First things first, I would like to apologize for the long wait. This chapter has been an absolute beast to write, in length and difficulty level. I was hitting 6,500+ words and wasn't nearly done, so I decided to cut what I'd written so far in half. I wanted to give you an update sooner than later.
To those who have reviewed, thank you so much. Your kind words motivate me to work on this story. So without further ado, please read and enjoy!
At Jack's words, everything seemed to slow to a crawl. The chatter in the room was muted and her brain felt like all the gears in her head had ground to a halt, because surely she misheard what he'd said. There was no way he could have meant that literally, right?
When she finally spoke, her words sounded almost mechanical, the way she had to force them out. "He thinks I…created you?" she asked, staring blankly at him.
The Doctor looked sharply at Jack, cutting off his reply. "Not another word."
"Not a chance, Doc," Jack said. "She deserves to know the truth. In fact, she needs to know her true nature for the future to be secure. Peek into the time stream if you have to, but this conversation has to happen."
"My true nature? What is he talking about?" Zoe asked, searching the Doctor's face, as if she could find the truth in his closed-off expression.
"This isn't the time or place for this conversation," the Doctor said evasively, darting his eyes around the observation deck and the other guests chatting nearby.
Her eyes narrowed at the obvious avoidance tactic.
Jack threw a meaningful glare of his own at the Doctor. "It's a good time as any. From what future-Zoe told me, I'd say we have at least another 30 minutes before we need to save the day." Jack kicked out a chair, angling it toward the Doctor. "Might as well take a seat and give her something to wrap her beautiful brain around."
The Doctor shook his head, giving Jack his best 'oncoming storm' stare. "Not here. If we must have this conversation, let's move somewhere unwanted ears cannot hear us." He jerked his head back, sending a significant glance over his shoulder.
And sure enough, a few feet away standing amongst her brothers was Jabe, sneaking curious looks over at them and tilting her head as if to hear them better. She was holding a twittering device in her hands — Zoe only half-registered it was that tech gadget Jabe used to identify the Doctor's race in the show — because hovering only a few feet away with her boys was Cassandra. Her sapphire eyes glaring holes into Zoe's head. Her ruby red lips were pinched together as if she'd swallowed down something bitter. Maybe she tried the Earth inspired food?
Jack took notice of Cassandra immediately. He seemed to recognize her, judging by the way his eyes simultaneously widened and hardened at the sight of her. "You're right. As much as I love giving a good show, this isn't a conversation I want Miss Bitchy Human Trampoline to hear." He started to walk away, sweeping a hand out in a 'follow me' gesture as he went, before saying, "I'd scoped this floor out earlier, so I know just the place we can talk without being overheard."
The Doctor looked over at Zoe with weary resignation, but Zoe merely shrugged at the Time Lord's obvious dislike for the time-traveling Captain before following after him. The Doctor grimaced, but was quick to catch up with her.
Within a few minutes, they found themselves sequestered away in a private gallery with an observation window. Before Jack or Zoe could say anything, the Doctor wandered over to the window and leaned against the glass to stare down at the dying Earth.
Several swift flares of light burst like over-the-top fireworks just outside, but they couldn't hold Zoe's attention this time. Not when she was bursting herself with questions that needed answers, but it seemed the Doctor was in no hurry to restart their conversation, a heavy shadow passing over her face. She felt a sense of foreboding at his expression. What could he have to say that made him look so sad? Burdened even?
Zoe nibbled her bottom lip, glancing at Jack who was watching the Doctor with a blank expression. Upon catching her looking at him, he sent her a thin smile. "Go on. Ask him. You have the right to know."
Nervously, she cleared her throat. "Doctor?"
The Doctor grunted, but didn't stop looking out the window.
Huffing in mild irritation, she tapped the Time Lord's shoulder, forcing him to turn to look at her. "What did Jack mean? Why would you think I created him?"
When he finally faced her head-on, she didn't like the look on his face. He was wearing an expression she'd only seen him wear for people he knew were going to die and just didn't know it yet. It had her straightening her spine, bracing herself for bad news. Because what else could it be, with the way he was looking at her?
The Doctor seemed to his consider his words carefully before tossing his head in Jack's direction. "Tell me, Zoe, is he from your telle show?"
She hesitated, unsure where he was going with this and nodded once. The derision in his voice when he said the words telle show had never been clearer than ever. Jack wasn't looking at her like she was crazy, so she supposed she told him all about it in the future. "You and Rose would have met him during the London Blitz if she'd been here."
"Isn't it a little convenient that he shows up now?" the Doctor asked, jerking his head in Jack's direction. His stormy eyes were gazing in hers so intently, he seemed to be willing her to figure it out on her own. All so he wouldn't have to tell her himself. She opened and closed her mouth, brain working furiously to understand, but kept coming up empty. She just didn't have enough information to work with.
Jack held up a hand. "Doc, I'm going to stop you right there. I know you'd like it if I was figment of her imagination come true," he paused, a sly grin appearing on his face, "or maybe you wouldn't." He let the words gain weight before saying, "But I can assure you, I'm very real. There are several extremely satisfied individuals that can attest to my existence up until I met Zoe in my timeline. I chose to come here."
The Doctor broke his staring match with Zoe to glare at Jack. "Even if that's true, how do you know Zoe didn't subconsciously manipulate your thoughts to make you think you wanted to be here?"
Jack snorted and leaned against the wall, arms crossed in a patronizing manner. "You're reaching. We both know her abilities can't alter someone's free will."
"What do you know?" the Doctor asked Jack. "You're just a walking, talking paradox with a pretty face!"
"Well, I'd rather be a good-looking paradox than an arrogant, two-faced Time Lord with more ego than brains."
Before the Doctor could snap a stinging retort at Jack, Zoe launched herself between the two men, throwing her hands out — her patience with them both running out. "Would you two SHUT UP! You're both acting like colossal idiots with egos the size of a giant planet."
Both Jack and the Doctor froze and stared at her, shocked into silence. For some reason, their expressions sat bitter on her tongue. Why exactly was losing her temper so shocking to them?
Yeah, okay. Maybe she has a seemingly endless reservoir of patience on a good day — something Mads always has running commentary on — but even she has her off-days. Like today for instance.
For one, she was freaking starving, and her growling stomach wouldn't let her forget this fact anytime soon. To top it off, she was starting to feel the beginning of a headache, no doubt a result of low blood sugar levels. She didn't need the Doctor and Captain's back-and-forth zingers making it worst.
If only, she hadn't been kept from eating that food earlier, even if it was a poor alien imitation, her capacity for patience and handling difficult situations wouldn't be near non-existent at this moment. (Those mashed potatoes had smelled real enough to her, Jack!)
And that's not even taking into account all the mind-numbing bomb drops she'd dealt with since learning she lost a week of her life to stasis. From the Doctor revealing her involvement in this world is part of original timeline to Jabe flirting with her, Jack kissing her, and his less-than-subtle mic drop. He thinks you created me. Because what the hell does that even mean?
Zoe knew the Doctor was keeping something from her. He admitted as much to her earlier this morning, but she's only just now realizing how big that secret must be.
She knows from watching the show and reading up on Doctor Who trivia that the Doctor often keeps the truth hidden up his sleeve. How many times has the Time Lord kept life-altering, or even lifesaving, facts from his companions, because he thought it was safer they didn't know? How often has that choice to withhold information put himself and his companions in danger? Sometimes at the cost of his own life or that of his companion's?
Yeah, okay, so she feels justified to a little anger right now. Sue her.
"I don't know what's crawled up your asses," she said in a low dangerous voice, "but I'm tired of you both talking about me like I'm not standing RIGHT HERE." Her voice raised with each word until the last two words were shouted. "You both know something about me, and I want to know what it is."
Looking appropriately chastised, Jack raised his hand, reminding Zoe strongly of a kindergartner asking for permission to speak. She lifted an unamused eyebrow at him, and he seemed to take it as the go-ahead he needed. "If my ego's the size of a planet," Jack began, "then the Doc's ego must be the size of the multiverse."
"Oh, grow up," the Doctor said with a scoff at the same time Zoe's let out an irritated, "Really, Jack?"
"Can't," Jack said a tad smugly to the Doctor. "It's physically impossible. What you see is what you get." He spun on the heels of his combat boots, arms extended out like a model turning on a catwalk. "Isn't that right, Zoe?" He threw a wink at her, causing Zoe to roll her eyes and the Doctor to scowl. Mere seconds later though, it turned into a grimace.
The Time Lord groaned and looked at Zoe as if she would be the death of him. "Why do I have the feeling you're the reason he's a fixed point in time? His presence alone is giving me the heebie-jeebies!"
Zoe's eyes widened, then narrowed in an instant. "You think I'm the reason he's immortal?"
"Unfortunately, the Doc's hit the nail right on the head. This one is on you, well, future you," Jack said almost apologetically, "but it's not what he thinks." He jerks his head in the direction of the Time Lord, then tilts his head to the side as if considering his words carefully. "My...immortality was created under very different circumstances. The only thing you did - you as in your powers- was make it so I can't age. Ever. Can't give anything more away without risking the timeline."
"Powers," Zoe deadpanned, as the ramifications of what Jack said hit her straight on. If he can't age because of her, then he would never turn into the Face of Boe, a huge, wrinkled age-defying head. Suddenly, the Face of Boe's absence on board the ship made a terrible sort of sense. She shook her head forcefully, willing this information to the back of her mind. What's done is done, even if it hadn't technically happened yet, and she had more burning questions to ask then what would happen in the future with Jack.
She turned her dark hazel-green eyes on the Doctor. "What powers is he talking about? And why do I feel like you think everything is my fault?" Channeling her best friend's sass (if only Mads could see her, she'd be so proud), she deadpanned, "Let me guess. I'm the reason for the Earth's death today, too."
The Doctor looked disturbed by the very idea. "Of course not! The Earth's death today will no more be your fault than the Sun's. It just is. It's a fixed-point in time."
"Yeah. Well, you haven't always thought so generously of me, have you?" At his raised eyebrow, she started listing her reasons off her fingers. "Let's see, just now you seemed to think I caused Jack's immortality. In fact, you were convinced I created him." Her tone showed exactly how ludicrous she thought this idea was. "When we arrived here, you seemed to think I brought us here and not your terrible driving skills." She had to hold up her hand to stop the protest ready to roll off his tongue at her reference to his ability to drive the TARDIS - and then barreled on, pressing her advantage. "And let's not forget, your cryptic commentary on the Autons and Nestene Consciousness. What were your words when I asked if what happened was normal?" She pretended to think about it by tapping her chin. "Oh, yes. How could I forget?
"'They aren't known for shapeshifting, but I suppose they will be from now on.' You were talking about me then, weren't you? You think I changed them - made them something different, something new. That whatever I did changed the Nestene race forever."
As she finished, the Doctor's dark eyes had grown to the size of giant platters, reflecting the solar flares from outside the window. They shone with wonder, burning curiosity and...was that awe?
"Fantastic!" He clapped his hands together in his enthusiasm. "Oh, you are clever."
"I've always thought so," Jack threw in with a smirk.
Zoe paused, face heating in slight embarrassment from the unexpected praise. "What?" she deadpanned.
Wearing a grin so wide it threatened to split his face, the Doctor grabbed her hands in his. Neither noticed how Jack's gaze narrowed at where their hands connected. "Don't you see? You've known all along, at the back of your mind you've been collecting clues. Somewhere rattling around that skull of yours is the truth." He tapped the side of her head for emphasis. "You've just blinded yourself to it."
Her face fell, looking into the Doctor's grinning face. Was he talking about his belief she wasn't from an alternate universe?
Well, at least he seems to have the answers for why everything has been so different from the show. But, was he really telling her that those difference were because of her? Because she has powers? Powers to do what exactly?
Her fingers found the base of her t-shirt and started twisting and turning the hem, matching the tempo of her anxiety-ridden thoughts. "I don't understand. Are you saying I have powers to alter reality or something crazy like that?"
The Doctor beamed. "Oh, I knew you were brilliant."
She stared back at him in disbelief. "That's impossible. I'm human! I don't have powers. And despite what you want to believe, I'm definitely not psychic. I think I would know something like that."
"About that," the Doctor said, drawing out the syllables before blowing out his breath. He seemed to be bracing himself for something. "Look, this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I told you." At her disbelieving stare, he said a bit exasperated, "I was going to tell you. Just not right away."
He paused, searching her eyes for a moment. Whatever he was looking for, he seemed to find it, because he sighed. "On the day I met you, I may have scanned you..."
Her eyes snapped up to his at his confession, stunned. "You did what?"
"It's a good thing I did, too, because I learned something really, really, extremely, vitally important and extraordinarily—"
Jack whacked the Doctor's arm just like she did on the day she met him. "Just get on with it."
Sending the immortal a glare and rubbing his arm, the Doctor sighed in defeat. "Zoe, you're not human. Well, mostly not human."
Her head shot back, mouth dropping open. "What?"
The Doctor gripped her hands tightly in his. "You have exactly 13% human DNA. That's it."
Somewhere right above them, oblivious to the tension in the room, the station's computer announced in a soothing, feminine tone, "Earth Death in 25 minutes."
Jack took immediate notice to the broadcast. He glanced up at the ceiling, his brow crumpling in confusion, before glaring at his vortex manipulator and tapping it like a misbehaving wristwatch.
Zoe and the Doctor, on the other hand, showed no sign of hearing the announcement. They seemed to only have eyes and ears for each other.
"But, that's not possible," she said, feeling a sweeping dizzy spell blindside her. Whether it was from the lack of food or the Doctor's reality-shattering revelation, it was too early to tell.
There's no way what he said could be true. Her mom was human. August was human. Weren't they?
And her dad…
Her biological father was…
Wait, she has no idea who her real father is. August never talked about him, and she'd never asked, not wanting August to think he wasn't enough for her. It's just she'd always assumed her father was human. There wasn't any reason to think he might not be until now. Then again, there's never been any reason to think she wasn't human either.
The Doctor took in her deer-in-headlights expression, his mouth twisting in a sympathetic grimace. "I know this is difficult for you. It's why I didn't want to say anything until I knew more."
"If I'm not truly human, then," Zoe paused and looked up at the Doctor beneath dark eyelashes, "what am I?"
Again the Doctor hesitated to answer, and Jack having refocused on the conversation, fake coughed loud and clear behind his hand, 'Tell her!' The gesture earned him a swift glare from the Time Lord. For Zoe's part, her silent, pleading gaze never left the Doctor's face.
Whatever he saw in her expression, his resistance seemed to crumple beneath its weight.
"Fine!" he burst out in one stressed breath. He released her hands to run one of his own through his short, fine hair, clearly agitated at being forced to reveal his hand sooner than he'd planned. Zoe was too focused on the Doctor's every move to notice how she distantly felt the sudden loss of his hands' warmth like a phantom limb.
"Ok, yes!" he said. "The first scan told me you weren't human, not in the way it counts anyways. And yes, it also identified your dominant race." Here he began a manic pace across the floor before twisting around to face her once more. "But you don't understand…"
"Of course she isn't human," Cassandra southern drawl interrupted them. The trio turned as one and saw the last human standing outside the private observation deck's door, her boys standing at her side ready to spray her. "I thought we established I am the last human alive here. Whatever she is, is of no consequence."
Zoe stared blankly at the last human, not quite registering her sudden appearance and what it could mean. The Doctor's words, You're not human, and all its implication were still playing on repeat in her head like a warped echo. Add in her pulsing headache, and it was a wonder she could think at all.
Feeling faint (and not a little bit queasy), she leaned against the observation window, unknowingly mirroring the Doctor earlier. This is just not my day, she thought.
"Wow, Zoe," Jack said, whistling low for effect and bringing her back to the present moment. "Future-you wasn't kidding when you said she looks like a bitchy human trampoline." Seeing as he referred to her this way not even half an hour ago, Zoe could only assume he said it again for Cassandra's benefit. And judging by the suppressed snarl at her lips, the insult had hit its mark.
The Doctor crossed his arms and regarded Cassandra with cool indifference. He glanced over at Zoe. "So I take it this is the Cassandra?"
Zoe's mind flashed back to her conversation with the Doctor right before he tried to take her to Walt Disney World. "Yes, that's her."
He nodded, nice and sharp to confirm he understood and threw on a pleasant smile. Though Zoe thought there was nothing nice about it. "Cassandra, I've heard so much about you," he said, spreading his arms out wide. In any other context, the gesture would have been welcoming.
Cassandra shifted her glare from Jack to the Doctor, sparing Zoe a weighted glance, before fluttering her eyelashes at the Time Lord. "Nothing bad, I hope."
"Well, that depends," the Doctor said, keeping his grin deceivingly friendly. "You see, my friend here believes you're up to no good. Me though, I can be fair. Innocent until proven guilty and all that."
Zoe expected Cassandra to play up the innocence card, so what happened next caught her completely off guard.
The last human smirked, eyes radiating smugness. "Oh, there's no need for that," she said, as metallic clicking sounds started up somewhere behind her. "The truth is I'm such a naughty thing."
Cassandra backed up to reveal three tiny metallic spiders and an Adherent of the Repeated Meme floating in silence behind her. She flicked her eyes at the Repeated Meme first. "Get the girl," she said, the command cold and crisp.
Before the Doctor and Jack could react, before she even realized what was happening, Zoe found herself seized and dragged towards the last human by the imposing cloaked figure. She thought she heard Jack and the Doctor yell her name, but she couldn't quite hear over her pounding heart.
Nausea curled in her stomach the moment her mind caught up with her situation. In one second, she was leaning against the observation window, the next she was beside a smug Cassandra. Worst, she felt too weak and nauseous to do much more than try to tug her arm loose from the Repeated Meme's firm grip holding her hostage.
Unsurprisingly, her meager effort didn't so much as loosen its grip. In fact, the Repeated Meme jerked her backward, so her back hit its chest and it could pull her into a secure headlock. The simultaneous feeling of a metallic arm wrapped around her throat and of wires poking her beneath its robe filled her with unease. It was a strong reminder that the Adherents of the Repeated Meme weren't anything more than an idea. Robots programmed to do Cassandra's bidding. All it would take was a command from Cassandra, and she would be dead.
As if the universe heard her thoughts, it was at that moment she felt the cold graze of a gun at her head.
Duh, duh, duh! So, how did I do? Was it worth the wait? Please review! Your words are my writing fuel.
Btw, I really didn't want to leave the chapter off here. I've written a lot more than this, some fun stuff that I'm eager to share, but it's not done yet. Sadly.
As you may have realized, the updates have caught up to where I am in the story, writing-wise. For that reason, updates will be sporadic and there will likely be a longer span of time in between chapters.
This is a story I am writing for fun and fun only. I don't want to promise regular updates, because I'm afraid it would demotivate me from writing. The last thing I want is for this fic to feel like a chore. I'll try to keep the time between updates reasonable, but I can't guarantee anything. Regardless, I hope you'll stick with me on this adventure.
Until next time.