-waves- It's been a long while since I've done much writing of fan fictions, so I thought I'd just re-write an old one.. I wasn't completely happy with it even as it was posted, so I changed it so the companion doesn't have so much around her. River Song. She's new and we all barely know her, so read whatever personallity into her as you want. It was originally going to be Rose, but.. I'm not great at writing for her... Bare it in mind since some bits might get Rosish other bits not.. I don't know how well I made the change since I have no peoples as betas since my works not good enough to grant it.. -shrug- I'll live.
Back to the Story now, I know you'll have been waiting.
Experiment 67
Chapter 1
A Scream.
A Scream piercing through the halls.
A Scream people could have been deafened by.
A Scream people would kill to get away from.
A Scream from a 14 year old girl, two long, bloody slits down her back.
Could she be called a girl anymore though?
Could anyone be called even human if they had had that much done to them?
Anyone looking at her would need to look for quite a bit to see the human parts behind her current looks.
The scream would bring attention to her though, no?
How could anyone just ignore something like that?
How could anyone, no matter how well prepared deal with something like that?
Apparently everyone here could.
She would have taken death over this treatment any day, yet still the others like her looked up at her, as though she were a goddess.
This was life now.
Life as a human meant you were either working for them, oblivious to them, or ever trying to break free.
--
It was the 26th century. The century when human life was something no living creature would want, even as a torture for a hell worthy crime, if you were in the know.
The 25th century had seen to the rise in a new technology. That which could change how people were perceived forever. A technology which would make it so that if a person wanted a hand like the talon of a bald eagle, they could simply chop off the old hand, replace it with laboratory grown limbs off of different animals, grown to fit human size and transplant it with humans, successfully.
Animal rights campaigners had been trying to have it banned for most of the century. The main argument against the campaigners though, was that no animals were ever hurt, only a tiny pin prick to get some DNA to replicate that limb of the animal, then they were free to go.
The practice was banned not too long after it had started though. Many people were having these new additions to fight others, to kill rather than the purpose of personal pleasure. Plus there was a rise in the amount of people dying because of the new parts not taking.
You had to put your life in the hands of a person who really didn't know what they were doing to make every cut to your body. They often forgot about any sorts of anaesthetic and often even forgot about what you wanted to put on, so instead of eyes like a snake you could end up with gills…
It was quickly banned; though secretly a few odd secret labs remained. The chance to work in the labs was passed on from parents to children, each trained not to be squeamish and how to be the perfect liar. These people were here for one main reason. They wanted to be the ones to take down the people and countries they hated, and to eventually rule over everything.
They were still in the experimental stage. They were kidnapping people, forcing them to become these inhuman beings and changing them very often. One was the one that all the most deadly came to. The parts which they thought put together would make a being so strong that it would never tire, never feel pain, never do anything but fight.
That was a small 14 year old child. She'd just been forced into having being given large retractable pure white snowy owl wings, currently stained with the crimson leaking from the still open wounds on her back.
--
The Doctor stared at the screen of the TARDIS. This couldn't be right. Nothing could change history that much.
He'd been looking for the records of when King Ronnie II had come into power, having recently gotten the question wrong in an intergalactic pub quiz to find out that yes, his guess was wrong. So wrong in fact that person no longer existed. The whole 43rd century had been whipped off of Earth's map. Everything had, in fact, since the mid 26th century, when a large war took over everything. Everything on Earth died out apart from one creature. One solitary creature who killed themselves the second they realised they were alone.
The Doctor paused at that point. He knew what it was like to be all on your own. He knew at that point instantly that he needed to go and save it all, if not for the sake of the Earth, then for that poor creature, left at the end with nothing.
The TARDIS almost instantly was starting to move.
River ran out of one of the corridors.
"Whoa! Doctor! I thought you said we would be staying here so the TARDIS can rest after all the recent travels?" she commented, before seeing that look in his eyes.
The look which would tell a blind man that he wouldn't give up.
"Right.. I guess not.." she muttered, not wanting to make the Doctor say anything. If she did, she'd most likely either be thrown out of an air lock or given an explanation as to why they were moving which would be so fast no one would ever understand it and then throw her out of the air lock for wasting his time when she couldn't understand. They loved each other, but even that wouldn't stop him like this.
It wasn't long before the TARDIS landed, and the Doctor was out to the door and outside it like a rocket. River had never seen him be this determined about anything before.
He was scary like this…
--
Chapter 2
The Doctor's eyes scanned the surroundings. The scream still echoed around the walls.
He was on a mission. He had to save this person from a fate not unlike his own.
The TARDIS had given him a picture of what this person had looked like, just before they had killed themselves due to the loneliness.
Short blonde hair with some brownish streaks down it at odd angles, cat-like eyes (which were most likely from a wild cat) teeth of a shark, ears poking above her hair line at the top of her head instead of the sides, both a pure white and like a fox in shape, fingers now having the sharp talons of a hawk attached, long, slender legs as if a mixture of human and cheetah, about 15 foot pure white wings, sprouted from her back and looked about 14/15 years old.
Her name was unknown to the TARDIS. The Doctor would find out though. He would find out if it killed him. He needed to do this. Not only for the Earth, but for the fate of the poor girl. He knew what it felt like to be alone.
--
River started to try and run after the Doctor, who seemed to be almost running himself with that grim determination.
She was confused. He'd never acted like this before about anything. Well, anything except when she was in danger which was more than every adventure, but without that a part of it.
There was something in the back of her mind telling her that this time would quickly end up the same, but it didn't really come forwards that much.
She was worried for him, whilst at the same time curious. What would be so much that he would just charge out to do whatever he was without even saying anything first?
God only knows…
--
She lay in the middle of a corridor, unable to move through the searing pains in her back. She wished she could move. She wished she could do anything but lie there but she couldn't.
She could start to hear footsteps. Hurried footsteps rushing quickly towards her in another corridor, one that would link on to the one she was lying in.
She didn't make much of it. Everyone was dumped somewhere on a corridor to be picked up and sent back to their cages. They were all too weak to move away.
These footsteps almost certainly belonged to the next person who was going to carelessly place her back into that stupid cage. The 67th one.
It was like these people didn't care about the feelings of anyone, even each other sometimes.
She'd heard of times when they neglected the beings they looked after for so long, he starved to death before they realised they hadn't even done anything to him.
She couldn't imagine what it must have been like, sat in a cold steel cage, nothing but mutant freaks around you, knowing you await that fate, then them simply forgetting and letting you starve to death… Must be torturous.
She just tried not to move at all. The less she moved, the less likely she was to be seen to be put back into that cell.
--
The Doctor was looking in every direction possible, until he saw her. She was lying on the floor, curled up in a little defensive ball, her now completely red back from all the blood facing towards the Doctor.
He started at her wide eyed for a moment. He'd been preparing himself for a lot, but this.. This was beyond any sort of comprehension.
River had caught up on him not long after, and gasped as soon as she saw the girl on the floor.
"Oh my… Whats happened..?" she asked the Doctor, knowing he knew almost everything. Almost.
"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry…" he muttered, moving down, kneeling next to her, carefully trying to face her, make sure she knew he wasn't a threat.
She still both winced and tried to hide away from him slightly with the little amount of energy she had left in her body.
River started to slowly come over, not knowing what she really felt with all this going on. Sad for the girl, worried for the Doctor, confused about everything, just generally sort of down really..
"Are you alright?" she asked caringly, kneeling besides her, carefully trying to stroke her hair in a sort of comforting way, to make sure that she didn't feel alone through the pain.
The girl seemed to recognise the kindness, though she never reacted to it in a way that would be normal. She couldn't trust anyone anymore. She'd take the kindness as long as it came, but the second they started turning, she would as well. Turning for the door to get away as fast as possible.
"We bringing her back to the TARDIS?" River asked, glancing up at the Doctor to see him nodding, most likely keeping quiet due to the sadness he was feeling for the girl.
It ended up being quite a few moments later when the Doctor actually trusted himself enough to be able to pick her up and bring her over to the TARDIS.
For some reason River didn't seem to have followed the Doctor. Most likely exploring, trying to find out what had happened to her.
He hoped.
--
Chapter 3
River looked around. Just great. The Doctor had run away from her with that girl.
Why was she starting to feel like she was just a person at the side now?
Just that feeling that she wasn't wanted as much as the girl they'd found.
No, that couldn't be it. They were in love. She could tell just from looking that it wouldn't be long until he was to propose. They'd known and loved each other long enough.
And what was so special about her? It's not like there was anything particularly special about her that she wasn't, apart from all those terrible add-ons from other animals..
She'd had a slight look around. There were millions of others like her in this place.
Cages and cages of people who had been put under this harsh treatment.
What was so great about one that just happened to be lying on the floor? Just that she was the first to be found?
She sighed slightly. Why did she even try someti- What was that?
She'd just heard something.
Something moving towards her.
"Why, 'ello poppet." came a voice behind her that you didn't need to look at them to tell that they were smirking.
River started turning towards them, but before she could see, a tranquiliser dart was in the side of her neck.
It only took a few moments and she was on the floor, sleeping as peacefully as one can in that situation.
--
The Doctor opened the TARDIS door, carefully bringing the girl through into the depths and laying her on the sofa as he saw the flashes of lights around the TARDIS controls.
"She's the one, isn't she?" he asked himself, watching the TARDIS respond with more lights, telling him he was right. He nodded slightly, turning back over to her with the Sonic Screwdriver now in his hand.
The girl seemed to see it, starting to move away, move into the sofa to try and get away, though there was a stabbing pain through her back as her new wings were scrunched up inside her back as she moved.
The pain caused her to stop, though her eyes showed how much fear towards the Doctor she still had.
"Don't worry. I'm not one of the ones who have done anything to you. I would never harm a living creature unless they have done something to harm anyone else."
"How do I know..?" the girl asked weakly, her voice showing fear, confusion and uncertainty very clearly.
"You can trust me. Really honestly and truly you can trust me. I'd swear it on my life if I had to that no matter what you don't have to worry about anything whilst you're in my care."
She seemed to consider it a bit.
"I guess it might be better.." she muttered weakly, trying to seem as though she wasn't about to leap up and out the door if this person did anything to her.
The Doctor smiled softly back at her.
"I'm the Doctor, by the way. I would introduce you to River, but she's not here.."
"Where is she..?"
"Somewhere still in the lab.. I really ought to go help her…"
"Go then.."
"I can't just leave you in here though! River'll be fine. She can take care of herself and get herself back here if she needs to."
"If you're sure.." she muttered, giving the Doctor a look of 'You're completely nuts'.
The Doctor ignored the look.
"So what would be your name then?" He asked casually, as though they'd been friends for more then just 5 minutes, even if the girl didn't seem to respond to the friendship being presented.
"…" she stayed quiet, as though embarrassed.
"Something wrong?"
"I don't know…" she muttered quietly.
The Doctor paused, not sure how to really take this further. Force her to say would never be an option. If she didn't want to, then she wouldn't. He only went mad like that on people who deserved it, and this girl only deserved to be loved for once.. He did need to try and stop some of those rudeness streaks everyone else had been talking about…
He could ask her why not, but then would come complaints about how she didn't know etcetera etcetera..
He could leave it be, but then what about him wanting to find out about everything about her?
"Can't you remember..?" he asked her in the end.
She shook her head. "I've been in cages almost all my life. That tiny period of time I wasn't was so short I can't remember anything that happened in it.. My name was given then, but everyone kept on calling me 67, 67, 67 and that just ended up becoming my name.. I don't know any others to call myself.." she frowned. She didn't know why she was telling him all of this.. Just something about him. Something about him she could trust.
"Do you want a name?" the Doctor asked caringly.
"Well.. I've been thinking. A word that's been putting itself into my mind so many times that it might well be my name.." she said hesitantly.
"What is it?"
"Crystal.."
--
Chapter 4
"Crystal?" the Doctor asked, smiling inwardly at finally knowing her name.
"Yeah.. I don't know where it came from.. Something just told me that it was something to do with me.. I- It made sense, but I never told anyone. I thought they would laugh at me. Me? A name? Stupid…" She muttered, her voice drifting off a bit at the end in sadness.
"No, don't worry.." the Doctor said, trying to comfort her, dragging her into a hug. She seemed a little reluctant, though eventually just hugged him back. Hugging him like the dad she was dragged away from all those years ago…
She cried silently into his jacket. She needed this. A small bit of time to be human again.
She'd never be human again though. Never.
--
River woke for a start. She saw that she was in a cage, no idea where she was other than that. She could see around her, into other cages and all of the people around her looked horrible. There were people who looked as though they'd been in a train crash and gotten out barely alive with metal train parts and fabric strands from the seats still imbedded in them, yet them straight away taken to this place and had even worse things happen to them without caring. For some of them that was actually the truth.
One or two people looked so weak they were about to fade away and die. There were quite a few different kinds of people here, including one that looked absolutely afraid of her, as though she carried some sort of deadly disease.
She was starting to become slightly worried herself. It wasn't like something like this to happen whilst the Doctor was within three miles of her, yet here she was.
Did he even care for her anymore? H why was she thinking that, of coarse he did. She shook her head slightly to try and rid herself of the thought.
Could anything worse happen to her now?
One glance around her told her it could. One of the people looked to have died just as she was in there and awake due to her changes.
Her thoughts were stopped though as someone came into the room of cages, glancing through the numbers. "Right.. 153.. 153.." he muttered, looking for it. He stopped in front of River's cage, smirking at her.
Quite a few of the people in the other cages all started complaining, all wanting to be taken instead. They didn't know what was about to happen to her, but anything had to be better than this, didn't it?
"Come on you. You've been asked to come through by special request of Doctor Smith.." he smirked, opening the cage and dragging her out, not caring how hurt she was. He put her into a death grip, making sure the more she struggled the more it hurt.
She didn't struggle as much as the rest though. She was thinking. Doctor Smith? Wasn't that the name the Doctor used when he was trying to go undercover? God it better be him…
River was thrown into a room, literally thrown, and she was only just able to get her bearings back when someone else grabbed her, strapping her up to something she couldn't see, though it looked oddly like a cyber conversion unit.
Her eyes widened. This didn't look good.
"Well 153. Nice to see someone around here who thinks they know what's going on…" A voice came though. It was the sort of voice you could easily put on someone if they were sat on a swivel chair and stroking a very fluffy white cat…
"Let me go!!" River said, half angrily, half worriedly.
"Now why should we do that? We need a person who can test out our latest product.. A new serum. Emily!" he called, beckoning a nurse, who looked very down. She looked as though she'd been dragged into this kicking and screaming. River tried to look over at her properly.
What was that around her neck? Just there, next to the corner of her jaw.. It looked almost like a chip. There was a little sign on it. A little sign she recognised. A thunder bolt. It was a shock chip! They were shocking her if ever she did anything wrong!
"Let me go! You don't have to do this!"
"No." he said, standing up and taking a needle filled with a vile which looked almost like smoke how it swirled around in the tube. "But you're not going to have any choice over if it happens or not." He said in a sort of finalising way, injecting the serum into her arm, making her audibly wince and gasp in pain. It was a big needle.
"Right. Emily, get this one back to wherever, and get 67 back in here. We need to test to see if the serum works on those already tested on."
"Yes Doctor Smith.." she muttered weakly, tears slowly falling down her eyes as she moved over to River. "I'm sorry…" she whispered to her, before undoing all the straps to her and quickly flipping her onto her front, carefully dragging her out.
--
A Scream.
The second Scream of the hour.
A Scream piercing through the halls.
A Scream people could have been deafened by.
A Scream people would kill to get away from.
A Scream from River Song.
A Scream from someone who just had a new addition.
Wings.
Two large tawny wings sprouting from her back.
It was the second time this had happened now.
One person knew they needed to help.
He wasn't.
The Doctor was hiding away.
Hiding in his little box of safety.
Hiding with the victim, the cause of the first scream.
Did he even care?
Would anyone care?
Would she be the replacement?
The replacement for who was now safely tucked away?
Who knew?
Who would ever know?
--
Chapter 5
River lay on the floor, feeling as though her back was literally on fire. It was like someone had taken a knife to her back, and slowly made two long slits in it, before painfully inserting the wings.
The wings seemed to fit like someone had tried to carefully fit them in with a sledgehammer.
For some reason it also seemed to hurt when she breathed, as though something had been done to her lungs as well.
She didn't really care though.
She'd just been left here.
She could start to feel how that girl they'd found about an hour or so ago would have been feeling. Most because she was starting to feel it now.
Rejection
Hurt
Pain beyond comprehension
These things weren't meant to be felt at this scale.
Yet here she was.
"Doctor…" She complained weakly, really thinking she needed him more than any other right not, no matter what he'd done so far. "Help…" It didn't matter how long he'd left for, as long as he came back. "Me…"
The pain and hurt just seemed to become too much for her there. She just fainted on the floor of the lab, hoping the next person she saw was the Doctor.
--
The Doctor paused, biting his top lip slightly. He really needed to get to River. Half an hour was more than enough time for her to get into more than a small heap of trouble.
Crystal pulled away from the hug slightly, glancing up at the Doctors worried looking face.
"Something wrong..?" she asked as casually as she could, though still clearly down and it showing in her voice, no matter how hard she was trying to hide it.
"River.. The girl I was with.. She's still out there…"
"Not any more.." Crystal muttered, glancing away from the Doctor slightly, trying not to see his reaction.
"What??"
"It's those people.. Anyone who's not on their side who ends up there gets instantly taken and tested on like me…"
The Doctor instantly looked very worried.
"They take people however they can, since no one volunteers.. Survivors from apparently unsurvivable crashes, trespassers who are just curious, random people from orphanages…" she muttered, fading out at the end, this clearly showing to the Doctor that that was how she was taken...
"Aww come on! Don't think about it!" the Doctor tried to comfort. "Just think about the good times in life. The times before you were taken.."
"Like what??" she yelled at him, tears starting to spew from her eyes again. "All I know of my old family is that Dad died in a hypercrash and Mum hated my guts! She dumped me at an orphanage and next thing I know there are people poking needles into my skin and chopping body parts off to replace SINCE I WAS TWO YEARS OLD!!"
The Doctor looked at her, completely shocked. "I'm so, so sorr-"
"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING THAT!! NO ONE HERE COULD EVER CARE LESS IF I DIED!" Crystal snapped at him, jumping up and down one of the many corridors of the TARDIS, not caring if she got lost.
What would happen if she did though? Nothing.
No one ever cared for her.
They took advantage of her in almost every way, forcing her to change in such horrible ways.
She glanced up and around where she'd seemed to end up in.
It looked like a huge hall, each part of its walls covered with pictures of different people.
She looked at each of the pictures slowly, most of them being black and white until they circled around towards a wall, slowly gaining more and more colour until it almost looked florescent with every colour.
The hall was absolutely huge, the pictures almost passport photo sized. She glanced on the ones nearby, Just underneath was what seemed to be a birth date, a death date and a name.
She slowly started to walk over to the more recent ones, seeing River, clear as day. The death date wasn't there, but it brought up alarm bells in her head. All these people.. There must be million in this room.. Did the Doctor once know all of them?
She started to glance around. All these people. She saw only 6 without death dates. Sarah-Jane Smith, Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, Martha Jones, Donna Noble and River Song. All but River had a smaller date between the birth and where the death date would be. The last time they were on board the TARDIS.
Six alive, the rest all dead.. Out of all these? Maybe he wasn't the one to be yelling a-
What was she thinking?
How could she even start to be sympathising with someone who didn't even care about her??
She just needed to calm.
Yeah, that would help.. Just some nice calming movements..
She thought about what had happened to her.
All those stupid additions.
She thought about the wings.
She started to wonder. She had wings, but would she be able to fly?
She'd never been able to even stand up when she wasn't doing one of those stupid tests the scientists put her through to no end.
She shut her eyes and concentrated, her wings unfurling from her back. She smiled weakly. For once something those scientists had actually worked…
She attempted to try and flap the wings in any way.
The wings seemed to flap at almost any thought of them doing so, as though they'd been trained into her and she used to having them.
Those scientists really were starting to get things right..
Even if how they were doing it was completely wrong in all respects.
--
The Doctor sighed. He needed to do something.
Would Crystal ever talk to him again?
Would River still be there if went looking?
Would anything ever go in his favour ever again?
Who knew? Who would ever know?
He glanced around, leaving a small note for Crystal if she ever found her way back into here, slowly glancing back at the TARDIS.
"Look after her.." he muttered to the ship, walking out and starting to sprint in search of River.
--
Chapter 6
Crystal bit her bottom lip slightly.
Right, so she had wings, a means of flapping them, but nothing to say she could actually fly, and nothing to help her down if she got stuck, or the wings suddenly failed, collapsed, fell out or anything else that the scientists wouldn't anticipate.
Not that the latter would really be a problem..
If the wings failed in any way she'd either fall and die, which would be fine with her, or she'd fall and be in excruciating pain, though it wasn't like that was any different to any other day..
She didn't care what happened, though was sure the wings were going to fail.
Everything those stupid scientists did always ended up as trash.
She started to think about those other experiments, the ones that were always around her cage.
They always seemed to be leaning towards her. They spoke in other languages, yet always no matter what language they spoke she could still recognise her number.
Those people all hoping for her to help them be free if she ever had escaped..
She had escaped now, hadn't she?
Ok, yes she was with a person who didn't understand her, though seemed to have lost almost everyone in his life.. And yes she was starting to plan on being fully free in her head, but how could she leave behind so many people, all depending on her to help them be free..
She tried to remember back to the evilness of that lab, then looking at her wings.
They might be able to fit down if she flew diagonally..
If the wings worked.
She shut her eyes, jumping into the air, starting to flap her wings in hope that they would work, hissing in pain slightly as she did.
--
The Doctor was sprinting the whole way. He couldn't afford to miss anything either, so his eyes were speeding around.
His Sonic Screwdriver was out in front of him, scanning for human life, though it not picking much up. Every time anything came up it seemed to be a scientist.
He glanced down somewhere and saw a scientist carrying River back down to her cage.
Well, maybe not carrying..
Dragging by the wings would be a bit more accurate…
"OY!" he yelled at the scientist angrily, running over, thought being faced with a gun at the other end. Apparently someone came prepared…
It was only a tranquilising gun, though it looked exactly like a normal hand gun and the Doctor was worried.
It didn't matter if they shot him to kill, or shot him to capture, either way he would end up trapped and most likely one of the new test subjects.
Either that or left to starve.
"Now, 'ou comin' qui'tly or 'mi gonna 'af ta shoot ya?" the scientist said in such basic language you would think he only learnt the language yesterday.
The Doctor thankfully restrained himself from commenting.
"No, I think I'll just take my friend and go." he said calmly.
The gun quickly got primed and ready to fire, the Doctor only just having time to whip it out of his hand in a movement that would have been a slap.
He tried to secretly shake his hand from the pain that shot through from slapping the metal, though the scientist still watched and smirked.
"'Ou fink ya can run in 'ere an' take our experi.. experim.. pris'ners, you go' anova fink comin'." he said, whistling sharply, the area quickly surrounded by heavy and armed looking people, each with a large gun and full armour on.
"Ah, right.. Well you see this is the part where I would have to point out that you people all might need to calm down and just be able to-" the Doctor started before being knocked out by a hit to the head which knocked him into a hard wall head first as well.
"Righ', 'ets ge' you wiv de ovas..' he grunted.
The Doctor involuntarily just hoped for something to just come rushing in to help save them.
It didn't.
Yet.
--
Chapter 7
Crystal shut her eyes tightly, looking at the TARDIS' main doors out to the lab.
She'd been able to tell that somehow it had been helping her learn to fly..
Metal grills suddenly becoming mattress laden, doors opening themselves when she couldn't stop, and sometimes even appearing in new places.
The whole place was starting to creep her out really..
She closed her eyes tightly, getting ready.
The TARDIS doors flew open just as she flew through them, quickly shutting themselves after and regaining its innocent exterior.
She winced at the pains of flying through the corridors with wings that only just fit, he often grazing them on the walls, pain shooting up and around her body. She was only just able to carry on through it all.
She could start to hear the ramblings of that oaf down the corridors, gloating about how he caught someone in the middle of a rescue.
It had to be the Doctor and that River girl..
As much as she knew she was going to regret it she started to move on down, before stopping, landing, recoiling the wings into her spine and trying to hide somewhere as someone passed by.
It also gave her a change to listen to where they really were.
About two metres from all those cages..
She couldn't just fly into the cages which were probably going to be guarded if there'd been an attempted rescue and try to free everyone.
She'd have to re-think this..
--
The Doctor was thrown into a spare cage so hard he didn't have enough strength to quickly move over to try and get out again.
"And if you dare say a word about the Shadow Proclamation again, we're removing your tongue." one of the guards spat as he moved over to guard the doors to the room. If he had gotten in, it won't have been alone..
"Sir! 67's been sighted!" came a calling through the corridors.
The Doctor started to get worried. Crystal had followed? Great. Not everyone was good at this hero thing..
--
"Sir! 67's been sighted!" came the voice from not too far away from where Crystal was standing.
Her eyes widened as she swore in her native language, the TARDIS deciding against translating it.
She quickly started to try and move, lift herself from the floor and away, somewhere no one could find her.
"NOT A CHANCE!!" came the first voice, quickly sprinting after her and calling for backup to help her be caught.
No one seemed to notice it was odd for an experiment to be able to fully use the adaptations given to them only a couple of hours ago.
--
"Doctor!" River breathed as she suddenly woke up, looking around the cage, seeing him looking completely angry at himself.
"Doctor..?" she muttered, starting to try and move over to him. She audibly winced in pain, the move starting to move brand new muscles on her back and crush the new wings up against the walls of the cage in painful ways.
She ended up just collapsing slightly against the cold metal of the cage floor, trying not to show the pain.
"You can cry if you want.." the Doctor muttered from next to her as though able to feel the pain she was in without looking. He just faced away from her, staring into the metal of his cells wall.
"Are you-"
"Never mind.." he sighed. "Let's just try to find a way out of here in one piece.." he muttered decisively.
River nodded slightly, a slight tear of pain trickling down her cheek, only there because the Doctor had allowed it.
He took a look at her, trying to show her a comforting smile, though it not quite coming.
It'd struck him now..
All these people trapped in cages, doing what they were like slaves with no other choices then death.
How many times had he put River, or any of his companions, through that?
She followed him around with such loyalty, always trying to help though him quite often disagreeing telling her he was right and she was wrong and she just took it.
So many times when she must have felt like the world was against her.
She only cries when he says she can, her just trying to look brave for him.
Was that really what he wanted to put her through, if she was willing or not.
Clear answer there.
Never.
--
Chapter 8
The Doctor tried to search around in the pockets of his jacket, before starting to realise all the pockets had been emptied..
"There must be some confused people out there…" he muttered to himself, wondering what they thought of things like the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver.
"And some in here too.." River commented slowly, seeing quite a few 'people' looking oddly at them, seemingly confused at how they were about to speak to each other.
One or two of them seemed to try to start to make similar noises to the pair who could seemingly understand each other. The noises didn't seem to make much sense to each other, but it all seemed to make sense to River and the Doctor..
"Help…"
"Please.."
"Want.. Free…"
"Words spoken from the heart.." the Doctor commented with a frown.
"LET GO OF ME YOU IDIOT FREAKS!!" came a yell from down the end near the door. A slight chuckle ensued.
"Us? Freaks? You've got another think coming.." someone said, throwing Crystal into a cage actually not too far from River and the Doctor, as though thankfully they hadn't worked out the link between the three.
Once the guards were out of range the Doctor started talking.
"Why did you follow us?" he groaned slightly
"I had to.. You popped out of nowhere in some blue box thing completely unawares to everything else, just taking me in like there was no other reason to be here.. You ran off after River.. I just felt like I had to do something after all you did for me…" she muttered quietly
"All in a days' work for us.." the Doctor smiled. "I just found this place by chance; thought helping someone might be the best way through the system.." he said calmly
River couldn't help but roll her eyes, knowing that wasn't it, though not commenting.
"So now we just need to get out of here…" River commented, though Crystal didn't seem finished.
"No, both of you cared so much.. It can't have just been that you wanted to find out about it.." she said, her mind clearly made up about it, though slightly working on the reasons why they would be so caring…
The Doctor just let her be, letting her think as she pleased.
"Yeah, we do need to find some way out.. River, check your pockets for anything, and I mean anything.." he told her, them both starting to scrounge around into the depths to find the tiniest unfound items.
"Right, all I've got's an Umbekan match and what feels like something I really shouldn't mention…" the Doctor said, screwing his face up slightly. He quickly took the match out of his pocket, glancing at River and the increasing amount of stuff appearing in front of her, including her mobile, half a packet of polos and the TARDIS key.
"Um.. Guess they didn't check your pockets then…" he commented, River chuckling slightly at his expression which really was priceless.
"Well, anything we can do with this lot..?" she asked calmly, finding a few mini highlighters at the very bottom of her pocket and drawing them out.
"Plenty." He grinned devilishly, holding out a hand. "Phone." He said, her quickly putting it in his hand through the bars of the cages.
He quickly withdrew his hand through back into his cage, starting to take it apart and get through into the main wiring inside.
"Don't worry, I'll get you a new one.." he muttered, guessing she'd be attached to it. They ended up buying it as a souvenir of their trip to the Dengen, before the meteorite that wiped out over half the population and all the economy…
The wiring didn't seem that complicated to the Doctor who seemed to be able to take it apart and find the wirings inside in five seconds flat whilst River would have been tangled up and electrocuted by then.
The Doctor carefully moved the match into the tiny hole, making sure the striking end was furthest in before starting to try and make a slight break in the wires to create a spark to set the match alight.
"Part one, complete!" he smiled, watching the flame sit there without burning down for a bit before River's face caught him.
"Everlasting match. Wood grows at the same speed as the flames die it down so it won't burn down until you want it to." The Doctor explained with a smile, River just nodding slightly.
"Everyone. Get ready to run." The Doctor grinned in a way that would make someone in solitary confinement in a mental hospital seem the sanest in the world..
River just quickly started to grab all the stuff from her pockets and stuff it all back in quickly, though eating a polo since she'd found them..
The Doctor blew onto the match making the flames travel down it in double quick time, hitting the red blob at the end and causing a mini explosion as it rapidly burnt, much faster than the rest of the match, also much hotter, it melting the lock mechanism with a few molten metal shards sparking out.
The Doctor quickly grabbed the keys once out the cage and started having to individually unlock each of the cages. He'd gotten Rivers, Crystals and three of the others, but there were still many many more in this room to get free.
"Give me the keys, I'll unlock them." Crystal said quickly.
"No, I will, you get the rest to-"
"Doctor, no. You have somewhere to go outside of here. Show these to the exit. Most of them thing of me as a hero or what not already because of what has been done to me and I've survived. Me freeing them will give them more hope. I'll find you. I meet you back in that blue box thing."
"Fine, but be careful. Don't want anything happening to you." The Doctor said, throwing her the keys and starting to run, River just having troubles with the wings, but trying to follow without fitting in with the rest of the crowd.
"Wait, River, go find the stuff from my pockets, the guards will have scattered due to the break out." The Doctor said quickly, sending her the other way, her nodding and quickly moving in the other direction.
--
"Psychic paper.. Sonic screwdriver.. Yup this lot'll be hi- what the.. I'm not even going to ask.." River sighed, putting all the stuff into a bag and starting to carry it off, back to the TARDIS where she guessed the Doctor would end up.
--
The Doctor ran down to the exit, quickly trying to let them all out as quickly as possible, though many guards seeming to have gotten there first, killing on sight instead of trying to preserve the experiments they'd made.
He hated the idea, but the only way through this could actually be to fight…
--
Crystal was doing her best to look confident, look as though everything was alright as she moved around.
She'd heard a few of them try to say thank you, and oddly enough understood them trying when before she couldn't even start to understand… She mainly just ignored that though, just trying to help them all get out.
"Come on! The faster you're out the more time you have to be free!" she encouraged them as she unlocked, but people were coming and she still had quite a few to finish..
She could start to hear it now.. Footsteps starting to come towards her in the cage room.
"Move! Everybody move!!" she said quickly, almost pushing some of them.
--
River quickly found the TARDIS and just seemed thankful that no one was around, she quickly took out her key and slid inside, dropping everything onto the floor and not feeling great about it.
She just moved over to the sofa and practically collapsed, her body not used to having to work hard with all the running and stuff with a large addition of wings on her back, aching with every movement.
--
The Doctor was trying not to panic, just get everyone moving.
He could start to see the TARDIS up ahead and all the guards crowding around it, clearly suspecting it now..
"Ok, pick one and take out your anger on them.." the Doctor said, just knowing how much they'd want to.
He used it as a distraction to quickly get himself inside the TARDIS though the TARDIS wasn't happy…
There were a lot of guns being fired directly at her, and the Doctor hadn't put up the shield.
"Come on, just hold on a little longer, wait for Crystal.." he attempted to try and coax her, though the TARDIS was on self preservation mode.
The Doctor was running around quickly, trying to override the commands she'd given herself to take off and get out, though it hard, eventually the TARDIS winning since she could control the whole control panels whilst the Doctor only the ones close by..
"I'm sorry Crystal… I really am so sorry…" he sighed as the TARDIS set herself up in the Time Vortex.
--
Chapter 9
The TARDIS was just finishing off in the memories room. All those pictures, each of someone the Doctor would never forget. Slowly, Crystal's picture was starting to appear, just below River's, her name starting to slowly appear under. Her full name, the one the Doctor never asked about.
The Doctor…
He'd be heart broken in a few minutes.. Once he'd heard the final diaries of her.
The TARDIS had found them for him, bringing them up for him, knowing he'd want to know…
--
The Doctor sighed, moving through into the main control room, sitting down softly on the sofa. It had been about 3 hours since they'd been forced separate from Crystal.
All he'd been able to do was start to help River; help get rid of those wings.
He'd done his best. There were still a few remnants of them, but they were no longer there, no longer a nuisance.
He looked at the screen, something having been there that wasn't before. He slowly started to get up, take a look.
The final moments of pain – a spoken diary
It was by Crystal. He could tell. It was all about those last few moments after they were dragged apart.
River started to slowly move through into the room, still needing to lean on some of the railings all over the place to stay stood before she managed to get over to the sofa, just as the Doctor started it playing.
"Crystals report of just after.." he told her, letting them get as comfortable as needed.
"There it went.. That noise.. The noise I'd heard only once before. Just as the wings on my back were forced upon me. I'd thought it was just in my mind at first, it quickly covered by the scream of pain. It wasn't though. Now I've heard it again.. It's something you'd never believe. Like… a song… Yeah, a song of time.. Time singing out through into your soul and beyond.. It helped me realise what it was…
"That blue box was slipping away from me. I was quickly trying to get away from the people holding me back. It wasn't long. I flew out, using everything I had to try and pin point exactly where it was. Every animal part played a part.
"I flew down directly to where I remembered that box to be. There ended up being nothing.. A held a hand out, trying to touch it, make sure it wasn't invisible. No, there really was nothing.
"A slight tear drifted down my face, my hand starting to slowly close as I started to work it out.
"I'd told him to wait. I knew I wouldn't be long. Why did this have to happen? Why to me? I could start to hear people starting to try and chase me, since by now I was the last one left in the building who didn't want to be. I just couldn't take that pain of being left behind, not again.
"I flew down a corridor, straight over to a window. It looked lead lined or something, but I didn't care. I needed to get out. I took a huge run at it, smacking into it.
"The first time it didn't break, just causing me even more pain, it all starting to add up. The second time I managed it though.
"That first breath of natural air was almost heavenly if it wouldn't have been so poisoned by everything else. The air seemed so odd.. Like nothing else. There were smells in it. Not blood, fear, anger or hurt like usual.. Smells that were like they were meant to be there.. Foods, drinks, fuels and all the other smells that should be there. It all seemed so odd..
"Slowly I started to remember about the breakaway, quickly starting to fly away from the building and all the people reaching out of the window at me.
"A few people saw me flying away, looking like they were about to die at the sight of me. They must have phoned the police or something, because it wasn't long before I was being followed.
"I had a few guns following me, someone looking like they'd kill me before hear me out. I tried to work something out, quickly managing it. I flew back towards the lab, trying to follow as many of the roads in the air as possible so they could follow, no matter how dangerous I was being. I just needed to do this.
"The police seemed to get it, though I think they just though the building was a disguise for the space ship that brought me here or something..
"The whole place seemed to be in war, those sickening smells of blood starting to appear again, along with smells of metal, black powder and the smells of so many other weapons I still don't know…
"The whole place was put completely away, killed beyond belief along with all traces that it had ever happened, other than me. The police seemed to be ignoring me now though. It was almost like bombing the place let them find out what had happened though.
"I couldn't trust them when they offered to try and help though… Anyone who could kill so mercilessly. No.
"Only two people I know I can trust. The Doctor and River…
"They're the only people that tried to help, without guns, without danger to others. They were the people that were trying to set things right, instead of making the biggest deal about it possible.
"Now hear I am.. Hovering about 25 metres above the ruins of the place that was my home for so many years.. 11.. Eleven years of just being stuck in cages, experimented on..
"Just being free from it has been such a change. I'd never have guessed it would be like this.. Such a change.. So many things I feel like I'll never understand…
"Before I go though, make sure he knows. The Doctor. If ever anyone meets him, finds him or anything.. Make sure he knows.
"It wasn't his fault."
The voice started to get that part of it which showed the speaker was struggling not to cry.
"How could anything be someone's fault when they are someone like that? Someone who actually cares for the people who are trapped somewhere they hate.
"I've realised now. Eleven years of pain in one way, and the pain stays with you, no matter what happens.
"It's only been a week since I was allowed out thanks to him.
"One week which has been like a heaven, no matter how much pain there's been.
"He knows though. Him more than anyone else. Pain hurts. The pains of being alone without anybody to show you the way, the pains of being alone in the world with no only death. He knows…
"Make sure he knows it's not his fault.
"Make sure River stays with him. Make sure there's always someone there to help him along the way, so he's never alone. Never feeling the pain I'm in now…
"It's not his fault. It's not anyone's.."
The sound of metal quickly moving across other metal, such as a sword or dagger from the sheath it came from echoed through the recording.
"I'm sorry…"
The sound of slicing of skin and bones and a small whimper of pain. The sound of a crash from about 25 metres up down onto a large pile of rubble.
A very, very slight sound of worry from afar, then just silence.
There was silence all over, everywhere through the 26th century around Crystal, and inside the TARDIS.
In possibly the first ever calm flight without troubles and rushing around, the TARDIS was brought down not too far away from where Crystal lay.
River looked completely shocked, unable to move away from the door of the TARDIS where she just looked down at the fragile figure of Crystal, completely in contrast to the twisted metal and rough ragged rocks in the rubble.
The Doctor slowly moved over to her, kneeling besides her, a hand gently touching her cheek, sparking the tiniest amount of life possible beneath the deathly pale and basically dead exterior.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" he said, just as the spark of life faded away into the distance.
--
Inside the TARDIS, back in the memories room, Crystal had just been fixed in. The only person with two pictures.
One of a picture when she was three years old, still living with her parents before she was kidnapped, the false stories implanted to her.
The other was her hovering in the air, saying her final words to him, knife in her hand, getting herself ready
.
Crystal Gweneveire Yinta Momoyate
2692-2707
The Gem of an imperfect world