A/N: Big thanks to my followers, to those who have favourited, and to everyone who has taken the time to review. I adore every single one of you. I just loved rewriting this episode and I hope you enjoy it as well :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That all goes to the BBC. *Some lines below are borrowed from the episode The Fires of Pompeii. Credit for those lines belong to their respective writers.*
Rose followed the Doctor and Donna, a few steps behind, as they went to get a better look at Caecilius's newest marble creation. "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?" he asked of Lucius.
"As the rain pleases the soil," the pompous man responded.
The Doctor crossed his arms as he got a good look at the marble slab. Definitely too advanced for this day and age. "Oh, now that's different. Who designed that, then?"
"My Lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius answered.
"Where'd you get the pattern?"
Lucius turned to him. "On the rain and mist and wind."
"But that looks like a circuit," Donna injected.
"Made of stone," the Doctor whispered, making a face.
Rose peeked around the his shoulder. "How is that even possible?"
Donna wondered the same thing and loudly asked, "Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?"
"That is my job, as City Augur," Lucius said proudly.
"What's that, then, like the mayor?"
The Doctor smiled at their hosts and gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, ha. You must excuse my friend, she's from Barcelona." He pulled Donna and Rose a few steps away to explain. "No, but this is an age of superstition. Of official superstition. The Augur is paid by the city to tell the future. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."
Rose nodded. After travelling with the Doctor for as long as she had, this wasn't her first time coming across a civilisation that believed in such things. "And everyone just goes with it, yeah?"
Before the Doctor could confirm, a young female voice proclaimed, "They're laughing at us. Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us." They turned and saw a young, sickly woman, who seemed no older than sixteen, enter the room.
"No, no, I'm not. I meant no offence," the Doctor said quickly, with Rose and Donna nodding in agreement.
Metella rushed to the girl's side, placing a supportive arm around her weak frame. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "My daughter's been consuming the vapours."
"Oh for gods, Mother. What have you been doing to her?" her son asked in anger.
"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius scolded.
"Yeah, but she's sick. Just look at her!"
Lord Lucius stepped forward and faced the young girl. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."
"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions," Metella praised, like any mother would.
"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."
Donna and Rose both scoffed, while the former muttered, "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." A small tremor was felt as soon as she finished.
"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you," he warned.
The Doctor observed as Metella held her daughter tightly through the small quake. "Consuming the vapours, you say?"
"They give me strength," the girl answered breathlessly.
"It doesn't look like it to me."
"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"
He frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
She leaned forward, almost tipping out of her mother's embrace. "Doctor. That's your name."
"How did you know that?"
"And you," she nodded towards Donna. "You call yourself Noble."
"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude," Metella reprimanded, with a hint of nervousness.
The Doctor shared an intriguing look with Rose, clearly this girl, Evelina, had some sort of gift. The mysteries of Pompeii deepened by the second. "No, no, no, no. Let her talk."
"You come from so far away," Evelina stated.
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries," Lord Lucius announced, clearly put out at being upstaged.
The Doctor quirked his head. "Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed."
"Is that so," he turned and looked directly at the Doctor, "man from Gallifrey?"
"Where did you hear that name?" Rose asked, stepping forward, feeling a surge of protectiveness wash over her. It was strange, she always wanted the Doctor safe, but this was different. This was a feeling so strong, she couldn't quite place it as her own. She felt a familiar hum in the back of her mind... the TARDIS.
Lucius ignored her and kept his attention on the Time Lord as tremors continued to shake the ground beneath their feet. "The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"
"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna questioned, clearly becoming frightened.
The Augur shifted his gaze to her. "And you, daughter of London."
"How does he know that?"
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."
"That's impossible," she said stubbornly.
"Doctor," he started to say, but was interrupted by Rose's shout.
"Enough! No more."
Lucius narrowed his eyes at her. "What right have you to declare no more? Ah... You burn with the heart of Time. And look, just there... There is something of the Wolf in you. Your pack is returning."
The Doctor felt both his hearts drop when he saw Rose's eyes turn gold in retaliation to this soothsayer's prophecy, he made to step forward, but stopped when she held out her hand in warning.
"And what of you, little Lucius?" she stated, her voice reminiscent of her time as the Bad Wolf. "The young boy so scared and alone? Abandoned by his mother, unloved by his father. The whispers of the mighty, your only friends. But those whispers will be your downfall, Lucius Petrus Dextrus. The Doctor will see to that."
Lucius was clearly shaken by Rose's proclamation, but tried to act as if it was nothing. "Is that so? You better watch out for the daughter of London."
Donna grabbed the Doctor's arm tightly. "Me? Does he mean me?"
Lucius pinned her with his gaze. "There is something on your back."
"Even the word Doctor is false," Evelina said suddenly, pushing out of her mother's arms. She stepped closer to the Doctor. "Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord, sir. A Lord of Time." As a final great tremor shook around them, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
"Evelina!" her mother cried, as the Doctor knelt down to examine her.
Rose gasped as the burning sensation receded quickly from her mind, leaving her feeling cold and empty. She grasped Donna, with tears prickling her eyes. "D-Donna?"
"Rose? What the hell was that about?" she asked quietly, so not to disturb the others.
"I don't... I don't know."
As the ruckus calmed, Lord Lucius made a quick exit, taking his marble circuit with him. When the Doctor announced that Evelina was merely exhausted and needed rest, Caecilius and Quintus carried her off to her private chambers to recuperate. Wanting to feel of some use, and sensing the Doctor needed to speak to Rose alone, Donna offered to help Metella gather some cool water and rags, to bathe Evelina's face.
Silently thanking the ginger woman for the privacy she was allowing them, the Doctor pulled Rose off to a small corner and embraced her tightly. "You have got to stop doing that," he scolded lightly.
"I really didn't mean to do anything," she told him truthfully. "It was like one minute I was my normal self, and the next I could feel the TARDIS overwhelm my mind. She was so angry, Doctor."
"What do you mean?" He pulled back.
"I don't know. None of this is right. There's something very wrong in Pompeii. I'm scared," she admitted, her voice sounding smaller than he'd heard it in a long time.
He kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, now. We'll fix this, yeah? You, me, and Donna. It'll all be alright."
"Did everyone see me go all Bad Wolf?"
"No. They heard you, but the only ones who saw your eyes were Lucius, Donna, and myself."
"That's good. The others would probably think I was a demon or something if they saw."
He chuckled lightly. "Nah. No one could ever think Rose Tyler was a demon."
"Ha! Remember that time you took me to Fraxatome and you failed to tell me that on that planet, legend said that all demons from the underworld had shiny yellow hair?"
"Fine. The only way anyone could ever think you were a demon was if we were on Fraxatome."
Rose rested her head on his chest and inhaled slowly. "What do we do now?"
"I think it would be best if you stuck close to Evelina," he told her decidedly. "There's something going on with her and she might be more comfortable with you since your female and closer to her age."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to investigate a bit. Figure out this 'consuming the vapours' nonsense, see what exactly is going on with Lord Lucius."
"You'll be careful, yeah? Don't forget what tomorrow is."
"It'll be fine, Rose. We'll get out of here in plenty of time. I promise. In the meantime, keep an eye out on Donna. I'm afraid she still might try to evacuate the city."
"We can't really blame her, Doctor. Tomorrow, this place will be destroyed, including every inhabitant. That is absolutely terrifying to think about. I would be lying if I told you that I don't want to do the same thing as Donna. I won't," she assured, "because I know better. But this is Donna's first time in a situation like this. It's not going to be easy."
The Doctor scrubbed his hands down his face. "I can't change anything. What happens tomorrow has to happen!"
"I know that and once we have time to properly sit down with Donna and explain, she will too. But until then, it's going to be a fight and a struggle."
He leaned his forehead against hers. "This isn't what I wanted for her first trip," he admitted.
"But here we are." She looked around and made sure that they weren't being watched before moving forward to give him a small kiss. "Let's get moving, yeah? I'll go track, Donna down and keep watch of her and Evelina."
He kissed her back. "Be careful."
"Always am."
"Ha!"
Navigating her way towards Evelina's room, Rose found Donna standing in the doorway watching Metella fuss over her daughter. The older woman shot Rose a small smile when she noticed her entrance and said apologetically, "She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her..."
Donna saw Metella began unwrapping a dressing from Evelina's right arm. "What's wrong with her arm?"
"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."
She nodded to Rose, both taking interest in the grey tinge marring the young girl's limb. "What is it?"
"Evelina said you'd come from far away." Metella looked at Rose pleadingly. "And you, you have such knowledge. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"
Rose ran her fingers down the irritation and recoiled quickly. "Oh my god," she mumbled under her breath.
Curious at what would give Rose that reaction, Donna traced her own hand down Evelina's arm. "It's stone."
The sound of the Doctor clearing his throat behind them, made the three women turn around. Rose smiled bashfully. "Excuse me." She made her exit and followed the Doctor to a small alcove. "Doctor, there's something weird happening to Evelina."
"You mean besides making correct prophecies?" he asked with a hint of cheek.
"Yeah, see the thing is, her arm is turning to stone. Sort of like a statue or something."
"Hhhmm. Interesting. I had a little chat with Caecilius and found out that seventeen years ago there was a great earthquake. After that the soothsayers started making perfect sense."
"And you think it's connected?"
"Must be, because I also learned that the way they heat their homes is through natural hot springs that lead straight to Vesuvius. When Metella said that Evelina was consuming the vapours, she's literally consuming particles of Vesuvius."
"Well, that can't be good."
"Nope," he agreed. "And now I think it's time I found out more about Lucius. You continue to keep watch over Evelina and that arm, yeah?
She smiled. "I'm on it."
When she made her way back to Evelina's room, she found that the young girl was wide awake, while Metella was searching for some "proper" garments for Donna and Rose. For Donna, she picked a deep, royal purple gown with cap sleeves and a shawl to match. For Rose, she chose a forest green, one-shoulder floor length dress. Rose had to admit, the clothes were beautiful and showed that this family was clearly well off in society.
Rose settled herself next to Evelina, who was perched on the edge of her bed, while Donna spun around the room, showing off. The two girls giggled at her silliness. "You're not supposed to laugh. Thanks for that. What do you think?" She posed. "The Goddess Venus."
Evelina's eyes widened in surprise, but said with a hint of wickedness, "Oh, that's sacrilege!"
"Nice to see you laugh, though," she commented and said on the opposite side of where Rose was sitting. "What do you do in old Pompeii, then, girls your age? You got mates? Do you go hanging about round the shops? TK Maximus?"
The young girl shrugged. "I am promised to the Sisterhood for the rest of my life."
"Do you get any choice in that?"
"It's not my decision. The Sisters chose for me. I have the gift of sight."
"Then what can you see happening tomorrow?"
"Donna," Rose warned.
Is tomorrow special?" Evelina asked earnestly.
"Not at all," the blonde told her, with a smile a bit too wide.
"It might be," Donna said, ignoring her friend. "What do you see?"
She closed her eyes and took a breath. "The sun will rise, the sun will set. Nothing special at all."
"See, nothing to be concerned about," Rose added, pleading with silent looks for Donna to let this go.
The ginger paid her no mind and continued with, "Look, don't tell the Doctor I said anything because he'll kill me, but I've got a prophecy too."
Evelina gasped and covered her face with her hands, revealing a pair of eyes painted on the backs.
"Donna, stop!" Rose commanded.
"Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out. Evelina, can you hear me? Listen."
"There is only one prophecy," she insisted, sounding on the verge of tears.
"But everything I'm about to say to you is true, I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, please listen. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks, tons and tons of it, and this whole town is going to get buried."
"That's not true."
"Of course not," Rose cooed, brushing the girl's hair back in a soothing manner. "Donna, enough. You're clearly upsetting her with your stories. If Evelina says nothing unusual is happening tomorrow than that's that!"
Donna rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but everyone's going to die. Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town. Just for one day. Just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out. You've got to leave Pompeii."
Evelina removed her hands from her eyes and looked at Donna harshly. "This is false prophecy!"
Before anything could be said further, the ground starting shaking once more. "Oh, not again," Donna groaned.
Rose perked her head up. There was something different this time. This wasn't a continual shudder. This came in spurts. Almost like... footsteps. "Doctor, what have you done now?" she asked rhetorically, jumping up at once to find the source.
Running back into the main part of the villa, Rose ran right into Caecilius and Metella, with Donna and Evelina right on their heels.
"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella questioned, clearly frightened.
Her husband stepped forward, looking around. "Doesn't sound like Vesuvius."
"Caecilius?!" the Doctor shouted as he ran in with Quintus. He stopped and rested her arms on Rose. "All of you, get out."
"What did you do?" she hissed at him.
He gave her a sheepish look. "I think we're being followed." Suddenly the grill to the hypocaust flew off. "Just get out!" he demanded giving Rose a small shove. Nobody listened though, and instead watched in fixation was the hypocaust itself began to crumble. In it's place stood a large stone creature that looked as if it was burning with lava in it's core.
"The gods are with us," Evelina cried out, continuing to stare at the stone monster.
"Water. We need water," the Doctor yelled. "Rose, Quintus. All of you, get water. Donna!"
As commanded, Rose and Donna followed Quintus to fetch the vases, while one of the servants stepped forward and prayed, "Blessed are we to see the gods." Without warning the creature breathed down on him, instantly turning the man to ash. Evelina looked on in horror as her mother clung to her father in fear.
The Doctor placed his hands up in surrender. "Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me you are. Don't hurt these people. Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Just tell me who you are." When the thing of stone didn't respond, Quintus and another servant ran forward and filled their respective vases with water, dousing the creature in the liquid and causing him to crumble.
Caecilius released his wife and looked at the broken remains. "What was it?"
"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."
"Doctor," Metella called out, "or whatever your name is, you bring bad luck on this house."
He gave the woman a stony glare. "I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" Turning back, he began mumbling. "Still, if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed, don't you think, Rose? Rose? Donna? Donna? Rose?!"
Evelina stepped forward, her eyes downcast. "They've been taken," she admitted quietly.
"Yes, I can see that," he said through grit teeth. "To where and by whom?"
"Th-the Sisterhood. They've been taken to the temple to be sacrificed. Your friend... your sister?... She was making false prophecies."
"Where is this temple? Where!?"
Evelina jumped in fright, but her brother stepped forward and quickly gave him the directions he needed. Pulling a small object out of his pocket, the Doctor quickly armed himself for a fight and ran off to save his companions. "Honestly," he said to himself. "It's like the bloody Racnoss all over again."
"You have got to be kidding me," Donna remarked as she was tied to a table and surrounded by women, all bent on sacrificing her or something. Off to the side, Rose was tied to a pillar. Apparently, she would get offed as soon as they were done with her.
A woman with dark hair, who they'd heard respond to the name Spurrina, stood over Donna, a large knife poised in the air and proclaimed, "The false prophet will surrender both her blood and her breath."
"I'll surrender you in a minute. Don't you dare!"
"Just let us go!" Rose yelled. "Please, just listen to us. You've got it all wrong!"
"You will be silent," Spurrina commanded.
"Listen, sister, you might have eyes on the back of your hands, but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I've finished with you. Let me go!" Donna screamed as loud as possible, praying that someone, anyone, would hear her pleas.
"This prattling voice will cease forever." Spurrina raised the blade higher.
"Oh, that'll be the day," the voice of the Doctor said from the other side of the room. Turning in shock, they all discovered the Time Lord leaning causally against the wall.
"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl."
"Well, that's all right." He made a face and continued chatting as he made his way closer to his bound companions. "Just us girls. Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, I know. Well, she would." He stopped in front of Donna first. "You all right there?"
"Oh, never better," she said in relief.
He looked behind him where Rose's hands and legs were bound to the pillar behind her. "And you, you alright? You look lovely by the way."
Rose winked when she saw a hint of lust behind his eyes. "I'm alright. Got a thing for bondage, do ya?"
"Well, not normally, but I have to admit, you make anything look good. And you," he turned back to Donna, "I like the toga."
Donna smiled. "Thank you. And the ropes?"
"Yeah, not so much." He began sonicing her free, followed quickly by releasing Rose as well.
Spurrina watched in amazement as their bonds fell away. "What magic is this?"
"Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion." He bent across the table and looked at every single Sister. "She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, hey? On the blade of a knife?"
"Yes, a knife that now welcomes you!"
Rose raced forward to push aside the Doctor, but was stopped by a gravelly voice cry out, "Show me this man."
Immediately, all the Sisters fell to the floor, except Spurrina. "High Priestess, the stranger would defile us!"
"Let me see. This one is different. He carries starlight in his wake."
The Doctor, flanked by Rose and Donna, moved closer to the curtained off area where the voice was coming from. "Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?"
"The gods whisper to me."
"They've done far more than that. Might I beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?" The curtains moved aside at his request and revealed a woman made entirely of crumbling stone.
"Oh, my god," Donna gasped. "What's happened to you?"
"The heavens have blessed me," was the response given by the Priestess.
The Doctor reached out and said kindly, "If I might?"
She held her hand out, and he took it gently, kneeling before her. "Does it hurt?"
"It is necessary," she insisted, her voice strained.
"Who told you that?"
"The voices."
Donna stared in complete shock. "Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is this what's going to happen to all of you?"
Spurrina held out her arm for examination. "The blessings are manifold."
"You actually consider this a blessing?" Rose asked.
Spurrina nodded as Donna wrapped her head around what was happening. "They're stone."
"Exactly." The Doctor stood. "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?"
"This word, this image in your mind. This volcano. What is that?" the Priestess questioned.
"More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?"
"High Priestess of the Sibylline."
"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into, what?"
"Your knowledge is impossible."
"Oh, but you can read my mind. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are."
"We are awakening," the Priestess answered in two voices. One, her own. And the other, much deeper and more sinister.
"The voice of the gods," Spurrina cried, as the other Sisters, still on their knees, began rocking and repeating the words, "Words of wisdom, words of power."
"Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor demanded, his vice rising about the chants.
The stone creature got to it's feet and stood before them. "We are rising!"
"Tell me your name!"
Rose covered her mouth as the creature removed it's hood and declared, "Pyrovile." Instantly the Sisters began repeating the name.
"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna asked, not taking her eyes off the creature.
"Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's a halfway stage," the Doctor answered.
Rose took a step to her left and slipped her hand in the Doctor's. "Only half way, huh?
He nodded. "Yep. That thing in the villa? That was an adult."
"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor," the half transformed Pyrovile told him.
He pulled a yellow water pistol out of his suit and held it up in defense. "I warn you, I'm armed. Girls, get that grill open."
Rose smacked her forehead. Now she had truly seen it all. "Okay," was her only statement as she and Donna went to remove the grill from the hypocaust.
"What are the Pyrovile doing here?"
"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust," the Pyrovile told him.
"Right, creatures of stone shattered on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"
"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."
"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?"
"We opened their minds and found such gifts," the creature declared.
The Doctor nodded and continued, "Okay, that's fine. So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic. You can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"
"Got it!" Donna said loudly, as she and Rose finally pried the grill up.
"Doctor, let's go!" the other girl cried.
"Be right there. You two get down," he told them.
Donna peered down the hypocaust. "What, down there?"
"Yes, down there." He turned his attention back to the Pyrovile. "Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?"
"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless!" Spurrina called out.
The Doctor shrugged and held the water pistol up. "Yeah, but it's got to sting." He began spraying the creature, causing it to scream in agony. "Get down there!" he shouted when he was Rose and Donna still waiting for him.
When the three made it to the bottom of the hypocaust, they took a moment to get their bearings. Donna caught her breath. "You fought her off with a water pistol. I bloody love you."
Rose snorted. "Look at that. Took us years to admit those words aloud."
The Doctor winked and moved towards a tunnel entrance. "This way!"
"Where are we going now?" Donna asked
"Into the volcano."
"No way."
"Yes, way." He grabbed Rose's hand. "Appian way."
As they continued their trek into Vesuvius, Donna squealed. "Isn't this great though!?"
"What exactly is great about this situation, Donna?" Rose asked, genuinely confused.
"Things can change! Pompeii doesn't have to be destroyed."
She sighed and shook her head in denial. "Nothing's going to change."
"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?"
"Still part of history," the Doctor answered stoically.
"But I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You've saved Rose. You saved us all. Why is that different?"
"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."
"How do you know which is which?"
The Doctor stopped and faced Donna head on, releasing his grip from Rose. With the Oncoming Storm swirling in his eyes, he answered, "Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left."
He turned and continued walking as she called out to him, "How many people died?"
Rose grabbed her arm. "Leave him alone!"
Donna pulled away and asked once more, "Doctor, how many people died?"
"Twenty thousand," he answered, and Rose knew in his mind the numbers of his people, the people of Gallifrey, were echoing back to him.
Donna blinked back tears. "Is that what you can see, Doctor? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?" Suddenly a loud roar came up from behind them.
The Doctor pushed the girls forward. "They know we're here. Come on."
The three crept into a large cavern, and hid behind a large cluster of boulders when they saw several, fully formed Pyroviles walking around. "It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain."
"I thought there would be more lava," Rose commented.
Donna shook her head in wonder at the large creatures taking up residence in the mountain. "There's tons of them."
"What's that thing?" The Doctor nodded towards a oddly shaped structure in the distance. He pulled out a monocular to get a better look.
"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something. Rocky fall's on its way."
"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"
"But why do they need a volcano?" Donna brought up. "Maybe it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something?"
"Oh, it's worse than that."
Rose nudged his shoulder. "Well, that's reassuring."
"How could it be worse?" Donna asked, right as another loud roar echoed around them. "Doctor, it's getting closer."
Just then, Lord Lucius appeared and cried out from a ridge, "Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."
"Come on," the Doctor encouraged, as the slid from their hiding place.
"We can't go in!" Donna stated.
"Well, we can't go back."
"Crush them. Burn them," Lucius continued to proclaim.
A Pyrovile reared in front of them, too close for comfort. Pulling Rose behind him with one hand, the Doctor used the other to spray the creature with his water pistol.
Lucius watched from his perch as the three travellers continued to try and find their escape. "There is nowhere to run with your Wolf, Doctor, and daughter of London."
The Doctor stopped, and once again placed himself in front of Rose and Donna. "Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather. In a lava? No? No?" Donna shook her head in denial.
Rose said under her breath, "Time and place."
He cleared his throat. "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation," Lucius answered with a shout.
"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Donna shouted back.
"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."
The Doctor was taken aback. "What do you mean, gone? Where's it gone?"
"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost."
That struck Rose. This was the second time they'd heard of a lost planet recently. But what did that mean? "Lost to what? Another species? Was there a war or something?"
"It is gone," Lucius answered. "But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."
"Yeah, I should warn you, it's seventy percent water out there," the Doctor pointed out.
"Water can boil. And everything will burn, Doctor!"
"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Ladies." He pulled them into the structure behind them and quickly soniced the door closed.
The three travellers crammed into the tiny ship and the Doctor immediately began scanning the circuit board in front of them. "Could we be any more trapped?" Donna complained, taking in their environment. Suddenly a wave of intense heat washed over them. "Little bit hot."
Rose wiped a trickle of sweat from her brow. "Just a bit," she agreed. "Doctor, what happens now?"
He leaned on one arm and looked at her gravely. "The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."
"But can't you change it with these controls?" Donna asked frantically.
"Of course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."
"And Earth becomes the new Pyrovillia," Rose finished.
Donna shook her head. "But you can change it back?"
"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna." He turned to her. "It's Pompeii or the world."
"Oh my god."
Guilt flooded his features."If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen."
Rose took his hand, her eyes swirling with gold. "Time is still fixed. We'll make it happen. Together."
Donna began grasping at straws terrified at all she had and was still experiencing. She began taking large, gulping breaths as the Doctor set about inverting the system. "Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."
"Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it." He pulled Rose into his side and kissed the top of her head. "Certainly not us."
Rose gave a small nervous chuckle. "And when has that ever stopped us before?"
Seeing the braveness Rose was showing, even in the face of death, Donna lifted her chin. "Never mind us."
"Push this lever and it's over." The Doctor placed his and Rose's entwined hands on the stone lever and took a deep breath. "Twenty thousand people." Suppressing a sob, Donna placed her hands beside theirs.
Rose gave the two people to her right a watery smile. "Allons-y?"
The Doctor nodded and the three pushed down on the lever.
At some point Rose lost her hold on the Doctor and was only aware of the sound of Donna's screams as they were tossed about. She kept waiting for the moment it would all stop, the moment that would surely mean they were dead. Instead they landed with a large thud. They all took a second to stare at each other in shock at being alive, before the Doctor was using the sonic to open the door.
"It was an escape pod," he said breathlessly as he took in their surroundings.
"Doctor!" Rose yelled when she noticed avalanche of rolling ash headed their way. Vesuvius had erupted and they only had minutes to spare. He quickly used both hands to grab hold of herself and Donna and was leading them back to the TARDIS.
As they ran through Pompeii, ash rained down on them like heavy storm. People were running around frantically, and the Doctor was trying his best to keep hold of his companions. Rose stayed steadily by his side, but Donna fell out of his grip.
"Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me!" she started screaming. "Don't go to the beach, it's not safe. Listen to me!" A little boy next to her, no older than three began crying and she immediately knelt down next to him. "Come here."
A local woman ran up and scooped him into her arms. "Give him to me!"
Rose covered her mouth and nose, her shoulders wracked with sobs. "Donna, we have to go," she pleaded.
"Come on." The Doctor took the ginger woman's arm and began leading her to their escape.
They raced inside the villa and was met with the sight of Caecilius cowering with his family in the corner of the room. "Gods save us, Doctor!" he begged.
The Doctor stared at this family and looked back at Rose who had her eyes clenched shut. She was shaking uncontrollably, her breaths uneven. He saw her lips moving, but no sound coming out. If he looked just right, he could almost make out the word master. A shudder went through him. She was having a flashback to when the Master took her to Utopia. The things she saw... She still hadn't told the Doctor everything. He had to get her out of this situation. Now. Shutting down his emotions and ignoring the pleas from the family before him, he pulled Rose quickly towards the TARDIS.
"No!" Donna screamed, unable to figure out how he could just abandon these people. "Doctor, you can't. Doctor!"
Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor scooped Rose off her feet and laid her gently on the jump seat while he started the TARDIS engines. Donna slammed into the control room and looked at him fiercely. "You can't just leave them!"
"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies," he said, his face void of any emotions.
"You've got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back." The TARDIS lurched causing Donna to grab the console tightly. "It's not fair," she whimpered.
"No, it's not."
"But your own planet. It burned."
He finally looked up from the console and directed his gaze at her. "That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't! I just can't, I can't."
"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone," she begged.
The Doctor felt his resolve slipping, the final push he needed was Rose coming up next to him and taking his hand. She was horribly pale and looked like she might collapse at any moment, but the flashback was over. She echoed the words he once told her back to him, "Sometimes, not everybody lives, but sometimes, a few people do." Her eyes took on a glow and her voice, ethereal. "One family. One family is meant to survive."
Without another word, the Doctor began reversing the sequence he had just put into place. Both women felt the TARDIS land, and watched as the Doctor opened the door and reached out his hand. "Come with me."
After the family had loaded into the TARDIS, the Doctor quickly brought them to a hill, a safe distance away, looking over Pompeii. Everyone ushered outside, to pay their respects to Pompeii's final moments.
"It's never forgotten, Caecilius," the Doctor told the man on his right. "Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you."
"What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?" Donna asked the young soothsayer.
"The visions have gone," she admitted.
The Doctor stepped closer and gave her a small smile. "The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not any more. You're free."
Metella blinked back tears and said, "But tell me, who are you, Doctor? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?"
"Oh, I was never here. Don't tell anyone."
Caecilius watched the destruction of his home, trying to comprehend all that had happened in the last few hours. "The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people."
Letting the family have a moment as one, the Doctor nodded towards Rose and Donna to head back to the TARDIS. Rose stopped in her tracks as a burning sensation whipped through her mind. "Wait!" she told them as she rushed to Caecilius. Pulling him aside, the Doctor watched as Rose whispered something in the man's ear. He even felt a hint of jealousy when Caecilius pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you, my dear," he heard him say. Rose smiled and nodded as she walked back to the TARDIS.
"What was all that about?" the Doctor asked when she made it to the doors.
Rose gave an innocent grin. "Just had a message to give him."
"What do you mean? What message?"
"A message from the TARDIS. And no, I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't even remember it myself." She put a hand against each of his hearts."I have a feeling we'll figure it out someday though."
He sighed and leaned his head against hers. "You know, I'm not a big fan of my own TARDIS keeping secrets from me."
She kissed his cheek. "I know, but there's nothing to fear."
"How do you know?"
"I just do. Come on, Donna's waiting for us."
They made their way up the ramp and the Doctor, once again, began the sequence to send them back to the Vortex. Donna watched the couple quietly and finally with trepidation, she said, "Thank you."
"Yeah," was the Doctor's clipped response.
Rose cleared her throat. "Why don't I go make us some tea. Then the three of us and can sit down and have a chat." She turned to the Doctor. "Maybe you can explain timelines and they way they work in detail, so Donna knows for next time, yeah?"
He nodded and gave their newest companion a light smile. "Welcome aboard."
She grinned back. "Yeah."
Coming Soon: Planet of the Ood.
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