CHAPTER 8

I do not own Doctor Who, and I am making no profit off of this.

The creature that had been Joan Redfern laughed at the Doctor's face as Rose's words hit him with their full impact.

"It is you, isn't it? I thought that you were the one. You are the one who destroyed John Smith. You are the Doctor!" she said with an evil grin.

"Joan?" the Doctor asked her with sadness on his face.

"No, Time Lord. Joan Redfern is buried somewhere deep inside. I am a new creation entirely. I am called Sister Pestilence. Let me demonstrate why," Sister Pestilence said with a cackle.

She grabbed ahold of Martha, and her arm was suddenly covered in boils. Martha pulled her arm back in shock as the boils continued to cover the rest of her body.

"Carrionite science was sophisticated, wasn't it? You just effected an advanced genetic manipulation of the ordinary bacteria already in her body. You mutated them into a deadly disease. You were using a small device hidden in your hand unseen to the rest of us, weren't you? Very clever!" the Doctor said as he assumed his usual air of glee. Rose knew that it was really a mask to cover his worry though.

"Doctor? Am I going to die?" Martha asked upset.

"Of course not, Martha! You've got Rose on your side," the Doctor said dismissively.

Rose touched Martha's arm, and the boils instantly disappeared.

"All better now. I'm getting better at undoing genetic manipulation. At least on a microscopic level anyway. Thanks for the practice, Joan," Rose taunted her.

Martha sighed in relief as she said, "Thanks. I was feeling like I was about to die there for a minute."

"You're fine now," Rose said as she gave her a pointed look but didn't say anything further.

Martha realized with a shudder that she had been about to die if Rose hadn't saved her when she did.

"What did they do to you, Joan?" the Doctor asked with sadness in his voice.

"I am not Joan Redfern! She is long buried. I am her replacement. It's her own fault anyway. She brought about her own destruction with her grief. Night after night she grieved for John Smith as she poured over his journal relentlessly. It was a journal that contained information about the Carrionites and a drawing of them. Her constant reading of our name and her intense focus on us along with everything else in that journal drew my wayward sisters to her. They found her and remade her into me. I am a vast improvement over the life of loneliness that she was leading without you I assure you," Sister Pestilence said.

"I'm so sorry, Joan," The Doctor said with tear filled eyes.

Rose felt ashamed of her bad feelings towards this woman. She had never realized how terrible Joan's life had been after the Doctor left her.

"Don't be sorry for her, Doctor. Her suffering is over. She's basically dead now. She's sleeping deep inside. She doesn't really mind you know. Her life ended when John Smith died anyway. My sisters brought her here to this time where they already were so that I could be born. I was to publish your journal, Doctor. That way others could read about us, and they too would concentrate on us. Think about that, Time Lord! There are millions of people reading about us constantly and concentrating on our name and appearance. Now think of all of the power of all of that belief in us being concentrated in one person, the author of the book!" Sister Pestilence said as she began to glow with power.

"You created your own psychic network through your readers and focused all of their devotion to and belief in the book into yourself," the Doctor said in stunned realization.

"Exactly, Time Lord! I've been feeding off of their love of my book. Now I can use all of that power here in this place to summon my sisters here to Earth at last. That was the back-up plan, Doctor. We were afraid to try it for fear of being caught by operating so openly. The other plan was much more subtle and subversive. Now, however, you've forced our hand. Now is the time of the coming of the Carrionites!" Sister Pestilence said with glee.

She began to head toward the stage of the theatre, but Rose immediately appeared in her path to block it. Ileana then blocked her on the left as she turned in that direction. She turned to the right and was blocked by Sister of Mine. As she tried to back up out of the rapidly forming box around her, she bumped into Victoria, Martha, and the Doctor.

"You cannot stop me! I'll kill you! All of you!" Sister Pestilence screamed.

She tried to touch Martha again, but Martha quickly backed out of the way. She touched Victoria instead, but there was no effect.

"That won't work on her, Joan. Her cells are already filled with the Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform that made her into a werewolf. It won't allow anything else to invade her system. That's one of the perks of being a werewolf, you can't get sick," the Doctor said with a grin.

"What about you, Time Lord?" Sister Pestilence said with a chuckle as she touched the Doctor.

The Doctor glowed with golden energy for a moment and then smiled.

"That's one of the perks of being married to the Bad Wolf. She keeps you from getting sick too," The Doctor smiled with a mischievous grin.

"You didn't just compare me to a Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform, did you?" Rose asked with fake anger.

"No, of course not. Not intentionally anyway," the Doctor said with chagrin.

Rose stuck her tongue out at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"You treat life and death like it's a game. You've not worthy of having replaced him! You should have died not him!" Sister Pestilence shouted in anger.

The Doctor looked at her and knew that that had come from Joan not the Carrionite presence inside of her.

"I don't treat them lightly at all. This is my way of dealing with the terrible emotions going through me right now. If I didn't do that, I'd be in full Oncoming Storm mode right now. Believe me, you don't want that! You want gentle, compassionate me here right now, Joan," the Doctor said with a serious face.

"I. AM. NOT. JOAN!" Sister Pestilence screamed.

"Really? Why don't I believe you?" the Doctor mocked her.

"That's because you are a fool! You will be the first to die at my hand!" Sister Pestilence shouted in fury.

She grabbed ahold of the Doctor's neck and began chanting at him. Seconds later, the Doctor's eyes rolled back in his head, and he passed out!

"You are but the first of many to die today!" Sister Pestilence said as she let go of the Doctor, and he fell to the floor!

Next: Is the Doctor really dead? I wouldn't do that, would I? (Insert evil laugh here) Plus just how buried is Joan Redfern? Could it be that she's not as gone as Sister Pestilence would have us believe?