XIII
One lonely madman and an intelligent young woman

20th Century
Planet Earth
Wales
Under the church
1984

Everyone in the hall is still fast asleep by the time the Doctor and April return. The Doctor insists that April should at least try to get more rest. He wants to be alone to think of a plan to save everyone. Rose is fast asleep with the Doctor's coat draped over her shoulders. Terry sits upright, but her eyes are unfocused and unmoving. Aiden is still awake, watching the sleeping villagers carefully.

April drifts in and out of sleep but is again jolted awake from the image of the Black Lighthouse. The fiery pain is only vague, but enough to put her at unease. She catches the Doctor, who is sitting beside Rose, watching her before. For a second she holds his eye but immediately their attention to drawn away as there are piercing, manic screams coming from outside. The screams are quickly followed by laughter from the Slitheen.

"They've continued to sneak into the village houses, kill the people inside to use their skin for cover." The Doctor says solemnly, as Rose and most people in the hall stir awake.

"We can't just hide down here and allow those creatures to do this!" Aiden hisses. "We've got to do something," He looks over to the vicar who is hurriedly trying to calm everyone down as panic starts to arise. "Fat lot of good they will be."

The Doctor rolls his eyes before taking out his sonic screwdriver and shining it up at the ceiling of the hall. The screams outside are silenced and so does the panic inside.

"Just sleep on it," He says aloud as he puts his screwdriver back into his pocket. "We'll figure something out in the morning."

There are a few murmurs as everyone starts to nestle down again to sleep.

"Who are you, Doctor?" Aiden asks, narrowing his eyes. "You claim to know Ireen but she hardly ever mentioned you. You weren't even part of the Battle of the Cytracik."

"I tried my best." The Doctor says sternly, staring at Aiden, wondering whether or not he really wants to trust this man.

Aiden then looks at April. "And let me guess you've found the Ice Girl in the end?"

"What?" April cusses but she is ignored.

"One lonely madman and an intelligent young woman to give you and your companions your hardest adventure yet. That's what Jack Gruntler always used to say."

"What is your problem?" The Doctor snaps.

"You've been looking for Miss Hollerford for quite a while. Have been on a mission to find her. Am I correct?"

April looks at the Doctor sharply, glaring at him for a moment before sighing in disappointment. From the start she knew that their meeting wasn't accidental, and yet she still fell for his lies when he insisted that it was. The Doctor watches April's face drop before looking down at his hands in his lap guiltily like a child being told off.

"So my first concern about our meeting being planned out was true." April mumbles after a while.

Aiden smirks. "I don't think you've ever realised, Doctor, but your cyborg does talk in her sleep sometimes. Even after she switches herself off. How I figured that one out." He nestles down to sleep again.

April and the Doctor remain silent for a long while. April's scowl is harsh again, the crease lines in her forehead are painfully prominent. She finds herself shaking with anger and she uses all the strength she can muster to not cry or scream out in her fury. Her rage not only at the Doctor, but also at herself. Her parents always used to tell her not to trust strangers, and here she is. She has put her life in the hands of a lonely madman, as Aiden called him. Even if the Doctor was friends with her parents, there is no way April can find it in her to trust him.

Why did the Doctor lie to her in the first place? Why did he ignore April's initial idea that he didn't happen to accidentally bump into her and continued to lie? Would the truth really stop her from travelling with him? She doesn't think so, but right now she is wishing she ran away alone rather than with the Doctor, Rose and Terry.

April's breathing becomes shallow. Anger overcomes her, thinking that the Doctor is ignorant to ignore this. If he was looking for her then he must've known more about her beforehand. But why?

"Why were you, Rose and Terry looking for me? And why did you lie?" April asks in a low voice. She fixes her eyes on the Doctor's, not wanting to break contact. When the Doctor opens his mouth to answer, April quickly stops him. "And I want the truth from you, Doctor, even if you don't know what honesty is," April hisses. "I know you knew my parents but what has that got to do with anything? Who did you make a promise to? I can't seem to trust anyone because I never get the truth. And I still don't even know the real truth behind my parent's death!"

"They died in a car accident." The Doctor says calmly.

April hits him on the arm. "Just tell me!" Realising her burst of anger after hitting him, April quickly recoils and hides her fist in the sleeve of her hoodie, instantly regretting it.

They both are silent, neither of them knowing what to say or do next.

The Doctor closes his eyes momentarily. "I'm sorry," He whispers. "I knew both your parents very well and not long before they were killed, your father made me promise that I would always look after you. He wanted you to be happy and safe and I promised that I would do as he said. That's who I made that promise to."

"Why did he?"

"Because your parents trusted me with their lives. And I let them down."

April's anger slowly subsides as she listens to the Doctor's words.

"I promised your father that I would look after to you until we find the safe grounds. Until the Battle of the Cytracik is over. Until the Cytracik is destroyed. You don't have to come with me, I'm not asking you too, but I was lonely without Rose and Terry. That's why I dragged you back in time. I'm better with company and it seemed like perhaps you needed it to. I promised to do everything I could. You would be there till the end of me."

"Or vice versa," April nudges the Doctor gently. "Maybe it'll be me protecting you. You could be there till the end of me," April says it in a light hearted way yet the Doctor looks at her sorrowfully, almost as if what she has said fears him. "Why couldn't you have told me from the start?"

"Sometimes things are better left unsaid."

"Like the real reason why my parents are dead?" April waits for the Doctor's response but there isn't one. "They didn't die in a car accident so you can stop pretending that."

"Okay." The Doctor says rather solemnly.

"How did you meet them?" April asks.

"Oh long before you were born. I was at their wedding. They met in their second year at university and married the year after they graduated. As he probably told you before, Declan studied mechanics and did nothing but plan out his inventions which he did not get round to building. He created some of them but not all. His inventions would be ever so useful in the future but they're no use now," the Doctor smiles weakly. "You know, I told him time and time again, but I think your father was born a century too early."

"You have the Tardis. Can't we go back to the day they died, just to see if I could do anything to stop it?"

The Doctor rests his head back against the wall. "We can't. The universe would just collapse into itself, even if we tried."

"But you're always interfering with history."

"Yes but this is the Battle of the Cytracik. It wouldn't be the same," He looks at the sleeping Rose for a while before frowning. "If Bruce lost his temper a lot, why did you put up with him? He isn't even a relative."

April hesitates for a long while. "There was no one else to turn to," She looks at the Doctor. "There's no one else in my family left alive. And I was thirteen. Someone had to look after me. It was that or the orphanage and Bruce wouldn't hear of it. Besides he wasn't always short tempered like that." She can't help but to lie about Bruce and she isn't too sure why. Why is she protecting him?

The Doctor sighs. "April, you've built this great big wall around you and only you can bring it down."

April rolls her eyes. "Thanks for the tip, Doctor. A rather cliched tip at that," She mutters. "But I think I can handle my own problems myself."

The Doctor lets out a loud laugh of disbelief, yet everyone asleep in the hall merely stirs at his laughter. "Yeah I can see you're dealing with your inner demons well, April, being so harsh and stubborn to everyone. Pushing us away. Yeah that sounds like a great idea."

April narrows her eyes. For a split second they seemed at ease with each other but April can't help but fight the feeling that the Doctor is mocking her.

"How do you expect me to be loveable and welcoming to everything that has happened, Doctor?" April snaps. "When I actually trusted you to believe that you were just passing by only to be lied to."

"And have you lied to me since we first met?"

"No." She says a little too quickly.

"You blame me for lying to you and yet you're just as bad."

April continues to glare at the Doctor with her scowl but as soon as she makes a move to leave, the Doctor quickly grabs onto her wrist, aware that more people start to stir in their sleep. April panics at his touch and as she tries to pull away, her hoodie sleeve falls and her raw scars are on display.

April lets out a little gasp. The Doctor only frowns at her reaction but then lowers his eyes, noticing the scars all up her wrists.

There is a moment of silence and for the first time since the Doctor met April, her attitude, her closed-in personality afraid of trust and human contact makes it a lot clearer. April is depressed. Severely depressed.

At first the Doctor doesn't know what to do or what to say. Mental health is such a common thing in humans, but never has he ever come across someone who is so willing to hurt themselves like April. He just doesn't understand why anyone would do something like that to themselves. Surely this is something that as been triggered since her parents death. He can imagine the look on her parents faces if they knew what she was doing to herself.

In the seconds he holds onto her wrist, looking down at the scars, he can suddenly see everything. Everything from April's point of view. He sees the two UNIT soldiers knocking on her door to inform her of her parents death. He sees her fear for Bruce and the way the man beats her. He sees her cutting and burning herself multiple times. And he then sees her first suicide attempt. Followed the many failed attempts after.

His desire to do as Declan wished increases. He will stop at nothing to make April happy.

The Doctor releases April's wrist and she snatches it back. She pulls down her sleeve again, tears filling her eyes.

They both sit side by side, with their backs up against the cold metal wall as they look across the hall in stunned silence. The occasional snore is heard.

"Why do you do that to yourself?" The Doctor whispers after a while. His voice trembles despite the attempt at trying to sound strong.

"Death seemed like an easier option than staying alive," April replies coldly. "It's not important."

"Of course it's important because it's your life! Don't even think for one second that you're not important, April."

April looks at the ground before looking up at the Doctor. "What does that make you then? Just a lonely wonderer like Aiden said. That's why you built Terry isn't it? Not to help you in the Battle of the Cytracik or to help look for me. You needed someone to keep you company while you weren't with Rose. She was there to make you feel less lonely."

"Well that makes two of us then, doesn't it?"

April wipes her eyes.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor says. "I'm so sorry, April."

"Me too."

"Things will get better from here on. I can guarantee that. There's a whole universe to show you. And stars to explore. Please don't do that to yourself again."

April hesitates for a moment. "It's a not a promise but I'll try. I'm willing to move on."

The Doctor flashes a grin.

"No more lies and secrets though." April insists.

"Consider it done."

The Doctor and April look at each other for a moment and April allows herself to relax and offers a small smile.

"What are we going to do about the Slitheen?" April asks after a while. "I mean even for you this is wrong. We can't sit here and wait for them to get to us, or wait till morning till we have an epiphany. You've met them before. Surely you know how to destroy them. Do they have a weakness?"

The Doctor looks at everyone in the hall individually before it hits him. "April, you are a genius!" The Doctor beams before turning to Rose and shaking her awake.

"I wouldn't take it that far." April mumbles.

"Rose," He says excitedly as she slowly wakes up, bringing the world around her into focus. "Do you remember anything about the Slitheen's vulnerabilities? Do you remember what we told your mother to do when that Slitheen broke into her flat?"

Rose rubs her eyes. "I remember that vinegar was fatal to them."

"That's it!" The Doctor exclaims excitedly. "The Slitheen will die if anything containing acetic acid hits them!" He then jumps onto his feet and starts calling out to everyone else asleep in the hall. "Wake everyone up! We may have a chance of survival!"

The Doctor, Rose, April and Terry run around the hall waking everyone up.

"That's barbaric!" The vicar snaps when the Doctor tells him their plan. "It's a sin to kill. Human or not, Doctor, it's still a sin against the will of God!"

The Doctor groans. "But you can't just stay down here while your people die. We need your help. What makes you any different to the Slitheen if you just sit here and let your villagers of your own cult die?"

"They're not my people." The vicar mutters, narrowly glancing at Aiden who is standing behind the Doctor's shoulder.

Aiden pushes the Doctor to the side. "And you have no right to condescend us, you filthy piece of…"

"Oh, would you just listen to yourselves?!" The Doctor yells which silences everyone in the hall. "I don't think in all my time travelling experience I've ever seen the human race so naive about their beliefs. I'm just asking the both of you to leave this rivalry in the past and have a little bit of humanity and teamwork," The vicar opens his mouth to speak but the Doctor quietens him. "No, I'm not going to ask you to kill anything if it's against your will; I'm just asking you to help us. Please?"

The vicar nods and looks at Aiden in the eye. After a long hesitation the two of them shake hands firmly. The Doctor smiles broadly as peace between the cult and Aiden has finally begun. Even though the Doctor wishes to somehow stop the cult with their plans for the Battle of the Cytracik by the end of this.

Everyone begins moving again. The vicar takes them through another tunnel they didn't see on the way to the hall, which leads them into a store room full of boxes, crates and barrels. To the Doctor's surprise, the boxes are full of food and herbs which they have stored away for village celebrations. Everyone takes part in filling up bottles and tin cans of foods and liquids containing acetic acid. Someone starts brewing up some tea and coffee and pass round plastic cups of hot drinks to everyone.

The Doctor looks at Rose who is clasping a cup in her two hands, blowing on her tea.

"Ready to face an old friend?" He asks.

"Ready as I ever will be." She replies with a smile on her face.

The Doctor smiles back and squeezes her shoulders before planting a kiss her on the forehead.

Once everything is packed, everyone huddles around the ladder, looking up at the closed trapdoor leading back into the church, in silence. A buzz of hope and excitement arose when they started packing, believing in the end of their horror, yet as soon as they stand by the ladder, fear strikes them all once again.

Terry is the first to climb the ladder, going to lead everyone safely. "I can see in the dark more than anyone else can." She mutters to herself as she climbs the ladder. She unlocks the lock to the trapdoor and carefully opens it. Terry scans the empty, dark church, noting how the benches are broken and turned over. Some of the stained glass windows have been smashed. She examines the ruins of the church and notes that no Slitheen has passed here since they have been hiding under.

Terry makes the 'all-clear' notice, which is two whistle notes, the second one higher than the other. She then climbs out the trapdoor as everyone else starts to climb up the ladder. The first to come out is the Doctor, the vicar and Aiden who all help the others out.

Terry goes on ahead, sniffing the air as she walks through the church. She notices that one of the main doors has been pulled right off its hinges and the other is bent in the middle. Stepping outside onto the dirt, Terry bends down and picks up a lump of grass from the ground.

"What do you see?" The Doctor asks who appears behind her.

Terry rubs the grass blades between her fingers before looking up at the night sky. "The Slitheen have taken over the village hall. About fifteen percent of the village's population has been murdered. The rest have managed to escape into hiding."

Everyone starts to file out of the church and into a huddle out on the pathway.

"We should split up." One of the Christians suggests and there is a murmur of agreement among the others but the Doctor disagrees.

"We should stick together. Running off individually would be a bad idea – a very bad idea in itself." The Doctor says.

Suddenly there is a loud screech right in ear shot.

No one has the time to register what it is, or to run before a Slitheen from behind makes a swipe at them. The group scream as they fall into a heap on the stone cobbled ground. But before the Slitheen can get another swipe at them, Rose throws her bottle of vinegar at the Slitheen. The creature stumbles backwards in shock, clawing at its face as its slimy green skin starts to dry out and crack. Seconds later, it explodes, covering the group in green, slimy gunk.

There is a long pause of silence as everyone tries to understand what just happened. The silence lasts for about a minute or so before one of the Christian's starts hysterically screaming. Aiden quickly covers their mouth with his hand to quieten them.

The Doctor jumps back onto his feet before helping Rose up. "We'd better keep moving. The others would have felt its death and will start searching for us," He announces. "And before anyone strikes the Slitheen, allow me to talk to them first!"

Everyone grumbles in response before standing up and slowly following the Doctor. He pushes Terry slightly in front, relying on her to sense anything that is wrong. They sneak through the village in silence, some whispers pass here and there, as they clutch their bottles and tin cans. Terry then halts the group as she spots distant figures moving towards them further down the village.

"There's another one!" Someone else cries, pointing upwards.

Everyone's focus follows their point and there standing on the roof of one of the houses is another Slitheen. It jumps down onto the road and starts to approach them menacingly. The Doctor holds out his hand to stop it, wanting to talk to it but someone else runs forward to throw their contents in their bottle at the Slitheen. The Doctor watches the creature explode before turning to see that it was Aiden who threw it.

"I said to let me talk to it first!" The Doctor shouts.

"And then allow them to kill us while we try to make peace with them?" Aiden snaps back. "We need to act quickly before our chance is gone. No one made you our leader, Doctor."

"We're working as a team. With you in charge, we'll never understand these happenings."

Aiden grunts before they all turn to the large group of angry Slitheen's moving in their direction. April hesitates for a quick moment before ordering everyone to take cover. She orders everyone to hide and only attack on her signal. The group does so, hiding behind walls, bins, fences and posts.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor asks as April pushes someone behind a wall.

"Improvising," She replies. "Isn't that what you do all the time?"

The Doctor smiles and goes to tell her to hide but it is too late because the Slitheen have reached them. Looking at the dozen creatures standing opposite them, April suddenly starts to feel very timid, for this is the first time she has ever stood this close to an alien. She stands a little behind the Doctor's shoulder, standing so close to him their arms brush.

"Now I'm only going to ask you this nicely once. The next time may not be so nice," The Doctor starts. "Tell me why you think that bringing revenge on me is the better solution?"

"You have once again murdered our family members tonight therefore you all must be punished." The Slitheen standing in the middle of the group says.

The Doctor frowns. "But taking revenge on me should not involve these villages."

"They all deserve to die."

"Why did you pick this village?" The Doctor asks. "Is it because you know of their cult and their plans for the battle."

"We want to kill anything that gets in the way of us getting the Cytracik."

"Not before we get you!" The vicar jumps out from behind the wall with his substance in his hands at the ready. But before he could throw it at them, one of the Slitheen takes a swipe at the vicar, letting him fly through the air. He lands harshly on the ground. Rose instantly rushes to the vicar's side but he is already unconscious.

A couple of the Slitheen grabs hold of April and the Doctor and try to pull them away. April lets out a loud scream as she tries to pull away but its grip is too strong. Half of the Slitheen's group go to attack everyone else while the Doctor and April are pulled across the village, away from everyone else.

When they are out of sight, all that can be heard are screams from the others as the Slitheen attack them.

The Doctor and April are taken out of the village and back through the Welsh moors. They march on side-by-side in silence, squelching through the wet mud. They find themselves picking up the pace a little as one of the Slitheen announces that they need to get to their ship before the sun rises.

By the time they reach the hill by the bog and the Slitheen's spaceship, dawn brakes through as the night passes. They stop at the top of the hill as two Slitheen goes down to the ship. The Doctor and April are put to one side as the other Slitheen's huddle together in a circle in a heated discussion.

"They're not dead," The Doctor whispers to April. "They can't be. They're taking us here for a reason. They wouldn't kill Terry and Rose."

"They're taking us here to kill us." April mutters.

The Doctor, facing April, grabs onto both her arms and starts to slowly walk them both in circles on the spot as he looks down at her. April returns the Doctor's stare with her scowl.

"That fortune teller," He starts. "What did she tell you? And I want the truth from you, as much as you wanted the truth from me. All humans have this problem of knowing the truth but making up something else to make it seem better. What did your cards say?"

"Nearly all of them said something about me having to change."

"You got the wheel of fortune upside down. You have a very hard lesson to learn, yet even I don't know what."

"But what does that say about whether or not Rose and Terry are alive?"

The Doctor stop spinning and let go of her arms. "I don't know. What else did that woman say?"

"Nothing about Rose and Terry's death." April says, shaking her head. But then she remembers picking up the death card in reverse in her future influence. She quickly removes the thought out of her mind. That is talking about future purposes and this is in the present moment.

"We shall move on!" A Slitheen roars.

Two other Slitheen takes the Doctor and April by their arms before marching them down the hill. They wade through the field and are taken into the spaceship which starts to open as they get closer. Once they are inside, they are both seated on two iron stools.

April watches the Slitheen in fascination as they move about the ship with ease. She then looks back at the door they just came through, which is now closed, and thinks about the Tardis standing alone in the field further south from where they are.

"Have you ever felt it?" The Slitheen standing in front of the Doctor asks quite robotically.

"Felt what?" He replies with a raised eyebrow.

"The pain and the emptiness of a lost loved one?" The Slitheen doesn't wait for a reply as it continues. "When each member of our family is murdered, we feel that exact pain they went through before their death. Have you ever felt that, Doctor? Ever felt the pain of death?" The Slitheen does wait a moment for a reply but never gets one. "You should feel that same amount of pain now."

"What are you trying to get out of this?" The Doctor asks calmly.

"Your death," The Slitheen snarls. "Our race suffered for years on end after you killed one of our families on Earth and we believe that you should suffer that pain too. We've built ourselves up again slowly, each and every one of us wanting that revenge. Once you are dead, we are one step closer to the Cytracik."

The Doctor stands up sharply so he is face-to-face to the Slitheen. "Do you think that I have not felt that pain?" He shouts. "Not only did I lose my family in the Time War but I also lost my home, my whole race! And don't you dare for one second believe that I don't regret it, or feel that pain! I haven't even taken revenge on it and nor has it ever crossed my mind," The Doctor's voice booms louder and he suddenly becomes very dominant over the Slitheen as they all turn their attention to him. "Do you know what you are? You are greedy and couldn't care of nothing else but taking over the human race by killing them off individually to hide yourselves in their skin. It's not even revenge you want, it is power. Like every other species in this battle. I am the Doctor, the last remaining Time Lord in existence. I am not a hero. But I will not let you not take over this planet while under my watch!"

April watches the Doctor as a smile creeps on her face, listening to his echoing voice. "You're unbelievable." She says.

The Doctor drops his stern glare to look down at April kindly, a hint of smugness shining in his eyes. "I know, but its great isn't it?"

"And who's your friend, Doctor?" One of the other Slitheen asks. "Nothing but the Ice Girl with the missing parents and who has the ability to change her own fate," The Slitheen looks down at April. "You've seen the Black Lighthouse flash five times, haven't you?"

The Doctor glances between April and the Slitheen in confusion. "Where did you hear the term Ice Girl from?" He says darkly.

"Why are you calling me that?" April snaps.

But before anything else is said, the Doctor and April are both dragged across the ship, by a couple of Slitheen. They are dragged down a few flight of stairs and into a small, damp cell. No matter how much the Doctor and April struggle and shout threats at them; the Slitheen's grip is still too strong. They both fall in a heap on the cold flooring as the door slams shut behind them.

The Slitheen all laugh as they listen to April cursing them as she slams on the door, and the Doctor flashing his sonic screwdriver at the lock.

"The bomb will take care of everything, Doctor," One of the Slitheen says. "You have until midday." They all screech with laughter as they leave the ship and head back to the village.

April screams and hits the door a few more times but she knows that it is useless and that they are stuck there. Yet she turns to the Doctor, who is leaning against the wall watching her, and snatches the sonic screwdriver out of his hands. She holds it up to examine it.

"How do you use this?" She snaps, spitting out her words in anger.

"It won't open the door." The Doctor replies calmly.

"Yeah but we can try," April's voice starts to crack. "We can get out, get back to Rose and Terry, stop the Slitheen and save the village. That's what you do. That's what you always do. You said so."

The Doctor pushes himself away from the wall and approaches April to get his screwdriver back but she only snatches it away from him, not willing to give it back and determined to get out of there. There is a tiny spark of hope in her.

"April," The Doctor's voice is harsh as he tries to get back the sonic screwdriver. "April there's no point. They've bolted us in and the bomb will go off at midday."

"And you're just going to let us stay in here without an attempt at escape?" She snaps, pushing the Doctor away, her fingers still clasping the sonic screwdriver. "You promised my father that you would look out for me," She pushes him away again but he keeps coming closer. "You promised your friend that you would keep me safe. Are you just going to ignore that, Doctor?"

The Doctor looks at April in the eye, finally understanding the hurt she went through in the past and the fear she held onto. He continues to advance on her but she tries to push him away, becoming more and more hysterical. Soon enough the Doctor clasps his hand over April's fist holding onto the sonic screwdriver, their foreheads press together. They are silent for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, April Hollerford."