ABOMINATION
TWENTYONE
"Well," The Doctor said, lifting an eyebrow, "that was surprisingly easy."
Wil immediately strode toward the doors.
"Wait!" he shouted at her and she stopped in mid-step. "Come back up here, Wil. We need a plan before any of us leaves. Gwen, how do you deactivate the lockdown?"
"Two current staff members have to disable it. It's done on a computer." There was a beat as she glanced around. "Those two staff members would be Wil and me."
"What about Ianto?" the Time Lord asked, looking at him. Ianto felt as if he was being measured, and the experience induced a distinct feeling of inadequacy.
"Erm, he's on unpaid leave right now. Long story. We'll explain it later," responded Gwen.
"Hmm…" The Doctor considered briefly and then continued. "Okay, so, Wil and Gwen, your first order of business is to disable the lockdown. Ianto, I want you and Rhys to go straight to Donna, or whoever the mysterious red-haired woman is, and make sure she's all right. If she's revived, tell her nothing. Then, Gwen, I want you to join them after you've taken care of the alarm and help get the woman out of the building and as far away from here as feasible. This must be done as quickly as possible. She must not under any circumstance see me or the TARDIS. That is imperative. Do you understand?"
"And what will you be doing?" asked Gwen, inspecting the Time Lord levelly.
She threw him off his game with her questions. No wonder why Jack liked her. He shook off the uneasiness.
"Right… well, along with Wil, after the two of you have finished your first task, I'm going to find Jack, and take a good look at this business that's got Ianto so frightened. How does that sound?"
Gwen nodded, "Sounds like a plan."
"Good, I'm glad we're in agreement," his deadpan look didn't betray whether he was being sarcastic or not.
His features abruptly transforming into a brilliant smile, The Doctor looked at their faces. "Off we go then!" he announced with a wobble of his head as he turned and walked down the ramp. The group followed and halted a few steps behind him. They watched silently as he unlocked the door, opened it a crack and peered through it for a few seconds.
At that precise moment the lights in the TARDIS flickered once and then went out. Suddenly the room was absolutely quiet. Even the air stopped moving.
"Whoops," The Doctor squeaked before slamming the door shut, turning around, pulling out his sonic and shining its blue glow dimly on the four people standing in front of him.
"I think we might need a different plan…"
"What did you see?" Rhys asked as he pulled out a small penlight from his pocket, diffused it and shined it on the face of the Time Lord. The Doctor blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the beam of light.
"Uh, well, it would seem I was, um, wrong about what the TARDIS was objecting to here. I no longer believe the difficulty is the woman who might or might not be Donna Noble." He shook his head and paused, as if considering what to say next. And indeed, that was exactly what he was doing. He realized too much information could sometimes be a bad thing. But then, all of them deserved to know what sort of danger they were in…
"We've materialized inside another TARDIS…"
"Inside another TARDIS?!" repeated a very surprised Wil Beinert.
He ignored her. Well, not really ignored her. He was off in his own world, speaking only to himself. It occurred all the time. They just happened to be there.
"It would seem I was wrong about my TARDIS being the only TARDIS left… the last TARDIS… There would now appear to be another. I should've felt it, but I didn't. I don't know why…
"And we've materialized inside it, this other TARDIS. That isn't impossible in itself. It is improbable but not impossible. It's happened before, there is precedence. But it is extremely perilous. My TARDIS is using all her power to prevent the two ships from occupying the exact same space. If they did, if they occupied the exact same space, they'd annihilate each other in a Time Ram, and more than likely this planet if not the entire solar system would be obliterated along with them…
"In a quantum universe you'd think it extremely rare that two TARDISes could occupy the exact same location in spacetime, but unfortunately TARDISes don't exist solely in our quantum universe. It's complicated, so never mind, but the tendency is… Well… the inclination is not benign… They are territorial old things, TARDISes. And when one intrudes on another's space the outcome is almost always bad."
Once again becoming aware of his surroundings he looked sorrowfully in the soft blue light of his sonic at each member of his audience, ultimately settling his gaze on Wil.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I have to go out there alone; and Wil, I may have to break my promise to you… If something happens to me while I'm out there, or if while I am gone my TARDIS can no longer maintain her current defensive status, it will be up to you, Wil, to get everyone to safety."
"Doctor, no," Wil suddenly understood with terrible clarity what he was implying.
The Time Lord heard the fear in her voice. "It's okay Wil. It's not a given, it's a last resort, it's a failsafe and even if it happens it doesn't have to be permanent. It'll be your call to decide whether you want to keep the TARDIS or let her go to sleep, allow her to fade away and disappear, along with her – with our – final gift to you. Please," he pleaded, "do this, for me. And if I can, I promise I will find Jack and bring him home."
In the dim light Wil nodded at The Doctor and he nodded back; she'd almost too easily resigned herself to the unavoidable reality of the situation. But she'd seen his face, seen the look in his eyes. He needed her and that's all there was to it. He had that effect.
"Excuse me," it was Gwen. "I don't understand a thing you two are talking about, but I fail to see the reason why you should go out there alone, Doctor."
"Because, that is our only choice, Gwen. Out there is something that shouldn't exist. It is as likely to kill you as not. I'm a Time Lord, and hypothetically it should at least accept me if not defer to me. But in this context 'accept' can have several different meanings. It might leave me as I am, or it might imprint on me or even, for lack of a better term, absorb me…
"It's not safe out there for any of us, but I guarantee it is far more dangerous for all of you than it is for me. There are no other options, no further negotiations and no more discussions. Capice?"
In response was only silence.
That's all the Time Lord said to them about it, and when he thought about what might happen he envied them their ignorance.
"Wil, come here," he looked at her keenly, his eyes shining brilliantly in the glow of Rhys' penlight.
She walked unhurriedly down to The Doctor, who after pocketing his sonic gently took her head in his hands, placed his fingertips on her temples, and pressed his forehead against hers for a long, hushed moment.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" he whispered as he leaned away and gently stroked one of her unruly locks.
She shook her head and smiled at him.
"Good," he said. "Now go back up to your friends." As she turned away she heard the door quietly close behind him.