A/N - Well, here it is, the concluding part to The Brimstone Snow and Part One of this story arc! Once again I apologise for the time it takes to post each chapter! I can't promise a regular update time, because I have a lot of stuff on at the moment, but I will still be updating! The first "episode" of Part Two will be posted soonish, under "The Fallen Triangle: Part Two" so you have that to look forward to, I guess, haha! Til then, on with the story!
"Please don't send us home, Doctor! We can help!" cried Callum. The Doctor chuckled.
"Of course I'm not sending you home, but we need you back on Earth for part of my super duper clever plan I've just came up with! Now, hush a minute and I'll explain."
Moments later, the three young friends were back in the TARDIS, preparing to follow the Doctor's instructions.
"This sounds pretty dangerous, Cal, I hope he knows what he's doing," Keith frowned.
"Don't worry about it, he's never let me down before," Callum replied, as he set the course on the console.
"So, what exactly are they going to do once they get up to the top deck, anyway?" Laura asked. "He didn't really explain that far ahead."
"He'll have a thing," Callum said, with a small smile. Laura's expression was suddenly identical to Keith's and they both looked at him in confusion.
"Don't worry about it," Callum repeated, his smile widening. "Anyway, that's us off now." And with that, the time rotor came to life, and the TARDIS took off.
"Next stop: London," Laura said, reading off the scanner.
Meanwhile, on Deck One, Amy couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The cyborg pirates had managed to begin communications with the United Nations and were now making their demands. One of the many screens was displaying a visual link and Amy could see the worry and stress in every official's face, while her cyborg captors remained sinisterly cheerful.
"My name is Alexander Zenstrum Smith, and I've been chosen as the spokesman for the United Nations in this situation," said a raven-haired man, approaching the source of the visual link. He seemed a lot more controlled than the other officials in the room, yet he still had a slightly dishevelled appearance. "We are required to remind you that we don't negotiate with terrorists, and we request that, as an act of goodwill on this Christmas Day, you surrender immediately."
"I'm a cyborg seadog, Mr Smith," smirked Ranheim. "I care not for your festive nonsense."
The man went to reply, but he was cut off by Ranheim slamming a fist down and roaring, "Do not underestimate me, bilge-rat! And do not be as foolish as to assume I won't carry out as I have threatened. Either you supply us with our demands, or the Snow shall fall!"
A bead of sweat ran down Alexander Zenstrum Smith's face, and Amy began to wonder how this would all carry out. One possible outcome would be the UN ignoring Ranheim's demands and a possible battle breaking out between the space station and the Earth, while another outcome would be the UN giving in and the Earth having much of its wealth taken from it. Or – and Amy was hoping for this outcome the most – the Doct-
"Hello, there, everyone! Sorry, we're late," cried the Doctor, bursting into the room with Sharpe close behind. He turned and looked at Amy. "We were a little tied up!"
"Doctor!" Amy yelped, happily.
"Get them," roared Ranheim. Fuldir – the pirate guarding Amy – and Mocksbone – the one with the large arms – both advanced on the two of them. The Doctor frowned and pulled something from his pocket.
"Ah, no, sorry," he said, brandishing whatever it was at them and pressing something. A blast of bright light erupted from it, rippling several feet around the Doctor and Sharpe, enveloping the two cyborgs, and after a few seconds, completely disabling them.
"What the hell was that?!" cried Amy.
"Electromagnetic pulse," the Doctor explained, jumping over a fallen cyborg and untying her. "Messes up their insides a little, should knock them out for a good half hour. Luckily there was one left with charge in it!"
"What do you think you're doing?" roared Ranheim.
"I thought that would have been obvious," the Doctor frowned. "It's a rescue mission. Bye!"
And with that, dragging Amy by the wrist, they made their way back out the door.
"Get after them, you idiots!" screamed Ranheim. "Don't waste any time, just kill them. Now, Earth, where were we? I'm in a frightful mood now, so you may want to be careful before you cross me."
Onscreen, Alexander fidgeted with his tie with one hand while he mopped his brow with the other.
The TARDIS arrived smoothly, compared to the past several trips. Keith stuck his head out the door to see whereabouts exactly they'd arrived while Callum did a quick environment check on the scanner.
"It's dark out! Where are we? And when?" Keith asked. Laura and Callum followed him outside.
"Bermuda Weather Station, about twenty past midnight, Christmas Day, 4410," Callum replied.
"Woah, it's so weird when you say it like that," Laura giggled. "Almost 2000 years in our future!"
"Oh, if you think this is incredible, try the year 5 billion!" Callum laughed. "Right, anyway, come on, we've got work to d-"
The blast of a laser tearing up the ground only feet away from them interrupted him, and they turned to see two of the deadly pirate crew advancing across the weather station lawns towards them. Another laser blast ripped up the ground half a metre away from Callum's right foot, and the three friends took that as their cue to make a break for the weather station.
Callum took the Doctor's old sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it towards the doors ahead of them, and they swung open smoothly. Diving in, followed by Keith and Laura, he blasted them again with the sonic, locking them again, knowing full well that the doors probably wouldn't survive a single laser blast.
"Okay, where to now?" panted Keith.
"Map," Laura said, pointing at a noticeboard on the wall in between the tinsel-decked reception desk and the tall, decorated Christmas tree.
"Ah, good!" Callum grinned, quickly inspecting the map. "Upstairs, fourth floor."
"Lifts are right there," Keith said, pointing a thumb across the room.
"Uh, guys..." Laura said, looking back at the door. Callum and Keith turned to see what she was looking at, to see their pursuers had arrived at the doors now. Their laser blasts weren't breaking through the doors however, in fact, they seemed to be ricocheting off of it.
Keith took a step back. "Oh, fu-"
"Come on!" cried Callum, pointing the sonic screwdriver at the lifts. The doors slid open immediately and they went to step in, but were completely surprised as they turned to see what was going on at the main doors.
The ricocheting laserbeams had managed to return fire on their shooters and the two cyborgs now lay on the ground outside, smoking and sparking ever so often.
"Well, that was an unexpected surprise," Callum said, sonicking the lift controls. They zoomed upwards at breakneck speed before stepping out into the control bank for the space station.
"Okay, we're here," Keith said, "so what now?"
"Now?" Callum replied, swallowing. "Now, we do a little rocket science."
The Doctor ducked as a laserbeam shot over his head. The cyborg pursuers were hot on their heels and the situation wasn't looking too good.
"We need to get rid of them quick," the Doctor cried to Amy and Sharpe, as the three ran down the next corridor.
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Amy panted.
"Sharpe, what Deck did they board from?" the Doctor asked.
"Deck Forty-Four – there's a teleport link to each floor from here, as Deck One serves as the main control area," Sharpe explained. "Most of the links went offline when the security systems kicked in, but now that they've reached Deck One a lot of the security programs have been disabled, so the links should be operational again. Shouldn't be too far from here – follow me!"
"Excellent! If we can get them to follow us down there, I have a plan that just might work," the Doctor beamed.
Several moments later, they had ran down several more corridors, avoiding the occasional laserbeam from their cyborg pursuers, before finally arriving at a dead end. Embedded in the wall was a metal plate with a handprint scanner on it, and on the floor there was a pulsing blue light. Sharpe slapped his hand on the scanner and pressed a button on the wall behind him, labelled "44", and with a pulse of light and a jolt of movement, the Doctor, Amy and Sharpe found themselves far below.
"Well, that went perfectly," the Doctor smiled. "Now, we need to find their ship!"
"Shouldn't be too difficult," Sharpe said. "This is the garage."
Turning to look at their surroundings, Amy realised they were in what appeared to be a large spacey-wacey aircraft hangar. They were on a platform above the main area where the small craft were kept. One craft was different from the rest – much larger, much sharper and much more sinister. The craft resembled sharp black spikes of crystal, shining impressively in the light. Engraved in one of those large spikes was the name Demonheart.
"Well, that was easy," Amy said, "what's the plan?"
"Tell you once we're onboard it," the Doctor replied. "Come on, they'll be here soon!"
Apparently, the crew hadn't bothered properly locking up before they decided to invade, and the Doctor had been able to open it simply by using the sonic screwdriver. A sudden flicker of light up above told them that the pirates had arrived.
"Right, you two wait here a sec," the Doctor said. "This'll only take a moment." He dived inside the ship and Amy and Sharpe glanced up to see if the pirates had noticed them yet. A moment later, the Doctor appeared again and pressed his finger to his lips, signalling for them to be quiet. He pointed to a small craft behind the Demonheart and they crept over to it, keeping out of the cyborgs' line of vision.
"They're in our ship!" yelled one of the cyborgs from the stairwell.
"Quickly, you bunch of bilge rats, catch 'em or the Captain'll have our guts for garters!"
With that, the crew all charged back into the ship and the door slid shut behind them. At this point, Amy was still a little confused as to what the Doctor's plan had actually been, and for a moment she feared that it had failed, but when she turned round to ask him what was supposed to happen, he was grinning widely.
Amy went to speak, but she was interrupted by the sounds of the Demonheart's engines roaring to life. As they watched, the ship began to rise, and turn, facing towards the exit. A moment later, the thrusters blasted into life, and the ship flew out of the hangar and out into space.
"Wait a sec, was that you?" Amy laughed, incredulously. The Doctor looked pleased.
"Who d'you think?" he said, straightening his bow-tie.
"That was excellent," Sharpe said, his face remaining passive. "What exactly did you do?"
"Oh, I did a little jiggery-pokery with the engine controls, so that the autopilot would engage as soon as the doors were shut. I knew that if they thought they could trap us onboard, they'd seal the door behind them," the Doctor explained. "Now, then, we have a little business to attend to back on Deck One! Come on!"
"Now then, Earth, have you made your decision?" Captain Ranheim smirked. He knew they had no choice but to give in just as well as they did.
"Yes," Alexander Smith said, a look of defiance on his face. "And we have already told you, we do not deal with terrorists. We decline your requests."
For a second, Captain Ranheim was genuinely shocked. He had expected them to admit defeat and give in to their requests straight away, however, apparently not.
"Very well then," Ranheim spat. "Make the most of the time you have left, Earth! The Snow is about to fall."
He cut off the visual link and punched at a nearby console in rage, puncturing a massive hole in it. Picking up a chair and launching it across the room, he gave an almighty scream of anger, before turning his attention to the Snow program, already up and running and simply waiting to begin. He smiled to himself as he pushed the activation button.
"Damned fools. I'll be seeing your miserable planet in the Locker."
"Ah, well, now, that wasn't very clever on your part now, was it?" the Doctor said, striding into the room. Amy and Sharpe followed behind.
"Oh, you're alive. Where are my crew?" Ranheim roared.
"They took off – with a little help from me," the Doctor replied, stepping over the two disabled cyborgs and approaching the front screen. "But really, not very clever of you."
"What wasn't?" spat Ranheim, taking a step towards the Doctor.
"Taking over the space station instead of the central base, of course," the Doctor replied. "Y'see, you could have just as easily took your time about things and took the Brimstone Snow program, infiltrate the base on Earth and then carry out your plot from there, without worry of failure, buuut, because of that, you've well and truly messed up. Sorry."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple, really," the Doctor replied. "You've failed." He pointed to Amy. "Amy." She nodded and took her mobile from her pocket and flipped it open.
"Alright, Callum, you're all set!"
Down on Earth, Callum looked round and signalled to Keith and Laura who each activated their panels. They'd spent the past few minutes rewiring the entire area that linked with the space station, as per the instructions the Doctor had given them earlier.
"Alright, Amy, as soon as the power goes offline, you'll all be teleported down here, because the life support systems up there are gonna go down too. Got that?" Callum said as he prepared to press the last button.
"Loud and clear, Hendrick. See you soon!" Amy replied before disconnecting.
"I-I don't believe this," Captain Ranheim stuttered as the lights began to switch off and the power died. "Thwarted by children!"
"Well, Captain Ranheim, you threatened their planet," the Doctor replied, gravely. "Did you honestly think they were just going to let you carry out your plan?"
Ranheim went to reply, but he was interrupted by a siren and an electronic voice announcing that, "Life support systems would be offline in the next 10 seconds."
"Get ready, you two," the Doctor called to Amy and Sharpe. "This is gonna be bumpy."
Ranheim took this moment to roar with rage and swing for the Doctor with a metal fist, but he found himself catching thin air as the Doctor, Amy and Sharpe all teleported away.
He found himself choking for air as the life support systems went offline. Being a cyborg, he was also still partly human, and even a half machine human being can't survive oxygen starvation, impossible temperatures and the sudden gravity blast.
"C-curse you, D-Doctooooooooor!" he screamed with his last shred of strength.
The Doctor, Amy and Sharpe reappeared in the centre of the room and Callum could not have been more pleased to see them.
"Did it all go to plan then?" he asked. The Doctor nodded.
"The old Captain's paying a visit to Davy Jones' Locker now, I should think," he said, quietly.
"Well, he bloody deserved it," Keith grumbled. "You don't mess with the Earth on our watch!"
"Oh, shut up, Keith," Laura laughed, taking his hand.
"So we stopped the Snow, for definite?" Amy asked the Doctor and Callum.
"I should think so," the Doctor nodded. "The power went offline on the space station only about a minute after Ranheim started the program. Plus, the instruments here would be acting up if there was any sign of it, I'm sure."
"Well, that's definitely reassuring," Amy smiled.
"Right, then, now that all that's over and done with," the Doctor cried, clapping his hands together. "I think we need to get everyone dropped off home!"
"Yeah, I'm exhausted from all that being shot at," Keith admitted.
"Alright, then, but first we better drop Sharpe off!" the Doctor said, as they made their way outside. "Anywhere in particular?"
"Oh, no, it's perfectly fine, Doctor, I'll need to stay here until I can contact my superiors," Sharpe said. "But thank you, all of you, for all of your help." The corner of his mouth raised in a slight smile, but, as a man who never smiled, it only made him look a little unsettling.
"W-well, you're very welcome, Sharpe," the Doctor said, clearly a little disturbed at the smile.
"We'll be seeing you," Keith said, backing away towards the elevator.
"Bye!" called Callum, Laura and Amy, darting to escape into the lift first.
"Oh, and Merry Christmas," the Doctor added, before following them out.
The TARDIS materialised back on the rooftop they had left from what felt like days ago. It was early evening, and everything was cast in the sunset's orange glow. Thin, purple clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
Callum, Keith and Laura stepped out the TARDIS and looked over the rooftop, admiring the view of the River Clyde. The Doctor and Amy stood in the doorway, in deep conversation. After a few moments, they finished talking and the Doctor turned to look at the three young friends leaning on the railing, gazing out at the sunset-basked city.
"Alright, Hendrick, whenever you're ready!" he called.
"Oh," Callum replied, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Doctor, could I ask a favour?"
"Yes, of course," the Doctor said, suddenly a little worried.
"I was thinking of staying here on Earth for a while," Callum said, sheepishly. "And I was wondering, if I did... would you come back for me?"
"Oh," the Doctor said. "Yes. Yes, of course! You'll always be welcome on the TARDIS, Hendrick! How long til you want us to come back for you?"
"Maybe a year?" Callum asked. "It's just that I've been thinking, it's been so long since I really saw my family or my other friends – I don't wanna end up forgetting them!"
"Ah, yes," the Doctor smiled. "Don't worry about it! Alright then, we'll be back for you in a year!"
"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" Amy asked. She would definitely miss Callum.
"I think it's best I catch up with life on Earth," Callum replied, stepping up towards his two time travelling friends. "And anyway, you two have each other!"
"I suppose so, but it'll be quiet without you," Amy said.
"Oh, Pond, don't be ridiculous – life's never quiet in the TARDIS," the Doctor interjected, and the three of them laughed.
"Hey, uh, Doc?" Keith said, looking deep in thought.
"Yes?"
"What about us? Next time you come back for Callum, can we come too?"
The Doctor blinked in surprise, and took a moment to consider it.
"Hm, I don't see why not," he smiled. "You both proved yourselves today."
"Excellent," Keith beamed.
"Thank you!" Laura smiled, gratefully, before suddenly squeaking in surprise and taking her phone from her pocket. "Oh, sorry, my mum's phoning me."
"Ah, well, yes, I suppose we best be getting you three home. Especially if you're going to be wanting to take your luggage home with you," the Doctor said. "One last little trip for now?"
"Sounds good," Callum smiled, following the Doctor and Amy into the TARDIS, while Keith waited patiently on Laura to finish her phonecall before they both followed suit.
Moments later, the TARDIS had materialised in Callum's garden, and the three friends stepped out – Callum carrying all his luggage with him.
"See you next year," Callum smiled, hugging the Doctor and Amy individually. "Look out for each other, okay?"
"Oh, we will! See you soon, Hendrick! Til the next time, you two," the Doctor replied.
"Look after yourself, Hendrick," winked Amy.
"Back at you, Pond," laughed Callum.
"Alright, then, we best be off or we'll end up here all day," the Doctor said. "Til next year!" And with that, and one last smile, he shut the door and a moment later the thrum of the TARDIS engines began to rise from deep within the police box.
Callum, Keith and Laura stood and waved to the old blue box as it dematerialised from sight.
"Well, guys, you've got a year to get ready," Callum smiled, gazing up at the sky. "And you might be needing it. Cos there's gonna be so much to see out there: golden supercities, and shimmering citadels; countless planets and alien civilizations! All that to look forward to! Monsters, and mayhem, and all of time and space!"
The three friends gazed up at the sky, smiling widely, as a little, old police box hurtled across the sky...