Ok, time for some really cool stuff! Talia gets the Donna treatment ^_^. Again, this chapter takes place about two weeks after the last one.
Chapter 16: The DoctorTalia
"Are you coming or not?" I hissed back into the open door of the TARDIS, having already stepped out and begun looking around to make sure the coast was clear.
We were in the middle of some sort of savannah. Not Earth, of course. I couldn't remember the name of the planet. Tadistar, or something like that. The Doctor had gotten a message on the psychic paper demanding he come here at once. So we did, as always, though he knew very little about the planet and its occupants.
"Of course I'm coming, I'm just making sure she's not going to abandon us like she did last time." He replied, stepping out and, extremely gently, shutting the TARDIS door.
I chuckled, remembering the TARDIS groaning angrily at us because, according to the Doctor, she was to blame why we just could not get to 1522 to watch the premiere of Romeo and Juliet. After we finally did make it and watched the play…we came out to find her gone. A wild goose chase across London later, she turned up in the exact same position we'd left her in and still wouldn't open the door until the Doctor swore not to use the hammer ever again.
"Finally, took you long enough!" a rough voice called. I turned, trying to spot its source.
To my surprise, a lone Sontaran, armed, was walking towards us.
"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded, coming to stand in front of me in an almost protective manner. "And how do you have the mind enough to reach my psychic paper?"
"Do you not remember me, Doctor?" the Sontaran asked bitterly. "General Stahl of the fourth Sontaran Battle Fleet."
Of course! But…
"How did you survive?" the Doctor asked my mental question.
"Emergency teleport given only to the highest of commanders." He replied.
"What do you want?"
"Revenge."
He raised his gun, but the Doctor was quicker, pulling out the screwdriver and disabling the weapon.
However, quick as a flash Stahl pulled out a smaller gun from his belt and fired.
"No!" I screamed, pushing the Doctor out of the way.
The laser blast's force made me fly backwards several metres when it hit, and the pain was like a thousand spikes hitting me at once. The pain was internal, and a horrifying warmth was spreading throughout my chest; internal bleeding. I groaned, my vision growing dark and foggy.
The Doctor disabled the handgun as well before using his extra height to get around Stahl and jam the back of his neck with the screwdriver. Tossing the Sontaran aside, he then ran over to me.
He didn't speak, but I could see such terror in his eyes and stiff movements.
"Doc…" I tried to say, but a blast of agony stopped that, and I couldn't control the way my back arched and a gasp ripped its way up my throat.
"Shh." He whispered; even his voice was stiff with barely controlled emotion.
Carefully, tenderly, he picked me up and carried me swiftly back to the TARDIS. During that period I fell unconscious, waking again when he was placing me onto a bed in the med bay. Blurredly, I saw him rush about setting up drips and heart monitors and x-rays. But I could feel it; the damage was too much. He knew it too, but I knew he wouldn't give up until way after I took my last breath. I wanted to spare him the prolonged hurt, but my tongue and brain didn't want to cooperate.
Then I felt it. A golden shimmer coated everything in my sight, clearing it. I looked down at my body and saw my hands beginning to emit the same topaz glow. Of course. Time Lord energy. He had said it wasn't all gone from that time after the Mimisas. I really was part Time Lord, part human. Like the DoctorDonna.
Oh and it was marvellous! The warmth of the energy spread throughout me, removing all pain. I was no longer aware of my surroundings; all I knew was gold and heat. The sensation grew stronger and stronger until it permeated every cell in my body. There was no explosion or vast beam of light. It was gentle, and subtle.
Then, as though under the power of a wind, the glow was swept away, leaving only a blanket of darkness in its place…
Eventually, after an untold period of time, a white light appeared. It grew brighter, and larger, slowly, bit by bit. Until it filled everything. The next thing I knew, I could open my eyes.
I did, but had to wait a few moments for them to adjust. My head felt like a water-filled sponge, and my limbs like lead. I turned my head to the side and realised with a slight shock that I was in my room on the TARDIS, on my bed. A heart monitor was set up next to me along with a drip.
Sitting up slowly, I pulled out the various tubed attached to my arms. Surely this was strange! The process had only just finished.
Then panic set in; what if I looked different? What had changed? I stood, groggy and unsteady, my head still heavy and slightly dizzy, and stumbled towards the bathroom.
I flicked the light on and, taking a deep breath, looked in the mirror. The same. Completely the same. No different face, I wasn't older, even my hair colour was the same. I breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no way I was going back to bed, so I decided to have a shower. As I got out, dried myself and dressed, I heard the bedroom door creak open. There was a gasp, and then the Doctor called my name, sounding very flustered.
I opened the bathroom door to find him halfway out. He turned.
His reaction upon seeing me was more extreme than I had expected. He instantly was at my side, enveloping me in the tightest of hugs. I felt wetness on my shoulder and realised he was crying.
"Doctor? It's alright, it's still me." I said, squeezing him myself.
He shook his head, holding me at arms length. "No, no you don't know." He said thickly, wiping his eyes. He was smiling, but there was a remembered pain in his eyes. I frowned.
"What do you mean? What happened?"
He closed his eyes and looked down. "You have changed." He murmured. "Your hair is about a centimetre longer. Your nails have grown. You're even a millimetre taller."
"Ok, so? It was like a half regeneration, yeah?"
He shook his head, taking a deep breath. "Talia…you've been in a coma for three weeks…"
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at this news. No wonder he had looked so worried. "A coma? What…?"
"After the energy left your body, your heart stopped completely." He explained, gesturing to sit on the bed. "The rush of energy was too much for your human cardio system and it gave out. As your chest injuries had been healed, I set to work getting your heart back up and running. Once I did, however, it remained slow and faint. Your mind practically blanked out and I realised that you'd slipped into a coma." He sighed, wiping his hand over his face. "I stayed with you every day for the first week, but then your mother called and I had to return to your property. Your parents haven't let me leave since then, although they agreed that you would be better to remain in the TARDIS with all the necessary medical supplies."
"No wonder you were so relieved to see me up." I said, reaching out for his hand. "For me, it seemed like mere seconds."
He chuckled softly. "That's Time Lord energy for you; distorts all perception of time."
"Yeah." I muttered. "You're telling me."
He fell silent and I suddenly remembered something I'd thought of while listening to the Doctor describe Thom's bloodstained history; what I hadn't told him.
"Doctor…you're aware of how much I know about you, right…?"
He nodded, absently biting into his own muffin. "Of course."
"Well…" I looked down. "There is something I know that I haven't quite told you. When I said I know everything…I mean everything."
His curious expression turned into a frown at my tone. "What exactly are you talking about?"
I swallowed, wondering how best to start. "I've hinted that I know a lot about your next regeneration and bits and pieces from your past. That was partly true. I know everything from your next regeneration, everything about your most recent and…well…everything about…"
I was robbed of the chance to finish as the TARDIS suddenly decided to crash into something, knocking both of us from the bed as well as the remains of breakfast.
Jumping to his feet in a second, the Doctor yelled over the beeping that had begun, "Tell me later!" before running out the door to the console room.
I didn't know what we hit but whatever it was, the old girl wasn't happy. She rocked back and forth as I followed him, making it difficult to stay on two feet. He was running around the console, manipulating several buttons and devices to no avail.
"What did we hit?" I asked loudly.
"Nothing!" he shouted back. "Absolutely nothing! We're still in the vortex! Unless it was some sort of…I don't know…energy spike…"
I watched his continuous pointless efforts to stabilise the TARDIS, which had seemingly gone berserk. I inched closer, keeping a hand on one of the columns to steady myself. A section right next to me exploded, making me jump.
Then something very strange happened.
A sort of hatch on the console opened, emitting a pale blue beam of energy which fixed on me. When it hit it gave me no pain, as I expected, but coated me in the energy. The Doctor stopped, staring at me in confusion, breathing heavily. I looked down and saw in shock that I was beginning to flicker.
Oh no!
I somehow sensed what was going to happen. The scene in front of me flickered in and out of existence. I reached out towards him and he copied.
"No! Doctor! Doctor!" I screamed before everything disappeared as the teleport, or whatever it was, took me.
OMG! I bet you all want to kill me...Where's she gone? What do you all think? Let me know in reviews.