A/N: I do not own anything relating to Doctor Who. I only own the ideas of my OC. Thanks again to the wonderful TheDysfunctional for reviewing. I'm going to be putting this episode up in two long chapters. Let me know what you think in a review. I love to hear your opinions. I hope you enjoy.
The Doctor, Rose, and I stood around the console in the Tardis. I was so glad that Rose had decided to come with in the end. It's not that I didn't like the idea of being with the Doctor alone, it was just that I wasn't used to being away from Rose for long periods of time.
"Right then, Rose Tyler, just Phoenix, you tell me. Where do you two want to go? Backward or forwards in time? It's your choice. What's it going to be?" The Doctor beamed at us. He seemed like a kid showing off a new toy. I turned to Rose.
"Your choice." I smiled.
"Forwards." She beamed, her eyes lighting up.
"How far?" The Doctor asked.
"One hundred years?" She suggested, sounding unsure. The Doctor messed with a few things and we landed.
"There you go. Step outside those doors, it's the twenty second century." He smiled.
"You're kidding." Rose scoffed.
"That's a bit boring though. Do you want to go further?" He asked.
"Fine by us." I smiled. He messed with a few more things and we landed once again.
"Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire." He smiled even brighter. I started thinking that if he smiled any more, his face might break.
"You think you're so impressive." Rose teased.
"I am so impressive." He pouted.
"You wish." I laughed.
"Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go. Hold on!" He ran around the console pulling levers and pushing buttons. I grabbed onto the railing and pulled Rose to it as well so she wouldn't fall with the shuddering of the Tardis. Finally we landed.
"Where are we?" I asked, excited to know how far we had gone.
"What's out there?" Rose continued my line of thought, much like she always had.
"Come and look." He chuckled as he opened the doors and walked out. We followed quickly after. We were in a room that had bleacher like seating. At the front of the room there was a large metal shutter.
"Doesn't look very futuristic to me." I teased. As if to prove me wrong, the shutter began to descend, revealing a beautiful view of Earth from somewhere in space. "Ok. Next time I'll wait a minute before making my snarky comment." Rose giggled at me.
"You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future, and this is the day," The Doctor said before he looked at the watch on his wrist. "Hold on." The sun flared and turned a bright red. "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." I was in awe. An announcement over a loudspeaker broke my hypnotic stare.
"Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth Death is scheduled for fifteen thirty nine followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite."
"Shall we?" The Doctor asked as he turned to leave the room.
"We shall." Rose and I followed. We walked down a corridor, unsure of where we were heading.
"So, when it says guests, does that mean people?" Rose questioned.
"Depends on what you mean by people." The Doctor shrugged. I instantly knew what he meant and what Rose was wondering.
"She means humans." I explained.
"What do you mean?" She asked him.
"Aliens." He offered. I grew strangely excited. While Rose seemed a bit nervous.
"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?" She asked.
"It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation deck. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn." He explained, using his sonic screwdriver on a small panel on a wall we had come up to.
"Why?" I was curious.
"Fun." The door opened to a very large room. There were a couple display cases scattered around the room. At one end there was a large window with another beautiful view of space. "Mind you, when I said the great and good, what I mean is, the rich."
"But hold on. They did this once on the Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years." Rose countered.
"Oh. I remember seeing that one. I was the one that made you watch it with me." I smiled. Rose simply rolled her eyes.
"It takes millions of years, but the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there? Gravity satellites holding back the sun." The doctor explained, pointing to small satellites scattered around the sky.
"But, the planet looks just like I remember. The continents were supposed to shift over the years." I tried.
"They did, and the Trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over." He explained.
"How long's it got?" Rose asked.
"About half an hour and then the planet gets roasted." He seemed unfazed by this. It confused me greatly. Rose seemed curious as well.
"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?" She questioned.
"I'm not saving it. Time's up." He shrugged.
"What about all of the people?" Was there no way to save them?
"It's empty. They're all gone. No one left." He assured me.
"Just you and me then, Nix." Rose said sadly.
"Well you're just a ray of sunshine today. Isn't that supposed to be my bit?" I asked. She ignored me. Her eyes widened and I turned to see a man with blue skin and golden slit eyes walking toward us.
"Who the hell are you?" The man asked.
"Oh, that's nice, thanks." The Doctor quipped. For once I didn't mind his attitude.
"But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now." The man was fidgety.
"That's me. I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation. Look." The Doctor held out a small black wallet out of his jacket and showed it to the man. "There, you see? It's fine, you see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose Tyler and Phoenix. They're my plus two. Is that alright?" He pulled back the wallet. I caught a glimpse of it. I figured it was digital since the image kept flickering and wouldn't stay in focus.
"Well, obviously. Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." The man went over to a lectern. The Doctor turned back to face us. Rose's eyes were wide. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"The paper's slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time." He explained, patting his pocket.
"Is it supposed to flicker or go out of focus?" I wondered if it was possible for psychic paper to be faulty.
"What do you mean?" He looked confused, pulling the paper out again and showing it to me.
"It's blurry and it goes blank every now and then. Is it faulty?" I gave him a questioning glance.
"No, the steward saw it just fine. Strange." He muttered the last part.
"He's blue." Rose finally came out of her surprised stupor.
"Yeah. You alright?" I asked her, worried about how she was handling everything. For some reason, after seeing the Nestene Consciousness, seeing new beings didn't really bother me. Then again, I was the strange girl that had believed in other beings before meeting the Doctor. Rose just waived it off as a wicked imagination. Rose finally looked at me.
"Yeah. Okay." She muttered unconvincingly.
"We have in attendance The Doctor, Phoenix, and Rose Tyler. Thank you. All staff to their positions." The steward announced. A large group of smaller blue aliens came into the room. I smiled at them. "Hurry, now, thank you. Quick as we can. Come along, come along. And now, might I introduce the next honored guest? Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa." Three treelike aliens entered the room. There was a woman with two male escorts. "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon." They walked toward us as more groups entered the room as they were announced. I ignored the announcements of each group, instead focusing on the people entering the room. After the treelike beings, a small blue alien entered on some kind of transportation pod. Then came some tall black robed figures. Others continued to flow into the room. I stopped observing them when the treelike beings came up to us.
"The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather." The woman, I'm guessing her name was Jabe, handed the Doctor a small twig in a pot. He handed it to me. I cradled it gently with a smile.
"Thank you. Yes, gifts." He began to pat down his jacket looking for something to give in return. "Er, I give you in return air from my lungs." He breathed out. Jabe seemed surprised and intrigued. I giggled slightly.
"How intimate." She breathed out.
"There's more where that came from." The Doctor replied with a smile. He didn't quite seem like he was flirting back. It was almost as if he was oblivious to her connotations.
"I bet there is." She smirked and walked away. I giggled again. The Doctor gave me a curious look but I simply shook my head.
"From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." The steward announced as a large glass case wheeled into the room. There was an extremely large head filling it. I wanted to study them more but the small blue alien on a pod came up to us.
"The Moxx of Baloon." The Doctor greeted.
"My felicitations on this historical happenstance. I give you the gift of bodily salivas." They said with a high pitched voice before spitting on Rose's face.
"Thank you very much." The Doctor thanked. I giggled at Rose who hit my arm. It didn't stop the laughter.
"They spit on me." She complained while wiping away the spit. I pulled out a rag from my bag that I still had slung over my shoulder and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks. Next, the robed beings came up to us.
"Ah! The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs." The Doctor breathed on them. One of them held out a small metal ball in their metallic hand. The Doctor accepted it and handed it to Rose. This seemed much more thankful for this gift over the spit from before.
"A gift of peace in all good faith." The voice was hollow. They moved on and the steward spoke once again.
"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multiforms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen." A metal frame was wheeled in by two men in full white hospital attire. In the frame was a large thin piece of stretched skin with a face in it. She was the first person to actually surprise me.
"Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturize me. Moisturize me." She called out and the two men used pump bottles to spritz her with something. "Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honor them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry." One of the men dabbed a cloth beneath one of her eyes. "But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg." A large egg on a pedestal was wheeled over. "Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband? Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity." Rose had started walking over to Lady Cassandra. She circled the frame, staring at how thin she was. Her eyes were wide once again. A mint condition 50's jukebox was wheeled in. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" Tainted Love by Soft Cell started playing. This made me smile.
"Not quite an iPod, but good song. Though I prefer some of the covers of it." I joked to the Doctor. He started bobbing his head and smiling.
"I rather like this version." He smiled.
"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in thirty minutes." The steward announced. People started socializing. I looked over to see Rose run out of the room. The Doctor and I started after her. Jabe stopped us.
"Doctor?" She asked.
"Yes?" He asked.
"I'll see you in a minute." I said to him. "Sorry to be rude but I need to go find someone." I turned to Jabe before running away to find Rose. I ran down several halls before finding her. "Hey. Rose. Wait up." I called to her. She stopped and turned to me. She looked upset. I ran over to her and pulled her into a hug. "It's alright." We continued walking and found a window to watch the sun expanding. We turned around as a young blue woman came around a corner. She was wearing what you would expect a stereotypical maintenance person wearing: overalls and a baseball cap.
"Sorry. Are we allowed to be in here?" Rose asked gently. The woman stared at us for a minute before speaking quietly.
"You have to give us permission to talk." She said timidly, not quite meeting our eyes. I felt so awful for her.
"Of course you have permission to talk." I offered kindly.
"Thank you. And, no, you're not in the way. Guests are allowed anywhere." She smiled, finally meeting our eyes.
"Okay." Rose commented, still seeming nervous. The woman walked over to a grate and started to open it.
"What's your name?" I asked the woman. She turned to face me.
"Raffalo." She replied.
"Raffalo?" Rose asked.
"Yes, miss. I won't be long, I've just got to carry out some maintenance. There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Boe's suite. There must be something blocking the system. He's not getting any hot water." She explained.
"So you're a plumber?" Rose asked.
"That's right, miss." Raffalo nodded.
"They still have plumbers?" Rose continued with her questioning.
"I hope so, else I'm out of a job." Raffalo joked. I smiled.
"I figure if there's plumbing, there's still got to be someone to fix it." I added to Rose who nodded in agreement. I turned back to Raffalo, feeling bad that I was keeping her from working but enjoying seeing how happy she seemed to have guests talking to her. "So, where are you from? If you don't mind me asking."
"It's alright. Crespallion." She smiled.
"That's a planet, is it?" Rose asked.
"No. Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex fifty six. And where are you two from, misses? If you don't mind me asking." She once again looked away. It was as if no one ever gave her the courtesy of conversation as an equal.
"We don't mind at all." I answered quickly, trying to reassure her that she was well within her rights to ask.
"Er, I don't know. A long way away. We just sort of hitched a lift with this man. We didn't even think about it. Well, I didn't really. Nix did. Still, we don't even really know who he is. He's a complete stranger. Anyway, don't let us keep you. Good luck with it." Rose explained.
"Thank you, miss. And thank you for the permission. Not many people are that considerate." Raffalo smiled softly.
"You're welcome. We'll see you later." I smiled as Rose and I walked away. We found ourselves back in the smaller observation room. It was labeled Gallery 15. We sat on one of the benches. She was rolling the ball around in her hands while I was studying the plant.
"Earth Death in twenty five minutes." A computer announced.
"Oh, thanks." Rose pouted.
"Rose, hun, don't worry. Here, hold onto this. It's quite comforting." I offered her the plant. She put the ball on the ground behind us and took the plant from me. She stared at it for a while, just observing it like I had.
"Hello. My name's Rose. That's a sort of plant." She said softly.
"You might be related." I joked. She smiled a little.
"I'm talking to a twig." She huffed.
"Be nice. I personally like it and I'd rather call them a plant." I chastised.
"Them?" She questioned, looking at me as if I was out of my mind.
"Well. Jabe said it was a cutting of her grandfather. Therefore it could become a tree person. I'm not sure if it would be a male or female so I'm going with 'them'." I explained.
"You're mad. You know that?" She teased.
"Always have been." I chuckled, causing her to smile a little.
"Rose? Phoenix? Are you two in there?" The Doctor asked from outside the room. The door opened and he came in. "Aye, aye. So, what do you think then?" He asked as he came over to us.
"Great. Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper. They're just so alien. The aliens are so alien. You look at 'em and they're alien." Rose was getting nervous again.
"It's alright. We're fine." I gave her hand another squeeze.
"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South." The Doctor tried to joke.
"Where are you from?" Rose asked, a hint of something more than curiosity in her voice.
"All over the place." He was avoiding the question, quite obviously.
"They all speak English?" She continued, referring to the people in the observation deck.
"No, you just hear English. It's a gift of the Tardis. The telepathic field, gets inside your brain and translates." He shrugged.
"It's inside our brains?" She was getting even more agitated. I didn't know how to calm her.
"Well, in a good way." He tried to unsuccessfully calm her.
"Your machine gets inside our heads. It gets inside and changes our mind, and you didn't even ask?" She shrieked.
"Rose, breathe." I said softly. She ignored me.
"I didn't think about it like that." The Doctor seemed shocked that it upset her so much. It slightly shocked me that I wasn't even bothered at this new information. I guess it explained the comforting feeling I felt when I was inside the Tardis. I never felt uncomfortable or threatened by it so I didn't mind. Rose's comment about me being mad was starting to seem a bit more accurate. My own actions were beginning to surprise me. I tuned back into the conversation to hear Rose yelling at the Doctor.
"No, you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South. Who are you, then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?" She yelled. I wanted to tell her she was being a bit snippy with him, but I was curious as well. I had only wished she had gone about it in a more civil way.
"I'm just the Doctor." He tried.
"From what planet?" She demanded.
"Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is!" He snapped, obviously she had struck a chord with him.
"Where are you from?" She continued to demand.
"What does it matter Rose?" I asked her, my own temper beginning to grow.
"I just want him to tell us who he is!" She snapped at me before glaring at him.
"This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me." I could hear a hint of pain in his voice. There was something big he didn't want to tell us. I wanted to know but I hoped he would tell us in time.
"Yeah, and I'm here too because you brought me here, so just tell me." She demanded. She was starting to show her only child attitude again. I had finally had enough.
"Shut up! Rose, you're being rude. I get it. You want to know about him and who he is. It's smart to know a person that you're traveling with, but you're not going about it the right way. Has you yelling ever helped? No. And Doctor. I know there's something you're not saying. It bothers me but I'm willing to let it go for a bit. Now both of you just need to stop and breathe for a minute!" I snapped, before moving to sit down and calm my breathing. They stayed silent for a minute.
"Earth Death in twenty minutes. Earth Death in twenty minutes." The computer announced. Rose came over and sat on my right.
"I'm sorry Nix. I know you hate yelling. I'm just stressed out. This is all just so strange." She tried to apologize. "But how are you handling all of this so well?"
"I don't know. You've always called me mad for believing in weird and impossible things. Maybe you're right. Maybe I am mad. But at least I'm not yelling at the person who brought us here." I offered, still upset.
"You're right. As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." She sighed and took out her phone. "Can't exactly call for a taxi. There's no signal. We're out of range." She scoffed.
"Just a bit." I rolled my eyes.
"Tell you what." He held out his hand she put her phone in it. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery." He took the back off and started messing with it.
"Is that a technical term, jiggery pokery?" She joked. I relaxed, seeing them attempting to say sorry without actually saying it.
"Yeah. I came first in jiggery pokery. What about you two?" He joked.
"Nah. We failed hullabloo." I added with a chuckle. He and rose joined in my laughter. He handed her phone back.
"Yours too Phoenix." He held out his hand. I gave him my phone and he messed with it as well before handing it back. "Universal roaming." He smiled. Rose walked away and called Jackie. I tuned her out. "How are you really handling this?" He asked me.
"I'm alright. I guess I'm worrying myself a little with how well I'm handling it all. I honestly expected that I would react like Rose, but, for some reason, I'm actually okay." I shrugged. Rose came back with a smile when she was done on the phone.
"Sorry I didn't have you talk to her. You two were talking so I just told her you were sleeping off a hangover." Rose said nervously.
"Well at least it's believable." I joked.
"I just can't believe I called her." She smiled.
"Think that's amazing, you want to see the bill." The Doctor joked.
"That was five billion years ago. So, she's dead now. Five billion years later, my mum's dead." Rose's smile slowly faded.
"Bundle of laughs, you are." The Doctor frowned.
"Your mood swings are worse than mine." I grumbled, wishing that her good mood had stayed. The station shook violently for a minute. "Was that supposed to happen?" I questioned nervously.