Chapter Two
A/N: Hey guys! So two reviews said you wanted more so here it is! I worked on must of this in a night because I was in an updating both my stories mode, not edited. But please give feedback. Probably won't go back and edit it, but it's nice to know for future chapters! Enjoy!
Tell me which Price you like more.
#Raven
Or
#Mackenzie
Enjoy this chapter!
Two years later…
Pain.
Betrayal.
Loss.
All things I've let go.
My hair was black again, and Raven reigned supreme.
After Raggedy Weirdo left, Mackenzie actually died. I no longer had that little girl's voice in me anymore.
It was only me.
"You sure you'll be alright Rav? You know all by yourself?" Mel's asks for the hundredth time now.
"YAS! It's my place and I do have to learn how to be on my own." I tell her again. "Are you coming to Red's wedding?"
"Weddings aren't my thing."
"Right. Well it's getting late so you should probably go."
"Alright. Bye Sweetie." Mel's says as she leaves my new home.
It was a one story home. Small but it's only me now anyway. I didn't need anything huge.
Her wedding was tomorrow. MY TWO BEST FRIENDS WERE GETTING MARRIED!
Swiftly, I go back into my secure zone. AKA my bedroom.
But I never expected a blue box in the middle of it.
"You have amazing writing skills Mackenzie I have to say. Oh! Sorry I'm late, new TARDIS! I had to test it out."
His voice.
He's back?
Oh hell nah.
MACKENZIE STAY DEAD DANG IT!
He's going to save us.
You're a gullible idiot.
"So you're back." I mumble going over to where he sat on my bed.
"Of course I'm back. I always come back." Raggedy Weirdo says smiling.
He had a piece of paper in his hand. It was old and crumbled. But I already knew what it was.
"Why did you come back?"
He frowns at me. "I still have to get Mackenzie back."
"Well she's gone. You might have had a chance two years ago, but not now. I grew up."
"And dyed your hair."
"Yeah."
"You never want to grow up. Don't worry Mackenzie, I'm fixing the broken shards."
I look at him wide eyed. He had actually read it.
"Don't try to fix broken glass. You're only going to cut yourself."
"I'll take my chances."
I laugh at his determination. He thinks he can waltz, oh no I'm sorry, appear, in my bedroom and try to get the old Mackenzie back.
He had another thing coming.
Punch.
"OW!" He yells bolting up and holding a hand to his bruised face.
"GET OUT!"
"NO!"
"I WILL CALL THE POLICE!"
"No you won't."
He's right.
Shut up. You're supposed to be dead.
"You don't know me. I will."
"Oh stop it Mac! No you won't!" Red's voice calls.
I turn my body to where Red was, seeing she was inside the blue box. Her body blocking me from seeing what was inside.
She had her night gown on. Most likely just waking up a little while ago.
"What happened to calling first!? When did you guys lose your manners!?" I yell aggravated.
"Mackenzie come with us." The Doctor says standing in front of me.
"No! Red what the heck are you doing! You're getting-"
"It's a time machine! We can go anywhere and be back in ten seconds." She interrupts giving me the shut up look.
Oh my god. Is Amy cheating!? Does running off with the raggedy weirdo in a small blue box that's a time machine the day before her wedding, count as cheating?
Since he's cute, I think it does.
Bad Red!
Wait time machine?
"Time machine? That's insane."
"You believed it two years ago." He points out walking a step toward me, causing me to take two steps back.
"Only because the world was ending and you said believe you for twenty minutes, and I didn't want to die…so yeah."
"Please Mackenzie. Give me a chance. One trip. If I can't get Mackenzie back, I'll bring you back. No harm done."
Just do it.
That should be a motivational speech.
"You're very confident aren't you?"
"Definitely." He says adjusting his bow tie.
"Raven, please." Red begs.
Should I?
I mean, he's going to try to change the way I've been living my life for 14 years.
But is the really the way I should be living it?
One trip really wouldn't hurt…right?
"One trip. That's it."
His face brightens up before embracing me tightly.
"WHOA! WHOA! NO ONE SAID HUGGING! GET OFF ME YOU RAGGEDY, BOW-TIE WEARING, ALIEN WEIRDO!" I yell trying to push him off me.
They both have the nerve to laugh at me, before the Doctor lets me go. Pulling me towards the box.
"How are we supposed to all fit in there?"
"Oh you'll see."
Red moves away, as the Doctor pulls me in. And when I see the inside my mouth drops.
"What…?"
The inside was like a whole different dimension! Like he got the outside on the inside!
It almost was like I had seen her before.
Wait did I just call her, her?
Hello Savior.
AHHH! THERE'S ANOTHER VOICE IN MY HEAD! EVRYBODY PANIC!
Don't worry child. You can call me Idris
Okay! Hi Idris. PLEASE LEAVE MY HEAD! THERE'S ONLY ROOM FOR TWO!
"I know! It's hard to process think of it as-"
"A different dimension on the inside. The outside is smaller than the inside. How did you do that?" I ask in awe running my hand over the railing.
"Okay. That's new." He says ruffling his hair. "Uh, it's all wibbly wobbly timey whimey stuff."
So mature.
I believe you are as mature as him.
New voice in my head! You are not welcomed here!
"Well then…I guess we will be off then." He says going over to the console in the middle of the room.
Red laughs running over after him.
Wow. In what five minutes she turned into a kid again. Well I'm tougher than that. A magic box isn't going to change that.
Are you sure about that? Because I am pretty awesome.
Wait you're the box. Guess that explains why you just appeared in my head. But why? Just…why?
I've appeared to you in dreams. You're special.
Well, yeah I know that. That's what all my teachers say!
Not like that.
"So all of time and space, everything that's ever happened and everything that ever will, where do you want to start? Wait! I know." He says running over to the console.
As soon as he started clicking buttons the whole ship started to shake causing me to grip the rail next to me. "WHAT THE HECK?!" I yell alarmed.
"GERONIMO!" The Doctor screams laughing and Red laughs with her.
When it stops, I fall on the ground.
"Did I forget to mention it's a little bit of a shaky ride?"
"I find it incredible! Brilliant!" Red yells going to the doors.
'I feel like I'm one step closer to getting a concussion. Note to self, get a helmet.' I remind myself. 'Wait, I'm saying that like I'm staying.'
"Mackenzie! Come here!" The Doctor says already at the doors.
I stand to my feet before walking over to the doors, and just as I get there, he opens the doors.
Millions of stars brightly shined, some close and looked like the sun, others more like the things we see in the night sky. No planets were in sight, but the stars were enough. The vast empty, darkness of space was filled up with light. And it couldn't be more beautiful.
"Mackenzie Price, meet the universe. So big and so much yet to be discovered." He says to my astonished face. "Do you want to see it more up close?"
I nod my head frantically and next thing I know, I'm floating outside the doors, the Doctor holding me by my ankle to make sure I didn't float away.
"THIS IS SO FREAKING AWESOME!" I scream laughing my head off.
Red laughed from behind me and tilt my head to see her leaning against the door looking very amused. "You like it?"
"YES!" I mean was the 'this is freaking awesome' not clue enough for her?!
"So, that's what Mackenzie thinks or is that Raven."
Really? Now?
I decide not to say anything in return and just focus on the view in front of me.
The Doctor pulls me back in the doorframe. "Now do you believe me?" he asks me.
"Yes! You actually have a time and space machine! How are we breathing though? The doors are open?" I ask.
"I've extended the air shell. We're fine." He reassures me.
I look outside again and see a ship floating by. But it isn't any old ship. A city is strapped to it and it resembled the Titanic a bit from the boat holding it. Many lights were coming from the windows of the buildings telling me people were inside.
Or aliens. Either one.
The Doctor and Red follow my gaze and their eyes widen. Red speaks first. "What is that?"
"Now that's interesting. Twenty ninth century. Solar flares roast the earth, and the entire human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations." He says before going back to the console and Amy follows behind but I hold onto the doorframe not thinking he would close the doors.
I was wrong.
The doors shut behind them and I hang on as space tries to pull me away. "DOCTOR!" I yell.
I hear him talking a little from the other side. So I yell louder.
"RAGGEDY WEIRDO!"
Still voices on the other side.
"DOCTOR!"
Finally, he opens the doors and looks at me. My hands holding onto the door while the rest of my body is out and space. "Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship." He says before pulling me inside and shutting the doors.
He leads me to the console and slides a screen in front of my face which showed the whole ship. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland. All of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and shopping. Searching the stars for a new home."
My mouth drops. "But how can they just strap a country to a ship and sail off? Did technology really upgrade that much? Does America have a ship as well?" I ask him.
"Technology did advance greatly so yes they can just do that, and yes they do. In fact, they were one of the first to leave."
Of course we were.
"Can we go out and see?" Red asks him.
"Course we can! But first, there's a thing." He says holding one of his fingers up.
"A thing?" Red asks while The Doctor moves hitting buttons on the console and I could feel that we started to move except this time a little less shaky.
"An important thing. In fact, Thing One. We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in all my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets."
That's a total lie. My thief always gets involved.
Idris.
Your thief?
Yes Star, well technically I'm the thief. I stole a Timelord and ran away. But if you ask him, he'll say he stole me and ran away.
Wow, I like this woman already.
On the screen, a girl shows up. She has long brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. She wore a red jacket with a white shirt underneath that had a color and pockets. It seemed to be a school uniform. She looks so young.
The screen showed her sitting on a bench, but she was crying.
Well, I can't stand for that!
"Ooo, that's interesting." The Doctor said and Red says something in return but I silently move out the doors and close them behind me.
Outside, there was a ton of people, and it looked like one huge marketplace in doors. People walked or ran by shoving into me as they went. Lights hung on their stands which lit the place up like a Christmas tree.
I make my way through the crowd and saw the little girl on the bench. People just walked right by her, not paying any mind.
Some even noticed but then put their gaze to the box near her and walked by almost in fear.
In a box was a creepy looking fortune teller thingy. Well at least that's what it reminded me of. It was smiling and had little red dots where its dimples were.
I felt like the first five minutes of Supernatural at the moment.
Cringing, I walk over to Mandy carefully. "Hi." I say gently and softly.
Immediately, her head lifts up and she wipes her tears off. "What do you want?" She says harshly.
"I want to know why you're crying. It's not for attention or it would be very loud, and that's what usually kids cry for, so what's wrong? You can tell me." I say before sitting next to her.
"Nothing is wrong. Leave me alone." She says sternly but surprisingly she doesn't leave.
"Nothing huh? I don't believe you. You know why?"
She looks up at me in question so I continue. "I noticed that while you were crying there was at least five parents walking by. Now if I was a parent I would ask what was wrong, but they didn't. Instead they put the gaze on that box over there and practically ran away. And this place is rusty and old but those boxes don't have a pinch of dirt on them. Which tells me, people are afraid of them. And they know they have something to do with you crying."
The girl looks at me shocked. "But you only saw for a second and you got all that?"
"It's been two minutes and I also figured out you just got out of school since you are in uniform. But that's not the point. What's happened?"
"My friend. I tried to warn him, I did! But he-he-he didn't listen!" She says before crying again.
I quickly, wrap my arm around her shoulder and let her cry on me. "It's okay. Tell me, what did you warn him about?"
"He f-failed class today! And people who fail can't use the elevator to go home! They have to walk! If you don't, you get sent down below. And he didn't listen! He's not back yet!" She cries.
"What's below? What's below deck?"
She was about to answer when The Doctor appears behind me. "Hey, are you alright?" He asks her but she only gets out of my arms and runs away.
"DANG IT YOU STUPID, MOTHER FREAKING, RAGGEDY WEIRDO! She was about to tell me what's going on!" I shout. "And you scared her off!"
"What did I say about getting involved?" He asks me.
I roll my eyes. "What were you about to do?" I ask him.
He looks at me offended before he sighs. "Getting involved."
I laugh. "Yeah I figured. Listen did you see what I did?" I ask him. "All those people walked on by while she was crying, not even asking like we did. Like they know. And they seem to be afraid of the boxes." I say pointing to them.
"Doctor!" I hear Red's voice sound.
"Yeah I did notice that. But good work Mackenzie. What did you find out about Mandy?"
Before I could answer, Red comes into view. "Doctor! What are you doing?"
"Welcome to the London Market! You are being monitored." A voice sounds.
"I'm in the future. Like hundreds of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries." Red suddenly realizes.
"Seriously?" I ask her. "Very cheery."
"Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it wrong?" The Doctor asks us leading us away from the bench the girl once sat at.
"What's wrong?"
"Come on, use your eyes. Notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?" He asks us.
As he says that, bicycles wheel by, which causes me to do a double take. Very odd.
"Is it the bicycles? Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles." Red asks.
Ha. I already figured it out. Well at least about the creepy machines.
"Says the girl in her nightie." He points out. "At least Mac got dressed."
She looks down at herself before her face morphs into mortified. "Oh my God, I'm in my nightie."
"Now, come on, look around you. Actually look." He says to her.
"London Market is a crime-free zone." A voice sounds again over the intercom which I laugh at. Like that happens.
This is humanity computer. It never works out like that.
"Life on a giant starship. Back to basics. Bicycles, washing lines, wind-up street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me." He says before walking over to a couple who look to be on a date.
He picks up their water before setting it down on the ground. My eyes widen when I see the cup not even move an inch. Not one little tremble.
"What are you doing?" The man asks and the Doctor returns it to the table.
"Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish." He tells them before walking by and we follow. "Where was I?"
"Why did you just do that with the water?" Red asks him.
"It didn't move. How is this ship moving? The water didn't move?" I ask myself and the Doctor grins.
"I knew you were clever."
"Doctor!" Red asks again. "Why did you do that?"
"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state. Do you see it yet?" The Doctor asks Red.
"Where?" She asks and I suddenly notice the girl sitting on a different bench now crying.
"There." He says pointing to her.
"One little girl crying. So?" Red asks.
"Crying silently. I mean, children cry because they want attention, because they're hurt or afraid. But when they cry silently, it's because they just can't stop. Any parent knows that." The Doctor states. "I'm surprised you knew that Mac."
"I babysat for a little while when I needed extra cash. Long time ago. I wasn't very good, but I learned fast."
"Are you a parent?" Red asks suddenly which causes a sad face to fall on his.
He seems to stop for a moment. Just one single second that it was easy to miss. A miserable look. A look that looked like it saw the world end, and everything die. A look of so much pain, but in a flash it was gone.
"Hundreds of parents walking past who spot her and not one of them's asking her what's wrong, which means they already know, and it's something they don't talk about. Secrets. They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."
One of the box things seem to follow the girl get into an elevator. "Where'd she go?" Red asks.
"Deck two oh seven. Apple Sesame block, dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner." He says which makes me raise an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, er, this fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her. Took me four goes. Ask her about those things. The smiling fellows in the booths. They're everywhere." He says gesturing towards the boxes and hands me a wallet.
"But they're just things." Red reasons.
"They're clean. Everything else here is all battered and filthy. Look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Look. Ask Mandy, why are people scared of the things in the booths?" He tells us before starting to walk away. "She already knows Mac a bit so she should feel safe with her there."
"No, hang on. What do we do? I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed." She tells him.
"It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose?" He asks raising an eyebrow and by the look on her face he saw that he had won. "Ha ha, gotcha. Meet me back here in half an hour." He says. "Mackenzie stay out of trouble!"
Of course he had to say that to me! It could be Red!
"What are you going to do?"
"What I always do. Stay out of trouble." I give him a look and he continues. "Badly."
"So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?" She asks him raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." He says immediately before hopping and skipping away. He was seriously a child.
Red sighs before we both go to the elevator and put in what the Doctor said.
In the elevator, I spoke up. "You know this is called cheating."
Red looks at me. "No it isn't! I'll be back before a minute has gone by!"
"Amelia Pond you better be! I agreed to wear a dress for you and a poufy and colorful one at that. And I swear if you back out now, I will lose it! You better be serious about Rory."
"I am! I promise! I love him! But I just don't want to settle down yet." She reasons.
"He loves you Red. If you don't want to get married just yet, then I have no doubt he will wait for you. And you can travel the world with him. Or the universe, I guess." I smile.
"Yeah! And you are so coming with us!"
I lose the smile. "Red, I don't know. I just don't trust him much and what if he just leaves us again."
"He won't! I don't think he wants to be alone."
We stand in silence at that, probably both thinking about what could've happened to make him end up so alone. And have so much hurt buried behind the walls he sets up. I couldn't help but wonder.
The machine dings, ending both of our thoughts and it opens up. We both walk out onto Deck 207 which seemed very empty of people but not with buildings, and dark and dirty. As we walked, footprints were left. Very glad I am wearing my boots.
"Come on! She has to be here. We weren't that far behind her." I say mostly to myself.
We looked at a sign that said Dean and it had the little abbreviation for street.
"You're following me. I saw your friends and you watching me at the market place." The girl's voice sounds and echoes.
I twirl around to face her. "You dropped this." I tell her holding out her wallet.
"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me."
"He does that. And we never got to finish our conversation." I state.
She rolls her eyes before looking at a workman's hut has been stripped down with wires poking out and yellow flashing lights with a sign saying keep out, before looking away from it. Almost the same way people looked the Smiley's.
"What's that?" I ask her. "Why are you scared of it?"
"I'm not." She says too quickly. "It's just a hole. We have to go back"
Red makes a M-hmm sound before we walk over to it.
"A what? A hole?" Red asks Mandy.
"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way. There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing?" She asks me when she sees me picking the lock with a hair pin I kept in my pocket. Though it was padlocked.
"Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a keep out sign. What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?" Red asks.
"Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it." Mandy says hurriedly.
"About what? Don't leave me hanging."
"Below."
"The place where your friend is right?" She doesn't answer, only gives me a pleading look.
"And because you're not supposed to, you don't? Watch and learn." She says gesturing to me.
The lock was difficult. More complicated than the other locks I've picked.
"You sound Scottish." She says to Red. "And you sound American."
"She is Scottish and I am American. I know, we've got our own ship. I just wanted to visit the neighbors."
"What's wrong with me being Scottish? Scotland's got to be around here somewhere." She asks.
"No. They wanted their own ship." Mandy states.
Red's face lightens up. "Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes."
"So, how did you two get here?" Mandy asks.
"Oh, just passing through, you know, with a guy." She says causing me to smile a little.
"Your boyfriend?" She asks me which I shake my head. And then she turned to Red whose face drops.
"Oh."
Mandy looks at her confused. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just, I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind." She laughs.
"Married?" The girl asks.
"Yeah, shut up, married. Really, actually married. Almost definitely."
Finally! She thinks!
"When?"
"Well, it's kind of weird. A long time ago tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did." She asks before finally the thing I've been picking clicks.
"FINALLY! I thought we would be here until the end of time." I comment pulling it off. "You coming?" I ask Mandy who shakes her head frantically.
"No!"
I shrug. "Suit yourself! Stay safe kid!" I tell her before going in the hut, and a glowing red light but everything else is dark.
Red follows in behind me and sees a light which looks wind up. She messes with it and the hut brightens up revealing a giant white tentacle coming from the hole.
"Oh, my God. That's weird. That's." Red starts but the thing lashes at her and she gets pushed out.
Before I can even shout in response I'm grabbed from behind and the whole word goes dark with gas sprayed in my face.
When I wake, I'm a little room with a huge computer screen in front of me and a table that has two buttons Forget or Protest.
As soon as I wake up the computer awakens. "Welcome to voting cubicle three thirty C. Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it. The United Kingdom recognises the right to know of all its citizens. A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll. Name, Mackenzie Rita Price. Age, thirteen hundred and four."
"Well, I'm very old apparently." I groan since my mind felt like a pile of mush.
"Marital status, single."
"Ha-ha. The computer knows I will be always and forever alone!"
The screen changes into a man and he starts talking.
"You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest. or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just one percent of the population of this ship do likewise, the programme will be discontinued with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation, and we hope that you will, then press the Forget button. All the information I'm about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls." And then images are planted in my brain.
It's so fast, but from it I know all. The whale! The poor whale! These people! These horrible people! How could they hurt the last of its kind! No!
Suddenly, I could hear its screaming. And it drove me insane.
By the end, I was sobbing and I slammed my fist on the Protest button and pushed it many times. "YOU HORRIBLE HUMAN BEINGS! YOU'RE FREAKING MONSTERS! HOW CAN YOU HURT SUCH A CREATURE!? IT CAME TO HELP YOU! HOW COULD YOU!? HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT!?" I screamed punching the computer and anything I could.
The screen cracked and my fists felt as they were on fire. I could feel the blood rise, but I hardly could. I was fuming and I didn't even notice the floor open from under me and suddenly, I'm falling and then everything goes black once again.
"I think she's waking up." I hear a voice say first. "Mackenzie can you hear me?"
I moan in annoyance. "Go away Mel. I want to sleep."
"Mackenzie, it's the Doctor."
Immediately, I open my eyes and see the Doctor and Red. Both covered in mush. It looked like someone chewed up something and spit it right back out at them.
I look around to see tubes up in the sky and around seemed to be a waste dump. With lights along the top of the walls and the ground all just the mush.
And I was covered in it.
Wonderful.
The whole place smelt like a junkyard or a garbage can. And the smell was never ending.
And the screaming was even louder here, but it seemed like it didn't affect them so I tried to drown it out.
"Where am I? How did we get here?" I ask them while he helps me up.
"High speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel. You must have pushed protest on that machine, which means you know what's going on."
As soon as he said that, the memories came rushing back and the pain I felt came back. Tears started to gather my eyes as I nodded silently. The screaming becoming louder.
"Okay, what did you see? Amelia chose forget. What was it?"
I shake my head. "I'll tell you later, just know this isn't a cave or dump. Feel the ground."
The Doctor and Red did just that. "The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed." Red states.
"But feeding what, though? These tubes are feeding something, so what?" The Doctor says thinking aloud out of nowhere.
"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy." Red continues.
"Yeah." I say and the Doctor's face drops finally understanding as a distant animal sound is heard. "Er, it's not a floor, it's a. So."
Red looks at him alarmed. "Yeah, tell us. It's a what?"
"The next word is kind of a scary word. You probably want to take a moment, get yourself in a calm place. Go omm." He tells us both making the noise for us to copy.
Red does it but since I already know I don't say anything. I've already coped. It's not like this thing has a choice.
The screaming became even louder that I winced in pain. Tears were there again and I swallowed the whimper down.
"It's a tongue." He says slowly.
Red's face drops. "A tongue?"
"A tongue. A great big tongue." He says hopping a little bit.
"This is a mouth. This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?" Red practically screams.
"Yes, yes, yes. But on the plus side, roomy." He says excitedly. He must be in his happy place right now to be laughing at this.
"How do we get out, exactly?" I ask him.
"How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous. Blimey, if this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach." When he said that the place shook at bit. "Though not right now." He quickly adds.
"Doctor, how do we get out?" Red asks.
"Okay, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is," We all turn to see a row of teeth shut tight. "Closed for business."
"We could try, though." Red says moving a little.
"No, stop, don't move." The Doctor orders her, but the mouth starts to shake.
"Too late, it's started."
"What has?" Red asks.
"Swallow reflex." He says before pulling out his, sonic I think it's called. Sonic hammer maybe?
It started to light up as he clicked it making a whirring sound.
"What the heck are you doing!?" I yelled alarmed trying to hear myself over the horrific sound.
"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors." He says like it's obvious.
"Chemo-what?" Red asks.
"The eject button."
"How does a mouth possibly have an eject button!? This isn't a carton! No Cat and mouse running around here!" I remind him.
"Think about it."
I think for a minute which is hard since my brain is trying to cope with the sound, then I realize what he means. "Oh, I hate you." I yell as a wave of vomit approaches us.
"Right, then. This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!" He yells as the wave crashes against us.
I open my eyes again and I see that I'm on the floor and the Doctor has his sonic next to my knuckles which looked very out of place.
"It looks like you broke them, but I don't think it was from the fall. Did you happen to get in a fight with anyone in the voting center?"
I sigh. "A monitor. And I lost."
I was covered in puke from head to toe. My clothes were going to have to be burned.
The screams were there but this time very distant. Though still there.
He frowned. "What did you see?"
"Something terrible. Something that has made me lose all faith in humanity every changing." I tell him very conflicted on whether to tell him or let him find out on his own.
He's about to comment when Red started to move and he rushes over to her scanning her with his sonic. "There's nothing broken, there's no sign of concussion and yes, you are covered in sick."
Red groans at that before standing up. "Where are we?"
"Overspill pipe, at a guess." The Doctor states before returning to me and taking his bowtie off only to tear it in half and wrap it around my knuckles to keep the bone in place and not injury it further I guess.
Very sweet.
"Oh, god, it stinks." Red complains.
I sniff and immediately gag in my mouth.
"Oh, that's not the pipe."
Red sniffs herself before resembling a very green color. "Oh. Phew. Can we get out?" She asks.
The Doctor helps me up. "One door, one door switch, one condition. We forget everything we saw. Look familiar?" He asks us gesturing towards the forget button next to the metal door.
"That's the carrot. Ooo, here's the stick." He says looking at the Smiler booths behind us that light up.
"Oh that's wonderful." I say sarcastically.
"There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" He asks them which makes them turn into frowners and the screams in my head get louder.
"No, that's not going to work on me, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?"
The Frowners turn into Scowlers. And honestly they looked demonic.
"Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting, and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues, huh?" He asks.
They respond by their booths opening and they step out. Both wearing a black cloak and looked ready to kill.
"Brilliant job!" I yelled at him. "You made them mad!"
"Doctor?" Red asks as we back up.
Suddenly, a woman steps between us and the smilers shooting them. She had brown curly hair and wore a red cape. Her skin was caramel and her eyes were chocolate brown. She looked so awesome.
The smilers bent over stopping. Not making any more movements, but by the sounds they were making they weren't dead.
"Look who it is. You look a lot better without your mask." The Doctor comments grinning at her.
"You must be Amy." She says to Red before turning to me. "And you must be Mackenzie. Liz. Liz Ten."
"Raven actually." I correct smiling. "But nice to meet you." I say shaking her hand.
She looks down at the sick covered hand and shakes it off. "Yuck. Lovely hair, Amy. Mackenzie, nice boots. Shame about the sick." She tells us moving to the side revealing Mandy. "You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave." She comments which makes Mandy smile.
"How did you find us?" The Doctor asks her.
"Stuck my gizmo on you. Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"
"You're over sixteen, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it." The Doctor tells her.
"No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject."
What the heck?
"So what are you a stowaway then? American? Scottish? Irish? Italian? PLEASE BE ITALIAN!" I ramble out. "Wait, are you Australian?"
Liz laughs. "No, I'm British."
The Doctor tilts his head in confusion. "Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?"
"You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, M O consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot. I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was." She tells us.
"Your family?" The Doctor asks.
The Smilers start making whirring sounds and moving upwards, interrupting her before she can answer.
"They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move." She says before going out the metal doors and we all follow behind her.
"The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day. And so much for the Virgin Queen, you bad, bad boy." She says as we walk down the hallway.
I look back at the Doctor shocked. "Really? The Virgin Queen? Wow."
His face heats up a bit before turning to Liz. "Liz Ten." He repeats.
Oh my god! She isn't!?
"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!"
We all duck down just in time to see her shoot down the smilers again. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."
As we walk, we reach a hallway where it was barred, and more tentacles were sticking out of each hole and the screaming became louder again and my knees almost gave out from the extent of it.
"There's a high-speed Vator through there. Oh, yeah. There's these things." Liz tells us gesturing towards them. "Any ideas?"
My legs trembled and shook. I wanted to cover my ears, but that wouldn't help. Why can I hear her screams now? Why not before the voting?
Maybe because my ears started to look for it and picked it up now. Must've happened to all the people who protested but they were eaten before they could really feel it.
God, this really sucks.
"Doctor, we saw one of these up top. There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through like a root." Red tells him.
The Doctor nods at this. "Exactly like a root. It's all one creature, the same one we were inside, reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."
"What, like an infestation? Someone's helping it. Feeding it. Feeding my subjects to it." Liz says angrily before putting her hands on Mandy's shoulders. "Come on. Got to keep moving." She says before disappearing down the hallway.
"Doctor?" Red asks gesturing towards me.
I could feel my whole body tremble and finally my legs gave out and I was on the floor.
The Doctor ran over to me. "Mackenzie? Mackenzie are you alright?" He asks me frantically.
"They're torturing it Raggedy Weirdo. And ever since I voted I can hear its screams." I mumble, water leaking down my eyes.
He looks at me worriedly before putting his fingers on my temples. And he flinches away. ''There's some cowboys in there." He comments.
"Doctor what does she mean?" Red asks, but I shake my head.
"There's no time. We have to go." I tell them. "Help me up." I ask him my voice quivering.
He nods, but instead of grabbing my arm, he puts his arm under my legs and picks me up. "Oh Mackenzie. We should've never gave some here." He says sadly.
Red looked deep in thought but walked forward and The Doctor followed behind. "You'll be okay. I promise."
I nod and as we walk away from the tentacles, the screaming goes dimmer and when we catch up to Liz, it's there, but I wasn't overwhelmed by it anymore. I just had a headache on top of my knuckles hurting.
Soon, we were in the safety of a room, with a million glasses of water on the floor none shaking and I was on the floor having my knuckles wrapped up.
There was a huge bed in the middle of the room taking up a lot of space but surprisingly not all of it. It was a very large room.
"Why all the glasses?" The Doctor asks after finishing bandaging my hands.
"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what."
The Doctor smiles a bit. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"
She nods sadly. "Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this. My entire reign. And you've achieved more in one afternoon."
I believe it. The Doctor is really freaking clever, I'll give him that.
"How old were you when you came to the throne?" The Doctor asks looking around the room, mostly a mask on the floor.
"Forty. Why?" Liz asks confused.
"What, you're fifty now? No way." Red, who was sitting on the bed next to Mandy says shocked.
"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."
The Doctor picks up the mask. "And you always wear this in public?"
Liz sighs. "Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."
The Doctor looks at the mask confused. "Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, because it's perfectly sculpted to your face."
"Yeah. So what?" She asks confused.
I looked at the mask and it looked really old. Like seriously old. And not just by ten years. Something wasn't right.
"Oh, Liz. So everything." The Doctor says.
Suddenly, a division of people all wearing the cloaks like the smilers file in.
"What are you doing? How dare you come in here?" Liz says to him harshly.
The man in the middle who was a dark skinned man speaks up. "Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK. You will come with us now." He says.
"Why would I do that?" She asks.
And just like an owl, the person turns their head 180 degrees and it reveals a Scowler.
"Whoa. A hybrid." I say. "Pretty cool."
"How can they be smilers?" Red asks ignoring me.
"Half Smiler, half human." The Doctor says. "Like Mackenzie said, hybrid."
"Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?" Liz asks them outraged.
"The highest authority, Ma'am." The hybrid answers.
"I am the highest authority." She shouts at him.
"Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am." He says.
"Where?" She asks looking like she was seething.
"The Tower, Ma'am." He says to us before they all surround us and lead us away from the room.
The whole way there was silent until we got to The Tower, then I heard the screaming louder than ever.
The Doctor noticed my face and realized I was about to drop. "Stop for a minute!" He tells the Scowlers who only scowl in response, though he doesn't pay them any mind before putting his fingers on my temple once more. "I'm going to make it so you can't hear it anymore." He tells me which I immediately slap his hands away.
"No! She needs to be heard! They're torturing her!" I yell which causes the Scowlers to grab me and force me forward.
"Move!" One says and the Doctor pushes it away from me which causes the other three to grab him and before all out war breaks out Liz speaks up.
"Do not touch them! That's an order from the highest authority!" She says in a voice dripping with power.
The hybrids immediately let us go and we start to go down a creepy hallway where the screaming became worse and worse.
In a second, I'm back in his arms. And he carried me up, as if I weighed nothing. "I've got you Mackenzie." He tells me which causes an 'aw' from Red to be heard from behind us.
Once we get to the top, we saw a bunch of smilers and hybrids. There was another hole in the room where another tentacle was flailing around the place.
The screams reached their loudest and I started to cry and I felt hands on my head again. "I'm not going to shut it off. I'm just going to quiet it. Is that okay?"
I can barely nod before I felt it become dimmer and dimmer and suddenly it was bearable again. "Better?" The Doctor asks me which I say a quiet yes to.
"Doctor where are we?" Red asks him.
"The lowest point of Starship UK. The dungeon."
Liz walks further in. The hybrids join their brethren and there's a man who looks regular who sees her.
"Ma'am." He says politely.
"Hawthorne. So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do." She says sternly.
Children walk by us with pieces of wood in their hands and I immediately become more disgusted with them than I already am.
Maybe Mandy would find her friend here.
"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky." He tells us which I fake smile at before I walk over and punch him in the jaw.
Which was a bad idea, due to my broken knuckles.
"OW!" I yell, which causes Mandy to laugh a little bit.
"Glad I amuse you kid." I mutter before turning to the older man. "You're on my list!"
He holds his jaw, rubbing it, but since I was in pain it probably hurt me more than it did him.
"Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it? Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle." The Doctor says though gives me a look that says stupid idea.
The top of a pulsating brain is visible in the middle of the room, with giant electrodes pointing down at it. This was the contraption torturing the whale.
"What's that?" Liz asks.
The Doctor sighs angrily. "Well, like I say, it depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain centre of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly."
"Or?"
"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator. Starship UK's go faster button." The Doctor says calmly but his face said it all. He was pissed.
"I don't understand."
"Don't you? Try to. Go on. The spaceship that could never fly. No vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." He screams at us. "Tell you what. Normally, it's above the range of human hearing. This is the sound none of you wanted to hear." He says whipping out his sonic and pointing it at the whale where the screams filled my ears once more.
I fell to the ground, it was double blasted now, in my head and the now being projected. The pain was unbearable and the Doctor stood there. Not stopping it as the sound echoed across the room filling anyone's ears who could listen.
This was the darkness I saw in that one instant with all that pain, and hurt, and loneliness. This was the darkness that formed because of it. And it was unleashed for all to see.
I started to scream as well, mine mixing with its and it was like the Doctor was snapped out of it and turned the sonic screwdriver off. But didn't look at me.
"Who did this?" Liz asks stunned.
"We act on instructions from the highest authority." He answers.
"I am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now! Is anyone listening to me?" She screams, but no one moves.
"Liz. Your mask." The Doctor says suddenly.
"What about my mask?"
"Look at it. It's old. At least two hundred years old, I'd say." He says since he brought it with him apparently and showed it to her.
"Yeah? It's an antique. So?"
Oh what a dunderhead.
Red came over and helped me back up, letting me lean on her for support while the Doctor continued.
"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over two hundred years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not fifty. Nearer three hundred. And it's been a long old reign."
"Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years." She says stubbornly.
"Ten years. And the same ten years, over and over again, always leading you here." He says leading her over to a screen with two buttons. Forget and Abdicate.
"What have you done?" Liz asks the older man stunned.
"Only what you have ordered. We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us." He says before playing the video.
Liz appears on the screen. And then she starts talking as well.
"If you are watching this. If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London. The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travellers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart. The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the Forget button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision." She says before it turns off.
Red looks at it stunned. "I voted for this. Why would I do that?"
The Doctor glares at her. "Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice. Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong. You don't ever decide what I need to know." He says before turning to me. "And you! You did the exact same thing. But you remember doing it. That's why you kept it from me. You have some nerve Mackenzie Price. Especially after hearing the whale's suffering!" He yells at me.
My eyes widen. "I did-didn't." But he cuts me off.
"I don't want to fix you anymore. You let yourself get this way. It's not on me! This isn't my fault! THAT'S THE REASON I BROUGHT YOU! I wanted to fix you, so I wouldn't have to live with guilt. But I picked another stupid ape. Another person who thinks they can make decisions for me."
My eyes filled with tears. He just felt bad. He didn't care. He just felt bad.
"No wonder your parents left you."
N-No.
How do you feel about that Mackenzie?
No more.
And then silence. No more replies.
The pain hurt so much. I was starting to trust him again, and I was only getting crushed again.
"We-We're sorry." Red stutters while I only stared blankly at the floor. Anything but him.
"Oh, I don't care. When I'm done here, you two are going home." He says while working on the big panel thing, taking out wires and all.
"Why? Because I made a mistake? One mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Doctor!" She shouts frantically. "And Raven would never purposely do that Doctor! TRUST ME I KNOW HER! Please listen! We made a mistake!"
"Yeah, I know. You're only human." He scoffs in annoyance before working on the panel once more.
"What are you doing?" Liz asks.
"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."
"But that's killing it!" Red says shocked.
"Look, three options. One, I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, because I won't be the Doctor anymore." He says before working again.
Liz shakes her head. "There must be something we can do, some other way."
"Nobody talk to me. Nobody human has anything to say to me today!" He screams causing us all to flinch.
Shut it off.
And suddenly it was like a little switch. My emotions up and no emotions down, and I flicked it down. And I felt nothing.
I didn't hear the screams in my head anymore, I didn't feel the hurt of what the Doctor said anymore. And I didn't fear the thought of being left behind anymore. It was all gone.
Fool me three times, Raven is on deck.
Mackenzie is gone.
"Red." I say thinking for a bit.
She looks up at me sadly with these big sad puppy eyes.
"I can hear those wedding bells clear now." I say smirking a bit which caused her to frown. "Oh don't look at me like that, at least they'll be cake."
"That's the last thing on my mind. Aren't you even thinking about the Doctor leaving us behind or the Star Whale dying?" She asks me horrified.
"Don't worry, I plan to make a nice long poem and song about her when we get home. And also I can buy a stuffed whale and bury that and make a grave for it back at home. But then I'd have to come up with a name." I think for a moment. "Star is too predictable. What do you think? Stella. Luna? Moonbeam maybe?"
With those words I get slapped by Red who looked at me like she wanted to put me six feet under. "Okay not Moonbeam then I'm guessing?"
She scoffs before turning to Manny who I guess found her friend. He was small with ginger hair. Good choice.
The tentacle came behind her suddenly and tapped her on the shoulder. And suddenly, they were both petting the tentacle. And then it clicked.
"OH CRAP!" I speak out. "Alright you need to stop whatever it is your doing butt nugget!" I yell at he who shall not be named before turning to Liz. "Sorry, well actually I'm not." I say before dragging her to the two buttons and slamming her hand down on the abdicate button.
Everyone screamed no, as the wires crackled and sparkled. The torture device stopped and the whole ship shook.
I laughed during this, holding onto the circuit board.
"MACKENZIE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" The Doctor yells at me which I only roll my eyes at.
"Raven, actually, and fixed it." I say.
The older man confirms it saying they increased speed and everyone looked shocked.
"Listen you idjits, the Star whale wasn't forced to come and pull the ship for you. It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it and make it wish for death. That was all just you're dumb jerk butts. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. Though I would have left you guys in the dust if this is how you would treat me. But, what if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead. No future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind, you wouldn't just stand there and watch your children cry."
They all looked at me stunned before I turned to the Doctor. "Don't worry, I'll be in the TARDIS waiting to go home. I'm done here." And with that I leave the room.
No one followed after me which I wasn't surprised at. And honestly, I didn't them too. Those people are all a bunch of whiny little prats. And seriously annoying and very medieval with the cloaks.
"Raven?"
Except her.
I turn around and see Mandy walking over to me and I smile at her. "Hey, short stuff. Find your friend?" I asked her.
She nods. "Yeah he's okay. And still him."
"That's good. But I would spray him with holy water just to make sure. And have him drink salt water!" I joke though she only looks at me confused.
"Never mind. That was a reference from a show." I sigh. "So, are you going to miss me?"
She nods. "Yeah." She pauses almost like she was scared to say it but she does anyway. "I don't think he meant what he said. I think he was just mad."
I smile softly at her. So naïve. We need more of that.
"Yeah, maybe. But I still wanna go home. There's things I wanna do and places I wanna go."
She seems to accept my answer before handing me something. It's her wallet.
"Remember me?" she asks softly.
"Always sweetheart." I promise before hugging her tightly.
Later, I found myself in the Market place, waiting for them both. It seemed like forever and I was ready to attempt to bust the doors down, but I remembered in some of my dreams that those doors don't just break down.
"Mackenzie."
I look up to see the Doctor standing there and I avoid his gaze. "Well, are you taking me home or what? You're surely taking your damn time about it." I say irritated.
He tilts his head at me. "Your eyes, they're different."
"Maybe because they're covered in sick still, so please let's go."
"No." He says before grabbing my shoulders and then his own eyes widen and fill with so much sadness. "They used to light up, they're not anymore. The light is gone."
Red came into view and I shrugged at the Doctor's statement. "Can we just go now?"
"No, no, no. Please Mackenzie tell me you're still there." He says.
Suddenly, the TARDIS doors open by themselves and before I walk in I lean down and lean into his ear. "Mackenzie who?" Before smirking and walking inside the TARDIS.
Red follows in happily, the Doctor more sad and despaired. Little softie.
That's when it started ringing. Just as the Doctor was about to touch the console the phone rings.
"People phone you?" Red asks curiously.
The Doctor gives me a long look before nodding. "Well, it's a phone box. Would you mind?" He asks.
Red shrugs before answering the phone. "Hello? (Pause) Sorry, who? (Pause) No, seriously, who? (Pause) Says he's the Prime Minister. First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?" She states.
"Which Prime Minister?" He asks Red.
"Er, which Prime Minister? (Pause) The British one." Red responds.
"Which British one?" He asks.
"Which British one? (Pause) Winston Churchill for you." She says handing over the phone to him and I raise my eyebrow.
Hmm. Winston Churchill.
"Oh! Hello, dear. What's up? (Pause) Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister. We're on our way." He says before hanging up. "Mackenzie, one last chance. That's all I'm asking. And afterwards if you don't want to stay I'll take you home. I promise."
I glare at him before shrugging. "Fine. I just want a shower first. Do whatever the hell you want." And with that I disappear in the TARDIS halls.