Hello world! Updating once again!
This chapter has been one of my favorites to write so far. I've got big plans for the future of this Fanfiction, and I can't wait to get them written :)
Enjoy!
A Sontaran is a lot heavier than they look, 11 realized as he, a younger version of himself, and Mickey dragged one across the rocky ground to better cover. And Sontarans look extremely heavy to begin with. 11 groaned in the effort, but Mickey chuckled as the Sontaran's lolling head smacked against one of the tree trunks.
It was becoming difficult to maneuver the Sontaran through the trees; the bulky armor and gear the alien was wearing was too thick to fit through the tree trunk any more. The Sontaran was still out cold, but they knew that wouldn't last long. Nothing can keep a Sontaran down forever.
9 grumbled something about twisting his ankle after getting the Sontaran through a pair of trees, but 11 and Mickey ignored him. Mickey struggled under the weight of the soldier, unwittingly bearing most of it from the Doctors.
"Remind me again why we had to move this," Mickey grunted, avoiding getting trapped between two trees, "because this just seems stupid."
"We were too close to the Sontaran base," said 11, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. "We had to get the Sontaran out of sight."
"Right," murmured Mickey.
After a few more minutes, 9 groaned, "I think we're far enough now."
11 looked around for a few seconds, and then said, "Just a bit further." When Mickey objected, 11 added, "Trust me, Mickey-boy. When have been wrong before?"
Mickey nodded in 9's direction. "You were always wrong when you were him." 11 just shrugged, and when 9 opened his mouth to shoot back what was probably a less-than-polite reply, a pink leaf from one of the trees was blown right into his mouth. He spat it out, and it landed on the Sontaran's blue armor.
11 stopped when he found what he was looking for. He paused so abruptly that 9 and Mickey nearly stumbled.
"What is it?" Mickey asked. 11 gestured in the direction they were heading. There were a pair of trees crowded closely together. 11 doubted that even he would be able to slip through them, and he was the thinnest of the Doctors so far.
"The two trees over there," said 11, "we have to get the Sontaran in between them." Mickey furrowed his eyebrows, like he was confused while 9 laughed out loud.
"That's fantastic," he laughed. Mickey shrugged. The three of them finished carrying the Sontaran to the tree and set him down in front of it. "Come on," instructed 9. He and Mickey went to the other side of the trees, reached through it and grasped the Sontaran's gnarled hands. Mickey's face turned into a grimace as he got a good grip. 11 positioned himself at the Sontaran's feet and started to push with the other two pulling the alien through by the hands.
The close-together side by side trees were unwilling to let the large body through at first, but slowly, the three men got the creature wedged in between. With the Sontaran on its back, unarmed with his arms pinned to his side, the three men felt confident as they stepped back that the Sontaran wouldn't be going anywhere.
"You were right," Mickey said to 9 with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "That is fantastic." The Doctor's chuckled.
The Sontaran chose that moment to stir. Mickey quickly reached down and plucked the Sontaran's gun from the ground. He loaded it and gripped it tight, ready to fire, his soldier side showing. 9 held his hand out.
"Give me the gun," he said. Mickey shook his head.
"Nope. You've got the screwdrivers, I've got the gun."
There wasn't any time to argue before the potatohead opened his eyes and stared around wildly. He groaned somewhat feebly, and 11 rolled his eyes. Then the Sontaran's eyes fell on him. The Sontaran grunted loudly and tried to jump to his feet, quickly becoming aware that he was wedged tight between two trees.
"What!" The Sontaran shouted. He glared at 9 and Mickey. "Get me out of here! In the name of the Sontaran Empire, you will die for defiance!"
"Blah blah," said 9 impatiently. "We've all heard your stupid little tons of times. Do us all a favor and shut up!"
The Sontaran looked stunned for a moment, unable to speak. Then the large collar of his Sontaran space suit weighed him down, and his head collapsed into the ground. He grunted, unable to lift his head again.
Without a word, all three men circled around the tree and stood at the foot of the Sontaran's head, looking down at him. The Sontaran glared and tried to spit at him.
"You will be executed for the greater glory of the Sontaran Empire!" He shouted at them, raining his own face with spit. Mickey rolled his eyes.
"We get the point, Mr. Potato Head," he snapped. "Just tell us where Rose and Martha are."
"Who?"
"The two human women who disappeared into the ground right before you and your little army showed up," said 11.
After a short rant during which the Sontaran insisted his army was in no way "little," and 9 said some very rude insults in response, the Sontaran said, "There were no human females anywhere! The glorious Sontarans would have captured them and executed them for the greater glory of the Sontaran Empire and in honor of Sontar!"
"Alright, I'm done with this guy," Mickey snapped aiming his new blaster at the Sontaran's head. "Tell me where they are or I'll turn you into mashed potatoes."
"Stop it," 11 said to Mickey. He looked down at the Sontaran and said, "For the greater glory of the Sontaran Empire, is there a search on for two human females?"
"Negative!" the Sontaran shouted. "There is no intel of humans! Just you, escaped prisoners. Now," he breathed. "Release me, or you will suffer for the greater glory of-"
"Goodbye, Mr. Potato Head," said Mickey, turning away with the Sontaran blaster in hand. The Doctors both followed, in silent agreement that they were done with this thing. They walked back the way they came, leaving the shrieking Sontaran behind.
As shouts about the greater glory of the Sontaran empire faded away, Mickey said to the Doctor, "Rose and Martha's disappearances had nothing to do with them, am I right?"
11 nodded, "it seems so. The Sontaran may not know everything that's going on, but he would have at least been aware of a search."
"So we still have no idea who took them?"
"That's right."
"Well then," said Mickey, gripping his blaster tight, "let's go find them."
Like the men, Martha and Rose had know idea where they were. All Rose was aware of was the wind rushing in her ears as she slid down the tunnel, further and further into the alien planet. The dirt rushing by beneath her tugged on the bottom of her shirt, forcing her to hold it in place. The back of her jeans were coated with dirt the further down she went, and her blond hair tangled in the wind. She screamed in terror, completely forgetting Chee Chee and Kala's specific warnings about noise, her voice echoing in the tunnels.
Rose's heart skipped a beat as the ground disappeared beneath her, and she went into a free fall. She shouted out as she fell down, expecting to hit the cave floor and shatter into pieces.
Once again, sticky hands gripped her own and swung her off into a different direction. Her arm ached with the force of the throw, and she tumbled through the air. Her throat started feeling raw the farther she went, her shouts cracking.
Rose hit the ground suddenly, sending a painful sensation up her spine, immediately giving her a headache. She groaned and fell to the side, lying in the dirt.
She flinched when a figure plopped itself down in front of her, and flames shot up from something in its hand. The torch lit up once more, and the orange figure looked down at her.
"Rose hurt?" Kala asked, his high pitched voice making her headache thrum harder. Rose winced and nodded.
"Kala, you and Chee Chee have to stop doing that kind of thing," she mumbled. Kala shrugged apologetically.
"Kalaflaflajaja sorry," said Kala.
A scream entered the cave. Rose turned herself around and saw the figure of Martha swinging through the air as she entered the torchlight. She landed on the ground next to Rose with a painful thwacking noise, and she collapsed onto her back. Chee Chee landed on the ground next to Martha's head, making her jump.
"Chee Chee!" Martha exclaimed.
"Cheecheenobeeno sorry too," said Kala. Chee Chee put a hand up to silence him and turned to the women.
"Martha-Rose follow. King Keeloneefologo to see you," Chee Chee said in his high pitched voice. Rose winced at every syllable. Chee Chee waited until Martha and Rose clambered to their feet to turn around and stroll through the mouth of the large cave into another cavern.
Rose chose that moment to turn around and peer at the area behind them. She felt sick to her stomach as she realized the ground ended about three feet away from where she was standing, and gave way to a deep abyss, so dark that it was impossible to see the bottom. Rose gulped.
She and Martha had been swinging over that.
Rose realized Martha was staring into the pit as well, and quickly shook her shoulder. "It's better not to look," she told her. In the dim torchlight, Rose saw Martha also looked a little green, not to mention exhausted. Kala looked up at them and cleared his throat.
"Martha-Rose must follow," Kala told them. "Must see King Keeloneefologo or Cheecheenobeeno and Kalaflalajaja trouble." Kala looked a bit nervous as he said this. Rose and Martha exchanged unsure glances and faced forward. Kala seemed to feel better as they began to follow and began to lead them into the darkness.
"Good Martha-Rose," said Kala happily walking forward. He carried the torch in his hand, bringing the beam of light with him, and the women trailed on the edge of it. Even as she walked away, Rose was still painfully aware of the deep pit reaching up behind them.
"Very nice Martha-Rose," Kala was still saying. "Very nice non-Roundies."
River could hear just as well and no better than any other human. But there was something about being raised to be an assassin that makes her focus her hearing better than others. This is why when River and Sky were sneaking down the hallway in search of Maria and her friends, River realized someone was coming ages before Sky ever would.
When River pulled Sky out of the hallway and into a supply closet without warning, Sky knew better than to shout out. She bit her lip to stop herself, and was quick to help River close the door as quietly as possible. The lock clicked almost silently, and River and the fifteen year old pressed their ears against the door.
'I heard something,' River mouthed to Sky. Sky nodded, keeping her mouth shut, and they both listened intently.
River was already able to hear it clearly before Sky could make out the sound. The sound of long claw-like nails tapping the ground, and the thundering footsteps of a tall plump figure walking down the hall.
Slitheen.
It was talking to someone, possibly another Slitheen. River, nor Sky, could quite make out what they were saying until they were right outside the door. The clicking of the claws came to a halt when it was at its loudest. They must have been right outside the door. River and Sky exchanged glances, and they both strained their ears to hear what was being said.
"-Blundered in! I had to stop them from getting to her," said a high pitched voice with a hint of fear in it. "The last thing we need is Sarah Jane Smith wandering in the middle of this."
"So you went back to her house and made a mess of it while grabbing the stupid humans?" said a gruff voice angrily. "As soon as she sees that mess, she'll know something's happening. She'll come searching for her friends, and she'll find us!" The last few words became a shout, and they heard the other Slitheen whimpering.
River looked at Sky and knew she must have come to the same conclusion. The gruff Slitheen must have been in charge.
"I disabled the computer," the first one said shakily. "Sarah Jane Smith shouldn't be able to find us while it's down."
"But it won't stay down forever, will it?" the gruff one spat. "As soon as it powers up again, Smith will be able to find us. You know what happened to every other member of the family who ever came to this disgusting rock; they all died, because Sarah Jane Smith got involved. Now we have to go even faster!"
The other one gulped. "That might not be possible-"
"Make it possible!" the other one shouted, making River and Sky jump. "Make it bloody possible, or I will kill you."
"Yes sir," the other one stuttered. "I will try."
There was silence for a moment from the gruff Slitheen. "Don't try," he thundered after a moment. "Do."
"Yes sir," said the wimpy Slitheen. "Yes I will."
"Good. Go."
A set of clawed feet hurried off in the direction which they came. The humans heard the gruff one sigh before heading off down the hallway. River and Sky waited for the footsteps to fade before either one felt safe enough to speak.
Sky exhaled hard as if she had been holding her breath the entire time. Her eyes were wide.
"Whatever they're planning, they're gonna do it faster," she breathed, "and Sarah Jane's not here to stop it. What are we going to do?"
River shook her head. "I don't know." Sky looked like she was about to panic, so River put her hand on her shoulder. "Let's do this logically."
Sky gulped and nodded. "Okay."
"First," River said, "We'll find Maria and the others. Second, we find out what the Slitheen are planning. Third, we try to get in contact with Sarah Jane, and if we can't will stop these Slitheens ourselves. And we can do it."
Sky nodded in agreement. "Yes we can."
River smiled. "Let's go."
Donna struggled to match Rory's stride as they got further and further from the canyon. The walls weren't that high, so the walk up the side wasn't that hard. Donna thought that only 10 could have this much energy, but she had never met a man with this much determination. Donna guessed that if given the opportunity, Rory would walk a thousand years to find his wife. It may just take that long.
Rory continued to move quickly, leaving Donna and 10 trailing behind. 10's face was hard and expressionless, and Donna couldn't imagine what he was thinking. Donna had given up trying to talk sense into Rory about going back to the TARDIS to try and find the others. Every time she mentioned it, Rory would give her a death glare and Donna would falter.
The dirt grew looser the farther they walked, leaving the ground beneath Donna's feet crunching with every step. It was the only thing that filled the silence between the three of them, as the search for Sarah Jane and Amy continued. Donna was getting too tired to speak. The muscles in her legs started to ache.
Donna tried to take her mind off it all by thinking about everything that happened that day for her so far. When did it start?
She and 10 landed on a planet and wandered around the market for a while. At one point, a windstorm started brewing. The Doctor suddenly ran to the TARDIS after his sonic screwdriver started beeping weirdly. Then he started screaming something about a distress signal, and that Donna had to hurry. She almost didn't make it to the TARDIS because the windstorm sent all the aliens on the planet into a panic. Then the TARDIS took off and threw a fit. The doors flew open and Donna fell out, somehow ending up three or four hundred years in the future from when she was born. She met Rory, River Song, Clara Oswald and an older version of the Doctor. That's where she learned about regeneration, which she still didn't quite understand. After a lot of running around, and a near death experience averted by some faceless person called SEC, Clara died saving the Doctor, and two other Doctors and a boat load of companions showed up in two new TARDISes.
Donna paused for a moment and tried to list all the people who showed up. She mouthed the names as she thought them. Besides her, Clara, Rory, River, and the three Doctors, there were… Martha, Mickey, Maria, Sarah Jane, Rose… ugh, too many names.
Anyway, after they all showed up, River helped them escape the crazy Silurian woman Calcon, who was hell bent on killing them all. A good Silurian, Eldane took them to a lab to gas the city and provide them with an escape. However, Calcon snuck in through a vent and dropped a knockout gas bomb on them, and made everyone collapse. Then Donna woke up behind a forcefield in the room with all the other companions and Calcon nearly killed the Doctors. Maria ended up knocking Calcon out with a Bandsicsolvent… whatever it is. Some alien contraption. They got all the others out of the forcefield and put Calcon behind it. Then Eldane started the gas program, and everybody made a break for it to the TARDIS.
If Donna remembered correctly, River and Maria went in one, she, Rory, 10, Sarah Jane and Amy went in another, and Martha, Mickey, Rose and the other two Doctors went in the last one.
All the TARDISes took off. They were supposed to meet on the surface of the earth, but something went wrong. The TARDIS went nuts, and Donna's group ended up on this empty planet. Sarah Jane hurt her head and had to lie down, and for some reason, they thought it would be a good idea to split up. Donna, Rory and 10 found a man who screamed about something called Geneva, and then seemingly died of fright. When they came back to the TARDIS, Sarah Jane and Amy were gone.
Damn, Donna thought. Today's been too long. No wonder she wanted a nap. She's been awake nonstop (not counting being knocked out) for what felt like ten hours.
"Hey!"
Rory's shout brought Donna back to the present. She realized Rory was running now, towards something in the distant. 10 grabbed Donna's hand and the two of them sped after him, the ground thundering beneath their feet.
As they approached, Donna realized Rory was towards a figure, the outline of a person standing in the distance. There were more than one of them, and they all turned and stared at the three of them approaching.
Donna and 10 came to a stop in front of the group, and Rory was already speaking to them.
"Have you seen two women?" he panted. "One with red hair, and an older one with brown hair?"
They didn't answer right away. Donna glanced at 10, and gulped hard. The Doctor had his 'something isn't right' face on.
"What is it?" Donna whispered. 10 blinked a couple times.
"They're wrong." It was all he said, but Donna's heart skipped a beat. Slowly, she looked back at the humans, getting a good look at them for the first time.
There were about six humans standing in front of them, a mix of men and women, with one young girl looking up at them. They were covered in dirt, as if they had been working outside for a long time. Each one held a tool of some sort, for digging. They all stared at Rory as if listening intently.
But that wasn't what was wrong.
It took Donna a few moments to notice what they all had in common. They all bore similar expressions, none of which Donna could describe. But the thing that made shivers run down Donna's spine was their eyes. All six of the humans standing in front of them had eerie bright blue eyes, a shade of blue that doesn't come naturally to any human she's ever met, from her time, the past or the future.
Something was wrong with them.
Donna reached forwards and grabbed Rory's arm. He didn't look back, he just continued describing Sarah Jane and Amy to them. Donna shook his arm, and ended up digging her nails into his skin to get his attention.
"Oi, what was that for?" Rory said angrily, turning to Donna. The look on her face made him stop, anger fading from his face. "What is it?"
"Look at their eyes," Donna whispered. Rory's eyebrows furrowed, and he slowly looked back at the others. He scanned the faces of the six humans, and his eyes went wide.
Nobody had a chance to say anything before one of the men began to speak.
"You are free," he said softly. The words sent shivers down Donna's spine, and she glanced at the Doctor fearfully.
"You are free," said one of the women quietly.
"Impossible," snapped a second man. "Frees aren't allowed to walk around outside. Not without one of us."
"It simply won't do," said the other woman.
The third man took a step forward. "You will come with us. Frees aren't allowed on the surface without us."
He made a grab for Donna, but she jumped back. The three of them backed up.
"What are you doing?" Rory demanded. "Don't touch us."
"But you must come with us," said the first man. He turned to the others and lifted his hand. "Grab them. The Frees must not get away."
Rory, Donna and 10 had no chance to get away; all the humans except for the little girl launched themselves at them, and got the restrained before Donna could even think.
One of the women held Donna's arm painfully behind her back. "Oi!" she shouted, struggling. "Let me go!"
"But you can't go," said the little girl, looking up innocently. "Geneva's gonna want to see you."
"Geneva," said 10, "That's what the man said."
"Doctor, they might have Amy and Sarah Jane," Rory said. He opened his mouth to say more when another man snapped at them for silence.
"Frees need one of us to go outside," said the first man. "We must find out how you got outside."
"What do you mean, 'one of us?'" Donna asked as the six humans started leading them somewhere. "Who is us?"
The little girl looked up at Donna focusing her eerie blue eyes right on Donna's face. "Inhabitors, of course."
Been waiting a long time to introduce the Inhabitors. They're my favorite.
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