"Come on" Rose told her then, gesturing over to the human trampoline. "Michael Jackson?"
"Michael Jackson" Alex agreed, smiling with her friend.
-
"Soon the sun will blossom into a red giant and my home will die" Cassandra told the two. If Alex was being honest she'd say it was rather dramatic. The three of them stood by the window, looking down at the Earth. Alex stood on the other side of Rose, having never been a fan on Cassandra from the beginning. She reminded Alex of the piece of humans she hated most. All 'have to be thin' and 'look how pretty I am' and of course the way she hated the rest of the still-existing humans simply because they moved past the discrimination, while she didn't. All in all there was probably no way she could ever like her.
"That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy. Down there" She continued, unaware of Alex's mini inner monologue. Alex remembered the line well, how it surprised her and how it surprised her mother and her brother when she watched it the second time with them. Alex felt it all wash over her again, how far they really were from her. Not just in time like Rose but in space, a way they could never connect again. Alex wondered again if they'd even notice she was gone.
"I am the last pure human" Cassandra claimed, breaking Alex from her thoughts. "The others… mingled" She explained, sounding disgusted by the thought. "Oh they call themselves 'new humans' and 'proto-humans' and 'digi-humans' and even 'human-ish' but do you know what I call them? Mongrels" She lowered her voice for the last part.
"Hmm" Alex hummed, trying to seem calm. "Me, I've always called myself hybrid" She shrugged. Rose grinned at that, while Cassandra all but glared at her with a 'humph'.
"Right, and you stayed behind" Rose confirmed.
"I kept myself pure" Cassandra corrected.
"How many operations have you had?" Rose asked, frowning.
"Seven hundred and eight. Next week it's seven hundred and nine, I'm having my blood bleached. Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Rose. You've got a little bit of a chin poking out"
Alex frowned at that, brushing over the part where she purposely left her out.
"I'd rather die" Rose replied instantly.
"Honestly, it doesn't hurt…" Cassandra tried again, assuming that was her problem.
"No, I mean it" Rose rephrased. "I'd rather die. It's better to die than live like you, a bitchy trampoline" Alex grinned at her new friend, knowing for sure she really liked her now.
"Oh well, what do you know" Cassandra scoffed, attempting to brush her off.
"I was born on that planet. And so was my Mum, and so was my Dad. Alex and her parents were born there and that makes us officially the last two human beings in this room. Cause you're not human. You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin. Nice talking" With that, Rose turned and walked away, Alex following behind her, glad to be away from the 'human' trampoline.
Alex and Rose wandered the corridor for a bit before they turned a corner to see three lager aliens wearing black cloaks. Alex had forgotten what they were called but not what they did next. She stopped, retreating back around the corner to hide. She heard Rose fall to the ground and ran as fast and as silently as she could away from them. Sorry Rose
Alex wandered, tears drying on her face as she thought about Rose in regret. The Doctor would save her, she'd be fine. What she needed to do now was find him. 'Toxic' started playing suddenly and Alex stopped, knowing exactly what was happening now. She had to get to the steward's office, and fast, if she wanted to find The Doctor now. She took off at a run, knowing part of the way this time. When she got there some of the small staff members were standing in front of the door, squeaking and crying out as light shone through the small window in the door. Alex quickly pulled them away, trying to calm them as she kept them out of the light and tried to ignore the smell coming from the office.
Someone had just died, and Alex had done nothing about it.
A hand was suddenly on her shoulder and Alex jumped, spinning in time to see The Doctor move passed her and to the control panel. He used his sonic screwdriver on it for a moment and the sun filter began to rise, paired with the robotic voice.
"Was the steward in there?" Jabe asked from beside Alex, concerned.
"You can smell him" The Doctor stated, sad but still business-like. He poked at the panel for another moment then, frowning.
"Hold on, there's another sun filter programmed to descend" He found it quickly and took off running. "Alex!" He called back and Alex knew what he was asking and set off running after him. They stopped at the door to another viewing gallery where the computer was announcing a sun filter descending.
"Is anyone in there?" He asked, already working on the panel.
"Let me out!" Rose's voice called desperately through the door. The Doctor looked to Alex, almost seeming confused before he turned to the door.
"Oh well it would be you" He muttered, keeping his focus on the panel.
"Open the door!" Rose shouted again.
"Hold on, give us two ticks" The Doctor called back. He continued to work quickly until the screen the rising of the sunfilter. Alex let out a deep breath and The Doctor turned to her again, watching her closely for a moment.
'Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising. Sun filter descending'
The Doctor whipped back around to the control panel, eyes wide.
"Just what we need, the computer's getting clever" He announced, irritated.
"Will you stop mucking about!"
"I'm not mucking about, it's fighting back!"
"Open the door!"
"Hang on!"
Alex backed up against the wall running her hands through her hair as she watched The Doctor work frantically. She hoped against all hope that her just being here wouldn't cause some kind of butterfly effect.
Amity seemed to notice his owner's distress and jumped away quickly. The Doctor jumped back when he crawled across the control panel, messing with the buttons and typing something in.
"Hey get off!" The Doctor shouted at him, trying to shoo it away. Before he got him away however the sunfilter began rising again. The Doctor looked down at the metal creature that blinked back up at him.
"Thank you, Amity" He told it. He looked to the door then, finding it jammed.
"The whole thing's jammed, I can't open the doors" He called to Rose. "Stay there! Don't move!"
"Where am I gonna go?! Ipswitch?!" She called through terrified sarcasm.
"Alex, we've got to- Alex, are you okay?" He changed quickly, noticing her trying obviously to fix her breathing and her hair messed from running her hands through it constantly. She nodded.
'Earth death in five minutes. Earth death in five minutes'
"Come on" She spoke first, her voice calm and steady, surprising him. Amity climbed up over The Doctor's shoulder and Alex took his hand letting Amity move from one to the other, settling on Alex's shoulder.
When they reached the main room Jabe had another of the metal spiders and was working on a computer. She glanced at the spider on Alex's shoulder but said nothing as it sat still where it was.
"The metal machine confirms" She told everyone. "The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of platform one"
"How's that possible?" Cassandra spoke up, much to Alex's dismay. "Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturize me, moisturize me" The Doctor took the spider from Jabe's hands and fiddled with it a moment.
"Summon the steward!" One of the Aliens called out.
"I'm afraid the steward is dead" Jabe told them sadly.
"Who killed him?" The same alien asked, looking between her, Alex and The Doctor. Alex stood beside the door, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, Jabe sat by the computer and The Doctor paced back and forth between them as he worked on the spider.
"This whole event was sponsored by the face of Boe!" Cassandra declared. "He invited us!"
"Oh shut up Cassandra" Alex snapped, having had enough. Cassandra stopped talking, glancing at Alex uncomfortably but doing as she said.
"Easy way of finding out" The Doctor cut in, holing up the spider. "Someone brought a little pet on board. Let's send him back to master" He placed it down on the floor, watching with everyone else as it scuttled around. It looked up at Cassandra for a moment before continuing to stop at the feet of the three completely covered in the long black robes.
"The Adherants of the Repeated Meme" Cassandra called out, "J'accuse!" Alex shot her an annoyed look and she quieted down again.
"That's all very well, and really kind of obvious" The Doctor went on, walking out in front of them. "But if you really think about it…" The creature in the front raised its arm, trying to attack him before he grabbed the arm and ripped it clean off. Alex smirked at that. The Doctor did love his dramatics.
"A repeated meme is just an idea, and that's all they are. An idea" He ripped a handful of wires from the arm and the three creatures fell to the ground. Everyone gasped but Alex just stared directly at Cassandra as she rolled her eyes. Cassandra noticed her staring, watching her emotionlessly and looked incredibly uncomfortable again.
"Remote controlled droids" The Doctor continued. "Nice little cover for the real trouble maker" He glanced over at Alex and noticed her locked in what looked like a staring competition, knowing now for sure. But he knew he couldn't just announce to everyone that Alex knew the future, that would not be a good idea. "Go on Jimbo!" He told the unnamed spider, giving it a nudge with his foot. "Go home!" It ambled around a moment and stopped below Cassandra.
"I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed" Cassandra hissed at him. The Doctor simply raised his eyebrows but Alex laughed at the 'never got kissed' concept.
"At arms" Cassandra ordered and her servants held out the canisters in their hands.
"What are you going to do? Moisturise me?" The Doctor mocked.
"With acid" Cassandra corrected nonchalantly. Alex blinked, that was blunt. "Oh, too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face" She bragged.
"Just?" Alex raised an eyebrow, making Cassandra scowl at her. Alex simply smirked as The Doctor continued.
"Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it? How stupid's that?" He scoffed, hoping for an explanation. He was not disappointed.
"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous" Cassandra revealed, seeming put out.
"Five billion years and it still comes down to money" The Doctor spat out, disgusted.
"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this? Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human Doctor. Me. Not those freaky little kids of yours"
Alex was furious. She didn't even register that she was moving forward until The Doctor held out an arm, stopping her. She didn't notice anything around her, only her anger burning inside her. It was the series of explosions that snapped her out of it. Alex looked quickly down at Amity, who stared up at her, his small body shaking and smoking slightly. The Doctor snatched him up quickly, using his sonic screwdriver frantically for a moment. Amity looked at Alex one last moment before his light went out and he stopped moving. Alex stared, wide eyes forming tears already. She hadn't expected to become attached that quickly.
"Force fields gone with the planet about to explode. At least it'll be quick, just like my fifth husband" Cassandra laughed at her own joke. "Oh, shame on me. Buh-bye darlings! Buh-bye my darlings…" Cassandra and her guards disappeared suddenly, teleported away.
'Heat levels rising'
"Reset the computer!" The stout blue alien shouted out.
"Only the steward knows how" Jabe shook her head.
"No. We can do it by hand" The Doctor told them, handing the unmoving spider back to Alex. She took the frozen creature, holding it close. "There must be a system restore switch. Alex" She looked up, her face expressionless. "Come on" He told her softly, knowing she'd rather go with him than stay here alone, even in a room full of people. She gave a short nod.
"You lot, just chill" The Doctor announced as he left. Alex set the spider down beside the computer Jabe had been using before she followed The Doctor, running down the hallways as fast as her legs would carry her. The sadness and anger and grief from before all fully gone in that moment as it was replaced by pure determination. No one else would die here today. Jabe had stayed behind.
It was a mere few minutes until the two of them reached the ventilation chamber, the fans working quickly in an attempt to dispel the heat.
"Oh and guess where the switch is" The Doctor muttered, looking straight down passed the fans. Alex looked immediately to her right, knowing exactly what she was looking for. She found the lever quickly and pulled at it, holding it down with as much force as she could. She glanced up to see The Doctor looking at her uncertainly.
'Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising'
"The heat's going to vent through this place Alex, far too much for a human body to handle" He told her worriedly.
"Then get on with it" She responded, raising an eyebrow in almost a challenge.
'External temperature, five thousand degrees'
The Doctor turned back to the fans, spurred on by the girl behind him as he timed the moment to step past the first fan. Alex would never let anyone on this ship die if she could help it, he knew that. This had to work, it just had to. It would be a really short show otherwise.
'Heat levels hazardous'
The Doctor looked up the next fan with apprehension, glancing back at Alex. She watched him unwaveringly, despite the sweat that coated her face and how laboured her breathing had become. He turned back to the fan, timing carefully before stepping through.
Alex watched him as he went, keeping her focus on him, even as she lost it on everything else. She felt the sweat that ran down her face and before long black spots danced in her vision. She had been hoping for a little more time. The lever under her hands burned at her skin but Alex kept a persistent hold on it. She cried out as the heat bit at her hands harder and her grip loosened. Alex panicked for a moment, holding it down harder only to find her strength failing her.
'Heat levels critical. Heat levels critical'
Alex found the lever too hard to hold at all before long and it simply slipped from her hands. She felt herself falling as the world darkened and disappeared. She felt the ground below her but heard the sounds around her still as the fans sped up impossibly and the computer began the countdown.
'Planet explodes in: 10, 9, 8'
Alex tried and failed at opening her eyes and the world remained dark. She attempted to lift her hand but nothing happened.
'7, 6, 5'
Alex tried and tried at every muscle in her body but everything was just too hot and too heavy. Nothing worked, but Alex knew what had happened last she'd seen. She pictured The Doctor stepping through the fan, eyes closed as he took the chance. She only hoped everything remained the same…
'4, 3, 2, 1'
Alex felt the explosion move passed the ship and knew the danger had been averted. She'd smile if she knew she was able to move. She felt the ship cool immensely and heard footsteps. Running, towards her. Alex heard the slight rustling of his clothes as The Doctor knelt down next to her.
"Please be okay, come on Alex, don't you dare leave me now" She heard. There were hands on either side of her face and she was being held off the floor. "Come on, we did it, open your eyes Alex, be okay, please" Alex tried as he said, her eyes flickered open although it took some effort. The Doctor came into focus and grinned uncontrollably as she looked up at him. Alex smiled weakly back.
"I always did look up to you" She joked, however weak it came out. The Doctor laughed still. He picked her up carefully and stood. Alex took a moment to realise he was carrying her out. Her eyelids felt heavy but Alex forced them open again, looking up at the man who held her. He smiled softly down at her as he walked.
"It's all okay now Alex" He told her. "We did it, it's safe now. I've just got one more thing to take care of. Go to sleep now"
Alex wanted to argue but her tired body refused to let her. So instead she closed her eyes and turned into The Doctor a little more, slipping away to the sound of his heartbeats.
Alex woke to realise she was laying on something much softer than the ground she had collapsed on. She felt around with closed eyes for a moment, finding the blanket draped over her after a moment. It was the familiarity of the blanket she'd had since she was twelve that told her she was in her room in the TARDIS. She opened her eyes after another minute, letting them adjust to the light and the room around her. Alex smiled, the first thing she saw being the stars on the celling of her room. The stars looked incredibly real and the TARDIS liked to change them sometimes. Sometimes it was the stars she saw from her bedroom in any of the three countries she'd lived in. Others it was a constellation she had really loved since her travels. The Medusa Cascade really was beautiful and it was easily her favourite.
That's what showed now, the stars and colours of the Medusa Cascade shone brightly down on her. She remembered the first day she had travelled with The Doctor. In between worrying about Rose not coming Alex had been thinking about seeing the Medusa Cascade. The Doctor readily obliged and soon they were floating around space orbiting the constellation. The two opened the doors and sat down just to admire it. Alex had loved it and The Doctor had taken note of it. The first time they had ever really gotten in danger he had taken her back to the TARDIS and told her he already knew their next destination. He moved the TARDIS and took her over to open the doors. It really did cheer her up and Alex had the feeling he'd never forget that one little fact. Neither did the TARDIS apparently.
Alex took a deep breath and proceeded to pull herself up, with some difficulty. She sat up in her bed but as she looked around she suddenly felt much more rested. Alex frowned down at her hands then, noticing for the first time they were wrapped in bandages. She suddenly remembered the lever getting hot, her hands burning to the touch and grimaced slightly. They felt fine though. She stood and made her way, however slow to the console room. The Doctor was standing by the controls with his back to her. He leaned on the console heavily, looking down and seeming incredibly lost. Alex stopped for a moment, watching him. He almost looked... defeated. Rose was nowhere to be found.
"Doctor" Alex called out softly, hesitantly. The Doctor turned quickly, looking her up and down.
"What're you doing here?" He asked, seeming confused. Alex frowned, not understanding. "You should be resting, you. Come on, bed" He stepped forward as if to lead her back to her room. Alex shook her head, walking past him onto the platform.
"I'm fine" She told him. "I'm awesome, not even tired anymore" He seemed unconvinced but nodded anyway.
"Alright then, here at least" He relented, putting his hands on her shoulders and guided her over to sit on the flight seat. Alex obliged and watched as he took her hands and carefully removed the bandages from the first. To her surprise it was completely unmarked. She looked up at him in surprise and he simply grinned back at her, starting on her other hand.
"Where's Rose?" She asked as he worked.
"Just outside" He nodded to the TARDIS doors. "Looking out at what remains" Alex smiled sadly at the thought.
"You should go talk to her" She told him. He looked up at her and gave a short nod in agreement, standing and making his way to the door. He stopped then, still facing the door but hesitating.
"What do I say?" He asked uncertainly, still staring at the door.
"Just listen first and you'll know" She answered the first thing she was thinking. He nodded and left. Alex stared at the door for a minute, waiting until it was opened again a minute later. The Doctor led Rose through, holding her hand. He stopped her beside Alex and moved around the console much slower than usual. Alex took Rose's hand and pulled her down on the seat beside her, wrapping an arm around the blonde.
"I know" She said softly, but hesitated before continuing. "I'm not from there though. That particular Earth I mean" Rose looked at her confused.
"What does that mean?"
"Alternate universe" Alex explained. "Half the people I know don't exist, the other half don't know me. My world may as well be gone" Rose looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry"
"It's fine" She shrugged. "I'll be fine. After all" She looked up at The Doctor, who had stopped to watch the girls. "I've got friends here. I'll be all right" She smiled down at Rose as The Doctor parked the TARDIS. He walked over and held out a hand to each girl, smiling softly. The two returned a sad smile and took one of his hands, letting him lead them from the TARDIS.
They stepped out into a crowded shopping street that Alex could tell was in London. Present time for Rose or nearby according to any technology of architecture she saw. She looked around, taking in all of the noise of people walking, running, laughing and shouting over the rest. She took in the sight of every customer and vendor and shop and car and even welcomed the push of an impatient businessman that caused her to fall into The Doctor. He caught her effortlessly, glaring at the man a moment before looking down at her. Silently checking that she was okay. Alex smiled at him before turning back to Rose, who was looking at everything she'd seen a hundred times before with a look of almost sadness on her face, seeing everything in a new light.
It was all still here. Everyone was still alive and still on the one planet. Everyone here was suddenly alive again. But no one Alex knew.
"You think it'll last forever. People and cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky" The Doctor told them, looking up on the last part. Alex and Rose did the same, looking up from the inside to the sky that they had just seen gone. "My planet's gone" Alex looked down, to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. She knew how hard it was to talk about what you'd lost. But this was on a whole other level.
"It's dead" He continued, looking at Rose as she looked at him. "It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust, before it's time" Alex dropped her hand hesitantly and The Doctor took it in his instantly. Alex smiled sadly and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.
"What happened?" Rose asked softly. The Doctor hesitated.
"There was a war" Alex replied, just as quietly.
"And we lost" The Doctor finished.
"A war with who?"
The Doctor didn't answer and Alex looked back up at him. He seemed lost in thought. Before Alex could say anything images flashed by in her mind. Pictures of a burning city, children crying for parents who were likely dead, screaming and shouting and people dying everywhere. Zaps of alien sounding guns.
"What about your people?" Rose asked, getting no answer to her last question. Alex was brought suddenly back to reality at the sound of her voice.
"I'm a Time Lord" The Doctor told her. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling alone 'cause there's no one else"
"There's me" Rose told him.
"And me" Alex added. They smiled at him and he looked between the two before looking back at Rose.
"You've seen how dangerous it is. Do you want to go home?" He asked her. She thought a moment.
"I don't know. I want…" She sniffed at the air suddenly, noticing something. "Oh, can you smell chips?" Alex sniffed the air too, turning to see if she could see where it was coming from.
"Oh wonderful, chips" Alex added, looking around. The Doctor laughed at the two of them.
"Yeah" He nodded to Rose's question.
"I want chips" Rose finished.
"Me too" The Doctor grinned back at her.
"Nothing but yes over here" Alex added.
"Alright then, before you get us back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay" Rose declared, pointing to The Doctor.
"No money" He said simply. Rose frowned slightly and shifted to point at Alex, she shook her head.
"Don't look at me. Left my wallet in an alternate dimension"
Rose rolled her eyes, dropping her hand.
"What sort of date are you gonna have with no money?" She joked, looking between the two. Alex's eyes widened but The Doctor just smiled in amusement, not noticing. Rose noticed though and shot her a smile.
"Come on then, you tightwads, chips are on me" She told them. The Doctor and Alex both gave her a smile before looking up at each other, or in his case, down. They smiled at each other and took off with Rose on The Doctor's other side.
"We've only got five billion years till the shops close" Rose joked, laughing with the other two.
Alex smiled contented as she looked over at her two new friends. She had always imagined but never really thought this would happen. The Doctor and Rose Tyler going to get chips with her. Smiling and laughing with her. The way she looked away from the Doctor to Rose's almost knowing smirk. The way The Doctor smiled softly down at her and she smiled back at him. The way Alex walked with the two of them, unnoticed by the rest of the world. Just three strangers side-by-side, walking through the crowd hand-in hand.
The Doctor gave Alex's hand a squeeze as she leaned into his shoulder and she returned the gesture. Everything was perfect.