Chapter 2
Dean groaned as he woke, or he tried to. It was definitely an odd sensation, groaning without a body. He shifted upright with a thought and stared at the four figures collapsed on the dirt foundation. Huh. So this was what an out-of-body experience was like. He winced and peered more closely at himself. Was it just him, or was he starting to get a bit chubby? Maybe he should cut back on the diner food. There was a shift to his right, and he looked over to see a glowing blue presence hovering over Sammy's body.
Sam? That you?
Dean? What's going on?
No idea.
You seem to have gotten the symbiote's attention quite effectively. Tell me, are you always this thick, or is today special? Dean looked over at the couple by the police box and had to wince away from the sight. The massive stormy grey presence over the Doctor's body was entangled with a shimmering golden glow above Rose's that was almost too bright to stand. Dean did a double-take at her fallen form. Well. Somebody was going commando today. Made sense, really, considering what they'd been up to earlier.
Oi! You do realize I can hear you, you perv? Keep your mind off my bits.
There was a flicker around the edges of the shelves, and Sam and Dean drew closer together. Behind them, the Doctor and Rose were braided so tightly together they nearly looked like they'd melted into one. Another presence appeared in front of them, and Dean flinched. There was a faint suggestion of a waif-like girl's form, but the shade pulsed with darkness like an oozing wound. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't human. The shade flinched back momentarily at that before diving forward, throbbing with anger and pain.
No! Sam screamed, just as the Doctor cried out, Wait!
The symbiote stilled, moments from slicing through Dean with blade-sharp fingers of solid shadow. Its attention slid from Dean's forest green cloud to the woven minds of the Doctor and Rose. It dissipated suddenly and reappeared in front of them, one long, shifting hand reaching out to touch them.
Dean stilled. They're bonded. They're not human. He felt an amused tickle from the Doctor.
Just got that, did you? And Rose is human. Well, was. Right, never mind.
You a puss-hickey thing too, then? There was a sharp stab of contempt from that storm cloud mind, like the sudden crack of lightening.
Of course not. You humans—soon as you find out about one thing that goes beyond your experience, all of a sudden you think everything's that thing. I suppose I should be grateful you haven't asked if I'm a Martian yet.
Doctor? You've got somethin' else to focus on, remember? Rose drifted closer to the Doctor, away from the keening symbiote.
Right. Time to be impressive, then.
Dean snorted (somehow). Did you really just say that?
I could do with a bit of hush, please? Dean subsided, and the Doctor's presence grew to envelope the whole basement—maybe even the whole house. The symbiote keened, somehow diminishing even as it solidified and collapsed onto the ground. The storm lessened around the symbiote, leaving a patch of clear for her to stand.
And it was a her. Where before there had been only darkness and anger, now a young woman stood, pale and almost painfully thin. Dean blinked and squinted as he looked at her. Sometimes she was the perfect image of Lucy Cartwright, eternally 17. If he kept looking, thought, her skin turned silvery-grey and her eyes lit with an eerie blue glow. Moments later she was a shriveled old woman, her lacy frock browned and torn with age.
The Doctor's mental voice was smugly amused. Don't worry about it. It's rather beyond human comprehension. Rose flared an angry golden Oi! at that and he subsided, the thick grey cloud surrounding them dissipating and reforming above his still form. Oh, come on, Rose. You can't be mad about that—you're not even human anymore.
She sniffed. It's the principle of the thing.
Sam's deep blue drifted forwards, gliding closer to the flickering shade. Lucy? Is that you?
She flinched away from him, shifting in a blink to curl up beside the shelves.
Rose flickered forward, her brilliant glow gilding the shadowy basement. Sweetheart, it's all right—we just want to help.
If Dean could have snorted, he would have. With a start he realized that he was enfolded by the Doctor's heavy cloud of grey. What's this about?
If you can't keep your thoughts to yourself, I'll have to do it for you. She can hear everything you're thinking. Honestly, what is it about 'telepath' that you don't understand?
Dean recoiled, stung. Oh, and of course this isn't hard for you at all.
It's not. There was a surety in the Doctor's response that shook Dean, a certainty that seemed as ancient and unwavering as stone. Rose and I, we're telepathic—though she's a bit newer to this than I am. We've got natural barriers. The storm cloud thinned and Dean could see Sam and Rose hovering by the shade, patience and empathy coming from them in waves. Your brother seems to have some sort of natural telepathy as well. You, though—I've got to say, you have the least mental filter of any human I've ever encountered. He paused. Wellll, other than Captain Jack, but most of the time he wanted me to see what he was thinking.
Dean furled himself tightly, staying well away from the grey that surrounded him. You make it a habit of peeking into people's heads, then?
Oh goodness, no. I'd never be so rude. A pulse of amusement came from Rose, and the Doctor paused. I wouldn't! He focused on Dean again. Some people project, is all. You, for example, have been having very rude thoughts about my wife—well, bond-mate—ever since you first saw her. Maybe work on stopping that, hmmm?
There was a sudden jolt from the corner and the Doctor and Dean spun to find Rose covering Sam, shielding him from the shrieking shade. The symbiote had regressed again—Lucy Cartwright was gone, leaving only a malevolent whirlwind of rage and misery. She dove at the two of them, and the Doctor flickered forward to block her from Rose. Dean was faster, though—he was between the shade and Sam before the thought had even fully formed.
The last thing he felt was the Doctor's sudden fear and rage as the symbiote tore through him.
