A/N: On with the chapter!
Please review and no flaming will be tolerated!
FATAL FLAW
"I paid my respects this morning on an early grave.
Already said goodbye nothing left to say."
– Nickelback: 'Woke Up This Morning' (Silver Side Up [2001])
Roof
They found Lazarus and Tish standing on the roof, looking northwest towards St. Paul's Cathedral, with the tower of the Collegiate Church of St. Saviour and St. Mary Overie in the foreground. It was obvious that Tish was deep in flirt mode and Lazarus was eating it right up. Or to be more accurate, waiting to eat Tish right up, of all her energy.
"That clock tower's beautiful all lit up like that," Tish observed.
"It's Southwark Cathedral," Lazarus corrects her. "One of the oldest churches in London. Been around even longer than I have." Tish turns to him with a sly smile and casually checks him out once again.
"Well, you're looking pretty good for your age."
"Thank you," Lazarus smiles pleasantly.
"Can I?" Tish gestures to touch Lazarus's face and he gives his consent, leaning forward a little to help her get access to it.
"Of course." He responds. Tish tentatively strokes his cheek with her fingers, still obviously mystified by the transformation from an elderly old man aged seventy-six years old into a young man in his mid-thirties.
"Still can't take it in," She admits.
"I'm still adjusting myself," Lazarus confesses. "I've been working toward it for so many years, it's hard to believe the moment's finally arrived."
"And is it like you expected?" Tish was curious.
Lazarus shrugged.
"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect. There's always something to surprise you. Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act—"
"—Falls the shadow," the Doctor chimes in to finish the poem, The Hollow Men by T.S. Elliot, surprising both Tish and Lazarus who turn and notice that they weren't alone when they see the Doctor, Katy, and Martha. Tish scowls in annoyance at her younger sister who remains unrepentant that she had interrupted her sister's romantic interlude with Lazarus.
"So the mysterious Doctor knows his Elliot. I'm impressed," Lazarus compliments the Doctor who doesn't smile back, looking at him with a stony expression on his face.
"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish demanded.
"Tish, get away from him." Martha warns and Tish is, at first, taken aback by Martha's request, then becomes defensive and comes over to chide her sister.
"What? Don't tell me what to do."
"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all," the Doctor stated casually. Lazarus gave him an arrogant smile.
"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do anything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four."
"Except life doesn't work like that, sir." Katy piped up from where she was standing beside the Doctor. "Some people live more in twenty years than other do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."
Both she and the Doctor knew this more than anyone, considering that both of them were centuries old aliens. And despite the fact that Katy's Time Lady subconscious was currently hidden away in a small heart-shaped locket.
"But if it's right person, what a gift that would be." Lazarus argued, stubbornly.
"Or what a curse. Look at what you've done to yourself," The Doctor retorted as Lazarus narrowed his eyes at him.
"Who are you to judge me?" He demanded. Martha reached for Tish's wrist and attempted to tug her closer to where she was standing with both the Doctor and Katy, just temporarily out of reach of Lazarus.
"Over here, Tish." She urged, but Tish pulls her arm out of her sister's grip and glowers at her angrily.
"You have to spoil everything, don't you?" She complains. "Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."
However, as Tish was passionately speaking about her frustrations to Martha; behind her, Lazarus suddenly spasms and falls to the ground in pain. Martha notices this and her eyes widen in horror.
"Tish, he's a monster!" She insists.
"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones," Tish points out to Martha, but then notices that she wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, and instead was focusing on something over her shoulder. Tish turns and sees the transformation in progress … and realises to her dismay, that her sister was right. Lazarus was now a massive bony scorpion with a human face.
"Oh, sweet Jesus…" Katy breathed, looking with wide eyes at the mutated Lazarus and slowly backing away from him, almost into the Doctor who both steadied her and shielded her behind him as he looked at the creature in front of him with the same look of trepidation.
"What's that?" Tish questioned, afraid.
"Run!" the Doctor shouts, and they all bolt for the staircase near the lifts, with the mutated Lazarus hot on their heels.
By the Lifts
The Doctor sonics the emergency door to the roof shut before spinning on his heels, grabbing Katy's hand, and taking off down the staircase with Martha and Tish already halfway down the staircase in front of them. Martha looked worriedly at her sister, who looked shocked.
"Are you okay?" She questioned her.
"I was going to snog him…" Tish mumbled. The lights overhead start flickering, and they all jump when they hear thuds from the sealed emergency door they had just left behind; an indication that the Lazarus creature was attempting to break through.
"Security one. Security one. Security one." A nearby tannoy announces over loud speakers, as the lights finally go out, forcing the backup generator to kick in with muted back up lights providing an eerie ambiance. The doors in the building automatically lockdown, much to their frustration.
"What's happening?" Martha questions to Tish.
"An intrusion," Tish responded. "It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits."
"He must be breaking through that door," the Doctor realises and spies another set of stairs nearby. He heads directly for them. "The stairs, come on!"
As they make their way down them, there is a muffled growling noise coming from behind them, then a loud crash.
"He's inside!" Katy shouts.
"We haven't got much time!" the Doctor states.
Reception Room
The four of them barrel into the reception room, out of breath and slightly sweaty, but determined to find a safe way out of the building for everyone else. The Doctor looks around for an emergency exit but comes up short. He turns towards Tish urgently.
"Tish, is there another way out of here?" She immediately points towards an emergency door in a nearby corner.
"There's an exit there, but it'll be locked now." She responded, apologetically. However, the Doctor is undeterred and turns towards Katy, rummaging around in his tuxedo pocket for his sonic screwdriver.
"Katy, setting fifty four. Hurry!" He instructs handing it to her, and Katy nodded without a word and follows the instructions given to her as the Doctor walks directly towards the large group of guests, who were all looking around in confusion when they heard the sounds of the building locking itself down. "Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!" the Doctor states firmly.
A nearby woman frowns at him.
"Don't be ridiculous," She scoffs at him. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive—" She is immediately cut off when the mutated Lazarus suddenly appears on the mezzanine, and jumps down, smashing into a nearby table. Everyone, minus the Doctor, Katy, Martha, and Tish start to panic. Leo's eyes widen and he immediately shields his mother with an arm, herding her backwards.
"Mum, get back!" He shouts. However, Lazarus's tail sends a nearby table flying and it hits Leo, who goes down like a sack of potatoes, alarming his sisters and mother who go to his aid.
"Leo!" Francine shouts in alarm.
Meanwhile, Katy manages to sonic open the emergency door, sagging in relief.
"Over here!" She calls out to the panicking crowd. "This way! Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!" The crowd is quick to obey and flee towards the open door; but the woman who had sneered at the Doctor earlier was now in the direct line of fire with Lazarus, and Katy spots this. "Doctor!" He looks over at her, then in the direction Katy was frantically pointing at and swears underneath his breath.
Lazarus stands over the frozen, horrified woman and opens his jaws sideways, kind of like the Predator alien from the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Predator, and then brings his scorpion-like tail over; opening the mouth on it over the poor woman.
"No! Get away from her!" the Doctor yells angrily.
But his warning comes a little too late, and bystanders all watch with horror and disgust when the woman is consumed, leaving behind a desiccated corpse that falls to the floor. Francine, Martha, and Tish gather around Leo, trying to wake him up.
"Leo. Leo." Francine calls out to him firmly, unknowingly attracting Lazarus's attention towards them. The Doctor steps in front of the family, protectively.
"Lazarus! Leave them alone!" He demands, successfully pulling Lazarus's attention away from them and onto him. Francine turns towards Martha for her assistance.
"Martha." She urges, and her middle child moves automatically into 'doctor-mode' checking over her brother's condition.
"Come on, stay with me. You're okay…" Martha reassures Leo, who blinks at her groggily. Katy comes over to the family attempting to wake up Leo, watching nervously as the Doctor tries to keep Lazarus's focus on him.
"What's the point?" the Doctor goads Lazarus. "You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature. Only nature got her own back, didn't she? You're a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!" Lazarus growls angrily at him, and the Doctor takes this as his cue to start running. He glances briefly at Katy, who looks at him worriedly. "Katy, stay here with Martha!" He takes off down a nearby corridor, with Lazarus racing off after him.
Tish looks at the Doctor incredulously.
"What's the Doctor doing?" She exclaimed, bewildered. Katy turns towards her and crouches down between her and Martha, who was still examining Leo.
"He's trying to buy us some time. We'd better not waste it." Katy advises as Martha finishes her examination on her brother.
"Leo, look at me. Focus on me. Let me see your eyes." She instructs, and Leo obeys her; although he looked extremely confused and disoriented. Martha frowns with concern. "He's got a concussion," she tells Francine who looks at her son with worry. "Mum, you'll need to help him downstairs." Katy comes over with some ice wrapped up in a napkin and offers it to Martha.
"Here," She says and Martha takes it without hesitation.
"Thanks!" She places the makeshift cold compress on Leo's head, causing him to wince a little. "This'll keep the swelling down," Martha tells Francine who takes a hold of the wet bundle, holding it in place. "Go! I'll be right behind you. Tish, move! We need to get out of here!"
Tish and Francine help Leo to his feet, and supporting him between them, they start heading towards the exit. Katy and Martha are the last to leave, and both look worriedly down the corridor the Doctor had disappeared down with Lazarus.
"You think he'll be alright?" Martha questions Katy.
"Hasn't let me down so far," Katy responded hastily before grabbing Martha's hand and pulling her along. "Let's go!"
Main entrance
Katy and Martha make to the ground floor, only to spot that people are piling up against the glass doors, desperately trying to get through them. Katy groans in annoyance.
"Seriously?!" She muttered in irritation. Tish runs up to them, looking urgent.
"We can't get out. We're trapped!"
"There must be an override switch," Martha pointed out, logically. "Where's the security desk?" When Tish doesn't immediately respond, Martha gives her a pointed look. "Tish!"
"Over there!" Tish points towards the security desk right front of the glass doors, and Katy sprints over to it and somehow manages to vault over the desk in her long dress without ripping it.
She goes to the control panel and waves the sonic over it, causing all the lights and the power to switch on. The door finally give way underneath the frantic actions of the panicked guests, and they begin streaming out. Once the last guest was safely evacuated from the building, Katy turns and heads back the way she came from to aid the Doctor. Martha goes to follow, but is immediately stopped by Tish and Francine, who look at her like she was crazy.
"I've got to go back and help them!" Martha insists but is once again stopped by Francine.
"You can't! You saw what that thing did. It'll kill you." Francine stated firmly. But Martha was stubborn.
"I don't care. I have to go and help my friends."
"It's that Doctor, isn't it?" Francine accuses, disapprovingly. "That's what's happened to you. That's why you've changed." Tish attempted to reason with her sister.
"He was buying us time, Martha. Time for you to get out, too."
"I'm not leaving them," Martha insisted firmly, before turning and running back into the building.
"Martha!" Francine yells at Martha, worriedly.
Corridor
Running down a random corridor, Katy isn't watching where she was going and nearly runs into the Doctor who running down in the opposite direction. He grabs her shoulders and steadies her when she bounces off his chest, before frowning down at her anxiously.
"What are you doing here?"
"Did you really think that I'd let you deal with this all by yourself?" Katy retorted, evenly. "Because if you did, then you really don't know me after all. Besides, I'm returning this to you." She holds out his sonic to him, and the Doctor takes it back. "You're likely to need it." The Doctor opens his mouth to scold his girlfriend for her ill-thought out actions when they both hear the sound of someone approaching and turn towards it.
"Wait for me!" It was Martha.
"How did you…?" the Doctor was confused.
"I heard the explosion," Martha confirmed.
"So did I," Katy added. "Naturally guessed it was you." The Doctor looked like he wanted to both argue and send the girls back to safety but decided against it.
"I blasted Lazarus," He explained to them.
"Did you kill him?" Martha asked. An aggravated roar that alarmingly close, came down the corridor behind them, and both Katy and Martha paled. The Doctor looked sheepish.
"More sort of annoyed him, I'd say." He confirmed, before grabbing Katy's hand, who in turn grabbed Martha's. "Come on!"
They take off down the corridor.
Reception Room
The trio find themselves once again back where they started in the deserted reception room. The emergency door is wide open; an obvious route to freedom, but the Doctor ignores it.
"What now?" Martha questioned.
"We've just gone round in a circle," Katy points out, and they all jump when they hear Lazarus, who was very uncomfortably close by. The Doctor eyes off the chamber behind them, making a very quick decision in his head.
"We can't lead him outside," He pushes both girls towards the chamber. "Come on, get in."
They all clamber inside the sonic microfield manipulator chamber, shutting the door behind them with seconds to spare, just as Lazarus bursts into the room and rushes up to the chamber.
However, he immediately hesitates.
Inside the Chamber
The second the door to the chamber had been shut, Katy found herself squashed between the Doctor and Martha in a very confined space, reminding her uncomfortably of what a sardine might feel in a tin can. Normally, she wouldn't have minded being pressed up against the Doctor under any other circumstance, inhaling his sandalwood scented cologne he occasionally liked to use; but considering that they were in grave peril and trapped in what was the equivalent of a giant blender, it was a less than desirable situation.
"Are we hiding?" Martha whispered.
"No, he knows we're here." The Doctor whispered back. "But this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."
"You do realise that we're trapped, right?" Katy whispered, a little stressed. The Doctor winced uncomfortably.
"Well, yeah, that's a slight problem…"
"You don't say?" Katy hissed back, in annoyance. Martha looks at him, just as incredulous as Katy.
"You mean you don't have a plan?" She panicked.
"Yes, the plan was to get inside here." The Doctor retorted, defensively.
"Then what?" Katy asked.
"Well, then I'd come up with another plan," the Doctor explained hurriedly, as an ominous shadow started circling the chamber on the outside, and Martha gulped uncomfortably.
"In your own time, then." The Doctor sighed exasperatedly and proceeded to shimmy his way down the floor when he noticed they were standing nearby a floor panel just below their feet. "Hey!" Martha protests when the Doctor accidentally elbows her.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry." He apologises.
"Be careful, love." Katy urges him, as he struggles to pull his sonic out of his inside pocket.
"Here we are," he readjusts the frequency on the sonic, drawing both girls' attention.
"What are you going to do with that?" Martha questioned.
"Improvise," the Doctor replied, succinctly. He slides down to the floor and opens up the panel to start working with the wires and processors he finds inside.
"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?" Martha glances nervously at the shadow still circulating outside the chamber, just biding its time. However, the Doctor shakes his head.
"No, for once it's strictly human in origin." He confirms.
"Human? How can it be human?" Martha looks at him like he's crazy, and Katy has a disturbed, but pensive look on her face at the idea.
"Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA," the Doctor explains as he rapidly continues tinkering with wires. "The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant."
"So it's a throwback?" Katy piped up.
"Some option that evolution rejected for humans millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."
"It's like Pandora's box." Katy guessed, and the Doctor gave her a half-smile for the guess.
"Exactly. Nice shoes, by the way you two." The Doctor randomly complements the girls, who look at him with exaggerated patience. The lights suddenly become brighter inside the machine, and all three of them freeze.
"Doctor, what's happening?" Martha demanded, as the Doctor pales and swears colourfully underneath his breath.
"Sounds like he's switched the machine on."
"Oh, not good…" Katy despaired.
"I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out…" the Doctor confirmed. The machine starts to move, and Martha begins to panic; she didn't want to become a mutated version of what Lazarus was.
"I don't want to hurry you, but…"
"I know, I know. I'm nearly done," the Doctor retorts impatiently, just as anxious as Martha was.
"Well, what are you doing?" Katy asked. "And can we help you move things along?"
"No, you can't." the Doctor said, sharply. "I'm trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it."
"Will that kill it?" Katy asks.
"When he transforms, he's three times his size." The Doctor rapidly explains while sonicking one of the wires. "Cellular triplication. So he's spreading himself thin."
"We're going to end up like him!" Martha shouts.
"Just one more!" the Doctor promises, and with his final move there is a big blast of energy that throws the mutated Lazarus backwards. The machine stops and the Doctor, Katy, and Martha cautiously come out of the chamber.
Reception Room
Martha looks back at the chamber with a shudder.
"I thought we were going to go through the blender then," She stated, and glances over at the Doctor who looked like he was mentally kicking himself for something.
"It really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice…" He trails off when he spots a naked human man lying face down on the floor a small distance away from the chamber. Katy and Martha look down at Lazarus with looks akin to pity and disgust.
"He seems so human again," Martha noted. "It's kind of pitiful."
"It is pitiful. Lazarus should be grateful that he managed to live as long as he did. Not many people get that privilege." Katy spat, with disdain. The Doctor goes over to Katy's side and places a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look over at him and note the dark expression on his handsome face.
"Elliot saw that, too. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper."
Outside the Building
The trio follow two paramedics taking away Lazarus's body on a gurney with a red blanket respectfully covering his face. All three of them looked solemn, and as usual, the Doctor and Katy were walking hand in hand together as the exited the building. Francine, Tish, and a visibly weakened Leo were waiting for them amongst a crowd of relieved, but gossiping guests who hadn't fled into the night. Tish was the first to spot them and sagged with obvious relief.
"She's here," Tish tells Francine, who had a thunderous expression on her face, aimed towards an oblivious Doctor. "Oh, she's alright." Francine gets to her feet and storms over to the Doctor who smiles cheerfully at her. However, Katy notes the angry expression on Francine's face and is immediately on her guard.
"Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat—" the Doctor is cut off when Francine violently slaps him across the face. Katy reacts in outrage and shoves the irate woman away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She demanded, standing protectively in front of her boyfriend and glaring at the older woman. Francine ignores her completely and addresses the Doctor, who was looking shocked.
"Keep away from my daughter!" Francine yells at him.
"Mum!" Martha is equally as shocked as the Doctor when Francine hits him. The Doctor massages his jaw, mumbling irritably underneath his breath.
"All of the mothers, every time…"
"Are you alright?" Katy fusses over him, and he nodded; still waiting for the explanation.
"He is dangerous," Francine tells Martha urgently. "I've been told things."
"And do you normally take things at face value, without getting both sides of the story? You've got a bloody nerve!" Katy growls, as the Doctor attempts to calm her down to avoid her getting into trouble.
"What are you talking about?" Martha questions Francine, bewildered by her actions.
"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction." Francine gestures towards the departing ambulance, carrying away Lazarus's corpse, and Martha frowns at her mother.
"This isn't his fault. He saved us, all of us!" She defends the Doctor's actions. Leo, surprisingly, backs up the Doctor as well.
"And it was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say technically, it's her fault," He drawls and Tish elbows him in the ribs.
There was a loud crash from nearby, and both the Doctor and Katy immediately run to investigate the commotion. Martha goes to follow but is stopped by Francine who grabs her by the wrist.
"Leave him!" She warns, sternly. But Martha pulls her arm from Francine's grip and shakes her head, frowning disappointedly at her, before running to catch up with the Doctor and Katy.
"Martha?" Tish calls out to her younger sister and goes to follow; much to the chagrin of Francine.
"Not you, too?" She bemoans, and Tish winces apologetically.
"Sorry…" She runs after Martha.
Street
The Doctor, Katy, Martha, and Tish come across the ambulance that had been transporting Lazarus to the hospital. It had crashed, and its back doors were open, revealing the recently desiccated corpses of the two paramedics.
"No, not possible." Katy groans.
"Lazarus, back from the dead. Should have known, really." The Doctor sighed, looking and sounding unsurprised.
"Yeah, it's positively biblical." Katy was sarcastic, earning a fondly exasperated look from the Doctor. He once again brings out his sonic and starts scanning the area with it.
"Where's he gone?" Martha wondered. The sonic makes a confirming beeping noise in the direction of Southwark Cathedral.
"That way. The church!" He pointed.
"Cathedral," Tish corrects, earning questioning looks from the trio. "It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me." She stated quietly, looking somewhat saddened by the situation. They nodded wordlessly and all four of them sprint towards the building.
Southwark Cathedral
Despite this being a very serious, deadly situation, one could not help but marvel at the beautiful gothic cathedral when they were standing inside of it. But they had to find Lazarus before he could kill anyone else, so they set aside their admiration of the medieval building and focused on the situation at hand.
"Do you think he's in here?" Martha pondered.
"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" the Doctor asked rhetorically.
They suddenly hear the sound of someone whimpering and follow the noise up the nave to the altar and look behind it. Lazarus was shivering behind the altar, wrapped up in the red blanket draped over him by the paramedics back at Lazarus Laboratories. He looks up at them, looking somewhat vulnerable; but they knew that given the opportunity, he could mutate once again and attempt to kill them.
"I came here before, a lifetime ago." Lazarus explained, somewhat nostalgically. "I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here, just a child, the sound of planes and bombs outside."
"The Blitz." The Doctor stated.
"You've read about it," Lazarus confirmed, and the Doctor nodded.
"I was there."
"You're too young," Lazarus scoffed disbelievingly and the Doctor snorted at the man's words.
"So are you," the Doctor pointed out, humourlessly. Lazarus chuckles darkly, then whimpers when his body makes painful cracking sounds.
"In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again," Lazarus continued his trip down memory lane, with the Doctor, Katy, Martha, and Tish listening in. "So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."
"Is that what you were trying to do today?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.
"That's what I did today," Lazarus corrected him.
"What about the other people who died?" Katy piped up, coming over to stand beside the Doctor.
"They were nothing," Lazarus sneered unpleasantly. "I changed the course of history."
"Any of them might have done too," Katy pointed out. "You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. No one can change that." She stated firmly.
"No, my dear. Avoiding death, that's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being." Lazarus retorted. "I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful."
"Look at yourself. You're mutating!" the Doctor was losing his patience with this man. "You've no control over it. You call that a success?"
"I call it progress," Lazarus was dismissive, dispute the pain he had self-inflicted upon himself when his bones continuously crack as they were speaking. "I'm more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human."
"I beg to differ," Katy snorted.
"I agree. There's no such thing as an ordinary human," the Doctor stated, flatly.
Lazarus convulses painfully once again, and everyone tenses; ready to run at a moment's notice should he shapeshift again. Martha temporarily abandons an apprehensive Tish, and comes over to the couple, pulling them aside to talk discreetly to them.
"He's going to change again any minute," Martha points out.
"I know," the Doctor nodded looking regretfully at Lazarus despite all the lives he had taken for the sake of his vanity and extended life ambitions. He glances up at the bell tower above their heads thoughtfully. "If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work." He explains, as Katy and Martha follow his gaze up into the rafters of the bell tower and look back at him doubtfully.
"Up there?" Martha confirmed. Suddenly, Lazarus laughs mockingly at them, and they turn and give him their full attention.
"You're so sentimental, Doctor." Lazarus sneers. "Maybe you are older than you look."
"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one." The Doctor looks meaningfully at Katy who nodded quietly. "In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust. If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."
"That's a price worth paying," Lazarus gasps through his pain.
"Is it?"
"I will feed soon," Lazarus promises, and the Doctor frowns at him darkly.
"I'm not going to let that happen."
"You've not been able to stop me so far," Lazarus taunts him. Unseen by Katy, Lazarus or even the Doctor, Martha had been edging her way towards some steps leading upwards towards the bell tower.
"Leave them, Lazarus!" Martha shouts out to grab Lazarus's attention. Both the Doctor and Katy look at her in horror.
"Martha, don't you dare…" Katy warned when she realises what her friend was about to do.
"He's old and bitter, and she's not gonna be enough," Martha continues to taunt Lazarus, ignoring Katy's warning. "I thought you had a taste for fresher meat."
"Martha, NO!" The Doctor shouts out in alarm, as Lazarus shapeshifts once again and lunges for Martha, who turns and runs up the staircase. Tish runs with her.
"What are you doing?" She demanded, fearful for her sister's safety. Tish scoffs, insulted that Martha would even ask such a question.
"Keeping you out of trouble!" Tish responded like it should've been obvious. Martha has no time to argue, as Lazarus is right on their tails. Taking a brief moment, she pauses and shouts down at the Doctor and Katy down below.
"Doctor! The tower!" she shouted. Katy goes to follow and help her friend, but the Doctor manages to snag her hand before she could.
"No, you don't! I can't lose you too, you're staying right here and helping me!" The Doctor insisted, fiercely. Still holding Katy's hand, he leads her towards the transept, underneath the central tower, and looks up at the arches for a glimpse of Martha and Tish.
"Where are they?" Katy muttered anxiously, worried for Martha's safety. The Doctor shouts up to gain Martha's attention.
"Martha!?" He calls, and she sticks her head out and looks down from the passageway in the clerestory.
"Doctor! Katy!" Martha responded, looking scared. Both the Doctor and Katy sag with relief.
"Take him to the top. The very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?!" the Doctor instructed.
"Up to the top!" Martha shouts back his instructions just to be sure he heard him correctly. Tish tugs anxiously on her sister's arm, looking back the way they came as Lazarus slowly gained on them.
"Martha…" Tish mumbles harshly underneath her breath.
Martha impatiently waves her off.
"Then what?" Martha questions the Doctor. However, Tish is more insistent this time and manages to forcibly drag her away.
"Martha, come on!" Tish exclaims as Lazarus becomes uncomfortably close. Katy spots the organ loft and tugs on the Doctor's arm to get his attention.
"Doctor!" She points towards the organ loft. Instantly realising Katy's plan, the Doctor grinned approvingly at her and both of them immediately head straight towards it, with the Doctor taking a seat on the bench, and pulling his sonic out of his pocket.
"Hypersonic sound waves. Inspired." The Doctor mutters to Katy who perched on the bench beside him. The Doctor jams the sonic into the power socket of the electric organ. "I hope it's a good acoustic in here…" He mutters and presses on both pedals and starts playing the organ. Katy looks at him in amazement.
"I didn't know you knew how to play!" Katy commented, shouting to be heard.
"I learned years ago. I'm a bit rusty…" the Doctor responded absently. However, the music didn't seem to be making any difference, so the Doctor stops playing momentarily. "We need to turn this up to eleven!" He pulls the sonic out, readjusts it, then jams it back in and resumes playing. This time Katy has to plug both hands over her ears to protect her hearing.
The organ notes reverberate, hurting Lazarus as well as Tish and Martha. Suddenly, Martha falls and dangles helplessly over the side of the bell tower. Tish grabs desperately onto her sister's hands to stop her from plummeting to her death. But the same could not be said for Lazarus who loses his footing and falls to the cathedral floor below with a meaty thud. The Doctor immediately stops playing when he hears the thud and he and Katy go to look. Lazarus lay naked on the flagstones amid a shower of broken wood. Meanwhile, Martha begins to start losing her grip. But Tish tightens her grip on Martha's hands and starts pulling her up.
"I've got you. Hold on…" Tish urges.
"Martha?" the Doctor calls out, urgently.
"I'm fine!" Martha responded quickly. "We're both okay!" She confirms and both she and Tish laugh in relief that they were both alive. Martha smiles gratefully at Tish. "Thanks."
"It's your Doctor you should be thanking," Tish refuses to take the credit.
"I told you he'd think of something." Martha praises the Doctor, as Tish rolls her eyes at her sister's obvious and very unrequited crush; if the tender looks the Doctor continuously gave to Katy, meant anything.
"Still, he cut it a bit fine there, didn't he?" She reminds Martha who shrugged dismissively.
"He always does. It's more fun that way." Tish raised an eyebrow at Martha's curious choice of wording; as what they had just experienced was anything but fun.
"Who is he?"
"He's, he's the Doctor." Martha responded.
Southwark Cathedral
Martha and Tish emerged onto the ground floor of the Cathedral, in time to witness the Doctor squatting beside Lazarus's dead body; reaching out to close his eyes, an act of kindness and respect that Katy observed and smiled approvingly at, indicating that he had obviously learned from Martha when she had respectfully closed the eyes of her former mentor, Mr. Stoker, when he had been murdered. When the Doctor does close Lazarus's eyes, he slowly turns back into an old man.
"I didn't know you could play?" Martha piped up, and Katy turned and grinned at her observation.
"You know, that's exactly what I said to him earlier." She stated, as the Doctor stood up from his squat and turns towards both girls, smiling a little.
"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up." The Doctor confirmed, shrugging modestly.
Martha grinned.
"Hmm. Especially about playing loud."
"Sorry?" the Doctor feigned early onset deafness, earning giggles from Katy and Martha.
Martha's Flat
The time had really come; and this time, Martha had to accept that this was probably the very last time she would be seeing the Doctor and Katy. She watches solemnly as the Doctor pulls out his Tardis key and unlocks the double doors, before turning and awkwardly observing the sad look on Martha's face, while Katy shifted on her feet, feeling uncomfortable.
"Something else that kind of escalated, then." The Doctor remarked and Martha nodded with a weak smile on her face.
"I can see a pattern developing," she agreed. But then the smile dropped from her face as she regarded both him and Katy with seriousness. "You both should take more care in the future. And the past. And whatever other time period you should find yourselves in." Martha advised.
"It's good fun, though, isn't it?" the Doctor pouted a little at the gentle scolding Martha had just dished out.
"Yeah," Martha nodded.
"So, what do you say, one more trip?" the Doctor offered, and Katy immediately beamed at him, realising what the Doctor was implying. However, Martha frowned immediately, having obviously not cottoned on to the Doctor's plan yet.
"No," the Doctor and Katy's faces dropped instantly, looking surprised. "Sorry."
"What? Why?" Katy was dismayed.
"What do you mean? I thought you liked it." The Doctor concurred with Katy's protestations.
"I do, but I can't go on like this," Martha reasoned. "One more trip. It's not fair." She grimaced and folded her arms across her chest, sulking. Katy immediately realised where Martha's train of thought had been going and she sagged with relief and giggled at her obliviousness. Martha frowned at her in confusion, as the Doctor furrowed his eyebrow in exasperation.
"What're you talking about?" he demanded. Martha sighed heavily, obviously annoyed that she had to explain it to him.
"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, I'd rather stay here." The Doctor looked amused, and glanced at Katy, winking at her.
"Okay, then. If that's what you want." Martha looked at him in disbelief. He turns to Katy. "What about you, love? Is that alright with you?" He asks her, and Katy smiles widely and nodded enthusiastically, causing Martha to look at her with hurt.
"Yeah, it's all right with me."
"Right," Martha mumbled, avoiding eye contact with them. "But we've already said goodbye once today. It's probably best if you just go." She turns her back on them, but neither the Doctor nor Katy leave. They just stand there, smirking at her. Confused, Martha turns back and looks at them, questioningly. "What is it?"
"I said okay," the Doctor repeated himself, looking at her pointedly.
"Sorry?" Martha blinked at him.
"He means, you can come along with us, for as long as you want." Katy was blunt, still grinning from ear to ear in her glee. It took only two seconds for Katy's words to register with Martha before she instantly launches herself at the both of them, incredibly happy.
"Oh, thank you, thank you!"
"Well, you were never really just a passenger, were you?" the Doctor pointed out as the three of them walk into the Tardis; ready to embark on their next adventure together.
A/N: Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for the next chapter 😊
TTFN!