone. I don’t want to be alone, without you.” “But you have all of those other days to come.” Terra cupped his cheek. The Doctor shut his eyes, focusing on the feeling of her skin on his. “Centuries, and centuries of days to come. It is quite the adventure.” “And you’re there?” “Not always.” Terra said, disappointment in her voice. “I came when I was needed, not a day sooner.” This made him frown. “I always need you.” “True, true.” Terra nodded, then smiled. “And I always need you.” He almost laughed, but a choked sound came instead. The Doctor gripped at his chest. It was starting to burn...he was starting to burn. “Go on.” Terra said, placing a hand on his arm. The Doctor felt himself calm down, as if Terra was his balm. “Go on and be the man I know you are.” “And you’ll help?” The Doctor begged, his voice cracking. “Every step I can.” Terra promised, tears in her own eyes. She pulled him closer, resting her head on his shoulder. Her eyes caught sight of a strange sight. An Ood stood in her backyard. The Doctor looked up, confused by the appearance of the Ood. “We will sing to you, Doctor.” The Ood said. Terra gripped his arm tighter. “The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending, but the story never ends.” The Doctor grimaced. Terra helped him to his feet, opening the door to the TARDIS. “When life leaves you high and dry, I’ll be at your door tonight. If you you need help, if you need help.” Her voice floated around his head, soaking in through his pores. He liked that song... “When you fall like a statue, I will be there to catch you and put you on your feet, you on your feet.” Terra sang. She guided him down the walkway, the Doctor gripping the handrails. “I surrender honestly. You’ve always done the same for me.” The Doctor gained his footing near the console, feeling the regeneration about to begin. Terra made sure he was sturdy before letting him go. She walked maybe two steps before “I don’t want you to go.” The Doctor pleaded. Terra stopped in her steps. She turned back to him, gaping. She steeled herself- Running up to the Doctor to give him one last kiss. He was too weak to hold her to him, to keep her by his side before she could walk away. She did, though. She got to the door before restarting her song. “And I’ll love you long after you’re gone, gone, gone.” The door closed, and the Doctor felt the last of his restraint fall. “I don’t want to go.” The Doctor said. ‘Not without her.’ And just like Terra had just done, he left.
PrologueIt was the 27th of December, a Saturday. The night air was much colder in Charleston that time of year, yet not cold enough for a Christmas snow. The sky was clear, letting everyone see the bright stars. One woman, the main character of our story, was watching Last Christmas for the tenth time. She had seen it with her three brothers and three kids when it aired, as was the tradition in their family. Have the youngest jump on the bed to wake you up, make chocolate chip pancakes (and ruby pancakes and fish pancakes) for breakfast, then opening presents with the whole family. Oh, the other types of pancakes? Our hero didn’t have normal children. The eldest daughter, Lilac, was a dragon, and she liked eating gemstones. The middle daughter, Cookie, was a griffon, who loved anything with fish. The youngest, Hannah, was a human, if not a bit strange regardless. Yes. Single mother of three, what a cliche right? Don’t be so quick to judge. There’s the kicker. The woman sitting watching the credits roll, she’s seventeen. See? Told you not to judge. She wasn’t human, obviously. She only looked seventeen. This was a girl who had seen the fires of war. She was barely a girl anymore, more of a woman. She hid this age well. So, as she changed it to Deep Breath, she allowed herself to connect to those human emotions of her’s. Morgan Spencer. That was her name (for now), though if she decided it would be Morgue. Morgan watched as the Doctor struggled to find himself, watched as Clara struggled to find her Doctor in him. Morgan could understand that, your best friend not being able to tell you who you were. Morgan had a big family. A father, an old preacher who now worked as a principal/math teacher at her high school. A mother, a schoolmarm who tutored children and coached cheerleading in her spare time. Three brothers, ages from 15 to 5. They were all athletic, all in math levels higher than their grades, and all of them were favored over Morgan. They were at home right now, her brothers probably playing with videogames or Nerf guns. Her parents might be in another area of the Centre, her mother She wasn’t home right now, though she wanted to be spending time with her daughters. Morgan was at her work, a place simply called The Centre. She had the big office at the top of the building, she had been all day. Morgan had hoped her twin sister, Darcy, would barge in with some outrageous idea to kill boredom. No such luck, not for her. Morgan thought it was strange. Her sister hated when she was at work. Darcy should have brought something dangerous, saying she couldn’t handle Morgan’s mother or father anymore. Or maybe brought something Hannah had made to show it off. Morgan eyed the door with her bright amber eyes, warily. She was suspicious at the quiet now. Nothing good was happening when the Centre was this quiet. She paused Deep Breath on the big screen the Centre had given her, getting up from her chair. *knock* *knock* Morgan sighed, relieved. “Come in.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t her sister or any of her daughters. It was her mother. Morgan and her mother, Sara, were as different as night and day. Morgan had raven black hair in a curly messy ponytail and a pair of bright amber eyes. Sara had straight blonde hair, and ocean blue eyes. Morgan watched Doctor Who, Supernatural, My Little Pony, Impractical Jokers, and Once Upon a Time. Sara watched Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Scandal, and Orange is the New Black. Beyond that, the mother and daughter had different opinions on everything. Morgan would rather lie in bed all day, Sara was a workaholic. Morgan loved Lilac and Cookie, even though they were not human or biologically her’s. Sara didn’t like the idea of being a grandmother to animals that could eat her family. That opinion was not one she told her daughter. Sara walked into her daughter’s office, switching on the lights. Her daughter winced at the sudden brightness. “I don’t understand why you like it so dark in here.” “It’s better for watching TV.” Morgan explained, rubbing at her eyes. She hated when her mother surprised her with the lights. “Is everything going alright?” Sara sighed, shoulders dropping with dejection. “Darcy is acting up again.” The not exactly human girl sighed, reaching up to her forehead. “Mom, please tell me you didn’t try taking away her Christmas present.” She sighed. Her mother gaped at the question. Her daughter was speaking to her like Sara was the problem with the situation. “You bought her a weapon! What was I supposed to do? She’s seventeen, I was going to put it in a safe place.” Morgan held back a groan. “She likes weapons, Mom. She’s fully trained in anything sharp. She wouldn’t just toss the ninja stars around like crazy, we’ve talked about this.” Sara shook her head. She brushed some of her blonde hair of of her face, walking closer to her eldest child. “I know you care about her, Morgan, but please try to remember.” Morgan paused, pushing her hands into the pockets of her new pajamas shorts. She eyed her mother patiently. It was going to be another one of the ‘preacher’s daughters must behave a certain way’ speeches. She always hated those. “When we took in Darcy, your father and I only asked that she follow the rules of our house.” Sara explained, not noticing her daughter’s eyes rolling. “We have certain standards to meet as heads of a school. Darcy has to fit into those standards, or else we’ll lose credibility with the parents.” Morgan almost pouted. Her mother was guilt tripping her on how to raise Darcy. Morgan had done that ever since she met the girl. Morgan Spencer was one hundred fifty by then, and Darcy only six. Darcy was from another universe, you’d understand it as the gingerbread house effect from Rise of the Cybermen. After Darcy lost her family (including that world’s Morgan), Morgan took the girl in. It had been ages since then, for both girls. ‘The funny thing is, Darcy is older than Mom.’ Morgan thought. ‘And I think my sister knows that.’ “So you see? We can’t let Darcy have such violent things.” Sara said. Morgan remembered her mother had been talking, and faked a smile. “It’s not safe for your younger brothers, or your children. I know you don’t want them getting hurt accidentally.” Morgan’s eyes narrowed slightly. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve said her mother had just threatened her children. Morgan did know better, so she knows her mother was just thinking about this as baby proofing. It almost made her smile, because two of her children could grow claws and were known as carnivores. “Can you explain this to her?” Sara asked. “She’s always listened to you.” ‘I like breathing, actually, so no.’ Morgan thought. “Sure thing, Mom. I’ll get right on it.” Morgan said, a small bit of sarcasm in her words. Sara smiled, completely missing the sarcasm. She was relieved. “Thank you.” She made her way to the door. “She’ll see this is for the best.” “Yeah-huh.” Morgan nodded, skeptical. She walked up to her TV remote, deciding she couldn’t heart watching Deep Breath right now. It was better to watch from the beginning, let it be white noise. “Could you turn off the lights?” The door closed, telling Morgan her mother had already left. “Not even a goodbye.” Morgan commented dryly. She walked over to the switch she had put into her desk, this not the first occurence of people not turning off the light when leaving. She should really put that sign up. She heard music playing from the TV. The show had begun. Morgan smiled, sitting down on the couch she had installed after getting the job. She could tell Darcy about her mother later...when the holidays were over. New Years was coming up, after all. Before Morgan could get to comfortable, there was an uncomfortable tugging feeling on her chest. She winced, reaching up to rub over her heart. It was a moment later when her breathing slowed, like she had something stuck in her throat. Her eyes widened fearfully, looking up at how Rose wandered around the basement of Hendricks. Morgan knew what this feeling was. It couldn’t be, not for- She shut her eyes, falling limp on the couch. She was Traveling again. ==PC== Morgan Spencer took a gasp of air as she appeared in this universe. She wasn’t any place special, from what she was seeing. It just a normal room, basic and boring. She knew better...she had been Pulled into Doctor Who. She was a beautiful girl, in this dimension. She had skin that was barely tanning, with freckles splashed onto her face. Her hair was long, and black as a raven’s wing. It was very curly, held back in a tight ponytail. Her alert amber eyes were scanning the room, in case of enemies in the shadows. She looked young. Seventeen, if she was guessing, so she didn’t have the shock of looking ten years older than she actually was. Her clothing was simple now, not very complex. A simple green t-shirt, with camouflage pants. She also had black sneakers. If Morgan was guessing, she was dressed like a soldier. A door opened to her right. Morgan stepped back, her fists balling. She never knew what could happen on First Day. Truth is, Morgan Spencer was not a human. She had human parents, human siblings, but she herself was not a human. Not completely. A special evolution of the human race. Not only that, but she was their queen. Queen to nearly a billion people. She had only been queen for a fifth of her life, Morgan hated every second. She had been Pulled into this world. She could count the number of times she’d been Pulled on one hand. The first time she Traveled, when she met Darcy, when she met Lilac and Cookie, and right now. Being Pulled for her people meant one thing, she wasn’t allowed to leave until she had accomplished what she had been sent to do. Morgan never knew why until she left, as she hoped wouldn’t be the case here. She hadn’t even Planned for this. Morgan had little to no idea of what she was going to do here, she didn’t have enough information. She would have to Plan-And-Go. She hated having to do that. Morgan Spencer’s eyes widened when she saw it was Madame Kovarian walking into the room. She would know that woman anymore. She took it almost as a personal offense when Melody had been taken, even know she hadn’t met Amy Pond yet. The vile woman grinned. “Oh, it must be my lucky day.” The young girl made herself strong. “How so, Madame?” She asked mockingly. The older (and it showed) woman walked up to the girl. Morgan stayed still, just watching her with interest. Madame Kovarian suddenly reached out, grabbing Morgan’s arm. Morgan leapt back, glaring at the eyepatch wearing woman. “This ain’t my first rodeo, Kovy.” She spat. The annoyance on Kovarian’s face was all the reward she needed. “Oh, we know, Terra, we know.” Morgan felt fear in her spine. She refused to show it. Terra? Was that her name now? She always liked hearing her new names, new identity. It was like a new level of fun. Or, could Terra just be the name she was known by with the Silence? Soldiers stormed into the room. Ones Morgan recognized. She knew who they were. She knew where she was. They grabbed her. Morgan fought, but it didn’t work. There was too many. They were too strong. Kovarian walked forward, just as Morgan became restrained. She lifted up a Vortex Manipulator. “We were told we would need this.” Kovarian said, igniting Morgan’s anger. “Oh la de freakin’ da.” Morgan said with an eye roll. “Why do I care?” Kovarian put the Manipulator on Morgan’s arm. She gave Morgan a smile that would give children nightmares. “Terra, that’s not even the best part.” Morgan was curious for all of five seconds. Way off inside Demon’s Run, in a sterile white room, a ginger woman held onto her baby tightly. Her brown eyes widened when she heard the pain filled screams of one of her best friends.
Good Man Goes To WarThe day had started so well, at least in my track record. Guards came every few hours to give me food, to take me away for experiments, then toss me back into my room. I was dressed in white scrubs now. They were super annoying. There was some cuts made on my body which made me question the all white. Like, what if I bled? Then I would be stuck in bloody clothes. That meant Kovy would have to keep replacing the clothes every time they got bloody. Bad idea, overall. Anyway, back to my day. I know you have probably been waiting for it. I was finished with my plate of lumpy oatmeal, a bad side of brown block, and the worst pudding cup ever (it may have been just funky milk) when two of these guards came to get me. I’ve been calling them monkeys. Two monkeys came to me, and I was expecting more experiments. I began my teasing of the monkeys, when I realized that they weren’t the ones I had spent the past few days around. One was the Thin Gay Man from Good Man Goes to War, and the other was some random guy. Thin Gay Man walked up to me, I smiled at him. “You are not my monkeys.” I said, staying on the mat they gave me to sleep on. The random guy gave me a look. They wished up, not responding back to me. “Aww. I liked those other two.” I frown as random guy picked up my dish, Thin Gay Man kept watch of me. “They talked back.” Thin Gay man was almost glaring at me. A part of me wanted to be bitch, just to have him talk to me. If I went a month without talking to anyone other than just Kovarian I would go insane. “That might be why you two are here today.” I commented, adding a small smile at the end. “Kovy doesn’t like it when I make friends.” The random guy walked toward the door, while Thin Gay Man kept his eyes on me. Once random opened the door, I felt my heart speed up in fear. I would not be left alone like this. “How’s your husband?” I asked, wincing a bit near the end. “Short Fat Gay one?” That got Thin Gay’s attention. “Do not respond to the prisoner.” The random guy stated. I rolled my eyes. “I’m trying to be friendly, make conversation. Since when is that a crime?” The random one walked up to the still confused Thin Gay. He leaned in. “You heard what they said, she’s a trickster. She gets inside your head, that’s all.” I snorted. “Why would I want to be in your head?” The monkey ignored me. Thin Gay one didn’t. I smirked at him. “But how did she know about-” “She is the Doctor’s Queen.” The random one warned. Thin Gay still looked worried. You know what, I had enough. “What is your name? I’ve been calling you Thin Gay in my head and it feels offensive.” Oh, now they were both on edge. “You look like a Greg. Is your name Greg?” I asked, leaning back on the wall. “Greg. I like it.” Random guy pulled Thin Gay back, stuffing something into his hand. “We have our orders.” I tried to get a peek at what was in his hand, and what I saw made me groan. “Seriously?” Thin Gay walked up to me, scoring me the burlap sack big enough to cover my head. “Burlap? You couldn’t stand to be a little more creative?” I scoffed. “Like, why not a pillowcase, or a sack of cloth? Does it really need to be burlap, Greg?” Thin Gay ignored me, and just put the sack over my head. ==PC== The two men held me back. I impatiently waited for them to guide me into the experimentation room. The experiments weren’t so bad. Not since First Day, that hurt like a bitch. Half the time I think the experiments weren’t even for anything, that Kovarian was just a plain old bitch. She would watch the experiments with that stupid grin on her face. There tests were painful that first time. It felt like they were tearing apart my very soul, then stuffing it back in all sloopy. They would do this a hundred more times before I passed out from the pain. I stuck it out, I had to. This could last a month, maybe more. I had no way of knowing when it would end, or if it even would. The worst part was that not knowing like that was the tiniest bit exciting. Then, I felt the atmosphere changed. It was like walking into a tension filled room. It was not an experiment. This was something worse, I could feel it in my bones. “He is not the devil.” No. No. No, it couldn’t be. Not today. It could not have been that long already, could it? Had I passed out for longer than I thought? Were the experiments longer than a few hours? Colonel Manton continued his speech. Based on how loud he sound in relation to the room, I assumed I was at the edge of the stairs to it. “He is not a god. He is not a goblin, or a phantom or a trickster. The Doctor is a living, breathing man, and as I look around this room I know one thing. We’re sure as hell going to fix that.” The crowd of soldiers cheered, even the two holding me. As he did, the random one and Greg dragged me towards the stage. I kept myself calm, knowing that as soon as I started freaking out that the soldiers would take me away. They wouldn’t just bring me out here if they wanted me to freak out. If they did, I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. The Colonel kept talking as I was dragged onto the stage. “He will not attack. He will not seek to harm any of us.” The shoved me onto the stage, keeping a firm grip on my arms. “Why? Because we have his precious Queen.” The crowd of soldiers cheered for this. The bag over my head was removed, letting my disheveled black hair fall over my face. I shook some of it off, missing my ponytail so much. This was another form of torture I swear. Colonel Manton stood next to me, a confident look on his face. “On this day, in this place, the Doctor will fall.” Manton continued. Greg and Random walked off the stage, leaving me with Manton. I rolled my eyes, already annoyed with him. “The man who talks, the man who reasons, the man who lies, will meet the perfect answer.” Manton went on. I spat at him. He looked unfazed. “Sorry.” I apologized. “I missed.” I spat at him again. This time it hit his boot. “That’s better.” Colonel Manton was again unfazed. I felt a twinge of disappointment that the Doctor couldn’t laugh, which would have been nice to hear. The Colonel turned back to his soldiers. “Some of you have wondered why have we have allied ourselves with the Headless Monks.” Manton began, marching to the other side of the stage. He dragged me over there with him. “Perhaps you should have wondered why we call them Headless.” I smirked, unable to hide my reaction at the Doctor’s plan. Yet as I looked out onto the crowd of soldiers, I was able to see Lorna Bucket. Nice to know she was able to make it. “It’s time you knew what these guys have sacrificed for faith.” I huffed a bit, trying not to freak out over the fact I had two headless dudes behind me. “As you all know, it is a Level One Heresy, punishable by death, to lower the hood of a Headless Monk. But by the divine grant of the Papal Mainframe herself, on this one and only occasion, I can show you the truth.” I held back the urge to flinch as Manton walked up to the first monk. He took a grip on his hood, pulling it down. “Because these guys never can be persuaded.” There was no head. A part of me was screaming, but the other part was smacking the first part so that it would shut up. “They never can be afraid.” Three. “And they can never.” Two. “Ever be-” One. “Surprised!” The Doctor cheered, tossing the hood back. “Ha, ha! Hello, everyone. Guess who.” I snorted, leaning back to watch. This was the Doctor, I was meeting the Doctor. He looked really good, especially as Eleven. The floppy brown hair, the emerald green eyes, hell even that chin. Not gonna lie, I was checking him out. Was that another thing this personality did? Check people out? I can’t complain to be honest. My cheeks started to blush though, and I heard a faint buzzing in my mind. Hope that isn’t bad. “Please, point a gun at me if it helps you relax.” The Doctor encouraged, making me grin. He always thought he was cool when he did that. Everyone prepared their weapons, including the monks. “You’re only human.” The soldiers all aimed their guns at him. I rolled my eyes, a smirk coming onto my face. “Someone took their sweet time getting here.” I said as he walked up to my side. The Doctor smirked at me. “Traffic was hell.” “Oh, like I believe that.” I snorted. The Doctor was about to answer when Manton spoke up. “Doctor, you will come with me right now.” The two of us turned to Manton, smiling almost condescendingly at the gun he had aimed at the Doctor. “Three minutes forty seconds.” The Doctor informed. “Three forty two.” I corrected, leaning up so it reached his ear. The Doctor grinned at me. “Amelia Pond! Get your coat!” He shouted as the lights went out. The Doctor grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the stage. I stayed calm and simply let him control our movements. He stopped close to a door. I hid behind one of the many boxes they had around here, just in time for the lights to come back on. “I’m not a phantom.” The Doctor said, his voice somehow echoing everywhere in the base. “Doctor?” Manton called out. “I’m not a trickster.” “Doctor?” Manton tried again. “I’m a monk.” The Doctor said, almost sounding smug. “Doctor, show yourself.” Manton ordered. The Doctor lifted me to my feet, taking a firm grip on me. He buried his head into my hair, taking a deep inhale. I probably just smelled like chemicals and bleach. I shrugged off his hug, keeping a wary eye of the monks. “Three forty two.” I reminded him. He grinned, a smile that told me to just watch the magic. The Monks had stopped shooting at the soldiers as Manton commanded them to. The Doctor wiped out the screwdriver, using it to unlock the door. He never stopped hugging me. The two of us ran down a hallway. The Doctor moved with purpose, practically marching down the corridor at a fast pace. He was determined to get it all down in three minutes and forty seconds. He kept holding me as he talked. “This must be one of your early days. You look almost seventeen, that’s something I don’t get that much anymore. Where are you? No, wait, don’t tell me.” Suddenly, he let me go. He started looking over my body, lifting up my arms if he felt it necessary. “Are you okay? Did they do anything to hurt you? You told me that the Silence could be very violent, back in Florida. What did you call it? The Impossible Astronaut. Don’t know what was so impossible about her.” Then, the Doctor pulled off his monk outfit. He gave me a once over. My eyes were getting widener as my breath slowed. What he was saying was catching up with the rest of me. He said Impossible Astronaut. Apparently, he had noticed my growing unease. “Oh! Early days! Yes. I know at first the transitions are a little rough, but you got used to them.” I blinked. Well, this sucks. The Doctor paused in his rants, looking into my eyes. “Terra?” “They kept calling me that.” I said with a shake of my head looking down at his boots. “I love the name, but gosh, it makes me sound like a vengeful goddess or something.” “Terra, do you recognize me?” He pleaded. I blinked. This was Silence in the Library, for him. This must be breaking his hearts. “You’re the Doctor.” I said, lifting up my arm to reveal the Manipulator. “I’m guessing you can’t take this off.” This was what they did on my First Day. They took put this on me. It was fine at first, felt completely normal. Then it started to burn. He eyes looked down, seeing the black box on my arm. He glared at it with hate, and then his face turned into rage. The rage I saw on A Town Called Mercy. Something pissed him off. “Terra, you have to tell me, this is important, how did you get here?” The Doctor asked. I gulped. He wouldn’t like my answer. “I showed up yesterday. They seemed so happy to know I was here. I heard one of them say ‘we have his Queen’, like that Colonel said. They put this on my arm.” He took my arm, lifting up the manipulator. “They used those nanogenes to attach it to me. It’s a part of my flesh. I can’t take it off. I’m guessing I won’t be able to for a really long time, if at all.” The Doctor had hate rolling off him in waves. I feel it start to exist in the air. It was maddening. “Doctor, don’t get emotional.” I warned. “I know you just want to hit something, but don’t. It’s not that bad. Like you said, I’ll get used to it. It’s not that annoying. Maybe I can add some stuff to it, like paint or stickers.” His grip tightened. “Doc.” I said. “Doc, let me go.” “They did that to you.” He was getting emotional. “They put that thing on you. They’re the reason-” “Manboy let go of my arm! That hurts” I ordered. The Doctor let go of my arm like it was on fire. I yanked back, unsure of how to behave around this Doctor. He was still angry, but was forcing himself to be calm. It put a weight on my heart when I realized he felt this way because of me. He gave me a pitying look. The Doctor held my face in his hands. “Terra.” He breathed, as if the word was gold. By this point, we were where the Doctor had planned for us to be. “This base is now under our command.” I heard Strax’s voice. The Doctor reached down, not looking at me as he pulled out this little radio set. I frowned a bit at this sudden change. I would never say this to his face, but I liked his hand on my cheek. My own hand reached up, as if trying to recreate the feeling of the Doctor’s hand. I would figure it out later. Woah. I was checking him out again. It had taken me this long to appreciate his normal clothes. The brown tweed jacket, framing his broad shoulders. A light blue button up shirt, making him seem just adorable. That bright red bowtie was like icing on the hot cake. Don’t even get me started on his black trousers, perfectly surrounding his- “I have a fleet out there. If Demon’s Run goes down, there’s an automatic distress call.” Manton argued. Oh. Checking people out. This is really fun. “Not if we knock out your communications array.” The Doctor said, perfectly hiding any trace of our conversation. “And you’ve got incoming.” “Danny Boy to the Doctor. Danny Boy to the Doctor.” “Give ‘em hell, Danny Boy.” The Doctor said, adding a little fake airplane noise at the end. Fake gunshot noises included. I couldn’t help but join in on the fun. The base started to the shake, some pieces falling to the ground as it did so. “Target destroyed.” The pilot informed as the base stopped quaking. The Doctor let out a triumphant laugh. “Woohoo!” I cheered, clapping. Even though I knew they thought they were doing the right thing, I was glad this base was going down. ==PC== The Doctor and I were sitting in the main control room. He was in one of those spinny chairs, while I took the other one. “Told ya.” I smirked. The Doctor pouted at me. “Shut up.” “I said three forty two-” “I heard, I heard.” The Doctor grumbled. He was apparently a sore loser. “Aw, come on.” I teased, lightly poking his arm. “Don’t be a Mister Grumpy Gills.” The Doctor fought the smirk. “Nobody likes a showoff.” I laughed, clapping my hands. “Says you.” The Doctor didn’t fight his smirk that time. He purely smiled at me, I smiled back. I was still confused as to our relationship together. I mean, what was supposed to happen now? Was there another version of me somewhere on this base? Did the Doctor need to take me back to 2005? I was ready for Rose, and ready to meet Nine and Rose. Meeting Eleven was not what I was expecting. That sounded wrong. The Doctor was talking about my early days, so that meant I was probably one of those people who bounced along his timeline. Cause, ya know, who needs stability? “Doctor, Terra.” Vastra spoke, breaking the moment. That was when I realized I had been staring off into his eyes as I put it together. I got up from my chair, running up to the lizard, trying to avoid the awkward situation back there. “All airlocks sealed.” Strax’s voice came up from down the hall. “Resistance neutralised.” The Doctor spun in his chair. “Sorry Colonel. I lied. Three minutes forty two seconds.” “*ahem* I’m always right *ahem*.” I coughed. The Doctor stuck his tongue out at me. I leaned towards Vastra. “Hey, did you find my Infinity Bag?” Vastra handed me the brown bag. It had a lot of buttons on it, every button symbolizing a place I Traveled to. “Thank you.” I said. I held it tightly. They couldn’t have gotten passed the spell over it. The bag was enchanted so that only I could reach inside of it, if anyone else tried it would bite them. Yep, I said bite. The opening would turn into a mouth and straight up bite whoever’s hand was inside. I opened the bag, reaching inside to search for my iPhone. The cool metal felt great against my hands. Three days without it had driven me nuts. I pulled it out, happy to see the white iPhone 5 with the raspberry pink case. My cutiemark was stamped on the back, making me smile fondly. I pressed the on button, waiting as the phone started up. “Colonel Manton, you will give the order for your men to withdraw.” Strax instructed, keeping his gun aimed at the Colonel. The Doctor held up his hands, a dark look hidden behind his green eyes. It put me a little on edge, making me shift in my seat. “No. Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away.” I was concerned with the sudden change of his tone at the end. That angry lilt at the end, almost taunting. Some people recognize it as the tone the eldest kid uses when they hold the remote higher than their sibling can reach. The rest of the people in the control room noticed it too. “You what?” Manton asked. “Those words. Run away.” The Doctor stressed. “I want you to be famous for those exact words. Run away.” I saw the anger in the Doctor’s... everything. A part of me knew exactly why he was like this, that it had something to do with my manipulator. Or, it could have everything to do with it. I knew too little. This was not a thing I needed to hear now. I nervously made my way to the door. “I’m gonna help Rory find Amelia.” I offered, walking out of the room. I could feel the Doctor’s eyes on me briefly as I walked away. ==PC== It was much more difficult to find her room than I thought. He knows. The Doctor knows. Holy fucking shit. Biscuit eating frog turd. Great Merciful Storyline. He knows about me, about my Gift, and about my me-ness. What the fuck am I supposed to do?! How am I supposed to adapt to this shit?! Okay. Breathe Yellow, breathe. You can do it. Maybe this was just my role. They all thought I was one of those girls who was pulled into this universe, and that today was my first ever adventure. I could work with that, I could work with that. I took another breath, and kept on towards Amelia’s room. Now, if I am to take on the persona of Terra I need to figure out what she does. She feels kinda sarcastic, possibly even the tiniest bit violent. Definitely protective. I love new personalities. There was a nearby opened door, so I approached it cautiously. The last thing I needed was to run into a stray soldier who would blow my head off. The room was Amelia’s, I recognized it. The Ponds were standing in the middle, fawning over little Melody. I smiled at the small baby. Something about babies always made me smile. I stepped into the room, leaning on the door frame. It was nice to see them happy, especially when I first meet them. Did River still exist here? Could I stop this? Well, if the timing on the show was right, then Melody was already Flesh. The only way to save her was to get to her in Florida. Saving her would be difficult, but manageable. I can do it. Wow. Okay. I was smug. I am okay with that. I shouldn’t be, but I am. “Oh God, I was going to be cool. I wanted to be cool. Look at me.” “Crying is actually seen as a sign of great bravery back in the Roman times.” I informed. The Ponds turned to me. “If you were a real roman, you’d know that.” Amelia looked so pale, more so than a Scottish person was. Her ginger hair was partially pulled back in a ponytail, but was mostly left down. She was really working those white scrubs, even though they were, well, white scrubs. She had some tears on her cheeks, happy tears if her smile was to be believed. “Terra!” “Amelia!” I cheered, running up to her. I wrapped my arms around her, making sure to be mindful of Melody. I was meeting Amelia Pond! The hug ended and I turned to her husband. Rory looked pretty good in that Centurion costume. “Rory!” I cheered, hugging him. Rory would have hugged me back, but he had Melody in his arms. “Terra, I just saw you a month ago.” I tilted my head. “Meh.” I partially winced, waving my hand in a so-so motion. Then, I smiled at Melody. “She is beautiful, Ponds.” “Thank you Terra.” Amelia smiled at me. “And a crying Roman is cool, wouldn’t you agree?” I asked. Amelia nodded, looking to Rory. “Yeah. Crying Roman with a baby. Definitely cool.” She grabbed Rory’s head. “Come here, you.” The two kissed. I winced, taking a step back. It was always weird watching these two make-out, even though it was on TV. That was when I heard the Doctor’s footsteps. “Urgh. Kissing and crying. I’ll, I’ll be back in a bit.” Rory pulled away from his wife, glaring back at the Doctor. “Oi, you. Get in here, now.” The Doctor accepted defeat, coming down the stairs to meet Baby Pond. I pulled out my phone, taking a quick picture once he pointed at Melody. “My daughter. What do you think?” The Doctor grinned. “Hello. Hello, baby.” Amelia spoke up. “Melody.” The Doctor and Rory looked up at her, I smiled at the baby. “Melody? Hello, Melody Pond.” The Doctor corrected himself. “Hi Mini Pond.” I cooed, lightly tickling the baby’s stomach. She swatted at me, but I kept going. Melody was just adorable! “Melody Williams.” “Is a geography teacher. Melody Pond is a superhero.” “Well yes, I suppose she does smell nice.” The Doctor commented, apparently having a chat with the baby. “Never really sniffed her. Maybe I should give it a go. Amelia Pond, come here.” The Doctor reached over, hugging Amelia and giving her head a whiff. I laughed. She smelled like strawberries and spice. Perks of having a partial werewolf nose. “Doctor.” Amelia questioned. “I’m sorry we were so long.” The Doctor said in an undertone. “It’s okay. I knew you were coming. Both of you. Our boys.” Amelia smiled at me. I smiled back, even though I had only a faint idea as to what she was talking about. Melody cooed. The Doctor calmed her. “It’s okay. She’s still all yours. And really, you should call her mummy, not big milk thing.” “Okay, what are you doing?” Amelia laughed. “I speak Baby.” “No, you don’t.” “I speak everything, don’t I, Melody Pond.” She gurgled. “No, it’s not. It’s cool.” “Doctor? Take a look. They’re leaving.” The four of us looked up to see Vastra leaning over the metal railing. The Doctor walked up to the window. “Demon’s Run is ours without a drop of blood spilled. My friend, you have never risen higher.” I frowned, not needing to look at Rory’s face to know it was gonna get so much worse. “Why are you wearing those?” Amelia asked. I turned to her, pretending to be confused. “What?” “Those clothes. Why are you wearing them?” Amelia asked, a bit more forceful. I shrugged, coming up with a quick lie. “Rory was a Roman, the Doctor was the Doctor, I wanted to be a ghost. There weren’t any bedsheets so I had to improvise.” What? I said quick, not convincing. Amelia almost glared. “I heard you screaming. Three days ago.” She stated. I paused, glaring at the ginger. “Yes, Amy. Thank you. I really wanted the Doctor to know that.” I said under my breath. “I was just trying to find the right time.” “Sorry, wait, your were here how long?” The Doctor said, rushing up to me. Before he could get too close, I marched towards the door. “Terra?” Rory called out. “Terra?” Amelia added. “At least tell us what number you’re on!” I scoffed, walking out of the room. “1!” There was silence as I marched down the hallway. Time for work. ==PC== Instead of taking a first look at the TARDIS, I just sat really close to it and did random things on my phone. I checked my texts just to make sure it was clear, I started up a list to say what order of episodes I went in. So far all it had was this one, not too great. Then I checked my contacts to see if any had been added thanks to the TARDIS. When there weren’t any, I looked up at the blue box with a look of almost hurt. “Really? Why you gotta play me like that?” I asked. The box didn’t answer. There was nothing else really for me to do, not until I could get an actual minute alone with the Doctor. I looked down at my wrist, looking over the manipulator. The nanogenes had fused it to my skin, so there was little chance of getting it off. If they did, Kovarian had a failsafe installed to make sure I would die shortly after. Evil bitch. She was just an outerspace nun, with stupid hair. Wow. That was childish. Am I childish now? Great. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Rory suddenly said. I glanced up from my manipulator, watching the couple with curiosity. They knew about my traveling about his timeline. How far back could I go? Would I end up all the way back on his first adventure, back on Gallifrey? Story I hope not. That would get problematic, seeing as I hadn’t seen Classic Who at all. Hey, you try finding those episodes! The best I could get was Netflix, and that place was shit! “She doesn’t like the TARDIS noise.” Amelia explained. I snorted, looking back at my manipulator. River never did. “I asked him to turn something off, but it was all, but I don’t want to punch a hole in the space-time continuum. Shush.” Amelia tried to quiet down her baby. Speaking of River, what did she think of me? Who was I to her? I mean, I did have a bit of a crush on her, but come on who didn’t? Was I her sister, her best friend, dare I even say her wife? I’d be happy with any of the three. Movements caught my attention. I looked over to see Jenny walking up with Strax. Shrugging, I continued looking over my manipulator. “Rory! The Judoon have escorted the Clerics out of the quadrant. Spitfires have returned to their own time. Captain Avery and his men are going. Is she alright?” “Okay. This thing does not have any games on it. What is the point of you?” It took a quick look from Rory to tell me I had said that last part out loud. Oops. “Yes, she’s just crying.” Amelia said as Melody started sobbing. “Give her to me, human fool.” Strax demanded. I snorted. Ah, Strax, my favorite homicidal potato. He was in competition with Mr. Potato Head’s Angry Eyes, so it was close. “She needs changing.” “I just changed her.” Amelia explained, gently bouncing the crying baby. “I think she might need a feed.” “A feed, of course.” Strax held out his arm. “I’ll take care of everything.” I snorted again, watching the scene a pleased smile. Wow, this was fun. “Er, I really don’t think you will, actually.” Rory said. Strax was offended. “I have gene-spliced myself for all nursing duties. I can produce magnificent quantities of lactic fluid.” “Roman’s got a sword, I wouldn’t push it.” I commented, silently pleased that I came up with something somewhat smart sounding. I laughed loudly once Strax reached up to grab his own boob. That was just too much for me. Strax is the best. The Doctor ran out from the TARDIS, the old cot in his hands. “She’s not hungry, she’s tired.” The Doctor put down the cot. “Sorry, Melody, they’re just not listening.” He pushed aside the mobile, making space for Melody to put placed in it. “What’s this?” Amelia said, keeping a grip on Melody. “Very pretty, according to your daughter.” The Doctor said, lightly brushing a finger on Melody’s cheek. Rory was staring at the cot, apparently confused by it’s presence. “It’s a, it’s a cot.” The Doctor blinked. “No flies on the Roman.” He held his arms out. “Give her here.” Amelia smiled. She carefully passed Melody onto the Doctor. “Hey, there we go.” The Doctor held the small child, resting her down in the cot. I got up from my seat, walking up to the small cot. My fingers danced along the side, feeling the old wood under my fingers. It was like it was calling out to me...it was a warm feeling, I might have to ask the Doctor about it later. Rory turned to the Doctor. “But where would you get a cot?” The next thing that caught my attention was the circular writing on the side. The TARDIS wouldn’t translate, but something about the circles made me smile. I traced one of the circles, careful not to make a mark. They were old “It’s old. Really old.” Amelia tried to look at the Doctor’s eyes, but he was too focused on Melody. “Doctor, er, do you have children?” “No.” He paused, face twisting in confusion. “Have you ever had children?” Amelia asked, her voice soft. The Doctor ran a hand in his hair. “No, it’s real. It’s my hair.” I giggled again, standing up from the ground. I reached my hand inside the cradle, letting Melody grab ahold of my finger. “Nice job, Mini Pond.” The baby smiled up at me, and then I wondered. Could I stop today? Could I tell the Doctor where Melody would be? If I told him that she was the Astronaut, he could find her and bring her home. Mels had said on the show that she turned into a newborn, so that would be kinda nice. No. Melody was named after herself. As horrible as it sounds, there’s nothing I can do. Her fate is sealed. She’s already a flesh baby, so the only way to stop this it to stop Kovarian from leaving the base, since her’s would be the one with the real Melody inside of it. Of course, we can’t do that now. She was probably the first to go. I already established that I could do nothing. Why was I still thinking I could? Because Terra doesn’t give up. Have I really started to call myself by that name? You know you love it. You would have chosen something like that anyway. Arguing with myself on naming choices? Okay. I have said this before and I’ll say it again. I love new personalities. Amelia apparently hasn’t given up. “Who slept in here?” The Doctor and I ignored the question. “Terra, you said this was your first day.” Rory brought up, although there was some hesitance. I huffed, trying to hide any discomfort from that question. “Yes. It is. And?” “Just, how do you already know so much?” Rory asked. “Like, who we are?” Saved by the Silurian. “Doctor, we need you in the main control room.” The Doctor stood up from the cot. I could see it in his eyes that it felt like being awakened from a daydream. “Be right there!” He shouted up at Vastra. He made his way to the staircase. “Things to do. I’ve still got to work out what this base is for. We can’t leave till we know.” Amelia: “But this is where I was? The whole time I thought I was on the TARDIS, I was really here?” The Doctor: “Er, Centurion, permission to hug?” Rory: “Be aware, I do have a sword.” The Doctor: “At all times. You were on the TARDIS, too. Your heart, your mind, your soul. But physically, yes, you were still in this place.” Amelia: “And when I saw that face looking through the hatch, that woman looking at me.” The Doctor: “Reality bleeding through. They must have taken you quite a while back. Just before America.” Rory: “That’s probably enough hugging now. So her Flesh avatar was with us all that time. But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the TARDIS wherever we were in time and space.” The Doctor: “Yeah, they’re very clever.” Amelia: “Who are?” Rory: “Whoever wants our baby.” Amelia: “But why do they want her?” The Doctor: “Exactly.” Rory: “Is there anything you’re not telling us? You knew Amy wasn’t real. You never said.” The Doctor: “Well, I couldn’t be sure they weren’t listening.” Amelia: “But you always hold out on us. Please, not this time. Doctor, it’s our baby. Tell us something. One little thing.” The Doctor: “It’s mine.” Rory: “What is?” The Doctor: “The cot. It’s my cot. I slept in there.” Amelia: “Oh, my God. It’s the Doctor’s first stars.” Rory: “She’s.” (Amy wipes Melody’s dribble with the prayer leaf.) Strax: “Drop your weapons. State your rank and intent. I found it listening at the door.” (More) ==PC== (More) Lorna: “I heard her talking. This is a trap. Why would I lie to you?” Rory: “Well, you might want to take a look at your uniform.” Lorna: “The only reason I joined the Clerics was so I could meet the Doctor again.” Jenny: “You wanted to meet him, so you joined an army to fight him?” Lorna: “Well, how else do you meet a great warrior?” Amelia: “He’s not a warrior.” Lorna: “Then why is he called the Doctor?” (The lights go out.) Lorna: “It’s starting. Please, listen to me.” Strax: “Confirmed. No life forms registering on this base, except us and the Silurians.” Lorna: “The Headless Monks aren’t alive. They don’t register as life forms.” (And one is creeping up on a Silurian warrior.) (More) ==PC== (More) (The Monks are on the move. A white light cone appears around the Tardis.) Amelia: “What’s that?” Vastra: “A force field.” Lorna: “And those are the doors locking.” Vastra: “Apparently we’re not leaving.” Rory: “Is that the Monks?” Dorium: “Oh, dear God. That’s the attack prayer.” Rory: “Quick, come with me.” Vastra: “Commander Strax!” Strax: “I’m trying to seal off this area of the lighting grid.” Vastra: “This is where we’ll make our stand. Clear lines of sight on all approaches.” (Rory hides Amy and Melody behind some boxes.) Amelia: “Rory, no offence to the others, but you let them all die first, okay?” Rory: “You’re so Scottish.” Vastra: “Centurion, you’re needed!” Lorna: “There should be some plasma pistols somewhere. They left everything.” Strax: “Then find them, boy!” Vastra: “She’s definitely a girl.” Jenny: “Oh, stop it!” Dorium: “We don’t have to fight them. I’m friends to the Monks. They know me.” Rory: “Yeah, and they know you just sold them out to the Doctor.” Dorium: “Oh, they’ll understand it’s only me. Only silly old me. You understand, don’t you?” Vastra: “Mister Maldovar, get back here!” Strax: “Arm yourself, fool!” Rory: “Dorium!” (Dorium walks into the darkness, arms outstretched. There is a swish of metal, and something falls to the floor.) Vastra: “Mister Maldovar?” Rory: “Dorium?” (Two Monks escort the headless Dorium back into view.) Vastra: “The child. At all costs, protect the child!” (More) ==PC== (More) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy!” The Doctor: “Amy!” (Melody suddenly goes splat in Amy’s arms.) Amelia: “Rory? Rory! Rory!” (The Doctor is behind a locked door.) The Doctor: “Amy, she’s not real! Melody, she’s a Flesh avatar. Amy!” (The Doctor runs in. Everything is quiet.) The Doctor: “Amy! Amy.” Rory: “Yeah, we know.” (The Monks are dead, and Strax is wounded.) Strax: “It’s strange. I have often dreamed of dying in combat. I’m not enjoying it as much as I’d hoped.” Rory: “Come on, Strax. Don’t give up.” Strax: “It’s all right. I’ve had a good life. I’m nearly twelve.” Rory: “Listen to me. You’ll be back on your feet in no time. You’re a warrior.” Strax: “Rory, I’m a nurse.” (The Doctor goes to where Jenny is comforting Amy.) Amelia: “So they took her anyway. All this was for nothing.” The Doctor: “I am so sorry.” Jenny: “Amy, it’s not his fault.” Amelia: “I know. I know.” Vastra: “Doctor, there’s someone who wants to speak to you. Her name is Lorna. She came to warn us.” (Lorna is also dying.) The Doctor: “Hey. Hello.” Lorna: “Doctor.” The Doctor: “You helped my friends. Thank you.” Lorna: “I met you once, in the Gamma Forests. You don’t remember me.” The Doctor: “Hey, of course I remember. I remember everyone. Hey, we ran, you and me. Didn’t we run, Lorna?” (Lorna dies.) The Doctor: “Who was she?” Vastra: “I don’t know, but she was very brave.” The Doctor: “They’re always brave. They’re always brave.” Vastra: “So, what now? They’d almost certainly have taken her to Earth. Raise her in the correct environment.” The Doctor: “Yes, they did. And it’s already too late.” Vastra: “You’re giving up? You never do that.” The Doctor: “Yeah, and don’t you sometimes wish I did?” There was a bright flash. “Hello soldier, how goes the day?” I squealed. “River Song!” Yep. There she was. In all her awesomeness. I ran up to her, fangirling against my will. “Hi.” River grinned. “Hello.” I let out a squeal. “Oh my gosh. I’m fangirling. Don’t know how to stop. I love this. You are amazing.” I cheered. River gave me her signature smile. “So are you.” My jaw dropped. I kept smiling. “River Song just called me amazing. I love today. I met the Doctor, Amelia Pond, Rory Pond, the Doctor, Madame Vastra, Jenny, Strax, the Doctor, River Song, the TARDIS, and the Doctor in one day!” River laughed. “You said the Doctor four times.” “I did.” I nodded. “Where were you?” The Doctor snapped, marching up to River. “Every time you have asked of me I was there. Every time you’ve asked, I have been there. Where the hell were you today?” River: “I couldn’t have prevented this.” The Doctor: “You could have tried!” River: “And so, my love, could you. I know you’re not alright. But hold tight, Amy, because you’re going to be.” River took my hand. “And Terra, I know you’re frightened, and confused, but everything’s going to be okay.” I nodded. “Okay.” I said. “If you say so, then I believe you. My life is in your hands, River Song.” I warned. River smiled, though it was held back. The Doctor: “You think I wanted this? I didn’t do this. This, this wasn’t me!” River: “This was exactly you. All this. All of it. You make them so afraid. When you began, all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you’d become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name. Doctor. The word for healer and wise man throughout the universe. We get that word from you, you know. But if you carry on the way you are, what might that word come to mean? To the people of the Gamma Forests, the word Doctor means mighty warrior. How far you’ve come. And now they’ve taken a child, the child of your best friends, and they’re going to turn her into a weapon just to bring you down. And all this, my love, in fear of you.” The Doctor: “Who are you?” River: “Oh look, your cot. Haven’t seen that in a very long while.” The Doctor: “No, no, you tell me. Tell me who you are.” River: “I am telling you. Can’t you read?” (More) The Doctor: “Hello.” River: “Hello.” The Doctor: “But but that means-” River: “I’m afraid it does.” The Doctor: “Ooo. But you and I, we, we, we, er.” (kiss kiss) River: “Yes.” (The Doctor is getting all excited with anticipation.) The Doctor: “How do I look?” River: “Amazing.” The Doctor: “I’d better be.” River: “Yes, you’d better be.” The Doctor: “Vastra and Jenny, till the next time. Rory and Amy, I know where to find your daughter, and on my life, she will be safe. River, get them all home.” Rory: “Doctor!” Amelia: “No! Where are you going?” (More) “It’s smaller on the outside.” I said. The Doctor gave me a flat look. (More) “I’m...just gonna go...change.” I murmured, walking off towards...anywhere. ==PC== Analyze. The Doctor knows I am a Traveler. He knows this is all a TV show. (More) Deduce. (More) Conclusion? I’m screwed. (More) Now, I was wearing a better outfit. It had long faded jeans, with a brown belt and brown worker boots. I had a rose pink shirt on, with a jean jacket over it. Around my neck I had a white writer’s scarf. My Infinity Bag was added to the look. So happy I brought it with me. It was isomorphic, so only I could access the Infinity-ness, others just ended up with a bag. (More) I walked out, holding the strap to my bag nervously. “So...” I shuffled my boot on the TARDIS floor nervously. “Hi.” The Doctor looked over at me. This, heartbreaking look on his face. I hated it. It was a face I had a seen a hundred times while watching Doctor Who, and it made my what to get rid of it as fast as I could. “Hello.” “Are you okay?” I asked him. He gave me a smirk. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” I frowned. I walked up to him, despite my body saying not too. Once I reached him, I put my hands on the side of his face. “Okay. Stop that.” I snapped. “Don’t you dare go all emotional on me. I’m gonna guess by the way you’re acting that I didn’t tell you a damn thing about where I started. I have a good reason, Manboy. Believe it or not.” “What reason would that be?” The Doctor snapped. “You were tortured here! I could have saved you from it!” “Maybe I’m being tortured right now!” (More) “In two minutes, you managed to destroy any sort of sanity I had.” I told him. “Do you know how hard I have to work to keep my identity a secret from you lot? How much Planning I have to do so that my knowledge doesn’t look suspicious?” I was almost shouting. “And you come sauntering in, telling me you know it all. You know about the show, you know about me, you know that I came here to fix stuff.” I pulled at my hair. “It’s...it’s the fastest any plan of mine’s fallen apart! My mind can’t handle it!” The Doctor looked stunned. “Yeah, maybe Future Me trusts you enough to tell you.” I shrugged. “But I don’t. And after this whole fiasco? I know it won’t be any time soon.” (More)
