Episode Two: Crystal
In which Kya and the Doctor journey to the future and Kya learns that the Doctor's past could be her future
Kya
I walk into the TARDIS control room, adjusting my glasses. "So! Where to?" I ask, cocking a hip slightly.
"We-ll!" the Doctor says, leaning against a TARDIS pillar. "That's just the question, now, isn't it? We could go to Venice, 1673, or Venus, 2673. The Medusa Cascade? OrNew New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York?"
I laugh. "Er. Um... Someplace new. And different. And far away, someplace I've never seen before." I skip over to him, my hair swishing around my shoulders.
"Hmm," he says, eyes narrowing in thought as he turns to the TARDIS controls. I stand slightly behind him and watch as he yanks down a lever with a clank, starting up the TARDIS. The rhythmic whooshing sound begins and lights pulse softly. I smile, standing back a little now to watch.
Soon, the TARDIS is in full gear. The Doctor is hopping busily around the controls, trying not to bang into things so much but not really succeeding. "C'mon, girl," he mutters to the TARDIS. "Try to cooperate today."
I find myself somehow against one of the pillars and realize I must've involuntarily backed up against it. I also realize I'm having way too much fun with this. It reminds me of an amusement park ride or something, though I can't recall ever having been on one.
The Doctor lurches forward as the TARDIS bangs into something roughly, and his hand slams a button down. "Oops," he mumbles, straightening and scrambling to fix it. He flips a switch and finally the TARDIS begins to settle down. She slows to a stop, and gradually the noise fades. "Well," he says. "Here we are!"
I smooth my hair down and make my way over to him, wobbling a little at first but steadying myself. "Where's 'here'?"
"I have no idea!" he says and walks over to the door, grinning cheerfully. I follow him out of the TARDIS, excited to see where we've ended up.
The Doctor sucks in a breath and grins wider as we step out. I look around, eyes wide, at the glittering structure we're standing in. It's a very large room, with a huge arch on the opposite side. The walls are made of a shimmery metal, and the floor is a semi-transparent crystal, revealing bright teal waters below. The ceiling is clear as well, letting in the pinkish light of a distant white sun shining through the coloured clouds.
"Oh, wow!" I gasp, laughing softly. "Wow! This is beautiful."
The Doctor
I look at Kya. Her coral-blue shirt brings out her sparkling eyes, the cutaway sleeves showing her pale shoulders. I open my mouth to speak, but when I do something other than what I intend to say comes out. "The Crystal Palace of Dor," I say, sticking to facts. I like facts. Facts are good. "This'll be about – we-ll – 67th century, then."
"67th century," she echoes, looking up. "Amazing."
"Yeah?" I say, a smile rising all the way up to my eyes. Then I look around, tilting my head. "Question is, where is everyone?"
"What, are people – or aliens or something – supposed to be here?"
"Aw, this place should be bursting with activity: palace guards, tourists, inspectors, employees... So where are they?"
"Let's find out?"
I nod. "Right," I say, walking towards the archway. My shoes make a plinking sound on the crystal floor as I walk. When I reach the doorway, I stop short. "Blimey!" I exclaim, looking down... and down... and down.
"What?" Kya stops quickly behind me.
"Well," I say, looking down into the pit with water pouring into it and the broken edges of glass, "it would seem that half of the Crystal Palace of Dor has fallen into the hole."
"There's a hole? Let me see," she says, stretching up on her toes to peer around me. I instinctively stretch out my arm in front of her to protect her.
"Oh. That's a hole," she says.
"Yes. It's a very big, very deep, very not-supposed-to-be-there hole," I say.
She steps back, agreeing, "Definitely not supposed to be there."
"What? Who are you?" a voice says from behind us, echo-y in the empty room. I whirl around, and Kya turns with me. The owner of the voice is a human hybrid, elderly but hale, and he's frowning at us.
"Well, we're just popping in for a bit. But where is everyone?"
"Everyone has evacuated because of the hole," he says like it should be obvious.
I shake my head. "No no no, I mean, why isn't there anyone doing anything about it? Great big hole pops up in the palace in the middle of the Golden Age of Dor and no one's even around? This place should be swarming with researchers and scientists!"
The man looks uncomfortable. "There are plans to investigate," he says uncertainly.
"Oh, plans!" I spit out. "Don't give me 'plans'! What happened here? Does anyone even know?"
He pauses. "Why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are."
"Ah. I'm sorry," I say, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm the Doctor, and I'm investigating this hole. So what happened?"
"Nobody knows," he admits grudgingly after studying me for a moment.
"Alright then," I say. "Nobody knows!" I add spookily, eyes wide.
Kya giggles, covering her mouth with her hand, and the man glares at her. "Who's your friend?"
"Ah, er, this is Kya," I say.
"Right," she says, clearing her throat. "So. Nobody knows, huh? When did this happen?"
"Five LR ago," he replies. "I have a team here in charge of monitoring the hole, making sure it doesn't grow, but other than that..." He sighs.
Kya looks at me. "Your thoughts?" she whispers.
I tilt my head towards her. "Well," I say, a not-answer, and turn to the man. "You have a team, you say? Where are they? Take me – er, us – to your laboratory."
He looks even more uncomfortable. "Well... Are you even qualified to see my laboratory? It's all confidential."
"Oh, yes, qualifications," I say, flipping out my leather wallet and holding it toward him.
"Oh. Oh! Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" the man asks. "Come with me." He starts walking and we follow.
"So, who are you this time?" Kya whispers to me quietly.
I glance down at the paper. "Er, ambassador from the Scarlet System," I say with a shrug as we come to a doorway made of blue sapphire beads.
"Oh," she replies as we walk through the beads. Soon she's gazing around silently, lost in the beauty of the palace.
"Ooh, anti-gravity lift," I say happily as we approach the opening. "I forgot they had these in here. Blimey, I haven't been in one of these in years!"
Kya grins at me and the man looks confused, but he doesn't comment. I step over to it, a floorless vertical that looks like little more than a hole to the sea, if one didn't notice the lights of the anti-gravity reactors that stud the rim of the bottom.
"Going up?" I question.
"Yes," the man says.
I grin and step into it. Immediately I feel myself flying upwards, air rushing all around me. When I come up to the next opening the room's gravity pulls me out of the lift. I'm standing in the room above the original one, hair all ruffled.
Kya shoots up the lift only seconds after I do. I catch her in my arms as she stumbles out of the lift. "You okay?" I ask, a smile playing at my lips.
"Y-yeah," she says, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah?" I say, steadying her before backing away. "How 'bout that? Anti-gravity lift! Brilliant!"
She turns to look at it, smiling. "It's pretty amazing," she says. The man comes up the lift and starts walking again without pausing to wait for us. Kya and I follow him into another room that overlooks the hole. Various outdated scientific instruments are scattered throughout the room.
Kya frowns. "Is it just me, or are those a bit out-of-date?" she whispers.
I look at her sharply. "Yes, but how –?" I begin, but I'm interrupted by a vaguely humanoid figure that stands up from behind one of the consoles.
"People?! What are they doing here?!" he exclaims.
"Griffin," the older man says scoldingly, "this is an ambassador from the Scarlet System who has come for an inspection, and his... friend."
Kya scratches the back of her neck. "Hello," she says.
"Nice to meet you," the young man says automatically, sounding confused. He looks nearly human except for one robotic arm.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Kya says distantly, turning back to the oddly outdated equipment.
"Right," I say, stepping over to his console. I flick the monitor. "So, what's with the equipment? Budget cuts?"
"Something like that, yes," the young man says, though he still seems bewildered.
"Hmm," is all I reply. I lean over his desk, then pull out my sonic screwdriver. "Well then, let's give a quick update to your monitoring monitor," I say.
Kya smirks. "Monitoring monitor," she mutters to herself as she peers around me to see what setting I'm putting it on – I still don't know why she does that.
I scan over the view-screen, the sonic making its high-pitched whirring and its bright blue light reflecting off of the doorway's gem-beads.
"There," I say a moment later, tucking my sonic screwdriver away again. "That's better." I look at the screen closely, then put on my glasses and stare at it again. Kya adjusts her own glasses and steps a little closer to me, moving sideways as well to look at the screen.
"Hold on..." I say, moving my arms in front of Griffin to type something in. I frown, then straighten and whip off my glasses. "If this hole just appeared a little while ago, why do the readings say it's 57 years old?"
"What?!" Griffin says. The first man comes rushing over.
"That hole," I say, pointing to it, "has been there for 57 years. So why do you all think it's only been a few months?" The question is less to them and more to myself.
Kya stares at me, looking rather confused and more than a little scared. The men both appear perplexed as well, though not as afraid as Kya seems.
I look back over at the older man. "You never told us your name," I say softly.
"It's Fogg," he says. "Jamax Fogg."
"Stay still, Mr. Fogg," I tell him, and put my fingers on his face. Suddenly I'm whizzing through a realm of memories. A moment later I jerk away from him, gasping. I'm holding my head, nearly doubled over in pain. They burn like fire, the memories. The non-memories. So much time lost, time forgotten.
"Doctor! Are you all right?!" Kya cries, lurching towards me.
"I'm fine," I say, holding out one arm to keep her back. I look up suddenly at Mr. Fogg and Griffin. "Oh, but something's very wrong with you."
"What do you mean, something's wrong with us?" Griffin asks nervously. Mr. Fogg appears to be in shock.
"You're in a time-lock," I say, frowning and scanning them with my sonic.
Kya blinks at me. "What's a time-lock?"
"It's a point where time is trapped, repeating itself. Usually it's small, only affecting one particular object or person... but this one's covering the entire palace," I say wonderingly. "Well, what's left of it, anyway."
"Time is repeating itself?" she echoes incredulously. "How is that possible? Especially over such a large area..."
"You'd need something big – huge – to power enough energy for it," I say, looking out to the pouring waters in the hole. "Something an awful lot like that hole."
Kya shivers. "But why?"
"Don't know yet," I mutter thoughtfully.
She bites her lip, clearly thinking. "What could someone need a time-lock for?"
"Wait. Hold on." I stare at her. "This is Dor. The core is made of molten gems." My face lights up. "Oh, this is good. Someone has really put some thought into this. It might have worked, too."
"What do you mean, 'it might have worked'?"
"It might have worked," I say, flashing her a winning smile, "if we hadn't decided on a trip to the Palace of Dor." As I smile at her I try to ignore the strange feeling that sweeps over me. The temporal anomaly of the time-lock must be bothering me.
Kya
I start to smile back at the Doctor. "Ohhh, I get it now," I say.
"Oh, yes!" he cries enthusiastically. "Hmm, but how...?" He licks one finger, sticks it up in the air, then brings it back to his mouth. "Mm," he says, popping his finger out again. "Perception filters. It's why everyone forgot about Dor, and why it's had no new visitors."
"Why didn't it affect –" I start, but then stop. "Er, never mind."
"Right," he says as Griffin and Mr. Fogg look at us strangely. "We, um, sort of have a – well..."
Mr. Fogg shifts uncomfortably. "Well then. Are you saying that we've been here for years and years without even realizing it?"
"Yes," the Doctor says shortly. "I'm sorry. But if we're going to fix this, I need your help. Both of you," he adds with a glance at Griffin.
Griffin swallows visibly. "Okay," he says after a moment. "What can we do?"
The Doctor looks at the hole, eyes narrowed. "We're missing something. A very big something," he says, tapping his lips with one finger.
"I feel like – like it should be obvious," I say thoughtfully.
He turns to me suddenly with a grin. "It will be in a tick," he says excitedly, nearly hopping over to Griffin. "Hand me that there – the satellite."
Griffin turns around, picks it up, and hands it to the Doctor. "What's it for?" I ask.
The Doctor sets it on top of a desk, pointing it toward the hole. Then he hooks it up to a large power console. "For this!" he says, sonicking the satellite. The screwdriver whirrs, and outside, hovering just above the hole, a shape begins to fade into view. I turn, spotting it out of the corner of my eye, and watch as it slowly appears.
The Doctor raises an eyebrow as I gasp. It's a creature, huge and spider-like, stretching itself over the hole. A long black tongue dips down into the hole, curling like an insect's, feeding off of the live crystals of the planet's core.
I take a step back towards the Doctor. "Um."
He grabs my hand in reassurance. "Well," he says. "We've found our big something."
"Yep," I say, trying not to let my voice shake.
"Right," he says, starting for the lift. I walk beside him quickly, still gripping his hand and glancing back over my shoulder repeatedly. Mr. Fogg and Griffin follow us. We come to the lift and the Doctor lets go of my hand to press the down button before stepping into it. I wait, peering over the side to see if he's going up or down.
The Doctor is sucked down and into the room before. I fly down and stumble again as I step out, still not really used to it. I almost collide with him, and he holds out his arms to steady me again. "They're tricky at first, anti-gravity lifts," he tells me.
"Just a bit," I say with a breathless laugh as I regain my balance.
He grins and steps back as Griffin and Mr. Fogg come down. He starts off again, then pauses suddenly, spinning around on one foot. "Hold on. Where are your energy reserves? Electric room? That sort of thing."
There's a moment of silence.
"Like a control room," he says, frustration seeping into his voice. "The place where all the power of the palace comes from?"
"I don't see why –?" Mr. Fogg begins, but the Doctor interrupts him.
"Go there and shut off all the power. Everything. We-ll, except for backup life support. The atmosphere on Dor is a little shaky right now, if I remember rightly."
"I'll do it, sir," Griffin speaks up.
"Good. Great. Thanks," the Doctor says. "Mr. Fogg, you're with us."
Griffin runs off quickly. I watch him go, then turn back to the Doctor and Mr. Fogg. We continue walking until we reach the room with the TARDIS. Pulling a silver key out of his pocket, he steps over to the blue box.
"'Course I've got a key for it," he says, sounding slightly displeased. "How else would I open it?"
"Sonic screwdriver?" I remind him.
"Can't sonic it," he says, rapping on the door. "It's wood. The sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood."
"It... doesn't work... on wood," I repeat slowly, trying not to smile.
"Works on everything else, though," he says. "We-ll, except deadlocks."
"Maybe you should invent a setting for that," I say, opening the TARDIS door and stepping inside.
He frowns as he follows me in. "I can't invent a setting for it! That's why it's called a deadlock!"
"I meant for wood," I say, glancing back over my shoulder to catch Mr. Fogg's reaction to the inside of the TARDIS.
If Mr. Fogg was puzzled at the outside size of the box, he is even more puzzled at the size of the inside. He frowns, blinks, and steps out of the TARDIS, doubtlessly to feel around its perimeter. The Doctor grins.
"Is this what people normally do?" I smirk.
"Yep," he replies as Mr. Fogg steps back in, and adds quietly, "Wait for it..."
"It's – bigger on the inside," he says.
The Doctor smiles knowingly and nods.
I walk up the steps of the TARDIS and stand beside the Doctor, then turn to smile at Mr. Fogg. My glasses slip down on my nose, and I push them back up absently.
"Right," the Doctor says, turning to the TARDIS controls and starting her up.
I frown, turning back to the Doctor and removing my glasses. I stare at him, then put them on. I blink a couple times. Then I take off my glasses again. As he spins to switch another lever, he nearly bumps into me. "What's wrong?" he says, his arm brushing my shoulders as he reaches past me to yank the lever down.
I take a step back so he can reach it. "Sorry," I say, shoving my glasses into my pocket.
He opens his mouth to speak, but another alarm goes off and he has to dive to the other end of the controls.
"N-need any help?" I say, trying not to sound as shaken-up as I feel.
"Er," he says as the TARDIS settles down, quieting. "It's okay. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away."
"Right." I nod, taking a deep breath.
The Doctor leaps down the steps and flings open the door, stepping out. Mr. Fogg follows him more slowly. I pull my glasses out of my pocket and hold them with shaking hands, staring at them for a moment before tossing them behind me. They bounce off the console and land on the grated floor of the TARDIS with a small crack. Puffing out my cheeks as I exhale, I brush off my hands and follow the two of them out.
We're on a cliff, overlooking the water. The Doctor steps out to the very edge. "HELLO!" he calls out to the creature. He turns to me and frowns. "Hang on... What happened to your glasses?"
I shrug. "Er, tell you later?" I say.
"Yes, right," he says, turning back to the creature but still frowning. "MAYBE YOU SHOULD START BY TELLING ME WHO I'M TALKING TO!" he shouts.
It hisses, turning to the Doctor. Its tongue flicks as it tilts its head, staring at us; then it emits a series of hisses that make no sense.
I frown. "Is it saying something?"
The Doctor turns to glance back at the TARDIS for some reason. He then turns back to the creature, tilting his head. "Can you even understand me?"
It hisses again, and this time I'm pretty sure I can hear a note of confusion in its voice. "I don't think so," I tell him.
"No..." he says. "Which means we're not talking to the one who's really in charge here." His voice is grim as he looks at the poor creature.
I tilt my head, frowning sadly. "Then who is the one in charge?"
The Doctor
"Let's find out," I say, dashing back to the TARDIS. Kya follows me back inside quickly. "Now, let's see... what's keeping the creature here? Easy, mind control. Who's doing the controlling?" I configure something into the view-screen, performing a quick scan.
"Not so easy," Kya replies.
"Not so easy," I agree, nodding. "Rather, it wouldn't be so easy if you didn't have me."
She smirks. "You're full of it."
"Oh, yes!" I exclaim, grinning back. She rolls her eyes.
The console beeps in completion, and I tap the screen in satisfaction. "There," I say. "High energy and bio-thermal readings."
Kya brushes her bangs out of her face, leaning closer to stare at the screen.
My eyes narrow. "They're coming from under the water," I say. "That's odd. Perhaps they have some sort of submarine. Shall we go see?"
"In the TARDIS, I hope you mean," Kya says.
"Well, of course in the –" I begin, then catch her look. "Oh, shut up, you." Then I remember that Mr. Fogg is still in the TARDIS with us, looking utterly lost.
"So... we're teleporting underwater, then?" he asks hesitantly. "To find whoever's controlling the creature?"
I nod. "Sounds about right, yeah," I say.
Kya lifts her hand to her face as if to adjust her glasses like she usually does, but quickly drops her hand when she realizes she's not wearing them anymore. I look at her strangely, reminding myself to ask her about that once this is over. I start up the TARDIS, setting the coordinates for what I hope is the alien vessel.
The TARDIS starts to whoosh, and I dart around the controls. Kya grins as she watches me, while Mr. Fogg still looks bewildered.
"And here we are!" I say a short time later as I land the TARDIS. "Now, let's go see where 'here' is, exactly." I leap down the steps for the door, and Kya runs after me, gesturing for Mr. Fogg to follow us.
I open the door. We're... in a damp, smelly tunnel. Why do I always manage to find these? I ask myself silently, stepping out.
"Oh. It's a... tunnel," Kya says, clearly disappointed.
"Brilliant observation!" I exclaim without realizing it. Then I wince, sucked back into a torrent of memories that I've been trying to forget.
Kya laughs softly. "My friend Terra says that all the time!"
I freeze, my skin prickling. "What?!" I ask sharply, spinning around to face her.
She takes a step back, shocked. "I-I said my friend Terra always says that," she says quickly.
"Your friend..." I can't bring myself to say the name. "What – what did she look like?"
"Long, curly dark brown hair," she says. "Sort of... tan skin. Violet eyes." She gives a half smile, and I remember that in a way, it's only been a short time since Kya last saw her.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to compose myself. I can't – I can't cry now. But it just isn't fair!
"Doctor, what is it?" Kya whispers.
"I know her," I say quietly, opening my eyes to look at her. Then I correct myself, "I knew her, and I will know her. Her future, my –" I pause "– my past."
Her bright blue eyes are wide. "What – what happened to her? Why aren't you still traveling with her?" She starts talking faster, hands trembling. "She would love this, traveling with you. She's one of the smartest students at my college. That's how I met her, she's one of my students – she'd love this, she'd never just leave. What happened?"
Tears gather in my eyes as flashes come back to me. A dark snowy night... golden sparks flying... I can't. I just can't. This isn't fair.
"Doctor," Kya says sharply, her voice choked. "What happened to Terra? Tell me what happened to my friend!"
Every time she says that name a memory comes into my head against my will – dancing violet eyes... a cascade of dark curls... fingers intertwining with mine... laughter echoing through the TARDIS... the golden light sweeping past me to find its way into the heart of the TARDIS. I – I can't –
"Doctor!" Kya grabs my hand and I realize tears are dripping down my cheeks. I sniffle, wiping my cheek with the back of my other hand.
"She's gone." I'm barely able to get the words out, my voice low and rough.
Kya drops my hand, taking a step back. And another. "What."
"I couldn't – she – she –" I can't speak. My hearts are breaking all over again.
Kya
I step back again, shaking. I can't wrap my mind around this. Terra... my only friend... the Doctor saw her die.
He didn't save her.
He blinks, seeing my expression. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I am so sorry."
"Don't," I say harshly. "Don't you dare." I try to walk past him, but he grabs my elbow tightly.
"You don't understand," he tells me.
I glare at him, vision blurry, struggling to free myself from his tight grip. "Let go of me."
The Doctor drops my arm numbly, shoulders sagging. He looks away from me, brushing a tear off his face.
I soften slightly, though I'm still in shock and upset and angry. "I'm sorry, I – I just –"
"I know," he says quietly. "But I – I loved her – she was..." He stops.
I bite my lip at his words, tears flooding my eyes. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I lower my head and walk on, and he follows me in silence.
He loved her?
I take a deep breath in, then let it out. It comes out as a sob, and I wince, hoping the Doctor didn't notice. I wipe my eyes with my fingers quickly.
He touches my shoulder, turning me toward him. He pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me in a comforting hug. I stiffen, my arms straight at my sides. I feel a tiny flash of hope, but it quickly disappears. He doesn't like me the same way I like him and he's already made that pretty clear without saying it outright.
Why is he doing this to me?
Slowly I lift my arms to hug him back.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs, as much to himself as to me. "I couldn't save her. There was – nothing – nothing I could do."
I sob again, jerking back slightly and dropping my arms back to my sides. "Don't," I whisper. "I know you – you really loved her. You don't have to keep apologizing."
The Doctor lets go of me, passing his hands over his eyes. He nods.
I see the look in his eyes. He doesn't know I – "You don't get it, do you?"
"Don't get what?" he asks, frowning.
"How I really feel," I say softly, turning away.
The Doctor
I stand there for a moment, blinking after her. Could she mean...? No, that's not right. It can't be right.
I sigh, looking around. Suddenly I remember Mr. Fogg. He's not here. "Oi," I say. "Where'd our good friend Fogg go?"
Kya turns to me. "What? He's missing?"
"He's not here," I say. "I didn't see him leave; did you see him leave?"
"No," she replies.
"Right, then. Let's find him." Distractions. Distractions are good. My life consists of distractions.
She nods. "Do you think he went back to the TARDIS?"
"Er, you can check the TARDIS," I say, "and I'll look ahead."
"Right." She walks past me and away, back to the TARDIS.
I head down the tunnel, my slightly sloshy footsteps echoing. There's no breaks in the walls, no doors. How far does this thing go?
A few moments later, I hear Kya's footsteps pounding behind me, and turn around. "Wasn't there?" I ask as she comes to a stop.
She shakes her head. "I'm assuming you didn't find him either."
"Haven't found much of anything besides solid walls and puddles," I reply, pulling out my sonic screwdriver.
"Apparently." She laughs, though it sounds a bit forced.
I scan the edges of a wall, then look at my sonic and frown. "That can't be right," I mutter to myself.
"What can't be right?" Kya steps closer to me.
"This," I say, scanning and checking it again. Same result. "Repetition matrix – not solid matter at all..." I knock on the wall, but it certainly feels solid.
"That means we haven't been getting anywhere," Kya sums up.
"Exactly." I turn around and look behind me. Oh, this could be bad.
"Can't you... I don't know... break the matrix?"
I toss my sonic screwdriver from one hand to the other. "I could, but if I break the matrix and we're in the wrong spot, we'll be caught up with it," I say.
She stares at me. "We'll just have to get in the right spot, then."
It's not that simple, but I nod and start scanning the ground. After a moment I look at my sonic closely, then back down at my feet. "It's the water," I say. "That's what's keeping the matrix stable. Anyplace with water is the wrong spot."
"Right, so we just have to find a dry spot," Kya says.
"Hmm," I reply, then point to a tiny patch without water. "There!" I step over to it.
Kya follows me. "So, we just have to stand on it and then you'll... sonic something and then it'll break?"
"Sort of, yeah," I agree, standing on it.
Kya does too, glancing down at her feet. She's too close to the edge, so I pull her gently toward the center by her shoulders. Her feet are half on top of mine now.
Her face flushes. "We end up in a lot of situations like this, don't we?" she says, drawing my mind back to when we first met.
"Tight situations," I say with a grin, trying to act like it's nothing and ignoring the prickling feeling I get by her closeness. I pull her slightly towards me to reach over her shoulder and sonic the floor.
She laughs a little breathlessly. "Yeah," she says. "Very."
My arm wraps around her waist without my consent as I sonic the floor and cry, "Allons-y!"
When the tunnel disappears, Kya takes a small step back, looking awkward. "Um, right," I say, clearing my throat and rubbing the back of my neck. "Right." I tuck my sonic screwdriver back into the inner pocket of my jumper and look around.
We're in a basic holographic room, nothing particularly clever about it. Now that I've disabled the matrix, it's just an empty room with strips of white glowing holo-emitters on the walls. I puff out my cheeks, then head toward the small door on one side of the room.
I suddenly stop short with a realization. I spin around to look at Kya, and she blinks, startled. "What is it?"
"The TARDIS," I say painfully. "I landed her inside a holographic matrix. The TARDIS should be here... so why isn't she?"
Kya's eyes widen. "She must have been on a wet spot," she says slowly. "Doctor, what would have happened to us if we were caught up in the matrix when you broke it?"
"We would have been stored in the system, made into a program just like the tunnel," I say numbly. "But the TARDIS can't..."
"Can't what?" Kya whispers as if afraid of the answer.
"The TARDIS can't be stored in a holo-program!" I burst out. "Even if the matrix collapsed, it wouldn't be able to store the TARDIS. She's infinitely big and complex. Even I don't know everything about the TARDIS."
"Then what happened to her?"
"I – I don't know," I say, rubbing my face with both hands and trying to fight off a feeling of panic.
Kya exhales, turning and leaning back against the wall. "Okay," she says softly.
I take in a deep breath. "Well, let's at least find out where we are and what's going on," I say, pulling out my sonic screwdriver again.
"Right, right," she says, straightening up and moving away from the wall.
The door slides open after I sonic it and I step through, putting my screwdriver away. I blink in surprise. "Well," I say. This certainly isn't what I was expecting. We're on a terrace overlooking what appears to be a sort of factory. White-robed scientists bustle about, and they seem to be humanoid.
Kya's mouth falls open.
I rub the back of my neck. "This is different," I say. "I suppose we should try to find whoever's in charge."
Kya blinks, closing her mouth. "Yeah. Uh, how?"
"We can ask her," I say, pointing at a middle-aged woman with glasses, a white lab coat, and a clipboard. "Hello!" I say in a friendly voice, stepping over to her.
She frowns at us. "Who are you?" she asks sharply. "And might I ask, what are you doing in a restricted area?"
Kya glances at me. "We're, um..." she begins.
"We're from management," I fill in, flashing my psychic paper. "I have to speak with your CEO."
"I'm sorry. Come with me," says the woman.
I wink at Kya as we follow, slipping the old battered wallet back into my pocket. She looks down at the ground, smiling.
I go over our cover in my head as we walk. "Kya," I say quietly, making sure the woman doesn't hear. "You've never told me your last name."
"Really?" she whispers back, looking confused. "It's Markham."
"Nice to meet you, Kya Markham," I whisper with a wide grin.
Kya
The woman leads us into a sort of sitting room and tells us to wait for a moment. The Doctor taps his hands against his sides. I look around, running my fingers through the back of my hair.
"I really never told you my last name?"
"Nope," he says, sitting down on the arm of a chair. It isn't balanced enough for his weight all on one side, and he topples to the floor, with the chair falling on top of him. He quickly leaps to his feet and straightens the chair, blushing.
I cover my face, spinning around in a circle and laughing into my hands.
"It – it's a little tippy, that chair," he says, half frowning. "Don't sit on it."
I drop my hands from my face, still laughing too hard to speak.
He brushes himself off. "Well, it wasn't that funny," he says with a small pout.
I lean forward, barely managing to gasp out between breaths, "Yes – it – was!"
"How was I supposed to know the chair was tippy?" he protests, though he's smiling.
I can't respond through my laughter, though I'm starting to stop. I take a deep breath, trying to compose myself.
The Doctor watches me with raised eyebrows. "You done now?" he teases.
I can't stop grinning, though I'm not giggling anymore. I nod.
He opens his mouth as if to speak, but shuts it again. I can hear voices on the other side of the wall, where the woman had gone to get her boss. And the voices are not-so-very-friendly sounding voices.
Suddenly there's a scream, and the Doctor runs over to the door, quickly sonicking it. I run after him, the smile vanishing from my face. Once he's opened the door I follow him into the room.
Ignoring everything else for the moment, the Doctor kneels beside the woman who had led us here. She's laying on the ground in an awkward position, motionless. He presses two fingers to her neck, then winces. He stands up slowly.
I stare at him, horrified. "Is she..." I swallow hard.
The Doctor turns away from me to fix a glare on the figure in front of him. "You didn't have to do that," he says, his voice stern and deep. He's trying to hold back his wrath. "You didn't have to kill her."
"She hindered business," the man says calmly as I walk over to the Doctor. The man looks like a human, but his jerky movements and his flickering eyes betray that he's fighting to stay that way.
"Business," the Doctor spits out. "Is that what this is, then? Destroying a civilization, forcing a helpless creature into slave labor, murdering anyone who gets in your way – that's business?" He's clearly disgusted, and so am I.
"Why do it, though?" I ask hesitantly, looking back and forth between the man and the Doctor. "I mean... why do all this? What's the point?"
"It's profitable," the man replies, smiling maliciously. "Energy like this fetches quite a price. We distribute all across the galaxy."
I glare at him. "You're doing this for profit?! That's awful!"
"Grow up, girl," he says sharply. "This is the real world."
The Doctor takes a step forward, face twisted with rage. "Don't you dare!" he yells. "You've done enough damage here, and I'm not going to let you stand there and insult my friend. I'm giving you one chance, and only one, to leave now and stop this."
The man leans forward slightly, then laughs in the Doctor's face. "Oh, that's rich," he says. "You're trying to threaten me?! Who do you think you are?"
"I'm the Doctor."
The man flinches visibly.
"Oh! Not so bold now, are you? I'm the one that even Daleks fear – the Oncoming Storm, they call me. Do you really want to challenge that?"
I watch him with a look of mingled admiration and fear on my face, leaning back a little. I may like him, but this is slightly frightening.
The man hesitates. "You have no weapons," he says, "no plans. You don't scare me."
"No? Then you're more daft than I thought," the Doctor retorts.
The man's skin ripples like water, and he suddenly takes his true form – a slimy, ten-foot-tall monster with many tiny legs like a centipede. It snarls at us and I step a little closer to the Doctor instinctively, though I'm more fascinated by it than anything. "What is he?" I ask, my voice filled with curiosity.
"Jrindyl," he says shortly, grabbing my hand and moving toward the door slowly. "Very fast, very deadly." Then he adds to the creature, "No offense."
I take a step back as he does, trying not to trip over anything – like the woman's body. That would be bad.
It lurches at us suddenly, and the Doctor opens the door behind us and pulls me through after him. Then he quickly slams the door shut, sonicking it locked.
I cling to him, taking a deep breath. "What's a Dalek?" is the first thing I say.
"It's –" he begins, thinking, then finally decides on, "it's something you don't want to meet." He hurries me out of the room. That lock most likely isn't going to last long.
"What do we do now?"
"We do this!" he says, sonicking the emergency evacuation alarm. "OUT! EVERYONE OUT!" he yells over the edge of the balcony as the sirens begin to scream.
People start running around in a panic, all talking at once and making for the exits. I grab the Doctor's arm, standing on my tiptoes to speak in his ear over the noise.
"So, I'm guessing we have to take care of the Jrindyl, find the TARDIS, and free the energy creature," I say. "Am I missing anything?"
"Hmm..." He tilts his head. "We-ll, find Mr. Fogg."
"Oh, yes, forgot about that," I say. "Well, no time to lose – let's get started."
"Right," he says, nodding. "See if you can find a control console." He sonics the alarm again, since everyone's gone, and the noise stops. Then he looks closely at his screwdriver while I glance around the room.
I spot a control panel by the wall. "There's one," I say.
"Ah. Brilliant!" He steps over to it, activating the sonic screwdriver and bringing up the holographic records. I lean slightly forward, studying his face as he works.
"You're thinking about Terra, aren't you?" The words just slip out – I didn't even mean to speak.
"Yeah," he says quietly, his voice low.
I bite my lip. "I – I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."
"No, it's fine. You're fine," he says.
I shake my head, knowing he didn't mean that how I wish he meant it. "I can't replace her, or anyone you've lost," I say.
The Doctor turns to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Kya, look at me," he says firmly.
I blink, looking into his brown eyes. A lump rises in my throat and suddenly I'm holding back tears.
What's wrong with me?
"You are not replacing anybody. You're my friend now, Kya, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Okay?" He looks at me for a moment longer, then kisses my forehead gently. "Don't forget." Then he releases me and turns back to the controls.
I stare at him, eyes wide and a slight blush staining my cheeks. "How could I forget now?" I whisper to myself.
"There!" he cries joyously a moment later, jabbing a finger at the screen. "The holographic matrix had a backup system – a transport beam that affects the biological objects inside of the matrix if it disintegrates. It's brilliant! A perfect repetition matrix, drawing in anyone who would try to teleport to the station. They try to get to the rest of the station, shut down the program, they get beamed out like nothing happened. Reversal beam. Sends you right back to where you were. It's an unbreakable gate – unless you happen to be very clever, and I'm more than clever, I'm brilliant!" He grins at me.
I start to grin back. "So, what does this mean? Does it mean we can get the TARDIS back? Because, with this reversal beam..." I trail off.
"Reverse the reversal beam!" he exclaims, laughing. "Kya, you're a genius!"
I smile broadly, flinging my arms around him and hugging him for a second before stepping back. "You can do that, right?"
The Doctor feigns offense. "Of course I can! What do you take me for?" He quickly gets to work.
"Anything I can do to help?" I ask, leaning over his shoulder.
"Er..." he begins. "Here, hold this down." He guides my hand to the button, then pulls out his sonic screwdriver.
"You want me to hold it down, right now?" I ask.
"Yes, and keep holding it," he replies, pointing his sonic at the console and activating it.
I press down on the button. It's surprisingly heavy, so I have to hold it down with both hands.
The satisfying sound of the TARDIS comes from the holographic room. The Doctor breathes a sigh of relief, tucking his sonic back into his pocket.
"Can I let go of this button now?"
"Oh, yes," he tells me. "Back to the TARDIS!"
"Back to the TARDIS," I echo, grabbing his hand.
He smiles at me, squeezing my hand and heading back into the room. He gives another sigh when he sees the old blue box. "Hello, old girl," he says, dropping my hand to open the door. It swings open and we step inside. He leaps up the stairs to the controls. I follow him, almost stepping on my discarded glasses but moving around them before I can do so.
A tiny strand of golden light greets him as he puts his hand to the controls, and he stiffens. "I told you I'd never leave you behind," he whispers.
I step back again, my foot landing on my already-broken glasses. They crack softly beneath my shoe. "What was that?" I say softly, scared and terribly sad for reasons I can't explain.
"What was what?" he says in a daze, turning.
"Th-that!" I cry. "That... golden light."
"Oh," he says but doesn't tell me. He blinks.
"What was it?!" I demand, trembling and starting to cry. I don't even know why I'm crying. I cover my face with my hands, sinking to my knees.
He comes over to me noiselessly and helps me to my feet. Then he leads me over to the leather seat, sitting down beside me, his arm still encircling my shoulders.
I sniffle, still shaking, and drop my hands into my lap. "I'm sorry," I whisper. "I – don't know why I'm –" I break off, another sob escaping, and rest my head on his shoulder.
"It's okay, it's okay," he murmurs soothingly, rubbing my arm.
"That light," I say when I can speak, "did... did it have s-something to do with Terra?"
"Yes," he says.
I sniffle again. "Why was she so special?" I ask softly, pulling myself just a little closer to him. My head is still on his shoulder, but I don't want to move it.
"She was a Time Lord," he says, much to my surprise. "She was called Star – I, well, I knew her... back on Gallifrey, before – well, just before. She was..." He smiles sadly.
I tilt my head up to look at him. "And she died, with you, right? You were there?"
The Doctor nods, tears coming to his eyes. "She was unstable. She used up all of her regeneration energy to stay with me as long as possible. I didn't know. I tried to make her leave... but then it was too late." He hangs his head down, taking a ragged breath.
I link my trembling fingers with his, leaning my head on his shoulder and offering silent support while my mind tried to take in this information. Terra – my best friend – was a Time Lord like the Doctor?
The Doctor
"They all leave, my companions," I say quietly. "Because they should... or they find someone else. And some of them..." I blink, thinking of Donna. Oh, the Doctor Donna! "...some of them forget me. I suppose, in the end, they all break my hearts."
"I'm never, ever going to leave, not unless I die," Kya tells me, gently squeezing my hand.
I squeeze hers back and plant a kiss on the top of her head, even though I know that can't be true. "Thank you, Kya," I say, then with a sharp breath I let go of her and stand up.
"We should probably... finish up here," she says. "You know, do all that stuff I mentioned before."
A prickle of guilt runs through me as I look at her, though I don't know why. I turn away abruptly. "Yes. Right." I start up the TARDIS.
I walk over to the TARDIS. We're back in the Crystal Palace of Dor, and Kya's leaning against the TARDIS waiting for me. I'm holding something in my cupped hands and wearing a wide grin.
"What is it?" she asks, tilting her head and fighting back a smile.
"Crystal sphere of the Palace of Dor," I say, bringing it over to show her. "See, it captures light in the heart." It sends little fragments of dancing light across her face as I hold it up. "They gave it to us, for saving the Palace. Restoration begins next rotation, they say, and it'll be open for the summer holidays!"
She grins, looking up at it. "It's beautiful!" she says. Then she turns to look at me, adding with a giggle, "Hey, we should come see it when they finish!"
"We'll see," I reply with a smile, handing her the crystal so I can open the TARDIS. "Don't break it," I warn her. "It's the only one there is."
"I won't," she says, carrying it carefully into the TARDIS. She almost steps on her shattered glasses and stops, bending to pick up the broken frames.
I frown at them. "So are you going to tell me what the glasses are all about?" I ask, taking the crystal and putting it in a secure place on the console.
"Oh! Right, yes," she says, carefully folding them. "I don't need them – well, at least not anymore."
I step over to her. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Kya frowns, looking at her broken glasses. "I don't know," she says. "I guess I thought I needed them, but I really don't."
"Let me see," I say, leaning close to her. I pull a small light out of my pocket.
She blinks. "What are you – oh, right, you're a doctor."
"Oh, yes!" I say with a grin. "Now tilt your head back..." I gently lift up her chin, then examine her eyes. They're perfectly fine – 20/20. So why...?
"So?" she asks after a moment, her voice trembling slightly.
I drop my hands, putting the light away. "You're fine, your eyes are perfectly fine," I say. I don't move away just yet, though, studying her face. "Then why did you think you needed glasses?" I muse, more to myself than to her.
"I don't know. Is it important?"
I lean in closer so that our eyes are nearly touching, my eyes narrowed. What is it about her that's so... misplaced?
Quite suddenly I back away from her, turning and going up to the TARDIS controls. "Don't worry about I," I say dismissively.
DOO WEE OOOOOOOOO!
I hope you guys liked this episode! I'm so sorry it took such a long time. What do you guys think of Miss Kya Markham?
Remember, if you can figure out what the foreshadowing in this episode is, what it's foreshadowing for the future, and which character it's foreshadowing about, leave a review/send me a PM with your guess. (if I've already told you, DON'T GUESS.)
Until next time!
~Warrichan
