Disclaimer: Ugh.
Chapter 3 - Cassandra?
"Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive," the Doctor commented. Castiel had to agree to that.
Rose led the way down a staircase, and they looked around in curiosity at all the green, small, dirty cells. There were so many, to the left, to the right, up, down. It seemed like there was at least a couple thousand of them.
The Doctor opened one of the cells to reveal an ill man. He had boils covering his skin and different types of rashes, and he was wearing one of the hospital gowns. Castiel frowned, bothered by the mistreatment of this man. "That's disgusting," Rose spoke up, "What's wrong with him?" Castiel didn't know Rose for long, but he knew she wouldn't say things like that. She would care.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor said to the man, ignoring Rose, "I'm so sorry." He closed the cell.
Castiel opened the cell next to him, which held a woman, looking to be in the same condition as the other man. "What disease is that?" Rose questioned.
"All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything," the Doctor said sadly. Castiel's eyes narrowed. This was not right.
"What about us? Are we safe?"
The Doctor's voice hardened, "The air's sterile. Just don't touch them." Castiel closed the cell.
"How many patients are there?"
"They aren't patients," Castiel corrected her.
"But they're sick."
"They were born sick," the Doctor spat, "They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm."
"Why don't they just die?"
"Plague carriers. The last to go," the Doctor responded.
"It's for the greater cause," they all turned to the voice down the hall.
"Novice Hame, when you took your vows, did you agree to this? This is wrong," Castiel shook his head. She seemed so pure.
"The Sisterhood has sworn to help."
"What, by killing?" the Doctor retorted.
"But they're not real people. They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."
"What's the turnover, hmm?" the Doctor got angrier and angrier, "Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? How many?!"
"Mankind needed us," she said gently, "They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."
"But they're alive," Castiel argued.
Hame turned her gaze to him, "But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us."
"If life is brought out of torture and death, then it is wrong," Castiel growled.
"And who are you to decide that?"
"I'm an angel of the lord. And all of this ends, now."
"An angel?" Hame asked, confused, "The angels are extinct. God is dead."
Castiel blinked. No, that can't be true. God, dead?
"Just to confirm," Rose's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "None of the humans in the city actually know about this?"
"We thought it best not-"
"Hold on," the Doctor cut in, "I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Rose?"
"I don't know what you mean," Hame seemed genuinely confused.
"And I'm being very, very calm," the Doctor took a step forward, "You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Rose's head, I want it reversed."
"We haven't done anything."
"Doctor, she's telling the truth," Castiel said.
"I'm perfectly fine," Rose dragged out the word fine.
The Doctor glared at Rose, "These people are dying, and Rose would care."
"Oh, all right, you clever dogs," she walked over to the Doctor and put her hands on his chest, "Smarty pants," she untucked his tie from his suit, "Lady-killer."
"What's happened to you?"
"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out."
"Who are you?"
Rose tugged on the Doctor's tie, so her mouth was at his ear and she whispered something to him.
"Cassandra?" the Doctor asked, shocked. Who?
"Wake up and smell the perfume!" Cassandra took a bottle of perfume out of her cleavage and sprayed it up Castiel's nose. She knew who he was, what he was capable of. Better get him out of the way first.
"What did you do?!" The Doctor ran to catch him. While he was distracted, Cassandra knocked the Doctor out also.
Novice Hame ran forward and checked on the two men. "You've hurt them! I don't understand. I'll have to fetch Matron," she ran off.
"You do that, because I want to see her. Now, run along. Sound the alarm!" Cassandra pulled a couple cables, snapping them, and the alarm went off.
Castiel awoke to the sound of someone pounding on one of the cell doors next to him. "Let us out! Let us out!" Castiel's eyes widened as everything that happened suddenly came back to him.
"Aren't you lucky there were spares?" Cassandra spoke from the other side of the cells, "Standing room only."
"You've stolen Rose's body!" the Doctor yelled.
"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You and feathers have got about three minutes left. Enjoy."
"Just let Rose go, Cassandra!" In any other case, he said Castiel also, but he knew Castiel wouldn't be very effected if the diseases got to him.
"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger, and less common, then I'll junk her to waste! Now hushaby! It's showtime."
"Anything we can do to help?" Castiel heard sister Jatt call from down the corridor.
"Straight to the point, whiskers. I want money."
"The Sisterhood is a charity," That must be Casp. "We don't give money. We only accept."
"The humans across the water pay you a fortune, and that's exactly what I need. A one-off payment, that's all I want. Oh, and perhaps a yacht. In return for which, I shall tell the city nothing of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?" Castiel mentally shook his head at this woman's antics.
"I'm afraid not."
"I'd really advise you to think about this."
"Oh, there's no need. I have to decline."
"I'll tell them," Cassandra threatened, "And you've no way of stopping me. You're not exactly Nuns with Guns. You're not even armed."
"Who needs arms when we have claws?" Casp hissed. Castiel felt a pang of worry for the Rose, if Cassandra got injured, then so would she.
With a less confident voice, Cassandra said, "Well, nice try. Chip? Plan B."
Suddenly Castiel was falling forward, but he managed to land on his feet. Why was he let out? He looked over to the Doctor, who had also been freed, and he seemed to be thinking the same exact thing.
"What've you done?!" The Doctor asked Cassandra.
"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up. See you!"
"Don't touch them!" Castiel yelled.
The Doctor turned to the nurses, "Whatever you do, don't touch!"
The Doctor runs after Cassandra and Chip, but Castiel was hesitant to leave. What about the nurses? Before it was too late he decided to run after the Doctor across a catwalk. They heard the screams of sister Jatt behind them.
"Oh my god!" Cassandra breathed out.
"What the hell have you done?!" The Doctor yelled.
"It wasn't me!"
"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra. We've got to go down." The Doctor led them to a set of stairs.
"But there's thousands of them!"
"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" All four of them hurried downwards.
Above them, the ceiling rang out, "This building is under quarantine. Repeat, this building is under quarantine. No one may leave the premises. Repeat, no one may leave the premises."
"Keep going! Go down!" Castiel said, as he was at the back of the group. He could easily kill these beings, but he knew it was somewhat wrong, and even if he tried there were too many.
When they reach another full level, Cassandra runs to call a lift.
"No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving."
Cassandra's face lit up. "This way!" Now they were all running after Cassandra. Castiel really hoped she knew what she was doing. Somehow, Chip got cut off from the group, and a group of infected swarmed around him.
"Someone will touch him!" The Doctor yelled.
"Leave him! He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half life. Come on!" Cassandra ran off.
"Mistress!"
"Doctor, go."
The Doctor snapped his head to Castiel. "I'm not leaving you."
"There isn't time to argue!"
The Doctor looked over to Chip. "I'm sorry, I can't let her escape."
Castiel took a breath and used his grace to teleport himself to Chip. "Come on." He grabbed Chip's hand and teleported him past the infected and pointed to a chute labelled 'Waste'. "Go down there. There are too many for you to try to run." Chip nods and obeys. Castiel took another breath and teleported to the Doctor.
The Doctor jumped when he heard the sound of flapping wings behind him. "Castiel?"
"That is my name." He nodded, completely serious.
"Where is Chip? H... how did you do that?"
"Chip is fine. And I flew here." Castiel responded, as if it were obvious.
The Doctor's face brightened in curiosity, but he shook his head, remembering to worry about what was happening right now.
"I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead." Cassandra glared at the two men.
"Not my problem," the Doctor said, angry, "You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out. Give her back to me."
"You asked for it." Cassandra took a breath and left Rose. And went straight into the Doctor.
Castiel caught Rose before she fell, and she smiled at him. "Thanks. Blimey, my head. Where'd she go?"
Castiel just turned his gaze to the Doctor. Well, Cassandra now. "Oh, my. This is different."
"Cassandra?" Rose asked, surprised.
"Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts." Castiel frowned. Parts? "And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"
"Get out of him." Rose snarled.
"Oo, he's slim, and a little bit foxy." Foxy? Castiel made a mental note to ask the Doctor what these words mean later. Cassandra strutted over to Rose. "You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it." Rose blushed and was about to retort when the infected burst through the doors.
Cassandra screamed. "What do we do?! What would he do?! The Doctor, what the hell would he do?!"
"Ladder." Castiel pointed to the latter at the far wall of the room. "We need to go up."
They all ran to the ladder, which Rose was about to climb before Cassandra pushed her aside with her hip and climbed herself. "Out of the way, blondie!"
"Please, help us. Help." A woman called out.
"Rose, go up first." Castiel said, and Rose nodded, knowing that there was no point in arguing.
"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something!" Rose yelled up to Cassandra.
"Yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city."
"We're going to die if-"
Castiel tensed as he felt someone grab his ankle. "All our good work. All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything!" Casp yelled.
"Go and play with a ball of string." Cassandra said.
"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness!" Casp suddenly screamed and fell to the ground, infected.
"Cassandra, move!" Castiel yelled.
"Maximum quarantine. Divert all shuttles."
Cassandra tried to open the doors to the next level, but they were sealed shut.
"Help us." A man rasped.
"Now what do we do?"
"Use the sonic screwdriver!" Rose said, irritated.
Cassandra pulled out the sonic and frowned, "You mean this thing?"
"Yes, I mean that thing." Rose replied, exasperated.
"Well, I don't know how! That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts."
"Cassandra, go back into me. The Doctor can open it. Do it!"
"Hold on tight."
"Wait don't-" But Castiel was too late. He knew the Doctor wouldn't do anything if Rose was still in danger.
"Oh, chavtastic again. Open it!" Cassandra said, now back in Rose's body.
"Not till you get out of her."
"We need the Doctor."
"I order you to leave her!"
"Cassandra, just go into me!" Castiel barked, annoyed. He braced himself as Cassandra entered him without hesitation. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as Cassandra's essence was fighting for dominance with his grace, but Cassandra didn't seem bothered.
"No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout." Cassandra said, making Castiel's voice one pitch higher.
"Cassandra, get out of him!" Rose yelled.
"Well I can't go into you, the Doctor simply refuses to open the doors. So rude."
"Get out of him, Cassandra!" the Doctor growled.
"Oh, I'm so going to regret this." Cassandra groaned, and transfered into one of the sick below. Castiel sighed in relief.
"Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting."
The Doctor quickly opens the lift doors and he, Rose, and Castiel climb through.
"Nice to have everyone back." The Doctor grinned. Then Rose fell to the floor, and the Doctor and Castiel both knew who that was. "That was your last warning, Cassandra!"
Castiel put a hand on his shoulder and held him back. "Doctor..."
Cassandra stayed on the ground, staring at the wall. "Inside her head. They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched."
After a moment of silence the Doctor reached out his hand to help her up.
And, I'm back. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer, so, yeah.
Thank you to It'sMeHereReally for following, Ruby Warrior Girl 703, DonnaWatson, and LOTRPJOHP13133 for following, and DonnaWatson and BethyQuake for reviewing.
I'll try and update again soon!
