Sorry for the wait. Semester started and I've been playing Final Fantasy XIV in my free time. (And the FFX remaster. I'm currently stuck on Blitzball. Again. F*ck Blitzball.)
The Doctor carefully eased open the metal door in front of them. So far all other doors they'd come across led to areas that had been ripped wide open and they were starting to get desperate, though both Rose and the Doctor were calm and collected. The Stoans were looking to them for guidance and if they lost their heads then things could quickly deteriorate.
Rose heard a clang from the other side of the door and the Doctor didn't immediately pull it shut. That was a good sign. "Careful," he cautioned.
He stepped through and Rose slipped in after him. He pulled the door open wider so the Van Hoffs would be able to get through. "Follow me," he said. The Stoans, lead by Astrid, warily exited the maintenance tunnels.
Rose surveyed the newest part of their escape route. It was a tiny service stairwell, littered with debris. Sparking cables dangled overhead and a vent kept blasting steam every few seconds. She started up the stairs carefully. They didn't creak or shift under her weight.
"Rather ironic," Mr. Copper said, "but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas."
Rose rolled her eyes and began shifting fallen pipes out of the way. The Doctor reached around her body to assist and together they lifted the u-shaped blockage out of the way and dropped it over the side.
"It's a festival of violence!" the quack went on. "They say human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."
"Oh for the love of…" Rose muttered.
"Actually, that's not true," the Doctor said. "Christmas is a time of—of peace and Thanksgiving and…"
"Presents, family, food," Rose added. "Speeches by the queen, Christmas crackers, trees, and pretty lights. There's no killing or—or eating Turkish people, for that matter."
"But that man down below, he said the last two Christmases have been nasty," Astrid pointed out.
"Black spots on the good Christmas name." Rose sniffed, pushing a dangling piece of metal out of her way. "Exceptions to the rule."
The piece of metal in front of her was too heavy so she and the Doctor switched places. While he worked on moving the obstruction, Mr. Copper studied Rose curiously. "Young lady, how exactly do you know so much about Earth?"
"We got a Host!" the Doctor crowed. "Strength of ten." He sniffed and Rose could see the gears in his brain turning. "If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."
"We can do robotics," Morvin piped up from the rear. "Both of us."
"We work on the milk market back on Sto," Foon explained. "It's all robot staff."
The Doctor inclined his head at the fallen angel bot. "See if you can't get it working." To Rose, "Let's have a look."
The rest of them continued up the stairs while the Van Hoffs stayed behind to deal with the Host. The way was entirely clear for the next flight of stairs but when they came to the landing, they found their path completely blocked by fallen debris.
"It's blocked," Astrid said.
"So what do we do?" he asked like a teacher wanting the student to work out the problem herself.
"We shift it."
He grinned at her. "That's the attitude." He turned to the men. "Rickston, Mr. Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta…" he sighed. "Look can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."
"No!" the red man said firmly. "Bannakaffalatta."
He sighed again. "Alright then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."
Everyone scooted out of the way for him to get through. He surveyed the gap for a moment. "Easy! Good." Bannakaffalatta declared then proceeded to slip right on through.
The ship rocked violently again without warning and Rose gripped the railing with one hand and the Doctor's arm with the other. More debris and dust fell. One of the men screamed and Astrid made a weird little yelping noise. Thankfully, the shaking quickly ceased.
"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston shouted.
"Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get that message?" the Doctor asked.
Rickston was confused. "No. What message?"
"Shut up!"
There was a loud clang from up above and then Bannakaffalatta announced he'd made it. Astrid wriggled around Rose and the Doctor, dropping onto her hands and knees. "I'm small enough, I can get through."
"Careful," the Doctor cautioned.
"I'm fine," she replied, grunting as she squeezed through.
"Thing is, how are Mr. and Mrs. Fatso gonna get through that gap?" Rickston wondered uncouthly behind her.
"We make the gap bigger." The Doctor said with a look of disgust in the man's direction. The expression faded to concern as he glanced at Rose and reached for her hand, giving it a tug. "You, too. Go." Keep them safe.
"Okay." She nodded and eased herself down onto the floor. She examined the gap then crawled through. It was a tight squeeze but between Bannakaffalatta and Astrid, most of the obstructions had been pushed aside. Crawling wasn't easy in this dress but she somehow managed without ripping the fabric. Rose poked her head out the other side and looked around. Astrid was getting to her feet and Bannakaffalatta was standing a few feet from the exit, gazing down the hall with a tired expression on his face.
"You alright?" Rose checked.
"Yes," he answered.
"I'm fine," Astrid panted. She reached out a hand to help Rose to her feet. Rose brushed the dust off her dress and sighed. "Now what?"
"What do you think?" Rose asked.
Astrid licked her lips and looked over Rose's shoulder. Rose saw the gears working behind here eyes as she surveyed the obstruction. "We help from this side."
Rose nodded and turned around. She examined the debris as a whole then tried to discern which pieces would be the best to remove first. She started with a large u-shaped pipe. "Help me with this," she ordered as she hefted one side. Astrid grabbed the other and together they moved it out of the way. It clanged as it hit the ground.
"What was that?" the Doctor shouted.
"We're clearing from this side." Astrid called back. "Just tell me if it starts moving."
Rose reached for a metal panel the size of her torso and began to drag it away from the heap, wincing at the harsh grating noise it made as it slid across the floor.
"Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" Astrid asked suddenly.
"Shh," was the response.
"What is it?"
Rose set the panel down carefully and then turned. Bannakaffalatta lay propped against a dull box near the wall.
"Can't say," Bannakaffalatta said.
Astrid clamored over the debris towards him and crouched by his side. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head. "Ashamed."
"Why?" Rose asked. "You're tired—nothing wrong with that."
The red man fixed her with a sad look. "Poor Bannakaffalatta." Then he lifted his fancy white shirt to reveal a metallic torso with various buttons and tubing.
"Oh," she breathed.
"You're a cyborg," Astrid realized.
Bannakaffalatta nodded and lowered his shirt. "Had accident long ago. Secret."
"No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto," she explained. "You can even get married."
A grin tugged at his lips and he looked her up and down. "Marry you?"
She giggled breathlessly. "Well, you can buy me a drink first." Astrid said and he nodded once. "Come on. Let's recharge you." She rolled up his shirt and pressed a button on his chest then smoothed his shirt back out. Quick and efficient, like she'd had experience with this before.
Rose cocked her head to the side and studied the woman again. She'd certainly been deserving of a round trip ride on the TARDIS but now Rose was starting to wonder if she wasn't worthy of more. Like a full time pass. She was kind and considerate, quick thinking, and open to new things; she was definitely afraid but she was keeping a level head despite the fact, and she clearly did not share her society's prejudice against cyborgs.
"Just…stay there for a bit." Astrid stood and worked her way back over to the obstruction.
"Tell no one," Bannakaffalatta requested.
"I promise."
He glanced at Rose and she nodded. "Not a word."
"What's going on up there?" The Doctor's called from the other side of the obstruction.
Astrid leaned through the rubble and evidently spotted the Doctor somewhere down below. "I think Bannakafalatta and I jut got engaged." She grinned back at the red cyborg and he chuckled.
She and Rose got back to work moving the rubble away. Together they were able to clear most of the little things. A few minutes later, Bannakaffalatta was on his feet and helping them. "Allow me," he said as they struggled with a particularly heavy pipe. "Bannakaffalatta strong!" He grabbed onto the pipe and lifted and Rose felt her load decrease marginally.
The set it down a few feet away from the opening, which was now much larger than it had been before. The only thing they couldn't move was a white beam laying across the railing and the debris it was pinning down.
"What do you think?" Rose asked as they surveyed their handiwork. "Reckon everyone can get through that?"
"I think so…" Astrid replied. "Though it'll probably be a bit of a squeeze for Morvin and Foon."
"They will make through," Bannakaffalatta said confidently. "Host stronger than Bannakaffalatta. Host can move that."
"I'm going to check on how they're doing downstairs." Rose told them, holding up her finger. She closed her eyes and searched for the Doctor's presence in the corner of her mind then thought his way. We've done all we can. How's it coming on your end?
Good, he answered a moment later. We can get through now, I think. Shouldn't be a problem once we get the Host up and running. Not much longer, I think the Van Hoffs are almost finished. Are you okay?
I'm fine. …We need to talk about Astrid later on.
Think it's time we took on a third?
That's exactly what I'm thinking.
"Are you telepathic?" Astrid asked softly. Rose nodded.
She'd be great with us.
Hmmm. He drawled. A moment later, Are you certain?
"What was that earlier?"
Rose blinked her eyes open. "What do you mean?"
"Your eyes," Astrid said. "They were…all funny…sort of glowing?"
"It's sort of…a warning, I guess. It happens when I'm scared or angry or threatened."
"What about your leg?" Astrid asked. Rose hesitated. "I saw you," she insisted. "That thing was half a foot long at least and about four inches of it was in your leg. That's not something you just walk away from."
Rose pulled her skirt enough to show the place where the wound had been so Astrid could see the smooth, unblemished skin. "I can."
"You're not Stoan."
"I never said I was." Rose replied blithely, releasing her skirt.
"So…you're both aliens. Okay." She nodded to herself then smiled almost bashfully. "What species—"
"IT'S WORKING!" Morvin shouted below them, cutting off the rest of Astrid's question. Rose was glad.
Then the masculine, cybernetic voice of a Host echoed through the stairway. "Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill." Over and over. The women looked at each other fearfully.
"TURN IT OFF!" the Doctor bellowed.
The next few moments were full of screaming (mosltly Foon's) and from the sound of it, something was happening to Morvin. Rose raced to the stairs but couldn't really see what was going on down below though she caught a glimpse of the Doctor backing away from the Host. All the while the homicidal robot repeated its cheerful mantra.
Doctor?! She thought in a panic when she lost sight of him. He didn't respond. She tried again, scrambling to force the message through their bond. Doctor!
"What's happening?!" Astrid cried.
"The Host's gone mad!" Rose craned her neck to see around the debris blocking her line of sight. She caught sight of a suit and brown hair.
"Rickston! Get them through!" the Doctor screamed.
"No chance!" The bastard replied then slipped through the narrow opening. Rose resisted the urge to deck him. Pathetic, cowardly, selfish, asshole.
"Rickston!" Mr. Copper protested.
"I'll never get through there!" Foon protested.
"Yes, you can. Let me go first." The old man scrambled through then turned around. "Now you. Come on. Give me your hand."
Astrid scrambled over to help haul the heavy woman through. Rose, meanwhile, searched frantically for the Doctor. She spotted him near a screen with Max Capricorn's face on it and heard him yell something into the comm system on top of it. Something about the Host going berserk.
"Kill. Kill. Kill."
"No!" Foon wailed. "I'm stuck."
"Come on, you can do it!" Astrid gave a mighty heave and Foon was pulled through slightly further. Then the metal beam above her creaked and slipped, nearly trapping Foon. Thinking quickly, Mr. Copper reached for a nearby metal pole protruding from the remaining mess and pushed down. The beam lifted.
"Kill. Kill. Kill."
"It's going to collapse!" Mr. Copper warned.
Astrid pulled again. It was enough. Foon slipped free and clambered to her feet and out of the way for her husband.
"Rickston," Mr. Copper panted, "Vot damn it, help me!"
Rickston looked him dead in the eye. "No. Way."
Morvin dove for the opening and banged his head on the top. He began squeezing through but it became immediately clear that he was going to have a harder time than his wife who'd been smaller in size and stature than he. Even with Astrid's help, he wasn't making much progress. Rose spotted the Doctor scrambling up the stairs behind him with the Host not far behind.
"Morvin, get through!" he shouted.
"Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid panted. Rose abandoned her post and raced around Astrid to grab Morvin's other arm. She pulled and blimey he was heavy.
"Mr. Van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me!" The Doctor roared. A few seconds later and Morvin burst through the opening like a cork freed from its bottle and Astrid helped him to his feet with reassuring encouragements.
Rose crouched down in front of the opening. It was just her husband now trapped over there with the fast-approaching Host. "Come on, Doctor!" Rose cried. "Hurry!" He wasn't going to make it through before the Host grabbed him and he seemed to realize this because he whirled around suddenly, throwing his hand out.
"Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"
Mr. Copper grunted above them, straining from the effort of keeping the gap open. "I can't hold it…!"
"Information: Deck 31," the Host answered promptly.
"Thank you!" The Doctor said quickly then pulled himself up on the railing and skittered through the opening. Rose hadn't thought it through when she chose her location because the Doctor had nowhere to go but through her. He wrapped his arms around her and used his force to knock them both away from the hole. Rose landed on her back, his hand protecting her head from the hard floor. "Let go!" he yelled.
Mr. Copper yelled wordlessly then released the pole, throwing himself away from the stairs. The Host began to crawl though. The beam groaned and then fell to the ground, crushing the head of the Host beneath its weight.
"Oh, thank Vot!" Astrid cried in relief.
Rose let out a breathless laugh of relief then seized the Doctor by his lapels and planted a kiss firmly on his mouth. I thought it had you there for a sec.
Me too, he replied when she pulled away. "I'm okay."
He helped her to her feet, keeping an arm around her protectively as he surveyed their group. Everyone was a little worse for the wear but alive. "Everyone okay?" he asked.
Rose shot Rickston a dirty look. "No thanks to that one."
The Doctor was unsurprised and looked like he'd very much like to introduce the man's face to a cricket bat. If it wouldn't be condemning him to death, Rose had half a mind to tie him up and leave him behind. Though a dark part of her muttered that he deserved it anyway.
"Everyone made it," Rickston snapped. "Now can we go before another one shows up?"
Astrid took point. This section was mostly used for storage of kitchen and dining supplies. She suggested they make their way to Kitchen 5 since it was on the way to the bridge, there was a reliable comm system, and they could get some water. Should the Host pursue them, the doors and walls were strong enough to keep them out long enough to escape out another door.
Rickston, for once, had good question. Did the rest of the Host know about them? The Doctor had no clue, he'd only been to Sto once before and he hadn't exactly been dissecting their robots when he was there. Neither Astrid nor Copper knew much about how the Host worked and the Van Hoff's hadn't been paying attention to that sort of thing while repairing that Host so they had no way of knowing if it could've remotely alerted its counterparts to their existence. If it had, then it also would've failed to register their deaths and, therefore the Host logically should infer that meant they'd escaped.
Rose heard Foon fretting quietly over her husband at one point. Morvin had hit his head pretty hard though he hadn't lost consciousness and seemed to be walking fine so he probably didn't have a concussion. That didn't mean it didn't hurt. Even if she could still heal other people there wasn't much she could do for a headache. She still got headaches herself for various reasons and no amount of willing the soothing warmth of healing towards the spot could relieve them.
Her phone buzzed against her chest and Rose pulled it out, unlocking it. There was a text from Martha that read: Nearly to Estate. You ok?
Rose clamped her tongue between her teeth as she typed out her reply. 8 in our group, some hurt, all alive. After hitting 'send', something else occurred to her and she frantically added: Mauve alert. DO NOT LEAVE TARDIS. Angels are BAD!
Noted. Martha replied a moment later.
"What'd she say?" the Doctor asked.
"She's nearly to the Estate. I warned her to not come out once she got here. Don't want the Host getting her."
"Good idea."
"Your vone still works?" Rickston asked in surprise. "Mine's lost service."
"Mine never loses service," Rose said simply.
"W-well then you can call for help!" Mr. Copper sputtered. "The police! Rescue!"
"I already did. The Calvary's on the way, she just needs time."
"She?" Astrid queried softly, glancing over her shoulder at them.
"An old friend of ours."
"You've only called one person?" Rickston scoffed. "How is a single woman supposed to save us?"
"Martha once saved Earth by herself. I think she can handle a bit of a rescue mission in her own backyard."
"You've called in a human?" Mr. Copper was suddenly very intrigued. "A-are you sure that's safe? It's almost boxing time…"
"D'you even know what that means?" She demanded.
"Er, well…"
"Boxing Day is a bank holiday that comes right after Christmas. There's no actual boxing involved. …Well, some people might get in a spat over an item during a sale, but that's different."
"Are you sure? Because from what I read—"
Rose sighed and spun around, hands on her hips. Their procession halted. "Mr. Copper, I don't know where you're getting all this from, but it's a load of rubbish."
He sputtered, looking around at all the faces now looking at him expectantly. "Well, I…how would you know?"
"Uh, maybe because she's friends with a human?" Rickston suggested with a roll of his eyes. "Honestly."
And it was that one sentence, the way in which it was said, and who it was said by that finally made Rose cross that line she'd set for herself the moment Copper had begun filling their heads with nonsense. "No, because I'm human."
Astrid gasped. Morvin's eyes grew very wide and Foon's jaw dropped. Bannakaffalatta's eyebrows shot upwards. Even Rickston seemed taken aback by this sudden revelation. Mr. Copper quite looked like a deer in headlights then quite abruptly held up two fingers in a peace sign and who knew what he was trying to say with that? She gave him another look of exasperation then turned back around. She caught a glimpse of the Doctor's face and saw that he was very amused by the situation. Then she noticed Astrid's ashen face. Oh, right. Their species viewed humans as primitive Mr. Copper the Quack had them all believing humans were barbarians.
"And for the record, we do not worship Santa and we do not eat Turkish people. That's cannibalism and it's against…everything, and creepy, and wrong, and Astrid, how much farther to the kitchens? I need a drink."
"Uh…um…n-not much farther now." Astrid stammered, turning away. She scurried off and Rose marched after her. The precession resumed walking behind them.
"How in Vot's name did a human get on board?" Rickston said the word 'human' like it was some sort of filthy rodent. Rose gritted her teeth but kept her face neutral. It wasn't the first time she'd been referred to as lesser simply because of her race—and not in the teasing way the Doctor did by stating Time Lords were superior, but in a very real, cruel manner by other species who considered humans the equivalent of dogs or rats. She knew there was little she could do to change the opinion of someone like Rickston but even if the others had the same base perceptions of humans, she thought there could at least be hope for them. Something like smacking the rude blue-blooded bastard would hardly help her case.
"We stepped off our ship and onto yours and you should be grateful," the Doctor growled. "You'd be dead if we hadn't shown up."
"How do you even understand us?" Foon asked with nothing but honest curiosity in her voice. "They told us humans couldn't speak our language."
"They can't. She has a telepathic translator inside her mind," the Doctor explained. "She hears your speech in her native language and you, in turn, hear your own."
"We're here." Astrid announced, effectively ending the conversation.