Hello everyone!
Happy father's day!
I'm back with another chapter! Now, we get to start The End of the World.
I don't have anything else to say, so I won't keep you any longer.
Happy reading!
Chapter 9
The End of the World part 1
Things had officially changed. Rose Tyler gazed around the console room with wide eyes and a grin on her face. June sat on the console room's tattered chair, a song stuck in her head and eyes trained on the blonde. The Doctor stood next to her, tossing a red orb from the console up and down in his hand. He broke the silence that had filled the room. "Right then, Rose Tyler, you tell me. Where do you want to go?" he asked. "Backwards or forwards in time? It's your choice. What's it going to be?"
Much to June's surprise, Rose looked over at her. "What's the best?" she asked.
June chuckled. She didn't exactly know what to say. One wasn't better than the other. She had been to years before her great-great-great grandparents had met and had travelled to years where her present day wasn't even taught in history textbooks. It had all been incredible. June shrugged. "They're both pretty great. It's up to you."
Rose smiled and shook her head. "Forwards," she decided.
The Doctor put the orb back on the console and flicked a few switches. "How far?" he asked.
"One hundred years."
The Doctor spun a wheel, pulled a lever, and turned a knob. The wheezing began and the whole TARDIS shook. June held on tight to the head of the chair as she was bounced around. The Doctor grinned at the two girls and after a moment, turned the knob again and the wheezing died. "There you go," he said. "Step outside those doors, it's the twenty second century."
Rose gaped at him. "You're kidding."
"That's a bit boring, though," the Doctor said. "Do you want to go further?"
Rose grinned. "Fine by me."
The Doctor started up the TARDIS again. The whole machine wheezed and shook for a few moments before dying down again. "Ten thousand years in the future," he said. "Step outside, it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire."
Rose laughed and shook her head. "You think you're so impressive."
"I am so impressive," the Doctor argued. He sounded genuinely offended. It made June roll her eyes. He turned to her. "Aren't I impressive, June?"
June laughed. "It's the places that are impressive," she said. "You just like showing off."
Rose grinned and leaned against the console. "See? You wish you were impressive."
"Right then," he said, "you asked for it. I know exactly where to go." He started up the TARDIS again. "Hold on!"
The whole TARDIS shook, wheezing and flashing its green lights around the room as they flew off to who knows where. The Doctor grinned like a madman and June almost laughed at the pure enthusiasm on his face. Rose, however, seemed completely unsure of what she had gotten herself into. She glanced at June. They looked at each other for a moment, June wondering why the blonde made eye-contact with her in the first place. She gave her a small, comforting smile. Part of the excitement was not knowing where they'd end up.
The TARDIS landed. "Where are we?" Rose asked. The Doctor held his arm out towards the door. Rose glanced between him and the door, grinning. "What's out there?" He raised his eyebrows. Rose smiled again and then bolted for the TARDIS doors.
June hopped off the seat and pulled her backpack on. "Are we somewhere impressive?" she asked, wandering over to the TARDIS doors, the Doctor at her side.
"Of course," the Doctor smiled. "What else would you expect?" She smiled back and then they were quiet for a moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, just silence. The Doctor narrowed his eyes and watched the smile on the girl's face. "You alright?" he asked because she hadn't been a few minutes ago.
"My arms hurt," she told him. "But that's the Auton's fault. Otherwise, I'm good."
"Good."
"And I should say," she stopped in front of the door and looked back at him, "thanks." 'How could I replace my brilliant June Harlow?' Yeah, it made her smile.
"You're welcome," he said. "Now go see the future."
And so, June pushed through the TARDIS doors and stepped out into the future.
They stood in a room that gave June 'fancy space hotel' vibes. Everything in the room whether it be the walls, the bleacher like seats, or the tiles were in various shades of either cream or light brown. A metal rectangle sat against the front wall and a door with a bright blue panel sat against the back wall.
The Doctor immediately turned to the blue panel and began to use the sonic screwdriver on it. June stepped down the wooden bleachers and joined Rose. The metal rectangle embedded in the wall in front of them began to slowly drop and reveal a large window which overlooked the Earth. June had seen the sight many times after being trapped in the Silgols' ship, but it still managed to take her breath away, just a bit.
The Doctor joined the girls down in front of the window. "You lot," he started, crossing his arms and staring out the window with them. "You spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take any time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future and this is the day—" he glanced down at his watch, "—hold on—" and suddenly, the sun became blinding, casting its bright red light over the Earth, "—this is the day the sun expands." He looked down at the two girls. "Welcome to the end of the world."
Rose looked shocked and June could understand why, although June didn't feel shocked herself. She always knew that the world would end. It wouldn't end with the predictions of the apocalypse from conspiracy theorists, but in hundreds of thousands of years when no one was left to worry about the destruction of the planet. June just never expected to see it end. She would have never asked the Doctor to take her to the end of the world and yet, here they were.
June chuckled almost nervously and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't fathom the thought that everything she had ever known would be gone. Although, it had been so long that that Earth in front of her probably didn't even qualify as her home anymore. June stepped away from the window. "There should be more to this place, right?" she asked. "Should we explore?"
The Doctor grinned at her. "I thought you'd never ask."
~*O*~
They walked through the empty hallways of the fancy space hotel together, listening to the smooth female voice that echoed around every room and every hallway. "Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation, and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for fifteen thirty-nine followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."
"So, when it says guests, does that mean people?" Rose asked.
"Depends what you mean by people," the Doctor said.
"I mean people," Rose said. "What do you mean?"
"Aliens." The Doctor smiled as they turned a corner.
Rose gaped at him and then gave June a look. June didn't notice her at all. "What kinds?" June asked, a smile on her face. "Like the peaceful kind that'll leave us alone or the kind that'll just go after us for no reason?"
"Dunno," the Doctor admitted. "We should find out soon enough."
"What are they doing on board this spaceship?" Rose asked. "What's it all for?"
The Doctor stopped in front of a green panel on the wall next to a door. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan it. "It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation deck," he corrected. "The great and good are gathering to watch the planet burn."
"What for?" Rose asked.
"Fun."
The door opened and the room on the other side was much grander than the first. The entire back wall and half of the ceiling was a large window that showed off the burning red sun which was about to descend and destroy Earth. The rest of the room was lined with display cases, fancy chandeliers, and large pillars.
"You mean the rich, right?" June asked, gazing around the room. "Because this palace is just too fancy for your average middle-class suburban family."
"Yup," the Doctor confirmed, nodding as they walked to the window. "You're not going to see any middle-aged housewives watching their kids around here." They both snickered.
"But, hold on," Rose said. "They did this once on Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years."
"Millions," the Doctor said, "but the planet's now property of the National Trust." They all stopped in front of the window. Rose gaped out at the sight before her. The Doctor stood with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. June went and pressed her face up against the glass like a kid at the zoo. It felt like she had stepped into the stars and was floating through the air. She eyed the Earth down below and the red skin of the burning sun in the distance. A small tingle of anxiety raced through her body.
"They've been keeping it preserved," the Doctor continued. "See down there? Gravity satellites holding back the sun."
"The planet looks the same as ever," Rose said. June tried to spot California but they were too far above the planet. "I thought the continents shifted and things."
"They did, and the Trust shifted them back," the Doctor explained. "That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."
June glanced back at the Doctor. "This Trust seems like it has a lot of power," she said. "Lots of power, money, and technology." If the Trust had the power to casually shift whole continents, what else did they have the power to do?
"You have no idea, June," the Doctor said. June looked back down at the Earth, the adrenaline-induced anxiety tingling in her stomach as she stared out at the vastness of the galaxy.
"How long's it got?" Rose asked.
"About a half an hour and then the planet gets roasted," the Doctor told her.
"Is that why we're here?" she asked. "I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last moment and save the Earth?"
"I'm not saving it," the Doctor said. "Time's up."
June turned to him. "Wow," she said. "First time I've heard you say that." He simply shrugged at her.
"But what about the people?" Rose asked.
"It's empty," the Doctor said. "They're all gone. No one left." The once overpopulated, overcrowded planet was now completely empty of all life. It was difficult to picture the deserted cities and suburbs and the lonely highways and overgrown trees. June shouldn't've been alive to see it all happen. It felt wrong standing there just letting it.
"It's just us, then," Rose said. Her eyes were trained on June.
June stayed silent but nodded. She glanced over her shoulder back down at the Earth. She and Rose were the only humans left in the Milky Way… most likely. She didn't know for sure. She didn't know what planet humans could have traveled to by the year five point five apple slash dash whatever. They didn't need special opportunities to touch the stars and see different life on different planets. Their lives were something that the humans in June's day would never have.
"Hey," June said, looking over at the Doctor. "Do you think they have a room with a glass floor around here?"
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you were afraid of heights."
June shrugged and nodded. "Well, yeah, I am. But standing over a glass floor, looking down at the Earth would be kinda trippy. Like, I know I'm safe, but there's that nervous tingle and the feeling of your stomach dropping. It's kind of exhilarating, you know?"
The Doctor grinned at her. "Yeah, I do."
"Who the hell are you?"
The three of them turned to find the source of the new voice. A tall, blue man was walking towards them, staring in angry astonishment.
"Oh, that's nice, thanks," the Doctor muttered sarcastically.
"You can talk," June snorted as she went to stand with them.
"But how did you get in?" the man asked. "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now."
"That's me," the Doctor said. "I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation." He held up the shabby brown wallet the psychic paper inside. "Look. There, you see? It's fine, you see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is June Harlow—" he nodded at June, "—and this is Rose Tyler," he nodded at Rose. "They're my plus two. Is that alright?"
The man stared at them for a moment. "Well, obviously," he said. "Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." And then he turned and walked away.
"The paper's slightly psychic," the Doctor told Rose, showing her the wallet. "It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time."
"He's blue," Rose said.
"Yeah." The Doctor smiled and nodded.
"I bet the psychic paper makes getting a fake ID much easier," June muttered.
"What do you need a fake ID for?" the Doctor asked. "You're twenty-two."
"Almost twenty-three," June corrected. "And it's just a thought." She shrugged.
"We have in attendance the Doctor, June Harlow, and Rose Tyler," the man announced from behind a glass podium. "Thank you. All staff to their positions." He clapped his hands together. A crowd of small blue people dressed in black swarmed through the room, tunneling through the door. Two stayed behind as guards.
"Space Oompa Loompas," June noted under her breath.
"You can't just put 'space' in front of things that already exist to describe alien species," the Doctor told her.
"But they're like space Oompa Loompas," she said again, frowning at him. They were Oompa Loompas in space. There was no other way to describe them. The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"And now, might I introduce the next honored guest?" the man said. "Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely Jabe, Lute, and Coffa." The clouded glass double doors slid open to reveal three people. Except they weren't exactly people. They were humanoid but completely made of tree bark. What impressed June the most was their faces and how they were just pressed into the middle of smooth bark and managed to move around like normal. They all walked with an air of importance and solemnity.
"There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace," the man continued. "If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon."
The Moxx of Balhoon looked interesting to say the least. He hovered through the doors on a floating disk. He was a fat, bright blue midget with a tall, oddly shaped head and a sharp chin. His eyes were small and beady and surrounded by red rings like the bags that would cumulate under someone's eyes after days without sleep. His nose was a snout between his eyes and his eyebrows seemed permanently pointed down.
"And next, from the Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." A crowd of tall people covered in black hoods walked, or maybe floated, into the room. The rest of their appearances were completely hidden.
"Inventors of Hypo-slip Travel Systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you." They were reptilian, fish looking people in fur robes.
More and more aliens filled the room as the blue man introduced them. "Cal Spark Plug. Mr. and Mrs. Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding light."
The Doctor wore a huge grin on his face. Rose stared at everyone wide-eyed and shocked. June smiled. Everyone was very fascinating to observe. All the strange aliens who came into the room seemed like they were a part some sort of crazy dream or hallucination.
The trees walked up to the three of them. The woman, June had assumed that she was Jabe because she seemed like the leader, smiled at them. "The Gift of Peace," she said as one of the tree men following her handed her a pot with a twig in it. "I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather."
"Thank you," the Doctor said. He sounded genuinely surprised which wasn't a thing that happened often. He handed the twig to June. She looked at the tiny tree for a moment. The tiny tree was a part of a bigger tree-person who had a whole tree family. It was very weird to think about but it made her smile.
"Yes, gifts," the Doctor said. He patted the pockets of his jacket and gave June a nervous look. June shrugged.
Rose tapped June's arm and she leaned backwards to see her. "Let me see the tree," she whispered. June passed her the twig.
"Er, I give you in return air from my lungs," the Doctor said. June gaped at him, wondering if those words had really come out of his mouth. Without a moment of hesitation, if not a little awkwardly, the Doctor leaned over and gently breathed on Jabe. June continued to gape at him.
Jabe looked shocked. A slow smile spread across her face. June furrowed her eyebrows at her. "How intimate," Jabe said, smiling at the Doctor. How had she liked that?
"There's more where that came from," the Doctor told her.
Jabe gave him a quick once-over. "I bet there is."
The trees walked away, June gaping after them. She hit the Doctor's arm. He frowned down at her. "What the hell was that?" June asked.
"The Gift of Peace," the Doctor said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Air from my lungs." He grinned at her.
"Weird gift," June pointed out. "Don't breathe on people. Most people don't like being breathed on. How did she like that? You breathed on a tree-woman and she flirted with you." The Doctor nodded. "What the hell?"
"It's a good gift," the Doctor argued, beaming down at her.
"Is this normal?" Rose asked, leaning over to look between the two.
"The weird, out-of-place ideas, yes," June said. The Doctor frowned at her because he, of course, thought he was always quite brilliant. "The breathing on people, no." June chuckled to herself for a moment. She looked up at the Doctor and shook her head. "You're ridiculous sometimes, you know that, right?"
"I keep your life interesting," he reminded her. June shook her head but she knew that he really did.
"From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe."
June turned to look at the sponsor. She just felt like she had to. A giant tank slid into the room. Inside the tank was a giant face. June gaped at it. The face was humanoid and about a hundred times larger than a normal face. Its skin was green and covered in wrinkles and cracks and even had a small cleft in its chin. And what seemed to be its hair wasn't really hair. She didn't know what they could actually be. They were just long strands of something in the same color of its skin. At the end of each strand was a green colored ball. The Face of Boe. She'd have to remember that name.
"The Moxx of Balhoon," the Doctor said with a smile. June looked down to see the Moxx rolling up to them.
"My felicitations on this historical happenstance." His voice was high pitched and had a slight accent to it. The Doctor leaned down and nodded as he talked. "I give you the gift of bodily salivas." The Moxx of Balhoon spat into the air. Rose gasped and winced, a hand over her face. June hissed softly, cringing in sympathy.
"Thank you very much," the Doctor grinned, stifling a laugh. June nudged him and shook her head, though his attempts at not laughing made her want to laugh.
The group of black robes floated up to them. "Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed. "The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." He leaned over and breathed on them, quite exaggeratedly. June rolled her eyes.
"A gift of peace in all good faith," one of the aliens said, its voice low and breathy. A large metal hand held a silver ball up to them. The hand itself seemed menacing, the fingers almost curved into claws, but the Doctor didn't seem to mind it as he took the silver ball happily. He tossed it up in the air and caught it with a smile. Then, he tossed the silver ball over to June. She fumbled but caught it ad turned it over in her hands a few times. There was nothing special about it at all. So, she handed it back over to the Doctor, who handed it to Rose.
"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last human." The doors opened. "The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."
The Lady Cassandra O'Brien, the last human, was a piece of skin. June's jaw dropped. Lady Cassandra was two blue eyes and a mouth pressed into a translucent piece of skin held up by a silver frame being wheeled around by two assistants with hazmat suits and holding silver equipment in their hands. Lady Cassandra was humanity gone wrong.
"She's human?" June whispered to the Doctor.
"Yep," he said with a smile. "Just like you and Rose." June and Rose exchanged looks. Rose looked just as perplexed as June felt.
"Oh, now, don't stare," Lady Cassandra said as she rolled into the middle of the room. "I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it?" The Doctor laughed as he looked between the two shocked girls. "I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty." Lady Cassandra seemed very pleased with herself. Her smile made June uncomfortable. There was something off about her, something just edging on obvious. "I don't look a day over two thousand."
"That's not normal," June muttered, cringing at the sight of her.
"Moisturize me," Lady Cassandra ordered. "Moisturize me." One of her assistants held up the large silver device in their hand and began to spray her. June frowned and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Truly, I am the last human," she continued. Rose slowly walked closer to Lady Cassandra, attempting to get a better look at her. "My father was a Texan; my mother was from the Artic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honor them and say goodbye." Her voice wilted and she began to tear up. One of her assistants pulled out a tissue and began dabbing it under her eyes. "Oh, no tears, no tears," she muttered. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment. Suddenly, she sounded completely fine again, like nothing had happened at all. "But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg."
One of the space Oompa Loompas brought out a large orange-brown egg. It walked around the room, showing it off to all the guests gathered around in the crowd.
"Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils," Lady Cassandra said. June frowned. They must not have ostriches wherever the humans relocated to because 'legend' was very wrong. "Or was that my third husband?" Lady Cassandra asked. There were a few laughs. Much to June's surprise, even the Doctor laughed a little. June supposed that it was different for him. He could laugh instead of being speechless. He wasn't looking at the last, misshapen member of his kind. He couldn't ever see that. It was at least nice to know that humans lived on, no matter how off-putting Lady Cassandra was.
"Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh," Lady Cassandra giggled. "I'll get laughter lines." More space Oompa Loompas walked into the room, this time, all pushing a Jukebox in front of them. June hadn't see Jukeboxes many times in her life, but she always loved them. It was nice to see that music was still there throughout decades and centuries, even when the Earth was about to be destroyed, the music from it continued, connecting everyone who had and whoever will hear it. "And here, another rarity," Lady Cassandra announced. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod."
June snorted much louder than she meant to and clapped a hand over her mouth. 'An iPod.' She grabbed the Doctor's arm and shook it. He was already looking down at her with an amused smile. "An iPod," she whispered to him, voice shaky with laughter.
"It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers," Lady Cassandra explained. "Play on!"
One of the space Oompa Loompas pressed a button on the Jukebox and a record was set into place. Tainted Love began to play. June kept her hand tight over her mouth, desperate to control her laughter. Out of every great song in existence, they were listening to Tainted Love right before the Earth was destroyed by the sun. She looked over to the Doctor because, 'Can you believe it?' only to see him dancing, just a bit. June tugged on his sleeve and let her laughter come out in hiccups and gasps. The Doctor grinned, happy to see her laughing so much.
"Refreshments will now be served," the blue man announced. "Earth Death in thirty minutes."
"Are you okay there?" the Doctor asked.
"No," June gasped. She quietly sang, 'Run away,' along with the song before breaking down in laughter again.
The Doctor laughed along with her for a moment before going completely quiet. "Come on," he said, grabbing June's hand. The serious tone of his voice made June force herself to stop laughing. "Rose just ran out of the room."
June scanned the room, looking for the familiar blonde, but she was nowhere to be seen. She felt bad for her. She understood how this could be such a shocking first trip. She remembered how speechless and overwhelmed she had been after her first trip. June nodded. "We should probably find her."
"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. They started across the room.
"Doctor?" Jabe called, running up to them. She held a sliver device in her hand and when the Doctor and June stopped and faced her, she held the device up and it flashed like a camera. "Thank you," she said with a smile.
Neither of them said anything. June watched the tree woman out of the corner of her eye as they left the room, wondering what she had done and why she was staring at the device so intently. The doors shut behind them and closed off her view. June turned her attention to the Doctor and finding Rose, wherever she was hidden in the large space station.
There we go! The End of the World part 1!
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Until next time,
~ C.C.