A/N: Hi guys! There's a few things I'd like to say about this story before you read it, so be sure to read all of this A/N first! This story is a sister story to "The Cupid Fly". You don't have to read that story first (or even at all) but it goes with it! The two stories are completely separate (this isn't a sequel or a prequel or a whatever-quel) aside from the fact that they contain similar ideas. In "The Cupid Fly" the Doctor gets bitten and Rose has to deal with the consequences. In this story, Rose gets bitten and the Doctor has to deal with the consequences. It's sort of like a point of view switch only with a bit of a different plot to keep things interesting in case you're reading both. If you have any questions leave them in a review or P.M me! Thanks and happy New Years! :D
"That doesn't make much sense. How can a planet contain ferris wheels the size of Mars?" Rose asked curiously, cocking her head to side as she watched the Doctor fleet about the TARDIS console with joy written on his features.
"I'll show you, Rose!" he replied happily, looking up at her, "Ferris wheels the size of Mars and cotton candy the size of your entire body! Just you wait, you'll love Aswion! It's the best vacation planet in the entire universe, well, second to Midnight of course. Oh, Midnight is fantastic, I'll have to take you there sometime!"
Rose scoffed, "I'll believe that there are ferris wheels that big when I see them."
The Doctor's grin widened as he pulled down a final lever and the TARDIS wheezed, indicating that they had finally landed on Aswion. "Well, you'll see in about ten seconds. Close your eyes!" She raised an eyebrow and the Doctor walked over to her and covered her eyes with his hands, "Okay, I'll close your eyes for you. This way!"
He guided her to the police box doors and flew them open with one hand before stepping outside. Rose frowned as she heard absolutely nothing upon stepping outside. "Why is it so quiet?"
"Um," the Doctor slowly led her back inside the TARDIS, "no reason. Just, er, I think I may have gotten the wrong planet."
Rose rolled her eyes and moved his hand away from her face so she could see, and gasped at the sight. The entire planet was like a beach, completely covered in sand. Towns were scattered about in the distance, sand on their roofs and cars and fences as if it was a blanket of snow. She frowned, "Where are we? Beach land?"
He jumped inside the TARDIS, leaving the doors wide open, and stared blankly at a screen. "This is Aswion... But... Why is it so, so...?"
She picked up a handful of sand and let it scatter onto the beach, "Sandy?"
"Yes," he confirmed, "why is it so sandy?"
"Maybe this is the beach part of the vacation resort? Can we go explore anyways?"
The Doctor scratched the back of his neck, sighing. Rose extended her lower lip a tiny bit and frowned, staring at him. It wasn't like he really had a choice in this matter, anyways. "Okay, we'll explore beach land."
"Great!" Rose grabbed his hand in hers and shut the TARDIS doors, walking out towards the village. "This place is sort of pretty... If there was an ocean right over there," she pointed to their right, "then it would be perfect."
He nodded, not paying too much attention to her words and instead focusing his attention on a distant black cloud in the distance. Rose frowned, "What's that, then?"
"I don't know," he admitted, continuing to walk towards the town. "Looks like some kind of swarm... Weird looking, isn't it?"
Rose stopped walking, "Doctor... It's getting larger."
The Doctor's eyes widened and he began running, "We need to warn the town! That swarm could kill all of them!"
"But it's just a sand storm, isn't it? I've seen them on the telly, they don't kill people if they're indoors!"
"But that's just it," he said, "it's definitely not sand."
When they reached the village the Doctor burst into the middle of the crowds of people who were gathered in the streets. They were all human in nature, Rose noted, except they were wearing strange, thick white clothing even though it was hot out and their hair was messy and wild. "You all need to get inside or evacuate! Look!" the Doctor pointed in the distance towards the black cloud to everyone who was now watching him as if he was a lunatic, "There's some kind of swarm coming! Get inside, come on!"
The humans stared at him for a moment before one man called out at the top of his lungs, "CODE BLACK!"
Then the village burst into chaos.
People were screaming as they ran into their homes, locking their doors. Children walked around looking lost before they were scooped up by a man or woman and taken into the house. The sand that coated the ground was being kicked up everywhere and every which way, and the Doctor couldn't find Rose in the midst of the sand and people. He searched and called her name, causing his throat to be filled with the sand in the air. "Rose!" he shouted anyways until eventually he spotted her, sprinted over and grabbed her hand.
"Doctor, what's happening?!" she cried, looking at the black cloud that was getting closer and closer with every second.
"We need to get inside! We need to get inside a house this instant!"
The two travelers ran over to the nearest house and banged on the door, begging to be let in. The first five houses they checked didn't budge, and the sixth shut the door on them the second they opened the door. The storm was only about fifty meters away now and most of the people were gone, those who were still outside were draping coats over themselves and shaking like mad.
The Doctor ran up to a door and cried, "Let us in! Let us in!"
Luckily, the owners of this house opened the door and Rose and the Doctor jumped in just as the swarm was beginning to take over the entire village. Rose panted, leaning against the wall and still holding the Doctor's hand for support. "Thank you," he said to two men inside the house who had let them in.
"No problem, sir," one man with blonde hair and a crooked nose said. "I'm Bunting, this is Etheridge."
Rose and the Doctor shook their hands before Rose stated the obvious question, "What the hell is that out there?"
"The swarm, mate. Haven't you heard of it?" the man named Etheridge said, nodding towards the window.
She stepped up to get a closer look and gasped, "Doctor, all those black things, they're all flies! Like, actual flies!"
"Not flies, love," Bunting said. "Those are Cupid Flies. You can tell by the pink stripe."
The Doctor's eyes widened and his grip on Rose's hand tightened significantly, "Cupid Flies? Those are actual Cupid Flies?"
"Mhmm," Bunting hummed, "they are. One bite of those and you'll be falling in love with the first person you see. Why do you think we're all inside?"
Rose continued looking out the window and stepped back in shock when she saw at least four hundred flies descend on one man who was laying outside. "We need to help him!" she said.
"They won't kill him," Etheridge said with a shake of his head. "The Cupid Flies are worse. Watch."
The man on the ground looked up, his entire body covered in tiny red bites so he looked like he had been burned badly. He glanced towards the window of the house across from them and ran to the window, pushing his face against it and smiling giddily. The Doctor put on his circular glasses and stared at him, "He's been bit."
"Mhmm, so whoever the poor being is in that building that he saw will have to deal with him."
Rose frowned, "He fell in love? By being bit by a fly? That's impossible."
The Doctor shook his head, "Not impossible. The Cupid Fly's bite acts as the strongest aphrodisiac you can imagine, but it only works towards one person. He won't ever look at anyone else for as long as the bite is taking effect on him." The Time Lord turned to Bunting and Etheridge, "How long has your town been plagued with this?"
"It's not just our town. It's the entire planet, mate. Sand kills them, why do you think it's all over the place? They only die from sand and biting someone. We just need more sand and they'll be gone," Bunting explained.
"How long does it last?" Rose asked with disgust as another victim outside was taken by the flies. "What do you do with the victims?"
"We've got a place for them. It's rather nice down there. They get visitors, the people who loved them, family and friends and such. Pillows, food, and water are provided. We don't just kill them off," said Etheridge. "As for how long it lasts? About ten minutes. Well, twenty minutes is the longest I've ever seen."
The Doctor put his arm around Rose's shoulder protectively and tugged her closer to him. "We'll go back to the TARDIS after this," he assured her, "then we'll be okay. Sound good?"
Rose smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "Sounds good. We can help them once we get back, right?"
"Of course we can," he said.
Around twelve minutes later the swarm had stopped completely. Everyone in the house let out a sigh of relief and Bunting was the first man to step outside bravely. He looked all around and then grinned at them, "It's safe out here!"
People in the house piled out and a few men walked over to the victims and dragged them to a jail-like building, shoving them inside the doors as the victims tried to scream for their new loves. Rose frowned as she watched them before turning to the Doctor, "Let's go to the TARDIS now."
He nodded in agreement and waved to Bunting and Etheridge, "Thanks for everything!"
The two men saluted back as the Doctor and Rose walked back towards the TARDIS. They reached the police box quickly and, right before they were about to enter the doors, the Doctor knelt on the sand and stared down at something. Rose got down into a squatting position to be level with him and looked at the black speck that was half-buried in the sand. "Sand kills them," he mused, shoving the dead fly with his finger.
"Should we take it inside so you can find a cure?" Rose suggested, picking it up in her hand.
"Good idea," he replied.
Suddenly the fly twitched in Rose's hand and she screamed out, falling down onto her bum as she crab walked away from the fly. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and she shouted, "It moved! The fly moved! Where is it?!"
The Doctor reacted instantly, picking up Rose and putting her behind him as his eyes looked around frantically. "I don't see it."
"Oh my god," Rose said slowly, shoving the Doctor away from her lightly and going cross eyed as she stared at her nose. "Doctor, it's resting on my nose. The Cupid Fly is resting on my nose. Oh my god."
"Okay," he breathed out, "stay calm Rose. It must be too weak to bite you. Now, when I get down to one, I want you to jump out of the way and I'll hit it, okay?"
"Got it."
"Three... Two... One!"
Rose fell onto the ground and the Doctor attempted to tackle the fly, but he ended up just face planting on the ground and catching absolutely nothing. Rose squirmed on the ground, her hands flying like crazy to whack the fly away from her body. Eventually it landed on her shoulder and bit her, making her yelp and jump up, watching as the fly slowly lowered itself onto the ground and then died. "It bit me," she breathed out, in full-fledged panic mode. Doctor, the Cupid Fly bit me. What happens now?!"
"I'm sorry about this, Rose," the Doctor said, reaching deep into his pocket and pulling out a tiny sedative, sticking it in her arm and watching as she collapsed in his arms, completely unconscious. He stared down at the dead little fly, "What have you done...?" He walked into the TARDIS with Rose in his arms, bridal style.
