Hello! Welcome to David Tennant's first episode as the Doctor. I'm looking forward to writing his seasons. Now, onwards!
The four occupants of the TARDIS were speeding through the Time Vortex, everyone being thrown around the console room. They finally landed with a big thud and were all thrown to the ground, all except the Doctor who ran to the doors and yanked them open and started talking.
"Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it. Jackie. Mickey. Blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!" Ella got to the TARDIS doors in time to see her father collapse. Rose and Lynda came out seconds later.
"What happened? Is he all right?" Rose asked.
"I don't know, he just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?" Mickey asked.
"That's him, right in front of you. That's the Doctor," Ella told him.
"What do you mean, that's the Doctor? Doctor who?" Jackie asked. Mickey and Ella carried the Doctor up the stairs into Jackie's flat and placed him in a bed in the guest room. He was dressed into pyjamas by Ella, very awkwardly might she add, and propped up with pillows. Ella sat by Dad's side while Rose was standing in the corner, and Lynda was on the chair next to the bed. Jackie had gone to get a stethoscope.
"Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it. Though I still say we should take him to hospital," Jackie said, handing Ella the stethoscope.
"We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of our blood could change the future of the human race," Ella stated. Jackie went to say something but Ella interrupted. "No! Shush!" She listened to both sides of the Doctor's chest.
"Both working," Ella sighed in relief.
"What do you mean, both?" Jackie asked.
"Well, he's got two hearts," Rose said from the corner.
"Oh, don't be stupid," Jackie said.
"We do! Our species have two hearts!" Ella said indignantly.
"Anything else he's got two of?" Jackie asked curiously.
"Ears. Eyes. Arms. Legs…" Ella said sarcastically. Jackie laughed slightly.
"Leave him alone," Rose snapped at her mother.
"Don't worry, Jackie, he's gonna be fine, he just needs rest," Ella said gently. Rose stormed out of the room and Jackie followed behind her, throwing Ella an apologetic look. The Doctor exhaled some of the TARDIS's golden energy, which flew off out the window. Ella stayed with the Doctor to make sure he was going to be okay.
"He's going to be fine, you know," Lynda said.
"I know. I still worry though," Ella said. After a few minutes, a few tears escaped Ella's eyes, trickling down her cheek.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Lynda asked gently, standing and walkingnover to sit with Ella.
"Jack is gone. He's dead and…" Ella let out a sob and Lynda gently pulled her into her arms and hugged the crying Time Lady. Ella cried for fifteen minutes before she started to breathe deep,y and evenly. A few hours after, Ella was woken abruptly from a nap she didn't mean to have by Jackie's voice.
"Oh, no. Don't come round, darling. No, flat's all topsy turvy. Yeah, she just barges in and litters the place. Yeah. No, I'll come round and see you on Boxing day," Jackie said, placing a cup of tea on the bedside for the Doctor for when he wakes up. Once Jackie left the room, he exhaled more golden energy. Rose and Mickey burst in moments later.
"Get off the phone," Rose yelled. Lynda and Ella ran out to see what the fuss was about.
"It's only Bev. She says hello," Jackie said. Rose snatched the phone from her mother.
"Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait. Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?" Rose asked.
"My mate Stan, he'll put us up," Mickey said.
"That's only two streets away. What about Mo? Where's she living now?" Rose asked.
"I don't know. Peak District," Jackie said, confused.
"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then," Rose said.
"No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?" Jackie asked.
"Mum. Where'd you get that tree?" Rose asked. We all looked at the tree, which was now green, worriedly.
"That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?" Rose asked.
"I thought it was you," Jackie said.
"How can it be me?" Rose asked.
"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!" Jackie explained.
"No, that wasn't me."
"Then who was it?" We all stared at the tree and it lit up by itself and started playing a very bad version of 'Jingle Bells'.
"Oh, you're kidding me," Rose muttered. Sections of the tree started to rotate in different directions, creating a strong wind. It then started to move, chopping through the coffee table.
"Get out! Go, go! Get out!" Mickey yelled. Lynda and Ella ran inside the bedroom and to the Doctor
"We've got to save the Doctor!" Rose yelled.
"What're you doing?" Jackie asked.
"We can't just leave him," Rose said adamantly.
"Mickey!" Jackie yelled. "Leave it! Get out! Get out!"
"Mickey!" Rose yelled.
"Get out of there!" Jackie yelled. "No, leave him. Just leave him!"
"Get in here!" Mickey said. Jackie looks to her right and quickly runs into the room. She and Mickey pulled a wardrobe across the door.
"Doctor, wake up!" Rose yelled.
"Don't wake him up. It could kill him," Ella hissed at her.
Rose backed off and Ella got her laser spanner out as the tree smashed through the door.
"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie screamed. Ella pointed her spanner at the tree and it exploded everywhere.
"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" Ella wondered. Ella walked out of the apartment and saw some fake santa's looking up at us, one holding a radio controller.
"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked. I heard footsteps behind us and saw that Dad had woken up.
"Oh great, you're awake," Ella muttered.
The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at them and the Santa's backed off before they were beamed away.
"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off," Mickey stated.
"Pilot fish," the Doctor muttered. Rose tried to get closer to the Doctor but he edged away.
"What?" She asked.
"They were just pilot fish," the Doctor stated. He gasped out in pain and started to fall backwards, but Mickey, Lynda and Ella managed to stop him from hitting the ground.
"What's wrong?" Rose asked.
"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." The Doctor exhaled some more golden energy. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of ye-ow!" The Doctor stood up for a second before falling the other way.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Jackie gasped.
"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need…"
"What do you need?" Jackie asked.
"I need…"
"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."
"I need…"
"Painkillers?"
"I need…"
"Do you need aspirin?"
"I need…"
"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"
"I need…"
"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"
"I need…"
"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"
"I need you to shut up."
"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" Jackie stated, frowning.
"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then. Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" The Doctor asked, pulling a green apple out of the pocket. He also switched back to the other wall.
"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."
"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"
"He gets hungry."
"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"
"Sometimes."
"Argh! Brain collapsing. The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something… something… something is coming." The Doctor was clutching onto Ella's arm tightly, staring his daughter in the eyes before he passed out cold. With Jackie's help, Ella got the Doctor back to bed and was tucking him under the covers. Jackie gave Ella a washer and she started to mop his forehead, which was sweating profusely. Ella got the stethoscope and placed it against the Doctor's chest, only hearing one heart beating.
"It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?" Jackie asked Ella.
"He's worse. Just one heart beating," Ella answered sadly. Ella then turned to the TV which Lynda was watching in awe.
"Scientists in charge of Britain's mission to Mars have re-established contact with the Guinevere One space probe. They're expecting the first transmission from the planet's surface in the next few minutes," the reporter said.
"Yes, we are. We're, we're back on schedule. We've received the signal from Guinevere One. The Mars landing would seem to be an unqualified success," Daniel Llewellyn, the manager of the probe, said.
"But is it true that you completely lost contact earlier tonight?"
"Yes, we had a bit of a scare. Guinevere seemed to fall off the scope, but it, it was just a blip. Only disappeared for a few seconds. She is fine now, absolutely fine. We're getting the first pictures transmitted live any minute now. I'd better get back to it, thanks."
"Here we go, pilot fish. Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish," Mickey said. Ella tuned him out because she already knew what they were.
"It's amazing! The human race in the 21st century," Lynda said in amazement.
"It's a great century," Ella said, chuckling at Lynda's awe.
"Funny sort of rocks," Jackie stated.
"The first photographs…" The reporter said.
"That's not rocks," Ella stated, frowning at the screen.
"This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning," the reporter continued. A red-eyed ugly alien with a head like a goat's skull appeared on the screen, making us all jump back from the screen. It growled and gurgled at the screen, sounding like Chewbacca from Star Wars.
"Bye!" Ella yelled. "Take care of Dad!"
"Where are you going?!" Jackie asked.
"I'm going to the Tower of London, that's where they are gathering to investigate this. Going to see some old friends of mine. Well… some old friends of Dad's, but they know me. They haven't seen me since I was around twenty years old," Ella explained. "Jackie, you and Lynda take care of Dad." Ella gave Lynda and Jackie a hug each and ran out. Ella caught a cab to the Tower and saw a cortege of black cars drive past the White Tower. Llewellyn was let out by a Secret Service officer and greeted by a man in Army uniform with a troop of Red Berets.
"This way, sir," Blake said. Ella remembered him from her last visit.
"Me too!" Ella yelled, catching up. They all stared at her in confusion and some of the officers cocked their guns, except for Blake, who recognised Ella.
"Miss Smith, nice to see you again," Blake said. "How old are you now?"
"Around the two-hundred mark," I said. Llewellyn's eyes widened.
"Easy men, this is Ella Smith. The Doctor's daughter," Blake said. The officers immediately lowered their guns and saluted.
"Easy men," Ella saluted back lazily. "Now, I'm here because Dad is indisposed. So lead on!" Blake led us down into UNIT headquarters. We ended up in basement level 11. Ella stopped to look around at everyone working while Llewellyn marvelled at their technology.
"Mister Llewellyn. Miss Smith," Blake said. They are taken to a quieter room where Ella saw Harriet Jones.
"Harriet!" Ella exclaimed. Harriet turned around and smiled at Ella gently.
"Ella, lovely to see you again," Harriet greeted.
"Mister Llewellyn, ma'am."
Harriet flashed her ID. "Harriet Jones. Prime Minister."
"Oh. Well, yes, I know who you are. I suppose I've ruined your Christmas," Llewellyn said.
"Never off duty. Now, we've put out a cover story. Alex has been handling it," Harriet explained. Ella groaned.
"We've said it was a hoax. Some sort of mask or prosthetics. Students' hi-jacking the signal, that sort of thing," the man behind Harriet, Alex obviously, said.
"Alex is my right hand man. I'm not used to having a right hand man. I quite like it, though," Harriet said. Ella felt as if she should laugh but she couldn't bring herself to do so.
"I quite like it myself," Alex agreed.
"I don't suppose there's any chance it was a hoax?" Llewellyn asked.
"That would be nice. Then we could all go home. I don't suppose anyone's offered you a coffee?" Harriet asked.
"No." Harriet looked at Ella questioningly but she shook her head. Harriet went over to make Llewellyn a coffee.
"No," Ella said suddenly, everyone looked at me. "The transmission was genuine. New species. At least, not one we've encountered before. Dad and myself, I mean. That doesn't mean that we haven't heard of them." Harriet gave Llewellyn a cup of coffee.
"Exactly. This is a species humans have never encountered before," Harriet added.
"You seem to be talking about aliens as a matter of fact," Llewellyn stated.
"There's an Act of Parliament banning my autobiography," Harriet said.
"I'm an alien myself, so I know that aliens are real. You guys are real. To my species, you humans are aliens," Ella said. Llewellyn's eyes widened so much, Ella thought for a split second that his eyes would fall out of their sockets.
"Prime Minister?" Blake asked.
"I'm with you." They all followed Blake into the main area where several people were working on computers. They stopped in front of a pretty blonde.
"Miss Jacobs can explain," Blake said.
"I don't think we've been introduced. Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."
"Yes, I know who you are. The transmission didn't come from the surface of Mars. Guinevere One was broadcasting from a point five thousand miles above the planet," Miss Jacobs informed us.
"In other words, they've got a ship and the probe is on board," Blake said.
"But if they're not from the surface, then they might not be from Mars itself. Maybe they're not actual Martians," Llewellyn said. Ella snorted.
"Definitely not Martians. I can't remember their name but I remember it starts with 'S'," Ella stated.
"Martians look completely different. We think the ship was in flight when they just came across the probe," Blake said.
"And they're moving. The ship's still in flight now. We've got it on the Hubble array," Miss Jacobs said, turning back to her computer.
"Moving in which direction?" Harriet asked.
"Towards us," Miss Jacobs answered.
"How fast?" Harriet asked.
"Very fast."
"What was your name, again?" Harriet asked.
"Sally."
"Thank you, Sally," Ella said. They waited around for a few minutes before the aliens appeared on the massive screen up front. They were talking but Ella could barely understand, without the TARDIS it took longer to translate by myself.
"Translation software," Blake ordered once they finished talking.
"Yes, sir," Alex said. Ella was sitting with Alex helping with the translations when Harriet joined us.
"What have we got?" She asked.
"Nothing yet. Translating an alien language is going to take time," Alex admitted.
"How far off is the ship?" Blake asked.
"About five hours," Alex said. Ella was scribbling about the language on a notepad when she finally understood the language.
"I know what they said," Ella told Alex. The pair talked about it and seconds later, the computer translated it.
"I don't suppose we've had a Code Nine? No sign of the Doctor?" Harriet asked. Ella turned her head and eavesdropped on the conversation.
"Nothing yet. Except for Ella saying he is indisposed. You've met him, haven't you? More like the stuff of legend," Blake said.
"He is that. Failing him, what about Torchwood?" Harriet asked.
"I…" Blake said, surprised.
"I know I'm not supposed to know about it, I realise that. Not even the United Nations knows. But if ever there was a need for Torchwood, it's now," Harriet said.
"I can't take responsibility," Blake said uncertainly.
"I can. See to it. Get them ready," Harriet ordered.
"Prime Minister," Alex said softly. Ella jumped off her spot on a desk.
"Has it worked?" Harriet asked.
"Just about, Ella helped. People. That could be cattle. You belong to us. To the Sycorax. They seem to be called Sycorax, not Martians. We own you. We now possess your land, your minerals, your precious stones. You will surrender or they will die. Sycorax strong, Sycorax mighty, Sycorax rock, as in the modern sense, they rock."
"They will die? Not you will die, they will die? Who's they?" Llewellyn asked.
"I don't know, but it is the right personal pronoun. It's they," Ella said.
"Send them a reply. Tell them, this is a day of peace on planet Earth. Tell them, we extend that peace to the Sycorax. And then tell them, this planet is armed and we do not surrender," Harriet said.
"Come on," Sally said. They all walked off, Ella with Alex.
"You look depressed," Alex stated.
"I am," Ella sighed.
"Want to talk about it?" He asked.
"My boyfriend was murdered recently. Or in the future, however you want to see it," Ella said.
"Explain," Alex said, looking curious.
"We were in the year two hundred one hundred…" Ella started. She told him the whole story and attracted a few UNIT members, including Blake and Sally, to start listening. "…and then when I went to go back for him, Dad threw me over his shoulder and took me onboard the TARDIS. Just leaving him there!"
"What was his name?" Blake asked.
"Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness," I said.
"That sounds familiar," I heard Blake mutter. Everyone went back to their jobs and Ella stayed with Alex.
"The name sounds familiar," Alex said.
"It's probably someone else," Ella said gloomily, looking at her feet.
"They got the message. Here comes the response," Sally yelled. The Sycorax leader held out his hand and a blue energy glowed over it.
"What was that? Was that a reply?" Harriet asked, panicked.
"I don't know. It looked like some sort of energy, or static?" Alex said.
"Almost like someone casting a spell," Llewellyn added. "Maybe it's a different form of language, some sort of ideogram or pictogram." Some of the staff started to walk out. All headed in the same direction and with the exact same blue energy from the Sycorax circling their heads. "What the hell? It's the light. It's the same light, Sally, what're you doing? Sally?"
"Oh, leave her. You'll hurt her," Harriet said.
"Let them pass!" Blake ordered.
"Where are they going?" Llewellyn asked. They all followed them to see where they were heading.
"They're all heading in the same direction," Harriet realised.
"It's only certain people. Why isn't it affecting us?" Llewellyn asked.
"Prime Minister, it's happening all over the country," Alex said, listening to his earpod phone thingy. Gotta love humans! Ella went ahead of everyone and saw they were all heading towards the roof. Going all the way up.
"Sally, stop it. It's Danny Llewellyn. Daniel Llewellyn. Sally, just concentrate. Listen to me. You're being controlled. We need you! Stop it, Sally!" Llewellyn ordered. But it was no use. All the possessed people stopped on the edge of the roof. Ella sprinted back inside and to the main room just in time to hear Alex say what I was dreading.
"It's not just the whole country. It's the whole world. According to reports, it's like a third. One third of the world's population. That's two billion people ready to jump." When Llewellyn and Blake got back, Alex got some news. "Wait a minute. There is a pattern. All these people tend to be father and son, mother and daughter, brothers and sisters. Family groups, but not husbands and wives."
"Oh, my God. It's Guinevere One. Have you got medical records on file for all your staff?" Llewellyn asked.
"Of course we have, yes," Alex said. Harriet took Major Blake to one side. Ella tried to eavesdrop.
"What about Torchwood?"
"Still working on it. Bear in mind they have just lost a third of their staff."
"But do they have what we need?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, tell them to hurry up."
"Here it is. Sally Jacobs, blood group A Positive. Who else walked out?" Llewellyn piped up.
"Luke Parsons," Alex supplied.
"Luke Parsons, A Positive."
"Jeffery Baxter."
"Baxter, A Positive. That's it. They're all A Positive."
"How many people in the world are A Positive?" Blake asked.
"No idea, but I bet it's at least one third," Ella stated.
"What's so special about that blood group?" Blake asked.
"Nothing, but it's my fault. Guinevere One. It's got one of those plaques identifying the human race. A message to the stars. I mean, you don't expect anything to come of it, but I put on maps and music and samples. There's wheat seeds, and water, and, and blood. A Positive. The Sycorax have got a vial of A Positive. And, well, I don't know how, but through that…"
"They control the blood," Harriet realised.
"Oh, my God," Llewellyn said.
"There's only one more thing I can try. Major, with me," Harriet said.
"Blood control. Geez! Haven't seen blood control for years," Ella exclaimed. They were watching the radar when the ground shook and sounds of windows shattering echoed around the halls. Alarms were blaring.
"Sonic wave! It's the spaceship. It's hit the atmosphere!" Llewellyn yelled. "They're transmitting. Onscreen." The Sycorax appeared on the screen and the one in the front centre speaks. Obviously the leader. Alex translated for everyone.
"Will the leader of this world stand forward." Harriet stepped forward.
"I'm proud to represent this planet."
"Come aboard," Alex said.
"Well, how do I do that?" Harriet asked. Harriet, Blake, Alex, Llewellyn and Ella were enveloped in a blue light.
"What's happening?" Llewellyn asked.
"I would imagine it's called a teleport," Harriet said at the same time Ella said, "It's a teleport."
The five of them are beamed aboard into a massive cavern. More Sycorax are lined up in galleries. The leader walked up to the group of five and started to remove its helmet.
"It's a helmet. They might be like us," Llewellyn said excitedly. The face underneath is flatter, but still bony. "Or not."
The leader spoke and Alex continued translating.
"You will surrender, or I will release the final curse and your people will jump," Alex translated.
"If I can speak," Llewellyn stated.
"Mister Llewellyn, you're a civilian," Blake warned.
"It's blood control. It doesn't actually kill people. It's a cheap form of voodoo. Scares ya but nothing more," Ella stated.
"No, I sent out the probe. I started it. I made contact with these people. This whole thing's my responsibility. With respect sir. The human race is taking it's first step towards the stars, but we are like children compared to you. Children who need help. Children who need compassion. I beg of you now, show that compassion," Llewellyn said. Ella immediately knew these were going to be his last words. The Sycorax raised a glittering force-whip, cracked it around Llewellyn's neck and disintegrated his flesh.
"Don't say anything," Ella whispered to Blake.
"Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."
"Yes, we know who you are. Surrender or they will die," Alex translated.
"If I do surrender, how would that be better?"
"Half is sold into slavery or one third dies. Your choice," Alex said.
"You liar!" Ella yelled at the Sycorax. "It's blood control. They can't die!" Something then bleeped and the Sycorax went haywire.
"The noise. The bleeping. They say it's machinery. Foreign machinery. They're accusing us of hiding it. Conspiring. Bring it on board," Alex translated. There's an odd pattern on the scanner. The teleport then brought the TARDIS on board.
Rose stepped outside and is grabbed by a Sycorax, and she starts screaming. "Get off! Get off me!" Mickey and Lynda ran out.
"The door! Close the door!" Ella screamed at them. Mickey got there just before a Sycorax. The Sycorax cheered.
"Rose. Rose! I've got you. My Lord. Oh, my precious thing. The Doctor, is he with you?" Harriet asked.
"No. We're on our own," Rose said. She spotted me and she loohed relieved. The Sycorax spoke.
"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet," Alex translated.
"I own the blue box with my father," Ella told the Sycorax.
"Then you will speak for the planet," Alex translated.
"But she can't," Harriet said.
"Yeah, I can. With all due respect, Harriet, I am older than you so please stand back!" Ella warned. "I may be depressed but that doesn't stop me from being Dad for once."
"Don't you dare," Mickey warned.
"Someone's got to be the Doctor," Lynda reasoned.
"They'll kill you. You saw Llewellyn die right in front of you," Blake said.
"Never stopped Dad. Plus I can always regenerate. Right, um, I address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with all the authority of the Judoon and the Parliament of the Shadowers! Now, leave this planet in peace!" The Sycorax all burst into laughter but it sounded a bit forced.
"You are very, very funny. And now you're going to die," Alex translated.
"Leave her alone!" Harriet yelled.
"Don't touch her!" Mickey agreed
"Leave her alone," Lynda snapped. Harriet, Lynda and Mickey are held back as the leader walks up to Ella.
"Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion…" Alex said.
"Then your world will be gutted…"
"Then your world will be gutted…"
"And your people enslaved," continued the Sycorax.
"Hold on, that's English," Alex realised.
"He's talking English," Harriet said.
"You're talking English," Rose said to its face.
"No. He's speaking Sycoraxic, it just sounds like English," Ella said happily.
"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile."
"That's English. Can you hear English?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, that's English," Mickey agreed.
"Definitely English," Alex stated.
"I speak only Sycoraxic!"
"If I can hear English, then it's being translated. Which means the TARDIS is working. Which means…" Rose trailed off as they all looked at the TARDIS and the Doctor opened the doors with a big grin on his face.
"Did you miss me?" He asked. The Sycorax cracked his whip and the Doctor caught the end and pulled it out of the leader's hand.
"You could have someone's eye out with that," the Doctor stated.
"How dare!" The leader yelled. The Doctor took a thick club off the same Sycorax and snapped it across his knee.
"You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." The Soctor pointed his finger at the Sycorax before turning to Mickey. "Mickey, hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This Is Your Life. Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses. Now, first thing's first. Be honest, how do I look?" The Doctor asked, looking at Ella and Lynda.
"Different," Lynda said.
"Young," Ella stated.
"Good different or bad different?"
"Good different," Lynda and Ella chimed.
"Am I ginger?" The Doctor asked seriously.
"No, you're just sort of brown," Lynda said.
"I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger. And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. You gave up on me. Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger," the Doctor ranted.
"I'm sorry. Who is this?" Harriet asked.
"I'm the Doctor."
"He's the Doctor," Rose piped up.
"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?" Harriet asked.
"I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."
"But you can't be," Harriet denied.
"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being on her own," the Doctor said.
"Oh, my God," Harriet gasped.
"Did you win the election?" The Doctor asked.
"Landslide majority," Harriet grinned a little smugly.
"Oh, fantas… No, hold on," the Doctor stopped. "Fantas… fantas… fantas… Fff… Mmm… I can't say it anymore, doesn't fit the teeth. Aww, I liked that word! What am I gonna say now? Brilliant? Brilliant? Brill-iant? Brilliant! No, um, um. Excellent. Oh, that's… that's… that's excellent. Uh, superb. M-marvelous. Mmm… molto bene. Oh, I don't know. Let's just settle for very, very good. That's very, very good! That's really very, very good! Nah, it's just not taking off, is it?"
"If I might interrupt," the leader snapped.
"Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."
"Who exactly are you?"
"Well, that's the question."
"I demand to know who you are!"
"I don't know!" The Doctor yelled, imitating the Sycorax's deep voice. "See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob. And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button. A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" The Doctor ran up to the controller and opened the base of the pillar under the button.
"And what've we got here? Blood? Yeah, definitely blood. Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron. Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives. Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this," the Doctor said before he slammed his hand on the button.
"No!" Harriet and Rose yelled.
"You killed them!" Alex said.
"What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?" The Doctor asked.
"We allow them to live," the leader said.
"Allow? You've no choice. I mean, that's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotise them to death. Survival instinct's too strong," Ella said. "I explained this not ten minutes ago."
"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force," the leader threatened.
"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than..." the Doctor said before Ella interrupted.
"Dad, that's the Lion King," she said, sounding very amused.
"The point still stands. Leave them alone!" The Doctor yelled.
"Or what?" the leader asked.
"Or…" the Doctor trailed off. He took a sword from an aide and ran back toward the TARDIS. "I challenge you." Laughter from the Sycorax echoed around. "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"
"You stand as this world's champion," Sycorax said.
"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up," the Doctor said. He took of his dressing gown and chucked it at Ella, making it cover her head.
"Oi!" Ella snapped halfheartedly.
"So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?" The Doctor asked. The insult made Ella 'ooh' and Lynda snorted. It also made the leaders mind up.
"For the planet?" he asked.
"For the planet," the Doctor agreed. They clashed the swords.
"Look out!" Rose yelled.
"Oh, yeah, that helps. Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks," the Doctor quipped. The leader seems to be the more experienced swordsman. The Doctor retreated up a tunnel. "Bit of fresh air?" We all followed them out onto the spaceships hull and into the daylight. The Doctor was driven back to the edge, and hit on the nose. Rose went to help him but Ella grabbed her arm.
"Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet," the Doctor warned. The leader knocked him down then brought his sword down and cut off the Doctor's hand. The sword and his hand fell to Earth.
"You cut my hand off," the Doctor said incredulously.
"Ya! Sycorax!" The leader cheered.
"And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this." The Doctor's hand then grew back.
"Witchcraft."
"Time Lord."
"Doctor!" Rose yelled. She then chucked him another sword.
"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?" Dad asked, a bit spitefully.
"No arguments from me!" Rose grinned.
"Want to know the best bit? This new hand? It's a fighting hand!" The Doctor finished with a bad Texan accent. They started to fight again. The Doctor disarmed the Sycorax and thumped both hilts into it's abdomen, twice. The leader fell, right on the edge, overlooking London.
"I win," the Doctor said triumphantly.
"Then kill me," the leader growled.
"I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command. Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?" The Doctor bargained.
"Yes."
"Swear on the blood of your species."
"I swear."
"There we are, then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow."
"Bravo!" Harriet clapped.
"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose said.
"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams," the Doctor said. Ella chucked the dressing gown at her father and he put it on.
"Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here? A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mothers. He does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" The Doctor asked. The Sycorax leader got up, grabbed his sword and ran at the Doctor's back. The Doctor threw the satsuma at a control on the spaceship hull, a piece of the wing opened up and the leader fell to his death.
"No second chances. I'm that sort of a man." They headed inside and the Doctor addressed the Sycorax. "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of it's riches, it's people, it's potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It is defended." All of them are then beamed away back to Earth.
"Where are we?" Rose asked.
"We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!" Mickey cheered.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," the Doctor said. The spaceship then flew away. Rose jumped onto Mickey's back.
"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey yelled.
"Yeah! Don't come back!" Rose cheered.
"It is defended!" Mickey said. Rose and Mickey hugged, then Rose hugged Alex. Ella stood of to the side.
"My Doctor."
"Prime Minister." They hugged. A lot of hugging was going on.
"Absolutely the same man. Are there many more out there?" Harriet asked.
"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it," the Doctor advised.
"Rose!" Jackie yelled, running towards them.
"Mum!"
"Oh, talking of trouble," the Doctor moaned.
"Oh, my God! You did it, Rose! Oh!" Jackie said.
"Oi! She did absolutely nothing! I was the one who did all the work!" Ella snapped playfully. Jackie grinned at me and Rose just rolled her eyes. Alex answered a phone call.
"You did it too! It was the tea. Fixed his head," Rose said.
"That was all I needed, cup of tea," the Doctor agreed.
"I said so," Jackie exclaimed.
"Look at him," Rose said proudly.
"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor? Oh, my God, it's the bleeding Prime Minister!" Jackie said in shock.
"Come here, you," the Doctor said to Jackie. Jackie gave him a hug and Rose and Mickey joined. Ella veered off to the side closer to Harriet. When she looked around, Ella noticed Blake was gone and Lynda off to the side.
"Are you better?" Jackie asked the Doctor, concern lacing her voice.
"I am, yeah," the Doctor said.
"It's a message from Torchwood. They say they're ready," Alex stated.
"You left me," Jackie scolded Rose.
"I'm sorry," Rose apologized.
"I had all the food," Jackie continued.
"Tell them to fire," Harriet said.
"Fire at will," Alex said into the phone. Ella was walking toward the TARDIS when a high-pitched sound echoed through the air. Five green beams were streaking up into the sky, joining together as one and fired out into space. A red firework type thing appeared in the sky where the Sycorax ship would've been.
"What is that? What's happening?" Rose asked. The two Time Lords glared at Harriet.
"That was murder," the Doctor growled.
"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago," Harriet said.
"But they were leaving," Ella protested.
"You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn was murdered. He died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case we have to defend ourselves," Harriet defended.
"Britain's Golden Age," Dad stated coldly.
"It comes with a price."
"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can, run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."
"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf."
"Then I should have stopped you."
"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"
"Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word."
"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that."
"No, you're right. Not a single word, just six."
"I don't think so."
"Six words."
"Stop it!"
"Six." The Doctor walked over to Alex and whispered in his ear.
Dad, Rose, Mickey and Jackie left. Ella went into the TARDIS and straight to Jack's old bedroom. Once she entered the room, she went straight for the bed and snuggled under the covers, letting the tears fall freely. After a few hours, Ella heard the door open and footsteps come towards her. Ella then felt the bed dip a little and a hand on her shoulder. Ella turned towards her father and hugged him tightly. They sat in silence, the only sounds are of Ella's quiet sniffling and sobbing. Once Ella had run out of tears to shed, the Doctor led her to the Tyler's flat for Christmas dinner, something Ella had never had before. When they entered, they saw Lynda waiting for them. The Doctor grinned at her while Ella just stared at the ground. They all sat at the table for dinner and Ella was in between Rose and the Doctor.
"What about Lynda? Do we drop her back in her time?" Ella asked the Doctor quietly. The Doctor nodded and told Lynda, who nodded solemnly, obviously not very happy to be going home. The Doctor and Ella pulled a cracker and the Doctor won, giving Ella the pink crown inside.
"Oh, that's yours. Goes with your hair," the Doctor said.
"Look, its Harriet Jones," Rose pointed out.
"Prime Minister, is it true you are no longer fit to be in position?" A reporter asked.
"No. Now, can we talk about other things?" Harriet said hurriedly.
"Is it true you're unfit for office?" Another reporter asked. The Doctor put on a pair of brainy specs to watch the interview.
"Look, there is nothing wrong with my health. I don't know where these stories are coming from. And a vote of no confidence is completely unjustified," Harriet said.
"Are you going to resign?" A reporter asked. The telephone rang.
"On today of all days, I'm fine. Look at me, I'm fine. I look fine, I feel fine," Harriet defended.
"It's Beth. She says go and look outside," Jackie said.
"Why?" Rose asked.
"I don't know, just go outside and look. Come on, shift!" Jackie said, hanging up the phone. They all moved outside, the Doctor holding Ella's hand like when she was little.
The ground is covered with white flakes that fell from the sky. Streaks of light cris-crossed the sky. This wasn't snow, it was ash.
"Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?" Rose asked.
"It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash," the Doctor said.
"Okay, not so beautiful," Rose muttered. Ella grabbed the Doctor's arms and put them over her shoulders so she could hug him. He immediately knew what Ella was doing and complied, hugging his daughter tightly. They always did this when Ella was upset.
"This is a brand new planet Earth. No denying the existence of aliens now. Everyone saw it. Everything's new," the Doctor explained.
"And what about you? What are you going to do next?" Rose asked.
"Well, back to the TARDIS. Same old life," the Doctor said.
"On your own?" Rose asked.
"No, I have Ella. She's all I need really," the Doctor said. Rose looked upset.
"What about me?" Rose asked.
"Don't you wanna come?"
"Well, yeah."
"I just thought... 'cause I've changed."
"Yeah, I thought 'cause you'd changed... you might not want me anymore."
"I'd love for you to come."
"Okay."
"You're never gonna stay, are you?" Mickey asked.
"There's just so much out there. So much to see. I've got to," Rose said.
"Yeah."
"Well, I reckon you're mad, the pair of you. It's like you go looking for trouble," Jackie said.
"Trouble's just the bits in-between. It's all waiting out there, Jackie, and it's brand new to me. All those planets, and creatures and horizons. I haven't seen them yet! Not with these eyes. And it is going to be fantastic," the Doctor said.
"I thought you said that word didn't fit the teeth?" Ella asked. The Doctor shrugged.
"We will come and visit. Ella seems to love you two," the Doctor said, pointing at Mickey and Jackie. Rose sighed.
"Time to go," Ella said. Lynda and Ella entered the TARDIS and Dad came in seconds later with Rose.
"I was wondering Doctor…" Lynda trailed off.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"I was wondering if I could stay in the twenty first century? I don't have anyone back home and..." Lynda said.
"Of course," the Doctor said happily. "I have some friends I can take you to so you can get settled in."
So the Doctor called an old friend and they headed to Cardiff. The Doctor, Rose and Ella all bid goodbye to Lynda, Ella hugging her new friend tightly.
"I'll visit, I promise," Ella said.
"And I promise that you'll be happy again, one day," Lynda said. Ella smiled at Lynda and gripped her hands before letting go.
"Enjoy your new life," Ella smiled. Lynda then waved and she left with a few UNIT soldiers. Ella sighed and she turned her back on London and stepped into the TARDIS, the time machine disappeared, Ella not knowing that Jack had only just missed the TARDIS.