Planet Of The Dead
*EDITED*
Frost's POV:
The Doctor and I see the bus and climb aboard and swipe our cards. "You're just in time, mate and girly." The Bus Driver tells us and we take the seat next to a woman in all black and the Doctor being the idiot he is holds out the chocolate egg he was eating.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is my wife Frost! Happy Easter!" The Doctor greets. The Doctor is still talking to the woman next to us she seemed to be bored of the conversation and I couldn't blame her sometimes. "Funny thing is, we don't often do Easter. We can never find it, it's always at a different time. Although we remember the original. Between you and us, what really happened was..." The Doctor babbles and then the beeping sound of the device I had created as the Doctor hands the woman the chocolate egg as he reaches into his pocket. "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for me. Actually, go on, have it, finish it. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth." He tells her bring his teeth then pulls the device from his pocket. "Ah! Oh, we've got excitation!" he shakes it, gaining strange looks from the other passengers. "I'm picking up something very strange." He comments and I facepalm feeling something bad was about to happen.
"I know the feeling." The woman mutters looking out of the window and I giggle taking the device off the Doctor gaining a glare before a puppy dog look of apology. The Doctor is talking to the woman but she is ignoring him again. "Rhondium particles, that's what I'm looking for. This thing detects them." He tells her tapping the device I grab it.
"Hey it took me ages to get this working again after you did that last time." I scold him slapping his arm and I noticed the woman smirked slightly.
"The little dish should go round, that little dish there…" The Doctor continues explaining.
"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?" The woman asks in a sort of serious way. One of the passengers, an elderly woman, looks at her husband next to her.
"Lou, can you hear them?" She asks her husband.
"Hear what, sweetheart?" He asks her confused as was I.
"The voices. So many voices. Calling to us. Calling so far." The elderly woman tells us.
"Oh, the little dish is going round!" The Doctor exclaims.
"Fascinating." The woman next to us mutters.
"And round. Whoa..." He says I look next to me at the Doctor and the dish spins faster until part of the gadget explodes. A female passenger looks at us rudely.
"Excuse me. Do you mind?" She asks.
"Sorry. That was my little dish." The Doctor apologises standing.
"Can't you turn that thing off?" The woman next to us asks.
"What was your name?" I ask her turning to her.
"Christina." She answers.
"Christina, hold on tight." I tell her as the Doctor sits back down grabbing my waist and the handle. "Everyone, hold on!" I shout to the others. The bus lurches and shakes and the passengers scream as we all jerk forwards. The Doctor and I fall to the floor protecting my stomach.
"The voices! Oh, the voices, they're screaming!" The woman at the front cries. One of the windows shatters and sparks fly from the overhead wires. A young man falls down the stairs from the upper deck.
"What's going on?!" The young man shouts. There is a blinding light and more windows shatter. The Doctor and I move forwards to the driver.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The Doctor gets up off the floor and looks around helping me up carefully checking to see if I was okay along with the baby. Sunlight streamed through the windows. He walks to the door, opening it I soon joined to see where we had ended up to see a desert. "End of the line." The Doctor mutters stepping out helping me down. I was glad I was wearing closed off shoes. "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton." He says looking at me. Christina and the other passengers follow us. The top deck of the bus is crushed and smoke is wafting from it. There is nothing else around them. The Doctor, practically lying on the ground, lets the sand sift through his fingers. "That's impossible. There are three suns. Three of them!" The female passenger freaks out.
"Like when all those planets were up in the sky!" The black youth speaks up.
"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" A young man wonders out loud.
"Oh, man, we're on another world!" The black youth exclaims. It was most likely we were I hadn't seen anything like this before if I had I couldn't remember.
"It's still intact, though! Not as bad as it looks. The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!" The Driver whines mostly.
"Can you still drive it?" The female passenger asks him.
"Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never gonna budge." The Driver tells her.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Ready for every emergency." I hear Christina say. The Doctor looks up at her, removes his glasses and uses the sonic screwdriver on them. He then puts them back on, now tinted. I took out sunglasses from my bag smiling at the Doctor taking his hand.
"Us too!" He tells her and continues to examine the sand and I look around to see nothing.
"And what are your name?" Christina asks us.
"I'm the Doctor." He answers.
"And I'm his wife Frost." I answer.
"Name, not rank or nickname." Christina tells us.
"The Doctor and Frost." He answers again.
"Surnames?" Christina asks again.
"The Doctor and Frost." I answer this time.
"You're called 'the Doctor' and 'Frost'?" Christina asks looking at us.
"Yes, we are." We answer sharing a smile.
"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition." Christina notes.
"Funny sort of sand, this. There's a trace of something else." The Doctor says and takes some and I take his finger knowing more things than him and put some of the sand on the tip of my tongue to taste it.
"Ack. Eurgh. Blah, that's not good." I spit out trying to get the mean taste out of my mouth.
"Well, it wouldn't be, it's sand." Christina comments.
"No, it tastes like..." I begin to say not liking it and see the Doctor standing up along with me looking at me and knowing what I was about to say. "Never mind." I tell her.
"What is it, what's wrong?" Christina asks us. The other passengers come over, the Black youth points at the Doctor and me.
"Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate! You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?" The black youth accuses us.
"Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me. If you must know, I was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny little hole, no danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it." The Doctor explains to them.
"But then where is it? There's nothing, there's just sand!" The Driver points out.
"All right. If you want proof," I tell them and reach into my bag holding a stone, I actually never understood why I had that in my big bag – it's bigger on the inside – very clever. "We drove through this." I tell them. I throw the stone at the space behind the bus, revealing a swirling vortex which soon disappears.
"And that's?" Christina asks.
"A door. A door in space." I answer.
"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?" The Driver asks.
"The bus came through, but we can't." I tell them.
"Well, then what are we waiting for?" The Driver asks looking at the others.
"Oh, no, don't." The Doctor and I say knowing what he was thinking.
"I'm going home, mate!" The Driver shouts heading for the portal.
"I said don't!" We warned and the Driver hits the portal and screams as his body catches fire.
"He was a skeleton, man! He was bones, just bones!" The black youth exclaims. The Doctor walks back to the bus leaving me behind as I looked around.
"It was the bus. Look at the damage, that was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal." He explains.
"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina asks and that caught my attention as to how she knew these things. I looked back to see the young man comforting the female passenger.
"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah? Safest place is inside a car, cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school." The young man comments.
"But if we can only travel back inside the bus... A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open." Christina tells them.
"Slightly different dynamics with a wormhole. There's enough metal to make it work, I think. I hope." I tell them not looking at them still looking around the sand filled horizon.
"Then we have to drive five tonnes of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?" Christina asks.
"I'd say nine and a half tonners, but the point still stands, yes." The Doctor answers.
"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader." Christina replies. I roll my eyes I knew she was going to appoint herself as leader.
"Yes, at last, thank you, so..." The Doctor starts.
"Well, thank goodness you've got me! Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!" Christina tells them and I turn around heading for the bus and smirked at the Doctor's face.
"Is it safe in there?" The young man asks.
"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now! And you. 'The Doctor and Frost'." Christina says.
"Yes, ma'am." We answer.
"Up! Come on!" Christina orders.
"I don't like her." I mutter looking at the Doctor.
"Calm down love." The Doctor whispers in my ear calming me down.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Point five, the crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina, this man is apparently 'the Doctor' and his wife 'Frost'." Christina conditions.
"Hello." We greet.
"And you?" Christina asks the young man.
"Nathan." He waves.
"I'm Barclay." The black youth tells us.
"Angela, Angela Whittaker." The female passenger answers.
"My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou, and this is Carmen." Lou tells us.
"Excellent. Memorise those names. There might be a test. Point seven, assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor and Frost." Christina instructs.
"I thought you were in charge." The Doctor questions.
"I am. And a good leader utilises her strength. You two seem to be the brainboxes. So, start boxing." Christina orders and I do not take orders well.
"Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident." The Doctor tells the humans sitting down on the back of his seat with me on his lap.
"No, it wasn't. That thing, the doorway. Someone made it. For a reason." Carmen points out which was clever for a human.
"How do you know?" I asks her.
"She's got a gift. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just... tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week." Lou informs us.
"You don't look like millionaires." Christina points out.
"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift!" Lou smiles at his wife.
"Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?" The Doctor asks hiding his hand behind his back.
"Three." Carmen answers. The Doctor moved his hand again. "Four." She answers again.
"Very good! Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun." I say, smiling as the Doctor picks me off his lap settling down on the seat again and sits down across from her.
"What can you see, Carmen? Tell me. What's out there?" He asks her kindly.
"Something... Something is coming. Riding on the wind. And shining." Carmen answers looking out into the distance.
"What is it?" I ask her trying to think of all the aliens with wings.
"Death. Death is coming." Carmen answers.
"We're going to die." Angela weeps into her hands.
"I knew it, man, I said so." Barclay cries.
"We can't die out here. No-one's gonna find us." Nathan points out hysterically. The passengers all shout out at once.
"This isn't exactly helping." Christina tries quieting them down to no avail.
"Shut up, we're not your soldiers." Barclay shouts at her.
"It's not doing any good..." Nathan points out.
"You're upsetting her, be quiet." Lou tells them.
"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?!" Nathan exclaims.
"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina orders.
"All right now. Stop it, everyone, stop it!" The Doctor orders. The arguing stops and the only sound is Angela crying in her seat. The Doctor stands in front of her and grips her shoulders. "Angela, look at me. Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me." The Doctor tells her she soon stops crying and looks at him. "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?" He comforts her.
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Angela asks him.
"Answer the question." I tell her coming over.
"Just home." Angela answers.
"And what's home?" I ask her.
"Me, and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18." Angela answers.
"Suzanne. Good." I smile sitting down on the Doctor's lap and look at Barclay. "What about you?" I asks him.
"Dunno. Going round Tina's." Barclay answers.
"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?" The Doctor asks.
"Not yet." Barclay answers giving a small smile.
"Good boy. What about you, Nathan?" The Doctor asks him.
"Bit strapped for cash, I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in. Watch TV." Nathan answers.
"Brilliant. And you two?" I asked the loved up old couple.
"I was going to cook." Lou answers.
"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up." Carmen joins in.
"Can't get this one to cook burned the kitchen first time." I joke getting a laugh out of the others.
"Oi it was one time." The Doctor argues.
"And the last." I point out.
"Anyway what's for tea?" The Doctor asks.
"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special." Lou smiles.
"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy, Frost makes the best food a man can ask for. Mmm! What about you, Christina?" The Doctor says making me blush.
"I was going... so far away." Christina tells us.
"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina." The Doctor says cheekily.
"Hey!" Barclay argues.
"Just think of them. 'Cos that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that. Cos we're gonna get there. We promise. We're gonna get you home." The Doctor tells them holding me tight to him for comfort and support the way we always are.
- FROST'S DIARY -
Barclay and Nathan come out of the bus holding seat cushions. The Doctor meets them. "Here we go! That's my boys! We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!" He explains as I sit on the sand with a blanket between my skin and the dead sand. I was bored but our leader and the Doctor agreed that I either would hurt myself and the baby or I would slow us down. That was our leader who said that and well the Doctor actually cared.
"Let some air out of the tyres, just a little bit. Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip." Christina orders.
"Oh, that's good!" The Doctor exclaimed I knew he was impressed with her and was thinking once this is could be a new companion.
"Holidays in the Kalahari." Christina tell him.
"Yeah, but those wheels go deep." Barclay tell them.
"Then start digging." Christina orders.
"With what?" Barclay asks.
"With this." Christina and I say reaching into our bags pulling out a folding shovel. The Doctor takes Christina's, opening and then hands it to Barclay and then takes mine handing it to Barclay.
"Got anything else in there?" The Doctor asks us.
"Try that, might help with the seats." Christina tells Nathan handing him a small axe)
"Thanks!" He says taking the axe and heads back to the bus.
"I can't find the keys." Angela calls from inside the bus.
"Buses don't have keys. There's a master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop, yeah?" The Doctor tells her running to the bus.
- FROST'S DIARY -
Angela sat in the driver's seat. "Right. Hold on, oh, I've got it." She says flicking a switch. "Here we go, hold tight, ding, ding!" She smiles and presses the start button but the engine only splutters and dies.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Oh, that doesn't sound too good." The Doctor says taking a look at the engine. "Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up." He whines. Christina walks around to where Barclay and Nathan are working on the wheels.
"Anyone know mechanics?" Christina asks around. I raise my hands and saw Barclay stand up.
"Me! I did a two-week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..." Barclay explained.
"Off you go then, try stripping the air filter, fast as you can. Back in two ticks." The Doctor says I rise from my seat on the sand joining the others by the bus. "Frost are you going to be okay if I leave you here or do you want to come with me?" He asks and I smile.
"We'll be fine I promise." I tell him putting my hand on my stomach and he nods and kisses me softly on the lips. He then heads towards the dunes as Barclay and I go to look at the engine.
"Wait a minute!" Christina calls following the Doctor. "You're the man with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight." She smiles walking off into the distance.
- FROST'S DIARY -
Carmen sits next to her husband with her eyes closed. "closer... and closer and closer..." She mutters to herself. I see the Doctor get on the bus with Christina and Barclay. I had left as the baby was kicking and I needed to calm him down.
"Where is it?" The Doctor asks.
"There, there on the seat." Barclay answers. The Doctor picks up Barclay's mobile and using the sonic on it.
"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina argues and I just smirked.
"Oh, just watch me. Right, now, bit of hush, thank you. Gotta remember the number, very important number." The Doctor dials.
"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" A man over phone greeted.
"And again! Ah! seven-six, not six-seven..." The Doctor mutters disconnecting the call and redialling.
"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Please select one of the following four options." Another man says over the phone.
"Oh, I hate these things!" The Doctor moans.
"No, if you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person. I saw it on Watchdog!" Angela informs him.
"Thank you, Angela!" The Doctor praises sitting down pulling me with him onto his lap.
"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" Yet another man said over the phone.
"Listen, it's the Doctor! It's me! And Frost!" The Doctor practically shouted into the phone and my ear. The Doctor listens to someone on the other side of the phone.
"Doctor and Frost. This is Captain Erisa Magambo." She introduced and suddenly paused the Doctor and shared a look knowing what it was. "Might I say, sir, ma'am, it's an honour."
"Did you just salute?" The Doctor and I asked her.
"No." She answered quickly.
"Erisa, it's about the bus. HQ said you're at the tunnel, yeah?" The Doctor asked her.
"And where are you both?" Erisa asks him.
"We're on the bus. But apart from that, not a clue," He looks out of the window. "Except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous." The Doctor informs her.
"A body came through here. Have you sustained any more fatalities?" Erisa asks.
"No, and we're not going to. But we're stuck. We haven't got the TARDIS, and we need to analyse that wormhole." The Doctor tells her.
"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr Malcolm Taylor." Erisa informs us. "Just the man you need, he's a genius."
"Oh, is he? We'll see about that." The Doctor comments I look at him smiling knowing he didn't like the word genius. On the bus, the Doctor and I could hear their conversation.
"I know. We all want to meet him one day, but we all know what that day will bring." We hear Erisa tell this Dr Malcolm.
"We can hear everything you're saying." The Doctor and I inform them over the phone.
"Hello, Doctor? Oh, my goodness!" Dr Malcolm praises.
"Yes, I am. Hello, Malcolm!" The Doctor replies.
"The Doctor! Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files! Even about your wife Frost!" Dr Malcolm chuckles.
"Really? What was your favourite, the giant robot? No, no hold on, let's sort out that wormhole. 'Scuse me." The Doctor says lifting me up taking my hand and dragging me out to the front of the bus.
"On speakerphone, please. I don't want anyone keeping secrets." Erisa snarls. The Doctor sits in the driver's seat. Christina stands behind us, listening.
"Malcolm, something's not making sense here. I've got a storm and a wormhole, and I can't help thinking there's a connection. I need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing." The Doctor orders him.
"I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator. I thought it could measure the energy signature." Dr Malcolm informs us.
"No, that'll never work. Just listen to me." I tell him taking the phone off the Doctor who snaked his arms around my waist pulling me onto his lap.
"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolm's per second." Dr Malcolm tells us.
"Fifteen what?" I ask looking at the Doctor to see if he had heard too and it seemed from the look on his face he had.
"Fifteen Malcolm's. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm." Dr Malcolm explains.
"You named a unit of measurement after yourself?" I ask.
"It didn't do Mr Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolm's equals a Bernard." Dr Malcolm argues.
"And who's that, your dad?" The Doctor asks.
"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass." Dr Malcolm argues back.
"Right. Fine. But before we die of old age, which in our case would be quite an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone else we can talk to?" The Doctor asks rudely.
"No, no, no, no, but listen! I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image." Dr Malcolm informs us.
"You did what?" The Doctor asks.
"Is that wrong?" Dr Malcolm asks.
"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant! So you can actually measure the wormhole. OK, I admit, that is genius!" The Doctor congratulates.
"The Doctor called me a genius." Dr Malcolm smiles proud of himself.
"I know, I heard." Erisa reminds him.
"Now, run a capacity scan. I need a full report. Call me back when you've done it. And Malcolm? You're my new best friend." The Doctor tells him I smile at him.
"And you're mine too, sir." Dr Malcolm replies gleefully as the Doctor ends the call.
"Barclay, I'm holding on to this." The Doctor tells him going out the door.
"Then you'd better bring it back!" Barclay shouts. As the Doctor, Christina and I leave the bus, Nathan is still outside digging out the tires.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The Doctor, Christina and I walk through the desert. "Send this back to Earth, see if Malcolm can analyse the storm." The Doctor says holding up Barclay's phone.
"There's something in those clouds, something shining. Look..." Christina says looking ahead.
"Like metal..." The Doctor comments taking a picture.
"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina wonders and I look through my mind thinking of all of the species I knew and planets but I couldn't think of anything. While the Doctor was busy taking photos, Christina and I hear chirruping. "Did you hear something?" Christina asks us we share a concerned look with each other.
"Hold on. Busy." The Doctor waves her off not hearing the strange noise.
"There was a noise, like a sort of..." Christina says looking around with me.
"Doctor..." We call seeing a insectoid creature watching us.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The creature approaches us, a weapon in its hand, and speaks and I recognize the species and reply. "That's 'wait'. I shout 'wait', people usually wait." I say looking at the Doctor.
"You speak the language?" Christina asks.
"Every language." We reply. The Doctor and the creature speak. "That's begging for mercy." The Doctor says and it motions with its gun.
"That means 'move.'" Christina guesses.
"Ooh! You're learning." I reply. The creature marches us off in front of it.
"These fly things, they must be responsible. They brought us here." Christina again guesses but wrong. We arrive at the creature's crashed ship.
"No, no, no, no, no! Look at the ship, it's a wreck. They crashed, just like us." I point out having a hard look.
"I'm so we didn't leave without you." The Doctor whispers lovingly in my ear taking my hand in his.
"Me too." I whisper back.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The interior of the ship looks like they have been trying to make repairs, wires and electronics exposed. "But this place is freezing!" Christina comments.
"The hull's made of Photafine steel. Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since I met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!" I tell them as the Doctor smiles seeing a new companion on the horizon.
"That's how I like things. Extreme." Christina replies and I knew I shouldn't be jealous but my god was I.
"Oh, this is beautiful! Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!" The Doctor exclaims excited like a little kid.
"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!" Christina fantasies. A second creature joins them and touches a device attached to his clothes.
"Oh, right, good, yes, hello! That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us." I explain as the Doctor looks around confused.
"Still sounds like gibberish to me." Christina comments.
"That's what I said, he can understand us. Doesn't work the other way round." I point out. "'You will suffer for your crimes." Et cetera. "You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race." Tritovores, they're called Tritovores. "You came here in the 200 to destroy us." Sorry, what's the 200?" I ask them after translating for Christina.
"It's the bus. Number 200, they mean the bus." Christina says.
"Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is my beautiful wife Frost and this is Christina, the Honourable Lady Christina, at least I hope she's honourable! But we got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you." The Doctor babbles once again. The Tritovores talk to each other. They lower their guns.
"What are they doing?" Christina asks.
"They believe me." The Doctor answers.
"What, as simple as that?" Christina asks.
"He's got a very honest face. And the translator says he's telling the truth. Plus, the face." I smile hugging his face. He kisses my lips softly.
"Right! So, first things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?" The Doctor asks and he makes his way to a control panel, followed by the Tritovore with the translator who speaks to him.
"Ah, they've lost power. Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch. But if I can jiggle it back..." He kicks the panel and the power comes back on. "I thank you!" The Tritovore chitter. "Yes, I am! Frequently. Okey-doke, let's launch that probe." The Doctor exclaims impressed with him but I wasn't going to tell him that the wires were loose and I had jimmied them back.
"I saw what you did." Christina whispers smiling.
"Let him have his moment." I reply smirking.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The Doctor, Christina and I watch the picture sent back from the probe as a hologram projection. "The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted, so far away." The probe zooms in. "The planet of San Helios." I smile as the Doctor hugs my waist as we stand watching.
"And that's us? We're on another world." Christina points out.
"We have been for quite a while." I point out.
"I know, but seeing it like that..." Christina says I knew she'd make a very good companion for the Doctor.
"It's good, isn't it?" I asks.
"Wonderful." Christina states, the Tritovores tell their story.
"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb." I explain.
"By waste matter, you mean?" Christina asks.
"They feed off what others leave behind. From their... behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies." I reply.
"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them." Christina comments. The projection now shows a thriving city with trees and green parks.
"San Helios City." The Doctor joins in.
"That's amazing. But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?" Christina asks.
"Thousands of times." We answer together sharing a smile.
"That Lordship of yours... The Lord of where, exactly?" Christina asks us.
"Of Time. We come from a race of people called Time Lords." I tell her.
"You're aliens?" Christina asks.
"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either because I have a wife." The Doctor tells her.
"You look human." Christina comments.
"You look Time Lord. Anyway!" I tell her.
"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us!" Christina says.
"I don't think it's that simple." The projection changes to the desert. "We're in the city right now." The Doctor points out.
"But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?" Christina asks. One of the Tritovores chirrups.
"The image was taken last year." I tell them.
"It became a desert in one year?" Christina asks.
"I said there was something in the sand." I tell them as sand falls through my fingers. "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife and 100 billion people, turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die." I tell them.
"But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!" Christina whines.
"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios." The Doctor states.
"Yes, but in my hair!" Christina whines more like a child. The mobile rings and the Doctor pulls it from his pocket.
"Malcolm! Tell me the bad news!" The Doctor says into the phone.
"Oh, you are clever! It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernard's, I haven't invented a name for that." Dr Malcolm informs him.
"How can it get bigger by itself?" The Doctor wonders.
"Well, that's why I'm phoning! You'll work it out, if I know you, sir." Dr Malcolm says.
"Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through." Erisa informs him.
"Good work, both of you." The Doctor congratulates.
"But I have to know. Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?" Erisa asks. The phone beeps and the Doctor looks at it.
"Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go." The Doctor switches it off ending the call, he switches calls. "Yep?" He answers.
"Doctor, it's Nathan. We got those duckboard things down, but..." Nathan replies.
"It's my fault." We hear Angela in the background.
"No, it's not, don't say that." Nathan defends.
"Why, what's happened?" The Doctor asks.
"We kept on turning the engine, but... We're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...This bus is never going to move." Nathan informs us. The Doctor lowers the phone.
"What is it, what's wrong? Doctor, tell me." Christina asks not hearing the conversation.
"You promised you'd get us home. Doctor? Are you still there?" Nathan asks.
"Doctor, tell me, what did he say?" Christina asks. A beeping sound comes from one of the monitors and the Tritovores chirrup excitedly.
"It's the probe. It's reached the storm." I tell them.
"And what's he saying?" Christina asks.
"It's not a storm." I tell them looking at them scared. The probe shows us flying through a mass of creatures that look like flying manta rays. The Doctor, Christina and I stand shocked and scared.
"It's a swarm. Millions of them." Christina guesses.
"Billions. Oh, we've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten." The Doctor answers.
"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asks.
"A hundred miles. But at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes. No, no, no, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole." I realise sharing a look between the Doctor and I.
"They're heading for Earth?" Christina asks.
"Show the analysis. Incredible. They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world. Start the life cycle all over again." I explain.
"So, they make the wormholes?" Christina asks.
"They must do." I say thinking of everything I knew about this subject and I knew the Doctor was doing the same.
"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they a hundred miles away?" Christina asks.
"Because they need to be? No, that's bonkers. Hang on. Yes. Oh, do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet. Round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, till they generate a rupture in space. The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all of that rips the wormhole into existence." I explain.
"And the wormhole is getting bigger?" Christina asks.
"Because they're getting closer." The Doctor answers getting what I was saying.
"But how do they get through? Because that wormhole is a killer. We've seen it." Christina asks which was true.
"No, no, no, look. See the exoskeleton." The Doctor points out.
"Metal?" Christina guesses.
"They've got bones of metal. They eat metal and extrude it into the exoskeleton. So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe. Perfect design." I explain.
"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert. So why exactly are you smiling?" Christina asks the Doctor as I was so not smiling.
"Worse it gets, the more I love it." The Doctor answers.
"Me too." Christina answers surprisingly.
"I hate it." I mutter and the Doctor pulls me into a hug kissing the top of my head.
"The thing is, Doctor, you're missing the obvious. We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?" Christina asks.
"Ah, good question. What a team. Like she said, why did you crash?" the Doctor asks. The Tritovores take them to a large hole in the spaceship.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Oh, yes. Gravity well. Look, goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened? He says the drive system stalled. Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky. But what caused that?" I mutter to myself as the Doctor follows me around.
"Which means no idea." Christina guesses.
"Yeah. But wait a minute. That's a crystal nucleus down there, yes? And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact? Oh, yes. That's better than diesel." I smirk.
"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" Christina asks.
"I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the two hundred's small enough." I answer.
"How does a crystal drive a bus?" Christina asks.
"In a super clever outer-spacey way. Just trust me. There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well. Have you got access shafts? All frozen? Well, maybe I can open them. Ah! Internal comms. Put that on." The Doctor tells us handing Christina and I a Bluetooth unit. "You stay here. Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell us if anything happens." He tells her. Christina sits at the edge of the gravity well and looks down as the Doctor runs back through the spaceship. "If we can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance. Christina? If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let us know." He tells her. Christina is buckling on her harness.
"Nothing yet." Christina tells him.
"Anything now?" I ask her.
"Afraid not." Christina replies. The Doctor connects various cables together as I look around to see if anything was out of place that could fix it.
"Any sign of movement?" The Doctor asks.
"Nope." Christina answers.
"How's that?" I ask her.
"Nothing." Christina replies quickly.
"Any result?" The Doctor asks.
"Not a dickie bird. So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done." Christina tells us.
"Why, what do you mean? Christina? Christina!" The Doctor shouts and we share a look between each other.
"The aristocracy survives for a reason. We're ready for anything." Christina tells us. We look at each other again and run back into the engineer room.
"No!" We shout taking out our sonics stopping her pulley.
"Come on. Come on, come on, come on. That's better." He mutters.
"I decide when I stop, thank you." Christina tells us.
"You're about to hit the security grid. Look." I inform her.
"Excellent. So what do I do?" Christina asks.
"Try the big red button." I point out and the security grid goes out.
"Well done." Christina cheers.
"Now come back up. I can do that." The Doctor orders.
"Oh, don't you wish." Christina mutters.
"Slowly." We warn her.
"Yes, sir and ma'am." Christina says cheekily and she continues down head first.
"Quite the mystery, aren't you? Lady Christina de Souza, carrying a winch in her bag." The Doctor asks.
"No stranger than you, spaceman you too big girl." Christina snaps back.
"I had this friend, once. She called me spaceman." The Doctor reminisces about Donna and I cringe at the thought of my best friend.
"She never called me big girl." I mutter and the Doctor looks at me with a sad smile knowing that I was still upset about Donna.
"And was she right? Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?" Christina asks in a jokey way.
"Well, a little blue box. Travels in more than space. It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places we've been. World War One. Creation of the universe. End of the universe. The war between China and Japan. And the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD." The Doctor tells her as he takes out a goblet out of her rucksack. "But I don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?" He asks her.
"Excuse me. A gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions." Christina remind him.
"He goes through mine all the time." I smirk looking at the Doctor.
"That was one time, one time. You're never gonna let me forget are you?" He jokes.
"Nope." I pop the P and smirk. "It's the Cup of Athelstan, given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for two hundred years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief." I say looking at the Doctor.
"I like to think I liberated it." Christina jokes.
"Don't tell me you need the money." I reply.
"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks." Christina tells us.
"No, no, no, no, no. If you're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this? That's a lifestyle." The Doctor comments.
"I take it you disapprove?" Christina asks laughing.
"Absolutely. Except. That little blue box, I stole it from my own people." The Doctor remarks.
"Oh stop it you borrowed the girl." I remind him smiling warmly at him.
"Good boy. You were right. We're quite a team." Christina comments. A roar is heard from somewhere and in instinct the Doctor and I pull one another into a hug. "What the blazes was that?" She asks.
"We never did find out why the ship crashed. Christina, I think you should come back up." I tell her.
"Too late. I can see it." Christina informs us.
"Careful. Slowly. Have you got an open-vent system?" I ask. The Tritovore chitters.
"I thought so." The Doctor muttered.
"What does that mean?" Christina asks.
"It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft." I explain.
"One of the creatures." Christina answers.
"It got trapped in the vents, caused the crash. Christina, get out." We tell her.
"It's not moving. I think it's injured." Christina informs us.
"No, it's dormant because it's so cold down there, but your body heat is raising the temperature." I explain to her.
"I tend to have that effect. Almost there." Christina comments.
"Not just the crystal. I need the whole bed, the plate thing." The Doctor tells her.
"I've got it!" Christina exclaims. The Doctor sonics the pulley to pull her up fast.
"Come on, come on. Come on, come on, come on, come on. It's going to eat its way up." I tell them. Christina reactivates the security grid on her way past and the stingray gets zapped.
"Ooh, she's good." We remark sharing a smirk. Christina returns to the top of the shaft. "That's it, that's it, that's it. I've got you. I've got you. Isn't she just. " I smile.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Commander? Mission complete. Now, we've got to get back to the two hundred, all of us. Oh, don't be so daft. A captain can leave his ship, if there's a bus standing by." The Doctor argues and a loud bang is heard somewhere around the area.
"What the hell was that? Is this place safe? It's the creature. It's not dead." Christina states.
"Maybe you didn't hit just one of them. If you hit a swarm?" I guess.
"Do you mean if there's more on board?" Christina asks.
"This ship's built inside a metal sleeve. They can move through the infrastructure, all around us. And those things wake up hungry. Commander, you've got to come with us right now." I argue with them.
"Come back to Earth. We'll find you a home." Christina tells them.
"And that's the word of a lady. Come on." The Doctor agrees. One of the Tritovores goes to a control panel. The stingray appears and eats him. The Commander raises his weapon.
"No, don't." I order and gets eaten too.
"There's nothing we can do. Run!" The Doctor orders.
"Doctor?" Dr Malcolm asks.
"Not now, Malcolm!" The Doctor tells him.
"Fair do's. He's a busy man." Dr Malcolm agrees.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"At last. Where've you been?" Nathan asks.
"Get inside. Get them sitting down. Now then, let's have a look." I tell him.
"So what does that crystal do?" Christina asks.
"Oh, nothing. Don't need the crystal." I tell her throwing it away.
"Oh, I risked my life for that." Christina pouts.
"No, no. You risked your life for these. The clamps." I tell her and as the Doctor walks around the bus as they magnetically attach to the wheels.
"One there. One there. One there. And one there." He mutters.
"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?" Christina asks.
"Yeah, something like that. I just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?" I ask as I left mine back on the spaceship.
"Funnily enough." Christina smiles.
"Phone, phone. Press redial." The Doctor mutters as I fix the rest of the crystal assembly to the steering wheel. "Malcolm, it's me." He greets.
"I'm ready." Dr Malcolm answers.
"Ready for what?" the Doctor asks.
"I don't know. You tell me." Dr Malcolm corrects himself.
"I'm going to try to get back." The Doctor tells him. "But listen, there might be something following us. You need to close the wormhole." He instructs.
"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a Counter-oscillation, perchance?" Dr Malcolm suggests.
"Oh, Malcolm, you're… Brilliant!" The Doctor exclaims.
"Coming from you, sir, that means the world." Dr Malcolm tells him.
"Doctor. What sort of something?" Erisa asks. "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing. I need to know the exact nature of the threat." She instructs.
"Sorry, got to go." The Doctor says.
"Oh, it's not compatible. Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together." I tell them.
"And how do you do that?" Christina asks.
"I need something non-corrosive. Something malleable. Something ductile. Something gold." I answer.
"Oh no you don't." Christina argues.
"Christina, what is it worth now?" I ask.
"Hey, hey, use this." Barclay offers his wristwatch.
"She said gold." The Doctor argues.
"It is gold." Barclay argues.
"Oh, they saw you coming. Christina." The Doctor says and Barclay returns to his seat, and Christina reluctantly takes the Cup from her rucksack.
"It's over a thousand years old, worth eighteen million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful." Christina warns him.
"I promise." The Doctor lies and takes the hammer to the Cup.
"I hate you." Christina groans.
"This is your driver speaking. Hold on tight." The Doctor speaks.
"But what for? What's he doing?" Barclay asks.
"Do as he says. What are you doing?" Christina asks and the Doctor fires up the bus.
"Come on. That's it. You can do it, you beauty. One last trip." I say sharing a smile with the Doctor and the bus rises out of the sand and into the air.
"Ah, you are so kidding me." Barclay says in disbelief.
"We're flying. It's flying." Nathan states.
"He's flying the bus." Lou smiles with his wife.
"It's a miracle." Angela cheers.
"Antigravity clamps. Didn't I say? Round we go." The Doctor cheers putting a cherished kiss on my lips.
"Doctor, they're coming." Carmen informs us and I look to see the swarm is close behind us.
"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina asks.
"Only one way to find out. Next stop." I smirk.
"Planet Earth!" Christina cheers. The bus dives into the wormhole, closely followed by the swarm. Everyone is screaming as it shakes, then comes out of the tunnel and up into the air.
"It's London!" Barclay cheers.
"We're back home." Angela states.
"They did it. They did it!" Nathan cheers.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"Malcolm, close that wormhole." The Doctor orders.
"Yes, sir. My pleasure, sir." Dr Malcolm replies.
"He's hung up on me." The Doctor whines. "Malcolm!" He calls.
"Not now, I'm busy." Dr Malcolm hangs up again.
"He's hung up again." The Doctor moans redialling the number. "Malcolm, listen to me." He tells Dr Malcolm.
"It's not working." Dr Malcolm tells him.
"I need that signal. We've got billions of those things about to fly through." The Doctor tells him.
"Well, what do I do?" Dr Malcolm asks.
"Loop it back through the integrator, and keep the signal ramping up." I tell him taking the phone off the Doctor.
"But by how much?" Dr Malcolm asks.
"Five hundred Bernards. Do it now!" I order.
"Yes!" Dr Malcolm replies and the wormhole collapses at both ends. "Yes!" He cheers.
"Doctor, it's coming for us." Nathan points out.
"Oh no, you don't." The Doctor says and turns the bus, hitting the stingray.
"Did I say I hated you? I was lying." Christina tells him and kisses the Doctor on the cheek. "Don't worry big girl I won't steal your man." She smiles and pushes me to the Doctor and our lips connect and we kiss with such passion and the passengers applaud.
"Wow." We breathe in unison. We snap out of it and the Doctor goes all serious again.
"Do not stand forward of this point. Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty two hundred." The Doctor tells them.
- FROST'S DIARY -
The Doctor lands the bus, and UNIT applauds. The passengers disembark. "Welcome back. If you could step away from the bus, just to be safe. As fast as you can, thank you. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you and then you'll all be taken to debriefing." An Officer tells us. The Doctor flashes his psychic paper.
"We don't count." The Doctor tells him gesturing to him and me.
"No, but Doctor?" Christina calls.
"With me, thank you." The Officer tells the others.
"Doctor." Another man comes over.
"You must be Malcolm." The Doctor greets and Dr Malcolm hugs him.
"Oh. Oh. I love you. I love you. I love you." Dr Malcolm tells him and I hide my giggling but see the Doctor looking at me from the side.
"To your station, Doctor Taylor." Erisa orders him.
"Yes, ma'am. I love you." Dr Malcolm says again walking away.
"Doctor, Frost, I salute you whether you two like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?" Erisa asks.
"They'll start again. Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault, it's their natural life cycle. But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes onto uninhabited planets. Closer to home, Captain. Those two lads. Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest." I inform her of the situation.
"I'll see what I can do. And I've got something for you." Erisa tells us we turn to see the TARDIS is being unloaded from a truck.
"Better than a bus, any day. Hello." The Doctor and I greet.
"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace." Erisa informs us.
"Oh, she doesn't mind." The Doctor says.
"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?" Erisa asks.
"Not a chance." We tell her.
"Till we meet again, Doctor and Frost." Erisa smiles.
"I hope so." We smile back. I look around to see everyone much more happy and I hug the Doctor close to me and he returned the gesture.
"I love you." I tell him.
"I love you too." He replies we were interrupted by Christina running over to us.
"Little blue box, just like you said. Right then. Off we go. Come on, Doctor, show me the stars." Christina asks.
"No." The Doctor answers her.
"What?" Christina
"I said no." The Doctor repeats.
"But I saved your life and your wife's. And you saved mine." Christina points out.
"So?" I asks joining in.
"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison." Christina tells us.
"Yeah." The Doctor agrees.
"But you were right. It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today with you. I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. Why not?" Christina asks.
"People have travelled with us and we've lost them. Lost them all. Never again." The Doctor says I knew he was remembering all of his past companions as I was thinking of Martha and Donna.
"Lady Christina de Souza. Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away." A Detective says to her and Christina leaves in handcuffs.
"Doctor? Frost? You two take care now." Carmen tells him.
"You too. Chops and gravy, lovely." The Doctor replies.
"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir." Carmen tells him.
"What do you mean?" I ask her seeing the Doctor tense up.
"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor? Oh, but then he will knock four times." Carmen tells him. "Child so much suffering in your past but you've grown so strong and he will test you." She tells me and just as Christina is about to be put into a police car, the Doctor sonics her handcuffs. She gets in one side and straight out the other.
"Oi!" the Detective shouts. "Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her. Don't just stand there, stop her." He shouts orders. Christina runs onto the bus and shuts the doors. "Open the door. I'll add resisting arrest." He tells her.
"I'd step back, if I were you." I suggest.
"I'm charging you both too. Aiding and abetting." The Detective tells us.
"Yes. We'll just step inside this police box and arrest ourselves." The Doctor jokes.
"Out, now." The Detective orders but Christina just starts the bus and up it goes. "No! Come back!" He shouts.
"Go on." Angela shouts.
"We could've been so good together." Christina says to us stopping the bus.
"Christina, we were." We agree. She goes off into the sky and we share a look going into the TARDIS.
- FROST'S DIARY -
"So where to next?" the Doctor asks.
"You really need another companion Doctor." I tell him dismissing his question and I knew I had hit a nerve as he tensed.
"I can't it's hard." The Doctor tells me and I got over hugging him tightly and I felt the baby kick. "What was that?" he asks.
"That was the baby kicking he likes it when were close." I tell him.
"That's good because so do I." He smiles.
TO BE CONTINUED….
SNEAK PEAK
Sarah Jane is almost drowned out by the TARDIS engines and Frost and the Doctor run into the room. "Stop this wedding now!" They shout.
"What?" Sarah Jane asks.
"What's going on?" Gita asks.
"Who the hell is that?" Haresh asks.
"I don't believe it." Luke says in disbelief.
"Who are they?" Rani asks.
"Master!" K9 speaks.
"I said, stop this wedding." They shout and a strong wind blows through the room.
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