Chelsea and the End of the World
Doctor Who is copyright to the BBC. I own nothing except my OC Chelsea Willows.
This is a one-shot story featuring my OC Chelsea Willows from my story Travelling with the Raggedy Man, only she's with the 9th Doctor here, instead of 11. This one-shot is non-canon to that story and is just a bit of fun. Regarding Chelsea's appearance, I picture her as looking like Ashley Greene, but speaking with an English accent instead of American.
Chelsea ran eagerly into the TARDIS to join the Doctor. "Right then, Chelsea Willows, you tell me, where d'yer wanna go?" the Doctor asked. "Backwards or forwards in time. What's it gonna be?"
"Forwards." Chelsea replied immediately.
The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the console. "How far?" he asked.
"24th century." Chelsea replied.
With great enthusiasm, the Doctor pulled a lever and turned a knob, setting the TARDIS into motion. The box wheezed into life for a few seconds before smoothly coming to a stop. "There yer go." the Doctor said smoothly. "Step outside those doors, it's the year 2305."
"Seriously?" Chelsea asked. "Is it all transporters, replicators and Galaxy-class starships?"
"Nah, that's just Star Trek." the Doctor snorted. "Tell yer the truth, 24th century's a bit boring. D'yer wanna go further?"
"Yeah, ok." Chelsea nodded.
The Doctor started the TARDIS up again. When the box stopped, he looked at his companion. "Ten thousand years in the future." he said. "Step outside, it's the year 12005; the New Roman Empire."
"You're pulling my leg!" Chelsea stared.
"Nope." the Doctor grinned smugly.
"Well, listen to you." Chelsea teased lightly. "You think ya sound so impressive!"
"I am so impressive!" the Doctor pouted.
"In ya dreams, mate." Chelsea snorted.
"Right then, you asked for it." the Doctor retorted. "I know exactly where to go." He revved up the engines and pumped a lever vigorously. "Hold on!"
The TARDIS hurtled through the Time Vortex before stopping with a pinging noise. "Where are we now?" Chelsea asked.
The Doctor didn't answer; he just gestured towards the door with a smug look on his face.
"What's outside?" Chelsea tried.
The Doctor gestured again, so Chelsea curiously stepped outside the doors. She found herself in a spacious room with immaculate wooden décor and steps leading down to a large window covered by steel shutters. The Doctor followed Chelsea out and used his sonic screwdriver on a control panel on the wall, opening the shutters on the window. They went down the steps to look at the view outside. There was Planet Earth in all it's glory. Chelsea found herself at a loss for words.
The Doctor smirked at the young woman's reaction. "You lot. You spend all yer time thinkin' about dying." he remarked. Like yer gonna killed by eggs or beef or global warmin' or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. Maybe you survive. This the year 5.5/apple/26. Five billion years in your future. This is the day... hold on." He looked at his watch. As he did so, the sun flared brightly, the window automatically tinting to protect the duo's eyes from the blinding flash. "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." the Doctor finished.
Chelsea felt the colour drain from her face, her wonder souring.
The Doctor didn't notice this. "C'mon, the party's this way." he said and strode over to the doors, which opened and he walked off into a hallway.
"Party?" Chelsea breathed as she began to follow him.
As she caught up with him, she heard a computer voice over a PA system: "Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester suite."
"When it says 'guests', does it mean people?" Chelsea asked the Doctor.
"Depends on what yer mean by people." the Doctor replied.
"I mean people. What do you mean?"
"Aliens." the Doctor said simply.
"Ok." Chelsea said slowly, trying to comprehend everything. "And this is a spaceship, yeah? What's it all for?"
They reached another door and the Doctor flashed his sonic screwdriver on the control panel beside it. "It's not really a spaceship. More like an observation deck." he told Chelsea. "The great an' the good are gatherin' to watch the planet burn."
"Why?" Chelsea asked as the doors opened.
"Fun." the Doctor replied lightly, strolling into the room on the other side of the doors.
"Fun?!" Chelsea stared as she followed, starting to feel sick.
They found themselves in a large observation gallery. "Mind you, when I say 'the great an' the good', what I mean is, the rich." the Doctor said, still oblivious to Chelsea's discomfort.
"Oh, so rich aliens are coming to watch my home planet burn for fun." Chelsea said quietly, growing unhappier still. She followed the Doctor over to the end of the gallery, where they had a panoramic view of Earth and the Sun beyond. "Hang on, I saw something on Newsround Extra once about the sun expanding." Chelsea said. "They said it took hundreds of years or something."
"Millions." the Doctor corrected. "But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved. See down there?" He pointed at tiny glints of light orbiting the Earth. "Gravity satellites, holding back the Sun."
Chelsea peered out of the window at Earth. "It looks exactly the same." she observed. "Aren't the continents s'posed to shift?"
"They did." the Doctor confirmed. "And the Trust shifted 'em back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over!"
"How long's it got left?"
The Doctor looked at his watch. "About half-an-hour, then the planet gets roasted." he said cheerfully.
"Is that why ya brought me here?" Chelsea asked. "Are we gonna jump in and save the Earth?"
"I'm not savin' it. Time's up." the Doctor answered bluntly.
Chelsea stared at him. "But... but what about all the people down there?" she breathed. "Are you just gonna stand here an' let them all burn?!"
"It's empty!" the Doctor replied. "They're all gone, all left."
Chelsea felt a crushing wave of loneliness sweep across her as she looked back to the window. "So it's just me, then." she sighed unhappily.
"Who the hell are you?" a pompous-sounding voice said from behind them, and they turned to see a blue-skinned man in a brown robe standing there with a clipboard in his hand. This was the Steward; the man responsible for running Platform One.
"Oh! That's nice, thanks." the Doctor huffed.
"But how did you get in?" the Steward blustered. "This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked! They're on the way any second now!"
"That's us, we're guests, look." the Doctor said, flashing what looked like a black leather bus pass at the Steward. "Look, there. Yer see? 'The Doctor plus one'. I'm the Doctor, this is Chelsea Willows. She's my plus one. That all right?"
"Well... obviously." the Steward said pompously. "Apologies, etc. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." And he walked off towards a podium in the corner of the room.
The Doctor showed Chelsea the bus pass-like object he'd shown the Steward. Inside was a blank piece of paper. "The paper's slightly psychic." he explained. "Shows 'em whatever I want 'em to see. Saves a lot of time." he slipped the paper back into his pocket.
"Wh-what sort of alien is he?" Chelsea asked, nodding to the Steward. "Is he like an Andorian or something?"
"He's a Crespallion." the Doctor replied.
The Steward had taken up position behind the podium. "We have in attendance, the Doctor and Chelsea Willows." he announced through a microphone. "Thank you. All staff to their positions."
He clapped his hands and several small blue-skinned people in overalls started scurrying around.
"Hurry now! Thank you, quick as you can." the Steward fussed. "Come along, come along! And now, might I introduce the next honoured guests, representing the Forests of Cheem, we have Trees. Namely, Jabe, Lute and Coffa."
The doors opened and three humanoid aliens with bark-like skin walked in. Two were male and dressed in plain black outfits, while the third was female and dressed more elaborately in a red, orange and gold gown. She had a kind face and a graceful air about her.
"There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace." the Steward announced. "If you can keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, the Moxx of Balhoon."
A squat, grumpy-looking blue-skinned alien entered, sitting in a hovering chair that was reminiscent of the one Commander Shore from Stingray sat in. The Doctor smiled cheerily, while Chelsea could only look on in bewilderment.
"And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." the Steward introduced as a group of people in black hooded robes and wearing metal gauntlets entered.
The Steward continued to give introductions as more weird and wonderful aliens entered, with Chelsea getting increasingly overwhelmed.
Presently, the female Tree, Jabe, approached the two time travellers with a small potted plant in her hand. "The Gift of peace." she said, handing the pot to the Doctor. "I bring you a cutting of my grandfather."
"Thank you." the Doctor nodded, passing the plant to Chelsea. "Yes, gifts, erm..." He patted his pockets, trying to think of something to give as a gift. Finding nothing, he decided to improvise. "I give you in return, air from my lungs." And he blew gently in Jabe's face, who seemed to like it
"How... intimate." she remarked.
"There's plenty more where that came from." the Doctor replied.
"I bet there is." Jabe smirked, then moved off to give cuttings to other guests.
Chelsea could only wear the sort of look on her face that was to be expected of someone who had just witnessed their companion flirt with a tree. Her attention was then caught by the Steward's next announcement. "Sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." he introduced as a huge, ageing head in a jar was wheeled into the room.
"A head in a jar." Chelsea muttered lamely to herself, before her attention was caught by the Moxx of Balhoon approaching her and the Doctor.
"My felicitations on this historical happenstance." he said. "I give you the gift of bodily salvias." And he promptly spat at Chelsea, who was only just able to throw her hands up over her face in time.
"Thank you, very much." the Doctor laughed, and the Moxx rolled away.
"Ugh." Chelsea grimaced, wiping her hands on her jeans.
"Ah, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." the Doctor said as the aforementioned aliens approached them next. "I bring you air from my lungs." he breathed heavily on them all
"A gift of peace in good faith." the leader said in a rather creepy robotic voice, and handed the Doctor a small silver ball, which he handed off to Chelsea.
"And last but not least, our very special guest." the Steward announced. "Ladies and gentlemen, and Trees and Multi-form. Consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human... the Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."
The Doctor turned to see Chelsea's reaction as the doors opened and what looked like a trampoline of Human skin was wheeled into the room. It had eyes and a mouth, and was flanked by two men in hazmat suits. Chelsea's face was an absolute picture as she took in the bizarre sight.
"Oh, now, don't stare." Casandra said to everyone. "I know, I know, it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin taken away and look at the difference! Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty! I don't look a day over 200. Moisturise me, moisturise me!" she said to her attendants, who sprayed her with the contents of the cannisters they were holding.
At last, Chelsea found her voice again. "What the hell is that?!" she said to herself and crept closer for a better look, seeing that Cassandra was literally 2-dimensional.
"Truly, I am the last Human." Cassandra rambled. "My father was a Texan. My mother was from the Artic desert. They were born on Earth and were the last to be buried in it's soil. I have come to honour them and..." she sniffled, "say goodbye. Oh, no tears." One of her attendants wiped her eyes. "No tears, I'm sorry. But behold! I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg."
A member of staff came in with the item in question and put it on a pedestal to display it.
"Legend says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and breathed fire from it's nostrils. Or was that my third husband?" Cassandra joked, and everyone except Chelsea laughed. "Who knows? Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity." Two members of staff wheeled in a large 1950's jukebox. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from Humanity's greatest composers. Play on!"
One of the staff pressed a button on the jukebox and a record fell into place. Tainted Love by Soft Cell began to play. The Doctor bopped appreciatively, clearly enjoying every second of this and blissfully unaware that Chelsea looked like she was about to faint.
"Refreshments will now be served." the Steward announced "Earth death in 30 minutes."
The guests began to mingle and socialise. It was finally all too much for Chelsea; she felt lonely, uncomfortable and out of place, so she promptly ran from the room; something which the Doctor noticed. Concerned, he made to follow her, but was stopped by Jabe. "Doctor?" she called, and took a photo of him from the device she was holding when he paused. "Thank you."
The Doctor moved on, while Jabe went over to a quiet corner to study her device, which was a handheld computer. "Identify species." she ordered. "Please identify species." The computer made a small chirping noise. "Now, stop it." she scolded it. "Identify his race. Where's he from?" Her eyes widened when she got her answer. "It's impossible." she breathed.
~8~
Chelsea stood in a corridor looking out of a window at the raging sun. She suddenly got the sense that she was no longer alone and turned to see another blue-skinned alien standing there. This one was female and was wearing overalls, clearly a member of staff. "Sorry, sorry, I'm not in a restricted area, am I?" Chelsea asked quickly.
The employee looked around uneasily. "You have to give us permission to talk." she told Chelsea.
"Oh, er... permission to speak."
"Thank you." the employee nodded. "And no, you're not in the way. Guests are allowed anywhere."
"Ah, good." Chelsea nodded, and watched as the employee went over to a wall panel and typed in a code. "Um, sorry, don't wanna bother you, but who are you?" she asked her.
"Raffalo."
"Raffalo?"
"Yes, miss. I won't be long, I've just gotta carry out some maintenance." Raffalo said and knelt before an air vent. "There's a tiny little glitch in the Face of Boe's suite. There must be something blocking the system, he's not getting any hot water."
"Oh, so you're an engineer?"
"That's right, miss."
"Ok. Well, I guess space stations all need engineers. Um, where're you from, if ya don't mind me asking?"
"Crespallion." Raffalo answered.
"Is that a planet?" Chelsea asked.
"No, Crespallion's part of the Jaggit Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex 56." Raffalo explained. "And where're you from, miss? If you don't mind me asking."
"No, no, 'course not. Um, it's kinda hard to say. Um... I'm from a long way from here. I just hitched a lift with this man, says he's a doctor. He brought me here, dunno why... there's nothing special about me." Chelsea let out a nervous chuckle. "Um, anyway, sorry for wasting ya time, I'll just let ya get on with it. Good luck fixing that water problem." And she began to walk away.
"Thank you, miss." Raffalo called after her. "And thank you for your permission. Not many people are that considerate."
"Don't mention it." Chelsea smiled weakly and went on her way.
~8~
The Doctor made his way through the corridors trying to find Chelsea when he heard the Steward's voice came over the PA, "Would the owner of the blue box in private gallery 15 please report to the Steward's office immediately. Guests are reminded that use of ALL teleportation devices is strictly forbidden under Peace Treaty 5.4/cup/16. Thank you."
The Doctor rolled his eyes at the interruption and headed off towards the Steward's office.
~8~
Chelsea wandered aimlessly through the station until she found herself in a viewing gallery similar to the one the TARDIS had landed in. She sat down on the steps and began tossing the silver ball in the air and catching it. "Earth death in 25 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 25 minutes."
"Oh, rub it in, why don't you?" Chelsea grumbled, putting the ball down and picking up the cutting of Jabe's grandfather. "Hello, my name's Chelsea. Not a plant, I know, but there's a place back home called 'Chelsea' and they hold an annual flower show there." she said to the plant, then realised what she was doing. "Ah, I'm talking to a tree." she muttered and turned to look out the window, not noticing the silver ball suddenly open up and a small robotic spider scuttle out of it.
~8~
In a corridor, the TARDIS was being manhandled by some of the staff. "Oi, now, careful with her!" the Doctor told them. "Park her properly, no scratches."
One of the staff walked up to him and handed him a card then walked away again. The Doctor looked at the card to see that it said 'Have a nice day.' The Doctor shrugged and walked away, not noticing several metal spiders scurrying up the wall behind him.
~8~
Chelsea was still sat in the viewing gallery, completely oblivious to the metal spider behind her, which was about to scan her hand when the Doctor's voice floated through the door, "Chelsea? Are you in there?"
The spider scurried off into an air vent just before the door opened and the Doctor entered the room. "Aye aye! What d'yer think, then?" he asked Chelsea, taking a seat on the other side of the stairs.
"Fine, terrific, yeah." Chelsea waved him off. "I mean, I just love getting spat on and watching aliens treat the death of my planet as if it's the next big movie." she said sarcastically.
"Huh, someone's grumpy today." the Doctor said lightly.
Chelsea turned to look at him. "Where're you from?" she asked him.
"All over the place." the Doctor replied vaguely.
"Oh, thanks, that explains a lot(!)" Chelsea huffed, then a thought occurred to her. "Hey, how come all those aliens back there speak English?" she asked. "Do they all have universal translators or something?"
"Not quite." the Doctor replied. "It's a gift of the TARDIS. Telepathic field, gets inside yer brain, translates."
"That box is inside my brain?!" Chelsea breathed, going white again.
"Well, in a good way." the Doctor tried to reason, having realised that he'd phrased it wrong. "She's not gonna hurt you, Chelsea. Not unless you hurt her first."
"And I'm s'posed to just take your word for it?" Chelsea challenged. "No offence, Doctor, but I don't know the first thing about you. What's your name? What species are you?"
"I'm just the Doctor." he replied, sitting up and looking away from Chelsea, not wanting to talk about it.
"Doctor what? From which planet?"
"Well, it's not as if you'd know where it is!"
"Well, I won't know unless you tell me!" Chelsea retorted hotly. "So spill!"
"What does it matter?"
"Oh, for God's sake, just tell me who you are!" Chelsea demanded, losing patience.
"This is who I am!" the Doctor snapped, suddenly becoming angry. "Right here, right now, alright? All that counts is here an' now, an' this is me!"
"Alright, fine, be an arsehole." Chelsea huffed, getting up. "I'll just wait in that box of yours 'till ya ready to take me home."
"Oh, don't be like that." the Doctor rolled his eyes.
"No, no, seriously, if ya just gonna be an arsehole and not talk to me properly, I'll just stay out of the way like a good little Human." Chelsea snarked. "You want someone to kiss ya arse? Go pick up my cousin Amy."
"Earth death in 20 minutes." the computer announced, interrupting the argument. "Earth death in 20 minutes."
"Oh, shut up, Majel." Chelsea muttered, getting fed up at the computer rubbing the destruction of her planet in her face. Without thinking, she took her phone out of her pocket ready to phone home, only to suddenly remember that she couldn't. "Oh yeah, no signal." she muttered. "Just a wee bit out of range."
The Doctor got to his feet and joined her. "Tell yer what..." he took the phone from her, "with a little bit of jiggery pokery..." he took the back off the phone and removed the battery.
"Oi! That phone was a Christmas present from my dad!" Chelsea grumbled.
"I'm not gonna break it, I promise." the Doctor reassured her. He fitted in a new battery and replaced the back of the phone. "There yer go." he said as he handed it back to Chelsea.
Chelsea took the phone and looked at the screen to see Universal roaming enabled' displayed on it. Curious, she dialled her home phone number and held the phone to her ear, her eyes widening when she heard a ringing on the other end which was then answered.
"Hello?" the voice of her father, Tony, said on the other end.
"Dad?" Chelsea asked hopefully.
"Chelsea!" Tony said ecstatically. "Oh, thank God! Are you alright? Where are you? Is that Doctor with you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, dad." Chelsea answered. "And yes, the Doctor's here. We're... well, it's sorta hard to say where we are."
"Huh, I'll bet!" Tony said good-naturedly. "Hey, you tell that man to look after you. I want you back in one piece or he'll have ME to answer to!"
Chelsea couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I'll tell him that, Dad. What's it like back home? What day is it?"
"Wednesday." Tony replied. "The day after you left. Not much going on here. They're still cleaning up the mess those dummies made. All over London it was. Wonder what excuses the government are gonna make up to explain it all. Can't exactly say it was students can they?"
"Yeah, I suppose not." Chelsea said. "Anyway, I just wanted to check in and see how things were with you. I'll see ya soon."
"Alright, Chels, you take care. Ah, look at you; boldly going where no man has gone before!"
Chelsea smiled at her father's words. "Yeah. Wish you were here with me, though. Love you, Dad!"
"Love you too, Chels. Bye!"
"Bye, Dad." Chelsea reciprocated and ended the call.
"Think that's amazing, you wanna see the bill." the Doctor remarked "Think that's amazing, you wanna see the bill." the Doctor remarked.
Chelsea slowly lowered her phone, feeling better now that she'd spoken to someone she knew. "That was five billion years ago." she began. "I just called the past from the future."
"Ah, the joys of time travel." the Doctor smirked.
Suddenly, the whole station shuddered.
"That's not supposed to happen." the Doctor said rather obviously.
Just then, the Steward made an announcement over the PA, "Honoured guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you."
~8~
The Doctor and Chelsea arrived back in the observation galley to find everyone chatting obliviously, with the Moxx of Balhoon talking to the Face of Boe about something called the 'Bad Wolf scenario'. The only person who seemed remotely worried was Jabe.
"That wasn't a gravity pocket." the Doctor announced as he checked a computer panel. "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that. What d'yer think, Jabe?" he asked the Tree as she joined them. "Listen to the engines, they've pitched up about 30 hertz, is that dodgy or what?"
"It's the sound of metal, it doesn't make any sense to me." Jabe shrugged.
"Where's the engine room?" the Doctor asked her.
"I don't know," she replied, "but the maintenance shaft is just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your wife." She gestured to Chelsea.
"She's not my wife." the Doctor said flatly.
"Partner?"
"No."
"Concubine?"
"Nope."
Jabe looked at Chelsea. "Prostitute?" she raised a brow.
"Oi! Am I invisible?" Chelsea grumbled indignantly. "Tell ya what, you two go ahead. I'll stay here and have a word with Nagilum over there." She gestured to Cassandra.
"Don't start a fight." the Doctor told her, then proffered an arm to Jabe. "I'm all yours." he said.
"Oi, and don't stay out all night!" Chelsea called as the Doctor Jabe left together.
"Earth death in 15 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 15 minutes."
~8~
The Doctor and Jabe were soon walking through a maintenance corridor. "Who's in charge of Platform One?" the Doctor asked. "Is there a captain or what?"
"There's just the Steward and the staff." Jabe replied. "All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."
"Yer mean the computer? But who controls that?"
"The Corporation. They move Platform One from artistic event to the next." Jabe explained.
The Doctor thought this over. "But there's no one from the Corporation on board."
"They're not needed." Jabe replied. "This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha class. Nothing can go wrong."
"Unsinkable?" the Doctor raised a brow.
"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate."
"You're tellin' me. I was on another ship once. They said that was unsinkable... I ended up clingin' to the side of an iceberg. Wasn't half cold. So what yer saying is, if we get in trouble there's no one to help us?"
"I'm afraid not." Jabe said.
"Fantastic." the Doctor grinned and went on his way
"I don't understand." a puzzled Jabe said. "In what way is that fantastic?"
~8~
Meanwhile, Chelsea and Cassandra were looking out of the window at the Sun and down at the Earth. "Soon the Sun will blossom into a Red Giant and my home will die." Cassandra mused. "That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy. Down there. Mummy and daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles crevice. I had such fun." she sighed.
"What happened to everyone else?" Chelsea asked. "I mean, where did the rest of the Human race go?"
"They say Mankind has touched every star in the sky."
"Ah, so technically, you're not the last Human?"
"I am the last pure Human." Cassandra sneered. "The others... mingled. Oh, they call themselves 'New Humans' and 'Proto-Humans' and 'Digi-Humans' even 'Human-ish' but d'you know what I call them? Mongrels."
Chelsea glowered. Obviously, Cassandra was a racist xenophobe. "O-kay." she said slowly. "So you stayed behind."
"I kept myself pure."
"How many operations have you had, anyway?"
"708." Cassandra replied nonchalantly. "Next week, it's 709. I'm having my blood bleached. Is that why you wanted a word? You could be flatter, Chelsea. You've got cheekbones poking out."
"I-I'm good, thanks." Chelsea said hastily.
"Honestly, it doesn't hurt."
"No, no, I like my cheekbones the way they are, thank you very much. And no offence, Cassandra, but I don't think turning into a talking trampoline is much of a life."
"Oh well, what do you know?" Cassandra said condescendingly.
"Oi, I was born on that planet!" Chelsea shot back, becoming angry. "My mum and dad were too, so that technically makes me the last Human here, 'cos you're no Human; you're just a talking rug with a superiority complex. Anything Human went in the bin a long time ago. Have a nice day, Cassandra."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away, not noticing the Adherents of the Repeated Meme watching her.
~8~
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jabe were making their through the maintenance corridors. "So, tell me, Jabe. What's a Tree like you doin' in a place like this?" the Doctor asked.
"Respect for the Earth." Jabe replied.
"Oh, come on." the Doctor scoffed "Everyone on this platform's worth zillions."
"Well... perhaps it's a case of having to be seen at the right occasions." Jabe shrugged.
"In case yer share prices drop?" the Doctor snorted. "I know you lot. Yer've got massive forests everywhere, roots everywhere, and there's money in land."
"All the same, we respect the Earth as family." Jabe said sincerely. "So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below. And I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest."
The Doctor was impressed with that. He then noticed a control panel nearby. "Excuse me." he said and started poking the panel with his sonic screwdriver.
"And what about your ancestry, Doctor?" Jabe asked him. "Perhaps you could tell a story or two... perhaps a man only enjoys trouble when there's nothing else left. I scanned you earlier. The metal machine had trouble identifying your species."
The Doctor pretended to be concentrating on his scan, but a flicker of emotion crossed his face.
"And even when it named you, I wouldn't believe it." Jabe continued. "But it was right."
The Doctor stopped scanning, deep sadness reflected in his eyes.
"I know where you're from." Jabe continued softly. "Forgive me for intruding, but it's remarkable that you even exist. I just want to say... how sorry I am."
The Doctor was now staring at the screen, his face sad and solemn. Jabe put a comforting hand on his arm and he placed his hand over hers, a single tear running down his cheek. He quickly finished his scan then he and Jabe went through a door. They found themselves in the ventilation chamber. There was a vast open chasm that made up the chamber, with a catwalk crossing it and three huge circular fans bisecting the catwalk. "Is it me or is it a bit nippy?" the Doctor commented.
~8~
Meanwhile, Chelsea was walking alone down a corridor when she saw the Adherents of the Repeated Meme coming the other way. Just as they passed, the leader suddenly struck her with it's metal gauntlet, knocking her out cold.
~8~
"Fair do's, though," the Doctor said as he and Jabe looked at the fans, "that's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of, nice an' old fashioned. Bet they call it 'retro.'" he scanned another control panel with his sonic screwdriver. "Gotcha!" he remarked as the panel fell off. A metal spider scuttled out and scurried across the floor and began to climb up the wall. "What the 'ell's that?" the Doctor frowned.
"Is it part of the retro?" Jabe wandered.
"I don't think so." the Doctor replied. "Hold on." He tried to scan the spider with his sonic screwdriver, but it was too fast for him. Jabe then fired what looked like a vine out of her arm and struck the spider, disabling it and causing it to fall into the Doctor's hands. "Hey, nice liana!" he praised, impressed.
"Thank you." Jabe blushed. "We're not supposed to show them in public."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anybody." the Doctor winked, then turned his attention to the spider. "Now then, who's been bringin' their pets on board?"
"What does it do?" Jabe asked him.
"Sabotage." the Doctor replied grimly.
"Earth death in 10 minutes." the computer announced.
"And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on!" the Doctor urged, and they hurried out of the chamber, agreeing to inform the Steward about the spider. There could be more of them, so they needed to make the staff aware of them quickly.
When they reached the Steward's office, they found smoke wafting out from under the door and members of staff fussing about outside. "Come on, get back!" the Doctor said to them as he darted over to the control panel by the office door and used his sonic screwdriver on it.
"Sunfilter rising." the computer reported. "Sunfilter rising."
"Was the Steward in there?" a concerned Jabe asked.
"You can smell him." the Doctor replied grimly. Then his sonic screwdriver revealed more bad news. "Hold on, there's another sun filter programmed to descend." And he hurried off to find out where.
~8~
Chelsea regained consciousness to find herself inside a private viewing gallery with Britney Spear's Toxic blaring over the speakers. "Ugh. Who the hell put this on?" she groaned, nursing her sore head.
The music suddenly stopped, and was replaced by the computer's voice, "Sunfilter descending. Sunfilter descending."
Chelsea sat up in alarm as the sunfilter did indeed descend, letting in the Sun's rays. She ran to the door and knocked on it frantically. "Help!" she cried. "Let me out! LET ME OUT!"
"Anyone in there?" the Doctor's voice called from the other side of the door.
"Doctor?! Let me outta here!" Chelsea cried, frantically pounding on the door.
"Oh, well, it would be you!" the Doctor said snarkily.
"HELP ME!" Chelsea screeched.
"Hold on, give us two ticks." the Doctor said.
A moment later, the computer announced, "Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising."
Chelsea panted in relief, but it was short-lived "Sunfilter rising." the computer said, then next second, "Sunfilter descending."
Chelsea screamed as the sunfilter began to descend again. "STOP IT! IT'S NOT FUNNY!" she shrilled.
"It's not me!" the Doctor protested. "It's fighting back!"
"GET ME OUT!" Chelsea screamed. "PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING YA WANT, JUST DON'T LET ME DIE!"!
"Hang on!" the Doctor called.
Chelsea ran down the steps and threw herself flat on the floor, bracing herself for the horrible death that was surely coming in just a few seconds. "I don't wanna die here!" she began to sob. "I should've stayed at home."
"Sunfilter descending." the computer announced, as if to taunt the young woman. "Sunfilter descending." Then, next second, "Sunfilter rising. Sunfilter rising."
Chelsea gingerly peered up to see that the computer had been overpowered this time and the sunfilter rose all the way back to the top. She sat upright and began to cry, badly shaken at the near-death experience.
"Are you alright?" the Doctor's voice asked her. "Chelsea, can yer hear me? Are yer alright?"
Chelsea couldn't answer him; she was too hysterical to even speak.
"The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the doors." the Doctor called. "Stay there, don't move! I'll find help. Just stay calm! I'll get yer out, I promise."
"Earth death in 5 minutes." the computer announced.
~8~
In the observation gallery, Jabe had informed everyone about the spider and had scanned it with her computer. "The metal machine confirms. The spider devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One." she announced grimly.
"How's that possible?" Cassandra questioned. "Our rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturise me, Moisturise me." she ordered her attendants, who complied.
The Doctor arrived at that moment and took the spider from Jabe. He was on the warpath now; someone had murdered the Steward and had tried to murder Chelsea, so he was determined to find out who.
"Summon the Steward." the Moxx of Balhoon suggested, and the others murmured their agreement
"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe said sadly, and there was a general gasp of shock from everyone except Cassandra.
"Who killed him?" the Moxx of Balhoon breathed in horror.
"This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe!" Cassandra accused. "He invited us! Talk to the face! Talk to the face!"
The Face of Boe shook his head as if to say that he had no idea any of this would happen.
"Easy way of findin' out." the Doctor spoke up. "Someone brought a little pet on board." He showed them the spider. "Let's send him back to master."
He placed the spider on the floor and it scuttled along the floor to Cassandra and looked up to her. She looked shifty for a moment, something which the Doctor noticed, then the spider moved on the feet of the Adherents of the Repeated Meme.
"The Adherents of the Repeated Meme. J'accuse!" Cassandra said smugly.
"That's all very well, an' really kinda obvious." the Doctor said, striding over to the Adherents, "but if yer stop an' think about it..."
The leader of the Adherents tried to swing a blow at him, but he just caught the arm and ripped it clean off, revealing wires sticking out of it.
"A Repeated Meme is just an idea. An' that's all they are, an idea." He yanked out a wire and all the Adherents fell to the floor. "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker. Go on, Jimbo!" he nudged the spider with the toe of his boot. "Go home!"
The spider ambled back over to Cassandra. "I bet you were the school swot who never got kissed." she sneered, annoyed at being rumbled. "At arms!" she ordered her attendants, who raised their canisters at the Doctor.
"What're yer gonna do? Moisturise me?" he sassed, not impressed by the threat.
"With acid." Cassandra retorted. "Oh, you're too late anyway. My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."
"Sabotaging a ship while yer still inside it? How stupid's that?" the Doctor scoffed.
"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims." Cassandra answered. "The compensation would have been enormous."
"Five billion years an' it still comes down to money." the Doctor rolled his eyes in disgust.
"Do you think it's cheap, looking like this?" Cassandra retorted "Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last Human, Doctor. Me. Not that freaky little kid of yours."
The Doctor glared furiously at Cassandra, realising she was responsible for Chelsea nearly getting burned to a crisp.
"Arrest her!" the Moxx of Balhoon ordered. "The infidel!"
"Oh, shut up, pixie!" Cassandra snapped. "I've still got my final option."
"Earth death in 3 minutes." the computer announced.
"And here it comes." Cassandra smirked. "You're just as useful dead, all of you. I have shares in your rival companies and they'll triple in price as soon as you're dead. My spiders are primed and ready to destroy the safety systems. How did that old Earth song go? 'Burn baby, burn.'"
"Then you'll burn with us." Jabe vowed.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Cassandra said in a sickly-sweet voice. "I know the use of teleportation is strictly forbidden, but... I'm such a naughty thing. Spiders, activate."
~8~
A series of small explosions rocked Platform One and alarms began to blare all over the station.
~8~
"Force fields gone with the planet about to explode." Cassandra taunted. "At least it'll be quick. Just like my fifth husband." She sniggered at her joke. "Oh, shame on me! Bye-bye, darlings. Bye-bye, my darlings." And she and her attendants teleported out.
"Heat levels rising." the computer announced.
"Reset the computer!" the Moxx of Balhoon ordered frantically.
"Only the Steward would know how." Jabe said gravely.
"No. We can do it by hand." the Doctor said. "There must be a system restore switch. Jabe, come on." And he and Jabe turned to leave. "You lot, just chill!" he called over his shoulder to the others.
"Earth death in 2 minutes." the computer announced. "Earth death in 2 minutes."
~8~
By the time the Doctor and Jabe reached the ventilation chamber, the heat levels were rising dangerously. They could see the system restore switch; it was at the other end of the catwalk, beyond the fans, which were now spinning at warp speed to try to deal with the increased heat.
"Oh, an' guess where the switch is." the Doctor huffed, wandering who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to put the switch in such a dangerous place.
"Heat levels rising." the computer announced. "Heat levels rising."
The Doctor saw a lever on the wall to their right, so he pulled it down and the fans slowed down.
"External temperature, 5,000 degrees." the computer reported.
The Doctor let go of the lever and went for the fans, but the lever promptly shot up and the fans sped up again.
As the Doctor looked hopelessly at the fans, Jabe pulled the lever down again and held it in place. "You can't!" the Doctor protested. "The heat's gonna vent through this place."
"I know." Jabe replied.
"Jabe, you're made of wood." the Doctor warned.
"Then stop wasting time... Time Lord." Jabe retorted.
The Doctor grinned at her and ran back to the fans.
"Heat levels rising." the computer droned on. "Heat levels rising."
~8~
In the observation gallery, the glass on the windows began to crack. "We're going to die!" the Moxx of Balhoon whimpered.
~8~
"Heat levels hazardous." the computer said as the Doctor dodged the first fan and he looked up anxiously at the next one. "Shields malfunctioning."
~8~
The glass in the window of the gallery Chelsea was trapped in began to crack and the young woman promptly cowered against the wall as rays of Sun blasted in through the cracks and hit the walls, burning holes in it. Chelsea screamed and did her best to dodge the rays.
~8~
The Doctor was still standing before the second fan. He looked back at Jabe to see that she was sweating and breathing heavily, but she still held the lever down. "Heat levels critical." the computer droned on as the Doctor dodged under the second fan.
~8~
In the observation gallery, the cracks widened, allowing rays of Sun in, which struck the Moxx of Balhoon. He screamed terribly as he was incinerated by the rays.
~8~
Things weren't much better in the room Chelsea was trapped in. Sun rays hit the wall either side of her, trapping her in one spot.
~8~
"Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising." the computer announced as the Doctor reached the third fan.
Jabe suddenly began to shake violently. Then her hands burst into flames and she screamed as the flames spread all over her. The Doctor heard her and looked back to see her flaming form let go of the lever. With no one holding the lever down, the fans sped up again, circulating so fast that they could hardly be seen. It was impossible for the Doctor to get through.
~8~
The walls around Chelsea began to burn rapidly. "Oh, Doctor... please." she begged under her breath.
~8~
"Planet explodes in 10, 9..." the computer began.
The Doctor closed his eyes, concentrating with all of might and time seemed to slow down around him.
"8, 7, 6, 5, 4..."
The Doctor, his eyes still closed, stepped through the fan. Once he was safely on the other side, his eyes snapped open and he sprinted to the switch. "Raise shields!" he ordered as he slammed the switch down.
~8~
A terrified Chelsea curled herself up in a ball and braced herself as the computer's countdown hit zero.
~8~
The shields around Platform One sprang back up just a millisecond before Planet Earth was engulfed by flames and exploded in a huge fireball.
~8~
"Exoglass repair." the computer stated. "Exoglass repair."
Chelsea gingerly lifted her head to see the cracks in the window sealing themselves and beyond, all that was left of Earth were floating rocks.
~8~
In the ventilation room, the Doctor made his way back through the fans, which were now back to going at normal pace now that the temperature was normal again, and paused to look sadly at Jabe's ashes.
~8~
With the systems restored to normal, Chelsea was able to get out of the room she was trapped in. She wasn't hurt, but was badly shaken up by the near-death experience. When she arrived at the observation gallery, she found the aliens sitting around, wounded or dead. The Doctor walked briskly in a few moments later. He went over to Jabe's companions, muttered a few words to them and placed his hands on their shoulders, leaving them to grieve. He then crossed over to Chelsea, glad to see her unharmed.
"You ok?" Chelsea asked gingerly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." the Doctor replied, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I'm full of ideas. I'm brislin' with 'em. Idea number one: teleportation through 5,000 degrees of heat needs some kinda feed. Idea number two: this feed must be hidden nearby." He strode over to the ostrich egg and broke it open, revealing a remote device inside it, which the Doctor picked up. "Idea number three: if yer as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed."
He twisted the feed and Cassandra reappeared before them, apparently in the middle of gloating. "Ah, you should've seen their little faces..." She noticed her new surroundings. "Oh."
"The last Human." the Doctor sneered, having lost all patience with this greedy, selfish, barely Human thing.
"So. You passed my little test." a nervous Cassandra said. "Bravo. That makes eligible to join the er... the Human club."
The Doctor was in no mood for nonsense. "People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them."
The anger in his voice was obvious, and a wise person wouldn't provoke him any further, but Cassandra wasn't a wise being. "That depends on your definition of 'people'." she said callously. "And that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, then, Doctor. And watch me smile, and cry, and flutter..."
"And creak?"
"And what?
"Creak. You're creaking." the Doctor taunted, and sure enough, Cassandra's skin was tightening, her eyes became bloodshot and she grew whiter and whiter.
"What? Ah! Ah! I'm drying out!" she began to panic. "Oh, sweet heavens! Moisturise me! Moisturise me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" she broke out in red blotches
"You raised the temperature." the Doctor callously reminded her.
"Have pity!" Cassandra pleaded "Moisturise me! Oh, Doctor! I'm sorry, I'll do anything!"
"You should help her, Doctor." Chelsea began. Although she had no sympathy for the being who had tried to kill her, she felt that Cassandra should at least face the music for everything she'd done.
But the Doctor had other ideas. "Everything has it's time and everything dies." he said coldly.
Cassandra began to shrivel up. "I'm... too... young. Argh!" she groaned before promptly exploding, sending bits of skin flying everywhere and leaving just an empty frame.
The Doctor looked on, completely cold and unfazed. He turned on his heel and left the room.
~8~
About an hour later, the surviving guests had all gone and Chelsea was standing alone in the observation gallery, watching the rocks that were once Planet Earth float past outside the window. She heard footsteps and turned to see the Doctor walk back in and join her by the window.
"The end of the Earth." Chelsea croaked, the grim reality of what she'd just experienced hitting her like a blow to the stomach. "It's all gone and no one saw it. We were all too busy saving our own skins that we missed it. It's really all gone; London, England, Earth, everything. The whole planet... this is all that's left of it." She nodded sadly at the rocks floating by outside, a few tears beginning to fall from her eyes.
The Doctor reached a hand out and wiped her tears away. "Come with me." he said gently, and he led Chelsea to the hanger bay where the TARDIS was waiting.
~8~
Chelsea stepped out of the TARDIS to find herself in Piccadilly Circus in the 2000's. She looked at the crowds of people milling about, seeing them in a new light as the Doctor came up beside her.
"Yer think it'll last forever." the Doctor said sagely. "People, an' cars and concrete. But it won't. One day, it's all gone. Even the sky."
They were silent for a moment, then the Doctor spoke up again, "My planet's gone."
Chelsea turned to him to see his eyes grow sad and old, as if he'd aged hundreds of years in few seconds.
"It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks an' dust. Before it's time."
"Why? Wh-wh-what happened?" Chelsea asked, trying to be as tactful as she could.
"There was a war and we lost." the Doctor replied solemnly.
"War with who?" Chelsea asked.
The Doctor didn't answer, seemingly lost in thought.
"What about your people?" Chelsea tried. "What happened to them? What species are you?"
"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travellin' on my own cause there's no one else."
"I'm sorry." Chelsea said sympathetically.
"I'm sorry too." the Doctor said, turning to her. "I was careless and I nearly got you killed. I'm sorry."
"It's ok, I'm still here, aren't I?" Chelsea tried to make light of the matter.
"You've seen how dangerous it is." the Doctor told her seriously. "D'yer wanna go home?"
"I don't know." Chelsea sighed. She really didn't know what she wanted. Nearly getting burned alive no less than twice in the space of five minutes had badly shaken her, but after hearing the Doctor's confession, she felt a duty of care towards him. She was pulled from her thoughts by a rumble from her stomach. "Look, I can't decide on an empty stomach she said. "There's a nice chip shop just round the corner. D'ya like chips?" she asked the Doctor.
"Yeah. Yeah!" the Doctor laughed.
"Me too." Chelsea said. "Chips it is, then. And you can pay. Call it compensation for nearly getting me killed back there."
"No money." the Doctor shrugged.
"Huh, typical man." Chelsea snorted. "Alright then, Mr Tight Arse, I'll pay. C'mon, then. We've only got five billion years 'till they all close."
And they both walked off down the street together.
Author's notes: And here's my latest fic; a short one-shot showing what it might've been like if Chelsea Willows had been in Rose Tyler's place during The End of the World. I thought it'd be interesting to see how certain episodes would play out if some of my OCs were there. Iris is another OC that I'm thinking about doing some AU one-shots with; featuring her in episodes which were from before she met the Doctor. Regarding this story, note that Chelsea's relationship with the 9th Doctor is a bit better than the one she had with the 11th Doctor. My headcanon is that in this AU, she didn't meet the Doctor as a child and so doesn't have that broken pedestal. It also helps that Nine is rather more considerate than Eleven, though he and Chelsea did butt heads over certain things. So, I hope you like this one-shot and if this goes down well enough, I'll see about doing more of these. Goodbye for now!