Author's Note: Date Updated 07/09/15

Episode Seven: The Last Nealonian

Chapter Five

The Doctor ran after Bella calling to her but she wouldn't stop as she called out to Patrick, looking around wildly. She knew that the Doctor was following her, but she couldn't leave the Ood to die. She turned a corner and found Patrick standing between burning buildings covering his head with his arms and trembling from head to foot as more bombs hit the ground and exploded.

"Patrick!" she yelled before she gave a wolf-whistled to get the lone Ood's attention. "Come on!"

The Doctor skidded around the corner and sighed in relief as he saw Patrick the Ood running towards Bella, who had her arms held out urging him on. He was about ten meters away from her when another bomb fell to the ground beside him.

"NO!" Bella screamed and was about to lunge forward but the Doctor grabbed her and held her tight. "No, Patrick…" she said desperately, looking through the dust as she gripped tightly to the Doctor, her head against his chest.

They stood still until the dust settled after a few moments and Bella gave a cry as Patrick's motionless body was revealed lying on the ground in an awkward position.

"Patrick!" she said tearfully, before another bomb fell close to them.

"Bella, we need to get out of here," the Doctor said gently, beginning to guide her back towards the town hall. She didn't argue with him, which he was very glad about. They both ran quickly through the open doors into the hall and the doors were slammed shut behind them.

Both of them stood panting and gasping for breath as the rest of the town moved about the hall. The mothers were all fussing over their children, who were all healing at a very alarming rate.

"What the hell were you thinking?" said Jack angrily as he approached them. "Running back out into the streets, honestly, I thought you had both died!"

"Jack," the Doctor said, wiping his sweaty forehead on his arm. "Don't,"

Jack looked angrily from the Doctor to Bella, where his expression melted. Bella looked devastated and she had a few tears sliding down her cheeks that had escaped her eyes.

"Where is your friend, Bella?" Manuel asked her quickly, walking up to her and the Doctor noticed that his voice was now full of concern.

Bella looked down.

"He's dead," she said quietly before Jack took her hand reassuringly.

"No great loss," Fode said indifferently. "They were bred to serve and he had no master."

"They were not bred for lazy, ungrateful humans!" Bella said furiously trying to move forward against Jack's now tight hold on her right arm.

"We are not humans!" Fode said outraged.

"You are just as selfish and as arrogant as them, no offense Jack!" Bella yelled furiously. "They're born with a second brain in their hands for God's sake, they would do whatever we would tell them to do!"

She wrenched her arm out of Jack's strong hold and walked into the crowd towards the opposite end of the long, church-like hall where she sat alone in a corner and put her face in her arms.

The Doctor glared angrily at Manuel and Fode as he followed after her. He could still hear bombs exploding in the distance and occasionally it sounded as though they hit something. Even the ground beneath their feet felt like it was moving, and the Doctor couldn't tell if that was from the explosions or some kind weapon used to induce earthquakes. He sat before Bella and crossed his legs and just waited for her to feel ready to look up. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

Bella looked up to him eventually and she was no longer crying, and although she would never admit it (and he would never make her), the Doctor knew she had been crying because he eyes were red and slightly swollen. A very human attribute, he thought to himself.

"I can hear them singing in my head, all the time." Bella told him quietly. "Patrick explained that the Ood have a low level telepathic field so they can communicate without talking, you know, cause they are born with a second brain in their hands instead of a round translator. No one else here can hear it, just me. That's how I found Patrick. I could hear him signing for help 'cause he'd fallen down a trap hole. I named him after Patrick from SpongeBob Squarepants." she gave a small laugh as the Doctor smiled at her softly. "I really used to like that show. Patrick was really my only friend here, no one else payed me much attention…" she shook her head.

"What about that guard?" the Doctor asked. "He seemed keen on you."

"What about him?" Bella said angrily, surprised that the Doctor would bring up that awful man. "He was an arrogant idiot!" she added and decided to change the subject back to the Ood. "The Ood songs are beautiful. Sometimes they make you swell with happiness and other times it breaks your heart…"

"Can I listen?" the Doctor asked gently, holding out his hands.

Bella looked to his hands then back up to his face before nodding, looking slightly confused.

"This won't hurt, I promise," he said before placing his hands gently on either side of her face where the song became louder in his own head than it had been before.

"Why am I the only one who can hear it?" Bella asked, her voice trembling slightly. She wasn't used to being so close to someone, let alone the Doctor.

"I dunno," the Doctor admitted his eyes now closed. "That's why I am having a look. If there is anything you don't want me to see just imagine a closed door and I'll get the hint."

Bella let her eyes study his face for a few moments before closing her eyes too and concentrating on her thoughts. There were a lot of memories of the last five years that she didn't want the Doctor to see.

"That's a fancy door," the Doctor smiled cheekily, his eyes still closed. "So is that one!"

"This feels very odd, Doctor," Bella said opening her eyes and looking at the Doctor again. "Do you do this all the time?"

"I try not to make a habit out of it, no." he said.

Bella suddenly gasped and flinched slightly and closed her eyes in pain.

"Sorry, the older memories can be a bit painful as they resurface." The Doctor explained keeping his eyes shut and frowned in concentration. He hadn't meant to go quite so deep.

"So lonely," Bella said sadly. "Always so alone,"

"Your childhood wasn't too lonely." The Doctor said gently. "It looks like you were with Sally and an older boy most of the time –"

"Such a lonely little boy," Bella said, opening her eyes again to stare emotionally at the Doctor.

"Who was?" the Doctor asked absentmindedly, wondering where her memories had taken her.

"You were, Doctor!" she said.

The Doctor let go of Bella's face and opened his eyes. "What?"

"You've always felt so alone, even when you are surrounded by people – even when you are with Jack and me!"

"How did you do that?" the Doctor asked shocked. Only one other person had managed to do that before.

"You can walk through a door from both directions." Bella said quietly looking guilty. "Sorry," she added.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Don't be, it's happened to me before." He said smiling at her. "I should've known that you were brilliant enough to do it too."

Bella looked up to him with the slightest hint of a smile on her pale face.

"That's more like it," the Doctor said quietly smiling at her warmly.

The strong doors suddenly burst open and a bruised and battered man fell to the ground. The Doctor and Bella quickly jumped up and rushed through the crowd to get to him, where they joined Jack, Manuel and Elder Fode.

"The monsters!" the injured man cried out, thrashing around until Bella grabbed the man's hand. Even after all the hate she had experienced at the Nealonians hands, she wasn't about to let them succumb to terror on their own.

"What monsters?" the Doctor asked calmly.

"They are most terrible," he cried starting to thrash around even more so the Doctor and Jack (who was beside Bella) held him down at the shoulders to steady him, "Merciless and cruel!"

"What did they look like?" Bella asked soothingly. "Where did you see them?"

"Horrible, disgusting, foul!" the man spat cruelly. "They were tall and sickly green with large fat heads and horrible, cruel, black pit less eyes always that were always staring."

Bella froze staring at the man on the floor, fear gripping at her. The Doctor looked from her down to the man.

"Where are they?" the Doctor ordered.

"Waiting outside," he coughed, obviously having troubles breathing.

"What have they done to you man?" Manuel gasped as the man began convulsing.

"Some kind of poison," The man gasped, shuddering before becoming very still, his eyes remaining open.

Manuel gasped in shock and the Doctor and Bella looked to each other as they both let go of the man's body.

"What just happened?" Jack asked, looking from Bella to the Doctor as he too let go of the man's shoulder. The entire hall was silent and everyone was looking at each other in silent disbelief. "I didn't think a Nealonian could die?"

"Poison, Jack." The Doctor said quietly as Bella put her hands over the man's eyes to close them. "It inhibits the cells in their bodies that allows the regeneration to take place. If the wounds are bad, they can't heal. Sometimes, like in this case, if it is the right type, the poison can be enough on its own to kill them within seconds. A Nealonian's physiology can react very badly to some changes within the environment, including too much or too little oxygen."

"This is the first non-natural death we have had in over a thousand years!" Elder Fode said angrily. "These monsters will pay!"

"You don't even know what they are!" the Doctor said standing up.

"If it is a war that they want, Doctor, then it is a war that they shall get!" Elder Fode said dramatically.

"Shouldn't you hear their terms first?" Bella asked, standing up and walking to the Doctor's side. "Find out what it is they want? Or even just identify what species they are?"

"And why would we need to do that?" Manuel asked seriously as Elder Fode rolled his eyes.

"You don't need her advice –"

"Let her speak!" Manuel yelled. "I am tired of not listening to her! She had theories about someone waging war on us –"

"Well, maybe she is in league with these creatures!" Elder Fode yelled.

"I am not in league with Slitheen!" Bella yelled furiously before she was able to stop herself.

Everyone looked to her.

"How do you know of them?" Elder Fode said slyly.

Bella glared at him.

"They've tried to invade Earth a few times." She said angrily.

"Then you must know all about them," Elder Fode said.

Bella looked up to the Doctor.

"The Slitheen are cruel," the Doctor explained. "They have no mercy and it doesn't matter what age, gender or race you are. If you are in their way, they will kill you. The females are able to shoot poison from their claws and breathe poisonous fumes. I will bet you that's what killed this man here."

Bella shuddered.

"Well, what kind of weapons can be used against them?" Manuel asked, but the Doctor, Jack, and Bella remained silent.

"Doctor?" asked Manuel pleadingly.

"I am not going to tell you so you can all commit genocide!" the Doctor said hotly.

Manuel nodded in acceptance, but Elder Fode moved forward angrily.

"It seems as though I have no other choice," he said before turning to Manuel. "I am relieving you of your duties as King of Nealon and appointing myself king in order to protect this planet."

"You can't do that!" Bella laughed. "Manuel is King, you are just an elder!"

"Just watch me!" Elder Fode said turning back to Manuel. "I should have done this as soon as you allowed this sorry excuse for a Nealonian to live!"

Bella gasped and the Doctor held out his left arm and moved her behind him.

Fode clicked his fingers and six guards grabbed Manuel, the Doctor and Jack (two apiece).

"No!" Bella cried as the Doctor pushed her out of the way. "Let them go!"

"I don't think so, Bella." Fode said grabbing her arm. "Now tell me how to destroy this new enemy, or I will execute the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness right here in front of you!"

"No!" Bella cried again, struggling against him as everyone holding a gun in the hall now pointed them at the Doctor and Jack. "Leave them alone!"

"Tell me what I want to know and they will live." Fode said to Bella.

"Bella, don't worry about us –"Jack started, but came short as Fode raised his arm and everyone cocked their weapons.

"I'll tell you!" Bella yelled frantically as the Doctor and Jack struggled to free themselves. "Your guns might work, but…" she paused, clearly not wanting to give away the secret.

"I would hurry if I were you, Bella." Fode said calmly. "I am quite eager to see the last of the pompous Time Lord's dead."

Bella's face lost the little colour that it had remaining.

"Slitheen are primarily made up of living calcium, meaning that acetic acid destroys them."

"Good," Fode said, as Bella looked down, ashamed of herself.

"I dunno if it will work though." Bella said quietly.

"Why not?" ordered Fode.

"Because these Slitheen probably aren't wearing compression field controllers around their necks because they haven't had to use body suits." Bella said. "They have just launched a full blown attack."

"Well," Fode smiled. "We will just have to make the acetic acid a little bit stronger wont we?"

Bella glared at him. "Let them go!"

"I don't think so," Fode sneered, still holding onto Bella's arm tightly. "Why would I let them go just so they could stop me? You really do need to use that brain of yours once in a while, girl."

The Doctor saw Bella's face burn before she tried to yank her arm free of Fode's grip.

"Come child," Fode said. "Since you have all the knowledge, you shall be my protector."

Bella finally managed to yank her arm free and she walked backwards into two more guards, where she instantly started to struggle as they placed hands around her arms tightly.

"Let her go!" the Doctor yelled furiously.

"Oh, no, Doctor. Bella is going out into the front lines." Fode sneered.

"No you can't!" The Doctor said, fear etching its way into his voice as the guards practically dragged her out of the hall. "If Bella gets hurt she will die! She can't heal as fast as you!"

"Yes, I know." Fode laughed. "And the odds don't look very good do they?"

"Don't do this Fode," the Doctor said dangerously, with just a hint of desperation in his voice. "If anything happens to her –"

Fode just laughed, waving at his guards to start dragging Bella kicking and yelling out the doors before heading out of after them.