A/N: You guys have proven me wrong about if this mutant plot-bunny had legs or not. As I near the end of this tale I find myself pondering the direction of the next crossover... And It's all because you have bothered to read this one, so thank you.
Only a few chapters left and this tale will be finished!
And welcome to Sahalean who placed this on "Story Alert"
My
Reflection, they are almost to the Doctor's beloved TARDIS. Only…
things never go so smooth, at least not the way we want them to.
Cassikat,
Johns' problems stem from his addiction and his abrasive
personality. I guarantee that if he lives he'll still be a
bastard. He just won't dare cross the Doctor. Can you imagine Johns
vs. Toombs? Um… that might be a reason to have the fella live.
Ck16,
if you thought that was hungry wait until you read what happens next.
It's 2517. Something in the past has prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Could the events of 2164 be responsible? Was Earth a myth or was it real? In fleeing Earth-that-Was, humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Initial survey teams targeted likely planets and systems for habitation and not all of them ended up on the same side of the sector. Blue Sun exists on one side, separated by a patch of 'wild space' filled with exotic binary and triple star systems, from the rest of civilized space. Few ships brave the route. But luck has it that one ship is. It's a ghost run, the only contact that the two sides have. Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two.
So what happens when a passenger by the name of Dr. Simon Tam and his cargo get on the wrong ship? And just how is this related to the TimeWar?
Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick X-over.
Features Doctor 9, Pre-"Rose"; Simon and River Tam, Pre-"Serenity" Firefly episode 1 and the cast of Pitch Black…
Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse
Part Thirty-Two
Ensnare
The snow-flecked darkness is filled with inhuman sounds. The clicking screeches, the pounding of bone on bone, calls that translate across species lines as those made in the heat of sex. All punctuated with clashing claws, rending of muscle and bone, breaking of losers' bodies by the victors of the fights going on full force in the icy night around them.
Instinct makes the bioraptors ignore the glowing thing in their midst because they have learned from countless generations that the things which glow cause them pain. Now that there has been the reintroduction of fire to melt away the ice and warm red blood to incite them into the frenzy of life again the glowing intrusion is unimportant.
The survivors, now numbering ten, huddle together, each touching another, shuffling carefully to maintain balance on the ice coated ground. The snow, heavy as it is falling, is light enough that each move sends clouds of it back into the sky. Jack uses his spear, held in one hand, as a walking stick, point down in an effort to grip the ice better. River rests a light hand on his shoulder, and he has his other hand caught up in the belt loops of the broadly shouldered man in front of him. In addition to River's hand helping to steady Jack, there are Ali's fingers against his back, holding the sweater and forming a link between he and Imam.
River reaches back to hold Simon's suspenders, as she has no spear, while her brother copies Jack and uses his in a similar fashion. His other hand holds onto Fry. Johns shuffles behind the Doc, one hand on his shoulder, the other holding his gun. He thought he hated rain? He's never been in snow like this before. Can't see for the thickness of the stuff. Carolyn has given up on the pistol, placing it back in his holster. It's a good thing too, because he needs the weight to keep his balance. Then it helps that the docking pilot seems to know how to gently guide him into moving in such a way as to not fall through her hand on his belt.
Suleiman is holding onto Ali, with a spear in his other hand, while Fry links to him from the marshal. He's wishing that he could forgo the spear and link hands with River at the moment, but realizes that it's a stupid wish. His little brother holds onto the father by his robes and Jack by his sweater. Like him, Imam is using a spear and holding onto the person in front of him whom happens to be the Doctor. The link is completed by the fact that the pale tall man and Richard are grasping each other's elbows, right to left, in firm grips as they jointly set the smooth pace for the controlled slide across the ice.
It's impossible to actually talk above the racket going on around them. Not that it's stopping conversations from flowing through the linked network of body language. It's primitive, more of a 'move here, tilt there, shuffle now together, careful, slick' kind of thing. But perhaps it's more effective that way.
Richard is really the only one that can see through the dark and the filtering flakes of cold. He wishes he couldn't. It's not helping him much at the moment to see the death, frenzied feeding, wild bloodshed, and animal copulation happening around him. The smell of alien blood, blue blood, is thick in the frigid air. Nothing familiar about the strange metallic smell or the dark patches staining the steaming snow that he's pushing aside with his feet. The ex-ranger is hoping Jack don't see it. He doesn't want the boy to know the evidence of the massacre going on around them. His hand grips the leather clad arm with a hold that is white knuckled.
The Doctor is following the pull of the TARDIS, guiding them all along, trusting Richard to indicate if there is danger in the path. So far the pressure on his elbow has been even, consistent. It is going to leave a bruise, that much he knows. But there's no point in being worried about it. Clearly the bronze-skinned man is not comfortable with the situation, maybe even; he is scared a bit by it. Then again, they are moving through a blood frenzied mass of killing predators. And the Doctor is just a bit frightened himself. The only thing keeping them safe at the moment is the glow of the fiber optics and the sonic 'shield' that he's creating with his screwdriver to give the impression of there being one large worm-like entity, instead of ten red-blooded, soft skinned, delicate edibles.
Behind him Imam is sending up a steady plea to his God, speaking in Arabic. Not that it matters, the man has been speaking in Arabic nearly all along without realizing that everyone can understand him anyway. His voice doesn't carry far, but the Doctor has exceptional hearing and can catch the musical formation of his frenetic prayers. If humans could only place as much faith in themselves as they did in their higher powers, there was no limit to what the fantastic creatures could accomplish.
Suleiman hears all their voices in Arabic, it's the only language he truly knows, aside from a smattering of Chinese and English he's picked up from Jack, most of which is fairly vulgar, but knowing how to swear in three languages is a good skill for anyone to know. He bets that River knows even more than Jack does. It would be nice to have a chance to learn some languages from her, to be her friend if nothing else. He looks up and scans the night around them; the flakes scatter the light and make it seem as if there's a wall of faint blue around them. The young man sighs and looks back at his feet, but as he turns his head he catches River's soft smile. He blinks at her and smiles back although he's looking down.
No choice but to trust, Carolyn figures. It's hard though. She can't forget that she has done as bad as Paris did. Maybe they will turn her out next for trying to jettison them all. It would serve her right, wouldn't it? But she told the Doctor about that, about how Owens tried to stop her and was wounded because his door was wedged open. How she stopped his heart from beating after when he was in such splendid agony that she felt her own soul ripping apart. She's willing to die though, for these others. Maybe that makes a difference.
William has lived with his demons so long that he's almost forgotten what things could be like without them harping in his ears. Now over the last few days – hours – he's not sure really – something has changed. The angered voice of his old man telling him he's worthless trash has stopped rattling around his skull. He don't deserve the peace of it, he knows. He earned that demon. Or maybe he paid for it and someone has let it go. Driven it away because he shouldn't have to live like that anymore. He remembers the anger in the cold, dark blue, ageless eyes after he fucked up the skiff; he should be quaking in his boots still. But something changed, he wasn't sure what it was, or why, but he had a feeling that Dr. Tam's offer wasn't just his own. And maybe by taking it he's redeemed some part of himself. Is this what the last moments of your life feel like?
Simon is trying, so very hard, to not be distracted by all the – colors and shapes – auras around him. It's beautiful, really. He wants to just sit and look, to unravel the meanings that exist in each one, to unlock the mysteries that these people hold. Not that he has that time, right at this moment. The noise beyond the 'wall' of snow is a very strong reminder that it's not safe to be tripping about outside of his head. He's going to have to get used to this new layer of visual information.
The crimson and saffron flickers from the marshal behind him have switched from spikes to swirling, licking, flame. The smoky embers from the docking pilot have become warmer with an occasional flickering spark of vivid red, like she's starting to forgive or let others forgive her of her actions. Suleiman is positively opulent bluish-green, an even glow that shows his faith and his fear in equal parts. River's sapphire color is like the currents in the ocean, pulling deeper shades of watery tones in and letting them go with ease. Jack and Rich are both showing mellow earthy tones of brown, with the older man's being slightly more metallic than the boy's. Ali's green tones are emerald and jade sparkles. Abu is radiating with a tropical aqua shade that reminds Simon of a summer sky while the Doctor's aura is such a velvety navy that only the turbulence of it renders it visible against the night. But Simon can see that where Rich's aura and the Doctor's aura meet silver sparks dance. His eyes are drawn to the linked arms, and the arcing energy he can perceive moving along it. He wonders what that means.
River can feel the golden Lady reaching out to them, welcoming them. They are almost there. She's such a bountiful ether of a being, the missing, secret element that the Doctor has as his steady companion. The flaxen light around her is something that most people can't see, but River can. There's an uncounted, infinite, number of connections here, filaments of ochroid and amber and verdant… And they reach through the Lady, to something beyond. It makes her ache, because she knows she should be able to see that unknown. It's like she's blind or missing her sense of touch. The dull pain spreads through her skull, like a headache, only deeper, along the cuts made in her brain. She feels the hot tears spill from her eyes but can't – won't – cry out even as they freeze to her cheeks.
Ali is glad to be in the middle. It's harder to fall with the others around him, holding him upright. It's safer too. He can listen to the prayers of Imam and feel the hand of his brother behind him and he knows he's going to make it. And he thanks God for every breath.
The snow has changed, from pristine white to crystalline blue. There's so much death going on around them that the air itself is filled with the freezing drops of bioraptor blood. The first clue that anyone has of the change is the hail-like pelting of frozen drops that cuts through the snow. Riddick gives up his attempt at hiding the fact of the events around them from Jack as the grains of blue begin to pile up. He feels the Doctor urging him to keep moving, slightly toward the left now.
Jack looks at the pelting 'hail' that is covering his clothes, rolling off his shoulders. Hard grains of blue. The taste of it in his mouth is metallic bitter, sour and salty with an aftertaste that reminds him of cleaning chemicals when he accidentally has some melt against his lip. Ugg. He feels sickened by it. Then something crashes down to his left between he and Ali, shattering into pieces as it hits the hard ice. "Don't let go!" he screams. That carries enough for grips to tighten across the group.
"That was part of one! A tail I think!" Ali calls back to him in shock.
The horror that Richard has been witness too starts to spread through them as they realize that the hard granules are blood drops, frozen on their way to the ground. "Don't look up!" came the commanding voice. Riddick is not sure if he's the one that spoke or if the Doctor did, but it doesn't matter. Suleiman slips a little as some of the hard pellets find their way under his shoe. Carolyn tugs him upright. "Keep your feet flat against the ice and slide forward. Do not look up."
There's a good reason for the order. As the 'hail' forces the snow down, the air overhead clears to reveal that the entire area above the sinkhole is a boiling mass of predators. The lowest layer is just high enough to catch the edge of their glow. "Allah, preserve us!" cries Abu through the sounds of 'hail' that is all too solid and meaty. Bits of the losers in the mass aerial battle are starting to fall around them, between them, shattering on impact.
"Keep moving! Concentrate! Just a bit further!"
For Imam, prayer is a way to concentrate, "So dark the clouds around my way I cannot see; But through the darkness I believe God leadeth me. I gladly place my hand in His when all is dim; And, closing my weary eyes, lean hard on him..." He speaks loudly now trying to draw the others into his words. Suleiman, Ali and Jack pick up the refrain as he continues, freely supporting his faith and their own.
The Doctor knows that they have just a few more meters to cover -- ten at most. The TARDIS is just in front of him, calling to him. She's on unstable ground, and he feels the wash of mauve she sends out like a blow to the gut. His twitch makes Richard stop. "What. What is it?"
"Weight. We're too heavy together for the ground to support us and the TARDIS."
"How far?" Jack asks behind him.
The Doctor looks again toward his ship and tries to call her to him. Such a little jump. But she won't do it. He suppresses his annoyance with her. It's less than thirty feet, he knows she can do that small of a hop. "Just about eight meters," he tells the boy.
"Can we stretch that far? Do we have enough lead to?" Imam asks.
Riddick then says, "Take the torch and go to her, Doctor." Only the Time Lord shakes his head. The only thing keeping them safe is his finger on the sonic screwdriver and the illusion that they are one being. Without that the creatures overhead will descend upon them and kill them all. "Then what? What can we do?"
Simon looks at William. "How many flares do you have left?"
"Three. Why?"
"Do they – explode?"
The marshal snorts, "They can, if defective. Wait. Are you suggesting that we make the ground give way?"
"Oh, that is brilliant!" The Doctor says, turning to look back at them. "There's a safe chamber, like the glowing-creature filled one we passed through before, below this, about fifteen feet down. We can make that, helping each other."
Johns takes out a flare. He looks a it and hands it to Simon, "So how do you make a perfectly good flare defective?"
The Tam lad smiles at him. "I have no idea. But River might." Only when he goes to hand the flare off he sees that River has been crying and has ice over her face. "Mei-Mei?" The tears have not blocked her breathing, but she's clearly not altogether there. Simon looks at her face with concern and tries to get some response from her unseeing eyes, "Doctor?"
"We're going to have to work together here. Abu, I need you to hold this down, and don't let it up." The Doctor indicates the sonic screwdriver, and carefully orchestrates the change of hands. "It's set to make our blue-blooded friends think that they have a giant glow-worm in their midst, and one slip will reveal the deception. I think you already know what that will lead to." The Imam gives him a look that relays his complete understanding. The Time Lord removes his glowing vest, leaving it in the front position.
They slowly shuffle positions to allow the Doctor to get to River. People are shrugging out of the glowing sweaters now, setting them on the ground. Ali removes the backpack and Suleiman helps he and Jack remove the generator out of it.
"Johns. You're an expert shot. Maybe you should come up here," Riddick tells him.
"Gonna shoot the flare?" Fry asks.
"That would make it go boom, yeah," he says as he carefully moves up to Riddick's side. "So, how we gonna do this?"
Richard takes his shiv and cuts some of the key spots of threading that holds the glowing cable to his sweater. "You need to see the flare to shoot it, but it can't go off on impact. What if I wedge something into the side so it can't pop open, and then latch it to another one that can? You'll have something to shoot at."
"What you gonna use?" Johns kneels down next to the con and watches him pull a long length of the thin, strong cording that River used to attached the fiber optics out of the garment.
"My shiv. Should wedge in far enough. I'll snap the tip off."
William shakes his head, "Don't like the idea of leaving you with no blade." He pulls the marshal's badge off, "Use this."
"You sure?"
"Heh, -- no. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, didn't your mama ever tell you that?" Johns watches the silver-eyed man shake his head, "Go on, take it." He hands over the badge although Rich is reluctant, "If we make it out of here I can get a new one."
"Do you want this flare?" Simon asks those in the front.
Johns responds, "Keep it. I've got two here, we'll use these. You might need that one."
"Suleiman? If you would please start knotting a ladder like we used to climb down the core shaft using the optic cables? You will need to use twice the thickness of the other. Try not to cut it, and leave it connected to the generator for as long as you can," the Doctor instructs as he touches River's temples and frowns. Intense heated plasma-like pain dances under his fingertips and through the girl's brain along artificial pathways that shouldn't exist, "Simon, what do you have for pain? Your sister is in agony."
Suleiman nods at the orders and pulls his knife to start undoing the fiber optic cables from the clothing. Fry, Jack and Ali settle down to help him.
Simon turns his attention back to his sister, scanning her. "Where? I'm not showing any injury or readings that indicate pain."
"And yet? Simon, trust me. She is in great distress. I can help her, but not right now. There's no way to block this here, and I can't manage it for her. Do you have anything for pain left or not." While he's talking River's hands come up and grip the Time Lord's arms, fingers digging into the pulse points on his wrists. The flood of fiery sensation washes over him like a wave but building instead of cresting.
He catches the raven haired man saying, " –tor?" Must have blanked out there for a moment. The worry on the lad's face is enough for the Time Lord to mask the physical sense of lava-like torture crawling along his nerves like living molten fire from his face.
He's not sure how much longer he can cope with this. It's like someone rigged River to become a trap once she was exposed to certain stimuli. He can't let go of her, and even if he pulls out of River's mind she's caught his arms and is pumping the torment into him. "Simon, this, whatever it is, is going to cause me to collapse in a few minutes if you don't do something to prevent it." It's more like seconds, really. He's sure that they will have an impossible time getting into the TARDIS if he is unconscious.
That spurs the Tam lad into action. He doesn't just give River something for pain, but knocks her out cold. The first thing the Doctor notices is that her hands fall away leaving him with the sensation of burning that if he hadn't already nearly died of would cripple him. As it is, he's able to suppress the raw desire to scream, barely. It takes seconds after the shot is delivered into her system for both the dark haired girl and the leather clad man to sink to their knees. She continues to crumple, sagging against her brother's legs. "Are you all right, Doctor?" Simon asks.
He's not, no. The burn has faded somewhat, feeling like his nerves are raw and on fire but not to the extent he was at milliseconds before. But he can't tell the lad that. The molten pain in River's brain had migrated into his own, following a twisted path toward a goal that he had yet to figure out. He knows that River still feels the agony. Until he fixes her, transforms her, she'll feel it. He can throw out some guesses as to who is behind this and why River was targeted. It's not the time to deal with that yet. His first goal must be getting the others to safety. "'M fine, me. Just a bit here to gather my balance, lad."