Army of Ghosts

Notes: I'm glad people have favorite this story but I'd love to hear what you think of it. Please comment it gives me motivation to continue.

It was a bright sunny day when we landed in a corner of a children's playground near the Powell Estate. My uncle and I followed Rose as she led us to her mom's flat. We walked into the flat and Rose called out, "Mum, it's us! We're ba-ack!"

Jackie came out of the kitchen "Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone. You never use it!"

Rose grinned, "Shut up, come here!"

Jackie walked up to her daughter and the two hugged, "Oh, I love you!"

"I love you!"

"I love you so much!"

Then, Jackie moved over to me, "Teddy… Nice to see you again…" she said as she stared to hug me.

"Likewise," I said.

As we hugged, my uncle tried to squeeze past us. But, Jackie saw him and grabbed him, "Oh no you don't. Come here!" she pulled him close and gave him a great big kiss. "Oh, you lovely big fella! Oh, you're all mine!"

"Just- just- just put me down!" said The Doctor.

"Yes, you are." Jackie then kissed him again and walked off with Rose.

"I think I liked it better when she hated me," he said, as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. I laughed and we walked into the sitting room and started to flick through the magazines sitting on the coffee table.

Rose handed her mother her rucksack and said, "I've got loads of washing for ya! And I got you this!" She showed Jackie a small little bottle shaped knick-knack. "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of, um… what's it called?"

"Bezoolium," said The Doctor and I together.

"Bazoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it's going to rain. When it's hot, it's going to be sunny! You can use it to tell the weather!"

"I've got a surprise for you and all." said Jackie.

"Oh, I get her bazoolium, she doesn't even say thanks."

"Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time. He'll be here at ten past! Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know."

"Oh go on, guess!"

"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me."

" It's your granddad. Granddad Prentice. He's on his way any minute! Right, cup of tea!" Jackie then disappeared into the kitchen. Rose just stared at her.

"She's gone mad." said Rose, as The Doctor and I walked up to her.

"Tell me something new." said The Doctor.

I whacked him on the shoulder, "Be nice… What's wrong Rose?"

"Granddad Prentice, that's her dad. But he died, like, ten years ago. Oh, my God. She's lost it. Mum?" Then she walked into the kitchen with The Doctor and I close behind, "What you just said about granddad…"

"Any second now," said Jackie.

"But… he passed away. His heart gave out. Do you remember that?"

"Of Course I do!"

"Then how can he come back?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" she looked at her watch, "Ten past. Here he comes." Then, a figure stepped out of nowhere in the middle of the kitchen. It was a featureless humanoid almost like a shadow. It stood next to Jackie and said, "Here we are, then! Dad… say hello to Rose. Ain't she grown?"

We rushed out of the flat and down the stairs when we got outside we were looked around and were confused by what we saw, "They're everywhere!" I said.

People were walking around the courtyard going about their lives. There was a group of boys playing with a ball. But no one paid any attention to the ghosts milling about. Just then Rose called out, "Doctor, look out!"

I turned and saw a ghost walk right through my uncle! It didn't hurt him but it we could tell it wasn't comfortable having the ghost walk through him. Then, Jackie joined us, "They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."

"What do you mean, shift?" asked The Doctor, "Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?"

"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?"

"But no one's running or screaming or freaking out," I said.

"Why should we?" said Jackie, she looked at her watch, "Here we go. Twelve minutes past." And then the ghosts just disappeared.

I walked up to my uncle, "Doctor… What's going on?"

He looked around looked more confused, "I don't know… Come on…" Then we headed back upstairs to the Tyler flat. The Doctor turned on the TV and it was amazing. There was now a show dedicated to the ghost and what was going on. There were now weather report like segments where there were predictions of where there would be strong concentrations of ghosts. On a talk show, there was an episode about a woman who "married" a ghost. There was commercials selling products to "clean" ghosts! It wasn't just in the U.K. It was all over the world. I called my mom in Denver and she told me my Great Grandfather Duncan had been making regular visits. I walked out of Rose's bedroom after talking to my mom and I saw The Doctor sitting on the floor in front of the TV. Jackie was sitting on the sofa and Rose was perched on the arm. They were watching an English soap called EastEnders.

There was a woman in a bar talking to a ghost, "Listen to me, Den Watts. I don't care if you have come back from the grave. Get out of my pub! The only spirits I'm serving in this place are gin, whisky and vodka. So, you heard me. Get out!"

The Doctor turned off the TV having seen enough, "When did it start?"

"Well, first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down…" said Jackie.

"No, I mean worldwide."

"Oh! That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were… Ghosts, everywhere. We all ran round screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking… No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realize that… we're lucky."

I walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Jackie and I asked, "What makes you think it's your dad?"

"It just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

"I wish I could, mum, but I can't," said Rose.

"You've got to make an effort. You've got to want it, sweetheart."

"The more you want it, the stronger it gets," I said.

"Sort of, yeah."

"Like a psychic link. Of course you want your dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence. The ghosts are using that to pull themselves in."

"You're spoiling it."

I took her hand, "I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory."

" But if they're not ghosts, what are they then?"

"Yeah, but they're human! You can see them. They look human."

"She's got a point. I mean, they're all sort of blurred, but they're definitely people."

"Maybe not," said the Doctor, "They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot."

We headed back to the TARDIS to start to work on a device to find out the where the ghosts are coming from. I was standing next to the console while my uncle was wedged under console working on the device. Rose walked in to the control room and said, "According to the paper, they've elected a ghost as MP for Leeds. Now don't tell me you're going to sit back and do nothing."

Just then The Doctor popped up wearing a backpack and holding a hose like device, "Who you going to call?"

"Ghostbusters!" called out Rose and I.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts." said my uncle as he ran out the door. Rose and I followed him out laughing.

Back outside, Jackie was waiting for us, "When's the next shift?" he asked as he put out three metal cones linked by wires on the grass.

"Quarter to." said Jackie, as she checked her watch , "But don't go causing trouble. What's that lot do?"

"Triangulates their point of origin." I said.

"I don't suppose it's the Gelth?" asked Rose.

"Nah." said The Doctor, "They were just coming through one little rift. This lot are transposing themselves over the whole planet. Like tracing paper."

"You're always doing this. Reducing it to science," said Jackie, "Why can't it be real? Just think of it, though… All the people we've lost. Our families coming back home. Don't you think it's beautiful?"

The Doctor stopped for a moment looked her in the eyes and said, "I think it's horrific," Jackie looked shocked, I shook my head, and my uncle went back to work, "Rose, give us a hand." He started to unwind a cable and lead it back into the TARDIS. Rose followed behind him.

I walked up to Jackie, "Jackie… I think if it was truly your loved ones coming back that would be a beautiful thing…"

Jackie smiled, "You sure you're his niece?"

I laughed a little… "I'm sure…"

Jackie and I went into the TARIDS and watched as my uncle showed Rose what to do while we were outside monitoring the ghost we hope to catch in the trap we set. Then we went back outside to activate the cones. I looked at my watch, "The Ghost Shift is about to start." I said.

"Here we go!" said The Doctor.

"The Scanner's working…" called Rose from inside the TARDIS, "It says delta one six."

"Come on then, you beauty!" Just then a ghost materialized in its center of the triangle of cones. As soon as it did, the cones connected with blue electricity, shooting out to connect at the top of the ghost, making a pyramid. The Doctor then took out a coupe of pairs of what looked like old fashioned 3D glasses. He put one on and handed me one. I put it on and he asked me, "What do you see?"

The shape was covered in particles, "Some kind of background radiation…"

The Doctor nodded the bent down and adjusted a dial on the device. The ghost started to shutter and groan, my uncle laughed, "Don't like that much, do you?"

I just looked at the ghost and said under my breath, "Who are you? Where are you coming from?"

Then The Doctor got a shock from the ghost and stumbled backwards, "WHOA! That's more like it! Not so friendly NOW, are you?" The ghost continued to shutter and jerk inside the triangle. Then, the ghost disappeared. The second the ghost disappeared we gathered up the equipment and ran to the TARDIS. We ran inside, I tossed my hat on the hat rack and The Doctor threw his coat over the railing. "I said so! Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point, and I can track down the source. Allons-y!" Then he pulled a lever on the console, the TARDIS shuddered, and Rose, my uncle, & I fell backward onto the jump seat. The Doctor got up and started to twist knobs on the console, "I like that. Allons-y. I should say Allons-y more often. Allons-y. Watch out, Rose Tyler. Allons-y. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonzo, because then I could say, Allons-y, Alonzo, every time. You two are staring at me."

The Doctor was right. While he was talking Rose and I had been listening to him talking but I noticed something that he didn't when he got up from the jump seat, "My mum's still on board." said Rose.

The Doctor turned and saw, Jackie sitting up in the gantries, her legs dandling over the side, "If we end up on Mars, I'm going to kill you, Doctor…" said Jackie. My uncle stared at her, horrified. Rose and I stood their smirking.

A short time later the TARDIS materializes in a storage area. We watched on the monitor as soldiers burst in through the doors, holding guns, shouting and getting into positions, "Oh well there goes the advantage of surprise," said The Doctor, "Still, cuts to the chase. Teddy, Rose, Stay in here, look after Jackie." I nodded. I was fine with staying in the TARDIS. Something didn't feel right to me and obviously my uncle thought something was wrong if he didn't want us going with him

"I'm not looking after my mum." said Rose, as she followed him to the doors.

"Well, you brought her."

"I was kidnapped!"

Rose pushed past The Doctor and blocked the doorway so he couldn't get out, "Doctor, they've got guns."

"And I haven't. Which makes me the better person, don't you think?" he said as moved her out of the way, "They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine."

The Doctor walked outside with his hand up. He didn't close the door all the way so Rose, Jackie, and I could peek out of the crack between the doors.

Just then a woman with honey brown hair and wearing a black business suit ran into the room, "Oh! Oh, how marvelous. Oh, very good. Superb. Happy day." said the woman. Then she started to clap and the soldiers joined in.

We all were a bit confused by what was going on. The Doctor lowered his hand tentatively, "Um. Thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm… the Doctor."

Then they started clapping again, "Oh, I should say. Hurray!" said the woman.

"You… you've heard of me, then?"

"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would BE here. The Doctor AND the TARDIS…!"

There was more applause, I rolled my eyes knowing my uncle was enjoying this a little bit. Then, he gestured for silence.

"And… and… you are?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that. But according to the records, you're not one for traveling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern, isn't it, right?" The woman's voice took a slightly sinister quality to it, "There's no point hiding anything. Not from us." Then, it went back to normal, "So, where is she?"

"…Yes! Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." Said The Doctor as he opened the door a bit more, feeling around for Jackie and pulled her out, "But here she is, Rose Tyler. Hmm. She's NOT the best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that." He mimed chatting and even though I couldn't see her I could tell Jackie was glaring at him. The woman just laughed. "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty seven years. But she'll do."

"I'm forty!" said Jackie.

"Deluded," said The Doctor, "Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well, I say not bad…. Anyway! Lead on. Allons-y. But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

"I'll show you where my ankle's going." said Jackie, as she and the Doctor followed the woman.

Rose closed the door. Then, she and I went over to the monitor and watched as the group left. I did a silent prayer that who ever this group was they didn't know about me. Rose looked at me, "Now what?"

"We wait…" I said, "My uncle obviously had a reason for taking Jackie over one of us…" Just then we felt the TARDIS shutter a bit. We held on to the console.

"What's going on?"

I pressed some buttons and we looked at the monitor, "They are moving us… We'll wait until they drop us off… then we'll make our way out and see if we can find out what's going on here and maybe find The Doctor and Jackie. Rose, go over to my uncle's jacket and see if he left the psychic paper behind… It could come in handy…"

Rose went over to his jacket and pulled out the wallet with the psychic paper, "Got it…"

"Good," I said as she handed it to me and I slid it into the pocket of my cardigan. A short time later we were dropped in a tucked away corner of a warehouse. We tentatively stepped out of the TARDIS. We tried to go to the left but there were two men talking. So we quickly turned around and tried to go to the right. But, we saw a couple of soldiers approaching. So we hid behind the TARDIS until they walked pass. Once they were gone we came out from behind the TARDIS and found a couple of white lab coats. We quickly put them on and walked confidently out into the open. No one gave us a second glance as we walked around. I couldn't believed what I saw they were working on all sorts of alien technology that human shouldn't have for many, many, many, years in the future. I knew we had to find my uncle. As we looked around, I saw someone walking through the warehouse that looked somewhat familiar. "Come on…" I said to Rose as we started to follow the man.

We walked down a corridor, still following the man from a distance. When the man rounded a corner we walked a little faster because we heard the sound of a large door opening and closing We got to the corner and cautiously looked around it. We saw the door was unguarded. I looked around the door and saw a round panel. I took the psychic paper out of my pocket, took a deep breath and pressed it against the panel, then the door opened. We walked in the room and I looked up and saw a perfect sphere just sitting there about 20 feet off the floor. As I looked at it, it gave me the chills. It shouldn't have existed, it was a Void Ship. A vessel designed to exist outside time and space, and travel between the space between parallel universes. Just then a man of Indian decent walked up to us, "Can I help you?"

Rose was transfixed by the Void Ship, "I was just…"

"Try not to look. It does that to everyone. What do you want?"

"Sorry. Um… They sent us from personnel. They said some man had been taken prisoner."

"Some sort of Doctor?" I said, "We're just checking the lines of communication. Did they tell you anything?"

"Can I see your authorization?" asked the man, saw on his I.D. badge that his name was Rajesh.

"Sure," I said, as I handed him the psychic paper, with a smile.

"That's lucky," he said. "You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training." Needless to say my smile went away as he continued, "This paper is blank, and you're a fake." He touched his earpiece, "Seal the room. Call security. Samuel? Can you check the door locks? They just walked right in."

Samuel was right behind Rajesh. But when, Samuel turned around it was Mickey! Mickey Smith who was suppose to be the parallel world. "Doing it now, sir." He put a finger to his lips and gave us the thumbs up and grinned. Part of me was happy to see Mickey, in the short time I knew him, we had become friends. But, part of me was not happy to see him, if he was there now, then that meant that the Void Ship cracked the barrier between universes and we were all in big trouble.

"Well, if you'd like to take a seat," said Rajesh as he took us over to his desk. Then he pressed a button on his laptop, and the woman we saw talking to The Doctor earlier came on the screen, "Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a couple of visitors. We don't know who they are, but funnily enough, they arrived at the same time as the Doctor."

The woman turned her laptop and we saw my uncle and Rose's mom, "Are they yours?" asked Yvonne.

"Never seen them before in my life," said The Doctor.

I rolled my eyes and Yvonne said, "Good. Then we can have them shot."

"Oh, all right then," said my uncle, "It was worth a try. The one on the left that's Rose Tyler. And the one on the right is Teddy, my niece."

Rose and I waved, "Sorry… Hello…" said Rose and I.

"Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's she?" asked Yvonne.

"I'm her mother." said Jackie

"Oh, you travel with her mother?"

"He kidnapped me."

"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I traveled through time and space with her mother," said The Doctor.

"Charming," Said Jackie.

"I've got a reputation to uphold."

Then we heard a clunk and Yvonne say, "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift. Who started the program? But I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?"

The Doctor and Jackie left the screen and Rajesh, said, "Yvonne, I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled. What's going on? Yvonne?" Then the whole room shuddered, "It can't be." All four of us went to the Void Ship and the room shuddered again, "It's active!"

Rajesh rushed back to his computer to get help but he wasn't getting any response, "We've got a problem down here. Yvonne, can you hear me?" The sphere started to shake, "Yvonne, for God's sake. The sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field. It exists!" Then there was a crash behind us as the doors locked, "The door's sealed. Automatic quarantine. We can't get out!"

He rushed off and left Rose, Mickey and I just looking up at the Void Ship, "It's all right, babe." said Mickey, "We've beaten them before, we can beat them again. That's why I'm here. The fight goes on."

"The fight against what?" asked Rose.

"What do you think?" said Mickey.

I knew who Mickey was talking about… The Cybermen… Then, the room shuddered again, this time more violent than before.

"We had them beaten, but then they escaped. The Cybermen just vanished," The room shuddered again, "They found a way through to this world, but so did we."

"The Doctor said that was impossible." said Rose

"Yeah, it's not the first time he's been wrong."

"He's not wrong," I said, "It is impossible. That thing smashed the barrier between universes."

"What's inside that sphere?" asked Rose.

There was another shudder.

"No one knows. Cyber Leader, Cyber King, Emperor of the Cybermen. Whatever it is, he's dead meat," said Mickey.

I shook my head, "No, Mickey… The Cybermen didn't make it…"

"Who did?" asked Rose.

"I don't know…"

Rose looked at Mickey, smiled and gave him a nudge, "It's good to see you."

Mickey smiled, "Yeah. It's good to see you, too."

There was another shudder. Rajesh was back at his computer trying to get help for us, "Can anyone hear me? Come on, I need help down here! I need…"

Then the Void Ship stopped vibrating. Rajesh walked over to us as Mickey took off his lab coat and ear piece, "Here we go…" he said. We looked at the Void Ship and watched as it started to open and light started to stream through the top.

"Whatever's in there… I'm ready for it… I've got just the thing…" Mickey went to the platform under the sphere and pulled out a very large gun, "This is going to blast them to Hell."

"Samuel, what are you doing?" asked Rajesh.

"The name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Defending the Earth." Then he cocked his gun and the sphere opened wide. Four objects started to float out of the Void Ship.

"That's not Cybermen," said Mickey.

My eyes went wide… "No… No… It can't be…" I watched in horror as four Daleks glided out of the sphere. One of them was all black.

"Oh, my God." said Rose

"Location, Earth. Life forms detected. Exterminate!" said the Daleks, "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

To Be Continued…