Phoenix
Chapter 1:
The Tardis door creaked open, and Donna cautiously peered out. As nothing untoward seemed to be happening, she stepped out and stood taking in her surroundings. She shrugged deeper into the warm cardigan she had thrown on. It appeared to be dusk, and there was a slight chill in the air. From somewhere just beyond the alley she could hear the gentle lapping of water.
"Doctor – you said London! You promised me something to eat –I'm starving!" she called back over her shoulder. "Where on Earth are we? This is too quiet for London – no traffic noise! I take it we are on Earth? –Doctor?"
"Aah!" said a voice from within the Tardis, "I've just been recalibrating, and here we are…"
The Doctor joined Donna in the doorway, pulling on his long brown coat,
"Earth, London, September 2nd….."
Donna shifted her gaze to her companion's face "I'm hearing a great big 'BUT' in there Doctor!"
"Well, there might be two teeny tiny problems – no, nothing to worry about!" he added quickly as he saw the expression on her face.
"Try me" she said in a slightly threatening tone. He'd promised her dinner, and dinner she was going to get.
"Right, the first thing is, we've landed on Sunday, and you know I never land on Sundays if I can help it. And….we're a bit early for dinner!"
Donna looked at the sky. "It seems like early evening to me – look there's the last of the sunset over there"
"I meant about 350 years early" he confessed "The databanks say 1666. And, strictly speaking, we're just outside London – south of the river. We're in Southwark. But that's no problem, it's the best centre of entertainment for miles around, there should be plenty of places to eat. In fact, there used to be a great inn somewhere near here – called The Elephant. I stayed there with Will Shakespeare once."
"Namedropper!" she accused him, good naturedly.
Even after all this time, she couldn't always get her head round everything that he had seen and done in his long life.
"So, come on then, we might as well see if it's still there!" she said, linking her arm through his, and heading for the mouth of the alley.
The alley opened up to reveal that they were scant yards from the River Thames. Even at this time of night, the water teemed with small boats carrying passengers back and forth between the City of London on the north bank, and the borough of Southwark itself. After taking a few moments to get his bearings, The Doctor steered Donna through a maze of streets, until they turned into a yard containing an inn – which was, it seemed, still called The Elephant!
As usual, The Doctor had no trouble bluffing his way in, and they soon found themselves seated in a warm, smoky room. It wasn't quite the five star cuisine she'd been planning on but, after a meal of cold meat pie and a jug of ale, with a dish of fresh apples and pears (which the Doctor declined) for afters, she had to admit she was no longer hungry.
When they emerged an hour or so later, The Doctor suggested they go for a walk so that Donna could see 17th century London for herself.
They came to The Bridge – he explained that at this time, there was only one bridge across the river - hence all the small river taxis they had seen earlier.
As they sauntered across the bridge, which was lined with shops and houses, Donna wrinkled her nose up. "It's a bit smelly isn't it" she muttered. She could pick out some of the smells – fish, sewage, wood smoke, and there were other strange smells she could not readily identify.
The houses on the North side of the river were built mainly of timber frames with thatched roofs. They were crammed tightly together in winding narrow streets, with shops, inns and churches at regular intervals.
The light soon began to fade completely, and the streets became quieter. Donna yawned widely.
"We'd best get you back to the Tardis!" noted The Doctor, leaping deftly out of the way of a carriage which was rumbling past down the narrow street. They turned back towards the river.
They had reached the bridge, and were just about to cross, when The Doctor stopped.
"Aah!" he said, "I'd forgotten about that!"
"What now?" queried Donna, wearily."
"Look!" said The Doctor pointing ahead along the bridge.
Through the gloom she could see that its central portion was raised like a drawbridge.
"They don't want dodgy characters trying to enter the city at night", he explained. "No worries- we can use the taxis" he continued, and sprang over a low wall on to the foreshore.
As Donna scrambled after him, he approached a man who was pulling his small boat up on to dry ground. He exchanged a few words with him, before turning reluctantly to Donna. He sucked air in through his teeth, knowing Donna was not going to like this.
She gave him a warning look as he went to speak.
"He says…. there's no way he's going to the south bank of the river at this time of night!"
"You. Are. Kidding. Me! They didn't actually say that then – I mean 'now'- do they? So what are we going to do, Spaceman?" she queried.
He reminded her of the number of inns they had passed earlier.
"We can stay in the City, and cross back to Southwark in the morning. C'mon, it'll be fun!" he urged. Donna shook her head in disbelief – how did he always end up in a pickle of one kind or another? Still, one night of bedbugs was not the worst thing she'd endured recently!
It was getting really late now, and The Doctor was just wondering to himself about the probability of actually finding an inn whose doors had not yet been barred for the night, when a sudden loud noise shattered the silence.
"Church bells – at this time of night? What is it – Christmas? No, you said it was September! Invasion? Or was that just the Second World War?"
Donna looked at him questioningly.
He stopped still, his head tilted back slightly. "Hang on…. No no no –wait a minute – Ah! Of course!" He flashed her one of his sudden bright grins, before becoming serious once more.
"September 2nd 1666! What can you smell?"
Donna sniffed the air cautiously. Same as earlier - but wait a minute! The smell of wood smoke had grown stronger, and more acrid.
"Donna Noble, I suspect we are just in time for… The Great Fire Of London!"
Chapter 2:
The Doctor peered up at the rooftops, sniffed at the air, then jogged off down a narrow sidestreet.
"Hang on, where are we going?" called Donna after him.
"Pudding Lane – it's this way I think!" He threw his words back over his shoulder as he disappeared around a bend. With a resigned expression, Donna started after him. Surely they should be heading the other way – not straight towards the centre of trouble - as usual!
"But Doctor! Is it safe? Didn't half the city get burned to the ground? Shouldn't we…..?"
The Doctor slowed a little, allowing her to catch up. "It's nowhere near half the city, and it takes days for it to spread that far! Most people will look out of their windows tonight, decide it's far enough away, and go back to their beds. I just thought we could offer to lend a hand- you know help people get their families and property away – save someone!" he said, echoing Donna herself on the eve of another disaster."
Realising this,Donna looked guilty "Sorry – I think I panicked a bit! You're right, come on!"
As they turned another corner, a scene of devastation met their eyes. Two or three buildings on one side of the street were already alight, and the fire had spread to a tall building on the other side of the narrow lane. The street was filled with people milling around, children crying and women screaming, whilst several men seemed to be shouting out conflicting instructions and others, busy dragging chests and furniture out of the houses, were blocking the way.
Having surveyed the scene for some moments, The Doctor put his fingers to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle – putting Donna in mind of his trying to call a cab somewhere in this same city on the day they had first met. Again, the whistle had the desired effect. For a moment everybody stood still staring at the stranger in their midst. Then The Doctor leapt into action, directing those who could be of no practical help to the end of the street, where Donna helped to shepherd them to safety, whilst others he set to work shifting goods from the buildings in an orderly fashion. The remainder he quickly organised into efficient bucket chains, in the hope of at least delaying the fire as long as possible.
They worked for hours, but as the dawn broke, there was little more to be done. As others arrived to begin the task of using large metal hooks to pull down buildings in the path of the flames, they withdrew to The Rose Inn, which had opened its doors to their now homeless neighbours.
The Doctor leant against a large wooden beam, and knocked back the cup of cooling cordial the innkeeper's wife had given him. He looked around at the tired and dishevelled group of people who had given their all to help their neighbours.
"Human spirit at its best!" he thought. His gaze fell on Donna, comforting a middle aged man who seemed to be particularly traumatised. He listened to their conversation, idly at first, whilst thinking how brilliant Donna could be, so compassionate, so empathetic.
"Don't fret so," Donna was saying. "You got your family out ok – that's the one thing that really matters!"
"But Abigail!" he wailed. "Our maid … it consumed her in front of my own eyes….! It was terrible...Unnatural! Leaping out of the oven like the very Devil himself... All those tendrils drawing her in….." He broke off into violent sobbing.
Donna squeezed his arm, and glanced across to The Doctor. He was now sitting upright, alert again, his curiosity obviously aroused.
He came across to them, crouched in front of the man, and asked Donna quietly "Who is he?"
"He's Thomas Faryner," she whispered back. "I think he's a baker. They say the fire started in his shop"
"Thomas" The Doctor said, in a gentle but authoritative tone. "Tell me what happened!"
Thomas looked at him forlornly. "You wouldn't believe me – you'll say it's the effect of the fire!"
He seemed to be about to sink back into his nightmares, but the Doctor held his gaze.
"Trust me – I've seen more amazing things than you've baked wheaten loaves!"
Thomas took a deep shuddering breath. There was something about this tall thin man that made him want to trust him.
"Abigail and I" his voice faltered as he mentioned the girl's name, "were tidying up the shop tonight, and I threw some bits and pieces into the oven, which must have been hotter than I thought – because the fire within suddenly burst into life again, with roaring flames, and such an unusual smell – like hot metal, and yet not like any smell from the blacksmith's forge! She stepped forward to see what had happened, and then….." he trailed off into silence again.
"Go on…" pressed The Doctor, still fixing Thomas's gaze. "What happened next?"
"That's when it leapt, out of the flames…. and yet it was the flames…. orange and yellow tendrils curling about her… and I think eyes, or teeth… or something…and then the roaring grew stronger… and then she was gone… and it leapt high, reaching the ceiling, and arching toward the window…. Then I ran – ran to my wife, and the children, and we fled…" he trailed off into silence again, still reliving the fires of Hell in his mind.
Donna began stroking his arm, and then became aware of a woman standing above her. It was Thomas's wife. She thanked Donna with a nod and a weak smile, and took her place beside her husband.
Donna and The Doctor withdrew to a quiet part of the room.
"What do you think?" She asked him.
"I think…. We grab a few hours' sleep, and then go and have a look at the remains of Mr. Faryner's shop"
She could see, beyond the weariness and streaks of soot, a familiar twinkle in the back of his eyes, – something to investigate!
Chapter 3:
Donna heaved herself up into a sitting position on the hard wooden bench, which ran the length of the inn. She had used her cardigan as a pillow, and someone had thrown a blanket over her as she slept. She looked around the room. There were fewer people here now, and many of those who remained seemed earnestly engaged in conversations. By the looks on their faces, no-one seemed to be discussing having seen something bizarre in nature – to them this was an ordinary everyday tragedy which had to be endured as best they could. Thomas Faryner though, seated in a dark corner, still seemed to be plagued by whatever 'demon' he had seen.
Donna looked for The Doctor. As usual, he had failed to apply his injunction of 'Don't wander off!' to himself!
Her train of thought was broken by the arrival at her side of Mistress Faryner, who offered her a cup of ale, which she gulped down gratefully.
"Your friend left instruction to tell you that he was going to have a look about outside, and that you may join him presently" the woman told her.
Donna thanked her, and attempted to make herself look presentable, before heading out into the street.
Everywhere stank of the smoke that billowed around. She could see that the fire had taken hold, and seemed to be moving North and West. People were filling the streets that were not yet engulfed, packing all their goods on to carts and barrows, and preparing to leave. She helped a woman to lift a heavy cooking pot on to a cart, then moved on in the direction of Pudding Lane. Part of her wanted to stop, and help these people – try to hold back the fire from spreading. But her experiences since joining The Doctor had taught her that some things had to happen, that meddling with big events in History was not allowed. She hoped they would find some way in which they could assist History to follow its allotted path.
What had Thomas seen?
She found The Doctor where she had expected to – poking around in the still smoking ruins of what had been the Faryner's home and shop. He stood there in his crumpled suit, surrounded by charred timbers and twisted metal. He had his glasses on and the Sonic out, and was directing it at the piles of debris, with a furrowed brow. He looked up and saw her there.
"There's definitely something odd," he said, "but I can't quite get a fix on it!" Her gaze swept the remains in front of them. Over to one side of the space was a large brick object, covered in clay. It looked like one of those giant termite mounds David Attenborough would get so excited about, but with the top missing, and the clay covering cracked from top to bottom. "What's that?" she asked.
"That's the baker's oven – industrial size" he answered her. "I wonder…." He picked his way over to the oven, switched the Sonic to its 'torch' setting, and peered inside.
"Aah –ha!" his voice echoed inside the space.
He withdrew, holding a stick-like object – about the same size as the Sonic, but covered in raised bumps. Donna came over to join him. They peered together at what he'd found. It was blackened of course, but not consumed by the fire. It didn't seem to be metal, but some other material, that Donna couldn't readily identify.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Not entirely sure…..!" pondered The Doctor." But it may be some kind of cross-dimensional key…"
"Which I assume is not good?" she queried.
"It depends…." He began, before they were suddenly interrupted by another voice.
"Ho there! Not looting I hope?"
They turned to see a man standing in what passed for the street. He was well dressed, with a long curly brown wig beneath his wide brimmed hat. In his hands he carried a small book, and a pencil – he seemed to have been making notes.
"Ah! No….. we were just..." The Doctor floundered for a moment.
Donna jumped in with "Thomas Faryner asked us to take a look – see if there was anything more to be saved from his house".
The Doctor shot her a grateful look, slipping the strange object into his pocket, before turning to the stranger. "And you, sir, might be…?"
"My name is Mr. Pepys sir – Samuel Pepys- at your service" and sketched a small bow. "I have been walking about trying to ascertain the cause of this fire. There is something somewhat…." He trailed off, as if uncertain whether to confide in these odd looking people.
The Doctor leaped on his discomfort. "Are you saying there seems to be something unusual about it?" he probed.
Pepys looked perturbed for a moment, before deciding, as many had done before him, that The Doctor might prove a sympathetic listener.
"For the most part, the fire seems as you might expect, but there are moments – particularly as it leaps from one building to the next, when it seems…..almost alive!"
He warmed to his story. "People have reported, and I have indeed seen it for myself, something that looks….. like a face… Or a creature from Hell itself, with groping arms and a great roar that is so much more than the sound of the flames. I noted it down, exactly as I saw it at the Leadenhall, in my journal at home -but am still at a loss to explain it!"
"That sounds just like what Thomas saw!" muttered Donna.
The Doctor nodded.
"I should be very grateful to read an account of an educated man such as yourself Mr Pepys. Might it be possible to see this journal?"
The man in the street considered, before replying.
"I too would welcome another's opinion on the meaning of what I have seen. I am on my way home now, to ensure my wife and the maid get safely away with the cart, and take all of value with them. Perhaps you would join me later, and I will show you all that I have written?"
"Thank-you!" nodded the Doctor.
"My house is at Admiralty Yard – over towards The Tower. Until later then!" and with that Pepys made another small bow, and was off down the street.
Donna looked at The Doctor.
"Actual Samuel Pepys? And we're going to see his Actual Diary? I just LOVE travelling with you!"
The Doctor grinned, hands in pockets "I know!"
Chapter 4:
The Doctor and Donna had been back to The Rose for something to eat, and had shown Thomas the object found in his oven. He seemed disinclined to discuss the terrible events of the previous night and merely glanced at it, before suggesting that the object may have been amongst the sticks and other debris he had thrown into the cooling oven. They had left it at that, and set off for Samuel Pepys' house during the late afternoon.
They found it with little trouble- a young boy in Seething Lane had pointed them in the right direction. The front of the house looked closed up, but there was a path at the side, which took them round to the garden. There they found Samuel, in his waistcoat, with shirt sleeves rolled up, and wig hung on the arm of a garden seat. He was wielding a large spade, and was busy filling in a deep hole. He looked up, as they arrived.
"Ah! You have discovered me!" he said, a little sheepishly, apologising to Donna for his disarray.
"No worries!" she smiled as she approached the hole. "What have you been burying?"
"Oh- just my Parmesan cheese, and some wine," he said lightly "Against the fire, should it spread this far!"
Donna stared at him for a moment, before turning to The Doctor.
"He Said He's Burying Some Cheese!" She gave him a look which implied the man had totally lost his marbles. The Doctor looked at her in exasperation. It was often the little differences which threw his human companions –the big stuff they usually took in their stride.
"Quite!" he said to Samuel," these little luxuries must be preserved!"
Donna continued to give their new aquaintance a strange look.
Samuel brushed the worst of the dirt from his hands, and showed them into the house, and his private study. "I will go and make myself respectable once more, and find you some refreshment. My maid Jane is gone out of town with my wife, so you will have to excuse my lack of proper hospitality."
With that he left them. They looked around the small panelled room. On the desk by the window was a notebook, with a quill pen and ink bottle in a stand, together with a penknife, and some sand for blotting.
"This must be it – the famous Diary" said The Doctor in a hushed voice, pulling out his glasses. He leafed through the pages, until he found what he wanted – an entry for that very morning. Donna came close and leaned over his shoulder. Together they read:
'…..the fire appeared more and more, in corners and upon steeples, and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the City, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flames of an ordinary fire. As we came closer, it seemed to me that the fire had a life of its own, reaching out as if in an embrace. As it lighted upon new buildings in its path it seemed as if the very flames were roaring with a voice, like unto a great beast, but I comprehended not what it would say…..'
The Doctor had been reading aloud, so they didn't hear Samuel re-enter the room until he spoke.
"How is it, sir, that you can read my words? The code I use for writing in this book is of my own devising. No man but myself has the key of it!"
The Doctor and Donna froze for a second, then straightened up. "Ah" said The Doctor, removing his glasses "Erm….. I have seen something very similar in…. erm… Paris…. on my travels! Such puzzles are intriguing to me – forgive me sir!"
Donna gave him a quizzical look. Neither of them had noticed that the book was written in a form of shorthand. The Doctor bent towards her and whispered "Tardis translation circuits!" before turning back to Samuel and taking the offered glass of wine.
The Doctor questioned Samuel at great length, getting him to relate what he had seen in as much detail as he could recall.
At last, as they leaned back in their chairs, Donna asked the Doctor "What do you think it is?"
"I'm not sure…" he replied. "But it almost certainly got here through the use of this key!" he had taken out the object they had found in Thomas's oven, and was tossing it thoughtfully in the air.
"What is that device?" enquired Samuel curiously.
Donna explained where they had found it.
"I think it must be a link to another dimension, the source of this 'fire creature'," mused the Doctor, before continuing "It will be dark soon – a good chance for me to try get a look at whatever it is"
As dusk fell, the three of them walked along by the river, to look for places where the fire burned strongest. They came to Thames Street where the fire seemed to have taken hold of buildings which, according to Samuel, contained quantities of pitch and they watched – part of a gathering crowd- a section of the flames began to rear up into a peak, and then spread as if reaching arms out to both sides. Amongst the flames, they began to see moving shapes, almost as if some strange creatures were trapped in the flames, although they weren't being consumed by it.
The crowd became uneasy, and backed away, leaving The Doctor standing alone, with Donna and Samuel a pace or two behind him.
He drew out his Sonic screwdriver and, with an expression of deep concentration, aimed it at the heart of the fire. As Donna watched, the familiar sound of the Sonic was, for a moment, louder than the roar of the flames. Then the sound of the fire began to change. Above the roaring, they became aware of a crackling sound, and as they listened, the crackling became almost like voices calling out.
The Doctor spoke, in a voice which commanded attention:
"Name yourselves!"
"WE ARE PHOENIX –BORN FROM THE FLAMES!"
"What is your purpose here?"
"WE COME TO CLEANSE THIS PLANET SO WE MAY TAKE IT FOR OUR OWN KIND!"
"Where have you come from?"
"OUR PLANET IS GONE –ONLY DARKNESS FILLS THE SKIES WHERE ONCE IT LAY!"
At this moment there was a great groan and a crash as the roof of the warehouse collapsed into the building. An arc of flame burst from the centre, and caught hold of a building further down the street. The centre of the fire had moved on.
The Doctor lowered the Sonic, and stood deep in thought for a few moments.
"Doctor?" ventured Donna. "What did they mean?"
"Is this some manifestation of damned spirits from Satan's own realm?" Samuel wondered aloud.
The Doctor turned to face his two companions.
"If they are not stopped, it won't just be London that lies in ruins, but the whole planet will be reduced to ashes. As part of the life cycle of the Phoenix, they lay waste to the ground with fire, and from the ashes they are reborn!We….. need a plan!"
Chapter 5:
The Doctor and Donna had returned with Samuel to his house in Admiralty Yard. They sat in his study, with the Dimension Key on the table in front of them.
"So, how do you think they got here?" asked Donna.
"How the Key got here in the first place, is a mystery, but I should imagine that when Thomas threw it into the oven, the heat was enough to activate it – opening some kind of portal from their realm to ours!" The Doctor demonstrated with his hands as he spoke. "It's obviously designed to withstand great heat!"
Samuel was trying to keep up. "There is much that I have seen and heard this day that reason tells me is fantastical…..! And yet I have no explanation that reason will accept!"
He studied the Key minutely.
" Doctor, if what you say is true- that creatures came through some portal from a realm of fire- could we not reverse that process by throwing the Key once more into some hot place?"
"That might re-open the portal, but these creatures thrive on fire, and there would be nothing to stop them passing freely from one place to another. In fact, it could mean even more of them passing into your world through the open door!"
"So, we destroy the Key, and try to stop the creatures here from moving beyond the City!" suggested Donna.
"No-o!" The Doctor slowly shook his head. "If we fail to stop them completely, there will be far more damage done here and more lives lost. We have to ensure that Earth's History remains as it shoiould be!"
Samuel shot him a puzzled look, at that remark, but he had given up trying to understand everything this strange man said.
The Doctor spent some time in studying the Key- making use of a magnifying glass provided by Samuel- and running the Sonic up and down its length. He sat back, deep in thought, running his tongue over his teeth, and his fingers distractedly through his hair. Gradually, his furrowed brow began to relax, and Donna saw the glimmerings of an idea forming behind his eyes.
"If we could both open the portal and destroy it at the same time, we'd have a chance!" he said eventually. "Samuel, how do you think a fire like this could be beaten in the end – under normal circumstances?"
Samuel considered for a moment. "Well, if it should spread too fast for the pulling down of buildings in its path to resolve it, then I would think it necessary to blow up whole streets of houses in one go – creating too wide an area for the flames to cross."
"Very good!" The Doctor acknowledged. "And an explosion like that might be enough to destroy the portal, and this Key too! Who would we need to talk to, to arrange something like that?"
The next morning saw the three of them setting out in search of The Lord Mayor of London. After gaining information from various people, Samuel led them to Canning Street, where the man in question, Sir Thomas Bludworth, was. He was a pitiful sight, with a soot stained cloth around his neck, and seemed completely hearing Samuel's suggestion that they use the militia to blow up rows of buildings nearby in the hopes of arresting the flames, he gave a hollow, mirthless laugh.
"The people no longer listen to me- I have given up all hope of persuading them to anything!" he explained bitterly. "Nothing short of a command from the King himself would move them to such a task!"
"Then let's send to the King, asking for such a command!" suggested The Doctor impatiently.
"Oh, he's still at Westminster, and the roads are all blocked, either by fire, or the mass of carts as people flee their homes, and there's not a boat to be had on the River for all….!"
The man's attitude was beginning to rile The Doctor. "Oh! So we just sit here and stare defeat in the face, do we? Give up trying to save this great city? Let's just climb to the top of Tower Hill, and watch it burn! Got a fiddle anyone?"
Donna gently put a hand on The Doctor's arm, and calmly admonished him. "He's had a tough couple of days – give him a break Doctor!"
The Doctor looked around, his eyes eventually lighting on a man who appeared to be in charge of a team ineffectually trying to pull down a house at the end of the street. "Right!" he said walking briskly over to the man. From his pocket he pulled a small leather wallet which fell open as he flourished it at the officer in charge.
"Good day to you sir!" he began. "King's Commissioner for…Fire Control! I have here His Majesty's full authority to take charge of the situation, as of now!"
The man, after initially looking rather confused, suddenly seemed glad to relinquish responsibility to this man of obvious authority.
"How did he do that?" muttered Samuel in Donna's ear.
"Psychic…... Ohhh- it's a long story!" responded Donna with a shake of her head.
The Doctor quickly had teams of men scurrying in and out of the two rows of houses selected as the most likely place for their plan to succeed. After a couple of hours each house had barrels of gunpowder stacked inside the ground floor rooms.
"Shall I run the match from one to the other or all out to a central position?" asked The Doctor's new lieutenant.
"Laying match won't be necessary on this occasion", he was told, "I have my own device which we will use to set off the explosion!"
There was nothing now to do but wait. The soldiers were anxious to get on with the business of blowing up the buildings, and could see no reason to delay – at this rate the fire would have reached the street before the gap in the houses could be made.
Only The Doctor and his companions knew what they were waiting for.
Eventually, the smoke and sounds of the conflagration grew closer. Donna began to feel the heat on her face.
"Doctor – what if the Phoenix aren't at the front of this part of the fire?"
"We cross that bridge when we come…" he was saying, when they all became aware of a loud roaring from where the fire was seated. As they watched, they saw the familiar tendrils curling and reaching out –searching out their next prey.
In an instant The Doctor had darted forward and seemed to hurl something into the house nearest to where the fire creatures were. He ran back to the end of the street yelling for everyone to take cover. A moment later, the fire was engulfing the house, and rearing up above it was the awesome shape of the Phoenix, with their arms spread wide, and what looked like teeth bared in a snarling roar!
The Doctor, standing alone in the mouth of the street, slowly raised the Sonic above his head. As he activated it, the gunpowder in the houses exploded with the loudest noise Donna had ever heard. As the houses collapsed, debris hurled high into the air, there was a high pitched and terrible wail. The fire burned brighter for a few moments, and those nearby noticed a strong smell, like hot metal- but also chemical- as Thomas had remarked, it was like no earthly metal. Then the flames began to die down, and soon were reduced to a smouldering amongst the timbers of the destroyed houses. It was only now that it was gone, that they realised how constantly the roar of the fire had been present the whole time since Sunday night.
The men then set about clearing the debris out of the way of the remaining flames, leaving the fire nowhere to go. After a while, The Doctor, Donna and Samuel drifted away, leaving others to finish clearing up
"It's just a fire now" The Doctor said to Samuel "It will die out in a couple of days. Especially when the wind drops tonight!"
"You seem very sure that that will happen?" Samuel pointed out.
"Oh…. I have… studied weather patterns….and these conditions …..!" He trailed off, leaving the explanation unfinished.
They walked to The Tower, where Samuel was able to hire a boat, which took them out on to the river. They sat there for a while, watching the smoke and flames still rising above the City in many directions. As night began to fall, the orange glow lit the sky, and the now homeless pigeons circled above them. Eventually Samuel directed the boatman to take them to the Southwark shore.
As they clambered out on to the steps, Samuel stood and gave a small bow.
"Thank-you Doctor! I am still not sure exactly what it was you did, but you certainly got things under our control again! Perhaps when I have written of today's events in my journal, and reread them, they may become clearer."
The Doctor inclined his head slightly, gave a small sigh and advised;
"Samuel, I think it might be best if you left out references to what really happened here! People might fancy you… a little unbalanced!"
Samuel smiled, and nodded
"Perhaps so, Doctor. Farewell to you and to Miss Noble. Travel safely!"
With that they turned and made their way back to where the Tardis stood, safe and familiar.
"D'you know?" said Donna sleepily "I fancy a relaxing couple of days at a spa resort. What was that planet you were on about – diamonds or something…..?"
He held the door open and stood back to let her go in first.
"Midnight" he said "It's called Midnight!"