I am so sorry that it has been so long between updates. I have just had so much going on in my life at the moment, from moving house, to school stuff, etc. Plus, my birthday is coming up next Saturday ^_^ Yay! 18 at last! Anyway, hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll try not to leave a huge break between this and the next one! Thanks again to all my supporters/fans/followers, etc. Including family and friends!
Chapter 30: Familiar Faces and Familiar Voices
"What did you land us here for?" I demanded, glaring at the Doctor with fake annoyance.
We had just dropped Donna off home and the Doctor decided to take me somewhere…special. Which, by his definition, was a boring old antique market that held no excitement, value or anything interesting at all except that all the buyers were aliens.
"It's…it's the most famous market…in Shambol 1. People will pay lots to get here." He said defensively, pointing vaguely at the open doors of the TARDIS.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not really fussed on a market. I'd rather you take me to a beach where the sand is pink, or a planet where a unique creature can be found…or…" He interrupted me.
"Well, I didn't say this place only has a market, did I?" he gave me a grin. "There's more outside those doors than their appearance."
Suddenly a woman came barging in from the side, turned, and slammed the door shut, all the while muttering half-furiously, half-fondly.
"I would love to know what you moved it for, sweetie? You usually park it right in front of…me…"
She trailed off, having turned around and realised which TARDIS she was in.
The Doctor stared at her in utter bewilderment. "What? R-River…how can you…you –"
"Shh!" I hissed urgently, knowing that he was just about to tell her she died. "Just let me do the talking. I'll explain more in a moment."
River wasn't paying any attention to this. Her face had lit up in her usual large and flirtatious grin. "Doctor! Well, I would recognise that face anywhere but I must say, hair's a bit much, don't you think? I don't believe I've seen you like this before though, of course, I knew what you would look like. Oh! And Talia! How wonderful to see you again! Actually, have we met yet?"
She prattled on so fast that she rivalled the man standing next to me who, currently and unbelievably, was lost for words.
I quickly stepped forward, smiling gently at River. "We haven't met yet, you and I…but as you must know, I am aware of exactly who you are. The Doctor...this Doctor…has met you once before but it's something you haven't done yet."
"What?" The Doctor asked me, now looking the absolute pinnacle of confused.
"I must apologise, then." River said, without sounding like an apology at all. "You see, I'm here with a future version of you." She addressed these words to the Doctor. "Well, at least I thought I was. I was under the impression that, like always, he knew when I was in trouble and parked ready for me. Obviously not…"
"What were you running from?" I asked her, painfully aware of the looks the Doctor was giving me to explain.
She looked up at me as though it should have been obvious. "Daleks, of course. Surely you heard them? They're after you."
The Doctor was now getting annoyed, as he usually did when he didn't know something. I supressed a chuckle and said to River, "Just let me explain this to the Doctor as briefly as possible, with no spoilers."
"How can she be here?" he asked instantly, wide eyed and clearly trying to work it out before I told him.
"This is before the library." I said quietly, hoping that River didn't have Time Lord hearing. "She is a very important person from your future, but you meet in a backwards order. The first time you saw her was the last time she saw you. I don't know how far, but this, for her, is happening before the library. Understand?"
"Yes, I understand, but is that all you can tell me?"
"For now, it's not just all I can tell you, it's all you can know." I looked directly at him, hoping he understood and could quell his desire for knowledge.
With a frown, he nodded, although he looked disappointed.
"Right then, River." He addressed her properly for the first time. "Let's go meet those Daleks."
I stared at him, about to ask why on Earth we would do that, but he had already zoomed towards the doors and opened them, flooding the TARDIS with light.
The screams of "IT IS THE DOCTOR!" drowned out anything he said to the assembly of about ten Daleks waiting at the doors. He put his hands up and indicated for River and I to follow him. Sharing exasperated looks, we did.
The Daleks obviously didn't want to shoot the Doctor, or us, or they would have done so a million times. We quickly became surrounded as the Daleks formed a circle around us.
"YOU ARE THE DOCTOR AND COMPANIONS. YOU WILL COME WITH US." One said.
"And why, might I ask, would we do that?" The Doctor's voice was as light as always with not a trace of fear, but some confusion.
"THERE IS ONE AMONG US WHO POSSESSES GREAT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DOCTOR. YOU ARE TO MEET THEM."
"Why not just kill me now, eh?" the Doctor asked.
Don't tempt them, I thought, looking nervously from the Doctor to River. In the series, Daleks weren't all that scary…but in the real world, when surrounded by ten of them and when you know that one wrong move and you are dead…yeah, Daleks are scary.
"THE ONE WE SPEAK OF HAS TRAVELLED IN TIME MUCH LIKE YOU, DOCTOR. THEY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU."
"A Dalek? With questions for me?" to my…well, not my surprise but my annoyance, the Doctor started laughing. "I am not coming with you to participate in a quiz. Did enough of that back in school for my first hundred years, thank you very much."
River hadn't said anything so far, but it was at this moment that she spoke up. "Sweetie, I think it might just be best if we follow them. For now."
He frowned at her. "Just because I know who you are…sort of…doesn't mean I have to listen to you."
"Oh yes you do!"
"SILENCE!" screamed a Dalek, stopping the building row between the two. In a different situation I would have laughed, knowing what the true story is about the Doctor and River. (Yes, B, that is put in there just to taunt you)
"YOU WILL FOLLOW!" another demanded.
I looked at the Doctor, who looked back at the TARDIS.
"Talia, would you lock up the TARDIS, please, I don't want anyone sneaking inside."
"Sure." I said, walking over to the TARDIS. Surprisingly, the Daleks let me pass. I supposed their no-killing-yet policy was still in place. I locked the TARDIS door, but as I went to pull the key out I realised that it was stuck. A faint buzzing sound met my ears and I looked back to see the Doctor pointing his sonic screwdriver at me and the blue box.
Horror-struck, I released the key just in time as it and the TARDIS vanished. It would have taken me with it.
Now ignoring the Daleks, I marched over to the Doctor – taking a brief notice of River's approving look in my direction – and smacked him as hard as I could on the arm.
"How dare you?" I yelled. I had a funny feeling the Daleks were watching with whatever they felt in place of amusement. "You've done it to Rose, to Donna, to people in your future, and you tried to do it to me!"
"Of course I did!" he replied fiercely, but with a lower volume than my outburst. "We don't know what they're planning or what they want to ask me. What if they decide to kill you on the way?"
"If they do, they do." I snapped. "I'm not leaving your side. Why didn't you try it with River?"
He gave me a look that said that I should know the answer to that question. I did, but it did nothing to soften my anger. I huffed and turned away.
"ARE YOUR COMPANIONS IN CHECK, DOCTOR?" one Dalek asked. Yep, I was right, some sick form of amusement.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Just lead the way."
That proved to be unnecessary more than five feet, where a teleport took hold of us and, to use the Star Trek cliché, beamed us up to the Dalek ship.
Even though the likelihood of us getting out of here alive was slim, I couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of the ship and also wonder how creatures with no arms managed to build it in the first place. Everything was tinted bronze and our faces reflected in thousands of round protrusions akin to the ones on the Daleks themselves.
Four Daleks positioned themselves behind us, one on either side and the other four in front. No chance of escaping, then. The three of us followed the Daleks, who remained silent.
"Any idea why we haven't been killed yet?" I asked the Doctor as quietly as I could.
"Not the slightest, but I am curious to meet this one that knows about me." He replied.
"THERE WILL BE NO TALKING!" the Dalek in front of me snapped. River, I noticed, had her hand on her gun, something the Doctor was also aware of and I watched as he shook his head at her. She frowned at him, but removed her hand.
We were being led through a long golden corridor and I felt the level of tension increase. What was the reason for this all-knowing Dalek to want to speak to the Doctor…Daleks hardly ever were merely curious.
But they also were not stupid, I reminded myself. That didn't help me work out what was going on.
And how was River suddenly here? I mean, I knew she popped up anywhere but here was quite a coincidence. Unless the Daleks brought her here somehow to follow her to the Doctor…
I looked up from my thoughts and saw a huge iron door blocking the way. One of the Daleks went over to what looked like a microphone with a place for its plunger-thing underneath. It placed the plunger over the area and said, "ENTRY IS NEEDED. THE DOCTOR HAS BEEN AQUIRED."
The door slid open with much hissing and grinding, as though it hadn't been opened many times. For a moment, all I could see was light, but then my eyes got used to it and I saw that the room contained twelve Dalek guards and, at the far end, one pale blue Dalek. I had never seen a pale blue one before.
"THE DOCTOR AND HIS COMPANIONS WILL APPROACH!" the one at the end called out, and the four Daleks in front of us shifted away. I frowned up at the blue Dalek; something about the voice seemed off.
The Doctor shared looks with River and I before staring determinedly ahead. "Come on." He said shortly, before striding far more confidently than I suspected he felt towards the blue Dalek. River and I hurried to keep up with his long strides. Almost subconsciously, I grabbed his hand for reassurance.
"IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, DOCTOR." The blue Dalek said.
"We've never met. I think I'd remember one with your colouring." The Doctor's voice was filled with the dry hate it usually had when addressing Daleks. I didn't like it.
"OH, BUT WE HAVE." The Dalek said almost gleefully. "YOU SEE, DOCTOR, I HAVE TRAVELLED THROUGH TIME MYSELF, THROUGH AN EMERGENCY TEMPORAL SHIFT. I ESCAPED YOUR GENOCIDE AFTER OUR PLAN TO DESTROY REALITY FAILED. BUT, YOU SEE, I DIDN'T START OUT AS A MEMBER OF THE INVADING FORCE."
The voice was really getting to me now. There was an undertone of something I recognised.
"Who were you, then? A rebel? A Dalek traitor?" the Doctor demanded.
"DALEKS DON'T HAVE TRAITORS!" it screamed. "NO, NO. I WILL TELL YOU WHO I AM AND THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY I AM SO EAGRE FOR US TO MEET AGAIN."
"Well? Who are you?" the Doctor pressed when it fell silent again.
If it had a mouth, I had a feeling it would have been grinning evilly. "HARRIET JONES, FORMER HUMAN."
The credit for that last part goes to my mum, who loved Harriet Jones' character and suggested that I bring her back into it. Let me know what you think in reviews!