AN: Hi! Ok, looks like my crazy author melodramatic drop in self esteem was unnecessary- thankyou also to:
-MaryAndMerlin
-KatyAliceCullen
- I Am Spartacus
-EmaleeKaye
-Rain (Tarme namer ;) )
- emoboylovr1324
Ok well done LilyHale21- last chap's quote was by Victor Hugo. One point!
This chap's quote is anon- but there's a reason I've included it...
I self destruct every relationship so that I don't get hurt... but in truth I just hurt myself worse in the long run.. (anon)
Hopefully you all remember what happened last chap, but basically:
- Donna has a time lord pocket watch
-her husband is hurt
-the Doctor is kidnapped
-Donna has a plan
-Amy and Jack are going to rescue the Time Lord's- but have to get past the rose bushes, or Nando Maua
Ok, enjoy!
The Doctor was in the dark.
It was some kind of hole, lower than the rest of the Tarme's base. As his eyes slowly adjusted he realized there was a door, metal and locked, about 5 metres away from him. He began to walk towards it when he noticed another particularly important detail about the room.
Every wall was carpeted by strange, yellow vines, streaked with light blue, adorned with thousands of white blossoms- and over everything, over the door, the vines, the floor- everywhere was a fine, white dust.
The Doctor felt his stomach drop and bent, dusting his fingers with some of the powder and raising it to his nose. A sharp citrus odour, with a bitter edge, flared into his nostrils, and the Doctor wiped off the powder as if he'd been burnt. He eyed the flowers with new respect.
"The Hathoria, eh? I suppose it must be my turn to face the Chimèrion Réaliser…"
Outside his prison, an oversized alien insect watched with impassive silver eyes.
X
Amy could feel her heart pounding, it was thudding in her ears like a hammer on cloth. Holding onto each other tightly- though it seemed Jack was only doing so to support the Scottish girl, the pair stepped towards the roses.
Amy could practically feel the perfectly manicured lawn taking her weight, each blade of grass bowing beneath her converse. She tried to swallow, drily, eyes fixed on the beautiful petals of a blood red rose at her head height.
A beautiful blood red rose which could in fact be an alien species called the Nando Maua which emitted a deadly corrosive gas whenever an enemy got near.
A beautiful blood red rose which was the first wall between her and the Doctor.
Amy took a deep breath and stepped deliberately, head held high. Jack looked at her and grinned a little.
"Ok, so you know, if anything happens…"
Amy nodded. "I hide behind you. Yup. Got it sir."
Jack nudged her playfully with his elbow, trying to cover up his fear with bravado. "Hey! It's captain to you Missy."
Amy grinned, and took another step, then caught her breath. They were standing directly in front of the roses now, she could see the veins on the lime underside of a papery leaf- the exact shades of pink and red blended into each thorn.
Amy didn't dare to take her eyes off the creamy rose the size of her fist directly in front of her.
"Jack." She hissed. "What now?"
Jack took a deep breath. "I like to call it knocking politely. I think you lot call it breaking and entering." Amy flashed him a look and Jack pulled a rueful face at the rose bush. Then his expression became serious, his voice urgent.
"On the count of three, throw yourself to the ground and keep your eyes and mouth shut- cover your nose with your hand, alright?"
Amy was finding it difficult to breathe, so she nodded, eyes wide, heart still thudding ever louder in her ears.
She stared intently at the rose in front of her, noticing the attractive blush of yellow towards the core, the way the tips of its petals were almost pure white.
"One."
The rose started slowly moving from side to side, as if it was being moved by the breeze, in spite of the fact there wasn't enough wind to lift a strand of Amy's air. She let out a light, shaky breath, and watched the rose sway like a cobra preparing to strike.
"Two."
The centre of the rose started to twist, the petals blurring into movement as the entire flower began to spin, and as it did, a fine white powder was ground out from the creamy petals- soon there'd be enough to be blown into the air by the rose's motion, covering everything within about a metres distance, and it was just getting faster. Amy's knuckles were white as she gripped Donna's pocket watch tightly in her fist. She and Jack stood and watched the roses- hundreds of them, spinning faster and faster.
Out of the corner of her eye Amy could see Jack's chest rising and falling quickly as he got ready, her gaze remained fixed on the creamy rose before her. One speck of pollen rose into the air…
"THREE!"
Amy threw herself to the ground, tucking her head in, closing her eyes and covering her mouth and nose with her free hand.
Above her she could hear Jack yelling, branches snapping and a hissing sound that was what she'd imagine a pit of angry snakes would sound like.
She whimpered as some of the dust settled onto the exposed skin of her neck where her hair wasn't settled, and she knew it wouldn't be long before the rest began burning through her shirt into her back.
Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and threw her forwards, Amy let out a little shriek- imagining the rose bushes and their deadly flowers rushing forwards to meet her. Instead, she went through thin air, landing hard on what felt like Earth.
She kept her hand over her mouth and nose, and her eyes tight shut, feeling tears running down her cheeks where the pain in her neck was becoming unbearable. She heard Jack shout her name, then felt his hands briskly getting rid of the pollen. She sighed in relief as he brushed it from her neck, and tried to ignore his horrified gasp.
"Can I open my eyes now?"
Her voice was muffled by her hand, but she wasn't about to risk losing her sight- she had no idea how Shaun had managed not to.
Jack gently took her hands from her face, trying not to stare at her neck, where the raw burns could just be seen edging round to the front.
"Yeah. Ok, as plans go, that wasn't the best."
Amy shrugged and smiled, trying not to flinch too much as she did. She was pretty sure Jack noticed anyway.
"It's ok, we're in now, and that wasn't exactly…subtle, so we'd better get going."
Amy turned and stared at the three identical tunnels leading in different directions. She let out an impatient breath. "This is such a cliché! Which one do we pick?"
Jack smiled brashly. "The left one."
Amy frowned. "Why?"
Jack shrugged. "In the movies, the right one is never right, and straight ahead is too easy."
Amy raised an eyebrow and Jack shrugged, dragging her towards the left hand tunnel as a hissing, clicking sound began to echo up the right.
"Thank god for clichés eh?"
X
The Doctor sat slowly on the dust covered earthen floor. He knew he couldn't make it out of here. On a whim, he pointed his sonic at one of the vine covered walls for a few moments, then flipped the screwdriver back into one of his pockets, smiling to himself.
He leaned back on his hands and surveyed the room- before he began to talk to the strange yellow vines, the Hathoria.
"A plant found once every million years- nearly destroyed for the millennia of pain you bring with your discovery. Hated for the way you haunt the Yeria galaxies, the way you torture every life form in the universe with a bizarre mixture of excessive psychic power and semi sentience, coming together in a certain pollen. A dust"
The Doctor ran his fingers through the dust he sat in- it was finer than chalk to the touch, but similar, he raised his eyebrows as he watched it sift to the ground.
"A dust which induces a particular hallucinogenic state which tortures the victim with truths they fear, or find difficult to acknowledge. In human terms, an illusion constructed of faerie lies- the truth said a certain way is enough to drive anyone insane if you tell it right."
Thoughtful, the Time Lord surveyed the motionless vines, streaked with powder blue.
"I wonder how they got you here? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised- the Tarme have always had a very close relationship with flora. Even species as malicious and rare as you…"
He trailed off as the dust began to rise, twisting and shifting and changing color to form an incredibly life like imitation of Amelia Jessica Pond.
The Doctor sat forwards, eyes hard and reckless. "Go on then. Show me what you've got."
Oooh what now? I'll wiat for your questions this time- hope you enjoy it!
I can't update till tomorrow- am getting my gcse results today- so worried!
Thanks as ever for reading, I hope you still enjoy it!
Kat