"So...it's not really your son?" Martha replied.
I gasped, clutching my chest over my hearts.
The Doctor stepped in. "No use arguing about it. She's not letting it go."
"The insult-"
"Terra. Drop it."
"She dares-"
"She hasn't met him, so she hasn't fallen completely head over heels in love with him." The Doctor corrected. He flipped the handbrake to bring us to land.
I narrowed my eyes. "You're just saying that to calm me down."
"Is it working?" The Doctor asked, eyes glinting.
In reply, I turned my nose up at him. He flipped over the last of the switches.
The TARDIS landed.
Time to say goodbye...ish.
"There we go. Perfect landing." The Doctor praised. "Which isn't easy in such a tight spot."
"You should be used to tight spots by now." Martha noted. She smiled, glancing to the door then to us. She was beaming with excitement. "Where are we?"
"The end of the line." The Doctor replied, without the usual excitement. "No place like it."
Martha ran to the door with a skip in her step. I followed behind at a slower pace. She threw the doors open, halting in her gleeful steps as she walked out.
"Home." Martha looked back to us. I stepped out of the TARDIS, the Doctor behind me. "You took me home?"
"In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about twelve hours." The Doctor explained. "No time at all, really."
"But all the stuff we've done. Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?" Martha asked.
"You did it all in one night." I explained. "A really long night, but just the one."
"Relatively speaking." The Doctor added. He started glancing around the room at Martha's things. There was a lot of pictures of family, of her various belongings scattered around the apartment. "Everything should be just as it was. Books, CDs, laundry." He handed a loose sock to Martha.
She caught it, blushing.
"So, back were you were, as promised." The Doctor finished.
"Wasn't even twelve months late." I commented, leaning back against the TARDIS. The Doctor gave me a scolding look- but his smirk ruined it. "You did this right once. Not a big deal, just a relief."
"Nothing pleases you."
"It's called having standards."
Martha blinked at us, her eyes going a bit wide. "This is it?"
"Yeah." The Doctor and I replied.
It had to be it. For him, the Doctor couldn't get as attached to anyone again like he had with Rose. Nobody could replace her- no one could even hope to try. On my side of things...I didn't want Martha to feel second to us. That she was the 'rebound'. Nobody should feel that way. Nobody deserves to feel that way. She deserved better than what we could give her.
Martha deserved the best.
Anyone who couldn't see that didn't deserve her.
"We should probably-" He motioned to the TARDIS. Before he could take a step, Martha's landline rung.
Hi, I'm out. Leave a message.
"I'm sorry." Martha apologized to us.
"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?" I winced at Francine's voice. Not that there was anything wrong with her voice. It was just...Author I was gonna see her today. Not exactly a great bit of news.
"It's Mum. It'll wait." Martha brushed off.
"Alright then, pretend that you're out if you like. I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested."
Martha, confused, went over to her remote. She switched on the TV, changing it to a news channel.
Her sister, Tish, was standing behind the most fearsome creature that existed on the good green Earth: Mark Gatiss. Truly, the most evil thing the Doctor has ever faced.
"The details are top secret-"
"How could Tish end up on the news?" Martha questioned.
I leaned forward, watching the screen with what I thought to be a healthy level of concern. The Doctor, disagreed.
'See something, Terra?' He asked.
'Huh? Oh. No. Just...Martha's sister looks nice.' I lied very quickly and then just as quickly regretted it. The Doctor was practically beaming with amusement. 'Shut up.'
'Wasn't saying anything.' The Doctor chuckled. 'Just finally good to see you interested.'
'Hey! I said shut up!' Already I could feel my cheeks coming up with a blush. Author Damn you. It wasn't much better that Gugu Mbatha-Raw was gorgeous...from an intellectual standpoint. Certainly not a personal one, nope, nu-uh.
"Tonight, I will demonstrate a device which will redefine our world."
"She's got a new job. PR for some research lab." Martha explained to us.
"With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human."
"Professor! Professor!" Reporters called out.
Any more to be said was lost, as Martha flipped the TV off. "Sorry. You were saying we should...?"
The Doctor was staring at the TV. Clearly, what Lazarus had said was sending his brain out did a tailspin. "Yes, yes, we should." The Doctor looked to me, while I was nodding back to the TV. "One trip is what we said."
"We said that, yeah." I replied, my tone distracted.
"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of escalated." Martha mused. She took a small step closer to the Doctor.
No offense to the Doctor or to Martha, but I would rather use Lazarus' machine than watch this one-sided thing go on anymore.
"Mmm. Seems to happen to us a lot." The Doctor looked over at me to grin.
I grinned back, fighting any awkward feelings this whole thing was giving off.
Martha noticed the looks. She still kept up her imploring brown gaze to the Doctor. "Thank you. For everything."
"It was our pleasure." The Doctor replied.
Without wasting a second, I opened the door. I walked inside, the Doctor just behind me. I walked over to the pilot seat, standing beside it. My fingers tapped the railings.
The Doctor pulled up the brake. "Off to Dugogantu to get..."
"My dog." I supplied, hesitating.
The Doctor stared at the console. "Yeah..."
"...we have to go back." I stated, walking back to the door.
"Yeah." The Doctor flipped down the handbrake.
We faded back into Martha's home.
"No, I'm sorry." The Doctor poked his head out. I poked mine below him. "Did he say he was going to change what it means to be human?"
Martha beamed at our return.
==ROTF==
Martha looked amazing tonight. She had worn a sleeveless black dress, falling to her knees. Her hair was done back by a sparkling headband- which I loved.
That's all I'm willing to say about it.
She was none too shy about complimenting my outfit though. Just trying to make me blush over the entire Jones family, by the sound of it. "And you said the TARDIS had it for you?"
"She gets me." I replied, toying with the sleeve again. I shrugged. "I gave it 73%."
My hair has been thoroughly brushed and cleaned. While it dried, I brushed it to the left side of my head. Martha had taken control of all the makeup bits as I was lost on it. She painted my lips pink, and gave my eyes some metallic silver eyeshadows. It looked pretty fierce, actually.
My dress was a black, hanging just past my knees. The skirt of it had small shorts sown in, also to my knees. The sleeves were sheer, reaching to my wrists. The area around my chest was a bit lower than I'd like- though wearing my usual necklaces kept it from making me too uncomfortable. It had silver straps decorated in tiny rhinestones, set up in a shining sun outline. My shoes were silver flats, covered in silver sparkles.
As usual, my Bag was at my side. Though it might have been smarter to switch with a different bag, this Bag was better. It could suit any outfit, and this I would fight people on.
Martha snorted. "If that's 73%, I'd like to see what would make you go 75%."
"Okay." I replied, hopeful that Martha would actually get that chance.
The Doctor broke me out of my little bubble. "Oh, black tie." He readjusted his tie again. "Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."
"It really does." I told Martha. "Like, really, it's like the bad things target socialite parties to create cause and spite."
"I don't need your snark." The Doctor noted.
"My snark has saved your life more than once." I argued.
"Has not."
"Um, I think your Time Lord brain has stopped working cause it totally has."
"It's not the outfit, that's just you." Martha dismissed. I laughed, completely agreeing. "Anyway, I think it suits you. In a James Bond kind of way."
"James Bond? Really?" The Doctor asked. He preened, turning to me again in favor of Martha. "Got a new nickname?"
I blinked innocently.
"Changed my mind, keep the one you got." The Doctor requested.
"No, no, I can come up with a better insult." I teased him, grinning.
The Doctor clicked his tongue, shaking his head at me. Something across the way caught his eye. "It's safe to cross." He walked out into the street. Martha just behind him.
I stared up at the building. Lazarus Laboratories...as I followed the Doctor and Martha, my mind wandered to just the amount of people inside. The Jones women, Lazarus himself, a lot of the people inside either knew of 'Harry Saxon' or worked with him.
For this world, tomorrow would come with devastation.
For this world, it would be a long week.
For the few closest, it would be the long road to Hell.
There was no escape for that.
No escape for me, either.
There was no chance for stopping this, not the way it's going now.
But I could pretend for this one night.
It's what I was good at.
==ROTF==
The party was raging. As much as socialite parties could rage.
"Oh, look, they've got nibbles! I love nibbles." The Doctor picked up a nibble from the tray.
I watched it go, not minding. My mind was on a billion other things besides food. I could almost hear the clock ticking down to when this world would fall into ruin.
It hammered away at me every moment I stood here. The ticks mocked me. Boasting to me of my imminent failure. That these people were here at all was proof enough that I hadn't stopped Saxon from coming. He walked these streets. He ate their food. He spoke their words.
No doubt he was somewhere, miles and miles off. He mocked us from a computer screen. He watched us walk around, oblivious to the planet we thought defended but he had planted roots.
We're fools.
And Saxon reveled in it.
"Want one?" The Doctor held a nibble towards me.
My stomach was swirling like it had been thrown in the vortex.
"No thanks." I replied.
The Doctor gave a shrug. "Suit yourself." He popped the nibble on his mouth.
"Hello." A voice greeted.
Behind us, Tish Jones walked over to us. She was smiling brightly at our group.
"Tish." Martha cheered. She reached to her sister. The two hugged.
The Doctor was giving me a smug grin. I was pointedly looking anywhere else.
"You look great." Tish complimented her sister. "So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"
"Very." Martha praised.
"And two nights out in a row for you." Tish teased. She reminded me of my own sister in that moment so vividly that I could only feel mourning. "That's dangerously close to a social life."
"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns." Martha teased right back.
My sister would make jokes that I was turning into her. I'd tell her to drop dead. We'd laugh.
Oh Author...she said she'd come during the Year...and it was so close now.
The Doctor was still giving me teasing grins.
I glared at him to shut up.
"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers." Tish continued to tease. "And Mum, she's coming too. Even dragging Leo along with her."
"Leo in black tie? That I must see." She laughed. Tish kept glancing over at the Doctor and I. Martha followed where Tish was looking. The Doctor and I giving each other looks. The two of us put on our most welcoming smiles when we realized we were being watched. "This is, er, the Doctor."
"Hello." The Doctor greeted, beaming.
"And that's his friend, Terra Johnson."
"Hey." I gave a small wave of my hand.
Tish turned to Martha. "Are they with you?"
"Yeah." Martha answered.
"But they're not on the list. How did they get in?" Tish asked, confused.
"He's my plus one." Martha excused, nervously. It was the same excuse we'd used at the door. What I was worried about was why we hadn't used psychic paper. I mean really, it's not that hard.
"And she's mine." The Doctor patted my shoulder. I flicked his hand. He chuckled.
"That Lazarus guy-"
"An American?" Tish noted.
"-yeah." I pressed on. "That Lazarus guy, he's your boss?"
Tish looked me over again. Clearly she was about to make a comment about my age. Instead she answered me. "Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff."
"She's in the PR department." Martha corrected.
"I'm head of the PR department, actually." Tish corrected, preening.
Martha gawked at her. "You're joking."
"I put this whole thing together." Tish explained.
"So do you know what the professor's going to be doing tonight?" The Doctor asked. He nodded his head towards the large device in the middle of the party hall. "That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."
Tish shook her head, clicking her tongue. "He's a science geek. I should have known." She mused to herself. Martha seemed to be fighting the urge to glare at her. "Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later." She walked back off into the party.
"She never answered the question." I noted. "Which I guess answers the question on if we'll like it."
The Doctor focused on a different part of Tiah's reply. "Science geek? What does that mean?"
"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it." Martha answered.
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, nice."
"But that thing is really getting my attention." I nodded back towards the device.
"Yes." The Doctor held up his arm. "Lady Johnson, would you mind taking a look with me?"
"Sir Doctor, I would not mind one bit." I took the offered hand. The two of us walked over to the large device centering the room.
We walked up to it. The device had a large column in the middle, surrounded by four much smaller columns filled with blue wirings. From what the Doctor stated and what I already know about it from the show, the system was designed in a way that it should work as planned.
The Doctor and I were going back and forth in our minds about it. He had yet to bring out the sonic, just in case it accidentally caused the device to go off.
"Martha." Francine called out.
I turned around, trying to ignore the sudden panic that shot through me. At Francine's voice, all I could hear was her panicked cries out into the street after Saxon would be elected. I heard her voice pleading with Martha to let the Doctor go.
In this timeline, she would ask Martha to let me go too.
Which...wasn't cool. Like, at all.
That was actually really hurtful- and a great deal insulting.
But for Martha it was the best thing that happened to her ever. "Mum!" Martha rushed to her mother, giving the woman a big hug.
Francine was instantly suspicious. Mom instincts, I guess. Mothers always know. "Alright, what's the occasion?"
'Oof, meeting the mum.' The Doctor thought.
'Shut it. You have a worse track record than me.'
'Yeah but I'm not crushing on her daughter.'
'I'm not crushing on- shut up!'
"What do you mean? I'm just pleased to see you, that's all." Martha dismissed her eager hug.
"You saw me last night." Francine countered, eyeing Martha with caution.
"I know. I just miss you." Martha pressed. She turned to her brother. "You're looking good, Leo."
"Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch them a drink, I'll swing for him." Leo warned.
"You disappeared last night." Francine pointed out to Martha.
"I just went home." Martha dismissed.
"On your own?" Francine glanced to the Doctor and I. Though more the Doctor than I.
"These are friends of mine." Martha introduces. "The Doctor."
"Doctor what?" Francine asked, eyeing him.
It's so fun when they don't do the thing.
'Ha!'
'Blast.'
'You have terrible experience with moms.'
'Shut it!'
"No, it's just the Doctor." Martha explained, completely missing our snarky back-and-forth looks. "And that's his friend, Terra Johnson. We've been doing some work together."
Leo held out his hand. The Doctor shook it with a smile. Leo shook my hand next.
"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones." The Doctor greeted. "Heard a lot about you."
"Have you?" Francine was watching the Doctor with a scanning glare. "What have you heard, then?"
"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and." The Doctor babbled, completely blowing it in the best way to make me forget my troubles. "Er, no, actually, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat. You know, been busy."
"Busy? Doing what, exactly?" Francine questioned.
"Oh you know. Stuff." The Doctor answered.
To spare him the stress of screwing this up worse, I held out my hand. "Hello. Sorry for himself, he's a-"
"You're an American?" Francine noted.
I lowered my hand. My smile tightened. "Yes."
Francine passed me over to go back to narrowing her eyes at the Doctor.
'Can't they just hate you for once?' He whined.
'I'm too lovable.' I countered.
'I doubt it's that.' The Doctor denied.
Before he could argue with me anymore, Lazarus called for attention..
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I am going to perform a miracle." Lazarus spoke. He was standing close to the machine.
Dread filled me once again. The tick-tick-tick had come with a vengeance.
"It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever."
He had no idea how true that was.
We'll all suffer for it.
Lazarus walked into the machine.
It whirred to life.
The machine spun and spun and spun.
An alarm started going off.
"Doctor." I prompted.
"Something's wrong. It's overloading." The Doctor ran off to the control panel. I followed after, leaping over the table.
The Doctor held his sonic to the control system. I pressed a lot of buttons, switching things off. The readings I could see were flashing warnings. The machine whirred faster.
"Somebody stop them. Get them away from those controls!" Lady Thaw screamed.
"If this thing goes up, it'll take the whole building with it." The Doctor shouted at her. "Is that what you want?"
"Got it!" I leapt back over the table. Once across, I pulled out a large cable from the power box.
Sparks flew out from a lot of the boxes. I ducked to avoid being hit.
The machine behind me began to slow down. I pushed myself to my feet, running to it.
"Get it open!" The Doctor yelled.
I threw open the door.
Mark- I mean, Lazarus, walked out. Easy to tell the difference when Lazarus was blond, and Mark was the sign that the Anti-Christ was real.
Anyway, he stumbled out from the machine young. Much more young and fresh faced.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus." He decreed to the stunned crowd. "I am seventy six years old and I am reborn!"
They applauded.
I fought the urge to be sick.
Because it was this tech that hurt the Doctor in that year.
The pain in his voice as Saxon tortured him with this...
The sight of his pain, so bad that no even the show let us see it...
It would make anyone sick.
==ROTF==
"It can't be the same guy." Martha denied. She shook her head, watching Lazarus pose for photographers. "It's impossible. It must be a trick."
The Doctor was checking over the machine again. "Oh, it's not a trick. I wish it were."
I was watching it all fall apart. Like watching a glass falling in slow motion, yet I was too far to catch it.
"What just happened then?" Martha asked.
"He just changed what it means to be human." The Doctor answered.
I watched Lazarus for a moment. He was speaking happily with a small group of people. They wandered off, leaving him with Lady Thaw.
It broke my hearts, just that much more. All these people...all of them in a constant state of danger...some of them may even be dead in a day's time. How many would be killed in Saxon's first wave? How many in the days to follow? Many of them would be dead before the night was over, an omen for the dark fate this planet had coming next.
There was no way out where I won.
Where the good guys won.
Lazarus pulled a plate from a server. He started devouring the nibbles on it. Lady Thaw watched, scandalized.
The Doctor walked around my back. He went up to the changed man. I followed behind, leaving parts of myself in each step.
"I'm famished." Lazarus excused to his coworker.
"Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process." The Doctor explained.
"You speak as if you see this every day, Mister?" Lazarus inquired.
"Doctor." The Doctor introduced. "And my friend, Terra. And well, no, not every day, but we have some experience of this kind of transformation."
Lazarus shook his head at us, not believing it. "That's not possible."
"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That's inspired." The Doctor complimented, also exposing his knowledge on the project.
Okay now Lazarus looked more convinced. "You understand the theory, then."
"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables." The Doctor cautioned.
"No experiment is entirely without risk." Lazarus dismissed. He finished off his plate of nibbles, putting the tray down on a nearby table.
"Your machine was seconds from a meltdown. It would've blown, taking out the whole building if you were lucky." I warned. "You'd've had better luck sticking a fork into an outlet."
Lazarus gave me a curious look.
"I doubt an American has the qualifications to comment." Lady Thaw dismissed.
'If ONE MORE person comments on it THE THINGS I WILL DO-'
The Doctor put a hand on my back. "If we hadn't stopped it, it would have exploded."
"Then I thank you, Doctor, and Terra. But that's a simple engineering issue." Lazarus brushed off. "What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."
"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests." Martha noted.
Lazarus laughed, polite as could be just before one insults someone else. "Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."
"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially." Lady Thaw assured.
Martha's eyes bugged. "Commercially? You are joking. That'll cause chaos."
"Not chaos, change." Lazarus promised. Too smug for my liking. Pleased for a punch, isn't that how the saying goes? "A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."
"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer." The Doctor sneered.
"Not a little longer, Doctor. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely." Lazarus grinned.
"It's not for you to play god." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.
"Who said anything about playing?" Lazarus replied. "This is serious business."
"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs." Lady Thaw reminded him.
It's too late for you.
I'm almost sorry.
"Goodbye, Doctor, Terra. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." Lazarus boasted. He held out his hand towards me.
Disgusted, I took it.
He gave it a kiss on the knuckles before walking with Lady Thaw.
I stared at the knuckles in disgust.
Though as I looked, a flash of red caught me eye.
When I looked up to catch it there was just a figure retreating outside. The head hidden by a hood.
Tick
Tick
Tick
Tick
GONG
GONG
GONG
GONG
This presence- that person there- it was setting off every sense that I had about anything ever.
It hurt.
It brought joy.
It broke me.
It saved me.
It wasn't right.
It was the only right.
"Terra." The Doctor spoke, breaking through the swirling thoughts in my mind.
My head snapped over to the Doctor, my eyes still wide. "Look over there!" I pointed in the direction the retreating figure.
"There's no one there." He dismissed. The Time Lord grabbed my hand, dragging me after Martha. "We need to find a way to gain access to the labs."
"I've got it on my hand." I held it up, fighting the urge to look back towards that figure.
The Doctor beamed at me. "Oh you clever cog."
"He grabbed my hand, it's not a big-" The Doctor still grabbed my arm, dragging me towards Martha.
Away from whoever had been there.
==ROTF==
The Doctor and I were looking at a laptop. He had even put on his glasses to watch it. What had come up was horrifying.
"That is..."
"Amazing." The Doctor noted.
"That's one word for it."
"What?" Martha prompted.
"His DNA!" I answered, throwing my hands at the screen for lack of Lazarus face around.
Martha shrugged. "I can't see anything different."
"Look at it." The Doctor pointed.
The DNA on the screen blipped. Like when you're putting sheets on a bed, so you shake them upright. His entire DNA blipped. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that is? I remember watching this episode for the first time, Darcy had been at my side. She paused the episode so I could fall into a twenty minute rant about just how stupid the mere concept of it was.
Darcy pointed out all the times I played mad-scientist.
I would point out that nobody told me I couldn't make things.
Darcy pointed out I was in second grade, nobody thought to tell me not to make things.
I argued I was in my thirties.
Darcy said 'well nobody knew that, just you. Quit being mad somebody else got to play a mad scientist. He's gonna pay consequences and I really wanna see what those are.'
It had been a fun viewing party.
But now I was experiencing it without any Darcy to counter me so I was going to be as insane about it as my heart contented.
And Martha was watching it all for the first time so she agrees. "Oh, my God. Did that just change? But it can't have."
"I know!"
"But it did." The Doctor told the both of us.
"It's impossible."
"I know!" I couldn't help it, my hands grabbed at my hair to pull. This was a stressful time where science was fucking me. I was allowed to feel stress about this one thing cause if I stressed about everything I would have an aneurysm before I reached 200.
"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?" The Doctor asked.
So I told the Doctor "I feel like this is going to kill me."
"Bah." The Doctor waved off the concern. "Come on, isn't it exciting?"
"I am in the throes of death." My head lowered onto the desk, pushing my head onto the counter.
"You're just being dramatic. Martha, what about you?"
She pointed at the DNA, which had once again blipped. "That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns."
"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate." The Doctor stated.
"The problem is, they aren't stopping." I pointed to the strand. "It's still mutating."
"Because he missed something." The Doctor theorized. "Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him."
"Change him into what?" Martha asked.
"I don't know, but I think we need to find out." The Doctor glanced at me.
"That woman said they were going upstairs." Martha recalled.
"Let's go." The Doctor closed the laptop. "Off we go, Terra!"
"My brain has melted inside of my head."
"Walk it off!" The Doctor grabbed my arm, dragging me off the table. He walked me out of the lab towards the elevator.
==ROTF==
Stepping off the elevator, I held back the urge to shudder. Even standing in his office space was too much for my mind to really handle.
I spotted Lady Thaw quickly. Her bone leg was hard to miss, sticking out from behind the desk.
"This is his office, all right." Martha stated.
"So where is he?" The Doctor wondered.
"Long gone if he's smart." I mumbled.
The Doctor walked behind me. He saw what I saw.
"What makes you say that?" Martha asked.
Neither of us answered. We just walked towards his desk.
Martha gawked. "Is that Lady Thaw?"
"Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out, like squeezing the juice out of an orange." The Doctor explained.
"I can never drink orange juice again." My stomach rolled- remembering all the times I'd poured the life of people down my throat.
"Like you ever have." The Doctor countered.
"We need to find Lazarus before he does this again."
"It could be him. We don't know for sure." The Doctor suggested.
"Yes we do!" I argued. "It's always the new thing- every single time it's the new thing. We need to stop this now."
"So he's changed already?" Martha asked.
"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA." The Doctor reminded. "It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."
"So he might do this again?" Martha asked.
The Doctor nodded.
"So we should go before we find another squeezed orange!" I called out, running to the elevator.
The Doctor and Martha were just behind.
I had to fight the urge to hold us back. If I had, we would've caught Tish with Lazarus.
But I needed a minute.
My brain had latched onto the drinking-human-juices things...I had to fight down nausea.
==ROTF==
The elevator brought us to the party room downstairs.
"Missed." I grumbled.
"I can't see him." Martha told us.
"He can't be far." The Doctor walked through the crowd. He held me by the arm, dragging me along behind him. "Keep looking."
"I don't like this, I don't like this." I mumblrf.
'Terra. What's wrong?"
'I can't- I can't think- I can't- it's all going so fast and I can't slow down.' I panicked
The Doctor halted my steps. My breathing was coming more rapidly.
My thoughts were moving so fast. I couldn't hold to them. Plans and ideas rushed through my head. They moved so, so fast. Every idea I was coming up too close to make sure it would work safely.
If I had held them back-
But if I hadn't-
But Martha's sister-
But Martha's mum-
What if I screwed it up?
What if I made the Master come here?
What if what if what if-
'I need you to breathe.' The Doctor instructed.
By instinct of command, I did.
'It's all right. We can fix this.'
'It's Lazarus. It has to be.'
'I know- I know it has to be. Because he's the new thing, right?'
'He needs more energy. Lady Thaw gave him some but she was old. Aged. Not enough energy- enough to show what he really needed. But younger people...young women...He can't hurt her-'
'Martha?'
"Hey, you alright, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you." Leo spoke up.
"Have you see Lazarus anywhere?" Martha questioned him.
"Yeah, well, he was getting cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago." Leo answered.
"With Tish?"
I tensed.
The Doctor's grip on my arm tensed too.
'She's the only one missing, isn't she?' The Doctor prompted.
I said nothing.
What if
What if
What if
What if-
Francine walked up to the Doctor, and me by association. "Ah, Doctor."
"Where did they go?" The Doctor asked Leo.
"Upstairs, I think." Leo replied. "Why?"
'We'll keep her safe. We'll get to her in time.' The Doctor promised.
He ran him and I towards the elevator, leaving Martha behind. She caught up quick enough.
"Doctor-" Francine scolded. We'd run past her, knocking her drink back onto her.
I called back an apology. But I don't think it was heard.
==ROTF==
But they just dashed off, quick as you like.
Francine huffed. Leo tried to assure her. She wouldn't hear of it. She walked to a nearby table, searching for napkins.
"You might be needing this." A young voice greeted.
Francine snatched the offered handkerchief. She turned to see a young girl, wearing a bright red dress. "Thank you. That's very kind of you."
"Do you know that man, that girl?" The girl asked.
"No. They're friends of my daughter." Francine explained.
The girl tilted her head, eyes watching Francine in a way that spoke of compassion and understanding.
"The man, says he's a doctor. I know they must have met at work but I know something is off." Francine admitted. "And beyond that, how could she have met an American? Much less one that young?"
"You're such a caring mum. Why can't they see that?" The girl asked. "You're only trying to help." She turned on her feet, walking back into the throngs of the party.
Francine watched her go.
When Leo walked up to her a moment later, Francine would not be able to describe her beyond her red dress. She wouldn't even remember her voice. Just her words.
==ROTF==
Back at Lazarus' office, the room was empty.
I didn't even have the chance to panic before the Doctor brought up his sonic.
"Where are they?" Martha asked.
"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature." He scanned the room with the sonic. "I might be able to pick it up."
He raised it higher and higher.
It beeped.
"Got him." The Doctor announced.
"Where?" I asked. He pointed it directly up.
"We're on the top floor. The roof!" I reasoned.
The way to the roof wasn't as hard as one would think. Once there, I saw Tish standing beside Lazarus.
'You can't keep running off like that!' The Doctor cautioned as he came up behind me.
'People. Danger. Yes.'
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect." Lazarus told Tish. He had not noticed us yet. "There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act-"
"Falls the Shadow." The Doctor finished.
Lazarus turned to us. A surprised smile clear on his face. "So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I'm impressed." Lazarus praised.
"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish asked her sister.
"Tish, get away from him." Martha warned.
"What? Don't tell me what to do." Tish snapped.
"You really should." I advised.
"I don't even know you." Tish snapped. Hurtful, but I understand.
"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all." The Doctor good him.
"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four." Lazarus mused, all with that under current of something more sinister.
"Doesn't work like that." The Doctor shook his head. "Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."
"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be." Lazarus argued.
"Or what a curse." The Doctor countered.
"You don't want to live like that." I cautioned him. "It's not worth the cost."
"Look at what you've done to yourself." The Doctor warned him.
"Who are the two of you to judge me?" Lazarus accused. "You're a child yourself."
"You're not even sorry, are you?" I noted.
"Why should I be?" Lazarus asked, innocently. He had no qualms for murdering Lady Thaw, had no qualms of planning to kill Tish. Nothing.
"Over here, Tish." Martha pleaded in a hissing whisper.
Tish did in fact come over. Though she did it to snap at her sister. "You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."
Yet with each word that she spoke, behind her, Lazarus shifted. It was disgusting to witness. His bones snapped and cracked. His muscles moved with squishing sounds no one should ever hear. On every level, it was wrong.
"Tish, he's a monster!" Martha revealed. She pointed back to the monster.
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." Tish brushed off.
But Tish must have heard it-how could she not? It was so loud- echoing in my ears like the drums in his. She turned to him. Lazarus stood upright- his full monster form exposed.
It reminded me of a monster from the Void.
Or...at least I think it did.
"What's that?" Tish yelped.
"Your date!" I replied.
"Run!" The Doctor shouted.
The lot of us ran back inside. Martha and Tish went down the stairs first. The Doctor sonicked the door shut. Lazarus bashed against the other side. He roared at the restriction.
The Doctor caught up to me. "See? Everyone's fine."
"For now!" The monster smashed against the door again.
The Doctor and I rushed to the elevators, seeing Martha and Tish already there.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.
"I was going to snog him." Tish admitted. So that's a no, then.
The lights overhead flickered. I grabbed the Doctor's arm, squeezing it. The Doctor sent a mental wave of assurances. It didn't help much, but it was nice.
"Security one. Security one. Security one." The alert system announced.
"What's happening?" Martha asked her sister.
"An intrusion." Tish explained, still shaken. "It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits."
"Stairs!" I ran towards the stairs, dragging the Doctor behind me. Martha would follow him- she always did.
"He must be breaking through that door." The Doctor realized. "Come on, Joneses!"
We were able to get a few flights down when we heard the crash.
"He's inside!" Martha realized.
"We haven't got much time!" The Doctor stated. He resumed running down the stairs.
Why they stopped at all, I'll never know.
==ROTF==
We had made it to the party hall again. The crowd was concerned with the security measures.
"How do we get them out?" I asked Tish. "Breakable windows, unlockable doors?"
"The windows are shatterproof." Tish replied. "There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."
The Doctor tossed the sonic in the air. Martha caught it. "Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry."
Martha rushed off, Tish right behind her.
'You didn't send me?'
'Would you even go?' The Doctor countered. He and I ran up to the device.
"EVERYBODY LISTEN UP!" I shouted, somehow making it over the murmurs of the crowd. They quieted at the shouting.
"Listen to us! You people are in serious danger!" The Doctor warned. "You need to get out of here right now!"
"You need to go to that exit door!" I pointed the direction that Martha and Tish had gone.
"Don't be ridiculous." A young socialite scoffed. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."
Which is of course, when he popped up.
Lazarus shrieked. The crowd began screaming at the sight of him. He leapt off the stairs, creasing onto empty tables. People scattered, running in the direction I had ordered.
He swung his tail, searching for more energy to take. It swung onto a table. That table went flying- clipping Leo.
"Leo!" Francine gasped out.
Lazarus approaches the asocialite.
"Hey! Big and ugly!" I shouted. "Over here!"
"No! Get away from her!" The Doctor shouted.
But Lazarus ignored us.
The socialite dropped to the ground, her body shriveled up like Lady Thaw's.
"Leo. Leo." Francine was trying to coax her son up. He had a concussion though, so that was a no go.
Lazarus spotted them though.
Which to me, was a no go,
"Lazarus!" I shouted. "Leave them be!"
"Leave them alone." The Doctor shouted.
Lazarus turned towards us. A grueling ticking noise coming from his throat.
Martha went to her family. She helped get them to their feet.
"Martha." Francine pleaded.
"Come on, stay with me. You're okay." Martha instructed. She guided them towards the exit.
I kept my focus on Lazarus.
"You're a waste!" I accused. "All that work, all that science, and for what?"
"You can't control it. The mutation's too strong." The Doctor joined in. "Killing those people won't help you."
"You're a joke! An arrogant man who flew too far to the sun." I taunted.
"You thought you could defy nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn't she?" The Doctor taunted.
Lazarus hissed at us.
"Not even history will remember you. If it does, it'll say you're a laughing stock! A failure!"
Lazarus roared in rage.
'That got his attention.' The Doctor commented.
'Time to use it, then?'
'Run!' The Doctor warned.
The two of us dashed back towards the stairs. Lazarus chased after us.
==ROTF==
As we ran down hallways and through doors. Lazarus still chased after us.
Somehow the path to the basement was open. We snuck inside, sticking together.
'You should get someplace safe.' The Doctor advised.
'Okay. After you.' I suggested. The Doctor glared, sending a mental push of frustration. 'I'm not leaving you alone with that.'
'It's not safe!'
'What if when I go, he catches me?'
'You're smarter than that!'
'What if he'd faster than I'm smarter? You sing let me use a gun!'
The Doctor huffed in aggravation.
My hand went to his shoulder. I gave it an affirming squeeze.
There was a hissing noise. The movements of Lazarus, his body trying to hunt in these small spaces.
"It's no good, Doctor and Terra. You can't stop me." Lazarus hissed.
"Is that the same arrogance you had when you swore nothing had gone wrong with your device?" The Doctor questioned.
"The arrogance is yours." Lazarus accused. "You can't stand in the way of progress."
"That woman was innocent. Lady Thaw was innocent. She was your friend! How is that progress?" I asked. I ducked beneath the pile, hoping to avoid the approaching monster.
"It is a necessary sacrifice." Lazarus dismisses.
"That's not your decision to make." The Doctor warned.
Something lowered itself from above us.
"Peek a boo." Lazarus threatened.
"Hiya sunshine." I greeted with a false cheer.
"Oh, hello." The Doctor greeted too.
The both of us ran back out the door.
==ROTF==
We ran into a science lab.
"Thinking what I'm-?"
"Oh yeah." The Doctor nodded. He leapt up onto a table. He opened a small bit of the wall, reaching for wires.
I went to the tables. Small tabs for flames were there. I turned the gas on, snapping off the dials.
With all that, we ducked behind different lab benches.
The doors were thrown open. I heard the click-clicks of his feet hitting the floor.
"More hide and seek, Doctor and Terra? How disappointing." Lazarus mused. "Why don't you come out and face me?"
I stood up, snapping off another gas tap. "Ew." I replied.
The Doctor stood up at the bench in front of me. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? Why would I want to face that, hmm?"
We dashed off. Lazarus roared. When we escaped the Doctor flipped on the lights.
The room lit up in flames.
As we ran away, I collided with Martha.
"You're back!" I yelped, putting us back to our feet.
"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked her.
"I'm returning this." Martha held up the sonic. The Doctor took it back. I let go of her arms, realizing I was still holding them. "I thought you might need it."
"How did you-?" The Doctor began.
"It was the explosion, huh?" I guessed.
Martha nodded. "Well, what else would it be?"
"We blasted Lazarus." The Doctor explained.
"Did you kill him?" Martha asked.
Lazarus roared, hopping up at the end of the hall.
"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say." The Doctor mused.
"Our speciality." I added.
The Doctor rushed off back the way Martha came. She and I joined him.
==ROTF==
"She'll be all right. The Doctor and Terra, they'll look out for her. And she'll look out for them." Tish assured her mum.
Francine shook her head in disgust. She kept the ice pressed onto her son's head. "She turned her back on us, went in there with that thing for him."
"He must be some guy." Leo joked. Francine gave him a withering glare.
"Maybe she loves him. That girl was nice too." Tish suggested.
"She just met him." Francine dismissed in a huff.
"Is you daughter still in there with the Doctor and Terra?" A voice asked.
Francine turned round to her. She remembered-in a quiet sort of sense, like when you've just remembered where you parked your car but hours before you'll go back to it- only it didn't matter, really. She knew this girl had knowledge about those people. "Do you know them? Do you know the Doctor?"
The girl had a tight expression. Like she was holding back a great deal. "They're dangerous. And there are things...things that a person should know when dealing with him. With her too."
"What things?" Francine asked.
So the girl stepped forward, and told her.
And when she walked away, Francine once again had no idea what she was like. Just her red dress, and her words.
==ROTF==
We ended up at the main party hall.
"What now? We've just gone round in a circle." Martha asked.
"We can't lead him outside." The Doctor stated.
"Only one option then." I climbed into the machine's chamber.
"Right on, Terra." The Doctor climbed in with me.
Once inside, we could hear Lazarus storming in. He hissed when he realized where we'd hidden.
"Are we hiding?" Martha wondered, scared.
"No, he knows we're here." The Doctor explained. "But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"But we're trapped." Martha pointed out.
"Yeah...that's the issue here." I deadpanned, trying to keep my elbow from hitting her stomach.
"Well, yeah, that's a slight problem." The Doctor twisted about, trying to look about the chamber.
Martha gawked. "You mean you don't have a plan?"
"Yes, the plan was to get inside here." The Doctor admitted.
"And after?" I prompted.
"...well, then I'd come up with another plan."
Martha huffed. "In your own time, then."
"I've got one-"
"Hey!" Martha yelped.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry." The Doctor apologized. He held up the sonic. "Here we are. Terra?"
"This thing puts out a ton of energy inward." I supplied. "You know, Lazarus used that energy but ended up expanding himself?"
"Oh, oh- Cellular triplication! But he's spread himself too thin! Oh you clever thing." The Doctor praised. He lowered himself towards the floor. He popped open a floor panel, pulling out a set of wires inside.
"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?" Martha asked.
"No, for once it's strictly human in origin." The Doctor stated.
"Human? How can it be human?" She asked.
"Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA." The sonic buzzed as he pressed it against the wires. "The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant."
"So it's a throwback." Martha reasoned.
"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake." The Doctor explained.
"It's like Pandora's box." Martha reasoned.
"Exactly. Terra, nice shoes, by the way." The Doctor praised.
"Thank ya kindly." I replied.
The machine began whirring. Lights began flaring from the outside. Lazarus laughed like a hiss.
"That's not you, is it?" I sighed.
"Nope...not yet." The Doctor replied.
"Doctor, Terra, what's happening?" Martha asked.
"Lazarus turned on the machine." I answered.
"And that's not good, is it?" Martha stated.
"Well we're in it, so no." I snarked.
"I don't want to hurry you, but-" Martha told the Doctor.
The Doctor waved her off. The buzz of the sonic was covered by the machine itself. "I know, I know. Nearly done."
"Well, what're you doing?" Martha yelped.
"Terra could you-?" The Doctor requested.
"He's trying to make it so the machine sends energy out rather than in." I explained to her.
"Will that kill it?" Martha asked.
No
"When he changes, he expands to three times his normal size. Cellular triplication. But the machine didn't give him the way to create those cells. So he's spreading himself too thin." I explained. "This thing will give him a shock."
The machine whirred. The lights flashed brighter and brighter.
"We're going to end up like him!" Martha panicked.
"Just one more!" The Doctor shouted over the noise.
He flipped the final wire.
A loud boom went off. The lights flashed once more. From outside the chamber, there was a heavy thud.
The Doctor pushed the door open. Stepping out, we searched for Lazarus.
He was lying on the floor across the room. His human form naked as the day he was born. I focused my attention to the multitude of freckles on his shoulders. Gingers, they didn't have it easy.
"I thought we were going to go through the blender then." Martha exhaled in relief.
"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice." The Doctor mused.
I had to chuckle at that- really I did.
"And here's the man of the hour." I commented, standing in front of Lazarus.
The Doctor walked up to my side.
"Oh, God. He seems so human again. It's kind of pitiful." Martha admitted.
"Eliot saw that, too." The Doctor replied.
"This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper." I recited.
The Doctor put a hand on my shoulder.
I let out a shaking breath.
He squeezed my shoulder in comfort, pulling me to his side for a hug.
==ROTF==
Outside, an ambulance was wheeling away the 'dead' body of Lazarus.
I would be showing more concern- more panic- but my head was aching like someone had kicked it. It was a manageable pain, probably from induced stress from the night's events. Not even going into what would happen tomorrow- or there tomorrow, at least.
Yeah.
A headache was the least of my problems right now. Pity aspirin kills Time Lords, I could go for one.
The Doctor, Martha, and myself stood on the steps. The ambulance locked shut. I wanted so badly to stop them...but I couldn't think.
"She's here." Tish ran up to us. Francine and Leo behind her. "Oh, she's all right."
"Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat." The Doctor cheered.
Her reply was a hefty slap in the face. The Doctor's head snapped to the side. "Keep away from my daughter."
"Mum, what are you doing?" Martha asked, embarrassed.
"All of the mothers, every time." The Doctor complained.
I chuckled.
"Seriously, why do they never hate you?"
"Cause they know-"
"And you!" Francine snapped. "You're worse than he is! You could've gotten Martha hurt, or worse!"
My brain stopped working for a minute there.
"I don't care, because I love him to bits."
"Good old Rose."
How could one's brain function after that?
It was true. All of it.
"It's your fault. It's all your fault!"
"You let them go, Saxon!"
We would ruin Martha Jones.
Was there a greater crime than this?
"Because he never looked at her twice."
"So this is me, getting out."
"Mum!" Martha gasped.
"He is dangerous. They both are. I've been told things." Francine warned her daughter.
The Doctor pulled me close to him again. He held my arm in a hug. In my mind, I felt his subtle rage with a firm target. He was trying to hide that- mask it with concern for me.
I couldn't do anything.
For him, or for Martha.
"Oh my god, he found you."
Martha was staring at her mother like she didn't recognize her. "What are you talking about?"
"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction." Francine warned her. Oh, and weren't those just the Master's words?
"This isn't their fault. They saved us, all of us!" Martha argued. Pushing her mother away, because of us. It wasn't Francine's fault. We were bad news. It would be safer, if Martha was away.
'It's not done.' I mumbled, mentally.
The Doctor kept his hold on me. Though it was starting to irk me, I let it go on for a moment longer. 'How can you tell?'
'I just get the awful feeling that Lazarus can't really die that easily.'
"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault." Leo stated.
Tish elbowed him.
There was a loud crash from up the road.
The Doctor let me go, running off after it.
I followed.
Just...just had to fix something.
Had to settle this.
Couldn't let it ruin the Jones family.
==ROTF==
The ambulance crashed. The doors to the back were thrown open, revealing drained ambulance workers. People with lives. Innocent people, who hadn't any part of this.
"Lazarus, back from the dead." The Doctor huffed. He held up the sonic, scanning the area for Lazarus again.
"I hate being right." I mumbled.
The Doctor paused his scan. "It's not your fault."
"I should've said sooner. I could've- I could've stopped it." I stated.
That was when Martha and Tish walked up. The Doctor had his mouth open for a reply but I stepped in.
"What are you two doing here? Go back to where it's safe!" I instructed.
"I'm not listening to her." Martha told me. "She was wrong."
I scoffed. "You should. We're not-"
"Doctor. Where's he gone?" Martha questioned.
The Doctor decided to become a traitor, betraying me by pointing at the cathedral the ambulance. "That way. The church."
"Cathedral." Tish corrected. We all looked to her. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me." She explained, nervously.
"Terrific. You've helped. Last chance to go back." I cautioned.
But Martha shook her head. "It's dangerous, but so is everything else lately." Martha replied. "So let's get to it."
The Doctor smiled at her. "See, Terra? Can't scare them off."
I said nothing. Instead, I marched off towards the cathedral.
==ROTF==
It was so quiet in the cathedral.
Quiet, like the last breath of an old soul.
The Doctor held up his sonic.
"That's not a gun, you know."
"Well I don't see you pulling out your's. And no that isn't a request."
We walked up the aisle towards the altar. The sonic continued to buzz- pitching when it lined up with Lazarus.
"Do you think he's in here?" Martha whispered.
"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" The Doctor reasoned.
We continued to the altar. Once there, we circled it. On the other side in the middle of the floor was Lazarus. He had wrapped himself up in an ambulance blanket.
The Doctor walked in first. He began walking a large circle around Lazarus. I made sure to be standing directly opposite him.
"I came here before, a lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then." Lazarus explained in a strained voice. "In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz." The Doctor recalled.
Lazarus hummed. "You've read about it."
"We were there." The Doctor corrected.
"You're too young." Lazarus denied.
"So are you." The Doctor pointed out.
Lazarus laughed. It was cut off by the sound of bones cracking- it must be painful, if Lazarus' expression was anything to go on.
"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive." Lazarus recalled, breathing through clenched teeth. The Doctor and I were rotating around him, watching in a perfect circle. "I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."
'You've got a plan, or do I have to listen to him ramble?'
'Do you have one?' The Doctor countered. 'Your last one got us out of a tough spot.'
'Seriously?' I huffed. Did, did he really want me to do everything? The only plan I had involved putting Martha and Tish in danger.
'If you don't mind.'
'Ugh.' I glanced upwards. 'We could use the bell tower. And the piano.'
The Doctor buzzed in my mind at that. "That's what you were trying to do today?" The Doctor asked Lazarus, his tone more sombre than his thoughts.
"That's what I did today." Lazarus corrected with bite.
"Oh? Is that what happened? Is that why so many people are dead?" I challenged.
Lazarus scoffed. "They were nothing. I changed the course of history."
"So could they." I spat at him.
"You think history's only made with equations?" The Doctor argued. "Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."
"No, Doctor. Avoiding death, that's being human." Lazarus snapped. "It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being. I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful."
"Look at yourself. You're mutating! You've no control over it. You call that a success?" The Doctor ranted. 'Terra, get beside me.'
'What? No. Someone has to lead him to the bell tower.'
'And you know who it is.'
'No. No! We can't-'
'Terra. She'll do great.'
"I call it progress. I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human." Lazarus boasted.
"There's no such thing as an ordinary human." The Doctor countered.
Lazarus opened his mouth to snap back. Before he could, he convulsed as his body made more of those bone cracking noises.
The Doctor stood in front of Martha. I had slowed down so that I was too.
"He's going to change again any minute." Martha warned.
"We know." The Doctor and I replied.
"If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, Terra's an idea that might work."
Martha looked up to the ceiling. "Up there?"
I nodded.
Before us, Lazarus had calmed his body down for another moment. "You're so sentimental, Doctor and Terra. Maybe you are older than you look." Lazarus taunted.
"We're old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one." The Doctor countered. The two of us knelt down together, so we stood at level with Lazarus. Martha watched with a calculating eye, Tish behind her watched in hesitation. "In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust."
The Doctor held my hand. I squeezed it in return.
"If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone." The Doctor admitted.
And I sucked m
"That's a price worth paying." Lazarus stated.
"How?" I asked him. "How is solitude to that scale worth it? No one reveres you for it. They hide from you, calling you a monster and something unnatural."
A pause. "I will feed soon." Lazarus warned. He eyed the Doctor and I like we were pieces of meat for him, laid out like a buffet.
"We're not going to let that happen." The Doctor stated.
"You've not been able to stop me so far." Lazarus bragged.
"Leave them, Lazarus!" Martha shouted. We all looked up at her. She was focusing on Lazarus. "They're old and bitter. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat."
"Martha no-" I began rising to my feet.
But Lazarus was faster, like this. He lashed out towards Martha. She screamed, running back towards the stairs. Tish followed.
"What are you doing?" Martha yelled.
"Keeping you out of trouble!" Tish yelled.
"Doctor! Terra! The tower!" Martha shouted.
Lazarus roared, chasing after them.
The Doctor squeezed my hand, rising to his feet. "We've got to go."
"I know." I replied, hating myself even more for it.
We ran back, to another staircase. This one led directly to an organ piano. I ran to the ledge, looking for the sisters among the windows to the belltower. The Doctor joined me.
"Where did they go?" I asked, searching. "Jones!" I called out.
Martha appeared in a window. Behind her, Tish. "Terra! Doctor!" She called out.
I let out a relieved breath. "To the top! You hear me?! Straight there!" I ordered.
"Up to the top!" Martha reported.
"Thatta girl!"
"Then what?" Martha asked.
"Martha, come on!" Tish yelled.
Lazarus roared as he chased after them. Martha and Tish ditched the window, going back up.
The Doctor held up the sonic. "You ready?"
"Only if you crank it to eleven." I instructed.
The Doctor grinned in mad delight.
He sat at the organ piano. He stuck the sonic into the power socket for the piano. "Hypersonic sound waves. Inspired." He began pulling out the bulbs and knobs on the organ.
I looked up to the belltower. The Jones sisters could be spotted rushing in, dashing around to avoid Lazarus. He growled and snarled at them.
"I hope it's a good acoustic in here." The Doctor stated. He started playing.
I clapped my hands over my ears. It was loud- exactly as loud as we needed.
Lazarus screeched.
So did the girls.
There was a loud crash.
I had watched Lazarus fall to the floor. His body changed back in death to human again. This time, it was a true death.
"Martha!" I called out.
"Martha!" The Doctor shouted too.
Martha "I'm okay! We're both okay!" Martha called out.
I let out a relieved breath, sagging onto the bench.
The Doctor put a hand on my shoulder. "See? Genius plan."
"Whatever." I waved off. "They're alive. It's all good." Moment of peace passed, I stood up to my feet. "I'll go check on them, you go check the body?"
The Doctor nodded. He took his sonic back, heading down the stairs. I climbed up, going to the Jones sisters. They were still clutching each other as the panic faded.
"That was your plan?" Martha asked.
I gave a small shrug.
Martha just laughed.
"Ladies, as lovely as the view is, mind coming down?" I invited. They stood up on shaking legs, full of adrenaline that was finally edging off.
'He's gone this time.'
'Confirmed?'
'Reverted to his original state. His body couldn't hold the change.'
'Okay.'
Once at the bottom of the stairs, Martha rushed to the Doctor. She leapt at him for a hug.
"I didn't know you could play?" Martha joked as the hug ended.
"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up." The Doctor excused.
"Hmm. Especially about playing loud." Martha joked.
The Doctor paused, smiling dopely. "Sorry?" He asked, scratching at his ear.
"That joke was so lame, I could've told it." I told him.
The Doctor hummed in reply, still scratching at his ear.
Martha and I laughed at him.
==ROTF==
It was morning now.
Morning to a terrible, no good, very bad day.
A day that no one would remember nor should they.
So it was really best that we got a move on.
The body had been taken away. The Doctor presumed UNIT, the same for the rest of the bodies. Everyone else went back home, safe and sound. Martha was getting texts from her sister, letting her know that Leo's concussion had healed by the morning.
I changed out of the cursed clothing. Now I was back in my usual purple hoodie and by the Author did it feel good. Couldn't get the damn thing off fast enough, in my opinion. The Doctor was opting to stay in his suit for just a little longer. Why, I couldn't fathom.
So...we were back where we started.
Martha's apartment.
Sending her off.
The Doctor used his key to unlock the TARDIS.
"Something else that just kind of escalated, then." The Doctor apologized, as best he could.
"I can see a pattern developing." Martha joked, trying to hide how sad this was making her. "You should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you lot find yourselves in."
"I try. He still manages to bungle it up." I explained.
"Oi. It's not always me." The Doctor excused.
"Yes. I think you'll find it is." I chided.
"It's good fun, though, isn't it?" The Doctor grinned.
"Yeah." Martha laughed. We joined her.
The Doctor gave me a searching look. Without even reading his mind, I gave him a nod. "So, what do you say, one more trip?" The Doctor offered.
Martha's smile fell, into one more strained. "No. Sorry."
"What do you mean? I thought you liked it." The Doctor asked.
"I do, but I can't go on like this." Martha explained. "'One more trip.' It's not fair."
"It's really not." I agreed with her. "So what do you want to do about it?"
"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore." Martha explained. "Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, I'd rather stay here."
"Okay, then. If that's what you want." The Doctor nodded.
"We'll go with it." I confirmed with a nod of my head.
Martha made a face, one of hiding how much this was actually hurting her to say and do. "Right. But we've already said goodbye once today. It's probably best if you both just go." She turned her back to us. She walked off to not be close, to spare herself pain.
She halted when she heard no sounds of us opening the doors. Or even trying to.
Martha turned around. "What is it?"
"Hmm?" I hummed.
"What? We said okay." The Doctor explained.
"Sorry?"
"Okay." He nodded his head at the TARDIS.
Martha was still looking confused.
"You're not a passenger anymore." I explained. "So come on."
Martha realized what we meant. She beamed. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" She rushed over to hug us.
"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?" The Doctor teased. He opened the door for her.
Martha hopped on board.
I followed after her, happily walking over to the pilot seat. It was going to be hard, knowing that the next time we came back it would be to the end of the world as they knew it. But for now, for a few months, I could keep Martha safe. I could do with her as I failed with Rose.
If at the end, Martha hated me for it, then at least she'd be around.
"Now. I believe we've made you wait long enough." The Doctor stated. He flipped the handbrake.
That perked me right up. "Yes!" I cheered. "Yes time to get the boy!"
Martha laughed. "I can't believe it- I really can't."
We all missed Francine's message. A message about how dangerous the Doctor and I were, how this information came from Saxon himself. All in all, not necessarily a bad thing.
==ROTF==
"This place, is full of dogs." Martha noted.
"Well it's a planet that's just one giant dog park. What else would it be?" The Doctor explained.
Terra was running with the dogs, whistling out. She was searching for her canine. If the Doctor did it right- with some help, let's be honest- they should have landed a week after they left.
"A whole planet that's a dog park?" Martha questioned. "Seriously?"
"There's one planet that's all beach." Terra supplied. "Saw it in an ad. Space Florida, with automatic sand."
"What does automatic sand mean?" Martha asked.
"I'm guessing that it's sand that automatic." Terra whistled again. "But this is the dog park planet. Are you surprised at the dogs?"
"No. I mean, I guess it makes sense." Martha watched another pack of dogs run right past Terra. A few of them did not look like any breed of dog she had ever seen.
"What would be the point of calling it a dog park, if it didn't have dogs?" The Doctor mused.
"Right!" Terra asked. "It's just weird." She took a deep breath. "COME HERE BOY!"
"Oh hello." The Doctor cooed. Martha turned to him. The Doctor knelt down beside a golden retriever. It wasn't a puppy, but only just. "Yes it's still me."
"Any sign of him yet?" Martha asked the Doctor.
The Doctor beamed at the dog. "Oi, Sailor!"
Terra turned to them. A smile bloomed one her face.
"This is him?" Martha asked. The Doctor nodded.
The dog barked.
"He's so cute!" Martha cooed. She walked up to the dog, holding out her hand. The dog went to her hand eagerly. Martha scratched behind his ears. "What's his name, then?"
"Rebel." A voice deadpanned.
Martha gawked at the dog. "Did it- did it just talk?" She asked the Doctor and Terra.
They stared at her for a long moment. The Doctor was the first to crack a grin. Terra laughed too. She pulled out a device from her pocket, clicking a button. The same voice spoke the name again.
Martha gave them an unamused stare. The Time Lords laughed anyway.
"You- you actually thought Rebel could talk." Terra laughed. She held out her arms. The dog rushed to her embrace. He licked at her hand, which Terra welcomed without hesitation. "Like- come on. You know- you know better." She laughed again. "He's an alien dog but not that alien." The dog licked at her face. "But he is the goodest boy- yes you are, yes you are."
The dog stopped licking at her face. Instead, he rubbed the side of his head against Terra's.
A small laugh came from her. "You're the sweetest." Terra ruffled the top of his head.
He only panted.
"I am fine, thank you for asking."
"Is she talking to it? Like it understands her?" Martha asked, eyes glinting in delight.
"Course he can." The Doctor replied with a proud voice. Terra cuddled the dog. The golden retriever welcomes the affection, and returned it. "Canines are incredibly intelligent, especially on this planet. Smart as any human, just can't speak. Time Lords are natural touch telepaths. Contact like this is encouraged for the younger years. Gets them used to the neural pathways in their minds."
The dog barked.
"Yes! Yes we're taking you with this time!" Terra turned to the Doctor, ecstatic. "Yeah?"
The Doctor made a confused expression. "Course we are."
Terra squeaked in delight. She turned to Rebel. The dog's tail was wagging. "You hear that? You're such a smart doggie."
The dog went up to lick at Terra's hand, laughing.
Martha nervously glanced to the Doctor. He was watching Terra. Martha saw something on his face, an emotion she hadn't seen since the slums of New New York.
He was mourning something. Something, that Martha thinks not even Terra had known.
==ROTF==
Back on Earth, there was a small room. Not much bigger than a closet. There was no window. Just a cot on the floor, and a toilet. Besides the entrance to this cell was a red dress on a hanger.
A girl sat on the floor. She was tapping a beat of four on the floor. Her voice echoed in that cell. She sang a few simple notes.
"Doubt comes in, the wind is changing. Doubt comes in, how cold it's blo-"
A guard slammed a fist on her door. The girl stopped singing to switch to humming.
"Would you shut up?" The guard demanded. "That song is- just quit it." He marched off without another word.
She waited a moment before humming again.
"Where is she? Where is she, now?"
==ROTF==
AN: And so we meet Terra's third dog. Rebel, everybody! I had a whole list of names and when this one popped up, it was a no brainer. As for the breed, that came from a quiz. It was either a GR or an affenpinscher, and I had to struggle from choosing that Terra got two dogs.
Like y'all...it was a real struggle.
Even now...as I type this...I wanna turn back and give her the second dog...a cute little black dog named Bullets...fuckfuckfuckfuck-Don't do it. Do not do it.