Welcome back to chapter 9! This chapter will include part 3 of New Earth. It's slightly late because I've been a lot busier than I thought I would be this week. Thank you for the reviews so far I really appreciate it. Leave a review to let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy! Allons-y!
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or it's characters.
Rose sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Bloody Cassandra." She muttered. Trying to stand up in the confined space of the capsule, Rose was trapped by The Doctor's lanky legs which were currently dangled over the top of her own. They were pressed up against each other and Rose reached over with her arm, poking him lightly on the chest. "Doctor. Wake up." He sat up, looking disorientated. "What…" He began, looking around confused.
"We're trapped in here." Rose replied, wriggling to see if she could create any more room. The capsule was only built for one so they were both finding it very uncomfortable, not that she minded be that close to The Doctor, of course. "Let us out! Let us out!" The Doctor yelled.
"Aren't you two lucky there was a spare? Standing room only. Although… it must be quite the squeeze. Isn't that what you want Penelope Smith… or should I say-" Cassandra spoke with a grin, walking over and pressing her face to the glass that separated them.
"No!" Rose called out, "Don't you dare!"
Cassandra began to laugh. "I'm the only one that knows about your little… shall I say secret." She looked the Doctor straight in the eye. "Does it bother you Doctor? Knowing that your little companion here is hiding things from you?" Rose clenched her fists, desperately wanting to knock that grin off her face.
"We all have secrets Cassandra and if Penelope doesn't want to share them than it's fine with me." The Doctor gave Rose an encouraging smile and squeezed her hand. SHe returned the smile, grateful that he wasn't pushing it.
"Aren't you just… itching… to know more?" She began to giggle, "See what I did there?"
"You've stolen Rose's body."
Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor and your little companion too. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You two have got about three minutes left. Enjoy."
"Just let Rose go, Cassandra." He pleaded desperately.
"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger, and less common, then I'll junk her with the waste. Now hushaby. It's show time."
"I really hate her." Rose muttered as she noticed Chip had joined her. She wished that he would just get out of here but he wouldn't leave his 'mistress'.
"Welcome to the club." The Doctor replied sarcastically, straining his head forward to try and listen the the conversation that Cassandra was having. Rose let her head rest back on the wall, attempting to see if she could remember any of this. Coming up blank she sighed and shook her head, feeling her anger rise again when she heard what Cassandra was requesting. That's just ridiculous. Rose thought, All of this, just for money.
Suddenly she heard Cassandra cry, "Chip? Plan B!" as the doors of the capsules swung open. The Doctor and Rose leapt out, almost falling over in a tangle of limbs.
"Oops. Sorry." He muttered before noticing the diseased people who were still dazed, stepping out of the capsules along the corridor.
"What've you done?" The Doctor yelled in frustration.
"Cassandra! You idiot!" Rose shouted, glaring out her.
"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up. See ya!" She replied, before running off. Rose cursed silently under her breath before running after her. She heard The Doctor's rapid footsteps behind her as they sprinted down the corridor, capsule locks exploding into sparks beside them. "There all out!" Rose cried, glancing down over the railing as they ran. They stopped for a moment to catch their breaths. "Oh, my God." Cassandra muttered, staring over the railing at the sight before them.
"What the hell have you done?" The Doctor cried in annoyance, hands spread across the railing.
"It wasn't me." She retorted.
"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra. We've got to go down."
"But there's thousands of them!"
"Move it!" Rose shouted and gave her previous self a shove down the stairs.
"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" The Doctor screamed as the people began chasing them.
Chip, Rose, her previous self and The Doctor, sprinted down the stairs, not daring to stop as the hoard of diseased people began to grow behind them. "Keep going! Go down!" The Doctor shouted. Rose could only imagine the havoc they were wreaking throughout the rest of the hospital. Throwing open a door and sprinting down another corridor they reached the lifts and her previous self stopped, rapidly pressing the button.
"No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving." The Doctor shouted and they paused for a moment, wondering what to do next.
"This way!" Cassandra shouted suddenly, running past The Doctor. They all followed behind but as they ran down the corridor, a hoard of diseased people stepped out, cutting Rose and Chip off from The Doctor and her previous self.
"Penelope!" He shouted, stopping and turning towards her. He looked panicked as he reached out for her.
"Leave them! He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half life and she's nothing to you. Come on!"
"I'm not leaving her!" He shouted back as Cassandra continued to run.
"You've got to leave us!" Rose yelled, "We'll be fine. Just go! Get after her!"
"But-" He began.
"Go!" She shouted as she grabbed Chip's hand and ran in the opposite direction.
"Don't let them touch you!" He shouted back before turning and running in his own direction.
"My Mistress!" Chip shouted in dismay as they ran down the corridor.
'She'll be fine!" Rose shouted back, "Now come on." They ran for a bit before Rose paused at a chute labelled 'waste'. "Oh brilliant." She muttered, staring down the rest of the corridor, noting that it ended in a dead end. "Time to take a dive Chip." She sighed before jumping down the chute as she heard Chip following her, screaming loudly as they fell. She landed into a pile of something that felt unpleasantly sticky as Chip landed on top of her, pushing her further into the gunk and sparing himself from the worst of it. "Get off me!" She shouted, attempting to push him off her. They both slid down the pile and landed on the floor with a thud. "Oh this is just lovely." She muttered sarcastically, trying to wipe the gunk out of her eyes. She had never felt so disgusting in her entire life. It covered her from head to toe, feeling it squelch in her sneakers as she stood up. Chip, however, was almost completely unscathed and she grew angry for a moment, before seeing his terrified face. "It'll be fine Chip." She smiled encouragingly despite the way she was feeling.
"But mistress." He cried, sinking to the floor.
"She will be perfectly fine. The Doctor will sort everything out don't worry. Besides, she's really not worth worrying about. She treats you terribly Chip, I don't know why you love her so much."
He thought for a moment, "Because mistress is… she's like… my mother. Mistress created me and I will care for her no matter what." Rose sighed but understood him. People always will protect the ones they love. Even if they have done something wrong.
"I get it but maybe you should try standing up for yourself more." Even though Rose knew that he was going to die, she just wanted him to, even just once, stand up to Cassandra.
"I will try." He agreed, rising to his feet.
"Good." She smiled, this time a genuine one, "Now let's try and get out of here. I need a shower."
Rose through open door after door as they ran through various rooms. They passed an examination room, operation theatre and a room that Rose would come to describe as gunk room 2, as she was once again covered with the sticky stuff. Wiping her sticky hair out of her eyes, they came face to face with the corridor full of capsules again. "Not here again." She muttered, as they ran forward. She could hear the hoard of diseased people behind them. Running forward, they were cornered by another group. Rose walked over to the railing, staring down at the plethora of floors below them. "Well we can't go that way." She muttered decidedly, turning back towards Chip. He was whimpering as they grew closer. Think. Think. Think Rose. What can I do? Before she could decide anything, however, Chip had thrown open a capsule door. "In here, human child!" Rose followed him in and they shut the door, grabbing the handle tightly as as they could to prevent them from opening it. She was extremely thankful that the disease top up had been turned off during quarantine. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Rose called The Doctor's mobile and was quite surprised when he answered. Normally he was terrible with answering the phone, always calling her back weeks later. "Hello? Who is this?" The Doctor questioned. She could hear Cassandra in the background, whining about something or other.
"It's Penelope."
"Ah future girl. I'm glad you made it." He tried to sound nonchalant but Rose could hear the relief in his voice.
"Yes well, if you don't hurry your brilliant plan up I'm not going to stay safe for much longer."
"How do you know I have a brilliant plan?"
"Because you always do. Although, I must admit that they don't always turn out so well."
"Oi" Chip began to scream slightly as they tugged on the door harder and Rose pulled on the handle tightly. "Where are you? What's happening?" He sounded worried now.
"In a-" she began as she dropped the phone trying to re grip the handle. "Dammit." she muttered before attempting to bend down and grab it. It was a tight squeeze but she managed, still gripping onto the handle tightly. "Penelope!" The Doctor was shouting as she put the phone back up to her ear.
'I'm fine. Well fine as in I'm about to catch thousands of diseases. I just dropped the phone."
"Good. I mean not the part where your about to catch thousands of diseases but-"
"I get it. How's the plan going?"
"Brilliantly as usual. I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in." He replied gleefully as she heard him drop to the floor. "I'm in here! Come on! Pull that lever!" He shouted excitedly to whom Rose presumed was Cassandra. She heard the splattering of liquid through the phone.
"What are you doing?" She questioned, slightly concerned. They were still grappling with the door as she spoke but her and Chip were growing tired.
"Spreading the cure!" He shouted loudly, almost causing Rose to drop the phone again. "Come on, come on. All they want to do is pass it on. Pass it on!" She could hear both the relief and excitement in his voice, making Rose smile. "You should be safe in a few minutes. I'll meet you up at ward 26." She hung up the phone and after a few moments, the tugging on the door stopped as everyone was cured of their diseases. "We survived Chip!" Rose shouted excitedly, "Brilliant job pulling us in here by the way."
"Thank you human child." He replied, returning her smile. They pushed the capsule door open and made their way down the crowded corridor, smiling at the now cured people. When they reached the lift, Rose could hardly wait to be disinfected and get the gunk off herself, despite her initial dislike of their disinfection methods.
Stepping out of the lift into ward 26, Rose and Chip ran towards the Doctor and her previous self. Finally feeling clean and free of gunk, Rose pulled Chip into a friendly hug.
"Mistress!" Chip cried happily.
"Remember what I said." Rose murmured and he nodded before running to greet Cassandra.
"Oh, you're both alive." Cassandra muttered unhappily.
"Nice to see you again future girl." The Doctor grinned.
"Right back atcha." Rose winked before she was lifted of the ground and spun around.
'Put me down!" Rose squealed with laughter and she was promptly placed down and squeezed tightly around her waist by The Doctor's long arms. I could get used to this. Rose thought, grinning like an idiot.
"A body." Cassandra murmured suddenly, "And not just that, a volunteer."
"Don't you dare. He's got a life of his own." The Doctor crossed his arms and glared at her.
"Chip." Rose nudged her head towards Cassandra.
"Mistress. I welcome you, however, I want you to understand that I don't quite like the way I have been treated. I want to be…" He lost his train of thought and Rose quickly jumped in.
"Respected."
"Yes that's the word. Respected. I want to be respected by you, mistress."
"Oh." Cassandra replied, surprised by his words. "Of course you're respected Chip. I know that I have been taking you for granted recently and… I'm sorry."
"I didn't know you had it in you Cassandra." The Doctor teased.
"Oh shut up."
"Well done Chip." Rose spoke warmly, giving him a smile.
"Thank you, human child. It was pleasure knowing you." A beam of light left her previous self's mouth and flew through the air, entering Chip as her previous self almost collapsed to the ground. The Doctor caught her in his arms.
"Oh! You all right?" She tried to nod before almost falling to the floor again. "Whoa! Okay?"
"Yeah." She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. "Hello!" Rose thought back to that moment. After having Cassandra in her head for so long, she didn't think she would ever be so happy to see The Doctor's smiling face in front of her. "Hello. Welcome back."
"Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle." Cassandra but in suddenly, now situated in Chip's mind.
"Cassandra!" Rose chastised, "What did Chip say about being respected."
"Sorry Chip." She muttered in defeat. Rose smiled to herself, lost in thought. Even though she couldn't completely change what had happened, it still felt good to make a difference in Chip's life. He was still going to die, of course, but Rose couldn't help but be glad that his life finally got to mean something more than just Cassandra's slave. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she ran forward to catch Chip as he fell, his heart failing. "Are you alright?" The Doctor questioned, looking concerned.
"I'm fine. I'm dying, but that's fine." He smiled slightly at the realisation.
"I can take you to the city."
"No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me any more. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good. And thank you, Penelope, for making me realise what a horrible person I was being."
"Your welcome." I think that's the first decent thing that's come out of her mouth. Rose thought, with a giggle. She was saddened slightly, by Chip's impending death but it was his time to go, as well as Cassandra's.
"Come on. There's one last thing I can do." The Doctor spoke as he helped her up.
Arriving at the restaurant and stepping out of The TARDIS doors, Rose felt tears threatening to spill over. She knew she shouldn't be sad but just seeing Chip and Cassandra about to die for the second time was quite a lot to take in. She glanced over at the much younger Cassandra, who looked quite beautiful in her sparkling gown. Much better as a human than a skin flap. Rose thought to herself.
Chip turned towards them, "Thank you."
"Just go." The Doctor replied, "And don't look back."
"Good luck." Her previous self smiled. Rose gave him an encouraging nod and a squeeze as he walked towards the younger Cassandra. They watched on with tears in their eyes as Cassandra told her that she looked beautiful before collapsing to the ground. It took all of Rose's willpower not to run out there and try to save him, clenching her fists in frustration as he died right in front of them. Gently placing his hands on each of their shoulders, The Doctor guided them towards The TARDIS. "What happened to you by the way, when we got separated?" The Doctor questioned as they reached The TARDIS doors, turning towards her.
"That's a story for another time."
"Fair enough." He replied, as they stepped into The TARDIS, heading towards their next adventure.
And that's it for chapter 9! I hope you enjoyed it. When I first watched this episode, I always thought that Chip should stand up for himself more so I decided to make that happen in my own rewrite. I also thought that it would be interesting to show a little bit more of what happened with Chip when they got separated. Next up is part 1 of Tooth and Claw. Not sure when the next chapter is going to be up but I will get it out as soon as I can. Goodbye for now!
