A/N: I just wanted to start this chapter by saying thank you guys so much :) Your support/reviews/PMs mean SO much to me and I really can't describe how lucky I feel to have all of you :') There's a MUCH longer thank you at the end of this chapter, but I just wanted to say it right now, really, thank you!
~8~
Planet of the Ood: The Song of Captivity
"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor smiled at Donna's awe, Angel beaming at it.
"What's the Earth like now?" Donna wondered.
"A bit full, but you see, the empire stretches out across three galaxies," he brought up red rings around three different galaxy clusters that had appeared on the screen.
"It's weird," Donna shook her head, "I mean, it's brilliant, but...back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live, global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."
"Yeah," Angel started to frown now, thoughtful, "That thing about the bees is really weird," she didn't know what it was, but something just kept striking her every time it was brought up.
"But look at us, we're everywhere," Donna laughed, "Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"
"Sometimes I wonder," the Doctor shrugged.
"Hey!" Angel laughed, nudging him, "The humans are incredible!"
"I know, I know," he smiled, winding his arm around her waist.
They really were and Angel seemed to see it more than he could at times. He was well aware of how...bad...humans could be. Sometimes he felt like...there were things they did that just...hit him so hard that he actually felt like he just had to turn away in shame. But Angel, she saw the good in everything, in the humans, in the Master, in HIM. And if she could see it, even after having been chained up and studied by the humans for 50 years, then he could too. It was like how he always brought companions along, after a while...the Universe was just...the Universe. Clumps of planets, stars, species, all the same in a way, it just...got old after a while. But when his companions saw it all, the awe and amazement in their eyes, when THEY saw it, HE could see it too.
"What are the red dots?" Donna asked, seeing red dots inside the clusters.
"Ood distribution centers."
"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she turned and headed for an Ood.
"She's just like Rose," Angel remarked to the Doctor before they joined her, thinking of Rose's reaction to the Ood on Kroptor.
The blonde had been as offended as the ginger was when she'd learned how the Ood were just expected to serve with no way to refuse the humans. Oh, she missed Rose...and Mickey...and Martha...and Jack. It was even worse with Jack, with Rose and Mickey she missed them but she knew she couldn't just hop in the TARDIS and go see them, she COULD see Jack she just...things got in the way or they got caught up in an adventure or they ended up on the other side of the galaxy...
'We'll go see Jack,' the Doctor promised her silently, he knew how much she missed her 'brother' and how much she'd been wanting to be able to call herself 'Angie Harkness' since the man had mentioned it. She was usually very happy on their trips, but sometimes there were moments where something was said or done that reminded her of Jack and she'd grow just a little sad. She HAD offered for him to be her next companion and, though she understood why he'd said no, he could tell that Angel had just wanted to be able to see the man more. He promised himself, soon, they'd go and see Jack, maybe introduce Donna and...
He blinked, Jack and DONNA? On second thought...he wasn't quite sure the Universe could handle that...
'That's my brother and sister you're thinking about Theta,' Angel reminded him with a small mental laugh, 'It would be rather wrong for them to flirt.'
'They're not REALLY siblings though,' he countered.
'They're as good as now,' she nodded firmly, 'I just have to introduce Jack to his newest sibling first,' she smiled at the thought, her two 'older siblings' finally meeting. It was quite funny when she thought about just how similar both her older siblings were. It was interesting how that worked out.
The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head, 'He won't like that there's one less person for him to flirt with in the world.'
She just smiled secretively, Jack probably only wanted to flirt with Ianto at the moment, probably for a good long while really.
'He didn't seem to feel that way when he stopped flirting with me,' she remarked, grinning just a little bit more at that, she knew it was wrong, but she loved bringing up when Jack had flirted with her because the Doctor got all cute about it. She remembered how uncomfortable she'd felt with it in her last body, but this one seemed to love teasing the Doctor with it. The man had literally growled at Jack once, and that was BEFORE he'd regenerated, 'YOU seemed rather relieved and happy about that too...'
'Yes, well,' he blushed a bit, 'He was flirting with my Mate!'
'I wasn't your Mate then Theta,' she reminded him, a teasing smile on her face, she loved seeing him like that, getting all worked up about other men flirting with her. She really didn't realize when they were, in this body she truly didn't, but...after a while of the strange lines they kept trying to use that had little to do with the conversation and the irritation and possessiveness she could feel rising from the Doctor she usually could work out when she was being flirted with.
'Nella,' he paused, taking her hand, letting Donna walk ahead of them, needing to look Angel in the eye for this one. He smiled at her, his hand lightly stroking circles over her knuckles, his other hand reaching up to touch her cheeck, 'You may be a precog, you may see the future, and you may be the one true soothsayer in the Universe...but I have a prophecy of my own.'
She frowned, tilting her head, 'What?'
He just looked at her, his gaze so soft that she shivered a bit, 'You were meant to be my Mate, you were ALWAYS meant to be my Mate. Before we even met, we were destined to be together.'
She let out a breath at the conviction in his voice, the honesty in his eyes, he truly believed that, with every fiber of his being, 'You really think so?'
'I'm honestly surprised I didn't meet you before the War,' he admitted.
'You were too stubborn to admit you'd broken the TARDIS before the War,' she joked, 'But...do you REALLY think that?'
He let out a little laugh, kissing the back of her hand, 'What was the first thing you thought of when you saw me in Van Statten's museum? The first thought in your mind the moment our eyes met.'
'Finally,' she answered promptly, she hadn't known what it meant at the time, it wasn't a 'finally!' like she was exasperated to finally getting out of there, but more of...like when something you had been waiting for, for such a long time, finally happened.
He nodded, 'I thought...mine,' he laughed again, pulling her into his arms with a possessive squeeze, she could vaguely imagine his last self laughing the same way, 'That's the first thing I thought when I saw you, that you were mine. Didn't understand it for a second and I understand everything,' she laughed and rolled her eyes at that bit of ego shining through, 'But I couldn't help it, that's what I thought. Don't you see Nella?' she shook her head, 'My mind, well, my unconscious mind at least, but my hearts, my soul...they knew we were meant for each other before we did. You,' he leaned in and kissed her, his voice still speaking in her mind as he did so, 'Were meant to be mine, my Mate.'
She was beaming as she pulled away, 'You sounded like me just now, I wonder if psychic is contagious?'
'I wonder if psychic is hereditery,' he countered, before stiffening, 'Sorry...'
'It's fine,' she cut in, she knew he wanted children one day, one day but not right now.
She hadn't ever given much thought to it, she'd never really imagined herself Mated so she'd never thought of children. It would take a while before she could see herself as being a mother, but, she had to admit, one day, it might be nice to have a child with her Mate, one day. The Universe could do with more Doctors running around.
'But we can't do that till we finish Mating,' she reminded him, nudging him a bit, making a point.
He laughed and squeezed her hand, 'We can't exactly do that right now.'
Angel grimaced a bit, 'Wouldn't want to scar Donna.'
'We'll do it soon Nella, I promise.'
She nodded, glancing at him, 'You know...I have a prophecy too.'
'Oh?' he smiled.
'You and I are going to be together forever,' she told him, kissing his scarred knuckles.
His breath left him at that, 'You feel that?'
'No,' she admitted, 'I can't see that far ahead, but I believe it with everything I have.'
'Me too,' he leaned in and kissed her again.
"Oi!" Donna's voice broke through their moment and they pulled apart to see her standing beside them, her arms crossed, "Blimey you two get lost in the moment don't you?"
She'd turned around, realizing they'd stopped, to see them staring at each other in the middle of the room, their expressions making her think they were having some sort of conversation with their eyes and she'd waited...and waited...and waited...and when they'd kissed for a second time she knew she should probably remind them about the Ood.
"Sorry," Angel blushed, though she was smiling widely.
"Come on then!" she reached out and pulled Angel after her as she walked right up to an Ood, "Um...sorry, but..." she tapped the Ood's shoulder, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"
"I do not understand, miss," the Ood turned to her.
"Why do you say, 'miss?' Do I look single?"
"You better be single," Angel laughed, "I haven't gotten that wedding invitation yet."
"Back to the point," the Doctor whispered.
"Yeah," Donna shook her head, looking at the Ood, "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"
"All Ood are born to serve," the Ood stated, "Otherwise we would die."
"You can't have started like that. Before the humans…" his head started to twitch, "What were you like?"
"The circle."
"What do you mean?" the Doctor stared at it intently, "What circle?"
"The circ…the circle…must…"
"Be broken," Angel finished for the Ood as he nodded, the words just...coming to her.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana gathered them again, "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."
The Ood turned, heading out of the room, as the Doctor pulled off his specs and reached into his pocket for the map of the complex, "I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"
"A Rough Guide to the Ood-Sphere?" Donna joked, "Works for me."
"Me too," Angel agreed, taking the Doctor's hand.
"Yeah," the Doctor grinned, squeezing hers.
~8~
Halpen, Ryder, and his Ood, stood in a cell where the red-eyed Ood Kess had captured was chained, growling and sputtering, bleeding from a wound in its gut, "What the hell's wrong with it?" Halpen demanded.
"It's obviously Stage 2 Red-Eye," Ryder remarked, "Whatever that means."
"Ood Sigma, have you seen this before?" Halpen turned to his Ood.
"Humanity defines us, sir," Sigma replied, "We look to you for answers."
"Fat lot of good, all of you. We're exporting hundreds of thousands of Ood to all civilized planets. If they turn rabid, you know what it'll mean."
"There's only one thing I haven't checked, sir, Warehouse 15," Ryder said.
"Why should that cause trouble? It's been two centuries now. No change, not ever. Drink!"
Sigma turned to prepare the hair tonic.
"I know it's restricted access. But if I'm gonna work on this, I should see it. Just in case."
"Can't stand the place," he muttered, gulping the drink down, "Still, Warehouse 15, then. Come on," he turned and headed out the door.
"What about this one, sir?"
"Well, I'd suggest a post-mortem, which means it's gotta be dead first," Halpen remarked, walking out as the chained Ood became more enraged. Two guards stepped forward and then gunshots rang out.
~8~
Angel shivered, rubbing her head, as they walked over to a locked gate just outside the complex, the Doctor sonicing the lock, "Ood Shift 8 commencing," a speaker announced, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing."
The Doctor opened the gate and stepped in with the girls, to see they were clearly in a part of the complex visitors were not meant to be. They climbed up some stairs and looked down over a space between the warehouses where the Ood were being led through at a march. One Ood tripped, falling down to its knees, as Kess stalked over to it, "Get up," he commanded, "I said, get up!" he snapped a whip he was holding.
"Servants?" Donna scoffed, "They're slaves."
"Get up!" Kess shouted as the Ood stood, "March!"
"Last time we met the Ood, I never thought, never asked..." the Doctor breathed.
"That's not like you," Donna murmured.
"We were busy," he defended feebly, "So busy we couldn't save them."
"I couldn't save them," Angel corrected, thinking back to that time, "I had to let the Ood go. I could barely control the Vortex long enough to free Toby from the Beast's control, I just…didn't have time or strength enough to…"
The Doctor took her hand, gently running his thumb along her knuckles soothingly, seeing how upset she was getting over having not been able to help the Ood, "I reckon we owe them one," he smiled down at her, getting her to smile back.
"That looks like the boss," Donna said quietly as Halpen, Ryder, and Sigma walked across the area.
Angel stared at the man and blinked...
...the red-eyed Ood poured out of the shipping containers, snarling at them all...
'...the infection is about to be sterilized...'
...there was a click of a weapon behind them and they turned to see a gun held at them...
"Let's keep out of his way," the Doctor stepped back, "Come on," he tugged Angel along as she stared back at the balding man.
That man...he'd been the one to hold the gun at them...
~8~
"How long since you went inside?" Ryder asked as they stopped at the door to the infamous Warehouse 15.
"Must be ten years ago," he remarked, entering a code on a keypad.
"Warehouse 15..." the computer began.
"My father brought me here when I was six years old."
"Security protocol initiated."
"God, the stench of it!"
"Warehouse 15: door open."
Halpen stepped inside, holding a hand to his mouth while Ryder quickly put a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, both men grimacing at the smell. They walked over to a railing, looking down at something as electricity crackled, "Incredible," Ryder remarked, staring.
"Like I said, nothing's changed," Halpen sneered.
"I've read the documents, but...it doesn't quite prepare you."
"Is it just me, or does it feel like it's looking at you?"
"I think I understand the border mechanics well enough. I'll check the signal," he walked over to a nearby panel and checked the instruments.
"I suppose it's home sweet home to you," Halpen turned to Sigma, "What do you think?"
"I have no opinion, sir," Sigma replied.
"Well...say hello to daddy."
"Nothing," Ryder called, "The barrier's intact. No abnormal signal. Same as it's been for 200 years."
"Mr. Halpen, those three people from the Noble Corporation failed to pass security checks," Solana came over the comm., "There's no such company. The Noble Corporation doesn't exist. And on top of that, they seem to have gone missing, sir, the Doctor, the Angel, and Miss Noble."
"Just what I need," Halpen grumbled, "Start a search. No alarms, got that? Keep it quiet," he turned off the comm., "You see?" he glanced at Ryder, pointing at his head, "Hair loss. Drink!" he took the drink from Sigma and leaned over the railing, "Tell you what, old friend...have this one on me. Cheers," he poured the drink over the side as a whoosh and a roar reached him. Halpen held out the glass, having Sigma refill it, "I think we're done here," he gulped it down and left.
"Sorry," Ryder replied when he bumped into Sigma on his way out.
Sigma paused at Ryder's kind treatment and apology, looking over the railing at the thing below, before following.
~8~
The Doctor was walking quickly past the warehouses, looking at the map intently, when Angel stopped at one in particular and frowned at the door. Donna, who had been walking beside her, stopped as well, glancing over at the Doctor to see if he would notice. When he just kept walking, too absorbed in looking at the map, she whistled loudly, making him jump and duck before turning back.
"Where did you learn to whistle?" he asked her, recalling her failed attempt at catching a cab.
"West Ham, every Saturday," she smirked.
"There's something in here Doctor," Angel called, her hand resting on the door.
He walked over and soniced the lock, taking her hand off the door to hold as he pushed the door open. They stepped in to see a massive amount of shipping containers stacked inside with a large, metal claw running along a track set in the ceiling to lift them and transfer them, "Ood Export," the Doctor nodded, "You see?" he gestured at the claw, "Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."
"What, you mean, these containers are full of..." Donna trailed.
"What do you think?" the Doctor asked as they walked to the closest container. He moved to sonic the lock on that when Angel put her hand on his arm, stopping him.
"It's open," she murmured, reaching forward herself to pull the door open, Ood standing inside, scores of them, crowded together in lines.
"Oh, it stinks," Donna grimaced, trying to cover her mouth, "How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?"
"A hundred?"
"More," Angel said sadly, looking at the Ood with tears in her eyes, the Doctor instinctively moving his arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm with his one hand.
"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna scoffed.
"It's not so different from your time," the Doctor shot back.
"Oi, I haven't got slaves."
"Who do you think made your clothes?"
"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the Universe, it's so you can take cheap shots."
"Sorry."
"Well, don't. Spaceman, else me and Sis are gonna bean you one," the Doctor smiled as Donna turned to the Ood inside, "I don't understand, Angel was right, the door was open, why didn't you just run away?"
"For what reason?" an Ood tilted his head.
"You could be free."
"I do not understand the concept."
"What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all...plugged in?"
"Ood…" Angel began, taking a small step forward, out of the Doctor's arm as he watched her carefully, knowing the Ood eyes could turn red at any moment, "The circle..."
"The circle must be broken," they all recited.
"Whoa, that is creepy," Donna whispered.
"What is the circle?" Angel asked, blinking, "Where is it?"
"The circle must be broken."
"Why?" the Doctor frowned.
"So that we can sing."
~8~
Kess walked into the same warehouse as the trio had, smirking, two guards on either side of him, "Mr. Halpen, I'm in Ood cargo," he called into the comm., "I found your unwanted guests," he turned to the guards, "Go!" he hit a button and alarms rang out.
~8~
"That's us!" the Doctor yelled, looking up at the loud noise, "Come on!" he grabbed Angel's hand, pulling her back and led them out.
~8~
"Cut the alarms!" Halpen shouted in the office, "I said no alarms!"
~8~
Solana tensely smiled at the buyers as they looked around at the alarms, "Nothing to worry about, ladies and gentlemen. It's just a...fire drill. We test the alarm at this time every day. If you'll excuse me," she quickly made her way out of the room.
~8~
The trio ran through the labyrinth of shipping containers, when Donna stopped running, "Doctor! Angel! There's a door!"
But the Doctor hadn't heard her, continuing to run and pull Angel with him.
Donna turned around to follow them again...when the door burst open and guards ran in, "Don't move!" a guard ordered Donna.
~8~
"Doctor!" Angel gasped, pulling him to a stop as she panted, "Donna!"
He looked around, realizing the woman wasn't with them, "Where have you gone?"
"Stay where you are!" a guard called to them as they caught up.
The Doctor just grabbed Angel's hand and they were off again as the guards ran after them.
~8~
"Keep her there for now," a guard pushed Donna into a container with some Ood.
~8~
Kess walked onto a catwalk, looking down on the Doctor and Angel as they ran through the warehouse, "Donna?" the Doctor was yelling, "Where are you?!"
"All guards withdraw," he ordered into his comm..
"This way!" Angel pulled the Doctor around a corner, leading him back towards Donna.
"Sir?" a guard asked.
"I said withdraw," Kess repeated, "Keep to the perimeter. I've got this one," he watched as the Doctor stopped and pressed the two of them against a container, listening, "I've always wanted to do this," he smirked, turning on the equipment before him and starting the claw, steering it towards the Doctor and Angel as they ran again, trying to open a container, "Container locked. Ha!"
Angel grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him away as the huge metal claw chased after them along its track, Kess having far too much fun as he sent it smashing down behind them, just missing Angel.
~8~
"Can you help me?" Donna asked the Ood as one raised its head, its eyes red, "Oh, no you don't."
~8~
The claw gained on them as Angel began to tire, shaken from how close the claw had come to her earlier, the Doctor taking the lead now.
~8~
"What have I done?" Donna stepped back, "I'm not one of that lot. I'm on your side!"
~8~
The claw barely missed the Doctor this time, clipping him, causing him to fall to the floor, forcing himself to let go of Angel's hand so as not to slow her down or trip her too, stumbling to get up as they kept on running.
~8~
"Stay where you are, that's an order!" Donna shouted, "I said stay!" but when the first Ood stepped towards her, she turned and pounded on the doors, "Doctor! Angel!"
~8~
The claw swung down again and knocked the Doctor to the floor, sending him into barrels nearby, taking Angel with him this time.
Kess released the claw, dropping it, ready to crush them, when a hand turned off the control, halting the claw inches from where the Doctor had turned to roll himself on top of Angel to shield her, both of them panting.
"You heard the instructions," Solana glared at Kess, "Mr. Halpen wants them alive."
~8~
"Doctor, get me out!" Donna screamed, "Angel, help!"
~8~
Two guards each brought the Doctor and Angel back to the container holding Donna, who was still yelling inside it, "Angel, get me out of here! Doctor!"
"If you don't do what she says, you're really in trouble," the Doctor told a guard, "Not from us, from her."
"Unlock the container," Kess commanded.
Donna bolted out as soon as the doors were open and threw herself at the Doctor and Angel who hugged her back, "Doctor! Angel!"
"It's alright," Angel smiled at her wearily, that run had taken a lot out of her for some reason, "We've got you, you're safe..."
"Never mind about me, what about them?" Donna pointed, the red-eyed Ood poured out of the shipping containers, snarling at them all.
"Red alert!" Kess cried as the Ood began to attack, using their translators to electrocute the men, "Fire!" the guards shot at the Ood while the Doctor, Angel, and Donna escaped, only for another container to open and more Ood to pour out, Angel grabbing the Doctor's hand to lead them away, "Shoot to kill!"
~8~
The trio and Solana flew out of the doors, out of the warehouse, running far enough away that they couldn't hear the gunfire, before daring to stop for a moment to take a breath, "If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna panted.
"Don't be stupid," Solana glared, "Of course they know."
"They know how you treat the Ood?"
"They don't ask. Same thing."
"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this," the Doctor moved in front of her, "They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place."
"How do you make them listen?" Angel asked, "What are you doing to them?!"
The Doctor took her hand, not just feeling, but hearing her getting upset about it all. The Ood...they were somehow being forced to obey, that much was clear, they were being forced into the role of slaves and that was upsetting both of them to know the humans were doing it. It was hard to see the good in it this time...
"That has nothing to do with me," Solana stepped back.
"What, because you don't ask?" the Doctor glared.
"That's Dr. Ryder's territory."
"Where is he?" the Doctor held out the map to her, "What part of the complex?" she hesitated, "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!"
Solana pointed to an area, "There, beyond the red section.
"Come with us," the Doctor looked at her, "You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this."
"You know Ood Operations better than we do," Angel added, "You could help us. Please."
Solana looked between them, before swallowing, her choice made, and yelling, "They're over here! Guards, they're over here!"
The trio ran as the guards caught up, "Male and female suspects escaping," Kess called, "Westbridge corridor."
"Mr. Halpen, I found the three of them," Solana reported into the comm., "They're heading for Ood Conversion."
"On my way," Halpen replied.
~8~
"Mr. Kess, what's the situation?" Halpen stood in his office on the comm..
"We've contained it, sir," Kess reported, "The red-eye seems to be permanent this time, it's not fading. Worse than that, sir, there's more of them going rabid," there was growling on the other end, "In my opinion, sir, I think we've lost them, the entire batch contaminated."
"What's causing it? Why now? What's changed?" he rubbed his head and a chunk of hair came out in his hand, wonderful, "How many Ood in total?"
"I would say about 2,000, sir."
"We can write them off. That's what insurance is for," he turned to Sigma, "Drink. We've plenty more on the breeding farms. Let's start again," he gulped the drink, "Fetch the canisters. No survivors."
"My pleasure, sir," Kess replied, sounding rather pleased, "You lot, canisters," and then the comm. cut off.
~8~
The Doctor, Angel, and Donna skid to a halt, running back they way they came and turning a different corner...when they caught sight of more guards ahead of them.
"This way!" Angel shouted, grabbing the Doctor's hand and leading them through the maze of warehouses.
~8~
Halpen straightened his tie before heading out to Ood Conversion, Sigma following, ever faithful.
~8~
"Can you hear it?" Angel asked the Doctor as she stopped and panted, "We didn't need the map to find our way."
He looked at the door to a warehouse, hearing what she heard, and soniced the lock, opening it and rushing in with the girls before sonicing it closed behind them, "Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna gasped.
"Listen," the Doctor whispered, "Listen, listen, listen, listen," they headed down the nearest set of steps, pausing when they saw nothing but cages everywhere, rows of them against the walls, "Oh, my head."
"What is it?"
"Can't you hear it?" Angel asked, rubbing her head again, massaging her temples really, "The singing?" they looked over to see a group of Ood huddled together in one of the cages when the Doctor switched on a light.
"They look different to the others."
"That's because they're natural-born Ood," the Doctor explained, "Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoiled."
Angel crouched down in front of the cage, "That's what we've been hearing, their song."
"I can't hear it," Donna crouched down beside her.
"Do you want to?" Angel glanced at her.
"Yeah," she faced her friend.
"It's the song of captivity," the Doctor warned.
"Let me hear it."
A/N: Awww ^-^ Thella is just. So. FLUFFY! -dies-
-pulls a Jack and gasps(!) back to life- I'm back! Have to say, if you thought the fluff was good here...next chapter we get...the pool :) But to be serious a moment, to get to my most major and important note...
You guys make me smile :) Seriously, as upset as I was on Sunday, I was the complete opposite yesterday. I received so many PMs and reviews with your support and it just meant the world to me :') I think, for a split second, I was afraid that the thoughts of those two PMs might have been shared by readers of this story...and now I realize how completely crazy that was! You all have been so amazing and you reminded me of something...
When I first started writing FF, I knew that not everyone would like my stories, I was prepared for flames in regard to that, the stories. I wasn't prepared for messages against me personally. I wasn't even really prepared for plagiarism (I really didn't think the stories would be as popular as they became). So I've found myself shocked that writing and maintaining a fanfiction is such hard work. In the last four months I've had 3 bouts of plagiarism, 2 offensive messages, and 1 flamer for another story that pretty much spent pages ranting about how they hated my OC...with no suggestions on how to improve her so I just said 'to each his own.' I never thought it would be such hard work to do this, I never expected so many issues to come up. I always thought FF was just a nice place to put your ideas out there and hope others enjoyed them. And, I admit, I had started to forget how I felt when I first started writing with everything that's been happening this past year.
You guys reminded me of why I started, because I had ideas I wanted to share, people who were interested in them, and because I just loved writing. So thank you :) I write for you and I write because I love it and that's really the only reasons I need to keep going. And your opinions matter more to me than two people who don't know the whole story :) Because of you, I have faced down and survived 3 bouts of plagiarism, 2 offensive messages, and 1 flamer, because of you, with help and support from all of you. As long as I have you guys there for me, I won't be letting that get me down :) I wish I could give you all a big hug so...virtual hugs!
Really, though, thank you all so much :)
And...you guys made it to your second sneak peek! Wow! You guys really deserve it :)
~8~
"He's gonna choke!" Donna cried as Wilf slumped forward in the car, her pounding on the side of it, trying desperately to break the window open, "Doctor! Angel!"
"It won't open!" the Doctor ran back, flashing the sonic over the side of the door. Donna looked over at Angel who seemed be frowning at her hand.
Donna was about to ask her what the hell she was doing just staring at her hand while her grandfather was choking to death…when the hand in question started glowing golden. Her eyes widened as Angel slapped the windshield and the entire thing shattered…
~8~
Ohh...looks like Donna might find out about the Vortex...I wonder how she'll react/what she'll do...hmmm... :)
Some notes on reviews...
Lots and lots of theories about Angel's headaches. Is it because of the walls breaking? Is it because of Rose returning? Is it because of the meta-crisis? All I can say is, there'll be a little teaser in two chapters that might just bring up even more questions. But we'll find out soon :)
My favorite episode that I've written (I'm assuming written and posted) is definitely Human Nature/Family of Blood (I count them as 1 episode-ish :)) just because I loved human Angel and John/Angela were just SO sweet :)