The Doctor pulled one last lever before landing the TARDIS. He sighed and looked at me, making me wonder what he was up to. He walked past me and looked outside, making sure we landed where we were supposed to. I casually leaned against the console as walked back in towards me. Something was wrong in his face. I couldn't tell what it was, but something had happened.
"Well?" I prompted as he turned back to his controls. The Doctor remained absolutely silent, which made me worry. He was never this silent. "What's wrong?"
"Would you like to take a look outside?" he mumbled, resting his hands on the console. I nodded and dashed to the door, swinging it open. The destruction was almost unbearable. The windows were all smashed, some cars were completely upside down, doors were splintered, even a fire hydrant had been destroyed in the conquest. I covered my mouth, noticing the injured people behind the shattered windows and broken doors. Families kept close together while others nursed the wounded. The dead were piled on the street. The Doctor stood behind me as I began to tear up. This was my street. We had landed in my front yard. "We were too late, Felicity. The ice cream men got here first."
"Has this happened all around the world by now?" I choked out, feeling a large bump in the back of my throat. My neighbors hardly noticed the large blue box on my lawn, which shocked me. They were too busy concerned with their loved ones and themselves to even notice. If this had happened all around the world by now, had we been too late?
"Not yet," he whispered as he turned away. I closed the door, scared to death. Those were my neighbors. Some even friends. How many had died out there? If the Doctor didn't show up, would I have been one of them? I sunk against the wall as he returned the TARDIS to the vortex. "You alright Felicity?"
"No, no I'm not," I whimpered pathetically. I couldn't help myself. I couldn't find the strength to stand or even sit up properly. I just wanted to curl in a ball and cry. I had never seen devastation like that. Sure, in movies and pictures, but never in real life. The Doctor walked over to me and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we came back to the console. He placed me on the bench and knelt next to it.
"Do you want me to take you back to your parents?" he whispered kindly. I shook my head as I sniffed. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," I murmured with a hiccup. "It's just the first time dealing with death and destruction. I would have seen it later in life. Better now than later."
"You're a tough girl," he smiled as I continued to hiccup. I mustered as smiled and gave him a hug.
"Besides, traveling with you so far has been interesting and eye opening. Why would I want to leave?" I continued before I wiped my eyes. The Doctor smiled and patted my shoulder.
"Shall we go see Jerab, then?" he suggested as I gave him a cunning smile.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" I asked softly, fire in my eyes.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because, right now, I'm going to punch him in the face and skin him like a cat," I hissed with a slight laugh. The Doctor gave me a strange look before shrugging.
"Let's try diplomacy first before we skin him, alright?" he offered as I sighed, but nodded. It was probably better to figure out something before we threatened or assaulted him. The Doctor patted my back again before returning to the console.
"Doctor, why did you bring me back to my neighborhood?" I asked cautiously, slightly afraid of the answer.
"I didn't. The TARDIS sometimes goes off on her own. Usually takes me places where I'm needed most. I think she wanted to show us what the ice cream men have done in our absence. Her way of saying that we're needed," The Doctor explained as it went right over my head.
"She?"
"Of course."
"She's not a person, Doctor. She's just a time machine."
"Oi! She's not just a machine! She actually has a soul, mind you!" The Doctor exclaimed, snapping his head up to look at me. I held my hands up apologetically. He sighed and shook his head. "Just be careful of what you say, okay? She has feelings, you know. I don't want her dropping us off somewhere dull."
"I'm sorry," I answered sincerely, wondering if that was actually true. The Doctor was several hundred years old, and he might have delusions about the TARDIS. He just smiled, satisfied, and continued to press seemingly random buttons and levers. I wiped my eyes again and stood next to him as we landed once more. The Doctor led me to the door back into the god awful factory's office. Jerab had his back facing us, looking over his devilry.
"Jerab, we have come again to speak with you," the Doctor declared as the Silurian turned around, offering a smile. I grabbed his jacket, keeping myself behind him so I wouldn't try to murder Jerab.
"I see that. Do you remember what I told you when I sent you away?" Jerab demanded, trying to be pleasant. I rolled my eyes as the Doctor nodded. I could feel the tension rise as Jerab grew irritated with us.
"You were going to kill us, I know, but I have a proposition for you. Of course, if you don't want to hear it, then we can leave" the Doctor replied, shocking both Jerab and myself. I pulled at his jacket nervously as Jerab sat up, pleasantly surprised. He didn't think that the Doctor would come back with something like this.
"Continue, then, Doctor. I will listen to your proposal, but keep it short. My patience has been worn thin over the day," Jerab insisted as he offered the Doctor a seat, which he took gratefully. I stood respectively behind him, since I didn't want to upset the Silurian. As a lower life form in his eyes, I figured that I could at least act the part for a few minutes as the Doctor explained himself. "So, dazzle me."
"When I say proposal, I mean it more of a compromise, honestly," the Doctor stalled as Jerab rolled his eyes.
"My patience, Doctor, is still very thin." I bit my tongue, fighting the urge to kick Jerab in the shin, or whatever he had. I closed my eyes to contain myself so I wouldn't offend the horrible Silurian.
"Right, I'll get to the point, then. It seems that you want all the humans gone so that the sleeping Silurians can have it to live on Earth. Well, I don't want the humans dead or removed from this planet. So, my proposition is that we awake the the colony beneath the earth and bring them straight to Siluria," the Doctor answered, keeping strict eye contact with Jerab, who was bewildered by this.
"Doctor, you are so brave and ignorant. I don't just want the colony. I want the entire planet, Doctor. Nothing can persuade me from that," Jerab informed, leaning on the desk. He seemed slightly amused by the Doctor and his proposal.
"You didn't let me finish. I've already talked to the Silurian Council, and, to put it plainly, they severely disapprove of what you're doing," the Doctor continued as Jerab took interest again. Well, it wasn't so much as interest as it was panic and fight.
"So what?" he demanded, trying to hide his emotion. I could feel the Doctor's amusement from Jerab's voice and fear.
"If you do not take my proposal, I will turn you over to the Silurian government and I will let them deal with you. And I know that I'm much more lenient than they are," the Doctor finished, giving a pause at the end. Jerab pursed his lips, understanding what this could mean. He could either get in trouble with the Order or the government.
"I think I'll take my chances with the government, Doctor. I have gone to far not to follow through. Besides, I'm more afraid of the Order," Jerab answered, hoping to get some sort of reaction from the Doctor. The Time Lord just shrugged and stood up, surprising the Silurian. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Siluria. When I talked to your leader, they said that they would declare war on you. If you do not leave willingly, then they will extract you from this planet. I told them that I would give you a choice. You said you researched me, Jerab. You know how I feel about second chances," the Doctor warned, leading me away from the office. I glanced back to see Jerab's mouth open and close, frightened of the Doctor's consequences.
We stepped back into the TARDIS and shut the door. I stared at him as he walked around the console. He seemed to be stalling for something. I walked up next to him and watched what he was doing.
"What's our next step?" I whispered as I folded my arms. The Doctor shrugged, avoiding my gaze. He didn't seem very attentive to my question.
"I think we're going to have to put matters into our own hands. I'm not going back to Siluria. They will kill hundreds of people just trying to get to Jerab. As nice as the Silurians are, they still feel humans are inferior. They have no value. I want to keep as many as I can alive. Going back to Oag is my very last option," the Doctor informed, pressing a single button. I nodded, hugging myself.
"What are we going to do, then?"
"I'm thinking that we will have to improvise. We don't have much time, and I can't think of a strategy right off the top of my head," the Doctor admitted, looking at me. I pursed my lips, wondering what that would entail. "What to go home yet?"
"My home was destroyed, Doctor," I reminded, wanting to stay. He shrugged and pulled a lever, making the TARDIS dematerialize.
"Home is where the heart is. I more of meant that I would send you back to your parents. I'm sure you all can figure something out," he replied distractedly. I patted his back and smiled.
"You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm here to stay and help save the world!" I declared as I walked to the bench. The Doctor smiled and shook his head.
"Anyway, my plan so far is to try to find the signal for the ice cream men again. Instead of tracking it, I want to see if we can find a way to short out their circuits. Destroy them with a radio wave of our own," the Doctor explained, looking at the pillar in the middle of the console. I nodded, leaning forward in my seat.
"How do we capture one?"
"I don't know. I guess we'll see what happens when we get there," he mumbled, not giving his full attention. I rolled my eyes, thinking that this could end rather badly. I sat back again as I listened to the strange whirring noise that TARDIS made, thinking that it was calming. I felt my eyelids droop and soon I found myself asleep.