A/N: Here's chapter 3! Thanks for the reviews/favorites/follows and keep them coming!
Hope you enjoy this chapter of The Cracks In Time.
Chapter 3
All Knowing Power
I slowly begin to awake as someone continues to shake me. I don't know who it is, let alone what they're doing. All I know is that I would really like them to stop…
"Knock it off," I groan in protest, shifting to lay on my other side. I then feel something rumbling beneath me. It feels like an engine… I swiftly open my eyes and blink a few times, trying to get rid of the blurriness in my vision. As my vision starts to clear, I see a man leaning over me. He has blue eyes and is wearing a leather jacket. I would recognize that look from anywhere. It's the Doctor's ninth incarnation. I bounce to my feet and nearly topple over the Doctor from my dizziness. My vision is spinning and turns black around the edges from blood rush.
"Whoa, you alright?" He puts a hand on my shoulder.
I look up at him, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a rough landing, that's all."
He looks down at the vortex manipulator strapped to my wrist. "You use that to travel?"
"Yeah, it's a vortex manipulator. Ever tried one?"
He shakes his head, "No, I don't think I'd want to. I've heard of them though, the Time Agents using them," he grimaces. "Could damage reality."
I nod slightly and look around to find out where I'm at. I bite my lip, realizing I'm on Platform One. Oh God, I'm not going to have to go up against Cassandra, am I? I'm not scared, I just don't want to deal with her and all the bitchiness.
"What's your name, then?" The Doctor asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
I smile, "Eleanor Archer."
He smiles right back. "Well, Eleanor, I'm going to go mingle. Care to accompany me?" He holds out an arm for me to take.
I take his arm gladly, "Sure."
We walk over to stand by the other aliens as Cassandra announces, "And here, another rarity. According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers." Two blue munchkins walk in to the large room with a jukebox. "Play on!" Suddenly, the song 'Tainted Love' starts playing.
I notice Rose glancing around at all of the aliens, becoming overwhelmed. I quickly walk over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She snaps her head in my direction. "Hey, are you okay?" I ask, trying to mask my face in concern.
Rose nods, "Yeah, I'm fine, yeah," she tries to give me a reassuring smile. I narrow my eyes at her knowingly. Her smile falters, "Er, well, no - not exactly, no. Sorry, I just need to, um…" She takes a couple steps forward, about to walk away.
I have to warn her.
Before she can walk any further, I call after her quietly, "Rose!" She turns around to face me again. "Stay away from the aliens in the black robes," I tell her, face completely serious. She just stares at me for a moment, confused, but then nods again before walking away and disappearing around a corner.
Suddenly, I can hear someone singing. It's faint, too quiet for me to understand the words. But, no, wait. Something seems different. I spin on the spot, looking around, my long, straight hair twirling into my vision. No one else seems to be noticing the singing.
I swear, I really need to stop imagining things.
The singing gets louder, and I can finally make out the lyrics.
"My milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard. And they're like, it's better than yours. Damn right, it's better than yours." The voice chuckles in my head. "No worries, Princess. It's only me."
Huh?
"Turn around," the voice calls again.
I slowly turn. Then my eyes widen and a small gasp escapes my mouth. "Jack!" I squeal excitedly, switching on 'fangirl mode'.
He laughs again, "It's been a long time since I've heard that name. So, how's my Princess doing?"
I start talking really fast, my American-ness showing. "Oh, this is brilliant, very exciting! It's wonderful! I mean, just look at this place. Everyone gathered together, exchanging gifts. I do have questions though. Is this real or a hallucination? Have I been hit by a bus? Am I in a coma? Why did a dimensionally transcendental bag seemingly appear out of thin air, left for me? When I tried on the 'broken' vortex manipulator, why did it electrocute me and bring me here? And why won't the damn thing come off? It's like it's super glued to my wrist. Why am I even in this dimension? Am I going to drastically alter the timelines? Can I even get home?!" I gasp, out of breath from my slightly hysterical filled rant.
"Woah, Princess, slow down! Deep breaths." I breathe in deeply through my nose. "That's it, nice and easy." He pauses a few moments and waits for me to calm down. "Better?" he finally asks.
I nod, "Yeah, sorry for spazzing out on you."
Another deep chuckle, "You're fine, El, I understand. And you're right, it's time you've had some answers. But you must know, everything I tell you is very important. You need to listen carefully, and follow everything I tell you, because your life could depend on it. Is that clear?" He waits for my response.
I swallow nervously and nod, "Uh, y-yeah, crystal."
Even though I can't see it, I can hear a smile in his voice. "No need to be so nervous, Princess. Just follow the advice I give you, and everything will be fine. Now, to answer your questions from before, yes, this is real. No, you have not been hit by a bus, and you're not in a coma. The bag was left for you, all of the things inside are meant to help you, no matter what situation you find yourself in. There are some things I can't tell you, things that you currently will not understand, but that you will learn later on. The vortex manipulator is not malfunctioning. You're meant to be here, it's a fixed point in time and space, which is why it won't come off. You won't drastically change the timelines if you're careful. You must not interfere with major events. The consequences could be disastrous. And I'm sorry, Princess, I really am. Don't worry, though. You will adjust. Oh, our time is pretty much up. It's time for you to go now."
Panic takes over me. "Wait! What am I supposed to do?"
"Just go with the flow," he states, and I can picture him shrugging. "You can use your knowledge from the show, but don't tell the Doctor about it until you have his complete trust. You'll know when the time is right."
"Then what do I tell him? If he asks how I know everything, what do I say?"
"Tell anyone who asks, tell them it's your 'All Knowing Power'. Let them believe what they want, as long as it doesn't cause you any harm. You're one of the most important people in this universe, Eleanor. We can't have you getting hurt."
Most important… What?!
"But… why me?"
The Face of Boe - Jack - chuckles in my mind, "Why not? You'll find out eventually. You have to go now, the Doctor needs you. You'll find him near the observation room where you first arrived. I'll see you later, okay?"
I nod in a slight daze, still taking in all the information I've just been told. "Bye Jack," I whisper and turn to leave.
"Oh, and Princess?" he calls again.
I stop in my tracks and spin to face him again, "Yeah?"
I can hear the smile in his voice, "Run!"
That makes everything better. I grin and laugh, turning around and taking off.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
I race down a corridor and faintly hear Rose yelling. I follow her voice, zagging to my right, then my left, then right again, skidding to a stop when I reach the door her voice is coming from. Rose is banging her fists on the door. "Let me out!" she yells.
The Doctor is by my side a moment later. "Anybody in there?" he asks while sonicking the door panel, trying to get it open.
"Let me out!" Rose yells again.
The Doctor rolls his eyes, "Oh, well it would be you."
I yell through the door to her, "Rose! You need to get to the lowest ground possible."
"Uh, yeah, okay," she yells back shakily.
"Good! Now don't worry, we'll get you out of this alive. I promise," I try reassuring her.
"You don't know that!" the Doctor hisses at me quietly.
"Yes, I do, Spaceman. Now shut up and open the door. Quickly!" I make a 'pick-up-the-pace' movement with my hands, rushing him.
"Sun filter rising…"
The Doctor rushes to the door, "The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the doors. Stay there, don't move."
"Where am I gonna go?" Rose calls out.
Instead of responding, the Doctor takes off running. I roll my eyes. "Rose, the Doctor's gone, and I have to go too, but we will come back for you." I promise her.
"Don't leave me!" she panics, pounding on the door once.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. You'll be fine, trust me." And with that I take off running after the Doctor.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
I jog into the main room where a group is gathered, panting lightly as I catch the second part of what Jabe is saying. "...I'm afraid the steward is dead," she explains grimly. Everyone gasps.
Dammit! The steward, I forgot about him. I could have saved him!
The Moxx of Balhoon speaks up, "But who killed him?"
"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe. He invited us. Talk to the Face! Talk to the Face!" Cassandra blames.
God, I am so sick of her.
"Put a sock in it, you bitchy trampoline!" I snap at her without thinking.
Everyone turns to face me in shock. I can faintly hear Jack chuckling in my head. Cassandra is glaring at me, and I glare right back, my stare unwavering. 'I know it's you.' I mouth to her. Her artificial eyes widen. I smirk triumphantly.
The Doctor takes the metal spider in his hands. "Easy way of finding out. Someone brought their pet onboard. Let's send him back to Master."
Ugh, that reference.
He sets the metal spider on the floor. It crawls over to Cassandra and pauses, staring at her while she glances around, trying not to look guilty. Then it changes direction, instead crawling over to the aliens (who are really robots) in the black robes.
"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra exclaims.
"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious, but if you stop and think about it," the Doctor strides over to the Adherents. The leader in the front tries to hit him, but the Doctor is faster. He catches the arm and rips it off, revealing wires hanging from the end. "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He pulls one of the wires dangling from the arm, and the Adherents all collapse. "Remote controlled droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo. Go home." The Doctor gives the spider a nudge and it crawls back over to Cassandra.
"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!" Cassandra commands. Her attendants raise their spray guns.
"What are you going to do, moisturize me?"
"With acid," Cassandra deadpans. "Oh, you're too late, anyway. My spiders have control of the main frame. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."
I scoff, "Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid is that?"
Cassandra glares at me. "I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous."
"Five billion years and it still comes down to money."
"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune." She shifts her gaze to the Doctor, "I am the last human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours."
The Moxx of Balhoon throws his stubby hands in the air, "Arrest her, the infidel!"
"Oh, shut it, pixie," Cassandra snaps. "I've still got my final option."
"Earth death in three minutes…" the computer announces.
"And here it comes You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies, they triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? Burn, baby, burn."
"Then you'll burn with us," Jabe speaks up in confidence.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cassandra feins apology. "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate!" Suddenly all the metal spiders on the platform begin to explode, making the whole of Platform One shake. "Forcefields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband. Oh shame on me."
"Safety systems failing…" the computer announces.
"Bye-bye, darlings. Bye-bye, my darlings." Cassandra and her two assistants beam out of the room in a flash of blue light.
"Heat levels rising…"
"Reset the computer," the Moxx of Balhoon demands.
"Only the steward would know how," Jabe states in slight exasperation and panic.
"No," I speak up firmly. Everyone turns to me with slightly confused and panicked expressions. I hesitate for a moment.
C'mon, Ellie. Spit it out!
"Uh, well, we could probably do it by hand. There must be a system restore switch… or something… somewhere," I finish awkwardly. I clear my throat, waiting for someone to say something.
The Doctor beams at me and nods his head in confirmation, "She's right, we'll have to find it, good. What was your name again?"
"Eleanor," I smile.
"Eleanor, I like that. Is it alright if I call you 'Ellie'?" I shrug and nod, still smiling. "Fantastic! Jabe, Ellie, come on. You lot, just chill." He holds up his hands in an attempt of reassurance, then sprints out the door.
Then I remember I have to save Jabe.
I hold up my hand in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. "Jabe, you need to stay here. If you go with us, you will die. You have to trust me on this. Plus, there are people here who could use your help." I motion to the group of hysterical aliens. Jabe turns her head to look at them for a moment then turns back to me. She hesitates and opens her mouth to protest but I cut her off. "Please," I stress. Jabe contemplates for another moment but nods, agreeing. "Thank you." I give her a relieved smile, then turn on my heel and run out the door after the Doctor.
"Heat rising. Earth death in two minutes. Earth death in two minutes. Heat levels critical."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
As the Doctor and I walk silently to the engine room, I pray that I hope I'm doing the right thing in saving Jabe. Well, yeah, I know taking her place was a good thing, but I forgot what happens next. I've only seen this episode once or twice, so I'm not sure on what to do. I remember that she dies, but how exactly? Damn. That's going to be a problem.
The Doctor looks at me, "Where did Jabe go?"
"Uh, she decided to stay behind and help the others on the observation deck," I reply.
"Shame, could've used her help."
I stare at him, offended. "You know, I'm right here. I could help just as much as she could."
The Doctor looks at me sheepishly, "Right, sorry."
We continue walking through the tight tunnel, when something catches my eye. I stop walking and take a couple steps back. The Doctor doesn't stop though, and turns a corner, probably too lost in his thoughts to notice I'm no longer by his side. I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to what I saw. My jaw drops. The crack. The crack is on the wall of the tunnel. What? So now it's following me?
"Why are you following me? What do you want?" I shout at the glowing crack. Suddenly, it stops glowing. It looks exactly like the crack in little Amelia's bedroom wall before it opened. I reach my hand out to touch it and yank it back when it burns me.
"Ow!" I say loudly and stumble backwards slightly. The Doctor pops his head back out from around the corner.
"You alright?" he asks, concerned. He starts walking towards me.
"It burned me!" I hiss quietly through my teeth, motioning towards the crack.
"There's nothing there," the Doctor says, slight worry in his voice.
"What? Of course there is! It's right…" I trail off, looking back to the spot where the crack was, noticing that there is indeed nothing there. The crack is gone. Where the hell did it go?
The Doctor takes my hand from my side and examines it. "And there's no burn either," he concludes.
I jerk my hand out of his grasp and look it over myself. He's right, there is no burn, not even a little scratch. Was I imagining the whole thing? And if I wasn't imagining it, why isn't there a burn mark? Why is it even following me in the first place? I shake those thoughts from my mind and straighten my back firmly. I start walking forwards through the tunnel and turn my back to find the Doctor still giving me a look that seems to be a mixture of confusion and worriment. I sigh, walking back up to him and giving him a hand to take.
"Come on, let's go save Platform One."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
When the Doctor and I arrive at the engine room, I notice that the engine blades are spinning in a fast rotation. "Oh, and guess where the switch is," he says irritably. The switch is on the other side of the room, the engine blades blocking our path.
"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising," the computer announces.
The Doctor takes off the plastic frame from a lever beside him. Once he pulls down the lever, the spinning blades start to slow down, but when he lets go of the lever, the blades speed up again. I mentally facepalm, remembering this part by detail. How could I forget?
I grasp the lever's handle firmly and pull it down, keeping my hands secured to it so it doesn't fly back up again. The Doctor spins around in his spot and stares at me. He shakes his head with a disbelieving look on his face. "You can't," he protests. "The heat's going to vent through this place."
I nod, "I know."
"Eleanor, the external temperature is five thousand degrees. You could get seriously hurt, or worse, die."
I smile a 'River Song smile'. "I'll try not to get hurt too badly, just go. Stop wasting time, Time Lord."
He seems surprised and taken aback that I know his race, but then replaces it with a manic grin and starts to make his way past the blades. I frown. Don't freak out, and whatever you do, don't let go of the lever. You might die, but you might not. You could still have a chance.
I watch as the Doctor tries to get past each spinning engine blade. He starts running and ducks as he barely makes it past the first one. He abruptly halts before the second one and tries to decide when's the best time to make a run for it. He turns back to look at me as I try to give him a reassuring smile, but it comes out as a grimace. The heat is scorching my hands, and I want to shout for help so badly, but I try not to show it. The Doctor turns his back to me and focuses on the situation at hand.
My hands are becoming hotter by the second, and I don't know how much longer I can hold it. I hold back a shriek as my hands literally feel like they're on fire. By this point, Jabe would have let go of the lever and would be burning. I hold back all of my fear and focus on traveling with the Last of the Time Lords. Well, he thinks he is the last.
I see him pass the last blade as relief replaces my fear. My hands are going to hurt for a while, but at least I can let go of the lever. I slowly pull my hands off of it as I hear the Doctor exclaim, "There!" He pushes down the switch on the other side of the engine room. He then runs back over to me and catches a glimpse of my burnt hands. I haven't taken a look at them yet, but I can tell by the Doctor's face that it isn't that pretty, "Oh, Ellie…". Once I gather up the courage to take a peek, I look down at them and shriek at the sight. Most of the skin on my hands and up my wrists were raw and burnt. Slimy pink flesh, bleeding in some areas with black scorches in others, and you can see blisters starting to form and fill with watery liquid. "When we get back to my ship I can take you to the Infirmary and get those bandaged up," the Doctor says.
I forget about my hands for a moment as I grin. "'We'?"
"Well, yeah. I was thinking you could take a little trip with Rose and I," he grins back.
I almost tackle him to the ground with a hug. "Yes, thank you! I would love that!"
He chuckles, "Right, well we're not quite done yet. We still have to deal with Cassandra." He gives me an arm to take.
I nod, still grinning and gratefully take it, careful not to touch anything with my hands.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The sliding doors open for us as we make our way onto the observation deck. While I stand by Rose, the Doctor walks over to the 'last ostrich egg' laying on a pillar and cracks it open, revealing a teleportation reverse switch. He turns it, and Cassandra gets beamed back into the room.
"Oh, you should have seen their little alien faces," Cassandra mutters, not realizing that she has gotten teleported back. "Oh…" She trails off upon noticing where she is.
"The last human," the Doctor spats, staring at her coldly.
"So, you passed my little test. Bravo. This makes you eligible to join, er, the Human Club," Cassandra replies quickly.
"People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them."
"It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, then, Doctor, and watch me smile and cry and flutter - "
"And creak?" The Doctor interrupts.
"And what?"
I decide to take the Doctor's next line and step forward, "Creak. You're creaking"
"What? Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturize me, moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" Cassandra cries out.
"You raised the temperature." Yes, I know, I keep stealing lines. But, in my defense, they are small. It's not like me saying them instead of someone else is going to blow a hole in the universe… right?
Cassandra pleads. "Have pity! Moisturize me! Oh, oh, Doctor, Eleanor. I'm sorry. I'll do anything."
Even though I don't pity her, and neither does the Doctor, Rose does.
"Help her," Rose asks the Doctor quietly.
"Everything has its time and everything dies," he responds, his voice cold.
I frown. I always hated that quote. "And nobody knows that quite like you, eh, Doctor?" He snaps his head to the left to stare at me, but doesn't say anything.
"I'm too young!" Cassandra cries out one last time.
Then I suddenly remember what happens next. She explodes! I quickly take a step back, then to my right to stand behind the Doctor, using him as a human shield.
Splat!
One big flap of skin lands dead center (excuse the lame, unintentional pun) in the Doctor's face, which I'm pretty sure didn't happen in the episode. I can't help it. I start laughing, clutching my stomach with my face turning a slight pink. Rose soon joins in, and the both of us giggle together. The Doctor reaches up and peels the skin off, flicking it to the side, a look of disgust on his face.
"Shuttles four and six departing. This unit is now closing down for maintenance."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"How do you know my name?" Rose asks me as we stand by the observation window, watching chunks of Earth float past us.
"I - I sort of know everything; past, present, future." I stammer, not meeting her gaze. "I call it my 'All Knowing Power'."
"So, you know my future?"
I nod and look up at her, "Sort of, yeah."
She grins at me and opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off knowing exactly what she was about to say. "Sorry, Rose, but I can't tell you your future. Could alter the timelines and cause disaster." Wow, I felt almost like a professional saying it like that. I wonder if the Doctor feels the same way when he tries to show his knowledge.
She frowns. "Alright, well is there anything you could tell me? Something small?"
"Uh- " I start, but the Doctor walks into the room and cuts me off.
"No, you can't," he says firmly. "Just like you said; could cause disaster, even the smallest things," he stands beside me and stares at me seriously. "And you say you know everything?"
He just eavesdropped on my whole conversation with Rose. Why am I not surprised? I hesitate and then nod.
"You know about me?"
I shrug, "Only some." More like mostly everything, I add silently.
He nods and turns to face the glass window, not responding. I frown.
Rose speaks up, "The end of the Earth," she says sadly. "It's gone. We were too busy saving ourselves that no one saw it go."
I take her hand, flinching from the stinging feeling, but continue her line, surprisingly remembering most of it. "All those years, all that history and nobody was even looking. It's just…" I trail off, not being able to finish my sentence since Rose didn't finish it in the episode.
The Doctor gives me a hand to take and then gives one to Rose, causing her to let go of mine, "Come with me." Rose takes it and so do I. We start heading through the sliding doors, but then I stop. A tingling sensation is going through my hand, similar to the one that I experienced in alternate Pete and Jackie's house before I got zapped here. I let go of the Doctor's hand and he pauses, turning back to me. I yelp when a surge of electricity rushes through me.
"What's wrong?" The Doctor asks, alarmed.
I open my mouth to reply, but it comes out as a strangled cry as one last wave of electricity flashes through me. And then I'm gone.
