"Oh, just listen to that," The Doctor said, stopping the group. They were in a room full of shipment containers right now, and Chris was having a terrible time keeping her emotions in check. She was tempted to break off from the group and release the poor Ood, but she knew that would spell disaster for all of them.
After ten minutes of walking the guards had been called away to deal with the Ood and they were left with only Kess as their 'tour guide.' He was a piss-poor excuse for a guard. Chris knew that something was messing with a part of her brain, she wasn't usually this quick to judge.
"Listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen," The Doctor repeated, as though it would get them to listen, when no one responded, he staggered for a moment, "Oh, my head."
"What is it?" Donna asked concerned, helping The Doctor remain upright.
"Can't you hear it? The singing?" The Doctor asked, glancing at Chris and Donna as though they were stupid humans. Chris glared at him.
"They look different to the others," Donna said, staring at the Ood that were watching them as they walked by. The ones who weren't in the shipping containers.
"That's because they're natural born Ood, unprocessed before they're adapted to slavery," The Doctor explained evenly, "Unspoilt. That's their song."
Chris knew he was pretending that this wasn't affecting him. She did know that. Not only because she had seen it on the show back in her universe, but because she had been getting to know the Timelord even more in her time with him. For some reason though, his uncaring effect right now was bugging her more than usual. She was tempted to smack him. The only thing holding her back was that shred of knowledge that he was acting right now.
"I can't hear it," Donna told the time lord after a moment of listening.
"Do you want to?" The Doctor asked, looking between Chris and Donna again. He was only asking Donna though. Chris was sure of that when he turned away from her after just a second.
"Yeah," Donna agreed while Chris shook her head, even though The Doctor wasn't paying attention to her.
Am I imagining the attitude change? Chris asked Rain after turning away from The Doctor and glaring at Kess, who was watching them impatiently but allowing them this moment.
"It's the song of captivity," The Doctor warned, wanting Donna to be prepared.
He's responding to your attitude, dumbbutt,Rain taunted.
Thanks.
"Let me hear it," Donna demanded, wanting to experience what it was that was making The Doctor so sad.
"Face me," The Doctor said, bringing his hands up to Donna's temples, "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna. Hear the music."
"Take it away," Donna said after only a few moments, tears streaming down her face.
"Sure?" The Doctor asked.
"I can't bear it," Donna informed. She breathed a sigh of release when The Doctor broke the connection, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," The Doctor assured the woman.
"But you can still hear it."
"All the time," The Doctor said sadly.
"Can you hear it?" Donna asked, turning to Chris who was staring at the floor with furrowed brows, "Chris?"
"What?" Chris snapped, blinking as she looked at Donna and The Doctor. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the irrational irritation she was feeling, "Huh? Oh, that, yeah, I can hear it."
"Chris, are you alright?" The Doctor asked, stopping in front of the woman who was now staring at the Ood. He placed a hand on her shoulder but didn't seem surprised when she tensely brushed it off.
"Yup," Chris said faux cheerfully startling The Doctor with her sudden change in demeanor "but I'll be much better once this is over."
She nodded to The Doctor who took out his sonic and used it on the padlock, allowing them into the container. Chris was tempted not to follow, but she was intensely curious as to what would happen since she was there now.
"What are you doing?" Kess complained, and Chris glared at him, her irritation back.
"Hush," She demanded before turning to the Ood, "What are you holding? Show us. Friend. Chris, Doctor, Donna. Friend. Let me see. Look at me. Let me see. That's it. That's it, go on. Go on."
The Ood opened his palm to reveal his hindbrain. Chris stared at it, fascinated, before grinning at the Ood. She was determined to save them. She had been the whole time, but now that determination was stronger. She would save the Ood.
"Is that?" Donna asked in surprise, turning to The Doctor for an explanation.
"It's a brain. A hindbrain," The Doctor explained in awe, "The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it processes memory and emotions. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."
Chris stepped up to the Ood, placing her hands on his forehead and leaning hers onto them. She didn't know why she was doing it, just that it was something she needed to do. Chris felt tears slide down her eyes and the sudden comfort that was washing over her body. An otherworldly content was pushing the irritation out of her system, allowing her to relax for the first time since she entered the warehouse.
"So the company cuts off their brains?" Donna demanded, glaring at Kess.
"And they stitch on the translator," The Doctor said, watching Chris as she was comforted by the Ood.
"Like a lobotomy," Donna turned to The Doctor with tears in her eyes, "I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor because I thought it was so wonderful out here. I want to go home."
"They're with the Ood, sir," A voice came from behind him, and The Doctor turned to sonic the lock shut again, pulling Donna to his side. Chris was still communing with the Ood, and he sensed that an interruption would hurt more than help.
"What you going to do, then? Arrest me? Lock me up? Throw me in a cage?" The Doctor demanded, "Well, you're too late. Ha!"
"You're an idiot," Chris sighed, shaking her head at The Doctor as she pulled away from the Ood.
"Thanks," He grinned, sensing that she was more in control than she had been before.
"Why don't you just come out and say it? FOTO activists," Dr. Halpen said, smirking at the three intruders who were handcuffed to some pipes in his office. He had sent Kess out to prep the canisters for eradicating the Ood. Ood Sigma was standing behind him, ready to serve as always.
"If that's what Friends Of The Ood are trying to prove, then yes," The brown haired man said with a glare. Halpen was intrigued by the man in front of him, but he could see that he would be more of a liability than an asset.
"The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice," Halpen informed, still smirking. The man had invested far too much of his time into the Ood to allow three measly humans to harm him or his company.
"That's because you can't hear them," the dark-haired girl snapped, "just because you're deaf it doesn't mean other people can't hear."
"They welcomed it," Halpen argued, glaring at her, "It's not as if they put up a fight."
"You idiot," the ginger snapped, seeing that her friends were distressed, "They're born with their brains in their hands. Don't you see, that makes them peaceful. They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."
"Oh, nice one," The brown-haired man complimented.
"Thank you."
"The system's worked for two hundred years," Halpen shrugged, he glanced at Ryder who was working at the computer, "All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized." He brought his wrist comm. up to talk to his trusted guard, "Mister Kess, how do we stand?"
"Canisters primed, sir," Kess' voice came through the comm. "As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it two hundred marks and counting."
"Doctor," the dark-haired girl grunted, pulling at her cuffs.
"You're going to gas them?" this "Doctor" demanded, horrified.
"Kill the livestock," Halpen said, proud of himself, "The classic foot and mouth solution from the olden days. Still works."
"They've awoken," the dark-hair girl said suddenly, as alarms started to blare. She was grinning at him in a way that sent a shiver down his spine, "now you get to see what happens when a peaceful species is pushed to the brink."
"What the hell?" Halpen demanded, sending his glare at Ryder. The man had been getting on his nerves for the last ten years. Halpen was ready to put all the blame on him.
"There are no reports of trouble off-world, sir," Ryder reported as he checked the systems, "It's still contained to the Ood Sphere."
"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads," Halpen said determinedly. He was not about to let this mishap affect his growing empire.
"What's happening?" The "Doctor" demanded from where he was still handcuffed.
"Everything you wanted, Doctor," Halpen sneered, "No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized, so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."
"But Mister Halpen, there's something else, isn't there?" The "Doctor" asked, "Something we haven't seen."
"What do you mean?" the ginger questioned, obviously not following what the other man was hinting at. "Chris, what does he mean?"
"A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain; they'd be at war with themselves," The Doctor explained to the ginger, "There's got to be something else, a third element, am I right?"
"And again, so clever," Halpen sneered. The man was getting on his nerves.
"Just get out of here," Chris demanded, startling everyone with her harshness. Her hands were clenched to the point that her knuckles were white, "you were going to leave in two seconds anyways, and frankly I'm tired of looking at your face."
Halpen considered staying just to irk the woman, but he really did need to check on the situation at hand. He glared at her before turning on his heel and stalking out the door.
"What? His face was bothering me," Chris defended at the worried looks she was receiving from both Donna and The Doctor, "at least now we only have to wait for the Ood rather than listen to him speak."
"Well, why don't you get us out of these handcuffs, so we don't have to wait for anything?" Donna demanded, tugging on the cuffs. She huffed and turned to The Doctor, "You're the one with all the tricks. You must have met Houdini."
"These are really good handcuffs," The Doctor told her with a frown. He was worried about Chris, but there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to her mood swings.
"Oh well, I'm glad of that," Donna retorted sarcastically, "I mean, at least we've got quality."
The three of them looked to the door to see a trio of Ood entering. Chris smiled gently at them while Donna and The Doctor started to plead, repeating themselves over and over again.
"Doctor, Donna, Chris friends," The Doctor said, struggling with his handcuffs.
"The circle must be broken," Donna pleaded as the Ood moved closer. This was not the way she had wanted traveling with The Doctor to go. She did not wish for Death By Ood.
"The Cloud and the Rain must be protected," Chris interjected when the Ood stopped, their heads tilting.
"Doctor. Donna. Friends. Chris. Sister." The Ood said.
"Yes. That's us. Friends. Oh, yes," The Doctor and Donna said with relief as the Ood moved forward to release them.
"The Cloud and the Rain must be protected."
"I don't know where it is," The Doctor complained as they ran through yet another corridor, "I don't know where they've gone. Chris, do you know where they've gone?"
"What are we looking for?" Donna asked, not letting Chris respond.
"It might be underground, like some sort of cave, or a cavern, or-" an explosion interrupted The Doctor, and the three exchanged a look, "All right?"
Chris turned at the feeling of someone behind them and smiled at Sigma Ood. She felt relaxed by his presence, just as she had been with the other Ood. Chris stepped towards him when he nodded and copied her movements from earlier, placing her hands on his forehead and her forehead on her own hands. She ignored The Doctor and Donna who were watching her with a mixture of impatience and confusion.
"Thank you," Chris warmly smiled when she stepped back.
Sigma nodded before gesturing at the group to follow them down the hall. His steps were even, but the trio had to rush to catch up. Chris stayed close to Sigma even when they entered the room that Halpen and Ryder were in.
"It's always been an option," Halpen said as they entered, referring to the plan he'd just told Ryder, "My grandfather drew up this plan. That's the advantage of a family run business, Doctor Ryder. The personal touch."
"But we should evacuate," Ryder urged, trying to get Halpen away from the controls so he could enact his plan, "If we can get to the rocket sheds, we can-"
"No need. We've got this," Halpen interrupted, holding up a pack, "Detonation Packs. Place them around the circumference. We're going to blow it up. This thing dies, so do the Ood."
"The Ood Brain," The Doctor said drawing the men's attention to the group, "Now it all makes sense, That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain, and this, the telepathic center. It's a shared mind, connecting all the Ood in song."
"Cargo. I can always go into cargo," Halpen said, watching The Doctor, "I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable, without livestock."
"He's mined the area," Ryder informed them, briefly looking away from Halpen.
"You're going to kill it?" Donna asked, disgusted at the thought.
"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the Northern Glacier," Halpen told them, as though that would justify his actions.
"Those pylons," The Doctor started, observing the Ood Brain almost- curiously.
"In a circle," Donna continued, understanding what The Doctor was getting at, "The circle must be broken."
"Damping the telepathic field," The Doctor said, frowning, "Stopping the Ood from connecting for two hundred years."
"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here," Halpen snarled, turning to the Ood, "I expected better."
"My place is at your side, sir," Sigma said, taking up his spot right next to Halpen, Chris just on the other side of him.
"Still subservient," Halpen said, mollified by the reply, "Good Ood."
"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna wondered looking to The Doctor for the answer.
"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt," The Doctor speculated, watching Chris where she's stood next to Sigma and observing Halpen with a barely concealed rage, "The subconscious reaching out?"
"But the process was too slow. It had to be accelerated," Ryder said, standing taller and glaring at Halpen, "You should never give me access to the controls, Mister Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends Of The Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company, and I succeeded."
"Yes. Yes, you did," Halpen agreed, lunging towards Ryder only to be pulled back by Chris. She had a tight grip on Halpen's collar, and the man couldn't move any closer to Ryder.
"Don't you dare," Chris snarled, startling the man, "one more move towards him and you get a little taste of the Ood Brain."
"You tried to kill him," Donna accused, pulling Ryder away from the railing as Chris let go of Halpen and stepped back behind Sigma.
"Tried being the keyword," Chris growled, dusting herself off and glaring at Halpen who was seething, "would've succeeded too."
"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma offered, moving in front of Chris as Halpen raised a gun and pointed it at the woman.
The Doctor turned a glare towards Chris, "What do you mean 'would have succeeded?'"
Chris raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the Timelord beside her. She looked pointedly at the gun in Halpen's hand before responding, "I mean, had I not been here, Dr. Ryder would be dead. A senseless death, might I add. You and I both know it wasn't a fixed point in time."
"We're discussing this later," The Doctor informed her with narrowed eyes.
"Gladly," Chris hissed, shifting her glare from Halpen to The Doctor for just a moment before turning to glare at Halpen.
"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks," Halpen said, shrugging off Sigma and shifting to get a better aim at Chris
"Please have a drink, sir," Sigma insisted, moving to block Chris from Halpen's view again.
"If, if you're going to stand in their way, I'll shoot you too," Halpen threatened as his hand started to shake.
"Please have a drink, sir," Sigma calmly insisted as Halpen started to gag.
"Have, have you poisoned me?" Halpen demanded, scrabbling at his mouth. and throat
"Natural Ood must never kill, sir," Sigma informed the man sagely.
"What is that stuff?" The Doctor questioned, shifting his gaze from Chris to Sigma.
"Ood graft suspended in a biological compound, sir," Sigma explained.
"What the hell does that mean?" Halpen demanded as he pulled at his hair.
"Oh, dear," The Doctor snickered, quite proud of the Ood.
"Tell me!"
"Funny thing, the subconscious," The Doctor grinned, "Takes all sorts of shapes. Came out in the red-eye as revenge, came out in the rabid Ood as anger, and then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mister Halpen?"
"What have you done?" Halpen demanded, turning on Sigma when he pulled out a bunch of hair.
"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time," The Doctor informed as he simply watched Halpen shift, "And now you're standing next to the Ood Brain, Mister Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."
"What have you?" Halpen struggled to get out as his very being began to change, "I'm not."
"They, they turned him into an Ood?" Donna asked, watching Halpen changed into an Ood with disgust.
"Yep," The Doctor chirped.
"He's an Ood," Donna said.
"I noticed."
"He has become Oodkind, and we will take care of him," Sigma said after Halpen sneezed out a hindbrain.
"It's weird, being with you," Donna said to The Doctor, "I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."
"It's better that way," The Doctor told the human, "People who know for certain tend to be like Mister Halpen."
Chris observed the scene, only relaxing when Halpen was fully Ood before turning to Ryder who was watching her carefully. She smiled at the man before moving to the controls for the telepathic field.
Hey, Doc, wanna do the honors, Rain offered as Chris stared at the controls, unsure which button to pressed
"Oh," The Doctor responded before going to deactivate the explosives, "That's better. And now, Sigma, would you allow me the honor?"
"It is yours, Doctor," Sigma said with a nod.
"Oh, yes!" The Doctor cheered as he pulled the lever that deactivated the pylon circle, "Stifled for two hundred years, but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing."
As the electrical current around the Ood Brain collapsed so did a barrier in Chris' mind. She hadn't known it was there, but now that it was gone she was hit by a myriad of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. She could feel the irritation that had been flowing through her earlier, but it was quickly expelled by an overwhelming mix of joy and freedom.
"I can hear it!" Donna breathed in awe, tears streaming down her face.
The Doctor wrapped an arm around Chris, and she leaned into his side, smiling softly at the man. Now that she understood where the irritation had been coming from Chris felt relaxed. She'd been weighed down by the emotions of the Ood, ones she didn't even realize she was connected to, and now she was free. Well, not really, she could still feel their emotions. But their joy was freeing.
We're having a talk when we get back to the Tardis, Chris told Rain who she could feel in the back of her mind, about your memory.
Whatever you say, Rain replied defensively.
Goddamnit Rain, I'm worried about you. Okay? Chris snapped, biting her lip to keep from crying out at the pain yelling in her head caused.
Good for you, Rain snapped before refusing to respond to Chris anymore.
"You okay?" The Doctor whispered to Chris as he led her outside.
"I'll be fine," Chris responded distractedly, trying to get Rain to respond. She was worried about her and determined to find out what was wrong.
"The message has gone out," The Doctor said, shutting the Tardis door behind him, "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."
"We thank you, Doctor Donna, friends of Oodkind." Sigma said to The Doctor and Donna before turning to Chris, "Chris, the Cloud in which the Rain resides, our sister. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."
"You know I can't," Chris smiled at Sigma, "the song must go on."
Sigma nodded and turned to The Doctor, repeating his question.
"Oh, I've, I've sort of got a song of my own, thanks," The Doctor said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"I think your song must end soon."
"Meaning?" The Doctor asked, his brows raised in worry.
"Every song must end."
"Yeah," The Doctor nodded, perplexed, before turning to Donna, "Er, what about you? You still want to go home?"
"No," Donna shook her head, "Definitely not."
"Then we'll be off," The Doctor grinned, looking from Chris to Donna with a grin.
"Take this song with you," Sigma told them.
"We will," Donna agreed readily.
"Always," The Doctor nodded.
"And know this, Doctor Donna," Sigma said, "You will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor Donna, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."
The Doctor and Donna made their way onto the Tardis, not noticing that Chris had stayed behind. She grinned at Sigma who nodded back.
"The Cloud and The Rain will be protected."
A/N: I'm not sure why I struggled so much with this chapter but I really struggled. I hope the wait was worth it. I'm not sure when I'll have the next episode done for you guys. I've started a second job and college is still as busy as ever. If you have any specific episodes (or anything really) that you want to see please let me know! I've got ideas but I still want suggestions!
-Ryn