A/N:
Hello! This is a long-planned series inspired in part by the user LizzeXX! I really recommend that you read her work; it's lovely!
I do not own Doctor Who; BBC does.
I started planning this series many, many years ago, and I won't let go of some aspects—like her eyes and hair.
The Alchemist - Ally, is a Time Lady of Gallifrey. Her face claim is a ginger Bridget Regan. As you will learn how/why, in this story, my OC always regenerates with red hair and blue eyes, her pupil surrounded by gold.
I am cross-posting this series on multiple platforms, and this is the edited version of the first chapter. I will be updating it weekly for the foreseeable future. You can search for it if you want to jump ahead, but it will be slightly different. I'll use many different mentions of situations, objects, Time Lords, companions, planets, etc., that appear in the comics and some of the audio stories, as well as my additions to the lore. Each chapter is either a revision of an episode or something I wrote entirely, so I hope you enjoy it and review it!
I've broken up scenes by location.
'italics' telepathic communication.
'standard' communication with the Time Vortex/Teacher.
"Italics" Gallifreyan or Old High Gallifreyan communication (I will identify which variation when in use).
Warning:
I have a lot of triggers in these books, which is why it's marked as 'M.'
These books do not paint Rose Tyler in a good light.
I really hope you enjoy it!
Chapter One: The Empty Child
[Officer's mess]
Jack leans over the balcony, peering through a set of binoculars that are anything but World War II vintage. His gaze lands on a blonde woman clad in a Union Flag shirt, who is caught in a bit of a predicament.
"Get those lights out, please. Everyone down to the shelter," yells another officer before approaching him, "Jack? Are you going down to the shelter? Only I've got to go off on some silly guard duty," he looks out the window, "Ah, barrage balloon, eh? Must've come loose. Happens now and then. Don't you RAF boys use them for target practice?"
Jack zooms in on the young woman's derriere.
"Excellent bottom," Jack says with a smirk.
"I say, old man, there's a time and a place," the other officer frowns, "Look, you should really be off."
Jack smirks, pulling down the binoculars, "Sorry, old man. I've got to go meet a girl," he winks at the man, "But you've got an excellent bottom, too."
[Alleyway]
After exiting the building, Jack turns and walks down a narrow alleyway.
He taps the communicator on his manipulator, "Hey Allycat, I'm pretty sure they're..."
He's interrupted by a woman's calm and clear Irish accent, "Here, yes, I'm aware of that, Smelly Jack. I sensed them when they arrived."
Jack rolls his eyes, "One of them is hanging by a barrage balloon. You want to meet up on the ship to help me bring her in?"
"Her?" Ally replies, "I don't think so. When you start setting off, that ship will smell like a rotting flower shop."
"Do you even remember what a flower shop smells like?" he asks with laughter in his tone.
"Of course not," she grumbles through the comm, "I don't even remember what a flower smells like, let alone a rotting flower, but I'm sure it's terrible. Just remember to turn the external fans on, please," she pauses, "Teacher says there's another one. Just let me know when you meet up with that one, and I'll drop in. You better go save the girl, Smelly."
"On it, ginger," Jack replies, disconnecting before he teleports to the ship.
[The Barrage Balloon]
High above Westminster, the young woman finally loses her grip on the thick rope. With a scream, she falls and is caught by a beam.
"Okay, okay, I've got you," Jack tells her quickly.
Frantic, she looks around, "Who's got me? Who's got me, and you know… how?"
"I'm just programming your descent pattern. Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field," he informs her.
"Descent pattern?" she asks in confusion.
"Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone? No, seriously, it interferes with my instrument."
The girl rolls her eyes, reaching for her phone, "You know, no one ever believes that."
With a smirk that you can practically hear, Jack replies, "Thank you. That's much better."
"Oh, yeah, that's a real load off, that is! I'm hanging in the sky in the middle of a German air raid with the Union Jack across my chest, but hey? …My mobile phone's off," she tells him with an air of annoyance.
"Be with you in a moment."
[Jack's spaceship]
"The mobile communication device indicates non-contemporaneous life form," the Computer confirms.
"She's not from around here, no. Ready for you?" he asks the computer.
[Mid-air]
"Hold tight!" Jack calls out.
"To what?" She snips.
Jack pauses, "Fair point."
[Jack's spaceship]
Jack catches the young woman after she hurtles down the light field.
"I've got you. You're fine, you're just fine. The tractor beam… It can scramble your head just a little," Jack says softly.
Entranced by his looks, she says, "Hello."
"Hello," Jack smirks.
"Hello. Sorry, that was hello twice there. Dull, but you know, thorough," she smiles.
He raises an eyebrow, "Are you all right?"
"Fine," the young woman nods.
Jack sets her down on the ground, still holding her steady.
"Why, are you expecting me to faint or something?" she asks.
He shrugs, "You look a little dizzy."
"What about you? You're not even in focus," she frowns before fainting into his arms.
Jack laughs lightly as he lies her down on the bunk. He'll lay out the deal after some of his usual suave persuasion when she wakes up.
[Roof of the Hospital]
Ally has her legs hanging over the Hospital roof, watching the air raid with a tight frown. She watches as each plane flies over London, dropping bomb after bomb. Her senses are pulled back as much as possible, but it's not the noise that bothers her now. This is all a harsh reminder of where she just came from. They have hope, though, as an end is in sight for them, and the humans will survive.
She comes here often. Something is wrong with this hospital, and she's pretty sure it's connected to the Chula medical ship she spotted a while back. This means Jack is likely involved, and she isn't too happy about it. She's seen a boy a few times from a distance—a child that's not a child. She's never approached him, though, and she's sure that he shouldn't be touched. Teacher said not to be concerned yet.
She glances down at her communicator. Jack wanted to make sure that he had a way to contact her while he was out. He gave it to her the same day he brought back some time-period-appropriate dresses and a set of pajamas for her to wear. Granted, she only wore the pajamas once.
That wasn't a pleasant night, but luckily, she only slept for around four hours. Jack knew not to touch her when he found her trashing and screaming in her sleep. She had hoped he would be out that whole evening but returned earlier than she anticipated.
Since meeting him, they've steadily worked on breaking through her programming speech filter. She knows a lot of words will never make it through. What she is, where she's from, the actual name of the bastard that did this to her, and so much more, but it'll be enough to explain to her Bondmate as to who she is... at least she hopes so.
She can feel the buzz in the back of her mind; she has since his ship landed. Her ship? Who knows if they've regenerated at this point or how long they've been apart?
She doesn't care. She wants them and the rest of her memories back.
Looking down at her hands now, she focuses on the few things she does remember: her Bondmate's faces and the looped memory of her family being forced by that monster to regenerate, her granddaughter's first scream, and his laughter. That's all she's remembered for who knows how long. Over and over again, she repeats it and waits for Jack to contact her.
[Albion Hospital ward]"Hello?" Jack calls out.
"Hello?" the girl echoes
"Hello?" Jack repeats, realizing they've done this dance before.
[Albion Hospital corridor]
"Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over," Jack says to the man he knows to be Mister Spock with a charming smile.
She looks at her pilot pointedly "He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents.
"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock," Jack tells him.
Jack walks into the ward, looking around curiously.
"Mister Spock?" the man asks dryly.
The blonde girl shrugs at that, "What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name. Don't you ever get tired of Doctor? Doctor who?"
He rolls his eyes, "Nine centuries in, I'm coping," he purses his lips, "Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll."
"Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."
"What!?"
She shakes her head and asks, "Listen, what's a Chula warship?"
"Chula?" he asks curiously.
Jack walks back over to the pair then.
"Oh! I better call my friend," Jack grins, "She wants to meet you. If you're lucky, you'll see her magic trick."
"Her?" the young woman asks, slightly jealous, "What magic trick?"
"Like I said, she's just a friend," he laughs, "More like a sister than anything. Met her when I got here. Honestly, I don't know what it is, but she can kinda just go wherever she wants, among other things."
Jack taps the communicator on his manipulator, "Allycat, come in, Allycat, this is Smelly Jack calling in."
"You're not funny," is the response they hear.
"Uhuh, keep telling yourself that, red," Jack rolls his eyes, "Where are you anyway?"
"Roof," she replies.
This stuns the other pair.
The girl asks, "You're on a roof during an air raid. Are you crazy!?"
"We haven't figured that out yet," Ally replies, "Either way, this building does not get hit, so I will be fine."
"She's always on a roof; it's why I call her a cat," Jack informs them.
"Which roof?" the Doctor asks.
"I'm not a cat person. We've been over this. They may be bipedal, but they have fur, sharp teeth, and retractable claws, and I have none of the above," she replies, making Jack roll his eyes, "I'm on top of Albion Hospital."
"How does she know all that," the man mumbles then says louder, "That's where we are."
They hear a shuffling through the device as Ally pulls her legs off the side of the roof and walks towards the center, "It wouldn't make a difference anyway."
Jack looks at the sign, "We're on floor 7, ward..."
"I know where you are, Jack," she interrupts, "Incoming."
They're all looking at the manipulator, missing Ally as she appears before them. Back facing the trio and her arms at her sides, the Vortex swirling light in her eyes fades as she lets the power settle back into the connection. She sighs softly as she looks at all of the bodies in the ward. They all look alike.
"Well, I knew something was going on around here, but this was not what I had expected," Ally dryly states.
They all look up at the sound of her voice. The girl and the man jump while Jack rolls his eyes.
"How long were you on top of the hospital," Jack asks her.
She shrugs, walking over towards one of the patients to look them over, not touching them, "Five hours and forty-three minutes."
"And how many seconds?" he grins.
She rolls her eyes, "Twelve seconds, Jack."
She glances over her shoulder quickly, "You need to scan. There aren't enough hearts beating in this room."
"You know what happens when I scan you," Jack replies sarcastically but walks over anyway.
"Scan a body, Smelly Jack," she mutters, "Not me."
She walks next to a bed and lifts her hand over a body before she's interrupted by her apparent Bondmate, "Don't touch them!"
Rolling her eyes, she replies, "I don't need to. I'm just checking to see how badly Jack's messed up," she runs her hand over the entire body about two feet away from touching it, "Are they all like this?"
"Like what?" he questions.
He still hasn't seen what she looks like, nor she him.
"Shall I just give you the full diagnostic?" she snarks as she does the same to another body.
The man crosses his arms and tilts his head, "Humor me."
Ally shrugs, back still turned, and replies, "Head trauma, very extreme to the left side. A scar on the back of the hand. That's probably the first sign of change as it's such a minor injury and…" she frowns, "Yes, the oldest as well. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, no oxygen in the lungs... right-side damage and the gas mask is skin and bone," she shakes her head, "Mind wiped, but there's some sort of connection linking them," she puts her hands on her hips and steps back, "How'd I do?"
The man is dumbfounded, "Were you in here before? Did you talk to Constantine?"
"Who? No, I've been avoiding entering this place for weeks. I sit on top of it from time to time. I knew something was happening here; I just had to wait, apparently."
"Teacher?" Jack asks, standing beside her, "And how is this my fault?"
"Of course, it was Teacher. Just scan the bodies already, Jack," Ally orders before finally turning around to face the other two.
Her eyes meet the man's, and he freezes. Her irises are a vivid blue with gold surrounding the pupil and reaching out, her hair a bright shade of red. It has to be a coincidence, though, he doesn't sense any bonds, let alone another Time Lord in the room; can't even smell one. He shakes it off, swallowing hard.
"This just isn't possible." Jack mutters midscan, "How did this happen?"
"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" the Time Lord demands.
Jack turns to them, "What?"
"He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer," his Companion tells him.
Ally tenses and glares at Jack, crossing her arms.
"Offer? …Stole?" she asks him darkly.
Jack winces but doesn't answer her.
"What kind of Warship?" the Time Lord asks again.
"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this," he replies in frustration, not meeting Ally's eyes.
Ally rubs the back of her neck. "Jack, this has been happening for a month. Answer his questions because I'm not involved in this."
The Doctor eyes her before continuing, "This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?"
"An ambulance!" Jack shouts and hits his manipulator to show a hologram of it, "Look!"
"That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle… love the retro look, by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait."
"Really, Jack? Really?" Ally throws her arms out, exasperated.
The girl turns to Jack and asks, "Bait?"
He tells them, "I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk."
"You said it was a Warship," She says.
"They have ambulances in wars. It was a con. I was conning you. That's what I am. I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"
Ally has her eyes shut, still rubbing her neck.
"Just a couple more freelancers," The girl informs him, crossing her arms.
"Oh. Should have known." Jack rolls his eyes, "The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain? Anyway, whatever's happening here has got nothing to do with that ship."
"It has everything to do with that ship, Jack," Ally says, annoyed.
The Time Lord rounds on Ally, "And how could you possibly have nothing to do with it?"
Jack answers, "Because she doesn't! She's not involved. We met up when I got here, and I've been helping her out."
The men glare at each other before Jack rolls his eyes and steps away.
"What is happening here, Doctor?" the companion asks.
The Doctor scoffs, "Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?" the Doctor grumbles out.
"The Doctor; that's your name then?" asks Ally, turning to him.
He's silent for a moment. She's just... it can't be her, no.
"Yes, I'm the Doctor."
Ally nods, "Good to know. I don't think it's a virus, though—not really."
The patients in the ward all rise to a sitting position simultaneously, making all but Ally jump.
"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy? Mummy?" they call out.
"What's happening?" mutters the frightened young woman.
"I don't know," responds the Doctor.
The patients and Doctor Constantine rise to their feet.
"Mummy," they repeat.
"Don't let them touch you," the Doctor orders them.
"What happens if they touch us?" she asks.
Ally waves her towards the bodies, "You're looking at it."
They close in on the group, their voices rising in a chant.
"Help me, mummy," the patients say in unison, "Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy..."
They're almost within touching distance.
"Go to your room," the Doctor demands.
The patients in the ward stand still and silent.
"Go to your room," he thunders, "I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go to your room!"
They hang their heads in shame and shuffle away before slipping back under the covers of their beds.
Ally barely holds back a laugh.
"I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words," the Doctor says with a grin.
The girl, watching them warily, asks, "Why are they all wearing gas masks?"
"They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone like Ally said," Jack tells her.
The Doctor turns to look at Jack, "How was your con supposed to work?"
"Simple enough, really," Jack shrugs, "Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price," he nods, "When he's put fifty percent up front, oops!" Jack grins, throwing his hands out, "A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con."
The Doctor and Ally scoff before he replies, "Yeah. Perfect."
"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners," Jack goes on, "Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it, though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day. ...Getting a hint of disapproval."
"A hint?" Ally asks, glaring at him full-on.
Jack winces again and scratches the back of his head.
"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space junk did," the Doctor tells him darkly.
"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty," Jack denies once again.
The Doctor calls his companion over, "Rose."
"Are we getting out of here?" she asks as she walks towards him.
He shakes his head, "We're going upstairs."
"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no one!" Jack continues, "I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it.
"...Anything living," Ally repeats under her breath, thinking.
"I'll tell you what's happening. You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day," The Doctor tells Jack with a glare.
She can't help herself; Jack does this with her all the time and it's also become a bit of a habit. "First eruption 24th of August 79 CE, 11:52 am."
The Doctor looks at her sharply, "How do you know that?"
Before she can open her mouth, Jack replies with an eye roll, "She just does. Time, dates, she just knows."
A siren sounds from outside, interrupting them, and Ally flinches, covering her ears from where she stands behind the trio. She sighs in relief as it stops.
"What's that?" Rose asks, looking around.
"The all clear," Jack tells her.
"I wish," the Doctor scoffs.
They head for the staircase. The Doctor is momentarily lost in his thoughts; he desperately wants it to be real, that she's her. She has the same eyes and hair color that she always Regenerates with, and she has answers that no human should know, even to the date and time of even goes by Ally. But she's also different, which is putting him off beyond the fact that she doesn't recognize him, and he can't sense her. She doesn't smell like anything, honestly.
"Mister Spock?" Jack asks, interrupts his thoughts.
"Doctor?" asks Rose when he doesn't respond.
"Not his name, Jack," Ally laughs, and Jack rolls his eyes.
They run up the staircase; The Doctor and Ally are the next flight up.
"Have you got a blaster?" The Doctor asks Jack.
"Sure!" he responds.
The pair of humans dash up the steps to meet them by the sturdy metal door.
"The night your space junk landed, someone was hurt," the Time Lord explains, "This was where they were taken."
"What happened?" asks Rose.
"Let's find out," Ally shrugs.
"Get it open," the Doctor orders.
"What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rose mutters.
Ally frowns; that's one of her inventions. She doesn't remember why she invented it, but she does remember creating it. He was very careful in blocking only personal memories. Everything she was supposed to remember had to do with facts and with creating and building new methods of destruction, so he made sure that all of the memories that would assist, meaning not personal ones, were sifted through and kept.
"Nothing," the Doctor mutters.
Jack's blaster disintegrates the loc, and Ally's mouth shifts into a tight frown. Blasters, guns, and weapons of any kind bother her.
The Doctor nods to it, "Sonic blaster, 51st century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?"
"You've been to the factories?" Jack asks him, surprised.
He shrugs, glancing at the ginger, "Once."
She's so similar that he can't help himself.
"Well, they're gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot," Jack scoffs.
"Like I said. Once," the Time Lord grins, "There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good."
"What do bananas taste like? Jack never picked those up," Ally asks the Doctor curiously.
The Doctor turns to the woman fully now, "You've never seen a banana?"
She rolls her eyes, "I know what they are, obviously, but I don't remember if I had one or not, so I have no idea what they taste like. I barely have any private memories."
She has no memories? As he enters the room, the Doctor decides to put that little fact to the side.
"Nice blast pattern," Rose flirts.
Jack nods to it, "Digital."
Rose keeps going, "Squareness gun."
"Yeah," he grins.
"I like it," she says, fluttering her lashes.
Ally grimaces; the pheromones are just all over the place. From both of them.
[Private Hospital Room]
They examine everything in sight: documents, filing cabinets ajar, and electronic devices in disarray. The space is in complete disarray, and the observation window is shattered.
"What do you think?" the Doctor asks them.
"Something got out of here," Jack nods towards the window.
The Doctor rolls his eyes, "Yeah. And?"
"Something powerful. Angry," Jack assumes.
"Powerful and angry," he agrees.
A child's crayon artwork is strewn across the floor alongside a Steiff teddy bear.
Jack frowns, "A child? I suppose this explains Mummy."
"How could a child do this?" Rose asks, confused.
"Not a child anymore," Ally mumbles quietly enough that the humans don't hear her.
She looks at the walls and tilts her head in thought, trying to sense the psychic energy left in the room, while the Doctor nods in agreement with her and turns on a tape machine.
"Do you know where you are?" asks Constantine.
"Are you my mummy?" asks the child.
Constantine continues, "Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?"
The child repeats, "Are you my mummy?"
"What do you want? Do you know..." Constantine is interrupted.
"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"
"Doctor, I've heard this voice before," Rose tells him, turning towards him.
"Me too," he confirms.
"Mummy?" asks the child.
Rose mumbles, "Always are you my mummy? Like he doesn't know."
"Mummy?"
"Why doesn't he know?" she asks, looking around the room again.
"Are you there, mummy? Mummy?"
Ally moves closer to the walls, tuning into the feelings around her as she also draws nearer the Doctor.
"Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?"
The Time Lord is also looking at the walls, very aware of the ginger woman beside him.
"Doctor?" asks Rose.
He directs his next question to Ally, "Can you sense it?"
Ally glances at him and nods.
"Sense what?" Jack asks him.
"Coming out of the walls. Can you feel it?" he asks again, louder.
"Desperation, fear," Ally mutters to him, shutting her eyes.
The Doctor gazes intently at the contours of her face. She may not be her, as much as he hopes she is, but everything adds up to the fact that this woman is definitely not human.
"Mummy?"
He sighs and looks away, turning around, "Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"
Rose rolls her eyes, "When he's stressed, he likes to insult species."
"Rose, I'm thinking," the Doctor tells her, annoyed.
"He cuts himself shaving; he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than."
"There are these children living rough 'round the bomb sites," the Time Lord starts, "They come out during air-raids looking for food…"
"Mummy, please?"
"Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed?"
"Nothing living," Ally reminds him quietly as she turns around to face the window, looking for potential threats.
The Doctor nods in understanding. It could be her if she used a chameleon circuit. That still doesn't explain the fact that she smells like nothing. He breathes in deeply through his nose, picking up only the scents of the two humans in the room even though he's fully aware she's there with them, standing right next to him.
"It was a med-ship. It was harmless," Jack defends.
"Yes, you keep saying 'harmless.' Suppose one of them was affected, altered?" The Doctor questions them.
"Altered how?" asks Rose.
At the first click of the tape running out, Ally's eyes flash to the recorder. Her internal timer begins and she watches the doorway, waiting.
"I'm here!" says the child, standing in the doorway two seconds later.
"It's afraid, terribly afraid, and powerful," the Doctor says regretfully, "It doesn't know it yet, but it will do. It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room."
"Doctor," Rose calls out.
"I'm here. Can't you see me?" asks the child.
"What's that noise?" Rose asks and Ally can't help but roll her eyes.
The Time Lord sighs, "End of the tape. It ran out about thirty seconds ago."
"Thirty-three seconds, actually," Ally informs them.
"I'm here now. Can't you see me?"
The Doctor rubs his forehead in frustration, "I sent it to its room. This is its room."
The other three are now staring at the child.
"Are you my Mummy? Mummy?" he asks again.
"Doctor?" Rose asks, afraid.
"Okay, on my signal, make for the door," Jack orders.
"Mummy?" he asks, tilting his head.
Jack raises his blaster at the child. "Now!" Jack calls, aiming—but wait—it's just a banana.
Ally spied the switch a while ago but still lets out a quick sigh of relief. No one will be hit.
"Mummy?" the boy asks.
The Doctor retrieves Jack's blaster from his pocket and carves a square opening into the wall.
"Go now!" he yells, "Don't drop the banana!"
"Why not!?" Jack demands, exasperated.
"Good source of potassium!"
They jump through the wall quickly, Ally going last, her eyes still on the boy until she backs out of the hole.
"Give me that!" Jack snaps and grabs his blaster.
"Mummy. I want my mummy!"
Jack uses his blaster to mend the hole in the wall.
"Digital rewind." he nods before looking at the Doctor, "Nice switch."
The Doctor shrugs, "It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."
"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard, and you did that?" asks Jack, astonished.
"Bananas are good," he replies with a grin.
"I expect to try one after this," Ally mutters, frowning at the wall.
She can hear the child's muffled attempts to break through from the other side. The wall finally starts to crack and splinter.
"Doctor!" Rose cries, alarmed.
"Come on!" he calls and turns, but the patients approach them from the other direction.
"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy," they call out.
The Doctor watches them warily, "It's keeping us here 'til it can get at us."
"It's controlling them?" asks Jack.
"It is them," he corrects, "It's every living thing in this hospital,"
Ally continues glancing between the breaking wall and the army, "They're linked, all of them, to him."
The Doctor is getting increasingly suspicious of her with every detail she reveals. Ally can smell it coming off of him in waves. That and... hope? Is that what hope smells like? She has no idea, honestly. It's a new one for her. No one had hope during the war.
"Okay," Jack nods, "This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfolded sonic disruptor," he gestures to his friend, "Ally can get out but can't bring us with her. Doc, what you got?"
The Doctor scratches his head and grimaces, "I've got a sonic, er. Oh, never mind."
"What?" he asks quickly.
"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that," the Doctor grumbles.
Jack doesn't drop it, "Disrupter? Cannon? What?"
"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am soniced up!" he snaps.
Ally laughs under her breath and dashes to Jack's side. She's not looking forward to touching it, but if needs must. She crouches, preparing, and flicks her eyes back toward the wall.
"A sonic what!?" Jack asks, panicked and frustrated with the man.
The Doctor finally turns to him, "Screwdriver!"
The child breaks through the wall and Ally grabs Jack's blaster in a flash and points it at the floor.
"Going down, biddies," she quips, and they drop.
Everyone but Ally lands on the floor of Ward 2 in a heap of limbs and groans.
She quickly reverses the hole in the ceiling and starts to help them up, still watching out for threats and escape routes. They haven't moved from the bed yet, but there's a door behind them. She anticipates needing to go through there. Based on her current understanding of the building's structure, it's probably a dead end. They'll need to create their escape route.
"Doctor, are you okay?" asks Rose, concerned.
"Could've used a warning," he grumbles as Ally pulls him to his feet.
Rose rolls her eyes, "Oh, the gratitude, Ally seems to be on top of things."
"I did warn you, not my fault you lot have terrible reflexes," Ally grins.
They all roll their eyes, and Jack mutters "Cat" under his breath.
"Who has a sonic screwdriver?" Jack asks the Doctor as Ally gives him back the blaster.
"I do," the Doctor declares.
"Lights," Rose mumbles.
Ally glances over her shoulder to see her feeling the wall in the dark. She sometimes forgets that not everyone can see in the dark like she can.
The Doctor and Jack are still bickering.
"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ooh, this could be a little more sonic?" Jack snips.
The Doctor huffs, "What, you've never been bored?"
Ally rolls her eyes. She doesn't know why she called it that, but she's very aware that it does more than screw in screws and that she made it, not him.
"There's got to be a light switch," Rose mutters.
"Two steps to your left, Rose," Ally tells her while the girl feels the walls.
She listens and flicks the switch.
"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?" the Doctor defends.
Ally frowns as the patients sit up in their beds. She's getting rather annoyed about the idea of her invention being used for cabinetry.
"Mummy. Mummy." the patients call out.
The group takes a step back when they hear them.
"Look behind us," Ally tells Jack, and he turns.
"Door," Jack points the blaster at it, but it doesn't respond, "Damn it!"
"Mummy?"
"It's the special features. They really drain the battery," he tells them.
Rose asks dully, "The battery?"
Ally rolls her eyes, "Just use the sonic screwdriver to unlock it already."
The Doctor does just that, and they run into the storeroom.
Ally sweeps the room. There is not much: a wheelchair, table, radio, and barred window. They can get through there with the right crosactic setting, but there's still a drop. She could teleport below the window after they get the bars out and catch them as they jump one at a time. Jack could return to the ship and teleport them there, but it would take some time alone—roughly ten minutes. That's the best option.
"That's so lame!" Rose whines.
"I was going to send for another one, but somebody's got to blow up the factory, and Ally refused to fix it for me."
Rose rolls her eyes, "Oh, I know… First day I met him, he blew my job up. That's practically how he communicates."
The Doctor ignores them and sonics the lock, "Okay, that door should hold it for a bit."
"The door? The wall didn't stop it!" Jack snaps.
"Well, it's got to find us first!" he snaps back, "Come on, we're not done yet! Assets, assets!"
Sarcastically, Jack replies, "Well, I've got a banana, and in a pinch, you could put up some shelves."
"Window," the Doctor announces, and they run over to it while Ally leans against the corner between two walls, eyes alert and watching the door.
"Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories," Jack announces.
"It's doable," Ally tells them but she can tell only Jack believes her.
"And no other exits," Rose grumbles.
Jack rolls his eyes, "Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?"
Turning to Rose, the Doctor asks, "So, where'd you pick this one up, then?"
"Doctor," she admonishes.
Jack grins, "She was hanging from a barrage balloon; I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance."
Ally scoffs; at least the girl didn't attack him like she did.
Jack turns to meet her gaze, and Ally points up. He nods to her in understanding before he jumps.
"Okay. One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?" the Doctor asks, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah." Rose frowns, finally noticing, "Jack just disappeared."