Planet of the Ood Part 3
The three of them had been transported back into Halpens office who was angrily staring at them. Guards were handcuffing their hands separately on some part of the wall while Halpen looked over at them as he spoke from his desk.
"Why don't you just come out and say it? FOTO activists." Halpen voiced angrily, his arms folded across his chest
"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes." The Doctor snapped, his eyebrows in a frown, his teeth guttering out as he spoke to Halpen angrily
"The Ood were nothing without us - just animals roaming around on the ice." Halpen snapped from his position on the edge of his desk.
"That's because you can't hear them." Rose said, her eyes boring into his, her companions looking down at her with concern and admiration as she tried to defend the Ood.
"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight." Halpen said with a smile on his face, sigma was standing behind him, his translator ball in his hand
"You idiot!" Rose stated, The Doctor turning his face to look at her while Halpen's smile slowly faded from his face "They're born with their brain in their hands, don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets." Rose said to him, Sigma moving his head to look at her
"Nice one." The Doctor said with a smile on his face, his eyebrows in a frown, forehead crinkled as he spoke to his wife
"Thank you." Rose said gently before looking over at Halpen who was looking at her darkly, his body moving from his perch and taking a few steps towards them
"The system's worked for 200 years. All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized." He said to them. The Doctor and Rose looking over at him with a frown on his face before he lifted his wrist strap to his mouth, talking into the comm.
"You're going to gas them?" The Doctor shouted angrily, his mouth showing his teeth, eyes wide with disgust and anger
"Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still works." Halpen said laughing as he watched the ticking clock which prepared for the gassing of hundreds of Ood. But suddenly an alarm sounded causing the time travellers to snap their heads in the direction of the sound, the Doctor's eyebrows moving into a raised position while Donna had her mouth open. Rose's face moving into a look of concentration as she started to rotate her wrist, working on the handcuffs.
"Change of plan." Halpen said as he walked back into the room, the Doctor and his friends not noticing what was going on outside, their heads following the two men into the room
"No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere."
"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."
"What's happening?" The Doctor asked, his voice full of authority, eyebrows in a frown, eyes hard with determination, the pair in front of him moved to face him. Rose still working on the hand cuffs, her wrists become saw from the constant rubbing
"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood." He said before smiling and heading for the door
"But, Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen." The Doctor said quickly as he watched Halpen stopping at the door, the Doctor leaning forward slightly to talk to him
"What do you mean?" Rose said gently as she looked up to her husband who then looked down at her, his eyes frantic as idea's swum around his mind
"The creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element. Am I right?" The Doctor said quickly before looking over to Halpen, his features never changing
"Again, both of you so clever." Halpen smiled
"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?" The Doctor snapped while Halpen looked at him right in the eyes.
"It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood." Halpen said right in the Doctor's face, his own features turning into a smile before moving himself and his company from the room. With that all three of them started to work on the cuffs, trying to release themselves. They must have been working on them for a few minutes, none off them able to get free, still struggling with the cool metal pressed to their skin.
"Well, do something! You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!" Donna snapped as she continued to thrust her wrists from the poll
"These are really good handcuffs!" The Doctor groaned through his teeth his eyes closing as the pressure in his wrist caused him to grimace slightly in pain
"Oh, I'm glad of that. At least we've got quality!" Donna yelled sarcastically but suddenly the doors open causing the three of them to stop their struggling, they could see the Ood standing their. There red eyes shining as they gained on the trio. Doctor and Donna panicking slightly, suddenly shouting at them, trying to convince the Ood that they were friendly, their frantic words overlapping. Donna's face neutral, her eyes showing her panic while the Doctor's eyebrows were raised, his mouth hanging open. Rose however was still struggling with the handcuffs.
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Friends, friends, friends! "
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Donna, friends! "
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
Rose was simply rolling her eyes as she watched and heard her friends and family shouting at the Ood which were advancing on them. Rose was struggling to breathe as she held her breath, her lips curled around her teeth as she concentrated her hands against the cuffs around her wrists. She was tugging and pulling her torso aimed slightly forward. The skin on her wrists rubbed raw, she could feel the trickling of blood weeping down her hand as she tugged. But as Rose closed her eyes she managed to unclasp the cuffs and snapping her hands from her body when she realised she was free, she let out the huge lungful of air which was being held in her body and rubbed her wrist, her wrist bleeding badly, the skin damaged and bruised. But when she looked up she noticed both Donna and the Doctor looking at her with shock. The Doctor having his eyebrows raised, mouth hanging open while Donna was mirroring his expression.
"What?" Rose managed to say as she looked at them, her hands held out in front of her
"How did you manage that?" The Doctor said quickly. Rose simply smiled, chuckling slightly
"I've been in situations like this before." Rose smiled for her words to be greeted with a bewildered expression from Donna and the Doctor beaming like an idiot, proud that his wife was able to get out. Rose rushed to their backs and one by one released her friends, but as soon as they were released the Ood had gained on them, with no where to go and no way to get out they found themselves backed up against a wall, the Doctor's hand pressed tightly in Rose's bloody hand.
"Friends, friends, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
The trio were yelling again, the Ood getting closer and closer their words being spoken faster and faster
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Doctor, Rose, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!" They yelled as the Ood held out their translator balls. The Doctor grimacing, his eyebrows closing his eyes to slits, mouth hanging open as he moved his face over to Rose who had her eyes closed and her face hidden into the Doctor. Donna trying to inch back further into the wall as the translator balls stopped mealy inches away from their faces. Rose and the Doctor opening one of their eyes as they looked at them. Watching as they switched off their translator balls, moving their hands away from their faces holding their heads as if in agony. Rose and the Doctor looking at each other in confusion before they once again turned their focus on the Ood. One suddenly lifted their heads, Rose and the Doctor shrieking back slightly before relaxing when they noticed his normal eyes,
"Doctor. Rose, Donna. Friends." He said, his translator ball in hand, lighting up as he spoke.
"That's me! Us!"
"Yes, that's us! Friends! Oh, yes!"
"You clever things" The three of them said all at once, each one of them holding a large smile on their faces, eyes glistening with such happiness as they realised they were safe. The Doctor looked down at Rose and smiled. He let go of her hand and started walking away, the other two in toe but when he looked down at his hand and notice the red substance on his hand. He frowned before turning back to Rose who was clutching at her coat, Donna out in front while the Doctor walked over to Rose grabbing her hand which caused her to look up at the Doctor, her hand palm up in his hand. Her eyebrows in a frown
"Doctor?" She inquired, looking up at him, his eyebrows in a frown, eyes like slits as he studied her hand, looking at the blood trails which were still liquid substances, his soft fingertip trailing her skin softly until his hand went under her sleeve, pulling it over her wrist showing the Doctor the damage. The Doctor trailed his hand over the ripped skin, his thumb now slick with Rose's blood before he looked up at her
"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered so Donna wouldn't hear them
"I didn't want to worry you" Rose said gently with a small smile on her face, her eyes going to the ground "And besides we have more important things to do" She whispered. The Doctor simply moved his other hand to her cheek making her look at him, her eyes looking right into his, his other hand still holding Rose's injured wrist. He smiled slight before moving his head closer to hers
"Nothing is too important for you" The Doctor said lovingly, his eyes boring right into Rose's his love for her being transported to her via their link. Her sober face then turned into a large smile as she looked up at him. Her arm found its way around his neck and she suddenly pressed a kiss to her husband's lips. When they pulled away they were smiling before the Doctor reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a bandage and a couple of plasters to sort out her injured hands. Noticing that Donna still wasn't with them Rose looked over his shoulder to see her figure.
"Donna wait a sec!" Rose shouted for Donna to turn around with a frown before walking back over to them. The Doctor was busy working on Rose's wrist as he wrapped a white bandage around her wrist and around her thumb so her wrist was secure as well as the padding restricting the flow of her blood. Donna had arrived and watched as the Doctor placed the plaster in his mouth, Donna looking down at Rose wrist which was laying out in front of her
"You alright?" Donna asked slightly worried
"It's just a scratch" Rose said with a smile as the Doctor pulled the plaster from the plastic packet, and placed it on Rose's bandage.
"There good as new" He said cheerily before he grabbed hold of Rose's hand, careful not to agitate it and ran off with Rose and the Doctor smiling, Donna rolling her eyes before running after them. The Doctor continued to run down the corridor with Rose hand firmly in his, he turned one of the doors for them to arrive outside, the snow falling heavily to the ground as they ran down the metal stairs, the Doctor was frowning with his mouth open while Rose simply had her mouth open, they ran across the compound dodging gun fire, dodging the fighting. But suddenly the Doctor stopped suddenly causing Rose to fall into his back. He simply looked at her before trying to get his bearings.
"I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!" The Doctor cried exasperated
"What are we looking for?" Donna shouted through the snow and over the gunfire, Rose was beginning to look around her surroundings in worry, hoping nothing would happen to her friends. With that one thought it must have been transferred over to the Doctor as they continued running again, the Doctor yelling over to them over his shoulder
"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern or..." But before the Doctor could finish their sentence a neighbouring canister exploded behind them, causing them to be thrown to the ground by the sheer power of the reaction. Their bodies thrown into the snow. Donna's hair was curled around her face, her hood lying loosely over her head slightly while Rose and the Doctor were looking over their shoulders, Rose's coat slowly absorbing the coldness of the floor while the Doctor turned back around again, his eyebrows raised, mouth hanging open as he turned his attention to Donna.
"All right?" He asked her before he noticed Donna nodding he then turned to Rose who was in the middle of the pair of them
"Rose?" He enquired over at her concerned
"I'm fine" She said while she nodded, but before they got to their feet through the smoke they could see the Ood Sigma standing in front of them, each one having their mouths open as they laid there, their arms in front of them, hair and clothing covered in falling snow.
Ood Sigma started to lead the Doctor and his friends to the correct warehouse. The Doctor smiled over at him before pulling out his screwdriver and used it against the panel which sparked, causing the door to open.
They bounded down some stairs before coming to the railings of the thing which was preventing the Ood from fighting each other, the lights red, the noise of large quantities of electricity surging its way through the building. The Doctor had his eyebrows raised, his mouth hanging open while Donna held her own frown, down in front of them was a large brain, kept within an energy field.
"The Ood brain. Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic centre. It's a shared mind... connecting all the Ood in song." The Doctor said shaking his head, looking down to his wife smiling to her gently, rubbing her hand over the bandage which was present over her thumb before they heard a weapon clicking. The Doctor and his friends turned around to see Halpen holding a gun towards them.
"Cargo. I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock." Halpen said with a smile on his face as he came and walked over to them
"He's mined the area." Ryder pointed out causing Rose and Donna to look at the gratings, noticing the small bombs while the Doctor continued to face Halpen, his eyebrows raised, mouth hanging open as his face was angled in the air.
"You're gonna kill it." Donna gasped
"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier."
"Those pylons." The Doctor said to Donna
"In a circle. "The circle must be broken."" Rose whispered to Donna and the Doctor before taking a step back to the Doctor's side and talking to Halpen angrily
"You dampened the telepathic field, stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years." She snapped
"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better." Halpen said through his teeth ignoring Rose's statements
"My place is at your side, sir." Sigma stated as he held his translator ball, moving back to his side
"Still subservient. Good Oo—" He said with a smile, unable to finish his sentence, something pushing it's way up his throat, Rose seeming to be the only one who noticed along with Sigma
"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna asked standing next to the Doctor who was looking at the brain again, Rose frowning over at Halpen who was worriedly grasping his head, the gun wavering out in front of him.
"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconscious reaching out." The Doctor stated as his eyebrows moved into a raised position, each one of them turning to face Ryder who continued the Doctor's line of through
"But the process was too slow, had to be accelerated. You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."
"Yes. Yes, you did." Halpen smiled before pushing Ryder of the railing, causing him to be absorbed into the brain, Rose and the Doctor leaning over the side, but neither one of them could reach him
"You... murdered him." Donna shouted
"Very observant, Ginger." Halpen smiled before raising the gun again, causing the Doctor to move Donna from the line of sight, angling himself in front of Rose and Donna "Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before..." He said before wrenching slightly "can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." He smiled before holding up his gun to fire
"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma asked, taking a step closer to Halpen.
"I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."Halpen laughed, but Sigma simply moved in front of the Doctor and his companion, holding out a glass towards him
"Please have a drink, sir." Sigma said again just so the Doctor placed his hand on Sigma's shoulder, hoping he wouldn't get hurt.
"If- if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too." Halpen snapped, he was having trouble specking the last words, almost talking in slow motion but Rose watched as Sigma continued to talk to his master, his translator ball lighting up, his head moving as he continued to speak
"Please have a drink, sir."
"Have-have you... poisoned me?" Halpen panicked
"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."
"What is that stuff?" The Doctor asked with a frown on his face
"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound." Sigma said as he turned around to face the Doctor while Rose and Donna continued to look over at Halpen who was looking decidedly unwell.
"What the hell does that mean?" Halpen said shaking with pain, hand on his forehead
"Oh dear." Rose voiced gently, moving to the Doctor's side, Donna looking at her as she once again was shocked by the knowledge Rose possessed.
"Tell me!" Halpen yelled
"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma." The Doctor said gently, admiring Ood Sigma who was blinking gently as he looked over at his master "How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?" The Doctor said happily for the man in front of him to grab hold of his hair which fell out in his hand, his eyes wide with terror, the pain becoming almost too much
"What have you done?" He asked, fear present in his voice, his question aimed at the group.
"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time." Rose said softly with a smile "And now you're standing next to the Ood brain." She said again, taking another step closer "Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen." She said motioning towards her ear, Donna knowing she was talking about the song. Halpen shaking as he moved his body towards the brain, finally hearing the unsettling song of captivity.
"What have you-I'm... not—" Halpen tried to say but Sigma simply stepped out of the way. Halpen dropping the gun in the process which meant Rose could kick it out of the way. Ignoring the man who was gripping his head and crying out in agony. He pulled at his scalp and it fell away from his scalp revealing an Ood head underneath, tentacles coming out of his mouth. Rose grimacing slightly at the site, Donna gapping at the whole things, her eyes wide, mouth hanging open in misbelieve. The Doctor having his own eyebrows raised and mouth open
"They-they turned him into an Ood?" Donna whispered as she spoke over to the Doctor
"Yup." The Doctor chimed, his eyebrows staying in the place they were before, his lips curling around his teeth while his head nodded
"He's an Ood." Donna voiced again, still not quite able to believe it
"We noticed." Rose smiled gently as she too did not remove her eyes from Ood Halpen, who was now making a strange gurgling noise and coughing up his secondary brain.
"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him." Sigma voice as he turned back around to them. Donna simply sighed, her hands going to her head as she shook it before looking back towards the Doctor and Rose
"It's weird, being with you. I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."
"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen." The Doctor chimed deeply before being interrupted by a loud beeping "Oh!" He chimed before jumping to the railings, leaning over and flicking a switch turning off the detonation packs "That's better. And now... Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honour?" The Doctor asked with a smile as he turned to face the Ood.
"It is yours, Doctor"
"Oh yes!" The Doctor cried happily who was smiling over at him, his head shaking in excitements as he turned around and started playing with the equipment, powering the field, all the while talking to them "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!" He muttered before the field around the brain shut off, the song being heard by everyone. Rose face turning into one of such joy, her eyes sparkling with excitement while Donna's lips turned into a smile as she heard the Ood singing
"I can hear it!" She cried ecstatic while Sigma raised his arms, joyous that he could finally sing.
The group had finally made it back to the TARDIS for the Ood to be standing with them in a semi- circle just outside of the TARDIS, Donna smiling with her hands in her pockets, the Doctor holding a small smirk on his face, Rose looking at them gently
"The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home." The Doctor smiled
"We thank you, Doctor-Rose-Donna, friends of Ood-kind. And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you." Sigma voiced, the other Ood looking on
"Oh-I've-I've sorta got a song of my own, thanks." The Doctor said cocking his head towards the TARDIS and then down to Rose who was smiling up at him. She grasped hold of his hand and they both smiled over at Ood Sigma who seemed to smile slightly at their interaction
"I think your song must end soon."
"Meaning?" The Doctor asked, his face falling slightly
"Every song must end."
"Yeah." The Doctor nodded, the eerie turn of the conversation leaving before he turned to Donna "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"
"No. Definitely not." Donna smiled causing Rose to beam over at her, while the Doctor smiled turning back towards the Ood
"Then we'll be off." He smiled for the Ood to all raise their hands
"Take this song with you."
"We will." Rose smiled
"Always." The Doctor said to them kindly
"And know this, Doctor-Rose-Donna, you will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Doctor-Donna, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever." Sigma voiced for the Doctor and Donna to walk back into the TARDOS and dematerialise leaving the Ood singing.