Chapter 11
The Doctor pulls both girls by their hands down the corridor running, his sandy coloured converse slapping against the shiny school floor. Sweat dripped down his brows as he tried to connect to Nova, but with no luck. He felt dread settle into his heart, mentally kicking himself for bringing her along and thinking it was okay to separate themselves.
Ear piercing screeching echoed through out the school corridors muffling the sound of mickey crashing Sarah janes car through the school entrance. Mickey with Kenny in tow, ran along the corridors until they bumped into the Doctor and the girls.
"What is going on?" Mickey fearfully stuttered.
As a group of Krillitanes crawl and along the ceiling and walls flying after them, chasing them into the main hall of the school which had been set up for exams.
"Are those my teachers?" Kenny asked the Doctor who put himself in front of the boy shielding him
"Yeah. Sorry" he said glancing behind him, recognising the boy from the canteen. "Nova's friend? Yeah. Where is she?" The Doctor asked with a hint of panic in his voice.
"The Computer classrooms." Kenny said ducking with the Doctor as the Krillitanes swoop, they hide under tables and suddenly a laser beam pierces one of the bats, Finch screeches in fury.
"K9!" Shouts Sarah ecstatically.
The metal dog wagging its radar ears and tail as it bursts into the hall "Suggest you engage running mode, mistress" K9 said as it chugged over to Sarah protecting her.
"COME ON!" The Doctor shouted at the group evacuating them from the onslaught of the Krillitanes.
"k9 hold them back!" the Doctor ordered.
"Affirmative, master. Maximum defence mode." K9 Trilled as he shot beams of lasers at the bats, spinning and beeping.
The Doctor seals the doors with his sonic screw driver.
"Power supply failing" says K9 slowly with distortion in his voice.
"Forget the shooty dog thing" shouted Finch exasperated as the dog began to power down.
Oxo
"It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?" The Doctor said slamming his hands on the wooden table in the physics lab they were taking refuge in.
"Barrels of it." Rose said panicking.
Banging and screeching pounded on the door, the Krillitanes had found them and begun to try and pry the door open.
"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey."
"What now, hold the coats?" Mickey quipped back sarcastically.
"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" the Doctor said pacing around the room as Kenny then set off the fire alarm.
"Ahh clever"
the fire alarm pierced through the air temporarily stunning the bats allowing the group to escape from the classroom.
As the Doctor kept running, he couldn't stop worrying about Nova, and just hoped she was okay. But for now, he needed to escape before he could try to help her.
They ran into the kitchens inside the canteen where the Doctor began to inspect the barrels tat rose had pulled out of the storage cupboards, the Doctor tries his sonic screew driver on the barrels of oil.
"They've been deadlock sealed. Finch must've done that. I can't open them. He said frustratedly as he slapped the top of one of the barrels in impatient anger.
"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing." K9 chirped causing the Doctor to spin around on his heels and look down at the dog with a hint of fond sadness.
"Right. Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me."
The Doctor lines up the oils of barrels for K9 to shoot at as everyone escaped through the fire exit of the canteen.
"Capacity for only one shot, Master. For maximum impact, I must be stationed directly beside the vat." The dog beeped wagging it's radars as the Doctor patted it on the head.
"But you'll be trapped inside." The Doctor said sadly.
"That is correct."
"I can't let you do that." The Doctor said quietly
"No alternative possible, Master."
"Goodbye, old friend." He said giving him one last pat.
"Goodbye, Master."
"You good dog." The Doctor said as he escaped.
"Affirmative" He said wagging his little radar ears.
The Doctor escapes through the fire exit, Sarah jane is stood by the door of the fire escape.
"Where's K9?" She said hysterically.
"We need to run" The Doctor replied coolly.
"Where is he? What have you done!" She shouted as the Doctor dragged her away from the door as an explosion thudded on the other side of the metal door.
oxo
Meanwhile Mickey was struggling to turn off the computers in the computer lab, until he finally pulled a plug on them all. He was scanning his eyes over all the children noticing he couldn't find Nova.
"Oh god he's gonna kill me" Mickey said running his hands through his hair stressed.
Mickey managed to usher out all the children into the schoolyard as part of the school exploded with a large kaboom. The children rejoice as paper rains down on them.
The Doctor noticed Mickey from the corner of his eye as he rushed over to him.
"Where's Nova?" the Doctor asked before repeating in a colder tone "Where is she."
Mickey raised both of his hands up in defence "I looked everywhere I couldn't find her before the before the.." He mimicked the explosion "But but I don't think she was in the part which yanno… exploded" He stuttered again chasing after the Doctor who began to ran back into the now burning school.
"NOVA" He shouted frantically. He pushed through the smoke of the burning canteen and looked down at the partially melted and exploded remains of K9. Fire raged throughout the room, but the sprinklers were fighting hard against the flames causing the room to fill with smoke. The Doctor covered his mouth and nose with a rag he found half scorched on the side. He pushed his way through the room, stepping over the corpses of the Krillitane as he reached the other side of the room he noticed finch was crawling out of the door, one leg missing and his face badly burnt.
The Doctor pulled finch out of the room by his collar dragging him along the floor to a safe part of the building, leaving behind a red slug trail of blood from the canteen.
Finch cried out and shouted in protest.
"Where is she" The Doctor kept asking and asking as he dragged him. Not getting a response, he sped his pace up and slammed the man into the door as he crouched down and looked at him at eye level. Cold fury burning behind the Doctors eyes.
The half burnt man cackled half from delirium from the pain and half from pure madness. "She was ALMOST THERE" He muttered madly "She Was On tHe bRiNK oF cRacKiNg It you FOOL!"
"That doesn't answer my question." The Doctor said slamming his hand beside the mans head holding his chin to make him look him in the eyes.
"Where. Is. She"
"oUR. Ship" He gasped in pain breathing harshly now.
The Doctor looked down, before noticing the trail of blood. The Krillitane was dying. The Doctor stood up slowly looking down at his feet.
"where's the ship" He said a little more softly at the dying man at his feet, who was gasping like a fish out of water. The man shakily pointed a finger upwards before collapsing.
"Oh course, a cloaking device." The Doctor muttered angrily as he raced through the smoggy school to the roof top of the school.
sure enough there was a cloaking field employed that made the small ship invisible. He held his hand out and used his screwdriver to try and find the door, he thought it best not to uncloak the ship in front of the children. There was almost like an invisible force field that glimmered red ever so slightly as he made contact the metallic hull of the ship. He found the door and with a quick point of hi screwdriver it opened automatically to let him in and shut behind him.
The ship was nothing fancy, quite boring really the Doctor thought to himself. He trailed along the short grimy hallways of the ship, not encountering any more Krillitane. They must have left the ship to join the attack force earlier the Doctor mused.
He managed to find his way into the main control room using a screen on the side of a door which allowed him to see the simple two-story floor map of the hexagon shaped ship.
He managed to get inside using his screw driver, he ran over to what looked like an operating table that lay in the middle of the room. Her head had a metal ring attached around it wired up to a computer that was still processing code. He quickly shut it off, not willing to look at how close she was to finishing it.
Her eyes fluttered open softly looking at him, her eyes teary from exhaustion and confusion.
"Doct..?" She started tiredly.
shhh it's okay The Doctor said as their bond opened back up, he felt her emotions flood through him of tiredness and confusion. He unwired her from the table and scooped her up in his arms.
He carried her out the ship, as she held limply onto him cuddling herself into his trench coat listening to his hearts.
"I'm sorry" He said looking down at her bloodshot eyes.
"It's not your fault" She said cupping his face with one of her cold small hands, he smiled softly down at her.
oxo
The Doctor had taken Nova down to the Med bay the Tardis had made, for her to recover.
He made two cups of tea in the kitchen before returning to the control room of the Tardis where Sarah jane, rose and mickey were chatting.
"You've redecorated" She mused.
"Do you like it?" The Doctor asked sincerely, as he handed her a cup of tea.
"Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do." Sarah Jane spluttered, before tasting her badly made cup of tea before pulling a face at it.
"Well I love it." Rose huffed crossing her arms.
"Hey, you what's forty-seven times three hundred and sixty nine?" Sarah jane playfully jested.
"No idea. It's gone now. The oil's faded." Rose said smiling back at her.
"But you're still clever. More than a match for him." Sarah jane said, setting down her cup of tea on the control panel making the Doctor crinkle his nose slightly and move it.
"You and me both. Doctor?"
"Er, we're about to head off, but you could come with us." The Doctor said clearing up the cups looking hopefully up at Sarah Jane.
"No. I can't do this anymore. Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own." Sarah said, looking at the Doctor thinking of all their adventures together.
"Can I come? No, not with you, I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there." Mickey asked nervously with a hint of excitement in his voice causing the group to look at him.
"Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board." Sarah Jane said playfully elbowing the Doctor who looked at him thoughtfully.
"Okay then, I could do with a laugh." The Doctor said quickly leaving the control room to put the cups away, far away from his control panel.
When he came back Sarah jane was waiting at the door of the Tardis to say goodbye.
"It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world." She said going through the Tardis door with the Doctor, stroking the outside of the Tardis thoughtfully.
"Something to tell the grandkids."
"Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now."
"Right. Yes, sorry. I didn't get a chance to ask. You haven't? There hasn't been anyone? You know." The Doctor asked mentally cringing a little not knowing if he wanted an answer.
"Well, there was this one guy. I travelled with him for a while, but he was a tough act to follow. Goodbye, Doctor." She said looking up at him with such sadness.
"Oh, it's not goodbye." He smiled at her.
"Do say it. Please. This time. Say it." She pleaded.
"Goodbye, my Sarah Jane." He said as he lifted her up off her feet in a big bear hug. He then goes back into the Tardis.
Sarah Jane turns her back and walks away closing her eyes as the Tardis starts to whoosh and groan and dematerialise. At the last moment she turns back to see, only to notice a familiar metal dog parked in the Tardis's place.