Disclaimer: Please just leave me to die in peace. I don't think I'm going to last these last three days…Please let the Christmas Special come quickly.
Ch. 52:
Elliot stood pounding on the door.
"Mum!" he yelled. "Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"
"Elliot!" Ambrose cried, rushing to the door.
"Let me in." the boy yelled.
"He's out there!" Ambrose yelled. "Help me."
"Open the door!" Elliot cried. "Mum! There's something out here!"
Everyone rushed after Ambrose and worked to open the door.
"Push, Elliot!" Ambrose told him. "Push, Elliot!"
"Mum!" he yelled.
"Hurry up!" his mother ordered.
The pounding stopped as Elliot turned around.
"Mummy." He whimpered.
"Come on!" Tony yelled as the door opened.
"Elliot!" Ambrose yelled.
They rushed after her, but Elliot was gone.
"Where is he?" she demanded. "He was here. He was here! Elliot!"
"Ambrose, don't go running off!" the Doctor called as she ran into the graveyard.
"Ambrose!" Tony yelled, running after her.
"Elliot!" Ambrose called. "It's Mum!" She spotted his headphones on the ground. "No!"
Something knocked her to the ground and she looked up at it. It was some sort of humanoid-reptilian creature.
"Get off me!" she yelled.
Suddenly, Tony came and knocked the creature away from his daughter. It lashed out with its tongue in retaliation, hitting him in the neck before running away.
"Dad!" Ambrose cried, running to her father, who was obviously in pain.
"What happened?" The Doctor demanded as he, Lily, and Rory ran up.
"My dad's hurt." Ambrose replied.
"Get him into the church now!" Lily ordered.
"Elliot's gone." Ambrose said. "They've killed him, haven't they?"
"I don't think so." The Doctor said, exchanging a look with Lily. "They've taken three people, when they could've just killed them up here. There's still hope, Ambrose. There is always hope."
"Then why've they taken him?" Ambrose demanded, crying.
"I don't know." He told her. "I'll find Elliot, I promise. But first, we've gotta stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."
"Come on, Dad." Ambrose said, helping Tony.
The trio watched them head back to the church.
"So, what now?" Rory asked.
The Doctor walked down the street wearing sunglasses.
I'm sorry. Lily said softly.
I knew that the moment you said it. He replied. What I don't know is why you said it. Do you really think that?
No! Lily said immediately. Any child would be lucky to have you as a father. I was just lashing out. I just didn't understand how you could let a child wander off like that.
I wasn't paying attention. The Doctor sighed. I know it's not an excuse, it's just what happened. And I swear I won't stop until I find him again.
I know you won't. Lily replied. She hesitated before continuing. You have to know I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry.
I know, Lily-girl. He told her. We need to focus.
He felt Lily take a deep breath.
Right. So what's with the sunglasses at night?
I wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can…He sang.
Do not make me come over there. She growled. Can I get a real answer please?
See for yourself.
He let her into his mind to see through his eyes.
They pick up heat signatures. She said. I want a pair.
Maybe if you're good. He replied.
Something moved in the bushes and he turned to look, but the glasses didn't pick anything up.
"Cold blood. I know who they are." He said in a sing-song voice.
Why couldn't you have just landed in Rio? Lily sighed.
The Doctor stood by the Meals on Wheels van, whistling. He took the fire extinguisher from the front seat and shut the door. In the window, he saw the reflection of the creature approaching. He spun out the way of its attack and sprayed it with the fire extinguisher. The creature screamed and Rory jumped out of the back, yelling, while Lily ran around from the other side. They pushed the creature into the refrigerated back and locked the door.
"We got it!" Rory exclaimed as Lily secured the back with her power.
"Defending the planet with Meals on Wheels!" the Doctor added.
They raised their hands to high five, but they were distracted by a rumbling in the ground.
"What was that?" Rory asked.
"It sounds like they're leaving." Lily said.
"Without this one?" Rory asked.
The darkness started to disperse as the Sun began to shine again.
"Looks like we scared them off!" Rory said happily.
"I don't think so." The Doctor said. "Now both sides have hostages."
Amy woke up to find herself inside a clear box, trapped.
"Let me out!" she yelled, pounding on the lid. "Can anybody hear me? I'm alive in here! Let me out! I know you're out there! My name is Amy Pond and you'd better get me the hell out of here or so help me I am going to kick your backside!"
A distorted figure appeared, leaning over her.
"Please?" she begged.
"Shh!" the figure told her.
"Did you just shush me?" Amy demanded, her voice getting louder. "Did you just shush me?"
Gas began to fill the box and she started to panic.
"No, no, no, don't do that." She begged. "No gas! No gas!"
She coughed and slipped back into unconsciousness.
Rory and Lily sat on a toppled grave marker as the Doctor came around from the front of the church.
"I've met these creatures before." He told them. "Different branch of the species, but all the same…" He walked to the basement door and Lily followed. "Let's see if our friend's thawed out!"
"Are you sure?" Rory asked as he followed them. "By yourselves?"
The creature was sitting on the floor in the shadows.
"Very sure." The Doctor replied.
"But the sting…" Rory protested.
"Venom gland takes at least 24 hours to recharge." The Doctor told him before turning to the creature. "Am I right? I know what I'm doing. We'll be fine."
"And when we're not, I'll be here to pull our collective asses out of the fire." Lily added, making Rory smile. "Go on, make sure the others are alright."
Rory nodded and left. The Doctor and Lily turned and walked down the remaining steps to the floor. With bound hands, the creature, which was very reptilian, with large black eyes, moved towards them.
"I'm the Doctor." The Time Lord told it with his hands up. "And the slightly threatening woman to my right is The Phoenix. We've come to talk. I'm going to remove your mask."
He squatted down and gently removed the creature's mask, revealing a female humanoid face.
"You are beautiful." He told her gently. "Remnant of a bygone age on planet Earth. And by the way, lovely mode of travel! Geothermal currents, projecting you up through a network of tunnels. Gorgeous!" He paused and looked around before grabbing a chair. "Mind if I sit? Now." He placed the chair in front of the creature and sat while Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to him. "Your people have a friend of ours. We want her back." He told her. "Why did you come to the surface? What do you want? Oh, I do hate a monologue. Give us a bit back. How many are you?"
"I'm the last of my species." The creature replied.
Lily growled and the Doctor shot her a look.
"Really?" he asked, returning to the creature in front of him. "No. 'Last of the species', the Klempari Defence. As an interrogation defense, it's a bit old hat, I'm afraid."
"I'm the last of my species." She repeated.
"No, you're not." Lily said, squatting down in front of her. "Wanna know how we know? Because we actually are the last of our species. We know how it feels and what it does to a person. So, insult us again by claiming that lie, and I'll break your neck. Understand?"
She got back up and walked back to her place, ignoring the glare the Doctor shot at her.
"Let's start again." He said finally. "Tell us your name."
"Alaya." She replied grudgingly.
"How long has your tribe been sleeping under the Earth, Alaya?" he asked. "It's not difficult to work out. You're 300 million years out of your comfort zone. Question is, what woke you now?"
"We were attacked." Alaya told him.
"The drill." The Doctor replied.
"Our sensors detected a threat to our life support systems." Alaya said. "The warrior class was activated to prevent the assault. We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet."
"Do we have to say vermin?" he asked her. "They're really very nice."
"Primitive apes." Alaya shot back.
"Extraordinary species." He told her. "You attack them, they'll fight back. But, there's a peace to be brokered here. We can help you with that."
"This land is ours." Alaya said. "We lived here long before the apes."
"Doesn't give you automatic rights to it now." Lily told her. "The Humans won't give up this planet."
"So we destroy them." Alaya replied.
"You underestimate them." The Doctor told her.
"You underestimate us." She shot back.
"One tribe of homo-reptilia against six billion humans." Lily scoffed. "Good luck, you've certainly got your work cut out."
"We did not initiate combat." Alaya said, standing up. "But we can still win."
"Tell me where my friend is." The Doctor demanded. "Give us back the people who were taken."
"No." she replied.
The Doctor sighed and got up.
"I'm not going to let you provoke a war, Alaya." He told her, folding the chair and putting it away. "There'll be no battle here today."
He headed for the door and Lily followed him.
"The fire of war is already lit." Alaya told him. "A massacre is due."
The Doctor stopped and turned to look at her.
"Not while I'm here." he replied.
"I'll gladly die for my cause." She said simply. "What will you sacrifice for yours?"
Without a word, the Doctor turned and left and Lily followed, leaving Alaya alone.
The Doctor, with Lily at his side, Rory, and Tony were sitting, as Ambrose and Nasreen stood.
"You're going to what?" Rory demanded.
"I'm going to go down below the surface-"
Lily slapped him across the head.
"We're going to go down below the surface," The Doctor amended, "to find the rest of the tribe. To talk to them."
"You're going to negotiate with these aliens?" Ambrose asked.
"Technically, they're not aliens." Lily pointed out. "In fact, they predate humans as the dominate species on Earth, so technically, they're Earth…liens."
Lily stopped, a look of horror on her face from what she had just said.
"Oh god." She muttered. "I'm starting to sound like you. Shoot me now."
"Any way." The Doctor said, grinning at her. "These creatures were once known as the Silurian race, or, some would argue, Eocenes, or Homo-reptilia. Not monsters, not evil." He stood. "Well, only as evil as you are. The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from their point of view, you're the invaders."
"Your drill was threatening their settlement." Lily told them, taking the Doctor's seat. "The creature in the crypt's name is Alaya. She's one of their warriors and she's our best bargaining chip."
"We need her alive." The Doctor said. "If she lives, so do Elliot and Mo and Amy. Because we will find them. While we're gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity."
"What if they come back?" Tony asked. "Shouldn't we be examining this creature, dissecting it, finding its weak points?"
"No dissecting!" the Doctor told him. "No examining! We return their hostage, they return ours. Nobody gets harmed. We can land this, together. If you are the best you can be. You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?"
Everyone nodded quietly and Nasreen began to applaud, but quickly broke off when no one joined in.
As the Doctor headed to the door, Lily walked over to Rory and took his hand, squeezing it.
"We'll get her back." She assured him. "I've never left anyone behind and I don't plan on beginning now. We will get your fiancé back."
Rory took a deep breath.
"I believe you." He told her.
She smiled and squeezed his hand again before following the Doctor.
"Keep them safe." She told him as she walked away. "We're trusting you to keep this end while we go take care of the other."
Rory nodded and waved goodbye as she headed out the door.
The Doctor and Lily headed for the TARDIS and Nasreen ran up behind him.
"No, sorry, no, what're you doing?" The Doctor demanded, stopping her from entering the TARDIS as Lily opened it and walked in.
"Coming with you, of course!" the woman replied. "What is it, some kind of transport pod?"
"Sort of, but you're not…coming with me!" the Doctor told her as Tony joined them.
"He's right, you're not." The man told her.
"I've spent all my life excavating the layers of this planet." Nasreen told him. "And now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so!"
"Doctor, we don't have time for this." Lily said, poking her head out the door.
"I thought we were in a rush." Nasreen pointed out.
"It'll be dangerous." The Doctor said.
"Oh, so's crossing the road." Nasreen shot back.
"Oh, for goodness' sake, all right, then!" the Doctor huffed. "Come on!"
Lily walked back inside and the Doctor followed her.
"Come back safe." Tony said, stopping Nasreen.
"Of course." She replied, going inside.
She stopped dead when she saw the inside of the ship. Up on the platform, the Doctor and Lily moved around the console, getting the TARDIS ready to fly.
"Welcome aboard the TARDIS." The Doctor told her. "Now, don't touch anything! Very precious."
"No way!" Nareen said, walking over from the door. "But that's…this is…" she slapped him on the arm, "fantastic! What does it do?"
"Everything!" the Doctor boasted. "I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere."
"It won't." Lily assured him.
The TARDIS suddenly pitched drastically and they held on to the console.
"Did you touch something?" the Doctor demanded.
"No!" Nasreen protested. "Isn't this what it does?"
"Lily?" The Doctor shouted.
"Yeah, because I love hanging on for dear life!" she answered sarcastically, trying to regain control. "This is more like your driving than mine!"
"I'm not doing anything!" the Doctor replied. "We've been hijacked! I can't stop it!"
"Nothing on my end!" Lily confirmed.
"They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field!" he said, looking at the monitor. "They're pulling the TARDIS down into the Earth!"
Rory, Tony, and Ambrose went down into the crypt to see Alaya.
"You had to come and see me." The Silurian said, standing.
"We are going to keep you safe." Rory assured her.
"Your tribe are going to give us back our people, in exchange for you." Ambrose told her.
"No." Alaya said, walking forward as far as her chains allowed. "Shall I tell you what's really going to happen, apes? One of you will kill me. My death shall ignite a war. And every stinking ape shall be wiped from the surface of my beloved planet."
"We won't allow that to happen." Tony replied.
"I know apes better than you know yourselves." Alay a told him. "I know which one of you will kill me. Do you?"
Tony found a small mirror and check the wound he received from Alaya's tongue. Green lines appeared where his veins were as the venom spread through him.
And it was spreading fast.
The Doctor, Lily, and Nasreen held on to the console, yelling. Finally, the TARDIS landed and they hit the floor.
Nasreen reached over and snapped the Doctor's braces.
"Oi!" he exclaimed.
"Where are we?" she asked.
The Doctor got up, pulling Lily with him and ran to the door. A second later, Nasreen followed them.
The Doctor held a hand out the door before stepping out. There were roots and fungi all over the walls. Nasreen stepped out and water dripped on her. Finally, Lily walked out and shut the door as the Doctor looked up and whistled in amazement at the tunnel they had fallen down.
"Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system." He said. "Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this."
"How far down are we?" Nasreen asked.
"A lot more than 21km." Lily answered.
"So why aren't we burning alive?" she asked.
"Don't know." The Doctor replied. "Interesting, isn't it?"
"You would find the plague interesting." Lily muttered.
"It was!" the Doctor protested. "The way it swept through the-"
"Shut up." Lily interrupted.
"Yes, ma'am." The Doctor said.
"It's like this is everyday to you!" Nasreen exclaimed, staring at them.
"Not every day." The Doctor said.
"More like every other day." Lily added.
They turned and headed down one of the tunnels, and after a moment, Nasreen followed.
Amy was strapped to an upright examining board. A man was in the same predicament next to her.
"Don't struggle." He whispered to her. "Close your eyes and don't struggle."
"What?" Amy whispered back. "Where am I? Why can't I move my body?"
"Decontamination, they call it." He told her. "They did it to me. While I was conscious."
"Okay, you're freaking me out now." Amy said. "Did what? Who did?"
"Dissected me." The man replied.
Amy looked at his torso, which had a long vertical, healing, scar.
"No." she whispered.
"He's coming." The man hissed. "I'm sorry." He raised his voice to a normal level. "I wish I could help you."
As Amy continued to struggle, a Silurian approached her. He had a surgeon's mask over his nose and mouth, an apron, and a syringe in his hand.
"We're looking for a small tribal settlement." The Doctor said, he and Lily walking side by side. They didn't notice Nasreen stop. "Probably housing around a dozen homo-reptilia. Maybe less."
"One small tribe." Nasreen repeated slowly.
The Doctor and Lily made their way back to her.
"Yeah." He replied.
"Maybe a dozen?" she asked.
The Doctor and Lily joined her, staring at the sight in front of them.
"Ah." The Doctor said.
Below them was a large community, verging on a city with buildings and monuments.
"Maybe more than a dozen." The Doctor said. "Maybe more like an entire civilization living beneath the Earth."
"You suck." Lily told him simply.
"Yeah." He agreed.
A/N: I know it's been a long time, but my life's just been crazy lately. Thankfully, it's getting calmer again. Let me know what you guys think. Also, I wrote an AU one shot that is a version of my season 4 ending, where Lily dies. Please go read it and let me know what you think.
Abbey
