Title: From The Ashes
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Five, Nyssa
Spoilers: None
Summary: A planet under corrupt rule. Nyssa and the Doctor have conflicting views on their rather violent solution.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. I have a headache again though! Yay!
Notes: I gave a friend some prompts to write fic. This one being Five/Nyssa/nice things come in small packages. I end up writing it. That's all there is to it, really.
From The Ashes
"Nice, well nice-ish things come in small packages, Nyssa."
Nyssa folded her arms and looked at the Doctor with contempt. "I'd hardly call that nice, Doctor. So many people have died."
"True," he conceded. "But they're free! No longer under corrupt rule and mind control. Free to live their lives as themselves. Surely that's worth it?"
"I sometimes wonder how you manage to justify this carnage."
An hour earlier
The Doctor pelted off ahead, making use of long legs and an agile body to jump over dilapidated furniture and around crumbling walls. Nyssa was breathing heavily, struggling slightly to keep up whilst she carried the Doctor's contraption carefully. Sometimes, she wondered where he got the energy from; after all, he never seemed to sleep, apart from when he had regenerated.
She almost crashed into him as he stopped dead next to the machine that was causing all the problems. They'd tried their best to clear the area, but most of the people refused stubbornly to leave, with their defiant loyalty to their King. King Restarp, who treated his people as little more than slaves, in order to further his desire for immortality. People were always after the same things, Nyssa had learned. It was either money, power or more life. No wonder the Universe always seemed to feel like it was crumbling around them. If only more people had learned the way of Trakenite rule. But then, even that didn't manage to last forever.
The Doctor indicated to the small alcove underneath the machine. Once it had been destroyed, he'd assured her, the people would have their own free will back. It didn't make her feel any better about it. They should have made more effort to remove those under mind control. Still, she slotted the device in neatly; thoroughly relieved the Doctor had actually managed to make something compact enough to fit in the space.
"Nyssa!" the Doctor whispered urgently. They had had guards on their tails and he didn't really want to draw attention to themselves. "Press the button. And run!"
Nyssa of Traken complied and ran to the shelter the Doctor had found when they first had a look in this room what felt like days ago. In reality it had only been a few hours. She crouched beside the Doctor as the contraption, the bomb, reached zero. The explosion raged, the noise hitting her before the light had a chance to get anywhere near them. The heat was phenomenal, and she knew anyone not wearing the protective suits she and the Doctor had little chance. She whimpered slightly, utterly terrified. She couldn't believe she'd listened to the Doctor and caused this devastation. The Doctor wrapped a sympathetic arm around her shoulder as she wept. As the fires calmed down and Nyssa was in an emotional state to move, he led her away, carefully picking a safe pathway amongst the damage, to somewhere more peaceful. There were still some loose ends to tie up.
***
"Nyssa…. I…."
"I'm going for a rest, Doctor," Nyssa replied, tonelessly. "I may be some time."
After a suitable period of time had passed, the Doctor walked into Nyssa's room, precariously balancing two mugs of tea on a tray. She nodded in acceptance his presence, and invited him to sit beside her, before relieving him of one of the steaming mugs.
"What is this?"
"Earth delicacy," he replied. "Tea. There's nothing else in the Universe quite like it."
"It's nice."
The Doctor nodded in response and gulped down his mug and placed it on the floor. He knew there wasn't much he could say to console Nyssa. It had been wrong of him to ask her to press the button, knowing how much she abhorred violence. But it was safer for her to do so; she was smaller, less noticeable. He hadn't realised just how guilty he'd feel about it until now.
"I tell you what, I'll take you somewhere nice, somewhere special."
"You don't have to that Doctor, I'm fine," Nyssa replied. "Really," she added when he didn't look convinced.
"I must insist."
"Fine. I'll meet you in the console room in ten minutes."
Nyssa. Sweet and forgiving. Never took when she could give something back. The Doctor knew in his hearts he'd abused her trust. His hands hovered over the controls. There were a number of places he could take a woman to earn forgiveness. Leela would have appreciated anything that let her hone her hunting skills, Romana, who would forgive but not forget, would want somewhere intellectually stimulating, same with Liz and Sarah to an extent. Tegan would simply want to go home. But Nyssa?
A smile traced across his lips as he realised exactly the place he would take all of them in this situation.
Seven hours earlier
"So this is Polak? It doesn't quite live up to your descriptions, Doctor."
"No, it doesn't," the Doctor mused.
"You think there's something wrong, don't you?"
The Doctor nodded as they walked past yet another nondescript factory that seemed virtually identical to the five they had already passed. The only soul they had seen was waif-like and terrified at the sight of them strolling up the street. The Doctor had tried to approach him, with what he thought was a friendly and calming smile on his face, but the poor man had ran. Nyssa had initially found his frostiness to the Doctor amusing, but was less impressed when he refused to talk to her too.
"Hmm. Let's go see Restarp."
"Who's Restarp."
"The President, great chap. A fantastic advocate for welfare of sentient beings."
Nyssa smiled. "Let's pay him a visit then."
The guards at the 'surprisingly pretentious' castle, as the Doctor put it, were less than welcoming, but he still managed to gain them entry. The guard accompanying them was unresponsive and just led them into the ornate thrown room, where Restarp was sitting, eating his fifth meal of the day whilst yelling about the quality to a poor servant who was snivelling below him. The Doctor smiled and approached him. He opened his mouth to introduce himself and Nyssa when Restarp cut him short.
"Well, there's no need for that," the Doctor grumbled as he and Nyssa were wrestled to the dungeons. "I only wanted to say hello."
"No one disturbs the King when he's eating."
"Now I, as much as any other man, appreciate eating in peace. Hang on," the Doctor paused as his mouth caught up with his thoughts. "King? King Restarp? I thought he was…"
"Maybe you were just misinformed?" Nyssa responded as they were thrown in by the bored guard.
***
"Doctor, you really don't have to do anything. I'm fine."
"I do," the Doctor replied. "I can see it in your eyes. You may not be aware of it, but it's there."
"Besides, I sometimes wonder if you can actually pilot this machine."
"She can be a little temperamental, I grant you, but there's something to be said for third time lucky, isn't there?"
Nyssa shrugged as the TARDIS landed and the Doctor threw the doors open with a flourish. The sky was a crystal clear blue, the buildings scattered around were positively idyllic and as for the botany… She shook her head. She knew she should never judge a book by its cover, so to speak. Still, she accepted the Doctor's arm as they wandered into the pleasant environment the TARDIS had finally decided to land them in.
Three hours earlier
"You did pay attention to the layout of the castle, didn't you?"
"Of course I did," Nyssa hissed as she squeezed her way back through the loose bricks they had conveniently found in their prison. Through the techniques of careful listening and Nyssa's spying they had learned quite a lot about the situation despite the fact they had been locked up. All in all, the Doctor believed the situation on the planet was rather bleak, as was the fact they had immediately been thrown into prison, without trial. The rumours he had heard whilst Nyssa had been skulking around weren't promising either. Apparently it had taken three years for the last person to gain audience with the King after being imprisoned.
Nyssa explained patiently about the 'free' man she had managed to talk to. One of very few who remembered the times when the planet was governed fairly, by a President who truly had the good of the people at heart. How they had seen him turn from President to self-elected ruler of the planet due, seemingly, to the arrival of a machine from the stars. That people were becoming entirely under his control, not just due to the dictatorship, but in their thoughts and mannerisms. And those who died, thrown out onto the streets after horrendous experimentation.
"And you say all this is because he's apparently scared of death."
Nyssa nodded fervently. "What do we do?"
"Destroy this machine from the stars, of course!"
"I thought you might say that," she smiled. "Which is why our rescue party will be here in five minutes' time."
***
Nyssa was enjoying the walk through wherever they were. The stares and whispers were a little disconcerting however, as was the shrinking feeling that she had been there before. The Doctor assured her that everything was well, as he led her into a small café, took a seat and handed her a menu. Once he decided upon what he wanted, and she confirmed that she had too, he called a waiter.
The waiter approached nervously, notepad in hand.
"I hope you don't mind," he muttered. "Miss Nyssa, Mr. Doctor, but could I have your autographs?"
Two hours earlier
The rebels had managed to get together enough suitable materials for the Doctor to cobble together some sort of explosive. One that would be powerful enough to destroy the machine, and probably cause significant damage to its immediate vicinity also. The Doctor had also managed to provide them all with suits to protect them, in case there was any kind of nuclear fallout, which he assured Nyssa was unlikely, and that if it did happen, it would be restricted to the grounds of the castle.
Nyssa was still unimpressed as she pointed out important details on the map of the castle that the rebels had provided her with, important locations and corridors that they had got wrong and so forth. They absorbed all the information willingly and slipped into the suits, eager to finally be doing something about the situation.
Dejectedly, Nyssa followed behind the small rabble hoping to liberate their world. As far as she was concerned, they had little hope. Despite being overly eager, they were untrained and up against a force brainwashed into violence. The Doctor fell behind, and let them lead as he wrapped an arm around Nyssa.
"I just feel like it'll never work. They don't have a chance."
"It's unlike you to have so little faith," the Doctor remarked.
"I know," Nyssa replied. "And there's something you're not telling me."
***
"I, I don't know," Nyssa blushed furiously.
"I think we'll leave now," the Doctor muttered, grabbing Nyssa by the arm.
"But I'm your biggest fan," the waiter called after them, as they disappeared up the street.
Nyssa dragged the Doctor up the cobbled pathway, feeling even more aware of the stares boring into her back. She briefly wondered how many more of them were waiting for the opportune moment to ask them for autographs. She didn't like this, the fact that everyone on this world knew who she was. She always preferred anonymity, to be able to disappear into the background and come out and help when necessary. This was all far too much.
She spotted a tree, with the perfect amount of shade. Almost too good to be true. She laughed hollowly, and the small crowd following them backed away nervously. After the liberation one hundred years ago, the legend of Nyssa, the Doctor and their strange blue box of tricks had quickly spread. Naturally, when they arrived back again, it caused mass hysteria and fuss; the total opposite of what the Doctor was expecting.
"Right, Doctor. What's all this about?"
One and a half hours ago
"But I can't Doctor!"
Nyssa looked beseechingly at the Doctor as he held the device out for her to take. How could she take it? They'd already lost people fighting to get into the castle, and those who lived to fight another day were trying to persuade those under control to leave, with little success.
"I think you have to, Nyssa," the Doctor replied grimly. "You're smaller, less noticeable. And you have a better idea of the size of the machine."
"I suppose."
He wrapped an affectionate arm around her shoulders again. "Nice things come in small packages, Nyssa. You're one of the nicest I know. And this, this can help. I know it's destructive, but it'll give people their lives back."
She held out her arms and accepted it. She still wasn't keen on the idea.
***
"We're on Polak, aren't we?" Nyssa said. "This is what they become after… after their dictatorship."
The Doctor nodded. He knew she'd work it out given time. He had hoped that seeing what would rise from the ashes would cheer her up. A small smile traced itself across her lips and soon became a beam, accompanied with laughter. He laughed with her, much to the confusion of their audience.
"Thank you, Doctor."
"What do you mean?"
"You pushed me to do something that was right, regardless of the initial consequences, regardless of my beliefs," she clarified. "It is only then we can develop, become stronger people."
He smiled and pulled out an old paper bag. It had been a long while since he'd seen those. Not since he wore that dreadful scarf.
"Jelly baby?"
Nyssa smiled, took one and chewed on it thoughtfully. "I thought you didn't like them anymore."
"Oh you know," he replied. "There's some old things worth visiting every once in a while. Never forget who you are, what your beliefs are, Nyssa of Traken."
"I won't," she replied and snuggled into his arms. After all, only that morning he had described the Polakian sunset as one of the most stunning in the Universe.
End