Hey everyone. First things first: I know at the beginning of this story I said this was between Planet of the Dead and Waters of Mars for the Doctor...can we ignore that, please? I'm making it after Mars instead. Secondly, the mysterious 'B' that I've mentioned is a really good friend of mine (who will appear in the sequel: spoilers!) who was at my place last night and quite literally watched me write this chapter. He wanted you all to know that he read it before anyone else...I know...ego much? Lol, just kidding. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 31: A Fateful Time
For the first time, no-one could reply with, "Yes, we know who you are."
Gasps came from the Doctor's and my mouths at this revelation. River stared at the blue Dalek.
"Isn't that an old Prime Minister?" she said.
I started to explain, but the Doctor got there before me. "We were acquaintances. She did wrong and so I deposed her from her position, but she died sacrificing herself for our cause the last time the Daleks invaded, or so I thought."
"B-but, she did die!" I cried, visualising the scene perfectly. "The Daleks killed her!"
"I DID NOT DIE." Harriet/Dalek replied. "THE DALEKS PRESERVED MY BODY AND GAVE ME A NEW SHELL AND A NEW MIND, ONE THAT IS PURE AND EVER SO DALEK."
"Why?" The Doctor demanded. "Why turn you into a Dalek? I didn't even know it was possible."
"I did." I said quietly, prompting him to stare at me in surprise. "Spoilers." I muttered, thinking of Oswin Oswald. (Spoilers, B. I love taunting you!)
"I HAD KNOWLEDGE OF YOU, DOCTOR. THAT MADE MY FEEBLE HUMAN MIND VALUABLE. NOW I AM SO MUCH MORE." The Dalek's voice was full of a sick pride.
"So what did you want to meet me for?" The Doctor asked, now getting down to business. "Surely with all Harriet knew about me, the Daleks could have just killed me anyway by now. So why talk?"
"SATISFACTION." The Dalek replied. "THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF WHY WE MUST EXTERMINATE YOU."
"What are you talking about? Has the reason changed?" The Doctor's voice was innocent and inquiring, but I could tell he was concerned.
"TIME IS BLEEDING, DOCTOR." The Dalek then said. "BLEEDING FROM A WOUND LEFT BY YOU."
"What wound?" River asked before the Doctor could. "Explain yourself, Dalek!"
"WHEN I WAS A HUMAN I WITNESSED YOUR REGENERATION, DOCTOR. TIME IS INJURED BECAUSE YOU ARE OVERDUE ANOTHER REGENERATION. YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING, AND BECAUSE OF THAT RACES AND PLANETS ARE SUFFERING. THIS IS OF NO CONCERN TO DALEKS, BUT WE ARE AWARE THAT YOU HAVE EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS. AND IF TIME IS DESTROYED WE DALEKS WILL BE DESTROYED ALSO."
The Doctor had paled considerably. I felt weak; I hadn't even considered that the Doctor would be close to regeneration. I hadn't even asked him what the last thing he did before he met me was. What if it was Planet of the Dead? What if it was Mars?
"No, not yet." I whispered.
River was staring from the Doctor to the Dalek and I knew her mind was whirring as to what complications could arise from this.
"ALLOW ME TO FIX THE WOUND IN TIME BY EXTERMINATING YOU MYSELF! EXTERMINATE!" the Dalek screamed.
We ducked.
"Run!" I yelled to the Doctor.
"But if it's meant to happen…" his face was full of anguish.
"Not here. Trust me. Run!"
And so, as the Daleks around the walls followed the Harriet/Dalek's command, we ran half-stooped over towards the ominous-looking closed door. Once there, constantly avoiding lasers, the Doctor tried to open it with the sonic screwdriver.
"It's deadlocked!" he muttered, while River angrily pushed him out of the way.
"Oh, move over!" she snapped.
She pulled out a small explosive from a pocket and attached it to the door, then instructed us to duck. Still avoiding the Dalek's lasers and painfully aware that they were now closing in on us, we threw ourselves sideways as the explosive beeped a countdown.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE YOUR FATE, DOCTOR!" screamed the Harriet Dalek.
With a monumental boom, a hole was blasted through the door easily large enough for the three of us to fit through. Now with a much smaller target angle, it was easier to avoid the Daleks…but there was still one problem.
"How are we going to get back down to the TARDIS?" I asked the Doctor as we ran down the same corridor from earlier.
"Um…not a clue." He muttered back, looking around frantically. "Although, this might do."
He made a beeline for a panel on the wall and started sonicking it.
"Hurry up!" River snapped impatiently.
"You try working out the code for one of the most advanced race's ships with nothing but a screwdriver!" was the Doctor's angry retort.
She didn't respond but huffed as her patience level decreased with the screams of the Daleks that were…getting closer.
"They've opened the door!" I cried, looking back down the corridor at the miniature army of Daleks coming towards us.
"Almost there!" The Doctor said.
"THE DOCTOR MUST REGENERATE! EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR!" all thirteen Daleks were yelling now, with the blue Dalek that was Harriet Jones in front. I gazed at it, remembering the woman she once was.
Then she vanished as the teleport kicked in. The next scene in front of me was the TARDIS' door. We immediately opened it and went inside before the Daleks could follow us. River, to my surprise, accompanied us as well. I still didn't know what she was doing on this planet anyway when she was supposed to be…
The lurching of the TARDIS cut off that thought.
"Where are we going?" I asked the Doctor. "And what about Harriet? You can't just leave her!"
"Harriet Jones is gone." The Doctor answered coldly, glaring at the TARDIS' screen.
"There must be something you can do. Reverse the process?" I pleaded.
"You tell me." He retorted. "You seem to have seen this before. How is it done? Can it be reversed?"
Again, I remembered the only other episode where anything similar to this had occurred…
"No." I said quietly. "There's no way to reverse it, that I know of. As far as I'm aware, Harriet Jones' body would be practically non-existent now."
"That's it then."
"But you can put her out of her misery, regardless of whether or not her Dalek mind experiences that misery or not." I added.
The Doctor gave me a strange look, as though trying to reach into my mind and see why I would suggest that. But I knew he would do it. Despite his one-time annoyance with Harriet Jones, he did care for and respect the woman and would not leave her trapped in a Dalek mind.
The TARDIS landed without him changing course. He walked over to River and held his hand out expectantly.
"What do you want?" she asked in such an innocent way that I knew she was aware of what he was after.
"One of those explosives of yours." He said shortly.
"Alright, sweetie, but you never had the best of aim."
The Doctor gave a slight grin. "You know all about me, don't you remember my fifth life?"
River grinned back and handed him the small, egg-shaped explosive, already primed.
The Doctor went to the TARDIS door and opened it. Through the gap, I could see that he had landed in front of the assembled Daleks. Then it hit me.
He had been planning on doing this from the moment he found out who the blue Dalek was.
"Harriet Jones." He said.
The blue Dalek came forwards. "YOU MAY NOT CALL ME BY THAT NAME ANYMORE."
"I know you have so much Dalek in you, but you can hear me in there somewhere. Know this; I apologise for my mistake that Christmas. You made the right decision. This is me, paying you back."
And without another word he threw the explosive. It was perfect aim; it hit and stuck to the Dalek's shell. Within seconds, it exploded, blowing the top off the Dalek. I knew that Harriet would finally find peace.
Another Dalek stepped forward just before the Doctor closed the door.
"YOU CANNOT RUN FOREVER, DOCTOR."
The slam of the TARDIS door reverberated throughout the entire Dalek ship.
Once we were back on the planet, the Doctor turned to River.
"Right, can I give you a lift anywhere or did you have business here?" he asked her.
River shrugged. "Here's just fine."
"Do you mind me asking what you were doing here?"
"Oh…you know…just waiting for a boy. Typical." She said vaguely.
Of course, I knew what she was talking about…I thought…and I shared a look with her. She winked, prompting the Doctor to raise an eyebrow at her.
"And that would be…?"
She laughed. "Spoilers."
And without another word she strode out of the TARDIS door, leaving the Doctor staring after her dumbfounded. I echoed her laugh and approached the TARDIS console.
"So, where to next?"
Instantly the confused look vanished, to be replaced by one of intense sorrow and fear.
When he didn't answer, I asked him what I had wondered after Harriet's revelation. "Doctor, what was the last place you visited before you met me?"
He still didn't say anything for over two minutes before finally muttering, as quietly as possible. "Mars."
My worst fears were confirmed.
"Y-you can keep running?" I said hopefully. "I mean, this is a time machine, you could run for years and still get there a day after you were summoned."
He shook his head. "No. Time even catches up to me sometimes. I have to go there, and unfortunately, I don't want you to come with me."
I know that was a short chapter, but now we're getting into the regeneration chapter. Yeah...the next will either be the last or the second-last chapter. Don't worry, there's plenty more to happen in the sequel. I'm sad to end it now, too, but it just seemed right. BTW, all, it's my birthday on Saturday. Yay! So I'll be changing my name to DoctorWhovian18!