Ch 108
They ran through the halls, finally stopping for breath when they were far enough away from the creature's room.
"What's the plan from here?" River asked.
"Let's start with some explanation for him indoors," the other River pointed at the Doctor who somehow managed to look confused while panting for air. "If he's surprised by this, I don't think he's seen the chambers downstairs."
"Right..." she nodded, turning to her husband, "It seems that the creatures have been harvesting information on all the species in the universe. They then use the data, and whatever samples they may have collected to generate an exact copy of that individual, right down to the memories they possess." River explained.
"So one of you is a Z'knoaa copy...?" the Doctor said slowly, looking between his wives. His eyes landed on River who was still bleeding from where the tendrils had attached. "You're hurt."
The other River nodded, the original shaking her head and saying "I'm fine,"
"You're bleeding." He started searching his pockets for any sort of bandage. "Empty pockets. I hate empty pockets." He shook his head and ripped some of the inner lining of his coat. "Here, keep pressure on the wound at least?"
"Really, I'm fine." She insisted, but took the cloth anyway.
"So what are the clones for? That creature?"
"I think so. Every clone contributes something to the ultimate creature. A thought or a trait or a skill." River nodded, pressing the cloth to her neck.
"And they were building that creature to what... Destroy the planets?"
"We haven't figured out exactly why yet, but that's our best guess."
The Doctor swallowed. "And those tubes you were disconnecting, what's their significance? It seemed to be hurting the creature."
"I think that the tubes were feeding the life forces of all the clones to the creature. It runs off of the energy of the clones to survive. It was using you as the central control system." The other River explained, glancing between the two.
"Central control..." the Doctor echoed, remembering the overwhelming loneliness of being part of the creature. "I doubt that thing will last long without the tubes feeding it. The question remains: what do we do about all the clones?"
The bleeding River glanced at her clone, "I don't know..."
"Right." He took a breath. "I have to ask... which one of you is...?"
The two River's glanced between one another. "Me," said the River who wasn't bleeding. "They, um—after they took us from the TARDIS and... did what they did, they split us. I don't remember the process much but she escaped and I remained here since then."
"I still don't have any memory of what happened." River added.
The Doctor nodded as he took in this information. "Where's Ramone?"
"Hopefully with some of the clones I released before they threw me in here." River murmured.
The Doctor glanced around and started to pace slightly as he thought about a plan. "We have to get Ramone safely back to his timeline. We also need to stop the Z'knoaa from continuing this... project. But we have empty pockets, one of me, two of you and," he paused, face lighting up with an idea. "And a copy of every species in the universe downstairs."
"So, what are we going to do?" River asked, "We can't send the copies back to where they came from, can we?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure they'd even be able to survive outside this facility, but I think they can help us. Do you know the way back down?"
"I think so." River nodded, blood still oozing from her wound as she turned to lead them. The other River and the Doctor exchanged glances at the severity of the wound but followed quietly as there was nothing much they could do.
"It's just through this door."
The Doctor gaped as they entered the enormous room with the cloning chambers. "This is... this is barbaric."
"I tried to free them but there were just too many."
"There's a specific few that I'm hoping to free that I think can help. Are they alphabetical?" He asked, touching the glass of the nearest tank.
"I think it's by planet name."
"Then help me find 'S'. We need to move fast."
They ran down the rows,
"Over here!" The clone River yelled.
"Siqyl... Sjuum... Ska'L... Skaro." He stopped in front of the latter. "Here."
Both Rivers frowned, "Are you sure?"
"We need something that will tear this place apart, River. Nothing goes more unchecked than a Dalek seeking revenge." He looked at the squid-like form floating in the tank. "The Z'knoaa will be higher on its list than us."
"But it doesn't have its suit." She shook her head.
"We have bodies." He gestured to the chambers around them. "River, you free some more species. Cybermen, Slitheen, Zycorax—the more dangerous the better. And River you and I lure a Z'knoaa in here. We'll give the Dalek a host."
"But what if the Dalek isn't able to control the Z'knoaa?"
"Well then... we'll go with plan B."
"Which is?"
"Not sure yet." He tried to sound light-hearted. "Let's see if we live through the first plan and go from there."
River's clone hesitated, looking unsure, "Right...I'll go free the rest of the list."
"Be careful. They could come out hostile. And if you see Ramone, grab him."
"You don't need to tell me twice." She winked.
The Doctor blushed as other River left. He looked at his River, "I know it's not the right time to bring up birthday presents..."
His River smirked, "Well, that reminds me...I owe you a snog."
"A good luck kiss then?"
She nodded, leaning in to kiss him. Tension left his body at the contact and he relaxed into her. He wasn't sure how long he'd been fused to the creature but the kiss seemed to wash all that pain away and remind him that he wasn't alone in the slightest.
"Oh, sweetie. I don't know if you can handle two of us." She teased once they pulled apart.
"Only one way to find out," he grinned and squeezed her hand. "I'll stay here and see if I can set the tank to open on delay. You lure a Z'knoaa over here and we'll go from there. Try not to be seen."
"Okay." She nodded, "One more kiss?"
He leaned into her, arms finding their way around her. "Don't die, alright?"
"You too," she murmured, touching his cheek. He kissed her palm before getting to work on the chamber settings.
There didn't appear to be any guards near the chambers as River started her search, many having gone up to see what was wrong with the creature. River crept through the halls and pushed open a door.
There was a steel table in the middle of the room with many sturdy looking straps attached to insides. Surrounding it were various stands, some holding trays of tools and some holding impressive machines. In the corner was a Z'knoaa tech who was washing one of the tools. Upon closer inspection, the water as washing away blood.
River looked at the blood, hoping that it wasn't Ramone's. She looked around the room again, trying to find something to get the creature's attention with. She grabbed one of the machines by the door, smashing it and then going to hide.
The Z'knoaa spun around at the sound, dropping what it was doing to investigate the machine. River rattled a few of the broken pieces that she had in her hands, trying to beckon the Z'knoaa out the door.
It took a moment but eventually, it followed the noise at a slow pace, wary of its surroundings.
River stepped out of the shadows, revealing her location to the Z'knoaa, "Looking for something?"
"You tamper!" it hissed in its sharp coarse language. "You do not belong here."
She turned and ran towards the chamber room, knowing the creature would follow. It let out an angry screech as it chased after her, yelling what were probably insults.
"Incoming!" She shouted as she ran through the door. The Doctor readied the release button.
River ran towards them, the Z'konaa hot on her heels. She ducked at the last moment possible, skidding on the floor. As soon as she ducked, he pressed the release hatch on the tank and shielded River from the splash as all the field sloshed out onto the floor. River gripped onto him tightly, her head ticket beneath his chin as the Dalek flew out of the water and onto the face of the Z'konaa.
There was a screech, though it was unclear whether this was from the Dalek or Z'knoaa. The Doctor held River tightly until the noise stopped, slowly lifting his head to see if it worked. River looked up as well, heart pounding.
The Z'knoaa stood in front of them, strangely still. It lifted an arm and put it down again and spoke in an unearthly voice. "This body is strong."
River gripped onto the Doctor, scooting backward to get away from the Z'knoaa. Even if the Dalek was in control, it would recognize her and the Doctor as an enemy.
"It is strong." the Doctor started, hoping to reason. "It's the body of the people that captured you here."
"Doctor..." River whispered, "Be careful."
"Must...exterminate." The Z'knoaa began to flex it's new found body, testing.
"Yes, exterminate the people who did this to you," the Doctor encouraged. "They stole you from your home, probably tortured you and used you. They are who you should be angry at!"
The creature stopped for a moment, thinking about the Doctor's words. It turned and began to destroy the tanks in its path, making its way towards the door.
"Well," the Doctor hesitated and looked at his wife. "At least it's not attacking us... did you see the other you?"
She shook her head, "No, I don't know where she's gone."
As she said this, a force slammed into her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her beneath it before she could defend herself.
"River!" he cried out.
The other River was on top of the first, grabbing handfuls of her hair and getting ready to hit her head against the floor. There was a possessed look on the clone's face, as though she wasn't in control of her actions.
"River, stop!" The Doctor tried to push them apart. The clone tried to hit him away from her, twisting the original River's arm to the point of breaking. It seemed that the clone was muttering something in the same chittering language as the Z'knoaa.
River cried out, trying to push the clone off of her, her arm and head searing with pain. The other River was thrown off only to regroup herself. She stood defensively, crouching like a caged animal and still chittering.
"What the hell?!" River growled, pain ripping through her arm.
"River your arm..." The Doctor was at her side but kept his eyes on the other River who looked about ready to pounce again. "She's under someone else's control, I think."
"Yes, I noticed." River hissed in pain, trying to sit up as the other River flew at them again. The Doctor jumped up and tried to block her, putting himself between the two Rivers.
She pounded on him, swiping at his cheek with her nails. She drew blood, but he was quick to retaliate, trying to knock her to the floor. She fell back, hitting her head. She recovered quickly, going for the original River again.
"River stop!" The Doctor addressed the clone, still trying to block her path. "Snap out of it!"
She blinked at him, stopping. "Doctor?" She frowned, seeming to come back to her senses.
He blinked, surprised that had worked. "I need you to calm down alright?"
"What are you talking about?" She frowned, "What happened to your cheek?"
"You did," he murmured, wiping the blood from his face. "You attacked us."
"I... I did?" The clone looked at her hands, somewhat horrified.
"You don't remember anything?" The first River asked as she stood.
"What? No... I was just freeing the creatures you told me to. I was on a Silurian and then," she paused and frowned. "And then something came up behind me I think."
"Something came up behind you?" River looked around, surveying the area.
"I..." she looked pained. "I can't remember."
River glanced at her husband, "We need to get out of here."
"Where's Ramone?" He asked. "We can't leave him here."
"I don't know." River shook her head, though she knew he was right, "He might be in one of the exam rooms."
"You didn't see any sign of him, did you? Either of you?"
"The Z'konaa that I brought in here was washing off some of the med equipment." River murmured, "We should look."
"Right. The three of us stick together alright?" He looked at each River. "The species we've released will already wreak havoc on this place. Our job is just to get out of here."
They both nodded, running for the medical wing.