The Diamond Planet Midnight
The Doctor grinned with excitement, looking out the windows as the two of them waited in line for the hover train car to the Sapphire Falls. Glittering towers of diamond stood in the sun, casting bluish light over the building. The glass on the windows was 15 feet thick, a fact that stunned Prussia.
"Vhy are zey so thick?" the startled nation asked.
"That sun is extonic, meaning the light is dangerous. Nothing can survive being exposed to extonic light. It would vaporize us. The thick glass filters it and protects the people inside." The Doctor replied, flashing his psychic paper at the ticket taker and leading Prussia into the train car.
Several people sat inside, dividing themselves into three small groups. There was a family in the back, a man, his wife, and a bored looking teenage boy who obviously wanted to be anywhere else. An older man in a brown suit and his young intern sat in the middle, talking over charts laid out in their laps. A middle-aged woman sat by herself in a corner, staring hard at the covered windows. Prussia and the Doctor sat in the row across from the lone woman.
"The windows here are shielded, so we can't see outside until we get to the falls. We don't want any chances of being exposed to the light." The Doctor explained.
"For once, I knew zat. It makes sense." Prussia chuckled, impressed that he seemed to be catching on to the time-travel lingo.
"Good. I don't have to explain everything then."
The babbling of the group dies down as a woman in a dark blue uniform walked to the front of the car. She cleared her throat to make sure she had everyone's attention before speaking.
"Hello, and welcome to the planet Midnight. We're about to start our journey to the falls, but before we do there are a few things I need to tell you. For one thing, there has been an issue with the usual route taken, so we are taking a slight detour. We'll arrive at the falls in four hours. Don't worry, we've arranged for some entertainment for the trip. For one, we have Earth hits from the 1990's," the woman pressed a button, and the nasally voice of a female singer blared loudly, "As well as cartoons from the 40's," screens dropped to play old black-and-white cartoons, "And specially for today, a display of the different star systems. Enjoy!" A detailed hologram of stars and planets surrounded them as the woman walked back to the back of the car.
"Well, allons-y~! Molto Bene!" The Doctor smiled brightly, causing the woman to pause.
"Sir?" She asked curiously.
"Allons-y. It's French for let's go! And Molto bene is Italian, for very good." The Doctor explained cheerily. The woman nodded and continued to her place as the car started to move.
Prussia wrinkled his nose and squinted at all of the so-called "entertainment". It was way too much, and it was clear that the other passengers felt the same way. Even the lonely woman glanced at them and rolled her eyes, and the professor dug some ear plugs from a coat pocket. The Doctor smiled and pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from a pocket, pointing it at the control panel for the entertainment discreetly. The device whirred, and everything fizzled and turned off.
The stewardess walked quickly to check on the control panel, and frowned when she found that she couldn't fix it.
"Well, it seems that there won't be any entertainment for the trip." She said with only slight bitterness in her tone.
"Great. Now what are we supposed to do?" The teenager complained.
"We'll have to talk to each other." The Doctor mused, grinning. The others exchanged glances; this was going to be a long ride.
Time skip brought to you by Silver, making pitas and wearing gloves that are too tight at her new job
"And then he said "the pool's abstract!"" the father of the family exclaimed as the others laughed.
"You thought it was a real pool!" The Doctor howled, tears of mirth in his chocolate brown eyes.
Prussia and the teenager, Jethro, exchanged confused glances and shrugged. Neither of them really understood the joke.
Time Skip brought by Silver, ordering a plushie of The Master from Spain and distrusting Pay Pal
The group sat in silence as Professor Howard Keets talked, pointing to maps displayed on a projector he had brought.
"My assistant and I have been studying Midnight for years. It's interesting in that unlike most planets, there's nothing about it. Since living in extonic light is impossible, there isn't life. Next slide, Dee," His assistant, a college-age woman, switched to a photo of the planet, "No living things means Midnight has no history. Can you imagine it? A whole planet with no history!" Professor Keets chirped, his gray eyes shining in excitement. As he and The Doctor spoke, Prussia followed Dee over to the water dispenser.
"How long have you been vorking vith ze professor?" He asked her.
"About three years now. I wrote a term paper and he liked it, so he invited me to help him. So here I am. What about you?" Dee motioned to The Doctor.
"Ze Doctor und I have been traveling for a few veeks. Just poking about, getting into trouble." Prussia chuckled.
"Sounds like more fun than what we're doing. It's hard to take data on a planet that you can't step on. Even the ground here is toxic, all of those diamonds have absorbed so much extonic light."
Prussia smiled; that made sense to him, too.
Time skip brought by Silver, dancing in the kitchen and singing rather poorly
"So, why are you here, Mrs. Sylvestre?" The Doctor asked, sitting next to the woman at the front.
"Oh, simple really. My partner wanted some space. She took a whole galaxy," she looked at the Time Lord with a sad but slightly amused expression, "That seems like enough space, don't you think?" Mrs. Sylvestre chuckled darkly.
The Doctor frowned sorrowfully.
"Yeah..."
"What about you and him?" Mrs. Sylvestre nodded at Prussia, who was chatting curiously with Professor Keets.
"Oh, no. We're just friends, travel buddies." The Doctor said quickly.
Mrs. Sylvestre smirked.
"Sure. That's what we told people for the first few years. Interspecies marriage was still illegal back then."
Last damn time skip brought by Silver sledding down the parking garage with her friends at 3 in the morning on cardboard boxes
The intercom buzzed lowly, and the captain's voice hummed throughout the car.
"We'll be arriving at out destination in an hour. Thank you for your patience." the intercom buzzed into silence.
The group sat in tired silence, speaking a few words every now and again, but most of them lost in thought. They were suddenly jerked out of their peaceful reveries as the car jarred, halting. They exchanged curious glances; these cars never stopped. Never.
"Everyone, please remain calm while I check with the captain. We'll be moving again soon." The stewardess opened the door to the captain's chamber ans slipped inside, closing it after her.
"This is odd. We've...stopped." the father of the family spoke slowly.
"That's impossible! These cars don't stop! I've ridden 14 times, they never stop!" Professor Keets said incredulously.
"Well, we've stopped. We can't argue that." The Doctor stood as the stewardess returned.
"We're having some technical issues, the mechanic is looking into it. Everyone remain calm and return to your seats." she said stiffly, trying not to look panicked. She paused as The Doctor approached her.
"Sir, I asked you to sit down."
"Don't worry. Look, I'm a mechanic too," He flashed the Psychic Paper, "I can help."
The stewardess frowned and stepped aside, allowing The Doctor to slip into the small chamber. Two men sat at a massive control panel, looking it over with brows knitted in confusion.
"Hello boys. So, what kind of technical issues?" The Doctor asked.
"I don't know. Everything seems normal, and the engine is fine." the mechanic said with frustration.
"What's your name?"
"Claude."
"Nice to meet you, Claude, I'm The Doctor." The Time Lord used his screwdriver to scan the controls, frowning; everything came back as normal.
"We've called for a shuttle, it should be here in an hour." the captain assured calmly.
"Well, while we're stuck here, why don't you lower the shield on this window?" The Doctor asked.
"Are you crazy? That light is 100% extonic! It'll fry us!" the captain exclaimed.
"That glass is thick enough to protect us for a few minutes," The Doctor smiled as the captain considered it, "Go on. Live a little."
The captain sighed and mashed a button, and the shield slowly lifted to reveal a beautiful sight. Huge expanses of glittering blue diamond rose up in towers and sheets before them. They were massive, and the three men stared in awe.
"Have you been here before?" The Doctor asked lowly.
"No, whole new route." the captain replied, smiling.
"We're the first to see it then."
The mechanic smiled, then squinted and sat forward.
"Hey! What's that!?" He gasped.
"What's what?" The Doctor asked, immediately on the alert.
"Over there. Near that ridge. I thought I saw...like a shadow, moving really fast...like it was running."
"Running where?"
"Right at us."
A shrill beeping interrupted them, and the captain quickly raised the shield again.
"Alright, you've had your look. Now get back to your seat. And tell the others about the rescue shuttle." he grumbled.
The Doctor stepped back into the main compartment, pausing as he was swarmed by the group, asking questions and panicking. It took him a few minutes to quiet them, and they watched him in anticipation.
"We've broken down, so a rescue shuttle is on the way. It'll be here in an hour. The oxygen is on a filtration system, so we won't run out. We'll be fine, so just remain ca-" he stumbled as a sudden impact rocked the car. The whole group froze, gaping at one another in complete shock.
"W-what was that?" Jethro asked shakily.
"It must have been the car settling..." Dee said nervously.
"Zat felt like somezing ramming the car..." Prussia gulped, red eyes wide.
"That's impossible! There's nothing here!" Professor Keets admonished quickly.
Another jolting shudder ran through the car, closely followed by another.
"Something's trying to get inside!" the mother of the family yelped, clinging to her husband and tugging Jethro to her side.
"There is no something!" Keets yelled again, eyes wide and anxious.
The Doctor walked quickly to the side of the car, knocking against the wall three sharp, distinct times. After a few moments, they were surprised when he was answered by three sharp knocks.
"It knocked back!" Dee whispered.
"There is NO IT!" Keets spat, sounding less confident and more terrified.
The Doctor knocked again, and was answered. There was no doubt about it; something in some semblance of life was responding to him. No known life form could survive in extonic light. Which meant that this was something completely new, completely unknown. Something to be discovered!
"Amazing." He mused aloud.
"Impossible! Nothing can survive here!" Keets tried to reason.
"Nothing that we know of. You yourself said that this planet can't be studied easily, that it has no history. There must be something that can survive extonic light out there." The Doctor smiled, excited, while everyone else was nervous.
They were quieted when the knocking started to come from the roof.
"Ahh! Stop! It's coming for me!" Mrs. Sylvestre suddenly started screaming, getting louder as the knocks hastily made their way toward her.
"Mrs. Sylvestre, calm down! Please!" Dee yelled.
"It's coming for me! It's going to get meeeeeeeeeee!" the woman howled as the lights suddenly went black. After a few tense moments of panicked squabbling, the knocking stopped and the lights flickered back on. The group recollected, huddling and making sure everyone was alright. It took a moment for them to notice that Mrs. Sylvestre was curled up in a corner, shielding her face in her hands and sitting completely still.
"I-is she okay, Doctor?" Prussia asked, trembling.
"Mrs. Sylvestre?" The Doctor approached her slowly, cautiously. The woman didn't respond at all. She stayed hunched over.
"Maybe...whatever was out there...is in here. In her." Jethro hissed, watching curiously.
"There is nothing! Poor woman is just scared out of her mind. We don't know what she's been through! Goodness knows she may have been unstable already." Professor Keets scoffed, calming down a bit.
"Look, all I know is that there was rocking and knocking, then the lights went out, and now the knockings gone and she's gone all frozen." the mother reasoned quickly.
As the group squabbled, Mrs. Sylvestre slowly started to pull her hands from her face, looking away from them. Prussia noticed first, and alerted the others with a yelp.
"She's moving!"
The group turned sharply, staring at her as she mechanically lowered her arms.
"Mrs. Sylvestre? Are you alright? You're not hurt?" The Doctor asked gently.
The woman turned quickly, fixing them in a gaze that sent chills down their spines. Her eyes were the same sky blue, but there was something very wrong. There was a distinctly inhuman quality to her eyes, something that could be easily seen but not at all defined or put into words. She watched them closely, her head pivoting to see every single movement around her. She looked like a bird of prey stalking a trapped family of mice, watching with a blank amusement.
"What's wrong with her?" the father asked shakily.
"Dear God, the poor woman's gone mad." Professor Keets murmured.
"I don't think that's what happened..." Dee whispered.
"Don't be stupid, girl, of course that's what happened. What else could have happened?"
"I think Jethro is right. I think...whatever was out there...is in her..."
"What a ridiculous idea!"
"What a ridiculous idea!"
The group froze and stared at the woman, who was still watching them, a small smile now plastered across her face.
"Did she say that?" Jethro asked.
"Did she say that?" the woman repeated verbatum, inflection and tone and all. The group gave a collective gasp.
"She's repeating." the mother hissed.
"She's repeating."
"Stop that!"
"Stop that!"
"Someone make her stop!"
"Someone make her stop!"
The Doctor watched for a moment before intervening.
"Everyone, to the back of the car, please."
"Everyone, to the back of the car, please."
The group listened readily, huddling together as The Doctor slowly approached Mrs. Sylvestre. She watched with rapt attention as The Doctor crouched in front of her.
"Mrs. Sylvestre, are you okay? Are you hurt? Tell me what I can do to help." He said slowly, scrutinizing her.
"Mrs. Sylvestre, are you okay? Are you hurt? Tell me what I can do to help." she parroted back, voice devoid of emotion and terrifyingly accurate.
"Is zat still her, Doctor?" Prussia asked.
"Is zat still her, Doctor?"
"No, I don't think so."
"No, I don't think so."
The Doctor frowned, brow knit in thought.
"Why are you copying?"
"Why are you copying?"
"What is that? Is that learning? Mimicking? Absorbing?"
"What is that? Is that learning? Mimicking? Absorbing?"
The Doctor sighed and stood, walking slowly back to where the others stood in terrified silence.
"What is it, Doctor? What is that thing?" the mother asked quietly, wincing as the woman repeated after her, watching unblinkingly.
"A new life form, I suppose."
"What does it want?"
"I don't know, but if we remain calm I'm sure-"
"-everything will be fine."
Everyone turned rapidly, fixing the smiling woman in shocked eyes. She wasn't just repeating now. She was speaking at exactly the same time, and saying exactly the same words. The group tittered nervously, exchanging worried looks as The Doctor crouched in front of her again.
"What are you doing now, hmm?" He flinched as she kept up with him, word for word. He leaned back on his heels a bit, thinking. After a few tense minutes, he spoke again.
"Gallifrey."
"Gallifrey."
The Doctor frowned.
"Doctor TARDIS Time Lord Dalek. Bingle-bopple-dongle-dap. Oh Doctor you're so handsome, why yes thank you."
Prussia shot him a glare as he smirked, then frowned. The woman was still speaking along with him, as if they shared a mind. Even when he had used words only he should have known, she was able to keep up with apparent ease.
"You're in our heads." He stood, walking hurriedly to the group.
"I think we should all be very quiet now, and wait for the rescue shuttle. First it was repeating, now it's speaking with us. Who knows what the next step is." He whispered, shuddering as he heard the woman's voice mixing word for word with his. It was more than just an annoyance now. Now, it was creepy.
"Next step? What is she doing?" Professor Keets hissed.
"Hush. She's learning."
"Learning? Why?"
"I dunno. Integration, take over, invasion, there's no way to really tell at this point."
The group fell into hushed, panicked whispers, only growing more upset as the woman mirrored them. The Doctor tried to calm them, but they had worked themselves into a frenzy. That was one thing he had to admit he didn't like about humans. So great, so curious, but so afraid of the unknown. It was Prussia who drew their attention to a new development.
"She's stopped."
The Doctor looked up, watching as the woman sat motionless in her corner. She watched him back, not bothering to focus on the others anymore. Her gaze was unsettling, and filled the ancient Time Lord with foreboding and unease.
"Oh, thank God." Dee sighed, relieved that the ordeal had seemingly ended. Oh, how wrong she was.
"Shh. Something's not right." The Doctor knit his brow as the woman mirrored him.
"She's at it again!" Dee exclaimed, then blinked as the woman didn't repeat or mirror her.
"What is this?" Jethro asked, taking a step toward them only to be pulled away by his mother.
"It's him. It's only mirroring him now." she growled.
"Why me? Why are you mirroring me? I can help you, you don't have to take my voice or anything." The woman spoke with him and smiled a little wider.
"Doctor, why is she only following you?" Professor Keets asked.
"I don't know. I guess I'm the only one that can give it what it wants."
"Oh? And what makes you so special?" the mother sneered.
"I'm clever, that's what."
"Oh, so we're all idiots then!?" Dee crossed her arms in offense.
Prussia walked to The Doctor's side, coming to help him.
"Zat's not vhat he meant." He tried to reason with them.
"Oh, so you're going to defend him? Who are you two? What are you really called?"
"I'm The Doctor, he's Prussia, that's all you need to know."
"But what are your names?"
"Gilbert Bielscmidt." Prussia answered quickly, wary of what was going on here.
"John Smith." The Doctor said quickly.
"Oh, no! No one's called John Smith!" the father of the family growled, "You're helping her, aren't you? I saw you two talking earlier, before all of this."
"What? No, I'm not helping. I mean, I want to help, but I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"We should throw her out."
The group turned in shock to the one who had spoken; the stewardess.
"What?" The Doctor gasped, incredulous.
"We should throw her out. Into the extonic light. It would burn her up."
"No! We can't murder her!" Dee shrieked.
"Finally, someone with some sense!" The Doctor exclaimed.
The group watched as he walked back to the woman, looking her over curiously. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that everyone was scared. And people are reckless and cruel when they're scared. He had to do something, or they were going to throw this new life form out to die.
"We should throw him out, too. And Prussia." the mother spoke now, voice dull with fear.
"Vhat!?"
"No! You need me!" The Doctor hissed.
"Why? Because you're clever?" Professor Keets glared angrily.
"Look at you! This is a new life form, something that's never seen human kind before. Look at what you're teaching it!" The Doctor's eyes were hard and dangerous as he returned to crouch in front of the woman once more.
"Please, stop this. I can help you. You don't have to do th-" He fell silent, eyes going wide as he suddenly felt his body go rigid.
"Doctor?" Prussia asked cautiously.
The woman jerked to look at him, then smiled and stood slowly.
"I...I'm coming back...yes...I can move again...and I can speak..." She said slowly, smiling as The Doctor remained frozen in place, repeating after her.
"Now he's repeating what she's saying." Professor Keets spoke slowly.
"Now he's repeating what she's saying."
"He's repeating everyone." Prussia whispered fearfully, confused.
"He's repeating everyone."
"It looks like...it's moved from her, to him." Jethro said slowly.
"No...I don't think that's what happened..." Dee muttered slowly.
The group watched as Mrs. Sylverstre slowly walked toward them. She paused a few feet away from them, speaking slowly.
"I must have given you all quite a fright. I'm so sorry." She said apathetically, trying to pour emotion that wasn't there into her voice. The others, aside from Prussia and Dee, enveloped her in a hug.
"It's not your fault, dear. It was that thing." the mother said tearily."
"Yes. It was so cold, so dark and cruel. And now..." Mrs. Sylvestre turned slowly to give the huddled form of The Doctor a small smile, "It's moved to him."
"You're right. We have to throw him out." Professor Keets said matter-of-factually.
"No! That's not what happened! First she repeated, then she caught up, don't you see? It's still her, she's using The Doctor!" Dee yelled, panicking as the father of the family walked to The Doctor and scooped him up.
"Nein! Leave ze Doctor alone! It's not him!" Prussia ran to try to free him, but was stopped dead as the mother grabbed the back of his neck, mashing a pressure point that knocked the terrified nation unconscious. (Self defense classes are helpful, children.)
"Throw him away. Cast him out. He's dangerous." Mrs. Sylvestre encouraged. The others watched as the father carried to defenseless Time Lord toward the door, Professor Keets helping. Dee looked on helplessly, crying softly.
"That's it. Allons-y~!" Mrs. Sylvestre encouraged.
The stewardess blinked, eyes going wide. She had heard The Doctor say that before this awful trip had even started!
"Molto bene!" Mrs. Sylvestre crowed, and the stewardess grabbed her.
She dragged the struggling woman to the door and mashed the button, leaping out with her in her arms. The group watched as the door slammed shut after them, and The Doctor gasped. The two men dropped him, and he lay on the cold ground panting. He glanced over to see Prussia lying unconscious on the ground, then closed his eyes. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He didn't want to believe it.
Last time skip brought by Silver watching B movies on a friend's birthday
The Doctor and Prussia sat far from the other people. The intercom had just said that the shuttle would be there within five minutes, and both were glad to leave this terrible ordeal behind them. To think that people would stoop so quickly to murder...it wasn't a nice thought.
"Her name." The Doctor asked softly.
It took a moment for one of the others to respond.
"What?" Jethro asked back tiredly.
"The stewardess. Did anyone ask her name?"
There was a pregnant pause as the group realized that they didn't even know the name of the woman who had given her life to save their own. The Doctor sighed and closed his eyes, exhausted. That was another thing he struggled with when it came to humans. Human nature.
Hello all! Sorry once again for not updating in a looooong time! I'm really busy, and I had to stay up late two nights to get this exhausting chapter out. The next should push the major plot of this story forward some. Yes, there's an arc here, and one of my favorite ones at that. Also, I might end one of my older fics to start a new one, so be on the lookout for "Master Your Future". Thanks for your continued support! Allons-y~!
~Silver
