Chapter Ten
The Doctor cut an impressive and awe-inspiring figure, standing fast on the bank of the river Nile, silently staring-down the giant Braxlavax hybrid as, all around him, the Royal Guard of the Pharaoh panicked and fled for their lives. And, although she knew the logical thing to do would be to run also, Martha Jones couldn't help but feel drawn to his side, albeit slightly nervous.
"Why aren't we running?" she asked, her hand instinctively slipping into his for comfort and strength.
"No point," the Doctor assured, never once taking his deep brown eyes off the monster alien amalgamation. "We're safe enough here, for the time being at least."
"Er, correct me if I'm wrong Doctor, but I've seen more than enough Godzilla movies to know that when the Big Ugly rises angrily from the deep, it's better to be far, far away."
"Ahh, but you see!" a thin smile traced along his lips. "Godzilla was never a shape shifting alien, now was she? Might've tangled with a couple, mind you…"
"Wait, Godzilla was a 'she'?"
"Whatever you're planning, Doctor, it shall do you no good!" boomed Isis' jeering tones from the muzzle of Anubis. "You, the slaughterer of the Braxlavax, shall perish where you stand!" With a growl, the monstrous alien lifted a foot the size of a bathtub up from the riverbed, weeds and other aquatic plant life clinging to its toes like an infection.
"Okay," conceded the Doctor blithely as the shadow of the foot loomed over Martha and himself, "maybe we should back up a bit after all – like, right now."
He jumped back nimbly, yanking Martha along with him, who stumbled far less elegantly. The hideous foot slammed down upon the spot the pair of them had only just occupied, kicking-up a cloud of dust and sand.
"You cannot run forever, Doctor!" laughed Isis as the hybrid dragged itself out of the river to stand on the bank not four feet from the two companions. "Sooner or later, we will crush you – and all the human vermin that scurry alongside you!"
"She's talking about you," the Doctor interjected with an elbow in Martha's side.
"Ow! And I knew that," she groused, "but instead of pointing out the obvious and making it madder, shouldn't we be running now?"
"Like I said, Martha, there's really no point. Oh, sure, the towering menagerie here can stomp all it wants, but I think you'll find their time is just about up…"
"Don't try and postpone your inevitable demise with your inane prattling, Time Lord," the huge canine head spat a globule of saliva the size of a football to the side, the viscous ball striking a domicile with all the force of a cannonball, destroying a wall. "It is your days that are numbered!"
"Oh, really?" beamed the Doctor, his ears twitching. "Well then how come I'm not the one cracking up?"
"We find our vengeance not to be a laughing matter!"
"Not 'cracking-up' as in 'funny-ha-ha'," he corrected the huge monstrosity before him, pointing a finger at its feet, "I meant 'cracking up' as in literally cracking up…as in, turning to stone."
"WHAT?!" the Braxlavax hybrid took an alarmed step back, almost teetering on the bank of the Nile as it brought a foot up with tremendous difficulty. The reason for this soon became apparent to all, as the flesh on the soles of its feet visibly began drying-up, turning a pale shade of grey before cracking into a distinctly rocky matter. "No…No, this – this cannot be! The feeding deadline is still for another hour! How...How is this possible?!"
"Science," answered the Doctor grimly, his face – for want of a better phrase – set in stone as the Braxlavax's feet now became completely petrified, the process lacing relentlessly up its shins, "I'm so sorry, but it's simple science; alone – apart – you would have had that hour before needing to feed again, but together and by increasing your joint-mass to such extreme levels you've simply exhausted all available energy in a fraction of the time."
"Then…then we shall separate!" as this was proclaimed, the giant hybrid began to ripple and split from the torso, but was quickly stopped by the Doctor, who simply held up a hand.
"I'm afraid it's too late for that, the petrifaction process has already begun on all of you, as one. To separate successfully is not possible once the process starts in bonded form. I'm afraid you're stuck together until the end…"
"Then we shall feed upon you! You shall sustain us, and save us from death!" the Braxlavax hybrid reached forward, unable to bend down now that the petrifaction had reached its waist.
"Again, it's too late to reverse the process, even if I were to let you feed. There's nothing that can be done, I'm sorry." The Doctor sighed and rummaged in his coat pocket, retrieving his sonic screwdriver soon after. "But I can give you another choice; I can speed-up the process, and ease your suffering…or I can leave you as you are, doomed to petrify slowly and painfully here, the last of your kind."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you, Doctor? To finish what you started, to eradicate the last of the Braxlavax completely by your own hand!" giant hands clutched painfully at its abdomen as it turned, irreversibly, to stone.
"Now, wait, that's not what I meant…!"
"Even in victory, you seek to destroy even further…No, we shall not perish by your hands, Murderer, but by our own. We initiated our own demise, and we shall see it through like true Braxlavax!"
With the petrifaction process now reaching its upper torso and racing down its arms, the Braxlavax hybrid dropped its arms to its sides, and held its head proudly aloft. Only its eyes moved, drifting down to glower balefully at the Doctor and his companion.
"A curse on you, Doctor, and all the human-race you strive to protect. We have seen the future…and this planet deserves everything that's coming to it!" with a low, choked laugh, the hybrid raised its eyes straight ahead as the petrifaction rose up around the muzzle of Anubis.
Martha shuddered, and went to look away, but the Doctor squeezed her hand. "No," he told her firmly, "be here, with me. I couldn't stand to face this alone…"
Taking a deep breath, Martha turned back just in time to see the petrifaction reach the cheekbones of the Braxlavax hybrid, a single tear brimming on its eye before that, too, was turned to stone.
Seconds later, the last of the Braxlavax race was no more. What stood in its place, now nothing more than a statue of a species best left forgotten. Even then, the Doctor did not move for some time, staring solemnly into the stony visage of his most recent foe with a profound look of regret.
He was brought out of his sad reverie when Martha squeezed his hand once more. Taking a quick breath, he squinted into the setting sun across the Nile before turning to her once more.
"We should leave," he said, his voice hollow and devoid of any sense of triumph, "we should…We should just leave and never come back here again."
"Leave?" asked an incredulous voice from behind them. Blinking with mild surprise, the Doctor rounded on this voice to find Rameses II standing before them, tall and unshaken despite all that had transpired. "Why leave now? You are heroes of Egypt, and should be celebrated as such!"
"No, don't," the Doctor replied curtly, stepping up to the Pharaoh and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't call us that; we're not heroes, Your Majesty. Murder never makes someone a hero. We just…did what needed to be done, and I deeply regret the cost. I wanted a peaceful resolution, I truly did."
"But, nevertheless, you have saved my people," Rameses answered him firmly, placing his own hand upon the Doctor's shoulder, "and that is something I simply cannot ignore. You may not want to be called a hero, Doctor, but you are nonetheless a valiant soldier, and one who should be recognised as such. Here," the Pharaoh stepped back, lifting his hands to his head. Before either the Doctor or Martha could move to stop him, he had removed his Nemes, his striped headdress, and held it before him, an offering to the Doctor.
The Doctor stood there, speechless for once in his life although his mouth still tried to say something, opening and closing silently for several moments before he managed, "Uh, ah…oh, I really couldn't accept this, Your Majesty. Surely it would bring you dishonour by giving it to a commoner like me…"
"Nonsense, you would do me a greater dishonour by not accepting this," answered the Pharaoh sternly, forcibly placing it into the Time Lord's hands. "Wherever you go, may it serve as a sign to others that you carry my favour. And the young lady…?"
"Oh, no," Martha blushed, fidgeting under the Pharaoh's admiring gaze, "no, really, there's nothing. I'm fine, really…"
"Again – nonsense! I'm sure the servants can find you an elegant dress to match your beauty in my palace. You must dine with me tonight," he added, all warm-hearted authority.
"Oh, no, we couldn't," the Doctor interjected, feeling this shower of gifts and gratitude would be unceasing if he didn't nip it in the bud. "Like I said, we really should be leaving. We've got other places we need to be, other people we need to help…"
"I understand, Doctor, of course," sighed Rameses regretfully, "how inconsiderate of me. Very well! I shall have two of my best steeds given to you to hasten your journey!"
"Aw, no – more camels?" groaned Martha, quickly followed by an indignant yelp as the Doctor elbowed her sharply once again.
"That's very kind of you, but we already have transport waiting for us by the Pyramid of Giza… I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? Is it not called that yet?"
"Oh, it is," confirmed the Pharaoh, regarding the two travellers with close scrutiny. "This…transport you speak of. Would it happen to be a blue wooden obelisk?"
"Obelisk, that's a new one – but yes, Your Majesty, that's the one. Why?"
"A patrol picked it up before all this took place, Doctor, and brought it back to my palace for observation!" the warm smile was back on Rameses' face, his arms thrown wide open. "It would seem the gods – the real gods, by Ra – have ordained for us to dine together after all! You shall come to my palace, eat with me whilst we find your lovely companion a suitable gift, then – then you shall be seen off as a true hero. Sorry, a true soldier."
"That's very kind of you," the Doctor replied cheerily whilst turning to Martha with a silent 'What Can You Do?' look on his face. "Lead the way, Your Majesty, whilst I try my vest best to walk like an Egyptian!"
"…You're terrible, you know that?" sighed Martha with a soft laugh.
~***~
It was drawing close to midnight before the Pharaoh was sufficiently satisfied with the time the two travellers had spent with him; the food had grown cold and the live music had died, the musicians excused for the night, leaving the Doctor and Martha alone with the historical figure, albeit for some Royal Guards posted at the doorways.
"Your blue obelisk awaits you in the courtyard," Rameses informed them, his voice slightly slurred from the copious amounts of wine he had imbibed during their meal together, "although how it serves as a mode of transport is far beyond my understanding; there are no wheels nor steeds by which to pull it, no handles for servants to carry it nor any door through which to be seated within. A most puzzling contraption, and one I would very much like to see in operation, with your permission."
"Of course, Your Majesty," the Doctor nodded, rising to pull his coat back on only to have Martha pull him aside sharply.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, "When he sees the TARDIS just evaporate who knows what could happen? Couldn't it change the timeline if he was witness to technology from the future?"
"Relax, Martha, ol' Rammy's obviously had more than one too many," he assured her with a smile, "the worst that could happen is that he brands us as witches and orders us to be killed on sight – "
"Oh, that's a relief…"
"But we'll never be coming back here again," he continued firmly, "not if I can help it, anyway. Besides, that's the worst-case scenario. Chances are he'll forget about it all in the morning, thanks to a stonking hangover. Now, shall we leave here finally?"
"Not a second too soon," she growled as he snatched up the bundle that carried her new silk dress, "if I hear someone refer to me as a 'Nubian' behind my back one more time…!"
"Off we go, then!" he piped up before she could fume any longer. He took the Pharaoh's shaky hand and helped him to his feet, slipping under the man's arm for support, "Allons-y, Ramm-y!"
Several minutes later they were out in the brisk night air, the three of them standing before the TARDIS. It was a sight for sore eyes, that much was clear when the two travellers silently exchanged glances over the stooped figure of Rameses II.
"Can you stand, Your Majesty?" asked the Doctor softly, "I need to open the door."
"Ridiculoush," snorted the Pharaoh, staggering on his feet as the Doctor strode briskly to the TARDIS, keys appearing with a flourish in his hand. "My men shearched that obelishk – there ish no door, Doctor."
"None that opens outwards," answered the Doctor with all the flair of a magician performing the greatest of illusions as, with a turn of the key, the door to his ship swung inwards with a slow creak. "Come on, Martha."
"Your Majesty," Martha smiled tightly at the Pharoah, who stood open-mouthed at the light that poured out of the TARDIS. "It's been great meeting you."
"Like…wise…" he gasped, blinking tightly. "Charmed…"
Several seconds later, the door was closed behind them, and the Pharaoh was alone, staring dumbfounded at the blue obelisk that once again seemed to show no signs of a door.
But the mystery didn't end there as, with a hollow drone, the strange obelisk seemed to fade in and out of his vision. Gasping, Rameses dabbed at his bleary eyes just as the droning seceded into strange birdsong…
When he opened them again, the mysterious blue obelisk was gone.
~***~
"Well," the Doctor sighed heavily as his hands left the controls of the TARDIS, "that was an experience I'm not all too eager to go through again. You know, that's twice I've faced the so-called Egyptian gods – neither time worked-out all that well."
"So, where to now?" asked Martha, hanging her new dress over the side of a railing. "Can we please not do history for sometime? You're not the only one that wants to put this whole sorry mess behind them, you know."
"Yeah…but, hey! Wasn't it your idea to come here in the first place?" he gave her a mock-accusing stare. "That must make it my turn to decide the destination, right?"
"Uh, excuse me," his companion smiled, crossing her arms. Two can play this game. "I specifically remember you saying you wanted to go somewhere without guns, which brought us to Egypt, therefore that was your decision."
"Yes, well…fine, no more history for the time being." He gave her a beaming smile. "Future it is, then!"
And, with that, he hammered the button that pitched them forward into the timestream…
End of Chapter Ten
AN: The Epilogue is still to come! Yay for reaching deadlines!