Disclaimer: Sorry, but I don't own Doctor Who. I know, it's hard to believe. :P
A/N: OMG, I just updated in less than a year's time! *jaw drops* Thanks to Time Lady 802379, BlueEyes444, twilightplotbunny, superherofan95, KsandraMallan, BensonBabe, pipinheart, SparxFlame, ArmoredSoul, blackrose5242, and charliebrown1234 for reviewing. :)
Chapter Four
For lack of any better ideas, Donna grabbed the Doctor's shoulders. She then proceeded to shake him as hard as she possibly could, until his teeth were chattering sharply together inside his head. "Doctor, snap out of it!" she bellowed, directly into his face.
The Doctor stared straight ahead, nonplussed. "Doctor, snap out of it," he repeated calmly, though the words came out a bit garbled thanks to Donna shaking him so violently.
"Donna, don't!" Dee-Dee cried, attempting to pry the feisty redhead away from the defenseless Time Lord. "You'll hurt him!"
"Donna, don't. You'll hurt him."
"Oh shut up, you," Donna snapped. She released her grip on the Doctor's shoulders, but gave him a generous push at the same time. He fell backwards into the wall with a thud, then dropped to the floor. Even as he hit the carpet, he still managed to repeat her words.
"That's not the Doctor talking," Dee-Dee said. "He's possessed, I'm sure of it!"
Donna stared at the Doctor, who continued to drone the words they spoke. He looked somewhat pathetic, crumpled on the floor as he was. And yet there was something about his eyes, those dark eyes that always seemed so old. They looked much like they had when he had been drowning earlier, like he was silently pleading for help.
"Oh my God, what are we going to do?" she said, suddenly growing worried as Dee-Dee's words sunk in.
"I don't know," Dee-Dee said, her face several shades paler than usual. It was obvious that the Doctor's continuous echoing was already starting to get to her. "The only way we stopped the creature last time was to get rid of its host..."
"Which was that Sky woman," Donna mused. Then she turned accusingly. "Don't even think about it! There's no way we're tossing the Doctor out into that sunlight! No way in hell!"
Dee-Dee quickly held up both hands, making soothing gestures. "That's not what I was thinking, honestly," she said quickly. "I was just saying that I don't know how to stop this."
Donna huffed loudly, folding her arms. "Well…good. Because no matter what happens, the Doctor's staying with me. Got it?"
Dee-Dee nodded mutely.
And then, as though to contradict her words, the Doctor stumbled jerkily to his feet. He looked for the world like a puppet that had been suddenly connected to its strings again. He stared straight ahead, towards nothing in particular, then took a slow step forward. Then another. And another.
"What's he doing?" Dee-Dee whispered, as though afraid to break the strange silence that had suddenly blanketed them.
"How should I know?" Donna snapped. "He's the telepathic one, not me!"
"…Telepathic…?"
The Doctor continued to stumble jerkily forward, without once looking back. Donna stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly realized that he was getting away. "Oi! Where d'you think you're going, Spaceman?" She jogged after him, Dee-Dee right on her heels. "Doctor! Doctor, I'm speaking to you!"
Unfortunately, he didn't seem to care. Eyes glassy, he ceaselessly repeated her words in an eerie undertone without even looking at her. His face was pointed straight ahead, as though the empty corridor was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.
"He's going to meet the creature, isn't he?" Dee-Dee blurted.
"Not if I can help it," Donna said. "Oi, Doctor! Hold it right there!" She grabbed his shoulder, intent on spinning him around to face her. She'd once had a boyfriend, long before the traitorous Lance, who'd had the unfortunate habit of not bothering to look at her when he spoke. He'd been gone in a matter of days.
But instead of spinning helplessly round, the Doctor resisted. He swung one arm out, catching Donna in the waist and thus knocking the breath out of her lungs. She staggered back into the wall with a gasp and fell to the carpet. Dee-Dee blinked owlishly, staring back and forth between the others. The Doctor stared expressionlessly at them for a few seconds, as though daring them to make another move, then turned and disappeared around a corner.
"That is enough of that!" Donna bellowed, staggering back to her feet. She angrily straightened her shirt. "If he thinks he's just going to pop me one and make off to meet that creature, he's got another think coming! I am not going to be stranded on this planet!"
With that, she raced around the corner after him, intent on showing him just what she thought of the way he was behaving.
And crashed into a wall of black clothing.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Donna squinted suspiciously at the young bloke blocking her path. He was a nothing but a teenager, with black clothes and nail polish. Apparently, times hadn't changed that much in the far future, she thought disgustedly.
Dee-Dee appeared behind them. "Jethro?" she said with surprise.
The bloke looked at her. "Oh, right. You're that one from the shuttle. Darcy or something, wasn't it?"
"Um, Dee-Dee," Dee-Dee said.
"Oh, right. Dee-Dee."
"Sorry to break up this little reunion, but I've got a Spaceman to stop," Donna said, shoving past the bloke and striding importantly down the hall. Just ahead was another curve in the wide corridor, around which the Doctor had just turned. Much to her disgust, both Jethro and Dee-Dee followed, Jethro apparently for lack of anything better to do.
"So what's going on here, then?" Jethro asked curiously. "Was that the Doctor bloke from the shuttle I saw go through here? Is that who you're chasing?"
"Yes," Dee-Dee said.
"What did he do this time?"
"Um, it's actually rather complicated to explain…"
Donna, ignoring them both, finally got within sight of the Doctor again. Biting her lip, she hurried up behind him. His instructions from earlier floated through her mind: I've got a glass jaw. One hard punch in the right spot usually puts me out cold. Determined not to back out, she again grabbed him by the shoulder.
This time she was ready when he swung for her. She leapt out of the way just in time, right hand in a fist. As he tried once more to knock her block off, she lunged, bringing her fist up towards his face. It crashed into his jaw, and he froze in midair. He stared wordlessly at her for a second, obviously shocked, then collapsed to the floor.
Donna immediately dropped to her knees beside him and rolled him onto his back. She clumsily checked for a pulse, and was immensely relieved to find that he was only unconscious. "Remember, Doctor, you asked for it," she said.
"What'd you do that for?" Jethro asked, though not sounding very alarmed.
"He's possessed," Donna said, offering no other explanation.
Realization dawned on his face. "Ohhhhhhh, like what happened on the shuttle, right?"
Donna stood. "Yeah. I'm Donna. And you were on the Crusader 50 as well?"
He nodded. "Parents made me. But it kinda turned out to be a little interesting, you know? Stranded in the middle of nowhere with that weird thing trying to get in. It was wicked."
Men, she thought irritably. "Well, Jethro, why don't you help us get the Doctor back to our room? He's a lot heavier than he looks."
He hesitated, frowning a little. "Well, it guess it couldn't hurt," he said finally. "Mum's off at the spa, and Dad's gone rock-climbing."
"Great, thanks. Take his feet, will you?" Donna bent and grabbed the Doctor's shoulders, heaving them up into the air with considerable effort. She pretended not to notice the odd stares she got from a pair of blonde women wrapped in fluffy robes, who chose that moment to stroll past.
She waited until Jethro had stuffed what was possibly a very futuristic iPod into his pocket and picked up the Doctor's trainers. Then she started backing down the hall, peering over her shoulder for anyone who might appear in her path and trying not to trip at the same time.
Dee-Dee, who was nervously keeping pace with them, said suddenly, "What happens when he wakes up? Do you think he'll still be…like that? That's farther than he's gone before in his possession. Since the shuttle, anyway."
"I hadn't really thought about that yet," Donna admitted breathlessly, mentally deciding that once this was all over, she would make sure the Doctor went on a diet. He was skinny as a rake, true, but much too heavy than could be healthy for any human being. Or in his case, any Time Lord. "We'd best tie him up, just to be safe."
"Tie him up?" Jethro grunted.
"Of course," Dee-Dee said. "We've got to keep him from getting to the creature."
"What creature?"
"The creature trying to lure him back to its lair," Dee-Dee explained.
"Why would it want to do that?"
"Oh, keep up, would you?" Donna demanded crossly. "The creature wants him because they have a connection from the Crusader 50!"
Jethro glared at her. "Sorry," he muttered, in a voice that didn't make him sound very sorry at all.
"That's enough lip from you, mister," Donna said sternly. "God, I can't stand teenagers."
"Who exactly are you, anyway?" he demanded. "You the Doctor's wife or something?"
"No!" Donna exclaimed, very nearly dropping the Doctor. "Why does everyone keep bloody asking me that?"
"Excuse me?"
Donna looked up, seeing the tall man in uniform for the first time. "Oh, Daniel!" she said, recognizing him as the security guard who had helped them twice before. She kept walking backwards down the corridor, determined to make it to her destination. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm off duty," he said. "But I really should be asking you what you're doing. Why're you dragging your brother through here? Too much to drink again?"
"Oh, so you're his sister, then," Jethro said.
"Shut it," Donna told him. "Yes, that's right," she said sweetly to Daniel. "Too fond of his brews, daft old bugger."
"We're almost there," Dee-Dee said.
Donna nodded vigorously, without speaking. If she never again dragged the Doctor's unconscious body down another hallway, it would be too soon.
"I really should report you, you know." Daniel was for some reason keeping pace with them instead of continuing to wherever it was he'd been headed. "All four of you. You're causing nothing but trouble throughout the resort!"
"I don't know these people," Jethro said.
"You're helping Donna with her brother, aren't you?" Daniel persisted.
"Yeah, but I just stumbled on him in the hallway," Jethro said defensively. "And he isn't drunk. He's possessed by some creature."
"Creature?" Daniel said. "What, have you been drinking, too? Too much alcohol consumption in the public areas is forbidden, you know."
"Sorry, Daniel, won't happen again," Dee-Dee said quickly, before Jethro could open his mouth again.
The Doctor moaned, turning his head. Donna sped up the pace a little more. She needed to get him safely secured before he woke up again. She'd seen how violent he'd gotten when they'd stopped him from going to the creature, and didn't want to chance it happening again.
"Hey, are you sure he's all right?" Daniel said. "He's…there's a bruise on his chin! Has he been in a fight or something?" He reached out and curiously touched the Doctor's chin, then abruptly jerked his hand away. He stopped walking and stared silently after them, eyes wide.
Donna raised her eyebrows at Dee-Dee, continuing on around the last corner before they again reached the right room. "Well, nice talking, Daniel! What a nutter," she added in an undertone.
Dee-Dee opened the door as the group approached it, brushing against a glass box containing a fire alarm and sturdy-looking ax in her hurry, and Donna and Jethro carried the Doctor over to the couch. They dropped him unceremoniously onto it. He moaned, eyelids fluttering.
"Quick, hold him down," Donna said. "I'll get something to tie him up with." She rushed into the tiny bedroom where she'd been sleeping, digging through her bag. She finally decided on a pair of charcoal-colored leggings, since she didn't exactly have any rope handy.
She took the leggings back out, and while Dee-Dee and Jethro held the Doctor in an upright position, tied his wrists tightly together. Donna stepped back and surveyed their handiwork. "There, that ought to hold him," she said. "And my mum said those leggings were worthless, when I first bought them. Ha!"
Jethro flopped down onto an armchair. "So what now? We sit here and wait until your brother wakes up?"
"No, you go back to your parents," Donna said. "Dee-Dee will help me get him to the TARDIS as soon as he's conscious, so we can leave. And he's not my brother."
Dee-Dee looked crushed. "Leaving? Where?"
"What's a TARDIS?" Jethro wanted to know.
Donna ignored him. "Anywhere but here," she answered Dee-Dee. "First there was that bloody Library, and now this. The Doctor can't ever seem to keep himself out of trouble, even on vacation."
"He's waking up," Jethro said excitedly, leaning forward in his chair. He peered at the stirring Doctor like he was an exotic beetle trapped under a glass.
Donna stepped up beside the couch, but was careful not to get too close. "Doctor?" she murmured. "Doctor, you all right?" She waited to see if he would repeat what she said or not.
He slowly opened his eyes, grimacing. "Why does my jaw hurt?"
Donna looked to Dee-Dee, who nodded briskly. "I think he's back to normal again," the girl said.
Sighing with relief, Donna sat down on the very edge of the couch. She leaned over and untied the leggings. "Oh, that. I hit you. Just like you told me to," she made sure to add.
The Doctor nodded, like such a thing was perfectly reasonable. He rubbed idly at her freed wrists. "And do you mind me asking exactly why you hit me?"
"You don't remember again?" Dee-Dee cried, obviously aghast.
"You were possessed. Again," Donna said. "Only this time…you were repeating everything we said."
The Doctor stared at her, and something strange passed across his face. "Oh," was all he said.
Donna leaned over and touched his forehead with the back of his hand. "Do you have a fever? Since when has your only comment been 'oh'?" she demanded.
The Doctor impatiently brushed her hand away. "We need to get to the TARDIS," he said.
"So we can leave?" Donna asked hopefully.
"No, so we can get some things," the Doctor said. "I've got a whole filing cabinet full of cave-spelunking instruments. Don't ask me why, I really don't know. I just saw it all at a sale once on Gregadoun Four and thought, why don't I get some cave-spelunking instruments? So I did. Which now turns out to be a good thing, I suppose, though it was rather daft at the time. Or did I already say that?" He frowned with concentration, at the same time flopping weakly against the couch.
"You're mad," Jethro said, also leaning back into his armchair.
The Doctor started, staring over at Jethro as though he'd seen a ghost. He slowly relaxed again. "Jethro, hello," he said reluctantly. "Donna brought you, didn't she? She seems to be in the habit of turning up everyone from the shuttle lately, even though she hadn't before met any of you. I don't know whether or not to be irritated yet. I'm getting there, though. No offense, of course. I'm just really not in the habit of associating with daft humans who tried to incinerate me into dust."
Someone knocked on the door, and everyone stopped talking and looked in that direction.
"Who's that, then?" the Doctor wondered. "Someone order in?"
"No…" Dee-Dee said slowly.
"If that's my parents, I'm not here," Jethro said, hunching down farther into the chair.
"Why would your parents be looking for you here?" Donna asked. "They don't even know who we are."
He shrugged halfheartedly. "I dunno. But anything's possible with those two."
Donna, rolling her eyes, got up and walked over to the door. She for some reason felt a strange shiver of trepidation as she turned the knob. "Daniel? What are you doing here?"
"Daniel. What are you doing here," the security guard said blankly. Then he swung an ax at Donna's head.
She shrieked, with equal amounts of surprise and fury, ducking out of the way just in time. With all her strength, she fought to get the door closed, bracing herself on the carpet with both feet and shoving hard at the door. "I could use some help, you lot!" Faintly, she could hear Daniel repeating her words out in the hallway as he fought to get inside.
Dee-Dee darted over, and leaned heavily against the door. Her slight frame unfortunately didn't provide much power. Neither did Jethro's, as he shuffled hastily over and added his assistance. The three of them could barely keep the door where it was, even though Daniel was their only adversary.
The Doctor sprang to Donna's side, and threw all his weight against the door. Digging his trainers into the carpet, he strained to hold the door in place and dig around in his jacket pocket at the same time. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he mumbled to no one in particular.
"I'm still waiting for you to do something Spaceman-y!" Donna shouted breathlessly, gritting her teeth together as she struggled against the door. It had slipped open another inch, despite their combined efforts. Not long before Daniel – and his ax – could easily slither inside.
"Just…looking for…the screwdriver," he grunted distractedly.
"Well look faster!"
The blade of the ax unexpectedly burst through the wood right beside the Doctor's left shoulder and arm, with a terrible tearing sound. It withdrew again, leaving a red stain that stood out against the white paint.
"Doctor!" Donna cried, horrified. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine," he said quickly, finally producing the slim silver device from the depths of his pocket. He expertly thumbed it to the right setting, just as the ax splintered another chunk of the door. Jethro yelped, leaping back before the ax could crack his head like a watermelon. The Doctor pointed the screwdriver through the small opening and pressed a button. The tip lit up, a brilliant blue.
The others heard nothing, but Donna saw the Doctor grimace and knew he was easily picking up on whatever sound the screwdriver was actually making, probably thanks to his super alien hearing. There was an odd noise on the other side of the mangled door, then everything went still.
The Doctor slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket without looking. "He's unconscious," he said, stepping back from the door. "Setting 2,458. Course, he'll wake up with a nasty headache, but that's better than him slaughtering all of us with that ax of his. Nasty."
Donna rushed to grab the Doctor's arm, and studied it carefully. His sleeve was torn, and blood leaked steadily from a deep gash in the skin. The Doctor flinched as she prodded urgently at it. "Doctor, we need to get this taken care of, right away!"
He gave her an expression of exaggerated indifference. "Aw, I'll be fine. Just need to get myself fixed up in the TARDIS infirmary, and I'll be right as rain."
"Don't give me that," she snapped, trying to hide her worry. "You're bleeding like a stuck pig!"
He gave her his best wounded little boy look. "Really? A stuck pig? Donna Noble, I'm disappointed in you. Couldn't you have thought up a description less…cliché? And I really don't like being compared to a pig, to be honest." He quickly turned so that his injured arm, still bleeding, was out of her line of view.
"Fine," she snapped. "Bleed to death; see if I care!"
"I hate to interrupt," Dee-Dee said hesitantly, from where she was peering out into the hallway, "but Daniel is definitely unconscious now. It's safe."
"That's the same bloke you talked to in the hall," Jethro said. "Why'd he go all maniac and attack us like that?"
"Who knows with humans," the Doctor said. "You've all got your maniac bits."
"Oi!" Donna fired him an intense glare, not letting up until he looked properly abashed.
"I think…I know what happened," Dee-Dee realized slowly, eyes widening. "He touched the Doctor while we were carrying him down the hall, remember? Is it possible the infection…spread over to him? The creature could have possessed him as well, trying to use him as a token to get the Doctor to its lair."
Jethro backed away from the rest of them. "I'm not…am I?"
Donna turned angrily to the Doctor. "You better not have infected the rest of us, mister, or I'll kick your skinny arse all the way back to London!"
The Doctor winced theatrically. He fumbled in his pocket and once again displayed the sonic screwdriver. Its tip lit up, this time with a quiet buzzing sound, and he lifted it carefully up and down before Donna. Then he moved on to Dee-Dee, and Jethro. Both looked at him suspiciously.
"I've told you before that I don't like you bleeping me, Spaceman," Donna growled.
He tactfully ignored her, stowing the screwdriver away for a second time. "All of you are fine. The possession only leapt over to Danny boy, apparently. So!" He loudly clapped his hands together, making the other three jump. "Who's ready to go gather those spelunking instruments from the TARDIS?"
"Why?" Donna demanded. "You still haven't told us what for."
"Yeah," was Jethro's contribution to the conversation.
He grinned in a way that was quite mad. "Why, to go to the creature's lair, of course."
O_O What d'you guys think is going to happen next? Well, I already know, since I'm the author. *cackles evilly, then awkwardly clears throat* Ummmmm, please review?