CHAPTER 21

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PLANET OF DEATH PART 1

"So, Doctor, where are we going next?" Rose asked as the Doctor stood at the console of the TARDIS with a distant look on his face.

He never answered and only continued to stare off into space as Rose sighed. She knew right then that he was still thinking of Clara.

Clara had left recently after she had finally been separated from Rose during the fight with Rassilon and discovered that Rose had increased her Vortex abilities without asking her. To her credit, Clara ultimately didn't leave out of anger but because she wanted to have a normal life and knew that she never would have that traveling with them. If anything she left out of fear that her life would only get worse if she didn't go.

This had hurt Rose ever since because she had never wanted to cause Clara, who she thought of as a sister, so much pain. It also hurt because she was still causing the Doctor pain over it. He and Clara had become so close that he was now deeply saddened by her loss. He seemed to have completely lost any zest for life whatsoever, and Rose had absolutely no idea what to do about it.

Neither did their friends who all stared at the Doctor with sympathetic gazes now as he continued to stand there at the console lost in his own world. He had never even heard a word that Rose had said to him.

Rose touched the Doctor's shoulder gently, and he looked up to see her worried gaze which immediately made him feel guilty. He knew that he was going to get over this sense of loss eventually, but it definitely wasn't happening overnight. He certainly didn't want to worry Rose about it in the meantime though.

So he did what he always did whenever he was worried or upset, he put on a fake smile and acted like he was just fine. This time he was doing it more for Rose's sake than his own though.

"So are you ready for a nice trip somewhere exciting and definitely not boring, Rose? I know I am. I'm getting bored already just thinking about exactly how bored that I am. I think before I start shaving my head that I should take us somewhere right away. So where should it be? Name a time and place. I'll go anywhere but Barcelona. If I have to go anywhere near that planet again, I may just decide to end it all the quickest way that I know how by calling River nice or sweet. Even I don't want to experience that much pain though, so I'd rather go somewhere else instead. How about the Planet of the Hats? I haven't been there in at least a week," the Doctor said with a huge smile on his face as he babbled on and on.

Rose wasn't fooled by this happy madman act of his for a second however.

"Doctor, it's okay to act sad if that's how you feel. Remember that this is me that you're talking to. I know you better than anyone. You can never fool me, mate," Rose said.

The Doctor was undeterred by this and continued with his act as he said, "I don't know what you mean, Rose. I'm f-."

Rose immediately put a finger to his lips and stopped him in mid word as she said in an annoyed voice, "Stop right there. I swear that if you say you're fine, I may just disintegrate all of your bow ties."

The Doctor looked at her in absolute horror as she immediately smiled at him and said, "You know I'm just joking. I just want you to stop all of this. This is me. You can always be honest with me."

"I just don't want to make you feel sad anymore. I'd much rather make you happy instead. I've already made you sad way too much in my life. Your smile is the most beautiful sight in the universe, and I've deprived the universe of it far too much," the Doctor said meaning it.

Rose suddenly had that same face wide grin that the Doctor had just been speaking of plastered all over her face now as she said, "You're good. You're very, very good. You keep talking like that, and I'll never frown again."

"I'll have to do it more often then," the Doctor said as he smiled for real now and started to give her a passionate kiss.

Polly smiled as she watched them for a moment and then turned away to whisper to Charley, Mikaela, and Shareen, "Good. He finally has an actual smile on his face for the first time since Clara left. That means he's starting to get better. It takes him a while, but he always recovers eventually. I've seen him like this before."

"I knew that Rose would get him to smile eventually. This is exactly what she does. She would always break through even my worst moods and get me to laugh eventually. That's almost impossible to do too when I really get into a funk. Believe me," Shareen said.

"I'm just glad to see him smile again. I've never seen him so depressed in my life. We actually had someone who traveled with us die once, and he didn't act anything like this. Of course he was a different Doctor then," Charley said.

"You don't understand. He and Clara are much more than just friends or even best friends. They're family. I honestly think that he loves her more than anyone other than Rose and his children. The Old Man is even closer to her than Mr. Bow Tie and definitely more protective. If anyone even so much as looked at her funny, he'd be trying to tear them apart. I remember one time someone almost killed her. If it wasn't for Rose, I think the Old Man would have went all Valeyard on him," Mikaela said.

They all looked at her in surprise because this was the first time that she had spoken to any of them since she had shown her power over Krail and the Cybermen. None of them said anything though for fear of somehow keeping her from talking again.

Mikaela looked at them all with a slight smile as she said, "I'm okay. None of you ran away from me screaming or treated me any differently when you found out what I can really do so we're all okay, alright? You don't have to worry."

"Why weren't you speaking for so long then?" Polly asked as she put her arm around her.

Mikaela smiled appreciatively at the gesture as she said, "I was still ashamed of showing that side of myself to all of you. I want you to see me as human not as a machine. I just want you to know that I'm real."

"Of course you're real. Just because you're not completely human doesn't mean that you're not real or that we're going to think of you as a thing instead of a person. Don't ever worry about that," Charley said.

"That's right, sweetie. I may not have known you as long as the others, but I do know that you're just as human as anyone else despite how afraid you might be that you're not. That's the very last thing that you need to worry about though while traveling with the Doctor and Rose," Shareen said.

"Yeah, I'd be more worried about the nasty killer aliens that are always just around the corner instead. I still shudder whenever I think about the Macra," Polly said.

"Oh, I know them. They're giant sentient crabs, right? I ran into them once with the Old Man. After that, I couldn't eat seafood for a year," Mikaela said with a wince.

"That's the ones. I haven't been able to eat seafood period since I met them," Polly said.

"What joys that I have to look forward to," Shareen said with a small laugh.

Charley looked at her in surprise as she said, "You think that you'll still be traveling with her then?"

"I don't see why not. I don't ever plan on leaving. Rose gets into far too much trouble to be left on her own for too long. Someone has to look after her," Shareen said with a grin.

They all silently looked to Mikaela for an answer for a moment but all she said was, "Sorry. I can't say anything, guys. I would if I could but I've already endangered the future enough just by being here."

"Well, it didn't hurt to try, did it?" Shareen said with an unfazed look on her face.

"Leave Mikaela alone about the future. It's hard enough just knowing it without having to be questioned about it too," Gwyneth said as she broke her usual silence to speak.

"We weren't trying to bother her," Polly said.

"I know. I just know how she feels is all that I'm saying especially at times like this when I want to say something but I know that I can't," Gwyneth said as she tried to hide any trace of emotion from them.

"Is that a hint?" Shareen asked.

"We don't need a hint. We all know that she's coming back. Mikaela already said so," Charley said.

"That doesn't mean anything. Time can always be rewritten. I thought I taught you that a long time ago, Charley," the Doctor said as he and Rose entered the conversation now.

"It hasn't been rewritten yet though, Doctor, or Mikaela wouldn't still be here," Charley pointed out.

"Yeah, but I constantly worry about suddenly disappearing all the time," Mikaela admitted.

Rose's eyes glowed as she said, "You're alright, Mikaela. Don't worry. I won't allow that to happen. You're not going anywhere."

Mikaela smiled at that as she said, "I love it when she puts on the all-powerful routine."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rose said with a grin.

"Sure you don't," Shareen said.

"So where are we going, Doctor? Did you two ever stop kissing long enough to decide?" Polly asked.

The Doctor frowned as he said, "Of course I did. I've set course for a really cool planet named Façade VII. It's a pleasure planet where we can all sit back and relax for a while. You'll all love it. The way you lot talk it's like I kiss Rose every single moment that I'm not busy breathing or eating fish fingers and jammie dodgers. I don't kiss Rose that much."

Everyone in the room including Rose shot him a look as he said, "I don't."

"Please. Every time I look you two are sucking face. I just hope that I get half as many kisses as you do when I get old," Mikaela said.

"Oi! I'm not old!" Rose protested.

"Really? How old are you then?" Shareen asked with an evil smile already knowing what her response would be.

"231 years old," Rose said as if that was nothing.

"That's ancient," Mikaela said.

"It is not. He's 2,000. Now that's ancient," Rose said as she pointed at the Doctor.

"Hey!" the Doctor protested even as he started to smile again.

"Admit it, Doctor. You're older than entire civilizations," Rose said.

"That may be but I'm still not as old as your mother. Now that's ancient. That's practically prehistoric," the Doctor shot back.

"Don't even go there," Rose said with a barely concealed smile on her face.

Then they both laughed and held each other as the Doctor said, "I'm sorry if I've been a bit too down lately. Thank you, all of you, for trying to cheer me up with all of these old jokes."

"Who's joking?" Mikaela said with a straight face.

"Just . . . shut up, Mikaela," the Doctor said with a fond smile as he gave her a small hug.

Mikaela smiled as she realized that it was the first time that he had called her that when he wasn't worried about her. She wondered if he was finally starting to like her or not. She would never admit it of course, but she had started liking this version of him a long time ago. He wasn't her Doctor like the Old Man was, but she still loved him all the same because he was still the Doctor despite being an immature overgrown child masquerading (and very badly at that) as a responsible adult.

"I'm glad that you're alright now, Ella," the Doctor said as he kissed her forehead.

"Thanks, Chin Boy," Mikaela said.

The Doctor's face immediately fell and everyone glared at Mikaela as she quickly said, "I'm sorry, Doctor. It just sort of came out."

The Doctor smiled at her reassuringly as he said, "It's alright. You can call me that if you want."

Mikaela nodded but resolved to come up with some new nickname that was all her own to call him in the future. She never wanted to see that pained look on his face again especially because of something that she had said.

Rose immediately put her arms around the Doctor and gave him a tender kiss causing him to say, "I'm alright, Rose."

Then he smiled evilly and said, "Don't stop kissing me though."

"Your wish is my command," Rose said as she kissed him again.

"Yeah, he doesn't kiss Rose that much," Shareen said in a low voice causing the others to laugh.

The Doctor started to protest but Rose put her finger on his lips as she said, "Would you rather pout or kiss?"

"Oh, definitely kiss," the Doctor said with a smile.

"I thought so," Rose said as she kissed him again.

"I think he's going to be alright now," Shareen said nodding sagely.

"I hope so," Charley said with a worried look on her face.

"He'll be fine," Polly said with certainty.

Gwyneth meanwhile watched them with a brief smile. She was so glad that the Doctor was enjoying himself as much as he could while he was still able to. He would really be glad about that later.

She really hated being a psychic sometimes.

That was when the TARDIS finally landed, and the Doctor ran out the doors like a little boy while dragging Rose along as she laughed at him. Even now he grabbed her hand tightly as if he was afraid that she would go away again. She had to admit that she still did the same thing to him too.

"Hello, Façade VII!" the Doctor shouted to the skies.

The others all looked at the planet with awestruck expressions on their faces as they took in its almost rainbow colored skies and its wide expanses of beautiful long beaches that were filled with aliens of all shapes and sizes. This was definitely an extremely popular tourist attraction by any standards, and they could certainly see why.

"So, Rose, do you still have that bikini that I like so much?" the Doctor said with a mischievous grin.

"You mean the one that's almost microscopic?" Rose said grinning.

"That's the one," the Doctor said.

"Oh, please don't," Mikaela said with a groan.

"I take it you've seen it before then?" Shareen asked with a laugh.

"Oh, yes, and I hoped that I'd never see it again," Mikaela said.

"It's not that bad. You can't see anything," Rose protested.

"She'd be hauled away for wearing it in my time," Gwyneth said.

"She might still be even in our time," Polly joked.

"Stop it," Rose protested as she started laughing.

The Doctor started to laugh too and just for a moment he forgot about missing Clara. That had been Mikaela's intention all along of course. She knew just how to make her Time Lord forget his worries even if this one was different from the one that she had grown up with. He was still the same Doctor in all that ways that mattered. She realized that now.

Then this brief happy moment was interrupted all too soon as the planet itself started to shake and shudder as it experienced a massive earthquake. The once warm and inviting sea now instantly turned dangerous as the waves became larger and larger and threatened to turn into tsunamis.

"What's happening?" Shareen asked in horror as the ground started shaking so hard that she could barely stand.

"I don't know. This planet's never had much of a history of earthquakes. It's one of the reasons why it's so popular. There are no natural disasters here. Ever," the Doctor said in confusion.

"Funny how that changed as soon as you showed up, isn't it?" Charley asked suspiciously.

"I swear that I don't know anything about this," the Doctor protested as the shaking became worse and worse by the moment.

"This is definitely not a good place to be right now. We need to get out of here," Polly said as she eyed the ever rising ocean waves warily.

"For once I agree. Back to the TARDIS," the Doctor said.

Before they could even more though, the earthquakes became so bad that they were all knocked off of their feet and found that they couldn't get back up again. The ocean now looked as if it was only moments from producing a massive tsunami that would wipe everyone on the beach out in a single moment.

Rose started to glow with the power of the Vortex as she prepared to attempt to hold the tsunami back with all of her power for as long as she could if she had to in order to keep everyone there safe. Then just as soon as the earthquakes started they just as suddenly stopped, and Rose breathed out a massive sigh of relief.

"Is it over?" Mikaela asked as she slowly got back to her feet again.

"I don't know. There could still be aftershocks that are just as bad as that was. Hurry back to the TARDIS while we still can," the Doctor said in a worried voice.

They all ran back inside the TARDIS at record speed, and the Doctor was soon using the TARDIS' sensors to attempt to find out what was going on. He had to admit that using them as a seismograph was something that he had never even considered before but it worked. He soon realized that there were going to be more quakes. Many more.

Then the sensors told him something that explained everything, but it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it did just the opposite.

"I can't believe it. I heard legends of this kind of stuff back on Pete's World, but I never thought that it was actually real. Have you ever heard of anything like it?" Rose asked in shock.

"Yes, but this is the first time that I've ever actually run across one," the Doctor said in disbelief.

"Run across what? What's going on, Doctor?" Polly asked.

"Well, you know how I told you that some worlds including Earth were formed around a spacecraft, right? There are legends of even stranger things forming the core of a planet though. One of those legends involves certain creatures that leave large eggs of enormous size floating throughout space that sometimes get pulled into orbit around a star and slowly over the millennia become planets. Then so many billions of years later, these eggs suddenly crack open without warning. The creature within then breaks forth from its new rocky shell destroying the entire planet in the process," the Doctor said.

The others all looked at him with absolute dread as Mikaela said what they were all thinking, "That's what's happening here, isn't it?"

The Doctor looked at her with sad eyes and a solemn look on his face as he said, "Yes, I'm afraid so. The TARDIS' sensors show a living creature at the core of this planet, and its life signs are strengthening more and more by the moment. It's about to be born very soon now. When it is, this entire planet and every one of the billions of people on it will die!"

Gwyneth tried very hard not to look at the others as they all stared at her. This was definitely one of those times when she absolutely loathed being a psychic and just wished that she had been born an ordinary woman instead. She hated it when all she could do was sit back and watch while the people that she loved were in mortal danger and there was nothing whatsoever that she could do about it. She couldn't risk altering the future in unforeseen ways by telling them about it though no matter how much she might want to. The future Rose had warned her against doing that many times before so she couldn't do anything but stand there and watch.

Not even if her silence might wind up killing them all.

Next: Can the Doctor save the day or is this one of those cases where even he must fail? How could even the Doctor save everyone on the planet in time? What exactly is at the planet's core anyway and what will happen once it emerges? I bet Clara's glad that she left now!