A/N: Chapter Two, Part One! How exciting, right? Personally, I found this episode very difficult to write. Everything happens too fast and there's necessary dialogue that couldn't be cut because it will be useful for the plot of the rest of the chapter and later on the story. God knows how much I tried, though. Thanks again for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter – even though is basically a mess.
Chapter II, Part One:
The Beast Bellow or The One In Which Grantaire saves a Starwhale.
The TARDIS' doors were open and the light coming from the inside illuminated a small corner of the universe. The Doctor stood in the edges of the amazing blue box, laughing while she held her newest companion by the ankle, in order to prevent him from trespassing the oxygen shell.
"My name is Thomas Grantaire. When I was seven years old, I had an imaginary friend."
Grantaire laughed cheerfully as he looked around himself, feeling completely amazed by everything surrounding him. He was floating. He was floating in space! He could see the planet earth from where he was, and it seemed so small when compared to the universe itself. The entirety of the darkness that surrounded everything was quite outstanding. Small points of light spread all the way around him and, as he looked up, he couldn't help but wonder just how many planets exactly were out there.
"Come on, Grant!" The Doctor called, interrupting his thoughts.
"And last night my imaginary friend came back."
"Now, do you believe me?" The Doctor asked, as soon as Grantaire had stepped inside the TARDIS.
"Okay, your box is a spaceship." Grantaire breathed, feeling a wave of excitement hit him. "We are in space! In actual space."
The Doctor smiled, leaning against one of the open doors as she had a quick look outside. It felt amazing to have a companion again after such a long time, and it made her more than glad to see that Grantaire was enjoying himself. She knew he wasn't quite ready to forgive her for all those fourteen years, but making him smile... it was a good start, right?
"Where are we, exactly?" Grantaire suddenly asked.
"Now that's an interesting question." She replied, looking down. The TARDIS was standing right above a city floating in space. She turned around, walking towards the controls. "Twenty ninth century, solar flares roast the earth, and the entire human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations, migrating to the stars. Isn't that amazing?"
Grantaire raised an eyebrow slightly confused. "Uh... that doesn't actually answer my question."
"I've found us a spaceship." The Doctor chuckled, pulling the TARDIS monitor down. Grantaire slowly approached it, crossing his arms. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and... shopping. Searching the stars for a new home."
"Can we go out and see?" He asked, slightly curious.
"Course we can." The Doctor nodded. "But first, there's a thing."
"A thing?"
"An important thing. In fact, Thing One." She announced, pushing one of the levers up and looking directly at the young man. "We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other people or planets." The image in the monitor changed, now showing a little girl, sitting alone in a corner and crying. "Oh, that's interesting."
"So we're like the bourgeoisie in France?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because whenever they see a starving person, or a sick child, or something.. they don't do anything about it." Grantaire watched the little girl for a few minutes, feeling slightly uneasy. "That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard – being all, like, detached and cold? But again, I'm not exactly one to talk..."
The Doctor suddenly appeared onscreen and knelt besides a little girl. Grantaire blinks his eyes, and looks around. When exactly had the Doctor left? He asked himself, before leaning closer to the monitor. He watches with curiosity as the little girl gets up and runs away.
The Doctor then proceed to look at the camera, and waved her hand at Grantaire, inviting him to join her. He smiled, grabbing his coat from one of the handrails and running out of the TARDIS.
"Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored."
The first thing Grantaire noticed when he got out of the TARDIS was the sky. Way above him, there was an arched glass ceiling, through which he could see the stars. He smiled at that sight, before looking around. The London market was composed by a series of stalls and booths, very similar to the ones back in Paris.
"Hey. What took you so long?" The Doctor asked as she approached him, tilting her head to the side.
"I'm in the future. Like hundreds...of years in the future." He commented, his smile slowly turning into a frown. "I've been dead for centuries."
"Oh, lovely. You're a cheery one." She scoffed, taking him by the arm as she started to walk. "Never mind dead, look at this place... Isn't it wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
"Use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?
"London Market is a crime-free zone."
"Everything seems a bit too unusual for me, to be honest." Grantaire sighed.
The Doctor placed a hand on his shoulders, and started."Life on a giant starship, back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer... Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state...Excuse me." She said.
The Doctor smiled at the man who sat on the table, before taking a glass from water that was positioned there. She got onto her knees and set it down on the floor gently, tilting her head to the side, and staring at it with curiosity for a few moments. She exclaims something that Grantaire couldn't quite understand, and got up, putting the glass back on the table.
"Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." She apologized, grinning before going back to Grantaire.
"Why did you just do that with the water?" He asked, blinking his eyes in confusion.
"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track." She shrugged. "Now, police state – do you see it yet?"
"Where?"
"There." The Doctor quickly answered, snapping her fingers and pointing at it.
It was the little girl again, sitting alone on a bench and crying.
"One little girl crying." Grantaire stated, raising an eyebrow. "So?"
"Crying silently." She pointed out, biting her lower lip. "I mean, children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid... When they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop. Any parent knows that."
The young man blinked his eyes. "Are you a parent?"
The Doctor seemed slightly startled and bothered at the question, but she didn't answered. She looked at him for a moment, and shrugged. "Hundreds of parents walking past this spot and not one of them is asking her what's wrong, which means... They already know and it's something they don't talk about." She made a pause. "Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows – whatever they're afraid of – it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."
The little girl got up as she heard the elevator bells, and quickly went inside. The smiling figure in a nearby booth turns and watched her with attention, and the doors closed a moment after. The smiling figure turned it's head back to it's original position.
Grantaire frowned. "Where did she go?"
"Deck 207, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh," The Doctor paused, reaching into the pockets of her cardigan and taking out a colorful wallet. "This fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her," she explained, handing it to Grantaire. "Took me four goes. Ask her about those things – the smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere."
"But they're just.. things."
"They're clean. Everything else here is battered and filthy - look at this place." She pointed out, crossing her arms. "But no-one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Ask Mandy, 'Why are people scared of the things in the booths?'."
"No. Hang on." Grantaire said, shaking his head. "What do I do? I don't even know exactly what am I doing here, I mean..."
"It's this or Paris." The Doctor interrupted. "What do you think? Let's see. What will Thomas Grantaire choose?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow. Grantaire looked at her with a mix of confusion and frustration in his face. "Ha-ha, gotcha!" She exclaimed, before checking on her wrist watch. "Meet me back here in half an hour."
"What are you going to do?"
"What I always do." She shrugged.
Grantaire raised an eyebrow. "So is this how it works, Doctor?" He asked. "You never interfere in the affairs of other people or planets, unless there's children crying?"
"Yes. Now, stay out of trouble." She informed, kissing him on the cheek before turning around and walking away.
"You're following me." Mandy Tanner said, turning around to face Grantaire. "Saw you watching me at the marketplace."
A little bit unsure of what to say, Grantaire – who had been following the girl for a few minutes now – held the wallet into the air. "Uh... You dropped this."
"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me." Mandy scoffed, taking her wallet from his hand and putting it on her pocket.
Grantaire awkwardly smiled at her, before looking around the street. Set right in front of a little shop called 'Magpies Electrical', there's was a stripped yellow tent, surrounded by flashing red lights and various 'keep out' signs. He tilted his head to the side in amusement. People from the future certainly liked flashy things.
"What's that?" He asked, in amusement.
"There's a hole." Mandy answered, tensing up a bit. "We have to go back."
"A what? A hole?" He asks, with a frown.
"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way." She warned, but Grantaire ignored, approaching the tent. "There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing?"
"Don't mind me, kid. I never could resist a "keep out" sign." He laughed. "What's through there? What's so scary about a hole?" He asked, sitting on the floor and analyzing the padlock that surrounded the tent.
"Nobody knows." Mandy shrugged, nervously looking at one of the booths on the other end of the street. "We're not supposed to talk about it."
"About what?"
"Below."
"And because you're not supposed to, you don't?" Grantaire scoffed, shaking his head. "Do you heave a hairpin or something?" Mandy gulped and nodded. After taking a pin out of her hair, she hesitantly handed it to Grantaire, who grinned and turned to the lock. "Watch and learn."
"You sound French." She pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I am French." He replied, while concentrating on the lock. "What's wrong with that? France's got to be here somewhere."
"No. They wanted their own ship."
"Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes, I guess."
"So...how did you get here?"
The figure in the booth turned around. Now, instead of a smile, it's expression had changed into an angry frown. It was carefully watching Mandy and Grantaire.
"Oh, just passing through, you know, with a girl." He shrugged.
"Your girlfriend?"
"No, of course not. Don't be silly." Grantaire frowned, before sighing. "Oh."
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just.. My sister is getting married tomorrow and I'm supposed to be there. Funny how things slip your mind."
"Married?"
"Yes. I had to work hard to get a dowry for her. We never had much to offer, to be honest. Father always liked to spend his money on fancy parties and... well...those women of the night... back when I was a child. Things only got worse after he passed away. I was beginning school, so I had to work to pay for my studies... My sister, Juliette, was living with our oldest sister and her husband when she met her fiance. A good lad he is... but when the news of her engagement came, my oldest sister wrote me a letter, asking for financial help to pay for Juliette's dowry... I had to go a few days without eating and I almost lost my house to the bank, but at least she is happy now. Happy and getting married."
"When?"
"A long time ago, tomorrow morning?" Grantaire asked, with a shrug. "It's a bit complicated. Don't ask. But I do wonder what I did to escape the ceremony. " The padlock opened, causing him to smile. "Results, at last. Coming?"
"No!"
"Suit yourself."
Grantaire got up to his feet and stretched his back. He looked one last time at Mandy, throwing her the hairpin, before going inside the tent. Mandy looked around nervously, only to see the booth turning around once more, now showing a third face, a scowl.
"Stop!" Mandy exclaimed, desperate. "You mustn't do that!"
It's dark inside the tent. The only illumination form came from a red emergency flashing light. The young man frowned, looking around. He saw a weird device from the floor and reached out for it. As soon as he touched it, the device turned on, a flash of light coming through it.
It should be explained that this 'strange device' found by Grantaire was, in fact, a flashlight. But flashlights were only invented in the late XIX century, and as we already know, the young man came from the early XIX century.
"What a handy little thing." Grantaire cheered, carefully holding it with both hands. He pointed it around and to the floor. The light coming from the device illuminated part of the hole, and he could see something odd reaching out through it, swaying slowly. It reminded him of a tentacle, and that thought alone made the young man shake his head. "Okay... I think I had enough for today." He commented, quickly dropping the device on the floor and stepping out of the tent.
As soon as he did so, Grantaire stopped in his tracks. He was surrounded by a few men, all of them wearing a hood. "Hello?" He asked, a bit uncertain of what to do. "I was just... I was just leaving..." He explained, trying to move.
One of the hooded men held him strongly by the shoulder, and before Grantaire could realize what was happening, the men sprayed something on him – a gas, perhaps. He took a few steps back, feeling dizzy, before falling to the ground, unconscious.
The Doctor jumped the few last steps from a ladder, twirling around and smiling to herself, before approaching one of the walls. She trails her fingers through it with curiosity, before pressing her ear on them, listening carefully.
"This can't be right." She commented, taking her brand new sonic screwdriver out of her pockets. She points it to the walls for a moment, trying to get a reading. But nothing. She turned around, feeling slightly confused, when something caught her eye.
A glass of water positioned on the floor.
"Perhaps..." She trailed of, raising an eyebrow. She puts the sonic back into the pockets of her cardigan and approached the glass, laying down on the floor and staring at it with attention.
"The impossible truth in a glass of water." Someone said, in a low tone of voice. The Doctor looked up to see a woman, dressed in red and wearing a white mask. "Not many people see it...But you do, don't you, Doctor?"
The Doctor got up from the ground, staring at the woman with suspicion. "You know me?"
"Keep your voice down. They're everywhere." The woman hissed. "Tell me what you see in the glass."
"Who says I see anything?"
"Don't waste time." The woman warned. "At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room... Why?"
"No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So...I thought I'd take a look." The Doctor explained, turning around and opening a power box, placed next to the ladder. "It doesn't make sense. These power couplings, they're not connected. Look. Look – they're dummies, see?" She asks, crossing the hall and tapping on the wall. "And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..."
"No engine at all." The woman completed for him.
"But it's working." The Doctor went on. "This ship is traveling though space. I saw it."
"The impossible truth, Doctor. We're traveling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."
"How?"
"I don't know. There's a darkness at the heart of this nation. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor. You're our only hope." She makes a small pause, handing the Doctor a strange device. "Your friend is safe. This will take you to him. Now go, quickly!"
The woman turned around and began to walk away. The Doctor blinked her eyes, slightly confused. "Who are you?" She asks. "How do I find you again?"
The woman stopped on her tracks and turned around, facing her. "I am Liz 10. And I will find you."
There was a loud crashing sound and the Doctor looked around, startled. When she looked back, the woman was gone.
The first thing Grantaire sees when he wakes up, it's the smiling face inside a booth. He groans, adjusting himself on what seemed to be a chair and rubbing his eyes. Clearing his throat, he finally looks around. There were four monitors positioned in front of him, just like the ones in the TARDIS. Just below the monitors, there were three large buttons. One of them read "Protest", the other "Record", and the last one "Forget".
The monitors suddenly lit up, and a computerized voice started to ring on his ears.
"Welcome to voting cubicle 330C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it. The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens. A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll..." The computerized voice made a slow pause, before finally speaking. "Name: Thomas Grantaire. Age: 5,103."
Grantaire frowned. "Honestly?"
The computer went on: "Marital status: Unknown."
"Fair Enough." He shrugged, leaning back into the chair.
The monitor screens change again, now showing an older man. He had a serious expression on his face and his hands were pressed together. He looked directly at the screen as he starts to talk.
"You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest...or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just 1% of the population of this ship do likewise, the program will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation – and we hope that you will – then press the "forget" button. All the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here, then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."
Images started to flash across the screen, and before Grantaire notices it, he is hitting the "Forget" button. He takes a deep breath and touches his face, feeling slightly disoriented. There were tears rolling down his cheeks. He blinks his eyes and wipes them away.
The monitor changed once again. He looked at the screen, finding himself to be shocked when his image is the one to appear on it.
"This isn't a trick." The image of him says. Grantaire frowned. Why was he crying? "You've got to find the Doctor and get her back to the TARDIS. Don't let her investigate. Stop her. Do whatever you have to. Just please, please get the Doctor off this ship!"
The door behind him opened. Grantaire got up from the chair, only to see Mandy standing there, waiting for him. He takes a deep breath, and turns at the monitor once again. The message started to replay as soon as the Doctor hoped into the room.
"Grantaire?" The Doctor asks, raising an eyebrow. "What have you done?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't find the words to do so. He didn't knew. He didn't knew what he had done. He looked up at the Doctor, fear building up in his eyes as he watched her approach the chair.
She took the sonic screwdriver out of her pocket and pointed it around. First to the chair, then to the monitors – which caused the video to stop replaying – and finally to the lamp above.
"Yeah, your basic memory wipe job." She informed him, putting the sonic back in her pockets. "Must have erased about 20 minutes."
"But why would I choose to forget?" Grantaire asked, confused. "I don't... I don't even know how these works..."
"Because everyone does." Mandy said quietly. "Everyone chooses the "forget" button."
"Did you?" The Doctor asked, turning to Mandy.
"I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm 12. Any time after you're 16, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then, once every five years..."
"And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned." The Doctor completed, with a sigh. "Democracy in action."
I know someone who would strongly disagree with you, Grantaire thought.
"How do you not know about this?" Mandy asked. "Are you French too?"
"Oh, I'm way worse than French." The Doctor grinned, clasping her hands together and turning to face the monitors. "I can't even see the movie. Won't play for me.
"It played for me." Grantaire pointed out.
"The difference being the computer doesn't accept me as human."
"Why not?" Grantaire inquired. The Doctor shot him a look. "You look human."
"No, you look Time Lord. We came first."
"So there are other Time Lords?"
The Doctor made a small pause, looking at him for a moment and shaking her head. "No. There were, but there aren't... Just me now. Long story. That was a bad day. Bad stuff happened, and you know what?" She asked, with a sigh. "I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't. Not ever. Because this is what I do – every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight."
"Doctor, what... what is going on?" Grantaire asked, looking at her with confusion in his eyes.
"My dear friend," The Doctor laughed, taking Grantaire's hand in hers and squeezing it lightly. "We're bringing down the government."
He blinked in surprise. There was something about her. Something in her words, something in her voice... Something in the way her eyes burned with fiery passion and excitement that reminded him of someone very dear to him back home. Someone who saw him as nothing but garbage – his own personal God. His Apollo.
He had no time to dwell in that, however. The Doctor suddenly smashed the "Protest" button using his hand, and everything happened a little bit to fast for his taste. The doors slammed shut, leaving the little girl, Mandy, locked outside. The figure in the booth turned itself around, the smiling face being replaced by an expression of fury. The Doctor stepped away to one of the corners of the room, pulling Grantaire along with her.
"Doctor?" He asked, starting to feel scared as the floor beneath them started to open. "What's going on?"
"Say, 'Wheee!'" She cheered, smiling with glee.
Grantaire only had the time to scream before they fell down.