Chapter Fourteen
What? What's wrong with me? I can't move. Why can't I move? Someone just dropped some kind of necklace around my neck. Is this why I can't move? Oh God, this can't be happening. I'm standing right outside the TARDIS and I can't move to get inside. The Doctor and Donna and Martha are just standing there looking at me with shocked looks on their faces. Doctor, what's happened to me? Why can't I move? Oh my God, I can't say it to him. I can't speak. I can't move. Doctor, help me! Please, help me!
The Doctor stared at Rose not believing what he was seeing. A moment ago, Rose was flesh and blood and now there was a crystal statue in her place. He looked at her face. There was the look of complete happiness that was on her face when she was entering the TARDIS. It was there plain as day. He could even see a happy tear frozen on her cheek for all eternity. The Doctor stared at the statue uncomprehendingly not wanting to believe that Rose had just been taken away from him again. He glanced at Donna and Martha and saw they had the same looks of disbelief on their faces. Then, he saw him. Triton stepped around the open door and smirked at him.
"At last, Doctor, we have our revenge." He said.
The Doctor stared at him in wide-eyed shock. Then slowly the shock was replaced by complete, all-consuming rage. Both Donna and Martha backed up when they saw his eyes turn jet black and his body begin to shake with unrestrained fury.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" he roared at Triton.
With a scream of unbridled rage, he lunged past Rose at Triton. Triton raised his hand and suddenly the Doctor was propelled backwards by an unknown force. Donna and Martha had just enough time to let out a gasp of surprise before the Doctor slammed into them. The three of them fell to the ground and were pinned there by the same force. All of them struggled to get up as Triton walked past Rose and stepped into the TARDIS.
"So this is the Time Lord's time machine. Interesting." He said looking around.
"Let Rose go! Whatever you've done to her, undo it this instant!" the Doctor screamed at him.
He stared at him, furious, as Triton came up to him and stared down at him calmly.
"I told you, Doctor, the Arcadians would have their revenge for what you did. One way or another you would suffer for your crimes and what better way to make you suffer than to have the one you love frozen as a statue for all eternity."
He pointed to Rose.
"This is more than just a mere statue, Doctor. Rose is still alive in there. She can see and hear everything that is going on, but she is powerless to move or speak. She will stay that way forever. There is only one way to break the spell and only I know how to undo it."
"No, please, I'm begging you, let her go. Do whatever you want to me, but don't do this to her." The Doctor said desperately.
"No, Doctor, this is a fitting punishment for you. To be denied the sound of your lover's voice or the feel of her flesh is what you deserve."
The Doctor's gritted his teeth as he tried to break free of the magical restraint holding him down.
"If I get free, I will kill you with my bare hands!" he snarled.
"If you kill me, she will be trapped forever like this." Triton said gesturing to Rose.
"Well, it doesn't matter, since I'm sure you won't tell me how to free her anyway." The Doctor replied. "If she must stay like this forever, the very least I can do is see you dead for it."
Triton smirked at him. He extended his hand towards him and the three captives screamed in agony as electricity coursed through their bodies. As his body convulsed, the Doctor thought he heard Rose's anguished scream in his head. He wasn't sure if she really was screaming or if he was just imagining it. The screams from his two companions weren't an illusion, however, and the Doctor ached inside as he listened to their suffering.
Triton tortured the Doctor and his companions for a few minutes and then stopped. The three of them gasped for air as Triton walked closer to them and bent down to look at the Doctor.
"I must bid you and your companions farewell, Doctor, but I will say this before I go. As soon as I leave, the restraint holding you down will disappear, but if I were you, I would take your companions and the statue of your love and go back to exploring time and space. As you have just seen, I am very proficient in the magical arts and I will not hesitate to use every spell I know against you and your friends should you try to board my ship. You brought this on yourself when you decided to bring destruction upon our planet."
"If I am to blame for the devastation for your planet, then you are also at fault!" the Doctor yelled at him. "When I was fighting the Daleks, not one Arcadian came out to help me! Not a single one of your people lifted a finger to fight the Daleks; you just stayed in your homes cowering in fear. If you were so concerned about me ripping up your planet, why didn't you come outside and try to stop me?"
"Because we are a peace loving people, Doctor." Triton hissed at him. "It is not in our nature to fight battles, we leave that to the lesser species! That is why we didn't help you, because we didn't believe in you or your little war. As for trying to stop you, we were too busy trying to protect ourselves, our mates and our offspring to do that."
"Then, you share the blame for the destruction of Arcadia." The Doctor said. "I understand completely about you being pacifists, but even a pacifist will stand up and defend their planet if its being destroyed right in front of them. What you did was both cowardly and foolish. What would have happened if I hadn't been fighting the Daleks? At least I tried to protect your planet from them. If I'd just gone on my merry way and not given a damn about you or your people, the Daleks would have taken over your planet and enslaved you all and believe me, they would have been a thousand times worse than me. You should be thankful that at least someone had the courage to risk his lives to save your cowardly hides. I hate to say this but I'm sorry now I ever stepped foot on Arcadia. So, go, you have your so-called revenge now. I hope turning Rose into a crystal statue has magically erased all the heartache and bitterness you feel inside. You just destroyed a young life that was filled with hope and promise all for the sake of a stupid, pointless vendetta. Let me tell you something about her just so you know whom it is you have punished. This woman who you have just sentenced to a living death is one of the most sweetest, kindest people I have ever known. She cares for the people she meets and I'm sure that would include you and your lot. Rose is just as peace loving as you are, in fact I venture to say that if you had actually gotten to know her, she probably would have reminded you of one of your own. But no, getting to know her wouldn't be a good idea because then you wouldn't be able to turn her into a statue. Just keep that in mind as you're going back to your ship."
Triton paused. He turned to look at Rose and for a moment, the Doctor wondered if he was going to change his mind and free her. But then he turned around and looked at him again.
"It is unfortunate that Rose Tyler must suffer for your sins, Doctor. I'm sure she is a nice person, but the same can be said for my people. You never got to know them either. I'm sure if you got to know them, you would have thought twice before rampaging through our villages---"
"I WAS GOING ON THIS SO-CALLED RAMPAGE BECAUSE I WAS FOLLOWING THE DALEKS!" the Doctor bellowed. "THEY WERE THE ONES WHO WERE DOING THE BULK OF THE DESTRUCTION. IF YOU HAD POKED YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR HIDEY-HOLES FOR TWO SECONDS, MAYBE YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT! I KEEP TELLING YOU I'M SORRY FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU. I LIVE WITH WHAT HAPPENED EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE AND IT'LL BE WITH ME UNTIL THE DAY I DIE, BUT DOING THIS TO ROSE IS NOT THE ANSWER! SHE WASN'T INVOLVED IN IT. SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ME THEN! IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON SOMEONE, THEN TAKE IT OUT ON SOMEONE WHO WAS ACTUALLY THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
"No, this is far better, Doctor. This way you will be left in misery for the rest of your life."
"Then, you are a coward." The Doctor spat out. "You don't want to fight me face to face because you know I'll defeat you. It's less of a risk for you to sneak up and drape a medallion around an innocent woman's neck and pin her friends to the ground. I hope to Rassilon that no one threatens you and your people again because next time I won't lift a single, solitary finger to help. So, good luck, hope you live the rest of your cowardly life somewhere safe from attack. I've washed my hands of the Arcadians for good."
Triton shrugged.
"It matters not how you feel about us, Doctor. If you want nothing more to do with us, then we welcome that. It means that when we do find a new world to settle, we won't have to worry about you destroying it again. However, I pity the others who will meet up with you and lose their homes and lives. You are a menace to the universe, Doctor. You and your friends think you are helping others but all you do is cause death and destruction. Perhaps Miss Tyler here will make you think twice now before you do any more damage. Goodbye, Doctor.
The Doctor, Martha and Donna yelled and screamed curses at him as he turned and walked out of the TARDIS. He walked a few more feet turned and stood still. A moment later, the tractor beam came down blinding the three captives. When the light finally faded, Triton was gone.