XXX
Last time...
"Harkness." he barks down the phone,
"Hello to you to Jack." I say teasingly
"Princess, why are you calling on this number?" he asks, I sigh
"Dalek exterminated my phone." I say simply "Anyway, you know Van Statten?" I ask
"Yeah. He's a real asshole, been keeping an eye on him for a few years now." he says
"Thought you might want to know that you don t have to worry about him anymore, he's gonna wake up in some country starting with 'S' and won t remember who he is." I say
"Okay not gonna ask but can we get back to this Dalek that apparently attacked you?" he asks his voice sounding protective, so I told him what happened and got and earache in return for doing what he perceived to be reckless and stupid.
"Look Jackie your gonna have to chew me out another time I'm tired and I don't have a phone so you can t call me until i have a new one." I say through a yawn.
"Fine sweet dreams princess."
"Night big bro." I say in return closing the phone deleting the number from Roses call list, putting it down and going to sleep.
XXX
I woke to the sound of knocking on my door and turn over facing it.
"Come in." i grunt, the door opens and Rose steps in, i reach over and grab her phone holding it out to her,
"Thanks, anyway why did you need it?" she asks,
"I had to call a friend and my phone was blown up, i told you last night Sweetie, anyway how s the snot nosed kid." I question in a sarcastic voice, she rolls her eyes
"Adam." she corrects, I shrug, it didn't matter to me, "And he seems to have settled down now." I nod and sit up,
"I know you didn't come in here just for your phone, out with it Rosie."
"The doctor said to get up we're going to a space station or something like that." she says with a shrug, I nod and through the covers off
"Help me pick an outfit?" i ask, she grins and walks over to my wardrobe pulling out a pair of three-quarter lengths, i nod and chose a TARDIS blue tank, then Rose pulls out a black shirt and a pair of heels, I shake my head "Bound to be running." i say, she nods with a grin
"What about these" she says pulling out a pair of black converse,
"Perfect." i say pulling off the large T shirt,
"you know i really wish i had a birth mark like that." Rose said in a longing voice, her hand tracing the black marks that stretch down my arm and back. I make a humming sound and Rose leaves me to get changed, so pulling on my clean clothes and jewellery i grab my knives and head to the control room strapping them to my waist under the black shirt to hid them from the doctor.
I don't know how to describe the scene before me the doctor leaning on the console, Rose and Adam conversing quietly, it was strange for things to be so... calm in the TARDIS after the few trips we had, this was defiantly strange... I walk down to the doctor.
"So... where are we going sweetie?" i ask, i needed to drop the habit but i doubt it was going to happen. He looks at me and grins,
"It's a surprise." he says with a wink, i roll my eyes in return, now that we had Adam, i knew i was going to be 'The Long Game.' because that was his first and last adventure, but he had surprised me three times since we came from 'World War Three.' there were always adventures in between that weren't recorded on the series, we had been to the sylfax galaxy planet Dramorda, that was weird it was like we were surrounded by butterflies well, i mean humanoid s with wings only more sparkle, we went surfing on a solar flare in the Andromeda Galaxy and almost got caught by pirates harnessing said solar flair for power, and last but not least we went and looked at the Tiger's eye nebula, it was amazing, and nothing went wrong like it normally does. my fun was over for a while though. "Right then." he said knocking me out of my thought process, "Let s get going." i grab onto the railing by Rose and she grabs the railing, but we couldn't well, Rose didn't warn Adam, i wouldn t have anyway so he fell all over the place.
After a few moments there was a jolt and i was knocked to the floor along with Rose, The Doctor and Adam, the first two laughing with me and Adam looking sick, poor kid... It seems that the not feeling the jolting of the TARDIS only lasted so long. Still falling all over the place was more fun than watching others do it, even if it was good blackmail material. I head over to the door, Rose telling Adam to wait inside as she and the doctor filed out as well,
"So, it's 200 000, it's a spaceship... no wait a minute, space station, and uh... go and try that gate over there. Off you go!" He says leaning on the TARDIS i hear her give a hum and sigh agreeing that she shouldn't be used as a leaning post.
"200 000?" Rose asks, i give a nod and the doctor says
"200 000."
"'Kay." She says looking into the TARDIS to call out, "Adam? Out you come." Adam steps out with his mouth hanging open, I snort.
"Nice goldfish impression." I comment making the doctor and Rose grin,
"Oh my God." Adam says his tone awestruck, I lean next to the small window looking out at the earth down below, i had seen it burn and now i was watching it slowly turn, this view was nothing compared to what it would be on the moon... Rose... could i save her? I could take her place let her stay with the doctor.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Rose assures Adam, i snort, 'no he really wont Sweetie, he's gonna be leaving soon.' i think to myself, pulling my head from future events and complicated time stuff.
"Where are we?" The kid asks,
"Good question. Let's see. So, um... judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year 200 000." I had to admit she sure knew how to sell it as her own, she sounded a little nervous, but then again if i was in her position and didn't know what to say i would be to. Adam doesn't answer except from a few small mumbles. "If you listen... engines." Rosie continues with her speech, i turn to face her with a soft smile on her face, it's a shame she doesn't see what s in front of her, she and mickey would have been great, but then smith and jones wouldn't be together, parallel universe, that was what tore them apart completely, well apart from the doctor, but mickey came back for a while, which brought me back to 'Doomsday.' I shake my head.
'Any thoughts ole' girl?' I ask the TARDIS,
'Dear heart you shouldn't focus too much on the future for you will miss what is happening right in front of you.' she says her tone middling between mothering and sisterly, i sigh and shake my head,
'Oh well, i suppose you re right, but that doesn't make anything any easier.'
"...Come on!" Rose exclaims jolting me from my conversation, She opens the gate and we walk into the room beyond. This room had a bigger window overlooking the earth "Here we go! And this is..." She pauses and i know she is just as awestruck as Adam, not believing that she is actually seeing what was in front of her. I look at the kid for his reaction and see him holding the railing for support. "...I'll let the Doctor describe it."
"Nah why should i when I'm sure that 'Lexa' could tell us, seeing as she knows so much." he said smirking at me, i take a moment to remember his line and smirk back. 'Challenge accepted.'
"Very well, this is the fourth great and bountiful human empire. And there it is, right in front of us. Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons - population 96 billion. The hub of a galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species - with mankind right in the middle." I say confidently with a smile at the doctor, he nods his head in defeat, 'Serves him right.' Adam faints with a girlish sigh. Neither the Doctor nor Rose bother to even turn around. I merely snicker.
"He's your boyfriend." The doctor said to Rose,
"Not anymore." Rose says with a disappointed sigh,
"Now now Rosie you shouldn't be mean." i say in mock sternness, i see them look at me expectantly, "What?" i ask, then i realise they were thinking i care about him. I let out a snort, "Please i hate that kid's guts, i wouldn't try to impress him if my life was in danger sweetie." I deadpan and turn back to the earth.
XXX
After we had managed to get the brat up from the floor we headed to the canteen,
"Come on, Adam. Open your mind." The doctor said as we walked, his arms slung around Adam and Rose, i had my arm around Roses shoulder trying to avoid touching Adam.
"Not too much though you don t know if you'll close it again." i say in seriousness, but the doctor and rose seem to think I m joking, 'so much for hint dropping.' "You're gonna like this fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent - culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners-" the doctor continues before he is rudely cut off,
"Out of the way!" Some guy shouted, I giggle,
"Manners doctor? I think you spoke to soon." he gives me a playful glare, everyone is lining up for food pushing and shoving in some cases but all in all the place is rather loud.
"One at a time..." One of the chefs call as the stall keepers take orders, i look to the doctor with a grin seeing his bemused expression and bite my lip to keep from laughing, suddenly the chef shouts to a guy with spikey hair "Oi! You, mate! Stop pushing. Get back. I SAID, back." I see Rose examine the fast food behind the cases and turns to the Doctor.
"Fine cuisine?" Rose questions.
"Hey don t pin this on me 'Lexa was giving the explanation." He exclaims to defend himself, i however shot his statement down in a heartbeat
"Listen, i gave the explanation of where we were not what was going on, you gave the speech of fine cuisine and good manners, which by the way were both wrong on this account, so don't pin you mess up on me sweetie." i say in a sweet voice, Rose cringes and backs away, I had, uh this Alex has used that voice before to threaten, like that old boyfriend of hers, I said that if her were to interfere with her and mickey he wouldn't live past the hour, and i had used an extremely sugary voice that had sent him running for the hills, Rosie never saw him again.
"My watch must be wrong." He says as he checks it and shakes his head "No, its fine... weird."
"That's what comes of showing off. Your history's not as good as you thought it was." Rose teases with a wide grin.
"My history's perfect." The doctor contradicts with an offended look on his face,
"Now now children, if you can t say anything nice to each other, then don t say anything at all." i say mocking my old teacher, er Alex's old teacher, should i just call her me? i want to escape my reality but i can t let go of my old life completely, i sigh, i need to talk to jack soon, maybe when we get to 'Fathers Day' I never liked that one.
"They're all human. What about the millions of planets? The millions of species? Where are they?" Th- Adam, can t keep calling him, kid or brat.
"Good question. Actually, that IS a good question." He puts his arm over Adams shoulder enthusiastically "Adam, me' old mate, you must be starving." he continues
"No, I'm just a bit time sick." Adam replies, i let out a snort at that coming up beside him,
"No, being time sick is really bad, i mean super suckish, you're not feeling time sick, it's just the shock and change in scenery." i comment with a smile to match the doctors, well, close to the doctors because no one can match his grin.
"Exactly, you just need a bit of grub." he said agreeing with me and shouts to the chef, "Oi, mate - how much is a cronk burger?" He asks, what sort of name is cronk for a burger... i shake my head,
"Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now, join the queue." he says his voice slightly sarcastic, 'yeah real good manners doc, real good.'
"Money. We need money." the doctor says as he pulls Adam off, myself and Rose behind, he pulls out the sonic and points it at the machine, "Have to use a cash point." a futuristic credit card falls out and the doctor hands it to Adam and Rose,
"There you go - pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets." he calls as we walk away,
"How does it work?" Adam asks looking at the strip of metal bemusedly, i turn on my heel the doctor following the move to look at Adam with an exasperated facial expression,
"Go and find out! Stop nagging us! The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers." he says, Rose and i burst into hysterics, Adam just stares at him, his brow furrowed. "...or is that just me? Stop asking questions, go on, do it!" he carries on as he shoos him away.
I look at Rose
"Go on, off you go then! Your first date. I'm so proud of my baby." i say wiping a fake tear from the corner of my eye,
"You're both going to get a smack, you are." She replies, the doctor grins and i chuckle before she turns and walks into the crowed to look for the kid. I stop my laugh and the doctor's grin fades, i look at him and grab his hand pulling him in the direction of two women.
"Erm... this is gonna sound daft, but can you tell us where we are?" The doctor asks with a perfectly embarrassed look, the dark woman, uh kathey? i think indicated to the huge sign on the wall,
"Floor 139... could they write it any bigger?" She says, i shake my head
"They could but that s not what he's on about, sorry he's a bit of an idiot." i say with a smile,
"Floor 139 of what?" The doctor asks, shooting me a look for my comment, i roll my eyes.
"Must've been a hell of a party." Kathey said, or was her name kitty... i shrug
"The party wasn't that bad, it was the bit of drinking we did after, i through better parties and no one really remembers them unless there's evidence that it happened." I say, with really serious look.
"Oh, you're on Satellite Five." The other woman Suki says, she's the one that dies, there's nothing i can do to stop it, my smile drops a bit.
"What's Satellite Five." the doctor continues to ask, i roll my eyes again.
"Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?" Kathey, um kitty, Katharine? whatever her name exclaims looking annoyed.
"Look at me, I'm stupid." The doctor says, i nod my head with a solemn look
"He really is." i say, for that i got an elbow lightly to my ribs.
"Hang on, wait a minute - are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?" Suki asks, looking both worried and excited.
"You've got us. Well done. You're too clever for the two of us." he says pulling out the psychic paper
"We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion." Suki whispers to um the other woman.
"Right. Fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor 500 I'll do anything." The other woman says, i shake my head
"You really shouldn't say anything, someone could take advantage of that." i correct quickly.
"Why, what happens on Floor 500?" The doctor asks ignoring my comment, but then again he's done that to me quite a lot in the last 10 minutes,
"The walls are made of gold." she said, her voice as though stating the obvious, "And you should know... Mr. and Mrs Management. So... this is what we do." she continues confidently. She walks away and leads us to the screens. Suki smiles at me nervously. "Latest news... sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day... space lane 37 closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf and Lone Wolf channels, the Face of Bo has just announced he's pregnant." I laugh out right at that,
"I know the face of bo personally and know that that shouldn't be possible." the doctor looks at me with suspicion, and i look at him with a grin and said one word, "Spoilers." 'wait i know about bad wolf, but Lone wolf, it's popping up just like bad wolf, what is going to happen...' i shake my head
"I get it. You broadcast the news." The doctor says his voice neutral,
"We ARE the news." The confidant woman says, i look at her, it was annoying me, what was her name. Suki smiles at the Doctor and i again. We smile back. "We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it." I roll my eyes, anger may be the shortest distance to mistakes, but arrogance is always a close second, that was Lazarus s mistake.
"600 channels all coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere." She continues, i felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. i turn and look at the camera, he was watching and i hated him for it, he thought he was a king, but really he is nothing more than a mere man serving to make human life controlled and meaningless.
"Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going through us." The woman,-ah what the hell I m gonna call her Kathey-, said, he was still watching, as a noble with my own personal shadows, i learnt to know when I'm being watched, I had spent years learning to detect and evade them and evading was harder than detecting.
XXX
An alarm sounds and i jumped slightly not expecting that for a while but it seemed i was wrong. Everyone starts to abandon the canteen area, As everyone clears i see Rose and Adam looking lost, not knowing what to do, apparently The Doctor sees them as well as he calls,
"Oi! Mutt and Jeff! Over here!" I hit his side "OW! what was that for."
"Be nice to my cousin and you won't get hurt." i say with a shrug. Rose, beaming, immediately gets up and joins us. Adam pauses for a moment, holding Rose's phone. Then, seeming to reach a decision, he pockets it. I sigh, and this is where everything goes wrong.
XXX
The 6 of us are now joined by several others in a room, where their work takes place I m sure. There is a chair in the middle of raised octagonal platform in the middle of the room, around which the staff are sitting cross legged. 'I don t get how they can sit like that i can t.' In front of them are pads on which to place their hands. The Doctor, Rose, Adam and I stand leaning against some railings at the side of the room. Kathey is in the middle of the octagonal platform. She addresses the room.
"Now. Everybody behave. We have a management inspection." She turns to us "How do you want it? By the book?" She asks, i smile
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks." We both say at the same time, i look over at him and shake my head, Kathey turns away. The Doctor, Rose and I smirk at each other.
"Ok, so - ladies, gentlemen, multisex, undecided or robot - my name is Cathica Santini Kadainy." Oh that's what her name is Cathica, i was close. "That's Cathica with a 'C', in case you want to write to Floor 500" I roll my eyes, god she's desperate to die, no sorry to see walls of gold, "praising me, and please... do..." The Doctor grins, giving a non-committal jerk of his head. "Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and be non-biased. That's company policy." Cathica continues talking, She turns to smile at us. And this time i nod.
"Actually... it's the law.2" Suki states with a shy smile in our direction.
"Yes, thank you, Suki. Okay, keep it calm... don't show off for the guests... here we go." She says with an irritated voice as she talks to Suki before calming and laying down i the chair, "And... engage safety..."
The staff hold their hands out over their hand pads. Each of the eight walls light up as they do so. we all look around. Cathica clicks her fingers, and her forehead opens, revealing her brain. The Doctor looks mildly disgusted, Rose alarmed, and Adam leans forward slightly trying to get a better look, I keep my eyes on a camera. The staff place their hands down on the pads and close their eyes.
"And 3... 2... and spike." From the contraption over the chair, a blue light spikes down into her brain, flowing into her.
"Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain IS the computer." The doctor explains to us, i only spare Cathica a brief glance, and look back at the camera, he wanted us followed, i may as well make this a little interesting for him, i wave at the camera.
"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius." Rosie says, i absentmindedly answer before the doctor could, not that i noticed.
"Nah. She wouldn't remember anything. There's too much, her head would blow sweetie." I turn and lean on the railing looking at Cathica, He begins to walk around the room, circling the octagonal platform. Rose follows i push off and walk behind them.
"The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets." The doctor continues from where i left off.
"So, what about all these people round the edge?" She asks, this time i answer,
"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her -" I say keeping the venom from my words, Rose kneels down next to one of them for a closer look.
"- and they transmit 600 channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place." The doctor ended, we were finishing each other s sentences, it was both weird and amusing. He completes his circuit around the room and leans against the railing again, next to Adam. and i walk to the other side and lean on my forearms,
"Now, that's what I call power." We said at the same time, i glance at him and see his serious look.
XXX
I got that feeling of being watched again and stiffen, the doctor looks at me but i look back at the camera,
"We're being watched." I whisper to him quietly,
"You alright?" Rose asks Adam before the doctor could comment on what i had said.
"I can see her brain." Adam said, I look over at him and see he's as pail as a sheet.
"Do you want to get out?" She asks with concern lacing her voice,
"No... no. This is technology, it's... it's amazing." He responds and i can see the idea forming in his head, the greed in his eyes and I m reminded of my parents. I cringe in distaste and look back at Cathica,
"This technology's wrong." I say in sync with the doctor, the sooner we got rid of Adam the sooner i could meet Jack. Rose and Adam look at us.
"Trouble?" Rose asks
"Oh yeah." The doctor says catching her eye at the same time i answer with an "Always with him sweetie." We smiles at her. Rose smiles in a satisfied sort of way. There is a slight shuddering sound and i look back just in time to catch Suki twitches.
Suki gasps and lifts her hands off the pad as though she has just received an electric shock which she probably had. The other members of staff are forced to lift their own hands too, and the lights in the walls turn off. The compressed information stops streaming into Cathica and the door in her head closes. Suki rubs her hands, breathing heavily. She was dead as soon as she placed her hands on those panels.
"Come off it, Suki, I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?" Cathica asks her tone annoyed, she was getting on my nerves.
"Sorry, must've been a glitch..." Suki responds, I shake my head, if only she knew. Cathica stands up. Suddenly a loudspeaker sounds over the room and a projection springs to life on the wall.
"Promotion." A voice says, it's not a promotion, it's a death sentence,
"This is it. Come on. God, make it me. Come on, say my name." Cathica prays, a little hard might i add, the others look at her in mild concern whilst i look on in disgust. "Say my name, say my name..." She continues with her eyes screwed shut, she opens her eyes after a few seconds,
"Promotion for... Suki Macrae Cantrell." the voice says, The words flash on the projection. Suki's mouth drops open. Cathica looks gutted. "Please proceed to Floor 500." Suki stands up and stares at the projection as if she cannot believe what she is seeing. But she wouldn't be so happy when she was gone.
"I don't believe it... Floor 500..." Her voice was awestruck, she was a great actress, I'd give her that.
"How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you!" Cathica shouted in disbelief, i roll my eyes, 'I can t believe she saves us in the end, and it was all for a promotion.
"I don't know, I just applied on the off-chance... and they've said yes!" She says excitedly,
"That's so not fair, I've been applying to Floor 500 for three years!" She exclaims with discontent,
"What's Floor 500?" Rose asked
"The walls are made of gold." The doctor answered, i kept my mouth shut, i couldn't interfere,
XXX
We stand by the lift to say goodbye to Suki. Permanently, death, i hated it so much, but everything has it's time and place.
"Cathica, I'm gonna miss you! Floor 500..." She says before turning to the doctor and I "Thank you!" she exclaims,
"We didn't do anything!" The doctor says and he was completely honest we hadn't but then again would this have happened if we had turned up? We couldn't say...
"Well, you're my lucky charms!" She says with a bright smile
"All right! I'll hug anyone!" The doctor grins and hugs her, when she pulls away and hugs me i whisper in her ear,
"Good luck." Cathica looks stubbornly anywhere but at Suki, and Rose goes over to Adam who is sitting a short distance away. I watch them talk,
"Come on, it's not that bad..." Rose says,
"What, with the... the head thing?" Adam asks his voice taking an edge, i clench my teeth,
"Yeah, well she's closed it now!" rose says in defence and assurance,
"Yeah but... it's everything. It freaks me out. And I just need to... if I could just..." I knew what he was going to say as he struggled for words i narrowed my eyes, 'The sooner we get rid of him the better.' "...cool down. Sort of, acclimatize." I scoff quietly to myself,
"How d'you mean?" Rose asks confused,
"Maybe... I could just go and sit on the observation deck? Would that be all right?" Adam says, he wasn't going to sit on the observation deck. Rose nods. "Soak it in, you know, pretend I'm a citizen of the year 200 000." He continues to bullshit.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Rose asks more concern in her voice, she should, ten she wouldn't get hurt.
"No, no, you stick with the Doctor and Alex." He says in a rush, that should have been suspicious, Rose nods. A pause. "You'd rather be with him." He continues, knowing that was exactly what she wanted. Another awkward pause, because it's true. "It's gonna take a better man than me to get between you three. Anyway - I'll be on the deck." He gets to his feet. Rose fumbles in her pocket.
"Here you go... take the TARDIS key. You know, just in case it gets a bit too much." Rose says, i groan silently, everything was going to hell in a hand basket.
"Yeah, like it's not weird in there." I sigh. Rose gives him the key. Adam walks away, leaving Rose standing alone. I turn back to the other conversation,
"Oh, my God, I've got to go, I can't keep them waiting-" Suki says with a grin as she picks her bags up. "I'm sorry!" She says as the lift doors ping open, and finally she says "Say goodbye to Steve for me." The doctor and rose smile but i couldn't bring myself to. I shudder as the lift doors close, i knew she would begin pacing and thinking.
"Good riddance." Cathica spat in contempt,
"You're talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs." The doctor said in confusion,
"We won't. Once you go to Floor 500 you never come back." Cathica said in annoyance, The Doctor looks at the closed lift doors, brow furrowed. Cathica walks away and we follow er, we end up in the canteen area again.
"Have you ever been up there?" The Doctor asks her,
"No." i say
"No. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few." She said looking at me, i was getting tired of this back and forth questioning, i wanted it over.
XXX
We were now in the spike room, you know the creepy one where the brain opens, yeah that one.
"Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" Cathica asks tiredly,
"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" The doctor questions, He settles himself comfortably in the chair on the platform. Rose leans on the back of it, and i sit on the arm leaning on the doctor's shoulder,
"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I - I came straight here. Satellite Five - you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." she explains before eyeing us "You're not management, are you." She asks, i let out a sigh
"Thank god, i was getting sick of his constant professional acting, it's so boring." i say stretching my neck side to side hearing a click, 'wonder if jack will do me a favour?'
"At last! She's clever!" The doctor exclaims.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything." She says after a short pause, god her attitude was going to be the end of her,
"Don't you even ask?" I asked, i had said nothing for a while and i wanted to talk again.
"Well, why WOULD I?" She asks
"I don t know, wouldn't you want to know what happened on each floor? i would." i answer with a shrug "God my neck, Rosie sweetie, later can you give me a massage?" i ask, she nods
"Sure."
"You're a journalist! Why's all the crew human?" The doctor asks ignoring mine and Roses interaction.
"What's that got to do with anything?" She asks confused
"There's no aliens on board. Why?" The doctor asks,
"You'd think this far into the future you'd have met more aliens or had some working for you but, none at all." i elaborate.
"I don't know - no real reason, they're not banned or anything." Cathica answered, i could tell that we were getting to her with the questions, that she was starting to question things as well. The Doctor looks around the room theatrically.
"Lexa is right where are the aliens." The doctor asks,
"I suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what, with all the threats." She answers,
"What threats?" I question,
"I don't know... all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away..." She answered, sounding lost. Rose, the Doctor and I watch her intently. "Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see... just... lots of little reasons, that's all." she continues.
"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice." The doctor said, i roll my eyes he loved to be cryptic in this incarnation.
"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything." Cathica said defensively. 'But nothing in front of your nose.' i think to myself.
"I can see better. This society's the wrong shape. Even the technology." The doctor contradicts,
"It's cutting edge!" She exclaims starting to sound angry,
"It's backward! There's a great big door in your head! You should've chucked this out years ago." The doctor exclaimed in slight frustration,
"So, what do you think is going on?" Rose asks for the first time voicing her thoughts.
"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude. It's the way people think. The great and bountiful human empires stunted. Something's holding it back." The doctor explained.
"And how would you know?" Cathica asks, 'He's a TIME lord of course he knows.'
"Trust me." The doctor says before i cut him off my voice sharp and annoyed,
"Humanity's been set back about 90 years -" I say before the doctor cut me off again,
"when did Satellite Five start broadcasting?" He questions, ahh here's the winner. 'We come back to this place later, with jack, Bad Wold, and now Lone Wolf, What was going to happen, what could i change, if anything at all, this was balanced on a knife's edge.'
"91 years ago..." Cathica looks slightly disturbed as the doctor nods and become thoughtful,,
XXX
We were walking down a corridor and Cathica looked anxious
"We're SO gonna get in trouble." She says, i roll my eyes,
"No we won t, we won t get caught and well things all play out well." I say with cheer, she looks at me like I m crazy and i felt the rush thingy come back, so i jump on the doctors back and i hear Rose groan,
"Not again."
"What i say looking back at her with blinking eyes, she shakes her head and i lean on the doctors shoulder, he smelt of vanilla and time, i jump off and lean on the wall next to him bouncing on the balls of my feet, he starts scanning the side of a door with his sonic screwdriver, Rose standing behind him. Cathica goes over to him.
"You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off." She continues
"'Lexa', Rose, tell her to button it." so turning around i look at Cathica and say
"button it." i fan my face god it's hot,
"You can't just vandalise the place, someone's gonna notice!" Cathica continues in a whisper heeding our words, The Doctor wrenches the door open. I stiffen and stop bouncing, he was watching.
XXX
The Doctor is still messing around with the mainframe. I had long since calmed down, and was examining my nails and fanning my face,
"This is nothing to do with me, I'm going back to work." Cathica said, i roll my eyes and wave with a sarcastic smile as she begins to walk away.
"Bye." I call with sweetness,
"Go on then! See ya!" The doctor calls over his shoulder, Cathica stops.
"I can't just leave you, can I!" She whisper shouts, ha an oxymoron,
"Well you could but then you would be distracted by what we could be doing and you would get no peace of mind, and God why is it so hot?" i ask,
"Yeah, if you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down. It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?" Rose snipped at her,
"I don't know, we keep asking - something to do with the turbine." Cat explains i roll my eyes and reach for the top button of my shirt and start undoing it,
""Something to do with the turbine"." he says mockingly and looks over to me as he sees me undoing the buttons of my shirt, "What are you doing." he asks his voice going slightly high,
"Taking my shirt off." i answer with a bored tone, he goes red and i laugh as i pull it off to reveal the blue tank top "Where ever was your mind sweetie i wouldn't go around in my bra you naughty boy." I say with a smirk, Oh my god I'm turning into River. God help me. he looks back at the panel his ears red. Rose was laughing hysterically,
"Well, I don't know!" she exclaimed in annoyance,
"Exactly! I give up on you, Cathica. Now, Rose and Lexa- look at them." He says, she was till laughing but she turned to smile as did I. "They're asking the right kind of questions." he exclaims
"Oh, thank you." We say at the same time making me giggle and Rose burst into hysterics again.
"Why is it so hot?" The doctor asks her.
"One minute you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!" She shouts angrily, i click my tongue
"Don t get worked up it solves nothing Cathica."
"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important." The doctor rambled slightly, can t wait till 11 rambles that s always funny like my potato rant. He accidentally snaps a bunch of wires. Cathica looks away, exasperated. I chuckle.
XXX
The Doctor has now successfully managed to hack into the mainframe. He turns the screen to Cathica
"Here we go - Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout." I glance at it and see the problem instantly, but i knew what i was looking for, then again it was really obvious,
"No one ever notices and i know why." I whisper quietly to myself no one hearing me, He moves to stand behind her so she can see. Cathica examines the screen.
"This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange... and you're looking at pipes?" I roll my eyes
"Yeah that s the only thing you notice look at it, really look at it." I say, i wanted out god knows what that brat was doing at this moment in time.
"But there's something wrong. Lexa's right look at it." he pushes, Cathica turns back to the screen.
"I suppose..." She says reluctantly,
"Why, what is it?" Rose asks,
"The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out... channelling massive amounts of heat DOWN." Cathica explains, She looks upwards.
"All the way from the top." The doctor confirms,
"Floor 500, shame we weren't invited to the party." i say with a pout,
"Something up there is generating tonnes and tonnes of heat." The doctor speaks, mostly to himself.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I agree with Alex, I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?" she asks, I grin and nod,
"We always love to crash a party." I bounce on my toes again this time out of pure excitement and not the sugar thingy,
"You can't, you need a key." Cathica contradicts to shoot us down doesn't work though, i just point to the doctor smugly,
"Keys are just codes, and I've got the codes right here." her gestures to the screen and taps a few keys, "Here we go - override 215.9." he says i couldn't help but question,
"Why didn't you just use the sonic, the thing can t be deadlocked right?" he just shrugs indicating he didn t know.
"How come it's giving you the code?" Cathica asks incredulously, The Doctor looks up at a security camera.
"Someone up there likes me." The doctor says, i laugh, 'No they just want answers.'
XXX
The lift doors open, Rose, myself and the Doctor step into it. Cathica stops outside.
"Come on, come with us!" Rose encourages, she won t not yet, but she will.
"No way!" Cat denies adamantly, i shrug,
"Bye!" The Doctor says with a wave,
"See you soon." i call,
"Well, don't mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don't involve me!" She says, i nod
"Don't worry i won t say a word about you." She stalks off.
"That's her gone. Adam's given up. Looks like it's just you two and me." The doctor says to us, I grin,
"Yeah." Rose says with a smile
"Naturally." I say with a posh voice.
"Good." He says,
"Yep." Rose continues,
"What s with all the single words?" i ask, and they laugh, we grin at each other. The Doctor slots a card into the controls, and grabs our hands as the doors close.
XXX
The lift reaches Floor 500. The doors open and we step out.
"The walls are not made of gold. You two should go back downstairs." he says with seriousness, i sigh but don t say anything,
"Tough." Rose says as she strides onto Floor 500. I shake my head and mutter the word 'idiot' and follow her The Doctor watches a moment, then follows.
I walked in and i say the editor looking at the screen,
"I started without you. This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but YOU three... you don't exist!" He says sounding excited, sounded a little like how 10 would when he was excited. The Doctor and Rose look right back at him. He laughs. I on the other hand was looking up.
"Not a trace! No birth - no job - not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?" He asked, i look at him now,
"Quite easily." my voice colder than the ice in the room. Rose spots Suki sitting at one of the screens and rushes over to her immediately.
"Suki! Suki!" She says i look at her.
"She's dead sweetie." my voice now had a sharp edge in it, not only for what had been done to these people but, Adam had to be in the spike room now.
"She's working..." Rose states,
"They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going." he explains, i let the venom i have been holding in seep into my voice.
"Like puppets." I spat with a glare,
"Ohhhh! You're full of information! But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no-one." he says looking at us, He laughs. The Doctor nods.
"It's so rare not to know something. Who are you?" The Editor asks,
"It doesn't matter, 'cause we're off. Nice to meet you." He says and turns to me and Rose, "Come on." A few drones restrain us, well Suki restrained Rose,
"Tell me who you are!" He demands persistently
"Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?" The doctor contradicts,
"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise." The editor said with a smile,
"And who's that?" The doctor asks, I tap his shoulder and he looks at me, i point up and he looks,
"It may interest you to know that this is NOT the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live." the editor explains, The creature speaks - the tone sounds angry. "Yeah- sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client." he corrects himself, the Alien in question is a slobbering lump with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth.
"What is that?" Rose asks, nervously,
"You mean, that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" The doctor asks in disbelief,
"That 'thing' - as you put it - is in charge of the human race." the editor corrects, i roll my eyes
"That s a load of bullshit." i snap, The Doctor looks at him in alarm.
"For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior - your master - and humanities guiding light - the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe." he continues as he ignores me, The Jagrafess roars. "I call him Max. " The Doctor smiles sarcastically and nods.
XXX
we were now all restrained with manacles.
"If we create a climate of fear... then it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilize an economy... invent an enemy... change a vote..." He says, i roll my eyes
"You love the sound of your voice don t you?" i ask snarkily, stepped closer to me and backhanded me,
"Don't touch her. 'Lexa' you alright?" the doctor growled, i nod my head and spit the blood that had spilled from my cut lip at his feet.
"I've had worse." i state staring coldly at the editor.
"Watch what you say to me girl." he whispered in my ear,
"So, all the people on Earth are like, slaves." Rose cut in distracting him from me,
"Well, now. There's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved?" He questions,
"Yes." The doctor and i grit out.
"Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate, or a snarky comment. Is that all I'm going to get? 'Yes'?" He asks,
"Yes." The doctor said, i kept my mouth closed, the editor laughs
"You're no fun." He says with a mock pout,
"Let me out of these manacles - you'll find out how much fun I am." The doctor threatens, i spit the blood from my mouth again.
"Oh, he's tough, isn't he. But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit." The editor spoke as though speaking to the dead people in the room. I hadn't registered in my fury that i was cold and shaking slightly, i passed it off as anger, i hadn t put my shirt back on, my daggers were still reachable for Rose.
"You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must've noticed." Rose exclaimed.
"From time to time, someone, yes. But the computer system allows me to see inside their brain... I can see the smallest doubt - and crush it." The editor explains with a grin. "And then they just carry on, living their life. Strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're SO individual." He continues, i spot Cathica out of the corner of my eye and have no doubt that the doctor has also seen her, she stays hidden though. "When of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing."
"What about you? You're not a Jagra... uh... a..." Rose says as she stumbles on the name of the creature above our heads,
"Jagrafess." The doctor and i call helpfully
"Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human." Rose points out, i smirk clever girl hit him where it hurts, well mentally, his pride.
"Yeah, well simply being human doesn't pay very well." He explained but i could hear the anger making its way into his voice.
"But you couldn't have done this all on your own." Rose states with confidence.
"No! I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to um... install himself." The editor answers,
"No wonder, a creature that size." The doctor says, whilst he distracts the editor i nudge Roses leg and she looks at me, i mouth
'Dagger.' and she nods reaching over and grabbing it and slipping it into my hand.
"What's his life span?" The doctor asks,
"Three thousand years." he answers, i reach over to the main wire and cut through it, she wouldn't have electricity flowing through her.
"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs - Jagrafess stays cool - stays alive. Satellite Five's one great big life support system." The doctor deducts,
"But THAT'S why you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown." The editor said i slip the dagger down my arm to hide it from him. He gives a small laugh, then clicks his fingers. The manacles send an electric shock through myself and the doctor, but not Rose i had cut the right wire. i clench my fists. "Who are you?" he demands, The Doctor grimaces in pain, whilst i snarl at the pasty white man.
"Leave them alone. I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler, and the other one is Alexandra Flame we're nothing, we're just wandering." the doctor says,
"Doctor what s he doing?" Rose asks, he looks at her,
"You can t feel it? How." he asked, i chuckle through my clenched teeth,
"Wasn't going to let her get hurt now was i." he looks at me and then i look at the cut wire, him following my gaze, the back to me.
"Tell me who you are!" The editor interrupts, impatiently.
"I just said!" The doctor shouted. i roll my eyes this was van Statten all over again.
"Yeah, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly-" He stops. The Doctor looks at The Editor questioningly. He smiles.
"Time Lord." he says, i growl,
"Adam." I spat his name in disgust.
"What?" The doctor asks,
"Oh, yes! The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girls from long ago..."
"I'm gonna make sure he has no kids by the time I m done with him." i mutter darkly. He touches my face gently,
"You make me sick." i spat, jerking my head away and spitting blood at him, he hits me again and this time Rose protest
"Keep your hands off my cousin, you asshole." he spun on her,
"You touch her and i swear you'll never see the light of day again..." i growl
"You don't know what you're talking about." The doctor said distracting the editor again but the anger in his voice was thinly veiled and what was behind it was terrifying.
"Time travel." The editor says with glee in his voice
"Someone's been telling you lies." The doctor said trying to make him believe what he had learned was a lie.
"Young master Adam Mitchell?" He says as though asking if we knew him. He snaps his fingers, and a projection of Adam, writhing with pain and shouting, the compressed information still flowing into him, appears in the air.
"Oh, my God - his head!" Rose says in horror.
"What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done?" The doctor shouts,
"What does it look like genius." I snap,
"They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything!" the doctor exclaims,
"Give the man the gold medal for the excellent observation." i say sarcastically, i was in slight pain from the electricity that had shocked me.
"And through him, I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S - TARDIS." the editor taunted.
"You'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first." The doctor said bravely.
"You don t need to." i sigh, he looked at me,
"Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key." the editor said now making my point clear, the key slowly floats from Adam's pocket and dangles in front of his face. The Doctor rounds on Rose.
"You and your boyfriends!" He snaps, then i round on him
"Leave her out of this he's the one to blame because he played her how was she supposed to know?!"
"Oh aren t you the cute couple. But it doesn't matter because today, WE are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing." the editor brags, i say the one thing i had thought not more than half an hour ago,
"Anger is the shortest distance to mistakes but arrogance is a close second."
"And no-one's gonna stop you. Because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold." the doctor shouts his voice dripping in disgust and venom. But he's indirectly addressing this to Cathica, who is still listening, revelation showing on her face. She seems to reach her decision
An alarm goes off after about a minute and a half and the editors smile drops,
"What's happening?" He demands to one of the dead workers,
On screen the information stops flowing into Adam, and the TARDIS key falls to the floor.
XXX
"Someone's disengaged the safety." the editor says, He clicks his fingers - the projection shows Cathica, the compressed information flowing into her brain. "Who's that?!" He demands
"It's Cathica!" Rose exclaims in happiness,
"And she's thinking. She's using what she knows!" The doctor grins, i gave small smile and pull the dagger into my hand again pushing it into part of the maniacal and twisting as much as i could,
"Terminate her access." The editor orders the dead Suki,
"Everything I told her about Satellite Five - the pipes - the filters - she's reversing it! Look at that..." he says looking at what i know to be icicles, they were beginning to melt. "It's getting hot." he said smugly,
"Dammit." I growl as i drop my dagger to the ground with a clatter.
"I said, terminate!" The editor commanded, he frantically places his own hands over Suki's. "Burn her mind." All the screens suddenly explode with sparks, and the Drones fall lifeless to the floor. Satellite Five shudders, and alarms go off. Rose's manacles come undone. The Editor tries to get the corpses to sit upright again.
Cathica smiles on screen.
"She's venting the heat up here. The Jagrafess needs to stay cool and now it's sitting on top of a volcano." the doctor says happily,
"Doctor that s not a good thing if we don t get out of here." i inform and he realises I m right, the Jagrafess is roaring violently. The Doctor laughs.
"Yes! Uh... I'm trying, sir but - I don't know how she did it, it's impossible. A member of staff with an idea-" he says in response to the roars, The Jagrafess roars angrily. The Editor pushes Suki's body aside, and tries to operate the computer himself. Rose, free from her manacles, fumbles in the Doctor's jacket pocket for his sonic screwdriver, while the Jagrafess roars and snaps at them menacingly.
"What do I do?" Rose asks in panic
"Flick the switch!" We shout, Rose does so and then rushes to me doing the same, i bend down and grab Dawn.
"Oi, mate - wanna bank on a certainty? Massive heat in a massive body. Massive bang!" He says as a lump of flesh falls to the floor, "See you in the headlines!" he calls as we book it for the door, as the Jagrafess began to glow red and pulsate,
"Um - actually, sir - if it's all the same to you, I think I'll resign. Bye, then!" he says trying to run but Suki grabs his ankle, tripping him over and preventing him from leaving. He tries to tug his foot away. "Let go of me!" He continues sounding panicked
We run across Floor 500 hand in hand, avoiding the huge lumps of snow falling from the ceiling and we hear the Jagrafess roar in pain.
we enter the spike room and see the information is still streaming into Cathica. from the room we hear the Jagrafess explode The Doctor clicks his fingers and the door in Cathica's head closes. She looks up the three of us, and we smiles down at her.
XXX
Everyone is recovering from the commotion. The Doctor and Cathica are sitting at a table in the canteen area, Rose leaning on the bar behind them. I was sitting on the bar next to Rose,
"We're just gonna go. I hate tidying up. Too many questions. You'll manage." The doctor said to her as i nod with him, it would take too long,
"You'll have to stay and explain it - no-one's gonna believe me." Cathica says
"Oh, they might start believing a lot of things now." the doctor says and i continue on
"The Human Race should accelerate. All back to normal." i said with a small gentle smile, but it drops as i see her look behind us
"What about your friend?" she asks,
"He's not my friend." he says
"He's an idiotic greedy snobby little kid that doesn't deserve to have anything." i spat in hate, i jump off the bar and turn to Adam, There is something menacing in the way he stands up and marches in Adam's direction myself behind him.
"Now, don't-" she cuts off as i give her a look and she resigns herself to what is to come, He just ignores her. The Doctor advances on Adam.
"I'm all right now. Much better. I've got the key." he says holding it up like he's done nothing wrong. "Well, it's... I know..." he laughs nervously as the doctor looms over him and i give him a glare from hell, "It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" we don t answer and he laughs a more forced laugh. The Doctor takes the key off him, and grabs Adam, and unlocks the door of the TARDIS. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because YOU were in charge-" i cut him off by pulling my fist back and slamming it into the side of his face, there was an audible crack,
"Don't you DARE, you are on thin ice as it is, you manipulated my cousin and now your blaming someone for your mistakes one more and i will convince him to leave you here and i will never look back." i snarl at him angrily, the doctor just shoves him into the TARDIS and the old girl enters my mind.
'Will you let me through him out of an air lock?' i ask i can feel her amusement
'I would but we don t have one dear heart, i will make sure is flight home is a bumpy as possible, and thank you for protecting thief.' she says softly,
'Don't worry about it, that is never going to happen again, no one will insult him if i have a say in anything...' I stalk in and lean against the door. 'I'd die before I let anyone hurt him.' i sigh and push over to the consol.
"Listen could you have a word with him let me come with you?" Adam asks Rose, i look over at her and she at me i mouth the words 'no way in hell.' and she nods, Adam must have taken that as an acceptance of his request as he hugs her, she doesn't react and he says thank you. As promised he couldn't hold on to anything as the ride was to bumpy for him to grab anything in time.
XXX
The Doctor steers Adam out of the TARDIS which has materialised in his living room. Rose follows behind me, shutting the doors behind her.
"It's my house! I'm home! Oh, my God, I'm home!" he says in shock, The Doctor glares at him. "Blimey. I thought you were going to chuck me out of an airlock." he said, i look at him and speak my voice covered in venom,
"I would have but the old girl doesn't have one as she told me." he looks at me in shock and then in fear as he sees in serious.
"Is there something else you want to tell me?" The doctor asks.
"No. Um... what do you mean?" the kid asked, i take a step towards him but stop as the TARDIS hums to me and lean against her. The Doctor walks over the telephone and picks it up.
"The archive of Satellite Five. One second of that message could've changed the world." he said his tone full of disapproval, Adam looks caught out. The Doctor puts down the phone, and takes out his sonic screwdriver. Adam looks as though he wants to stop him, but cannot think of anything to say, and merely points at him wordlessly while he blows up the telephone. "That's it, then. See ya." he says turning and walking over to the TARDIS.
"How do you mean, 'see ya'?" Adam asks,
"As in 'goodbye'." the doctor said without emotion,
"Adios, vale, a?t?, arrivederci and all that." i say
"But... what about me? You can't just go, I've got my head - I've got a chip type two, my head opens." i couldn't help myself,
"you mean with just a click of the fingers?" i ask doing exactly that, "Wow it really does." i say with no shock in my voice as Adam closes it.
"What, like this?" the doctor says copying my action, opening Adams head as well.
"Stop it!" Adam responds angrily clicking his fingers and closing the door again,
"All right now, you two, that's enough. Stop it." Rose says the doctor backs down, and i look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Thank you." Adam says, and then, Rose clicks her fingers. and i chuckle,
"Oi!" he says closing it again,
"Sorry, I couldn't resist." she says sniggering,
"The whole of history could've changed because of you." the doctor says his voice still cold,
"I just wanted to help." Adam says trying to defend himself,
"No you wanted to help yourself." i growl,
"And - I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry, and I am, I really am - but you can't just leave me like this." he says as though he has won the argument and he really hasn t.
"Yes I can. 'Cos if you show your head to anyone, they'll dissect you in seconds. You'll have to live a very quiet life. Keep out of trouble. Be average. Unseen. Good luck." he says opening the TARDIS door and i can hear her laughing.
"But I wanna come with you!" Adam shouts,
"I only take the best. I've got Rose and Lexa." he says not looking back,
"Oh my God." the kid says as we hear the door open,
"Who's that? Jeff? Is that you?" A woman, probably his mum called.
"It's me - mum - don't come in, wait there a minute." Adam calls trying to sound calm,
"Oh, my Lord! You never told me you were coming home!" the woman calls in delight. Rose looks at Adam with a teasing smile and i click my fingers he clicks his to close his head and glares at me. "Hold on, I'll just take my coat off. You should've told me you were coming home. I would've got your favourite tea in." the woman continues oblivious to the extra company she has,
"Rose... take me with you." he begs i stand in front of her and she walks into the TARDIS,
"you ever do anything like this to any other girl, then i pray to god you run fast because if it's any of my family you won t be able to run fast enough or far enough, i will hunt you down." I turn on my heel and go into the TARDIS closing the door behind me and heading over to Rose,
"Can i borrow your phone again i need to talk to someone." she nods and hands it over, i walk down the hall unaware of the doctors gaze on my back, i open the door to my room and after closing it behind me i slide down it as my body jerks slightly in pain, I go over to my bed and pull the phone open dialling his number, i heard shuffling outside of my door, Rose was listening, it rings on three times before someone picks up,
"Hello?" this wasn't jacks voice, it sounded like Ianto's
"Is the captain there?" i ask
"Who's this?" he asks cautiously,
"Alexandra Flame..." there was a pause
"Andy..." and i knew it was Ianto his accent came through,
"hey coffee god." i say with a weak laugh
"I'll get him for you." he says softly,
"Thank you." i reply, my voice breaking slightly. there was a bit of whispering my name mentioned a few time and then a shifting of the phone
"Princess? Are you alright Ianto said you sounded upset." his voice was covered in worry and i let i all out with a shuddering breath i said three words,
"I hurt captain." i wanted to say his name but i couldn't
"What happened are you alright? Alexandra are you hurt?" and that was how i knew he was really worried, he said my name. so i gave him a short summery of what happened how we went to the space station after Van Statten, which he insisted he was still going to chew me out for when i got a phone again, how everything was set back when i got to the part where i got slapped he started swearing for about five minutes and not all of it in earth language, and then i got to floor 500,
"...I was able to get Rose safe but then he snapped his fingers and, and it hurt he electrocuted us, me and the doctor. I want to see you, what date is it?" i ask
"November 15th, princess." he said his voice laces with strain,
"I'll be over tonight at some point but it may be a few days for me." i say with a slight laugh,
"I'll get Ianto to put on your coffee at some point." he says, i giggle.
"Can't wait, I miss you CJ." i say,
"Who's there, I ll say names and you say yes or no. The doctor?"
"No." I say and he chuckles
"Rose then, in the room or outside." he asks,
"The second." i yawn.
"You get some sleep princess, I ll see you soon." i make a humming noise
"Night big bro." i say quietly
"Night li'l sis." and i hang up.
"You can come in Rose." i call and she opens the door looking guilty, "Come on, you said you'd give my neck a massage." she smiles slightly and comes over sitting behind me as i erased the number from her phone. it was quiet for a while before i groan as she hit the right spot,
"God your tense, what s got you stressed?" she asks
"Future things is all." i comment a few minutes later she pulls her hands away
"Thank you." she says softly, i turn to look at her and see tears in her eyes,
"For what?" i ask as i tilt my head
"Making sure i didn't get hurt, you didn't need to do that." she says quietly as her tears spill, i sigh.
"Sweetie, i wasn't going to let you get hurt you my baby cousin, I ll be damned if anyone hurts you even if you are only a few months younger." i say wiping her tears, i hug her and after a few minutes i let her go and walk her to her room, "Night Rosie." i say
"Night Alex." she closes the door and i set about walking to the kitchen for a cup of tea, something to calm me down. i walk in and see it sitting on the table in a cup decorated with blue flames,
"Thanks sexy." i grab the cup and turn to leave only to see the doctor standing in the doorway, i put on a smile. "Hey."
"Why do you carry weapons?" he asks, so straight to the point,
"You may be against them but i want to be able to protect myself, i don t like to be rescued, and they make me feel safe." i had dropped my smile,
"you said that the TARDIS talks to you." I raise an eyebrow.
"Look, I m not in the mood for interrogation, i want to sleep, and just let go of today, put it behind me and never look back so if you'll excuse me..." I say walking passed him and down the hall,
"Why do you shut everyone but Rose out?" I stopped at that, and turn
"Rose is family i don t let people close because sooner or later they're gonna leave me and hurt me, i don t want to go through that, i have a few people i let in because i know they won t leave me." i answer
"Why won t you let me in?" he asks
"you will eventually leave us behind doctor it's in you nature, you don t like to see the people you care about grow and decay before you we have our curses yours is that you re a Time lord, i know that and accept it, but i won t let you in because on day you'll be ripped from me and it would hurt if i found a connection to you." i go to walk again.
"What's your curse?" he questions quietly, i pause and continue to walk not looking back as a single tear leaks down my cheek,
"Knowing too much." i say and enter my room, closing the door i drink my tea and look at the book, i shook my head,
'To tired.' I clean my face and teeth getting into bed.
I cough a few times into my hand and felt something moist cover my hand, looking down it's covered in blood...
XXX
And there you go, yes i know it was supposed to be out last month but as i said my computer crashed and i can t get it restored 'cause it was a bitch... sigh, oh well, thanks to everyone who has stuck with the story so far, let me know if you like it. Reviews are welcome.
Shadow OUT!
XXX