Cassandra continued to wail in horror, despite Aneres' sweet words. "Look at me. From class to brass." Aneres rolled her eyes and turned Cassandra ever so slightly to show the profile of Rose's body. "Ooh, curves. Oh, baby, it's like living inside a bouncy castle!" Another cackle escaped from Aneres, Cassandra's face broke into a sick grin and Chip cried out, "The mistress is beautiful!"
"Absolutement!" Aneres agreed, until her attention was brought to the equipment. "Oh, but look…" Cassandra whispered sadly, staring at the ruined framing and wiring that had been keeping her gloriously thin self alive. "Oh, the brain lead expired. My old mistress is gone…" Chip murmured, his voice cracking. "But safe and sound in here." Aneres assured him, patting Rose/Cassandra's blonde hair. "But what of the Rose child's mind?" Chip questioned, concerned for their plan.
"Oh, tucked away. I can just about access the surface memory." Cassandra bushed off his concerns, until a particular memory from the surface of Rose's mind made its way up. "She's. Gosh, she's with the Doctor. That man. He's the Doctor. The same Doctor with a new face. That hypocrite!" Aneres rolled her eyes at Cassandra and said cooly, "That's normal for our species Cassandra. He regenerated, and now he looks quite nice if I do say so myself…" She drifted off, accessing Cassandra's thoughts to see the New Doctor. Definitely one of her favorites, especially the new hair, Aneres mused silently with a smirk. Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "What did you mean when you told us that you knew the Doctor?" She asked, joining Chip in concern for their plan. Aneres' eyes narrowed to cold emeralds at Chip and Cassandra. "That is none of your concern. I promised you would be able to leave this place in a new body, and you shall." She spat, her brows furrowed and eyes glinting.
"Hmm" was Cassandra's eloquent response as an embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks, thankfully the conversation was interrupted by Rose's mobile beginning to ring. "Oh, it seems to be ringing. Is it meant to ring?" Cassandra asked Aneres and Chip, staring at Rose's backside in alarm. Chip chuckled and explained, "A primitive communications device mistress." Cassandra's eyes widened as she plucked the mobile from the pocket and opened it slowly. The Doctor's voice rung out from the speaker and Aneres' spine straightened in response. "Rose, where are you?" He demanded, concern lacing his voice. Aneres shivered in pleasure, her heightened senses picking up the deep and sensual timbre of his voice. "How does she speak?" Cassandra demanded, anxiously glancing at her accomplices and raising an eyebrow at Aneres.
"Old Earth Cockney." Chip whispered, careful to avoid being heard over the communicator. Cassandra took a breath and slowly replied, "Er, wotcha…" She slowly trailed off, fear growing in her eyes. Aneres fixed her with a look, praying that this wouldn't ruin everything they had worked for since they had found each other.
TEotOS
"Where've you been? How long does it take to get to Ward 26?" The Doctor asked, confused as to where his companion had disappeared to. Rose responded, her voice sounding different cause of the mobile, "I'm on my way, governor." He rolled his eyes at the lingo, a gentle chuckle escaping his lips at his companion's antics.
TEotOS
Cassandra continued to respond, hoping to assuage the alien's worry for Rose, "I shall proceed up the apples and pears!" Aneres giggled and hid her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with repressed laughter. Cassandra blushed and hid a smile as they continued to impersonate Rose. The Doctor replied, his voice brimming with excitement, "You'll never guess. I'm with the Face of Boe." Cassandra froze, completely forgetting who that was. Aneres paled and gestured for her to keep going. "Remember him?" The Doctor asked, thinking back to their first trip together. "Of course I do…" Cassandra drawled nervously, gesturing for Aneres to help her, who merely gaped at Cassandra like a fish, "That big old… Boat race…" She trailed off, hoping the Doctor would ignore it. "I'd better go, see you in a minute." The Doctor cut her off before hanging up the call.
"Dear God that was abysmal…" Aneres mumbled, still in shock that he seemed to believe it. Cassandra exhaled, the stress leaving her as she put the mobile away. "What do we do now?" She asked, turning to Aneres and Chip. "Well I can't very well accompany you to Ward 26. The matrons all know who I am, we wouldn't last five minutes," Aneres explained, "And Chip isn't employed by the hospital because of their plentitude of nurses so he'll stick out like a sore thumb." She finished, taking a seat in a small rolling chair. Cassandra sighed in frustration, "So I need to go alone?" Aneres nodded at Cassandra, who growled slightly. "If this goes sideways I'm gonna kill you." She spat jokingly before getting herself ready.
TEotOS
The Doctor stood before the Duke of Manhattan, gaping at the incredibly cheerful, completely cured man. He whirled around to gape at Matron Casp, a smug smile on her face. "Primitive species would accuse us of magic, but it's merely the tender application of science." She explained, gesturing at the healthy man. "How on Earth did you cure him?" The Doctor sputtered, his mouth opening and closing in shock. "How on New Earth, you might say." Casp joked gently, smiling at the Doctor, who only had eyes for the mysterious solutions hooked onto the Duke's IV. "What's in that solution?" He asked, pinning the Matron with a look. "A simple remedy," Casp deflected, slowly pulling away from the Doctor and towards the exit. "Then tell me what it is," The Doctor demanded, thoroughly alarmed by the level of secrecy this hospital maintained.
"I'm sorry. Patient confidentiality. I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp" She explained, holding out her hand for the Doctor to shake. "I'm the Doctor," He replied, shaking her hand. "I think you'll find that we're the doctors here," Casp sneered defensively before Sister Jatt approached, looking quite afraid. "Matron Casp, you're needed in Intensive Care," Jatt whispered, her eyes wide and her body trembling slightly. "If you would excuse me," Casp said respectfully before drifting off with Sister Jatt towards the back of the Ward.
"It's happened again. One of the patients is conscious." Jatt whispered, her voice shaking as she followed the Matron. "Oh, we can't have that," Casp murmured, "Head on down to Intensive Care, I'll meet you there after I feed Patient Zero." Jatt paled at the mention of Patient Zero before speeding off, while Casp made her way into a lift and sent it down to the basement.
TEotOS
Aneres and Chip grabbed some cosmetics from a nearby table while Cassandra fiddled with her hair. "This Doctor man is dangerous," Chip warned, worried for his beloved mistress. Aneres chuckled and explained, "Dangerous and clever. We're going to need a mind like his, which is why you have me." Cassandra frowned at the mirror, adjusting her neckline, "The Sisterhood is up to something." She said, turning to face Chip while taking a lipstick from Aneres. "Remember that Old Earth saying, never trust a Nun? Never trust a Nurse. And never trust a cat." Cassandra continued, grinning at her own joke. "Perfume?" She asked, holding her hand out for the small vial in Chip's hand and placing it between Rose's ample breasts. "Now remember, you only knock him out with one spray and then you just leave him alone. Don't try to move him, it'll make him wake up faster cause you'll make his body more active." Aneres murmured, pushing a strand of hair out of Cassandra's face absentmindedly, until a crash resounded from another room in the basement. "Bollocks," Aneres spat, pulling on a surgical mask to cover her mouth and nose before speeding out of the room. "Hold on, where are you going?!" Cassandra shouted after her, with Chip merely gazing at the door in shock.
Aneres silently strode down the hallways, keeping her breathing as soft as possible as she made her way back to her previous living quarters. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Matron Casp exiting the room, fury present in every line of her feline features. Aneres slowly reached down and picked up a heavy metal pipe while ducking around a corner. "Steel, definitely heavier than five pounds, going to have to swing pretty hard…" She whispered to herself before steeling her nerves to come back around the corner and swing the rod into Casp's skull, a smirk coming to her lips at the crack the resounded from the blow. The Matron's rolled back into her head as she collapsed, her clean, white habit becoming filthy with grime as she lay on the floor. "That's for starving, poisoning and brutalizing me," Aneres spat, swinging out her foot to kick the Matron in the ribs. "And that's for everyone else," She muttered before turning on her heel and heading back towards Cassandra and Chip.
Cassandra and Chip turned back to the door of the room as Aneres sauntered back in, a self satisfied smirk on her face. "Well Matron Casp won't be an issue any longer," She claimed, her eyes alight with pleasure. Chip gaped and murmured, "You killed her?" Aneres chuckled, "No, merely rendered her unconscious with a metal pipe. I do want her to stand trial for what she did to me, doesn't mean I can't get some payback while I'm at it." Cassandra cackled at Aneres' antics, pulling her into an embrace. "See this is why we get along. We don't let anything stop us." Aneres smiled at Cassandra's words before ushering them out. "Go find the Doctor and get him to Intensive Care, I'll try to find you later." Chip and Cassandra nodded and hurried away, leaving an excited Aneres to her own devices.
TEotOS
Cassandra got into the lift, taking deep breaths as it went up to Ward 26. Chip turned away from the lift and made his way over to Intensive Care, using the familiar ventilation system to keep himself hidden. Upon entering the Ward, Cassandra found herself being pulled around the room by the Doctor. "There you are. Come and look at this patient. Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. Two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced. And this one. Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine. I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this. Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?" He rambled, yanking the woman back and forth between patients without taking a moment to breath between sentences. "I can't Adam and Eve it," Cassandra said, pulling her arm from the Doctor and staring around the room until she spotted a terminal, and completely missing the Doctor's bewilderment. "What's, what's. what's with the voice?" He asked, previously thinking the mobile had just messed with her voice. "Oh, I don't know. Just larking about. New Earth, new me." Cassandra murmured, a sultry tone about to make it's way to the surface until Aneres interrupted her. "Flirt with him and I will put you in the most ugly body I can find," The lady threatened Cassandra mentally, and completely serious.
"Well, I can talk. New New Doctor," The Doctor commented, sending her a smile. "Mmm, aren't you just," Cassandra replied, smiling back at him, "Terminal's this way, by the way." She added, gesturing to a screen opposite them in the waiting room. "Yep, you still got it!" The Doctor smiled, proud of his companion's observation as they approached the terminal.
"Nope, nothing odd. Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry. No sign of a shop. They should have a shop." The Doctor frowned while rambling ever so slightly. Cassandra pouted at the screen, her eyes flicking over it impatiently, "No, it's missing something else. When I was downstairs, those Nurse Cat Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?" She muttered, tapping the screen occasionally. "You're right. Well done," The Doctor praised her, his eyes still fixed on the screen. "Why would they hide a whole department? It's got to be there somewhere," Cassandra continued, brushing off the praise, "Search the sub-frame." She ordered, missing the Doctor's shocked look. "What if the sub-frame's locked?" He asked, doubt starting to creep into his eyes. "Try the installation protocol," She drawled, completely bored by the situation, which only served to further alarm the Doctor. "He's on to you, Rose wouldn't know to do that. Take it down a notch" Aneres explained, whispering across Rose and Cassandra's mind. "Yeah. Of course. Sorry. Hold on." The Doctor mumbled, turning the Sonic screwdriver on to scan the terminal, only to reveal another room behind a sliding wall. "Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive," He murmured, catching the excited gleam in "Rose's" eyes as they made their way inside, completely missing the Novice that was trailing behind them.
TEotOS
Aneres stood from her place in the basement room and removed her presence from Cassandra's mind. "Time for me to make my way up there I suppose." She whispered, making her way down the hallways. As she moved through the grime she kept her eyes closed and occasionally brushed her mental tendrils against the Doctor's shields. "It's been so long." She murmured to herself, taking a step to avoid walking on Matron Casp's body. Her head turned to stare at the nurse. "If only you had listened to me when I first arrived here," Aneres sighed, "You wouldn't have to watch everything you love die." Turning away once more, she made her way to a hole in the ventilation system, following the path that Chip had marked with some tape. "Thank God for smart clones." Aneres muttered, hoisting herself into the ventilation duct.
TEotOS
Cassandra lead the Doctor down a long flight of stairs that opened up to a room who's walls were covered from floor to ceiling in green capsules. She and the Doctor approached one and opened it to reveal an incredibly ill man. *That's disgusting. What's wrong with him?" Cassandra asked, horrified at the sight of the poor thing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," The Doctor murmured, forcing himself to close the door and open the capsule next to the first one. "What disease is that?" Cassandra asked, fear mounting in her body. Aneres had told her what the Sisterhood had been doing but nothing could have prepared her for this. "All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything." The Doctor whispered, pain and misery leaking into his voice. "What about us? Are we safe?" Cassandra asked, immediately regretting the selfish request upon another look at the woman. "The air's sterile. Just don't touch them." The Doctor explained, slowly closing the capsule once again.
*How many patients are there?" Cassandra marveled staring over a railing at the hundreds if not thousands of capsules before them. "They're not patients." The Doctor muttered, anger starting to poison his voice. "But they're sick," Cassandra murmured, turning to look up at the Doctor. "They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm." The Doctor ranted, fury coating his words, and a deep darkness entering his eyes.
"Why don't they just die?" Cassandra demanded, horrified by their continued suffering. "Plague carriers. The last to go." The Doctor murmured, his nearly black with rage now. "It's for the greater cause." A gentle voice explained as a novice entered the room, looking deeply saddened by their surroundings. "Novice Hame, When you took your vows, did you agree to this?" The Doctor demanded, moving towards her, each step cold and calculated. "The Sisterhood has sworn to help." Hame explained, tears entering her eyes while the Doctor lost control. "What, by killing?!" He shouted, causing Hame to flinch away. Before Hame could respond, another voice spoke. "Killing, torture, beatings, the list goes on." The Doctor looked past Hame to see a woman standing behind her in a pair of scrubs and a surgical mask. "Tell me Novice Hame," Cassandra piped up, "Have you heard of the Sisterhood's beloved Patient Zero?" She asked, smirking at the woman behind Hame, who paled as she turned to stare at the woman. "No…" The novice mumbled, taking a step backwards as the woman slowly removed her scrub cap and mask.
"For over ten years your Sisterhood has starved, poisoned and beaten me in hopes of obtaining my longevity." She whispered, while the Doctor gaped in shock at the woman. "Well, that time is over." She finished before lunging at Novice Hame. The Doctor rushed forward and tackled the woman to the floor. "Aneres, stop! Aneres I'm here!" He shouted at the struggling woman beneath him. At the sound of her name from his lips, Aneres suddenly froze, and the Doctor took the opportunity to enter her mind. "Aneres…" He whispered, watching as her emerald green eyes filled with tears. "Theta…" she whispered back, the tears sliding down her cheeks. The Doctor slowly rose into a sitting position, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He gasped out, tears welling in his own eyes. "I thought you had died," he continued, clutching to Aneres' slim figure. "Not quite yet," Aneres murmured, clutching to him, until she stiffened.
Hame let out a yowl and lunged, her claws ripping across Aneres' back as she rolled the Doctor over to protect him. A shout of pain erupted from the woman, forcing the Doctor back to reality. Cassandra rushed forward, spraying perfume in the Novice's face and pushing her towards the stairs, just as Sister Jatt entered the room. The Doctor and Aneres stood, sending grateful glances to Cassandra as the Doctor inspected the small scratches Aneres had received.
"Mankind needed us," Jatt whispered, stepping over Hame's body while gazing at the cubicles. "They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh." Jatt murmured, avoiding Aneres with all she could. "These people are alive, and she is so much more than flesh!" The Doctor shouted, gesturing to Aneres as Cassandra sneered at Jatt.
"But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us." Jatt continued, trying to convince herself that they had been in the right. "If they live because of this, then life is worthless." The Doctor murmured coldly, glaring at the nun. "But who are you to decide that?" Jatt asked, raising an eyebrow at the man and women. "He's the Doctor, and I am the Grief. And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with us." Aneres spat, her eyes glowing with a fiery emerald rage.
"Just to confirm. None of the humans in the city actually know about this?" Cassandra asked, looking to Aneres for confirmation, who gave a slight nod. "Hold on. I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Rose?" The Doctor asked, cutting off Jatt's explanation and causing Aneres to stiffen. "I don't know what you mean." The nun stammered, genuinely confused as the Doctor continued, "And I'm being very, very calm. You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed." He demanded, staring down the nun while Aneres said, "They haven't done anything to her Doctor," He looked down to meet her gaze, picking up on the emphasis of they.
"I'm perfectly fine," Cassandra said, attempting to distract the Doctor as he pulled away from Aneres. "These people are dying, and Rose would care," The Doctor said, angry and confused as he stared down at Aneres. "Oh, all right, clever clogs. Smarty pants. Lady-killer." Cassandra moved forward, her voice turning sensual, much to Aneres' simultaneous amusement and displeasure. "What's happened to you?" The Doctor demanded, looking between the two women. "We knew something was going on in this hospital, but we needed this body and your mind to find it out." Cassandra explained, "Especially since she was too weak to use at the time," She continued, gesturing to Aneres. "Who are you?" He asked, glaring at Cassandra. "The last human," She whispered, immediately giving away her identity. "Cassandra?" he exclaimed, utterly confused.
"Wake up and smell the perfume," Cassandra smiled before spritzing him with the perfume. "You've hurt him. I don't understand. I'll have to fetch Matron." Jatt stammered, her eyes flicking between Cassandra and Aneres. "You do that, because I want to see her. Now, run along. Sound the alarm!" Cassandra shouted before ripping out some cables and setting off a loud alarm. Aneres tucked her arms under the Doctor's and starting pulling him to the ventilation duct where Chip had emerged. "Took you long enough!" Aneres shouted with a smile, passing the Doctor for Chip to pull into the vents. "Stay here with Cassandra, if you end up enacting Plan B, come back to the basement room and I'll help. For now I'm going to head there so this one is out of the line of fire." Aneres explained, going back into the vents. Cassandra gaped at Aneres in shock and terror, "Don't leave me!" She screamed. "Oh come on you're clever enough without me and I'll be in your head anyways!" Aneres replied, tugging the Doctor through the vents while Chip and Cassandra prepared themselves.
TEotOS
"Finally!" Aneres shouted as she pushed the Doctor into their hideaway, the wheelchair squeaking all the while. The Doctor suddenly awoke, massaging his ears and temples, "Dear God you still shout that loudly?" He whined, turning to look at her. Aneres raised one of her eyebrows, "How would you feel after dragging another Time Lord through ventilation ducts for a while and then finally being able to rest?" She snarked, a playful smile on her face while the Doctor contemplated her words. "Well I'd be very confused as to why you're helping Cassandra and letting my companion be possessed." He said, his own eyebrow raising to stare at her. "If you're not okay with taking revenge and extraordinary measures to escape then you're not going to like the rest of this explanation," Aneres said, plopping down on a chair to face the Doctor.
"It doesn't matter if I like it Annie, you've been trapped here for so long, and I didn't…" The Doctor choked slightly, a lump growing in his throat. Aneres moved to kneel in front of the Doctor, her hands cupping his cheeks. "It is not your fault, I jumped, I ran away." The Doctor shut his eyes, pain filling his body at the reminder. "You stayed strong, you fought for our people until the very end," Aneres continued, moving to rest her forehead against his. The Doctor reached up, holding Aneres' hand tightly. "When we get to the TARDIS, after this whole mess is over, tell me everything." He whispered, staring into her eyes. Aneres sighed and nodded before pressing a kiss to his forehead and rising back to her feet.
"I'm going to fill him in, be ready for him to be furious." Aneres whispered into Cassandra's mind, only to hear "We had to activate plan B, coming your way!" shrieked across the connection. Aneres cut the connection and looked back to the Doctor. "Cassandra had to go with our backup plan, so she'll be here in a bit for us to go." She explained, before taking a seat. "Now I need to explain how we got to this point. Cassandra came here before I did, and hid in this hospital after her encounter with your ninth self. When I found myself here, I was alone, with no one to talk to, and I would've gone insane had I not found Cassandra's mental signal. She kept me company, and helped release me in exchange for a way for her to live on past her skin self." Aneres finished, staring at the Doctor.
"So she's using Rose to achieve that goal?" The Doctor asked, his protective instincts rising up. Aneres shook her head, "That was out of convenience because of her closeness to you. I have a plan for her permanent body, and it is most certainly not your companion's body." She assured the Doctor, about to elaborate when the doors slammed open to reveal Cassandra being chased by the infected. The blonde quickly shut and bolted the doors, whirling around to see a displeased Doctor and tired Aneres.
"We're trapped! What am I going to do?" Cassandra screeched, running over to Aneres and grabbing on for dear life. "Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body. That psychograft is banned on every civilised planet. You're compressing Rose to death!" The Doctor shouted, ignoring the horrified shout from Aneres. "But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead." Cassandra spat, her eyes alight with fury. "Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out. Give her back to me." The Doctor retorted, holding up his screwdriver. Aneres growled slightly and said, "Alright then, come on in Cassandra" while opening her arms. The Doctor paled in terror, watching Aneres beckon Cassandra into her, despite the latter's protests. "Fine, stay in Rose! Just… don't go into Aneres." He shouted, moving between the two women. Cassandra let out a relieved sigh, wincing as Rose starting screaming at her mentally.
"You cow let me go!" Rose screamed, staring through Cassandra's eyes at the Doctor and that other woman. "I need to go back to him! He's mine, Cassandra let me out!" She continued, sobbing as the Doctor moved to wrap his arms around that other woman. "Doctor please, don't leave me here! Bring me back, please!" She sniffled, her breathing picking up as Cassandra forced her away, locking her away from the Doctor.
Hellloooo everyone! I know I said updates would only happen every other week, but I didn't know how the next two weeks were going to play out so I thought I'd publish this tonight. If you could leave a review so I can improve, I'd appreciate it! Other than that feel free to PM me with questions or suggestions.