Hello again. Here's chapter 2, hope you all enjoy it
Zuri leaned forward on the jump seat, excited for her first trip into space, as Rose grinned at the Doctor.
But before he could begin to show off, Rose let out a cry of shock. "Doctor! Zuri, she's... glowing?"
He spun around as Zuri glanced down.
Rose was right. She was glowing, a faint blue that matched the time rotor at the center of the TARDIS console. She began to feel warm, like the sun was shining directly on her, despite being inside.
The Doctor whipped out his Sonic and scanned her. "The Artron energy in your body is... excited, for lack of a better term. Something is happening."
Before she could respond, the light surrounding Zuri flared, blinding them, and then she was gone.
Zuri opened her eyes as the glow dimmed, to see she was still in the TARDIS control room. But something was different. Rose and the Ninth Doctor were gone, and in their place stood Donna Noble, and the Tenth Doctor.
"Woah. That was weird." She muttered to herself. "Oi, Doctor. What happened?"
"Zuri!" The Doctor spun around in excitement. "When did you pop in?"
"Well just now, but I'm not quite sure what happened exactly. I was with Ninth you and Rose? We were dealing with the Nestene Consciousness."
"Oh. First jump. Well, first things second!" The Doctor jumped down the steps before returning to the console, a dark red book in his hand.
"Here, this is going to be your diary, you need to track our adventures as they happen to you. You also keep your future knowledge in there as I understand.
"Now. What happened was, when you first arrived in this universe, you passed through the TARDIS time stream. That means that you interacted with her at different points out of order. It also filled your body with Artron energy."
He shoved his hands in his coat pockets as Zuri nodded.
"Ok. So I bounce around the time stream? Right. Make sense, so the last time you saw me was me from my future?" She asked in confirmation.
The Doctor nodded. "Right, so you need to keep track of the number of jumps you've made, that lets me know what I can and can't say."
Zuri agreed. "Alright then, this would be jump 1, adventure 2 then. Where are we? Or can you tell me? I mean I know what you've done, just not my role in it."
Donna cut into the conversation then, tired of being ignored. "Oi, hello Zuri. We've just been with Martha and the Hath."
"Ah, ok. I know where I am then. Shall we?" Zuri gestured to the TARDIS doors.
The three of them stepped out, a buzzing sound in the air. "Smell that air." The Doctor commented. "Grass and lemonade, and a little bit of mint. A hint of mint must be the nineteen twenties."
"You can tell what year it is just by smelling?" Donna gaped.
"Oh yeah," He nodded.
"Sure Doctor. It's got nothing to do with the vintage car coming up the drive." Zuri snorted.
The trio ducked behind a bush as a butler and footman emerged from the house.
"The Professor's baggage, Richard, step lively!" The butler stated. "Good afternoon, Professor Peach."
"Hello Greeves, old man." The professor replied. "Ah, Reverand." He continued, as a vicar rode up on a bike.
"Professor Peach! Beautiful day. The Lord's in His Heaven, all's right with the world." The man replied, getting off his bike.
"Reverand Golightly." Greeves began. "Lady Eddison requests that you make yourselves comfortable in your rooms. Cocktails will be served on the lawn from half-past four."
The professor waved the others on. "You go on up, I have to check something in the library."
"Oh?" The Reverand asked.
"Alone."
"This is supposed to be a party! All this work will be the death of you."
"Nevermind planet Zog," Donna stated. "A party in the nineteen twenties, that's more like it"
"Problem is, we haven't been invited." The Doctor teased, pulling out his psychic paper. "Oh, I forgot, yes we have!"
Zuri grabbed his arm. "Come on, Donna and I aren't dressed for the twenties." She then dragged him back towards the TARDIS, intent on locating the wardrobe.
The Doctor tapped the TARDIS doors. "Come on girls, we'll be late for cocktails!"
Donna opened the door stepping out in a brown, twenties style dress. "What d'you think? Flapper, or slapper?"
"Flapper. You look lovely. Where's Zuri?"
"Right here." She stepped outside in a knee-length blue dress, blue eyeshadow accenting her brown eyes. "Shall we?" She gestured towards the party.
"Good afternoon." The Doctor waved as the three of them approached the festivities.
"Drinks, sir? Ma'am?" Davenport asked.
"Sidecar, please," Donna asked.
"None for me, he'll have a lime and soda," Zuri said, eyes narrowed slightly as the footman mostly ignored her. She should have known, it being the twenties, or at least guessed.
The Doctor glanced at her in shock briefly before nodding with a grin. "Yup." He opened his mouth to say more but was stopped by Greeves.
"May I announce, Lady Clemency Eddison."
"Lady Eddison." The Doctor greeted.
"Forgive me, but who exactly might you be, and what are you doing here?"
"I'm the Doctor. And this is Miss Donna Noble of the Chiswick Nobles, and Lady Zuri, of TARDIS."
Donna began speaking in what she thought was a posh accent, Zuri face-palming behind her. "Good afternoon, my lady. Topping day, what? Spiffing. Top hole!"
"No, no, no, no, no. Don't do that, don't" The Doctor told her under his breath, pulling out the psychic paper. "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the Ambassador's reception?"
"Doctor, how could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose."
"A unicorn? Brilliant! Where?" Donna bounced.
"The Unicorn." Lady Eddison stated. "The jewel thief. And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again, snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."
"Funny place to wear pearls," Donna muttered.
Greeves interrupted before any more was said. "May I announce, the Colonel Hugh Curbishley, the Honourable Roger Curbishley."
"My husband, and son." Lady Eddison remarked.
"Forgive me for not rising," The Colonel said. "Never been the same ever since that flu epidemic back in eighteen."
Roger stepped up to Donna then. "My word, you are a super lady."
"Oh, I like the cut of your jib. Chin chin." She replied.
"Hello, I'm the Doctor, this is Lady Zuri."
"How do you do?"
"Very well."
Davenport walked over then, offering Roger a drink. "Your usual, sir?"
"Ah thank you, Davenport. Just how I like it."
Donna leaned over to the Doctor. "How come she's an Eddison, but her husband and son are Curbishley's?"
Zuri smiled at her, placing a hand on her arm. "Oh, the Eddison title descends through her. Roger will be a lord one day. Oh and Donna. He's on the other bus. Sorry." She then turned as Donna groaned to see the new woman headed in their direction. Knowing she'd have to keep an eye on this one, for she was not what she seemed.
"Robina Redmond," Greeves announced.
"She's the absolute hit of the social scene." Lady Eddison commented. "A must. Miss Redmond!"
"Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady. What super fun."
The Reverand approached then and was introduced by Greeves.
Lady Eddison reached to shake his hand. "Ah, Reverand. How are you? I heard about the church last Thursday night. Those ruffians breaking in."
"You apprehended them, I hear." The Colonel added.
The Reverand nodded. "As the Christian Fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses. Quite literally."
At that Zuri burst into giggles.
The Doctor sighed. Zuri this young was so vibrant and open. He wished it would last longer.
As Zuri managed to quiet her giggles she glanced at him, mirth still bubbling in her eyes. She knew it probably wasn't that funny, but something in the way he spoke, the tone of the sentence amused her. Tuning back into the conversation around her, she realized another woman was approaching the group.
"Here she is, a lady who needs no introduction." Lady Eddison announced as everyone began clapping.
"No, no, please. Don't. Thank you Lady Eddison, honestly. There's no need. Agatha Christie." The woman held her hand out to the Doctor.
"What about her?" Donna asked.
"That's me."
"Nooo. You're kidding."
"Agatha Christie, I was just talking about you the other day. I said, 'I bet she's brilliant'. I'm the Doctor and this is Donna and Zuri. Oooh, I love your stuff. What a mind! You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once!" The Doctor rambled, aggressively shaking her hand.
"You make a rather unusual couple," Agatha noted, completely ignoring Zuri.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, we're not married." The Doctor clarified.
"Well obviously not, no wedding ring."
"Oh, oh, you don't miss a trick." The Doctor grinned as Donna glanced down at her fingers.
"I'd stay that way if I were you." Agatha mused. "The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."
She turned away as Lady Eddison gushed. "Mrs. Christie, I'm so glad you could come. I'm one of your greatest followers. I've read all six of your books. Is, ah, Mr. Christie not joining us?"
"Is he needed? Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"
"Don't give my wife ideas." The Colonel laughed.
"Now Mrs. Christie," Roger interrupted. "I have a question. Why a Belgian detective?"
"Belgian's make such lovely buns."
"I say, where on earth is Professor Peach? He'd love to meet Mrs. Christie." Roger then noted.
"Said he was going to the library." The Reverand offered.
The Doctor gestured the girls off to the side as Lady Eddison sent the maid, Miss Chandrakala to find the Professor. "Girls, look at the date." He held up a newspaper he'd snatched off the Colonel only moments before.
"What about it?" Donna asked.
"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared," Zuri noted. Getting more annoyed with these party-goers the longer they ignored her. "She's just discovered her husband is having an affair, though why anyone would cheat on such a lovely woman..." She trailed off.
"You'd never think, to look at her." Donna marveled. "Smiling away."
"Well, she's British and moneyed." The Doctor explained. "That's what they do. They just carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened, she just vanished. her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later, Agatha Christie turns up in a hotel in Harrogate. She said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance until the day she died, but whatever it was..."
"It's about to happen." Donna finished. "Right here, right now." He confirmed. Then, the maid came running out of the house, screaming. "Professor! The library! Murder! Murder!"
The Doctor, Donna, Zuri, and Agatha enter the library first, and the Doctor ran straight for the body. Bending down, he took out his glasses and put them on.
"Do you really need those, or are they just to look cool?" Zuri wondered, before blushing as she realized she'd said that out loud.
The Doctor opened his mouth but was interrupted by Greeves. "Oh my goodness!"
"Bashed on the head." The Doctor informed, checking the man's watch. "Blunt instrument. Watch broke as he fell, time of death was quarter past four." He then stood and began searching the papers on the desk.
"Bit of pipe," Donna added, lifting the pipe to show them. "Call me Hercule Poirot, but I reckon that's blunt enough." "Nothing worth killing for in that lot, dry as dust." The Doctor said to Agatha. She picked through the ashes in the fireplace, before she quietly pocketed a slip of paper that hadn't quite finished burning.
"Hold on," Donna said, incredulous. "The body in the library? I mean, Professor Peach, in the library, with the lead piping?"
Zuri nodded to her. "Sounds a lot like Cluedo, but when you think about it, all murders are a victim, in a location, with a murder weapon."
Then the other party guests arrived and Zuri clamped her mouth shut. If they were going to be rude, then she wouldn't insert herself in their conversation. When they saw the scene, everyone began talking at once, the room a cacophony of noise.
Agatha shouted over them, "Someone should call the police."
"You don't have to. " The Doctor flashed the psychic paper again. "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor. These ladies are the plucky young girls who help me out. Mrs. Christie was right, go into the sitting room. I will question each of you in turn."
Agatha shooed them all out of the crime scene, before leaving herself.
"The plucky young girls who help me out?" Donna raged.
"No policewomen in nineteen twenty-six." The Doctor explained with a shrug.
"I'll pluck you in a minute. Why don't we phone the real police?"
"Donna," Zuri sighed. "We don't need idiot policemen poking their noses in while we're here."
"Especially now I've found this. Morphic residue."
"Morphic? Doesn't sound very nineteen twenty-six." Donna commented.
"It's left behind when certain species re-encode."
"The murderer is an alien?"
"Which means, one of that lot is an alien in human form." Zuri nodded with a grin. "Isn't it wonderful? I mean not that someones died, but. "
"But think about it." Donna interrupted. "Agatha Christie. A murder mystery?"
"So? happens to us all the time." The Doctor gestured at Zuri before she smacked him.
"Haven't been there yet, don't spoil things."
"No, but isn't that weird?" Donna continued. "Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. I mean that's like meeting Charles Dickens, and he's surrounded by ghosts at Christmas."
Zuri giggled and the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "Well..."
"Oh come on! It's not like we could drive across the country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. Could we? Noddy's not real. is he? Tell me there's no Noddy!"
"There's no Noddy," Zuri confirmed.
"Next thing you know you'll be telling me it's like Murder on the Orient Express and they all did it."
As they were speaking they exited the library and ran into Agatha. "Murder on the Orient Express?"
"Oh yeah. One of your best." Donna nodded.
"But not just yet, Donna." Zuri murmured.
"Marvelous idea though." Agatha mused.
"Yeah. Tell you what, copyright Donna Noble, okay?"
"Anyway!" The Doctor interrupted before any more damage could be done. "Agatha and I will question the suspects, you girls search the bedrooms for clues." He reached into his pocket. "Any more residue." He added in a whisper, handing her a magnifying glass. "You'll need this."
"Is that for real?" Donna managed.
"Go on, you're ever so plucky."
Donna turned to Zuri with a frown, who shrugged and pulled her by the arm towards the stairs.
The two women headed upstairs, trying every door on the floor. Most of the rooms were unused, and as such gave them nothing but the sneezes from dust collected under the door. They did find one room packed to the brim with trunks. Most holding old clothes, or baby things, and emanated the scent of mothballs.
But one trunk lay hidden, off to the side of the doorway, giving off a menacing vibe. It was plain, solid wood with well-kept leather joints, and a small brass keyhole with no key in sight. Zuri started to investigate when Donna let out a small scream from the hall.
Rushing out, she realized that Donna had only been startled by Greeves. "You won't find anything in there." He said ominously.
"How come it's locked?" Donna asked.
"Lady Eddison commands it to be so."
"Well, I command it to be otherwise. Scotland Yard. Pip-pip."
The man was reluctant, but did eventually move to open the door.
"Why's it locked in the first place?" Donna queried.
"Many years ago, when my father was butler to the family, Lady Eddison returned from India with malaria."
"Oof, ghastly thing that. Makes you ache all over and feel you'll die of fever." Zuri muttered.
"She locked herself in this room for six months until she recovered. Since then, the room has remained undisturbed." Greeves continued as he got the door open. "As you can see, there's nothing in here."
Zuri poked her head in briefly. "How long has it been empty, Greeves?"
"Forty years."
"Why would she seal it off?" Donna wondered. "All right, we need to investigate, so you just... butle off."
The two women stepped inside and closed the door behind them. In case someone else wandered down the hall. There wasn't much to see, a bed with a teddy bear, basic furniture. A faint buzz could be heard by the window. "Nineteen twenty-six, they've still got bees," Donna remarked. "Oh, what a noise. All right, busy bee I'll let you out. Hold on I shall find you with my amazing powers of detection."
Zuri giggled softly before remembering that it wasn't a bee. "Donna, wait!" But Donna had pulled the heavy curtain back to reveal the biggest wasp she'd ever seen in her life.
She screamed as the creature smashed the glass of the window, then was pulled back towards the door by Zuri.
"Run!"
But Donna thrusts the magnifying glass into a ray of sunlight coming in the broken window, aiming the condensed light beam at the creature. It stopped for a moment, long enough for both women to rush out and slam the door, shouting, "Doctor!"
The Doctor and Agatha ran up from where they were interrogating, only to nearly run into Zuri.
"It's a giant wasp." Donna gasped, breathing uneven and harsh.
"What do you mean, a giant wasp?" The Doctor asked, exasperated.
"She means a wasp, that's giant!" Zuri informed them, exasperated herself.
Agatha sighed. "It's only a silly little insect."
"When I say giant," Donna pressed. "I don't mean big, I mean flippin' enormous. Look at its sting!" She gestured to the solid wooden door with a massive stinger thrust straight through it.
"Let me see." The Doctor requested, reaching for the knob. "It's gone. Buzzed off."
Agatha bent down to look closer at the stinger. "But that's fascinating..."
"D-d-d-d-don't touch it! Don't touch it. Let me..." The Doctor collected more morphic residue off the stinger. "Giant wasp. Well tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms, but none in this galactic sector."
"I think I understood some of those words." Agatha began. "Enough to know that you're completely potty."
"Lost it's sting though, that leaves it defenseless." Donna pointed out.
Zuri leaned her shoulder against the hallway wall, not quite used to all the adrenaline. "Sorry no. It can grow another one. pretty rapid."
Agatha had had enough. "Can we return to sanity? There's no such thing as giant wasps!"
"Exactly." The Doctor nodded glancing at Zuri in concern. "So the question is, what's it doing here?"
Before anyone could respond there was a thud outside.
Miss Chandrakala was on the ground, crushed beneath a gargoyle that had fallen from the house. She managed to rasp out, "The poor...little...child..." before she died.
The wasp buzzed overhead, and the others chased it a little ways before Donna scared it off with the magnifying glass, but Zuri stared in shock.
She had known, intellectually, that there were deaths in the Doctor's adventures. She had seen the episodes plenty of times. Hell, she had seen Professor Peach's body.
But to see this woman, who had been in the garden with them just hours ago, who Zuri had smiled at... Her stomach roiled, and she ran to the nearest bush, throwing up what remained of her last meal. Which now that she thought about it, had been the day before they defeated the Nestene. She should really try to eat soon.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she staggered back in the direction of the Doctor.
"You alright?" He asked softly, concern filled eyes scanning her over.
Zuri hummed. "I uh. Well, I've never seen someone die like that, I... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
The Doctor reached over, wrapping her in his arms. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I forgot this is your first trip, I keep expecting you to act like your older self, who has been through enough she knows how to respond."
"But I knew." Zuri sniffed, fighting back tears. "I knew she was going to die and I forgot. How could I forget? How could I let someone die because I was too busy having fun with you?"
And with that, she let the tears flow, embarrassed that she let the Doctor see her cry, but in too much emotional confusion to stop.
The Doctor merely hugged her tighter. "Oh my Zuri. You are not responsible for anything that happens, future knowledge or not. People die sometimes, and it's sad, but it's necessary. And sometimes, there will be people you can save, and you have to cherish those days. The days where everybody lives. But it is never your fault, you are not a bad person if someone gets hurt or dies. Never. Some things just can't be prevented. Now dry your eyes my dear, and let's go solve the mystery, eh?"
Zuri stepped a half pace back, wiping her face with her shoulders. She sniffed once more, then set her shoulders and nodded to the Doctor.
He grinned brightly. "That's the spirit! Now. The wasp got away, so we need to get everyone together."
Once everyone was gathered in the drawing-room, they broke the news about Miss Chandrakala. "My faithful companion, this is terrible!" Lady Eddison sobbed.
Davenport spoke up. "Excuse me my lady, but she was on her way to tell you something."
"She never found me. She had an appointment with death instead."
If Zuri had not still been so upset she'd forgotten a death, she would have rolled her eyes at the dramatic statement. But as it was she was frantically combing her memories of this episode, trying to see where she could help. She could tell all their secrets now, but what if that changed the course of events to where she had no idea what would happen? Could her knowledge of the Doctors future cause her to create a paradox? She decided to wait a little bit longer, before attempting anything.
The Doctor interrupted her thoughts by repeating the dead woman's last words. "'The poor little child'. Does that mean anything to anyone?"
"No children in this house for years, highly unlikely there will be." The Colonel commented with a glance at Davenport and Roger.
"Mrs. Christie, you must have twigged something, you've written simply the best detective stories." Lady Eddison prompted.
"Tell us," The Reverand added. "What would Poirot do?"
"Heaven's sake! Cards on the table woman, you should be helping us." The Colonel demanded.
"But I'm merely a writer."
Robina interjected. "But surely you can crack it, these events, they're exactly like one of your plots."
Donna waved a hand violently. "That's what I've been saying! Agatha, that's got to mean something."
"But what? I've no answers, none. I'm sorry, all of you, I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us then it's the Doctor, not me."
Agatha and Donna went outside, while Zuri pulled the Doctor into an empty room. "All right, so I've got to ask. My knowledge of the future. Can I safely change things? Can I save people? Or will I blow up the universe?"
Instead of answering straight away, the Doctor glanced around the empty room. "Well... The thing is is that... Well, some things are fixed, some are in flux. Later, when the artron energy inside you settles and finishes... well most of what it does is spoilers, but it will soon give you the ability to see which is which. Until then, if you must make a change, do your best to think through the possible outcomes. Will saving this person change history. And I know that's hard because you've no idea of the history of this universe, although it seems most of earths history is the same. Humans, predictable to the last..."
"OI!" Zuri slapped him upside the head. "Human here. Or at least mostly human with a bit of TARDIS apparently. So be careful until my superpowers arrive, then follow the rules."
The Doctor nodded just as Agatha and Donna returned with a box they found under a window. He proceeded to open it, to find a variety of tools. "Oh, someone came prepared. The sort of stuff a thief would use."
"The Unicorn." Agatha gasped. "He's here?"
"The Unicorn and the Wasp."
Greeves entered then with a tray. "Your drinks, ladies, Doctor." They thanked him and sipped the drinks as they discussed the science stuff.
"Vespiform sting." The Doctor stated. "Vespiforms have got hives in the Silfrax galaxy."
"Again you talk like Edward Lear."
"But for some reason, this ones behaving like a character in one of your books."
"Come on Agatha," Donna encouraged. "What would Miss Marple do? She'd have overheard something vital by now because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."
"Clever idea, Miss Marple? Who writes those?"
"Um, copyright Donna Noble."
"Zuri. Donna."
"Oh alright, we could split the copyright."
"No." The Doctor gasped. "Something's inhibiting my enzymes. Gah! I've been poisoned." Zuri reached for the Doctor as Donna panicked, Agatha sniffing his glass.
"Bitter almonds. It's sparkling cyanide."
They rushed to the kitchen, the Doctor calling out, "Ginger beer!" As he grabbed Davenport.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I need ginger beer. He replied, stumbling to the shelves, sweeping things off on the floor in his hurry.
"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor. There's no cure." Agatha began before she was interrupted by Zuri.
"Not for him. He needs protein... Aha! Walnuts." She handed him the jar before turning back to the shelves. Hearing Donna try to interpret the Doctors miming. "Anchovies for salt..." She passed the jar before taking a deep breath. "He needs a shock."
Donna looked at her briefly before grabbing the Doctor by the lapels and kissing him. She then let go as he gasped and released a cloud of grey smoke from his mouth, the kitchen staff staring in shock.
"Detox! I must do that more often."
Agatha stared. "Doctor you are impossible! Who are you?"
That night there was a storm as they all gathered in the dining room. "A terrible day for all of us. The Professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala taken cruelly from us... and yet we still take dinner." The Doctor spoke into the quiet.
"We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?" Lady Eddison asked.
"Then," He continued like she never spoke. "Someone tried to poison me. Anyone of you had the chance to put cyanide in my drink. But it rather gave me an idea."
"And what would that be?" The Reverand asked.
"Well, poison. Drink up!" Everyone glanced suspiciously at the soup and then the Doctor. "I've laced the soup with pepper."
"Ah, I thought it was a jolly spicy," The Colonel nodded.
"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine. Traditionally used as an insecticide. So. Anyone get the shivers?"
A bolt of lightning struck and the window was blown open violently. Blowing out the candles and sending the room into darkness.
Zuri grabbed blindly for the Doctors hand as a buzzing sound grew louder.
"No, it can't be..." Lady Eddison's voice could just be heard over the noise.
Lightning struck again as Agatha called out, "Show yourself demon!"
"Nobody move." The Doctor instructed. "No, don't, stay where you are."
The Vespiform revealed itself then, buzzing towards Agatha as the remainder of them panicked and ran for the doors.
"Not you, Agatha. You've got a long, long life to live yet." The Doctor muttered as he dragged her out of the creatures reach. They ended up backed into a small closet, and when the buzzing quieted and they returned to the dining room, they found chaos.
Robina was gasping for air, having draped herself over a chair. The Colonel was topsy-turvy in his wheelchair, Davenport was on the floor, and the others were leaning on the walls. Still in shock at what happened. "My jewelry! The Firestone, it's gone!" Lady Eddison cried, but at the same time, Davenport gasped.
"Roger..." Roger was lying face down in a bowl, a knife in his back, Zuri right beside him clutching a bleeding arm.
"I tried. I tried, Doctor, but I wasn't fast enough." She muttered, rocking slightly in pain.
"My son! My child, no!" Lady Eddison wept.
The Doctor tended to the rather large gash in Zuri's right arm, with reassurances of better pain killers once they returned to the TARDIS.
She winced slightly as he tightened the bandage, apologizing. "I'm sorry, Zuri."
"It's ok. I just wasn't expecting it. I'll be fine. We really should focus on identifying the Vespiform."
The Doctor nodded, and they all convened once again in the drawing-room.
"I've called you here, on this endless night, because we have a murderer in our midst. And when it comes to detection, there's none finer. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Agatha Christie."
He sat down beside Zuri as Agatha stood in his place.
"This is a crooked house." Agatha began. "A house of secrets. To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you Miss Redmond."
"But I'm innocent, surely?" She scoffed.
"You've never met these people and these people have never met you. I think the real Robina Redmond never left London, you're impersonating her." Agatha continued.
"How silly. What proof do you have?"
"You said you went to the toilet..."
"Oh I know this," Donna commented. "If she was really posh she would have said 'loo'."
Agatha reached down to the table and lifted the Unicorn's box. "Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this on the lawn. Right beneath your bathroom window. You must have heard that Miss Noble and Lady Zuri were searching the bedrooms, so you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence."
"I've never seen that thing before in my life." Robina denied. Lady Eddison enquired as to the contents of the box, and Agatha opened it. "The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond. Or should I say... the Unicorn! You came to this house with one intention, to steal the Firestone."
Robina stared at Agatha closely before standing. Her accent, her vocal tone, her whole additude changed. "Oh alright then, it's a fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and napped it. Go on then you knobs, arrest me, sling me in jail." She pulled the Firestone from her dress and flung it at the Doctor.
"So... Is she the murderer?" Donna questioned uncertainly.
"Oh don't be so thick. I might be a thief, but I ain't no killer."
"Quite. There are darker motives at work. And in examining this household we come to you..." Agatha glanced at Lady Eddison but turned away. "Colonel."
"Damn it, woman! You with your perspicacity. You've rumbled me." The man stood up from his wheelchair.
"Hugh!" Gasped Lady Eddison. "You can walk? But why?"
"My darling, how else could I be certain of keeping you by my side? You're still a beautiful woman, Clemency. Sooner or later some chap will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you." He turned then to Agatha. "Confound it, Mrs. Christie, how did you discover the truth?"
"Actually, um, I had no idea. I was going to say that you were completely innocent."
"Oh. Ugh." The man grumbled. "Well well, shall I sit down then?"
"Yeah, I'd think you better had."
"So he's not the murderer?" Donna asked again. Agatha nodded as the Colonel sat, taking his wife's hand.
"Indeed not. To find the truth let's return to this." She reached and took the Firestone from the Doctor. "Far more than the Unicorn's object of desire, the Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison."
"I've done nothing!" The woman protested. "You brought it back from India, did you not? Before you met the Colonel. You came home with malaria, and confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been locked ever since, which I rather think means..."
"Stop, please." She begged, but Agatha pressed on. "I'm so sorry, but you had fallen pregnant in India. Unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidant, a young maid later to become your housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala."
The colonel turned in shock. "Clemency, is this true?"
"My poor baby." Lady Eddison sobbed. "I had to give him away. The shame of it."
"But you never said a word..."
"I had no choice. Imagine the scandal, the family name! I'm British, I carry on."
The Doctor took over the conversation then, as Zuri watched from the couch, slightly dazed due to her arm. She really wanted to get this over with so she could get those painkillers the Doctor promised her.
"And it was no ordinary pregnancy."
"How could you know that?" Lady Eddison gaped.
"'Scuse me, Agatha, this is my territory. But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said 'it can't be'. Why did you say that?"
The woman whispered, "You'd never believe me."
"The Doctor has shown me many things." Agatha prompted.
"It was forty years ago, in the heat of Delhi, late one night. I was alone. And that's when I saw it, a dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house. Christopher, the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire, I held nothing back. And in return... he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He'd made himself human, to learn about us. This was his true shape.
"I loved him so much, it didn't matter. But he was stolen from me, eighteen eighty-five, the year of the great monsoon. The river Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken in the flood. But Christopher left me a parting gift, a jewel like no other. I wore it always, part of me never forgot. I kept it close, always."
"Just like a man," Robina snorted. "Flashes his family jewels, and you end up with a bun in the oven."
"A 'poor little child'." Agatha picked up the narrative. "Forty years ago Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage. But Professor Peach worked it out, he found the birth certificate."
"Oh, that's Maiden!" Donna exclaimed loudly, causing Zuri to clap her hands over her ears. "Maiden name!"
"Precisely."
"So, she killed him?"
Lady Eddison looked affronted. "I did not!"
"Lady Eddison is innocent." Agatha assured. "Because at this point, Doctor!"
The Doctor rose from his seat again. "Thank you. At this point when we consider the lies and secrets, and the key to these events, we have to consider... it was you, Donna Noble!" He pointed to a shocked Donna dramatically.
"What? Who did I kill?"
"No." Zuri spoke up then. "No, but you said it before, the vital clue. This whole thing, acted out as a murder mystery. It was Agatha who wrote. She wrote such brilliant, clever books. And who was her biggest fan? Lady Eddison."
"Don't, leave me alone." The woman sighed.
"So she did kill them?" Donna was thoroughly confused.
"No, but just think, last Thursday night, what were you doing?"
"I was, I was reading. I was in the library reading my favorite Agatha Christie book, thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be. How is that relevant?"
"No, but just think." The Doctor cajoled. "What else happened on Thursday night?" He looked at the Reverand. "You said, on the lawn this afternoon. Last Thursday night, those boys broke into your church."
The Reverand frowned. "That's correct. They did. I discovered the two of them, thieves in the night. I was most perturbed, but I apprehended them."
"Really, a man of God against two strong lads? A man in his forties? Or should I say, forty years old exactly?"
"Oh my God." Lady Eddison sucked in a breath.
"Lady Eddison, your child, how old would he be now?"
"Forty, he's forty!"
"Your child has come home."
The Reverand scoffed. "This is poppycock."
"Oh? You said you were taught by the Christian Fathers, meaning, you were raised in an orphanage. You found those thieves, Reverand, and you got angry. A proper, deep anger, for the first time in your life, and it broke the genetic lock. You've changed. You realized your inheritance. After all those years, you knew who you were." The Doctor took back the Firestone. "Oh, and then it all kicks off, cos this isn't just a jewel. It's a Vespiform telepathic recorder. It's part of you, your brain, your very essence. When you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind, and at the same time absorbed the works of Agatha Christie, directly from Lady Eddison. It all became a part of you.
"Mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You've killed, in this pattern, because that's what you think the world is. Turns out, we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha."
"Dame?" She questioned. "Sorry, not yet."
Donna interrupted again. "So he killed them. Yes? Definitely?"
"Yes." Zuri ground out. She would ordinarily be thrilled with this, but her arm hurt.
"Well." The Reverand stood. "This has certainly been a most entertaining evening. Really, you can't believe any of this surely Lady Eddizzzz."
"Lady who?" The Doctor teased.
"Lady Eddizzzzon."
"Little bit of buzzing there, Vicar?"
Zuri slapped the Doctor. "Really now! Don't antagonize the alien murderer."
"Don't make me angry." The creature agreed.
"Why? What happens then?" The Doctor continued to play the idiot.
"Damn it, you humanzzz. Worshipping your tribal zky godzzz. I am so much more. That night, the univerze exploded in my mind."
"Not quite. Hasn't happened yet." Zuri muttered.
"I wanted to take what wazzz mine. And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway ztation bookztall romancezzz. What'zzz to ztop me killing you?"
Lady Eddison reached for him as purple light surrounded him, the transformation beginning. "Oh, my dear God. My child."
"What'zzz to ztop me from killing you all?"
Fully transformed, he flew at them. The Colonel pulled Lady Eddison into a corner as she begged forgiveness. Greeves and Robina joined them. Agatha stood tall then, waving the Firestone. "No. No more murder. If my imagination made you kill, then surely it will find a way to stop you, foul creature." Then she took off out the door, followed by Donna, the Doctor, Zuri, and the Vespiform.
"Wait, now it's chasing us!" Donna screamed.
They managed to slam the door as Agatha pulled up in one of the cars and beeped the horn. "Over here, come and get me Reverand!" She called.
"Agatha, what are you doing?" The Doctor shouted as she began driving away.
"If I started this, then I must stop it." She hollered back as the three who remained hopped in another car. Zuri swiftly hotwired it, with several promises to explain how she knew how to do that later.
"You said this is the day she loses her memories." Donna reminded.
"Time is in flux, Donna. For all we know, this is the night Agatha Christie loses her life and history gets changed." The Doctor explained.
They drove swiftly and caught up to Agatha at the lake. "Here I am." She shouted. "Honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform."
"She's controlling it. Its mind is based on her thought processes, they're linked." Zuri explained.
"Quite, so. If I die. then this creature might die with me."
The Doctor placed himself between the Vespiform and Agatha. "Don't you hurt her, you're not meant to be like this. You got the wrong template in your mind."
"It's not listening," Donna shouted, snatching the Firestone off Agatha and throwing it as far into the lake as she could. The Vespiform desperately flew after it, drowning in a purple glow.
"How d'you kill a wasp?" Donna asked sorrowfully. "Drown it. Just like his father."
"Donna that thing couldn't help itself." The Doctor stated.
"Neither could I!"
"Death comes as the end. And justice is served." Agatha stated. "Just one mystery left, Doctor. Who are you exactly?"
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but Agatha suddenly collasped, yelling in pain.
"Oh, it's the Firestone, it's part of the Vespiforms mind. It's dying, and it's connected to Agatha!"
A purple glow encased her, then faded as she fell into unconsciousness.
"He let her go. Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to save someone's life. The amnesia! Wiped her mind of everything that happened."
"And us. Everything that happened today, including us." Zuri sighed, gripping her injured arm.
"Yeah but we solved another riddle, the mystery of Agatha Christie. And tomorrow morning, her car gets found by the side of the lake. A few days later she shows up in a hotel in Harrogate, with no idea of what just happened. No-one'll ever know."
"Lady Eddison, the Colonel, and all the staff... What about them?" Donna asked.
"Oh they never say a word," Zuri confirmed. "Shameful story you know, and they're British. The Unicorn ran off back to London. Couldn't have even said she was there, would have blown her cover. But Agatha has a great life you know. Met another man and remarried. Saw the world and wrote many more books."
"She never thought her books were any good though," Donna said glumly. "And she must have spent all those years wondering."
"Thing is," The Doctor piped in as they headed back to the TARDIS. "I don't think she ever quite forgot. Great mind like hers, some of the details bled through. Like Miss Marple!"
"Should have made her sign a contract."
"And. Where is it, where is it, hold on. Here we go C. That is, C for cyberman." He dug through a storage space under the floor of the TARDIS, throwing out a cyberman chest plate, the Carrionite globe, and a stone statue head. "C for Carrionites, and... Christie! Agatha." He pulled out a book and showed it to them, a large wasp on the cover.
"She did remember!" Donna gasped.
"Somewhere, in the back of her mind, it all lingered. And that's not all, look at the copyright page."
"Facsimile edition, published in the year, five billion?"
"People never stop reading them. She is the best novelist. Of all time. No one knows how they're going to be remembered. All we can do is hope for the best. Maybe that's what kept her writing. Same thing keeps me traveling. Onwards?" He smiled at the girls as they shouted.
"Onwards!"