And here's Part Two! Happy New Year, everyone!
Chapter 17: Cold Blood
The Doctor, Ember and Nasreen looked at the expanse of the city around them, realising that the situation was much more dire than it seemed.
"This place is enormous and deserted." The Doctor said as he led the ladies across a rocky bridge suspended over a river of lava below, using his Sonic to scan the area. "The majority of the race are probably still asleep. We need to find Amy. Looking for heat signature anomalies."
"But Doctor, how can all this be here?" Nasreen said, looking at the local fauna that adorned the walls. "I mean, these plants..."
The Doctor led them to another tunnel. "Must be getting closer to the centre of the city."
"You're sure this is the best way to enter?"
"Front door approach. Definitely. Always the best way."
Ember shook her head as they reached the end of the corridor, where a pair of doors were shut. "And there's the jinx."
An alarm sounded, and a female computerised voice spoke. "Hostile life forms detected area seventeen."
"Apart from the back door approach." The Doctor amended, turning around. "That's also good. Sometimes better."
"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen."
"Doctor." Nasreen said as the doors opened and several reptilian warriors appeared.
The Doctor turned, only to look back the way they'd come when more warriors appeared. He and the ladies put their hands up. "We're not hostile! We're not armed! We're here in peace!"
One of the warriors stepped forward, pointing its weapon at them. A green gas blew in their faces, making them cough before rendering them unconscious. Ember was able to stay awake for a few more seconds longer than the other two, so she was the only one who heard one of the warriors speak.
"Mother of Elements..."
Then she passed out.
She was angry. How dare they?!
"You must be calm." A male voice spoke. It sounded strangely familiar.
Why? Why should she be calm when she was here?! How dare they expect her to be calm?!
"Because if you do not calm, she will be lost."
That made her pause, looking at something that she couldn't see clearly.
"Her life is in your hands. Only through you will she live again."
But... how...?
"The details are unimportant. What matters is that you are willing, for you are the only one who can."
... so be it. She'll calm. And she'll wait... for her sake...
Ember barely woke up when she felt her head throb, plunging her into a vision before she'd even opened her eyes...
The Silurians were scanning the Doctor, the process painful for the Time Lord. He tried to tell them that he wasn't human, but they didn't believe him, and the following decontamination ended up killing him before he could regenerate...
Silver eyes snapped open as Ember was abruptly pulled out of the vision by a cry of pain. She'd recognise that voice anywhere: it was the Doctor.
Ember looked around quickly, finding herself on an upright examination board. Hers was to the right of the Doctor's, while Nasreen was to his left and still unconscious. In front of them were several Silurians: at least three that she could see had their warrior gear and masks on. There were two that didn't: one was male, wearing a white lab coat and grey apron, and one female wearing a red dress. Her face was almost exactly like Alaya's, the only difference being some bronze scales and a scar over her left eye. They were in some kind of lab with equipment and screens.
"No!" The Doctor tried to speak, but the pain cut him off. "Argh!"
"It's all right, it won't harm you." The male Silurian said. "I'm only neutralising all your ape bacteria."
"I'm not an ape! Look at the scans! Two hearts!" The Doctor called. "Totally different, totally not ape! Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive."
The male hesitated, but didn't stop the process.
Ember found herself growling as the Doctor cried out again in pain. "Oi! Malohkeh! Listen to him!"
"How did you know my name?" The male Silurian asked, shocked.
"I'll tell you after you turn that off!" Ember snapped, her silver eyes flashing again. "Now! Or I'll do it myself!"
She didn't notice, but several cracks appeared in the floor around her. The Silurians shifted, expecting an attack, but the cracks only reached the work station where the male was before stopping.
The male Slilurian looked at his screens that displayed the scan of the Doctor, noticing his two hearts, and he quickly turned a switch that made the machines power down with a hum.
"No, complete the process!" The female Silurian demanded. "She's bluffing!"
Ember turned her eyes to the female, her pupils so small they were barely visible. "Then chance it, and we'll see who wins! I know one of your warriors came back with burnt sleeves: you're looking at the one who did that!"
"Then it's true..." the male, Malohkeh, said. "You're the Mother of Elements..."
"Oh, that's much better, thanks." The Doctor said, finally relaxing. "Not got any celery, have you? No. No, not really the climate. Tomatoes, though. You'd do a roaring trade in those. I'm the Doctor, and that's Ember." He glanced to his left as Malohkeh moved to wake Nasreen. "Oh, and there's Nasreen. Good."
The woman woke, and the first thing she saw was Malohkeh. "Oh, a green man."
The Doctor looked at the female Silurian, who was watching them carefully. "Hello. Who are you?"
"Restac, Military commander."
"Oh dear, really? There's always a military, isn't there?"
"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city." Malohkeh said.
Ember shook her head, leaning forward as much as she could so that the male could see her. "It wasn't a weapon!"
"Oxygen pockets, lovely." The Doctor said, only to pause. "Ooo, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense."
Restac walked right up to the Doctor. "Where is the rest of your invasion force?"
"Invasion force? Me and lovely Ember and Nasreen? No. We came for the humans you took. And to offer the safe return of Alaya." The Doctor paused again at the reaction he got from that name: Restac tensed, but the emotion slipped through her mask for a split second. "Oh wait, you and she, what is it, same genetic source? Of course you're worried, but don't be, she's safe."
"No one has to die today," Ember added.
Restac turned away, making a gesture to the warriors. "You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage."
"Wait, wait, we all want the same thing here." The Doctor said.
"I don't negotiate with apes." Restac looked at Malohkeh as he walked to her side. "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."
"What's that?"
"Your execution." Restac told them as the warriors, which turned out to be more than Ember had first thought.
Ember tried to fight back when her restraints were removed, but the Doctor was able to catch her eye and subtly shake his head as he and Nasreen were released as well. The brunette decided to use words instead. "You fear for your sister, but will killing us really help? You'll start the war you've assumed has already started!"
Restac looked at her. "This is war. Apes started it, but we will finish it in victory."
"No, all you'll be doing is starting a war! No one has died, don't be the ones to start the killing!"
Malohkeh looked thoughtful at her words, but didn't speak. He moved to walk behind the trio, who now had their hands tied behind their backs, as they were escorted out of the room and through the tunnels. It was while they were walking through some kind of gardens when the Doctor spoke again.
"These must be the only ones awake. The others must still be in hibernation."
"So, why did they go into hibernation in the first place?" Nasreen asked.
"Their astronomers predicted the planet heading to Earth on a crash course. They a built life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the apocalypse, when in reality it was the moon coming into alignment with the Earth."
Restac, who'd been leading the group, stopped and turned to look at them.
"How can you know that?" Malohkeh asked.
The Doctor looked at them. "Long time ago, I met another tribe of Homo Reptilia. Similar, but not identical."
"Others of our species have survived?" Restac asked.
This time the Doctor hesitated. "The humans attacked them. They died. I'm sorry."
The Silurians hissed lowly, either in mourning or anger.
"A vermin race." Restac said, turning to walk again.
Malohkeh was about to pass the trio to follow when Ember shifted slightly in his path to stop him. "But that tribe isn't the only one out there. The humans tend to lash out when they're afraid or don't understand what's happening. You assumed they were attacking: They were only trying to learn."
Another thoughtful look crossed the man's face before he moved on. The trio were pushed to follow. They soon found themselves in a large room with a long table in the centre and ranks of benches lining the walls. Lamps lit the room in a warm glow.
"You're not authorised to do this." Malohkeh said to Restac at last.
"I am authorised to protect the safety of our species while they sleep." Restac replied.
The Doctor looked around, taking in the beautiful room that looked similar to a church or political building. "Oh, lovely place. Very gleaming."
Restac turned to them as she reached the head of the table. "This is our court and our place of execution."
"Let them go."
Everyone turned at the voice, to find Amy appear from the far door with some sort of gun in her hands.
"Amy Pond!" The Doctor cheered. "There's a girl to rely on."
"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster." Amy said as a young man appeared from the door they'd just come in.
"Mo!" Nasreen said, recognising the man.
"Now let them go, or I shoot." Amy hesitated as Restac moved closer. "I'm warning you!"
In one swift move, Restac reached out, took the gun and shoved Amy to the floor.
"Don't you touch her!" The Doctor called.
Restac ignored him, turning to point the gun at the trio while addressing Mo. "And you."
Mo had no choice but to give up his weapon and get pushed to join the rest of the group.
"All right, Restac, you've made your point." Malohkeh said.
"This is now a military tribunal." Restac said, facing him head on. "Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh."
The two hissed at each other, but Malohkeh backed down. "This isn't the way."
Restac ignored him as he was escorted out of the room, turning to the remaining warriors. "Prepare them for execution."
"Okay, sorry." Amy said as the five captives were shackled to a pair of columns by rings that were attached. "As rescues go, didn't live up to its potential."
"I'm glad you're okay." The Doctor said as he was shackled between Ember and Nasreen.
"Me too. Lizard men, though..."
"Homo Reptilia. They occupied the planet before humans. Now they want it back."
"After they've wiped out the human race." Nasreen added.
Amy bit her lip. "Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest."
"Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?"
The Doctor turned his head as best he could to look at Ember. "Hint?"
"Hostages, leverage. Whatever they want to call us." The brunette replied. "There's still a chance if things haven't gone wrong upstairs."
"Gone wrong how?"
Now Ember hesitated. "I hope it hasn't."
A holographic projection appeared above them, showing what looked like a room with a high window. Restac moves to stand in front of the 'screen' and spoke. "Who is the ape leader? Who speaks for the apes?"
A pause, and then Rory appeared on the screen. "I speak for the... humans. Some of us, anyway."
Ember bit her lip. It wasn't looking like her words had changed anything.
"Do you understand who we are?" Restaurant asked.
"Sort of." Rory hesitated. "A bit. Not really."
"We have ape hostages."
Either the camera moved or the screen widened on their end, because Rory suddenly looked relieved. "Doctor! Amy! Ember!"
Ambrose appeared next to him, seeing her husband. "Mo! Mo, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, love!" Mo replied. "I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home."
"Amy, I thought I'd lost you." Rory said.
Amy rolled her eyes with a playful smirk. "What, cause I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy."
"Tony Mack!" Nasreen said, seeing the man appear on Rory's other side.
"Having fun down there?" He asked.
"Not to interrupt," the Doctor said, "but just a quick reminder to stay calm."
Restac didn't even glance back at him. "Show me Alaya. Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we kill your friends one by one."
"No." Ambrose said. She looked shaky, but determined.
Rory tried to gently push her aside. "Ambrose..."
"Steady now, everyone." The Doctor warned.
"Ambrose, stop it." Tony tried to pull her back, but she fought him off.
"Get off me, Dad. We didn't start this!"
Ember looked away, glancing at the door. 'Come on, Malohkeh!'
The Doctor tried to take charge. "Let Rory deal with this, Ambrose, eh?"
"We are not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family!"
"No." Restac said, turning to the warriors. "Execute the girl."
"No! No, wait!" Rory panicked as Amy was releasehed from the shackles and forced to her knees in the centre of the room.
"Rory!"
"She's not speaking for us!"
"There's no need for this!" The Doctor called.
"Listen, listen! Whatever you want, we'll do it!"
Restac ignored all of them. "Aim."
"Amy!"
"Rory!"
"Don't do this!" The Doctor tried again as the warriors pointed their weapons at the redhead.
"No!" Rory cried before the screen went blank.
"Fire!"
"STOP!"
Everyone turned at the booming voice that stilled them all. A new male Silurian was at the door to the room, dressed in fancy robes that screamed importance. Malohkeh was just behind him.
Ember let out a breath of relief. That had been too close, even though it had gone exactly as it should have.
The new Silurian marched across the room, the warriors bowing their heads in respect as he passed, until he reached the commander. "You want to start a war while the rest of us sleep, Restac?"
"The apes are attacking us!" Restac said.
"You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them."
Restac tilted her head. "I do not recognise your authority at this time, Eldane."
"Well then, you must shoot me." Eldane challenged, holding out his arms. He knew as well as Resrac did that she wouldn't do it.
After another moment, Restac moved away, walking until she reached Malohkeh and glaring at him in accusation. "You woke him to undermine me."
"We're not monsters." Malohkeh said calmly. "And neither are they."
"What is it about apes you love so much, hmm?"
"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."
"We used to hunt apes for sport." Restac reminded him snidely. "When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet."
"Shush now, Restac." Eldane said. "Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you."
Restac looked at him. "You'll need me, then we'll see." With that, she and several of the warriors left the room.
The ones remaining immediately went to unchaining the captives. Ember was the first one to be free from the pillar she shared with the Doctor and Nasreen, though she paused as Eldane stopped before her and bowed his head. "Please accept my humblest apologies, Mother."
"Uh, apology accepted, but please, call me Ember." The brunette replied, then tilted her head. "You guys know me? How?"
"We were raised on legends," Eldane said. "One of them tells of the Mother of Elements: She who breathed life into our world, brought us the wind and the rain and the earth and the flames. Forgive me, but we did not expect to ever meet you in person."
Ember shrugged. "I dunno if I'm the same one from your legends, though. I've kinda got a memory problem right now."
That made Eldane look at her curiously. "Maybe you are, or maybe you're not. But you call on the elements, so as far as I am concerned, you have the right to that title."
"I guess." Ember didn't really want to tell him that she didn't have powers over the fourth element yet.
The Doctor was quick to go right to work on the projection once he was released, bringing the feed to the surface back up. "Rory! Hello!"
"Where's Amy?" Rory instantly asked.
"She's fine. Look, here, she is."
"Oh, thank God!"
"Keeping you on your toes." Amy quipped with a wink.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "No time to chat. Listen, you need to get down here. Go to the drill storeroom. There's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble technology. It's how they travel and frankly, it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash. Hurry up."
He cut the transmission before there could be a reply. Ember wished she'd had the chance to ask what had happened.
The Doctor turned to face the elder Silurian, who had now sat at the long table opposite where Amy and Nasreen were sitting. "I'd say you've got a fair bit to talk about."
"How so?" Eldane asked.
"You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it."
"Are you authorised to negotiate on behalf of humanity?"
"Me? No." The Doctor gestured to Amy and Nasreen. "But they are."
"What?" Nasreen was surprised.
"No, we're not." Amy added.
"Course you are." The Doctor grinned as he walked around to the other end of the table, patting the ladies on the shoulders. "Amy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet? Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?"
Amy stood and walked up to him, lowering her voice as Nasreen moved to join them. She looked at Ember, much to the brunette's surprise. "Is this what happens, in the future? The planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?"
"Er, what are you talking about?" Nasreen asked.
The Doctor winced. "Oh Nasreen, sorry. Probably worth mentioning at this stage, Amy and I travel in time a bit."
"Anything else?"
"There are fixed points through time where things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity. A temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you, here, now. So do good, for humanity, and for Earth."
"Right." Amy said, taking a breath. "No pressure there, then."
Nasreen shook her head. "We can't share the planet. Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap."
"Come on." The Doctor urged gently. "Be extraordinary."
"Oh..." Nasreen shook her head at him before turning and walking back to the table.
The Doctor grinned, slapping his hand on the table. "Okay! Bringing things to order. The first meeting of representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. Ha! Never said that before. That's fab. Carry on." He moved back to where Mo was standing with Ember and Malohkeh. "Now, Mo. Let's go and get your son. Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it."
Malohkeh was the one to lead the Doctor, Ember and Mo to the status pods where Mo and Amy had been to before, where Elliot was in one of the pods.
"Elliot. There you are." The Doctor said, squeezing Ember's hand.
Mo turned to Malohkeh. "If you've harmed him in any way..."
"Of course not." The Silurian replied. "I only store the young."
"Told you so," Ember said, reminding the Doctor of when she'd said before that the child wouldn't be harmed.
"But why?" The Doctor asked.
Malohkeh nodded to a screen that showed the statistics of the occupant. "I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate so I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface."
The Doctor looked at him for a long moment. "You've been down here working by yourself, all alone?"
"My family, through the millennia, and for the last three hundred years, just me." Malohkeh looked at Mo. "I never meant to harm your child."
"Malohkeh, I rather love you." The Doctor said, doing some kind of fist bump thing with him.
The Silurian turned and pressed some controls on the screen before he nodded. "It's safe. We can wake him. Come."
Mo moved into the chamber to stand in front of his son as the boy blinked as he awoke. "Elliot? Ell, it's Dad."
"Dad..." Elliot hugged his father.
"You're safe now."
"Where are we?"
"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the centre of the Earth, and there are lizard men."
Malohkeh waved sheepishly when the boy looked at him, worried that he'd freak out. "Hi."
Elliot smiled, easing the worry. "Wow."
"Elliot," Ember called, squeezing past the men to kneel in front of the boy. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them from taking you."
"It's okay." Elliot said. "I forgive you."
The Doctor grinned as he led them to the door out of the lab. Malohkeh's eyes caught something on one of the screens and hesitated before he spoke. "You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up."
Ember, being the last one out, stopped at his side and tapped his shoulder. "Here's a hint; be careful. Don't walk into the slaughterhouse."
She left before he could reply, though he did look thoughtful.
"Doctor," Ember called, running to catch up to the man. "This might go very wrong. Not everyone is willing to change. Some people just aren't ready."
The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it twice to show that he'd heard as they made their way back to the courtroom, just catching the end of a conversation.
"If I could get a word in, maybe I could tell you." Eldane said. "You give us space, we can bring new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances. We were a great civilisation. You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. If we work together, this planet could achieve greatness."
Nasreen nodded. "Okay. Now I'm starting to see it."
"Oh yeah." Amy added.
The Doctor clapped, drawing their attention to him.
"Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences."
There was a loud whooshing sound. Eldane recognised it. "The transport has returned. Your friends are here."
In a few minutes, Rory appeared in the doorway, followed by Ambrose.
"Here they are." The Doctor said, not noticing the problem right away.
"Mum!" Elliot ran to his mother, who hugged him tightly.
"Rory!" Amy ran to the groom to be.
The Doctor felt Ember squeeze his hand twice, following her gaze to the bundle in Tony's arms as the man entered the room. "Something's wrong."
Amy saw it too. "Doctor, what's he carrying?"
"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this." The Doctor murmured as Tony put the bundle on the floor.
Then, to Ember's surprise, the bundle moved. It was only slightly, but that wasn't the point. It moved.
The Doctor knelt and carefully lifted the end of the blanket up, to find Alaya, gasping for breath but very much alive. He looked up at the man who'd carried her, his voice nowhere near as angry as it would have been if he'd found a corpse. "What did you do?"
"It was me." Ambrose said. "I did it."
"Mum?" Elliot looked shocked, stepping out of his mother's embrace.
"I just wanted you back." Ambrose reached for him, but the boy stepped further back.
"You hurt her on purpose?"
The Doctor stood, Ember taking his place, and turned to Eldane. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this."
At the same time, Ember reached out but then hesitated, only to be surprised when Alaya herself closed the distance to weakly nuzzle into her palm. "I'm sorry, Alaya... I'm sorry that they hurt you..."
"You... were watching over me... Mother..." Alaya rasped before she fell limp. Ember feared the worst, but then she heard the Silurian take a breath: she was just unconscious.
"This is our planet!" Ambrose's shout made the brunette turn her attention back to the others.
"We had a chance here!" The Doctor said to her, but she ignored him.
"Leave us alone!"
The Doctor moved to stand right in front of her to make sure she was listening to him. "In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity."
At that moment, Restac and her troops walked in. There were many more than she'd left with, but Ember knew that it was because she'd woken reinforcements.
"My sister." She demanded, but it was Ember's moving away from the prone form that drew her attention. She moved to kneel and lean over her fallen sister, letting out a sound of grief.
Ember decided to chance it, kneeling again on the other side of Alaya. "She's not dead, Restac. Just injured. Your technology can heal her, if you get her to a stasis pod now."
Restac at first didn't look at her, instead making a gesture to one of warriors, who approached and picked up the injured Silurian to carry her away. The commander then finally met her gaze. "And you want us to trust these apes, Mother?"
"They're not all like this."
"One woman." The Doctor added. "She was scared for her family. She is not typical."
"I think she is." Restac countered as she stood, turning to glare at the woman.
"One person let us down, but there is a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something here. Come on. An alliance could work!"
"It's too late for that, Doctor." Ambrose said suddenly.
The Doctor turned to look at her, dread filling his hearts. "Why?"
"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." Ambrose check a stopwatch she'd revealed, "...fifteen minutes."
"What?" Nasreen said, turning to Tony. He was the only one besides her who knew how to work the equipment.
"What choice did I have? They had Elliot."
The Doctor turned to Restac again. "Don't do this. Don't call their bluff."
"Let us go back." Ambrose demanded. "And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone."
Restac hissed. "Execute her!"
"No!" The Doctor grabbed Ambrose and pulled her out of harms way from a gun shot, turning to the rest of the group. "Everybody, back to the lab! Run!"
"Execute all the apes!"
The humans and ran, surprisingly followed by Eldane, out of the room. The Doctor was the last one out, though Ember stayed by his side, and pointed his Sonic at the Silurians, making their weapons spark and break. "This is a deadly weapon. Stay back!"
One of the Silurians lashed out with their tongue, but it was dodged. Ember through out her hand and made flames shoot up between them and the reptiles, giving them some extra time to catch up with the others in the tunnel.
"Take everyone to the lab. I'll cover you." The Doctor said to Rory, waiting until he had taken the others away before he turned to the Silurians as they caught up, making two more weapons spark. "Ah, ah, Stop right there or I'll use my very deadly weapon again! One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you, now. This ends here."
"No." Restac said, having got to the front of the group. "It only ends with our victory!"
"Like I said, one warning." The Doctor made more weapons spark as Ember made more flames appear from the ground, and then he took the brunette's hand and pulled her with him down the tunnel before they reached the laboratory again, where he sealed the door. To Ember's surprise, Malohkeh was present.
"Weren't you...?" She began.
Malohkeh smiled. "You warned me, Mother. I heeded your words."
"Call me Ember, please."
The Doctor looked at Mo and his son, pointing to a screen with his Sonic to show a camera feed of the surrounding tunnels. "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company." He tossed Amy the stopwatch he'd taken from Ambrose. "Amy, keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."
"Okay. Um, er, twelve minutes till drill impact."
The Doctor then turned to Tony, who was sat heavily against the wall and not looking well. "Tony Mack. Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils. What are you hiding?"
Tony unbuttoned his short a bit, pulling the cloth aside to reveal dark green veins across his chest.
Nasreen gasped as the Doctor scanned the veins with the Sonic. "Tony, what happened?"
"Alaya's sting. She said there's no cure." Tony looked at the Doctor as he moved to Sonic the work station. "I'm dying, aren't I?"
"You're not dying, you're mutating."
"How can I stop it?"
"Decontamination program. Might work. Don't know." The Doctor turned to the two Silurians. "Eldane, Malohkeh, can you run the program on Tony?"
The scientist went to do just that as Mo called from their spot. "Doctor, shedload of those creatures coming our way. We're surrounded in here."
"So, question is, how we do stop the drill given we can't get there in time? Plus, also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded? Nasreen, how do you feel about an energy pulse channelled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?"
Nasreen blinked. "To blow up my life's work?"
"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that."
"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in er..."
Amy looked at the watch. "Eleven minutes forty seconds."
"Yes!" The Doctor said. "Squeaky bum time!"
Ember pulled a face. Where the heck did he get that phrase from and how could she get rid of it?
"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels, so we have to be out and on the surface by then." Nasreen pointed out.
"But we can't get past Restac's troops." Rory argued.
"I can help with that." Eldane said, making everyone look at him. "Toxic Fumigation. An emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."
"You could end up killing your own people." Amy said.
"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac, and turn a deaf ear to Mother."
Ember tilted her head. "You mean the one from the legends or me?"
The elder smiled at her. "You have bestowed wisdom and mercy upon us despite our actions towards the humans. As far as I am concerned, that makes you one and the same."
The brunette looked away, a blush dusting her face.
"Eldane, are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked.
"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."
"No..."
"Ten minutes, Doctor." Amy called.
"But maybe it should be." The Doctor looked thoughtful, Ember's earlier hint coming back. "So, here's a deal. Everybody listening. Eldane, you activate shutdown. I'll amend the system, set your alarm for a thousand years time. A thousand years to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow make it known." He looked at Elliot as he said the last bit. "This planet is to be shared."
The boy nodded. "Yeah. I get you."
"Nine minutes, seven seconds." Amy said.
"Yes!" The Doctor ran back over to the control panels, helping Eldane work. "Fluid controls, my favourite! Energy pulse. Timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade. Need to cancel it out quickly."
"Fumigation pre-launching." Eldane said.
Rory moved to the Doctor's side. "There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!"
"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time!" This time he caught Ember's look at the phrase. "Hush, you. Get ready to run for your lives. Now..."
Malohkeh cut him off. "But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet."
Tony took a breath. "Well, go. All of you, go."
"No, we're not leaving you here!" Ambrose said.
"Granddad!" Elliot ran over to hug him.
"Eight minutes ten seconds." Amy reported.
Tony lowered himself to Elliot's level. "Now you look after your mum. You mustn't blame her. She only did what she thought was right."
"I'm not going to see you again, am I?"
"I'll be here, always." Tony pat his heart and hugged the boy again. "I love you, boy." He gently guided him to his mother. "You be sure he gets home safe."
"This is my fault!" She wept.
"No, I can't go back up there. I'd be a freak show. The technology down here's my only hope."
Ambrose hugged her father. "I love you, Dad."
"Go. Go! Go on." Tony said, letting Malohkeh guide him back to the examination table.
The Doctor looked at Eldane and nodded, prompting the elder to put his hand on the panel, which in turn caused the main lights to go off and be replaced with green lights.
"Toxic fumigation initiated." The female automated voice declared. "Return to cryo-chambers. Toxic fumigation initiated. Return to cryo-chambers..."
Amy looked at the security feeds on the screen, seeing the tunnels clearing of the warriors. "They're going! We're clear!"
"Okay, everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run." He opened the doors and then walked up to Eldane. "I'm sorry."
"I thought for a moment, our race and the humans..." the elder said, trailing off.
"Yeah, me too."
"Doctor, We've got less than six minutes!" Amy called.
"Go. Go! I'm right behind you." The Doctor told her, turning to Nasreen as the others ran. "Let's go."
Ember turned to Eldane and Malohkeh, letting the Doctor talk to Nasreen. "I don't know what'll be waiting for you when you wake up. I hope they'll be ready."
"We hope for the same," Eldane said. "We are honoured to have met you, Mother of Elements. Perhaps we will meet again."
Malohkeh nodded as the elder moved away to address the Doctor. "And if we don't, then we will remember your wisdom and your kindness, always."
Ember blushed again. "Only if you call me Ember."
"Very well. Good luck, Ember."
Amy ran back into the room. "Doctor!"
"Thank you, Doctor." Nasreen said, now beside Tony.
The Doctor smiled, hugging the woman. "The pleasure was all mine."
"Come and look for us."
"Immediate evacuation." The computer announced as the trio ran through the tunnels. The Doctor had taken Ember by the hand to keep her at his side.
Rory was running the other way when they passed him, prompting Amy to call "Other way, idiot!"
"Toxic fumigation is about to commence. Immediate evacuation."
"Come on!" The Doctor yelled as they caught up to Mo, Ambrose and Elliot were waiting on the long bridge around them. He led them the rest of the way to the Tardis and pulled out his key, opening the door. "No questions, just get in! And yes, I know, it's big. Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left again, Get yourself fixed up. Come on. Five minutes and counting..."
A low buzz made him, Ember, Amy and Rory pause and turn. On the wall opposite the Tardis, there was a long, jagged crack that looked almost like a mouth. White light and steam leaked from it.
"Not here. Not now." The Doctor murmured. "It's getting wider."
"The crack on my bedroom wall." Amy said.
"And the Byzantium. All through the universe, rips in the continuum. Some sort of space-time cataclysm. An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the universe. But what?"
"A very Big Bang," Ember said. The Doctor barely heard her, wondering if it was just a metaphor or if she was giving a hint.
Amy checked the stopwatch. "Four minutes fifty. We have to go."
"The Angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew. Everybody knows except me."
"Doctor, just leave it!"
"But where there's an explosion, there's shrapnel..."
Rory saw the Doctor pull out a red handkerchief. "Doctor, you can't put your hand in there!"
The Doctor put the handkerchief over his hand. "Why not?"
To his surprise, the handkerchief was snatched off his hand. He looked just in time to see Ember put it over her own right hand, and then she stuck her arm into the crack before he could stop her.
It was like putting her arm in a bathtub of boiling hot water. She let out a cry but didn't pull away, putting her left hand against the wall.
The Doctor quickly went to her side and put his arms around her waist, about to pull her away when she spoke. "No, wait! I need to get it!"
"Get what?" Rory called, voicing everyone's thought.
"I think I got it!"
"Got what?" Amy asked. "What is it?"
Ember tried to pull her arm back out, but she needed the Doctor to help her. Worh one combined effort they both fell back, looking at the object now wrapped in the handkerchief, still smoking and sizzling. "A piece of the puzzle," was what Ember said. Her hand stung, like she really had put it in boiling water, but other than that it seemed fine.
Rory heard a hiss and turned, shocked to find Restac at the mouth of the tunnel. She was crawling and dragging herself, but she looked furious. "Doctor?"
"She was there when the gas started." Amy surmised as the Doctor pulled Ember and himself to their feet. No one noticed him sneak the handkerchief and whatever was wrapped in it into his jacket. "She must have been poisoned!"
"You!" The reptilian rasped, glaring at the Doctor.
The Doctor gently handed Ember to Rory. "Okay, get in the Tardis, all of you."
"You did this!" Restac weakly lifted her weapon, pointing it at the Doctor.
"Doctor!" Rory made a snap decision, pushing the Doctor out of the way. He ended up taking the full force of the shot, collapsing to the ground with a cry of pain.
"Rory!" Amy cried, running to his side.
Ember looked over at Restac, seeing her nearly still. "Whatever gods you believe in, I hope they're kind to you."
Restac didn't get to answer, and finally gave in to her injuries, breathing her last.
"Rory, can you hear me?" The Doctor said, moving to the man's side and scanning him with the Sonic.
Rory grunted in pain. "I don't understand..."
"Shush. Don't talk." Amy said before looking at the Time Lord. "Doctor, is he okay? We have to get him onto the Tardis!"
"We were on the hill." Rory gasped as Ember moved to kneel beside him. "I can't die here."
Ember shook her head, forcing back the tears. "Time can be rewritten. I..."
"Don't say that!" Amy snapped at her. "He's going to be fine! You wouldn't have let this happen if he wasn't going to be fine!"
"Amy..." The Doctor began, but was cut off.
"No! Ember, tell me he's gonna be fine!"
The brunette shook her head. "I... I'm sorry, Amy, but he won't... He has to-"
"No! You knew this was going to happen! Why didn't you stop it!?"
"It has to go this way!" Ember said at last, the tears falling. "It's going to be fine later, but not now, I'm sorry!"
Rory shakily took Amy's hand to get her attention. "You're so beautiful... I'm sorry..."
With that, he breathed his last.
"Doctor..." Amy choked out, "help him..."
The Doctor was about to speak when something caught his attention: tendrils of light from the crack in the wall had reached out and were wrapping around Rory's feet. "Amy, move away from the light. If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history. Amy, move away now."
"No!" Amy said, not even looking at him as he stood up. "I am not leaving him! We have to help him!"
"The light's already around him. We can't help him."
"I am not leaving him!"
Ember put her hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Amy, come on-"
"Don't touch me!" Amy snapped, shaking off the hand.
"We have to-"
"No!"
The Doctor had no choice but to grab the redhead, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her up. "I'm sorry!"
Instantly Amy kicked out, trying to break free. "Get off me!"
The Doctor continued apologising as he dragged Amy back to the Tardis. Ember moved to open the door for him, waiting for him to get Amy inside before closing the door.
"Get off me! No!" Amy shouted through tears. She made to go back to the door when the Doctor used his Sonic to deadlock it, preventing her from getting out, though it didn't stop her from hammering on the wood. "No! No! No! No! Let me out! Please let me out! I need to get to Rory!"
Ember made to try to stop her, only for the redhead to shove her hard, making her fall on her backside. "Amy-"
"You let him die!" Amy shouted at her. "Why the hell did you do that!"
"Because I've been to the future! I know it! It has to be this way!" Ember pushed herself to her feet. "But he'll be back, Amy. Not for a while, and it'll be like he was never here, but he will come back!"
"Never here..." Amy turned to the large screen on the wall, which was showing a live feed of just outside. The tendrils of light were quickly covering Rory's body, already up to his waist. "That light. If his body's absorbed, I'll forget him. He'll never have existed." She turned to the Doctor, who was standing at the console and not looking at them. "You can't let that happen!"
The Doctor paused for only a moment before he pulled a lever, setting the Tardis into motion. The image on the screen vanished.
"What are you doing?" Amy cried, running up to the console and trying to reverse everything the Doctor was doing. However, nothing seemed to work. "Doctor, no! No! No! No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there!"
The Doctor stopped her from doing something to the console, making her face him. "Keep him in your mind! Don't forget him! If you forget him, you'll lose him forever!"
Amy shook her head through her tears. "When we were on the Byzantium, I still remembered the Clerics because I am a time traveller now, you said!"
"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing!"
"Don't tell me it's going to be okay! You have to make it okay!"
"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Amy." The Doctor kissed her on the forehead and guided her to the jumpseat. "Tell me about Rory, eh? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Amy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this!"
"I can't..."
"You can. You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. Please. Come on, Amy, come on. Amy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind!"
Suddenly, the Tardis jolted, sending them to the floor. Ember was holding onto the railing in anticipation, so she was able to stay upright. She watched as the Doctor rolled to see the red velvet ring box that held the engagement ring Rory had given Amy: He'd left it on the console, but it was now on the floor next to him.
Amy stood first, suddenly not as upset as she was a moment ago. "What were you saying?"
The Doctor grabbed the ring box and put it in his jacket as he stood, looking at Ember. The brunette merely shook her head.
Mo appeared at the top of the steps leading out of the console room, along with Ambrose and Elliot. "I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad."
Amy looked at the stopwatch. "Doctor. Five seconds till it all goes up!"
The Doctor ran to the doors, followed by everyone else, to find themselves back in the graveyard. They ran around the church to look at the drilling station just in time to see it explode. Afterward, they made their way back.
"All Nasreen's work just erased." Amy said.
"Good thing she's not here to see it." Mo pointed out as he followed the redhead and his son. "She's going to give Tony hell when they wake up."
The Doctor and Ember were to one side, standing under an arch with Ambrose. She turned to look at them. "You could've let those things shoot me. You saved me."
"An eye for an eye. It's never the way." The Doctor replied. "Now you show your son how wrong you were, how there's another way."
"Show him that there is always a choice," Ember added.
"You make him the best of humanity, in the way you couldn't be."
Ambrose reluctantly nodded, watching as the Time Lords walked away.
They caught up with Amy and headed back to the Tardis, though the redhead was able to pick up their sombre vibe. "You're very quiet. Oh. Hey, look. There I am again. Hello, me!"
The Doctor watched her as her face fell for a moment. "Are you okay?"
"I thought I saw someone else there for a second." Amy shook it off, turning to go to the Tardis. "I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?"
"You go in. Just fix this lock. Keeps jamming."
"You boys and your locksmithery." Amy shook her head with a soft laugh as she stepped into the Tardis.
As soon as the door was closed, the Doctor let the facade drop. He pulled out the handkerchief that he'd put in his jacket, though before he could unwrap it, Ember put her hand on his arm to make him look at her.
"Doctor, you're not going to like what you're about to see." She said softly. "But... you need to see it. This is an important piece of the puzzle."
Confused, the Doctor unwrapped the bundle. What was revealed shocked him to the core.
It was charred piece of wood, blue on one side and white on the other. But the word 'police' on the white side gave away what it was. To further prove it, the Doctor held it up to the white sign on the Tardis door, the piece matching the corner of the sign perfectly. "It can't be..."
"I'm sorry, Doctor," Ember murmured. "But it's true."
The Doctor lowered the piece, turning to face the brunette. "And Rory? You said that he'll be back. How can that be possible?"
"Small things that don't happen very often. You call them miracles." Ember bit her lip and then shook her head, waving a hand at the charred wood. "What causes that is also going to bring him back. Until then... Amy won't remember him."
She opened the Tardis and walked in, leaving him frowning after her.
When he finally found her hours later, he wasn't surprised to see that she was once again in the dojo. Amy had gone to bed after he'd promised to take her to Rio when she woke up. To be honest, he was glad that she'd left him alone; he wasn't really in the mood to put up the facade while she was around.
Back to Ember, she was sat in the centre of the dojo, cross legged and eyes closed. Before her were three objects: a lit candle, a small bowl of water and a plant pot full of soil, evenly spaced apart in front of her. The Doctor watched silently as the brunette breathed deep, seemingly unaware of his presence.
Ember was concentrating on the three objects in front of her, trying to gauge how well she could sense each item. The fire was easy, followed by the water. The soil was hardest, like she'd expected. It probably didn't help that this soil wasn't on its original planet, but she couldn't be certain. She tried to focus her attention on the dirt, to try to do more than just sense it.
The Doctor quietly walked closer, keeping his steps light so as not to draw attention. He watched as the candle's flame flickered a bit and water trembled in the bowl before both settled. It was the pot of soil that remained active, shaking slightly in its place before suddenly tipping over. The soil, being fairly loose, spilt out over the floor, though a moment later it evened out and flattened like someone was patting it down. Then, before his eyes, the soil became less loose and more solid, and then a crack appeared in it before it broke up into pieces, some of them rolling away. One piece rolled and broke apart when it hit his shoe.
Ember froze instantly. She'd sensed the soil becoming firmer under her manipulation and then breaking apart, so she'd felt it when one of the pieces made contact with something. She turned and opened her eyes, looking for the source, to find the Doctor. "Oh!"
"Hello." The Doctor said. "Thought I'd come check on you. Haven't seen you for a while."
"Has it been long?"
"A few hours."
Ember blinked. "Oh. Didn't feel like it."
"What are you doing?"
"Practising." Ember turned to look at the candle and bowl of water. "Fire is practically second nature now, and water isn't too far behind. Earth is still a bit iffy, so I want to get that under control a bit better in case I need it soon. It would have really helped the last time. Maybe I would have been able to do more."
Nodding, the Doctor moved to her side and held out his hand. "I want to show you something. Come on."
Puzzled, Ember took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. He led her out of the dojo, down the corridor and to the console room, where he then went to the doors leading out of the Tardis. He opened the door but didn't leave, turning instead to look at Ember and gesture with his head for her to go first.
Ember slowly stepped out of the door, and her eyes took in their surroundings. They'd landed in what looked like a wheat field, with a barn to one side and a traditional farmhouse on the other. It was sunny, but a cool breeze made it feel almost perfect.
Ember heard rustling in to the left, and turned just as someone stepped out from behind a nearby tree. To her surprise, it was a Silurian. Female for sure, she wore armour that gave away her status as a warrior, but there was a strip of cloth around her waist that was red. She had no gun, but instead a bow and arrow that was botched and ready to be drawn.
The Silurian looked at Ember with wide eyes before she opened her mouth and one word came out. "Mother..."
The brunette tilted her head, looking at the woman carefully before it suddenly hit her. She'd seen this Silurian before, but she'd been younger. "Alaya?"
With a smile, the Silurian unnotched her arrow and returned it to the quiver on her back. "You remember me, Mother, after all this time..."
"Uh..." Ember looked behind her at the Doctor for help, but the other Time Lord was leaning against the closed door of the Tardis with a relaxed expression. "How long...?"
"It's been one thousand and twelve years," The Doctor replied. "Twelve years since the Silurians woke from their sleep and returned to the surface. The humans were remarkably accepting of them, like they knew they were coming."
Ember looked at Alaya, who'd stopped just a few feet away from her now. "Wow. So... you survived."
"You were watching over me, Mother." Alaya said, repeating her earlier statement. "I was placed into a healing pod, which became cryosleep. When I awoke, it was to a bright new world."
"So... you live here?"
This time Alaya nodded. "The attack of that female human was consisted of electricity. While it did not cripple me, it left me unfit to take my sister's place as commander. I have, as the apes would say, somewhat retired."
Ember nodded her head at the bow. "And that?"
"Hunting for my lunch. I have grown quite fond of what you call a rabbit."
"Hmm," The brunette paused, biting her lip. "I'm sorry about your sister."
Alaya looked away. "While I understand her anger at the time, I know now that she was not willing to accept what had become of our planet. She chose her own path."
The trio stood in silence for a few moments before Alaya finally straightened, and then she surprised Ember by dropping to a knee and bowing her head.
"I will not let your mercy go to waste, Mother." She promised.
"Please, call me Ember." The brunette said as the reptilian woman stood. "Um, what happened to Tony and Nasreen? The ape... I mean humans that were with you."
The Doctor took that one. "They helped organise the reintroduction of the Silurians to the surface. Then they retired." He looked over the wheat field and then pointed. "Look, there they are!"
Ember followed his pointing, to see that he was right: two humans were now standing outside the farmhouse. She recognised them as Tony and Nasreen, though they looked at least ten years older now. They were both waving, Nasreen beckoning them over.
"I decided to share their dwellings," Alaya said. "I help them when it is needed, as they are getting a bit too old for the more active tasks."
Ember looked at the Doctor, who had now moved to stand beside her. "Can we go see them? I know you don't like coming back to visit, but..."
"I think I can make an exception," the Doctor said, taking her hand. "Let's go have a chat with the former ambassadors of human life on Earth."
"Thanks, by the way," Ember added, making him look at her. "For showing me this."
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, I wanted to show you that your efforts weren't in vain. Come on, then. I haven't had rabbit in this incarnation yet. Be interesting to try it."
"Just don't spit it on the floor if you don't like it."
They laughed as they followed Alaya to the farmhouse, across a wheat field shared by humans and Silurians.
Okay, and that was part two! I added the last scene on a whim, mainly to try to stretch my legs on using my own content, even if it's small to start with. I have plans to add a few scenes or possibly even an adventure or two of my own imaginings in future chapters.
Happy New Year to you all!
Next Time: It's time for Ember to meet another of the Doctor's oldest enemies. But will they be what she expected? Or will they have a few surprises for her? It's another two-parter, so stay tuned!