When Donna, Kayla, and the Doctor walked into the reception, it appeared that no one was upset about Donna's disappearing. Quite the opposite, actually. Everyone was dancing to 'Merry Christmas Everyone,' and drinking, and eating, and laughing. While Donna gasped and crossed her arms, the Doctor and Kayla stood next to each other, unsure of what to do.
After a few moments of standing in the opening, a blonde older woman noticed them and froze. Soon, everyone was looking at them and standing still.
"You had the reception without me?" Donna said, her eyes wide.
A young and nice looking black man stepped forwards, his brow wrinkled with concern. "Donna... what happened to ya?"
Donna did not look at him. Instead, she chose to stare out at everyone else. "You had the reception without me?" she repeated, her voice rising.
An awkward pause followed that the Doctor quickly broke with, "Hello! I'm the Doctor, and this is Kayla!" he introduced cheerfully.
Donna turned towards them, fuming. "They had the reception without me."
Kayla nodded, "We gathered."
"Well, it was all paid for - why not?" a woman spat with a glare towards Donna.
Donna rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Nerys." She retorted.
The older woman that had noticed them first started to approach Donna. "Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end – 'I'm on Earth?' Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know—"
Taking the woman's lead, the rest of the room started to all talk at once; all of them accusing Donna. Exchanging worried looks, the Doctor and Kayla started to back up as the group started to surround the poor ginger.
And then, unsurprisingly, Donna burst into large tears. Around her, the anger melted into pity and the black man hugged her so that Donna could cry onto his shoulder. Smiling, the Doctor and Kayla couldn't help but see Donna wink through her fake tears.
Needless to say, the reception continued like it had before, only this time Donna was dancing with Lance, the young black man. Everyone was laughing, drinking, eating, dancing, and generally having a good time. Even Kayla and the Doctor took part of dancing, though that was mostly because Donna came over and threatened them if they didn't dance. So Kayla danced with the Doctor, and the Doctor danced with Kayla. But as soon as Donna got busy dancing with Lance and not glaring at them, the Doctor and Kayla too their leave and went over to the bar.
"I've looked up HC Clements and the only thing I was able to find, and it took breaking through quite a few firewalls, was that they were the sole property of Torchwood."
The Doctor tensed at the name. After all, because of Torchwood, he and Kayla were listed dead, and Torchwood nearly took Kayla away from him.
Seeing this reaction, Kayla gave him a tight hug that he returned. "I'm still here, aren't I?" She pointed out.
Nodding and rubbing her back, the Doctor gave her a quick kiss before pulling away and nodding towards a camera man close by. "He probably recorded it."
Kayla smiled at the Doctor. "Good point. Let's go talk to him."
Grinning, the Doctor took Kayla's hand and walked with her over to the man. At their asking about whether or not he taped the occurrence, the man laughed and started to fiddle with his camera, speaking to them through the entire time. "I taped the whole thing - they've all had a look. They said 'Sell it to You've Been Framed.' I said 'More like the News.' Here we are..."
Clicking a button, the man played the tape. On a small screen, the Doctor and Kayla watched as Donna paused in the middle of the isle. Her mouth opens in shock and she starts screaming. Oddly enough, it seemed like she disintegrated into golden particles, still screaming.
"Can't be!" the Doctor gasped.
Kayla frowned at him. "What is it?" she asked the Doctor.
Shaking his head, the Doctor turned to the man. "Play it again?"
The man nodded and started to reset it up. "Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping." He informed them.
Watching the video once more, Kayla's brow furrowed as she turned to the Doctor. "What is it?"
The Doctor gaped at the screen. "Huon Particles!"
"No!" Kayla gasped at the same time that the cameraman asked, "What's that?"
"But that's impossible." Kayla protested, shaking her head. "Huon energy doesn't exist anymore."
The Doctor nodded next to her. "It hasn't for billions of years! So old that..." shaking his head, Kayla saw his eyes go to Donna. "...it can't be hidden by a biodamper!"
Grabbing Kayla's hand, he dragged her with him to a window. "Doctor," Kayla warned, her eyes on the worrying sight of the Santa Band walking towards them, "We need to warn the others. Now."
Nodding in agreement, the Doctor grabbed Kayla's hand once more and dragged her with him to Donna. "Donna! Donna, they've found you." He warned her.
"But you said I was safe." Donna protested, her eyes wide.
Kayla shook her head. "We thought we know what was wrong, but we were wrong. The biodamper won't work."
The Doctor nodded next to her. "We've got to get everyone out."
Donna, her eyes wide, looked around the room in horror. "Oh, my God - it's all my family..." she gasped.
"Back door, now!" Kayla ordered. Grabbing the Doctor and Donna, the brunette dragged them with her to the door and out it only to see two Santas coming towards them.
"Maybe not." The Doctor said.
Giving him an annoyed look, Kayla dragged them back into the reception and to another window to see two more Santas.
"We're trapped." Donna moaned.
The three of them, horrified, watched as the two Santas held up a remote of some sort. The Doctor, scratching at his neck, turned away and then gasped. Whirling around at the noise, Kayla looked at the Doctor. "What?" she asked.
"Christmas trees..." the Doctor answered, pointing at the massive Christmas tree in the center of the room.
Kayla's eyes widened, remembering last Christmas and how the Christmas tree in Jackie's house came to life and tried to kill them.
"What about them?" Donna asked next to the couple.
The Doctor swallowed, looking around at all the people in the rooms. "They kill." Kayla said for the Doctor.
Donna made an odd croaking noise that made Kayla look over at her. Waving a hand, the ginger followed the Doctor into the crowds to warn the others.
"Get away from the tree!" Kayla shouted, physically moving a group over as she did so.
"Don't touch the trees!" Donna warned from somehow behind her and to the left.
"Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!" the Doctor added in, much closer than Donna and to her right.
The Santas, having entered the party, had their remote controls pointed at the trees. Kayla, seeing this, started to push through the crowds until she was next to the Doctor. "They're in here." She informed him.
Instantly, the Doctor looked around and, spotting them, grimaced and wrapped a protective arm around Kayla's shoulders. "We need to get to Donna."
Nodding, the Doctor and Kayla made their way through the crowds and to Donna. The ginger was now yelling at her baffled husband as well, "Out! Lance, tell them!"
"Stay away from the tree!" Kayla yelled at a woman coming dangerously close to the tree. Kayla saw the woman roll her eyes, so she repeated the yell, "Stay away from the tree!"
"Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot, and so is that girl! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna...oh!" the woman's voice trailed off, startled. The baubles that had previously been decorating the tree all started to move away from the tree in an odd sort of dance.
The Doctor stared, drawing Kayla closer to him as the baubles floated above all the people's head. For a second, nothing happened. But then, everything went crazy as the baubles started to dive bomb everything around the room, causing small to medium explosions. As everyone started to scream and run for cover, the Doctor and Kayla ran over to the DJ table that was opposite from the Santas.
"Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man and a woman with a sonic screwdriver..." he leaned forwards to speak into the microphone while Kayla worked with the screwdriver, "... don't let them near the sound system."
Nodding to Kayla, the brunette soniced the amp. The Doctor, leaning down, covered Kayla's ear as a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound. At the sound, everyone let out a pained cry and covered their ears. Meanwhile, the Santas vibrated violently until they fell to pieces.
As soon as they collapsed, Kayla gave the Doctor the sonic screwdriver and allowed him to help her to her feet. Once she was standing, the two ran over and examined the mechanics Santas while around them, everyone got to their feet. Soon everyone all started to ramble at the same time.
Picking up one of the controls, Kayla examined it while the Doctor turned to Donna. "Look at that - remote control for the decorations." He explained, motioning towards the controller, "but there's a second remote control for the robots." Leaning down, the Doctor revealed a small controller at the back of the robot's head. "They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession."
"Never mind all that, you're a doctor - people have been hurt." Donna protested, looking around worriedly at the others.
Kayla picked up a bauble. "They want you alive. Look, they're not active now."
Donna sighed, "All I'm saying - you could help."
Picking up the head and listening to it, the Doctor shook his head. "Gotta think of the bigger picture... there's still a signal!" Grabbing Kayla's hand, the two took off with Donna following.
Now outside, the Doctor started to scan the head. "There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force." He explained to Kayla.
"But why is it me? What have I done?" Donna asked, sounding worried.
Kayla gave Donna a tight smile. "Once we find who's the controller, we'll be able to tell you."
The Doctor let out a shout and raised his screwdriver to the sky. "It's up there. Something in the sky." He paused, moving the sonic around before he growled in annoyance. "I've lost the signal - Donna, we've got to get to your office, HC Clements. I think that's where it all started. Lance - is it Lance? Can he give us a lift?"
Having arrived at HC Clements, the Doctor, Kayla, Donna, and Lance ran into the office and up to Donna's floor. There, the Doctor headed straight to the computer. "This might just be a locksmiths, but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute." He explained.
"Who are they?" Donna asked, which Kayla found odd.
Turning towards the ginger, Kayla answered darkly with, "They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf." Donna stared at the brunette, not knowing what she was talking about. "The Cyberman invasion." Donna blinked. "Skies over London full of Daleks?" Kayla asked.
Donna finally waved her hand. "Oh, I was in Spain."
"They had Cybermen in Spain." The Doctor said from the computer.
"Scuba diving." Donna pointed out with a shrug.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "That big picture, Donna - you keep on missing it." Getting up, he hurried over to another computer and started to type something. "Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think...someone else came in and took over," he paused to whack the monitor. "The operation."
Donna frowned. "But what do they want with me?"
Turning away from the computer, the Doctor gave the ginger his full attention. "Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS."
Kayla grabbed a mug from one of the desks and a pencil from another. "Say that this mug is the TARDIS." she waves her mug at Donna, "And this is you." She continued, showing her the pencil. "The Huon particles activated in you and the Huon particles in the TARDIS reacted with them and you were pulled into the TARDIS." She explained while carefully placing the pencil into the mug.
"I'm a pencil inside a mug?" Donna asked in a weak voice, her eyes wide.
The Doctor shrugged and nodded. "Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up. Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?"
Lance scoffed loudly and crossed his arms, something that made Kayla send him a sharp glare. "I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager."
Leaning over and typing something in to the computer for the Doctor, a plan of the building appeared on the monitor.
"Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?" Lance suddenly cried out, but no one paid attention to him.
Kayla rolled her eyes and pointed at the monitor. "They make keys, that's the point. And look at this..."
"...We're on the third floor." The Doctor finished for the brunette.
Having used the sonic screwdriver to call a lift, the Doctor stood next to Kayla with Donna and Lance behind them. "Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?" The Doctor asked as the door chimed merrily and walked with Kayla inside.
"Then why," Kayla started, motioning towards the panel of buttons, "Why is there a button that says 'lower basement?' It doesn't exist on the official plans, so what is it used for?"
"Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?" Lance asked with a huff and an arched eyebrow.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "No, We're showing you this building's got a secret floor."
Donna frowned. "It needs a key."
Kayla shook her head and used the Doctor's sonic screwdriver on the keyhole. "We don't."
The Doctor bowed his head towards the couple. "Right then, thanks you two, we can handle this - see you later."
Donna rolled her eyes and stormed into the lift like Kayla and the Doctor had known she would. "No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight."
Kayla grinned and clapped Donna on the shoulder. "Going down with us, then?"
Nodding, Donna turned to Lance. "Lance?" she asked pointedly.
Lance twitched with obvious discomfort. "Maybe I should go to the police."
"Inside." Donna ordered bluntly.
Ducking his head, Lance walked into the lift and stood on the other side of the Doctor.
"To honor and obey?" the Doctor asked with an arched eyebrow.
Lance sighed, "Tell me about it, mate."
"OI." Donna protested loudly while Kayla chuckled and leaned onto the Doctor's shoulder. The doors closed and the lift descended into the hidden basement.
When the lift arrived at their destination, the foursome stepped into a dark, dank, dimly lit corridor that had an oddly eerie green light. Donna blinked and looked around, her mouth open. "Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?"
Kayla sighed and pressed a few buttons on her Vortex Manipulator and brought up a digital flashlight that worked surprisingly well. "I didn't know that could make a flashlight." The Doctor noted.
The brunette shrugged. "Thank Torchwood for that. They updated this old thing."
Looking very confused, Donna glanced over at the couple. "Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?" She asked before they could throw around more things she didn't understand.
"The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it." He pauses, his eyes traveling to something. "Oh, look - transport."
Donna stood on an electric scooter. Lance stood on the electric scooter. The Doctor, however, was standing on a scooter behind Kayla, his arms wrapped around her waist. He didn't trust the electric scooters. Donna, not having an overprotective fiancé, looked over at the Doctor and Kayla and started to laugh loudly. Rolling her eyes, Kayla couldn't help but join in while the Doctor snorted. The only person who didn't start to laugh was Lance, who seemed very nervous about the whole ordeal.
Sighing, Kayla pulled to a stop as they reached a door marked, 'Torchwood - authorized personnel only.' Getting off, Kayla stood the side next to Lance and Donna as the Doctor turned a wheel that would open the marked door. Thankfully, it opened without any trouble, revealing a ladder inside the room.
Looking up, Kayla started to instantly climb it. "Where are you going?" the Doctor called up to the ladder.
"To find out what's upstairs." Kayla replied, pausing. "Aren't you coming?"
Sighing, the Doctor turned to Lance and Donna. "Wait here. Just need to follow my girl. Don't..." He paused to point to the couple sternly, "...do anything." Shaking his head, the Doctor started to climb up the ladder.
Opening a manhole at the top of the ladder, Kayla climbed up and looked out at the night sky. Sniffing, her nose wrinkled at the smell of something very polluted. Looking down, her eyes widened in understanding at the sight of a lake.
"Coming down!" Kayla warned the Doctor as she climbed down. The Doctor jumped off the last rung of the ladder, grabbed Kayla's waist, and placed her down on the floor. Giving him a nice pat on the Doctor's cheek, Kayla turned to the others. "Thames flood barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath."
Donna's eyes widened. "What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?"
The Doctor grinned widely and nudged Kayla. "I know! Unheard of." Letting out a chuckle that Kayla echoed at the reminder of the story, the couple strolled causally into a laboratory that was filled with massive test tubes bubbling with some sort of liquid.
"Particle extrusion." Kayla noted, her eyes wide.
Donna tilted her head, looking at the machine Kayla was staring at. "What does it do?"
"Particle extrusion." The Doctor echoed, but then he hurried over to the bubbling tubes, "Hold on..." Trailing after him, Kayla tapped one of the tubes and exchanged a look with the Doctor. "Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. In case our people got rid of Huons, they unraveled the atomic structure."
Lance's brow furrowed almost comically. "Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?" he asked the Doctor.
The Doctor blinked, his brow furrowing. "Oh, I'm a freelancer." He answered with a shrug. "But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river!" the Doctor stopped, looking at the bubbling liquid.
Knowing that he wouldn't continue, Kayla turned towards the very confused Donna and Lance. "Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result - Huon particles in liquid form." Grinning, she picked up a small test tube filled with Huon particles.
Donna leaned forwards, looking at the tube. "And that's what's inside me?" Giving her a sad expression, the Doctor turned a knob at the top of the test tube. After a second, the Huon particles glowed golden along with Donna. "Oh, my God!" the ginger cried out.
The Doctor nodded. "Because the particles are inert - they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then...HA!" The Doctor let out a shout that made Donna jump and Kayla whack him on the arm.
"The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle - oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!" the Doctor jumped, his eyes wide as he explained.
And then, before anyone could do anything, Donna slapped the Time Lord once again.
"Hey!" Kayla shouted, glaring at Donna.
"What did I do this time?" the Doctor protested with a frown.
Donna glared at the couple. "Are you enjoying this?" Relaxing, the Doctor ducked his head while Kayla placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Right, just tell me - these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?"
"Yes!" the Doctor and Kayla replied much too quickly to be convincing.
Donna arched an eyebrow and stepped towards them. "If your lot got rid of Huon particles...why did they do that?"
Kayla placed both hands on Donna's shoulder. "They're deadly." She answer bluntly.
"Oh, my God..." Donna gasped.
The Doctor placed an arm around Kayla's waist. "We'll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, We'll reverse it. We're not about to lose someone else." The Time Lord vowed.
Nodding, the group all jumped at the loud and sudden sounds of bangs and crashes. "Oh, she is long since lost." A crazy sounding female cried out. Nearby, a wall slid up to reveal a secret chamber with an enormous round hole in the floor. "I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe..." Lance squeaked and hurried towards the door. "...until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!" At this finishing cry, Kayla noticed the armed robots lining the walls.
Taking Kayla's hand, the two stepped forwards with Donna trailing behind them. Together, the three of them looked down at the hole. "Someone's been digging...oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?" the Doctor asked.
"Down and down, all the way to the center of the Earth!" The voice answered, sounding proud.
Kayla's brow furrowed. "Why?" she questioned.
"Dinosaurs." Donna answered promptly.
The Doctor turned around, confused. "What?"
"Dinosaurs?" Donna repeated.
Kayla sighed. "There aren't any dinosaurs in the center of the Earth." She answered in a dull voice.
"Trying to help!" Dona protested.
"That's not helping." The Doctor notified her.
The mysterious voice actually crackled with glee. "Such a sweet couple." She crowed, though whether she was speaking about the Doctor and Kayla, Kayla and Donna, or the Doctor and Donna was unknown.
The Doctor sighed and turned away, his eyes scanning the room. "Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?"
"High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night." The voice answered.
Kayla frowned. "I think we're on intercom." She informed the Doctor.
At this, the Doctor frowned. "We didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!" he shouted at the walls.
The voice paused, seeming to be confused. "Who are you with such command?"
Kayla sighed, knowing that the Doctor would give his actual name, which was quite stupid. "I'm the Doctor."
"Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart." At this chilling reply, the hairs on the back of Kayla's neck stood up as a wave of teleport energy flowed through the room. Sure enough, a bright red, giant Racnoss appeared in the chamber and snarled at the threesome.
"You're a Racnoss." Kayla breathed, "But how is that possible?"
"Empress of the Racnoss." The apparent Empress corrected.
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, thinking quickly. "If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or...are you the only one?"
"Such a sharp mind." The Empress commented.
The Doctor gritted his teeth, noticing the lack of answer. "That's it, the last of your kind." He turned to Donna to give her a quick, unneeded history listen. "The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets."
"Racnoss are born starving, is that our fault?" Empress asked loudly, jutting her chin out.
Kayla turned towards the Racnoss. "No," she agreed, "but the fact that you eat inhabited planets instead of the ones that aren't is your fault."
"They eat people?" Donna gasped, horrified.
His eyes flickering up to something, the Doctor looked back to Donna. "HC Clements, did he wear those- those erm, black and white shoes?"
Donna nodded, a grin suddenly spreading across her face. "He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats." His face grim, the Doctor pointed at the black and white shoes that were still attached to a pair of legs. The rest of the dead body was hidden in the web covering the ceiling.
"Oh, my God!" Donna cried out.
"Mm, my Christmas dinner." The Empress crackled.
Glaring at the thing, Kayla took an angry step towards it. "You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss - they were wiped out."
"Except for me." The Empress agreed, as if that was a good thing.
Donna glared at the Empress. "But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?" The Empress glanced over at the Doctor and Kayla. "Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me."
The Empress looked at Donna, looking mildly confused. "The bride is so feisty!"
Donna nodded. "Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big...thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!"
The Doctor and Kayla exchanged worried looks as they saw Lance, axe in hand, swing it at the back of the Empress' head just as the Empress turned her head around to hiss at the man. For a second, nothing happened. Then Lance looked over at the others and started to laugh loudly. The Empress joined in.
"That was a good one. Your face!" Lance stated as he put the axe down.
"Lance is funny." Empress agreed with another crackle.
Donna stared at the two. "What?"
The Doctor placed a hand on Donna's shoulder at the same time that Kayla moved to Donna's other side and took the ginger's hand. "I'm sorry." The Doctor apologized in a soft voice
Donna looked at the couple, confused. "Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!"
Lance smirked at the ginger. "God, she's thick." Donna shook her head, still very, very confused. "Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map."
"I don't understand." Donna whimpered, starting to realize that Lance was talking about her.
Kayla sighed, feeling her hearts breaking for Donna. "How did you meet him?" she prompted.
"In the office." Donna answered promptly.
"He made you coffee." The Doctor pointed out.
Donna shook her head. "What?"
Lance sneered down at the ginger from the platform. "Every day, I made you coffee." He said in a slow, nasty voice.
"You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months." Kayla explained.
Donna's eyes widened. "He was poisoning me?"
The Doctor glared over at Lance. "It was all there in the job title - the Head of Human Resources."
Lance nodded. "This time, it's personnel." He quipped, which made the Empress and himself laugh.
"But...we were getting married." Donna protested weakly.
Lance shrugged. "Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap – 'oh, Brad and Angelina - is Posh pregnant?' X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia." He mimicked with a sneer, "I deserve a medal."
Donna's face crumpled and she took a step back, making the Doctor quickly bring Lance's cruel attention to himself. "Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?"
"It's better than a night with her." Lance stated, sounding like he actually meant it.
Donna, her brow furrowed, whimpered, "But I love you."
"That's what made it easy." Lance sneered back before turning back to the Doctor. "It's like you said, Doctor - the big picture - what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to...go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?" And then his head whipped around to Kayla. "And you, you're his girl, aren't you? I think you understand what I mean as well.
"Who is this little physician and his girl?" the Empress asked suddenly, having been quiet throughout the rest of the conversation.
Lance turned towards the spider. "What she said - Martian. And the girl is probably the same."
The Doctor tugged at his ear. "Oh, we're sort of...homeless. But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?" he asked, bringing their attention off their home.
Lance exchanged a look with the Empress. "I think he wants us to talk."
"I think so too." The spider agreed.
Together, the two laughed. Lance sneered over at Donna. "Well, tough! All we need is Donna!"
"Kill this chattering little doctor-man and his girl!" the Empress commanded.
Donna quickly moved in front of Kayla and the Doctor. "Don't you hurt him or her!"
"No, no, it's all right." The Doctor placated quickly.
Donna whirled around, shaking her head. "No, I won't let them!" she protested.
The Empress crackled, "At arms!"
Immediately, the robots pointed their guns at Kayla and the Doctor, and the Doctor held up his hand. "Ah, now. Except."
"Take aim!" The Empress continued with the order.
The Doctor grinned briefly at Kayla before continuing, "Well, I just want to point out the obvious—"
The Empress grinned down at the Doctor and Kayla. "They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots."
"Just- just- just- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny- just a little- tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it...the spaceship comes to her." The Doctor, finished, nodded to Kayla. Quickly, Kayla turned the knob the Huon energy, making the tube and Donna glow.
"Aim at the girl! Fire!"
Starting to fire, the Doctor grabbed Donna's wrist and ran over with her to Kayla just in time for the console room the surround them all and the bullets to hit the TARDIS. "Off we go!" the Doctor yelled, starting to pilot the TARDIS console along with Kayla.
"My key! My key!" the Empress cried out as the TARDIS left.
Turning away from the console, the Doctor started to ramble about their plan. "Oh, you know what we said before about time machines? Well, we lied. And now we're gonna use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna - we're going further back than I've ever been before."
Seeing her shoulders shaking with tears, Kayla headed over to Donna and hugged her tightly. "Come on dear, let's get you in one of these chairs." The brunette said in a soft voice, "They're very soft."
Sitting down in one of the chairs, Donna started to cry to herself softly while Kayla started to help the Doctor, her eyes glancing towards the Doctor and Donna.
Pulling a knob, the Doctor stopped and peered over at Donna. "We've arrived...want to see?"
Donna sighed, "I s'pose."
Looking over at the ginger, Kayla pulled the monitor around. "Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best." The Doctor noted, looking over the brunette's shoulder. Grinning, the Time Lord took Kayla's hand and led her over to the doors.
Pausing him, Kayla looked back at Donna, "Come on." Resigned, Donna got to her feet and joined the couple at the doors. "No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first." Kayla pointed out with a soft smile.
"All I want to see is my bed." Donna grumbled.
Not really knowing how to reply, the Doctor decided to put his hands on the doors. "Donna Noble - welcome to the creation of the Earth." Very slowly, he opened the doors of the TARDIS.
Outside, there was a spectacular sight. The Sun, new and young, was shining through different colored clouds and gas with enormous rocks circling it.
At the sight, Donna's mouth fell open and Kayla's eyes widened, "It's all dust, rocks, and gas," the brunette gasped.
The Doctor nodded, "We've gone back 4.6 billion years. There's no solar system, not yet," he agreed, and the nodded towards the young and brightly burning sun, "That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn."
Donna frowned, "Where's the Earth?"
The Doctor pointed out the area around them, "All around us...in the dust."
"Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just...tiny," Donna said in a small voice.
Kayla shook her head and placed an arm around Donna's shoulder, "No…I wouldn't say that. The human race, my old race, just does this sort of thing. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed."
The Doctor smiled at her, "Exactly what I would say," he praised his fiancé.
Kayla blushed slightly and said nothing. After a while, Donna smiled slightly and nodded towards a large rock floating past the TARDIS, "I think that's the Isle of Wight," she joked; this was enough to break the silence and make the three laugh.
"Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the..." the Doctor started to lecture.
"Earth," Donna finished.
Kayla nodded, "But what was the first rock?"
As if this was a cue, a star-shaped rock emerged through the gas and rocks and Donna gasped, "Look."
The Doctor looked over at the rock, "The Racnoss..."he gasped, and then grabbed Kayla's hand and ran with her over to the console and started to pull different levers.
"Hold on - the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?" Kayla asked in a sharp voice.
Donna, still at the TARDIS doors, was staring out at space as the couple sped up time. She answered Kayla's question in an awed voice, "Exactly what you said."
Leaving the TARDIS console in Kayla's control, the Doctor ran over to Donna and peered out, "Oh, they didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth...they became the center of the Earth. The first rock."
Suddenly Kayla shouted out, "Hold on!" With this as the only warning, the Doctor and Donna barely had anytime to grab onto something as the TARDIS shook violently.
"What was that?" Donna gasped once the TARDIS had calmed down a bit.
The Doctor slammed the doors of the ship shut and ran over to check on Kayla.
"Doctor, Kayla, what was that?" Donna repeated.
The Doctor glanced back at the worried ginger, "Trouble."
The TARDIS shook again and made a worrisome grinding noise. This made Kayla clutch onto the console with one hand and struggled to pilot with the other; the Doctor tried to make sure that Kayla was okay; and Donna hooked her arm around one of the coral trees and yelled at the couple, "What the hell's it doing?"
The Doctor pulled a lever at the same time that Kayla did, which made the TARDIS calm down slightly, "Remember that little trick I pulled - particles pulling particles. It works in reverse - they're pulling us back!"
Kayla nearly fell back onto the floor when the TARDIS shook rather badly, "Go sit down!" the Doctor ordered his fiancé sharply. Huffing, Kayla moved towards the captain chair and sat down in it heavily.
Donna moved over to Kayla and sat down next to her. While a normal person would have realized that they didn't have to shout quite as loudly as before, Donna either didn't note this or didn't care. So when she spoke to the Doctor again, her voice was very loud.
"Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?"
The Doctor sighed, "Backseat driver," he then paused slightly, "Oh! Wait a minute!"
Realizing what he was getting to, Kayla quickly got off her seat and grabbed something from under the console, "The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!" the brunette cried out as she handed the machine to the Doctor.
"The bride shall join her groom. What a wedding there shall be," The Empress spat loudly from outside the materializing TARDIS; her voice was loud enough that it was heard inside the ship.
The Doctor whacked the extrapolator, "Now!"
This action proved to be the jump-start they needed and the TARDIS moved away from the Empress and landed in a corridor. Instantly, the Doctor grabbed Kayla's hand and ran with her out of the TARDIS, "We're about 200 yards to the right. Come on!"
So they ran. They ran down the corridor and turned a corridor until they were in front of the doorway that led up to the Thames flood barrier.
"But what do we do?" Donna panted, her eyes wide.
It took a bit for the Doctor to reply because he had his stethoscope against the door with Kayla listening to it along with him. Finally, when Donna tapped him roughly on the shoulder, the Time Lord replied quickly, "We don't know! We make it up as we go along! But trust us, we've got a history."
Donna frowned at the couple, "But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles - but what for?"
This time, it was Kayla that replied, though she didn't turn away from the door, "There's a Racnoss web at the center of the Earth, but our people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck."
The Doctor nodded next to her, "They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and you have never been so quiet."
Kayla growled and glanced back at the now empty corridor, "Damn," she cursed, "She's gone."
The Doctor sighed and unlocked the door with the sonic screwdriver and pulled it open. With a cry, the Doctor pulled the brunette back and away from the two armed robots that were behind the door.
Having disguised themselves as the robots, the Doctor and Kayla made their way slowly into the chamber as the robots. The masks that they were wearing were protective but hard to see through, which meant that when Lance suddenly shouted out, "Use her! Not me! Use her!" the Doctor nearly started while Kayla stayed perfectly still.
"Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve," this reply, along with Donna's cry of, "Laaaaaance," made the Doctor and Kayla sure that Lance had been killed.
The Doctor sent a quick warning to Kayla through their link before he started to climb up the stairs. Behind him, Kayla followed him up the stairs.
This proved to be their mistake.
"My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them! So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man and brunette-lady," the Empress hissed at the cloaked Doctor and Kayla.
Whipping off her cloak and mask along with the Doctor, Kayla grabbed the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor's pocket and aimed it at Donna, "It's alright! I've got you," she promised.
Donna was not assured, "I'm gonna fall!"
Kayla shook her head, "You're gonna swing!"
And just like the brunette had said, Donna swung towards the Doctor; his arms were outstretched and he was shouting, "I've got ya!"
Instead of catching her, the Doctor, Kayla, and the Empress watched as Donna swung under the platform the two Time Lords were standing on and smashed into the wall with a dull bang.
"...oh. Sorry." The Doctor apologized with a slight frown.
"Thanks for nothing," Donna hissed up at him; she was sprawled on her back beneath the couple and in obvious pain.
The Empress laughed loudly, "The doctor-man amuses me."
Letting Donna handle herself, the Doctor turned towards the large red spider, "Empress of the Racnoss – Kayla and I give you one last chance. We can find you a planet; a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now," he commanded with Kayla nodding next to him.
The Empress snarled at the couple, "These men are so funny," she laughed.
Kayla frowned, "I'm not a man…"
The Doctor gave her a soft smile before turning towards the Empress, "What's your answer?"
"Oh - I'm afraid I have to decline," the Empress answered with a chuckle.
It was Kayla that answered, and her expression was stony, "What happens next is your own doing."
The Empress laughed once again, "I'll show you what happens next. At arms!" At her command, the robots stood at attention, "Take aim! And—"
"Relax," Kayla commanded in a hard voice. At once, the robots went limp.
"What did you do?" Donna asked, her mouth open wide in shock.
Kayla took the remote control for the robots out of her pocket with a grin, "Pockets."
Donna tilted her head to the side, "How did that fit in there?"
Kayla grinned, "They're bigger on the inside."
The Empress glared at the three of them, "Robo-forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh."
The Doctor shook his head, "Oh, but we're not from Mars."
"Then where?"
"My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey."
The Empress recoiled at the name and spat on the floor, "They murdered the Racnoss!"
Kayla shrugged, having already gotten the history lesson from the Doctor, "You did this"; with a glare, she took out a handful of the explosive baubles. Not even allowing enough time for the Empress to know her fate, the brunette threw the baubles at the Empress. Some of them went down the hole and at the Racnoss; some hit the walls and made water rush in; and some surrounded the Empress.
"My children!" the Empress screamed as the water flooded around her red legs and down the hole.
Instead of getting out of there, the Doctor and Kayla watched with no expression on their faces as fires started around them and water gushed down the hole and around them.
"No! My children! My children!" the Empress screamed loudly in a hysterical and pain-filled voice.
Donna gasped, "Doctor! Kayla! You can stop now!"
Not even moving, the Doctor and Kayla continued to watch…
"Come on! I gotta get my fiancé and child out of here!"
Having gotten out of the chamber, the Doctor watched as Kayla started to climb up the ladder with Donna about to start behind her, "But what about the Empress?"
It was Kayla hat answered, "She's used up all her Huon energy - she's defenseless!"
Laughing, the Doctor joined the climbing party as Kayla opened the hatch and climbed out onto the floor barrier with Donna close behind. For a second, Donna and Kayla were silent, but then as the Doctor poked his head out, the two women started to whoop and cheer with delight at the empty night sky. The Empress of the Racnoss was dead!
"Just...there's one problem," Donna stated once she had caught her breath and the Doctor had joined them.
"Oh no…" Kayla groaned.
"What?" the Doctor asked the two of them.
Donna sighed, "We've drained the Thames."
Looking at the empty area where the water had been, the three of them burst into laughter once more.
The Doctor had climbed back down into the building and had flown the TARDIS onto the bottom of the now empty Thames and had Kayla and Donna climb down and into the TARDIS. Then, and only then, did they fly over to Donna's street and got out of the ship.
"There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything," the Doctor said proudly and pat the TARDIS.
Donna shook her head and sighed, "More than I've done."
Waving his hand, the Doctor watched as Kayla soniced the ginger. "All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine."
"Yeah, but apart from that...I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of," Donna pointed out.
The Doctor sighed softly, "I couldn't save him."
"He deserved it," Donna stated, and then shook her head. "I'd better get inside. They'll be worried."
Kayla grinned. "Best Christmas present they could have," she nodded towards one of the windows to the house which revealed, Donna's mother and her father hugging.
"Oh, no, I forgot - you hate Christmas," the Doctor said suddenly.
Donna grimaced and shook her head, "Yes, I do."
"Even if it snows?"
Smiling at Kayla and Donna, the Doctor flicked a switch and a ball of bright, white light was shot into the sky and caused it to start to snow.
At this, Donna laughed in delight. "I can't believe you did that!"
The Doctor shrugged, "Oh, basic atmospheric excitation."
Grinning at the ginger, the Doctor wrapped his arm around his fiancé and kissed her cheek softly. This made Donna shake her head and say, "Oi, Love birds. Merry Christmas."
"And you. So...what will you do with yourself now?" The Doctor asked.
Donna beamed at the question. "Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno...travel...see a bit more of planet Earth...walk in the dust. Just...go out there and do something."
The Doctor and Kayla exchanged a look and Kayla shook her head. Frowning slightly, the Doctor looked back at Donna and then sighed. "We best be going."
Donna shook her head, "Christmas dinner. Oh, come on."
"We don't do that," Kayla answered quickly as she felt the Doctor bristle at this invitation.
"You did it last year, you said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty," Donna protested.
With a sigh and a silent exchange of conversation, the Doctor finally sighed and opened the TARDIS door to allow Kayla to step inside before he started to speak to Donna with: "Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And...don't say we're Martian," he then grinned sheepishly and indicated the TARDIS, "Kayla and I just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. We'll see you in a minute."
He stepped into the TARDIS and shut the door. After a few seconds of just standing there, the Doctor joined Kayla at the console and started to help her fly the TARDIS away until…
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Kayla huffed and stopped the TARDIS and sent the Doctor out with a sharp look. "Blimey, you can shout," he stated.
"Am I ever gonna see you again?"
Kayla grinned at the console and called back to the ginger, "If we're lucky!"
The Doctor smiled back at his fiancé and then at the beaming Donna. "Thanks then, Donna - good luck - and just...be magnificent."
Even from the console, Kayla could hear Donna laugh and reply: "I think I will, yeah."
Shaking his head with a small chuckle, the Doctor retreated back into the TARDIS and shut the door.
"Is that all, then?" Kayla asked her fiancé.
The Doctor held up a finger and whirled around when Donna started to cry out once again, "Doctor?"
"Oh, what is it now?"
Donna gave him a sad smile. "That friend of yours...what was her name?"
It took a few seconds for the Doctor to reply. "Her name was Rose," he grinned softly, "But I have Kayla now. And a baby." Waving, he closed the doors to the TARDIS and nodded to Kayla to fly them away. And as always, she did.
So...I'm alive. That's new. And I'm really sorry. A lot of family issues happened and I had a lot of drama to deal with and writing sort of took a backseat in my life. But now I'm back! And I have a few announcements.
First of all, June 22 to July 20th, I won't have internet access. I'm going to camp and they have a strict policy.
Second of all, I will continue to update every saturday with this story and every other sunday with Surviving Light.
Third of all, as you might have noticed, I took down Moments and now on every Friday I will be posting the Assassin's first book, The Assassin of Time.
And now, review time, and I just wanted to thank you all for reviewing. Seven reviews is the most I've gotten on any chapter!
.77: Thanks!
ThisIsMeAndYou: Jack will have a very interesting reaction, he is Jack after all.
NicoleR85: I'm so sorry for the wait!
LilyMayRose: Thanks! And the baby's gender will be: spoilers!
time-twilight: Can't answer that, spoilers.
Jamie-Morse: Thanks! I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far!
SnowKi: Thanks!