Within the Mirage Part Five

Notes: Haha! I am writing again straight after finishing the previous chapter, so all the conditions I mentioned still apply! Except now I'm well enough to consume a big bag of crisps, so I'm hyper too! Huzzah! I've also just watched some of Wayne's World 2 and the Cowboy Bebop Movie, so I'm feeling excellent and senselessly violent. Do not be surprised if someone turns into a bounty hunter/clown. Zang!

No notes to individual reviewers. I'm tired and sleepy and I think I might fall over something. So I'll just say 'Let's jam!' to all those kind enough to reveal their innermost thoughts to me, and I do encourage you all to do so again when you are done reading. Thank you for your patronage.

ZANG!

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Um, excuse me Doctor?"

He looked up from where he had previously been having a nice nap on his desk.

"What now Samantha?"

Sam scowled at him. "Our parents aren't paying £10000 a year for you to take a nap!"

He sat up and straightened his tie. "Samantha, I'm going to ask you to do something very important for me." She arched an eyebrow. "Shut up."

"I'm going to the Headmistress," she announced, sweeping from the room.

"Have fun," muttered the Doctor, before laying his head back down on the pile of essays that made a surprisingly comfortable pillow.

"You're gonna get fired for this," exclaimed Darv. "Aren't you gonna do something?"

"Yes. I'm going to eat this Hob Nob, then I want you all to be quiet and pretend to be atoms," said the Doctor, picking up a biscuit.

"You're not gonna go and…save your skin?" asked Darv, looking mightily confused.

"My skin is perfectly safe, thank you Darv," said the Doctor, trying not to make crumbs on his desk. "I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't actually matter if I lose my job or not, because I happen to be asleep."

"Right on!" said Darv.

"Thank you," said the Doctor in a muffled voice as he crammed the rest of the biscuit into his mouth. His class got on with quietly pretending to be atoms. Darv spent a good ten minutes looking for a missing proton before Samantha came back, looking incredibly happy with herself.

"You're to go and see the Headmistress at once," she said, her nose so high in the air that she almost tripped over Darv, who had come to the conclusion that his missing proton was somewhere under her left shoe.

"I think I'll just stay here," replied the Doctor. "In fact, I might help Darv." He got off his chair and dropped to the floor. "No, I won't do that. I'll fall asleep here instead."

"Have you all gone mad?" demanded Samantha, stamping her foot on Darv's hat. Thankfully he wasn't wearing it at the time, or he'd have acquired a strange and interesting new piercing from her heel.

"Samantha, remember what I said about shutting up," sad the Doctor. "It doesn't matter anymore you see. I'm asleep, I'm dreaming. I can't do anything about it, but at some point I'm going to wake up."

The last thing he saw of his own made up dimension was Samantha's mouth open in protest and Darv's joyful reunion with his missing proton, which had turned out to be a small plastic squirrel.

The Doctor now found himself in a laboratory surrounded by several blue people.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Rose had now counted the ceiling tiles twice and got a different answer each time. She was now talking to Jack, who continued to be very much asleep.

"I mean, we've only known her for what…two weeks? Plus that one day when she was fourteen," she said, lying on her own plastic mattress. She propped up her head with her elbow and looked at him. He was drooling slightly. "In all that time, you'd have thought I'd know her better. All I really know is that she's human, nineteen…" Rose ticked it off on her fingers. "…has six toes on one of her feet, likes swimming and rollerblading, has a dead brother…OK, when you line it all up it does look like a lot I s'pose." She sighed and rolled onto her back. "I just wish I knew her better, instead of random facts about her."

"You tried talking to her?"

"Not really, but…" She trailed off. Jack grinned at her. She laughed. "How long have you been pretending to be asleep?"

"Me? Pretend?" Jack looked shocked. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

"What did you dream of then?" asked Rose, smiling. Jack went an intriguing shade of red.

"I'd prefer not to talk about that," he mumbled. Rose scowled and looked like she was going to protest, so he quickly added, "So, you wanna find the Doctor now, or Stella? You've been whining about both of them for quiet some time now."

"Jack!" She hit him over the head with the plastic covered pillow. He ducked and brought up his arms to protect himself.

"You're so childish," he joked. Rose gave up and just threw it at him instead.

"Let's find Stella first," she decided. "We know where the Doctor is, so it makes sense to look for her. Besides, from what I heard he's still asleep."

"He'll work out the catch phrase sooner or later," said Jack.

"Catch phrase?"

"Don't tell me you didn't guess?" asked Jack. Rose looked puzzled. "What was the last thing you said before your dream disintegrated?" She shrugged. "I'm going to wake up? Ring any bells?"

"Oh right," she said, flushing a little and feeling stupid. "Yeah, I remember that. Well, he'll just have to wait here until we come back."

"Huh. If I know the Doctor, I'd say it was impossible for him to sit still long enough," said Jack dryly. Rose made for the door.

"It's not impossible," she said, winking. "Just highly improbable."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hello," said the Doctor, beaming at his two new blue friends. "I'm the Doctor."

"We know who you are, Time Lord," said one of them in a voice that spoke of awe. They looked as if they were about to chant 'we are not worthy'.

"You have done your homework," said the Doctor, trying very hard not to burst into gales of laughter at this remark. He remembered his dream. "Want to explain what's going on?"

"Certainly," said one of them. "I am Curio, and this is Juno. We are Espritans, followers of the great leader Esprit of the planet Tranquillity."

"Esprit?" asked the Doctor. Something about the name sounded very familiar, particularly the way it was said. It sounded like 'Esprrree', with rolling 'r's that sounded almost… "That's French isn't it? Hmmm…I get it now. Tranquillité d'esprit. Peace of mind. I'm guessing that's what your little tricks are hoping to preserve, am I right?"

"They are defence mechanisms, to protect our planet from further war and invasion," said Juno, nodding his head.

"How does it work?" asked the Doctor.

"There is a generator on the far side of this island," explained Curio. "It produces particles that deceive the mind and ultimately cause sleep. They enter through the eyes."

"Explains the fact we couldn't see anything unless we were touching it," agreed the Doctor. "That's impressive technology."

"It is, sir," agreed Curio. "But unfortunately we are not as immune as we thought we were."

"How many of you are left?" he asked.

"Fewer than one hundred," said Juno. "But you sir, you are unique!"

"That's an interesting way of putting it I suppose," said the Doctor. "It's not something I chose."

"We know all about it," said Curio, his kind violet eyes staring deep into the Doctor's own. "The defence mechanisms were built to protect us from the Time War, the allies of the Daleks. Ultimately it destroyed all who lived in the open air."

"You were part of the Time War?" asked the Doctor eagerly, as if he was the nerdy kid trying to get in with the cool crowd at school.

"It is not something we chose," echoed Juno. The Doctor nodded.

"Where are my friends?"

"Exploring the fortress. Would you like us to locate them for you?"

"Nah, it's OK, they'll be fine," said the Doctor. "I need to know more about your people." He grinned in a way that sent shivers down Curio's spine. "Take me to your leader."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Stella had not gone looking for trouble, but it had quickly caught up with her. She was currently standing with a large shiny dangerous looking object pointed at her head.

"Why isn't anyone ever pleased to see me?" she wondered aloud.

"Why are you not in your room?" asked the decidedly grumpy Espritan who was holding the large shiny dangerous looking object, and, for added effect, scowling at her.

"Curio…said I could explore…I haven't touched anything," said Stella slowly. The Espritan sighed and lowered his weapon.

"Curio is too reckless," he said. "My name is Crag."

"Stella Brinley," she said.

"I will escort you back to your room, Miss Stella Brinley," said Crag. "Please be more careful next time."

"OK," said Stella in a higher pitched voice than she would have liked. She cleared her throat. "Where are we?" The corridor around them was white, like the rest of the fortress, but the lighting seemed different, softer. It could almost be described as faintly pink.

"The nursery quarters," said Crag, in a less menacing tone. "We raise our children here, deep in the heart of the fortress, where the particles cannot reach them."

Stella glanced at a nearby door, which had a circular window in it. She glanced at Crag enquiringly and he nodded. She looked through the window.

Two adorable blue children were playing inside, watched over by their mother. One of them was playing with a little furry creature that was purring happily, and the other was skipping around the room, seemingly oblivious to everyone around her. She was singing shrilly. Stella couldn't quite make out the words, but they seemed to be something like 'Circles are pretty…something, something… tasty wonderful…something, something…black gravy.'

"They're really sweet," she commented as they walked on. Crag smiled properly for the first time.

"They are mine," he said. "Elka and Telson. And my wife, Sharna." They walked in silence back to her room, and met Jack and Rose on the way.

"There you are!" said Jack. Stella laughed nervously.

"Uh…hi Jack," she said, trying her best to forget about her stupid dream. "This is Crag." Crag was at that moment talking to himself, or he appeared to be. All became clear however when he turned slightly to reveal a small walkie talkie.

"Your comrade has just been admitted to Esprit's office. I am to escort you there," he said stiffly. "Follow me."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"So you are the Time Lord," said Esprit, peering over the top of his glasses at the Doctor. "I must say, you're not what I expected."

"The feeling is mutual," said the Doctor, staring at the tiny, wizened man before him. The only thing that showed he could have more power than the others was a precious stone, hanging on a thick chain around his neck. The Doctor guessed it was something like an Earth opal. Esprit was sat at an ornately carved desk, his feet barely skimming the ground. The room was small and bare, except for a tapestry hanging behind Esprit that showed a war scene. He saw the Doctor looking at it.

"Ahh, that is—"

"The Time War," interrupted the Doctor, moving towards it. He put out a finger and touched the woven threads. "Those are my people. Time Lords." He looked at the rest of the tapestry. "Daleks. Their allies. Your people."

"It is an interesting piece," said Esprit, standing next to him. He barely came up to the Doctor's waist.

"They're all asleep!" said the Doctor, although he was not really surprised. He squinted at a grey block that was the central point of the picture. "What's that?"

"The generator," said a voice from behind them. They both turned to see another Espritan, and three very familiar humans. Stella waved cheerily at him. The Doctor beamed and moved towards them, engulfing Rose in a hug. Stella looked a little put out and stalked off to look at the tapestry. Jack rolled his eyes at the embracing couple and went to join her.

"How are you?" asked the Doctor, releasing her. "Did you have—"

"Nightmares, yes," said Rose, trying to grin. The picture of the Doctor dead was firmly imprinted on her mind. It was hard to find something to smile about.

"Me too," said the Doctor a little breathlessly, scrutinising her face. "Are you alright though?"

"Bit shaken," admitted Rose. Esprit cleared his throat.

"If I may," he asked.

"Go ahead," said the Doctor.

"Doctor, I will not lie to you," said Esprit. "My people are in danger, we all are. The generator is becoming unstable."

"And you want my help," guessed the Doctor dully. "Some holiday this turned out to be."

"You have technology that is beyond ours," explained Esprit. "You would be able to take the generator somewhere else, somewhere deserted. Then we could live out our lives in the open air instead of this wretched fortress."

"Hang on a minute," said Jack. Esprit ignored him.

"There are children here, young children who will never see the outside," he said, his voice growing stronger and more angry. "Our part in the Time War destroyed their future." He fixed the Doctor with a stony glare. "You are different. You are special. You survived the Time War for a reason. You are a hero, destined to help and protect those who cannot save themselves.

"We have tried everything we can to destroy the generator, and with all our attempts it has become unstable. There will be a time in the future when even the fortress cannot protect us.

"Take it away. Take it far away from our planet, and give our children their futures." Esprit smiled softly. "It was no coincidence that the Gods brought you to us, Time Lord."

The Doctor was motionless for a while. All eyes were on him as he stood in silence.

"What do I have to do?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………

If anyone can identify a quote from here or the relevance of some names, I'll award you with the prestigious, the amazing…Chubby Chub Chub Chub Award! You know you want it.

I'll be seeing you all, across the horizon of TIME!

Eevee