Crying, the alarms sounded around them as they raced inside, Lazarus colliding with the door behind them after the Doctor had sealed the lock, Martha and Tish racing ahead to wait for the lift. "Security breach... security breach!" they chirped in outrage, "Security breach!"
"Lift's won't work!" Amara exclaimed, running past them towards the stairwell, "The building's under lockdown!"
"Wha..." Tish gaped as Martha yanked her by the arm suddenly.
"No time for idle chit-chat!" Amara shouted over her shoulder, bursting through the door to begin the descent down the stairs.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister as the Doctor sped past her, following Amara down the stairs in front of them.
"I was gonna snog him…" Tish murmured, utterly horrified by how she'd been flirting with him as well.
"What the hell is happening?" Martha demanded, the lights going out, as they continued down the stairs feverishly.
"Uh, 'Mara was right..." Tish trailed off, stumbled down the stairs slightly, "An intrusion... it's triggered a security lockdown which kills most of the power... stops the lifts, seals off the exits."
As they continued down the stairs, the faint pounding echoed through the air, reaching their ears as Lazarus continued to thump against the sealed door several floors above them. It would only be a matter of time before he broke in.
"He must be breaking through that door," the Doctor guessed over the sonorous echoes of the thumps.
A crash erupted above them, causing Amara to still in her movements, "And now he's inside..."
"Haven't got much time!" the Doctor announced, pressing further as they raced down the last few flights of stairs until they reached the reception where an entirely different chaos was about to ensue.
"Tish," the Doctor turned to face Martha's sister suddenly, sliding to a halt, "Is there another way out of here?"
"There's an exit in the corner," she visibly shook, pointing to the corner in question, "But it'll be locked now."
Sighing, the Doctor tossed his sonic screwdriver to Martha, "Martha, setting fifty-four... hurry!" at the orders, Martha hurried off with Tish as he jumped onto the platform of Lazarus's machine, "Listen to me!" he implored, "You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"
"Don't be ridiculous," a snobby woman scoffed in remark, "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."
Glass shattered at her words, revealing the skeletal beast that was Lazarus, coiling as he leapt down onto the floor of the reception, causing commotion as everyone sprung into hysterics while heading for the exits.
"And what an olive that is..." Amara breathed, staring at the beast in horror as people ran about her, wondering what on Earth had possessed him to experiment on himself... her eyes trailed to his machine, lingering for a moment before a thought sprouted within her mind.
"Mum!" Amara heard Leo shouting in the distance, turning to see him trying to pull Francine away from the crowds, "Get back!"
Watching, she saw Lazarus forced a table out of the way, sending it swirling in the direction of Leo. Clenching her jaw, she propelled herself towards the mother and son as the table collided with the electrical field that had fizzled into the air in front of them, causing the table to vibrant and fling off in the opposite direction, the backfire of the reversal causing Leo to be thrown backwards.
"'Mara, dont'!" she could hear the Doctor calling behind her as Francine rushed to Leo's side.
Helping, Amara helped Francine pull Leo to cover behind a collapsed table, attempting to shield them from Lazarus's view as people continued to fret in the frenzied air. "Francine, you've got to get him out of here..." her eyes widened when she saw Lazarus's attention trained upon them, spurring her to her feet immediately.
Moving away from Francine and Leo, Amara held Lazarus's attention as she walked into the centre of the reception, goading him by baiting herself. Brilliant idea... "C'mon then, beastie!" her neck was throbbing with a sudden influx of pain as it rippled through the left side of her body, making her stagger just a little before righting herself.
Eyes widening, the Doctor surged in hysteria when he saw Lazarus nearing Amara who was desperately trying to lead him away from Martha's family. But he didn't want Amara to endanger herself either... he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened. "Lazarus!" the Doctor tried, wanting to lure him away, to make sure she was safe, "Leave her alone!"
Eyeing the ground, Amara's gaze narrowed when she saw a metal railing pole lying lifeless upon the floor like a dead sentry. She scanned the length of it briefly before taking it into her arms, struggling with the unknown weight, moving closer towards Lazarus despite the Doctor's cries somewhere in the distance.
Lazarus scuttled forwards as Amara met him, reeling back as she forced to tip of the pole onto the skeletal chest, gritting her teeth as the static energy rippled along the beam, fizzing before dissipating with Lazarus. The beast wailed in agony, stumbling backwards, crashing over tables as Amara dropped the beam, sagging to her knees, spent.
Her diversion had given Martha time to aid Leo, rushing to his side immediately, "Martha," her mother breathed out, Francine's eyes upon the girl who'd saved her son, her eyes widening at her evident weakened state.
Martha ignored her, focusing on Leo's injury, "C'mon, stay with me," she whispered to her brother, pulling him and her mother away just in case Lazarus turned to attack them again.
"Martha," Francine tried again, nudging her daughter, "Your friend..."
Looking around, Martha's eyes widened when she saw Amara kneeling on the floor, wincing. "'Mara!" she shouted, panicking as the woman sat back on her knees, her chest heaving to compensate for whatever she'd just done.
"Martha, make sure your family's safe!"
The Doctor, however, traipsed over Lazarus's machine, goading him. "What's the point if you can't control it?" he exclaimed, drawing Lazarus to him. "The mutation's too strong... killing those people won't help you. You're a fool, a vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!"
Upon finishing, the Doctor hopped down from the machine and sprinted away, an enraged Lazarus bolting after him as he disappeared from sight.
Grappling with the nearest table, Amara climbed to her feet, steadying herself as she made her way over to the machine, cursing the Doctor for his reckless and impulsive streak.
"What's the Doctor doing?" Tish asked as Martha stood, examining the wound on Leo's head carefully, "And 'Mara..."
"He's trying to buy us some time," Martha replied hastily, "Let's not waste it... Leo, look at me. Let me see your eyes," she glanced her mother, her gaze flooding with concern, "He's got concussion, you'll need to help him downstairs," she ran over to an ice bucket, putting some cubes into a napkin. Pressing it to Leo's head, she looked back at the reception, gesturing for her mother to take over, "This'll keep the swelling down. Go! I'll be right behind you! Tish, move! We need to get out of here!"
Martha pushed her family towards the stairs, turning back immediately to run into the reception, kneeling beside Amara who had ripped open a side of panel of the machine, tinkering away inside with the wires.
About to ask what was going on, Martha paused when she noticed something far worse, "Your neck," Martha gasped.
"It was your family, Martha," Amara shrugged it off as a duty; she thought of Martha as family and that meant protecting her family. "It's nothing, just get them out..."
"No, no," Martha shook her head furiously, "Something's wrong, let me examine your..."
"Martha!" Amara ground out, turning to look at her as she spotted the sonic screwdriver in Martha's hand. "Just... try and restore the power, and get everyone out," she nodded to the screwdriver though Martha looked reluctant to leave her, remaining unmoving, "Go on!"
Nudging Martha along, she pushed her back in the direction of the door. Martha hesitated, looking torn for a moment, before rushing back out and into the sea of people, shoving and pushing. She'd go, but she'd come back to help as soon as the crowd had cleared.
She ran down the hall, skidding to a halt as she met the mass of the crowd, striving to get out through the locked main entrance, screaming and shouting in hysterics as they fought one another. "We can't get out!" Tish exclaimed when she saw Martha rushing back over, "We're trapped!"
"There must be an override switch," Martha implored, looking around frantically so she could help all those poor people in the chaotic sea before them, "Where's the security desk? Tish!"
Tish frowned before she pointed to a booth not very far away, "Right there..."
Martha ran over to the desk, sliding over the top to make her way over to the control panel, using the pre-set sonic on it frantically before moments later, the power resumed and the doors swung open.
Rushing back, Martha smiled in relief, "I've got to go back," Martha breathed, watching as the waves of people spilled through the doors, seeing her family was safe.
"You can't!" her mother exclaimed in outrage, "You saw what that thing did. It'll kill you."
"I don't care... I have to go."
"It's that Doctor, isn't it? And that girl!" her mother glared, prepared to fight her if she was to do such a thing, "That's what's happened to you. That's why you've changed."
"He was buying us time, Martha, and 'Mara knows what she's doing," Tish tried to reassure her mother and to persuade Martha otherwise, "Time for you to get out, too."
"It's not just him Mum," Martha challenged, scowling in disbelief, wanting to know when her mother had become so cruel. "'Mara's still in there. I'm not leaving them."
"Martha!" her mother called out, but Martha turned and sped back into the building.
"She saved yours and Leo's life in there!" Martha exclaimed incredulously, picking up speed as she dashed back up the stairs, "She's my friend!"
She wouldn't let anything happen to Amara... she'd stayed with her in New New York and in Old New York, and she knew that Amara wouldn't leave anytime in the future either. She couldn't let anything happen to her.
She was her friend.
Martha had never met anyone like her before in her entire life. She knew all the right things to say and do, how to make her smile when she was upset or annoyed... she was so kind and lovely, Martha loved her. She was happy as long as she and the Doctor were. Amara made her feel as though she belonged, she trusted and had faith in her, told she was brilliant and clever... she made her feel included, and made her feel like the companion the Doctor had failed to do so himself.
Martha was sprinting through the halls, trying to make her way back to the reception until she heard a sudden blast coming from around the nearest corner. Turning, she raced down it and immediately crashed into the Doctor.
Eyes widening, the Doctor stared at her in shock, "What are you doing here?" the Doctor demanded, looking at Martha properly.
"I'm returning this," Martha held up the screwdriver for him to take back from her, "I thought you might need it."
"How did you…" he trailed off in confusion, staring at her in surprise.
"I heard the explosion," Martha told him, "I guessed it was you... I was coming back to look for 'Mara."
"She's still in here?" the Doctor's eyes widened at Martha, his concern for Amara sparking within his gaze as he completely forgot the screwdriver.
"Yeah... she was, uh, doing something to the machine," Martha explained hurriedly, seeing the worried increasing within his eyes as they widened still, "I got everyone out, and was about to come back for her when I heard the explosion... what did you do?"
"I blasted Lazarus."
"Did you kill him?" she asked hopefully, a moment before Lazarus came crashing around the corner, flinging himself down the hall.
"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say," he replied before pulling her down the hall, "Let's get 'Mara and get out of here!"
The pair of them ran back into the reception room, Martha immediately finding Amara hissing as she pulled her hand out of the machine, "'Mara!" she cried, running over to her as she turned her away from the machine, checking her verdant orbs glittered with the presence of blue flecks... more blue than usual.
"'Mara, what are you doing?" the Doctor demanded as Martha pulled Amara into her arms firmly. "Are you all right?"
Amara nodded, "I'm fine," she reassured the both of them, "I had to kick some arse... it's just a strain, nothing more."
The Doctor frowned, squinting at the darkened vein at her neck as her eyes sparkled, seeing its growth in vibrancy which worries him terribly.
"What do we do now?" Martha breathed, looking around, "We've just done round in a circle!"
Lazarus burst through the doors as Amara grabbed them, yanking them towards the machine hastily, "We can't afford to let him get outside... come on, get in," she pushed the pair of them through the narrow door, only just managing to click it shut behind, squeezing them together.
Wincing, Martha tried to turn, "Are we hiding?" Martha frowned as she moved Amara's arm from her back.
"No, he knows we're here," the Doctor told her, which only increased Martha's worry beyond belief, "But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"But we're trapped!"
The Doctor gave a sheepish shrug of his shoulder, "Well, yeah, that's a slight problem…"
"You mean you don't have a plan?" Martha's eyes widened.
"Chill, Martha," Amara called out softly, "We just need to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow, and Bob's your uncle."
"Oh," the Doctor paused in thought, his mouth falling agape as he considered what Amara had told them, his eyes widening as a grin crossed his face, wide and electric. "Oh, brilliant!" snaking a hand into his jacket, he withdrew his sonic.
"Hey!" Martha cried out when he almost elbowed her.
"Sorry!"
Martha frowned, "What're you gonna do with that?"
Sliding down to the floor, he popped open the panel and began to fiddle as Martha stared down at him. "I still don't understand where that thing came from," Martha spoke, shifting to allow the Doctor more room, "Is it alien?"
"No, for once it's strictly human in origin," the Doctor told her, fiddling with some wires.
"Human?" Martha gaped, not sure if she'd heard correctly, "How can it be human?"
"Well," Amara gave sigh in thought, "When Lazarus changed his DNA, the energy field in whatever the hell that thing is, obviously reactivated dormant genes which means they're becoming dominant."
"It's a throwback," the Doctor agreed, "Some option that evolution rejected millions of years ago, but the potential was still locked in the genes," he continued quite contently, "Until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."
"So, it's, uh, like Pandora's box," Martha frowned.
"Exactly... nice shoes, by the way," the Doctor glanced up at Martha before turning his attention back to his fiddling, his eyes catching Amara's legs which were positioned very, very close to his face that it made his mouth run dry. He hadn't realised how short her dress actually was, his eyes sliding up to see the skin lurking above the knees.
"So," Amara cleared her throat, "The knee joint joins the thigh with leg... apparently, it consists of two articulations: one between the femur and patella... and I believe the other between the femur and tibia which is known as the tibiofemoral joint," she looked over at Martha, "Is that right?"
"Uh, yeah," Martha laughed breathlessly, "So, what's the plan?"
The Doctor shook his head, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment as he swallowed thickly, his eyes scanning across the warm flesh mere inches from him as Martha smirked.
"You're gonna love this."
A blue shimmer glowed around them as the machine started up, shaking Martha, "What's happening?"
"He's switched the machine on!" the Doctor exclaimed, looking up at Amara who shrugged.
"That's not good, is it?" Martha looked between the two of them, feeling her panic rising once more, "Is that part of the plan?"
"Well, I was hoping it was gonna take him a little bit longer to work that out," he let out as the machine started to spin around them.
"I don't want to hurry you, but..." Martha wheezed in a hushed tone.
Amara grinned, "This is where it gets exciting."
"I know, I know," the Doctor sighed, his hands working away as quickly as he was able.
"Tick tock goes the clock," Amara hummed, earning a glare from Amara.
"Nearly done."
"What're you doin'?" Martha demanded, not even sure what was going on.
"Trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it," the Doctor looked up at Amara, "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow."
"You only need to sonic it in a few places, Space Cowboy," Amara told him with an eye roll, bracing herself against the body of the machine as it continued to spin. "I did half of the work for you,"
"Will that kill him?"
"When he transforms, he's three times his size, cellular triplication, so he's spreading himself thin," the Doctor explained in a murmur, seeming lost in thought.
"We're gonna end up like him!"
Amara sighed, reaching out to squeeze Martha's hand, "Faith and trust, Martha Jones."
"Just one more..." the Doctor yanked on a wire and the energy field shifted suddenly, shifting as it fled from the machine.
Jolting, Amara looked down when the Doctor wrapped a hand around her calf, warm and scorching as he pulled himself up again, squeezing as he rose to his full height. His hand brushed hers and he smiled at her.
I thought we were gonna go through the blender then," Martha gave a sigh of relief as the Doctor opened the door cautiously, helping Amara and herself out.
"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity," he glanced around for any sign of Lazarus; had he escaped; was he hiding or had he been struck by the reversed energy field? He had not idea in the slightest. "I must be a bit out of practice."
"Damn..." Amara frowned, rubbing the back of her neck in frustration as she stared sadly at the body belonging to Lazarus.
The Doctor turned around and followed Amara's gaze to see the man in question. There he was, Lazarus, lying very humanly naked before them on the floor.
"He seems so…" Martha sighed, moving to kneel beside the body as regret swarmed her gaze, "Human... again, it's kind of pitiful."
"Eliot saw that, too," the Doctor commented, staring down at the man. "'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.'"
Grabbing a table cloth, Amara's clenched her jaw before draping the cloth over Lazarus's prone form, stepping away to allow the man some dignity despite all the monstrosity he'd caused in a mere couple of hours.
Lazarus's body had been retrieved by emergency services, concealed in a body bag upon a gurney as the trio stood watching from the steps just outside the labs. Amara couldn't help but feel something was amiss. She couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong.
"She's here!" someone called in the distance as the three of them looked up to see Tish running over to Martha before sweeping her up into her arms, "Oh, she's all right."
"Careful," Amara warned as Francine stormed over to where they stood, a dark looked crossing her face, "She's on a mission..."
"Yeah..." he trailed off, having a feeling he knew what was going to happen next. "Ah, Mrs. Jones, we still haven't finished our chat," the Doctor beamed as Martha's mother continued to storms over to him, his smile vanishing entirely when she swung her hand back to slap him in the face.
"Keep away from my daughter!" she demanded, glowering as she pointed at the pair of the accusingly, "Both of you, I don't want you anywhere near her, do you understand me?!"
Amara's hands flew into the air in surrender, her brows haven risen in utter shock t what had just happened, "Francine- "
"Don't," Martha's mother rounded on her in an instance, "We barely know each other, and I don't want to waste another moment pretending we could possibly get along with one another."
Amara's hearts sunk with her chest as she glanced over at Martha, her hands falling dead beside her. "Mum what are you doing?" Martha demanded, shocked.
Turning to face the Doctor, Amara winced when she saw the red mark that had been left from the force of Francine's hit, and it looked as though it was stinging, forming a slight welt on his skin. She pressed a hand to his cheek, hoping the coolness of her palm would soothe it.
She smiled when he leaned into her palm, obviously appreciating the gesture, "Does this happen with all their mothers?" Amara sighed, managing an amused smile though her concerned tone.
"Unfailingly."
"Fortunately for you, you'll never have to face my mother," Amara offered with a smile, hoping to cheer him up though he seemed to darken at the tone of her voice, tilting his head. "She's dead, so that's an angry mother you'll never have to explain kidnapping to, Space Cowboy."
The Doctor studied her face for a moment, frowning, "What happened?"
"Space is always the final frontier," Amara breathed, not wanting to think about her mother at all. "'Star Trek' told us so."
"They are dangerous!" Mrs. Jones argued, "I've been told things."
"What are you talking about?" Martha frowned, scoffing.
"Look around you!" her mother implored, moving to grab her shoulders, "Nothing but death and destruction!"
"This isn't their fault," Martha defended, outraged by her mother's audacity to be so rude. "They saved us, all of us!"
"It was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place," Leo interjected scornfully, "I'd say, technically, it's her fault."
"Come on," Amara reasoned as Tish elbowed him in the side, "We're all reasonable adults here."
"No more talking from you," Mrs. Jones warned her.
Suddenly, a crash erupted from down the street, drawing all their attentions from the dispute to it.
Allowing her curiosity to the get the better of her, Amara surged forwards and dragged the Doctor along with her s the pair of them took off running.
Anxious, Martha tried to follow them but her mother pulled her back instantly. "Leave them!" Francine begged her daughter.
Martha shook her head, pulling herself away from her mother's embrace to run after them.
She wasn't prepared to let her friends go running off in the face of danger without being by their side; she wasn't about to abandon them, they'd never done so with her... Amara had never given up hope on her, so why would she through the trust away? Why would she abandon them when they made her feel as though she belonged.
She deserved to be with them, they made her feel included and a part of something than she'd always been led to believe. She would abandon them. They were as good as family in her eyes.
She found them stood staring at the ambulance which was broken down outside a church as Tish caught up, almost running into the back of her. She gaped at the state the ambulance was in; its doors had been forced open, the medics dried up corpses much like Lazarus's previous victims.
"Lazarus, back from the dead," the Doctor muttered in a deep sigh, shaking his head, "Should've known, really," he pulled out his sonic and began to search for the fluctuating DNA that would lead him to Lazarus's whereabouts.
"Where's he gone?" Martha looked around the streets, worried that Lazarus might have disappeared into the night to attack more helpless people.
"That way," the Doctor said, nodding to the direction of a nearby church. "The church."
"Well, I don't know about you lot," Amara let out with a sheepish smile, "But I've never been very pious."
"Cathedral," Tish corrected as they all turned to look at her, slightly surprised by her appearance, "It's Southwark Cathedral... he told me," she shrugged.
Not bothering to wait, Amara started towards the Cathedral as the others copied her movements, moving up cautiously through the aisle while the Doctor held out his sonic before him, frowning.
"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered, eyeing Amara as she strolled along rather too casually for her liking, making her feel very uncomfortable.
"Sometimes those feel safe in the Lord's embrace," Amara offered with a shrug.
Reaching the front of the cathedral, they found Lazarus hunched on his knees behind the alter, huddled beneath a red blanket, raggedly breathing, shuddering. "I came here before," he announced softly when he caught sight of them standing behind him, "A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child… the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz," the Doctor acknowledged.
"You've read about it," Lazarus assumed with a faint nod.
The Doctor shook his head slightly as he gravitated towards Lazarus, "I was there."
"You're too young," he scoffed, shaking his head at the absurdity.
"So are you," the Doctor countered with a shrug.
Lazarus laughed but it became strangled, turning into gasps of pain as he fought the mutation, "In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again," as he spoke, the Doctor glanced at Amara whose attention seemed to be focused on the bell tower lurking above them before her gaze fell upon Lazarus again, "So defenceless... I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."
"That's what you were trying to do today," the Doctor concluded thoughtfully.
"That's what I did today," he corrected curtly.
"But those people," Amara ground out, her eyes narrowing as she stared down at him, "What about the people you tried to kill? What about the people you did kill... is that what you call fighting back?" she hissed, finding her disdain for him growing with each passing moment, "Is that what evolution is? Murder?"
"They were nothing," he snarled through gritted teeth, "I changed the course of history."
"And who's to say that none of them might have done the very same, who's to say that they were capable of extraordinary things? You?" Amara swallowed thickly, stepping away from the creature at her feet, "To die is to have lived, you can't cheat it... it's a process everyone has to encounter, we've all got to die. What makes you any different? Because you have a extra brain cells? You didn't apply them very well, did you?"
"You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human..." the Doctor argued, not liking how distressed Amara had become at the hands of Lazarus, "You can't change that."
"No," Lazarus glared at the pair of them, "Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more… successful," he groaned in agony, his body writhing with pain at the hands of the mutation.
"Look at yourself!" the Doctor scoffed, throwing his hands up into the air incredulously, "You're mutating! You have no control over it! You call that a success?"
"I call it progress. I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human."
"You can't know very many extraordinary humans..." Amara mused, her eyes flitting over to Martha for a split second, "Is that because of your repulsive bedside manner? Is that why you so cynically shallow?"
"There's no such thing as an ordinary human," the Doctor countered heartedly.
"He's gonna change again at any minute," Martha whispered, stepping towards them, eyeing Lazarus as she spoke, fully away that her sister was stood behind her, having been a previous target of Lazarus.
"I know," the Doctor sighed.
"We need to get him up into the bell tower somehow, play a few symphonies..." Amara told them, her gaze trained above them once more.
The Doctor frowned for a moment, "I've an idea that might work."
"Up there?" Martha eyed the tower.
Amara frowned in thought when she saw a glint in Martha's eyes, making her believe that the woman had an idea of how to lead him up there, and wasn't planning on telling herself or the Doctor.
"You're so sentimental, Doctor," Lazarus mused in amusement, "Maybe you are older than you look."
"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one," he spoke, turning his back on Lazarus, "In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of watching everything turn to dust," he squatted before the man as he winced, "If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone."
"That's a price worth paying."
"You're a fool." Amara breathed, closing her eyes in vexation before looking to Martha who was staring up at the tower in thought... her eyes widened in realisation of what she'd planned. No way.
"I will feed soon," Lazarus writhed through a grimace.
"I'm not gonna let that happen," the Doctor threatened, scowling at the man.
"You've not been able to stop me so far."
"Leave him, Lazarus!" Martha interjected suddenly, "He's old and bitter... thought you had a taste for fresher meat."
"No offence, Martha, but you're a bit on the skimpy side. I mean you can have her if you want, but I shocked you pretty bad back there..." Amara rolled her neck, eyeing the man as the writhing grew more regular, "You wouldn't want that little, itty, bitty defeat to harm your precious reputation would you?"
Lazarus glowered at her, staggering to his feet.
"Thought not," Amara managed before turning and racing towards the stairs, Lazarus chasing after her. "Paula Radcliffe eat your heart out..."
"'Mara, no!" the Doctor exclaimed, watching as Lazarus ascended the stairs after, wheeling around to look at both Martha and Tish, "Martha..." he looked at her desperately, needing her to step up and do what he couldn't bring himself to do.
"Right," Martha nodded, breaking out into a run with Tish following, reaching the stairs to follow the chase as a roar bellowed through the air, signalling the change.
"Martha..." Tish muttered.
"He's changed," Martha let out a ragged breath, "We need to hurry!"
The Doctor turned as he surveyed the floor above him, watching for any sign of life until he heard the distant roars of the Lazarus, "'Mara?!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth so that his voice echoed. "Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, d'you hear me?"
"That was the plan anyway," Amara replied, skidding to a halt as she looked through an archway, watching Lazarus's shadow. "Sound is everything... reverse it!" Amara shouted, catching a glimpse of Lazarus as she bolted again, "Hyper..." her voice trailed off.
"Martha?!" the Doctor hollered, turning again as he saw her appear, "You need to hurry!"
"We're trying!"
Looking around, the Doctor spotted a large pipe organ and broke out into a run, climbing to the box and sitting himself down on the bench. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver in an instant and began fiddling with the settings, "Hypersonic sound waves," he muttered to himself, and he fumbled around before jamming it into a slot in the organ, his hands shaking slightly.
"Better be good acoustic in here," he sighed before beginning to play.
Having reached the top of the bell tower, Amara wandered around the circular walkway so she stood opposite the entrance... trapped and cornered as Lazarus arrived in the doorway, blocking the exit.
"D'you know what this reminds me of?" Amara sighed, trying to buy herself some time, "All we need is a singing teapot to serenade us really... 'tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast'... no?"
Lazarus growled, prowling the length of the walkway.
"It's a classic!" Lazarus swung his tail and ducked, "A singing teapot!"
In an instant, he swung his tail as she threw herself aside, dodging the blow. He tried again, hitting the wall as Amara dodged it when Martha and Tish arrived, breathless. "'Mara!"
"No!" Amara shouted, rolling away from the tail, "Get back!" she called out to them, suddenly distracted, worrying about their safety rather than pay utter attention to Lazarus as his tail swung into her, forcing her over the ledge.
"'MARA!" Martha screamed.
The scream reached the Doctor below as he frantically played, desperation rising within him when nothing happened. Yanking the sonic back out, he scowled, "... turn this up to eleven," he muttered to himself, resetting the volume of the organ before sticking it back in to play much more vigorously than before.
He needed noise, lots of it...
Martha could only worry, petrified, as Lazarus loomed over Amara as she clung on for dear life, wincing. "Lazarus!" she tried, not wanting him to land a direct hit again as his attention finally shifted to them.
Clawing at the ledge, Amara hoisted herself up slightly to clasp a hand on Lazarus's tail as it swung again, gritting her teeth together as her eyes grew heavily.
Tish gaped as static pulses rippled around Lazarus's form, causing him to shriek in agony, writhing as Martha continued to cry out.
Clasping her head in a sudden pain, Tish cried out in agony as she covered her ears from the sound waves having collected in the tower, bouncing off the walls to cause herself and Martha to wince in pain.
Martha winced as Lazarus began to writhe in pain once again, twisted around awkwardly before falling over the edge, past Amara as she continued to cling on, toppling to the ground with a heavy thud.
Upon seeing Lazarus fall, the Doctor ceased his playing to peer over the edge of the organ booth, seeing the man very much human once again.
Rushing to Amara's side, Martha grabbed her arm, gesturing for Tish to help her as they both hauled her up to safety, "We've got you... don't worry," Martha told her forcefully.
"Hold on, 'Mara..." Tish winced as they both managed to get her safely onto the walkway again.
Amara winced, the vein in her neck thumping ruthlessly which made her head vibrate hideously, "Never considered myself an adrenaline junkie..."
"'Mara?!" the Doctor exclaimed when he was met with utter silence, obviously needing reassurance.
"She's okay!" Martha called down to him, sighing in relief, "We're all okay!"
Amara blinked, feeling dizzy and compromised... futile as the two women tried to life her, successfully failing, "Can you walk?" she heard Martha's voice echo around her.
"Give me a minute," she whispered dryly., biting her lip as a wave of pain hit her. "I'll be fine... just let me..."
"What's wrong?" Martha asked, worried.
"I broke my promise, Doctor Jones."
Martha noticed her neck then, eyes widening as she and Tish managed to haul Amara to her feet, her body growing slack as the pair of them struggled with the descent back down the tower, the other woman feeble and in pain as they did.
She'd used whatever that thing was twice in one day... and it'd taken its toll. Martha hadn't felt so worried about someone she barely knew... to see her in so much pain, to see her having saved her life, her family's... she couldn't let her throw her life away.
Stifling a sob, Martha led them out of the stairs as she felt a squeeze on her shoulder, "Don't cry, Jones," she heard Amara murmur softly.
She couldn't help it. The woman was a martyr, ready to die for any cause she saw fit, for any cause that suited her... she was impulsive, reckless and passionate... she was so much like the Doctor.
She couldn't help but wonder if she used it again... would she die? Amara, in her eyes, was one of the only people to truly give a damn about her entirely. She couldn't afford to lose her.
"You were brilliant, Tish," Amara told her sister, seeing the woman beam, "It must run in the family."
When they saw him, the Doctor was knelt beside Lazarus, having closed the man's eyes as the body grew old once again. Smiling, he turned and saw the women emerge from the tower and his smile soon died when he saw Martha and Tish supporting Amara.
Striding over to them, he immediately looped an arm under Amara's shoulder, moving Tish aside to hold her upright, "What happened?" he demanded, seeing the growth in the prominent line at her neck, practically glowing in variance. What worried him more was how light she felt... how limp...
Martha frowned, "What'd you think?"
"He could've killed you and Tish," Amara tried to justify her actions under the heavy glare of the Doctor, knowing it would do little to convince him. "We make a great team," she pulled Martha into a sideways hug, smiling softly as Martha pulled the Doctor into it.
"Don't you dare do anything like that again, 'Mara," the Doctor warned as he pulled away.
"I already broke that promise."
"I didn't know you could play," Martha commented, looking at the Doctor.
"That racket was not playing," Amara arched a brow.
The Doctor merely rolled his eyes, "Well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up..."
"Hmm, especially about playing loud."
"Sorry?" he asked, pretending he didn't hear her which roused a smile from Amara as Martha laughed, the pair of them helping the overly enthusiastic woman out of the cathedral cautiously.
Eventually, the Doctor took over as Martha slowed to say a goodbye to her sister but Tish seemed too engrossed by the Time Lord, "He's too handsome to be a doctor, so who is he?"
Martha arched a brow at her, "Too handsome to be a doctor?" she scoffed, turning her attention back to the pair in front of her, smiling at the sight of him helping her attentively, "What makes you say that... he's not interested in me anyway."
"No offence, Martha... but that's obvious, but he is gorgeous, isn't he?" Tish grinned, pulling Martha along, "How old is he? He looks about thirty... he's good for thirty..."
Martha had no idea how hold he was... probably centuries, just like Lazarus... doomed to immortality whilst everything around him faded. "Absolutely, no idea..." she breathed with a shrug.
"He fancies her," Tish told her, nudging her side as they both saw the Doctor smiling at whatever Amara had said, laughing softly as he helped her along.
As she watched them, Martha couldn't help but feel the more they were together, their flirtationship would escalate... she could see it happening in the future, and she was rooting for it. She'd be their mascot: Amara was good for the Doctor.
In the short time they'd been there, Amara had grown very fond of Martha's little flat... well, in truth, she'd grown very fond of Martha Jones in general and had no intention of letting her stay in her warm and conveniently safe flat.
The Doctor, eyeing Amara as she flicked through Martha's CDs, stood sheepishly in front of the TARDIS, "Something else that just kind of escalated then," the Doctor commented quietly, finding himself not able to meet Martha's gaze.
"I can see a pattern developing," Martha replied with a shrug.
"It's like Groundhog Day," Amara called from where she was stood, "'Am I right or am I right?'"
"You should take more care in the future... and the past, and whatever other time period you find yourself in."
The Doctor looked up at her, smiling, "It's good fun, though, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she nodded as Amara smiled.
"So…what d'you say, one more trip?" the Doctor offered which made Amara roll her eyes, wondering if he'd ever understand Martha's hesitant and constant awkwardness. He would supposed to be the clever one.
"No," Martha spoke after a moment, shaking her head softly, "Sorry."
His face dropped entirely, a frown replacing all traces of the smile that had been there before, "What do you mean? I thought you liked it."
"I do," she assured him quickly, "But I can't go on like this. 'One more trip'... it's not fair."
Amara smiled at Martha, proud that she was finally voicing her concerns in the hopes of getting the Doctor to understand her predicament, "Good for you, Martha Jones."
"What're you talking about?" he tilted his head in genuine confusion.
"For goodness sake," Amara breathed exasperatedly, "She doesn't want to be just a passenger anymore, don't you get it?" she explained, her brow furrowed in annoyance.
Martha smiled sadly, "I don't want to be someone you take along just for a treat. If that's how you still see me, well, I'd rather stay here."
The Doctor glanced between the two women, seeming lost and hurt by them having discussed it without him even knowing. "All right, fine, if that's what you'd prefer..."
"It is," Martha agreed, "We've said goodbye once already, so you might as well just go."
Without another word, he turned and stepped inside the TARDIS, leaving a dumbstruck Amara standing there confusedly.
Amara winced when she looked at Martha, "Let me talk to him..." pulling the door open, she saw him stood by the console, brooding. She wasn't going to bother with being polite, she would make the Doctor see his mistake. "I want Martha to come."
"You heard her, 'Mara," he looked up, hurt reflecting in his eyes, shaking his head at her. "She doesn't want to."
"And why is that?" she countered with an arched brow. When he said nothing, she found herself moving towards the console. Sighing, Amara set a hand on his arm, "You need to get past this... thing, whatever it is," she wouldn't let Martha become the victim for his prolonged sulking, "Rose isn't coming back but I sure as hell hope she wouldn't want you to be alone."
"But I'd have you," the Doctor argued with a smile.
"You know what I mean, don't dodge it," she wasn't going to let Martha down, and if that meant upsetting the Doctor in the process, if that meant telling him a few home truths, she'd do it. "You can't let Rose rule your life."
His eyes widened, "What?"
"Martha was right..." Amara closed her eyes, "You can't let the memory of Rose control your life. I mean, you had companions before her right? Then why can't you have any after her?" she swallowed thickly, contemplating if what she was going to say next was entirely appropriate, "You... you need to move on, and as horrible as that sounds, you do."
"I won't replace her," the Doctor ground out, though he regretted the words as soon as he said them.
"I never said that," she reasoned with him, "You're jumping to conclusions."
"I didn't know Rose... and I get that you miss her, I do. I understand that it's hard because you loved her, and I'm not asking you to replace those feelings for someone else," Amara paused, running a hand over her face tiredly, she didn't know how she could make it seem less harsher than it actually sounded, "I'm telling you I know Martha, and I want her to stay. We both need her, she's the reason and sense... and she's saved my life a fair few times. She's different to Rose, all right?" she wouldn't let him abandon Martha just because he felt uncomfortable, "You need someone with you to remind you that you can move on... you know as well as I that no one can stay forever. Why would you want to miss out on meeting incredible people?"
The Doctor didn't say anything, merely looking down in silence.
Amara watched him silently for a moment, "Are you returning me to Jack?"
"What?"
"Are you going to take me back to Jack?"
The Doctor scoffed at her, "I won't do that."
"Why am I any different?" Amara pressed, hurt that he was willing to leave Martha but keep her.
"Because you get it; you understand."
"Martha isn't Rose..." Amara sighed, "she gets it and she can handle herself, and if she can do that why can't she come? I'm very fond of Martha, and she deserves to come," he looked up and watched her as she folded her arms, "If you don't let her, then you can take me back to Jack... and you can be alone."
He'd lost his companion, and he needed to heal but not by being alone.
The Doctor sighed, a small laugh escaping his lips as he watched the woman wander around the console, finding himself nodding. "Fine, all right..." he agreed, pushing himself away from the console.
Amara smiled, "Good."
Sighing, the Doctor strolled back over to the doors, hauling gone of the doors back to poke his head around it, "Um, so... okay."
Her back was to him when he stepped out, causing Martha to turn when he'd spoken , a deep frown pulling across her face when she found the TARDIS hadn't disappeared. "What is it?" Martha pressed when seeing the Doctor standing there.
"What?" the Doctor shrugged, "I said okay."
Martha blinked, "Sorry?"
"Okay," he repeated, nodding towards the TARDIS.
Martha's eyes widened in realisation that Amara must have convinced him., "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" she surged forwards, throwing her arms around him as she laughed.
"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?"
Stepping past him, she raced up the gantry and threw her arms around Amara, hugging her tightly, "Thank you so much..." she squeezed her, burying her face into the other woman's neck.
"What have I been telling you?" Amara rolled her eyes, "'All you need is faith and trust.'"
"You were betting on whether you could twist my arm or not?" the Doctor asked, feigning a hurtful expression although he was secretly pleased she'd succeeded.
Amara grinned, "Too right, wackadoodle."
Flicking a few levers and twisting some controls, the Doctor sighed as he leaned against the console, "What did your mother mean?" the Doctor asked suddenly.
Martha frowned when Amara snorted, "When?"
The Doctor eyed her for a moment, "Y'know, when she asked what had been so busy..." he trailed off, scratching the back of his head in discomfort, "She, uh, I think she wasn't too happy about it..."
Martha stared him, tilting her head as she watched him, wondering if it was really not that obvious what her mum had meant... or was he teasing her? Or perhaps he really didn't know... she wasn't too sure. "Well," she stumbled over her words, frowning in thought as she tried to think of a suitable answer, "She thought we'd been sleeping with one another..."
A silence fell between them all, awkward and lingering as Amara blew out the mouthful of air she'd been holding. The Doctor, however, kept his eyes firmly trained upon the TARDIS console, refusing to look up as heat rose into his cheeks, "I take it she didn't mean actual sleeping and rather meant dancing."
"Oh, for God's sake... sex, she'd thought we'd been having way too much bloody sex to talk!" Martha wheezed, her face burning with embarrassment, "Sex, sex, sex!" the Doctor's head shot up immediately, eyes wide.
Amara laughed, "'Let's talk about sex, baby, let's talk about you and me...'" she hummed, finding the entire situation rather amusing, "'Let's talk about all the good things, and the bad things that may be. Let's talk about sex...'"
"'Mara, please," the Doctor groaned in frustration while Martha chuckled. He hadn't felt so awkward about a topic in such a long time, and with Amara teasing him about it, it didn't make it any easier.
"Oh, it's natural!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air, honestly not understanding what was so awkward about it, why he couldn't see the funny side to it all. "Gotta love a bit of rumpy pumpy to get the juices flowing properly."
The Doctor almost choked on air, double-taking as he stared at Amara incredulously, "E- excuse me?" he blubbered, stuttering slightly which made Amara laugh. Amara definitely enjoyed teasing him, that much he knew.
"Oh, come on! Stop blushing as though we've tainted you, what are you the Virgin Mary?" Amara wiggling her brows at the Doctor, smiling softly at how skittish he was acting, "Sex is sex, get over it."
"This is a conversation I'd rather not be having."
"I swear to god," Martha laughed softly, throwing her head back with a roll of her eyes, "How anyone puts up with your whining I'll never know."
"It's not whining," he defended with a scowl, "It's just... it's not something I really... do."
Amara slung a arm over the Doctor's shoulders, grinning as he eyed her suspiciously, "Aren't you a real Casanova..." she tapped his cheek softly before pressing her lips to the cheek Francine had struck. "So, Martha, I like your mother... very feisty?"
"You like my mum?" Martha scoffed, grimacing.
Amara shrugged, rolling her aching neck, "I figured she'll grow on me..." she frowned in thought, "eventually. Feisty's good though, I like feisty. And your sister has a good head on her shoulders, just like you." Martha beamed at her and Amara smiled in return, "I bet Christmas dinners are fun."
Martha's eyes widened, "Don't go there..."
"Oh, my God!" Amara exclaimed, grinning frantically as she grabbed Martha's hands. "Christmas dinners, I love Christmas dinners! Roast potatoes, stuffing... do you think you'd be able to convince her to invite me? Not him, just me because I'm your favourite."
"Oi!" the Doctor whined pathetically, "If we're going to be travelling together, I'm not having the tag-team rubbish because it's irritating..." he paused and eyed the pair of them for a moment, "and it's not fair."
"Would you look at that, Martha Jones..." Amara marvelled, leaning her head on Martha's shoulder, "I think our Space Cowboy feels emasculated."
Martha nodded, "Agreed."
"If you're going to be like this, then I'll just ignore you."
"No, you won't," Amara sung with another grin, collapsing into the jump-seat with a sigh, "I'd win... women always win."
He merely rolled his eyes before yanking on another lever, "Right, then... allons-y!" he announced, smiling suddenly which made both women reciprocate it as the TARDIS shifted.
"You're right, you know," Martha told Amara in thought, thinking back to what Tish had told her, "Tish is clever, she was right about something..."
Amara eyed her, suddenly intrigued. She hated secrets and it sounded like a secret. "What something?"
Martha grinned as she turned away, moving away from the console. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?"
"No, Martha!" Amara's face fell as she started after her, not liking the teasing or temptation at her knowing something she didn't. She needed to know what Tish had said. "Come on, Martha, you can't tease me like that!"
The Doctor laughed from where he stood at the console, watching as she almost tripped over her own feet as she chased after Martha, "How does it feel?" he laughed, making her pause to look at him. He could see the glint in her eyes, playful and grinning.
Amara scoffed, waving him off with an eye roll, "Oh, shut your face."
The Doctor grinned, leaning on his elbows as he watched the two women leave, "Nonsense, 'Mara..." she looked at him again and smiled, shrugging. He carried on grinned, finding the expression infectious and unstoppable. "I value you!" he called after her.
"I know."
He made a face, "A tad arrogant, no?" he loved the arrogance, it was sort of a guilty pleasure. It made everything more interesting.
"Or foxy," Amara winked, throwing a glance over her shoulder, "depends on your preference."
The Doctor poised a hand under his chin as he heard the voices, Amara shouting while Martha laughed at whatever she was shouting about. He smiled at the friendship that had formed between the two of them, the mutual respect and devotion to one another and how they strove to save the other's life.
What worried him was how vulnerable Amara had been after they'd defeated Lazarus. He didn't like seeing her so weak when she was usually so full of life. It was terrifying and it worried him to his core. What made it worse was that the bloody woman wouldn't let himself or Martha examine her.
He needed to know what that thing in her neck was... he'd never seen anything like it before, and with her resisting, he doubted she would let him near her anytime soon. She was clever; any hugs and the left side of her body would be facing away from him – she did the same with Martha. It was infuriating.
He looked up when he heard Amara laugh in the distance and then the faints tones of music echoing... the Doctor smiled fondly. He'd let Amara persuade him; he'd barely fought her. Yes, he didn't like the way she talked so casually about Rose as if she was no one, but she was reasonable and he loved that she was just enough of that to be trusted.
It reminded him of something Tish had told him...
Tish tilted her head as she stared at him trying to figure him out, "You do care about her, right?"
He frowned, not sure if she was talking about Martha or Amara - he went with Martha. "Of course, I care about your sister," he defended, his eyes wide, "I don't ask just anyone to travel with me... I don't trust just anyone. She has my back, and I have hers."
He moved to walk away but Tish called him back, making him turn, "If you break her heart, Doctor or hurt her in any way," she warned lowly, "I'll break you."
The Doctor smiled her, "If you don't succeed, I'm sure 'Mara will."
He wouldn't let Martha go until Amara convinced him otherwise... and by their friendship, he guessed it wouldn't be for some time.
A/N: I hope you are all enjoying the story as it progresses with each update.
Feel free to drop a review - as you can probably tell, I desperately want to know what you all think, as it would be lovely for feedback from readers.
REVIEWERS:
ShadowTeir - Hello again, thank you for another review! I love Disney, it's good for any occasion, I find. I hope the Doctor and Mara dynamic is enjoyable enough to read as some OCs can get dull and repetitive after a while. I'm so pleased you're enjoying the story though - thank you! Hope you like the update.
Thanks again,
Ezeiel