A/N: Part two starts now! It also occurs to me that I never told you who I'm modeling Katy on. Just FYI, the actress I've envisioned as Caitlyn Tyler is Emma Watson.
I do not own Doctor Who. All I own is this story and my OC.
Please review and no flaming is tolerated.
Enjoy, guys!
SCHOOL'S OUT
"School's out for summer.
School's out forever.
School's been blown to pieces."
– Alice Cooper: 'School's Out' (School's Out [1972])
Outside the Coffee Shop
Katy and Mickey volunteer to help Sarah-Jane take K9 back to her car, since he was fairly heavy, and some extra muscle was required to help get him back without dropping and damaging him further. Rose hung back with the Doctor, under the excuse of helping him with his tools.
But both Katy and Mickey knew otherwise; the blonde was going to interrogate the Doctor about Sarah-Jane, and neither wanted to be a part of that potential shit storm. The brunette could see the irritated expression on the Doctor's face from where they were standing, and winced, earning a questioning look from Sarah-Jane, which Katy pretended not to have seen.
"Thanks for your help, K9!" Katy chirped at the robot cheerfully, scratching the dog behind one of his 'ears'.
"You're welcome, miss." K9 responds, before powering down. Sarah-Jane pulls the tartan blanket over him as Mickey decides to satisfy his curiosity.
"So what's the deal with the tin dog?" He asks, and Sarah-Jane smiles at him, shrugging nonchalantly.
"The Doctor likes travelling with an entourage," She explains as she, Katy, and Mickey finish tucking away the blanket around K9, and then lean against the car, waiting for the Doctor and Rose to emerge from the coffee shop. "Sometimes they're humans, sometimes they're aliens, and sometimes they're tin dogs."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Katy pondered in amusement, earning a giggle from Sarah-Jane and an affectionate roll of the eye from Mickey.
"What about you?" Sarah-Jane questions Mickey. "I mean, I know all about Katy and the fact that she's a—" She immediately cuts herself off, looking alarmed, looking at the pair like she was a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "—wait. You do know, don't you?" Mickey looks at her with a puzzled expression.
"Know what?"
"Er, know that Katy is—" Sarah-Jane hesitated with her answer, before Mickey cottons on and fills in the blanks, smiling reassuringly at the older woman.
"Like the Doctor? Yeah, Katy already told me before." Mickey explains.
"It's Rose that doesn't know, and we'd like to keep it that way for now." Katy adds, and Sarah-Jane looks relieved that she hadn't accidentally unleashed a can of worms, and looks curiously at Rose, pondering why they didn't want the blonde to know her sister's secret.
"Oh, thank God. I was worried for a moment that I was about to say the wrong thing." Sarah-Jane laughs a little awkwardly before clearing her throat and returning her attention back on Mickey. "Anyway, where do you fit in the picture?" Mickey immediately puffs up his chest, looking somewhat cocky and triumphant.
"Me? I'm their Man in Havana," He boasts proudly. "I'm the technical support. I'm—" Mickey trails off, before a look of horrified realisation appears on his face. "Oh, my God. I'm the tin dog." He visibly deflates, and slumps back down on the edge of the boot, looking stunned, and Katy couldn't help but smile sympathetically at her best friend and wrap an arm around his shoulders, trying to bring him some comfort.
Street
The door to the coffee shop opened, instantly grabbing Finch's attention. Both he and his Krillitane companion instinctively crouched in anticipation.
"On my command," Finch mutters to the other Krillitane, as they watch a visibly annoyed Doctor and Rose come out of the coffee shop, apparently in the middle of a rather unpleasant conversation.
"How many of us have there been travelling with you?" Rose wanted to know, looking rather accusing.
"Does it matter?" the Doctor responded.
"Yeah, it does, if I'm just the latest in a long line." Rose retorts back, conveniently forgetting that Katy had been travelling alongside them both from the very beginning of their friendship and journey together. Something that always annoyed him in conversations exactly like this.
"As opposed to what?" The Doctor asked. Rose's face fell, looking hurt.
"I thought you and me were…" She trailed off, and the Doctor paused and looked at her, waiting for the rest of her sentence. "I obviously got it wrong." He gathered every ounce of patience he possessed. "I've been to the year five billion, right, but this? Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me and Katy?" She demanded.
"No, never!" The Doctor was quick to answer, horrified by the idea. 'And definitely not to Katy. We're the last of our species…' He thought with raw determination. Rose looked confused by his answer.
"But Sarah-Jane?" They both glance over at the woman in question, who was laughing and absorbed in a conversation with both Katy and Mickey. "You were that close to her once, and now you never even mention her. Why not?" Rose persisted and the Doctor finally caved.
"I don't age," He admitted, somewhat reluctantly. Rose's eyes widen at this revelation. The Doctor's voice sounded wet, like he was choking back tears at the very idea that he could potentially lose somebody he regarded as a little sister one day. "I regenerate. But human's decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you—" He cut himself off, unable to finish that sentence. In some respects, he was lucky. Katy was like him, a member of the Time Lord race, or she would be when she eventually opened up the locket and returned to who she really was. She would be with him forever.
But Rose?
"What, Doctor?" Rose prompted, looking concerned. The Doctor drew in a deep breath, before bravely finishing off his explanation.
"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone." 'Well, almost alone…' He looks over at Katy, who catches his gaze, and the amused smile on her face, immediately fades when she sees the anguished one on her boyfriend's face. She excuses herself from Mickey and Sarah-Jane and gets up to come over to him to find out what was the matter. "That's the curse of the Time Lords." The Doctor finishes his explanation to a frowning, concerned Rose.
Finch's eyes narrow dangerously.
"Time Lord." He parroted the Doctor, whose head snaps up when he hears Finch's voice and zeros in on the two Krillitanes on the roof of the building opposite the coffee shop. The giant bat-like creature lets out a horrible shriek and swoops down, getting dangerously close to where Katy was standing, gaping in horror at the creature. The Doctor immediately runs over and shields Katy with his body, protectively, as they all duck to avoid the creature. It flies off, leaving all of them looking completely bewildered.
"Was that a Krillitane?" Sarah-Jane questioned.
"But it didn't even touch her. It just flew off. What did it do that for?" Rose wondered, as Katy glanced up at the stony expression on the Doctor's face, from where he was cradling her protectively to himself, watching the Krillitane fly away.
School yard
Next Day.
Sarah-Jane graciously volunteered her house for the four of them overnight, and when the morning came, it was obvious that the Doctor was determined to get to the bottom of what exactly the Krillitanes' plan was that involved innocent children. He had hardly slept a wink during the night … not that Time Lords usually required a lot of sleep. But it was clear that he was very restless, and when he and his four companions stepped into the school the next morning, he was more than ready to act.
"Rose and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers," the Doctor instructed. "I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this." He reaches into one of his pockets and produced his sonic. Rose absently holds out her hand, expecting the Doctor to hand it to her, but is dismayed and angered when he instead, hands it to Sarah-Jane. Katy winced at the look Rose shot Sarah-Jane, and for once was glad she wasn't on the receiving end. "Mickey, surveillance." The Doctor turns his attention towards a wary Mickey, who blinks at him in confusion. "I want you outside," He explains and Mickey frowns at him, indignantly.
"Just stand outside?" He questioned. Sarah-Jane digs around in her purse and throws Mickey her car keys.
"Here, take these you can keep K9 company." She suggests, as Mickey catches the keys with one hand, stopping in the middle of the walkway with students parting around him like water in a river going around a rock. He looks taken aback.
"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack." The Doctor calls back to him, without turning to look back.
"But he's metal!" Mickey protested.
"I didn't mean for him." The Doctor clarified, as Mickey throws a dirty look at the back of his head and Katy shakes her head in annoyance, muttering 'honestly, you two' underneath her breath. Mickey storms off back outside to Sarah-Jane's car. The Doctor pauses in the middle of the hallway, barely paying attention to the students rushing about trying to get to homeroom on time as he calculated his next move. Rose, Katy, and Sarah-Jane sidle up to him.
"What're you going to do?" Rose questions him.
"It's time I had a word with Mister Finch." He replies and moves off. Rose and Sarah-Jane head towards the Maths department, while Katy calls out to her boyfriend.
"What about me?" She asks, drawing attention to herself, and the Doctor turns and grabs her hand, pulling her along with him.
"You're with me." He responded underneath his breath, leaving Katy pondering why she was required with the Doctor to interrogate Finch.
Hallway
Finch walked calmly down the hallways, seemingly minding his own business. When he suddenly feels like someone is looking at him. He pauses mid-step and looks up to the second floor, immediately spotting the Doctor, flanked by Katy, looking down at him with stoic expressions on their faces.
Finch smirks, unfazed and continues walking.
Swimming Pool
He heads towards the school's indoor swimming pool, knowing very well that the Doctor and Katy would follow him inside. They do so, walking towards the opposite side of the pool; studying Finch critically.
"Who are you?" The Doctor requests, using a calm, all-business tone in his voice, and keeping Katy firmly by his side for protection, with their hands clasped together tightly. Finch paces the length of the pool as he responds.
"My name is Brother Lassa," He eyes both of them, curiously. "And you?"
"The Doctor."
"I see. And your companion?" Finch swivels his gaze upon Katy who frowns at him.
"Caitlyn Tyler." She responds, already feeling uncomfortable in this strange alien's presence. Finch smirks at her, knowing how uncomfortable she was, which causes the Doctor to bristle a little.
"Since when did Krillitanes have wings?" He asks, grabbing the attention away from Katy.
"It's been our form for nearly ten generations now," Finch replies casually. "Our ancestors invaded Bessan. The people there had some rather lovely wings. They made a million widows in one day. Just imagine." He seemed almost nostalgic and proud of his people's accomplishments, much to both the Doctor and Katy's disgust.
"And now you're shaped human." The Doctor stated.
"A personal favourite, that's all." Finch shrugs.
"And the others?"
"My brothers remain bat form," Finch explains. "What you see is a simple morphic illusion. Scratch the surface and the true Krillitane lies beneath." He observes the Doctor curiously. "And what of the Time Lords?" He wondered. "I always thought of you as such a pompous race." Katy was surprised by this description and felt her boyfriend squeeze her hand a little. "Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos." Instantly, she felt defensive upon her race's behalf, and narrowed her eyes warningly at Finch. "And of course, they're all but extinct. Only you." Finch paused when he was close enough to the couple, and sniffed, before zeroing in on Katy who instinctively took a cautious step backwards. "Although, by the scent of your companion; it appears that this isn't the case. You are not the last." Finch looked intrigued by Katy. "And yet the scent of human still lingers upon her. How fascinating—"
"This plan of yours," The Doctor firmly steered the conversation away from an alarmed Katy, disturbed and protective. "What is it?"
"You don't know?" Finch raised an eyebrow.
"That's why he's asking." Katy pointed out, flatly. She ignored the warning look the Doctor was aiming at her.
"Well, show me how clever you both should be. Work it out." Finch challenged them.
"If I don't like it, then it will stop." The Doctor promised.
"Fascinating," Finch looked positively gleeful. "Your people were peaceful to the point of indolence. You seem to be something new. Would you declare war on us, Doctor?" He taunted him, and the Doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I'm so old now. I used to have so much mercy." He starts moving for the entrance to the swimming pool, leading Katy along with him. "You get one warning. That was it."
"But we're not even enemies. Soon you will embrace us. The next time we meet, you will join with me. I promise you." Finch insisted, and Katy snorted derisively.
"Don't count on it." She disagreed, earning a look of disdain from Finch before she and the Doctor left the room.
Sarah-Jane's Car
Less than impressed that he had been demoted to staying in the car with a robot dog, Mickey sat pouting in the backseat, brooding over the fact.
"Surveillance," He scoffed. "If you ask me, it's just another way of saying go sit at the back of the class with the safety scissors and glitter." Mickey then glanced at the immobile K9, realising that he was talking to himself. "That'd be me talking to a metal dog, then."
He slumped down in his chair and sighed irritably.
IT Classroom
The Doctor sent Katy to go and check on the progress of Rose and Sarah-Jane, while he went to go check up on something else. It was probably the very last thing that she wanted to do, as Rose when she was jealous and threatened by someone, was prone to be the type to 'shoot from the hip and ask questions later' when the victim was already down for the count. It had happened many times in the past when she was fighting with her friend Shareen, and Katy, unfortunately, always got caught right in the middle of it. As she got closer to the classroom, she could overhear their conversation echoing down the deserted hallway.
"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?" Sarah-Jane sounded a bit exasperated, indicating to Katy that her sister had obviously said something derogatory towards the older woman, and Sarah-Jane was using the familiar 'mother-tone' to state her case.
"I've got a feeling you're about to…" Rose muttered, wearily. A buzzing noise was heard, indicating that Rose was attempting to open the hard drive of one of the computers, like the Doctor had requested of them. Katy let out a groan at Rose's rude retort. Thankfully, Sarah-Jane ignored it, like a pro.
"I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be, and I don't want you to feel I'm intruding."
"I don't feel threatened by you, if that's what you mean," Rose insisted, and Katy snorted while Sarah-Jane looked at the back of Rose's head sceptically. This blonde teenager is very obviously in denial, and threatened by any female who has contact with the Doctor.
'Even her poor sister…' Sarah-Jane was sympathetic.
"Right. Good," She acknowledged Rose, then let out a sigh. "Because I'm not interested in picking up where we left off."
Rose scowled.
"No? With the big sad eyes and the robot dog?" The blonde was very hostile. "What else were you doing last night?"
"I was just saying how hard it was adjusting to life back on Earth," Sarah-Jane explains patiently. Rose gives up on trying to sonic open the hard drive and stands up. She turns and gives Sarah-Jane her full attention. Neither of them noticed that Katy was hovering nearby, listening in to their entire conversation.
"The thing is, when you two met they'd only just got rid of rationing," Rose sneered and Katy's mouth dropped open in shock.
'Rose Marion Tyler!'
"No wonder all that space stuff was a bit too much for you." Rose folded her arms across her chest, looking smug as she leant against the table. Sarah-Jane's eyes narrowed; her patience was now wearing thin.
"I had no problem with space stuff. I saw things you wouldn't believe." Sarah-Jane protested, crossly.
"Try me." Rose challenged, and even Katy's curiosity was piqued. She crept into the room and perched on the edge of a nearby table, watching them as they bickered back and forth.
"Mummies," Sarah-Jane kicked things off.
"I've met ghosts," Rose shot back.
"Robots. Lots of robots."
"Slitheen. In Downing Street."
"Daleks!"
"Met the Emperor." 'And what a charmer he was…' Katy scoffed, kicking her legs back and forth on her perch.
"Anti-matter monsters."
"Gas masked zombies." 'Yeah, I wonder how Nancy and Jamie are faring?' Katy pondered curiously.
"Real living dinosaurs."
"Real living werewolf," Both sisters openly shuddered at the memory.
"The Loch Ness Monster!" Sarah-Jane shouted, and both sisters looked stunned.
"Seriously?" Both Katy and Rose spoke up at the same time, with Katy drawing her sister and Sarah-Jane's attention.
"Katy?" Rose frowned at her sister, who smirked at the pair of them in amusement.
"Oh, don't mind me. Just continue your conversation," Katy smiled. Rose flushed with embarrassment, while Sarah-Jane returned her smile. "Reminds me of your arguments with Shareen, and you only argued because of some idiot you both had your eyes on." Katy hopped down from the table and sauntered over to them.
"Where's the Doctor?" Rose asked.
"Right behind me. He just took a detour to deal with something before coming here." Katy explained, nonchalantly. Sarah-Jane nodded, knowingly.
"Sounds about right. Mind of a goldfish sometimes."
Then a thought occurred to Rose, and she turned attention back on Sarah-Jane, "With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go "what?", and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?"
"All the time," Sarah-Jane confirmed, excitedly. "Does he still stroke bits of the TARDIS?"
"Yeah! Yeah, he does." Rose giggled. "I'm like, do you want to be alone?"
Katy chuckled with relief, happy that the ice had thawed between both of them. The Doctor suddenly walks in, looking confused about why Rose and Sarah-Jane were laughing amongst themselves when they should've been trying to crack open the hard drive.
"How's it going?" He inquires to Katy.
"Well, I just had to stop them doing a 'my horse is bigger than your horse' run earlier, so nothing much has been achieved." Katy responded, truthfully. The Doctor groaned with annoyance, which attracted the attention of both Rose and Sarah-Jane who started laughing harder when they see him.
"What's so funny?" He demanded, impatiently. "Look, I need to find out what's programmed inside these." The Doctor gestures to the computers, but all this achieves is more hysterical laughter from both Rose and Sarah-Jane. "What? Stop it!" He whines, and Katy walks over and takes the sonic from Rose and gives it back to the Doctor.
"If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself." She advises him, and the Doctor rolls his eyes and heads for the nearest computer.
Schoolyard
The students are in the middle of recess, playing games of football and netball when suddenly the overhead klaxon crackles to life, causing every students' head to swivel in its general direction.
"All pupils to class immediately," the announcer requests. "And would all members of staff congregate in the staff room." All students, with the notable exception of a young boy named Kenny, are disturbingly cheerful about the early return to class. Kenny's friend, a young girl called Melissa, runs up to him looking excited.
"Breaktime's finished early. Isn't that fantastic?" She chirps before rushing off to get to class 'on time'. Kenny makes a face that shows exactly how unenthusiastic he really was to this strange turn of events.
As such, he is one of the last to head inside.
IT classroom
Katy's head snaps up the second she hears the approaching footsteps of eager students, and she and Rose exchange panicked looks between them, before Rose gets up to divert them.
"No, no. This classroom's out of bounds," She tells the confused students, barring entry inside. "You've all got to go to the South Hall. Off you go. South Hall!" Rose gently nudges one of the students into the right direction, and the other students follow like sheep. Crisis averted, Rose returns back over to where Katy and Sarah-Jane were observing and helping the Doctor where needed, as he continued attempting to break into a computer hard drive. He is doing his old trick of looping loose wires around his neck and shoulders as he tries to get inside the CPU.
"I can't shift it," the Doctor groans in frustration.
"I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!" Sarah-Jane mused worriedly. The Doctor nodded his head absently.
"Anything except a deadlock seal," He explains. "There's got to be something inside here. What're they teaching those kids?"
Headmaster's Office
Finch walks briskly back into his office, after polishing off an unscheduled 'lunch' in the staffroom. Let's just say that once the Doctor defeats this bloke, the school is going to have to hire replacement teachers. The old ones have retired … permanently.
"Close the school," Finch orders coolly before letting out a burp, which he covers with his fist, and types in some commands on his computer screen. Some strange green alien symbols immediately fan out and scroll up on the screen, before he activates the Security Override which slams all the external doors shut and deadlocks them.
Another IT classroom
In another computer classroom unoccupied by the Doctor and his companions, the children are instantly caught in a trance of sorts, and they start typing quickly. It looks like they are trying to crack some sort of code.
IT classroom with the Doctor
The four of them stop what they are doing as the computer screens all around them, suddenly switch on, and the same strange alien symbols scroll on them. The Doctor's eyes widen in surprise.
"Well, you wanted the programme? There it is." Sarah-Jane pipes up. Katy walks over towards a nearby computer screen and bends down to analyse it for herself.
"What is it?" She asks, a bit worriedly. The Doctor is silent for a moment as his eyes dart back and forth, reading the alien symbols with a disturbed frown on his face. Both sisters knew at that moment that if the Doctor had this expression on his face, that whatever these Krilitane were doing was not good.
"It's some sort of code." The Doctor responds to Katy's question. The four of them watch as the code starts to resolve itself. That's when the Doctor pales like milk and his face falls with dread. "No. No, that can't be."
"What is it?" Rose repeats Katy's question.
"What's wrong?" Katy asks, trying not to panic at the horrified expression on her boyfriend's face.
Main entrance
Mickey sits in Sarah-Jane's car looking bored but sits up right in his chair when he spots a frantic Kenny running about the school corridor looking like a chook with its head cut off. He frowns with concern, and momentarily gets out of the car so he could properly see the boy, who starts pushing against the door to desperately get it open. Giving up, Kenny tries shouting to Mickey.
"They've taken them all!" Kenny shouts at Mickey, although his voice is slightly muffled by the glass separating them and making it a bit hard for Mickey to understand him.
"What?"
"They've taken all the children!" Kenny impatiently shouts again, obviously frantic to save his classmates. Mickey's eyes widen in horror and he gets back into Sarah-Jane's car and starts pressing random buttons on K9's back to wake up the robot.
"Come on, I need some help!" Mickey growls underneath his breath. But when his random stabbing of buttons doesn't wake up the robot, Mickey in his frustration and helplessness smacks K9's head, and he powers up.
"System restarting," Mickey sags with relief. "All primary drives functioning." K9 confirms.
"You're working! Okay, no time to explain; we need to get inside the school." K9's head swivels slightly to 'look' at the main entrance, where Kenny was still standing, watching Mickey with confusion. He swivels his metal head back to Mickey. "Do you have like, I don't know, a lock picking device?"
If K9 were capable of making facial expressions, it would be a pretty accurate assumption that the look on his face right now, would probably translate to 'are you serious right now?' The solution to Mickey's problem was obvious:
"We are in a car." K9 tells Mickey, who unfortunately, doesn't immediately connect the dots.
"Maybe a drill attachment?"
"We are in a car," K9 emphasises, patiently. Mickey glares at him.
"Fat lot of good you are." He grouses and slumps back into his car seat, despairing.
K9 tries again.
"We are in a car." He hints, and suddenly the penny clatters in Mickey's head as he makes the connection, albeit belatedly.
"Wait a second. We're in a car." He cheers with relief. K9's head slumps forward exasperatedly, almost as if he were saying: 'no shit sherlock'. Mickey gets back out of the car and waves frantically at Kenny. "Get back!" Kenny's eyes widen in realisation and immediately gets out of the way, as Mickey drives Sarah-Jane's car into position and gets ready to plow it straight through the school's main entrance. 'Sorry…' Mickey mentally says to Sarah-Jane before he floors the accelerator and sends the car hurtling towards the double doors. They bend backwards from the impact, sending a shower of glass and other debris flying in all directions.
Kenny shakily comes out from his hiding spot, and stares wide-eyed at Mickey who gets out of Sarah-Jane's car and runs towards him.
"Come on!"
IT classroom
The Doctor slowly starts walking towards a giant computer monitor at the front of the classroom, showing the progress of a strange code resolving itself, a look of absolute horror on his handsome face. Both Katy and Rose run up to him, with Katy grabbing one of his hands to get his attention.
"Doctor, what is going on? Tell us!" Katy demanded.
"The Skasis Paradigm," He eventually mutters, earning a few confused looks. "They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm." The Doctor explains.
"The Skasis what?" Sarah-Jane clarifies.
"The God maker," The Doctor said. "The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."
"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Katy sounded shocked.
"Yes," the Doctor was astounded by their discovery. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."
"But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them," Rose's eyes widened in alarm.
"What's fifty-nine times thirty-five?"
"Two thousand and sixty-five." Rose responded promptly, and the Doctor just gave her a 'see'? look. "Oh, my God."
"But why use children?" Sarah-Jane questioned. "Can't they use adults?"
"No, it's got to be children. The God maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code; they're using their souls." The Doctor made a face.
"Let the lesson begin," Finch's voice suddenly spoke up, causing the four of them to turn towards him. The Krillitane strides further into the room. "Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."
"Oh yeah?" The Doctor's voice dripped sarcasm, as he scratched the back of his head pretending to give Finch's so called 'vision' some thought. "The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old-fashioned, but I like things as they are."
Finch adopted a rather condescending look and tone in his voice.
"You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order?" He smirks at him. "Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."
"What, by someone like you?" Katy frowned, feeling protective.
"No, by someone like him," Finch gestured towards the Doctor, whose eyes narrowed. "The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom." He attempted to entice him. "Become a God at my side. Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords reborn."
Much to their dismay, Katy, Rose, and Sarah-Jane could see that the Doctor was indeed looking very tempted.
"Doctor, don't listen to him." Katy urged, grabbing his hands, trying to get him to focus on her. The Doctor looks at her, vulnerable.
"And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die." Finch told her, Sarah-Jane, and Rose.
Katy glared at him.
"I'm already doing that, sir." She reminds Finch, and his eyes widen in remembrance, before he smirked once again.
"Hmm. Perhaps," Finch responded. "But what about them?" He gestures to Rose and Sarah-Jane, the former staring at her sister suspiciously. "Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes." The Doctor looks broodingly at him. "How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."
"But he's not alone. The Doctor has us." Katy reminds both Finch and the Doctor himself. "He has me." Katy muttered low enough that only the Doctor could hear, and his brown eyes glance at her in surprise as she cups his face with one of her hands, uncaring that Rose was nearby. Katy gives him an encouraging and loving smile.
"I could save everyone," The Doctor realised, still musing, causing Finch to grin triumphantly.
"Yes."
"No," Sarah-Jane suddenly pipes up, drawing the Doctor's attention. "The universe has to move forward." She reminds him. "Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."
The Doctor is silent for several more seconds, as his companions watch him worriedly; hoping that he'd make the right decision. Suddenly, he seizes a chair and hurls it at the big screen, smashing it and creating a web pattern on the monitor. Finch's triumphant grin drops as the Doctor glares at him, before turning to his companions.
"Out!" He states, and all three of them don't hesitate and run out of the classroom. They take off down the hallway, but Finch doesn't follow them. Instead, he decides to summon his brothers. Obediently, they throw off their disguises and fly to him. Mickey and Kenny almost collide with the Doctor, Katy, Sarah-Jane, and Rose at the bottom of the staircase.
"What's going on?" Mickey questioned. Nobody bothers to tell him, as the Krillitanes' shrieking that can be heard echoing throughout the school, does it instead. They all sprint towards the canteen but realise too late that they are trapped with no other way out.
Canteen
"Shit! What do we do now?" Katy cursed. The canteen doors burst open, and Finch walks in with his Krillitane brothers following him.
Kenny looks frightened.
"Are they, my teachers?" He asks, and the Doctor nodded gravely.
"Yeah, sorry."
"We need the Doctor, and younger brunette girl alive," Finch tells his brothers. Both the Doctor and Katy look at them in horror. "As for the others? You can feast."
"No!" Katy yells, as the Krillitanes swoop down on Rose, Mickey, Sarah-Jane, and Kenny. She and the Doctor seize a chair each and start batting at the bat-creatures, trying to fend them off while the others do the same and run for refuge under the tables at the same time. Suddenly, a laser beam comes out of nowhere and takes down one of the Krillitanes. Finch shrieks with fury as K9 rolls into the room, still shooting.
"K9!" Sarah-Jane exclaimed, both pleased and surprised to see her dog.
"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress." K9 urges. The Doctor seizes Katy's hand and heads for the entrance.
"Come on!" Everyone runs for it, but the Doctor stays back momentarily. "K9, hold them back!" He instructs the robot dog.
"Affirmative, master." The Doctor disappears out the doors and seals them with his sonic. "Maximum defence mode." K9 shoots widely about the room, aiming for the remaining Krillitane, but unfortunately missing every time. "Power supply failing…" K9 announces.
"Forget the shooty dog thing." Finch sighs with irritation.
"Power supply failing." K9 continues.
Physics classroom
They skid into the physics corridor, out-of-breath or slightly winded, but thankfully they hadn't been followed. The Doctor spies the vacant physics classroom and ushers them inside before sealing the door shut with his sonic.
"It's the oil," the Doctor realises. "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them." He turns to Rose, who was still breathing a little heavily from their hasty run from the Krillitanes. "How much was there in the kitchens?"
"Barrels of it." Rose straightened up from her hunch over to get her breath back. They all jump when the Krillitanes catch up to them and start hammering at the door.
"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens." The Doctor started planning their next move. "Mickey—"
"What now?" He grumbles, frowning a little resentfully at the Doctor. "Hold the coats?"
"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school," the Doctor ignored Mickey's previous comment. "Katy? You go with him." Katy nodded and went to stand with Mickey and Kenny. "Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" Kenny glances at a nearby fire alarm and goes to it, slamming his elbow into it and breaking the glass. The alarms blare loudly overhead causing the Krillitanes pain where they were standing outside the classroom.
Katy grins at the student, admiringly.
"Good thinking!" She praises him, and Kenny blushes from the compliment.
"Let's go!" The Doctor shouts and all of them race past the convulsing Krillitane: the Doctor, Rose, and Sarah-Jane heading for the canteen and kitchen, and Mickey, Katy, and Kenny heading for the IT labs. However, Finch manages to slam his fist through the wall and pull out the alarm wires.
The noise stops.
"Get after them," Finch hisses menacingly.
Outside the Canteen
Rose and Sarah-Jane race straight into the canteen, with the Doctor trailing along behind them, making sure that they weren't been followed by the Krillitanes at that moment.
"Master," K9 chooses that moment to roll out into view. The Doctor grins down at the dog but doesn't stop running.
"Come on, boy. Good boy." The Doctor beckons to K9 to follow him.
IT classroom
Mickey and Katy burst into the classroom. The children are still typing away at their keyboards, eyes glued to their computer screens and oblivious to everything around them. Katy claps her hands to get their attention.
"Okay, okay! Let's go!" She bellows, but nobody pauses in their typing or even glance over at her. Katy looks over at Mickey in a bewilderment.
He gives it a try.
"Listen everyone. We've got to get out of here!" But like with Katy, the children don't hear him, or notice when Mickey waves a hand in their faces or gets up close to them. "What do we do now?" He asks Katy after he straightens up from his second attempt to get a reaction from the children.
"Anything. The Doctor wouldn't have asked us to get them out of here, if something wasn't going to happen." Katy insisted.
Kitchen
Rose leads the Doctor and Sarah-Jane to where the Krillitanes had stored the large barrels of oil, and the Doctor immediately pulls free his sonic and uses it on the barrels of oil. Nothing happens, much to his frustration.
"They've been deadlock sealed," the Doctor reveals. "Finch must've done that." He groans in frustration. "I can't open them."
K9 rolls forward, "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing." The Doctor nods.
"Right. Everyone out the back door," Rose and Sarah-Jane reluctantly move for the door, and the Doctor looks down at K9 as he prepares to move the oil barrels. "K9, stay with me."
IT Classroom
Seconds are ticking by, and neither Katy nor Mickey could work out what was keeping the children 'plugged in'.
"Jesus, we're running out of time." Katy fretted, raking her hands through her hair in her frustration and anxiety as she paced back and forth. Mickey nodded in agreement, until he spots some wiring encased in a protective tubing. It looked important, so he uses his eyes to follow it along the floor, up the wall, before realising that all the wires lead back towards a single wall switch!
"Katy, look!" Mickey pointed towards the wall switch, before heading towards it. A click and a fizz later, and all computer screens go blank. The children instantly stopped typing and looked around in confusion.
Katy cheers triumphantly.
"Yes, Mickey! You did it!" She runs up to him and pulls him into a brief, but relieved hug which he reciprocates. "Everyone get out. Now!" The children get up without hesitation and stampede towards the door and down the hallway.
"Come on, move! Let's go! Let's go!" Mickey shepherded the stragglers out the door before Katy, and he run after them.
Kitchen
The Doctor rolls the last of the oil barrels in line with the others for K9 to shoot at.
"Capacity for only one shot, Master." K9 explains to the Doctor, who stiffens when he learns this. "For maximum impact, I must be stationed directly beside the vat."
"But you'll be trapped inside," The Doctor points out.
"That is correct," K9 confirms.
"I can't let you do that," the Doctor insists, but it becomes clear that there is no other alternative to their problem.
"No alternative possible, Master." K9 insists, sounding regretful. The Doctor is visibly upset, but also is resigned because he knows this is their only option. He reaches out a hand and 'scratches' K9 behind one of his satellite ears.
"Goodbye, old friend."
"Goodbye, Master." K9 reciprocates the farewell. The Doctor rises to his feet and heads towards the exit. He glances back one last time at the heroic robotic dog.
"You good dog," the Doctor smiles proudly at him.
"Affirmative." K9 'wiggles' his satellite ears.
Outside the kitchen
The Doctor reluctantly retreats through the back door, following the same route as Rose and Sarah-Jane, whom he bumps into as he seals the door.
"Where's K9?" Sarah-Jane demands, worriedly. The Doctor turns and grabs her hand, pulling away from the building.
"We need to run," He states, purposefully ignoring her question. Sarah-Jane's eyes widen.
"Where is he? What have you done?!" She yells, accusingly.
Kitchen
K9 waits patiently beside the circle of oil barrels that the Doctor had constructed for him to shoot at when the moment was right. It doesn't take long for Finch and his brothers (back in their human disguises) to come barrelling into the canteen, looking in earnest for the Doctor and Katy. Finch had a very unpleasant snarl on his face, as he gives his instructions to his brothers.
"When you find them, eat them if you must, but bring me their brains." They come across K9, and an evil smirk spreads across Finch's face as he takes in the seemingly defenceless metal dog. "The little dog with a nasty bite," He sneers. "Not so powerful now, are you?"
In response, K9 simply aims a sustained burst at the nearest oil barrel. It explodes, showering the Krillitanes with their own oil.
"Burning!" One of them wails, pitifully. Finch glares at K9, baring his blunt human teeth at the metal dog.
"You bad dog," Finch hisses. If K9 were capable of expressions, the intelligent dog would've been smirking triumphantly at the group of vulnerable Krillitanes, as he said:
"Affirmative."
Outside the School
The entire school goes up with a loud KaBOOM! At a safe distance away, all the children rejoice at seeing their school get destroyed as paper rains down on them. The Doctor, Katy, Rose, and Mickey, as the only group of adults among them, watch this with amusement on their faces. All except for Sarah-Jane, who was staring at the partially destroyed school with sad eyes.
"Yes!" Kenny punches the air in his triumph, grabbing the attention of his friend Melissa who looks at him curiously.
"Did you have something to do with it?" Melissa asks, and Kenny grins enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I did." He confirms, confidently. Melissa's eyes lit up, extremely impressed.
"Oh, my God!" She turns back to the other students. "Kenny blew up the school! It was Kenny!" Melissa's voice carries like a bullhorn, so what she says is easily picked up by her peers, who immediately surround a slightly embarrassed Kenny, patting him on the back for a job well done.
"YAY! KENNY! KENNY! KENNY! KENNY!" They chanted.
The Doctor observes this with amusement, until he sees Sarah-Jane's anguished face and he immediately turns to her, realising why she looked so upset.
"I'm sorry," He tells her, remorsefully. Sarah-Jane waves him off, trying to maintain a stiff upper lip.
"It's all right," She reassures him. "He was just a daft metal dog. It's fine, really." But obviously it was not fine. The Doctor wraps an arm around his old companion's shoulders when she immediately bursts into tears, and pulls her into his chest, trying to comfort her.
Outside the TARDIS
Belle Vue Park.
A few hours later, Sarah-Jane makes her way towards Belle Vue Park, where the Doctor had relocated the TARDIS to from the destroyed school.
After losing K9, she wanted some time alone to grieve. Which was fine for him, as the Doctor had a special surprise up his sleeve for his old companion … but he wasn't going to reveal what it was just yet.
Sarah-Jane spots the familiar blue box, which from her point of view looked slightly newer, like it had just gotten a fresh lick of paint. As she walks up to the double doors, they open up and the Doctor sticks out his head and spots her before stepping out to greet her properly.
"Cup of tea?" He offers, and steps aside to allow Sarah-Jane access inside when she nods.
The TARDIS
Console Room
Sarah-Jane's eyes widened as she made her way up the metal grated catwalk towards the console, glancing around the room as she did. The Doctor steps back inside the TARDIS and closes the door behind him, watching her fondly.
"You've redecorated," Sarah-Jane observes, mildly.
The TARDIS interior she remembered when she had last seen the Doctor, before he abandoned her in Aberdeen, was completely white from floor to ceiling, with the walls containing rounded light fixtures embedded into them. There were only two doors: one leading to the outside of the TARDIS, and the other leading deeper within the ship. It had also been completely bare of anything except for the hexagonal console in the middle of the room, a high-backed chair and a coat stand for the Doctor back then to hang up his jacket, his hat and his ridiculously long, multicoloured scarf.
"Do you like it?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, I, I do. Yeah." Sarah-Jane nodded, then shrugged deciding to be honest. "I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do." She stated, still glancing about the room, allowing the memories of her time with the Doctor to fill her up.
"I love it," Rose pipes up, cheerfully.
Sarah-Jane spots her sitting with her sister and Mickey near the jump seat. Katy waves at her, while Mickey offers her a smile.
"Hey, you." She greets Rose, as she comes up to the trio of young adults. "What's forty-seven times three hundred and sixty-nine?"
"No idea," Rose shrugged. "It's gone now. The oil's faded."
"But you're still clever," Sarah-Jane insisted, before looking over at Katy. "What about you? How are you going?" She asks the brunette, looking at her pointedly.
Katy grinned at the older brunette.
"Fighting fit. We've survived worse on our adventures. As you probably know all too well."
"Oh, I do." Sarah-Jane nodded in agreement. The Doctor straightens up from his perch beside the console.
"Er, we're about to head off," He tells Sarah-Jane and hesitates before adding: "but you could come with us." Sarah-Jane looks at the hopeful expression on his face, and the encouraging one on Katy's and smiles sadly.
"No," She states, firmly. "I can't do this anymore." The Doctor visibly deflates, but nods in understanding. "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own." Katy gets up off the jump seat and walks over to Sarah-Jane.
"Sounds like a plan. Good for you." She compliments Sarah-Jane and wraps the older woman up in a hug. Mickey, however, straightens up and turns towards the Doctor, looking nervous.
"Can I come?" Sarah-Jane looks taken aback, thinking that the question was directed to her. But Mickey elaborates, realising how that sounded. "No, not with you." He reassures Sarah-Jane who relaxes as Mickey redirects his attention towards a surprised Doctor. "I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."
Katy lights up with excitement, while Rose visibly deflates; obviously less than happy about Mickey's desire to explore the universe.
"Oh, go on, Doctor." Sarah-Jane backs him up. "Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board." The Doctor pretended to give the idea some thought, before he sighs heavily and nodded, giving his consent.
"Okay then, I could do with a laugh." He agrees, and grins when Katy squeals with delight and launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a huge hug. Although, if it weren't for the fact that Rose was in the same room, she probably would've done more.
"Thank you, Doctor! You're the best!" Katy cheers, then whispers discreetly into his ear. "I love you, so much. Thanks for giving Mickey a chance." The Doctor chuckles, pressing a kiss on Katy's forehead in response when they pull back a little.
"You're welcome, and I love you too." He murmurs back. Katy detaches herself from her boyfriend and turns, running to hug Mickey in her excitement.
"Yes, Mickey! I knew you'd come around eventually!" She nearly strangles her best friend in her exuberance. "You're gonna have so much fun!"
"Let's hope so," Mickey acknowledged as Katy pulls away and goes to stand by his side, leaving her arm draped across his shoulders. He looks at Rose expectantly, and Katy frowns at the sour expression on her sister's face. "Rose, is that okay?"
"No, great. Why not?" Rose responded, unenthusiastically. The Doctor gives Rose a disappointed frown because of her very negative response.
"Well, I'd better go." Sarah-Jane announced, obviously eager to leave because of the tension that suddenly developed. Rose walks over to her, looking worried.
"What do I do? Do I stay with him?" She questions the former companion, who nods, knowing that sometime in the future, the truth about the Doctor's relationship with her sister was going to be revealed eventually, and she needed to prepare herself.
"Yes. Some things are worth getting your heart broken for." Sarah-Jane explains to Rose sagely, before pulling the blonde aside to talk with her privately. "Find me, if you need to, one day. Find me." Rose nodded, before breaking away and heading over to where Katy and Mickey were talking amongst themselves. Sarah-Jane clears her throat, "Katy? Could I talk with you for a moment?" She calls out to the brunette, who looked surprised, but nodded and follows both her and the Doctor outside of the TARDIS.
Outside the TARDIS
Sarah-Jane steps from the TARDIS, followed closely by the Doctor and Katy. The Doctor wanted to say a proper goodbye to his former companion before they left. The bright yellow sunshine filters down towards them through the canopy of leaves above their heads, and Sarah-Jane studies them thoughtfully.
"I don't know about you two, but I get the impression that you're both in for a bumpy road ahead. Especially when it comes to Rose." Sarah-Jane observes, with a serious expression on her face. Katy looks down at her feet, feeling guilty, while the Doctor has a sober expression on his face as he reaches over to take his girlfriend's hand to rub his thumb over the back of it, to offer them both some comfort.
"We know," the Doctor acknowledges. "And her possessive attitude towards me is becoming a bit of a problem, not to mention an annoyance as well."
"Yes, I've noticed that. I'm surprised you've tolerated that for this long." Sarah-Jane stated, and the Doctor frowned.
"I haven't, actually." He confessed. "There have been times when I've caught her being less than courteous towards Katy, and it's taken a lot for me not to snap at her."
Katy winced, and Sarah-Jane offered the brunette a sympathetic smile.
"I am sorry to hear that. I hope that things improve soon," Sarah-Jane states. "And, just so you know, that I am 100% behind you both. I am very happy for you."
"Thanks," Katy says and wraps Sarah-Jane into another hug.
"My offer to your sister applies to you also. In the future, if you ever need to talk to someone, find me." Katy nods and turns to go back into the TARDIS. "Be seeing you, Katy." The brunette disappears back inside the ship, leaving just the Doctor alone with Sarah-Jane.
She smiles at him.
"It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Sarah-Jane confesses to the Doctor, who smiles fondly.
"Something to tell the grandkids."
"Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now." Sarah-Jane states, and the Doctor immediately looks sheepish.
"Right. Yes, sorry. I didn't get a chance to ask. You haven't…?" Sarah-Jane looks at him with amusement as he nervously babbles his way through the question. "There hasn't been anyone? You know."
"Well, there was this one guy." She acknowledged, smirking a little. "I travelled with him for a while, but he was a tough act to follow." The Doctor chuckles, and Sarah-Jane offers him a bittersweet smile. "Goodbye, Doctor."
"Oh, it's not goodbye," the Doctor corrects her with a slight frown.
"Do say it," Sarah-Jane insists. "Please. This time. Say it."
"Goodbye, my Sarah-Jane." The Doctor acquiesces, grinning brightly at her before lifting her off her feet in a big hug.
He turns and goes back inside the TARDIS. Sarah-Jane turns her back and walks away as the TARDIS starts to dematerialise. But at the last moment, she turns back round and gasps when she sees—
"K9!" Sarah-Jane was shocked. A brand-new model of K9 rolls forward to greet her.
"Mistress."
"But you were blown up," Sarah-Jane was bewildered.
"The Master rebuilt me. My systems are much improved with new undetectable hyperlink facilities," K9 explains.
"Oh, he replaced you with a brand-new model." She realised.
"Affirmative."
"Yeah, he does that." Sarah-Jane smiles fondly, then realises something important. "Come on, you. Home. We've got work to do." She stated before turning and walking off through the park.
"Affirmative." K9 acknowledged as he rolls after her.
A/N: Another chapter finished. Hope you lot have enjoyed it.
Keep a look out for the next chapter.
TTFN x