A/N: Thanks for all the lovely comments so far! This chapter is pretty much my main reason for writing this story, mainly because I thought it would be fun to do… And it was! I hope you like it, xx
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The Liberal Rights Alliance marched along the top of Hansley Bridge, all traffic coming to a standstill around them. Many people left their cars and joined them, nodding to other people they recognised. This was obviously something they had been warned about, or at least expecting for a long time.
The Doctor could see another large group of people marching a couple of miles away, in the direction of the government buildings they were currently headed towards and he identified them immediately as one of the other sections of the Liberal Rights Alliance. Many people were carrying weapons, either obviously or concealed by their clothes. He gripped Rose's hand as tightly as he could, not wanting to lose her in the middle of a crowd of mass destruction.
They came to the end of the bridge and began the descent down the ramp that would lead them to the power district of government and finance. Helicopters, or something like them, were taking off from the building Oscar had identified as one of the major guard stations. From their elevated position halfway up the bridge, the Doctor could see a stream of guards running out of the building carrying weapons. Some of them were climbing into heavily armoured vehicles. So the government had become aware of the situation, sooner than had been expected. And now the game was on.
The crowds marched on, many people holding signs and placards and beginning to chant for freedom. They came out onto level ground, losing sight of the other group from the Liberal Rights Alliance now that there were buildings in their way. Government ministries and the presidential palace loomed above them a little way away. More people joined them, but more people opposed them as well. Two sides of the argument, the Doctor thought. He grimaced as he felt Rose press herself closer to his side, her breathing quickening rapidly and her hand clammy in his. A skirmish broke out just ahead of them and a few guns went off. There were the sounds of groaning and the smell of blood in the air.
They walked down a narrow backstreet at the edge of the residential area near the government buildings. There were so many people; they all crowded down it, the numbers swelling like the ebb and flow of the tide.
Oscar was shouting now, hanging towards the back of the crowd as he urged people on, making sure every last person was doing their best to fight for their cause. They picked up speed, forced to run as adrenaline flowed through them all as though they were the same being, fighting for what had been denied them for so long now. 'Freedom,' they cried. 'Freedom.'
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Damien leaves his apartment for the last time, just after lunch on the day he and Airlia are planning to escape from Eustance. All he carries with him are their travel documents and financial information, some water and the engagement ring for Airlia. His heart is pounding as he surveys the rooms of his residence, checking that nothing is out of place and that there is nothing left behind that could give them away. He will hire a lawyer to sell the apartment and his possessions for him once he and Airlia are safe.
He walks out of the apartment block confidently, glad of the chill in the air to dry his nervous sweat. The weather is definitely something he won't miss about Eustance, he decides. It's always freezing here. He is going to take Airlia someplace nice, where they can marry and raise their children, and where the weather is always warm.
He slips his keys in his pocket, the way he always does when he leaves the house. He is carrying the same bag that he wears every day to the hospital so that there will be nothing out of the ordinary if anyone is to see him walking away. The hospital aren't expecting him today; six months ago he had booked two weeks holiday from work, and they won't miss him for another week. He cannot help it as his heart pounds louder and skips a couple of beats.
It will take him around half an hour to get to Airlia's. He only hopes that nothing goes wrong in the time it takes him to get there. He knows nothing of the revolution that is currently getting underway; he hasn't turned on his television today, instead pulling the plug out at the wall as he left the apartment.
He has left home too early, but he doesn't know this. His slight haste has caused him to miss Airlia's telephone call, the one telling him to stay home, stay away, keep himself away from her. Damien keeps walking.
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The Liberal Rights Alliance flooded out onto the main street, joining forces with a small group of protestors that were already lining the streets. Rose gripped the Doctor's hand firmly as chaos began to erupt all around them. They hung around the edges of the crowd; this wasn't their battle to fight.
'Stay with me,' the Doctor said to her, his gaze meeting hers. The look in his eyes was deadly serious.
'You think I'm planning on going anywhere?' she said, her tone letting him know that she wasn't going to be heading off on her own anytime soon.
He grinned at her, a manic expression on his face as they stood back and watched thousands of angry people storming towards the government buildings, running headlong into the guards that were currently swarming towards them and fighting for their lives and their freedom. People ran in from all directions, their faces set with a single purpose. Rose had to admit that the Alliance could stage a pretty good revolution on short notice. Although, she realised, the government was also capable of putting up a pretty decent defence on what she assumed was no notice at all. Looking up at the Doctor, she realised that he was thinking the same thing. 'They must have known,' he murmured quietly to her, nodding as he saw the realisation in her eyes. 'They had time to prepare. Somebody told them.'
Oscar appeared then, running over to them with blood on his clothes and dirt on his face, but he was grinning as though he'd never been happier. 'Isn't this amazing?!' he cried. 'It's absolutely incredible!' His grin turned malicious. 'And we know the location of the president's daughter. This is fantastic.'
'The guards don't seem to think so,' the Doctor said pointedly, his gaze fixed on a bloody battle less than one hundred metres away from them. The guards were pulverising the protestors and the protestors were pummelling the guards until it was almost impossible to tell who was who. Only the insignia of the government stood out to identify the guards as members of the oppressive regime they were here to destroy.
Rose gasped sharply as one of the protestors was struck hard with a truncheon and fell to the floor, blood pouring out of a wound on his head. 'Doctor,' she said, tugging on his sleeve and pulling her hand out of his to run over and help the man. She hadn't expected things to be this bloody, but she could already tell that the Doctor hadn't expected it to be like this either. The look on Oscar's face however, told her that this was exactly what he had been planning from the start. She didn't have to look at the Doctor to know that he was furious. She darted over towards the man who was rolling around on the floor in agony.
The Doctor caught her arm, pulling her back to him with a jolt. His arm banded around her waist, anchoring her to him as she struggled to get away. 'No, Rose,' he told her.
'Doctor, that man!' she cried, shoving ineffectually against his chest as he held her tightly. 'We have to help him!' She pulled away from him and whirled back towards the small group of protestors who had been cornered and were now most definitely losing to the guards. Some of them were being picked up and carried away into vehicles labelled with the government's logo.
'No!' he yelled at her, forcibly dragging her back into the shadow of a building. 'We can't, Rose,' he said more softly, his gaze flicking to Oscar momentarily. Rose detected the Doctor's new found contempt for the man now that the revolution was definitely not going the way the Doctor would have planned. 'We can't get involved in that,' he told her. 'It's too dangerous. The guards…' He glanced round to the fight behind them as more protestors flooded out of the side street and Oscar yelled at them to go straight to the government buildings. The Doctor stepped in front of Rose, purposefully blocking her view of the guards beating the protestors to a pulp. He knew without further examination that at least three of them were already dead, and another five had been loaded into the guards' vehicles.
'But they're dying!' Rose exclaimed, her voice increasingly high pitched and tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't just stand here while people died, and she couldn't see how the Doctor could either. Not when he had spent the last two days mouthing off about the brutality of all that they had discovered on Eustance and the revolution happening today was all down to his insistence. She knew that he would probably feel horrendously guilty about all of this later, and she shocked herself by thinking that maybe this time he would deserve at least some of that guilt. 'Let me help them!'
'I can't Rose,' he stressed, holding her tightly by the shoulders and pushing her roughly up against the side of the building as she fought against his hold on her. 'The guards don't care if you're a citizen of Eustance or an outsider. They'll kill you just the same.'
She slumped against the wall in defeat, knowing the Doctor would never let her go over there when there was a chance she could be killed. Especially when they didn't have the security of the TARDIS with them in case anything went wrong. She reluctantly let him pull her into a hug, his lips in her hair and hers on his neck as a bloody revolution went on around them. Oscar's voice rang out, telling people to 'Get going! Go quicker! Fight for what we deserve! Fight for freedom!' The crowd cheered as one at his words, resuming their chant of 'Freedom! Freedom!' as they marched onwards towards the heart of their hatred and oppression. The battles raged on all around them
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Damien walks out onto the main street that leads him to Airlia's apartment block, near to all the government buildings. His heart is pounding with nerves and excitement as he grows ever nearer to her, still unaware that she is repeatedly phoning his apartment in an effort to tell him that they can't escape, not today. Perhaps not any day.
His pace picks up as he sees a small number of protestors lining the streets, placards held high and the rumble of something greater passing among them. He frowns at the sudden change in atmosphere, wondering why the people on the streets are more jittery than normal today. He wonders if it is just because he is nervous, and his worry has heightened all his emotions and sense of trepidation.
And then he rounds the final corner. He falters as he draws closer to Airlia's apartment building, watching in horror as a multitude of protestors spill out of the side street. They are chanting 'Freedom!' as they march, and a man's voice is crying out for them to keep going to the government buildings. A fight erupts between some of the protestors and a group of guards just off to his right. A small group of men turn and look up into the window of Airlia's apartment and smile, as though they know that she is there, as though they know who she is.
Damien's heart slams into his mouth and he lets out a strangled cry. 'NO!' he yells.
He doesn't even have to hesitate in order to make up his mind. The fact that Airlia would want him to leave and save himself only makes him want to save her more.
Damien quickens his pace, barely even breathing as he pounds across the street, intent on reaching Airlia's building so that he can save her. There are only ten steps left to go now. The man's voice shouts out once more and the group of men turn and begin to walk to Airlia's front door. Damien can't let this happen. He's frantic now, panicking. Only seven steps away from the protestors… Six… He stumbles slightly but rights himself immediately. He can't afford to fall down now.
And now there are five steps to go…Four, three… Two… One—
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A man darted past, knocking into the Doctor as he ran towards Oscar and the small group of men who were currently heading in the direction of an apartment block on the other side of the side street. The man was frantic, a wordless cry erupting from his mouth as a man the Doctor recognised as Hugo smashed the glass on the front door to the apartment building and reached in to open the door. Hugo gestured to the four other men who stood beside Oscar, and they all nodded and followed him inside. The running man screamed at him, 'No, no you can't! Airlia!'
Hugo shook his head and continued inside with the men. Oscar looked at the man, suspicion in his eyes. 'Who are you?' he demanded.
The man ignored him and tried to run past. 'I need to get to her,' he said as Oscar reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back from the apartment building. 'Get off me!'
Oscar held on tightly. 'Who are you? Do you know Airlia?'
The man was crying now, twisting and trying to wrench himself from the tight grip on his shirt. The shirt ripped and there was blood on his skin from Oscar's fingernails digging hard into his flesh. 'Leave Airlia alone!' he told him. 'Don't you dare touch her!'
'How do you know Airlia?' Oscar's voice was maddeningly calm, completely business-like and expressionless. It was clear he felt nothing for the man struggling to get away from him.
'Please!' the man cried. He pulled his hands up and shoved at Oscar, sending him stumbling away. The man whirled around to face the Doctor and Rose where they still stood at the side of the building. There were tears streaming down his face as he pleaded with them. 'You can't,' he said. 'Please don't let them get her.'
The Doctor stood expressionless, unsure of the best way to deal with this man. Hysterical strangers were not really his speciality. He glanced at Rose and she took the hint, stepping forward and reassuringly putting her hand on the man's arm whilst Oscar was still trying to right himself and regain his breath a few steps away. 'It's all right,' she said. 'Just calm down a bit, yeah? We can try and help you.'
The man took a few deep breaths, his tears slowing slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw the Doctor move away slightly to intercept Oscar and keep him away a little while longer. It was clear that the crying man was extremely distressed about something and that he didn't seem to be part of the revolution. Getting him more worked up wasn't going to get them any answers. 'I'm Rose,' she said. 'What's your name?'
The man looked her in the eye, apparently seeing something there that he could trust because he put his hands on her shoulders to steady himself whilst he worked through the last of his tears. 'Damien,' he said. 'My name is Damien.'
'What's happened?' Rose asked. 'Who's Airlia?'
Damien laughed sardonically. 'Don't you know?' he asked, the question obviously rhetorical. 'I thought you were with them.' He pointed at the men disappearing inside the apartment building.
'I'm not from around here,' Rose said as way of explanation. 'Please, just tell me what's going on and then we can help you.' She glanced round to see the Doctor standing just behind her shoulder and Oscar stalking away into the building with Hugo and the others. She wondered what the Doctor had said to him. 'Who's Airlia?' she asked again.
'She's my lover,' Damien told her bluntly. 'And she's the president's daughter.'
There seemed to be a momentary vacuum in the middle of the revolution, all sound suspended for a few seconds as that piece of information registered in Rose's mind and she knew that the Doctor would be coming to the same conclusion. 'They want her,' she said, nodding towards the building.
'Yes,' he said. 'But she's done nothing wrong. She knows nothing of the government and everything that's been going on. She hasn't spoken to her father in over a year.'
'Do they know that?' the Doctor cut in. He didn't have to explain that they meant the Liberal Rights Alliance.
Damien shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'Nobody knows. She was always very secretive about everything, but even more so about our relationship and her relationship with her father.'
Rose frowned. 'So they're going to… do what with her exactly? Ask her questions?'
'She's a trophy, Rose,' the Doctor told her quietly. 'It doesn't matter what she knows. She's a symbol of the regime.'
Realisation dawned immediately. 'They're going to kill her.'
'We have to stop them!' Damien cried. 'We have to get her out of there!'
In just under two seconds the Doctor had calculated all the risks involved with saving this man's lover versus the risks of leaving her in the hands of Oscar and the rest of the Alliance. Had he been faced with this problem yesterday, he might have been prepared to take the chance, but after having seen how willingly Oscar made people spill blood for their cause he wasn't so sure. He stared at Damien, seeing the genuine love and fear shining brightly in his eyes as he stared up at the apartment building that currently housed his lover. He nodded. 'Okay,' he said. 'We'll get her out.'
'Just like that?' Rose said. 'You're just gonna walk in there and take her off them?'
He looked at her, moving closer until his hand brushed against hers. He soaked up the contact, making the most of the feel of her fingers closing instinctively round his, cataloguing the sensation in his memory… Just in case, he told himself. 'It will be harder than that,' he said. 'Those men have a purpose, and I don't think they'll be dropping that any time soon.' His expression brightened. 'But don't worry! I'm sure we can do it. But we'll need somewhere safe to take Airlia afterwards, somewhere we can hide her until all of this is over.'
'I'm taking her away,' Damien said. 'I was on my way to meet her when these bastards came to kidnap her.' He didn't sound happy, but who could blame him?
'You won't be able to leave today,' the Doctor said. 'Everyone will be on the look out for you. The guards, the protestors, everybody. Didn't it occur to you that Airlia's father would want her with him if something like this happened?'
Damien visibly sagged. 'I'll take her to my apartment then.'
The Doctor shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'That won't be safe either.' He turned to Rose, hating himself for what he was about to do after he'd made her promise to stay with him, after he'd promised that he wouldn't leave her. If he had been closer to the wall he would have slammed his head into it. 'Rose,' he said, his voice more gravelly and desperate than he had intended.
'Doctor,' she replied, her gaze flicking to Damien and then back to the Doctor. She frowned when he looked at her somewhat sadly and held both of her hands tightly in his. 'What? What is it?'
He took a deep breath, stepping forwards until there was almost no space between their bodies. He tried to smile as she looked up at him worriedly, but he knew that she wasn't buying it. 'I need you to go to Ganjud's bar,' he said quietly, glancing around to make sure they weren't being overheard. Luckily, the noise of the revolution had escalated and nobody seemed to be taking any notice of them standing by a wall; they were all too intent on staying alive. 'Tell Ganjud that we'll be bringing the president's daughter in shortly, and we need to keep her safe. Tell him to get prepared.'
She nodded. 'Okay. Then what?'
The Doctor sighed, knowing this bit was going to be the hardest part to tell her. He braced himself for the slap he suspected was coming. 'And then stay there to wait for us. I can't take the risk that we'd walk straight past each other without evening realising it out here. I need to know that you're safe Rose.'
She studied him for a long moment, her eyes fixed on his face. She sighed, knowing there was no way she was going to win this argument. 'Okay,' she said. She reached up and cupped his face in her palm, leaning up to whisper in his ear. 'Promise you won't be long.'
He pulled back slightly to stare at her, aware that Damien was getting more than a little antsy. He smiled at Rose. 'I'll be as quick as I can,' he told her. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and handed her his psychic paper, pressing it tightly into her palm. 'Take that,' he said. 'Stay out of sight as much as you can, but if anyone questions you- guard or otherwise- use the psychic paper to bluff your way out of it. Okay?'
She nodded. 'Yeah.'
The Doctor sighed. 'I hate to do this Rose. But there's no other way.'
She offered him a small smile. 'I know,' she said. 'I'll see you later, yeah?'
'Yeah.' Acting on impulse, he dropped a quick kiss onto her lips before pulling away and pointing back the way they had come. 'Go that way,' he said. 'It shouldn't take you too long to get there.'
'See you.' She waved reluctantly and walked backwards for a few steps before turning around and squeezing back through the crowd of protestors still flooding out of the small side street. She slipped the psychic paper in her pocket, her heart pounding madly and the feel of the Doctor's lips on hers still fresh in her mind.
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The Doctor turned back to Damien. 'I suppose we better save Airlia then, huh?'
Damien looked at him appreciatively. 'That would be nice,' he said. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. 'Thank you for helping me,' he continued. 'It wasn't supposed to be like this. I had no idea that all of this…' He trailed off, gesturing at the scene around them.
'I know,' the Doctor replied. 'Come on.'
He led Damien over towards the apartment building, a dark sinking feeling spreading outwards from his stomach. This whole thing- the whole revolution that was happening today- was his fault. He had demanded that the Liberal Rights Alliance change their plans and strike sooner than they had intended to. And now look at the mess it had caused. He didn't want to tell Damien that his lover was in trouble because of something he had insisted on, and he certainly didn't want to make public the fact that all this bloodshed shouldn't have taken place until a long time after Damien had taken Airlia away from Eustance.
'Why were you going to take her away?' he asked as they hovered by the door to the apartment building, waiting until a fight in the doorway moved itself aside.
'To save her,' Damien replied. 'She hates it here; she hates what her father has done to people, and now she's in trouble because of it. She doesn't know anything. What are they going to do to her?' He made a dash towards to door.
The Doctor pulled him back to safety, knowing that if they moved too soon they would get themselves caught up in the violence and ruin their chances of this plan working out. 'They're not going to do anything to her,' he said. 'We're going to get her out of there.'
'Do you promise me that?'
He hesitated, knowing that he shouldn't make a promise he wasn't one hundred percent certain he could keep. But this man seemed to be at the edge of his sanity, his whole world coming crashing down around him as they stood and waited for an opportunity to save the love of his life. The Doctor didn't have to think too hard to know that if the roles were reversed and he was trying to save Rose from impending doom by revolutionising Alliance members, he would be going pretty crazy too. He hoped that she was okay right now. He looked at Damien with as much determination as he could muster. 'I promise,' he said.
The fighting men had finally moved away from the doorway and the Doctor grabbed Damien's arm, quickly pulling him inside the building before anyone noticed what they were doing. 'Keep quiet,' he whispered. 'Just in case.'
'We're going to save her, aren't we,' Damien whispered back, a statement not a question.
The Doctor sighed internally, a wave of nausea and insecurity washing over him suddenly and he found he couldn't bring himself to match Damien's love-blinded optimism. 'We're going to make our move,' he said instead.
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A/N: I hope that was okay! Next part will be up on Monday. Please review :D x
