Lucy raised her eyebrows at the Doctor and he nodded. They and a reluctant Juliet pushed their way to the front line, stopping slightly behind Brutus, Aurelia and Elder Caelum. Lucy looked at his withered face. His eyes held neither malice nor rage; only sadness. Surely he saw the futility of continuing a war no one knew anything about. This was racism and classism in the extreme. Two sides had been fighting for ages, for so long that they no longer knew why. Elder Caelum's eyes met Lucy's. She tried to silently ask him to put a stop to all this and she though he must understand. He gave her the slightest nod and his lips pursed into a sad smile.
Lucy took a moment to glance more closely at Aurelia's rivals. They were all corded muscle. Everything about the way they stood said power and control. Their spears were not made of wood, but of iron and the tips were capped with what looked like chrome. Metal studs appeared along the leather thongs around their necks and metal was also used as shin and arm guards. Lucy noticed that not all of these people were angry. There, like Elder Caelum, some people looked sad, pained, exhausted. Maybe there wouldn't be a fight. Lucy was so tired of fighting. Couldn't reason prevail for once?
She watched with bated breath as Elder Caelum stepped forward. Even the opposing side seemed to recognise him as an authority figure and the stirring stopped. Lucy could have heard a pin drop as Elder Caelum held up his hands, palms toward the dark sky and looked for a long while at his enemies. When he spoke, his voice carried and Lucy knew that even those at the back of both sides would hear him clearly.
"For countless ages the people of the Earth and the people of Metal have been at war. All we know is that we want different things for this land and that nothing will stop either side from having their way. We all pack up what little we own and move along, forever engaging and avoiding each other. I ask now, why can't we leave each other alone? This land is big enough for all of us to thrive. How many of our children have been laid to rest? How many more will die? Can't we end the suffering, the wars? Let's say for now that neither side is right nor neither side is wrong. Our two suns and two moons can exist together in the sky, sharing the space. We should use that as an example and stop the violence now. What do you have to say, brothers?"
His words were met with stunned silence.
Lucy was about to shake herself to pieces waiting. Would they listen? Would they agree to work something out, to end the culling?
She blanched as she heard the unmistakable noise of a spear whizzing through the air. The chrome tip flashed briefly in the light of the electronic orbs. Everything seemed to slow down and Lucy watched with her sister and the Doctor in open-mouthed horror as the spear sank home into the breast of Elder Caelum.
"No!" she shrieked, along with many others. The Doctor was shouting something but his words were drowned out by the cries all around him; anguished ones from the Earth people and impassioned ones from the Metal people.
Lucy didn't think, couldn't, as she rushed forward and caught Elder Caelum as he fell. His body was lighter than she had expected it to be and he was already fading fast. She heard the Metal people stiffen; she had been relatively unnoticed beforehand, but now they could see that she wad not like any of them. The Doctor and Juliet came forward as well, Juliet pressing a hand to hr throat. The Doctor looked just as grieved as any of the Earth people.
In Lucy's arms, Elder Caelum was struggling to speak his last. The spear was still protruding awkwardly from his chest and blood was starting to pool around him. It had also got on Lucy's hands and arms and in the light she could see was a dark, dark red, almost purple. He made gasping noises that plucked at Lucy's heart strings; she wanted to end his misery so badly, but she would never be able to do it. Finally, Elder Caelum looked up at the Doctor who knelt and rested his hand on the dying man's shoulder.
"Make them end it." Elder Caelum said in a hushed and pained voice. "This war, these battles cannot continue. We don't even know why we fight anymore. Doctor, lonely god, you can make this end." The Doctor looked momentarily stunned and Lucy remembered vaguely that Reinette had called him a lonely angel. Yes, it was the Face of Bo that had called him the lonely god. But the Doctor only nodded and Lucy was sure that if anyone could end this, it would be him.
Elder Caelum turned to Lucy who still held him and said, "You, my child, will help him. You who can withstand anything will join forces with the Doctor." Lucy and the Doctor traded dark glances. There it was again. That nagging strange familiarity. But what did it mean? And then, amid the bloodthirsty screams of the Earth and Metal people, Elder Caelum closed his eyes and died.
Lucy laid him down where she sat as gently and swiftly as she could. She rose, crying, "Stop!" In mere seconds, the shouts and threats had ceased. The Earth people looked at her with wavering trust; perhaps the elder's words would solidify her to them. The Metal people looked at her with curiosity. Some looked only doubtful. She was clearly alien, something strange and unimportant. But she took advantage of the silence.
"Elder Caelum did nothing to deserve this. He died because of a feud that has been going on for ages that no one knows anything about! He was trying to help all of you, to end the number of deaths." She pointed to one of the Metal people, a stocky man of about thirty and asked, "How many of your own family have died in these fights?"
He frowned at her, clearly not wanting to answer the question. But everyone was looking at him expectantly now and reluctantly he said, "Five. My father and grandfather, my brother and my own two sons." Lucy nodded and before moving on said,
"I'm sorry. Truly I am. No parent should have to carry that burden. I know what you've lost." He nodded, almost shyly, like he didn't know how to take her. Lucy then wheeled round and pointed to Brutus whose face was impassive. "And many of your family have died?"
Brutus drew himself up to his full height which was quite staggering. "Three. And many, many of my friends. Solid, packed earth friends." Lucy could have sworn that he almost smiled at her when he said that. Lucy asked this same question of a handful of others from both sides. Some had lost many, some only a few, but all had lost some. She didn't need to ask everyone to know the kind of answers she'd get. She was biting back tears already; she really did feel for these people. How could they go on doing this?
The first man she had asked stepped forward and said, "We have all lost, girl. But who are you to tell us what to do? You have no authority here. You and your friends are strange and not to be trusted." Most of the Metal people and even some of the Earth people nodded in assent. The Doctor then stepped forward, placing his hand on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy was still glaring at the man, not angry anymore, just numb. This kind of tolerance of death was just beyond her. "Please, hear me out." The Doctor said. "I'm the Doctor and if you're looking for authority, it ends with me. It doesn't go any higher. Now, we know you've all lost family, friends and we're all sorry. But fighting in a war that no longer has any meaning is pointless. Are you angry just to be angry? Do you have to kill each other just because you're not the same? Well, let me tell you, same isn't good. You need different people, different customs in order to thrive. Both your civilisations will just die out of you go on like this. I am begging you to stop. But by all means, carry on if you can tell me what good will come of this battle, right here, right now." He looked round, imploring answers from stony faces. No one wanted to answer, that was plain. Lucy was hoping it was because no one could answer.
"What? Can't tell me?" the Doctor continued, "No one can tell me what good this will do? Go on then, more people will die. Isn't that something? The Earth people will have less Metal people to worry about and vice versa! Doesn't that count for anything?"
Stunned faced were all that greeted him. Lucy was surprised herself. She had never seen the Doctor this angry. He had talked about how angry he used to be, after the Time War, and she thought now that she must be glimpsing some of that. She couldn't begrudge him any of it though. She was angry too. Everything he said was right. In war, there are no winners. Lucy looked behind herself at the Earth people. All except Brutus had lowered their weapons and Aurelia was looking mournfully at Elder Caelum. Lucy had the sense that he had had the biggest hand in hers and Regulus' upbringing. Even now, Regulus was standing in front of her and she had her arms crossed over his chest. Aurelia whispered something very softly into his ear and Lucy saw a delicate tear fall from her eye and onto the earth below her. Lucy clenched her jaw and felt her sister's hand in hers. She turned back round and shared grim smiles with her twin.
She threw a look over at the Metal people and saw that almost all of them had lowered their spears; including the man she had first spoken to, the one she took to be the leader. Upon seeing his lowered spear, Brutus laid his long knife down on the ground. He walked briskly past the travelers in the very front, stopping in front of the chief of the Metal people and held out his hand. Lucy caught her breath as the chief extended his own hand and shook Brutus'. All watched in awe at what was probably the first peaceful interaction between the two tribes in hundred of years. Lucy found herself crying and looked over and saw that Juliet was weeping too.
The Doctor had wandered away from the awe-struck group, away from Lucy and Juliet. He was a bit angry at himself for lashing out, but what else would make them stop? He couldn't even guarantee that this peace would last long. At least it was a first step. Below him was solid packed earth. Above him a dark sky with two low hanging moons, existing, just as Elder Caelum had said, peacefully together. He saw that one moon was more silvery than the other, like the chrome caps of the Metal people's spears. The other moon was deeply scarred and pockmarked, like the soil that the Earth people so devoutly worshiped. But he knew that light years separated them, that they were not as close as they seemed. Maybe if they were forced to share a closer space, these moons would not get on so well either. He could hear all the people, both tribes mingling, murmured apologies, tearful laments. He thought that one group was going to arrange to have a funeral ceremony for Elder Caelum, a man he wished he had gotten to know better. That man had great wisdom in him and most of it, the Doctor knew, would be lost, wasted. Few things pained him more than the obvious loss of a tutor, the potential to learn scattered to the winds. When a soft hand was placed gently in his shoulder, close to the nape of his neck, he knew immediately who it was. "Lucy." He said without turning around. Her worried face appeared in front of him and he found himself admiring the way her storm blue eyes looked in the eerie light of the orbs. He offered her a sad smile, which she returned.
"Now, what is that face for?" she asked in a soft, low voice. He knew that she was trying to cheer him up without demanding that he do so. Lucy understood, like so few people did, that sadness is as much a part of life as happiness is. It is harder to embrace, but it must be done in order to grow.
"War is one of my least favourite things in the universe. It is also one of the most common things in the universe."
Lucy nodded sagely and said, "In war there is no right and no wrong, no good and no bad, only the numberless dead." The Doctor sighed and pulled Lucy into a hug. He rested his chin on top of her head. Her face was pressed to his chest and he breathed her in, wishing there was some place the two of them could just exist forever. Lucy was the first to let go and she led him by the hand to where Juliet was helping both tribes build a funeral pyre for Elder Caelum. In both tribes, cremation was the traditional method of bidding farewell to the dead, of laying them to rest. Juliet gave a little wave to the Doctor and he marveled at her ability to blend in wherever she was. Her ready acceptance of everyone was simply flawless.
Only moments later, four men, two from each tribe bore the body of the wise man to the pyre. Lucy realised soon that here, everyone watched the cremation. Tears brimmed at her eyes, but she did not let them fall. The Doctor watched Lucy's quiet dignity, one of the many things he so admired in her. He held her right hand and Juliet stepped over when the pyre was finished and took Lucy's left. They stood together, somewhat at the forefront as everyone had insisted. They listened to many people's accounts of his various brave deeds, tales of his boundless wisdom and heartfelt apologies at his death. All this was said as the great blaze grew taller and taller, scratching the sky with its smoke. Many people were looking toward the three companions expectantly. Aurelia, who stood close to them, leaned in and said, "I think they want you to say something. You were the ones who stopped this after all." Juliet gulped and the Doctor looked thoroughly uncomfortable; this was the part where he usually ducked out. They both looked at Lucy, who had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. After a short while, she licked her lips and cleared her throat. In a quiet voice that carried in the stillness she recited, "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die." Her voice faded into nothing and she heard her twin sniff and wipe at her eyes with her free hand. Lucy looked to the Doctor and Aurelia for approval, and got it in the form of his smile and her respectful nod.
The Doctor motioned for them to leave in the press of bodies all saying their last goodbye. As they passed, Lucy gave Aurelia's hand a squeeze. The young girl looked over her shoulder at the retreating Lucy and smiled wistfully and waved. Lucy returned the wave, feeling more bittersweet than she ever had in her whole life.
The thirty minute walk back to the T.A.R.D.I.S. was uneventful and silent, for which Lucy was very grateful. She needed a break from adventure and a moment to think to herself. Juliet knew how she felt about the Doctor which made her unsettled for some reason. True, he was unlike any other person, let alone any other man either of them had ever known. Juliet said she was fine with it, but Lucy knew that deep down, something disturbed her twin. She just didn't know what it was. Was she uncomfortable with the fact that he's an alien? Does she just feel like a third wheel? Lucy knew like no other that Juliet was as mysterious as herself. And now Lucy wondered how she could be thinking about all this after everything that had just happened. An innocent man had died, but because of it, hundreds of people could now live together in peace or at the very least, respect one another's right to occupy space. But how had Elder Caelum known about the Doctor? How had he known about her ability to withstand all? Lucy was not the most avid believer of all this, but the rumours were getting harder and harder to ignore. Surely that many people whom she had never met, who had never even heard of her couldn't be wrong.
The doors to the beloved ship were waiting and came open with the key round her neck. As soon as she was in the doors, Juliet piped up. "I think I'll go home now, Doctor. Back to London, I mean. I've loved traveling with you, and Lucy, I'll take that money for the rent." Lucy was nodding sadly and departed to her bedroom to get her card. The Doctor had been looking after her as she went and looked over at Juliet when she said, "Take good care of her, eh, Doctor? She's all I've got, you know." The Doctor only smiled; as if he could even dream of hurting her. But that didn't stop other people trying, did it?
"You know I'll do everything I can, Juliet. And thank you." He said as Lucy walked back into the main room, looking from her dear twin to the Doctor. Juliet cocked her head quizzically but didn't say anything, only nodded. She accepted Lucy's plastic and went to gather the few things she'd brought with her.
"Remember to keep me posted, twin. I'll have none of you running about and doing all sorts of dangerous things without at least letting me know."
"'Course, Jules, anything you say. Can't have you going grey early, now cane we?" They were in Lucy's room, making sure everything was accounted for. "Do you really have to go though?" Lucy asked. Juliet nodded and said,
"This isn't for me, twin. This kind of thing changes people. Now, as far as I can tell, you've been changed for the better, but I don't know. Sometimes I barely recognise you. And besides, I can hardly keep up with you and the Doctor. You were always the smarter one, Lucy, no you really were. But I've got a life here too and, and…"
"And what then, Jules?" Lucy asked.
"And, I, I dunno. I just feel like this whole thing was meant for you and not for me. That's all. I'm not being left behind, you're not abandoning me, I know. We're just two different people, in two very different places. We've all got our purposes and this is clearly yours."
Lucy nodded, not wanting her sister to go, but understanding the importance of it. Together, they walked down the hallway and into the main room. Juliet smiled and gave her twin a quick kiss and hug before she walked out the doors of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and onto the London street. Lucy got a brief glance of her sister unlocking to door to 10838 Carnaby Street and then she turned back to the Doctor who was grinning at her.
"Alrighty then, I've got all the kinks worked out for real this time. Where are we going now, Lucy Blake?"
