Chapter 3
The threesome were shown into two immaculate washrooms and showered with towels and dry clothes. Half an hour later, Susan and Donna emerged, dry and dressed in typical Atlantean tunics, to be told that the Doctor was already dry, and was waiting for them in the banquet room.
They entered a huge hall, adorned with the biggest shells they'd ever seen, and, yet again, full of waterfalls. The Doctor was still in his suit- though he appeared to have dried it- and was deep in conversation with the oldest member of the council, Jerom. Susan sat beside him with Donna on her other side.
Everyone was very quiet during the decidedly fishy meal. Afterwards, however, conversations began the second the last plate had been taken away. The hot topic of the evening was the Doctor and his companions.
"So, you say you are Time Travellers, yes?" asked Jerom.
"Yup. And we're absolutely fascinated by your beautiful city."
The stern one, Ylea, gave him a tight smile.
"Thank you. But, as you can see, we are a city with a mystery, and not a pleasant one at that."
"Ah, they're all like that," said the Doctor in what was obviously meant to be a reassuring tone.
"What I think Ylea means, is that there is something going on in Atlantis. Something wrong." Ylea nodded her agreement.
"Then let us help you," said Susan. "We often end up solving mysteries. Occupational hazard of Time Travel."
"We'll take you up on your offer," smiled Sani, the younger woman. She turned to the Doctor. "What was that that you did to Kaelah?"
"Just a little trick I learnt years ago," replied the Doctor modestly.
"What did you see?" asked Susan, who knew a thing or two about the Doctor's "little trick" herself.
"I can confirm that her last conscious memory was indeed trying to light a fire in the garden. I tried to access what happened between then and her attack in the council chamber, but- nothing!" He shook his head. "Normally, the eyes register images even if the brain doesn't, and with a little persuasion, I can get at these. But I didn't find anything at all! It's as if someone had put a dead-lock seal on, or forgotten to file it, or… or scrubbed the retinas."
There was a pause while everyone processed this information. Susan had noticed the emphasis he'd put on the word "her" when he talked about "her memories," and she didn't like the implications of this at all. "Perhaps we could go check out the garden," she suggested.
"Can we do that tomorrow?" asked Donna suddenly with a yawn. "I'm so tired… and I don't feel so good…"
"Sure, we'll do that tomorrow," said Susan quickly, her eyes daring the Doctor to argue. He did anyway.
"Why not now?" he pouted.
"We're knackered, and Donna's not feeling well."
"Speak for yourself."
"No one said you had to go to bed! You can stay up if you want to!" Susan was trying very hard not to laugh. The grandfather she remembered was very different from the grandfather she had now. It was almost as if she was his grandmother!
"We'd be happy to supply the ladies with bedrooms and medicine," said the fifth member of the council, Forem.
"Thank you," said Susan.
"But hold the medicine," said Donna, standing up slowly. "I'll just sleep it off, thanks."
They were to share a bedroom. Like all the rooms they'd been in, it was large and luxurious. The two women climbed into bed eagerly. Donna fell asleep almost immediately.
Susan examined her closely. Donna's face was pale, and her forehead very warm. The heat on her palm reminded Susan of days spent at home with a daughter full of the 'flu, a son sick with a stomach bug…
She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and slid under the covers. Her thoughts moved to her late family, and she fell asleep thinking of happy times…
DW
The lighting, the Doctor noticed, was not candlelight, but a cold, blue light. It reminded him a little of his sonic screwdriver. The thought was strangely comforting.
"What's in the lights?" he asked Sani, who had stayed in the banquet room with him.
"A small sliver of crystal," she replied. "The crystals are collected from the river that runs through the city."
"Natural phosphorescence?"
"Err… what?"
"They glow on their own?"
"Oh. No." She smiled. "They're powered by the Heart of the Sea, our power source. It protects Atlantis and her inhabitants, provides us with light and power, enables us to light fires where it would otherwise be too damp, and occasionally heals injuries that are beyond our healing abilities."
"Sounds amazing," murmured the Doctor. "Ever seen it?"
"No. No one knows where it is."
Sounds like a challenge, thought the Doctor.
DW
Susan woke from dreams of falling down ravines. At first, she thought it was the fear of the nightmare that had woken her, but she became aware of a feeling… that something was not right… She couldn't explain what it was. It was like the instinct that told her a child had woken and was at that very moment padding down the corridor in search of a consoling hug.
She sat up and glanced around the room. Donna was still asleep. Only the faintest glow was emanating from the light in the middle of the room, like a dim star. But still the feeling remained. Then she heard a noise, like water trickling. But there was water everywhere in Atlantis, that was to be expected. Then she thought she caught sight or a reflection of water on the floor, reflecting the dim light of the crystal. But when she looked closer, there was nothing…
DW
The lights flickered. The Doctor glanced upwards, then at Sani, noticing her worried frown.
"I suppose this isn't normal?"
"No. The lights have never flickered before. This is what Ylea meant when she said there was something wrong."
"Like when I said Kaelah was trying to light a fire? You looked a little concerned then too."
"It should have lit the first-"
A scream echoed down the hallway.
The Doctor dashed out of the room, Sani close at his heels.
Bursting into Susan and Donna's room, he saw Susan sitting up groggily. Sani blew on the light, and the room grew brighter.
"Wha' you doin' h-h-h-here?" Susan yawned widely. The Doctor and Sani exchanged glances.
"I heard a scream…" At once, the Doctor could tell something was wrong here. Susan would never have slept through a noise like that, not as a mother of three kids. And Donna was still asleep.
"Susan, would you mind awfully if I went into your mind for a moment?"
"Why?" asked a rather suspicious Susan.
"I just want to check something… I can't get in unless you let me, you know that."
"You did with Kaelah," muttered Sani.
"Kaelah was unconscious, and Susan knows how to keep people out of her mind." He reached out for Susan's temples and closed his eyes, just as he had with Kaelah. Susan's mind was easier to get into; he knew her well, and he had her permission- as opposed to that memorable time when he found her again after forty-five years, where he had definitely not been invited- but he still sensed confusion from her mind. She didn't think there was anything wrong. He went through her recent memories, from falling out of the TARDIS to falling asleep… then waking up to the sounds of the Doctor bursting in.
Is my hair really that messy? he thought absently as he pulled away. He wasn't sure, but he felt there was something missing. And why was Donna still asleep? Surely he'd made enough noise to wake her up by now?
"Find anything?"
"Nope, seems all present and correct." Susan could hear the doubt in his voice.
"We could check with the TARDIS tomorrow."
The Doctor nodded, turning to look at the sleeping Donna, and feeling her forehead.
"Since she's ill, I think I'd better take a blood-sample and see what's wrong with her," he said slowly.
Susan caught what he was implying, and looked at Donna anxiously. Sani coughed.
"If you don't mind, Doctor, I think I'll say goodnight. See you in the morning."
The Doctor nodded once, and proceeded to take a sample of Donna's blood. Donna didn't stir at all. Giving her a last concerned glance, he kissed Susan on the cheek and left the bedroom, pausing only to check his reflection in a mirror, and to attempt to flatten his hair.
The light dimmed as Susan blew on it. She curled up under her covers, and resumed her interrupted sleep.
DW
Power fading. Need more Power. But where to get Power from? Power has been brought within my reach. Power shall be gained. Power shall be restored.