Hey y'all! Me again :) thankyouthankyouthankyou my dearies for reviewing, favorite-ing, and/or following my story! It's so inspiring to know that people actually read (and like!) my fic
To answer one reviewer's question: River Song DOES exist in this FF, just not as a love interest for the Doctor. I highly doubt she'll even be mentioned in the FF. So ya!
Cyber-cookies to whoever finds the Alice in Wonderland quote! it's pretty obvious...
Here we have: the meeting!
Chapter 2:
When Daleks Laugh: in which the Doctor snaps
0o0o0oDWo0o0o0
The Doctor quickly ran to the console, handing the psychic paper to Amy.
He started pressing buttons, flipping switches, and typing something in the little black typewriter.
"Doctor..." Amy questioned, staring at the rapidly fading message. "What does that mean?"
Rory nodded."Yeah! If someone needs help that means there in a lotta trouble, right?"
The Doctor sighed. "Loads of trouble, Ponds. So much trouble that they've almost given up..but if I can just get the signal through..
The TARDIS shuddered, before plunging into the Time Vortex.
Grinning proudly, the Doctor turned to the bewildered couple. "We're going to make a house call..."
VWORP VWORP VWORP VWORP
The impact of the TARDIS landing knocked them all off their feet, effectively knocking the wind out of the trio. After a few deep breaths, the doctor asked, "All right ponds?"
Still gasping like a beached fish, Rory gave him a thumbs-up. Nodding in reply, the Doctor bounced to his feet.
Taking a look at the screen, he frowned. "We're here, Ponds. But it's not going to be good..."
They looked at him blankly. Rory raised his eyebrows at Amy, and she shrugged; replying to his silent conversation. Shadowing the Doctor, they followed him to the door. He threw them open.
"EXTERMINATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
The Doctor sighed. "Here we go again..."
0o0o0oDWo0o0o0
The Doctor froze as the five Daleks moved forward. He checked the sonic screwdriver briefly, since it was tracking whom-ever was sending out the signal.
He grinned cockily, spreading his hands.
"Take me to your leader."
The Daleks clicked for a second, before making a harsh rasping, grating sound.
Amy raised an eyebrow, wincing slightly at the obnoxious noise. "Wot are they doing..?"
The doctor looked stunned. "Amelia Pond. We are witnessing something no one has ever witnessed before... Remember this as the day the Daleks laughed."
He frowned. "Daleks don't laugh. They just don't. It isn't in their programming, it just isn't. They physically should not be even able to laugh. 1,000 years, and they decide right now. Why? What's the reason? They are suddenly able to show joy- a totally un-dalek emotion. It's not possible. "
Amy blinked, rubbing her ears. "I tend to find we discover at least six impossible things before breakfast."
The Doctor nodded. "True. But whoever is sending out the signal is in the same direction. We find them, we discover why daleks suddenly start laughing. Win win all around."
Rory looked even more worried than usual. "And that's a win win? Daleks? Scale of one to ten?"
The Doctor was fascinated. "One to ten... I'd say...Eleven. I mean. Logically, our mystery-telepathic communicator would need plenty of negative help to cause him or her to send such a strong distress signal." He smirked mirthlessly. "When could you find better help with that then daleks? "
Nodding sarcastically, Rory pressed his mouth into a thin line. "Laughing daleks.
Right. Laughing...daleks. Happy daleks." He threw his hands up. "What next?"
Linking arms with the pair, (Rory on the left, Amy on the right) the Doctor grinned. "Let's go find our friend in distress. You know, daleks and distress makes total sense; daleks, distress, distressing daleks..."
Using her (free) right hand, Amy straightened his red bowtie. "Raggedy man..." she smiled "Distressing daleks await."
0o0o0oDWo0o0o0
The daleks seemed content to follow the Doctor's commands. When their laughing fit had ended, they drove off. The last dalek turned around, speaking in a commanding voice. "fol-LOW!"
They did.
It wasn't the room that made the Doctor snap. It wasn't all the daleks, standing (can daleks stand?) in a large semi-circle around the circular metal room. It wasn't even the simple fact that there were daleks alive in the first place.
It wasn't any of those things.
Amy's eyes were as wide as Rory's. "Oh my god.." she whispered. "I knew daleks were evil but this.."
It was the girl, hanging suspended from a chain in the center of the room.
Broken, bloody, and aching, she dangled limply from her hands, which were cuffed in some sort of metallic chain. Her red hair, so much like Amy's, was matted and stained with the blood that ran from cuts on her arms. She was naked, giving him the full extent of her injuries. Long ragged gashes scored her torso, legs, arms, and back. A single cut marred the right side of her face, forking like lightning, barely missing her eye. Her toes almost brushed the floor, only a few centimeters above the cold, stained metal. So much blood. So much pain.
Her eyelids fluttered slightly, revealing shocking violet eyes.
Violet met the Doctor's green, piercing him with the strength of her glare. Unlike the rest of her, her eyes seemed older, yet they had a vibrant rebellion to them.
From that one stare, the Doctor knew. Despite what the daleks did to her, for whatever reason, she hadn't given in. And he wouldn't allow them the time to break her.
She shuddered, eyes rolling up, head lolling. From blood loss or other factors, she was mercifully unconscious.
The Doctor dropped Amy's and Rory's arms, he was shaking so hard. He never thought, in his 1,000 years of life, he was capable of such anger.
He spoke softly, yet his voice contained barely restrained fury. "Why. Why the HELL did you monsters do this to her."
Hugging Rory for comfort, Amy felt a single tear roll down her cheek. "I'm very glad I'm not a dalek right now." she murmured. The Doctor was pissed. And for good reason
The daleks were silent. Glaring at them, the Doctor did his best to eg them into an answer. "Or should I say, what were the reasons you didn't have" he bared his teeth in a disgusted grimace, stalking up to the dalek closest to the girl. Leaning in close to the eyestalk, he vented his fury on it. Quiet fury, that seeps into cracks and destroys mountains. That was what happened when the Doctor snapped. The other daleks formed a protective group behind it. "You. Make. Me. Sick." he said, drawing out each word. "I thought I knew everything, but here's more: he
Daleks are cowards. Picking on smaller, weaker beings, too young to fight back."
The dalek clicked. "Doc-TOR! You know nothing of this. She is the last that is not the last. The female is older than she appears. The female is the ending and the beginning. She is the daleks longest kept secret!"
The Doctor blinked. "The daleks longest kept secret.." he mused "The final riddle is solved. The first and the last, hm? The end and beginning? I know one ending and beginning!" his voice rose as he took the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. Lifting the top of the dalek's armour, he sonic-ed it quickly. The dalek reversed, crashing into the other daleks. Something was beeping.
It was practically screaming, "Forwards! Forwards! FORWARDS!"
Amy rushed to the Doctor's side, where he was frantically sonic-ing the girl's cuffs. He glanced at Rory. Nodding to Amy, the Doctor shouted, "Get her out of here! For once, please, PLEASE just go back to the TARDIS! For once! Just this one time! Please!"
Rory nodded, taking hold of Amy's arm. She nodded; this was one time she couldn't argue. They fled, Amy kicking one dalek out of her way as she went
Once the Doctor got the girl's hands free, he gently (but swiftly) laid her down, stripped off his beloved tweed jacket, and wrapped her in it, ignoring the blood that was staining the coat. Delicately, he picked her up and ran to the TARDIS, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. Rory slammed the door just before the dalek exploded, taking all the others with it.
The Doctor strode quickly past the console, barking orders over his shoulder. "Amy, there are bandages down the hall, to the left, behind the blue door. Fetch them please! Rory, you're a nurse; follow me!" Rushing, the Doctor carried the girl into the medical bay. A large white bed was in the center of the room; pain medications, cupboards, a sink, and various medical instruments.
Laying her carefully, he removed a steel bowl and a rag from the cupboard. Fussing motherly, the Doctor muttered, "Where is Amy? I need those bandages..."
He handed the bowl and rag to Rory, instructing, "Fill this; water from the sink, white powder from that cupboard- top shelf. We need to clean her up!"
On cue, Amy walked in, just as the Doctor removed his jacket from the girl's limp form. It was stained, but he ignored it, focussing on his patient. Rory handed him the bowl, giving the Doctor the rag so he could dip it in the slightly cloudy water.
He looked down at the girl with worried eyes. "Amy, Rory," he said softly "You may want to help me... Six hands is better than two. Rags are in the cupboard." They obeyed, falling over slightly as the TARDIS shuddered.
Amy looked around nervously. "Doctor... what's going on?"
The Doctor looked up. "I set the TARDIS into auto-pilot. She's just drifting in space right now."
Amy nodded. "Oh. I wonder who she is.."
He was grim. "If she makes it, I hope she will tell us..."
He steeled himself, inspecting the girl and trying to find her worst injuries. The deepest was on her side; it started on her right shoulder, forked between her breasts, carving its path to her left hip.
She moaned softly as the Doctor gently cleaned the wound. He murmured a few soothing lines of Gallifreyian, hoping that it would calm her, despite the fact that she wouldn't understand the worlds (or even hear him, most likely). Surprisingly, she stilled, sinking back into total unconsciousness.
Amy glanced up at him questioningly from where she was rinsing the blood from the girl's left leg. The Doctor shrugged noncommittally.
Rory was fiddling with a alien-looking stethoscope. Fitting it to his ears, he pressed it to the left side of her chest.
Then he frowned.
The Doctor rinsed his rag. "Something wrong, Rory?"
Rory shook his head. "No... I think.. I think your stethoscope has an echo though.."
Amy's eyes widened. "No. Way... It's not possible!" She cocked her head. "I thought they were all dead!"
The Doctor snatched the stethoscope from Rory, who protested weakly. "I don't think..."
Holding up a finger, the Doctor closed his eyes, listening intently. Hesitantly, he moved the stethoscope to the right side of her chest. All the blood drained from his face.
"It's not possible..."
He listened again, apparently having a conversation with himself.
"No.. NO! Yes! It is!"
He smiled wanly. "She's got two hearts..."
And then he did something that he never had done before.
He fainted.