A/N: Next batter up, New Earth.
Ward 26
John stepped out of the wardrobe room, settling the new coat more comfortably around his shoulders. The TARDIS had approved his choice, humming when his hand brushed against it. John had taken a shine to the long, brown, coarse material immediately.
Now as he walked to the console room, he hoped it was alright that he'd gone digging around. When he arrived, the Wolf looked up, but the words died in her mouth as she raised an eyebrow. "What's with the trench coat?" she asked.
John looked down at himself. "Something new, I don't know," he said casually. "What do you think? Dashing?"
The Wolf smirked. "Oh, I'd say so."
John wanted to preen at the compliment, but collected himself and went to stand next to her. "So, where are we going?" he asked.
The Wolf grinned up at him as she pulled down a lever. "Further than we've ever gone before," she said gleefully. With a lurch, they were off, but she actually managed to land the TARDIS fairly gracefully. Either that, or the TARDIS was trying extra hard that time. The Wolf took a step outside, John waiting just behind her, itching to go out too. "Ah, perfect," she said, pleased, standing aside to let John out.
"Not often you get to say that," John began to mock before he was immediately hit by the scent of apples. He looked around, but there weren't any trees anywhere. Then cars flew over his head, instantly distracting him. "No way," he breathed.
"Yes way," the Wolf grinned. "Now, it's the year five billion and twenty-three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this?" She spread out her arms in front of her, encompassing rolling hills of green grass, a large body of water, and beyond that, the skyline of a city. "This is New Earth."
"That's just – it's just –" John couldn't think of what it was.
The Wolf nodded, understanding. "Not bad. Not bad at all," she agreed.
"That's amazing. I'll never get used to this," John said as he looked around, trying to take in everything at once. "Never. Different ground beneath my feet." He jumped up and down on the springy grass, making the Wolf chuckle. "Different sky. And what's that smell?" he asked.
"Oh." The Wolf bent over and plucked some of the grass blades, holding them up to his nose. "Apple grass."
"That is so cool," John said. There were no other words for it. "It's beautiful, all of it," he told her. "And I love this." He wrapped an arm around the Wolf shoulders, hugging her close. "Can I just say, traveling with you, I love it," he said in awe.
The Wolf smiled warmly up at him. "Me too," she replied. Escaping the hug, she grabbed his arm to pull him forward. "Come on!" Hand in hand, they sprinted down the hill and kept going, only stopping when they found a vantage point where they could view the city and the flying cars with ease. John lay his newly acquired coat down on the ground, and the two of them relaxed on it, enjoying the breeze and the show.
They were silent for a time, but it didn't take long for the Wolf to go into her lecture mode. "So, the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted," she explained.
John grinned at her. "That was our first date," he teased.
The Wolf smiled happily back. "First of our many trips to the Med Bay," she agreed. "But anyway," she got back on topic, "planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, they get all nostalgic. Big revival movement, but then they find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in," she finished.
John nodded absently. "What's the city called?" he asked.
"New New York."
He gave the Wolf a look. "You've got to be kidding me."
"It is," she defended herself, but with a bit of a laugh in her voice. "It's the city of New New York. Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original," she corrected, "so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." The Wolf looked up from her position on the ground to see John shaking his head at her. "What?"
"It's nothing. Just – you're so different," John replied.
The Wolf hesitated. "New new Wolf," she finally said, teasing a bit. It worked, bringing a smile back to John's face.
They stayed that way for over an hour, lounging on John's new coat. Finally, they were both ready to go. "Are we going to visit New New York, so good they named it twice?" John asked as he pulled his coat on.
"Well, I thought we might go there first," the Wolf answered casually, pointing at a large building standing apart from the rest of the skyscrapers.
"Why, what is it?"
The Wolf shrugged. "Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals. I got this," she mentioned, digging around in her jacket pocket and pulling out her leather wallet. "A message on the psychic paper." She showed it to John. It read: Ward 26. Please come. "Someone wants to see me."
John had perked up at the word 'hospital'. "By all means, then. Let's go and see what they, whoever they are, want." He had no objections to learning more about alien medical practices.
"You're going to be bouncing all over the place, aren't you?" the Wolf moaned exasperatedly. "I'm never going to get you out of there." She was trying to sound annoyed, but couldn't quite hide the fondness in her voice.
John laughed. "I make no promises."
The Wolf gave him her special tongue-touched grin, indicating that she was inordinately pleased. John hadn't seen it in weeks, even before she regenerated, and he had been worried that it was gone forever. He was glad to see that it, too, had survived her change. More and more, he was realizing that this new Wolf wasn't much different from the old. A little bouncier, little more excitable, maybe, but she still had the same nervous tics, many of the same facial expressions, and she still loved traveling. And she still seemed to like having him around, so John decided to stop worrying about the change entirely.
The Wolf was the Wolf, and apparently nothing changed that.
The Wolf shuddered as they approached the large building. "What?" John asked.
"Nothing," she dismissed. "I just don't like hospitals that much."
John gave her a look as they went through the doors. "Bit rich, coming from you, isn't it?" he wondered, eyebrows raised. "You practically have a hospital on the TARDIS, and you go around the universe making things better. Isn't that what hospitals do, just on a more local basis?"
"That's totally different," the Wolf disagreed. "And I can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps." An announcement for visitors interrupted their conversation.
John took a look around, admiring the organization and calm of the hospital. "Very smart," he approved. "Better than NHS."
The Wolf was also looking around, but she wasn't quite as pleased. "No shop," she muttered, disappointed. "I like a little shop."
"People'd think, this far in the future, they'd have cured everything," John said, ignoring her. "But that's evolution for you."
"The human race moves on, but so do the viruses," the Wolf agreed, shaking off her trepidation. "It's an ongoing war."
John was still gazing around at everything when he finally took notice of the nurses. They were wearing nun-like wimples and habits, but what shocked him was the fur, whiskers, and paws. "They're cats," he whispered in the Wolf's ear, his eyes wide.
"Now don't stare," the Wolf admonished him. "Think what you look like to them, all brown and spiky."
"You're one to talk, all blue and yellow … -y," John said rather lamely.
The Wolf rolled her eyes and continued, ignoring him. "That's where I'd put the shop," she said, pointing at a bare corner of the lobby. "Right there." When John turned to look, the Wolf walked into one of the available lifts. It closed, leaving John outside. "Ward 26, thanks!" she ordered.
"Wait a second!" John called, racing for the lift, but too late.
"Oh, too late. I'm going up," the Wolf said through the doors.
A ding announced the arrival of a second ride. "It's alright, there's another lift."
"Ward 26," the Wolf's faint call came through the doors. "And watch out for the disinfectant."
John turned back when he heard the Wolf's voice, but couldn't quite catch her words. "The what?"
"The disinfectant!"
"The what?" John asked again, confused.
"The disin – oh, you'll find out," the Wolf muttered as her lift took off.
When he didn't hear the Wolf again, John just shrugged and boarded. The doors closed behind them. "Erm, Ward 26? Please?" he requested hesitantly.
"Commence Stage One Disinfection," a computerized voice announced.
John jumped when a cold spray hit him. "Whoa!" he yelled. He was so surprised, he didn't even notice that the lift had gone down instead of up. He cringed under the freezing blast, but then a blow dry began, quickly warming him up. By the time the lift ding-ed, letting him off, his clothes were completely dry.
John stepped out into a dark, dank, rubbish strewn corridor with flickering lights. "The human child is clean," a pleased voice declared.
John looked up to see a strange humanoid man with interesting sepia markings covering his skin watching him.
"Erm, hello? I'm looking for Ward 26?" John tried. Somehow, he was fairly certain he had gone in the wrong direction.
"This way, John Smythe," the man urged, waving him forward.
John shook his head. "No, I'm not going anywhere. My friend is going to be waiting for me. I think I just got off on the wrong floor, so if you could just point me in the right direction, I'd be grateful," he said warily.
The pale man seemed stumped for a moment, but picked his way over to John. "John Smythe must come meet the Mistress," he insisted. "She's been waiting ever so long."
"Is your Mistress the one that called the Wolf here?" John asked.
The strange being continued his approach, this time not saying anything. John backed away, hitting the button to re-open the lift doors, but they didn't budge. John hit the button again, growing worried when they still refused to work. This was starting to look like a trap.
"What do you want?" he finally asked, a little frightened, even though the man was not naturally intimidating by any means.
"The Mistress must see you," the stranger merely repeated.
"Yeah, well, I don't think I want to see your Mistress," John denied as the man finally stopped in front of him. "So you can just go tell her that, and I'll be on my way."
The man shook his head. "I swore to bring John Smythe to the Mistress."
"Yeah? And how exactly are you gonna –" John was cut off as the other man pulled out a small spray bottle from his clothes and misted John in the face.
John's world immediately went black. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
A veiled nurse met the Wolf when she arrived at Ward 26 to escort her. "How may I assist you this afternoon?" she asked gently.
"Oh, hello!" the Wolf greeted cheerfully. "I was requested, so here I am. Not quite sure by who though, yet? Could you maybe just show me around until I see someone I recognize?" she asked.
The cat-nun cocked her head at the strange request, but merely nodded. "Of course, ma'am. The Sisters of Plenitude are always available for assistance. I am Sister Jatt."
"Brilliant," the Wolf grinned, following Jatt from reception into the ward. "It's a nice place, really," she complimented. "But no shop, downstairs. I'd have a shop. Not a big one. Just a shop, so people can – shop."
Jatt lifted her veil. "The hospital is a place of healing," she said, confused.
The Wolf ran her hands through her hair, awkward. "A shop does some people a world of good. Not me," she clarified. "Other people."
Jatt moved on. "The Sisters of Plenitude take a lifelong vow to help, and to mend." She led the Wolf past an open cubicle.
The Wolf looked inside, but a severe looking woman quickly moved in front of her, trying to block the shorter woman's line of sight. "Excuse me! Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York," she declared.
The Wolf leaned to peer past the woman and saw a large man lying rigid on his bed. "That's Petrifold Regression, right?" she asked.
"I'm dying, madam," the bald man answered weakly. "A lifetime of charity and abstinence, and it ends like this."
The woman looked back at him in alarm before turning to the Wolf again. "Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance," she warned. The Wolf just rolled her eyes at the snippy woman.
"Frau Clovis!" the Duke cried. "I'm so weak."
Clovis went over to stand by the Duke, taking his hand. "Sister Jatt. A little privacy, please," she requested.
Jatt obliged, closing the curtains around the patient and his protector. "He'll be up and about in no time," she said casually.
"I doubt it," the Wolf answered, skeptical. "Petrifold Regression? He's turning to stone. There won't be a cure for, oh, a thousand years? He might be up and about, but only as a statue."
"Have faith in the sisterhood," Jatt reprimanded her gently as they reached the end of the ward. "But is there no one here you recognize?" she asked. "It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."
Just then, the Wolf's eyes landed on a large container. She smiled. "No, I think I've found him," she said softly as she looked at the Face of Boe.
Jatt accompanied the Wolf over to the Face and his attendant. "Novice Hame, if I can leave this lady in your care?"
Hame nodded serenely. "Oh, I think my friend got lost," the Wolf remembered. "John Smythe. Could you ask at reception?"
"Certainly, ma'am," Jatt acquiesced before taking her leave.
"I'm afraid the Face of Boe's asleep," Hame said, her voice sad. "That's all he tends to do these days. Are you a friend, or –" she trailed off.
"We met just the once on Platform One. What's wrong with him?" the Wolf asked.
"I'm so sorry." Hame hesitated. "I thought you knew. The Face of Boe is dying."
The Wolf looked over at her, startled. "Of what?"
"Old age. The one thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old," Hame said in wonder. "Some people say millions, although that's impossible."
The Wolf shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I like impossible." She turned back to the sleeping Face. "I'm here," she said quietly. "I look a bit different, but it's me. It's the Wolf."
The Face of Boe gave no indication that he had heard.
The sound of laughter roused John. He sat up, groaning as he tried to stretch out his stiff muscles. Looking around, he caught sight of a projector showing a film of a party. Puzzled, John got to his feet to get a closer look. The camera seemed to be focused on one woman in particular, who seemed to be the life of the party.
"I mean, you never know what your life is going to be like, ever. I'm bored with this drink." She set it down on a tray as a man came up to greet her. John thought the voice sounded familiar. "Anyway. Oh, hello darling!" The man whispered in her ear and she slapped him on the shoulder lightly. "Now don't. Stop it," she said, giggling.
It clicked. "Wait a minute," John muttered. "That's –" he turned around to see the flat face of Cassandra.
"Peekaboo!" she said gleefully.
John backed away quickly. "Don't you come anywhere near me, Cassandra," he warned.
Cassandra just rolled her eyes. "Why? What do you think I'm going to do? Flap you to death?" she asked sardonically.
John narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, but what about Gollum?" he asked suspiciously, nodding at the man who had knocked him unconscious somehow.
"Oh, that's just Chip," she dismissed. "He's my pet."
"I worship the Mistress," Chip declared.
John just nodded agreeably. Heee's crazy, he decided.
"Moisturize me, moisturize me," Cassandra ordered. Chip gently sprayed her. "He's not even a proper life form," she went on when Chip had finished. "He's a force grown clone. I modeled him on my favorite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs."
John raised his eyebrows. "I hope that means food. How is it your still alive?"
"After you murdered me –" Cassandra began.
"That was your own fault," John interrupted.
"The brain of my Mistress survived. And her pretty blue eyes were salvaged from the bin," Chip said as he lovingly stroked Cassandra's frame.
"What about the skin?" John asked. "I saw it. You – you got ripped apart," he said, not quite able to hold back a smile at the absurdity of it all.
"That piece of skin was taken from the front of my body," Cassandra said dismissively. "This piece is the back."
Now John couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Right! So you're talking out of your a–"
"Ask not!" Cassandra cut him off.
"The Mistress was lucky to survive," Chip said indignantly. "Chip secreted m'lady into the hospital."
"So they don't know you're here?" John realized.
"Chip steals medicine. Helps m'lady. Soothes her. Strokes her."
"You can stop right there, Chip," John broke in.
"But I'm so alone, hidden down here," Cassandra complained. "The last human in existence."
"Don't start that again," John denied. "They've called this planet New Earth."
Cassandra sniffed in disdain. "A vegetable patch."
"And there's millions of humans out there. Millions of them," John went on.
"Mutant stock."
"They evolved, Cassandra," John corrected her. "They just evolved, like they should. We've been doing it for billions of years. You stayed still. You got yourself all pickled and preserved, and what good did it do you?"
Cassandra ignored him, looking back at the video. "Oh, I remember that night," she said fondly. "Drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace. That was the last time anyone told me I was beautiful. After that, it all became such hard work."
"Well, you've got a knack for survival. I'll give you that," John admitted.
"But I've not been idle, John, tucked away underneath this hospital. I've been listening," Cassandra hissed. "The Sisters are hiding something."
"What do you mean?" John asked warily.
"Oh, these cats have secrets. Hush, let me whisper. Come close," Cassandra urged.
John laughed derisively. "You must be joking if you think I'm coming anywhere near you after the stunt that Chip pulled," he said as he backed away.
Suddenly, energy surrounded John's hands, holding him still. He jerked, but he was stuck fast. "Cassandra, let me go!" he shouted. Light streamed down from some contraption over his head. "What are you doing?"
"The lady's moving on," Cassandra declared. "I would have preferred the Wolf, but you'll just have to do. It's goodbye trampoline, and hello pinstripes!"
John saw a burst of energy leave Cassandra and move towards him. Before he could do anything, the wave overwhelmed him.
John woke in a stark white room. "What the hell?"