Hello Everyone! I apologize for the really long time of absence. My grandfather had contracted Cancer recently and it was rough as he flew from Korea to over the US. Also, College started with all that mess and it took me a while to get back to finishing this chapter. I am truly sorry that it ended up taking so much time to get back to this story.
But I'm back and I should be posting somewhat regularly (hopefully). Don't worry, I haven't lost interest in this story and will be trying the best of my abilities to finish this.
Chapter 18: Fires of Pompeii
Once the TARDIS landed, Iris and the Doctor watched Donna excitedly run towards the door. When they all stepped out, Donna's mouth opened in surprise as the Doctor said,
"Ancient Rome. Well, not for them, obviously. To all intents and purposes, right now, this is brand new Rome."
Iris looked at the Doctor with a knowing look before hiding it. She knew where this was, and what will happen. But the look on Donna's face prevented her from ruining the woman's happy mood.
"Oh, my God. It's… it's so Roman. This is fantastic!"
The Doctor chuckled and smiled at Iris, seeing how she looked around her with a hint of curiosity. He felt her side of the bond flare up with wonder and awe. Meanwhile, Donna continued to mutter,
"I'm here, in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome. This is just weird. I mean, everyone here's dead."
The Doctor immediately smiled a little less as he awkwardly whispered, "Well, don't tell them that."
Iris elbowed him with an annoyed look. The Doctor shrugged as they heard Donna exclaim,
"Hold on a minute. That sign over there's in English."
Iris looked at the sign and said quickly, "That would be the TARDIS translation circuits. It just makes the words look like English for us. Speech as well. You're actually talking in Latin right now."
Donna looked at the two people with surprise and slight doubt as she asked, "Seriously?"
The Doctor just muttered, "Mmhmm."
Donna mischievously smiled a little as she whispered, "I just said seriously in Latin."
The Doctor smirked back as he said, "Oh, yeah."
Iris knowing what Donna was going to say, tried to hold in her laughter as Donna said,
"What if I said something in actual Latin, like veni, vidi, vici? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said veni, vidi, vici to that lot, what would it sound like?"
The Doctor looked at his new companion with shock as the thought processed in his head. Iris struggled to keep her laughter in as she felt the immense amount of confusion roll through the Time Lord's mind as he slowly said,
"I'm not sure. You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?"
Donna smiled widely as she said, "I'm going to try it."
As the Time Lord and Iris watched the interaction, the Doctor whispered,
"She's going to ask a lot of these questions, right?"
Iris just hummed excitedly, not really giving him answers. He looked at her and asked,
"Anything? Nothing? Iris…"
Iris looked up to see puppy eyes and shook her head. She couldn't believe how adorable he looked with them. But she just said, "Spoilers."
The Doctor pouted when Donna grabbed their attention as she came towards them, saying,
"How's he mean, Celtic?"
The Doctor replied with, "Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something."
Then as if noticing something, Donna looked down at her own clothes, then at Iris' and then at the Doctor's clothing as she asked,
"Don't our clothes look a bit odd?"
The Doctor waved it off with, "Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."
Donna frowned as she asked, "You've been here before then?"
The Doctor nonchalantly answered,
"Mmm. Ages ago. Before you two ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit."
Iris rolled her eyes at that and Donna caught the action and sniggered, as the Doctor continued with,
"But I haven't got the chance to look around properly. Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything? Try this way."
Donna looked at Iris for an answer and caught Iris wince slightly. But not thinking much of it, Donna just followed the two other time travelers. Then she noticed something odd as she asked Iris,
"Not an expert, but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they've only got one?"
They then felt the ground shake as Iris said,
"Because this really isn't Rome. It's Pompeii."
The Doctor felt the trepidation from Iris through their bond as he realized why she felt what she did. He looked at Donna with the same trepidation as he said,
"We're in Pompeii… and it's volcano day."
Donna looked at the Doctor in shock, then at Iris, only to feel fearful about her current location. After a second of just staring at each other, they bolted towards where they had parked the TARDIS. But Iris knew what would happen. And she wasn't sure what the Doctor's reaction would be to that.
When they arrived, Donna gasped and she exasperatedly said,
"You're kidding. You're not telling me the TARDIS has gone."
The Doctor turned and looked at Iris, raising an eyebrow with a silent question. Iris felt the amusement and annoyance rippling through their bond and she merely shrugged with a guilty look. Shaking his head, the Time Lord turned around while Donna asked,
"Where is it then?"
Iris chuckled as the Doctor answered,
"You told me not to tell you."
Donna pointed an accusatory finger at the Time Lord as she said, "Oi! Don't get clever in Latin."
The Doctor then turned around and asked, "You know where it is, don't you?"
Iris smirked and said, "I do. But you better talk to the stall holder over there."
Confused at her instructions, he frowned before walking up to the man she had indicated and asked,
"Excuse me. Excuse me. There was a box. Big blue box. Big blue wooden box, just over there. Where's it gone?"
The stallholder beamed with joy as he said, "Sold it, didn't I?"
The Doctor's mouth opened in shock as he stuttered, "But it wasn't yours to sell!"
The stallholder glanced at the Doctor with a gleam in his eye as he said, "It was on my patch, weren't it? I got 15 sesterces for it. Lovely jubbly."
The Doctor pressed on asking, "Who'd you sell it to?"
The stallholder, quickly getting tired of the situation, said,
"Old Caecilius. Look, if you want to argue, why don't you take it out with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa. Can't miss it."
The Doctor then answered with, "Thanks."
And as he neared Donna and Iris, he muttered, "What'd he buy a big blue wooden box for?"
Iris had to hold in her laughter, thinking of the Doctor's future regeneration, as she muttered, "Modern Art."
Donna heard the answer and laughed, making the Doctor grumble in frustration. As they were walking around looking for Foss Street, the Donna said,
"What about the people? I found this big sort of amphitheater thing. We can start there. We can gather everyone together. Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"
Iris froze and tensed up, which did not unnoticed by the Doctor. He realized that Iris not only knew what was supposed to happen, but how, and it must be pretty serious. She didn't seem fearful of the situation at hand, but more nervous about it. But not quite getting where Donna was going with the bell idea, he asked,
"What do you want a bell for?"
Donna looked at him with a serious look on her face as she said,
"To warn everyone. Start the evacuation. What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"
Iris answered, "It's 79AD, 23rd of August, which makes volcano day tomorrow. And Donna… we can't get the people out of Pompeii."
Donna looked at the girl and asked, "Why not? It's what you two do. You're the Doctor, and you're Iris. You save people."
The two people of interest looked at each other warily, not sure how to approach this in a gentler manner. The Doctor started first,
"Not this time. Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."
Donna's eyes began to tear up in slow realization as she angrily asked, "Says who?"
Iris wanted to interrupt this conversation but she found that she couldn't. Donna needed to know. The Doctor quickly responded with,
"Says me."
Donna then asked, "Iris, are you fine with this? You know that we got to do something."
Iris looked at the companion with a look that silenced Donna immediately. There seemed to be a deep sadness in her eyes that Donna couldn't quite grasp the depth of.
"Donna… I wish we could do something about it… but this… just like the Doctor said, it's a fixed point in time. I know what you're feeling. I wish we could save the people around us. I don't want them to die, and neither does the Doctor. I know how this ends Donna, and sometimes, I wish I didn't. I wish I could be like you and demand for this to be different. But know this, not everyone needs to die."
The Doctor felt something stir in Iris. As she had continued to talk, he felt a stronger determination grow in her. Almost as if she was making a promise to herself. And as if noting this too Donna didn't retort back, but followed them in deep thoughts herself, noting the last part of Iris' speech.
Not everyone needs to die.
It was a hint. Donna's eyes widened and looked at Iris, who had been watching her the entire time. The little smirk on her face indicated something. Even if they couldn't save everyone, they were able to save someone. Relief flowed through Donna and she smiled a bit.
Donna then looked at the Doctor, to realize that he hadn't noted the hint that Iris had slipped into the speech. She rolled her eyes and followed him to find this Caecilius.
When they approached a villa, the trio felt the ground shake and heard a man yell, "Positions!"
Iris' eyes widened in excitement, hearing the raspy voice of the man. Although this man wasn't the Doctor, she always thought that this adventure must have deeply affected the man if he regenerated into this person's form. As the ground shook more, a marble bust fell from its location and the Doctor quickly grabbed onto it an said,
"Whoa! There you go."
Caecilius warily studied the man before him as he responded with,
"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."
The Doctor smiled as he said, "But that's me. I'm a visitor. Hello."
Caecilius frowned as he looked him up and down as he asked, "Who are you?"
The Doctor smirked and replied, "I am Spartacus."
Donna joined in with, "And so am I."
Iris shook her head and said, "I'm Iris."
Caecilius studied the smaller woman in front of him and then the pair as he seemed to get a grasp of their relationship as he blurted out,
"Mister and Mrs. Spartacus with their servant Iris?"
The Doctor looked aghast as he responded with, "Oh no, no no. We're not, we're not married."
Iris calmly responded with, "Excuse me? A servant?"
Donna felt a chill go down her spine and saw Caecilius swallow with fear in his eyes. The calm question felt threatening to all of them.
"Sorry. I must have mistaken." Caecilius said with the utmost sincerity.
Iris nodded and huffed, still annoyed at how quickly the man had come up with that assumption. Feeling her annoyance, the Doctor sighed when Caecilius said,
"So then, are you to brother and sister then? Yes, of course. You look very much alike."
Iris laughed out loud at that statement while the Doctor and Donna studied each other with doubt clearly written in their faces. Seeing them try to see any type of resemblance in each other, Iris laughed even harder.
Caeilius ignored Iris' laughter, and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."
Iris then immediately sobered up as much as she could while the Doctor asked, "And that trade would be?"
Caecilius replied, "Marble. Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."
The Doctor nodded and smiled again as he said,
"That's good, because I'm the marble inspector."
The Time Lord flashed his psychic paper when Metella walked in with surprise.
"By the gods of commerce, an inspection. I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son."
With that, Iris noticed Metella pour Quintus' wine into the pool of water. Quintus looked at Iris with a look of exasperation. He then paused, took a better look at her, and then winked. Iris, surprised at the outright flirting the man had done, looked around and noticed that the Doctor and Donna were talking with Caecilius, leaving her alone to see this.
When she looked back at Quintus, she noticed that he smirked. But what Iris didn't know was that the Doctor, despite talking with Caecilius, had seen everything and felt a slight tinge of anger. Surprised by his own sense of disapproval of the boy's forwardness, he tried to quell it down.
Meanwhile, Iris just shook her head when a man announced someone's arrival.
"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."
With that Iris stepped closer to the Doctor, not liking the aura the man held around him. Sensing her discomfort, the Doctor grabbed her hand to comfort her a bit. Caecilius walked towards the augur with deference as he said,
"Lucius. My pleasure, as always. A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house."
In the background Metella was scolding her son when Lucius said,
"The birds are flying north, and the wind in the west."
Caecilius nodded his head as he said, "Quite. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"
Lucius just looked at him with something akin to dislike as he said, "Only the grain of wehat knows where it will grow."
Caecilius, almost as if he was starstruck, said to his wife,
"There, now Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?"
Metella responded with "Never. It's an honor."
Caecilius then introduced the three time travelers, saying, "Pardon me sir. I have guests This is Spartacus and, er Spartacus with Iris."
Lucius studied them warily, his eyes stopping at Iris, studying her with intensity as he said,
"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."
The Doctor responded with, "But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark."
Lucius glanced at the Doctor with hidden amusement as he responded with, "Ah, but what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"
The Doctor continued with, "I conceded that every sun must set."
Lucius scoffed at that when the Doctor added, "And yet the soon of the father must also rise."
Lucius studied the Doctor again, a bit more carefully this time as he said,
"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."
The Doctor nodded as he said, "Oh, yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo."
Caecilius whispered to Lucius, "He's Celtic." To which, Iris rolled her eyes.
The Doctor just ignored it and said, "We'll be off in a minute."
Donna looked up at Iris and the Doctor as she said, "I'm not going."
After the statement Iris had provided her, she didn't really want to leave the family she had grown a bit attached to. If someone was going to be saved, it should be them. Then suddenly, Caecilius said,
"It's ready sir."
And Iris tugged on the Doctor's hand, which still held hers, to grab his attention. The Time Lord looked at where Iris indicated and paid attention. Caecilius neared a stone tile carved as a circuit board and then to Iris, who nodded. This was why they couldn't quite leave yet.
They heard Caecilius say, "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"
Lucian looked at the tile and replied, "As the rain pleases the soil."
The Doctor's curiosity flared as he came up closer and asked, "Where'd you get the pattern?"
Lucian carefully responded with, "On the rain and mist and wind."
Donna frowned as she whispered to Iris, "But that looks like a circuit."
Iris looked up at Donna and said, "It is a part of it."
Donna's eyes widened in realization when the Doctor was interrupted by Evelina, who, in a trance, said,
"They're laughing at us. Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."
Surprised by such a statement, the Doctor immediately said,
"No, no I'm not. I meant no offence."
Metella quickly walked towards the younger girl and said, "I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapors."
Iris frowned at that, noticing how pale Evelina appeared when Quintus came up beside her and said,
"Oh for gods, Mother. What have you been doing to her?"
Caecilius shook his head as he hissed, "Not now, Quintus."
Iris looked at how distraught Quintus appeared as the worry for his sister overtook his features. She patted his shoulder to let him know in some way that it would be alright. But Lucius joined into the conversation as he said,
"I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."
Metella looked at Evelina's sickly form with proud as she said, "Oh, she's been promised to the Sybiline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions."
Iris scoffed at that while Lucian responded,
"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."
Donna, angered by such a statement, said, "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate."
Iris stopped Donna from stomping over there as Lucius said,
"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you."
The Doctor looked at Evelina as he said with concern, "Consuming the vapors you say?"
Evelina answered with a small smile, "They give me strength."
The Doctor shook his head as he said, "It doesn't look like it to me."
Evelina then, still in a trance responded with, "Is that your opinion as a doctor?"
Surprised by that, the Time Lord asked warily, "How did you know that?"
But ignoring the question, Evelina looked at Donna and said, "And you. You call yourself Noble."
Metella, shocked by the sudden statement, said "Now then, Evelina, Don't be rude."
The Doctor stopped Metella's scolding by saying, "No, no, no, no. Let her talk."
Evelina then looked at Iris, then frowned, and just opted to saying, "You three come from so far away."
But the three people had noticed Evelina's change in expression when Evelina had tried to study Iris. Why didn't she say anything about her? But Lucius interrupted their thoughts as he said,
"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."
Iris shook her had as she responded with, "Oh, not this time Lucius."
The Doctor continued with, "No, I reckon you've been out-soothsayed."
Lucius frowned and said, "Is that so, man from Gallifrey?"
The Doctor froze at that and he whispered, "What?"
Iris noticed the Doctor's hand tighten his grip on hers, almost stopping the blood from flowing. If it hurt, Iris didn't say much. Lucius continued to speak,
"The strangest of images. Yours is lost in fire, is it not?"
The Doctor tensed even further. Donna, noticing the tiniest bit of the Oncoming Storm in the Doctor's eyes, asked, "Doctor, Iris, what are they doing?"
Lucius then put his attention on her as he said, "And you, daughter of London."
Donna gasped as she asked, "How does he know that?"
Lucius then responded, while slowly turning his gaze towards Iris again,
"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."
Donna whispered out, "That's impossible."
But then it became Iris' turn to freeze as her blood ran cold at Lucius' next words.
"And you, daughter of the Void. The one who is feared even by those from Gallifrey. The very figure of the legend from the Neverpeople. You, Iris Kim, will end all of time and space."
Iris looked at Lucius with utter horror. The only thing that led her to think of when it came to legends from the Neverpeople was one person she did not want to think about.
Zagreus
But the Doctor, not quite sure he heard it correctly, demanded an answer, "What? What do you mean?"
Donna, on the other hand, didn't believe it and said, "You lie. Iris would never be the person you are talking about."
But Lucius ignored them and looked at Iris, saying, "You understand to whom I am referencing, do you not? You, who hold all knowledge of time and space."
Iris looked at the man with overwhelming fear and dread as she couldn't do anything but nod. Seeing this, the Doctor frowned immediately and shook his head,
"No, this isn't right. Iris isn't that type of person."
But Lucius ignored that statement and looked back at the Doctor as he said, "Doctor, she is returning."
And as if it burned her hand, Iris let go of the Doctor's hand. Rose. Lucius was talking about Rose Tyler. It shouldn't bother her too much, but for some reason, it did.
The Doctor frowned at the lack of contact but he asked warily, "Who is? Who's she?"
Then he glanced at Iris, who had paled considerably, still feeling the dread from the statement Lucius had made earlier. But then, Lucius turned to Donna again and said, "And you, daughter of London. There is something on your back."
Iris head began to reel in shock and fear as her turn came back and Lucius stepped up to her and looked her in the eyes as he said,
"And for you, Iris. He will come for you once more. And you can do nothing to stop it. You will submit."
And with that statement, Iris remembered the voice she heard when Suzy Costello had momentarily killed her. Rassilon.
"No…" was all Iris whispered out, and the world became blurry as tears slipped out.
Then a deep, familiar pain hit her mind as Evelina said something to the Doctor. The pain then spread throughout her mind and body as haunting images took over Iris. In the next few seconds, the Doctor heard something he didn't want to hear ever again: Iris' agonizing scream. He then suddenly saw in his mind of a flash of a silhouette of a woman with short, curled hair stepping into a blinding light. But as the woman began to turn around to face him, the vision quickly ended. When he finally managed to turn around to see Iris, he saw her fall to the ground, unconscious. Donna grabbed onto the girl and looked up at him with fear. What was happening to her?
For a moment, the Doctor froze at the vision. It had come through their bond and it had filled him with an unforeseen fear. When Donna called out to him once more, the Doctor took Iris' limp form gently and studied her. She was physically fine, but the bond he shared with her felt as if it had become all jumbled up. It felt chaotic. Not only that, her mind had now shut him out. However, as his worry was about to grow, he felt her move.
The Doctor looked down and saw Iris wake up. When Iris managed to open her eyes, she saw the Doctor looking down at her with concern. She tried to smile a little to ease his and Donna's panic. When they didn't ease their frowns, she said,
"Hello."
The Doctor sighed out of relief as he said, "Are you alright?"
Iris nodded and got up with the help of the Doctor as he seated her in the nearest chair.
"Sit here for a bit."
With that, she complied, not really feeling up to arguing. Suddenly she saw a goblet in front of her face and looked up again to find Quintus holding a goblet of water for her.
"You might need this."
Iris smiled at him gratefully and sipped at the water as she stared at the Doctor, who began to study the hypocaust. The Time Lord immediately began to question Caecilius.
"Different sort of hypocaust?"
Caecilius proudly said,
"Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."
The Doctor looked up with curiosity as he asked, "Who thought of that?"
Caecilius looked at him as if the man was just ignorant as he responded with,
"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, 17 years ago. An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt."
The Doctor then further questioned Caecilius while Quintus asked Iris,
"You lot aren't really inspectors are you?"
Iris looked at the boy with surprise as she asked raising an eyebrow, "Why do you ask?"
Quintus shrugged his shoulders and said,
"Well, your clothes for a start. It's just weird. Also, something in how you and the other woman look at the Doctor. It's like you guys revere him."
Iris looked at him and cautiously asked, "I do?"
Quintus just hummed as a response when suddenly the Doctor walked over as he tapped the boy,
"Quintus, me old son. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"
Quintus shrugged, irked at the man as he responded, "It's nothing to do with me."
The Doctor disbelievingly looked at Iris. Iris rolled her eyes and then tapped Quintus' shoulder to make him look at her as she asked nicely,
"Please? We would like to meet him one more time. Here, I can answer your other question if you take us there."
Quintus gave her a sidelong glance and then groaned as he let his curiosity get the better of him and lead the Doctor and Iris over to Lucius' villa. Once they arrived, Quintus looked at Iris and then the Doctor as he said,
"Don't tell my Dad."
Iris smirked at him and said, "Never."
The Doctor added, "Only if you don't tell mine."
And with that, the Doctor jumped into the villa and helped Iris in. Since she was considerably shorter than they all liked, Quintus had to hoist her up a little while the Doctor pulled her in. Iris just grumbled about how she was being treated like a baby at the moment as she was pulled in, making the Doctor chuckle at her.
Once she stood back up, Quintus had already jumped in after her and then looked at a curtain before pulling it down. When the fallen curtain had revealed a myriad of marble tiles, Quintus hissed out,
"The liar. He told my father it was the only one."
The Doctor shrugged as he said, "Well, plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places, so no one can see what you're building."
Quintus whispered out, "Which is what?"
Then the trio turned jumped as Lucius' voice rang out, "The future, Doctor. We are building the future, as dictated by the gods."
Iris snapped at Lucius, not liking the man. "That future and gods you contact are not the true gods. How cannot you see it?"
Lucius yelled at her, "Blasphemy! You-"
But the Doctor grabbed Lucius' attention when he began quickly rearranging the circuit boards. Lucius stopped talking immediately and watched. The Doctor muttered,
"Put this one there. This one there. Er, keep that one upside down, and what you got?"
Lucius responded with, "Enlighten me."
Iris scoffed as she asked, "What, the soothsayer doesn't know?"
Lucius glared at her as he said, "The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."
Iris rolled her eyes as she continued to say the Doctor's lines as the Time Lord watched Iris get angrier at Lucius with concern.
"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. But it's an energy converter."
Lucius frowned as he asked, "An energy converter of what?"
The Doctor interrupted as he said,
"I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes. It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so. Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"
Lucius glared at the trio as he said, "I think you've babbled enough."
The Doctor looked at the man as he said, "Lucius, really, tell me. Honestly, I'm on your side. I can help."
Iris bit her lower lip as she prevented herself from laughing darkly. She could feel the Doctor feel confusion at her attitude, concern for her well-being from her loss of consciousness from earlier and disapproval of her dislike towards the prophet.
Quintus looked at Iris and then the Doctor as he wasn't sure what to say. He just wanted to get out of the place. Something about Lucius didn't seem right.
Lucius then specifically looked at Iris as he exclaimed,
"You insult the gods. There can be only one sentence. At arms."
The guards nearby quickly drew their swords and Quintus backed towards the window immediately.
The Doctor whispered towards Iris, "Oh, morituri te salutant."
Iris glared at him as if saying, 'Is this really the right time for that?' while the prophet said,
"Celtic prayers won't help you now."
Quintus tugged on Iris' arm as he indicated towards the window that they came in through. He didn't want to leave Iris alone. Something about her let him trust her.
The Doctor then responded to Lucius, saying, "I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it? Come on, dying man's wish?"
Iris jumped a little as the Doctor leaped over to Lucius and pulled off the man's stone arm. Lucius exclaimed in pain while Quintus couldn't believe his eyes.
"But he's…"
The Doctor immediately demanded, "Show me."
With that, Lucius revealed his now calcified right arm. Iris winced at the sight, not believing how wrong it looked on a human. And when Lucius claimed that it had been the work of the gods, she wished she was nowhere near the man.
Quintus whispered out in shock, "He's stone."
The Doctor then said, "Armless enough, though,"
Iris glared at the Doctor again, making him wince as he said, "Whoops."
Then Iris grabbed the arm and chucked it at Lucius as she yelled
"Quintus!"
With that, the torch flew across the room while the Doctor sonicked the circuit boards, causing them to fall. As Lucius screamed, "The carvings!" the trio ran out the villa and ran as quickly as they could.
As they ran, Quintus yelled, "You owe me an answer!"
Iris looked over and said, "The future!"
"What?!" Quintus yelled again, not sure he heard it correctly as they slowed down.
Iris panted as she said, "We're from the future."
Quintus' eyes bulged at that and then the awe died down as he then realized something. Iris noticed this and her facial expression softened, wishing she could comfort him. The Doctor though, missed this entire interaction as he said,
"No sign of them. Nice little bit of allonsy. I think we're alright."
Quintus cut in with, "But his arm, Doctor. Is that what's happening to Evelina?"
Iris answered him with, "Yes… I'm sorry. But don't worry, we'll fix this… the best way we can."
Quintus looked at her as he saw the determination behind the promise. But her eyes also looked sad and full of regret. He wanted to ask her what was wrong when a dog began to bark.
The Doctor asked, "What was that?"
Iris swore as she yelled, "Footsteps… underground. We have to go! Hurry!"
With that, she grabbed the Doctor's hand in one and Quintus' hand in the other as they ran back to Caecilius' villa. When they arrived, Iris yelled,
"Caecilius? All of you, get out. There's something dangerous coming this way."
Donna came out as she asked, "Iris? What is it?"
The Doctor followed up with, "I think we're being followed."
But Iris was ahead as she grabbed the nearest bucket and filled it up with water. Just as she was coming back, the hypocaust grill flew off and everyone nearby jumped in fear. The Doctor saw the creature come up and halted Iris as he said,
"Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Just tell me who you are Don't hurt these people. Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Just tell me who you are."
Then Iris threw the water, which was also done by Quintus, who had been watching her, ready with his own bucket of water with other servants. When the creature crumbled to the floor, Caecilius came out from his hiding spot as he asked fearfully,
"What was it?"
The Doctor turned around and responded with, "Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."
Iris gasped and looked around for Donna, but then saw a single bucket on the floor, water spilled everywhere and she cursed to herself. Donna had been taken by the Sisterhood.
"Doctor?" Iris called out.
The Doctor immediately came up to her to see what she had found. He looked back at her for confirmation of Donna's disappearance and she said, "The Sisterhood. They have her."
The Doctor grimaced and quickly grabbed Iris' hand as they began to run towards the temple. When they got close enough, Iris and the Doctor heard Spurrina say,
"This prattling voice will cease forever."
Laughing out loud, the Doctor walked out with Iris as he said, "Oh, that'll be the day. Ow!"
The Doctor yelped as Iris elbowed him on his side. She wasn't really enjoying his joke. Spurrina glowered at the Doctor as she exclaimed,
"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl."
Iris tried to hold her laughter in as the Doctor said, "Well, that's alright. Just us girls. Do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth."
Iris frowned at that and let go of the Doctor's hand. Eventually a picture rose into her mind and she made a gagging motion, trying to make Donna laugh. The Doctor rolled his eyes as he continued to talk,
"Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, I know. Well, she would. You alright there?"
Donna sarcastically bit out, "Oh, never better."
Iris neared the woman as she said, "I like the toga."
Donna smiled and asked, "Thank you. And the ropes?"
Iris shook her head as she said, "Yeah, not so much."
The Doctor smiled and used his sonic screwdriver to cut Donna free from her ropes. Rolling her eyes, Donna just shook her head realizing how Iris and the Doctor were almost in sync with each other at this point.
The priestess however, did not looked surprised as she yelled out, "What magic is this?"
The Doctor ignored her as he said,
"Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight tuned sour. Is that how you spread the word, hey? On the blade of a knife?"
The last bit was mentioned as Spurrina, as her name was revealed, pointed the knife towards Iris and the Doctor. She exclaimed,
"Yes, a knife that now welcomes you."
But before anything could be done, a voice from behind a set of curtains weakly bellowed,
"Show me this man and woman."
Iris raised her eyebrows when Spurrina responded with, "High Priestess, the strangers would defile us."
The Doctor's jaw clenched slightly at the comment but he ignored Spurrina as the High Priestess said,
"Let me see. They are different. He carries starlight in his wake while she carries a message that has not and has happened. A symbol of hope."
Iris' eyes widened, but she didn't comment as the Doctor said,
"Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?"
The High priestess said, "The gods whisper to me."
Then Iris spoke up, making sure she said everything as if the Doctor would.
"They've don far more than that. Might I beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?"
When the curtains were removed, Donna immediately gasped while Iris tried to keep her best pokerface on. It was difficult to look at as the person had entirely become calcified. Donna exclaimed,
"Oh my God, what's happened to you?"
Iris and the Doctor looked at the companion with sad, knowing eyes while the High Priestess replied with,
"The heavens have blessed me."
The Doctor then gently went up to her and asked, "If I might?" Indicating to the High Priestess about examining her physical state. Consenting to it, the High Priestess held out her hand for the Doctor to touch. He gently applied pressure to it and asked,
"Does it hurt?"
He could feel the concern and a familiar sadness emanate from Iris through their bond. He was surprised by how his companions were concerned more about the woman's well-being. The priestess however replied darkly with,
"It is necessary."
Iris whispered, "who told you that?"
The priestess moved her head to look at Iris as she responded with, "The voices."
Donna joined in, concern all over her voice, "Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is this what's going to happen to all of you?"
With that the priestess Spurrina showed the trio her calcifying arm as she said, "The blessings are manifold."
Iris tried her best to hide her grimace as the Doctor and the High Priestess continued their discussion. As the priestesses in the room began to chant altogether, Iris headed towards the grill and started working on it, bringing Donna with her.
"Why are we opening the grill?" Donna asked.
Iris smirked a little as she said, "Esape route. The hot way."
Donna just looked at her like a deer did to headlights as Iris managed to get it open. Suddenly, they heard the Doctor ramble,
"Okay, so 17 years ago, you woke up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?"
The Pyrovile-controlled High Priestess responded with, "We opened their minds and found such gifts."
As Iris managed to get a very confused Donna to get down the grill, she waited for the Doctor to finish his rambling.
"Okay, that's fine. So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic. You can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"
"Doctor!" Iris hissed as she started to get down the grill, careful not to close it behind her. The Doctor still had his water pistol on him when he inched towards Iris as he asked,
"Why can't this lot predict a volcano? Why is it being hidden?"
Suddenly, Spurrina cried out, "Sisters, I see into his mind! The weapon is harmless."
Iris swore under her breath as the Doctor nonchalantly said, "Yeah, but it's got to sting." With that, he squirted some water at the High Priestess before joining Iris on their way down the hypocaust.
Donna smiled widely as she exclaimed, "You fought her off with a water pistol. I bloody love you."
Iris just rolled her eyes as she grabbed Donna and Doctor's hands and dragged them after her as she said, "We're going down into the volcano. Now hurry up!"
Donna's eyes widened in excitement as she said, "No way."
The Doctor saw her response and smiled as he said, "Yes, way. Appian way."
Iris sighed at the joke and continued to drag them down the hypocaust. As they were heading down, Donna suddenly asked,
"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?"
The Doctor's jaw tightened as they got back to the topic of saving everyone while he said, "Still part of history."
Iris turned around and hurriedly said, "Donna, some things are unfortunately fixed points in time while others are in flux. Pompeii is fixed. We cannot do anything to change it unless we want to destroy the entire future and universe."
Donna looked fearful about how harmful it would have been to change the events at Pompeii and whispered out, "How do you two know which is which?"
Iris and the Doctor paused and looked at each other. The Doctor sighed as he turned around to look at her cautiously while he said, "Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And I'm the only one left."
Donna looked at Iris then, who followed up with,
"I don't see it the way the Doctor does. Donna, there's something you have to know about me. I'm not from this universe. I not only came from a parallel universe like this one, but I come from the future in which there are no real aliens but just a show. A show called Doctor Who. This is the show. I fell through universes into a world that should have been fictional for me."
Donna looked at her as if she was insane at first and then asked, "So I'm not real in your universe?"
Iris shook her head as she smiled sadly while saying, "You're so real Donna Noble. But your parallel universe self is a famous comedian and actress. A legend. I was your fan! Before falling through universes. You have no idea how happy I am to be able to meet you!"
Donna felt overwhelmed that someone was her fan and smiled in joy. Despite the heat exhausting her, Iris' words made her happy. But immediately, her joy died out as she remembered the discussion they were having. She asked quietly,
"Doctor, Iris… how many people died?"
Iris' eyes reflected grief as she said, "Twenty thousand."
Donna then asked, "Is that what you both see? All twenty thousand?"
The duo nodded at the new companion and eventually started to head deeper into the volcano. Eventually, they reached the cavern and the Doctor commented,
"It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain."
Iris looked around as the heat was becoming unbearable. She hated overwhelming amounts of heat and yet here she was, inside Pompeii's volcano. Absolutely fantastic. The Doctor gave her a sidelong glance while smirking a little He had noticed how irritated and sarcastic she was becoming due to feeling uncomfortable. Donna on the other hand, looked fearfully at the Pyroviles as she said,
"There's tons of them."
Iris patted Donna's shoulder in a comforting manner while she said, "Oi Doctor, can we quickly head over to the little thing that might be an escape pod?"
Donna then asked, "But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something?"
Iris shook her head, knowing what was going to eventually happen when Lucius spoke up to them.
"Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."
"Oh please" Iris muttered in annoyance as she wanted to head towards the pod instead of hearing Lucius' voice any longer. But the Doctor and the two women had reached the pod. As they stopped right outside of the pod, the Doctor tried to open the door while Lucius commanded,
"Crush them. Burn them."
Iris felt her heartbeat get faster as a Pyrovile began to walk towards them. Without thinking much, she grabbed the water pistol from the Doctor and extinguished it. The Doctor spared a glance towards her in worry before resuming his work back on unlocking the door. Lucius then spoke again,
"There is nowhere to run, Doctor, daughter of London, and daughter of the Void."
The Doctor frowned as he responded with, "Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovilian, don't get yourselves in a lather. In a lava? No?"
He glanced back with a slight smirk towards Iris and Donna. Donna just looked at the Doctor in disbelief, not understanding how he could possibly be joking at this moment. She looked towards Iris, who grimaced and shook her head with dislike.
Not really getting the reaction he wanted, the Doctor pouted as he continued with,
"No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"
Lucius responded with a sickening tone of admiration, "My masters will follow the examples of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."
Donna, not quite understanding the situation just like the Doctor, asked,
"But if you've crashed and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?"
Iris's face fell as she knew the answer to that. She looked at Donna before masking her emotions. It wasn't time yet. Donna was still here. That was all that mattered. Lucius and the Doctor talked a bit more while Iris decided that this was enough and walked to grab the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor to open the escape pod herself.
When she finally managed to open the door, she pushed Donna inside first before grabbing the Doctor's arm and pulling him inside with her. Once they were all inside, the Doctor closed the door with the sonic screwdriver.
The Doctor looked at Iris carefully. She had known this was all about to happen. She also knew more about the bigger picture that was taking place, but despite that, she seemed intent on setting up a program. Through their bond, he felt a tinge of guilt flow through and he wasn't sure what she had in mind.
He was broken from his observations when Donna asked, "Could we be any more trapped?"
It was true, the three of them were squished together inside the pod and there was barely any space for them to move. Donna was on one side of the pod while the Doctor was on the other, squishing Iris between them effectively.
But as Donna was about to remark on something, Iris swore out loud as she muttered,
"The energy converter here is taking the lava, using it to create power for making a fusion matrix that would weld Pyroviles to humans… It's already complete, I can't change it."
The Doctor swallowed thickly as he realized out loud, "They can now convert millions…"
Donna looked horrified as she asked, "But can't you change it with these controls? Both of you are tech savvy!"
Iris' face fell into utter sadness while the Doctor whispered, "Of course we can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers couldn't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius was never going to erupt. The Pyroviles are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."
Donna, with trepidation, asked, "But you can change it back?"
Iris nodded as she stood up from the controls as she answered, "We can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up…But that's become our choice now Donna."
The Doctor finished her statement with, "It's Pompeii or the world."
Donna looked at both of them, seeing how heartbroken the two adventurers were. Donna noticed how the Doctor had a more grim and determined look in his eyes while Iris seemed to be fighting demons.
It haunted her to see the stark difference and the fact that she was about to end up sacrificing a lot of people to save the world settled in as she whispered out, "Oh my God."
The Doctor ground out, "If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen."
Donna looked at Iris, who seemed to know her question as she said, "Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it."
Donna let her tears fall freely as she smiled weakly while saying, "Never mind us."
Iris smiled back and hugged her as the Doctor said, "Push this lever and it's over. 20,000 people."
Donna looked at Iris again, hoping that at least they could save someone that day, and Iris nodded ever so lightly that the Doctor had missed it while Donna hadn't. With that, Donna and Iris put their hands over the Doctor's own, pushing the button altogether.
Iris wasn't prepared for what happened next. The escape pod jerked up and Iris felt a knot in her stomach as gravity began working its job as the escape pod soon enough began to fall from the sky after Vesuvius had erupted. She was squished between the Doctor and Donna. Donna had grabbed onto her, somehow expecting Iris to keep her grounded while the Doctor had wrapped is arms around her as if to protect her.
Through their bond, Iris sent out various alarms of discomfort and fear. Iris was never comfortable with the sensation of falling in any type of machinery, especially in roller coasters. And falling from a great height of a mountain inside a pod wasn't helping her with her fear.
The Doctor noticed that pangs of fear and tried to calm Iris through their bond. But for some reason, he couldn't calm down either as he was hearing Donna's screams and feeling Iris's fear.
When they all fell on top of each other the moment the pod crashed onto the ground, Iris jerked up and ran out, feeling terribly claustrophobic. She grabbed Donna's hand and helped the woman up, before the trio began to run to find the TARDIS. As they were running, the ash from the volcano fell down on the town. The streets were crowded with terrified people and Iris couldn't stop the feeling of guilt rise up in her. Not only for the people here, but for what she had planned to do. Donna tried to help a little boy, but his mother had quickly picked him up before running for some type of escape from the disaster. But the Doctor became impatient as he gabbed Donna and ran back to where the TARDIS was.
They arrived at the villa to find Caecilius with his family in the corner. Iris slid towards the family while the Doctor was distracted and had pulled Donna and himself into the TARDIS. Iris heard Donna scream out, "No! Wait, Doc-" before the doors closed. Caecilius looked at Iris in shock and she went up to them as she said,
"Don't worry. He will be back. If not, he would have to. If not, I would find my way to him and kick his arse for you."
Caecilius looked at Iris with the same look of shock, but nodded silently, holding onto his family tighter as they shook in fright. Something in her eyes seemed to quell a little bit of his fear, a warm feeling of courage washed over him. He trusted her. Something in her eyes gave him that comfort. What the people still on Pompeii were not aware of was what kind of argument that those in the TARDIS were having.
Donna had noticed at the list minute that Iris was not on the TARDIS and had begun to yell at the Doctor about it.
"You can't just leave them!"
The Doctor however, was in such a rage that he yelled out,
"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies."
Donna gripped the Doctor and shook him with her might as she said,
"You've got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back! This isn't fair! Iris is still there!"
The Doctor froze and stared at Donna with his eyes wide as saucers. His mind was racing and he finally looked around the console room. And to his disbelief, Donna was right. Iris hadn't stepped onto the TARDIS. He quickly reached out to Iris through his bond and winced as he met Iris's anger towards him seep through. He understood why she was angry. It wasn't because she was left behind, but because he hadn't listened to Donna. The message that his new companion was telling him.
Donna just looked at him and whispered,
"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone."
The Doctor looked back at Donna, briefly coming out of his thoughts and then quickly went back to the console to reset the destination to Pompeii.
Iris was standing outside, still having her back face Caecilius and his family. She was growing impatient and worry was starting to show in her features. Why did it take him this long? But then, she heard the familiar noise of the TARDIS as she materialized. Smiling, she hurriedly helped Caecilius and his family up and when the door to the TARDIS opened, the family gaped as the Doctor said,
"Come with me."
Caecilius looked towards Iris, who nodded enthusiastically. He hesitantly reached out his hand to grab the Doctor's and then was pulled inside the TARDIS. His family quickly followed as they were pushed inside the TARDIS by Iris. But as Iris entered the TARDIS, the Doctor quickly closed the door and walked past her. Iris felt how furious the Doctor was and winced. He was beyond furious. Iris didn't really understand as to why, but her smile slightly dropped.
When the Doctor parked the TARDIS on a hillside, Caecilius and his family were dropped off safely. Donna muttered a thank you and retired to her room. Iris stayed back, sensing that the Doctor wanted to talk to her.
"Why…" was all he whispered out. Iris looked up and said nothing, not sure what to say to that when the Doctor reiterated his question again with a stronger voice with,
"WHY?!"
Iris visibly flinched at that and replied, "Because they needed me. Also, you needed to come back no matter what."
The Doctor gave her a sidelong glance and came up to her, gripping her shoulders as he said,
"I thought I had left you to die…"
Iris heard his voice break and immediately hugged him, saying, "Never. Don't think that. I knew what I was doing, and I… I don't think I can do that to you. Not if I can help it."
But Iris was shaken by what she had seen. The screams and the ash falling around her. It had been too much. Also, she wasn't willing to going through death all over again, when she had recently returned from it not too long ago. As she trembled from the experience, she felt the Doctor hug her tightly and draw circles on her arm with his thumb. Something about his hug helped calm her down and she sighed in relief as that adventure was over.
Then she chuckled as she pushed off from the Doctor. The Doctor frowned and looked down and asked, "What is it?"
She just shook her head and said, "How did Jack ever cope with you?"
The Doctor caught the mischievous glint in her eyes and said, "Oy, I was a fantastic man back then!"
Iris scoffed as she caught onto where he was going with that and asked, "What? With those big ears of yours in your past regeneration? No thank you. I much preferred your eighth regeneration over…"
Iris immediately stopped talking. But the Doctor noticed a faint blush appear on her face as she realized what she was talking about. The Doctor smiled and then coughed awkwardly as he caught sense of what she was thinking about through their bond. A blush appeared on his face and when Iris saw that she yelled out,
"Not like that!" Iris then groaned out, "Jack's going to get a kick out of this…"
The Doctor coughed again his face turning red at that and Iris' eyes widened. She quickly muttered,
"I think I'll… just go to bed now…" and ran off to her room.
The Doctor coughed again and then just turned towards his console. And when he tried to fix some stuff, the TARDIS made a whirring noise that almost sounded like laughter and he frowned.
"Stop it." He said, as if he was scolding the TARDIS for teasing him.
Meanwhile, Iris slammed the door to her room and blushed even further. Why had the bond flared up like that? It wasn't that she felt something for the eight regeneration of the Doctor, but that she had admired him. In fact, the eighth Doctor was one of her favorites. And for some reason, the bond had acted up at that fact. If Jack had seen the whole interaction, he would have made some type of inappropriate comment and she would have hated herself for causing such a scene.
Shaking her head, she willed those thoughts away and climbed into bed, hoping that she would forget about this altogether as if it had never happened.