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The beast below - part three.
I sat down on the floor, my legs crossed, back straight, still trying to forget about the sickly feeling I got after being covered in vomit. Mandy was sat on a chair, Amy was doing her hair in the mirror next to it and the Doctor was talking to Liz. She had taken us up to the State Apartments.
The Doctor stepped over lots of glasses of water, each and every one different sizes and shapes. "Why all the glasses?" He asked.
"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what." She answered from where she was sat on her bed.
He picked up a mask and looked at it. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"
"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon."
The Doctor walked closer to the bed, still looking at the mask. "How old were you when you came to the throne?"
"Forty. Why?"
"What, you're fifty now? No way!" Amy said, turning to look at Liz.
"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."
Amy and Mandy sat on the love seat at the end of the bed, so I climbed up onto the chair that Mandy had just vacated.
"And you always wear this in public?" The Doctor asked about the mask as he took a seat on the bed.
"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."
"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, because it's perfectly sculpted to your face."
"Yeah? So what?"
"Oh, Liz. So everything."
I jumped as the door opened, and looked over too see that a group of those men in the dark hooded cloaks had walked in.
"What are you doing?!" Liz demanded. "How dare you come in here!"
The Doctor and Amy stood up, staring at the men.
"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now." One spoke.
Liz got up and stood beside the Doctor. "Why would I do that?"
Suddenly, the man's headed twisted around and he became a Smiler. My mouth dropped open and I climbed to my feet, getting ready to run if need be.
"How can they be Smilers?" Amy asked.
"Half Smiler, half human." I could almost hear the smile in the Doctor's voice.
"Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen." Liz stated. The Doctor watched, amused. "On whose authority is this done?"
"The highest authority, Ma'am." The Smiler answered.
"I am the highest authority!" Liz snapped.
"Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am."
"Where?"
"The Tower, Ma'am."
We were all led to the Tower by the Smilers/men in cloaks. I looked around the room and shuddered. It looked like a creepy basement. Amy bent over and looked through a grating, where tentacles were flailing about.
"Doctor, where are we?" She asked.
"The lowest point of Starship UK." He spun around. "The dungeon."
An elderly man with grey hair approached Liz. "Ma'am."
"Hawthorne. So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do." Liz stated. I stepped around the man and stood next to The Doctor.
"There's children down here. What's all that about?" The Doctor said, looking over his shoulder. As a young dark-skinned boy walked past, the Doctor gently reached out and ruffled his hair. I smiled at him, how sweet.
"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky." Hawthorne spoke. Liz watched as the children passed her.
"Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it?" The Doctor turned and walked towards the middle of the room, where something that looked like a brain was pulsating. "Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."
I took a step closer and leaned over the barrier to see it properly. There was some ind of giant electrode.. thing.. pointing down at it.
"What's that?" Liz questioned.
"Well, like I say, it depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly."
"Or?"
"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go faster button."
"I don't understand." Liz frowned.
"Don't you? Try to. Go on." The Doctor walked around to Liz. "The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine."
The Doctor was starting to look angry.
"And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving. Tell you what." He ran over to the grating and yanked the top off, allowing the tentacle to thrash about. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear!" He soniced the tentacle, causing an awful screaming sound to fill our ears.
I winced. "Doctor..."
I looked over at Amy as she started to cover her ears.
"Doctor!" I called again, but he still didn't stop.
Liz started to back away, wincing and shaking her head. "Stop it!"
The Doctor lowered his screwdriver and let go of the button.. The screaming sound stopped.
Everyone was silent for a moment, before Liz circled Hawthorne. "Who did this?!"
"We act on instructions from the highest authority." He said.
"I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now."
No one moved.
"I said now!" Liz snapped. "Is anyone listening to me?!"
The Doctor picked up her mask. "Liz. Your mask."
"What about my mask?" She questioned as the Doctor threw it across the room to her.
"Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say."
"Yeah? It's an antique. So?"
"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign."
I frowned, confused.
"Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years." Liz claimed.
"Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again," The Doctor grabbed her hand and dragged her over to a computer. Everyone, including myself, rushed behind. I paused next to the Doctor. "always leading you here."
Liz looked down at the computer, as did everyone else. There were two buttons, forget and abdicate.
She slowly looked up at Hawthorne. "What have you done?"
"Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He answered, flicking the switch on top of the computer.
It started up, and a video of Liz came onto the screen. "If you are watching this. If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travellers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind."
I felt tears starting to sting in my eyes. How the bloody hell could they do this to a creature?! It just wasn't fair?! The Doctor glanced sideways at me and I tried to blink back the tears. He slowly slipped his hand into mine, and then looked down at the floor.
"And what we have done to it breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the Forget button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."
I looked to my left and saw Amy. She also looked like she was about to cry.
"I voted for this. Why would I do that?"
"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong." He let go of my hand and pointed at Amy. "You don't ever decide what I need to know!"
"I don't even remember doing it!" Amy cried.
"You did it. That's what counts." He snapped.
"I'm, I'm sorry." Amy said, choking back her tears.
"Oh, I don't care!" He turned and walked away. "When I'm done here, you're going home. Laura too."
"Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it!" Amy followed him, demanding answers. "Doctor!"
I slowly walked to Amy's side, knowing that this would upset her.
"Yeah, I know. You're only human." He stated, then started fiddling with some controls.
"Doctor, you're being a little harsh..." I spoke softly.
He glared at me as a warning to shut up, but didn't reply... He just looked back down at the control panel. I stood there, speechless.
"What are you doing?" Liz asked. She had quietly approached us.
"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."
"That'll be like killing it..." Amy said.
"Look, three options. One, I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor any more." He was starting to become frustrated, and the tension and sadness in the room was making me want to cry again.
"There must be something we can do, some other way." Liz mumbled.
"Nobody talk to me." The Doctor growled, then started to shout. "Nobody human has anything to say to me today!"
I blinked in shock. How could he yell at us like that? We'd just tried to help..
Amy and Liz slowly retreated, Amy going to sit by Mandy and Liz going back over to the computer. I just continued to stare at him for a second.
"Laura, go away." The Doctor growled.
"Laura..." Amy called, and I sighed.
"She just wanted to help..." I whispered, talking about Amy. "And I, I didn't even vote.. Or see the video."
The Doctor didn't say a thing.
"Wow. You're an arse." I stated, then walked over to Amy and Mandy.
We sat and watched as the Doctor fiddled about with the machinery. Well, I say watched, I was mostly glaring. I didn't understand why he was being so damn cruel to Amy and I, when we'd not even done anything wrong.
The door slowly opened, bringing me out of my thoughts. Three children walked through and I heard Mandy gasp.
"Timmy!" She cried, and ran over to a small blonde boy. "You made it, you're okay! It's me, Mandy."
A tentacle starts to flail behind her, the young boy slowly backing away. Amy and I quickly stood up, just in case we needed to run over to help her. Unexpectedly, the tentacle tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around confused. She gasped when she realised what it was, then slowly reached up and started to stroke it.
And then I realized. It didn't want to hurt anyone... It came by choice. The last of it's kind, wanting to help because it heard the children crying.
"Doctor, stop!" Amy's voice teared me away from my thoughts, and I glanced over at the children. Timmy was also stroking it now.
"Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" I cried, rushing over to stand next to the Doctor. It appeared Amy had also realized the truth.
Amy ran over to Liz and dragged her to the voting buttons. "Sorry, Your Majesty. Going to need a hand."
"Amy, no! No!" The Doctor shouted, trying to push past me, but I tried my hardest to push him back.
Amy pushed Liz's hand down onto one of the buttons, and the Doctor finally managed to get past me.. but it was too late. The pair of us ran towards the redhead and the Queen, but the Whale let out an extremely loud roar, and the ship started to shake, causing a panic. The Doctor stumbled backwards into me, and the pair of us fell onto the floor.
"Amy, what have you done?" he cried.
"Nothing at all. Am I right?" She answered.
I climbed to my feet, praying that we'd done the right thing.
"We've increased speed!" Hawthorne looked shocked.
"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot... Got to help." Amy muttered, then flashed me a grin.
"It's still here... I don't understand." Liz frowned.
The Doctor stared at Amy, and I couldn't tell if he was shocked, astonished, or angry.
"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it. That was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry." Amy said. "What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind..."
"You couldn't just stand there and watch children cry." I finished, Amy and I both looking at the Doctor.
He stood, staring out of the window at the city. He'd been stood their for at least ten minutes, dead silent. I didn't even know if he'd heard me enter the room. I wanted to say something.. But what was there that I could really say? I suppose I could apologise for being so rude to the man that had wanted to show me the Universe.
"I'm sorry, for calling you an arse.." I said. He didn't reply, not even moved an inch. "I know it was a really tough choice to have to make.. I was rude."
Amy ran into the room and dashed past me, stopping next to the Doctor. "From Her Majesty. She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK." She held out the familiar mask.
The Doctor didn't say anything, so she went quiet and looked out of the window too. I could feel her happy vibe slowly fading, so I took a slow walk towards them.
"You could have killed everyone on this ship." He finally spoke as I reached his other side.
"You could have killed a Star Whale."
He turned to look at her. "And you saved it. I know, I know." He looked back out of the window.
"Amazing though, don't you think?" I spoke. "The Star Whale."
"All that pain and misery and loneliness, and it just made it kind." Amy spoke too.
"But you couldn't have known how it would react." He said, looking at me, then at Amy.
"You couldn't. But we've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?" Amy reached up and pulled him into a hug. I smiled at the two of them, my eyes starting to fill with tears again.. Oh god, I was going soft. I didn't have another second to think about that though, as the Doctor reached back and snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me into the hug too. Amy put one of her arms around me and the three of us stood there like that for a second, the Doctor pulling us in tight.
"Hey..." Amy spoke.
"What?"
"Gotcha." She whispered.
He chuckled once. "Huh. Gotcha." He buried his face into my hair, and I let a few of the tears fall, really not caring anymore.
A few minutes later, the three of us were weaving our way back through London Market.
"Shouldn't we say goodbye?" I asked.
"Won't they wonder where we went?" Amy looked at the Doctor.
"For the rest of their lives. Oh, the songs they'll write..." The Doctor smiled. "Never mind them.. Big day tomorrow!"
Amy's face fell. "Sorry, what?" We paused in front of the TARDIS.
Did he know about her wedding? If I was honest.. I'd forgotten.
"Well, it's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine! I skip the little ones." He replied, pulling the key out of his pocket.
"You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning?"
He turned and analysed Amy's face as she started to speak again.
"Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just, just because you could?"
Was she saying that she didn't want to marry Rory?
"Once, a long time ago."
"What happened?"
"Hello." He smirked, then turned and walked into the TARDIS.
I glanced at Amy. "Why aren't you telling him? Do you not want to marry Rory?" I whispered.
She sighed and followed the Doctor into the TARDIS. "Right. Doctor, there's something I haven't told you, hang on. Is that a phone ringing?"
I heard her mention the phone and rushed into the TARDIS, letting the door swing shut behind me.
"People phone you?" I asked, surprised.
"Well, it's a phone box." He stated. We all hopped up the steps to the console. "Would you mind?"
Amy picked up the phone whilst the Doctor fiddled with things on the console.. "Hello? Sorry, who? No, seriously, who?" She moves the phone away from her ear and covers the speaker. "Says he's the Prime Minister."
The Doctor looked at me and smirked.
"First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?" I teased.
"Which Prime Minister?" The Doctor asked.
"Er, which Prime Minister?" Amy asked. "The British one."
"Which British one?"
"Which British one?" She looked at me and her eyes widened. "Winston Churchill.." She held the phone out for the Doctor. "For you."
"Oh! Hello, dear. What's up?"
Amy and I watched as he talked to Winston Churchill.
"Is it actually him?" I questioned quietly.
"I guess so..." Amy replied.
"Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister." The Doctor spoke into the phone. "We're on our way."