Doesn't Remind me of Anything
Chapter Eleven: The Night that the Lights Went Out
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The thud of the Doctor colliding with the wall of the Tardis was a sickening sound and Rose flinched in reaction. The Doctor leaned against the Tardis, his handsome features scrunched up in pain as his hand reached tenderly towards his ribs.
'No there was no need for that' the Doctor exclaimed as he tried to stand up. He ended up leaning against the wall clutching his ribs as he took deep breaths in to steady himself and block out the pain. Rose still remained at Crevasses' side but now his metal hand was squeezed around her throat, he could see the pain this was bringing reflected in her eyes.
'I obviously didn't explain myself clearly enough, Doctor' Crevasse warned 'I am in control of this situation' he told him as the Doctor watched him warily, waiting for any signal that he was going to falter again – but he was fairly certain this wasn't going to happen. He stood there watching Rose and Crevasse whilst trying to calculate a plan in his mind – the only problem was that his mind kept going blank. He looked at Rose hoping she had some idea of what to do but her eyes were closed, thinking or panicking? The Doctor thought.
Little did the Doctor know that Rose had made a plan, a plan that she couldn't tell anyone in fear it would not work – a plan that would evoke panic and bring back the tiny parts of the Doctor she had seen earlier in the day. There was only one flaw to her plan, one tiny flaw that could ruin the entire thing – the unpredictable element of Crevasse. She could only hope that the Doctor understood what she was doing.
The Doctor watched Crevasses' hand as it still squeezed Roses' throat, he could see this was hurting her, he could also see the red rings on her neck that surrounded his fingers. He watched Roses' eyes flicker as she gasped for breathe, her hand reached out to him and then her eyes closed and her mouth hung open. She flopped at Crevasses' side with the only thing keeping her standing being Crevasses' hand around her throat. This was the unpredictable element she had feared – if he didn't let go, if he didn't lay her down, if he didn't give her body to the Doctor, she feared instead he may continue to strangle her with her whole weight aiding him to the point where he killed her or he may just assume she is already dead and throw her out of the Tardis as waste.
'Let go of her. You're killing her!' the Doctor ordered. Crevasse looked from the Doctor and Rose as though he was trying to decide what to do.
'No' Crevasse spat at him, 'I know you humans and your mind games. I will not give in to you'. He continued to hold Rose who could hear every word he was saying, she could also feel the air being squeezed from her lungs and her inability to breath, her eyesight really was fading and she felt as though she could fall down any second. Her eyes opened briefly for a moment meeting the Doctors', he saw her eyes bulge and then he saw her head flop down like the rest of her body. Every muscle inside the Doctor tensed
'Please! You're killing her!' he shouted at Crevasse who continued to ignore him. He looked down at Roses' body and could see her face turning blue
'How do I know this is not a trick?' Crevasse demanded to know, the Doctor frantically ran his fingers through his hair thinking
'You can keep hold of her, just let go of her throat!' the Doctor suggested, Crevasse accepted this suggestion and removed his hand from her throat; he instead placed it around her waist and anchored her body against his. The Doctor could see white circles and lines on Roses' skin where Crevasses' hand had been and slowly they started to return to red. Rose started to gasp for air, gulping it in as though she had never had it before, the colour was returning to her face and the dots fading from her vision. She grabbed her head which was now pounding due to the lack of oxygen. The Doctor stared at her intensely
'Are you alright?' he asked trying to sound gentle but he couldn't remove the force and fearfrom his voice. Rose looked down at the floor and realised she wasn't standing on it, when Crevasse picked her up he had done it literally, she was dangling off of him arm. She glanced up at the Doctor and nodded her head
'I'll survive' she croaked as she tried to decide what to do with her legs. She didn't know if she should leave them or swing them but they were defiantly moving. Crevasse pressed his hand into her side until she looked up at him and squealed out in pain.
'Know that I have everyone's attention' Crevasse said whilst checking that Stavishm and the Doctor were both watching him, a small smile passed over his lips when he saw them both glaring at him.
'I am going to Franken Hill' as soon as he said that Stavishm reacted, his jam dropped open and his eyes widened.
'No you can't!' Stavishm cried out, Crevasse glared at him and hit Roses' stomach again
'I said silence!' Crevasses bellowed, the Tardis was instantly silent and small tears dropped from Roses' eyes.
'We are going to Franken Hill' Crevasse repeated as the Doctor watched him with interest
'And how exactly were you planning on getting there?' the Doctor asked, Crevasse looked at him as though he was stupid.
'Using the Tardis' he testily told him
'But the Tardis is just a box' the Doctor stated playing on the fact he had lost his memory and being grateful that Crevasse didn't know that Rose had explained all of this to him already. For a brief moment panic flashed through Crevasses' eyes, but this look was then replaced by his evil glare.
'I still don't get it, how can a box move us?' the Doctor asked again, beginning to sound like an annoying child.
'It's a magic box' Crevasse told him patronisingly as the Doctor pulled a face at him, this brought a small smile to Roses' face who was still clutched to Crevasses' side.
'It flies!' Rose called out as the Doctors' face broke into a grin. Crevasse grimaced at the pair and shouted
'Enough!' when everyone was looking at him again he took a deep breath in and meet the Doctors' eyes. 'Let's get back to business. You are going to fly this thing to Franken Hill – thrity years ago' he commanded. The Doctor continued to meet his gaze
'But I don't know how' he replied quietly – the authority in his voice could still be heard though. Crevasse looked down at Rose
'Then I think it's about time you started to remember' he said as he moved the gun to the side of Roses' head. As he did this he saw the intensity of the Doctors' gaze deepen and all his emotions were revealed.
'You wouldn't' the Doctor began his voice deep and harsh. Crevasse looked up and met his eyes
'Wouldn't I? She is not important to me; only to you she is important. You fly the Tardis and she lives, you don't and she dies – simple' Crevasse warned him, the Doctor scratched his ear
'What if I can't?'
'Then she dies. I do not need her, as far as I'm concerned she is a spare part that can be sold as a slave or burned for fuel' the Doctors' eyes hardened as he said this. The Doctors' fleeting gaze met Roses' for a moment – she could see the promise in his eyes.
'I will help you – but only if you tell me why' the Doctor commanded his voice grave.
'No questions' Crevasse answered as he lugged Rose across the room with him. Roses' eyes bulged and her legs scrabbled, kicking wildly whilst her arms clung onto Crevasse who made no sign of putting her down. The Doctor watched her cautiously as he followed Crevasse making sure he wasn't hurting her. She was making faces at him and mouthing 'do something' he raised his eyebrows and put his hands in the air as he silently mouthed back 'I can't or he'll shoot you! Do you want that?' she pulled a face at him and shook her head as he shrugged. Crevasse turned round to glare at him and the Doctor instantly pulled his face into a grin, Crevasse dismissed him with a glare and continued towards the control panel. He stopped and continued to hold Rose looking between her and the Doctor, he couldn't decide what to do with Rose – but he knew he had to keep her under his control. He just couldn't believe it was this hard, ever time he had imagined the capture it had gone much more smoothly in his mind – all that mattered was how close he was to success. Whilst Crevasse was bent over the controls the Doctor turned to look at Stavishm,
'What's Franken Hill?' the Doctor mouthed. Crevasse whirled around and stared at the Doctor
'I said no questions!' Crevasse shouted as Stavishm shrunk back into the corner. The Doctors' face was set into grim determined line, his voice full of warning
'If you expect me to help you I demand to know what's going on. What's Franken Hill?'
As soon as he said the location both Crevasse and Stavishm flinched as though it was bringing back painful memories. Crevasse was no longer paying attention to Rose but he still held her
'Stavishm?' the Doctor coaxed
'Its…it's where we were-' a bullet shot through the air and narrowly missed Stavishms' head – it was a warning shot.
'Don't you dare!' Crevasse bellowed as Stavishms' nervous eyes darted between the Doctor and Crevasse. The Doctor nodded his head a Stavishm and Crevasse poised his gun.
'It where we were built – trained!' Stavishm quickly shouted as he through himself to the floor protecting himself from the shower of bullets aiming his way. The Doctor threw himself to the floor as the gun shots burst through the air, he lay there with his arms protecting his head as he pressed himself into the floor. Rose now had her feet on the floor but was bent forward with Crevasses' arm around her throat as he continued to shoot. Crevasse knew Stavishm wouldn't return the fire because of Rose being held at his side, he watched as Stavishm and the Doctor both began to crawl around the consol trying to protect themselves from the endless gun fire as Roses' shouts filled the cabin.
'No! Leave them alone! No-' she was cut off as Crevasse pressed his finger into the sensitive spot of her neck, her face grimaced in pain and her hands clenched. The Doctor turned his head to face Stavishm
'What's Franken Hill?' the Doctor whispered to him pleading for him to tell him. Stavishm opened his mouth to speak but the sound of metal feet colliding with metal floors could be heard as Crevasse approached
'Doctor!' Rose screamed in warning as Crevasse approached. The Doctor glanced up then looked at Stavishm again
'Franken Hill?' he pleaded but as soon as he said it Crevasses' eyes closed and he screamed. Rose and the Doctor both noticed this and looked at one another with questioning eyes.
'Franken Hill' Rose taunted Crevasse as he pulled his gun out again
'Franken Hill' shouted the Doctor as he jumped up and started to race around the consol
'Franken Hill!' Rose called out; the feeling of the handle of Crevasses' gun colliding with the back of her neck was enough to knock her out. The Doctor hadn't seen what had happened as continued to dart and dodge bullets
'Franken Hill!' he shouted again as he came up behind Crevasse, both Stavishm and Crevasse had doubled over and were shouting, Crevasse continued to hit buttons as he screamed, the Tardis wailed as its controls were overridden by the microbe.
'Franken Hill!' the Doctor shouted again each time getting louder
'No!' Crevasse screeched as he hit the final coordinates into the control panel. The vortex began to screech in protest but continued to work as the Tardis shuddered as it moved through space. Crevasse dropped Rose and fell to his knees clutching his head; The Doctor darted forward and caught Rose just before she hit the ground.
'Franken Hill' the Doctor called out once more, his voice angry and laced with venom. It was too much for Crevasse and Stavishm to take, they both started hitting their heads trying to make the images go away but nothing could remove the memories that were burned into their minds. They both stopped screaming as they flopped to the floor with their heads lolling to one side.
'Now if I had known it was going to be that easy…' the Doctor began but stopped once he saw how dim Roses' eyes were and how they flickered.
'Rose' the Doctor whispered.
Inside Crevasse and Stavishms' minds the same scene was playing back to them.
Sparks were flying through the air and the sound of drilling shattered the silence as the robots remained in their lines. The lines and lines of robots were perfectly straight, they all stood with their eyes dormant, their hands at their sides, the faces expressionless. They filled halls and corridors and overflowed out into the courtyard of the factory, all standing in lines gazing forward at one thing – gazing into the darkness. Stavishm and Crevasse grasped the bars that covered the windows as they bumped up and down inside of the van that they were trapped in. Around them other robots lay strewn on the floor – parts missing from battles and fights, some just slouched against the wall: hopeless. Once the drills stopped silence took over the factories again, that was until the van entered the gates, then the screams of Crevasse and Stavishm could be heard. Their metal hands hung onto the steel bars – the force of their rage crushing them, Stavishm had metal plates missing and scorch marks all over.
'No! Let us go!' Crevasses' emotion fuelled voice rang out through the courtyard. Stavishm sat down on the floor by Crevasses' feet and let his head fall into his hands.
'They're gone' Stavishm whispered as tears fell from his eyes. Crevasse hit the bars once more then dropped to the floor beside Stavishm.
'They could still be alive' Crevasse tried to reassure both of them – but they both knew he was lying.
'How could they be? You saw it… what they did…' Stavishm whispered before he returned his head to his hands, his body gently rocked as he remembered the last couple of days.
'If they are not, we will avenge them' Crevasse promised Stavishm, himself and the ghosts of their lost loved ones.
'Don't make promises you can't keep' Stavishm warned him. Crevasse took his hand and looked down into the eyes of his broken hearted little brother.
'They will not have died in vain' he promised him. Stavishm looked up at the last remaining member of his family and nodded. The back doors of the van swung open – their hinges screaming – and in walked a dozen armoured humans, approaching Stavishm and Crevasse with poles. They knew what these poles did – on a lower setting they sent a shock through a robot causing their systems to momentarily freeze, but at a higher setting they could affectively electrocute a robot, destroying their mechanisms, their circuits and frying their brains. Crevasse and Stavishm both knew this because they had witnessed it first hand, they couldn't decided if they were lucky to have just been stunned – or if they were better off dead. The guards waved their poles in warning as the shipment of robots slowly disembarked from the van, the robots were all male adults – everyone else had be callously murdered, all the robots of different size and shape had different parts burnt, other parts missing but no one could mistake the fear and anger that filled their eyes as they entered the courtyard. Everyone had heard of this place, they had just never it believe it would happen to them. Crevasse and Stavishm were the last to leave the van, each having their own escort as they had been rightly named as the most dangerous prisoners – that's exactly what they were: prisoners in this sickening war. They could both feel the poles pressed against their backs and however much they wanted to fight back they knew they couldn't – they had a promise to keep- they also knew to be cautious because the guards were extremely trigger happy. They slowly approached the factories, the faint amber glow from the street lamps reflected from the sign
Mango Corps.
67842 Barcelona Plaza
By Appointment Only
These were dank desolate buildings, with cracked windows and vacant doorways, there was nothing Crevasse and Stavishm could do but slowly follow the others. Stavishm turned his head to look behind him – praying for a means of escape but twelve foot high metal fences surrounded the factories, a wooden sign had been hammered into the dry soil and it remained there bleak and uninviting, the swinging of one of the security lamps revealed the words on the sign
Welcome to the Franken Hill Institute
Trespassers will be terminated
Stavishm looked beyond the sign at the barren moors and marshes that surrounded Franken Hill knowing that no matter where he went or what he did this name could not be etched from his brain. Taken a deep breath in he followed his brother into the doors of the warehouse – into the darkness. The doors slammed shut behind them and there was nothing they could do but continue to move forwards, every now and then a comrade in front of them would stumble or collapse but the officers were heartless and took this as an invitation to attack them with the poles. Stavishm closed his eyes to the darkness hoping to block it out but it just made everything worse, now he could picture his family screaming, pleading…dieing. The jive of the pole in his neck kept him moving as he passed numerous lines of robots such as himself, all flinching at footsteps, hiding from officers, crying at memories. The followed Crevasse and the others for what felt like forever until they reached a huge metal doorway, the doors slammed open and shut and every time they closed the drilling sound begun again and sparks flew out of the seams. Whenever the doors opened Stavishm could see flames dancing within and a river of melted metal, yet the door slammed over and over again blocking out the screams of those within. When it came to be their turn Crevasse turned to look at Stavishm, he took his hand and offered him a small smile.
'I'll see you on the other side' he whispered as Stavishm pulled him close for a hug, they held each other that way for a moment until Crevasse stepped back.
'Until the end?' Crevasse asked
'Until the end' Stavishm promised. Hand in hand the brothers walked into hell.
They came out the other side and joined the line – they were no longer Crevasse and Stavishm they were FHI-8997 and FHI-8998, their emotions had been removed along with their names and personalities. They were no longer alive but trapped, like everyone else they stood in a line vacantly staring ahead – no longer recognisable to one another; they were just numbers now, just a statistic. Stamped on the back of their head had been stamped FHI, melted metal still dripped from the gleaming plates on their skulls but it did not matter for they could no longer feel pain. At the front of the room stood a younger Divad who looked over his creations that matched him in speed and inhumanity.
'My brothers, we shall rise and over take the kingdom. Together!' he cheered triumphantly – but this was the first of his problems, a lack of emotions meant a lack of enthusiasm there was no one Divad could share his plans with who would react like he wanted them to do. There was only one thing they could do
'Yes master' the chant of hollow emotionless voices filled the hall as more and more of Franken Hill's creations filled the hall.
'Yes master' was the only reply that could come from Stavishms' mouth for he was screaming inside – he had survived the removal of emotions and knew he had a promise to keep.
Back in present day Stavishm and Crevasse remained on the floor; from where the Doctor and Rose were standing they could just see the back of their heads. Underneath rusted metal and filled with dirt and grim, the markings FHI could still be seen carved into their skulls for eternity.
They both looked at these words not understanding their meaning nor the memories these words could bring back – or the pain.
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