i'm gonna come right out and say that i don't like this chapter, there were so many ideas buzzing around and none of them quite fit the way i wanted. i've got it to a state that i am willing to show it to you guys. either way i hope you guys enjoy this story. oh by the way if you haven't watched the latest doctor who episdoe you really should because the ending made me go "!" slight exageration but still. please enjoy
"come one she went this way!"
Luke turned to follow Marcus they had caught a glimpse of Kubla Kahn slipping into the side streets, dashing around the corner they followed her into a warehouse,
once inside they lost sight of her
"dammit she disappeared again, any signs of her?"
Marcus quickly flicked open his scanner
"no no life signs" he held the device up in the air and moved it around "scrap that one really big life sign masking the others, oh snap it's the parlantan, run!"
Marcus grabbed his friends hand and they both ran, all around them drain covers started to hiss as pressure built up underneath them, breaking out onto the main street Marcus felt Luke hands slip from his grip, before he could turn around a massive blast of gas erupted from the ground and he was knocked out cold. Marcus didn't know how long he had been out, checking his watch he guessed about an hour, picking himself up off the ground he gingerly felt the back of his head, there was no blood, that was a good sign, he didn't hit it that hard, looking around he quickly spotted Luke a couple of feet away
"Luke are you alright? wake up"
Luke let loose an involuntary groan forcing his eyes open he looked at Marcus and burst into childish giggles
"you're blurry, pretty blurry alien"
sighing in relief Marcus checked him for injuries
"you're fine Luke, although you did inhale some of the Parlantan gas, I'm sorry i could have sworn it's hiding place was at least ten miles west of here, i must have read my scanner wrong"
this was the second time he had seen Luke under the effect of the gas,
"why did the Parlantan fart on us" the word teased another giggling fit out of Luke "clyde says that is a funny word, fart"
Marcus shook his head and gently lifted his friend off the ground, once upright Luke swayed on unsteady feet
"it didn't fart Luke, it's a self defense mechanism, luckily it's a fairly harmless one, although i suspect you're gonna be out of it until tomorrow"
Luke was paying little attention, he was trying his best to look at his toes without toppling, Marcus caught him just before he hit the ground
"Luke what are you doing?"
he put Luke's arms over his shoulder and supported him down the street
"i was looking for my toes cause i can't feel my toes, are you sure the alien didn't eat them?"
Marcus remembered Mr Smiths explanation of the gas
"no worries the gas will wear off and then you'll be able to feel your toes again after a good nights sleep"
Luke stopped for a moment
"you promise?"
there was so much fear and concern in Luke's voice, he sounded like a frightened kid to Marcus
"i promise, now come on time for bed"
happy that his toes were safe Luke allowed himself to be lead home, once they finally made it back Luke collapsed quite happily into his bed
"there we are Luke, safe and sound, now go to sleep"
Luke shook his head, a stubborn look covered his face
"not safe yet, Kubla Kahn escaped again"
this was the third time they had caught a trail, but Kubla Kahn had mastered simply disappearing, even in a human body
"don't worry, as long as we're chasing her she won't have time to do anything bad, now go to sleep"
Luke shook his head again grinning mischievously
"nuh-uh not comfy, can't sleep"
grinning in spite of himself Marcus climbed into the bed next to Luke and planted a light kiss on his friends lips, settling down beside Luke he let him get comfy
"better?"
he never got a response, Luke was already asleep beside him. their sleep didn't last long, they were woken by K-9 who was barking at the door
"k-9 what are you doing?"
the dog turned to look at Marcus
"Master Marcus, their is someone at the door"
trying his best not to disturb Luke Marcus got up to answer the door
"why were you barking though?"
he was gonna have to tell Luke to give his dog a check up
"Master Luke suggested it would allow me to blend in better"
rolling his eyes Marcus pulled open the door
"K-9 there's nobody here"
before he could moan at the dog for waking him up he noticed something move across his field of vision, barely a shimmer, lashing out at it he hit something solid, the intruder tripped on K-9 and fell to the floor
"what's going on?"
Luke woke up just in time to see the intruder become visible
"ouch, was that really necessary, i just wanted to get out of sight before dropping my cloak, most of these humans have no clue about aliens do they"
the voice belonged to a slender woman, despite her technology she looked human
"fair enough, although it might have been an idea to tell us that before trying to sneak in, now who are you?"
Luke was properly awake now and staring at the intruder
"my name is faren, i was told to seek you two out, i am an agent of the shadow proclamation, and i have come to warn you that your planet is in terrible danger"
Luke groaned and dropped back against his bed
"why does the world always have to be in danger so early, what kind of danger?"
Faren got to her feet casting a disaproving eye over Luke's room before answering
"i am following an organisation known as the black suns, i don't know their goal yet, but their previous actions have often lead to planet wide destruction, my superiors told me earth was not our concern, but..."
Marcus caught Luke's eye, they shared a quick wordless communication
"well agent Faren i guess we should get started then"
Luke gave up trying to keep K-9 hidden as they moved through the buildings, most people knew his dog by name anyway even if they didn't know the exact details, outside they found Luke's car right where it usually was, Marcus turned to Luke confused
"Luke, did you go and get your car this morning before i woke up, i thought we left it behind after the parlantan gassed you"
Luke shrugged confused
"did we even bring my car with us when we were chasing Kubla Kahn?"
between them Faren looked to be growing ever more impatient
"gentleman right now that is not important, i have already gotten a spike in energy readings, we need to locate the source quickly"
taking her advice they all climbed into Luke's car, Faren showed Luke the location of her readings and they set off as fast as they could
"yeah OK Faren i know this doesn't seem important but the last time Luke started forgetting stuff he almost died, then i almost died bringing him back so this is important, besides we're good at this job so we can worry about the earth and each other"
Luke swerved quickly and pulled onto the next street, in the back K-9 stirred
"Master Luke i am detecting artron energy readings, they share similarity with the readings i took at the Manfreddi buildings"
Marcus turned to K-9 alarmed
"oh you have got to be kidding me, they're trying to make another chronon particle"
Faren threw her hands up in frustration
"that is nice gentlemen, care to explain"
Marcus was tempted to ignore her, but as Luke was concentrating on driving he decided to explain
"a chronon particle is a powerful energy source, but considering what you told me about the black suns, i think they're less interested in it as a power source, and more interested in the fact that it has the potential to destroy this world"
Faren's eyebrows disappeared into her hair
"then i suggest we hurry"
the readings lead them to a facility that Luke remembered well, Androvax, nanotechnology and Judoon, this place is nothing but trouble. sneaking up to the side entrance Luke used his pen and let them in
"why are they using a human facility?"
Luke decided to ignore the hidden comment about inferior human technology
"well i suspect a lot of this stuff is outdated compared to what these guys are used to, but if they can commandeer the nanotechnology like androvax did they could assemble everything they need for the particle in an instant"
turning a corner Luke could hear people talking ahead of them, signaling the others they crept silently towards their target
"sir the particle is complete, the containment field will begin to fail in 20 earth minutes, 10 minutes after that the particle will destabilise and our goal will be accomplished"
before they could stop her Faren jumped from her hiding place gun levelled at the members of the black suns
"freeze all of you!"
waving at Faren the leader of the group pressed a device on his wrist and they all dissappeared, running passed Faren Luke quickly got to work on the containment field
"not good, they've locked the controls, and this security system, i don't recognise it"
Marcus looked at the computer and his eyes widened in surprise
"this is the same setup as the Solaran vault, but that's impossible, this system was designed solely for use in the vaults, the designs were destroyed after installation"
a timer had appeared in the top of the screen
"OK mystery aside can you crack it"
Marcus remembered more or less how to enter the vaults, his dad had taken him there once
"yeah give me a minute"
he quickly got to work peeling back layers of security, behind him Faren paced nervously, Marcus could feel her anxiety pulsing in the back of his mind, Luke by comparison was calm and the other people in the room...he couldn't sense anything, paused at the final layer of security he new something was wrong
"what happened why did you sto..."
before Faren could finish Marcus burst from where he sat and caught her by the throat
"who are you? and where are we"
Luke looked between Marcus and Faren
"i know who she is, Kubla Kahn"
Faren's eyes shone with fear as the flickered between Marcus and Luke
"please finish stabilising the containment field"
it was less command than Marcus was expecting, more like she was begging
"why bother, i have a sneaking suspicion that none of this is real"
Luke nodded his agreement
"too much has happened out of place today, if i had to guess i would say this is a simulation, you used our memories to put this scenario together, and the solaran vault is the key"
he turned to Marcus who still had Faren or Kubla Kahn in a tight grip, releasing it slightly he let her talk
"the contents of that vault are my only way of bartering my passage of this world and passed the Judoon, please if i don't deliver what the black suns want they'll give me to the judoon, i'll be executed"
Marcus let her go a low chuckle escaped his lips
"you really are a stupid selfish alien aren't you"
the dark tone in his voice surprised everyone in the room
"the riches of Solaris for my life, i may not be a model citizen but i don't deserve to die, how is that selfish"
she was almost begging now
"what do you think when you think of the vault, underground, big metal door, lasers, tom cruise dropping form the ceiling, well if you're thinking of the vaults under the palace then you'd be right, but that isn't the vault they want to break into" genuine confusion crossed Kubla Kahn's face "they want access to the moon, the hollow moon above Solaris, inside of which is a gravity field generator keeping the moons orbit from destabilising, and destroying my world"
the reality of the situation hit Kubla Kahn
"that's why you went to all the trouble of this simulation, Marcus would never give up the vault key willingly, you had to trick him into giving it up"
she turned between both of them
"i didn't know"
her voice was somber and filled with remorse
"no you didn't care, you're smart enough to realise that the black suns weren't after money, you put your life above an entire planet, i'm not sure you deserve the life that you stole"
Marcus was radiating anger, this woman had put his entire world in danger, he took a step towards her but was stopped when Luke stood in his way
"remember, you didn't think the game master deserved to live either"
luke's words shook him from his anger, how did he get so close to losing it
"sorry Luke, Kahn you're getting us out of here now"
nodding her agreement the world dissolved around them, they were in the same warehouse they had chased her to, all three of them were in metal harnesses, Marcus slipped the headset off and fell to the floor, his throat was dry and his muscles weren't responding properly, he guessed it was an after effect of being in the harnesses so long
"what now gentlemen?"
to her credit Kubla Kahn hadn't run, she was just standing there. Luke looked to Marcus for guidance but he held up his hands, clearly lost for ideas, eventually he was struck by an idea
"that body you're in, the woman who used to occupy it, her name was Kathy, we checked in on her family to see if they had heard from you, but they told us you were missing, and they were heartbroken, i'm not sure what you deserve, but they deserve to be happy, they deserve to get their daughter back"
she silently nodded her understanding
"are you sure about this Luke?"
he honestly wasn't, Luke tried to think of what his mum would do and what the doctor would do, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small cylinder of metal that was barely bigger than a paracetamol
"this is a tracking device, once you swallow this it's practically impossible to get rid of, one slip up from you and we give the judoon the signal frequency"
she took it and swallowed it without a word, turning on her heels she walked away from them, taking Marcus's hands they both turned and walked away, finding Luke's car just outside they climbed in and Luke slowly steered them home, stopped outside their dorm building Luke waited for a moment
"i'm not sure that was the right thing to do, i keep trying to think of how mum would have handled it, or the doctor"
beside him Marcus let a small smile cross his lips
"you're right, your mum wouldn't have done that, neither would the doctor, but this crazy little world isn't all black and white, there's more than one right way of doing things, and this was yours"
Luke felt a surge of emotion, he still wasn't sure, but he believed his mum would be proud of him
"are you alright, that's the first time in a long time i've seen you that angry"
Marcus shook his head looking ashamed of himself
"that was stupid of me, so many live lost saving our world, she wanted to undo it all"
Luke put his hand over Marcus's
"what am i gonna do with you?"
his teasing tone made Marcus laugh, before either could say anything a voice came crackling over the radio
"well i know if i was you Luke i'd lock him in a room and have my way with him"
"jack? what are you doing on my radio"
he'd skipped over how, why bother where jack was concerned
"sorry for intterupting boys but i need your help, can you meet me at these coordinates"
Marcus flipped his scanner open to receive them
"okay Jack we'll be there as soon as we can, what do you need help with anyway?"
they both heard a pause over the radio
"the survivor"
little cliffhanger, for anyone wanting to know more about the survivor, you're wish shall be granted, for anyone wanting to know more about my ability to read minds. no wish for you
tardis edit-please ignore my ramblings it's late again and my brain is only half working
hint for next chapter: shattered