Disclaimer: I love the Doctor. That's enough for me.

Ch. 10:

The Doctor, Lily, and Christina walked over the dunes. When they reached a crest, they saw the storm. The Doctor took out the phone and snapped a picture.

"Send this back to Earth and see if Malcolm can analyze the storm." He said.

Lily took a couple steps forward.

"Lily?" he called.

"It's not a storm." She said, looking back at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"There's something in it." She said, looking back. "Something shining."

"Like metal." He said, looking at the storm.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina asked.

They stood there watching the storm.

"Do you hear something?" Christina asked.

"Hold on." The Doctor replied. "Busy."

"There's a noise." She continued. "Like a sort of…"

She suddenly turned back.

"Doctor!" she called. "There's something new!"

The Doctor and Lily spun around to find themselves at gunpoint. The 'something new', a humanoid bug, who was holding the gun made a clicking noise and the Doctor made the same sort of noises in return.

"It's waiting." The Doctor said.

"I shall wait." Lily translated. "People usually wait."

"You speak the language?" Christina asked.

"Every language." The Doctor answered.

Lily said something to the bug, and the bug replied.

"Begging for mercy." The Doctor translated.

The bug waved its gun.

"It means move." Christina said.

"Ooh, you're learning!" the Doctor said.

"That's pretty much universal, love." Lily said as they walked off.

The trio walked uneasily ahead the bug across the sand.

"These fly things…" Christina said. "They must be responsible. They brought us here."

"No, no, no, no, no." the Doctor said. "Look at the ship. It's a wreck. They crashed just like us."

The bug led them inside.

"Ugh!" Christina complained. "But this place is freezing!"

"Mm, the hull's made of therpotreen steel." The Doctor replied. "So it's cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. There's something about you, Christina, you've been through all the extremes."

"That's how I like things-extreme." Christina replied.

Lily snorted.

"Oh, this is beautiful!" the Doctor marveled as they entered another chamber. "Intact, it must have been magnificent! A proper, streamlined, deep-spacer."

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured." Christina replied. "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship."

"Better than a poorly designed one." Lily shot back. "Never know what the waste disposal systems are like on them. At least here you probably won't be lying in your own blood."

Another bug joined them, both aiming their guns at the trio. One pressed a button on their uniform and a purple light came on.

"All right, good, yes." The Doctor said. "Hello. That's their telepathic translator. He can understand us."

The bug made some clicking noises.

"Still sounds like gibberish to me." Christina said.

"He can understand us, not the other way around." Lily told her. "Please try to keep up."

"Lily." The Doctor rebuked.

She took a deep breath.

"Sorry." She said finally. "I'll try harder."

"Thank you." The Doctor replied.

The bug began clicking again.

"You will suffer for your crimes." The Doctor translated. "Et cetera. You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race. Tritovores, they're called! Tritovores. You came here in the 200 to destroy us. Sorry, wh-what's the 200?"

"It's the bus." Christina answered. "Number 200. They mean the bus."

"Oh!" the Doctor said. "No, no, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is my mate, The Phoenix."

She waved.

"And this is the Honorable Lady Christina." The Doctor introduced her. "At least I hope she's honorable. We got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

The Tritovores discussed this for a moment before lowering their guns.

"What are they doing?" Christina asked.

The Doctor covered Lily's mouth.

We're back to this? She asked.

If that's what it takes, yes.

She huffed but stayed put.

"They believe me." The Doctor told Christina.

"What, simple as that?" Christina asked.

"I've got a very honest face." He replied.

"Why are you covering her mouth?" she asked.

"Sometimes Lily's mouth says things before her brain vets them." The Doctor explained. "I'm just helping her brain catch up."

Christina stared at them.

"Are you going to say mean things?" he asked Lily.

She shook her head and he removed his hand.

"Right, so, first things first!" he said, bounding away to the controls. "There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?"

The Tritovore said something.

"Ooh, they've lost power." The Doctor translated. "The crash knocked the mainline crystal out of sync. But…if we could get it back…"

He gave the console a kick and Lily buried her face in her hand.

The machinery flared to life.

"Why, thank you!" the Doctor said, grinning proudly.

The Tritovore said something.

"Yes, I am!" the Doctor said. "Frequently!"

"Okay, I'm issuing a universe wide decree." Lily announced. "No one is allowed to compliment you. I spend too much time trying to deflate your ego, and these bozos keep undoing all my hard work!"

"Okey-dokey!" The Doctor said, ignoring her. "Let's launch that probe!"

The screen flared to life showing a cloud of color and light.

"The Scorpion Nebula." Lily marveled. "We're on the other side of the universe!"

"Just what you wanted." The Doctor told Christina. "So far away."

It focused to show a planet.

"Planet of San Helios." The Doctor identified.

"And that's us." Christina said. "We're on another world!"

"We have been for quite a while!" The Doctor told her.

"I know, but seeing it like that…" she said.

"I know." The Doctor said, grinning. "It's good, isn't it?"

Lily lightly slapped him upside the head.

"Fix the problem." She said, leaning down to speak in his ear, grinning. "Don't take credit."

The Tritovores said something.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios." The Doctor explained. "Population of 100 billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

"By waste matter, you mean…" Christina asked.

"They're flies." Lily explained. "What do you think it means?"

"Charming." Christina said. "Just remind me to never kiss them."

"Were you planning on it?" Lily asked, grinning.

A new image of a city appeared on the screen and the Tritovores spoke.

"San Helios city." Lily said slowly.

"That's amazing." Christina said. "But…you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times." The Doctor answered.

"That lordship of yours." She said. "Lord of where exactly?"

"Lily told you." He answered. "Time. We come from a race of people called the Time Lords."

"You're aliens?" she asked.

"Yeah." The Doctor replied. "But you don't have to kiss me either."

"No, that's my job." Lily said, pressing a kiss to his neck, making him grin.

"You look human." Christina told them.

"You look Time Lord." The Doctor shot back. "Anyway…"

"So, if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city." She said. "They can help us."

"I don't think it's that simple." Lily said, looking at the Tritovores.

The Tritovores spoke and the screen changed to the sand dunes.

"We're in the city now." The Doctor said.

"But it's sand!" Christina protested. "That first image, the temples and things, what's that then? Ancient history?"

The Doctor looked at the Tritovores as they spoke before turning back to the screen.

"The image was taken last year." He told her.

"It became a desert…in one year?" she said in horror.

Lily picked up a handful of sand and let it flow through her fingers.

"I said there was something in the sand." The Doctor said. "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"But I've got sand in my hair." Christina said, disbelieving. "That's dead people! Ugh, that's disgusting! Ugh!"

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios." The Doctor said, not paying attention to her.

"Yes, but in my hair!" Christina complained.

"And they're dead!" Lily shot back. "So shut up about your damn hair."

"Lily…" the Doctor sighed.

"What, did you really expect me to let that one pass?" she demanded. "A whole world's dead and she's going on about her hair!"

The phone rang, thankfully saving him from answering.

"Malcolm, tell me the bad news." He sighed.

"Oh, you are clever." Malcolm gushed. "It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 bernards. I haven't invented a name for that!"

"How can it get bigger by itself?" Lily asked.

"Hello, Miss Phoenix!" Malcolm called.

"Focus, Malcolm." Lily told him, sighing. "Answer the question."

You've got an admirer! The Doctor chuckled.

Shut up. Lily replied, shoving his shoulder.

"Well, that's why I'm phoning." Malcolm replied. "You'll work it out if I know you, sir."

"Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles heading upward." Erisa told them. "I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."

"Ah, good work, both of you." The Doctor told them.

"But I have to know-" Erisa continued. "Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

The phone beeped.

"Ooh, sorry, call waiting." He said. "Gotta go."

Without waiting for a response, he flipped over.

"Yeah?" he called.

"Doctor, it's Nathan." The man called. "We've got those dumbolt things down, but…"

"It's my fault." They heard Angela say tearfully.

"No, it's not." Nathan told her. "Don't say that!"

"Why, what's happened?" the Doctor asked.

"We kept on turning the engine, but…we're out of petrol." Nathan told him. "Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out, this bus…is never gonna move."

The Doctor let the phone drop from his ear.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Christina demanded. "Doctor, tell me!"

"You promised you'd get us home." Nathan said. "Doctor, are you still there?"

"Doctor, tell me, what did he say?" Christina repeated.

An alarm sounded and the Doctor looked around as one of the Tritovores leapt for the screen.

"It's the probe." The Doctor said. "It's reached the storm."

The Tritovore kept clicking.

"And what's he saying?" Christina asked.

"I was right." Lily said grimly. "It's not a storm."

The screen now showed millions of robotic stingrays flying in mass.

"It's a swarm!" Christina exclaimed. "Millions of them."

"Billions." The Doctor corrected.

One aimed at the probe and the feed died.

"Oh, we've lost the probe." The Doctor confirmed. "It got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten!"

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked.

"A hundred miles, but at that speed it'll be here in 20 minutes." The Doctor answered.

The Tritovore began clicking away again.

"No, no, no, they're not just coming for us." Lily answered. "We're just the appetizers. What they want is the wormhole."

"They're heading for Earth?" Christina asked.

"Show me the analysis." The Doctor ordered, waving his hand.

He peered at the image of the stingray.

"Incredible." He marveled. "They swarm out of the wormhole, strip the planet bare and then move on to the next world. Start the lifecycle all over again."

"I wish you would stop finding beauty in things that want to kill us." Lily told him.

"Says the woman who named a life force eating monster Bob." The Doctor shot back.

"Hey, he hasn't killed anyone!" Lily said. "Recently."

"So, they make the wormholes?" Christina asked.

"They must do." The Doctor answered.

"But how?" she asked. "They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"'Cause they need to be?" the Doctor answered. "No, that's bonkers. Hang on. Yes! Oh! You see, billions of them flying in formation all the way round the planet. Round and round and round. Faster and faster and faster until they generate a rupture in space! The speed of them and the numbers and the size…all that rips the wormhole into existence."

"And the wormhole's getting bigger?" Christina asked.

"Because they're getting closer." Lily confirmed.

"But how'd they get through?" Christina asked. "'Cause that wormhole's a killer. We've seen it. Unless they're like Lily here."

"Phoenix. And no one is like me." Lily shot back. "They're like the bus."

"See the exoskeleton?" the Doctor asked.

"Metal?" Christian replied.

"They've got bones of metal." The Doctor told her. "They eat metal to extrude it into the exoskeleton. So the velocity makes the wormhole and then their body makes it safe. A perfect design."

"You're finding beauty in things that want to kill us again." Lily told him.

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert?" Christina demanded. "So why are you two smiling?"

"The worse it gets, the more I love it." The Doctor said.

"Me too." Lily told her.

The Doctor grinned and dashed off.

A/N: Third chapter done. Let me know what you thought.