See bold at bottom please.
Once the three of us had concocted a plan with Quintus, I managed to sneak into the Tardis. Taking the time to myself, I decided to check on Kie and the Torchwood team. Unfortunately, I was barely able to speak to him as Owen quickly snatched the phone and took over the conversation, telling me everything they'd been up to, even that he and Kie had gotten into it when Astrid had visited the Hub. I couldn't help but laugh as Kie protested in the background, going on about how he didn't want me to know about that incident. When the phone was returned to Kie, I teased him a bit before actually asking how everything was. After learning he was fine and Astrid and Mr Cooper had adjusted wonderfully to 21st Century life, I spoke to Jack a bit, knowing if anything, I was going to get the whole truth from the man more than the other two. After getting all my information, I sent my love and ended the call.
With nothing else to really do, I moved to the library. Entering the beautiful room, I realised that I hadn't really spent any time in there since Martha'd left. Between the constant adventures with the boys and having moped around for a while, I hadn't really had the time or desire. Then again, it was a slight reminder of old times, when Rose was around. Pushing away the negative thoughts, I grabbed an Agatha Christie book and sat down in my favourite spot in front of the fire. Finishing it up, I placed the book back in its spot in the bookcase and left the library, patting the door as I did so. With a few more hours to kill, I made my way to my old room and collapsed onto the bed, letting my thoughts take over. They weren't too bad, just thoughts about the Doctor and our new companion. There was the stray thoughts of Kie but after speaking to him, I knew he was fine and knowing him, he would always be, especially with Jack looking after him.
My thoughts then moved to Donna. She wasn't really like any of the companions he'd taken on before, not really. While most hadn't often told him off like she has, they have been vocal on their opinions. Donna, on the other hand was extremely vocal about her disdain. It was something I understood, and after seeing the Doctor's memories of his meeting her, I could understand that was just how she was, Donna Noble, always shouting at the world. She didn't want to be ignored, she made it impossible for one to do so. I couldn't help but wonder exactly why that was but before I could ponder upon it more, the Doctor called out to me, telling me that it was time to go. Sighing, I pulled myself from the canopy bed and made my way through the Tardis. With a quick peek out, I snuck out of the ship and joined the Doctor and Quintus.
As we slinked through the dark and empty street, the Doctor and I closely followed Quintus to Lucius' villa. The entire walk, I couldn't help but feel that something was going to go wrong. Then again, it was a normal feeling being with the Doctor. He was just a trouble magnet, always was and he always will be. Catching my thoughts, he turned and pouted at me. It didn't last long as his pout turned into a cheesy grin as I gave him a chaste kiss. I couldn't help but chuckle as Quintus groaned, an action that reminded me of Kie. Thinking of him, I could see him and Quintus getting along swimmingly.
"Don't tell my Dad."
I chuckled but followed the Doctor up to a window. I watched as he jumped up to it and opened the shutter. "Only if you don't tell ours." I rolled my eyes as he went inside and leaned out. "Pass me that torch." Quintus handed it to him and once the Doctor was out of the way, I climbed inside, followed by the younger boy. Looking around the room, I couldn't help but notice the hypocaust that sat in the centre. It glowed red with a heat that encased the area, casting an ominous glow to the otherwise darkened room. As the Doctor glanced around, I moved to a curtain covered wall and pulled it down. My curiosity revealed various marble tiles with different designs. It was quite obvious that Lucius had been making rounds to all those involved with marble, although what he planned on doing with the tiles escaped me at the moment.
"The liar," Quintus breathed as he and the Doctor came to stand beside me. I could hear the Doctor's thoughts filtering into my mind as he examined each piece with a critical eye. "He told my father it was the only one."
"Well, plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places, no one can see what you're building."
"Which is what?"
"The future, Doctor." The three of us turned to face the man who had spoken and ultimately caught us sneaking about in his villa. "We are building the future, as dictated by the gods."
I rolled my eyes at the man and turned back to the wall, mentally rearranging each piece. While it's function wasn't familiar, the design was. It was obviously a circuit board. The Doctor, either coming to the same conclusion as I had, or figuring it out himself, had moved forward and began to rearrange each tile. It was quite a turn on watching the man move the heavy slabs of stone, although I made sure to keep those thoughts under control. No need to have them filter and have the Doctor falter and hurt himself. Leaving those thoughts, I watched as he finished and turned to Lucius, questioning the man. Lucius however, seemed completely unfazed by his comment and in turn, replied with his own.
"What, the great City Augur doesn't know," I scoffed. From the moment I met the man, I disliked him, having immediately felt uneasy being in his presence. There was a feeling that he was part of something bigger than what we saw before us, that he seemed to feel that importance, hell, even the comment he made about women, he was ultimately a gigantic dick.
The Augur glared at me, and if looks could kill, I'd be working on my next regeneration. "The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."
"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. But, it's an energy converter."
"An energy converter of what?"
"I don't know. Isn't it brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes. It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so. Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"
"I think you've babbled enough." Obviously the Doctor had hit on something that Lucius didn't want us to know. While the man's face betrayed nothing, his words did and that was particularly a blessing. The two of us were able to get most information by observing but it was actually talking that got us the meat of it all.
"Lucius, really, tell me. Honestly, I'm on your side. We can help."
"You insult the gods. There can only be one sentence. At arms." The guards drew their short swords and inched towards us. I groaned, irritated that armed men were approaching us. Why the hell was it always violence? Sighing, and steeling myself, I pushed Quintus behind me, hoping that if anything, the boy would be smart enough to get out before he ended up getting hurt.
"Oh, morituri te salutant."
"Celtic prayers won't help you now."
"But it was them, sir," the boy cried out from behind me. "They made me do it. Mister Dextrus, please don't."
I rolled my eyes at the snivelling boy. Of course, it was to be expected since he was still a child. However, some dignity should be held. Honestly, this was a moment I wished Kie were with us. The Doctor, seemed to also share my thoughts. "Come on now, Quintus, dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it? Come on. Dying man's wish?" While Lucius blankly stared at him, the Doctor rushed forward and grabbed his hidden right arm and pulled. Shortly after there was a cracking sound and Lucius groaned. My eyebrows shot up in confusion and amazement as the Doctor held the man's arm in his hand, staring down at it. It was a sight, to see a man's whose arm had turned to stone for some unknown reason was surprising. Yet, I couldn't help but think it to be connected to the people consuming the vapours.
"But he's…"
"Show us."
The City Augur threw back his cloak, showing us that his entire right side had been calcified. It was incredibly intriguing. "The works of the gods."
"He's stone."
"Armless," he began, causing me to groan as I thought back to his ninth incarnation. He had said the same thing and it was corny then just as it currently was; it wasn't funny then and it certainly wasn't at the moment, or would it ever be. He cast me a stony glare before turning back to Lucius, "enough, though. Whoops." He threw the arm at Lucius who barely caught the flying appendage. "Quintus!" I watched as the boy tossed the torch at a guard as the Doctor soniced the circuit boards, causing them to fall to the floor in disarray. With that done, he legged it out the window, with Quintus following closely behind. I tossed Lucius and his guards a cheeky grin before I joined the men outside.
When on the streets, we took off running, and continued on even with the Doctor's unnecessary order to do so. Quintus ended up taking the lead as he manoeuvred us through the winding Pompeii streets. He did this for a good fifteen minutes before he stopped and began to force air into his lungs. The Doctor did so as well as he bent over, resting his hands on his knees. While the two had taken off like mad men, I had paced myself, going a bit slower than them but also regulating my breathing. So as I came up beside the two, I earned glares from them both, which, I returned with a smile, knowing that would cause a slight bit of irritation for my husband.
"No sign of them. Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right."
"Really, must you have said that? Have you not learned your lesson from before?" I slapped the back of his head. He cringed, and quickly moved out of slapping range in case I decided to hit him again, not that I would. The rule was always one slap per stupid comment he made. Quintus on the other hand chuckled a bit, stopping when the Doctor glared at him.
"But his arm, Doctor and Rys. Is that's what's happening to Evelina?"
I glanced away, automatically giving the boy his answer. Before I could actually say something though, a low but loud rumble echoed through the streets, causing stands to lose some of its items and dogs to bark. "What was that?"
More rumbles followed and Quintus moved closer to my side. "The mountain?"
As the reverberations continued in a rhythmical pattern, I shook my head. "Can't be. It's moving towards us."
Things began to fall over as the ground violently shook. "Footsteps."
"It can't be."
"Footsteps underground."
"What is it? What is it?" Ignoring the kid's question and realising that the footsteps were getting closer with each boom, I grabbed each of their hands (something the Doctor grumbled about being his thing), I pulled down the street, watching as the grills of hypocaust vents blew as we ran pass. I cared little about that; I was more interested in getting back to the villa and getting Quintus to relative safety. I don't think I would have forgiven myself if the boy had gotten hurt.
When we finally reached the villa, Metella and Caecilius were frantically trying to discover the origin of the reverberations. It seemed as if whatever had followed us knew where we would go and decided to meet us there. At least, if it hadn't already been there. Groaning out loud, I rushed to the middle of the room and waited for the creature to meet us topside.
With the eruption of noises, Donna rushed out of a room and joined us, asking what was going on. When the Doctor answered, I rolled my eyes and corrected him, telling him that we were being followed. As I finished up, the hypocaust grill blew off. Although the Doctor yelled at them to get out, everyone continued to stand around and stare as the floor around the hypocaust cracked, you know, like rational people tend to do. I quickly moved out of the way as it did, and not a moment later, a stone and fire creature appeared. Coming to its full height, it just nearly touched the ceiling. I couldn't help but stare at it in awe, and not much to my surprise, the Doctor was as well. It was Evelina's voice that shook the Doctor and me from my trance.
"Water. We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water. Donna!"
As Quintus rushed to retrieve water, a servant made his way to the creature. "Blessed are we to see the gods." I moved to pull him back but before I could get close enough, the stone being breathed on the man and turned him into nothing but ash. I shook my head in sadness. To be honest, I hated visiting places of high superstition. It never ended well for believers and what happened to the servant was a prime example of the dangers of it all. Knowing there was nothing I could do, I turned to the creature, determined to learn what it was, to try and save the remaining people in the room.
"Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Tell me who you are." The creature turned from the Doctor to the others in the room. "Don't hurt these people." Seeming to understand, it brought its attention back to the Doctor. As he spoke, I moved around to the fountain, emptied a vase and scooped up some out and moved towards the being. Quintus and another man returned to the room, buckets in hand and the three of us threw it onto the creature. Instantly, its fire was extinguished and it solidified before cracking and crumbling onto the floor. Letting out a sigh, I placed the vase onto the ground and gave Quintus a pat on the back.
"What was that?"
"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."
"Doctor, or whatever your name is, you bring bad luck on this house.
"You know," I began, whirling to face the woman who due to the circumstances I didn't particularly care for, "I thought your son was dazzling. I mean, he did save our lives. Aren't you going to thank him?" With my comment, she raced to Quintus and embraced him. As she did that, I moved to the Doctor.
"Still, if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed." I nodded in agreement. "Right Donna?" I furrowed my brows and glanced around, not seeing her anywhere. By now she'd have said something, inquired about the creature or the safety of the people; she was compassionate like that. But there was nothing but silence, something that didn't quite agree with the woman. Coming to a similar conclusion, the Doctor continued to call out for her. "Donna? Donna!"
After looking throughout the villa for our ginger companion, I decided to put an end to it all and ask Evelina. The two were together for the most part, mainly due to Donna wanting to stay with the young girl. She was worried for the younger girl, and it made me understand something about our companion. Donna was someone who cared about others, it's her first instinct (after yelling at the world) and it was something I adored about her. I saw some of it with the Ood, but knowing she was genuinely worried about people and beings she didn't know, it made her constant nagging about saving the people of Pompeii annoying but understandable. She just wanted people to be safe, especially with the picture the Doctor practically painted of himself- Doctor for the Universe.
At first, Evelina denied knowledge of Donna's whereabouts, but after a while she finally caved and the Doctor and I were quick to rescue our friend. Reaching the temple, the Doctor and I snuck in and found Donna tied down to an altar. Just as the woman went to plunge the dagger into Donna, the Doctor and I made our presence known, more so he did. "Oh, that'll be the day."
"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl."
"Well, that's all right. Just us girls." I stifled a chuckle as I moved to Donna. "Do you know, we met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me."
"She did," I interjected.
He glanced at me, a slight smirk on his lips before returning his attention back to the women. Of course he knew the woman had a thong for him. Who didn't? "I said it would never last. She said, I know. Well, she would. You all right there?" The Doctor stood next to me, glancing down at Donna with the sonic in hand.
"Oh, never better."
"I like the toga."
"Thank you. And the ropes?"
"Not really," I replied, pulling the Doctor's sonic from his hand and releasing our friend. "Definitely looks better without the ropes."
"What sort of magic is this?" I rolled my eyes as the questioning priestess, not really caring to answer her. She almost murdered Donna and with that, it, she was nothing to me, a random face who was nowhere near important.
"Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"
"Yes, a knife that welcomes you" a woman spat. Giving her my harshest glare, I felt some satisfaction when she seemingly flinched and inched away from me.
Before the Doctor or I could say a thing, a raspy voice spoke through. "Show me this strange man and woman."
"High Priestess, these strangers will defile us."
"Let me see. These two are different. They carry starlight in their wake."
"Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?" He was intrigued. Well, I was too. The words said by the priestess were not hers and whoever they belonged to had knowledge that expanded beyond Earth.
"The gods whisper to me."
"They've obviously done much more than that. Might we beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?"
Seeming to get a response, two of the sisters drew the veil to show that the person we were speaking to, the High Priestess, was nothing but living stone. It was peculiar and interesting, especially considering we hadn't seen such a transformation in years. The fact that the woman was completely stone caused me to wonder what had taken over her, what was inside her, what they'd all been consuming. "Oh my god. What's happened to you?"
"The heavens have blessed me."
The Doctor and I stepped forward, ignoring the wary glances of the sisters. Honestly, they were the least of our worries. "If I might?" The High Priestess held out her arm for the Doctor to inspect. He gently grasped it and looked it over. "Does it hurt?"
"It is necessary." While she was a victim of her time, I was in awe of the woman. While most would have complained about the immense pain, she just took it, seeing it a necessity. Other than the sheer idiocy of them inhaling the vapours, she seemed to be quite a strong woman.
"And who exactly said that?" I questioned.
"The voices."
"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is this what's going to happen to all of you?" The woman who had almost killed her showed Donna her forearm, revealing that it was too was stone.
"The blessings are manifold."
"They're stone."
"Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning into stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" the Doctor mused.
"This word, this image in your mind. This 'volcano', what is it?"
Ignoring her question, the Doctor began to prattle on. "More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?"
"High Priestess of the Sibylline."
"No," I crossed my arms and leant against the stone alter that once held Donna, "he's speaking to the creature inside of you."
"It's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into… what?"
"Your knowledge is impossible."
"Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell us who you are."
Suddenly the High Priestess began to speak, not in just her own voice, but with the voice of another. It was deeper and soon, it took over completely. "We are awakening."
"The voice of the gods."
"Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom-" the sisters chanted in unison. Truth be told, if I were anyone else, or ignorant of the times, I'd probably be quite frightened.
"Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."
"We are rising."
"Tell us your name!"
"Pyrovile!" With its name revealed, the sisters began to chant much to my discontent.
"What's a Pyrovile?"
"Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's at the halfway stage."
"What, and that turns into?"
"You saw it at the villa. That was an adult," I hastily explained to the ginger.
"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor."
"I warn you, I'm armed," he said after producing a yellow water pistol. I rolled my eyes at him before grabbing onto Donna's arm and pulling her behind the Doctor and towards the hypocaust grill. Moments like these made me quite happy there usually was an escape route. "Donna, Rys, get that grill open."
"Already on it, dear," I replied, cutting off Donna's question as I began to work on the grill, with the help of Donna of course.
"Just-" He held his hand up, getting the Pyrovile to stop speaking for a moment. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"
"We fell from the heavens. We fell, so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust."
I stopped what I was doing and shared a quick glance with the Doctor. "Makes sense, creatures made of stone shattering on impact. But that was what, seventeen years ago?"
"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."
"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?"
"We opened their minds and found such gifts."
"Okay, that's fine. So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic. You can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"
"Donna, seriously, you have to get down there."
Her head whipped to me and her eyes were wide. "What, down there?"
"Yes! Go on. Why can't they predict a volcano, though? Is it being hidden?"
"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless."
"Yeah, but it's got to sting." With that said, he squirted water at the High Priestess who scream out in pain. As the women were distracted, I jumped down and made my way forward, waiting for the two to join me. Finally, the Doctor and Donna finally entered the hypocaust and I began to lead the way.
"You fought her with a water pistol. I bloody love you."
"Come on," I urged, wanting to get as far away from the temple as possible.
"Where are we going now?"
"Into the volcano."
"No way."
"Yes, way. Appian way."
As we made our way through the hypocaust, the Doctor was doing his best to explain things to Donna. Although we had slightly explained fixed points in time, she really didn't seem to understand that we couldn't do anything to prevent this, that Vesuvius was supposed to erupt and those people had to die. It was quite irritating to me that she was so intent on saving people who were meant to die, but I still understood WHY she wanted to, no one liked to watch the demise of those that could be saved.
"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?" I could see what she meant. We did go around saving Earth from malevolent beings.
"Still part of history."
"But I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"
"Because some things are fixed and others aren't. Pompeii is."
"How do you know which is which?"
"Because that's how we see the universe. Every waking second, we can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And we're the only ones left."
"How many people died?"
"Stop it."
"Doctor, how many people?"
"Twenty thousand," I angrily snapped, turning and glaring at the ginger woman. Donna met my gaze evenly, although it was downcast. Her question sent pangs through my hearts. All twenty thousand people die, children included. The thought killed me, knowing there was really nothing we could actually do, that we couldn't save anyone, not really. It reminded me so much of the war, even if the circumstances were different.
"Is that what you can see? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?" Before either of us could answer, a roar rang through the tunnel.
"They know we're here. Come on."
We continued through the tunnel in silence for a while longer before we finally reached a large cavern. As we came to a full stand, we saw that the area was full of Pyroviles. Most were working, doing whatever they needed to put their plan into action. "It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain."
"There's tons of them."
"What that thing?" He pulled out a monocular and looked through it, showing me through his mind some distant construct.
"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something. Rocky fall's on its way."
"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"
"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts and they launch themselves back into space or something?" Donna questioned. It was a valid point, and while she was wrong, it was great to see that she was using her brain. She always said she was nothing but a temp, but in the moment, she was so much more than that.
"Oh, it's worse than that."
"How could it be worse?" We were both quiet as we continued to scope out the area. Both of us were working overtime in order to figure things out, to come up with a way to stop the Pyroviles. "Doctor, Rys, it's getting closer."
Lucius' voice then rung out throughout the cavern. The three of us looked up, and saw him standing on a ridge on the cavern's other side. "Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."
"Come on."
"We can't go in." As Donna argued with him, and Lucius continued his rant, I rushed to the pod, ignoring what the Doctor said in reply, and just narrowly escaping being crushed by a Pyrovile. The Doctor and Donna quickly gained on me, reaching the pod only mere seconds after I did. As they did, the Doctor said a few things pertaining to my impulsiveness and recklessness, making it clear he did not appreciate the dual heart attacks I nearly gave him.
"There's nowhere to run, Doctor, Rys, and daughter of London."
"Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lava." When no one laughed, the Doctor turned to Donna and me. "In a lava?" Donna shook her head while I groaned and did a double face palm. Goodness, the man was just horrible when he attempted to be funny. Honestly, it hurt. "No?" His smile faltered a bit before he grew serious. "No. But if I beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation."
"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" That was a really good question, Donna. Honestly, while I loved having Martha along, Donna was asking all the right questions, even if her badgering was quite annoying.
"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone." That made no sense. Well, it did but I'm sure the Doctor and I would have heard about a planet going missing. Our travels often brought us around other species, well at least when we left Earth. But the point still stood, we would- should have known something about it.
"What do you mean, gone? Where's it gone?"
"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."
"Well, it's seventy percent water out there."
"Water can boil. And everything will burn, Rys."
"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all we needed to know. Donna. Rys." He was right. While there were some apprehensions, with the knowledge that Earth was going to be destroyed, it made the initial plan a bit more bearable. We were willing to sacrifice the few for the many, a decision that hurt, but it was for the greater good.
The three of us entered the pod, a tight fight to be honest. The interior of the pod contained circuit boards on the end nearest to the door. Using the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor closed the door and locked it. I glanced around, looking for a way to make myself useful and speed up the process of what we were about to do.
"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna complained, as per usual. Suddenly the temperature in the pod seemed to increase. Well, the time until the eruption was growing closer. "Little bit hot." I decided to ignore her, looking at the controls with the Doctor.
"See?" The Doctor pointed to an area of circuitry. "The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."
"But can't you change it with these controls?"
"Yes, but don't you see?" I asked the woman who shook her head in confusion.
"That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."
"But you can change it back?"
"We can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."
"Oh my God." Her expression was horror-stricken as she realised what the stakes were. It wasn't something that we wanted her to witness, but there was nothing we could currently do about it.
"Now you're getting it," I muttered. The Doctor's hand grabbed mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. While I hadn't been there when Gallifrey was lost, I could feel his emotions and hear his thoughts. He was beginning to compare Pompeii to Gallifrey and it pained me to know that he was going through that, that although I had no way of really knowing exactly what he was going through, I knew it was nothing good, that he would end up having nightmares when he fell asleep. "If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's us. We make it happen."
"No, just me."
I quickly faced him, anger clearly written on my face from the way he flinched. "No Doctor, US. Together or not at all."
"I'm not letting you do this, Rys. I can't let you go through that."
Sighing, I place a hand on his cheek. "Doctor, I refuse to let you do this alone. You're my husband and before that, my Ame Soeur. I know what you're thinking and I don't want you doing this, not alone. I hate that you're in this position again, but this time, I'm here. You don't have to do this alone because, you AREN'T alone. I will never let you go through that alone, not again." Closing my eyes, I took a shaky breath, opening them when I felt the Doctor's thumb against my cheek. Meeting his gaze, I pulled away and turned to Donna, apologising for ignoring her. She shrugged and began to fan herself. The temperature was drastically increasing.
"The Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."
Knowing that he had pushed his emotions back, the Doctor jumped back into the action. It was something that would eventually get to him. If I knew him as well as I did, he'd probably disappear for a few hours once we got back to the Tardis. "Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."
"Never mind us."
"Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people." He placed his hand on the stone lever and without hesitation, I placed mine atop his, his free arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me close. Donna placed her on top of mine and with one glance at each other, the three of us pushed the lever down. A few seconds later, the volcano erupted blasting the pod straight into the air. As we lost speed and the pod fell, the Doctor and I clung to one another as Donna screamed at the top of her lungs.
When the pod finally landed, we quickly made our way out of it. Honestly, I was surprised we were alive. "It was an escape pod."
"Yes, we've experienced it. Now run!" Taking my order the three of us raced down the mountain as ash rolled towards us. The smoke from the eruption had blocked out the sun making it seem as if it were the middle of night. Finally making it to town, we rushed through all the chaos as we manoeuvred through the Pompeii streets.
As the ash fell, Donna tried to help the people and get them to safety. II completely understood her desire to help, but it also seemed as if she didn't truly understand that majority of the people could not be saved. Twenty thousand people had to perish. The facts had to remain the same. "Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me. Don't go to the beach, it's not safe. Listen to me." I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw a little boy standing in the middle of the street bawling his eyes out. I couldn't help but think of the children of Gallifrey, the children of Arcadia. "Come here," Donna said, picking the child up. Not a moment later, a woman, most likely the boy's mother, snatched him from Donna's arms and ran off. The Doctor grabbed hold of both her arm and my hand and dragged us along. I let him, knowing that there was no way I would be able to move on my own after seeing that young boy, knowing that he would most likely die without being able to live his life.
Minutes later, we reached Caecilius' villa to find the family cowering in a corner. Upon seeing us, the man called out to us, begging us to help him and his family. "Gods save us, Doctor." The Doctor continued to drag me and Donna along. I couldn't keep my eyes off the family. They reminded me so much of how I was during the war, when I had tried my damned hardest to keep my children safe.
The more I kept my gaze on them, the more I saw the lines of time that surrounded them, that their fate was one that was in flux. They could be saved. They could live. As I came to the realisation, I heard Donna's voice and the Tardis engines start. My eyes widened as I felt his emotions full force. They crushed me to the point I began sobbing. There was so much pain, so much guilt. He had to save someone. He had to save Caecilius. They were meant to live and while it wouldn't take away the pain, it would still be a victory, small, but a victory nonetheless.
"You can't just leave them!"
'Theta…'
He ignored my call. "Don't you think I've done enough?" He snapped. "History's back in place and everyone dies." I froze, the weight of his words angering me. What the hell had gotten into him. No, I knew what it was, but the fact that he'd said that... That wasn't my Doctor. That wasn't my Theta.
Steadying my tear thickened voice, I tried once again to get his attention. "Doctor."
"You've got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back. It's not fair."
"No, it's not."
"But your own planet. It burned."
"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't, I can't." Of course she couldn't understand, not what he was feeling. I could, but it was only through him. I knew he was heading into a downward spiral due to his guilt. He needed something to bring him back.
As his gaze hardened at his words, I tried again, this time speaking in Gallifreyan. "Theta. Please, you have to go back. Caecillius and his family, their fate is in flux. We can save them." I knew it was a cheap shot, but I knew it needed to be said. "Is this the kind of man you want Kie to know you as? One who leaves people to die? You have to go back. please Theta. Please go back and save them."
"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone." He glanced from Donna to me before sighing and bringing the Tardis back to Caecillius' villa.
As I sat on the captain's chair pulling myself together, the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis and a few seconds later, Caecillius' family were with us. Immediately the Doctor had started up the engines again. A while later, the seven of us stood on a hillside, watching as Pompeii was filled with volcanic ash and destroyed. I stood by the Doctor who had his arms wrapped around my waist. My expression was blank but I knew that he knew exactly how I felt, how distraught I was and just how much I wanted to crawl into our bed and cry until there were no more tears. Although, before I did that, I wanted- no needed- to see Kie. I had to make sure he was all right. I had to have him in my arms, no matter how much he'd protest. I just needed to have my baby with me.
"It's never forgotten, Caecilius. Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you," the Doctor said after a few minutes, jolting me from my thoughts.
"What about you, Evelina?" Donna queried. "Can you see anything?"
"The visions have gone."
"The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free."
Metella turned to us. "But tell me. Who are you, Doctor? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?"
"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone."
"The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people," Caecillius sadly spout out.
With one last look at Pompeii, the Doctor, Donna, and I slipped back into the Tardis. While the Doctor put the Tardis in space, Donna and I went off to our rooms. Once in the Doctor's room, I went to bathe. An hour later, I left the bathroom to find the Doctor sitting on the bed, a blank expression on his face. He had blocked off his thoughts but his emotions rang clear, although it was hard to tell where his ended and mine began. The fact that the emotional bond had begun to reassert itself had yet to come to his realisation. I went and sat beside him, immediately pulling his head to my chest. Not even a minute later, he began to bawl. As he did so, I held him, keeping my own tears at bay. I needed to be strong for him. He was always my rock and it was time for me to be his.
7/09/2015
Hey guys. So, I realised that within this episode, I might have made it seem like I don't like Donna. Truth be told, I love the woman. For me, her constant nagging for the Doctor to save people, it was annoying. Now, I know she's there because she is SO very human, but if she saw it from the Doctor's eyes, maybe she wouldn't have done so much to push him. But yeah, that's why it seemed that way. But don't worry. There's no Donna hate here. I was just trying to get that across. (I definitely felt the need to repeat this. Sorry guys.) I hope you enjoyed the chapter otherwise. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favourited the story. I love seeing the emails. Now then, onto the reviews!
NicoleR85: So happy you enjoyed the chapter.
Squidtastic: How was your first day of school? Glad to hear the previous chapter was able to drag your mind away from that.
margie-me: So glad you got the point I was trying to get across. Yep, Donna is definitely stubborn in the case of this adventure. One thing that I do love about her character though is the fact that after this adventure, she seems to grasp that some things affect the Doctor differently and that there's just some things he can and can't do. I'm quite happy that you enjoyed the chapter.
tardiscompanion101: Definitely. We all know how Donna is around couples. Besides, she's caught the two in one two many compromising positions, which was the real reason for the rule. She knows what the kissing leads to. I liked this episode as well, although now it's more so because Amy and 12 were in it and the Doctor saved them.
Okay, so I've finished editing the first four chapters of this story. To finish nine off, I'll be working on it for the next week or two. This means I most likely won't be posting until the end of the month (I like to have a few chapters finished before posting one. Sorry about this guys, but I'm seeing a lot of contradicting things in the story and Cerys doesn't really add up to my notes in here. With that said, I won't be on here for a while and I swear I'll post once I finish up Part One of the story.