Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 6 of Hold On. Thank you to all of those who have left reviews. It really does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying the story. I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter. This next chapter is set during the Zygon Invasion Part 1. Chapter 7 will take place during the second half of the Zygon Invasion. Without further ado Chapter 6. ENJOY!
Chapter 6
The Doctor was playing Amazing Grace on his electric guitar when he looked up seeing the words Nightmare Scenario flashing. His head turned when he saw golden swirls appear next to him causing him to put his guitar down.
Suddenly Leona fell to her knees letting out a groan. Her white gown fluttered as she got up to her feet. She blinked a few times, turning to see an older man looking at her.
"Leona." He said with a small smile.
"Doctor?" She questioned softly moving towards him.
"Yes…" He said softly, looking at her with a caring gaze.
Leona came up closer to him touching his cheek softly. She saw the flashing of the light from his computer. "Nightmare Scenario?" She questioned softly tilting her head to the side.
The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the Tardis. "We have to call Clara."
"Clara? Oh… the companion I"ve never met." Leona said as she followed The Doctor out of the Tardis.
The Doctor let out a breath as he moved towards the swings and sat down in it.
Leona let out a soft breath biting her lower lip softly.
A group of children were being escorted by two women teachers.
The Tardis was near to never moving until the Doctor got in touch with Clara.
The Doctor dialed a number into his mobile phone.
"Come on, kids, no pushing!" One of the teachers said.
The Doctor let out a breath when he heard it going to voicemail. "Hello, it's Doctor Disco. I'm in the twenty-first century. I don't know what month. I'm staking out some of the most dangerous creatures imaginable."
Two little girls stopped and stared at him.
"Operating under deep cover. Trying not to attract suspicion. Give me a call, Clara. Nightmare Scenario. I'm worried." He hung up his phone and looked at Leona.
"Oh Doctor you're not thinking of talking to those little girls are you?" Leona questioned softly, her brows furrowed in worry. She honestly was concerned about how this Doctor was. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him to cause this type of change in him.
The Doctor followed the girls.
Leona let out a breath and quickly followed him before he did something stupid.
"Okay. Hey, Monster High and Cinderella. Down off the monkey bars. Listen to me. We've got to talk." The Doctor said looking at the two girls. He joined the two of them on the monkey bars.
"Doctor." Leona said, looking at the Doctor letting out a breath shaking her head lightly. She wondered how many times she had to deal with his antics. She crossed her arms as he began to have a talk with the two serious little girls.
"Look, I admire you, okay? I think you're ingenious. Pretending to be a couple of seven year olds is a splendid way to conceal your blobbiness. But let's not pretend. You're very blobby. In fact, you two are the big blobs. And you are not patrolling the ceasefire."
The girls climbed down and the Doctor went down the slide.
"Fine. Fine, bury your heads. Listen to me. Listen! There are other factions. I know that there are other blobby factions that you don't control. They're planning something. And if we don't get together and stop it, it'll be the end of this. Of all of you."
"This is our jurisdiction, Doctor. These are our creatures. We are close to finding them." Jemima said, looking at the Doctor.
"They are our children, and we will deal with them." Claudette said, giving him a look.
"Your kids are out of control. I'm taking this out of your hands." The Doctor said looking at the two women.
Leona let out a breath shaking her head.
His phone began to ring. "Don't even think about going anywhere." He said walking away with Leona. "Are you phoning me with your backside again, or are you really sending me a distress signal?" The Doctor questioned whoever had called him.
"I'm really sending you a distress signal." Kate replied over the phone. "They've kidnapped Osgood and they've stolen the location of every Zygon on Earth. Doctor, the ceasefire's broken down."
Leona turned her head to hear something hissing. Her eyes widened. "Doctor…"
The Doctor moved quickly. "Hey! Away! Away! Get those kids out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way! Out of the way! Move! Out of the way!"
The school children and their teacher fleed.
Zygons stepped through the gas to grab Jemima and Claudette, who screamed, and carry them away to a nearby Parks Maintenance Van. It left with a squeal of tires.
The Doctor and Leona ran back to the Tardis.
Leona let out a breath looking at the Doctor. "What the hell are those things?"
"Zygons."
"What the hell are those?"
"I'll explain later Leona." The Doctor said as he got into the Tardis.
Leona quickly followed the Doctor into the Tardis.
DWDWDW
The Doctor and Leona had made it to the Unit Safe House.
Leona looked around nervously, her hands wringing together in concern.
"UNIT troops will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The enemies of our race will be destroyed wherever they are in the world. The war is about to begin. There will be truth or there will be consequences." Osgood said on the screen.
The Doctor's brows furrowed in concern. He used his phone once again to call Clara. He let out a frustrated breath. "Call me now."
Leona looked over at the Doctor concerned. "Your companion isn't answering?"
The Doctor shook his head.
Leona let out a soft breath rubbing her mouth softly.
DWDWDW
A UNIT vehicle arrived at Drakeman Junior School in Dulwich.
The Doctor, Clara, and Leona got out of the car.
"This is where the Zygon High Command had their secret base." Kate explained to them.
"A junior school?" Clara asked in confusion.
They went inside. Photographs of Jemima and Claudette were on the wall collage.
"Terms of the settlement, Operation Double, were these. Twenty million Zygons, the entire hatchery, were allowed to be born and to stay on Earth. They were permitted to permanently take up the form of the nearest available human beings."
"In this case, a large percentage of the population of the UK." Jac explained.
They went into the boiler room.
"You left us with an impossible situation, Doctor." Kate said looking over at the Doctor with a look of irritation on her face.
" Yes, I know. It's called peace. What about the two little girl commanders? Weren't they helping you?"
"They've been almost impossible to deal with since Osgood left. Secretive, uncommunicative. We've known there's something going on. Some radicalisation, some revolution in the younger brood. They said they had it under control."
They walked into the command Center. They went through a hold in the brick wall to an area festooned with red cords. A giant size polyp stood proud.
"The Zygon command center. That's the control polyp for all Zygons on Earth." The Doctor said, looking at it.
"It's horrible." Jac said softly.
"Could you? Would you mind? Thank you." The Doctor said as Clara took his torch. He splashed liquid from the pool in the center of the polyp onto its fronds and then caressed some horns. "If this has been compromised, the Zygons are wide open. They'll be starting to panic. Starting to worry."
"Doctor, do you want to be alone with that thing?" Clara questioned shifting a bit.
"It's a command computer. You operate it by titivating the fronds."
"Are you enjoying that?"
"I snogged a Zygon once. Old habits."
Leona raised a brow wondering what one earth he was talking about.
Suddenly the screens came to life, booting up with Sapphire.
"Still got the old magic." The Doctor said with a cheeky smile.
"So, Osgood's been kidnapped, right? I thought Osgood was dead." Clara said, looking over at Kate, her brows furrowed.
"There've always been two of her, ever since the ceasefire. We never knew which one was real."
"Both of them." The Doctor pointed out.
"Okay, which one was Zygon?"
"Both of them. They would have maintained a live link. They were both Zygon and human at the same time. They not only administered the peace, they were the peace."
"When the other Osgood died, the survivor went pretty much mad with grief. Then she just disappeared. Went undercover in the States. Now, of course, the rebels have her." Jac said thinking.
"Ah ha! Okay. Zygons hatched and dispersed all over, but something's gone wrong. Mexico border, North Asia, West Africa, Australia. Panic. Paranoia. What would happen if they knew who we were?"
There was a beep.
"We've received another video." Jac said, looking up.
They gathered around Jac's tablet.
"That's the Zygon High Command. It's Jemima and Claudette." Kate said as she continued to look at the screen.
"We have been betrayed. We were sold. Our rights were violated. We demand the right to be ourselves. Normalize. Normalize!" The Zygon said.
Jemima and Claudette transform into Zygons, then are zepped to dust by electricity from two other Zygon hands.
"We are now the Zygon High Command. All traitors will die. Truth or consequences."
"Oh dear." Leona blinked a few times.
"So, we have a Zygon revolution on our hands. We need to open negotiations." The Doctor said letting out a breath.
"I'm not negotiating with them. As far as they're concerned, everyone's a traitor." Kate said, shaking her head.
"If you're not going to negotiate, what are you going to do?" Leona questioned as she looked over at Kate, her brows furrowed.
"They're holed up in this settlement in Turmezistan. It's where they've taken Osgood. I'm going to order Colonel Walsh to bomb it."
"Isn't there a solution that doesn't involve bombing everyone?" The Doctor questioned looking over at Kate not liking the choice that she was choosing.
"The treaty's been comprehensively violated, Doctor."
"This is a splinter group. The rest of the Zygons, the vast majority, they want to live in peace. You start bombing them, you'll radicalise the lot. That's exactly what the splinter group wants."
"Truth or consequences. What exactly does that mean?" Jac questioned looking up at the Doctor and Kate.
"It's just the usual kind of nonsense these idiots call themselves." Kate explained to Jac.
"It's in New Mexico." Clara said, looking up.
"What?"
"It's a town in New Mexico. Truth or Consequences. Er, they renamed it after a TV show, for a bet or something. It's a Trivial Pursuit question. I used to memorize Trivial Pursuit questions so I could win."
"That's the last place we received a signal from Osgood's phone, isn't it? New Mexico."
"Okay. Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth Or Consequences. See what you can find out. The Doctor and Leona will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood, and prevent this war, cos that's what he does. Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters. And also from the Zygons." The Doctor said looking at everyone giving them their job of what to do.
"Fine." Clara said, nodding her head.
"Oh, and do you still have the presidential aircraft?"
"I thought you didn't like being President of the World."
"No, but I like poncing about in a big plane."
Leona let out a breath wondering why this new Doctor was strange compared to the others that she had traveled with.
DWDWDW
The Doctor posed on the steps with Leona before the two of them went inside of the airplane.
The Doctor looked at Leona and saw the look on her face. "Ah you're confused aren't you?"
"More than confused, Doctor." Leona said, giving him a look.
The Doctor let out a soft laugh seeing how uncomfortable she was. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"I know you won't. But this regeneration version of you…"
"Ah you didn't think I would become this?"
Leona shook her head. "You seem more rude than your other versions of you…"
The Doctor let out a breath. "I'm sorry. I know you're not used to a cranky version."
Leona crossed her arms. "It'll just take some time."
"I forget how young you really are in this form."
Leona wrapped her arms around herself. "Are you sure that you want me to go with you?"
"You're already here, I'm not going to kick you off the plane."
Leona nodded her head slowly. "Alright." She said softly as she took a seat in one of the chairs wrapping her arms around herself.
DWDWDW
The Doctor and Leona entered the Command base in Turmezistan.
"At ease. I'm the President of the World. I'm here to rescue people and generally establish happiness all over the place. The Doctor. Doctor Funkenstein."
Walsh looked up. "Yes, we know who you are."
"Going to strike altitude." Lisa said.
"What's going on here? Fun and games?" The Doctor questioned.
"We're seven hundred meters lower, seven hundred meters lower than planned. Over." The pilot said over coms.
"You're not bombing that town. That's where they're holding my friend." The Doctor said, looking at Walsh.
"They're dangerous. And your friend is almost certainly dead. I'm not going to allow them to disperse. You can't track a shape-shifter." Walsh said, looking at the Doctor.
"Visual on the target." Lisa said.
"Confirm strike."
"Colonel." The Doctor said with a tone.
"Confirm strike."
Lisa looked at the image on her screen and saw a man and boy waving at her.
"Confirm strike."
The Doctor noticed the picture that Lisa had on her console; it was the same man and boy that was on the screen.
"Confirm strike. Confirm strike!"
"Strike aborted. Strike aborted." Lisa said doing the exact opposite of what Walsh wanted.
"Well, that's interesting." The Doctor said as he and Leona shared a look with one another.
DWDWDW
They began to load up the land rovers.
"We think it's a Zygon training camp. We never see more than one or two of them outside at any one time. But they always take different shapes, we don't know how many there really are. We don't know how they come and go. Whether they go through tunnels, or whether they turn into dogs and run out across the hills." Walsh explained to them.
"So, that's what we'll find out." The Doctor said, looking at Walsh.
"We should have that gas. We should be able to rip them inside out."
"Colonel, take it easy. They're trying to unsettle you. They're trying to make you paranoid and panicked."
"Any living thing in this world, including my family and friends, could turn into a Zygon and kill me, any second now. It's not paranoia when it's real."
"Take a breath Colonel." Leona said, looking at the woman. "There is no point in panicking. It'll get you killed. Trust me, panicking like this won't help you or helping those around us."
Walsh looked at the young woman that stood next to the Doctor with her brows furrowed.
DWDWDW
"Okay, listen carefully. Once we get to the village we have a thirty minute window before the airstrike. We all know what a rabbit warren this place is, but we've got intel they're holed up inside the church. Hitchley, you take the front, storm it, draw their fire. The Doctor and I will take the back."
The Doctor held out a photo of Osgood. "This is our object. We need to get her back safely. Try to kill as few of them as possible. I need to have someone to negotiate with."
"You know what they're capable of. Do not fall victim to it. Truck open. Code Green." Walsh said to everyone.
"Let's move out!" Hitchley said.
They got out of the vehicles and began their journey.
Walsh, the Doctor, and Leona walked through the graveyard at the back of the church.
Leona winced when she heard three shots were fired.
"Do not fall victim." Walsh said over her coms to Hitchley. "Ask for details. She's a copy. Ask something only your mum could know. Hitchley!"
Leona felt the Doctor grab her hand in a comforting measure. Leona looked over at him, her brows furrowed.
"It's going to be alright, Leona."
Leona swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded her head weakly.
"That is not your mother. It is an alien hostile. Kill it!"
Leona's hand tightened around the Doctor's hand.
"Don't go in there. Do it! Don't go in there. You're going to your death! Hitchley, kill it. Damn it. Damn it!"
"This is pointless! Just let me go in and talk!" The Doctor said, looking at Welsh.
They ran around the church.
Walsh shot the lock off of the side door.
They entered the church and entered a room with a strategy table laid out. There are sets of hairy bundles on the floor, still sizzling with electricity.
"They've executed my men."
"Where are the Zygons?" The Doctor said, looking around.
"We need to bomb the hell out of this place. It's infested with these things. We can't tell who the enemy is any more, we can't count them and we can't track them!"
"I'm not going to let you do that."
"I just lost my men, I'll quite happily bomb the hell out of anywhere. We need to move. Strike's on its way."
"I need to find Osgood."
"You've got ten minutes." Walsh said leaving the two of them.
Leona let out a breath. "She's wound up tighter than a rubber band."
The Doctor looked at the colored blocks on the table.
"Help! Help!" Osgood yelled.
"Osgood! Osgood!" He stamped his feet on the floor looking for a trap door.
"Doctor!"
"Osgood!"
"Doctor, I'm here!"
"Osgood!"
"Doctor, I'm down here!"
"Osgood!"
"Doctor!"
He finally found the trap door under a carpet in a small corridor.
"Doctor! Doctor!"
The Doctor opened the trap door and jumped down the ladder and turned on a torch.
Leona jumped down looking around, smoothing out her white dress as she looked around.
"Osgood!" He found her sitting manacled. "Got to get you out. They're going to bomb this place. What do the Zygons want?"
"They're training, practicing new skills. Doctor, what are you doing here?"
He used his sonic on her manacles. "Rescuing you. In quite a dashing way, I might add."
"They fled through the tunnels. They're going back to the UK. If you're here, they've got you out of the way. Who's left in the UK?"
"Clara."
"Clara!" A Zygon said.
"Oh, hello." The Doctor said, looking back at the Zygon.
Suddenly a boom was heard causing rocks to fall on top of the Zygon.
"They've started. So much for ten minutes."
"She's a liar." Leona said as she put a magic barrier around them as rubble fell. "Come on Doctor, I can only keep this up for a little time."
The Doctor nodded his head.
DWDWDW
The Zygon was wheeled in tied to a box trolley.
The Doctor followed on his phone. He let out a frustrated breath. "Can you change your voicemail message, please, it's getting very boring."
Osgood slowly sat down.
Leona let out a breath as she sat down putting her hands on her lap nervously.
"Oh, I see you've accessorized it." The Doctor said.
"Yes."
"The old question marks."
"You used to wear question marks." Osgood pointed out.
"Oh, I know, yes, I did."
"They were nice. Why don't you wear them any more?"
"Oh, I do. I've got question mark underpants."
"Makes one wonder what the question is."
The Doctor pulled up a chair and sat down looking at Osgood. "Which one are you? Human or Zygon?"
"I don't answer that question."
"Why not?"
"Because there isn't a question to answer. I don't accept it. My sister and I were the living embodiment of the peace we made. I will give all the lives that I have to protect it. You want to know who I am, Doctor? I am the peace. I am Human and Zygon."
"Like a hybrid." Leona said, looking at Osgood blinking a few times.
Osgood looked over at Leona. "A hybrid, if you like."
"Well, I'm proud to know you, Osgood. And I promise that I won't tell anyone that you're a human. Zygons need to keep the human original alive to refresh the body print. If you were a Zygon, you'd've changed back within days of your sister's death." The Doctor said, looking at Osgood.
"Those were the old rules, before Zygons could pluck loved ones from your memory and wear their faces. Zygons only need to keep the original alive if they need more information from them. If the interrogation is over, then the original can die."
Soon they were up in the air.
The Zygon roared in anger.
"Bit of first-things-first-ness. What's your name? My name's. Well, you can call me the Doctor. But then you knew that, didn't you? You want something. What is it?" The Doctor said as he got up to his feet to look at the Zygon.
"You are the President of the World?"
"I suppose so."
"We want the world." The Zygon began to laugh.
Leona narrowed her eyes at the creature that was tied up.
"We want the truth of who we are to be acknowledged. We want to live as ourselves. At any cost. We want a home."
"Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there. They'll think you're going to pinch their benefits." The Doctor said, looking at the Zygon.
"We're already there, Doctor. The invasion's already taken place, bit by bit, over the last year. We've won the first battle. And now, we are going to begin the war."
Leona looked at the Doctor rather concerned.
The Doctor's phone began to ring.
"Answer it. Say goodbye. This plane will never land."
"Really. Clara?" The Doctor answered his phone.
"Doctor."
"Clara?"
"There you are."
"Clara, I'm glad you're okay. Listen."
"You're breaking up."
"The invasion has happened. You're probably surrounded by Zygons. Get to the Tardis, get yourself safe. And apparently my plane is never going to land, but let's see what we're going to do about that."
"I'm sorry, but Clara's dead. Kate Stewart is dead. The UNIT troops are all dead. Truth or consequences."
"Clara!"
Leona looked at the Doctor with wide eyes.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This is the end of Chapter 6. I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I think I enjoyed writing about Leona meeting the 12th Doctor and with his prickly self and Leona not even sure of what to think of him. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I'm going to try to update as soon as possible with the next chapter. I'm trying my best since I'm writing each story out at one time. Meaning I'm finishing this story up before bouncing to the next one. I hope that you guys enjoyed it. Until next time.