A/N: Guys. Here I am, working my little socks off to get you another chapter before you all start to hate me, and I log in to find I've only had THREE reviews for the last chapter, and this story is averaging two reviews per chapter. Which, you know, is kinda disappointing, considering the time and effort I've put into this story. If you've bothered to read it, you must have an opinion on it. So, tell me what that opinion is! Reviews are what spur me on to write. So PLEASE, when you reach the bottom of this page click the "review this chapter" button and leave me a message. Otherwise I will sink into a depressed stupor thinking that NOBODY likes my writing, and feel completely uninspired to write, and the story will never be finished. SO PLEASE REVIEW!
Ok. Moan over now.
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! For your troubles, a virtual cake will be winging its way over to...
x-Stage-STARR-x
Sobi
dragon3mage
Shelby
Sinthuja
AnGelFacE S2
Zendolyn
MayFairy
Lady Wesker
smilin steph
I love you all! But especially x-Stage-STARR-x, MayFairy and Lady Wesker for MULTIPLE REVIEWS! *gasp* yes guys, it is possible to review more than once!
Oh, and one more thing…just to clear something up: this story is set after "The End of Time". The Doctor had to wipe Donna's memory and send her home, but Rose stayed with the Doctor, and on their travels they picked up Lucie. So I guess the story is rather AU, and I can say that later on the story will become extremely AU ;)
Disclaimer: (cos I haven't done one for a while) look, I still don't own Doctor Who, ok? Life's a bitch.
ALSO READ MAYFAIRY'S STORY DEAFENING SILENCE! IF YOU LIKE MY STORY, YOU'LL LOVE THIS!
http:/ www. fanfiction. net /s /6284717/1 /
Right. On with the chapter now…
Chapter 8
We decided that the main console room of the TARDIS would be a better place to discuss our problem, considering that we were, at present randomly drifting through the vortex, and someone (well the Doctor really) needed to keep an eye on things. So we ended up there, with the Doctor hovering around the controls, Rose lounging in one of the captain chairs, and me, perched on one of the railings. It was not exactly the most comfortable of seats, but the TARDIS is generally fairly short of seating in the console room, something I had pointed out to the Doctor on more than one occasion.
"Ok," The Doctor said in his most professional manner. "We have a few options."
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Do we now?" She asked. "I was under the impression that the Ood's prophecy was going to be fulfilled and everyone mentioned in it would be destroyed. And if we try to stop it from being fulfilled, we'll be destroyed anyway. Unless we go to the people who...what was it? Those who are great believers in Fate? There are no options, Doctor."
The Doctor shook his head, disagreeing with her. "Option Number One," he began, ticking them off his fingers. "We figure out the people mentioned in the prophecy, and we actively try and let it all be fulfilled."
"But that would be kind of stupid." I said. The Doctor flashed me a grin.
"Yes," he said, "It would. So that isn't exactly a viable option since it is basically suicide. The next option is pretty much the same. It's the option Rose presented to us: we figure out the prophecy and try and prevent it being fulfilled. Which basically means whatever foe it is, I don't attempt to stand in their way."
"Fate is waiting on your threshold, and if you do not invite it in, the fire will consume you..." I recited quietly. "If we do that, the consequences won't be pleasant."
The Doctor shook his head grimly and I could see the sadness in his eyes. "It's another option-that's-not-really-an-option, isn't it?" He sighed. "Okay, so Option Numero Trois...we need to find a way to reverse Fate. We need to nullify the prophecy before it's entirely fulfilled."
"So we need to find these true believers of Fate?" Rose asked. "But Doctor, we have the whole of time and space at our fingertips. How are we gonna find these true believers, out of all the people there ever was, is, and ever will be?"
That was a valid point, made in a very poetic manner by Rose Tyler. How could we even begin to think about who could believe in Fate so much that they could change it? And actually, come to think about it, that didn't even makes sense– why would people who believed in Fate want to change it? If you ran your life according to Fate, you wouldn't believe that Fate could be changed, right?.
Well, it made sense to me anyway.
The Doctor thought about Rose's point. "Damn. That's actually a fair point...okay so this will be harder than I had hoped. Any ideas, girls?"
Rose and I shook our heads in unison. Then I suddenly had a thought. All this talk of Fate reminded me of my life back home, a life that had been long since overshadowed by the excitement of my new life with the Doctor and Rose. It took me back to my A-Level Classical Civilisation class, where we learned of the Ancient World, namely the classical world, and generally just—
"Ancient Romans," I said out loud. "Like in The Aeneid—" the Doctor was already nodding his head in agreement, rushing round the console as he did.
"Virgil!" He exclaimed. "Oh, cracking man, Virgil, The Aeneid was a stroke of genius! Mostly propaganda, he was paid to make Augustus even more popular than he already was, but still, the whole story was about Aeneas, having to fulfil his fate and found Lavinium before it became Rome..."
"Exactly, and things had to happen in order for the fate to be fulfilled, like when Palinurus was killed by Neptune, because someone had to die to ensure that Aeneas and the other ex-Trojans made it to Italy...one life lost for the saviour of many—"
"—But poor Dido, she wasn't—"
"—Fated to die, so Juno had to send Iris to cut her hair to let her into the Underworld after she stabbed herself—"
"—And she did that because Aeneas left, and Aeneas left because—"
"—Mercury told him he needed to get a shifty on, because he needed to fulfil his destiny..."
"It all came down to Fate!" We finished together, triumphantly grinning at each other. The Doctor flicked a few more switches and pulled a lever.
"Ancient Rome, here we come!" He yelled excitedly. "Oh, I LOVE the Romans!"
"I don't," came Rose's voice, grumpily. To be honest I has forgotten all about her in my excitement. "The last time we met the Romans, I was drugged turned into a bloody statue by someone's hands that turned people to stone, thanks to an artificially intelligent dragon-monkey-duck thing. What was it? The GENIE?"
I didn't follow much of that. Rose must have been talking about something that had happened before I met them. The Doctor shifted uneasily.
"Yes, well," he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "That won't happen again. Completely different place and time. Sorry about that, again."
Rose sighed in an over-theatrical manner. "I suppose I'll have to accept your apology!" She smiled to let the Doctor know she had already forgiven him. "But what the hell were you two just blathering on about? Who the hell is Virgil? And what has he got to do with anything?" She turned to me. "And how the hell do you know about it?" She said, her tone almost accusatory.
I shrugged, not taking offence at her fairly condescending manner. "A-Level Classics. We studied The Aeneid as our Roman Epic."
"Is it a story or something?" She asked, curious now, and with certain level of respect in her voice. I remembered that Rose hadn't taken A-Levels.
"Yeah," I said, "I guess it is. But its really a historical myth. No-one knows if it really happened, but for the Romans it told them the story of their ancestry, and how Rome came about. Rome was fated to be the greatest city on earth. Aeneas was a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans."
"Trojan...that's like that horse, right?" Rose seemed genuinely interested, so I opened my mouth to continue, but the Doctor beat me to it.
"Ah, the Trojan Horse...now THERE was a fantastic piece of architecture for you...It was the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid 30 men inside the belly, and two in the mouth. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. Ahhh, they should have listened to Laocoön...he said not to trust the Greeks...That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night. The Greek army entered and destroyed the city of Troy..." he sighed sadly. "That was a sad day for Troy."
"You were there? You mean, it really happened?" I couldn't help but ask. He looked troubled.
"I couldn't save them..." he said. "They weren't supposed to be saved. Only Aeneas and a few others were allowed to go."
I felt so helplessly sad for the Doctor, sad that he had had to experience so much sorrow and fear in his long life. "You can't save everyone," I all but whispered. He stared into my eyes, and I found myself falling into those brown pools as I had earlier that day. I saw the resolve form as he stared.
"I can save you," he said quietly.
"Erm...Doctor?" Rose called from the other side of the console. "I think you might want to see this..."
The Doctor snapped out of his reverie and looked over to Rose. "What does the scanner say?" He asked.
"I dunno, sort of like...you know those heart monitors in hospitals...when the hearts going really fast...like that."
The Doctor sprinted round the console and grabbed the screen. "Oh no, oh no no no no no!" He shouted, flicking switches like a madman.
The TARDIS gave an almighty lurch and I toppled from my place on the railings. "Doctor, what's happening?" I yelled.
"Just hold on to something girls; this isn't going to be—" he was cut off as the TARDIS tipped sideways. I grabbed hold of the railings that I had previously been sitting on.
"Doctor! What is it?" Rose shouted over the grinding and scratching sound of the TARDIS engine.
"We're being...intercepted..." he panted. "But I can't...pick up any signals of any other technology...I don't know what's causing...it..."
"I don't think you can stop it, Doctor..." I shouted. "Let's land, and work it from there—"
"No, that's a stupid idea!" Rose protested. "What if we end up surrounded? What if something stops the TARDIS from functioning? What if—" her words were cut off as we heard and felt an almighty thud and all became still, silent except for the sounds of our heavy breathing.
"I couldn't reverse it," the Doctor said morosely. "I tried but I couldn't reverse it...and I don't know why..."
I stood up and rested a hand on his arm. "Hey," I said. "It's done now. Stop beating yourself up about it. Let's find out where the hell we are, and then figure out how to leave, yeah?" And with that, I strode to the doors. Ignoring the warning calls of Rose and the Doctor, I flung open one of the doors, not knowing what sight awaited me.
Oh. I definitely hadn't been expecting to see that.
A/N: wow, longest chapter I've ever written for this story...so I best get LOADS of reviews for my efforts, m'kay?
Can I just say, I LOVE the Aeneid, I'm studying it at the moment for A Level Classics ( coincidence, huh? :P ) and it belongs to Virgil, I can take no credit. If you don't know the story, wikipedia have a good summary...
And if you're wondering what Rose is referring to when she has her rant against the Romans, I got that from "The Stone Rose" by Jacqueline Rayner, from the BBC Books Doctor Who range. Read it; or get the audio, which is read beautifully by the one and only David Tennant!
Also, speaking of David…
There is an online petition to get David Tennant to be the final runner for the 2012 London Olympic Games, just like in 'Fear Her'. How awesome would that be?
http : / / www . petitiononline . com / Drwh2012/
(take out the spaces) They have over 6000 signatures but they need more. Tell all your friends, post it in the AN part of your own story updates and spread the word! We are Doctor Who fans. We can do this! :)
And finally, this will probably (I say probably cos I'm not actually sure) be the last chapter before Christmas, so I'd like to wish all my readers a very happy holidays, and see you all (hopefully) in the New Year!
AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'M DYING TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
Much Love to y'all :)