Hey readers! Here is the next chapter! I want let you guys know that I don't know how often I will be able to update over the next couple of weeks. I will do my best to update over Christmas break. With that said, enjoy the next chapter.
I woke the next morning and sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I threw back my comforter and got out of bed. I rooted through my closet for an outfit. I pulled out my Camp Half Blood t-shirt, a dark pair of jeans, and my usual leather jacket and combat boots. When I took off my pajama shirt, I gently shifted the bandages and examined the skin. The gash had faded to pale pink scar which the Doctor said would eventually face completely. Whatever ointment he put on my wounds really worked. I put my hair in a pony tail and made my way to the console room after grabbing breakfast in the kitchen. I smiled at the Doctor as I entered.
"How's it going?" I asked him.
"The TARDIS picked up a signal. I'm trying to track it now," he replied, flipping a few switches. Rose entered the console room.
"Morning," I told her brightly.
"Morning," she answered, smiling back at me. We landed and exited. We had landed in a dimly light room filled with display cases.
"So what is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked, glancing around.
"Don't know. Some kind of signal drawing the Tardis off course," the Doctor answered, glancing around as well.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."
My heart sank. 'Please not this episode,' I pleaded silently.
"And when are we?" Rose asked.
"Two thousand and twelve." The Doctor examine one of the display cases.
'Crap,' I thought. I didn't like this episode. It brought back painful memories for the Doctor. I didn't want him to have to go through the pain of seeing the enemy that had forced him to destroy his home planet.
"Gosh, that's so close. So I should be twenty six," Rose mused.
"I'd be your age, Rose," I said, turning to her, "I'd be 19."
"Really? What year were you from?"
"2015." Suddenly, the lights came on as the Doctor located the switch. The room we were in was huge. Display cases filled with different alien artifacts lined each of the walls.
"Blimey. It's a great big museum," Rose commented. I wandered over to one of the cases and examined its content.
"An alien museum," the Doctor noticed. "Someone's got a hobby. They must have spent a fortune on this." He glanced around. "Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the kilometer from the Roswell spaceship," he pointed to a round object. Rose then noticed a very familiar item.
"That's a bit of Slitheen! That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed," she said examining it.
"Oh, look at you." The Doctor walked over to the object that I had been looking at.
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"An old friend of mine. Well, enemy," the Doctor corrected himself, starring at the old Cybermen head.
"The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. You're getting old," I teased, nudging him. Then I turned serious. "Doctor, I don't think we should be here," I told him quietly. He glanced at me. "There's nothing-"
"Is that where the signal's coming from?" Rose questioned, unknowingly cutting me off.
The Doctor shook his head, turning his attention to her. "No, it's stone dead. The signal's
alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He walked forward.
"Doctor, I don't think you should..." I started, but it was too late. The Doctor barely touched the case and alarms sounded throughout the building. Armed guards came rushing in and surrounded us, pointing their guns at us. We slowly raised our hands in surrender.
"If someone's collecting aliens, that makes you Exhibit A," she told the Doctor jokingly.
"Since we're in a museum that collects aliens, it's probably best not to mention the fact that we travel with one," I whispered to her, eyeing the guns pointed at us.
The guards led us down a hallway and into a room. We were joined part way by an official looking woman in a business suit and high heels.
"What does it do? " a man, who I recognized to be Henry Van Statten, said as we entered the room. He was reclining in a chair behind his desk while a young guy with short brown hair showed him some alien object.
"Well, you see the tubes on the side?" The young British guy, Adam I believe his name was, asked Statten, pointing to the area he was referring to. "It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel."
"I really wouldn't hold it like that," the Doctor commented, smirking.
"Shut it," the woman commanded.
"Really, though, that's wrong," the Doctor insisted.
"Is it dangerous?" Adam asked.
"No, it just looks silly," the Doctor said. He reached forward to grab the object from Van Statten. The guards quickly aimed their guns at the Doctor in case he decided to do anything. The Doctor paused. Van Statten held up his hand, signaling the guards to stand down and handed the object to the Doctor. "You just need to be..." the Doctor paused mid sentence as he gently stroked the object in his hands. A musical note rang out. "Delicate." The Doctor stroked the object a few more times, playing different notes each time. I smiled as he stroked the instrument, listening to the notes.
"It's a musical instrument," Van Statten realized with a grin.
"And it's a long way from home," the Doctor said, looking down at the musical instrument sadly.
"Here, let me." Van Statten reached over his desk and roughly grabbed the instrument from the Doctor's hands. He stroked the instrument, but his touch wasn't as gentle and it made screeching noises instead of the beautiful notes it had produced for the Doctor.
"I did say delicate," the Doctor reminded him. "It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision." Finally, Van Statten got the hang of it and the instrument produced the same sounds it had for the Doctor. "Very good. Quite the expert," the Doctor complimented.
"As are you," Van Statten said, starring at the Doctor as he carelessly tossed the alien musical instrument aside. I cringed slightly as I heard it hit the floor. For someone who has such a large collection of alien objects, Van Statten doesn't take care of them very well. "Who exactly are you?" Van Statten asked, eyeing the Doctor curiously.
"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"
"Like you don't know," Van Statten scoffed. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."
"Pretty much sums me up, yeah," the Doctor replied with a grin, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.
"The question is, how did you get in?" Van Statten mused. "Fifty three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplices. You're quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty." He gestured to Rose and I. I glared at him. I hated the guy. He was nothing but a selfish jerk, and that was putting it mildly.
"They're going to smack you if you keep calling them they," Rose threatened.
"She's English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy," Van Statten called to Adam, who didn't look too pleased with the nickname. "Got you a girlfriend."
"This is Mister Henry Van Statten," Adam introduced.
"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Mister Van Statten owns the internet," Adam supplied.
"Don't be stupid," Rose scoffed. "No one owns the internet."
"And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?" Van Statten replied with a sly grin.
"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up," the Doctor accused.
"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am," the Doctor replied. I rolled my eyes.
"And yet, I captured you. Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?" Van Statten asked.
"You tell me," the Doctor said.
"The cage contains my one living specimen," Van Statten announced proudly.
"And what's that?" The Doctor inquired.
"Like you don't know," Van Statten replied, still smirking. I gulped.
'I do. It shouldn't even be here,' I thought nervously.
"Show me," the Doctor demanded.
"You want to see it?" Van Statten asked.
'No, I'm pretty sure you don't, Doctor,' I thought.
"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone," Rose commented. I nodded in agreement.
"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down,"Van Statten told the woman. So that was her name. "You, English," he gestured to Adam. "Look after the girls. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do." I grimaced. I'm not sure I want to know what that means. "And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet." Van Statten left with the Doctor. I watched them go nervously. I knew the Doctor wouldn't like what he found in the cage. Unfortunately, he learns a valuable lesson on this adventure. I would have to try and keep Rose from touching the Dalek, though, and give Van Statten a good punching later for what he was going to put the Doctor through.
Rose and I followed Adam out of Van Statten's office, but not before I managed to grab the musical instrument Van Satten has tossed aside. I tucked it away safely in my jacket pocket.
We followed Adam down to his area. His work area was cluttered with different objects. He had shelves stacked with bins full of different artifacts he had no doubt picked up at auctions.
"Sorry about the mess," Adam said, attempting to tidy up his space a bit. "Mister Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing, so long as I deliver the goods. What do you think that is?" He held up a piece of metal. Rose took it and examined it. I started looking around at all the nit-noids Adam had scattered around.
"Er, a lump of metal?" She guessed, handing back the metal piece.
"Yeah. Yeah, but I think, well, I'm almost certain, it's from the hull of a spacecraft. The thing is, it's all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet, spacecraft, aliens, visitors to Earth. They really exist," he told Rose excitedly, seeming to forget I was in the room, which didn't bother me one bit.
"That's amazing," Rose said, a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. I suppressed a snort and continued to examine the different objects Adam had lying around.
"I know it sounds incredible, but I honestly believe the whole universe is just teeming with life," Adam said excitedly, not picking up on Rose's sarcasm.
"I'm gobsmacked, yeah." Again more sarcasm. "And you do what, sit here and catalogue it?" Rose asked him.
"Best job in the world," Adam replied happily.
"Imagine if you could get out there. Travel amongst the stars and see it for real," Rose said wistfully.
'Oh no. We are not taking him with us,' I thought.
"Yeah, I'd give anything. I don't think it's ever going to happen. Not in our lifetimes," Adam dismissed.
"Oh, you never know," Rose shrugged. "What about all those people who say they've been inside of spaceships and things and talked to aliens?"
"I think they're nutters," Adam replied.
"Yeah, me too," Rose agreed with a nervous laugh. "So, how'd you end up here?" She asked, changing the subject.
"Van Statten has agents all over the world looking for geniuses to recruit," Adam said, puffing out his chest a bit.
"Oh, right. You're a genius," Rose said with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, but yeah. I can't help it. I was born clever," Adam shrugged, not looking very sorry at all.
'And humble too,' I thought sarcastically.
"When I was eight, I logged onto the US Defence System. Nearly caused World War Three," Adam continued.
"And you think that's funny?" I asked him, setting down one of the objects I had been holding and crossing my arms. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, you should've been there just to see them running about. Fantastic!" Adam laughed.
I rolled my eyes and went back to examining the different objects.
"You sound like the Doctor," Rose commented.
"Are you and him?" Adam asked hesitantly.
"No, we're just friends," Rose dismissed quickly.
"Good," Adam said, seeming relieved.
"Why is it good?" Rose questioned.
"It just is."
I rolled my eyes again. 'She is way out of your league, mr genius.'
"So, wouldn't you rather be downstairs?" Rose inquired. "I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mister Van Statten's got a living creature down there."
"Yeah. Yeah, well, I did ask, but he keeps it to himself," Adam shrugged. "Although, if you're a genius, it doesn't take long to patch through on the comm. system." I rolled my eyes once again.
"Let's have a look, then," Rose encouraged. Adam pulled out a computer and began typing.
"It doesn't do much, the alien. It's weird. It's kind of useless. It's just like this great big pepper pot." I held back a snort. I didn't like Adam and I didn't want to give him the satisfaction that he had made me laugh. I looked at the screen as Adam managed to hack into the security system. The Dalek was sitting in its cage screaming as a scientist attempted to drill through its casing.
"It's being tortured!" Rose exclaimed, horrified. "Where's the Doctor?"
"I don't know," Adam replied with a shrug.
"Take us down there now," Rose demanded. She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room before I could protest, Adam quickly following.
We entered the area just outside the cage.
"Hold it right there," a guard said, stopping us.
Adam flashed his badge. "Level three access. Special clearance from Mister Van Statten," he said proudly. A guard opened the cage door for us. "Don't get too close."
"Hello. Are you in pain?" Rose asked the Dalek. I stood near the door, nervously twiddling my thumbs. "My name's Rose Tyler and this is Elena. We've got a friend, he can help. He's called the Doctor. What's your name?"
"Yes," the Dalek replied, the little bulbs on top of its head lighting up as it spoke.
"What?" Rose questioned, confused.
"I am in pain. They torture me, but still they fear me. Do you fear me?" The Dalek asked Rose.
"No," she replied, shaking head.
"I am dying." I couldn't help but feel sorry for the Dalek. No matter what it had done, I didn't believe it deserved to be tortured for simple pleasure. The Dalek only did what it was born to do, not that it was an excuse for all the people it had killed. Van Statten only tortured to get it to talk.
"No, we can help," Rose insisted.
"I welcome death. But I am glad that before I die I have met a human who was not afraid."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" Rose asked, brows furrowed in concern.
"My race is dead, and I shall die alone." Slowly, Rose reached out a hand to touch the Dalek in an attempt to comfort it. I panicked. No! She couldn't touch! I rushed forward to stop her.
"Rose, no!" I yelled, yanking her hand away. Unfortunately, in my haste to stop Rose from touching the Dalek, I lost my balance and threw out a hand to steady myself. My hand landed on the Dalek. I quickly pulled my hand away, leaving a golden handprint behind, which quickly faded. The Dalek started shaking. I stared in horror at the Dalek.
"Genetic material extrapolated. Initiate cellular reconstruction!" The Dalek screeched. As it broke its chains, the guard from earlier ran in.
"What the heck have you done?" He yelled at us as we passed on our way out of the cage. He went over to the Dalek while we watched the video feed from the security camera and raised his gun. The Dalek raised its plunger threateningly. "What are you going to do? Sucker me to death?" He scoffed. That's exactly what the Dalek did. The Dalek placed the sucker on the man's face and created a vacuum, killing the man.
"It's killing him! Do something!" Rose demanded. I stared at the screen, my eyes wide. I had done this.
"Condition red! Condition red! I repeat, this is not a drill!" Another guard yelled into the comm. system. The Doctor appeared on another tv screen.
"You've got to keep it in that cell," the Doctor told us.
"Doctor, it's all my fault," I told him with tears in my eyes.
"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations," the other guard assured the Doctor.
"A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat," the Doctor countered. I glanced back at the cage door. Rose, Adam, and I moved towards the exit. We watched as the Dalek opened the door. Guards lined up at the door, guns trained on the opening cage door.
"Open fire!" A guard yelled. I flinched at the sound of the machine guns going off.
"Don't shoot it! I want it unharmed," I heard Van Statten order over the comms.
"Elena, Rose, get out of there!" The Doctor yelled, worry evident in his voice.
"De Maggio, take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job, got that?" The head guard order a female guard. She nodded.
"You, with me," De Maggio order Adam, Rose, and I. We ran out of the door.
We ran through the corridor. We ran up to a group of guards blocking the corridor.
"Civilians! Let them through!" De Maggio yelled as we passed. I stopped just behind them.
"We can't let them stay there! They won't be able to stop the Dalek. They'll be slaughtered!" I yelled to De Maggio.
"They can buy us time. Now, come on!" she told me, running back to grab my arm and dragging me along. We ran until we came to a staircase.
"Stairs!" Rose exclaimed happily. "That's more like it. It hasn't got legs. It's stuck!"
"It's coming! Get up!" De Maggio ordered us, placing herself in front. We bolted up a flight of stairs and stopped, looking back as the Dalek came in.
"Great big alien death machine defeated by a flight of stairs," Adam mocked.
"Come on," I urged. "We can't stop." I tried tugging on Rose's arm, who was right below me, but she ignored me and continued to stare at the Dalek.
"Now listen to me," De Maggio demanded, pointing her hand gun at the Dalek. "I demand that you return to your cage. If you want to negotiate then I can guarantee that Mister Van Statten will be willing to talk. I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops right now. The killing stops. Have you got that? I demand that you surrender. Is that clear?" The Dalek swung its eyestalk to look at us then back down to the stairs.
"Elevate," the Dalek said. The Dalek then levitated and glided up the stairs after us.
"Oh my gosh," Rose gasped.
"What did you expect?" I inquired irritably. "That thing is one of the most intelligent creatures in the universe, did you really expect a few flights of stairs to stop it?" I was ignored.
"Adam, get them out of here," De Maggio ordered
"Come with us. You can't stop it," Rose protested.
"Someone's got to try," De Maggio insisted. "Now get out! Don't look back. Just run." I ran back down the steps.
"Oh no you don't," I said grabbing hold of her arm. "Enough people have died already. I'm not going to let someone else die if I can help it." I yanked on her arm despite her protests. I got behind her and started shoving her up the stairs. Finally, she gave in and ran up after Rose and Adam.
We ran into a large room with different levels. There were soldiers on every level, guns trained on the entrance.
"Hold your fire! You four, get the heck out of there!" The commander yelled at us. We ran through and stopped at the door on the other side of the room. I looked back and saw the Dalek enter the room. It swiveled its eyestalk to look in our direction. I stared at it my, eyes wide. I had the felling that it was staring directly at me. Rose tugged my arm and pulled me along.
"It was looking at you," Rose told me.
"Yeah, it wants to slaughter us," Adam replied bitterly.
"I know, but it was looking right at her," Rose insisted, looking at me.
"So? It's just a sort of metal eye thing. It's looking all around," Adam shrugged.
"I don't know. It's like there's something inside, looking at her, like, like it knows her."
"Look, it's not important, we need to keep moving," I said, moving ahead. The other three followed behind.
We entered another stairwell and began the long climb. Suddenly, the Doctor Who theme song started blasting from the phone in my pocket. Yes, I have a phone, I just hadn't had much use for it since coming to this universe. The Doctor had upgraded it the second day with him, but I had no one to call in this universe. I could still play games and serf the internet on it though. I pulled my iPhone 5s out of my pocket and answered it.
"This isn't the best time," I huffed, somewhat out of breath from all the stairs.
"Where are you?" The Doctor asked hurriedly.
I glanced at the number on the wall. "Level forty nine."
"You've got to keep moving. The vault's being sealed off up at level forty six."
"Can't you stop them closing?" I asked, stretching my short legs to take the steps two at a time.
"I'm the one who's closing them. I can't wait and I can't help you. Now for heaven's sake, run!" He told me urgently.
"We're nearly there. Give us two seconds," I said, Rose, Adam, De Maggio, and I running flat out down the corridor, having reached level 46.
"I'm sorry," I heard the Doctor say and I knew he had started closing the bulkhead.
"Come on!" Adam yelled. We bolted towards the closing bulkhead. Adam rolled under first, followed by Rose. De Maggio slowed down a bit so I could catch up. Curse my short legs. I wasn't going to let De Maggio sacrifice herself, so I gave her a hard shove which sent her rolling under the bulkhead just before it closed. I skidded to a halt, smacking into the now closed bulkhead. I breathed heavily, laying my head against the sealed door.
"Elena, where are you? Elena, did you and Rose make it?" The Doctor asked worriedly. I slowly brought the phone up the my ear.
"Rose made it, but I was a bit slow," I said, still out of breath. I looked around and saw the Dalek coming around the corner. "See you, then, Doctor. And don't you dare blame yourself," I said sternly. "It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault. And do you know what? I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Tears welled up in my eyes. "Keep an eye on Rose for me. Goodbye, Doctor." I hung up and faced the Dalek. I closed my eyes and thought about all the adventures I had gone on with the Doctor. I thought about how he made me smile whenever he started rambling while explaining something. I may not have understood what he was saying, but I loved watching him get excited over something.
"Exterminate!" The Dalek screeched. I waited for death to come, but it never did. I peeked an eye open.
"Go on then, kill me," I demanded. The Dalek, however, did nothing. "Why're you doing this?" I asked angrily, glaring at the pepper pot.
"I am armed. I will kill. It is my purpose." The Dalek declared.
"They're all dead because of you!" I yelled at it. My hands clenched a my sides.
"They are dead because of us." My heart dropped into my stomach. I starred at the Dalek. It was right. It was my fault all those people were dead. I may have saved De Maggio, but if I hadn't touched the Dalek in the first place all those guards would still be alive. I should have tried harder to get the Doctor to leave.
"And now what? What're you waiting for?" I asked bitterly, tears welling in my eyes.
"I feel your fear," the Dalek stated
"What did you expect? I'm human, not a Cyberman."
"Daleks do not fear. Must not fear," the Dalek protested, shooting the wall on either side of me. I flinched. "You gave me life. What else have you given me? I am contaminated." The Dalek rolled over to a panel and activated a screen. "Move." It ordered me. It herded me so we were standing in the line of the camera and the wall. "Open the bulkhead or Elena dies." The Dalek demanded.
"You're alive!" The Doctor gasped in relief.
"Can't get rid of me," I joked lightly.
"I thought you were dead," the Doctor told me. It was hard to tell, but the Doctor almost looked like he had tears in his eyes.
"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek demanded again.
"Don't you dare!" I told the Doctor.
"What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?" The Dalek cut the feed. I blinked confusedly. Where had it gotten that idea? The Doctor didn't love me. We were just friends. My breath caught in my throat. It must have picked up on my feelings. I've had a crush on the Doctor for a while now. The Dalek must have mistaken a silly schoolgirl crush with love. Yeah, that's it. It was a Dalek. All it knew was hate and anger, it knew nothing of love. I heard the bulkhead opening and the Dalek nudged in the back, urging me forward. We entered the elevator.
"I'm begging you, don't kill them. You didn't kill me," I begged the Dalek. In the show, Rose managed to keep it from killing anyone, so I had to try.
"But why not? Why are you alive? My function is to kill. What am I? What am I?" The Dalek demanded.
We exited the elevator and entered Van Statten's office.
"Don't move. Don't do anything. It's beginning to question itself," I ordered the people in the room. I glanced around quickly. There was no sign of the Doctor, Rose, or Adam.
"Van Statten. You tortured me. Why?" The Dalek demanded, approaching Van Statten.
"I wanted to help you. I just, I don't know. I was trying to help," Van Statten stuttered, backing up against the wall as the Dalek approached. "I thought if we could get through to you, if we could mend you. I wanted you better. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I swear, I just wanted you to talk!" Va Statten yelled desperately.
"Then hear me talk now. Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Dalek aimed it's weapon at Van Statten. I didn't like Van Statten one bit, but he didn't deserve to be killed by a Dalek. I rushed up to the Dalek.
"Don't do it! Don't kill him!" The Dalek swivels its eyestalk to face me. "You don't have to do this anymore. There must be something else, not just killing. What else is there? What do you want?" I asked it. The Dalek swiveled its eyestalk back to Van Statten then back to me.
"I want freedom," it declared. I nodded and it rolled away from Van Statten and out the door. I turned to Van Statten and punched him. He stumbled back against the wall, holding his jaw. I glared at him.
"That was for hurting the Doctor and all the people you killed," I growled before following the Dalek.
We made it to level 1. The Dalek blasted a hole in the ceiling. Sunlight streamed through the hole directly, directly onto the Dalek's eyestalk.
"You're out. You made it. I never thought I'd feel the sunlight again," I said softly, staring at the sky through the hole.
"How does it feel?" The Dalek asked. It opened its casing revealing the creature inside. It held out a tendril to the sunlight. I watched it sadly. I heard running footsteps.
"Get out of the way. Elena, get out of the way now!" I turned my head to look at the Doctor, who had a giant alien gun points at me, and shook my head.
"No. I won't let you do this," I told him, standing my ground.
"That thing killed hundreds of people," the Doctor protested.
"I know, but it's not the one pointing the gun at me."
"I've got to do this. I've got to end it," the Doctor insisted. "The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left." I looked at him sadly.
"I know, but look at it." I stepped aside, revealing the Dalek. It was still reaching its tentacles towards the sunlight.
"What's it doing?" The Doctor asked, lowering his gun slightly in confusion.
"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants," I told him.
"But it can't," the Doctor protested.
"It couldn't kill Van Statten, it couldn't kill me. It's changing," I informed him. "What about you, Doctor? What the heck are you changing into?" I questioned quietly.
"I couldn't. I wasn't..." the Doctor stammered. He looked at me desperately. "Oh, Elena." His voiced cracked. "They're all dead." He said sadly.
"Why do we survive?" The Dalek inquired, seeming to struggle to speak.
"I don't know," the Doctor answered quietly.
"I am the last of the Daleks."
"You're not even that. Elena did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA.
You're mutating," the Doctor explained.
"Into what?"
"Something new. I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized. I stared at the Dalek sadly.
"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Elena, give me orders. Order me to die," the Dalek demanded.
I shook my head. "I can't do that," I replied.
"This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you," the Dalek declared. "Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!" I sighed, tears filling my eyes. I didn't want to order another living thing to kill itself, no matter how bad the creature might be.
"Do it," I ordered reluctantly.
"Are you frightened, Elena?"
"Yeah."
"So am I. Exterminate." The Dalek closed its casing and floated off the ground. The balls covering its casing came off and surrounded the Dalek, creating a force field. The Dalek exploded, the force field safely containing the blast. Tears welled in my eyes again as I turned towards the Doctor. We stared at each other for a moment before running at each other, the Doctor dropping his gun. He enveloped me in his arms and I cried into his chest. He rubbed my back soothingly and let me cry. After a moment, I sniffed and attempted to gather myself together. I looked up at the Doctor.
"Sorry about that," I apologized, wiping my eyes.
"It's all right," he assured me, kissing the top of my head, causing me to blush. "I thought I had lost you," he said quietly.
"Sorry," I apologized again. "But don't worry," I said smiling softly, "I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."
"I always worry about you," he informed me, kissing me in the top of my head again. "Come on. We better go get Rose. She was worried sick about you."
"What about De Maggio?" I inquired, crossing my fingers that I had managed to save her.
The Doctor grabbed my hand as we walked off to get Rose. "She was rather angry with herself that she had let you push her under the bulkhead." He glanced down at me. "She was supposed to die, wasn't she?"
"Originally, yes," I replied simply. He squeezed to hand.
"Those deaths were not your fault."
"Yes, they were. I could have done something to save them. I should have tried harder to get you to leave or gone with you and Van Statten and tried to stop it somehow." The Doctor stopped walking and turned me to face him.
"You did what you could to help," he said, staring at me intently, hands on my shoulders.
"But," I started, but he interrupted me.
"No, buts. They were not your fault," he stated firmly. "You can't expect to save everyone. Okay?" I nodded.
When we collected Rose, she tackled me with a hug then smacked my arm and gave me a stern talking to. The Doctor didn't help much. He just stood off to the side and chuckled as Rose told me off for scaring her. We walked back to the TARDIS. I grinned at the sight of the familiar blue box.
"A little piece of home," the Doctor said, patting the TARDIS affectionately. "Better than nothing."
"Is that the end of it, the Time War?" Rose asked.
"I'm the only one left. I win. How about that?" The Doctor said dejectedly. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"The Dalek survived. Maybe some of your people did too," Rose suggested.
"I'd know. In here," he gestured to his head. "Feels like there's no one."
"Well then, good thing we're not going anywhere," Rose said, throwing an arm around my shoulders. I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah," the Doctor said, looking at both of us. I could have sworn he was looking mainly at me, but before I could decided, Adam ran up, causing the Doctor to look away.
"We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared," Adam said. I smiled to myself remembering the Van Statten was currently having his memory wiped and being dumbed in some city beginning with 's'. "They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement, like it never existed."
"About time," I muttered.
"I'll have to go back home," Adam said sadly.
"Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at fifteen hundred hours," the Doctor said, unlocking the TARDIS door.
"Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars," Rose hinted.
"Tell him to go and stand outside, then," I retorted. The Doctor chuckled.
"He's all on his own, Doctor, and he did help," she prodded.
"He left Elena down there," the Doctor pointed out.
"So did you," Rose retorted.
"Rose," I scolded.
"What're you talking about? We've got to leave," Adam insisted.
"Plus, he's a bit pretty," the Doctor noted.
"I hadn't noticed," Rose replied with a shrug.
"Mmm hmm," I mumbled sarcastically, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes at me.
"On your own head," the Doctor conceded opening the TARDIS door and walking in, me following close behind. Rose grinned and followed.
"What're you doing? She said cement. She wasn't joking. We're going to get sealed in," Adam insisted. "Doctor? Elena? What're you doing standing inside a box? Rose?" He slowly followed us in. The Doctor put us in flight and the TARDIS dematerialized.
Please review and let me know what you guys think. Merry Christmas!
