The Doctor, His Moon And Their Brilliant Blue Box Chapter 16: Midnight Three, a doctor who fanfic

Everyone sat up slowly as the bus stopped shaking although it was still dark.

They could barely see anything.

"All right?" Biff asked, holding Val tight. "Okay."

"You alright Looney?" The Doctor asked, helping her sit up.

"My face is on fire… my arm is aching like hell 'cause you can't stick a landing and we're being stalked by some weird shadow creature," Luna listed, using her fingers to count each item off of the list before giving him a set of thumbs up and fake grin. "I'm struggling to think of a better holiday. Please, can we do this every year?" she muttered sarcastically.

"Good to know you're enjoying yourself." The Doctor said. "Everyone else?"

No one noticed the flash of a woman yelling silently across the screen.

"How are we?" he asked again. "Everyone alright?"

"Earthquakes." Hobbes said. "Must be…"

"But that's impossible." Dee Dee told him. "The ground is fixed, it's solid."

"We've got torches, everyone." The hostess said. "Take a torch, they're in the back of the seats."

Everyone managed to get a flashlight and turned them on as they looked around.

"Oh, Jethro, sweetheart, come here…" Val said.

"Never mind me, what about her?" Jethro replied, pointing.

Everyone turned to see Sky sitting motionless among ruined seats, her back to the others.

"What happened to the seats?" Val gasped.

"Who did that?" Biff asked.

"They've been ripped up." Val marveled.

"It's all right." The Doctor said to Sky soothingly. "It's all right, it's all right, it's over. We're still alive…Look, the wall's still intact. D'you see?"

He pointed his flashlight at the wall and they saw that it was dented, but indeed intact. The hostess, in the meantime, had made her way to the intercom and was trying to raise the cockpit.

"Joe?" she called. "Claude?"

"We're safe." The Doctor said, still talking to Sky.

"Driver Joe, can you hear me?" the hostess called. "I'm not getting any response, the intercom must be down."

She opened the door to the cockpit and the light blinds everyone. She slammed her hand down on the button as everyone screamed, sealing the doors.

"What happened?" Val yelled. "What was that?"

"Is it the driver?" Biff demanded. "Have we lost the driver?"

"The cabin's gone." The hostess told them.

"Don't be ridiculous." Hobbes said. "It can't be gone, how can it be gone?"

"Well, but you saw it!" Dee Dee said.

"There was nothing there, like it was ripped away." The hostess said.

The Doctor was messing with a panel on the front wall with the sonic while Luna kept murmuring soothingly to Sky.

"We're gonna be okay babes, just trust us, okay? I know it's hard to put your trust in someone you've only just met but you've just gotta… we won't let anyone else get hurt."

"What are you doing?" Biff demanded, pointing his flashlight at the Doctor.

"That's better, bit of light, thank you." The Doctor said. "Molto bene!"

"D'you know what you're doing?" Val demanded.

"The cabin's gone, you'd better leave that wall alone." Biff said.

"The cabin can't be gone!" Hobbes told them again.

"No, it's safe, any rupture would automatically seal itself…" the Doctor said as he took off the panel. "But something sliced it off. You're right. The cabin's gone."

"But if it gets separated…" the hostess said.

"It loses integrity." The Doctor finished. "I'm sorry, they've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way. They saved our lives! We're gonna get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they're gonna find us."

"Erm, Theta," Luna called, staring at Sky. "You might wanna come over here and take a gander."

"Right." He said. "Yes, sorry…Have we got a medical kit?"

"Why won't she turn around?" Jethro asked.

"Sky?" the Doctor called. "Can you hear me?"

He went and crouched down next to her with Luna following in suit.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Can you move, Sky? C'mon, we're gonna need you to turn around and look at us."

"That noise." Jethro said. "From outside…"

"What of it?" Val asked.

"It's stopped." He pointed out.

"Well, thank God for that." Val replied.

"But what if it's not outside anymore?" he asked. "What if it's inside?"

"Inside?" Val asked. "Where?"

Jethro looked at Sky.

"It was heading for her." He said.

"Sky…" the Doctor said. "It's all right, Sky. I just want you to turn around, face me."

Slowly, the woman turned and stared at the Doctor with wide eyes before switching her gaze to woman by his side. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, as if she was a rabbit caught in a cars headlights.

"Sky?" the Doctor asked.

"Sky?" she repeated.

"Are you alright Chick?" Luna asked.

"Are you alright Chick?" Sky repeated.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Are you hurt?"

"You don't have to talk." He told her.

"You don't have to talk."

"C'mon honey, we're just trying to help here."

"My name's the Doctor and this is Luna." He said, gesturing to the woman on his right.

"My name's the Doctor and this is Luna."

"Okay, can you stop?" he asked.

"Okay, can you stop?"

"I'd really like you to stop babes, you're starting to gimme the creeps…"

"Why's she doing that?" Hobbes asked.

Sky turned to him.

"Why's she doing that?" she repeated.

"She's gone mad." Biff said.

"She's gone mad." Sky mimicked, turning to him.

"Stop it." Val ordered.

"Stop it." She repeated, turning again.

"I said stop it!" Val yelled.

"I said stop it!"

"I don't think she can." Dee Dee said.

"I don't think she can." Sky refocused.

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny." Hobbes said.

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny."

"I don't think she's practising for a comedy show Professor." Luna said, her eyes flickering over the woman in front of her, trying to find some sign to say Sky was still there.

"I don't think she's practising for a comedy show Professor."

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you." The Doctor said.

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you."

"Hey, don't tell me to shut up Theta! I'm trying to help over here!"

"My name's Jethro!" Jethro said, looking proud of himself.

"My name's Jethro!"

"Well Jethro, aren't you just the master of hilarity?" Luna asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the teenager.

"Well Jethro, aren't you just the master of hilarity?"

"Why are you repeating?" the Doctor asked Sky.

"Why are you repeating?"

"What is that, learning?" he asked.

"What is that, learning?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748…" the Doctor said quickly.

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748…"

"…3341. Wow!" he finished.

"…3341. Wow!"

"But that's impossible." Hobbes said.

"But that's impossible."

"She couldn't repeat all that." Dee Dee said.

"She couldn't repeat all that."

"Tell her to stop!" Val said.

"Tell her to stop."

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her stop!"

The all began talking at once, but Sky still copied ever word, tone, and rhythm.

"…stop her staring at me, shut her up…" Val said.

"…stop her staring at me, shut her up…"

"…a trick…" the hostess added.

"…a trick…"

"…that's impossible…" Dee Dee said.

"…that's impossible…"

"…I'm telling you, whatever your name is…" Biff threatened.

"…I'm telling you, whatever your name is…"

"Now, just stop it, all of…" the Doctor said.

"Now, just stop it all of…"

"…her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?" Hobbes asked.

"…her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

"…copy anything…" Jethro said.

"…copy anything…"

"…Biff don't just stand there, do something, make her stop…" Val said.

"…Biff don't just stand there, do something, make her stop…"

"…you're scaring my wife…" Biff said.

"…you're scaring my wife…"

"…Mrs. Silvestry…" the hostess tried.

"…Mrs. Silvestry…"

"Six, six, six." Jethro said, highly amused.

"Six, six, six."

"…make her stop…"

There was a loud siren type noise which cut through the dozen shouts, forcing the passengers into silence, before the lights flickered back on.

"That's the back-up system." The hostess told them.

"Well!" Biff said. "That's a bit better."

"What about the rescue?" Val asked. "How long's it gonna take?"

"About 60 minutes, that's all." The hostess replied.

"Then I suggest we all calm down." Hobbes said. "This panic isn't helping. That woman is evidently in a state of…"

However, the pair of aliens weren't paying any attention to him. Instead, they were both staring at Sky.

"…self-induced hysteria, we should leave her alone." Hobbes and Sky finished together.

"Doctor." Jethro said, noticing what was going on.

"I know." He replied.

Sky was no longer repeating, but talking in tandem.

"Doctor, now step back." Hobbes and Sky said together. "I think you should leave her…alone. What's she doing?"

"How can she do that?" Val and Sky asked.

"She's talking with you…and with me! Oh, my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating…" Jethro and Sky said. "At exactly the same time."

"That's impossible." Dee Dee and Sky said.

"There's not even a delay." Hobbes said.

"Ohh man, that is weird." Jethro and Sky said.

"I think you should all be very, very quiet, have you got that?" the Doctor and Sky said.

"Theta, what the hell's going on?" Luna asked, feeling extremely unsettled.

"I don't know." The Doctor replied.

"How's she doing it?" Val and Sky demanded.

"Mrs. Cane, please, be quiet." The Doctor and Sky told her.

"But how can she do that?" Val and Sky asked, getting hysterical. "She's got my voice, she's got my words!"

"Sweetheart, be quiet, just…hush." Biff and Sky said. "Hush. She's doing it to me!"

"Just stop it, all of you." The Doctor and Sky said. "Stop it. Please."

He crouched down to look into Sky's eyes.

"Now then, Sky." He and Sky said. "Are you Sky? Is Sky in there? Mrs. Silvestry?" He paused. "You know exactly what I'm going to say, how are you doing that?" He paused again. "Roast Beef! Bananas! The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS! Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O…"

The Doctor got up on his feet, pulling Luna up with him.

"First she repeats." He and Sky said.

"Then she begins catching up so what's the next stage?" the Gideon and Sky asked.

"Next stage of what?" Dee Dee and Sky asked.

"The learning process." Luna and Sky answered. "And whatever that means."

"But that's not her, is it?" Jethro and Sky asked. "That's not Mrs. Silvestry anymore."

"I don't think so, no." the Doctor and Sky said. "I think…the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for education, but in this case…maybe not. Let's just…move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back, all of you, as far as you can."

Wrapping an arm around Luna's waist, the Doctor dragged her away from Sky and herded the others back into the galley.

"Doctor, make her stop." Val and Sky said, stopping to look at her.

"Val, come on, come to the back." The Doctor and Sky said. "Stop looking at her, come on. Jethro, you too. Everyone, come on…50 minutes. That's all we need. 50 minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong, look at her, all she's got is our voices."

"I can't look at her." Val and Sky said. "It's those eyes."

"We must not look at goblin me." Dee Dee and Sky said suddenly.

The others looked at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Biff and Sky demanded.

"It's a poem." The Doctor and Sky answered.

"Christina Rossetti." Luna and Sky expanded. "Not a bad poet really."

"'We must not look at goblin men'" Dee Dee and Sky quoted. "'We must not buy their fruit, Who knows upon what soil they fed. Their hungry, thirsty roots?'"

"She's not a goblin." Hobbes and Sky said. "Or a monster, she's just a very sick woman."

"Maybe that's why it went for her." Jethro and Sky said.

"There is no 'it'!" Hobbes and Sky insisted.

"Think about it though." Jethro and Sky said. "That knocking, it went all the way round the bus until it found her. And she was the most scared, out of all of us. Maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time!" Hobbes and Sky shouted. "Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight."

"Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, mmm?" The Doctor and Sky said. "Now trust me, I've got previous! I think there might well be some…consciousness inside Mrs. Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there."

"Whether you like it or not, it's our job to help her… How'd you like it if we just left you, trapped inside of your body, screaming inside of your head? If we just looked into your eyes, deemed you unworthy of our help and abandoned you in the dark?" Luna and Sky asked.

"Well, you can help her." Biff and Sky said. "I'm not going near."

"No, I've got to stay back," The Doctor and Sky said. "and so should you Looney. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming either of us, or things could get a lot worse."

"Oh, like you're so special." Val and Sky said.

"Well, depending on your point of view, we kinda are," Luna and Sky told her.

"So, now that that's decided, we stay back. We wait. When the rescue ship comes, we can get her to a hospital."

"We should throw her out." The hostess and Sky said suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Hobbes and Sky asked, shocked.

"Can we do that?" Val and Sky asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor and Sky said.

"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic." The hostess and Sky said. "And I don't think she's finished yet."

"Really? How can she pose such a huge threat when she can't bloody move?" Luna and Sky exclaimed.

"Look at her, look at her eyes!" The hostess and Sky shot back. "She killed Joe and she killed Claude, and we're next."

"She's still doing it." Biff and Sky said.

He walked back to Sky.

"Just stop it!" he and Sky yelled at her. "Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't sweetheart!" Val and Sky said.

"But she won't stop!" He and Sky said as he walked back. "We can't throw her out, though. We can't even open the doors."

"No one is getting thrown out!" the Doctor and Sky shouted.

"Yes, we can." Dee Dee and Sky said. "Cause there's an air pressure seal. Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out, you had a couple of seconds, cause it takes the pressure wall about six seconds to collapse. Well six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Dee Dee." The Doctor and Sky said sarcastically. "Just what we needed."

"Would it kill her, outside?" Val and Sky asked.

"I don't know, but she's got a body now." Dee Dee and Sky answered. "It would certainly kill the physical form."

"No one is killing anyone!" the Doctor and Sky shouted.

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one." The hostess and Sky said, pointing to the fire exit. "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Now, listen, all of you." The Doctor and Sky ordered. "For all we know, that's a brand new life form over there. And if it's come inside to discover us, then what's it found? This little bunch of humans, what d'you amount to? A murder? Cause this where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?"