Planet of the Ood
The Doctor, Professor, and Donna were jolted around the TARDIS as it materialized, "Set the controls to random!" the Doctor cheered, "Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, anywhen in the whole wide…are you alright?"
"Terrified," Donna smiled, buzzing, "I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet..."
"We could always take you home," the Professor remarked, looking up at her from where she had been checking the monitor and running an environment scan to make sure it was safe to step outside.
Donna was nearly offended at the suggestion, but…there had been something in the Professor's voice just then…she wasn't serious, "Yeah, don't laugh at me."
"We know what it's like," the Doctor said, a smile on his face as he looked back from the Professor, it seemed she didn't mind having Donna around after all, "Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder…we get that!"
"Seriously?" she glanced at the Professor's stoic expression, finding that hard to believe that the woman felt anything. But the Doctor had explained regeneration to her, explained what had happened to make the girl like she was now, he'd assured her that, given time, the icy exterior might melt some. She still felt, he knew she did, but it was just buried way deep down. She had decided that she would do her best to try and engage the Professor, try to brush off any negative comments she might make because, truly, she didn't believe the woman really meant them.
She looked at him again, "After all this time?"
"Yeah! Why do you think we keep going?"
"Oh! Alright, then, you and me both! This is barmy!" she walked to the door as the Doctor put on his coat and the Professor checked her sonic blaster, "I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is…I mean, it's…I dunno. It's all so…I don't even know what the word is!" she stepped outside and onto the snowy, windy surface of a frigid plane, "Oh, I've got the word, 'freezing.'"
The Doctor smiled as they stepped out of the TARDIS after her, "Snow! Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last! That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?"
Donna shivered, "Bit cold."
"Look at the view!" he looked out at the barren, pristine landscape.
"Yep. A beautiful...cold view," she glanced at the Professor, wondering how the girl could bear it in nothing more than knee pants and a tank top. But she seemed equally as unaffected by the temperature as she appeared almost everything else.
"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we're on this one. Molto bene! Belissimo! Says Donna, born in Chiswick. You've had a life of work and sleep, telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?" he looked back to see her gone, "Donna?"
Donna stepped back out of the TARDIS, wearing a warm coat with a fur-lined hood, "Sorry. You were saying?"
"Better?" he laughed.
"Lovely, thanks."
"Comfy?"
"Yep."
"Can you hear anything inside that?"
"Pardon?"
"Right. I was saying, citizen of the Earth…"
Just then a rocket flew over them.
"A rocket!" Donna gasped, "Blimey, a real, proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship," she slapped him on the arm, "You two've got a box…he's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where it's going."
She jogged off, the Doctor looking a bit surprised and upset at the diss against the TARDIS, he glanced back at the box with a frown.
"What must Jack's Manipulator be?" the Professor wondered, seeing his wounded look and unable to not try and change it.
He turned to her, thinking back to his own words about the TARDIS in relation to a Vortex Manipulator, and smiled before they jogged off after Donna, catching up to her fairly quickly.
They walked through the snowy landscape, when the Doctor and Professor stopped all of a sudden, "Hold on…can you hear that?" the Doctor looked around as did the Professor, "Donna, take your hood down."
"What?" she lowered her hood.
"That noise…it's like a song…"
"There!" the Professor jogged over to where an Ood was lying half buried in the snow.
"What is it?" Donna asked as the Doctor knelt by the body, the Professor standing beside him, her blaster ready, looking around as though trying to see if there were any attackers left.
"An Ood," the Doctor replied, pulling out a stethoscope, "He's called an Ood."
"But its face..."
"Donna, not now. It's a 'he,' not an 'it.' Give me a hand."
She knelt down, "Sorry."
"I don't know where the heart is," he muttered, moving the scope, "I don't know if he's got a heart. Professor?"
"The heart of an Ood can be found where the stomach is usually located," she stated.
He nodded and moved the scope, glancing at Donna, "Talk to him. Keep him going."
"It's alright," Donna looked down at the Ood, "We've got you. Um...what's your name?"
"Designated Ood Delta 50," it stated, its orb lighting up.
Donna lifted the orb, speaking into it, "My name's Donna."
"You don't need to," the Professor told her.
"Sorry," she handed it back to the Ood, flinching a bit, half the time the Professor said something to her, despite how she tried not to let it get to her, she couldn't help but feel a little stupid, like she'd done something wrong that everyone else should have known how to do, never mind the fact that she was human and had only just started travelling with them. But, then again, she seemed to take that tone with everyone, even the Doctor at times. She shook her head, focusing on the Ood again, "Oh, God…this is the Professor and the Doctor. Just what you need…a doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"
"You've been shot," the Doctor gaped.
"The circle…" Delta began.
"No, don't try to talk," Donna soothed.
"The circle must be broken."
"The circle?" the Doctor frowned, "What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?"
Delta opened his eyes and they were red. The Doctor and Donna scrambled back as the Professor raised her blaster only for the Ood to collapse backwards, dead before she could fire.
"He's gone," Donna breathed, walking back to the body.
"Careful," the Doctor warned, the Professor tensing, her blaster still up should the Ood be not entirely gone.
Donna placed a hand on the Ood's chest, "There you are, sweetheart," she stroked his head, "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?"
"The snow will take care of that," the Professor replied, the time it would take them to bury the Ood would lessen their chances of finding the attacker. It was a waste, especially with the way the snow was piling up around them and the wind was blowing.
"Who was he?" Donna looked up at them, "What's an Ood?"
"They're servants…of humans in the 42nd century," the Doctor replied, "Mildly telepathic. That was the song…it was his mind calling out."
"I couldn't hear anything," she stood up, "He sang as he was dying."
"His eyes turned red," the Professor eyed the Ood.
"What's that mean?"
"Trouble," the Doctor replied, "Come on," he turned and walked away, explaining to Donna as they went, "The Ood are harmless and completely benign. Except the last time we met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."
"What sort of force?"
"Long story."
"Long walk."
"The devil," the Professor stated.
"If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up."
"Must be something different this time, though," the Doctor reasoned, "Something closer to home…" he peered over a bluff, "Ah ha! Civilization!" they looked down at a small facility, Ood Operations, in the distance.
~8~
"Ladies and gentlemen," a young Indian woman stood before a group of men and women, "Welcome to the Ood-Sphere and isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs with vouchers, 3D tickets, and a map of the complex," an Ood handed them out, "My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone. Now if you'd like to follow me…"
"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor called as the three of them ran up, "We're late! Don't mind us! Hello. The guards let us through."
"And you would be…" Solana eyed them, more specifically the Professor's garb, though she seemed not to notice the blaster.
"The Professor, the Doctor, and Donna Noble," the Doctor held up the psychic paper.
"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna added.
"Must have fallen off my list," Solana reasoned, "My apologies, it won't happen again. Now then, Dr. Noble, Mrs. Noble, Prof…"
"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor cut in, "We're not married."
"We're so not married," Donna agreed.
"Never."
"Never ever."
"Of course," Solana nodded, "Here is your information pack. Vouchers inside," she handed the Doctor a packet, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm."
An alarm blared, making them all look over.
"Ooh, what's that?" the Doctor paused, "Sounds like an alarm."
"It's just a siren for the end of the work shift. Now then, this way! Quick as you can!"
They all filed in but the Professor noticed Solana tensing in concern.
~8~
Solana stood at a small podium, expounding the amazing qualities of the Ood while some stood on pedestals for display, a large screen behind her with Ood Operations logo on it.
"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards," Solana began as they watched, "Here at the Double-O…that's Ood Operations…we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends. We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated. We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood...but an extension of us? If your Ood is happy...then you'll be happy too," the buyers applauded, "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations," she stepped forward to the three Ood on pedestals, "We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting," she turned to the first Ood, "How are you today, Ood?"
"I'm perfectly well, thank you," it replied in a generic voice.
"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen," and then the next, "How are you, Ood?"
"All the better for seeing you," the second Ood answered in a sultry female voice.
"And the comedy classic option," before stopping before the last, "Ood, you dropped something."
"D'oh!" the last Ood impersonated Homer Simpson.
"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."
The Professor, who had been standing 'at ease,' watching the various buyers and eyeing the Ood, moved over to a control board and switched on the screen, bringing up a view of the stars in place of the logo, the Doctor put on his specs and watched her as Donna joined them from getting a drink.
"The Ood-Sphere," she replied, looking at their coordinates.
"I've been to this solar system before, years ago," the Doctor nodded, "Ages. Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Can you widen…"
She was already doing it, "41-26," she added as the picture zoomed out to reveal three areas around the Ood-Sphere outlined in red with a few small dots along their edges, "The Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."
"41-26?" Donna gaped, "It's 41-26? I'm in 41-26?"
"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned at her.
"What's the Earth like now?"
"A bit full, but you see, the Empire stretches out across three galaxies."
"It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but...back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live…global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."
"Yeah. That thing about the bees is odd."
"But look at us, we're everywhere! Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"
"Sometimes I wonder," the Professor remarked, eyeing the red dots.
"What are the red dots?"
"Ood distribution centers."
"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she turned on her heel and walked over to an Ood, "Um...sorry, but..." she tapped it on the shoulder, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"
"I do not understand, miss," it replied.
"Why do you say, 'miss?' Do I look single?"
"Back to the point," the Doctor reminded her.
"Yeah. What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"
"All Ood are born to serve," it replied, "Otherwise we would die."
"You can't have started like that. Before the humans…" its head jerked, "What were you like?"
"The circle."
"What do you mean?" the Doctor frowned, "What circle?"
"The circ…the circle…is…"
"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana called, "All Ood to hospitality stations, please," the Ood turned to leave as the Doctor took off his glasses, pulling out a map of the complex from his pocket.
"I've had enough of the schmoozing," he remarked, glancing at them, "Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"
"A Rough Guide to the Ood-Sphere?" Donna shrugged, as the Professor nodded, "Works for me."
"Yeah."
~8~
The trio found a locked gate at the base grounds, the Doctor quickly sonicing the lock to open it.
"Ood Shift 8 commencing," a voice called over the loudspeaker as the Doctor pushed the gate open, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing."
They walked into the part of the complex closed to visitors and climbed some steps for a more visual view. Looking down on the complex they saw the Ood being marched across a small courtyard area between buildings, one fell to its knees.
"Get up!" a guard stormed over to it, "I said, get up!" he cracked a whip at the Ood.
"Servants?" Donna breathed, "They're slaves."
"Get up!" the guard ordered and the Ood scrambled to its feet, "March!"
"Last time we met the Ood, I never thought, never asked..." the Doctor shook his head.
"That's not like you," Donna remarked, "Either of you."
"We were busy," the Doctor shrugged, "So busy we couldn't save them. We had to let the Ood die. I reckon we owe them one.
"That looks like the boss," Donna whispered as a nearly bald, older man in a black suit walked across the space with a scientist and an Ood.
"Let's keep out of his way. Come on."
~8~
They strode past the fronts of various warehouses, the Doctor looking around at the map when Donna stopped at a door. The Professor stopped as well, sensing the woman was no longer following. Donna whistled loudly, making the Doctor duck and turn back.
"Where did you learn to whistle?" he asked, recalling her inability during her almost wedding.
"West Ham, every Saturday," she replied.
The Doctor used the sonic and opened the door to the warehouse, making it slide open. They walked in to see the space filled with shipping containers while a large claw moved above them, lifting and moving the crates.
"Ood Export," the Doctor sighed, "You see?" he pointed to the claw, "Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."
"What, you mean…these containers are full of..."
"What do you think?"
The Doctor stepped over to one and opened it to reveal a large number of Ood standing inside, in formation.
"Oh, it stinks," Donna crinkled her nose, "How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?"
"A hundred? More?"
"120," the Professor answered, having counted them quickly.
"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna muttered, disgusted.
"It's no different than your time."
"Oi, I haven't got slaves."
"Who made your clothes?"
Donna glared at her, "Is that why you two travel round with humans at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the Universe, it's so you can take cheap shots."
The Professor eyed her a moment longer. Donna was hurt, she could see that. The woman wore her expressions openly, it was obvious what she was feeling if one simply looked at them, and she'd hurt her. She knew she'd hurt the woman before, snapping at her during the Adipose investigation, but...this was different. This time there was no threat approaching, no work that needed her entire concentration before her, she'd just...hurt her.
"I apologize."
Donna blinked, startled at the Professor's words, before nodding, "Well, don't do it again…time-girl," she added after a moment, the Doctor smirked at that, Donna hadn't given the Professor a nickname like she had with him yet, but now it appeared she had.
The Professor gave a brief nod and Donna turned back to the Ood, "I don't understand, the door was open…why didn't you just run away?"
"For what reason?" one of the Ood asked.
"You could be free."
"I do not understand the concept."
"What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"
"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" the Doctor asked.
"The circle must be broken," all the Ood stated at once.
"Whoa, that is creepy," Donna remarked.
"But what is it?" the Doctor continued, "What is the circle?"
"The circle must be broken."
"Why?"
"So that we can sing."
Suddenly the alarms began to blare.
"That's us, come on!" the Doctor turned and ran out of the crate, the three of them dashing down the maze of shipping containers.
Donna stopped suddenly, the Professor stopping with her, but the Doctor kept going.
"Doctor!" Donna called, "There's a door!"
"Get back," the Professor pulled her away as the doors burst open and guards ran in.
"Don't move!" the guards shouted, aiming their guns.
~8~
The Doctor stopped short, realizing neither Donna nor the Professor were with him, and spun around, "Where have you gone?"
"Stay where you are!" a guard shouted in the distance. He took off running as the guards found him as well.
~8~
The Professor and Donna were shoved into one of the containers, "Keep 'em there for now," the guard ordered, sealing the door behind them.
"Can you help us?" Donna turned to the Ood. They raised their heads, only to revel their eyes were red, "Oh, no you don't. What have we done? We're not one of that lot. We're on your side!"
"Donna get back," the Professor pulled Donna behind her, pulling out her blaster and aiming it as the Ood advanced, "Stay where you are."
"Doctor!" Donna turned and banged against the door, "Doctor! Doctor, get us out! Doctor, get us out of here!"
"If you don't do what she says," they heard the Doctor say on the other side of the door, "You're really in trouble. Not from me…from them."
"Unlock the container," a guard ordered.
The door opened and Donna ran out to hug the Doctor, "Doctor!"
"There we go, safe and sound," he hugged her back.
"Not exactly," the Professor backed up to them, her blaster still raised.
They looked over to see the red-eyed Ood still advancing until they attacked the guards.
"Red alert!" the main guard shouted, "Fire!" the guards opened fire on the Ood, giving the trio enough of a distraction to run out, joined by a few other workers as well as Solana who appeared to have followed them, "Shoot to kill!"
They ran out of the warehouse, the sound of guns still going off behind them, making it a few feet away, around the building to stop for breath.
"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna glared at Solana who had run with them.
"Don't be stupid," she cut in, "Of course they know."
"They know how you treat the Ood?"
"They don't ask. Same thing."
"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this," the Doctor looked at her, "They can't be."
"A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place," the Professor agreed.
"What does the company do to make them obey?"
"That has nothing to do with me," Solana remarked.
"Because you don't ask?" the Professor's eyes narrowed at her.
"That's Dr. Ryder's territory."
"Where is he? What part of the complex?" the Doctor held out the map, "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!"
She pointed at a spot, "There beyond the red section."
He nodded, "Come with us. You've seen the warehouse, you can't agree with all this. You know this place better than us, you could help."
Solana looked at them for a long while before shouting, "They're over here! Guards, they're over here!"
The trio took off at a run as the guards gave chase. They changed directions after spotting guards heading after them, "This way!" the Professor grabbed the sonic from inside the Doctor's coat and flashed the door to another warehouse open, ushering them in before shutting and sonic-locking the door behind them.
"Oh, can you hear it?" the Doctor winced, "We didn't need the map. We should've listened!"
"Why do you think I chose this door?" the Professor remarked, tossing him the sonic back, she had been listening.
"Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna asked, eyeing the sonic as the Doctor put it away.
"Listen," he shushed her, "Listen, listen, listen, listen…" they headed down the steps to see cages lining the wall, "Oh, my head."
"What is it?" Donna looked at them, seeing that even the Professor had mild traces of discomfort on her face.
"Can't you hear it? The singing?" they spotted a small group of Ood sitting, huddled together, in one of the cages and walked over, the Doctor switching the lights on.
"They look different than the others."
"They're natural-born Ood," the Professor assessed, "Unprocessed. Before they're adapted."
The Doctor squatted down with the Professor before the cage, "That's their song."
"I can't hear it," Donna sighed, crouching next to the Doctor.
"Do you want to?" he asked her.
"Yeah."
"It's the song of captivity…"
"Let me hear it."
"Face me," she turned and he placed his fingertips on her temples, "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna...hear the music."
Donna gasped and looked at the Ood, tears in her eyes as she heard the utterly devastating song they sang, "Take it away," she turned to him again, her voice breaking.
"You sure?"
"I can't bear it," she breathed. The Doctor nodded and repeated the process, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"But you can still hear it."
"All the time," the Professor replied, the barest hint of strain in her voice.
The Doctor stood up and flashed the sonic on the lock, allowing the cage to open.
"They're breaking in," Donna looked up, hearing a noise.
"Ah, let 'em," he stepped into the cage with the Professor. The Ood tried to shuffle away, "What are you holding?" one of the Ood looked at him shyly as he crouched down, "Friend," he gestured to themselves, "Professor, Doctor, Donna, friends. Look at me. Let me see," the Ood came closer, "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on."
He held out his cupped hands, revealing a small pink lump in it.
"Is that…" Donna swallowed.
"It's a brain," the Professor responded, "The hindbrain. The Ood are born with a secondary brain."
"Like the amygdale in humans," the Doctor realized.
The Professor nodded, "It processes memory and emotion."
"You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."
"So the company...cuts off their brains?" Donna grimaced.
"And stitches on the translator."
"Like a lobotomy," she shook her head, "I spent all that time looking for you two because I thought it would be so wonderful out here…I want to go home."
The Doctor looked up at her, stunned, but then guards broke in.
"They're with the Ood, sir!" a guard reported as they rushed down.
The Doctor stood and slammed the cage shut, trapping the three inside, "What are you gonna do, then? Arrest us? Lock us up? Well, you're too late! Hah!"
~8~
The Doctor, Professor, and Donna stood in the executive office of the facility, handcuffed to a pole by three guards, the Professor allowing herself to be chained upon a silent request of the Doctor's not to do anything.
"Why don't you just come out and say it?" the head of the organization, the balding man from before, sneered at them, "FOTO activists."
"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor glared.
"The Ood were nothing without us, just animals roaming around on the ice."
"That's because you can't hear them," the Professor remarked.
The Doctor looked at her, just a bit startled, there was another emotion in her voice, something other than indifference or anger…but it was gone before he could really figure it out.
"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight."
"You idiot!" Donna snapped, "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."
"Nice one," the Doctor remarked.
"Thank you."
"The system's worked for 200 years," the man replied, "All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized," he lifted a comm., "Mr. Kess, how do we stand?"
"Canisters primed, sir," one of the guards replied, "As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks...and counting."
"You're going to gas them?" the Doctor gaped.
"Kill the livestock," he nodded, "The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still works."
Suddenly more alarms went off.
"What the hell?" he ran out of the office with his scientist and Ood, leaving them to struggle against the restraints.
"Emergency status!" the loudspeaker announced as the sound of gunshots rang out, "Emergency status!"
He stormed back into the office, "Change of plan."
"No reports of trouble off-world, Mr. Halpen, sir," the scientist ran to the computer, "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.
"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 mercy of the Ood," he turned to head for the door.
"But Mr. Halpen there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen."
He stopped.
"What do you mean?" Donna frowned.
"A creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain," the Professor stated.
"They'd be at war with themselves," the Doctor agreed, "There's got to be something else, a third element. Are we right?"
"Again, so clever," he sneered.
"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?"
"It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood."
And with that, he turned and strode out of the room with his scientist and Ood as well as the guards. The trio struggled to free themselves once more.
"Well, do something!" Donna shouted, "You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"
"These are really good handcuffs!" the Doctor countered.
"Oh, I'm glad of that. At least we've got quality!"
The door on the others side of the room slammed opened and the Ood appeared in the doorway, advancing on them.
"Professor, Doctor, Donna, friends!" the Doctor tried to convince them.
"The circle must be broken!" Donna attempted.
The Professor stood there, observing the Ood a moment as the Doctor and Donna continued to try and get through to them. Her eyes narrowed as her mind raced, trying to figure out a method of communication the Ood would understand even in that state.
"Professor, Doctor, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Professor, Doctor, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Friends, friends, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
"Professor, Doctor, Donna, friends!"
"The circle must be broken!"
The Ood reached out with their translator balls when…
Someone started singing.
It was a soft melody, but one that carried strength and purpose, importance and compassion, fear and protection, all at once.
The Doctor and Donna looked over at the Professor, jaws dropping, as they watched her sing out to the Ood in an unexpected move.
The Ood hesitated, looking at her, listening, before stepping back and holding their heads in their hands, her song resounding in their mind, carrying all the way back to the natural born Ood…giving them the strength to rise up.
The looked back up, their eyes normal, "Professor. Doctor-Donna. Friends."
"That's me!" Donna nodded, "Us!"
"Yes, that's us!" the Doctor agreed, tearing his eyes away from the Professor, leave it to her to find a brilliant way to get through to the Ood, through their song, "Friends! Oh, yes!"
The Ood stepped forward and released them from the cuffs. They ran out the door and down the stairs, across the compound, dodging the fighting as they tried to spot where Mr. Halpen had gone.
"I don't know where it is!" the Doctor looked around, "I don't know where they've gone!"
"What are we looking for?" Donna looked around.
"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern or..." they were thrown off their feet by an explosion not far behind them, the Professor immediately turning into a roll and pushing herself up.
"Alright?" he looked at Donna as they stood up as well, when they caught sight of Mr. Halpen's Ood standing before them through the smoke.
~8~
The Doctor flashed the door to Warehouse 15 with the sonic, following the Ood inside where a red light bathed the room. They walked over to a railing, looking down to see a giant brain being kept within a circular energy field.
"The Ood brain," the Doctor realized, "Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain, and this. The telepathic center. It's a shared mind...connecting all the Ood in song."
A weapon clicked and they turned to see Mr. Halpen standing there, holding a gun at 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."
"He's mined the area," the scientist added, stepping around him.
"You're gonna kill it!" Donna gasped.
"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier," Halpen nodded at the brain.
"Those pylons," the Doctor nodded to Donna.
"In a circle," she realized, "'The circle must be broken.'"
"Dampening the telepathic field," the Professor agreed, her arm tensing but the Doctor held it down to keep her from lifting her blaster at the man, "Stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."
"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here," Halpen glared at his Ood, "I expected better."
"My place is at your side, sir," Sigma moved to stand beside him.
"Still subservient. Good Oo…" he swallowed hard, unable to finish speaking.
"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Donna frowned.
"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt," the Doctor theorized, "The subconscious reaching out."
"But the process was too slow," the scientist agreed, "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," Halpen turned to him, "Yes, you did," he reached out quickly and pushed the scientist over the edge of the railing, the poor man falling till he reached the brain and was absorbed into it.
"You...murdered him!" Donna gaped.
"Very observant, Ginger. Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before...can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." he readied the gun.
"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma asked suddenly.
He laughed, "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."
Sigma simply moved to stand in front of the trio, holding out a glass, "Please have a drink, sir."
"If…if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too."
The Doctor frowned, watching Halpen struggle to speak.
"Please have a drink, sir."
"Have…have you...poisoned me?"
"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."
"What is that stuff?" the Doctor asked , releasing the Professor's arm as Halpen seemed less of a threat. She reached out and dipped a finger in the solution slightly, rubbing them together under her nose before dabbing just a bit of it on her tongue.
"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound," she replied.
Halpen looked sick, "What the hell does that mean?"
"Oh dear," the Doctor realized.
"Tell me!"
"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. How's the hair loss, Mr. Halpen?"
"What have you done?" Halpen looked at Sigma in alarm.
"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr. Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."
Halpen glanced at the brain, hearing the song, "What have you…I'm...not…"
Sigma stepped out of the way as Halpen dropped the gun. He gripped his head, crying out in pain and pulling at his scalp as the skin split to reveal an Ood head underneath. He gagged as tentacles came out of his mouth.
"They…they turned him into an Ood?" Donna looked sick.
"Yup," the Doctor nodded.
"He's an Ood."
"We noticed."
Halpen gurgled, coughing up his hindbrain.
"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him," Sigma stated.
"It's weird, being with you," Donna shook her head, "I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."
"It's better that way," the Doctor nodded, "People who know for certain tend to be like Mr. Halpen," a beep sounded, "Oh!" he ran and turned off the detonation packs lining the railing, "That's better. And now...Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honor?"
"It is yours, Doctor," Sigma nodded.
"Professor, care to join me?" he looked at her, knowing she could relate to the Ood. She didn't even hesitate as she stepped beside him, "Oh yes!" he grinned as they turned off the equipment, "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"
The field around the brain shut down and the song resonated far and wide, everyone hearing it.
"I can hear it!" Donna gasped, laughing, as Sigma raised his arms. The Doctor looked over, his hearts warming to see the faintest smile on the Professor's face, one that wasn't soon replaced by a line.
~8~
The Ood stood before the Doctor, Donna, and Professor, just outside the TARDIS, "The message has gone out," the Doctor told them, "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home."
"We thank you, Professor, Doctor-Donna, friends of Ood-kind," Sigma nodded, "And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."
"Oh…we've…we've sorta got a song of our own, thanks."
"I think your songs must end soon."
"Meaning?" he frowned, the Professor tensing beside him as the Ood looked at the two of them.
"Every song must end."
"Yeah…" he nodded slowly before turning to Donna, "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"
"No," she shook her head, "Definitely not."
"Then we'll be off."
"Take this song with you," Sigma offered.
"We will," Donna nodded.
"Always," the Doctor agreed as the Professor gave a curt nod.
"And know this, Doctor-Donna, and Professor, you will never be forgotten," Sigma told them, "Our children will sing of the Doctor-Donna and Professor, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."
Donna smiled and turned, walking back into the TARDIS, the Doctor pausing at the door, stopping the Professor.
"Speaking of songs," he looked at her, "What was that song you sang before? To the Ood?"
She was silent a moment, "What I hear when I think of you."
And with that, she stepped into the TARDIS, leaving him stunned before he too stepped in, a wide smile growing on his face.
The Ood sang as the TARDIS disappeared.
A/N: I picture the song that the Professor sings to the Ood as 'The Doctor's Theme Series 4,' round about a minute and ten seconds to a minute and forty.
Awww, she apologized to Donna! That's a monumental step :) Not a big Keta scene here :( I know. I was trying to make this chapter a bit about Donna and the Professor bonding. While she isn't as open with Donna as she was with Martha, I'm hoping it comes across that she is starting to like Donna as well, she did stick with her and protect her from the Ood (and apologize, can't forget that lol). But I did want a little Keta, hence the scene at the end, but don't worry there will be a bigger one in the Doctor's Daughter :) AND I threw in a funny little scene between them at the start of the next chapter, inspired by the 'Doctor Who: Time, Part One - Red Nose Day 2011' video on youtube. Also, we are going to see more hints of emotion from the Professor peeking through in the next three chapters ^-^ We get Sontarans and Jenny!