AN/ OMG, I can't believe I have left this story for over two years! To all the people who have left reviews and likes I am so sorry. I just got so sidetracked by everything else going on in my life that I didn't really have the inspiration to write a new Chapter. I had this chapter about half finished for half a year, but I kept getting stuck halfway through.
Probably because the new Doctor Who has come out, that my muse finally came knocking at my door and reignited my love of this story. Although going back through after rereading all my Chapters again I did have to cringe at the amount of Spelling errors. I tend to type really quickly so I can often miss really common and obvious typos. I also find that trying to edit my own work is harder if I have just written it rather then wait a while before reading it again.
I did want to make a special mention the lovely review left by emrynsigma, who made my day when I read it. As it did really push me to try and get this finished and get on with updating this story more regularly.
Anyway I'm rambling, here is a new Chapter to all my patient readers. With plenty more to come I promise.
jd009
Chapter 11: The Rebel Flesh- Solar Storms and Meeting Romans
I was wondering amongst destroyed streets, children screamed as adults scrambled to pull them to safety away from the invaders. Weapons fire lit up the scene as in an almost eerie way no sound reached my ears. Bodies fell and still the invaders came, by the millions, no the billions nothing could stem the tide.
Yet they did not touch me, I was like a ghost to them. Observing the horrific scene with no emotion. I watched as soldiers retaliated with their own weapons fire. For as many as the defenders felled there was always another to take its place. It seemed to be a hopeless battle, for how could they presume to be victorious, in sight of such obvious hatred and an unswayable need to kill?
They couldn't win.
It was a simple truth, if a horrible one. Yet I felt nothing to the revelation, just a calmness. As though it happened every day. A group of small terrified children, huddled beneath a stone statue that had nearly collapsed. The invaders got closer and closer and just as I expected them to die, a blur of red and blue swept into my vision.
It was a woman, her clothes were scorched in places, where armour had failed to protect it. She was covered from head to toe in dark leather, holsters for weapons strapped to her thighs. Her blue hair was cut short, so it stopped at her chin and shaved along her left side. Above and surrounding her left eye was a series of complicated cybernetics. She moved with such efficient grace, that the invaders had no chance, as she destroyed them in a matter of minutes.
When she turned to face me, I couldn't help but note the familiar red and gold locket that hung from her neck. She mouthed something to me that I couldn't hear. When I didn't respond she touched the locket. I felt myself copying her actions as her voice rang true.
"You should not be here yet." She said.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's too early for you to know, go back before its too late. They mustn't see you, or he will use you. The end comes." She replied.
"What end?"
"The end of Time itself, now go back." With that a rushing sensation started as she raised her hand and a wave of red light flew towards me knocking me off my feet and lifting me. Up, up into the sky of the war-torn world, I only had the chance to catch a glimpse of a shining domed city before I knew no more.
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A loud blaring sound knocked me from my slumber. I grunted, pulling the covers over my head to try and drown out the sound of my alarm. Surely my mother wouldn't be so cruel to get me up so early, it must be a rest day, Grandfather knows I'd earned it.
"Mama, five more minutes…mmm" I groaned. A loud buzzing sound started along with an irritating pulsing in my head. Finally giving up I opened my eyes to realise that I wasn't in my bedroom on Tiaanamat, but rather the TARDIS. In fact, it was the Old Girl who was making that irritating sensation.
"Huh?" I said as I looked around. There seemed to be an incessant urging to get up and leave my room. I know this was the TARDIS's way of talking to me, but seriously how did the Doctor put up with this all the time?
"Okay, okay. I swear I'll get up, but just quit with that annoying sound please. I already have enough of a headache as it is." I said out loud. The buzzing sound cut off and there seemed to be a pleased hum from the resident Time Ship.
I stumbled blindly from the bed, groaning at the thought of more trouble from the Doctor, for that was the only thing I could think of that would be urgent enough. I didn't realise as I stumbled into the wardrobe that my room had changed again.
All that I could think about was what he might have done now, wasn't it enough with the last adventure we had just had. To say that had been enlightening was a far cry of an understatement. I had no idea that the Doctor could be so difficult or angry, particularly towards me. Still, I felt like we had managed to reach an agreement in the end. He at least had said sorry- far more than I ever expected to hear from that version of him.
At the TARDIS's urging I grabbed a pair of brown ankle length boots along with a pair of socks. Her prodding and poking didn't relent until, once again, rubbing my eyes I left the room. It was only halfway down the corridors that I noticed that the TARDIS had changed. Unless the Doctor had decorated in the hours that I had been asleep (which was always possible), I had teleported again to a different time and place in the Doctor's timeline.
"Uh, couldn't you have told me that before old girl? I swear if this Doctor is angry at me again for something I haven't even done, I'm going back to bed." I muttered to myself, not really having the energy for another emotional adventure.
With that determined in my mind, I followed the TARDIS as she nudged me towards the Doctor's location. As I got closer I heard a loud sound coming from the speakers near me. It caused me to pause and tilt my head as I had never heard such a racket before.
My people, favoured music above all things, it was a major part of our culture, song was an art. In it the memories of the past could be preserved for all to read and feel. So, each song was carefully and lovingly created to pass on those memories. If it was good enough, it was presented as a gift to the Queen of Years to be remembered and offered to Grandfather. This however was not music…
Oh baby, don't you know I suffer?
Oh baby, can you hear me moan?
You caught me under false pretences
How long before you let me go?
Ooh
You set my soul alight
You set my soul alight*
"What?" I said to myself as I finally entered the now familiar console room. The Doctor was standing near the console, where he was staring intently at something on the screen. I spied two others, one much to my delight was Amy. She was wearing a pair of jeans, boots, a red chequered shirt and a dark leather jacket. The other blonde-haired man I didn't know.
He wore similar clothes to Amy, except he had on a blue shirt with a dark jacket and jeans. They were playing some sort of game, that involved throwing objects at a board near the TARDIS's front doors. He appeared to be losing, much to Amy's delight.
"46. Rubbishy rubbishy rubbish." Amy pronounced. The man rolled his eyes in exasperation at the woman's antics.
"Hello, it's a double top." He replied.
"Wrong side of the wire, mister." She said affectionately.
"You're — red." He said. Amy laughed as she lined up to take her turn at throwing again.
"No, I'm not. Stop trying to put me off." She said smartly. My lips quirked, I was looking forward to talking with Amy again. But my attention wandered back to the Doctor. He didn't once look up and see what the other two people were doing. There was something odd about him, especially when his next actions consisted of turning off the music abruptly. The others looked put out that their play time was over.
"Who wants fish 'n' chips? I'll drop you both off. Take your time. Don't rush." He tried. The man raised his hand but looked perplexed at the Doctor's strange antics. Figuring that it was time I let my presence be known, I walked more forcefully down the stairs.
"It's about time someone turned off that horrible sound. What is that anyway? If that is music, I am re-educating…also what's a fishuncheeps? If its food, count me in." I said. All heads turned in my direction. Amy's lit up with a big smile, that I easily returned.
"Riana, you're up I see. Have a nice nap?" Amy asked. I raised a brow, evidently it hadn't occurred to them that I was a different Riana.
"Relatively, although I think I still have the buzzing sound in my head." I replied. The man looked confused.
"The TARDIS woke me up to the nicest sound, a blaring horn with an angry suhz in my ears, it was fantastic…really." I deadpanned. Amy snorted.
"That sounds like her alright. I once had a bat hanging over my head, that wasn't fun at all." Amy explained.
"Hmph, well she seemed to think I needed to leave my nice cosy bed for something important. I assumed the Doctor was being troublesome again." At that both of the Humans laughed.
"Why do you always assume I've done something wrong?" He said indignantly. I walked up to him and cocked my hip slightly. Patting him on the check in a somewhat mocking manner I replied.
"That's because you usually do."
"And ladies and gentlemen you have heard it from the Lady herself, the Doctor is up to no good." Amy laughed as if she was spectating. I quirked my mouth slightly at her witty line.
"Now Doctor, what was this about fishuncheeps?" I asked.
"It's fish and chips Riana." The man corrected me.
"Yes that…"I said.
"I was just seeing if Amy and Rory wanted to go for a quick bite to eat. You might as well go with them. Catch up that sort of thing." He said evasively. My Doctor senses were tingling, which meant he was up to something.
"Uh, and you?" The man, Rory said.
"I have things to do, things involving... other things." He replied. Now it was just obvious that he was up to something.
"Nuh, uh. Not this time. You're being evasive and whenever you do that, you usually wind up in some sort of trouble. Remember the Fifth Nomadia and the Treshian Alliance?" I reminded him. The Doctor looked a little sheepish.
"Well yes, but that was completely different. I promise I won't be sticking my nose into any thing really important." He said. I narrowed my eyes. However, I noticed that his eyes had drifted to the sleeve of my right hand, the bracelet was covered though. It was subtle, but I knew he was checking to see if I was a different Riana. That irritated me somewhat. The reaction of the last Doctor had definitely made me rethink a few things about my relationship to this man.
"Well, we'll stay with you. We'll do the other things." Amy intervened into my thoughts, as she pulled Rory along towards where the Doctor and I were standing.
"Nope." Was his prompt reply. He had turned away from us in his usual inelegant manner.
"Whatever you're up to, I, personally, would like to be a part of it." Amy declared, obviously they were onto the Doctor as well.
"What?" She scoffed. "Riana's right, we might as well tag along, you usually get up to something while we're gone." She said.
However, our musings were cut short as an alarm started to blare and the TARDIS rocked unsteadily. I was thrown about as I tried to regain my footing. Amy grabbed the console and Rory the hand rail. I looked around frantically for something to grab onto. The console was closest to me, so I gripped it like my life depended upon it. The Doctor began to desperately try and regain control of whatever had thrown us off course.
"Doctor!" I yelled.
"Solar Tsunami. Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big!" He shouted back.
"Ohh, Doctor, my tummy's going funny." Rory moaned as if he was about to puke. I felt queasy as well as if I was suddenly being spun too fast.
"Well, the gyros are dissipated. Target-tracking is out." The Doctor replied as he threw up his hands at the lack of success he was having. He suddenly threw a lever, but the TARDIS still continued to spin uncontrollably.
"Do you know how to fly this ship or not!" I yelled.
"Of course I do! Assume the position!" The Doctor shouted. I didn't know what the position was but couldn't help when my mind jumped to a far more inappropriate scenario.
Amy yelling ran for one of the pilot chairs bracing her head with her hands, Rory assumed a similar position on the floor, the Doctor braced himself where he had been standing. I was left looking like an idiot.
"Riana get down!" The Doctor yelled, deciding that he wanted me to copy him, I got down onto the floor and braced my head with my hands for a very rough landing. Fortunately, after a few seconds it was apparent that there would be no crash landing.
"So that's the position. I thought you meant something completely different then." My voice broke the spell as everyone relaxed. The Doctor looked up as he furrowed his brow.
"Textbook landing. What exactly do think I meant when I said assume the position? We're crash landing, there isn't a lot of other options in that scenario." He said.
"I dunno, could be anything really. Why don't you just say 'brace yourself', instead of 'assume the position', that sort of leads people to the wrong conclusions." I answered.
"Wrong conclusions? What sort of wrong conclusions can you get out of tha – " He swallowed clearly uncomfortable as his mind led him to where I had been a moment ago.
"Riana! No, just no, we're crash landing, about to die and that's all you can think about in a time like this? Honestly…" He said shaking his head.
"Hey, I can't help it. Besides you always say things like that." I said defensively. Amy was laughing to herself at our antics. Rory appeared nonplussed at the behaviour, leading me to conclude it was fairly common.
"I… when do I say things like that?" The Doctor spluttered. "Oh, never mind, c'mon you lot."
We all followed the Doctor outside of he doors, into what appeared to be an ancient stone building. The sky was clouded above and slightly tinged with orange. There was a strong smell of something bryony that caught my nose and something sharp and burning.
"Behold! A cockerel. Love a cockerel. And, underneath, a monastery, 13th-century." The Doctor said staring up at something at the top of the old building. It was a strange sort of animal. Like some sort of bird, only with long curved tail feathers- it was also gold.
"And what exactly are cockerels?" I asked. The Doctor turned around clapping his hands together as he faced us.
"Cockerel's a type of bird, well of the male variety, they're a bit loud and showy. That sort of thing." Amy explained to me. I only raised my brow and looked at the Doctor.
"Oh, we've gone all medieval." Amy said to the Doctor.
"I'm not sure about that." Rory said looking around.
"Medieval, is that before the 19th century?" I asked, still completely baffled by human concepts of time.
"Hmm, what was that- yes, yes. Well before the 1800's, speaking of have you never been to an earlier period of time before Riana?" The Doctor questioned. I could feel the other's scrutiny suddenly on me. I hadn't exactly divulged that this was still fairly early for me.
"What, oh um… yeah I think so. I mean its really hard to keep up all the time. You know with all the time jumps and everything." I said. The Doctor's stare didn't let up, so I tried to change the subject.
"Aren't you going to answer Rory, about whether or not its medieval times." I reminded them.
"Really? Medieval expert, are you?" Amy asked teasingly of Rory. I wondered what their relationship was, they were obviously close.
"No, it's just that I can hear Dusty Springfield." He huffed. Now that he mentioned it, I could hear faint music playing. We all turned in the direction of the sound.
"Now that at least is music. Much nicer than that racket you guys had on earlier." I commented.
"Hey, just because you don't like Supermassive Black Hole, doesn't mean that it isn't music. I bet loads of your alien music's are really weird." Amy replied. I rolled my eyes.
"I'll have you know, my people take pride in our music. Every word and thought is painstakingly arranged to reflect a certain emotion and allows others to read it too. Anything that is not worth the Queen of Years listening too, isn't considered music." I said smartly.
"Sure, whatever you like, Riana." Amy said. We made our way over to a staircase that lead in the direction the music was coming from. However, the Doctor paused beside a hole in the ground. A white pipe with the words DANGER: CORROSIVE on the side was exposed.
"These fissures are new. The solar Tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This was caused by a magnetic quake that occurred just before the wave hit." The Doctor explained.
"Gamma particles! But that's deadly. If that hit any of whatever is being pumped through those pipes, it could be a disaster." I said seriously.
"Well, the monastery's standing." Amy said helpfully. The Doctor appeared distracted though as he took out some sort of glass globe and shook it.
"Yeah, for now." The Doctor finally responded. He put away whatever object he had been studying so intently. For the second time today, I got the impression that us coming here wasn't an accident. Whatever the Doctor was so interested in might well be dangerous. Perhaps that's why the TARDIS was so insistent with me accompanying him.
"Doctor, look." Rory said pointing at the pipe I had noticed before. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned it.
"Ah, it's a supply pipe. Ceramic inner lining. Something corrosive. They're pumping something nasty off this island, to the mainland. Just as Riana said." He clarified. I swallowed nervously, my gut was telling me that this was not going to be an easy adventure.
"Lovely." I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust.
"My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield." Rory's commented out of the blue. Amy and I stared at him in confusion. The Doctor clapped his hands a he turned around to face us again.
"Who isn't? Right, let's go. Satisfy our rabid curiosity." He said before eagerly taking off towards the stairs, that led into the building. I sighed.
"What's wrong Riana?" Rory asked.
"Nothing, just the Doctor. Akhaten give me strength." I muttered to myself. As we ran after him.
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We wandered through the somewhat rundown monastery. Many of the buildings were thankfully intact, with only the occasional one being uninhabitable. All the while we got closer and closer to the source of the mysterious music.
"So, where are these Dusty Springfield-loving monks, then?" Amy asked as the Doctor once again scanned the surroundings.
"I think we're here. This is it." He said half to himself.
"What's here?" I questioned. Rory seemed to be of the same mind as he also questioned the Doctor.
"We came here by accident." Amy said. The Doctor climbed another set of stairs and was again avoiding a direct answer.
"'Accident'? Yes, I know. Accident." He replied. I caught his arm before he went too far ahead of us.
"Doctor, you are telling us everything, aren't you?" I asked sternly. He turned to look at my face with a serious expression.
"You shouldn't be here." He said. I flinched back as though slapped. It was one thing to expect that kind of talk from his younger incarnations, but this Doctor. That hurt.
"Excuse me." I said. Even Amy and Rory appeared baffled. The moment was broken however when Rory let out a cry of pain.
"Acid. They're pumping acid off this island. That's old stuff. Fresh acid? You wouldn't have a finger." The Doctor said with little emotion. Rory pulled his hand close to his body, as he looked at the Doctor strangely. Whatever the Doctor was investigating, he was acting very bizarrely.
"Rory, are you ok?" I asked as the Doctor continued on further ahead. Amy inspected his hand but didn't find anything terribly wrong with it. He would as the Doctor claim, live.
"Yep." Rory replied.
"Hey, Riana, you alight?" Amy queried. I let out a long sigh.
"Hmph, I'll be fine. This really isn't the first time that I've dealt with the Doctor like this. In fact he is acting very strange." I said.
"Still, that was just rude. I'll slap him if you want." Amy offered. I laughed.
"Hmm, while that is tempting Amy, I'll have to decline. I think that we might just have to put up with the Doctor's behaviour for now, until he reveals what he's up to. If he doesn't straighten up, I'll slap him myself." I said. Amy grinned. Just then an alarm began to blare as the Doctor came sprinting back down the stairs.
"Encounter trouble did we?" I snarked.
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert." A computer-generated voice said.
"There are people coming. Well, almost." The Doctor said with some excitement. He sure was a mercurial sort of man.
"Almost coming?" Amy said bewildered.
"Almost people." The Doctor said glancing once in my direction, before running back the way he had just come from. Amy grinned excitedly at me as her eyes lit up. Oh here we go, the start of the dangerous part. She started to follow the Doctor.
"I think we should probably go." Rory said warily. I got the feeling that he was the sensible sort.
"Well when you can't beat 'em, join 'em." I said shrugging. Clearly there would be no stopping the Doctor or Amy. The best thing to do was to pull their arses out of the fire when it got too hot.
"Come on!" Amy yelled back at us. I took off after Amy, glancing back at Rory.
"I'm telling you, when something runs towards you, it's never for a nice reason." Rory yelled. Amy rolled her eyes at me, before running back and grabbing Rory by his arm. Pulling him behind her. I laughed.
"We'd better hurry, I don't really want to think about what the Doctor has gotten himself into this time." I said.
We managed to catch up to the Doctor moments later, as we ran up a set of spiral stairs. They led up to a dark room with several sets of harnesses along the walls. Inside of them were people in orange jumpsuits. Human, I guessed.
"What are all these harnesses for?" Amy questioned.
"Uh, the almost people?" Rory said. I too stopped to stare at the strange scene. They were completely inert, as though they were sleeping.
"They aren't moving. It's as though they are asleep. Are they sedated or something?" I asked. The Doctor looked slightly alarmed as he was circling the room, his hands creating strange gestures.
"Well, at the moment, they fall into the "or something" category." The Doctor said.
"Halt and remain calm." The computer voice said as the alarms suddenly cut off.
"Really?! That's so helpful. I'm sure that anyone breaking and entering is just going to stop and wait to be arrested." I said my voice rising a bit at the end, as a hint towards the Doctor.
"Well, we've halted. How are we all doing on the "calm" front? You'd be surprised, some people can be perfectly reasonable when arresting you." The Doctor said. I groaned.
"Why does that not surprise me." I said irritated.
"Don't...Move!" A man's voice yelled, as three more people entered the room. The two men had long pointy poles aimed at us.
"Stay back, Jen. We don't know who they are." The other man said to the dark-haired woman with them.
"So let's ask them. Who the hell are you?" Jen demanded.
"Well, I'm the Doctor and this is Riana, Amy and Rory and it's all very nice, isn't it?" The Doctor said like it was a joke. I sighed, this man was just asking for trouble.
"Do you want us to be skewered with the pointy poles?" I hissed at him.
"Hold up. You're all — what are you all, like, identical twins?" Amy suddenly exclaimed. I turned to look at the other people in the harnesses. She was right, several of them were exactly the same. Identical twins were more uncommon amongst Zell, so you didn't see a lot of them.
"This is an Alpha-grade industrial facility. Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble." A voice spoke from behind us. Spinning around we were confronted with two more humans, in what appeared to be hazard suits. One was another dark haired older woman, and the other was a brown haired, younger man.
The Doctor reached inside his tweed jacket and pulled out a battered leather sleeve. "Actually, you're in big trouble." He stated as he showed whatever the sleeve was to the woman in the suit.
"Doctor?" I asked.
"Meteorological department, since when?" The woman said sceptically. I wasn't understanding exactly how this device worked, when I had the chance to look at it, it was blank. There was nothing written on it. I frowned as I glanced at the Doctor. Perhaps it was a Time Lord thing?
"Since you were hit by a solar wave." He said completely ignoring my confused looks.
"Which we survived." She reminded him. Deciding that we must be infiltrating whatever this facility was, I thought it was prudent to play along.
"Exactly, but for how long? You're pumping acid off this island, there's tears and leaks popping up everywhere. How do you plan to contain it?" I fired at the woman. Her eyes swivelled to take in my form, running all the way from my blue hair, down to the brown boots on my feet. I didn't feel like it was a particularly positive assessment- but when was it ever?
"We have our methods, but no offence you don't exactly look like someone who knows much about acid containment." She said mockingly. I scowled. I looked up when I felt the Doctor's arm restraining me.
"Yes, well I'm here to tell you that there is another wave on it's way. Only bigger this time. Riana is right, you may not survive another one." He said in reply. I looked at the Doctor again, meeting his green eyes with even more confusion. He was defending me now? I thought he didn't want me here.
"Which we'll also survive. Dicken, scan for bugs." The woman stated to the man beside her.
"Backs against the wall. Now." Dicken said.
The Doctor smiled in an almost condescending manner, as he put his hands up and backed away towards the wall. I reluctantly followed him, not liking being in this position. Amy and Rory followed suit as well. Dickens ran a scanner over us, I noticed that he seemed to give me a puzzled frown though before moving on.
"What!" I challenged him. He averted his eyes.
"You're not a monastery. You're a factory. 22nd-century, army-owned factory." The Doctor explained. This was really not adding up, it was like the Doctor knew about whatever was going on here from before he even landed. Yet that really wouldn't surprise me.
"You're army?" Amy said shocked.
"No, love, we're contractors and you're trespassers." The woman corrected. Dicken seemed to be finished scanning as he returned back towards the woman.
"It's okay, boss. They're clean, well except for the blue haired one. She don't have no bugs or anything, but there is some really weird power readings coming off her." He said. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on me.
"You'll have to excuse Riana, she has an implant. Nasty accident a few years back." The Doctor said hastily. The woman only raised her brow as she closed the leather sleeve and handed it back to the Doctor.
"Is that so? All right, weatherman, your I.D. checks out. If there's another solar storm, what are you and miss acid expert, going to do about it, hand out sunblock?" She said dismissively. The Doctor laughed in a derisive way.
"Ha ha ha - I need to see your critical systems." He said unexpectedly becoming serious.
"Which one?" The woman said evasively.
"You know which one." He replied having none of it.
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That was how we found ourselves being led through the facility into a dark strange smelling room. At one end of the room, illuminated from the light of a single window, was a vat on a raised platform. In front of it sat some sort of tub easily able to accommodate a full-grown humanoid. What caught my attention the most, was what was bubbling away inside the vat.
I couldn't help but be drawn forward to peer over the rim and look inside. The sensations coming from the liquid, would be enough to buy anything within Tiaanamat Markets, twice over. Memory's, feelings, thoughts drifted off it. It seemed to sing, and I could feel the locket responding by pulsing in time with my heartbeat. So much sadness, so much loss, I just wanted to make it better…
"And there you are." The Doctor's whispered words drew me from my trance. He stood beside me, also looking into the white liquid. The woman came over to stand near us as well. In a sarcastic voice stated. "Meet the government's worst-kept secret — the flesh. It's fully programmable matter. In fact, it's even learning to replicate itself at the cellular level."
"Right. Brilliant. Lost." Amy stated. The woman turned to look at her in disdainful manner.
"Okay. Once a reading's been taken, we can manipulate its molecular structure into anything, replicate a living organism, down to the hairs on its chinny-chin-chin. Even clothes, and everything's identical — eyes, voice." She explained. A sudden surge of energy behind my eyes had me wincing in pain. I grunted as the Doctor turned to look at me with a discerning eye.
"…Mind, soul." The Doctor added. I shook my head to clear it. What was going on with the locket now. The flesh, whatever it was, was making the locket act strangely. Similar to how the locket had reacted to Glory for that matter.
"It's alive?" I asked to try and distract myself.
"Don't be fooled. It acts like life, but it still needs to be controlled by us from those harnesses you saw." The woman responded. She seemed almost defensive about it. I watched the Doctor carefully for his reaction, I had a feeling it was important to his strange behaviour. He steepled his hands in front of his face as a look of contemplation overtook him.
"Wait, whoa-oa-oa, hold it. So... You're flesh now?" Rory interjected. He was looked back and forth between all the workers.
"I'm lying in a harness back in that chamber. We all are, except Jennifer, here. Don't be scared. This thing? Just like operating a forklift truck." She said with a proud tilt to her chin.
"Except that its singing. It filled to the brim with Preciousness." I stated. I noticed the Doctor looked at me closely. The others seemed to not fully understand what I meant.
"Excuse me?" The woman asked. I sighed, it would take too long to explain to a Human, I don't think they would quite understand.
"Memories. It's full of memories." I finally added. She tilted her head and gazed at me in surprise.
"I see. What are you, some sort of psychic?" She joked.
"What if I was?" I challenged. She only smirked.
"That still doesn't prove that it's alive." She said.
"You said it could grow. Only living things grow." The Doctor questioned before I said something that would anger the woman.
"Moss grows. It's no more than that. This acid is so dangerous, we were losing a worker every week. So now, we mine the acid, using these doppelgangers, or "gangers." If these bodies get burnt or fall in the acid..." She trailed off.
"Then who the hell cares? Right, Jen?" One of the men, who had held the poles at us stated. He had darker hair but wasn't as old as the other man which was balding. The woman, Jen looked nervous as she spoke. "Well, the nerve endings automatically cut off, like airbags being discharged, except we wake up and get a new ganger."
"That's horrible." I said.
"It's weird. But you get used to it. It's just like changing your jumper." The other grey-haired man stated.
"Jennifer, I want you in your ganger. Get back to the harness." The woman said to Jennifer. She looked annoyed but complied, turning around and going back to the harness room. My attention was caught by the Doctor scanning the Flesh. As he did so, the singing increased, and another surge of energy raced up to my head. I could feel the locket reaching out, as though it wanted to absorb whatever energy was in the Flesh.
"Doctor, I think you should be careful." I warned him. Still he continued to run the sonic screwdriver over the liquid.
"Hang on. What's he up to? What are you up to, pal?" The darker haired man demanded. Everyone began to worry as the Doctor struggled to move his arm from over the Flesh. The singing was so loud now that I knew that the locket was reacting to it.
"Stop it. Ahh!" The Doctor cried out as a wave of energy seemed to flow from the Flesh. I reached over to try and help him, but found my own arm caught. The Doctor glanced up sharply and I could see the fear in his eyes.
"NO! Riana get back, now!" He yelled.
"What why? I can't it's got my arm. Doctor it seems to be scanning us." I said. If anything, the Doctor appeared even more worried. Finally, after one big tug the Flesh released us. I cradled my arm close to my chest examining it to make sure it was ok. I think my hand had just touched the surface of the strange singing liquid for just a moment before it had released me.
"Why did you do that? I told you to stay back." He said agitatedly. I scoffed at him.
"I was only trying to help. Besides it wouldn't let me go." I replied. He didn't look happy.
"Just stay back." With that he put his sonic screwdriver away and then much to my disbelief reached out and placed his hand on the Flesh's surface.
"Hey!" I exclaimed. What a hypocrite.
"Doctor." The woman warned him. The Doctor concentrated for a moment before a large surge of energy erupted. It caused the Doctor to cry out in alarm and for me to gasp.
"Get back, Doctor. Leave it alone!" The woman yelled. I was fed up with this, no matter what he said this wasn't going to end well. I went to reach over again but the Doctor's other hand caught mine. He glanced at me even as he cried out in pain.
"No." He grunted at me. My eyes widened. "Ahh! Ah! Ah! Gah! - I understand." He finally gasped out as the Flesh released his hand again. What was going on, why couldn't I touch the Flesh?
"Doctor, are you all right?" Amy asked, concerned for him.
"Incredible. You have no idea. No idea. I mean, I felt it in my mind. I reached out to it and it, to me." He whispered, awe filling his voice. I narrowed my eyes, hadn't I already revealed that before to all of them?
"That's what I felt, Doctor. But why can't I touch it?" I asked.
"Just… you mustn't." He said.
"Don't fiddle with the money, Doctor and Riana." The woman said clearly not pleased. I don't know why she was telling me off, I hadn't done anything other than try and help the Doctor. He was the one playing detective extraordinaire.
"How can you be so blinkered? It's alive, so alive. You're piling your lives, your personalities, directly into it." He said emphatically. Nobody had the chance to respond as lightning suddenly lit up the window outside and the ground shook. The Doctor took out the glass globe that he had looked at earlier. We all flinched at the sudden loud noise and interference from outside.
"Holy Grandfather of Light!" I shouted.
"It's the solar storm. The first waves come in pairs — pre-shock and full shock — it's close." The Doctor continued as he put the globe away. The woman turned back to the grey haired man as she spoke.
"Jimmy, we got anything from the mainland yet?" She asked him. Jimmy- for that was obviously the man's name checked a device before shaking his head.
"No, the comms are still too jammed with radiation." He replied. The woman smiled smugly at the Doctor and I.
"Okay. Then we'll keep pumping acid until the mainland says stop. Now why don't you stand back and let us impress you?" She said. I huffed, she was really asking for Vespin to rain down on her now. Was she trying to incite the universe into retaliating?
"You're an idiot." I told her promptly. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath at my loud statement.
"Excuse me?" She said turning back to me. I narrowed my eyes, I'd stared far more impressive foes down before to be intimidated.
"You heard me, lady. I said you're an idiot if you don't listen to him. He knows what he's talking about and trust me if you don't want something bad to happen. Then you should start listening to us!" I said angrily.
"Until, you can give me concrete proof that this solar storm will in fact impact our production rate, then I will continue to do what I'm contracted to; pump acid to the mainland. Nothing you or the Doctor says has any bearing on that. Now if you will excuse me I have work to do." She said effectively dismissing me. Ooh I wanted to shahk her so badly right now. I stepped forward as I called a telekinetic field to my hand- it wouldn't take much. The Doctor's firm hand on my arm stopped me again though. He was looking at me strangely.
"Hey, none of that." He reminded me sharply.
"You're just going to stand there and let her continue with this… this charade?" I demanded. He again seemed surprised by the level of intensity of my reaction. Looking deeply into my eyes, for what I didn't know. But it made me uncomfortable. I felt like I had just given something away.
"Codeword?" He asked. I gulped slightly. I knew this would come up eventually, but I had been putting it off. Part of me wanted to see how the Doctor would treat an older version of myself after all of the disappointed looks and angry glares.
"Is now really the time for this?" I asked him. But he only looked at me sternly.
"Yes actually it is, Riana. You've been acting very strange since you got up. I need to know which version of you I'm dealing with." He replied. That irritated me. Why did it truly matter how old I was? Hadn't we already reached an understanding about the way our relationship worked? Evidently there was more going on between the two of us than what the Doctor had previously implied and apparently its importance.
"You first." I said. His brows went up at my impertinence.
"Fine" he sighed "the last one for me was…" I noticed that he seemed to flush at the thought of repeating it in front of so many people.
"Was…?" I prompted.
"…Sexy" he finally said. I snorted out a laugh. Wondering what in Grandfather's name had happened to garner that codeword.
"Ok, fine you caught me. I'm not the same Riana that went to take a nap as the one who got up." I said reluctantly.
"Then, when are you?" The Doctor asked urgently. Deciding to take a risk and see how it played out I lied.
"The codeword for me was Rebirth. There are you happy now?" I said somewhat angrily. "You can let go of my arm at any time. I promise I'll contain the urge to not shahk the stupid woman."
The Doctor chanced one more look into my eyes to see if he could detect any hint of duplicity, but the sound of the tub beginning to fill with the flesh distracted him. So I couldn't be sure if he bought it. Still he released my hand and when he glanced back at me I almost lost my breath at the sheer intensity of his gaze, which before had been borderline hostile and now was possibly something entirely else I didn't want to name.
"Thank you love, I just had to check. The earlier versions of you tend to be a bit of a handful at times. Overly angry, you know how you can get. I take it you not still too put out by what happened with Martha's family. I really was trying to make a good impression." He said offhandedly. The change in countenance from before was staggering. I tried to not let my shock show too much.
"Oh, no… you know how it can be with things going according to plan." I half mumbled. What had I gotten myself into?
We joined the others looking into the tub as the flesh slowly transformed itself into an exact replica of Jen, at first the features were strangely joined together. Before they became more distinctive. Jen suddenly took an enormous gasp of air and sat up startling the lot of us. The Doctor swallowed somewhat cautiously.
"Well, I can see why you keep it in a church. Miracle of life." He said gazing at the Human Gangers. He was obviously awed by just how perfect the replication was of the original lifeform. I too couldn't help but wonder whether that perfection would cost them in some way.
"No need to get poncey. It's just gunge." The dark haired man replied. My jaw nearly dropped at the obliviousness of these Humans and what they were creating.
"Guys, we need to get to work." The woman said. Jen climbed out of the tub to join the others. I looked up as the sky outside lit up with more lightning and loud bangs. Rory looked up in fear as he flinched from the obvious trouble heading our way.
"Did I mention the solar storm? You need to get out of here." The Doctor reiterated.
"Where do you want us to go? We're on a tiny island." Jimmy asked in bewilderment.
"Anywhere that isn't here. We have a ship that can take you all back to the mainland." I said. The Doctor nodded in agreement. The woman however looked just as unimpressed as before with our offer.
"Don't be ridiculous. We've got a job to do." She said emphatically. I was really starting to get ticked off by the sheer idiocy of this woman. Just as suddenly, the Doctor pulled out the glass globe again.
"It's coming." He stated. Just as a loud shrieking alarm started to fill the air.
"What's coming Doctor?" I asked him, still entirely confused why he had brought us here.
"That's the alarm." Jen said. The Doctor still did not answer me.
"How do you get power?" He asked and I noticed that he was now concentrating urgently on something.
"We're solar. We use a solar router. The weathervane." The woman replied. I knew that something wasn't right from the Doctor's expression.
"Big problem." The Doctor said. Confirming my suspicion.
"I'm assuming it's a problem that involves the sheer amount of solar energy we're about to receive?" I queried. The Doctor nodded. Dammit that really wasn't good. Who knew what that amount of power would do to all their systems – or how the Flesh would react?
"Boss, maybe if the storm's back we should get underground. The factory's seen better days. The acid pipes might not withstand another hit." The Jimmy said to the other woman.
"We have two hundred tons of acid to pump out. We fall behind, we stay another rotation. Anyone want that?" She said loudly so that the others could hear her. No one seemed enthused by the idea, but they were gambling their lives over the thought of having to spend more time in their job!
"As the resident acid expert, can I just say that wagering your lives on the fact that you won't all be incinerated in a solar storm or dissolved in acid when the containment breaches is really stupid. Might I actually suggest that you listen to what the Doctor is telling you and leave before something bad happens. Which in my experience is usually inevitable" I said pleadingly. The Doctor suddenly grabbed the woman by the arm and dragged her over to the side.
"Please, you are making a massive mistake here. You're right at the crossroads of it. Don't turn the wrong way. If you don't, if you don't prepare for this storm, you are all in terrible danger. Understand?" The Doctor added.
"My factory, my rules." The woman said. Clearly she was unhinged. As she wrenched her arm from the Doctor's grip and returned back to her station.
"I need to check the progress of the storm. Monitoring station?" The Doctor said clicking his fingers in anger at Jen. I could see that their refusal was annoying him.
"Three lefts, a right and a left. Third door on your left." Jen replied.
"Thank you." He said as he bounded out of the room. Amy, Rory and I followed closely behind.
We sprinted through the corridors and headed up a serious of stairs, trying to maintain our balance as the building shook from the sheer power of the solar storm. The shrieking of the alarm was not doing any favours for my sensitive hearing when we finally entered the monitoring station. The Doctor headed towards one of the screens as he checked the readouts.
"Waves disturbing the Earth's magnetic field. There is going to be the mother and father of all power surges. See this weathervane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose." He said as he spun around with a somewhat mad energy.
"What!" I said in astonishment. The Doctor turned around in the doorway as he suddenly looked at Amy and Rory.
"I never thought I'd have to say that again. Amy, breathe. Riana with me." He said with a kanwaii glint in his eye. I was clearly missing something, as the Doctor was jumping all over the place today. What the Vespin did he mean by 'Amy breathe' and now he wanted me with him again? Grandfather I had a headache!
"Yeah! I mean, thanks. I'll try." Amy said in confusion. I looked at her in bewilderment as I followed the Doctor out of the door to try and save this whole factory from blowing up.
We raced back through the building as the shaking got worse. The Doctor opened a door that led outside where the sheer magnitude of the storm could be seen. I glanced at him as he looked towards the highest tower that we had commented on before, where the cockerel sat.
"Please tell me you have a plan?" I questioned. The Doctor only grinned in that maddening way and winked at me cheekily.
"Don't I always? But isn't this the best part anyway. C'mon love." He said as he took off into the storm. I groaned I knew that this wasn't going to go according to plan. If it was, the TARDIS wouldn't have woken me up from my nap. Still it would be better if I was there to keep an eye on the Doctor for when the worst occurred. But maybe this time he would succeed – the first time around anyway.
The wind battered my body and caused my hair to stream out behind me as we ran up the spiral steps leading up to the tower. The Doctor was right in front of me and slowed down to help me up when the wind caused me to trip.
"Careful, we're nearly to the top. We just have to detach the weathervane from the power, and everything will be fine." He said. I only looked up at the ladder we still had to climb and the sheer orange sky around us.
"I sure hope your right. Because if you're not, everyone, including us might I add is going to die." I shouted over the wind. The Doctor gave my hand a quick kiss before he gestured for me to go first.
"Ladies first then." He said. I raised my brows.
"And have you stare up my dress, thanks but no thanks." I said.
"It wouldn't be the first-time love but have it your way." He said as he moved in front of me and began to climb the ladder. I was left with my mouth hanging open just waiting for zoon to enter it. The Doctor had never been that forward with me before. Still I knew now wasn't the time to be questioning the merit behind my idea to skip ahead so to speak to my own personal future.
The ladder was hot, and the wind was even stronger the higher up we went. I could feel myself slowing from the heat of the storm, yet I had to help the Doctor in whatever way I could. So, I persisted and forced myself onwards, trying to ignore the pulsing coming from the locket and what I was sure was Glory stretching her reach. The Doctor reached a panel box that had DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE on it and proceeded to open it. He reached into the wires and attempted to pull one of them apart only to pull his hand away from the heat.
"Doctor, what ever you're going to do, hurry up and do it quickly. We don't have long before we're both fried out here!" I shouted up at him. He pulled out a cloth to cover his hand as he tried again to grab one of the wirings. I climbed up closer so I could peer into the box.
"In case you have noticed, I am trying but it's actually pretty hot right at the moment. Unless you wanted to do it yourself?" He asked. I shook my head yet reached up to touch the panel just as a massive electrical strike hit the weathervane and proceeded to burst forth from the panel hitting the Doctor and me. It was painful to say the least and the last thing I heard was the Doctors screams as we were both electrocuted and I lost my grip on the ladder. The Doctor's body hit mine and we fell towards the ground.
Darkness came upon me and I knew no more.
DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW
I awoke for the second time that day to an unpleasant sensation, except this time it was from pain all over. Obviously, I hadn't died, although I was having a hard time breathing properly from something compressing my chest. I groaned as I opened my eyes only see that the Doctor's body was on top of mine.
Grandfather, but he was heavy. I huffed a breath, reached up and pushed him off me to the side so I could finally breathe again. The Doctor gave a startled gasp as he proceeded to regain consciousness, sitting up and glancing around dazedly. I too, after a momentary effort sat up and gazed at the where the weathervane had just been. It was nothing but a smoking wreck high up above us.
"By the Light, ugh, next time we fall off something you get to be on the bottom. No wonder I hurt all over, we fell from that height. I'm surprised we didn't break anything." I exclaimed somewhat in pain. The Doctor looked over at me, running his gaze over my person to make sure I was alright. He stood up before he offered me his hand, pulling me to my feet.
"You'll be fine, perks of having reinforced tissue and bones. It looks like we didn't manage to disconnect the weathervane in time before the lighting hit. I don't know what has happened to the others, but hopefully considering the building is still standing they're alive somewhere inside." The Doctor said thoughtfully. I was still stuck on the reinforced tissue and bones, since when did I have a more durable physique then the Doctor? If anything, I was surprised I hadn't died from the sudden increase in heat to my systems. Lighting wasn't exactly very conducive to Zell physiology.
"Right… let's hope so." I said. It looked like the worst of the storm had passed. But I couldn't help the uneasy feeling in my stomach that was telling me that something terrible had just happened. Still I couldn't let the Doctor know otherwise he would guess there was something different about me than usual.
"We should go find the others." I suggested. The Doctor nodded before he took off running back towards the monastery.
We ran into the woman from earlier wondering around dazed at the bottom of a series of stairs.
"Cleaves, you're not in your harness." The Doctor exclaimed. I was surprised at how she had managed to get out of it so quickly. Unless we had been knocked out for longer than it felt like.
"I'm sorry, Doctor and Riana. You were right. I should have listened." Cleaves said distressed. How ever I had been feeling towards her before and her idiocy, it wasn't the time to be hanging on to resentments. The poor woman was obviously remorseful for her actions.
"That doesn't matter now. What matters is that we make sure everyone is alright." I said.
"You've lost all power to the factory." The Doctor added. Cleaves looked even more dejected.
"I abandoned my team." She said brokenly.
"Then let's go get them" The Doctor said. He reached out and tapped her supportively on the arm before he grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind him heading back into the building.
"How long would you say we were unconscious for, Cleaves?" The Doctor asked her as we walked down a corridor. I knew the Doctor's mind was working on something. It had been all day, I just wasn't sure how much of it was a part of his original plan now.
"Not long. A minute, two minutes?" Cleaves replied. I raised my brow at that.
"I think it might be a bit longer than that." I said.
"Well, how long?" Cleaves said. I looked at the Doctor as he was the resident Time Lord out of us.
"An hour. I've seen whole worlds turned inside out in an hour. A lot can go wrong in an hour." The Doctor replied ominously. I was sure I didn't like what he was implying anymore than Cleaves did from the look on her face. Still we sped up as we heard groaning coming from one of the rooms.
I realised as we entered to see Rory hugging Jen and the other Humans climbing out of their harnesses, singed but alive, that we were back where it all started. Cleaves ran over to inspect her team as the Doctor looked around. However, I was growing concerned when I only spotted one set of Humans and not the Gangers. Amy met my eyes as she seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Are you ok?" I asked her. She nodded.
"Doctor, Riana, these are all real people, so where are their Gangers?" Amy said worriedly. I felt that bad feeling that had been swimming in my stomach solidify, as all my fears were confirmed. The solar storm had affected the Flesh. Just in what way I wasn't sure.
"Don't worry. When the link shuts down the Gangers return to pure Flesh. Now, the storm's left us with acid leaks all over, so we need to contact the mainland. They can have a rescue shuttle out here in no time." Cleaves said taking charge of the situation. But I knew it couldn't be just that simple.
A strange familiar music began to fill the air. I recognised it as the Dusty Springfield song Rory had heard earlier. Everyone looked around fearfully.
"That's my record. Who's playing my record?" The dark-haired man said in disbelief.
"Your Gangers. They've gone walkabout." The Doctor informed us. I felt my breath catch.
"Are you sure?" I questioned him. He nodded.
"No, it's impossible. They're not active. Cars don't fly themselves; cranes don't lift themselves and Gangers don't-" But Cleaves was cut off as the music suddenly stopped and began to play a new song half way through. She stopped and turned to look at the Doctor's knowing expression.
"Sure about that assumption, because I'm pretty sure someone just changed the tune." I said. She could only look at me helplessly.
We made our way towards the dining room which looked like another solar storm had torn its way through all the gear and objects strewn about. The record was still playing and it looked like someone had built an impressive tower made out of paper cards.
"No way." The dark haired man said as he looked around in horror.
"I don't, I don't believe this." Cleaves said. The Doctor made his way over and sat down at the table with the cards on it.
"They could've escaped through the service door at the back." Jimmy added as he pointed to the exit. I just couldn't believe that this was as straightforward as they seemed to be making it. Surely if they were identical in every way, they wouldn't be dangerous?
"This is just like the Isle of Sheppey." The dark haired man said.
"It would seem the storm has animated your Gangers." The Doctor said. I too could see the evidence of this, although I didn't know what else to add.
"They've ransacked everything" Cleaves said in anger. I turned on her with my brows raised in disbelief. Hadn't we told them that the Flesh was alive and that it could take their personalities.
"No, not ransacked. Searched." I replied.
"Through our stuff!" Cleaves said again.
"Their stuff." The Doctor said firmly.
"Searching for what?" Jimmy asked.
"Confirmation. They need to know their memories are real." The Doctor explained. The other Humans looked even more appalled.
"Oh, so they've got flaming memories now." The dark-haired man exclaimed angrily.
"Yes! Because as we explained before the Flesh absorbs the very essence of a person, including their memories as well as their DNA." I said. "What's your name?" I asked him.
"Buzzer" he replied.
"Then he's Buzzer too. He is everything you are down to the last birthday you just had, any girlfriend you ever kissed, the best and worst moments of your life. Do you understand now?" I said to hammer home the point. Buzzer paled.
"They feel compelled to connect to their lives." The Doctor said.
"Their stolen lives." Cleaves said. Why did I get the feeling this woman was going to be difficult to deal with today?
"No, bequeathed. You gave them this. You poured in your personalities, emotions, traits, memories, secrets, everything. You gave them your lives. Human lives are amazing. Are you surprised they walked off with them?" The Doctor said in wonder. I was starting to see why he had an affinity for this species. He was awfully fond of them.
"I'll say it again. Isle of Sheppey. Ganger got an electric shock, toddled off, killed his operator right there in his harness. I've seen the photos. This bloke's ear was all hanging." Buzzer said. Jimmy however cut over him.
"Even if this has actually happened, they can't remain stable without us plumbed into them, can they, boss?" Jimmy asked Cleaves.
"Guess we'll find out." Cleaves said. Jimmy looked even more uncertain than before. A sudden gasp brought my attention to Jen who was clutching her stomach. Rory was near her and reached out to try and comfort her.
"Are you okay? Do you need some water?" Rory asked. I couldn't help but notice that he was being awfully familiar with the young woman. I wondered if Amy would mind, both her and Rory had seemed close.
"I feel funny. I need the washroom." She said as she ran out of the room. Rory replied that he would come with her and followed her out. The tense atmosphere was broken by a loud sneeze from Dickens causing Amy to jump. I walked over towards her. It had been awhile since we'd had the chance to talk.
"You doing ok?" I asked. She seemed surprised that I would ask.
"Yeah I'm fine. It's like I told the Doctor you know. Breathing Ok and everything." She said elbowing me in the side.
"How's the Doctor treating you? Not too weirdly I hope like earlier?" She said. I shook my head.
"Fine, just he was all like you shouldn't be here and then he's like 'Riana with me'. Plus, he didn't want me touching the Flesh. Maybe for good reason." I contemplated. The Doctor had gone over to examine the card pile and was talking with Buzzer.
"Scared, disorientated, struggling to come to terms with an entire life in their heads." The Doctor's voice caught both of our attention again as Buzzer looked overwhelmed with the things the Doctor was telling him. Punching the pile out of shape.
I felt a slight pulsing coming from my chest and looked down to see the locket glowing a dull red. I knew that meant something bad was about to happen. I saw Amy looking at it as well. Clearly she knew something about the lockets properties, perhaps even more than myself.
"We need to protect ourselves" Jimmy said as he started to lay out weapons on the table and anything useful, he could find. The Doctor got up and wondered over to where several packaged foods were kept. I didn't know what in the name of Grandfather he was doing, but there was probably a point to it. He opened one and placed it on a plate before going towards what looked like a heating unit.
"Are you a violent man, Jimmy?" The Doctor asked.
"No." Jimmy replied.
"Then why would the other Jimmy be?" The Doctor inquired again. I was starting to see where the Doctor was going with this train of thought. The Humans didn't quite understand that the Gangers were living replicas of themselves. Exact identical copies with all the same thoughts and feeling and that must have been why the Flesh was singing so loudly before. It occurred to me again that maybe Humans didn't have the same sorts of abilities that the Doctor and myself did.
"Don't tell me you can eat at a time like this, Doctor." Cleaves asked changing the subject.
"You told us we were out cold for a few minutes, Cleaves, when in fact it was an hour." The Doctor stated. It brought me back to the earlier conversation we'd had after the solar storm had first hit. When Cleaves had first been so disoriented…
Oh no.
"Sorry, I just assumed" She said slightly unsure of herself. I felt my breath catch as the pulsing in the locket grew stronger. I walker closer to where the Doctor was.
"Well, it's not your fault. Like I said, they're disoriented." He replied in an offhand manner.
"Amy, when you got to the alcoves, who was in harness?" I asked quickly. Amy seemed shocked as well as the same thoughts seemed to be occurring to her as well.
"Jimmy and Dicken were helping Buzzer out." She said.
"Jennifer?" The Doctor asked.
"She was standing on her own when we got to her." Amy answered. Just then the heating unit dinged and the Doctor reached in and took the plate out. I could see the heat coming off the food as the Doctor used an old rag to protect his hand. He then handed it to Cleaves without any protection. My eyes widened when the woman didn't even blink at the temperature, of which would normally burn a normal hand.
"It's hot." The Doctor informed her. The woman stopped and seemed to stare in horror as she reflexively dropped the plate.
"Trans-matter's still a little rubbery. Nerve endings not quite fused properly." The Doctor said as he grabbed her hand and examined it. I realised then that Cleaves was a Ganger, which meant that Jennifer was probably one too. Oh, Akhaten that meant Rory might be in danger.
"What are you talking about?" Cleaves said. I approached her trying to remain calm and collected.
"It's Ok." I told her.
"Why didn't I feel that?" She questioned.
"You will. You'll stabilize" The Doctor said.
"He just means that the Flesh isn't fully done transforming yet." I added.
"No, stop it. You're playing stupid games. Stop it! Both of you!" She yelled.
"You don't have to hide. Please, trust us. We're the Doctor and the Azure Queen." He said softly. There was that name again, I still didn't understand what it meant or where it came from. Cleaves turned around and her face became flesh like as Jennifer's had been earlier. She hissed as both the Doctor and I leapt back. I called a telekinetic field to my hands just in case.
Buzzer grabbed a knife as he made to run towards her. I cast a barrier around him before he could do anything, much to the shock of everyone else.
"Where's the real Cleaves, you thing? What have you done with her?" He shouted instead.
"That's it. Good, you remember. This is early Flesh. The early stages of the technology. So much to learn." The Doctor said reverently as he gently touched her face with his hand. I spun around to face him bewilderment. What in the name of Vespin was going on? Early stages of the technology? But that meant that the Doctor had known this was going to happen and that he had something planned. I wasn't sure I was comfortable with this.
"What do you mean Doctor?" I said sharply. His gaze came up quickly to meet mine.
"Testing a theory" He replied.
"Doctor, what's happened to her?" Amy asked.
"She can't stabilise. She's shifting between half-formed and full-formed, for now at least." He stated.
"We are living!" Cleaves hissed at us and then screamed as the Doctor and I dodged out of the way. She ran past us out of the room, to where none of us knew. I released the field on Buzzer.
"Let her go." The Doctor said as the other Humans made to chase after her. I was breathing heavily in slight fear. Adrenalin was spiking in my system as I felt my heartrate pick up.
"Doctor, Riana, Rory." Amy said fearfully. The Doctor looked confused for a second.
"Rory?" he asked. My eyes widened when I remembered he had gone with Jennifer.
"Rory! Doctor." I reminded him. The Doctor suddenly hit his head with his hand.
"Oh, Rory. Rory! Always with the Rory." He said exasperatedly.
"I take it this is a common thing?" I asked of no one in particular. The locket gave a massive pulse and I felt the familiar sensation of being ripped out of my body.
The Next Chapter: The Rebel Flesh – And Then There Were Two
Akheet Terms
Suhz- The equivalent of bees.
Kaluskalu- Ridiculous idiot.
Vespin- The equivalent term for Hell amongst the Seven Worlds
Shahk- Telekinetically Stun
Kanwaii- Insanely mad.
Zoon – The equivalent of flies.