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Impossible or Just Highly Unlikely?
My Angels of the Rift
*****TARDIS/Console Room*****
The TARDIS was shaking about a little rougher than usual. Trying to be nice, the Doctor was letting Rose help in manning the controls, but they were both, quickly, getting frustrated with each other. It wasn't working out as well as they'd hoped. Amanda was jumping about the console as well, helping out here and there, like usual, but now she also had to concentrate on not laughing at either of them.
"Hold that one down!" The Doctor shouted to Rose.
"I'm holding this one down!" She shouted back, indicating a different button.
"Well, hold them both down!" He snapped in exasperation.
"I got it." Amanda said calmly and held down the other button for Rose.
"It's not going to work!" Rose huffed in annoyance.
"Oi! I promised you a time machine, and that's what you're getting." The Doctor shouted as he turned a nob and pulled on a lever. "Now, you've seen the future. Let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?" He suggested.
"What happens in 1860?" Rose asked.
"I don't know. Let's find out. Hold on. Here we go." He replied with a silly grin.
They all grabbed hold of something as they continued shake about.
"Wwooo!" Amanda hollered in excitement.
The TARDIS rematerialized in a snow-covered alleyway, with a groan and soft thud. Somehow, the three of them ended up on the floor and they were just laughing up a storm.
"Blimey!" Rose managed to get out between chuckles.
The Doctor was already standing and jumping over to one of the monitors.
"You're telling me. Are you all right?" He asked them as Amanda helped Rose up.
"Yeah, I think so. Nothing broken." Rose joked, making Amanda chuckle even more.
"Soooooo…..did we make it? Where are we?" Amanda asked, resting her chin on the Doctor's shoulder to see the monitor for herself. (Not that she could actually read it…it was all in Galifrayin)
"I did It.—" he said proudly.
"Give the man a metal!" Amanda said, teasingly, and ruffled the top of his head.
He gave her a look of mock annoyance and playfully shoved her.
"—as I was saying….Earth, Naples. December 24, 1860." He finished.
"That's so weird." Rose commented, shaking her head with a grin. "It's Christmas."
The Doctor gestured towards the doors.
"All yours." He told her.
She looked at the door, a little hesitant.
"But, it's, like, think about it, though—Christmas 1860. Happens once. Just once, and it's gone. It's finished. It'll never happen again." She smiled now. "Except for you two. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone, a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."
"Not a bad life." He smirked.
"Better with three." She offered with her own smirk.
They all grinned and chuckled happily with one another, but, then Amanda suddenly sobered.
"Oh my gosh." She gasped in shock.
Rose and the Doctor looked at her in concern but then softened when they saw her face lift into bright smile.
"It's my birthday!" She cheered.
The other's blinked, caught off guard, while Amanda did a celebratory dance around the console, lightly singing to herself, the chorus of 'Good Life' by Onerepublic.
"Hey! That's right." Said the Doctor as he watched her happily dance around.
He and Rose were laughing at her childishness when she stopped and grinned at them.
"I'm from 2012 and I get to celebrate my 23rd birthday with my two, new, best friends, in 1860's Naples….How neat is that?!" She asked excitedly.
Rose was taken aback.
"Wait…..you're 23?" She asked, shocked.
"Well, I am now. Why?" Amanda replied.
"Well, it's just…I thought you and I were the same age." Rose explained, sounding slightly disappointed.
"Well, how old are you, then?" Questioned Amanda.
"19." Rose answered.
Amanda laughed, well naturedly.
"Well, sheesh! It's only a four year difference. No big deal." She teased.
Rose smiled again. Amanda was right. It really wasn't that big of gap.
"Right then! Come on birthday girl. Let's get out there and celebrate properly." She said, in a much happier mood while leaping towards the doors.
"Hey, hey, hey, where do you think you're going?" Amanda stopped her.
"1860." She replied in a way as if to say 'duh'.
"Go out there dressed like that, you'll start a riot, Barbarella." The Doctor warned her, and then gestured to a corridor. "There's a wardrobe through there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left…Hurry up."
Rose started to make for the corridor when she suddenly stopped, looking very confused.
"Wait…what?" She asked.
Amanda rolled her eyes and pushed her forwards, and glanced back to give the Doctor a mock stern look, as if to say 'you're horrible'.
"Come on Rose, I'll show you. I think you'll like it! It's more of a 'room', with multiple stories of clothes from nearly every time-period, from all across the universe…" She started to explain, her voice trailing off as they got farther away.
*****TARDIS/Wardrobe/20 Minutes Later*****
"Here, Rose, try this one!" Said Amanda, excitedly, as she held a dress out to Rose. "You could wear it with that short, black-velvet cloak over there!"
Rose took it to look over and smiled as she held it up to herself in the mirror. It had a slightly sparkling, black top with short, ruffled, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and a dark, wine-colored, floor-length skirt that had little flowers embroidered on it in an even darker burgundy.
Amanda let her look over the dress while she picked out one for herself. She had just found a nice, dress that had a deep, blue, top, a black, slightly ruffled skirt, and short, black, ruffled sleeves that hung lose at the shoulders.
She usually hated having to constantly change her 'everyday' clothes. In her mind, (sense they traveled too much for strangers to notice) if they weren't torn, stained, or smelly…there was no point. But, unfortunately, not only was her shirt ruined from Platform One…but they had also just landed in the 1800's. So, by 'Doctor's orders', both Rose and Amanda were now in the TARDIS' epic wardrobe.
But, hey! What girl, no matter their age, with access to this many options, in a time period that's not their own…resist playing dress-up?
"Oh, I love it!" Said Rose, finally satisfied. "Ooooo, and you should definitely wear that one! Look! There's a cloak just like mine, see. We'll match!"
Amanda couldn't help but laugh at their shenanigans.
"We're both dorks! Honestly. Look at us….acting like little girls….Oh well, hurry up." Amanda shook her head. "I'll pin your hair up for you." She offered.
"Oh, thanks, and I'll do yours." Said Rose, excitedly.
The two of them finished getting ready and quickly made their way back to the main room where the Doctor was waiting for them.
*****TARDIS/Console Room*****
The Doctor was waiting for them while doing what he usually could be found doing when he had free time….tinkering with the engines. The girls walked up to him slowly, from behind, where he was partially down, under the floor-grating. He turned around at the sound of their approaching footsteps and looked up to see them beautifully done-up in 1860's garb. When he saw them, his eyes went wide in shock.
'That's right Doctor. Eat your hearts out' Amanda thought, with a smug smirk.
Rose was nervous though.
"Don't laugh." She warned him, trying not to laugh herself.
Amanda chuckled anyways. The Doctor's face was priceless.
"You look beautiful…." He complimented them.
Though, Rose noticed that his gaze lingered mostly on Amanda. This got her curious. She knew that he and Amanda were very playful and friendly with each other. But, exactly how close were they, really? It's not like she could just ask them, out-right. That could make things potentially awkward. 'Maybe I could talk to Amanda about it later.' She wondered. She was definitely going to watch them more closely though. As she'd witnessed with Jabe, other aliens seemed to find him appealing, and if Amanda did like him, it was Rose's duty as a friend, to help her out and steer away the competition. (at least, that's how it worked out in Rose's mind, anyways)
The Doctor, realizing what he'd just said, and how he said it, quickly added, off-handedly, and looked away…
"…Considering."
Amanda raised an eyebrow at him and put her hands on her hips.
"Considering what?" She challenged him.
"That you're human." He answered, nonchalantly.
Amanda laughed and rolled her eyes.
"Nope, sorry. You already complimented us like a drooling puppy. No take-backs!" She teased him and grabbed Rose's hand, heading towards the door. "Come along Rose!" She chirped.
"Oi!" He scoffed indignantly.
The girls just ignored him and laughed amongst themselves (honestly, what did he expect…having two females on board). Then Rose turned back to him in confusion.
"Aren't you going to change?" She asked him.
"I've changed my jumper. Come on." He said as he ran for the door.
Rose stopped him before he could get them open though.
Hold it! Amanda's the birthday girl. She should go first." She scolded.
"Oh please." She scoffed, jokingly. "I've already had plenty of birthdays. How many times have you taken a trip to the past? Now go for it!" Amanda pushed her to the doors. "This one's all yours, babe!"
Rose grinned excitedly and did as she was told. When she saw what was on the other side, her smile turned to a look of awe. There was snow everywhere. She stepped out slowly, watching it crunch beneath her feet.
"Ready for this?" Amanda asked her with a childish glee.
Rose smiled back with her own silly grin as they each took one of the Doctor's offered arms.
"Here we go..." He said, cheerily. "History."
The trio then left the alleyway to explore the town. It was amazing; the streets were bustling with life. They saw families and couples walking about and horse-drawn carriages being pulled every-which-way. They could even faintly hear the sounds of carolers, singing a small distance away.
"This is fantastic!" Amanda squealed. "Oh! And later, we need to get some sweet-rolls or something!"
The Doctor chuckled and led them over to a man who was selling newspapers so they could find out if anything interesting was going on at the moment and to get themselves up to date on the local, current events. While looked it over, the girls continued to look at the different sights and sounds around them. The Doctor suddenly looked a bit disappointed.
"I got the flight a bit wrong." He informed them.
"You should be used to that by now. I know I am." Amanda teased.
"It's not 1860, it's 1869." He continued.
"I don't care." Rose laughed.
The girls continued to make their way down the street, not a care in the world.
"And it's not Naples—" He said a bit more hesitantly.
"Still don't care." Amanda sang.
"It's Cardiff." He said flatly.
Rose paused for a moment at this.
"Right…" She replied, a bit deflated.
Amanda continued to smile, but smugly now.
"HA!" She taunted. "You see, this is one of the benefits of being American. That whole, 'ignorance is bliss', thing. While you, Rose, for some reason unbeknownst to me, are put off at the mention of our location…I still get to enjoy myself, because I apparently don't know any better."
"Oh…hush, you!" Rose laughed and playfully shoved her.
Suddenly, they heard screams coming from down the street and they could see people running from the theater in fright. Both the Doctor and Amanda perked up at this.
"That's more like it." Said the Doctor, excitedly.
The screams continued as they ran closer and they had to try and weave their way through the franticly retreating crowd to get inside. They were able to get in just in time to see a blue-ish, wisp of howling mist, glide by them and continue its way around the room. Rose was a little freaked out by this, but both Amanda and the Doctor were ecstatic and the two of them managed to breathe out simultaneously…
"Fantastic!" (Doctor) "Beautiful!" (Amanda)
Rose just shook her head at the pair of them. The Doctor then rushed forwards towards the stage, where a man was standing with the best vantage point.
"Did you see where it came from?" The Doctor asked, quickly.
"Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he?" The man accused, angrily. "I trust you're satisfied, sir!"
The Doctor looked taken aback and confused. Amanda was trying to push her way through the craziness to get to the stage as well when she heard Rose cry out.
"Oi! Leave her alone!" Rose shouted at an old man and young girl who were dragging away, what appeared to be, an unconscious old woman. "Doctor, I'll get'm!" She announced determinedly.
Rose then proceeded to chase after them as quickly as she could.
"Rose, wait! Be careful!" Amanda called after her, trying to stop her.
But it was too late. Rose had already made it out the doors and out of sight. Amanda sighed and made her way up to the Doctor instead.
"Screw it. We'll get her in a minute." She assured him.
"Such language, from a Lady?!" The other man said in shock.
Amanda managed to look both sheepish and annoyed at the same time.
"Right. My apologies, sir. I don't know what's come over me. It must be the shock and excitement from everything that has just occurred here tonight." She managed to cover up, by playing the 'innocent-scared-girl' card.
The man seemed to buy it and turned his focus back to the Doctor, who just barely managed to cover up a sinker at the hilarity of Amanda's comment. When the man was no longer looking at her, she rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue for good measure (childish, yes…but totally worth it). The Doctor climbed up, onto the stage and grasped the man's arm.
"Did it say anything? Can it speak?" He asked the man, enthusiastically. "I'm The Doctor, by the way."
"Doctor?" The man repeated, skeptically. "You look more like a Navy."
The Doctor turned to Amanda and dramatically pulled on the sweater he wore underneath his leather jacket.
"What's wrong with this jumper?" He whined.
"Nothing, Hun, you look fine." She assured him with a soft smile.
The Doctor smiled back at the compliment and if Rose had been there, she would have seen his ears turn slightly red for a moment, but Amanda was oblivious to this.
Just then, the 'specter' of sorts flew past them again, wailing away. It glided all the way up to the balcony and disappeared into one of the gas lamps. The Doctor's face sparked with a look of understanding.
"Gas. It's made of gas." He explained.
This definitely peaked Amanda's interest.
"Oooo, Neat! My first gas creature!" She said in wonder.
The Doctor jumped from the stage and grabbed Amanda's hand as the two of them ran for the doors to fetch Rose so they could then figure out where to start from there. The other man trailed after them in frustration. They got outside just in time to see a hearse, with Rose's blond hair showing in the back, drive off and away and around the corner. Amanda yelled after them in panic.
"ROSE!" She screamed.
She started to run towards the direction they had gone in, but the Doctor stopped her. She turned into him and hid her face in his chest to calm herself down so she wouldn't start to cry. He wrapped an arm around her protectively and quickly moved his eyes about the area to try and find another carriage.
"You're not escaping me, sir." Called out the man that was following them. "What do you know about that hobgoblin, hmm?" He asked angrily. "Projection on glass, I suppose. Who put you up to it?"
"Yeah, mate. Not now, thanks." The Doctor said distractedly annoyed.
He lightly pushed the man aside, pulling Amanda along in the direction of another coach instead. It would get them to Rose much faster than running would. He called out to the cabbie…
"Oi, you! Follow that hearse." He commanded.
The other gentleman chased after them.
"You can't do that, sir." He yelled.
"Why not?" Amanda asked.
"I'll tell you why not. I'll give you a very good reason why not. Because this is my coach!" He snapped.
Amanda rolled her eyes and yanked him by the sleeve.
"Well, get in, then." She demanded in exasperation.
"Move!" The Doctor commanded the cabbie.
With a cry of 'hyah! come on!', and the snap of the reigns, they were off.
"Come on, you're losing them" The Doctor yelled.
The cabbie turned his head down to the window and called out to his boss.
"Everything in order, Mr. Dickens?"
"No, it is not!" Mr. Dickens answered back, very put off by having his coach stolen, along with himself.
"What did he say?" Amanda asked in shock.
"Let me say this first." Mr. Dickens started. "I'm not without a sense of humor—"
"Dickens?" Amanda interrupted.
"Yes." He answered her.
"Charles Dickens?" She reiterated.
"Yes." He confirmed.
"The Charles Dickens?" She asked excitedly.
The cabby called down again.
"Shall I remove the gentleman and the lady, sir?" He asked in a threatening manner.
Amanda was in awe, she was ecstatic. What a perfect birthday present this moment turned out to be. She started to go into fan-girl mode.
"Charles Dickens. You're brilliant, you are! Completely, one hundred percent, brilliant! I've read them all—'Great Expectations', 'Oliver Twist'—" She started.
'Got to love the TARDIS library!' She added mentally.
"Oh, and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?" The Doctor jumped in, just as excited and enthusiastic.
" 'A Christmas Carol'?" Amanda asked, trying to help.
"No, no, no. The one with the trains." He insisted.
Her face lit up with recognition and she bounced in her seat.
" 'The Signal Man'!" She shouted.
"That's it—" He laughed, then screwed up his face. "Terrifying."
Mr. Dickens watched them as they chattered back and forth animatedly with each other about his works, with much interest.
"The best short story ever written." Amanda gushed.
"You're a genius." The Doctor agreed.
Mr. Dickens was flattered.
"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" The driver asked again.
"Uh, no, I think they can stay." He answered with a smile.
"Honestly, Charles—can I call you Charles?" Asked the Doctor as he shook Mr. Dickens' hand. "I'm such a big fan."
"You're a what?" Dickens asked, very confused. "A big what?"
"Fan—number one fan. That's me." Said the Doctor with a big stupid grin on his face.
Dickens was still confused.
"How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?" He asked.
Amanda laughed at this. It was too adorable.
"No, it means 'fanatic', 'devoted to'." She explained. "We love your work, sir."
"Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in 'Martin Chuzzlewit', what's that about?" Asked the Doctor.
"Oh yeah, I remember that bit. Was that just padding, or what?" Amanda wondered aloud.
"I mean, its rubbish, that bit." The Doctor commented.
Mr. Dickens was confused again.
"I thought you said you were my fan."
"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism…." The Doctor teased. "Go on. Do the death of Little Nell. It cracks me up." He coaxed. But then he remembered what they were supposed to be doing and refocused. "No, sorry. Forget about that. Come on, faster!" He yelled out to the driver.
They started to move a little faster.
"Who, exactly, is in that hearse?" Asked Dickens.
"Our friend. She's only 19. It's my fault. I should have gone with her." Amanda explained sadly.
She felt guilty for not chasing after her sooner. The Doctor was having none of that, though.
"No, it's my fault. The both of you are in my care, and now she's in danger." He insisted.
Charles quickly jumped into action.
"Why are we wasting my time talking about dry, old books? This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!" He called out.
"Yes sir!" Answered the driver as he snapped the reigns to urge the horses to move faster and they immediately sped up.
"Thataboy, Charlie." Cheered the Doctor.
"Nobody calls me Charlie." He said flatly.
"The ladies do." The Doctor teased with a cheeky grin.
"How do you know that?" Charles asked in surprise.
"I told you." The Doctor replied innocently. "I'm your number one—"
Charles cut him off.
"Number one fan—I know." He said as he rolled his eyes.
They drove on a bit farther when Amanda spoke up again. She smiled at the Doctor.
"You know, so far, with the gas creature and meeting Charles Dickens…..if it wasn't for those jerks kidnapping Rose…I'd say that this is the best birthday I've ever had! We'll, it's also the only one I can remember having, but that's beside the point." The last part was said jokingly. "Thank you." She added.
She grabbed the Doctor's face and planted a big kiss on his cheek. She looked him in the eyes and smiled innocently. He smiled back and there was something extra there, hidden behind his eyes, but she didn't know what it was (she wasn't good at reading those sort of things). Then, her own expression changed to a look of determination.
"Now let's get our Rose back so we can figure out whatever the heck is going on." She demanded.
Being the gentleman that he was, Charles had turned his head away during her little display of affection and was just then brought back to attention at her last comment. Eventually, the carriage came to a stop and after getting out himself; Charles turned and held out his hand to assist Amanda in her decent. She glanced back at the Doctor and grinned giddily making him chuckle. They approached the mortuary and Charles decided to take charge of the situation. He stood in front of the group and knock firmly on the door with its lion-head knocker. Amanda and the Doctor both had to school their expressions…now was the time to be serious. They just stood back and let Charles do his thing, looking rather impressed.
They only had to wait a moment until the door was answered by a young woman, the house maid if her uniform was to be any indication. She was a small brunet with an adorable face or at least it would be if she didn't look so guilty and….fearful. When she spoke, her voice was soft and friendly, but you could easily tell that she was nervous about something. Amanda also noticed that she had a slight gap between her two front teeth.
"I'm sorry, sir, we're closed." The girl informed them as politely as possible.
But none of them were dumb enough to believe that, and Charles took it upon himself to tell her so.
"Nonsense! Sense when did an undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master!" He scolded her.
Amanda had to admit that the girl was good. Even though Charles had just called her on her lie, in a rather intimidating fashion, she didn't falter.
"He's not in, sir." She tried to assure him.
She quickly made to close the door on them, but Mr. Dickens was quicker. He stuck out his hand to block the door and pushed it back open. He meant business and this girl was getting on his last nerve.
"Don't lie to me child! Summon him at once." He growled at her.
The poor girl was starting to get nervous now as she tried to insist on her original claim.
"I'm awfully sorry, Mr. Dickens, but the master's indisposed."
As she was saying this, Amanda saw the gas-lamp in the front hall flicker and shudder for a second. She elbowed the Doctor and subtly pointed it out.
"Having trouble with your gas?" He asked, knowingly.
The girl's eyes widened, briefly, in fear as she groaned.
"Oh no!"
This exchange caught the attention of Charles and he too noticed that the lights were starting to flutter.
"What the Shakespeare is going on?" He asked in confused suspicion.
The Doctor pushed his way past them and through the door. He went straight for a bit of wall underneath one of the lamps and pressed his ear to it so he could listen to the pipes. The house maid started to panic now.
"You're not allowed inside, sir." She insisted, almost begging.
The Doctor just ignored her and beckoned Amanda to come and listen for herself.
"There's something inside the walls." He told her.
He moved aside so she could place her ears against the same spot he had just been.
There was a noise mixed in with the usual sound of the pipes. A sort of moaning and screeching, like children crying. Amanda scrunched up her face in concern and confusion.
"What is that?" She asked him. "The gas pipes—"
He nodded his head, understanding where her thoughts were going.
"—Something's living inside the gas." He agreed.
Suddenly, they all heard Rose's voice crying out from somewhere down the hall, farther into the house, accompanied by the sound of something banging, franticly, on a door.
"Let me out! Open the door!" She screamed in panic.
"That's her." Amanda shouted.
The maid closed her eyes in acceptance, ashamed at herself, and let them run past her without farther protest. They all, quickly, ran in the direction they could hear her calling from.
"Let me out!" Rose continued to shout.
The Doctor was the fastest so he was in the lead. A man, who they assumed to be the mortician, came bustling down the hall way at the sound off all the commotion and tried to stop them. The Doctor just pushed him aside and continued on to round the corner to try and break through the door that Rose was trapped behind.
"How dare you, sir!" The man called after him, sounding flustered. "This is my house!"
"Shut up!" Charles snapped at him as he and Amanda passed.
'Way to go Charlie!' Amanda cheered in her head.
"I told you." The man snapped in frustration at his maid when she caught up to them.
The poor woman looked overwhelmed as she shrunk away from him. This angered Amanda and she turned around to tell him so.
"Oh, please!" She huffed. "We could hear our friend shouting all the way from the front door! Honestly, you tell me, with three of us and only one of her, do you really think that Gwyneth could have held us back?! Don't be ridiculous, you stupid man!"
She nodded at the maid and continued on to where the others were. The maid let a ghost of a smile appear on her face before she quickly wiped it away again and the mortician looked completely taken aback.
The Doctor burst through the door just in time to see the reanimated corps of a young man, holding Rose in place as an equally dead old woman moved in closer to them.
"I think this is my dance." The Doctor quipped as he rushed forward to release her.
He pushed Rose behind him into Amanda's awaiting arms, while keeping a close eye on the walking dead. Amanda embraced her shaking friend in comfort.
"You seem to be making a habit of getting yourself captured and locked behind doors of death." Amanda smirked at her playfully.
She was just relieved that Rose was okay. The two girls turned to see what the Doctor would do, each grasping one of his arms, cautiously. Charles on the other hand, was in denial and refused to believe what he was witnessing.
"It's a prank. Must be." He stammered. "We're under some mesmeric influence."
"No we're not. The dead are walking." The Doctor confirmed. He then glanced at Rose and smiled cheerfully. "Hi."
"Hi." She said back with a bemused smile of her own and slightly out of breath. "Who's your friend?"
"Charles Dickens." He informed her with a conspiratorial smirk.
Amanda chuckled at the two of them and the craziness of the situation.
"Oh, okay." Rose answered in acceptance as if to say, 'of course, silly me…why wouldn't he be'.
The Doctor then addressed the corpses, expectantly.
"My name's The Doctor. Who are you then? What do you want?"
The corpse of the young man answered him using his own voice, mingled with the voice of another. It was a being that sounded like a small child, a scared little girl. It was very eerie.
"We're failing. Open the rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form….Cannot sustain. Help us." He said, sounding as if it took a lot of effort.
Then, the two bodies collapsed to the ground as the blue, gaseous creatures were forced to leave with a wailing, screeching, moan. They flew back into the lamps. The trio looked at each other, not quite sure what to think, but, slowly, both Amanda and the Doctor had matching looks of concerned interest appeared on their faces.
Now that their little problem had been discovered, the men quickly lifted the bodies back into their proper places and Mr. Sneed led them all into the sitting room where his maid began to prepare tea for everyone and Rose let off some steam.
"First of all, you drug me, then you kidnap me—" She ranted as she paced about. "And don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wonder, you dirty old man!"
Amanda was standing with the Doctor, off in the corner, both of them snickering to each other at Rose's feistiness. But at that last comment, the Doctor had to grab hold of Amanda's shoulder to keep her from smacking the old man on Rose's behalf.
"I won't be spoken to like this!" The man protested.
But Rose ignored him and continued her rant anyways.
"Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies. And if that ain't enough, you swan off and leave me to die! So come on, TALK!" She demanded.
"It's not my fault. It's this house." He confessed. "It always had a reputation—haunted. But I never had much bother, until about three months back, and then the stiffs—" he corrected himself at the look he received from Mr. Dickens. "—the, um, dearly departed started getting restless."
"Tommyrot." Charles scoffed.
"You witnessed it." Mr. Sneed countered. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps."
At this moment, the maid brought Amanda a cup of tea, smiling kindly.
"Two sugars and a dash of milk, Miss., just the way you like it."
Amanda's face took on a look of slight shock as she accepted the cup. The girl was about to walk away to get the Doctor's tea, but Amanda stopped her by laying her hand on her wrist.
"Wait. How did you know that?" She asked.
The girl looked at her in confusion.
"I'm sorry, Miss. I just assumed that you would know, seeing as you're like me and all."
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked in wonder.
"You knew my name, Miss."
Amanda gasped in shocked realization as the girl, 'Gwyneth', returned to her task.
"What did she mean?" The Doctor whispered to Amanda.
"Earlier, I called her Gwyneth. The thing is, though…she never introduced herself." She whispered back, startled. "Could she know, Doctor? Could Gwyn know what this thing I can do is?" She asked him hopefully.
"I don't know." He said apologetically, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
He didn't want to get her hopes up. He knew how much her ability freighted her. Amanda tuned out the rest of the conversation, just staring at Gwyn, until she heard the Doctor snap in annoyance at Charles.
"Oh, Charles, you were there."
"I saw nothing but an illusion." Dickens denied.
Amanda rolled her eyes.
"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up." The Doctor commanded. He then turned back to Mr. Sneed. "What about the gas?"
"That's new, Sir. Never seen anything like that." He answered.
"Means it's getting stronger, the rift's getting wider and something's sneaking through." The Doctor explained.
"What's the rift?" Asked Rose.
Before the Doctor could answer her, Amanda, without even meaning to, did it for him.
"A weak point in time and space, a connection between this place and another—"
She trailed off and the Doctor stared down at her in concern. Once the words left her mouth, Amanda flinched and closed her eyes with a sigh. She then started to bite her nails to distract herself. To help relieve the pressure she was feeling, the Doctor continued for her.
"—that's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time."
"That's how I got the house so cheap." Said Mr. Sneed in realizations. "Stories going back generations— echoes in the dark, queer songs in the air, and this feeling like a….shadow passing over your soul. Mind you, truth be told, it's been good for business."
Amanda and the Doctor grinned at this.
"Just what people expect from a gloomy old trade like yours." Amanda offered, good-naturedly.
The conversation kind of dissolved from there, everyone taking time to mull over all of this new information. The Doctor looked to the door that Charles had left abruptly through, a moment earlier, and made to follow after him. Before he left, he looked down at Amanda to make sure that she would be okay. She nodded her head, indicating that she was fine and for him to go, so he gave her hand a squeeze and left the room.
The girls, wanting to make themselves useful, trailed after Gwyneth who was heading towards the kitchen. As she was lighting one of the lamps, Rose stepped over to the sink and started to wash some of the dishes, then handed them over to Amanda who had grabbed a nearby towel to dry them. When Gwyn saw them, she began to protest.
"Please, Miss, you two really shouldn't be helping. It's not right."
Amanda handed over the towel and stepped back, not wanting to offend her, but Rose just brushed her off, not understanding her concerns.
"Don't be daft. That Mr. Sneed works you to death."
But Gwyn was insistent so Rose reluctantly gave up and handed her the dish she'd been washing.
"How much do you get paid?" Rose asked her, sincerely curious.
Eight pounds a year, Miss." She answered.
"How much?" Rose asked in disbelief.
She was concerned, thinking that Mr. Sneed was severely taking advantage of the poor girl. But Gwyn just shook her head in awe.
"I know. I would have been happy with six." She insisted.
Amanda leaned over and whispered into Rose's ear so Gwyn couldn't hear.
"Remember Rose, this is 1869. Money has a different value now than it does in our time."
Rose nodded her head in realization and turned her attention back to Gwyn.
"So, did you even go to school, or what?" Rose wondered, not realizing that her question was rather rude.
Amanda mentally face-palmed and Gwyn looked at Rose in indignation, but smiled softly and answered her anyways.
"Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper."
Rose just looked confused though.
"What, once a week?" She asked.
"We did sums and everything." Gwyn informed them excitedly.
"Oh, good for you Gwyn! I'm glad to know that Mr. Sneed cared about your education." Amanda affirmed her.
"Oh, I know, Miss." Gwyn agreed happily, then, she leaned in as if to tell them a secret. "To be honest, I hated every second."
The girls all giggled at this.
"Me too." Rose added.
"Don't tell anyone, but one week…..I didn't go, and I ran down the heath, all on my own." Gwyn admitted.
The girls chuckled even more at this.
"I did plenty of that. What about you, Amanda?" Rose asked, but then felt sorry for doing so as Amanda's smile dropped slightly.
"I wouldn't know." She answered.
Trying to relieve the tension of her blunder, Rose continued, sharing one of her own stories.
"I use to go 'round the shops with my mate Shareen. And we use to go and look at boys." She laughed.
Gwyn, being the proper girl she was, sobered at this, embarrassedly.
"Well, I don't know much about that, Miss."
Rose caught the slight blush on Gwyn's face though and decided to do a bit more prying.
"Oh, come on." She scoffed, good-naturedly. "Times haven't changed that much. I bet you've done the same."
Gwyn just shook her head and tried to refocus her attention on the dishes.
"I don't think so, Miss."
"Gwyneth! You can tell me." Rose reassured her. "I bet you've got your eye on someone."
Amanda was smiling at their silliness. They were acting like teenagers (though, Rose still technically was one).
"I suppose." Gwyn relented. "There is one lad.
Rose smiled in triumph.
"The butcher's boy." Gwyn continued, smiling softly at the thought of her crush. "He comes by every Tuesday. Such a smile on him."
"Oh, I like a nice smile." Amanda agreed, thinking absentmindedly of the Doctor.
She didn't know that Rose caught her look and smiled knowingly. Then Rose blundered a bit, adding on to the comment.
"Good smile, nice bum." She smirked.
Gwyn sobered again at that.
"Well, I have never heard the like." She scolded half-heartedly.
But Rose just continued to chuckle anyways and eventually Gwyn couldn't help herself and joined in on the playful laughter.
"Ask him out." Rose suggested. "Give him a cup of tea or something. That's a start."
"I swear. It's the strangest thing, Miss. You've got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some sort of wild thing."
"Maybe I am." Rose joked, and then became serious. "Maybe that's a good thing."
Amanda shook her head and sighed. Rose just didn't understand how different the attitudes of women were in this time. Gwyn just shrugged it off. Rose didn't let it go so easily though.
"You need a bit more in your life than Mr. Sneed." She tried.
Gwyn was a loyal person though. She knew how lucky she was to have an employer like him.
"Oh, now, that's not fair. He's not bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to take me in, because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve." She explained.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Rose apologized.
"Thank you, Miss. But I'll be with them again, one day. Sitting with them in paradise. I shall be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there, waiting for you, too, Miss." She assured, but then she looked sad. "Poor Amanda, she'll never see hers again….and they don't even remember her."
Amanda stiffened at this. She turned her head away quickly to hide the tears that began to form. Unfortunately, Rose didn't notice. She was too focused on the mention of her dad.
"Maybe…" She smiled softly, and then realized just what Gwyn had said. "Um, who told you he was dead?"
Gwyn tried to cover herself by brushing it off.
"I don't know, Miss. Must have been the Doctor."
"My father died years back." Rose admitted softly.
"You've been thinking about him lately—more than ever." Gwyn blundered again.
"I suppose so…." Rose wondered, and then she realized that Gwyn had done it again. "How do you know all this?"
Amanda listened closely, hoping that Gwyn would reveal something.
"Mr. Sneed says I think too much." She tried to brush off by feigning embarrassment. "I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, haven't you, Miss?"
"No," Rose chuckled. "No servants were we're from."
Gwyn went on, not realizing what she was saying.
"And you've come such a long way."
Amanda couldn't help herself.
"What makes you think so?" She asked, urgently.
Rose watched them both go into this strange, focused state. Almost as if they were miles away, the two of them, locking gazes with each other. No one noticed the Doctor come in, staying towards the back to listen in.
"She's from London. I've seen London in drawings—" Gwyn started.
"But never like that." Amanda added.
Gwyn nodded in agreement and continued.
"All those people rushing about, half-naked, for shame. And the noise. And the metal boxes racing past. And the birds in the sky—no, their metal, as well. Metal birds with people in them." She became slightly fearful. "People are flying. And you—" She indicated to Amanda herself now. "Amanda, you've flown the farthest…farther than anyone, even farther than the Doctor."
Amanda was starting to tremble.
"The things you've seen—" Gwyn continued. "Doctor who…such pain and devotion…the darkness…..the big bad wolf…" She trailed off.
Amanda saw flashes of faces, different men, including the Doctor. She didn't know that she was seeing all of his incarnations, all the way through eleven. Then at the mention of 'the big bad wolf', she saw swirling golden light. It was so bright and she was so scared…it was all so familiar but she didn't know why. She didn't even know that a tear had fallen from her eyes. Suddenly, they both gasped with a shudder as they broke the connection and backed away from each other.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Miss." Gwyn tried to apologies.
"It's all right." Amanda whispered, still shaken up, trying to bring herself back from what she saw.
"I can't help it, Miss. Oh, but you have to understand? You can do it too." Gwyn tried, just as shaken.
"But, that's just the thing, Gwyn, I don't understand. Ever sense the Doctor found me." Her voice shook as she tried not to cry. "I have no memories from before that day. I don't know if I've always been able to do this…..or if this is new. And rarely do I ever remember anything about my past. Only now….only future events and things and people and places. I don't know what it is that you can do, Gwyn, but I don't think we're the same. Oh I wish that we were…It would be so much simpler…because I think you're connected to the rift….but…..but I'm not…." Amanda explained, still slightly out of it.
Gwyneth looked at her in awe.
"Ever sense I was a little girl, my mum said I had the sight. She told me to hide it" She started to explain, a little panicked.
The Doctor chose that moment to announce his presence, startling all of them when he cut in.
"But it's getting stronger, more powerful, is that right?" He asked.
For a second, no one knew which of the girls he was addressing. Amanda wondered, just exactly how long was he standing there. How much did he see, what did he hear? Gwyn decided to answer for herself.
"All the time sir." She whispered. "Every night…..voices in my head. "
"Amanda was right." He briefly made eye contact with said companion to let her know that he in fact had been there the whole time, then turned back to Gwyn. "You grew up on top of the rift. You're part of it."
"You're the key." Amanda added.
"I've tried to make sense of it, Sir." Gwyn confessed. "Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts."
The Doctor looked pleased at this.
"Well, that should help. You can show us what to do." He told her.
"What to do where, Sir?" Gwen asked hesitantly.
"We're going to have a séance." He replied.
Gwyneth nodded her head a bit reluctantly in agreement before heading off to get everything ready. Rose followed after her to help, but Amanda stayed behind, too lost in her own thoughts to do anything else just yet. Once the other two were gone, the Doctor slowly approached her to see if she was going to be ok. When he was close enough, he lightly put his hand on her shoulder and became concerned when she flinched away, startled, as if she had forgotten where she was for a moment.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, finally getting her to look at him. "What did you see?"
"Faces." She whispered.
"Faces? What kind of faces?" He prompted.
"Eleven of them. There were eleven. Yours was one of them Doctor." She told him hesitantly. "The ninth."
The Doctor stilled for a moment.
"Only eleven?" He asked her.
"Yes. Is it important, Doctor? What does it mean?" He didn't answer. "Doctor?"
"Right. No, not important. What else did you see?" He asked, moving right along.
"There was this light….this…this…..I don't actually know how to describe it." She started to get frustrated and slammed her hand against the wall. "Just more of this stupid déjà vu!" She huffed. "She mentioned my parents you know. Said that I would never see them again…..never again and they don't even remember me. I really am alone." She ended softly.
The Doctor grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Look at me." He commanded her, but she ignored him. "Amanda Winters, you look at me!" She snapped her eyes to his. "Do you trust me?"
"Always." She answered, straight-faced.
"I promise you, we will figure this out and everything will be fine." He assured her.
"How could you possibly promise something like that?" She asked him.
With a very sincere voice, straight face, and confident stance—he replied.
"Because I'm the Doctor and you know what else…..you will never be alone as long as I'm here. You got that?" Then, in another 'flip-of-the-switch' moment, he flashed her is cheeky grin and pulled her away to join the others. "Off we go then!"
Amanda couldn't help but chuckle. He was good at that.
*****TIME SKIP/20 Minutes*****
They were all gathered around a table, ready to begin. Both Amanda and the Doctor were looking a bit excited but the others looked a bit more cautious. Charles looked down right annoyed like he'd much rather be doing something else. He was still having trouble adjusting to this new way of looking at the world around him. Amanda sat to Gwyn's left with Charles next to her, then Rose, and Mr. Sneed, ending with the Doctor on Gwyn's right.
"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the lands of the mists down in Butetown." Gwyn informed them with a smile. "Come. We must all join hands."
Everyone immediately joined hands except Charles. He was being difficult and started to stand up instead.
"I can't take part in this." He huffed.
The Doctor wasn't going to let him just walk away so easily, though.
"Humbug?" He challenged him. "Come on, open mind."
"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask." Charles argued. "Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing." He scoffed.
Gwyneth looked put down by this and she averted her eyes to the floor.
"Now don't antagonize her." The Doctor scolded. Then, smiling, he added. "I love a happy medium."
Amanda couldn't help but laugh at this which made the Doctor happy. Rose let out a snicker as well.
"I can't believe you just said that." Rose reprimanded while shaking her head.
The Doctor smiled at her too.
"God, I love it when you do that." Amanda managed to chuckle out.
He gave her a cheesy grin, and then looked to Charles with a straight face again.
"Come on. We might need you." The Doctor encouraged him.
Charles paused for a moment but then reluctantly sat back down with a huff in acceptance.
"Good man." The Doctor cheered. He then turned his focus back to Gwyn and became serious again. "Now, Gwyneth, Reach out."
She did as she was told and turned her eyes towards the ceiling, as If she were searching for something. She called out hesitantly.
"Speak to us." Then, gaining more of her courage, her voice became stronger. "Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us, that we may relieve your burden." She encouraged them.
Slowly, building up, there was a sort of undistinguished, eerie shouting coming from the walls.
"Can you hear that?" Rose asked a little weirded out by the noise.
"Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly." Insisted Charles.
"Look at her." Rose countered.
Gwyn was focusing on something.
"I see them." She gasped. "I feel them."
They all gasped as well as they watched glowing, blue wisps of gas gather around them.
"What's it saying?" Asked Rose, a bit freaked out now.
"They can't get through the rift." Amanda answered.
"Gwyneth, it's not controlling you. You're controlling it." The Doctor spouted off with sudden realization. "Now, look deep. Allow them through." He coaxed her.
"I can't." She cried.
"Yes, you can." The Doctor insisted. "Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."
Gwyn closed her eyes in strained concentration. Suddenly, she went stiff, sitting rigged and her eyes opened wide, looking glassy. It was as if she were locked in place. The grip she had on both Amanda and the Doctor's hands grew tighter.
"Yes." She gasped as three humanoid, ghostlike creatures appeared behind her.
There were mixed looks of shock and awe around the table at the sight of them.
"Great God." Gasped Mr. Sneed. "Spirits from the other side."
"The other side of the universe." The Doctor corrected with a smile.
Then, the lead creature spoke as before, using a combination of Gwyn's voice and its own child-like voice.
"Pity us.Pity the Gelth. There's so little time. Help us." It begged.
"What do you want us to do?" The Doctor asked.
"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge." It answered.
"What for?" Amanda asked, in concern for Gwyn.
"We are so very few. The last of our kind—we face extinction." It said, sadly.
This caught the Doctor's attention.
"Why, what happened?" He asked.
"Once, we had a physical form like you. But then the war came." It answered.
"War? What war?" Charles asked them in confusion.
"The Time War." Both Rose's and Amanda's eyes went wide in understanding and glanced at the Doctor who looked saddened and slightly guilty. "The whole universe convulsed. The time war raged, invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher form. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state." It explained.
"So that's why you need the corpses." The Doctor confirmed in realization.
"We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form and your dead are abandoned. They go to waste. Give them to us!" It begged.
"But we can't." Said Rose.
"Why not?" The Doctor asked in confusion.
"It's not—I mean, it's not—" She tried to explain, but the Doctor cut her off.
"Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives." He argued.
Rose could only stare at him disbelievingly.
"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth."
With a gasping wail, the creatures released Gwyn and flew back into the gas-lamps, causing her to collapse in exhaustion. Rose quickly jumped up from her chair to run around the table in concern.
"Oh, my God, Gwyneth. Gwyneth!" She called out as she shook the girl's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Gwyn wasn't responding. She was unconscious, fine, but completely out of it. Poor Charles was shaken up as well.
"All true." He whispered to himself. "It's all true."
***Another TIME SKIP/25 Minutes later/Sitting Room*****
Rose was not happy with the Doctor to say the least. She sat next to Gwyn with a wet wash-cloth, dabbing at the girl's forehead. Amanda stood next to the Doctor, off to the side, leaning against a wall. She was concerned for Gwyn as well, but she didn't want to be in the way. The two girls were both relieved when her eyes finally fluttered open. Gwyn tried to get up, startled, but Rose pushed her back.
"It's all right. You just sleep." Rose assured her.
Gwyn was still in a slight daze.
"But my angels, Miss. They came didn't they—they need me?" She asked.
To Rose's annoyance, the Doctor answered her before Rose could even open her mouth.
"They do need you, Gwyneth. You're their only chance at survival." He said calmly.
"I told you—leave her alone." Rose snapped. "She's exhausted, and she's not fighting your battles."
The Doctor sighed in tired frustration and Amanda placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Drink this." Rose offered, handing Gwyn a cup of water.
"Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain it again. What are they?" Asked Mr. Sneed.
"Aliens." He chirped, nonchalantly.
Mr. Sneed was still confused.
"Like, foreigners, you mean?" He asked.
"Pretty foreign, yeah." The Doctor answered vaguely, and then pointed towards the direction of the sky. "From up there."
Mr. Sneed still wasn't catching on.
"Bruceton?" He asked innocently.
'Sure, why not. Let's go with that.' Though Amanda with a smile. Apparently the Doctor was thinking the same; because that's the direction he went with.
"Close—and they've been trying to get through from Breceon to Cardiff, but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through. Even then, they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes." The Doctor explained.
"Which is why they need the girl." Charles said in resignation.
The poor man was thoroughly overwhelmed for the evening, nursing an alcoholic drink of some kind in the far corner of the room by the fireplace.
"They're not having her." Rose declared tersely.
"But she can help—living on the rift, she's become part of it—she can open it up, make a bridge, and let them through." Argued the Doctor.
"Incredible—" Charles slurred slightly. "—Ghosts that are not ghosts, but beings from another world, that can only exist in our realm by inhabiting cadavers."
"Good system Might work." The Doctor concurred enthusiastically.
"Sounds like one hell of a movie!" Amanda whispered to the Doctor who grinned slightly.
Rose was getting really frustrated now. She stood up and snapped at the Doctor.
"You can't let them run around inside dead people."
"Why not? It's like recycling." He scoffed back at her.
Amanda bounced her eyes back and forth between them like she was watching a tennis match.
"Seriously, though, you can't." She stated incredulously.
"Seriously, though, I can." He snapped.
Amanda sighed in exasperation. They were getting nowhere.
"It's just…..wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them, even in death." Rose shouted.
"Do you carry a donor card?" The Doctor asked her calmly.
"That's different—that's—" She tried to argue but he cut her off.
"—it is different, yeah, it's a different morality—get used to it or go home." He told her, very seriously.
Rose looked taken aback for a moment before she turned to Amanda.
"Come on, Amanda, you tell him. He always listens to you." She tried.
This sudden change of tactics caught her by surprise.
"HA!— Oh, sweetie, no he doesn't….trust me." Amanda countered. "Besides, I think you both are just arguing like children. You both are making valid points." Rose made to argue but Amanda continued before she could. "Look, I think we all just need to step back, take a breath, and just think for a moment. Examine it from every angle. I'm leaning in your direction Rose, but not for the same reasons." She stated calmly.
This only frustrated the Doctor even more. He felt like they were ganging up on him. He thought that at least Amanda would understand.
"You herd what they said—time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying." He huffed.
"I know that, Doctor, but stop and think for just a moment." Amanda pressed. "I know you can't resist a cry for help and I think it's important that we do something. It's just…..what do we actually know about them? Earlier, when Rose was locked in that room, they could have asked her for help then, but they didn't. They tried to attack her." She offered. "What if they're really hostile and they're just trying to take advantage of your kindness."
"I'm sure that was just a misunderstanding." He argued.
Amanda sighed in exasperation.
"I'm sorry Doctor, but I'm not so sure. I have a bad feeling about all this….I think—" She started.
"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW!" He snapped angrily at her.
Amanda flinch away from him and at the look on her face, he immediately regretted it. Before he could apologies, she moved away from him, to the other side of the room to sit down, resting her shaking hands in her lap. She refused to look at him.
"You're right." She smiled softly, staring at the floor. "Do whatever you want. You seem to have everything figured out and under control." She said softly, slightly sarcastically.
The Doctor sighed in frustration at himself and wiped a hand down his face. Rose, who was also surprised at his actions chose this moment to put her last word in.
"They're not using her." Rose said with finality.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. But then, Gwyneth decided to speak up for herself.
"Don't I get a say, Miss?" She asked softly.
Everyone turned to look at her in surprise. In fact, none of them had even thought to ask her.
"Look, you don't understand what's going on." Rose tried.
"You would say that, Miss. Because that's very clear inside your head, that you think I'm stupid." Said Gwyn, though not in an accusing manner.
"That's not fair." Rose tried to defend herself.
"It's true though. Things might be different where you're from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me." Gwyn replied. "Doctor, what do I have to do?"
He looked at Rose's put-off stance, then to Amanda who had her eyes closed calmly and then back to Gwyneth who was waiting expectantly.
"You don't have to do anything." He offered.
"They've been singing to me sense I was a child, sent by my mum on holy mission. So tell me." Gwyn assured him of her decision, making him smile.
Amanda couldn't help but smile softly at Gwyneth. She really was a sweet girl. 'I really hope I'm wrong, Gwyn…..for both you and the Doctor's sake.' Amanda thought.
"We need to find the rift." The Doctor told Gwyn.
Then he turned to everyone else in determination. He was going to help the Gelth.
"This house is on a weak spot, so there must be a spot that's weaker than any other. Mr. Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house?" He asked. "The place where most of the ghosts have been seen."
Mr. Sneed thought for a moment and then answered.
"That would be the morgue."
"No chance you were going to say 'gazebo', is there." Rose said sarcastically as she plopped down next to Gwyn.
Amanda burst out laughing, good-naturedly at Rose's comment and shook her head.
"Come now Rose, the Doctor's involved. Why would it be something that boring?" She teased.
The Doctor smiled at her jest. This meant she wasn't too upset with him. They all gathered and started to follow after Mr. Sneed towards the stairs that led down to the morgue. The Doctor held Amanda back just before the two of them went down.
"I'm sor—"
"It's fine. You don't have to." She cut him off with a smile.
"No, it's not." He told her.
She sighed and took his hand.
"Look. You lost your temper. It happens, I get it. Don't you dare, for one second, think that something as stupid as a petty disagreement is going to run me off, mister." She poked him in the chest for emphasis. "You'll have to try a hell of a lot harder than that to get rid of me. I'm not going to lie though, you did hurt my feelings….but I'll get over it. Okay?"
He nodded his head and the two of them headed down to join the others. When they were all down stairs, they took a moment to look around. It was rather cold and creepy. Cadavers on slabs, covered in white sheets, tools and saws were hanging on the walls and the smell was sickening.
"Ugh." Blanched the Doctor. "Talk about 'Bleak House'." He joked.
Rose still wasn't ready to give up and thought to try a different approach.
"The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed. Because I know they don't. I know, for a fact, that corpses weren't walking around in 1869." She threw at him.
"Time's in flux, Rose, Changing every second. Even us just being here changes things." Amanda countered.
"Your cozy little world can be rewritten like, that." The Doctor added with the snap of his finger. "Nothing is safe. Remember that—nothing."
"Doctor," Charles called out nervously, gaining their attention. "I think the room is getting colder."
And in fact it was. As they all looked around and herd the sound of the gas creatures getting closer.
"Here they come." Warned Rose.
'Thank you captain obvious.' Amanda thought sarcastically.
Not a second later, the gas creature they'd spoken to from before appeared in front of them and spoke with its own voice for once.
"You've come to help. Praise the Doctor, praise him." It cheered in gratitude.
"Promise you won't hurt her." Demanded Rose.
The Gelth didn't even acknowledge she had spoken.
"Hurry, please—so little time. Pity the Gelth." It rushed.
"Promise her, or this stops now!" Amanda snapped.
The bad feeling she felt from earlier was coming back full force almost making her feel sick.
"No!" Gwyn cried.
"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer, somewhere you can build proper bodies." The Doctor spoke up, taking charge. "This isn't a permanent solution, all right?"
"My angels. I can help them live." Gwyn sighed adoringly.
"Okay, where's the weak point?" The Doctor asked.
Both Rose and Amanda huffed in annoyance but no one seemed to even notice that they still went unanswered.
"Here, beneath the arch." It directed.
Gwyn immediately went where it had asked her to go and repeated what it said.
"Beneath the arch." She whispered.
Once she was standing in place, Rose ran up to her for one last attempt at changing her mind.
"You don't have to do this." She urged.
But Gwyn just touched Rose's cheeks and softly whispered…
"My angels."
Then, suddenly, she went stiff as a board and her eyes widened just like what happened during the séance. When Amanda saw this, she wiped her hand unconsciously beneath her eye and pulled it away to see that it was wet. She was crying, but she didn't understand why. No one else seemed to notice this though. Rose backed away reluctantly.
"Establish the bridge, reach out to the void, let us through."It commanded.
"Yes. I can see you. I Can See You. Come." Gwyneth beckoned them.
"Bridgehead establishing." It informed them.
"Come to me. Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls." Gwyn continued soothingly.
"It has begun. The bridge is made." It announced as Gwyn's mouth opened up to release the gas creatures. "She has given herself to the Gelth."
The room was quickly filling up with dozens of them.
"Rather a lot of them, eh?" Charles pointed out nervously.
"The bridge is open. We descend." It called out triumphantly.
Suddenly, the Gelth leader had its own 'flick of the switch' moment as its soft smile turned into an evil, malicious grin and the whole creature went from a soft blue to a violent red color. Gwyn's so called 'angels' turned out to be 'daemons' after all.
"The Gelth will come through in force." It said in glee, it's child-like voice taking on a slight growl.
"You said you were few in number!" Charles shouted angrily.
"A few billion." It taunted them with a smug smirk. "And all of us in need of corpses."
The trio looked at each other, all three of them with a matching look of 'oh shit' on their faces as the Gelth started to force themselves into the dead bodies throughout the room. Which inconveniently, there were a lot of.
"Oh, Gwyneth. Stop this." Mr. Sneed called to her. "Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone, I beg of you." He demanded.
Unfortunately, he didn't see one of the corpses sneak up behind him.
"Mr. Sneed, get back." Rose tried to warn him.
But it was too late. The possessed corpse grabbed on to him and held him in place while a Gelth forced itself down his throat, effectively killing him and taking over his body. The Doctor quickly pulled Rose away with Amanda, backing them all against a wall.
"I think it's gone a little bit wrong." He admitted.
Amanda scoffed and punched him in the arm.
"I have joined the legion of the Gelth." Mr. Sneed rasped out. "Come. March with us."
"No." Whispered Charles in fright.
"We need bodies. All of you, dead. The human race, dead." They chanted as they moved threateningly closer.
"Gwyneth, stop them! Send them back, now!" The Doctor shouted as he continued to back them up along the wall.
"Three more bodies—convert them, make them vessels for the Gelth." The leader commanded, using Gwyneth's voice again.
"Doctor," Charles called out in panic, by the stairs. "I-I-I can't. I-I'm sorry." He stammered. "This new world of yours is too much for me. I'm so—"
He was cut off by the shriek of a Gelth that flew too close, scaring him enough to run up the stares, leaving them behind to make his escape. The Doctor pulled the girls farther away until they reach a metal-barred door that led to a prison cell-like room. He pushed them inside and slammed it shut.
"Give yourself to glory." The possessed bodies shouted at them while trying to reach through the bars. "Sacrifice your lives to the Gelth."
"I trusted you. I pitied you!" The Doctor shouted in an angered sadness.
He had been taken advantage of. 'Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I listen?' He though as he grasped onto Amanda's hand. She squeezed it back reassuringly.
"We don't want your pity! We want this world and all its flesh." The leader taunted.
"Not while I'm alive." The Doctor challenged.
"Then live no more." It answered.
"But I can't die." Rose said, trying to reassure herself. "Tell me I can't. I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die." She looked to the Doctor, panicked. "Isn't it?"
"I'm sorry." He apologized, sincerely.
"But it's 1860—how can I die now?" She asked franticly.
"Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape." Amanda tried to explain.
"You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth, and it's all my fault." The Doctor added, sadly. "I brought you here."
Rose sighed and closed her eyes in resignation.
"It's not your fault" She assured him. "I wanted to come."
"What about me?" The Doctor asked. "I saw the fall of Troy, World War V. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon…in Cardiff." He groaned.
"It's not just dying—going to become one of them." Rose added.
"Actually, Doctor…I think I've got you beat." Amanda said teasingly.
"How so?" He asked with a smirk.
"Well, not only am I about to die, not knowing who I am, where I come from, or what This thing is that I can do….But….. It's my birthday, remember." She laughed humorlessly.
The other two froze. They had completely forgotten that they were originally celebrating before all this had started.
"Oh, right." He said flatly.
"Meh. I'd say running from the Gelth kind of takes priority. And hey, I still got to meet Charles Dickens!" She said.
They all chuckled despite themselves and their situation.
"Well, I don't know about you two…but I don't plan on making it easy for them." Amanda added determinedly. "No one takes advantage of the Doctor and gets away with it. Not while I'm around."
"We'll go down fighting, yeah?" Rose asked.
"Yeah." The Doctor agreed.
"Together?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah." He answered as he squeezed her hand tighter and grabbed on to Rose's with his other, and then smiled down at her. "I'm so glad I met you."
"Me too." Rose admitted as she returned the smile. "You as well, Amanda."
"It's been awesome, Rose….you were awesome." Amanda replied.
The Doctor then turned to Amanda with a proud smile.
"And I'm so glad you fell into my life." He told her.
"Out of all the places I could have landed….I'm glad it was with you." She smiled and leaned up to plant a kiss onto his cheek with a smile. She looked at them both. "We were fantastic."
They braced themselves for what they were about to do, when suddenly, Charles appeared from out of nowhere and started rushing about.
"Doctor! Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas!" He shouted franticly as he did exactly that to the nearby lamps. "Now fill the room—all of it, now!"
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked in confusion.
"Turn it all on! Flood the place!" Charles yelled as he continued to rush about.
The Doctor's face lit up with realization.
"Brilliant—gas." He said excitedly.
Rose looked skeptical about the sanity of that option.
"What, so we choke to death instead?" She asked sarcastically.
"Am I correct Doctor?" Charles asked. "These creatures are gaseous."
"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the hosts, suck them into the air like poison from a wound." The Doctor explained gleefully.
The possessed bodies now turned to Charles and started moving slowly towards him.
"I hope. Oh. Oh, Lord." He stammered fearfully. "I hope this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately."
Plenty more." The Doctor shouted as he ripped a pipe from the wall, effectively pumping the room with gas faster.
The Gelth screamed, and screeched, and wailed as they were forcibly drawn from the bodies.
"It's working!" Amanda cheered.
The trio quickly exited the little barred room and ran over to Gwyn, both Rose and Amanda having to cover their mouths from the gas.
"Gwyneth, send them back! They lied, they're not angels." The Doctor commanded.
Gwyn looked at them in disappointment.
"Liars." She said softly.
"Look at me." He asked her. "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same." He assured her. "They'd give you the strength. Now send them back!"
"I can't breathe." Rose coughed harshly.
"Charles, get them out." The Doctor ordered, without looking away from Gwyn.
"I'm not leaving her." Rose cried.
"And I'm not leaving you." Amanda Protested, stubornly to the Doctor.
"They're too strong." Gwyn whispered, tiredly.
"Remember that world you saw, Rose's world? All those people—none of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift." He urged her.
"I can't send them back." Gwyn replied, strained. "But I can hold them, hold them in this place, hold them here." She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a box of matches. "Get out." She warned them.
Rose saw what Gwyn meant to do and rushed forward.
"You can't!" Rose screamed franticly, as the Doctor stopped her before she could reach her.
"Leave this place!" Gwyn commanded them.
"Rose, get out, go now. I won't leave her while she's still in danger. Now Go!" He ordered her as he shoved her towards the stairs. "You too, Amanda! Don't argue." He pleaded with her.
Amanda paused for just a second longer before she nodded in defeat and rushed up the stairs after the others, trying not to cry. The Doctor then held out his hand to Gwyneth, urging her to hand over the matches.
"Come on, leave that to me." He told her.
Gwyn wouldn't budge though. It was then that he looked into her eyes and the sad realization struck him. He walked up to her and placed his hand to her neck to feel the lack of a pulse.
"I'm sorry." He apologized, feeling guilty. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Thank you." He said sadly as he rushed up the stairs.
He just barely managed to make it out of the building before it blew up behind him. Amanda wasted no time in running up to him and pulling him into a hug.
"She was dead the moment they established the bridge wasn't she?" She whispered so only he could hear and squeezed him tighter when she felt him nod.
She released him and stepped back to stare blankly at the fire as a tear slid slowly down her cheek. Rose stared at the Doctor in disbelief.
"She didn't make it." She realized.
"I'm sorry." He confirmed. "She closed the rift."
"At such a cost." Charles declared sadly. "The poor child."
"I did try, Rose, But Gwyneth was already dead. She had been for at least five minutes." The Doctor tried to explain.
"What do you mean?" Rose asked, confused.
"I think she was dead from the minute she stood in that arch." He reiterated.
"But she can't have. She spoke to us. She helped us. She saved us." Rose insisted. "How could she have done that?"
" 'There are more things in heaven and earth….than are dreamt of in your philosophy'." Charles quoted. "Even for you, Doctor."
"She saved the world….a servant girl. No one will ever know." Rose pointed out sadly.
"We'll know." Amanda said softly as they all stared at the fire in contemplation.
Slowly, the group started to make their way back to the TARDIS. Rose and Charles walked in front, chatting lightly as The Doctor and Amanda trailed behind them.
"Doctor?" Amanda whispered suddenly, catching his attention. "Earlier, before we ran for our lives, you said something that—you said 'Rose's world'. Why?" She asked curiously.
"Caught that did you." He joked hesitantly. "I have a theory."
"Care to elaborate?" She asked him.
"Not yet." He answered her honestly.
She sighed in resignation and nodded her head.
"Fine…." She said flatly. "…for now." She added playfully yet warningly.
They continued to walk in companionable silence until they reached their destination and perked up again. They were relieved to be back at the ship.
"Right then, Charlie boy, I've just got to go into my, um…..shed." The Doctor finished lamely. "Won't be long." He added jokingly as he fiddled with his key in the lock.
"What are you going to do now?" Rose asked Charles.
"I shall take the mail coach back to London. Quite literally post-haste." He replied happily.
"Oh! A pun by Dickens!" Amanda squealed to the Doctor. "Friggin awesome!"
He smiled at her cheerfulness.
"This is no time for me to be on my own." Charles continued joyfully. "I shall spend Christmas with my family and make amends to them. After all I've learned tonight, there can be nothing more vital."
"You've cheered up." The Doctor stated lightly, with a smile.
"Exceedingly!" Charles laughed. "This morning, I thought I knew everything in the world. Now I know I've just started." He claimed excitedly. "All these huge and wonderful notions, Doctor. I'm inspired. I must write about them."
"Do you think that's wise?" Rose asked skeptically, with a smirk.
"I shall be subtle—at first." He assured her. "The mystery of Edwin Drood still lacks an ending. Perhaps the killer was not the boy's uncle. Perhaps he was not of this earth." He explained with an eerie flair to his voice. " 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood And The Blue Elementals'. I can spread the word—tell the truth!" He added with vigor.
"Good luck with it." The Doctor encourage him as he shook his hand enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you. Fantastic."
"By then, and thanks." Rose said happily as she shook his hand as well and he smiled back.
"Oh, Charlie! I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet you in person!" Amanda said gleefully.
"Thank you, and a very Happy Birthday to you, by the way." He replied making her smile broaden in shock.
She and Rose glanced at each other and in silent agreement, they both leaned forward simultaneously and kissed his cheeks. They giggled to each other at the sight of his blush.
"Oh, my dears." He stammered in embarrassment. "How modern."
The Doctor glanced back at them, with one eyebrow raised.
"Thank you, but—I don't understand—In what way is this goodbye?" Charles asked, confused. "Where are you going?"
"You'll see…In the 'shed'." The Doctor assured him as he made to step inside, followed by the girls.
"Oh, my soul. Doctor, it's one riddle after another with you." Charles chuckled and then became serious. "But after all these revelations, there's still one mystery you still haven't explained."
'Here it comes.' Amanda smirked mentally.
"Answer me this…..Who are you?
The Doctor thought for a moment and then answered with a soft smile.
"Just a friend, passing through."
"But you have such knowledge of future times. I don't wish to impose on you, but I must ask you—" He inquired hesitantly. "—My books. Doctor, do they last?"
"Oh, yes." The Doctor answered encouragingly.
"For how long?" Charles wondered curiously.
"Forever." He assured him sincerely.
A look of pure elation and relief passed across Charles' face as he tried to remain humble at the same time. It was rather adorable to see.
"Right. Shed." Amanda said, indicating that they should leave. The Doctor went to open the door again. "Come on, Rose." Amanda beckoned.
"In—in the box?" Charles asked in shock. "All three of you?"
"Down, boy." The Doctor responded sternly, and then smirked, teasingly. "See ya." He chirped as he disappeared through the door.
The girls chuckled as they followed after him.
"Doesn't that change history," Rose asked as she took off her heeled boots once she'd closed the door. "If he writes about blue ghosts?"
Amanda smiled sadly back at her and shook her head.
"In a week's time, it's 1870, and that's the year he dies—" She replied.
"—Sorry. He'll never get to tell his story." The Doctor elaborated.
Rose frowned at the image of Charles Dickens standing patiently in the snow on the monitor.
"Oh, no! He was so nice." She sighed sadly.
"But in your time, he was already dead." The Doctor pointed out. "We've brought him back to life." He added figuratively with a shrug. "And he's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie boy. Let's give him one last surprise." He suggested.
Amanda smirked and bumped rose's shoulder playfully. They watched Charles' look of shock and awe on the monitor as they dematerialized. Off to their next adventure.
Hope you enjoyed the update! Please review and let me know!
Just so everyone knows…I've just started the flex 2 spring-session of college so I'll now be balancing writing this and school papers at the same time (I'm only taking two classes thou…English Comp. & US History)…so if an update takes a little longer than a few days…that's why. I'm sending chapter 5 off to my beta soon, so once she's given it a look, I should have it posted pretty quick!
*Reminder: I've posted a picture-link of Amanda's dress on my profile!*