Through Thick and Thin Chapter 11: Midnight, a doctor who fanfic

Through Thick and Thin

Midnight

Thanks to sexyfox711 for favouriting this story.

Crystals glistened across the surface of the diamond planet Midnight. Standing proudly amongst all this was the Leisure Palace. The Doctor was standing at a pay phone in the Crusader terminal making a call to Donna, who was currently lounging by one of the palace's many swimming pools. "I said no." Donna told him firmly.

"A sapphire waterfall." the Doctor argued. "It's a waterfall made of sapphires. This enormous jewel the size of a glacier reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge. They fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine."

"I bet you say that to all the girls." Donna retorted.

"Oh, come on, they're boarding now." the Doctor persisted as he saw other passengers passing by on their way to the Crusader vehicle. "Shareen's coming, so why don't we all go together? Four hours, that's all it'll take."

"No, that's four hours there an' four hours back." Donna countered. "That's like a school trip. I'd rather go sunbathing."

"Be careful, that's xtonic sunlight out there." the Doctor warned.

"Oh, I'm safe." Donna replied. "It says in the brochure this glass is 15-foot thick."

"Alright, I give up." the Doctor conceded. "We'll be back for dinner. We'll try that anti-gravity restaurant with bibs."

"That's a date." Donna replied. "Well, not a date. Oh, you know what I mean. Oh, get off."

"See you later." the Doctor said.

"Oi!" Donna called before he could hang up. "And both of you be careful. Alright?"

"Nah!" the Doctor laughed. "Taking a big truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight, what could possibly go wrong?" he asked flippantly and hung up. He then turned to see Shareen arrive carrying a copy of Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone in one hand and a case of Boddingtons in the other. "Havin' a booze-up?" the Doctor asked her dryly.

"Hey, I'm gonna need these if I'm gonna be stuck with you for eight hours." Shareen retorted and they made their way on board the Crusader vehicle.

~8~

The Doctor and Shareen had soon taken their seats in the Crusader's passenger cabin. A hostess was handing out items to a blonde woman sitting across the aisle from the two time travellers. "Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts." the hostess said.

"Just the headphones, please." the woman requested.

"There you go." the hostess acknowledged, handing the woman a pair of headphones. She then moved over to the Doctor and Shareen and handed them items. "That's the headphones for channels one to thirty six. Modem link for 3D vidgames. Complimentary earplugs. Complimentary slippers. Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

"Probably the peanuts." Shareen deadpanned.

The hostess' lips twitched as she fought to supress a smile at the joke. "Enjoy your trip." she said.

"Oh, I can't wait." the Doctor grinned. "Allons-y!"

"I'm sorry?" the hostess furrowed a brow.

"It's French," the Doctor explained, "for let's go."

The hostess looked to Shareen who could only shrug apologetically. "Fascinating" she said dryly to the Doctor and moved on to the people sitting in the row behind the time travellers; a balding, elderly man and a young woman about the same age as Shareen, evidently his assistant. "Headphones for channels one to thirty six..." the hostess began.

"Oh, no, thank you, not for us." the man waved her off.

"Ear plugs, please." the young woman requested.

"There you go." the hostess acknowledged, handing her the requested items.

"They call it the Sapphire Waterfall, but it's no such thing." the older man said to no one in particular. "Sapphire's an aluminium oxide, but the glacier is just compound silica with iron pigmentation."

The hostess meanwhile had moved on to serve a middle-aged couple sitting a few rows further back. "Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts."

"Thank you." the wife acknowledged as she took the offered objects.

"Have you got that pillow for my neck?" the older man asked his assistant.

"Yes, sir." she acknowledged, handing him a V-neck pillow.

"And the pills?"

"Yes, all measured out for you. There you go."

The man then leaned forward and introduced himself to the Doctor, "Hobbes. Professor Winfold Hobbes."

"I'm the Doctor." the Time Lord reciprocated, shaking Hobbes' hand.

"It's my 14th time." Hobbes said proudly.

"Oh, my first." the Doctor replied.

Hobbes; assistant then stood up to introduce herself, "And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco."

"Don't bother the man!" Hobbes chided.

"She was just sayin' hello. How's that bothering us?" Shareen defended. "Shareen Costello." she introduced to Dee Dee, shaking the young woman's hand.

The hostess meanwhile was handing out items to the middle-aged couple's son; a dark-haired teenager who was sitting across the aisle from his parents. "Complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts." the hostess listed off as she handed the son the items in question.

The son took the items, clearly looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.
"Don't be silly." his mother called to him. "Come sit with us. Look! We get slippers."

"Jethro, do what your mother says." the father commanded.

"I'm sitting here." Jethro said irritably.

"Oh, he's ashamed of us. But he doesn't mind us paying, does he?" his father snarked.

"Now, don't you two start." his wife interceded. "Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, peach and clementine."

Boarding was now complete and the hostess moved to the front of the cabin to address everyone, "Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader 50. If you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors." The pneumatic doors slid closed, forming an airtight seal. "Shields down." Heavy-duty shielding descended over the windows. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder. Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first." the hostess chuckled. "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

"Driver Joe at the wheel." the driver's voice said over the intercom. "There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map." A map appeared on the passenger screen. "The journey covers five hundred klicks to the Multifaceted Coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll."

The Crusader's engines powered up and the vehicle began to move.
"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth classics." the hostess, pushing a button and screens popped down from the ceiling, showing a cheesy 1970's pop video. "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovic Klein." She pressed another button and a hologram appeared, encompassing the cabin. "Just for the youngsters, a rare treat; the animation archives." An old black & white cartoon started. "Four hours of fun time. Enjoy!"

All the media blared at once, creating a terrible cacophony of sound. "Ugh, not in this lifetime." Shareen grumbled, stuffing her earplugs in. Hobbes followed suit, while the blonde woman looked up from her book with an irritated look on her face, not appreciating the ruckus at all, neither did Jethro and Dee Dee. Only Jethro's parents seemed to be enjoying the terrible racket. The Doctor discreetly took out his sonic screwdriver and used it to disable the Entertainment System.

The resulting silence was amazing.
"Well, that's a mercy." Hobbes remarked thankfully.
The blonde woman meanwhile looked to the Doctor and winked, silently thanking him for silencing the unwanted distraction.

"I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System." the hostess said meekly, trying in vain to get the system working again.

"Ooh." the Doctor said in mock disappointment.

"What do we do?" Jethro's mother asked.

"We've got four hours of this." her husband moaned. "Four hours of just... sitting here?!"

"Not for me, mate." Shareen smirked, holding up her book.

"Tell ya what..." the Doctor said to the others, popping up over the back of his seat, "we'll have to talk to each other instead."
He grinned cheekily while the others looked at him as if he were mad.

"Good thing I brought these then." Shareen said, opening her case of Boddingtons. "Get these down ya." she told Jethro's parents as she handed them a couple of cans. "They'll make listen' to his yap more bearable."

"Oi!" the Doctor mock pouted.

~8~

98 kicks later, the Doctor's idea had caught on. Most of the passengers were gathered around Jethro's parents, Biff and Val, who were relating a funny anecdote. The only people not interested were the blonde woman, who was reading her book by herself, Shareen, who had her nose engrossed in her own book and contently swigging one of her cans, and Jethro, who tried to separate himself from his embarrassing parents.

"So Biff said,' I'm going swimming'..." Val recounted.

"Oh, I was ready; trunks and everything, nose plug." Biff laughed.

"And his little nose plug. You should've seen it!" Val chortled.

"And I went up the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni. You know, those big foreheads?"

"Great big forehead!"

"And I said, 'where's the pool?' and he said..."

"'The pool is abstract!'" Biff and Val said together, a bored Jethro mouthing it along with them, having heard that story a thousand times.

"It wasn't a real pool!" Val laughed.

"It was a concept!" Biff snorted.

"And you were wearing a nose plug?" the Doctor asked him

"Oh, I was like this..." Biff replied, pinching his nose to mimic a nose plug, "'Where's the pool?'"

The others fell about laughing while Jethro rolled his eyes, got up and went over to where Shareen was sitting. "This seat free?" he asked her.

"Yep, carry on." Shareen replied, and Jethro sat down next to her. "Parents, eh?" Shareen said. "They love embarrassing ya."

"Tell me about it." Jethro huffed. "I didn't even wanna come on this trip. I wanted to stay at the palace an' go to that football pitch they've got."

"You play?" Shareen asked him, her interest piqued.

"A bit." Jethro replied. "I play goalie for me mates' team. You play?"

"Yep, used to be midfielder for the Bad Wolves." Shareen said proudly. "I still do the odd bit of practice. Trouble is, neither Peacock or Donna, our friend, play, so I'm by myself. Hey, tell ya what, when we get back to the palace, we should play a game."

"Yeah." Jethro nodded, seeing that it was a good idea.

~8~

150 kicks later, the Doctor and Dee Dee were getting themselves tea from the galley. "I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as researcher, just for the holidays." Dee Dee was saying. "Well, I say 'researcher', most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience."

"And did they ever find it?" the Doctor asked.

"Find what?"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh."

"No, not yet." Dee Dee laughed.

"Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery one day." the Doctor encouraged and lifted his cup. "Here's to Poosh."

"Poosh." Dee Dee raised her cup too.

~8~

194 kicks later, Shareen stood at the front of the cabin, giving a reading from her book to her fellow passengers,
"The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second, he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. 'Hmm,' said a small voice in his ear, 'difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either. And there's talent. Oh, my goodness, yes, and a nice thirst to prove yourself Now that's interesting, so... where shall I put you?'
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, 'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.'
'Not Slytherin, eh?' said the small voice. 'Are you sure? You could be great, you know. It's all here, in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that. No? Well, if you're sure, better be... GRYFFINDOR!'
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the that and walked shakily towards the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously while the Weasley twins yelled, 'We got Potter! We got Potter!'"

~8~

209 kicks later, the Doctor was sitting next to the blonde woman, Sky Silvestry, as they both ate their complimentary meals. "No, no. We're with this friend of ours, Donna." the Doctor was saying. "She stayed behind in the Leisure Palace. You?"

"No, it's just me." Sky sighed.

"Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want, go anywhere."

"I'm still getting used to it. I've... found myself single rather recently, not by choice."

"What happened?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, the usual." Sky shrugged. "She needed her space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"

"Yeah, Shareen an' I had a friend who went to a different universe." the Doctor commented.

Sky looked down at her food. "Oh, what's this? Chicken or beef?" she wandered, changing the subject.

The Doctor examined his own forkful of food. "I think it's both."

~8~

251 klicks later, Professor Hobbes was giving a lecture on the planet's background. Everyone was listening, even Jethro.

"So, this is Midnight, d'you see?" Hobbes spoke. "Bombarded by the sun. Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide. It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because, you see, the history is fascinating. Because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

"But how d'you know?" Jethro questioned. "I mean, if no one can go outside?"

"Oh, his imagination. Here we go." Val rolled her eyes.

"He's got a point, ya know." Shareen vouched, causing Jethro to give his mother a smug look.

Hobbes seemed to agree with the two youngsters. "Exactly!" he exclaimed. "We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

Suddenly, there was a crunching rumble, the engines fell silent and the Crusader ground to a halt. "We've stopped." Val realised. "Have we stopped?"

"Maybe we're there." Shareen shrugged, though her instincts told her otherwise.

"We can't be. It's too soon." Dee Dee said, confirming Shareen's fears.

"They don't stop." Hobbes added. "Crusader vehicles never stop."

"If you could just return to the streets, it's... just a small delay." the hostess instructed everyone, though it was plain to see that she was just as confused as everyone else.

"Maybe it's just a pit stop." Biff suggested as the hostess went over to the intercom.

"There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition 14 times, they never stop." Hobbes said.

"Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it." Sky snapped.

"We've broken down." Jethro laughed.

"Thanks, Jethro." Val grumbled.

"In the middle of nowhere!" Jethro continued gleefully.

"That's enough, now stop it!" Biff scolded him.

The hostess then returned, having spoken to the driver on the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short... delay. The driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats." she informed everyone, though it was clear to the Doctor that she was lying.

"Where's Green Flag when ya need 'em?" Shareen muttered to herself, slunking down in her seat. "Should've stayed with Donna."

The Doctor meanwhile got to his feet and approached the door leading to the driver's cab. "I'm sorry, sir, I..." the hostess began.

The Doctor showed her his psychic paper. "There ya go, engine expert." he waved her off. Two ticks." He opened the door and entered the cab, ignoring the hostess's protests.

The two-man crew were surprised to see the Doctor. "Sorry, if you could return to your seat, sir." Joe the driver began.

"Company insurance." the Doctor waved him off, showing his psychic paper. "Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're just stabilising the engine feeds. Won't take long." Joe replied, though he was lying and the Doctor knew it.

"Um, no, 'cos that's the engine feed, that light there and it's fine." he said, indicating the instrument in question. "And it's a micro-petrol engine, so stabilisin' doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry! I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"

"We just stopped." the second crew member said. "Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving."

The Doctor scanned the instruments with his sonic screwdriver. "You're right. No faults." he observed. "And who're you?"

"I'm Claude." the man replied. "I'm the mechanic. Trainee."

"Nice to meet you." the Doctor nodded.

"I've sent a distress signal." Joe said. "They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed."

"How long till they get here?"

"About an hour."

"Well, since we're waiting... shall we take a look outside?"

"Uh..." Joe began hesitantly.

"Just... lift the screens a bit?" the Doctor persisted.

"It's 100% Xtonic out there. We'd be vaporised." Joe objected.

"Nah. Those windows are Finitoglass. They'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on, live a little!" the Doctor encouraged.

"Well..." Joe conceded and raised the shields on the windscreen.

Outside lay a crystal landscape, the gems glistening in the sun. "That is beautiful." the Doctor commented.

"Look at those diamonds!" Claude said in awe. "Poisoned by the sun so no one can touch 'em."

"Joe, you said we took a detour?" the Doctor asked the driver.

"Just about 40 klicks to the west." Joe replied.

"Is that a recognised path?"

"No, it's a new one. The computer worked it out on automatic."

"So we're the first." the Doctor surmised. "This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."

Claude suddenly tensed. "Did you just..." he began nervously.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"No, sorry, it's nothing." Claude waved him off.

"What did you see?" the Doctor asked him.

"Just there, that ridge." Claude replied, pointing to a diamond ridge just ahead of them. "Like... like a shadow. Just... just for a second."

"What sort of shadow?" the Doctor probed, but before Claude answer him, an alarm sounded.

"Xtonic rising, shields down." Joe announced and began to lower the shield.

"Look! Look!" Claude said suddenly, pointing frantically. "There is is! Look there!"

"Where?" the Doctor asked, but the shield had already lowered so it was too late. "What was it?"

"Like just something... shifting. Something sort of... dark, like it was... running." Claude replied nervously.

"Running which way?"

"Towards us."

Joe decided he'd heard enough. "Right, Doctor, back to your seat. And, er, not a word. Rescue's on its way. If you could close the door. Thank you."

The Doctor stepped back into the passenger cabin to find Shareen and Sky waiting for him. "Well, Peacock?" Shareen asked.

"What did they say?" Sky added. "Did they tell you? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Oh, just stabilising, happens all the time." the Doctor shrugged, returning to his seat.

"I don't need this." Sky grumbled. "I'm a schedule. This is completely unnecessary!"

"Tell me about it." Shareen agreed, sitting down again and popping open another can. "Sapphire waterfall he promised me. What do I get? Stuck in a broken-down tin can in the middle of nowhere! Definitely should've stayed with Donna."

"Back to your seats, please." the hostess told the other passengers, then entered the cab to find out for herself what was happening.

"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micro-petrol engines, aren't they?" Dee Dee said, leaning forward to talk quietly to the Doctor.

"Don't bother the man." Hobbes hissed.

"Mind ya own business, grandpa." Shareen glared at him, greatly disliking the way Hobbes treated Dee Dee.

"My father was a mechanic." Dee Dee explained. "Micro-petrol doesn't stabilise, what does 'stabilise' mean?"

"Well, bit of flim-flam." the Doctor shrugged. "Don't worry, they're sorting it out."

"So it's not the engines?" Hobbes asked.

"It's just a little pause, that's all." the Doctor reassured him.

"Maybe we hit a pothole." Shareen suggested.

"How much air have we got?" Hobbes wandered.

"Professor, it's fine." Dee Dee tried to reassure him.

Unfortunately, the others had overheard them. "What did he say?" Val called.

"Nothing!" the Doctor tried to wave her off.

"Are we running out of air?!" Val screeched.

"I was just speculating." Hobbes said quietly, but the damage had been done.

"Is that right, miss?" Biff asked the hostess, who had just returned. "Are we running out of air?"

"Is that what the captain said?" Val fussed.

"If you could all just remain calm..." the hostess began, but it fell on deaf ears.

"How much air have we got?!" Val panicked.

"Mum, just stop it." Jethro tried to calm her.

"I assure you, everything is under control." the hostess said calmly, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Well, doesn't look like it to me." Biff retorted.

"Well, he said it..." Val began, pointing to Hobbes.

"... it's fine, the air is on a circular filter..." Dee Dee was saying, but the Doctor and Shareen were the only ones to hear her.

"... he started it... Val was saying, and everyone began talking at once, drowning each other out in a chorus of frantic ramblings.

"Everyone... shhh, shhh, shhh..." the Doctor tried to calm them all down but it fell on deaf ears.

Seeing that there was only one thing for it, Shareen stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly, silencing everyone. "Now, if you'd all shut up an' listen to Dee Dee for a moment..." she said.

Dee Dee was startled for a moment but quickly remembered herself. "Um... it's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter so... we could stay breathing for 10 years."

"Well, there ya go. Happy now?" Shareen asked the others, who all seemed to accept this.

"And I've spoken to the captain," the Doctor said, "I can guarantee you everything's fine."
No sooner had those words left his mouth when there was a loud, metallic double knock.

"Had to jinx us, didn't ya, Peacock?" Shareen groaned as they all looked around to find the source of the sound.

"What was that?" Val asked nervously.

"It must be the metal." Hobbes said. "We're cooling down. It's just settling."

"Rocks. Could be rocks failing." Dee Dee added.

"What I want to know is how long do we have to sit here?" an aggravated Biff grumbled.

"Forget Green Flag, where's International Rescue?" Shareen murmured anxiously to herself.

The double knocks sounded again, coming from outside the side wall.
"What is that?" Sky breathed nervously.

"There's something out there." Val exclaimed.

"Don't be ridiculous." Hobbes shook his head.

"Like I said, could be rocks." Dee Dee said, though she doubted it.

"We're out in the open." the hostess said. "Nothing could fall against the sides."

"I was afraid you were gonna say something like that." Shareen breathed.

Two more knocks sounded.
"Knock knock." the Doctor murmured.

"Who's there?" Jethro smirked.

"Is there something out there?" Sky asked anxiously. "Well? Anyone?"
The knocks came again.
"What the hell is making that noise?!"

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic. That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside." Hobbes insisted.

He was instantly proven wrong by two more knocks. "So what is that, then?" Sky challenged.

"Yeah, if you're so sure there's nothing out there, then what's makin' those noises, Clever Clogs?" Shareen agreed.

Hobbes had no answer to that question but he was too full of himself to admit that he was wrong.

The Doctor meanwhile had gone over to the wall and was just pressing his stethoscope to it.
"Sir, you really should get back to your seat." the hostess said to it.

The Doctor ignored her. "Hello?" he called.

The banging came again, though from the back of the cabin this time. "It's moving." Jethro realised.

The Doctor walked over to the airlock at the back of the cabin, where a clattering sound was coming from.
"It's trying the door!" Val cried.

"There is no 'it'!" Hobbes said obstinately. "There's nothing out there. Can't be."

"Oh, shut up." Shareen rolled her eyes at him.

The mysterious 'thing' tried the door again then moved onto the roof and over to the side airlock where it knocked again. "That's the entrance." Val cried. "Can it get in?"

"No, that door's on 200 weight of hydraulics." Dee Dee reassured her.

"Stop it!" Hobbes scolded. "Don't encourage them!"

"What do you think it is?" Dee Dee retorted.

"Biff, don't!" Val hollered as her husband began to approach the side door.

"Mr Cane, better not." the Doctor agreed.

"Nah, it's cast iron, that door." Biff waved them off and rapped on the door three times.
Three knocks were repeated.

"Three times!" Val gasped. "Did you hear that?! It did three times!"

"It answered!" Jethro laughed.

"Are you enjoying this?!" Shareen stared at him. "You're as bad as him!" She jerked her head in the Doctor's direction.

"It did it three times!" Val cried.

"All right, all right, all right. Everyone calm down." the Doctor tried to maintain control of the situation.

"No, but it answered, it... answered! Don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!" Sky said frantically.

Three more knocks sounded.
"I must insist you get back to your seats!" the hostess tried.

"No, don't just stand there telling us the rules! You're the hostess. You're supposed to do something!" Sky wailed.

The Doctor knocked four times on the door and it was repeated back, four knocks and all.
"Don't do that, Peacock!" Shareen hissed at him, realising that he was making things worse.

"What is it? What the hell's making that noise?" a now-hysterical Sky shrieked. "She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories..." She pointed at Hobbes.

"Calm down!" Dee Dee tried to reason.

"... and they made it worse!" Sky pointed at Biff and the Doctor.

"You're not helping!" Val shouted at her.

"Why couldn't you leave it alone?! Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!" Sky continued to rant hysterically.

"Just calm down." Shareen tried to stop her.

The knocking became continuous as a now absolutely terrified Sky backed away from the door. "It.. it's coming for me! Oh, it's coming for me!" she wailed. "It's coming for me! It's coming for me!" Oh! Oh!" She cowered against the front wall, screaming in terror.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor hollered, he and Shareen hurrying forward to help Sky, but it was too late.

The Crusader was suddenly tossed about like a kid's toy, with the lights going out and sparks flying as the occupants were thrown about like rag dolls. After a moment, it all stopped.
"Are you alright?" Biff asked his wife. "Look at me."

The Doctor clambered upright. "Arms, legs, neck, head, nose. I'm fine." he diagnosed himself. "Shareen?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm alright." Shareen said as she pushed herself upright. "Argh, why can't ya leave things alone, Peacock?" she grumbled. "Why d'ya have to keep pokin' and makin' things worse?"

"Can't help myself." the Doctor shrugged and got up to check the others. "How are we?" he asked them. "Everyone alright?"

"Earthquake, must be." Hobbes said as he regained his bearings.

"That's impossible. The ground is fixed, it's solid." Dee Dee countered.

"We've got torches. Everyone take a torch." the hostess instructed. "They're in the back of the seats."

Everyone took the torches from their compartments in the seat backs and Jethro walked towards the front of the vehicle, something having caught his eye.
"Oh, Jethro, sweetheart, come here." his mother called to him.

"Never mind me, what about her?" Jethro asked, gesturing to Sky, who was sat motionless on the floor with her back to them and her head burried between her hands.

"What happened to the seats?" Val wandered, seeing that the seats around Sky were in tatters.

"Who did that?" her husband added.

"Looks like someone, or something, ripped 'em all up." Shareen observed.

The Doctor walked forward and placed a calming hand on Sky's shoulder. "It's alright. It's alright." he soothed. "It's over. We're still alive, the wall's still intact. D'ya see?" He indicated the wall, which was dented but still airtight.

The hostess meanwhile stepped over to the intercom and tried to contact the crew, "Joe? Claude?"

"We're safe." the Doctor said to Sky.

"Driver Joe, can you hear me?" the hostess tried in vain. "I'm not getting any response." she told the others. "The intercom must be down." She opened the door to the cab but all there was on the other side was a blinding white light. Everyone screamed and shielded their eyes and the hostess wisely shut the door again.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Shareen panted.

"Is it the driver?" Biff asked. "Have we lost the driver?"

"The cabin's gone!" the hostess replied shakily.

"Don't be ridiculous." Hobbes said obstinately. "It can't be gone. How can it be gone?"

"Well, you saw it!" Dee Dee said.

"There was nothing there... like it was ripped away." the hostess said numbly in shock.

"What're you doing now, Peacock?" Shareen asked the Doctor, who had gone over to a panel on the wall.

"Just givin' us a bit of light." the Doctor replied, flashing his sonic screwdriver on the panel. "Molto bene."

"D'you know what you're doing?" Val asked him.

"The cabin's gone, you'd better leave that wall alone!" Biff added.

"The cabin can't be gone!" Hobbes insisted, still refusing to admit that he was wrong.

"No, it's safe. Any rupture would automatically seal itself." the Doctor waved the Humans off and removed the panel to expose it's inner workings. "Unless something sliced it off. You're right, the cabin's gone."

"But if it gets separated..." the hostess began.

"It loses integrity." the Doctor finished grimly.

"But.. what about the people in there?" Shareen asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm sorry, they're reduced to dust." the Doctor answered.

"Oh, my God." Shareen paled.

"No..." the hostess breathed.

"They sent a distress signal." the Doctor tried to console everyone. "Help is on the way. They saved our lives. We are gonna get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, an' they are gonna find us."

"I hope they hurry up." Shareen sighed.

"Doctor, look at her." Jethro called, still looking at Sky.

Everyone turned to see that Sky still hadn't moved. "Right, yes, sorry. Have we got a medical kit?" the Doctor asked.

"Why won't she turn around?" Jethro wandered.

"What's her name?" Shareen asked the hostess.

"Silvestry. Mrs Sky Silvestry." the hostess answered.

"Sky? Can you hear me?" the Doctor asked, crouching down beside Sky. "Are you alright? Can you move, Sky? Just look at me."

Shareen then realised something. "That noise, the banging... it's stopped."

"Well, thank God for that." Val said.

"I just hope it hasn't gone to fetch reinforcements." Shareen said uneasily.

Jethro had another worry. "What if it's not outside anymore? What if it's inside?"

"Inside? Where?" Val asked fearfully.

"It was heading for her." Jethro nodded at Sky.

The implication was not lost on Shareen. "Oh, my God." she paled.

The Doctor meanwhile was still trying get a response from Sky. "Sky... it's alright, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me."

"Peacock, don't..." Shareen began, intending to get the Doctor away from the possibly possessed Sky, but it was too late.

Sky slowly lowered her hands and turned around, her eyes wide and staring at the Doctor. She jerked her head in an animal-like fashion to observe the others. The Doctor knelt beside her and she faced him. He tilted his head to the left and she mimicked the movement. The Doctor tilted his head right and Sky mirrored him. "Sky?" he asked cautiously.

"Sky?" she repeated in an emotionless voice.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked.

"Are you alright?" Sky repeated.

"Are you hurt?"

"You don't have to talk."

"I'm trying to help."

"My name's the Doctor."

"Ok, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to shop."

"Maybe she'll stop if you stop, Peacock." Shareen advised.

Sky jerked her head in Shareen's direction. "Maybe she'll stop if you stop, Peacock." she repeated.

Shareen nearly sprang back in surprise. "What the hell?!"

"What the hell?"

"Why's she doing that?" Hobbes asked.

Sky turned to look at him. "Why's she doing that?"

"She's gone mad." Biff said.

Sky turned to him. "She's gone mad."

"Stop it." Val ordered.

Sky turned to her. "Stop it."

"I said stop it!"

"I said stop it."

"I don't think she can." Dee Dee realised.

Sky turned in her direction. "I don't think she can."

"Alright, now stop it. This isn't funny." Hobbes squirmed.

"Alright, now stop it. This isn't funny."

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you." the Doctor advised.

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you."

"My name's Jethro." Jethro said, deciding to have a bit of fun.

"My name's Jethro."

"Don't do that!" Shareen warned him.

"Don't do that."

"Why are you repeating?" the Doctor asked Sky.

"Why are you repeating?"

"What is that, learning?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"How long can she do that for ?" Shareen wandered.

"How long can she do that for?"

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..." the Doctor began

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..." Sky repeated.

"3341. Wow" the Doctor finished.

"3341. Wow" Sky repeated.

"But that's impossible!" Hobbes stared.

"But that's impossible."

"She couldn't repeat all that." Dee Dee agreed.

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Obviously, she can." Shareen said uneasily.

"Obviously, she can."

"Tell her to stop." Val demanded.

"Tell her to stop."

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her stop!"

Everyone began talking at once, Sky repeating every word without fault.

"... stop her staring at me, shut her up..." Val shrieked hysterically.

"... stop her staring at me, shut her up..."

"It's gotta be a trick." the hostess said.

"It's gotta be a trick."

"That's impossible." Dee Dee was saying.

"That's impossible."

"I'm telling you, whatever your name is..." Biff began.

"I'm telling you, whatever your name is..."

"Now, stop it, all of..." the Doctor tried stay in charge of the situation.

"Now, stop it, all of..."

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?" Hobbes wandered.

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

"She can copy everything." Shareen realised.

"She can copy everything."

"Biff, don't just stand there, do something. Make her stop!" Val demanded,

"Biff, don't just stand there, do something. Make her stop."

"You're scaring my wife!" Biff yelled at Sky.

"You're scaring my wife."

"...Mrs Silvestry..." the hostess tried.

"...Mrs Silvestry..."

"666." Jethro joked.

"666."

"Not funny!" Shareen chided him.

"Not funny."

"She's different. She's something else. Do something. Make her stop!" Val shrieked.

The rabble was suddenly silenced by the lights coming back on again.
"Oh, that's the backup system." the hostess sighed thankfully.

"Well, that's a bit better." Biff said.

"What about the rescue? How long's it going to take?" Val asked.

"About 60 minutes, that's all.." the hostess told her.

"Sooner the better." Shareen muttered. "It's gettin' ugly in here."

"Then I suggest we all calm down." Hobbes advised. "This panic isn't helping." As he was talking, Sky suddenly started talking simultaneously with him, "That poor woman is evidently in a state of self-induced hysteria. We should leave her alone."

"Doctor..." Shareen began.

"I know." the Doctor acknowledged.

"Doctor, now step back." Hobbes said, still not noticing Sky synching with him. "I think you should leave her alone." Then he realised. "What's she doing?"

"How can she do that?" Val/Sky asked. "She's talking with you. And with me. Oh, my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating... at exactly the same time." Jethro/Sky realised.

"That's impossible!" Dee Dee/Sky breathed.

"There's not even a delay." Hobbes/Sky remarked.

"It's all that yapping from all of us." Shareen/Sky realised.

"Oh, man, that is weird." Jethro/Sky laughed.

"I think you should all be very, very quiet." the Doctor/Sky advised. "Have you got that?"

"That goes for you too, Peacock." Shareen/Sky replied.

"How's she doing it?" Val/Sky asked.

"Mrs Cane, please be quiet." the Doctor/Sky warned.

"How can she do that? She's got my voice! She's got my words!" Val/Sky shrieked.

"Come on, be quiet. Hush, now. Hush. She's doing it to me!" Biff/Sky realised.

"Just stop it, all of you. Stop it, please!" the Doctor/Sky ordered, then crouched down before Sky again. "Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that? Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Shareen Costello, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS. Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you."

"Oh, for God's sake, stop encouraging her, Peacock!" Shareen/Sky hissed.

Unfortunately, the Doctor paid her warning no attention. "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O. First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?" he wandered.

"Next stage of what?" Dee Dee/Sky asked.

"That's not her, is it?" Jethro/Sky asked the Doctor. "That's not Mrs Silvestry anymore."

"I don't think so, no." the Doctor/Sky answered. "I think... the more we talk, the more she learns."

"So shut up an' stop makin' her worse!" Shareen/Sky scolded him. "Let's just get away from her."

"Good idea." the Doctor/Sky conceded. "I'm all for education, but in this case... maybe not. Let's just move back. Come on. Come with me." He began ushering everyone towards the back of the cabin. "Everyone, get back. All of you, as far as you can."

"Doctor, make her stop!" Val/Sky begged.

"Val, come with me." the Doctor/Sky told her. "Come to the back. Stop looking at her. Come on, Jethro. You too. Everyone, come on. Fifty minutes, that's all we need. Fifty minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong. Look at her. All she's got is our voices."

'For now.' Shareen thought grimly to herself.

"I can't look at her." Val/Sky squirmed. "It's those eyes."

"'We must not look at goblin men.'" Dee Dee/Sky recited randomly.

Everyone looked at her in bewilderment.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Biff/Sky asked.

"It's a poem by Christina Rossetti." the Doctor/Sky noted.

"'We must not look at goblin men. We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed. Their hungry, thirsty roots.'" Dee Dee recited.

"Actually, I don't think that's helping." the Doctor/Sky said dryly.

"Shut up, Peacock." Shareen said through gritted teeth.

"She's not a goblin, or a monster. She's just a very sick woman." Hobbes/Sky declared.

"Maybe that's why it went for her." Jethro/Sky suggested.

"There is no 'it!'" Hobbes insisted.

"Think about it though." Jethro/Sky persisted. "That knocking went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time, nothing can live on the surface of Midnight!" Hobbes/Sky said obstinately.

Shareen scoffed but managed to refrain from speaking. The Doctor on the other hand couldn't help himself, "Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, hmm? Now trust me, I've got previous. I think there might well be some... consciousness inside Mrs Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

"Peacock, for ya own good, stay away from her." Shareen whispered, cupping her mouth so Sky couldn't read her lips.

"Well, you can help her, I'm not going near." Biff/Sky told the Doctor.

"No, Shareen's right, I've got to stay back," the Doctor/Sky said, "because if she's copying us, then maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a whole lot worse."

"Like you're so special." Val/Sky scoffed.

"As it happens, yes I am." the Doctor/Sky retorted, causing Shareen to facepalm. "So, that's decided." the Doctor/Sky continued. "We stay back and we wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to hospital."

"Meanwhile, we should all just shut the f*ck up!" Shareen whispered. "Especially you, Peacock."

But Shareen was the only voice of common sense in the Crusader.
"We should throw her out." the hostess/Sky said suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Hobbes/Sky gasped, shocked at such an idea.

"Can we do that?" Val/Sky asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." the Doctor/Sky tried to shut the conversation down.

"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic. And I don't think she's finished yet." the hostess/Sky pointed out.

"She can't even move!" the Doctor/Sky argued.

"For now." Shareen said quietly.

"Look at her eyes!" the hostess/Sky pointed. "She killed Joe and Claude, and we're next!"

"She's still doing it!" Biff/Sky said, losing his cool. "Just stop it!" he demanded, moving forward. "Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't sweetheart!" Val/Sky cautioned.

"But she won't stop!" Biff/Sky said as he walked back to them. "We can't throw her out, though. We can't open the doors."

"No one is getting thrown out!" the Doctor/Sky said darkly, staring Biff down until the Human backed down.

"Yes, we can." Dee Dee/Sky pipped up suddenly. "'Cos there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out. You had a couple of seconds, because it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Dee Dee. Just what we needed." the Doctor/Sky rolled his eyes.

"Would it kill her? Outside?" Val/Sky asked Dee Dee.

"I don't know, but she's got a body now. It would certainly kill the physical form." Dee Dee/Sky answered.

"No one is killing anyone!" the Doctor/Sky snarled.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got one." the hostess/Sky said, pointing to the door at the back of the cabin. "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Now, listen, all of you." the Doctor/Sky said. "For all we know that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, than what's it found? This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to, murder? Because this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?"

There was a long silence as everyone contemplated the Doctor's words. Then Shareen spoke up, quietly enough so that Sky couldn't hear and synch with her but loud enough for the others to hear, "What if she's already dead? What if that thing's killed her and is just usin' her body as a puppet? The Slitheen and that Family of Blood could do it, so maybe this thing can too."

"No, she's still breathing." the Doctor/Sky answered. "I think it's just possessing her."

"But what if it's irreversible?" Shareen countered.

"We can't take a chance." the hostess/Sky said. "We've got to throw her out before it's too late. "

"I think we should." Dee Dee/Sky agreed.

"What?!" the Doctor/Sky stared.

"I want her out."

"You can't say that!"

"We might not have a choice, Peacock." Shareen said reasonably. "You said yourself it's gettin' clever."

"I didn't mean it like that." the Doctor/Sky squirmed, realising too late that his big mouth had made things worse.

"I want to go home." Dee Dee/Sky cried. "I'm sorry, I want to be safe."

"You'll be safe any minute now. The rescue truck is on it's way." the Doctor tried to reassure everyone.

"But what happens then, Doctor?" the hostess/Sky pointed out. "If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilisation... what if it spreads?"

"No, 'cos when we get back back to the base, I'll be there to contain it." the Doctor/Sky tried.
Shareen stared at him. Surely the Doctor wasn't planning to keep this thing as a pet?

"You haven't done much so far!" Val/Sky snarked.

"You're just standing in the back with the rest of us." Biff/Sky added.

"She's dangerous." the hostess/Sky said. "It's my job to see that this vessel is safe. And we should get rid of her."

"Now, hang on. I think perhaps we're all going a little bit too far." Hobbes/Sky spoke up, having wisely followed Shareen's advice and kept quiet up till now.

"At last!" the Doctor/Sky breathed. "Thank you."

"Two people are dead!" Val/Sky reminded.

"Don't make it a third!" the Doctor/Sky growled. "Jethro, what say you?" he asked more calmly.

"I'm not killing anyone." Jethro/Sky said.

"He's just a boy!" Val/Sky tried to wave him off.

"What? So I don't get a vote?" Jethro/Sky huffed.

"There isn't a vote! It's not happening!" the Doctor/Sky bellowed. "Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first." And he looked at everyone challengingly.
Shareen once again face palmed, realising that the Doctor's choice of words were poor.

"Ok." the hostess/Sky said after a moment.

"Fine by me." Biff/Sky chimed in.

"You and ya big mouth, Peacock." Shareen groaned.

"Oh, now you're just being stupid!" the Doctor/Sky said to Biff. "Just think about it. Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?"

"Calling me a coward?!" Biff/Sky glared, squaring up to the Doctor.

"Who put you in charge anyway?" Val/Sky sneered.

"I'm sorry, but... you're a Doctor of what, exactly?" Hobbes/Sky asked.

"They weren't even book in, him and her." the hostess/Sky said, pointing between the Doctor and Shareen. "Rest of you; tickets in advance. They just turned up out of the blue."

"Where from?" Val/Sky asked suspiciously.

"From Earth, ya happy?" Shareen answered.

"We're travellers, that's all." the Doctor/Sky added.

"Like an immigrant?" Val/Sky said condescendingly.

"Oh, you got a problem with immigrants?" Shareen challenged.

"Who were you talking to?" the hostess/Sky asked the Doctor suspiciously. "Before you both got on board, you were talking to someone, who was that?"

"Just Donna." the Doctor/Sky replied. "Just our friend."

"And what were you saying to her?" Biff/Sky demanded.

"None of your business!" Shareen snorted.

"Oh, so now you're on his side!" Biff/Sky scowled.

"You bet ya arse I am!" Shareen retorted.

"He hasn't even told us his name." Val/Sky sneered.

"He hasn't told me either, and I've known him for about three years now." Shareen countered.

"Thing is, though, Doctor, you've been loving this." Jethro/Sky said suddenly.

"Oh, Jethro, not you too." the Doctor/Sky groaned.

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, you've been loving it." Jethro/Sky pointed out. "And even when she," he nodded to Shareen, "told you to stop talking, you carried on."

"It has to be said, you do seem to have a certain... glee." Hobbes/Sky added.

"All right, I'm interested. Yes, I can't help it. Because whatever's inside her, it's brand new, and that's fascinating." the Doctor/Sky tried to defend himself.

"What, you wanted this to happen?!" Val/Sky snapped furiously.

"No." the Doctor/Sky argued, trying to get out of the hole he'd dug himself into.

"And you were talking to her, all on your own, before all the trouble. Right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the two of you together. I saw you." Biff/Sky said accusingly.

"We all did!" Val/Sky agreed.

"And you went into the cabin!" the hostess/Sky continued to pile on the accusations.

"Oh, this getting ridiculous." Shareen muttered.

"What were you saying to her?!" Biff/Sky demanded to the Doctor.

"I was just talking!" the Doctor/Sky defended.

"Saying what?!" Biff/Sky continued to probe.

"You called us humans like you're not one of us." Jethro/Sky added.

"He did. That's what he said." Val/Sky agreed.

"And the wiring. He went into that panel and opened up the wiring." Dee Dee/Sky remarked.

"That was after everything went wrong." Shareen reminded, but she was the only one seeing sense.

"But how did you know what to do?!" Biff/Sky demanded to the Doctor.

"BECAUSE I'M CLEVER!" the Doctor/Sky shouted.

Everyone was silent for a moment then Hobbes/Sky bit out, "I see. Well, that makes things clear."

"And what are we, then? Idiots?" Biff/Sky snarked.

"Well, ya bloody actin' like one!" Shareen retorted.

"Watch your lip, girl." Biff/Sky glared.

"Or what?" Shareen challenged.

"If you're clever, then what're we?" a hurt Dee Dee/Sky asked the Doctor.

"You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in." Val/Sky said condescendingly.

"Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered." the hostess/Sky remarked.

"Oh come on, just listen to yourself, please." the Doctor/Sky tried.

"D'you mean... we throw him out as well?" Biff/Sky asked the hostess.

"If we have to." she replied grimly.

"Don't even think about it!" Shareen glared, standing in front of the Doctor.

"She can go next." Val/Sky snarked.

"Just you try it!" Shareen challenged. "I'm an estate girl, I know how to take care of myself. Any of you stupid pr*cks try anything an' I'll break every bone in ya stupid bodies!"

"Look, just..." the Doctor/Sky began, stepping past Shareen, "right, sorry, yes. Hold on. Just... I know you're scared. And so am I. Look at me, I am. But we have all got to calm down an' cool off an' think!"

"Perhaps you could tell us your name." Hobbes/Sky said.

"What does it matter?"

"Then tell us." the hostess/Sky demanded.

"John Smith." the Doctor/Sky answered automatically.

"Oh!" Val/Sky scoffed.

"Your real name." Hobbes/Sky pushed.

"He's lying, look at his face." Biff/Sky said.

"His eyes are the same as hers." Val/Sky commented.

"Oh, don't talk bullsh*t." Shareen rolled her eyes.

"Why won't you tell us?" Jethro/Sky asked the Doctor.

"He's been lying to us right from the start!" Val/Sky accused.

"Your name!" the hostess/Sky demanded.

"Just say it!" Jethro/Sky pushed.

"No one's called John Smith!" Biff/Sky snarked.

"And no one I know has a stupid name like Biff, yet you're still here!" Shareen retorted.

Biff glared at her. "I'm warning you, girl!" he growled.

"Oh, f*ck off!" Shareen snorted.

"Now listen to me!" the Doctor/Sky thundered. "Listen to me, right now, because you need me! All of you! If we're gonna get out of us, then you need me!"

"So you keep saying." Hobbes rolled his eyes. "You've been repeating yourself more than her!"

"He wouldn't have to if you lot would just shut the f*ck up and listen!" Shareen retorted.

"If anyone's in charge, it should be the professor. He's the expert!" Val said.

"An 'expert' who keeps insisting that there's nothing livin' on this planet even though there clearly is!" Shareen shot back.

"Everyone stop!" Jethro said suddenly. "Just look!"

"You keep out of this, Jethro!" Val waved him off.

"Look at her!" Jethro pushed, and everyone turned to see Sky still sitting on the floor, but she hadn't been synching the last few sentences.

"She's stopped." Dee Dee realised.

"She wasn't copying me anyway." Shareen pointed out.

"When did she..." the Doctor/Sky began. "No, she hasn't. She's still doing it."

"She looks the same to me." Val said. "No, she's stopped! Look, I'm talking and she's not!"

The Doctor began to walk towards Sky. "Peacock, you need to stop goin' near her." Shareen warned him, but it fell on deaf ears.

"But what about me?" Biff said to the others. "Look! Look at that! She's not doing me! She let me go!"

"Mrs Silvestry?" the hostess tried. "Nor me."

"Sky? What're you doing?" the Doctor/Sky asked.

"She's doing him!" Dee Dee realised.

"Doctor, it's you. She's only copying you." Hobbes stated rather obviously.

"No sh*t, Sherlock." Shareen muttered.

"Why me?" the Doctor/Sky asked. "Why're you doing this?"

"She won't leave him alone." Dee Dee observed. "D'you see?"

"I said so. She's with him!" Val accused.

"They're together!" Biff agreed.

"Are you two f*cking stupid or what?" Shareen rounded on them.

"How do you explain it, then? If you're so clever!" Hobbes asked waspishly.

"Simple. She's singled Peacock out 'cos he's the cleverest person here an' he's the only one who can get us outta this." Shareen replied.

"Sky, stop it." the Doctor/Sky demanded, still moving unwisely closer to Sky. "I said, stop it! Just stop it!"

"Leave her alone, Peacock." Shareen warned, but the Doctor still wouldn't listen.

"Look at the two of them." Val snarked.

"Shut up!" Shareen barked at her.

The Doctor crouched down in front of Sky so that they were face-to-face. "Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand." they said together. "You captured my speech. What for? What d'ya need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? Because I'm the only one who can help? Oh, I'd love that to be true, but your eyes, they're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'll help you. That's a promise. So, what d'ya think?"

"Do we have a deal?" Sky said.

"Do we have a deal?" the Doctor finished, then realised.

"Hold on. Did she just..." Dee Dee began.

"She spoke first!" Jethro breathed.

"But she can't have!" Val objected.

"She did." Hobbes confirmed.

"She spoke first." Jethro repeated.

"Peacock, get away from her. Now!" Shareen urged the Doctor, realising just how much worse things had just become.

But the Doctor was too stupid to live and stayed kneeling in front of Sky. "Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you." Sky said.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you." the Doctor repeated.

"Oh, for God's sake..." Shareen grumbled, coming forward ready to pull the stupid Time Lord away.

"Did you see?" Hobbes said to the others. "She spoke before he did, definitely!"

"He's copying her!" Jethro agreed.

"Doctor, come on!" Shareen urged, trying to pull the Doctor away from Sky, but he was frozen in place like a statue.

"I think it's moved." Sky said.

"I think it's moved." the Doctor repeated.

"I think it's letting me go."

"What do you mean? Letting you go from what?" Dee Dee asked

"He's repeating now." Biff declared. "He's the one doing it. It's him!"

"No, it's not!" Shareen glared, trying in vain to pull the Doctor away from Sky. "C'mon you idiots! Help me get him away from her!"
But it was too late.

"They're separating." Jethro observed.

Hobbes took a step forward. "Mrs Silvestry, is that you?"

"Yes, yes, it's me." Sky answered.

"Yes, yes, it's me."

"I'm coming back."

"Listen.. it's me!" Sky said, moving her head and arms.

"Listen, it's me."

"It's passed into the Doctor." Jethro said. "It's transferred. Whatever it is, it's gone inside him."

"No, that's not what happened." Dee Dee countered.

"But look at her!" Val argued.

"Look at me. I can move." Sky said.

"Look at me. I can move."

Shareen began to shake the Doctor vigorously. "Doctor? Can ya hear me?" she said frantically. "Talk to me! Say something!"

"I can feel again." Sky said.

"I can feel again."

"I'm coming back to life."

"And look at him. He can't move." Sky smirked at the paralysed Doctor, though only Shareen saw the smirk.

"And look at him. He can't move."

"Let him go!" Shareen growled at Sky.

Sky just ignored her and turned to the others. "Help me."

"Help me."

"Professor?"

"Get me away from him."

"Please."

Hobbes walked over and cautiously took Sky's hands, helping her to stand. "Oh, thank you." she said with a relived sigh.

"Oh, thank you."

"They've completely separated." Jethro surmised.

"It's in him, d'ya see?" Biff said, looking at the Doctor with disdain. "I said it was him all the time."

Shareen got to her feet and fixed Biff with a death glare. "You f*cking idiot!" she growled.

The others ignored her. "She's free!" Val declared. "She's been saved."

"Oh, it was so cold." Sky said dramatically.

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe."
She looked at Shareen with an evil glint in her eye, knowing that everyone was on her side and that there was nothing Shareen could do about it.

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry."

"I must have scared you so much."

"No, it's alright." Val said, hugging Sky. "I've got you, oh, there you are, my love. It's gone. Everything's alright."

"I wouldn't touch her." Dee Dee warned, having been paying attention to everything happening and not so sure that Sky was as innocent as she was purporting to be.

"But it's gone, she's clean, it passed into him." Biff waved her off.

"No, it f*cking didn't!" Shareen glared at him.

"She's right. That's not what happened." Dee Dee agreed.

"Thank you, for your opinions, young ladies, but clearly Mrs Silvestry has been released." Hobbes dismissed them.

"No, she f*cking isn't!" Shareen retorted.

"Just leave her alone." Val said. "She's safe, isn't she? Jethro, it's let her go, hasn't it?"

"Think so, yeah." Jethro nodded, but even so, he couldn't help but wonder if Shareen and Dee Dee were the ones in the right. "Looks like it." He turned to Hobbes. "Professor?"

"I'd say, from observation, the Doctor can't move." Hobbes said. "And when she was possessed, she couldn't move, so..."

"Well, there we are, then." Biff said confidently. "Now the only problem we've got is this Doctor."

"Will you just listen, you idiots!" Shareen glared. "That thing can learn, remember? The more you all yabbered on an' on, it learned to copy us. So who's to say it hasn't learned to move as well?"

"Well, explain why the Doctor can't move, then?" Hobbes asked condescendingly.

"Simple. She..." Shareen thrust an accusing finger at Sky, "is controlling him. That thing's still inside her. You can tell by the smug look on her face!"

"Oh, what do you know?" Biff sneered. "You're just as bad as he is!"

"It's inside his head." Sky said, continuing her evil game.

"It's inside his head."

"It killed the driver."

"And the mechanic."

"And now it wants us."

"I said so!" Val shrilled.

"Of course it does, stupid!" Shareen snapped, storming over to the huddle of passengers. "That's why it's tryin' to you all against Peacock. 'Cos he's the only one who can save us all!"

"He's waited so long..." Sky continued, talking over Shareen so that no one could hear her counter-arguments.

"He's waited so long..." the Doctor helplessly parroted.

"...in the dark..."

"...and the cold..."

"...and the diamonds..."

"Until you came."

"Until you came."

"Bodies so hot..."

"Bodies so hot...

"...with blood..."

"...and pain."

"Stop! Oh, my God, make him stop! Someone make him stop!" Val shrieked.

"For f*ck's sake, it's not him, it's HER!" Shareen nearly exploded.

"And you can shut up!" Val snarked at her, too stupid to listen to reason.

"But she's right!" Dee Dee defended Shareen. "She's saying all that. He's just repeating it."

"But that's what the thing does, it repeats." Biff argued.

"Just let them talk." the hostess cut in, having been putting two and two together and realising that the two young women might be right.

"What do you know?" Biff snarked. "Fat lot of good you've been!"

"Just let them explain." the hostess said firmly.

" I think... I mean, from what I've seen, it repeats, then it synchronises, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen." Dee Dee said reasonably.

"What, and you're on their side?!" Biff stormed.

"No!" Dee Dee argued.

"The voice is the thing." Jethro pointed out.

"And she's the voice!" Shareen said, exasperated. "D'ya want me to spell it out for you idiots?! She stole the Doctor's voice. Look at her smug face! He's not being possessed, she's draining him!"

"She's got his voice?" the hostess questioned.

"But that's not true, 'cos it can't." Val said obstinately. "Because I saw it pass into him. I saw it with my own eyes."

"So did I." Biff agreed.

"You f*cking liars!" Shareen shouted. "Ya talkin' outta ya arse now!"

"It went from her to him." Val insisted. "You saw it, didn't you?" she asked her son.

"I don't know." Jethro shook his head, not sure who to believe.

"Oh, don't be stupid, Jethro. Of course you did!" Val gaslighted him.

"I suppose..." Jethro said meekly. "He was right next to her."

"Everyone saw it! Everyone!" Biff said obstinately.

"You didn't, you're just making it up!" Dee Dee argued. "Shareen's right. I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing his voice."

"She's as bad as them. Somebody shut her up!" Val screeched.

"I think you should be quiet, Dee..." Hobbes began sternly.

"Well, I'm only saying..." Dee Dee began reasonably.

"And that's an order!" Hobbes barked. "You're making a fool of yourself, pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average at best." he said nastily. "Now shut up!"

A furious Shareen swung round and punched Hobbes hard in the jaw, knocking out several of his teeth. "NO, YOU SHUT UP!" she bellowed. "Dee Dee should be the professor, she's clever. You, you're just a stupid old man who thinks he knows everything even though you don't so if anyone's gonna shut up, it's YOU!"

A momentary stunned silence fell on the other Humans. Hobbes glared at Shareen, blood trickling from the gaps in his mouth where the teeth had been knocked out. No one noticed the self-satisfied smile on Sky's face. Then she spoke up again, "That's how he does it."

"That's how he does it."

"Oh, shut up!" Shareen rounded on her.

"He makes you fight." Sky continued.

"He makes you fight..."

"...creeps into your head..."

"...and whispers."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"That's him."

"Inside."

"Throw him out!" Biff yelled.

"Get him out of my head!" Val shrilled.

"Yeah, we should throw him out!"

"Don't just talk about it!" Val screeched at him. "You're useless! Do something!"

"I will!" Biff retorted. "You watch me! I'm gonna throw him out!"

"No, you f*cking ain't!" Shareen said, and moved into the aisle to block the path to the helpless Doctor."

"Yes." Sky egged the Canes on.

"Yes."

"Throw him out!"

"Throw him out."

"Get rid of him!"

"Get rid of him."

"Now!"

"Now."

Biff began to advance on the Doctor but Shareen barred his way. "Move!" he ordered.

"Back off, ya stupid pr*ck!" Shareen snapped.

"That does it." Biff snarled, and made to push past her.

Thwack!

Shareen slammed her fist into Biff's eye, sending him crashing to the floor. "Let that be a lesson to ya." she spat down at him. "Never mess with an estate girl. Now BACK OFF!" Unfortunately, Val didn't get the message and grabbed Shareen, instigating a brawl between the two women. Biff meanwhile recovered and made a beeline for the Doctor, grabbing him and dragging him towards the rear airlock. "GET OFF HIM!" Shareen yelled from where she was struggling with Val.

"It'll be you next!" Val screeched, slamming Shareen's head into the back of the seats.

"I don't think we should do this!" the hostess tried to defuse the situation.

"It was your idea!" Biff ground out from where he was struggling with the Doctor. "Professor, help me!"

"I can't." Hobbes blustered, his voice now having a slight whistle due to his missing teeth. "I'm not..."

"What sort of a man are you?!" Biff egged. "Come on!"

"Throw him out!" Val screeched.

"SHUT UP!" Shareen snapped, slamming her boot down onto Val's foot, causing her to let her go and allowing Shareen to grab her in a headlock and deliver some well-deserved punches to the face.

"Come on!" Biff yelled to Hobbes. "Professor, help me!"
One of the Doctor's shoes caught on one of the overturned chairs, buying him some time.
Hobbes then reluctantly came forward to help Biff.
"Grab hold of him!" Biff ordered. "Not like that! Are you stupid?!"

"Cast him out!" Sky egged, relishing her imminent triumph.

"Cast him out."

"Into the sun..."

"Into the sun."

"...and the night."

"And the night."

"IT'S HER! FOR F*CK'S SAKE, IT'S HER!" Shareen yelled at Biff and Hobbes but they didn't listen. Shareen then attempted to rush forward to deal with Sky herself but Val grabbed her by the arm and held her back.

"Do it." Sky goaded.

"Do it."

"Do it now!"

"Do it now."

"Faster!"

"Faster."

"Just do it!" Val screeched, holding Shareen back. Val had sustained a broken nose from Shareen's punches but not even that had managed to knock some sense into her.

"That's the way." Sky smirked.

"That's the way."

"You can do it.

Jethro came forward to help his father and the professor drag the helpless Doctor towards his imminent doom.

"Molto bene." Sky gloated.

"Molto bene."

"Allons-y!"

"Allons-y."

The hostess did a double take, remembering the Doctor saying that exact phrase when he'd first come aboard. "That's his voice!" she gasped.

"The starlight awaits." Sky continued to monologue.

"The starlight awaits."

"It's taken his voice!" the hostess realised.

"See! You see?!" Shareen said desperately, trying to get free from Val's grip. "It's her! She's the alien!"

"Shut up!" Val snapped, yanking Shareen's hair to silence her.

"The emptiness..." Sky continued.

"The emptiness..."

"The Midnight sky!"

"The Midnight sky."

"It's her!" the hostess gasped, realising that Shareen and Dee Dee were right. "She's taken his voice!" Seeing that there was only one thing for it, she grabbed Sky and hit the emergency button, opening the door. The blazing white light streamed in, causing the others to all stop what they were doing and shield their eyes. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!" the hostess counted, then she threw herself and Sky out to the doom as the forcefield gave away.

The door slid shut and the men let go of the Doctor, all panting heavily. "It's gone, it's gone..." the Doctor gasped, free of the entity's control, "it's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone. It's gone, it's gone, it's gone."

As the shock at what had just happened passed, everyone pulled themselves together, realising what they had become and what they had nearly done. Shareen, sporting a nasty forehead wound from where Val had slammed her into the seats, slunked down in a seat, panting heavily. Hobbes whimpered as he pressed his thumbs against his bleeding gums, suddenly ashamed at the realisation that he'd almost thrown an innocent man to his death. Dee Dee clung to the edge of her seat, wishing that she'd done more to stop things from getting out of hand. Jethro curled up on the floor, shaking with the realisation that he'd almost been an accomplice to murder. Biff slunked down to the floor at the front of the cabin, nursing his black eye and feeling a crushing wave of shame and guilt at being the instigator of all this mayhem. Val meanwhile sat down and pressed a hand towel to her broken nose, feeling no remorse whatsoever. "I said it was her." she blurted out.
Everyone else glared at her.

"Just shut up." Shareen hissed, dabbing at her head wound.

~8~

20 minutes later, everyone was sitting quietly by themselves as rescue finally arrived. "Repeat. Crusader Fifty rescue vehicle coming alongside in three minutes. Door seals set to automatic. Prepare for boarding. Repeat. Prepare for boarding." an automated voice announced.

"The hostess... what was her name?" the Doctor asked no one in particular.

The others could only just shake their heads.
"I... don't know." Hobbes quivered.

~8~

After arriving back at the Leisure Palace, the Doctor and Shareen walked into the pool area where Donna was waiting. Their friend immediately realised that something terrible must've happened so she gave them each a comforting hug.

They were soon all sat around a table with the Doctor and Shareen recounting their misadventure to Donna. "What d'ya think it was?" she asked them when they'd finished.

"No idea." the Doctor admitted.

"Do you think it's still out there?" Donna asked.

"Probably." Shareen murmured.

"Well, you'd better tell 'em, this lot." Donna advised.

"Yeah, they can build a leisure palace somewhere else." the Doctor concurred. "Let this planet keep on turning round the xtonix star... in silence."

"Meanwhile, Peacock, I hope you've learned your lesson." Shareen told him severely. "You can't keep struttin' about actin' all holier-than-thou an' yapping away like ya know everything. If you'd have just listened to me and stopped makin' things worse..."

"I know." the Doctor sighed.

"I can't imagine you without a voice." Donna said suddenly, trying to lighten the sombre mood.

"Molto bene." the Doctor said with a small smile.

"Molto bene." Donna joked.

Both the Doctor and Shareen tensed. "No, don't do that." the Doctor said abruptly. "Don't. Don't."

"Yeah, don't." Shareen concurred.

Donna nodded, wisely deciding to let them both fall into their own thoughts.

Author's notes: And here's Midnight completed. Although this story is the third time I've covered series 4, this is actually the first time I've done Midnight in it's entirety, as both Gazelle and Iris stayed with Donna at the Leisure Palace and so were not present for the Doctor's ordeal at the hands of the Midnight entity. This time, I decided to take the plunge and do the entire episode, with Shareen accompanying the Doctor and thus getting embroiled in the bus tour from hell. Shareen sparring with Hobbes, Biff and Val was satisfying to write as they were such horrible people! Of course, Midnight is quite rightly considered to be RTD's finest Doctor Who script, being a tense horror story in a confined setting where the 10th Doctor's arrogance backfires on him spectacularly. So, hope you like this chapter and I hope to see ya next time!