Within the Mirage Part Three
Notes: Well, we're going to explore a few more dreams now. Take my hand gentle reader…that's right…imagine I'm wearing a leather coat and false ears…now, run!
Uh.yeah: Oh good…see, I know you guys will always review, but it's because you're so wonderful that I hate the thought of letting you all down, you see? I know, they're having odd dreams…and yes, a plot emergeth! Amazing really. I'm glad you share my opinions on Stella…maybe I should sell her to Russell T Davies, eh? On the condition that I get to play her…I need to stop thinking about that…
Becsy: STAY AWAY FROM THE SUGAR! I love writing Jackie, she's so great…well, some people have dreams about this kind of thing, and sometimes they actually CAN die from them. Sometimes if people dream of falling from a really high height, they brain sends signals to their heart telling it to stop because it believes them to be dead…more often than not they wake up though. One I dreamt I was drowning in lava…anyway, let's not get into my dreams because most of them include some form of weirdness. Well, it does make me feel clever when people don't get it, but I enjoy it so much when they do!
Morph: Ahhh good, natural is good. Yeah, you are wrong. Sorry about that. And you don't really think I'd kill off my lovely Stella, do you? Although it would make an excellent end to the series. Hmmm, I'll think about that.
Wolf-of-insanity: What, even the Pokemon ones? And YAY, a new reviewer…thanks for reading! And also may I present to you the Master of Observation Award (Chubby Chub Chub Chub). You're now a Chubber! Congratulations!
Jacey 925: Thanks for your review…you're also now a Chubber! Well done indeed!
Jessie: Magic…pudding…? She does get as many lines! I'm very fair with her! I treat them all equally! Ahh well, there's a thing about the name coming up…I don't want to spoil it for you but it's something to do with la belle France.
Anjelic-nija: Wow, so many new reviewers! I am very overwhelmed…thanks so much! It's another one of those 'Eevee had a screwy dream' concepts really, but I'm glad you liked it. Keep reading and reviewing! Cookies be upon you!
Tai: YES! YOU GOT IT! Well done indeed Tai! You can now display upon your profile 'I have won eeveekitty85's Master of Observation Award (Chubby Chub Chub Chub) for spotting a secret quote! I'm a Chubber!' Huzzah! Aww, you're so sweet and supportive…love ya Tai! Ahh, that is the nub and gist of this chapter…what is the Doctor dreaming of? Shippers would say Rose. Others would say Jack. Really weird obscure people might even say Stella. I say merely…read the chapter!
Cloud: No more of a nerd than me, my chum! I've read more Enid Blyton than you can shake a stick at. Well, I can promise no one will get ripped to shreds, OK? Keep reading my dear. You're a Chubber now! Praise be!
Banshee: Another Chubber! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who adored Enid Blyton as a child. Well, I'll consider letting her be OK…since everyone's so concerned about her…
I'm very impressed with theamount of Chubbers...maybe I should start making it harder, eh?
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Crag! Crag, over here! We found them!
Are they harmed?
One. A female. She's showing signs of distress.
Take her to the infirmary, but leave the others in a spare room of the fortress.
We found something else.
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"Samantha, you're still thinking of Time as a straight line!" said the Doctor impatiently. He drew a squiggle on the board. "This is Time!"
"But Time is lineal," protested Sam, pushing her glasses further up her nose.
"Time is a squiggle," insisted the Doctor. "Time overlaps and loops. You can be born in 2000 and die in 1896."
"Not possible," replied Sam. The Doctor sighed.
"Samantha, you are held back by your own mind. Open up a little! Try to understand that Time is not orderly! How would time travel be possible if it was?"
"We can only move forwards, not backwards. I do listen to the news. Someone found a way of moving at the speed of light. He went forwards, or so we presume. He couldn't get back again."
"Human technology," said the Doctor dismissively. "It's pathetic. Good job too, else you'd be plundering your own resources from the past. Greedy nature."
A bell rang in the distance and the students began to pack away.
"Your homework is questions 6 on page 32!" he called out above the noise. "And for God's sake Samantha, think outside the box. OK?" He rubbed his eyes as they filed out. Teaching Physics to irritating university students. Rose would laugh at him now.
The Doctor almost kicked himself for thinking about her as he packed away his notes and walked to his car.
Shut up. Shut up thinking about her. You have better things to think about.
He thought about marking instead, leaning against his car. An old model. He liked old cars. He let his forehead drop onto the roof.
Essays to mark on the theory of antimatter.
He'd tried explaining antimatter to her once. She'd made a weak joke about 'Auntie Matter' and dissolved into giggles.
Shut up. Think of something else. Anything else.
'All the things we talk about
You know they stay on my mind
On my mind
All the things we laugh about will bring us through it every time
After time, after time'
It wasn't even a very good joke. Of course, Jack had loved it. Stella too. They were all so young.
It had been unexpected, out of the blue. He hadn't thought…she was the last one he thought would leave him. He thought…
What? What did you think? That there was…?
A spark. He thought maybe there'd be a chance of them maybe…but it didn't matter, not now.
'Don't say a word
I know you feel the same
Just give me a sign
Say anything, say anything'
How long had it taken for the rest of his team to disband?
Jack had been the first to go, which was surprising too. He'd found a planet he felt at home on, and though he never really wanted to leave, he knew it was time.
Stella stuck it out, tried to make it work.
But there wasn't a spark…
The Doctor couldn't help thinking of her as just a little girl, someone he'd brought by mistake or out of pity.
He realised she meant more to him than that when she asked to be taken home.
'Please don't walk away
I know you wanna stay
If you just give me a sign
Say anything, say anything'
And what of Rose? What of his Rose?
Married.
Fool.
The Doctor rubbed his face. And tried to forget.
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What is that?
We haven't been able to get into it yet, but we scanned it.
And?
Alien. Possibly their space craft.
Try to move it. Take it back to the fortress and study it. It may be useful to Esprit.
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"Beans on toast again eh Doctor?" he muttered to himself as he watched the microwave. "I really should learn how to cook."
A news programme blared out from the TV. They were talking about that scientist again, the one who had gone time travelling into the future but hadn't come back. As he picked up the TV guide he saw there would be a special 'Panorama' on where he could be now. Stupid humans.
He sat down on the battered sofa, sinking so low into the cushions that he might as well have sat on the floor.
He didn't live in the TARDIS anymore, didn't want to. There were too many memories there. It was driving him mad.
One day, he reasoned, he would go travelling again.
He needed to heal first.
'Some say that time changes
Best friends can become strangers'
So he'd parked it on a street corner and visited it when he could to make repairs, keep upgrading it. He couldn't quite bring himself to let it die. She'd been through too much with him, his ship.
If only those walls could talk, right?
He closed his eyes for a moment, and for one glorious second he was back with Rose.
He opened them.
Everything was suddenly blindingly clear. Tranquillity. He…
He fell asleep.
He had to wake up.
He sprang to his feet and grabbed his TARDIS key and jacket, charging down the stairs outside his flat and onto the street. It was there, just as he knew it would be. He flung open the door.
For the second time since he'd met Rose, he was greeted with a normal sized, empty police box.
"OK," he said. "So I can't travel my way out. So what next?"
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Stella screamed.
The other car swerved around hers, brushing it as it roared past without even stopping.
Stella kept screaming. Her car alarm went off, almost in competition with her.
And then she was silent, listening to the equal, blaring tones.
Jack was back, drawn to the noise and screech of tyres. He banged on the window.
"Stella! Stella open the car!" he yelled through the glass. She looked up at him. Her eyes looked sort of puffy, like they did early in the morning when she wasn't properly awake yet. She switched off the alarm and stepped out of the car, trembling as she fell into Jack's open arms.
"What happened?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at the car. One side had a long mark down it where the paint had been scraped off, and a mirror was missing.
"It came out of nowhere," she whispered back. "Jack, this isn't right…"
"Ssssh, calm down, you've had a shock," said Jack, stroking her hair. She pushed him away gently.
"No, this…" She struggled to explain. "I'm dreaming this, all of this. It's just a dream. Me, you and Chris…it's all me. It's not real, and I'm going to wake up."
Jack stared at her for a moment, looking almost amused, then everything around her faded into nothing.
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How is the girl?
Normal again Crag. Her heart rate has slowed down. We were able to identify her species as 'human', and we are monitoring her to make sure everything is as it should be.
Good. I will tell Esprit; he'll be relieved she isn't harmed. The others are well?
Of course. We put them in a spare room, just as you asked. We're running tests now to discover their species'.
They all looked alike.
Deceptive, I assure you. We've already made some interesting progress regarding the eldest male. We think he may be a Time Lord.
Impossible.
That's as may be. But we need to find some way of waking them up before anything serious happens.
No! They will remain asleep.
But Crag—
Not by my choice. There is no choice. They must wake themselves…who's there?
Curio, sir. I've been monitoring the human girl. She's waking up already!
You see Juno? They will wake when they are ready.
But what if they don't?
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I guess it's getting a little confusing with our aliens, but stick with it…if you follow the dialogue carefully, you should be able to work out who's who. Esprit is boss, Crag is his second, and Juno and Curio are just people who work for them. Their names and who's saying what doesn't really matter, it's what they're saying that's important.
Anyway, you'll find out more about them as the story progresses. The race of aliens are called the Espritans (after their esteemed leader), for a reason that ties in with the name 'Tranquillity'. If anyone works it out…well, it'll be a miracle, and I'll make up an amazing award just for them.
The song in this was a particularly pretty one called 'Say Anything' by Good Charlotte.
Keep reading…
Eevee