A Different World Chapter 26: Midnight, a doctor who fanfic

"See the thing is Blondie when you go on holiday you are supposed to relax and be lazy" Donna said loudly as Rose pulled her down a sterilised corridor. "You are supposed to be lying back by the pool getting a tan while sipping cocktails and then have a fabulous night out and sleep in the mornings"

"And you do touristy things" Rose added. "And this is what tourists do!"

"You're a tourist everyday of your life!" Donna argued. "You're not relaxing! You're not even wearing holiday clothes like I am!" Rose turned round to look at Donna's clothes, true enough Donna normally never wears ankle length gypsy skirts with cardigans and usually a lot more than shampoo and conditioner is used on Donna's hair.

While Rose looked exactly like she does any other day. "Sapphire waterfall – a waterfall made of sapphires! There's this enormous jewel, size of a glacier, reaches the cliff of Oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge – they fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine"

"You sound like a tourist leaflet" Donna groused. "It's fours there and fours back, it's going to be like a school trip!"

"We'll be back in time for dinner" Rose said rolling her eyes. "We can go to that anti-gravity place you been going on about...though we're going to need bibs"

"All right, all right" Donna said "but if something happens and we have to save the world again I'll be furious"

"Donna!" Rose laughed. "Taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight, what can possibly go wrong?"

"Well knowing our luck one of the strangers is a melodramatic alien villain that wants to use the sapphires to take over the universe" Donna muttered under her breath.

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Donna and Rose sat down comfortably in two chairs in the front watching as the other passengers boarded the shuttle. A hostess was giving out complimentary gifts to the passengers.

"Complimentary juice pack and complimentary-"

"Just the headphones, please." The middle aged blonde woman in a suit said politely.

"There you go." The Hostess said handing out the headphones before turning to Donna and Rose and passing them little packages. "That's the headphones for Channels 1 to 36; modem link for 3D vidgames; complimentary earplugs; complimentary slippers; complimentary juice pack; and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

"That'll be the peanuts" Donna muttered.

"Enjoy your trip." The Hostess said chirpily.

"Oh I can't wait allonsy as the Doctor always says" Rose said cheerfully. Donna smiled at Rose, glad to finally hear the Doctor being mentioned in a lighter light.

"I'm sorry?" the Hostess said blinking.

"It's French, for let's go! I looked it up" Rose explained still grinning.

"Fascinating." The Hostess said sincerely before walking off.

"That woman is far too perky" Donna hissed.

"She seemed nice" Rose shrugged.

"Too perky, too perky to be human. I bet she's an android" Donna muttered Rose snorted with laughter and after a moment the pair began to laugh their heads off in sheer amusement.

"And the pills?" an old man's voice cut in through their laughter.

"Yes, all measured out for you, there you go." Came a younger female voice.

Rose turned to see a man in his sixties and a young dark skinned woman with glasses on sitting behind her.

"Hobbes! Professor Winfold Hobbes!" Professor Hobbes said holding his hand out to Rose.

"I'm Rose Tyler, hello" Rose said grinning shaking the man's hand. "And this is my friend Donna Noble"

Professor Hobbes shook Donna's hand as well. "This is my fourteenth time, you?"

"My first" Rose said "I can't wait!"

"And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco." Dee Dee said shaking Rose's hand.

"Now don't bother the nice woman!" Professor Hobbes admonished Dee Dee. "Where's my water bottle?"

The Hostess strolled back down to the front and turned to face them with a cheerful smile on her face. "Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader 50, if you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors!" the doors automatically closed by themselves. "Shields down!" large shields closed down on the windows blocking the view. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace." The Hostess said apologetically. "Also, a reminder, Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it... you first." She let out a laugh before continuing. "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

"Driver Joe at the wheel! There's been a diamond fall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map" Driver Joes said over the intercom as a map showed up on the screen. "The journey covers 500 kliks to the Multifaceted Coast; duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!"

The engines started and the shuttle moved backwards slightly, throwing Donna and Rose back into their seats. The pair high fived each other despite the fact that Donna refused to admit to herself that this was going to be fun.

"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth Classics" the Hostess said pressing a button on her remote and bringing up Raffaello Cara singing 'Do it Do It Again' "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein" she pressed another button on her remote and brought up a hologram. "Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat - the Animation Archives" the Hostess pressed another button and a screen filled with old cartoons started going. "Four hours of fun time! Enjoy!"

Donna groaned and rubbed her temples, she could feel a headache coming on and she really fancied the idea of strangling the Hostess. Rose noticing her distress and the distress of the other passengers (minus a married couple) pulled out her sonic screwdriver and turned it all off.

"Well, that's a mercy!" Professor Hobbes exclaimed.

"Hear, hear" Donna muttered.

"I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System..." the Hostess said looking confused.

"Oh dear, what a shame" Donna said sarcastically.

"But what do we do?!" a woman asked.

"We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just... sitting here?" her husband said looking annoyed.

"Tell you what! We'll have to talk to each other instead!" Rose said cheerfully grinning down at the other passengers who looked like they rather jump of a cliff than talk to each other.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

The married couple was called Val and Biff who were telling a story while their son Jethro looked embarrassed and the blonde woman called Sky was sitting away reading a book.

"So Biff said, 'I'm going swimming'." Val started.

"Oh, I was all ready, trunks and everything! Nose plug!" Biff said hurriedly.

"He had this little nose plug, you should've seen him." Val said rolling her eyes.

"And I went marching up to the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni, you know, those big foreheads?"

"Great big forehead!" Val added.

"And I said, where's the pool? And he said..." Biff paused taking a sip of his drink.

"The pool is abstract!" Biff and Val said in unison wrapping their arms round each other.

"It wasn't a real pool!" Val cried out.

"It was a concept!" Biff said.

"And you wore a nose plug!" Rose asked.

"I was like this!" he pinched his nose "Mmm...Where's the pool?"

"Fascinating" Donna said dryly while Rose chuckled.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Rose and Donna were now standing to one side talking to Dee Dee. "I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, and took me on as a researcher. Just for the holidays. Well, I say researcher, most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience!" Dee Dee babbled excitedly reminding Rose of the Doctor in a way.

"Men!" Donna snorted.

"Oh well I'm sure he'll see your brilliance soon" Rose said reassuringly. "Did they ever find it?" she asked.

"Find what?" Dee Dee asked.

"The Lost Moon of Poosh!" Rose said.

"Oh no! Not yet!" Dee Dee said laughingly.

"Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery, one day. Here's to Poosh!" Rose said lifting her cup up.

"Poosh!" Donna and Dee Dee said together clinking their cups against Rose's.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Donna was sitting down eating dinner with Jethro while Rose was sitting with Sky.

"Nah just me and Donna but we're not like that, more like sisters really" Rose said. "You?"

"No, it's just me" Sky said sadly.

"Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I hated it, but at least I got to choose where to go." Rose said understandingly.

"No, I'm still getting used to it. I've... found myself single rather recently, not by choice." Sky said bitterly.

"What happened?"

"Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?" Sky said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I had a friend who went to a different universe" Rose said sadly.

Sky held up her fork and examined what was on it carefully while tactfully changing the subject. "Oh, what's this, chicken or beef?"

"I think it's both." Rose said scrunching her nose up.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

They were now crowding round Professor Hobbes who was showing some slides. Donna had fallen asleep on Rose's shoulder and was snoring softly.

"So, this is Midnight, d'you see? Bombarded by the sun! Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide!" Dee Dee swapped the slides quickly. "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because you see... the history is fascinating, because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system, there couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no-one had come here in all eternity. No living thing"

"But how d'you know? I mean, if no-one can go outside..." Jethro interrupted.

"Oh, his imagination! Here we go!" Val said sighing.

"He's got a point, though." Rose said.

"Exactly! We look upon this world through glass. Safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it." Professor Hobbes said.

There was some rattling before the engines suddenly turned off. Donna sat up awake looking lost.

"What happened?" she asked.

We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val asked excitedly.

Are we there?" Biff asked.

We can't be it's too soon." Dee Dee said looking confused.

They don't stop, Crusader vehicles never stop." Professor Hobbes said shaking his head.

If you could just... return to your seats, it's... just a small delay." The Hostess said worriedly as she walked to the intercom.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

"Be very, very careful" the Doctor said warningly to Jake and Mickey. "The voltage in this is high enough to kill you"

"Don't worry we'll take care" Mickey said reassuringly as he stepped away from the glass window of the room the dimension cannon that was hooked to a load of wires which lead to a computer and webcam was in. The Doctor was aiming to send a video message to wherever Rose was and since she could be at the farthest corner of the universe as far as they knew the dimension cannon had a lot of work done to it/

"And remember this area is a wee bit radioactive" the Doctor added "so take the de-radiation pills the moment we get out of here"

"Aye, aye Captain" Jake said mockingly as he saluted the Doctor.

"No don't do that" the Doctor said shaking his head.

Before Jake or Mickey came up with a witty retort the dimension cannon exploded again without warning and the glass shattered the Doctor tackled Mickey to the ground in time but a large glass shard struck Jake in the throat.

"NO!"

Mickey and the Doctor scramble to Jake's side and Mickey pulls Jake into his arms.

"Doctor do something!" he said pleadingly.

The Doctor quickly checked Jake's pulse. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. He's gone Mickey, he's gone"

Behind the Doctor Mickey could see the dimension cannon working and flickers of people shouting and panicking, he could almost make out Rose's voice in the shouting. "Don't let Jake's death go in vain. Send that bloody message to Rose" he said nodding to the screen.

The Doctor ran to the screen and threw himself against the desk. "ROSE!" he shouted just before the screen turned off again. The Doctor stood there motionlessly.

Jake was dead.

They were still no close to sending a message across to Rose.

Jake was dead.

Jake died in vain.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

The drivers were dead. Something had torn off the cabin that they were in and they were now gone. That same something kept banging on the roof and it followed Sky who was absolutely terrified. The sound suddenly stopped but Sky was also no longer making a sound.

A mad hysteria followed, something was possessing Sky making her copy whatever it was that someone was saying. Val and Biff got terrified while Jethro found it amusing and got Sky to say things like 666 causing Donna to give him a smack in the back of the head. Soon enough Sky was no longer repeating but saying everything that everyone spoke at the exact same time.

Everyone but Donna and Rose thought they should throw her out and get rid of her, when they found out that Rose was no longer human they went even more berserk and then suddenly Sky was no longer saying everything in time with everyone...just with Rose.

"Sky what are you doing, Sky?" Rose and Sky asked.

"She's still doing her!" Dee Dee exclaimed.

"Rose it's you, she's only copying you!" Professor Hobbes said in wonder.

"Why me? Why are you doing this?" Rose and Sky asked.

"Rose what's happening?" Donna asked looking worried.

"She won't leave her alone" Dee Dee observed.

"Do you see? I said so, they're together in this!" Val spat out.

"Oi Mrs Dunce, shut it!" Donna snarled.

"They're together!" Biff yelped.

"And you can shut up as well Mr Dunce" Donna said getting more and more frustrated.

"How do you explain it Rose? If you're so clever?" Professor Hobbes asked snidely.

"I don't know. Sky, stop it. I said stop it. Just stop it!" Rose and Sky shouted as Rose walked closer to Sky.

"Look at the two of them!" Val carried on as Rose knelt before Sky.

"Mrs Silvestry. I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech, what for? What d'you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? Cos I'm the only one who can help? Ohh, I'd love that to be true. But your eyes. They're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So what d'you think?" Rose and Sky said softly to one another.

"Do we have a deal?" Sky asked.

"Do we have a deal?" Rose repeated.

Everyone stood there silently as they just realised what happened. Sky was no longer following Rose's lead...it was the other way round.

"Hold on, did she...?" Dee Dee asked.

"Rose!" Donna cried out beginning to panic as Rose sat there frozen.

"She spoke first." Professor Hobbes breathed.

"She can't have." Val exclaimed.

"She did!" Professor Hobbes shouted.

"She spoke first!" Jethro said.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you." Sky said smugly.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you." Rose repeated.

"Did you see? She spoke before she did! Definitely!" Professor Hobbes babbled.

"She's copying her." Jethro said.

"Rose, what's happening?" Professor Hobbes asked.

"I think it's moved." Sky replied.

"I think it's moved."

"I think it's letting me go." Sky carried on.

"I think it's letting me go."

"What do you mean? Letting you go from what?" Dee Dee asked.

"But she's repeating now, she's the one doing it! It's her!" Biff shouted.

"Don't be stupid!" Donna spat. "It's taken her!"

"They're separating." Jethro observed.

"Mrs Silvestry? Is that you?" Professor Hobbes asked.

"Yes, yes, it's me." Sky said happily.

"Yes, yes, it's me." Rose repeated.

"I'm coming back, listen."

"I'm coming back..."

"It's me!"

"...listen. It's me!" Rose ended.

Rose sat there motionlessly as Sky moved her head and hands.

"Like it's passed into Rose. It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside her." Jethro said.

"No, that's not what happened." Dee Dee said shaking her head.

"Glad to see one of you has a brain" Donna muttered.

"But look at her!" Val cried out.

"Look at me, I can move..." Sky said.

"Look at me..."

"I can feel again..."

"I can move... I can feel again..."

"I'm coming back to life..."

"And look at her, she can't move."

"Help me."

"Professor?"

"Professor?"
"Get me away from her."

"Get me away from her."

"Please."

Professor Hobbes reached out and pulled Sky up leading her back to the others.

"Ohh thank you." Sky said.

"Ohh thank you."

"They've completely separated." Jethro said.

"It's in her, d'you see? I said it was her all the time." Biff said.

"How bloody stupid are you people?" Donna shrieked but no one paid her attention.

"She's free! She's been saved!" Val cried out.

"Oh, it was so cold." Sky said

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry."

"I must've scared you so much."

Val reached out and pulled Sky into a hug. "No, no, it's all right, I've got you, Ohh, there you are my love, it's gone, everything's all right now" she said soothingly.

"Wouldn't touch her." Dee muttered.

"But it's gone, she's clean, it passed into Rose." Biff said.

"That's not what happened." Dee Dee shouted.

"FINALLY!" Donna shouted. "Someone gets it!"

"Thank you for your opinion, Dee, but clearly, Mrs Silvestry has been released." Professor Hobbes said snidely.

"No..."

"Just leave her alone! She's safe, isn't she? Jethro? It's let her go, hasn't it?"

"Think so, yeah. Looks like it. Professor?" Jethro mumbled.

"I'd say, from observation... Rose can't move, and when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so..." Professor Hobbes said calmly.

"Well, there we are then! Now the only problem we've got is this Rose" Biff shouted.

Sky led Rose into a long talk about the creature possessing Rose, how it killed the drivers and was after everyone in the shuttle, Val kept panicking and shouting for Rose to shut up and Dee Dee kept trying to explain as Donna tried to get everyone to calm down. Both Val and Biff ended up knocking Donna out and putting her on the seats while Dee Dee was still trying to explain.

"Just let her talk!" the Hostess shouted.

"What do you know? Fat lot of good you've been!" Biff snarled.

"Just let her explain." The Hostess said softly.

"I think... I mean, from what I've seen... it repeats, then it synchronises, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what Rose said would happen!" Dee Dee rambled.

"What and you're on her side?" Biff yelled.

"No!" Dee Dee protested.

"The voice is the thing!" Jethro said in realisation.

"And she's the voice! She stole it! Look at her! It's not possessing Rose, it's draining her!" Dee Dee shouted.

"She's got Rose's voice..." the Hostess whispered.

"But that's not true, cos it can't, because I saw it pass into her, I saw it with my own eyes!" Val said childishly.

"So did I!" Biff added.

"You didn't!" Dee Dee shrieked.

"It went from her, to her. You saw it, didn't you?" Val asked.

"I don't know." Jethro said unsure.

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro, of course you did!" Val said.

"I suppose... she was right next to her." Jethro mumbled

"Everyone saw it, everyone!" Biff pointed out.

"You didn't, you're just making it up! I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing his voice." Dee Dee said. "Donna was trying to tell you all before"

"She's as bad as the little know it all, someone shut her up!" Val hissed.

"I think you should be quiet, Dee." Professor Hobbes snapped.

"Well, I'm only saying..." Dee Dee started.

"And that's an order! You're making a fool of yourself! Pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average, at best! Now shut up!" Professor Hobbes shouted.

No one noticed Sky's satisfied smile. "That's how she does it." She said

"That's how she does it."

"She makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"That's her."

"Inside."

"Throw her out!"Biff shouted.

"Get her out of my head!" Val shrieked.

"Yeah, we should throw her out!" Biff said

"Well, don't just talk about it! Just, you're useless! Do something!" Val snapped.

"I will! You watch me! I'm gonna throw her out!" Biff said.

"Yes!" Sky said.

"Yes!"

"Throw her out!"

"Get rid of her!"

"Now!"

Biff reached out and grabbed hold of Rose's arms and began to drag her along. The Hostess and Dee Dee tried to stop him; the Professor was now reluctant but in the end helped Biff by taking Rose's legs. Sky kept jeering them on and Rose kept repeating her, Donna woke up at the same moment and began to scream at them to let Rose go when Sky said;

"Allonsy Doctor!"

"Allonsy Doctor" Rose whispered a tear falling down her cheek.

The Hostess eyes widened. "That's her voice" she whispered. "THAT'S HER VOICE" pulled Sky along with her and opened the door. She counted to six and was suddenly pulled out of the shuttle with Sky. The men dropped Rose in disbelieve, Rose who began to sob and cry.

"Mum, I want my Mum" Rose wept as she rocked forwards and backwards her arms wrapped round herself.

Donna stood up properly and glared at the others. "You lot disgust me" she hissed. "Look at that girl LOOK AT HER!" everyone flinched. "She is no older than twenty one. She may be one of the strongest women I have ever met but she's still a child in other ways. If you lot got your way you would have killed a child who wants her mum"

Donna kneeled before Rose and pulled her into a hug, glaring at everyone as she stroked Rose's hair and murmured comforts to her.

"I want my Mum" Rose carried on. "I want the Doctor, Mum, Jack, Mickey, someone please"

Everyone looked away ashamed.

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Donna found Rose in her bedroom in the TARDIS wrapped up in a fluffy dressing gown, holding a cup of tea as she flicked through a photo album.

"How are you?" Donna asked quietly.

"I'm fine, fantastic, Molto Bene" Rose said trying to sound casual.

"Molto Bene" Donna repeated.

"Please don't do that" Rose said quickly looking terrified.

"Sorry" Donna whispered. She wondered if Rose would ever truly get over it. Probably not. "Just going to bed, see you tomorrow?"

"Please don't leave me" Rose whispered.

Donna's heart melted at the child-like voice, she was right Rose was still a child in some ways and a child needs comforting. "I won't" she said slipping in and sitting down by Rose on the bed. Rose began to show her the photo album.

"That's my Mum; she's the most wonderful person ever. You would like her, the pair of you are rather alike...and this is me and Mickey"