sadhappygirl: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Grem did help the Doctor, but there are still scars. I feel really sad for Grem, too. Sometimes I'm just plain mean to my characters. And I know you do! Haha
Mystery Commenter: I know. *comforts* and thank you.
He stood in an endless dark room, staring around at hundreds of faces, twisted in tortured agony. He could see the torment in their eyes, see what they saw; their friends and family dying over and over and over until it drove them mad. And he just stared at them, unable to help them. Amongst them, the vile figures of the elite Legion watched and laughed hideously, but their eyes were as maddened and tortured as the others' were.
They faded away and in their place stood the Master; hands cuffed behind his back, doubling over as he was shot once. Twice. Three times. Over and over. The Doctor ran to him and cradled him in his arms, tears running down his face as he begged him to regenerate. He disappeared, leaving the Doctor kneeling in the middle of the darkened room, tears of sorrow streaming down his face.
Cruel, violent laughter echoed in the room and the Doctor's eyes widened in terror, his body trembling uncontrollably as he looked up at Akdevor; huge, dark and powerful, hovering over him hungrily.
"You are mine," he said, laughing wickedly.
"No... please..." the Doctor begged, grabbing his head in horrified dispair. "Please no!" He shut his eyes, tried to pretend he wasn't there, but the horribly laughter echoed in his ears as a ghaslty reminder.
"You are mine. And so are they."
The Doctor looked up and screamed pitifully at the sight. Martha, Jack, Amara, all twisted, leathery, bony and dead, their eyes wide, reflecting the horrors within them.
His hearts stopped, and he begged until his throat was raw. "No! Please! Not them! Not them!"
Akdevor just laughed.
The Doctor tried to get up, but he was too weak. He just knelt and stared at his friends helplessly. He reached out and then froze, staring at his own hand, horror-stricken as leathery black skin began crawling up his arm, eating away his flesh and replacing it. His bones jut out and claws appeared at the ends of his fingers. "NO!" the Doctor screamed despairing panic. He began to rub at it, trying desperately to scrape it off, but it only seemed to increase its speed. He glanced up at Akdevor with frightened, pleading eyes.
Akdevor grinned maniacally. From behind him, Grem, in his Vampiric form, appeared, staring at the Doctor coldly.
"Help!" the Doctor cried.
Grem gazed at him and then began to transform, morphing and twisting until he became Legion. It smiled cruelly at him. "You will be Legion... HAHA!" it howled with laughter.
The Doctor felt it creeping through his chest, his legs and slowly up his neck, felt his bones shifting and breaking as he changed. He cried out in agony as Akdevor loomed over him, shadowy hands outstretched to embrace him. "You are mine..."
"NO!" the Doctor shouted, sitting upright in his seat, hearts pounding in his chest and breathing rapidly as his crazed eyes gazed unseeingly into the TARDIS.
"Doctor!" Jack said, holding his shoulders and shaking him. "Wake up! Wake up, Doctor!"
The Doctor looked at him, unsure for a moment where he was or who was touching him. He paused and then began to rub his arms and chest frantically, scratching at his skin to rid it of the leathery skin that he was sure was threatening to consume him.
"Doctor, stop!" Jack shouted at him in alarm, grabbing his arms. "Stop! It's alright. You're safe."
The Doctor looked at him, his eyes wide with madness, his breaths coming in rapid, terrified bursts. He looked around the room, recognizing the TARDIS. His TARDIS. He was safe. He was fine... He swallowed, leaning back on the seat. "Jack..."
"You're fine," Jack reassured him, sitting down beside him.
The Doctor worked to get full, calmed breaths, but the more he cooled his adrenaline, the more he felt himself falling apart. His gaze fell down upon his shaking hands and he saw hot tears dripping down from his face onto his palms.
Jack saw it, too and he immediately put an arm around the Doctor's shoulders, pulling him into a hug. The Doctor felt more tears free themselves of his eyes.
"It's alright... it's alright..." Jack soothed gently, rubbing the Doctor's back. He pulled away and looked the Doctor in the face. "You're going to be fine."
The Doctor nodded unconvincingly, sniffing and trying to get himself under control. He couldn't be like this when Martha came in; he wanted to be strong for her. He hadn't even wanted Jack to see him this way. He looked over to where Grem should have been laying, asleep, but found him missing. "Where's Grem gone?"
"The lights started to bother him. I think they hurt him," Jack said. He looked at the Doctor seriously. "Do you... want to talk about it?"
The Doctor swallowed and shook his head. "No."
"Are you sure?"
He nodded, rubbing his face tiredly. He didn't feel at all rested. If anything he just felt more exhausted than before. "Are Martha and Amara sleeping?"
Jack frowned at him, but nodded. "Yeah. They were really tired. Especially Amara. She about passed out as soon as she'd touched the bed."
"Is she sleeping well?"
Jack shook his head. "I think she was having a nightmare. I woke her up and then she went right back to sleep."
The Doctor nodded, looked up at the TARDIS console. "Right... well, I think I'm going to go ahead and drop all of you off at Martha's mother's house. You'll be safe there," he said, carefully standing, using the console as support.
"You're not going back today, are you?" Jack asked with concern.
"Not today," the Doctor replied. "I have some things I need to do first."
"We're not leaving you, Doc," Jack said stubbornly.
His nightmare flashed in his mind briefly, of Martha and Jack as Legion and he shivered. "Yes. You are."
"You're not facing this by yourself. I won't let you," Jack insisted calmly. "Say what you want to Martha; lie to her face, but don't do it to me. It won't work. You need help, whether you want to admit it or not."
The Doctor said nothing, frustration rising in his stomach. "You don't understand..."
"Maybe not," Jack said. "I don't know what you're going through, but I know what I see. What I see is someone who needs help but is too proud to admit it. I get that you don't want Martha and me to get hurt. I get it. So send Martha off, but you won't do it to me. I'm staying right here."
The Doctor turned and looked at the calm determination in his eyes. There was nothing he could say to change his mind, nothing he could do to make him see reason. He sighed.
Jack smiled. "How do you plan to get Martha to stay? You know she won't leave you."
"I'll think of something," the Doctor said, smacking the console with a hammer and throwing a few switches. The TARDIS whirred to life in response as she began to move. He watched the glass tube pump up and down. It was comforting. The loud, and perhaps to some, obnoxious noise of the TARDIS was also comforting. It was sanctuary. It was home.
"What if you told her to watch out for Amara?"
"Amara will need looking after," he mused thoughtfully, "I don't want to take her back there."
Jack nodded.
"But I don't think Francine would like me bringing an alien into her home."
"Probably not," Jack said with a chuckle. "But Martha will make her see reason."
"Who see reason?" Martha asked as she entered the room. The Doctor turned his head when he noticed her watching him, as though she expected him to start screaming and crying again.
Jack glanced at the Doctor for help, but when he recieved none, he turned to Martha. "You and Amara are going to stay at your Mom's," he said, trying to put enough authority into his voice so that she wouldn't argue.
"What?" she asked angrily. She looked up at the Doctor. "No. No. Absolutely not. I'm staying with the Doctor."
Jack sighed, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "Martha, the Doctor can't take Amara back to that planet, but we can't just drop her off, either. She needs someone to look after her."
"My mom can do that," Martha said.
Jack laughed. "Oh, please! She'd sooner shoot her then let her into her house!"
Martha turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, I'm not leaving you."
He looked up at her, feeling old and tired suddenly. "Martha, please do this for me. Go home. Look after Amara. I'll be alright."
"But you're not alright," Martha said. "You're not even okay. Don't think I can't see it. I'm not stupid. I know that for some reason you think all of this is your fault and you have to deal with it alone, but you don't! You don't have to! Jack and I, we're your friends. I want to help."
The Doctor stared at her, brow furrowed.
"She's right," said Amara, standing in the doorway of the hall, leaning against the entryway. "You need help."
The Doctor looked over at her and shook his head. "I don't want to take you back there."
"Doctor, right now, I am damaged beyond repair, like everyone else on that wretched planet. You are their only chance... my only chance. If I have to go back with you, help you, so that you can help myself and the others, then so be it."
"I'm not asking for anyone's help," the Doctor started, but she stopped him.
"I know that. But if you're going to survive to help me, then you're going to need it. What I'm trying to tell you, is that I'm helping purely on a selfish level."
The Doctor looked at her and smiled softly at her. She returned it. She was much more brave than he had originally thought. "No one has to come," he said. "I want to make that clear right now. If you want to leave, do it." He looked around, waiting for one of them to say something, but none of them did. He sighed and nodded, wishing that they would change their minds.
"So, what's the plan?" Jack asked.
The Doctor nodded and turned to the TARDIS, which had parked a few minutes before and was now sitting in the middle of Francine Jones's backyard. He put in new coordinates. "First, I need to make a couple pit-stops. There are a few things I need."
"Such as?" Jack inquired.
The Doctor felt a tickling at his side and he reached into his pocket, pulling out the psychic paper. He flipped it open and read the message inside.
You are mine.
He frowned and put it back in his pocket.
"What was that?" Martha asked.
"Nothing to worry about. Just something I need to take care of," he said dismissively. He turned to the TARDIS controls, lacing his fingers and stretching them out in front of him dramatically. "Now... where was I?"
"Pit-stops," Jack supplied.
"Ah, yes. Pit-stops. Yes. I need to get a hold of UNIT. I've got a favor to ask them. Jack, do you think you could get me a ship? A big one. It needs to be able to carry a lot of people."
Jack nodded. "No problem. Cargo ship, okay?"
"Perfect," the Doctor said, going over to the door and opening it. "Let's get to work."
Bit of a short chapter, but the next one promises to be exciting. I'm going to be working very hard on it to make sure its perfect, so I may not be able to upload it tomorrow. We'll see. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Oh, and I apologize for a lack of Grem in this chapter. He needed to get away from the lights.