Evil Within

Ok, so we're at the halfway point now, and we have another rather splendid tale – another shift in tone from the last one too. That element has been completely unintentional, but seems to have worked rather well so far!


So now, I present to you Mr Tom Butler's....

Evil Within

 

The TARDIS console sparked brightly, white and yellow flashes spraying the floor. The Doctor hurried his movements, pulling a lever here, smashing a button there. Anything he could do to stabilise his ship. They'd been together for a long time, longer than he cared to remember, and through even more battles he'd rather forget. Rose hauled herself up from the floor and revamped her golden hair.
"How many times did you take your driving test?"

"I never booked one, bit busy saving the universe! Excuse me!" The Doctor launched himself over Rose to grab another lever. Crouched down on the floor beneath him she wondered if life with the Doctor was always going to be like this. He picked her up swiftly and spun her around to face him.
"Don't just sit there! Hit something!" Once more he was wrenching levers to and fro, bringing his palm down on brightly coloured buttons. Unsure of what she was doing Rose was in a state of panic. She hated being rushed. She brought all the weight of her fist down onto the first button she saw, a massive red button in the middle of the console. Suddenly everything stopped. The TARDIS's time rotor stopped moving. The lights on the console went out one by one. The Doctor stepped back, as terrified as he was confused. His head snapped in Rose's direction.
"What did you do?"

Rose tried to defend herself. "I hit a button!"
"Which button?"

"I don't know, one of the button buttons!"
"They're all button buttons!" Now he was next to her, his giant stature looming over her, his manic eyes searching her face for an answer.

"Which button button?!"
She raised her arm slowly and pointed at the red button.
"The red button? Why did you hit the red button?"
"You told me to hit one!"
"Not the red button!"
"How was I supposed to know?"
"It's red! Red means don't press this button! Red means only ever press this button if your life depends on it!" The Doctor started dashing around the console now, desperately trying switches and levers.
"What did it do?"

"It put the TARDIS into hibernation. Nothing's switched on, nothing's working. It's designed as a failsafe if the TARDIS is ever under attack. No motion, no lights, no nothing. It completely disappears from any radar, anything scanning for alien technology. Only..."

"Only what?"
"I thought it was broken."
"It doesn't look broken to me," Rose teased.
The Doctor pointed at Rose. "You pressed the red button!"
Rose pursed her lips shut and looked down at the floor. The Doctor turned his attention back to the dormant console. His eyes darted over it, searching for the one part that would put them back in motion. He racked his mind. He knew how to fix this didn't he? It was his TARDIS; surely he had an answer in that head of his. Then it struck him. He looked back at Rose, a sheepish expression on her face. He grinned, that massive, everything's-going-to-be-okay grin that instantly made any problem seem completely insignificant.
"I'm fantastic!"
Rose couldn't help but grin back. The Doctor raced around the console until he was at the red button. He dropped to his knees and pulled out his sonic screwdriver from his jacket pocket. The sonic lit up the underside of the console with a bright blue as the Doctor worked to open one of its panels.
"What are you doing?" Rose enquired.
The panel hit the floor with a clunk and the Doctor grabbed a handful of the fibrous cables inside. "The button stops everything from working so that we are completely invisible to all alien tech. If I enable the signal jammer to send, rather than block, somebody out there is going to notice us." Finding the right parts, the Doctor began to sonic them. "The TARDIS will be forced to wake up, in order to defend itself."
Rose took a moment for the plan to sink in. Something worried her however. "What if it's somebody dangerous?"
"Well, then we run!" The Doctor's mad grin was back, this time relishing the opportunity to succeed against overwhelming odds. Usual Doctor-type stuff. Suddenly the TARDIS was bathed in its own lights, as everything switched on at once. The Doctor jumped up to his feet and grabbed the viewer.
"Let's find out what woke us up."
On the viewer was a small ship, alien writing on the wings, racing towards a planet of grey and brown.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know, don't recognise the ship. The TARDIS can't translate the writing at that speed. Where are we?" He pressed a few more buttons and got his answer. "The Valannti system? We've gone way back; this place was destroyed eons ago." He took another look at the viewer and studied the planet ahead of them. "That's Volosous Pandorum! Volosous Pandorum Rose!"
"What's Volosous Pandorum?"
"Only the Manhattan of the Valannti system, that's all! Fancy a trip down?"
Rose grinned at the Doctor; that was all he needed to see. He pulled back on a lever and the TARDIS zoomed down to the surface of Volosous Pandorum.

*****

"I hope you brought your pocket money!" The Doctor teased. For a nine hundred year old time traveller, he was just as excited as Rose was.
"Don't you have some sort of intergalactic credit card? You know, give it a little..." Rose made a little whirring sound as she mimed sonicing a credit card.
"And steal money from an intergalactic bank?" The Doctor's disdain for the word "intergalactic" came through as he spoke. It was such a flashy term, completely hollow. It gave no illusion to the loneliness, or the danger involved. The lives he'd seen ruined, some taken completely. Neither did it give any implication as to the beauty of time and space. The Doctor, in that brief moment, saw the faces of everybody he'd met who had benefitted from his kindness, from his compassion. He never thought of it in those terms however; he simply saw himself as an old traveller.
"It's not stealing, you could just, make it appear."
The Doctor flashed a grin. "But where's the fun in that?" He charged through the TARDIS doors, bright light pouring into the dark box.


Rose shielded her eyes to the blinding illumination until they readjusted. She assumed it was an alien sun, probably ten times bigger and brighter than the one she was used to on Earth. Briefly her mind wandered to thoughts of protection; surely she was going to need SPF 1,000 to battle this heat. However, once her pupils had constricted and she could see clearly she realised that it wasn't the sun giving off the heat and glare that she had previously been defending herself against. Volosous Pandorum was ablaze.


It was a city of ruins, once tall buildings now only several feet high, bursting forth with fiery talons of flame. Rose was taken aback. Nothing she had seen with the Doctor so far could have prepared her for being at the heart of the destruction of a planet. She could feel her eyes begin to moisten, the thought of an entire civilisation perishing in the most gruesome and violent of ways. Softly, in the background, fighting against the deafening roar of the flames was a voice. It was faint, barely audible, but it was shouting. Rose composed herself. She strained to hear the cry, concentrating on each syllable until she could make out the one word. The voice was shouting her name.


"Rose!"
The Doctor was bellowing at the top of his voice but his companion was oblivious. After leaving the TARDIS he had been forced to duck and run as the flare licked at his jacket. He was now about twenty feet away, much too far for Rose to hear him. She was in no immediate danger by any means, the TARDIS by now would have taken measures to protect itself from the heat, and she was close enough to the police box to benefit from that protection. The Doctor spun on the spot, a full three hundred and sixty degrees, searching the land for signs of life, or shelter that might house some. All he saw was desolation. He turned his attention back to Rose, who by now had overcome her initial gut response to the devastation. Now, she was struck by something far more dangerous... her curiosity.


"Rose!"
After creeping forward through the flames Rose could hear the voice clearer now. "Doctor? Is that you?" She wasn't sure, but nothing could be alive on the surface of this planet. It had to be him. But where was he? She saw something in the very corner of her eye, something on the scorched floor that looked almost like it was moving. A small patch of black, no bigger than a jam jar lid. She leaned over, focusing her eyes on the patch. It was moving, but very slowly. She knelt down, surprised at how cool the ground was compared to the humid air. Moving closer to the black substance she realised it wasn't moving slowly at all; it was thousands of tiny creatures, each one individually moving extremely fast.


"Why is she kneeling?!" the Doctor exclaimed. He'd been watching Rose whilst he formulated a plan to get back to her. A thin wall of fire separated them and though he had managed to get closer to her he was still about ten feet away. The noise was almost unbearable and the heat only slightly less so.
"Why is it that all humans have to poke and prod things?" Then something caught the Doctor's attention. Something moving on the floor, something sneaking towards him. He turned to face it. It was seemingly just a small black patch, barely moving at all. The Doctor's eyes grew wide, his mouth agape. He was filled with a sudden dread and horror that he very rarely felt. In that moment, that brief, split second of an instant, the Doctor realised that if he didn't get to Rose and get them off Volosous Pandorum, they would both be dead in a matter of minutes.


Fascinated by the swarm, Rose's face was inches from it now. Up close she saw hundreds of thousands of tiny bug-like creatures. Closer she leaned, transfixed by the speed and agility with which the insects moved. Suddenly they all stopped. They were completely still. They were all looking at Rose. The patch of black had turned to bright silver. Hundreds of thousands of razor sharp teeth were staring Rose in the face. There was a whoosh as the flames behind Rose swirled, as if angry at being disturbed. She turned to see the Doctor leap through the blaze, landing right next to her. He grabbed her by the hand, his eyes commanding her to move.
"Rose! Run!"
They sped off towards the TARDIS as the two patches of black flew up into the air and merged. It chased after them, gaining on them with every second. The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket with his free hand and pulled out the TARDIS key. Rose strained her head backwards to get a look at the swarm but felt a short, sharp jerk as the Doctor pulled her forwards.
"Don't look back!" The pair was at the TARDIS door, the Doctor slotting the key in first time. Before he could turn it another swarm, bigger and blacker, attacked them from the side, forcing them to flee from the safety of the TARDIS and across the blistered terra firma. They raced as fast as their feet could take them, hands fused together in mutual fear. The Doctor could barely see through the forest of fire ahead of them. Then, briefly, a building to the right. It looked intact, not like the ruins that adorned the rest of Volosous Pandorum.
"This way!" The Doctor yanked Rose sideways and they sped towards the shelter of the building, ducking and dodging whenever the flames threatened to engulf them. The closer they got, the clearer they could see the building. It was solid, almost completely untouched by whatever had ruined the city. They slammed into the door, their momentum flinging them into the cold metal. Within seconds the Doctor had his sonic out and was going to work on the lock. The black swarm was upon them and once again turned silver as the now millions of tiny creatures bared their teeth simultaneously. Rose felt the cold sweat of panic pour over her and closed her eyes as she braced herself for the worst. Then, in the time it took her heart to beat once, she was pulled inside and the big metal door was slammed shut by the Doctor. Exhausted, both physically and mentally, Rose collapsed onto the floor and let herself cry. The Doctor rested his head against the door, listening to the buzz of the swarm outside. He needed to get Rose back to the TARDIS and get off this planet. Right at that moment, he had no idea how to do that.

*****

Several hundred metres away, in a plush, secure office, a bedraggled man hunched over a monitor watched the Doctor and Rose. The walls of the office were lined on the inside with fancronium steel, the toughest in this region. The swarm couldn't puncture it, although it had tried. Dents lined the office walls where the sole survivor within had experienced moments of near-death. It would take the entire swarm focusing its power on one spot to break through however, so the old scavenger could take some solace in that. As he watched he saw the Doctor sonic the hydraulic seals on the doors in the hanger. Eventually he found one that he could open, and he beckoned Rose to follow him deeper inside the building.
"That's right, Doctor," the man uttered. "Find your way here, and save us all."

*****

"What was that?" Rose had recovered from the shock of the chase and her curiosity had taken hold once more. "I mean, they looked like insects but, those teeth..."
"Dracus Vordi," the Doctor replied. "Savage, focused and built to do one thing and one thing only; destroy. They're parasites, boring into planets and species, talking them over and destroying them from the inside out. The Dracus have destroyed Volosous Pandorum, they could destroy the entire Valannti system."
"So we're gonna stop them?"
"No." The Doctor stood firm. Nothing he could say would convey the seriousness with which he regarded his next point. "We leave. We get as far away from here as possible and don't look back. An entire planet, Rose, gone in an instant. But not us. Not you. Not ever."
Rose understood. She nodded, comforted by the fact that the Doctor was so certain. The pair came to another door, big and heavy. It had the same hydraulic lock, preventing anyone without an access code from entering. The Doctor pulled his own skeleton key out of his jacket pocket and the little blue light shone brightly onto the seal. A quick whir later and the lock jerked open. They were through the door, and further away from the swarm. But what they saw next sealed their fate on Volosous Pandorum. It was the moment that the Doctor had to stop running. It was the moment that the Doctor realised he must face the Dracus and drive them from this world.


The first person the Doctor's eyes came upon was a young woman, in her early twenties. She was dressed in rags, or at least what were rags now after the horror she had been through. Her eyes were tired, red from stress and endless nights of tears. This was a person defeated, someone who didn't expect to live past the end of the day. The joy that came from living was brief, as the morning would roll around and the cycle of despair would begin again. But she had to stay strong, for suckling upon her breast was an infant, relatively newborn judging by the size, the Doctor thought. As he watched the broken mother care for her baby, drawing life from the woman that she didn't have to give, yet giving it freely so her child might live, the Doctor was yet again face to face with the power of humanity. It was the one thing that could make him stay, inspire him to fight, move him to care. Now his focus was drawn away from the woman and to the dozen other people behind her. Some young, some old, all desperate for salvation. The planet wasn't destroyed, not as long as these people survived. The Doctor looked at Rose and saw a tear roll down her cheek. She looked up at him and he allowed himself to smile. He knew it was comforting to Rose to see him smile. She grew great reassurance from it. The Doctor simply felt like smiling. He turned back to the mother.
"Hello! I'm the Doctor, and I'm the best thing to happen to you lot for a long time."
The woman nervously stepped away, shielding her baby.
"It's alright, I'm here to help."
"Doctor..." Rose was drawn to an altercation on the other side of the room.
The Doctor's head snapped upwards and locked rigidly in place. The noise, the unmistakable shrieking of an angry teenage girl, had drawn a lot of attention. But this was no ordinary Earthly council estate feud, nor was it a petty argument between siblings. The young girl was full of bile and rage; it spewed forth from her mouth in a geyser of abuse. At seventy-two years her senior, the poor defenceless old man who was the target of her torrent cowered in fear. Quick as a flash, the Doctor was between them.
"That's enough."
The girl continued, only now her anger was aimed at the Doctor. The old man's family helped him up and to safety.
"I said, THAT'S ENOUGH!" The Doctor surprised the girl with his own outburst and she halted. But only for a second and then she exploded again, this time even more vociferous. The Doctor stood tall. He looked into the eyes of the girl, his face grim.
"I'm sorry." He turned to the biggest member of the group, Barnaby, and gravely implored him. "Grab her arms and legs, lock her away. Don't ever let her out. Do you understand? Not ever."
Barnaby enlisted three of the others to help him and they set about the battle of talking control of the girl. Rose watched, quietly sad, as the men barely overpowered her.
"Lock her up? But why?"
The Doctor's eyes were fixed on the struggle. "She's infected."
"But you don't even know her name."
He turned to face Rose now, the same quiet sadness overpowering him. After a moment he could look her in the eyes and explain.
"That doesn't matter now. She's not who she was, she's not even a person. She's been infected by the Dracus and now she's just a time bomb, waiting to explode. There are symptoms; hysteria, depression, catatonia, anger and then... You're like the Dracus itself, desperate to feed, determined to destroy. You go through them one by one. She's only got one stage to go. Rose, if I don't act now all these people, these beautiful survivors..."
"It's alright. I understand." She took the Doctor's hand and he smiled, allowing himself a small note of comfort. Then Rose started to laugh.

*****

In his safely insulated office the scavenger watched Rose laugh with growing exasperation.
"No, not you! The Doctor, the Doctor!" he shouted at the screen. He sighed and turned to another monitor where he was keeping tabs on the condition of the TARDIS with desperate interest.

*****

The Doctor pulled Rose quickly into a small, cramped room that was attached to the survivors' haven. Once a broom closet designed to store cleaning products, now it was just four bare, beige walls and another door opposite the one they had entered.
"You nearly pulled my arm off!"
The Doctor's face was sullen, his eyes filled with despair.
"I'm so, so sorry Rose."
Suddenly Rose was quiet. The Doctor's demeanour gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if the world was about to come crashing down around her and this time the Doctor couldn't do anything to stop it.
"Why? What's happened?"
"You laughed."
"So what if I did? It was probably just nervous laughter or something."
"You're infected."
"No, I'm not."
"You're infected and it's my fault. I promised to look after you and I failed. I'm so sorry."
"Doctor, I'm not infected!"
"You're infected," the Doctor repeated again, this time to himself quietly. Then the slightest hint of a smile flashed across his face. And again, faint but definitely a smile. Then the smile began to broaden until the Doctor was grinning, then laughing.
"Doctor?" Rose nervously stepped back.
The Doctor was roaring now, laughing hysterically.
"You're infected!" He kept on, one long guffaw at Rose's expense.
"Doctor! Stop it now! Doctor!"
He continued to laugh, but it softened. Eventually it quietened down into a gentle chuckle.
"Oh Rose..." the Doctor wasn't laughing anymore, "We should never have come here." As quickly as the laughter had started it had stopped, and was replaced with a morose depression. "We're never going to get off this planet alive. What's the use in trying?"
"Doctor don't talk like that. You'll find a way, you always do." Rose was feeling helpless and could only offer encouragement.
"Not this time. Don't you see Rose? I'm infected. The Dracus, inside me, feeding off me. My genetic structure must make it easy for them, I just went from hysteria to depression in a few seconds."
"But..."
"Rose. Listen to me. You have to run. You have to leave me here and get back to the TARDIS. It's not safe for you to be with me, not anymore. You have to ru..."
The Doctor was silent. His wide eyes stared directly ahead, his body still. It was as if somebody had a remote control linked to his brain and had simply pressed the pause button. Rose edged closer to him, knowing she should listen to what he said but not wanting to ever leave him.
"Doctor?" A few steps closer. "Doctor!" She grabbed him with both hands. "DOCTOR!"

*****

The scavenger, in his office-cum-fortress punched the air in joy.
"That's my Doctor! Let them feed on you, let them feed for a thousand years!" He danced a little jig of happiness in a mood a million miles away from the one in the little broom closet.

*****

"DOCTOR!" Rose bellowed in his face one more time, desperately trying to wake him from his catatonic state. Suddenly the Doctor exploded upwards and sent Rose hurtling to the other side of the room.
"Get away from me!" he blared, his face twisted by the anger inside him. "You stupid apes are all the same, pathetic creatures that deserve to be wiped from existence!"
Rose was crying on the floor, unable to move through confusion and fear. He looked like her Doctor but he was so very different, so full of rage.
"But you, you're the worst of them all! Stupid girl, full of hope and dreams. You're nothing Rose, nothing! Just a tiny insignificant speck in a universe of more intelligent, more important life forms. You deserve to be exterminated and forgotten for all of time!"
"Doctor!" Rose was wailing now, the Doctor's words tearing through her. It wasn't the words themselves, but the fact each one told her he wasn't the Doctor anymore, he was an instrument of the Dracus. In the silence that followed her shout she realised the Doctor had stopped. She looked up at him and saw him now, not angry, not hysterical, not depressed, not catatonic, but still and completely focused on her. His eyes were full of fury, it pierced through her like a burning railroad spike. The look on his face made his intentions very clear. As he purposefully moved towards her she knew she had to run.


Rose ducked under the Doctor's arms and launched herself at the other door in the room. Bursting through it she ran as fast as her legs could carry her away from the Doctor, who was on her heels every step of the way. He didn't say anything, but pursued her intently. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head with intense vehemence. She rounded a corner and came across a massive security door, unfortunately locked. She turned to face her old friend, now most certainly to be her murderer.
"Doctor, please!" Rose pleaded with him, praying he would see sense. Instead he rushed at the door with a momentous speed. Rose dived out of the way and the Doctor's Dracus-enhanced force sent him crashing through the door and into the plush, secure office belonging to the space scavenger. The man dived behind his desk, hidden from view and protected from danger, for the time being.
Rose couldn't help but follow the Doctor into the room, her affection for him overriding the extreme feeling of danger. He was on his feet, eyes fixed on her again. She moved into the room and the two circled each other, one full of love and concern, the other full of hatred and violence.
"Doctor. It's me. Rose!"
The Doctor simply stood and stared.
"Please Doctor! You know me. I know you. This isn't you. It's that thing, the Dracus. You have to snap out of it."
The Doctor simply stood and stared.
This time Rose was firm. "Snap out of it!"
The Doctor slumped to his knees. Rose was shocked; had she broken him out of it? Then the Doctor let out the most painful roar, full of agony. Eventually he was quiet. Then in an instant he was back on his feet.
"Sorry about that, takes a while to get it out of your system sometimes."
Rose launched herself at him, throwing her arms round him and squeezing tight.
He tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry. Forget it, forget it all. Everything I said, it was just..."
"I know," she reassured him as she buried her head into his chest. "But how?"
"All those years travelling in that little blue box. I've absorbed my fair share of time energy, not enough to do any harm, but enough to help wipe out an invading parasite if I need to."
"You really are fantastic aren't you?" Rose grinned.
"And so are you!" The Doctor looked around, noticing their surroundings. "But where are we?"
"Looks like some kind of office."
"With fancronium reinforced walls? Someone was hiding in here, trying to keep the Dracus out. But who?"
Slowly, cautiously, the man under the desk came out from his hiding place. The Doctor couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was his old acquaintance, the dastardly mercenary Sabalom Glitz.

*****

Outside the office in the blazing storm of flames the swarm grew, a gigantic black cloud of thrashing Dracus, strengthening in numbers and power. Millions of the tiny creatures zoomed around the augmented windows, searching for the weak spot. For days they had tried, testing different parts of the wall with all their force. Soon they would find the building's weakness and penetrate its structure, feeding on the few remaining survivors. It was only a matter of time.

*****

"Glitz?!" The Doctor couldn't believe his tired old eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Now Doctor, I can explain! You know me, I like to make an honest living..."
"Yes I know you and no you don't!"
"Now that isn't fair! I try to stay out of trouble but it always manages to find me. I pulled a few bad jobs...
"Bad jobs?"
"I'm not proud of it! But money makes the world turn Doctor. I seem to be cursed of late though, first the job on Krashnik Parsnape and then that sorry business at the Holdarnak Institute... I was desperate, you have to understand that."
The truth was starting to dawn on the Doctor. "What did you do?"
"I heard about the Dracus from a spice miner on Balloray; he said they were like mosquitoes! If I ever see him again, I don't have to tell you what I'll do! I wish I'd never heard of the Dracus, I really do."
"You brought them to Volosous Pandorum."
"I told you Doctor, I'm not proud of myself. I lured them here. I thought if I could get rid of the little pests the people here would give me a big reward, something I could retire on, you know? Then that would be it Doctor, no more dodgy deals. You see, I was trying to change."
"And in the process you destroyed an entire planet!"
"I know," Glitz uttered regretfully. "It wasn't long before I realised that the Dracus were more than just annoying bugs. They tore through this place in days. The screaming, you could hear it from orbit. A few of us managed to hide in this place, reinforced the windows and walls, gave us sanctuary for a while. Then I saw the TARDIS."
"That was you in the ship?" asked Rose.
"Not quite." Glitz held up a remote device. "A while ago I rewired the control board. Sent the ship up into orbit to wait for help. The plan was to draw someone in, someone with a powerful enough ship to cut through those things and get away from this forsaken place. When I saw you Doctor, well, I figured those things could feed for centuries on a Time Lord. Give me plenty of time to escape. You have to understand I was desperate!"
"Sabalom Glitz. You don't deserve to escape. You'll burn to ash with the rest of this planet long after the rest of us are gone."
"Doctor, please!"
Rose interrupted. "Does that mean you have a plan?"
"A plan? Me? Always! There's a weakness in the Dracus attack you see."
"What's that?"
There was a loud BOOM at the walls of the office.
"That would be the weakness."
BOOM!
"You see, now the Dracus know I'm here, and I'm a massive meal for a species like that, they'll come straight for me. Every single one of them."
BOOM!
"And they'll always choose the path of least resistance."
BOOM!
"Which means we should probably run now. You too Glitz."
"But you said..."
"Oh as if I'd leave you to die! That's what makes me better. Now RUN!"
The final BOOM was followed by the sound of fancronium steel tearing as the swarm burst through and flew for the Doctor.


The three of them hurtled down the corridor, Glitz straggling behind as he struggled to keep up.
"Doctor! Hold on!"
"Run faster!"
"I can't!" The Doctor spun round and grabbed Glitz by his body armour, dragging him to the front. Pushing him as they ran, the Doctor forced him to keep to their speed. They darted through the empty broom closet and sped into the room with housing the survivors.
"How far away is the Nosferatu II?" The Doctor demanded of Glitz.
"Ah, about that," Glitz faltered, "I lost it in a game of cards."
The Doctor sighed; seemingly there was nothing this overweight bungler could get right. "The TARDIS it is then. Everybody! RUN!"
With the swarm close behind them, the band of survivors raced through the building, the Doctor holding the sonic screwdriver out in front of him all the way, unlocking the security doors. The poor sonic whirred away, sounding as if even the little device was scared for its survival. Finally the hounded group breached the front gates of the building and were exposed to the searing heat of the planet. For many of the survivors it was the first daylight they had seen in days, and the emotional toll of seeing their planet burn was too great.
"We have to keep moving!" The Doctor shouted over the roar of the flames, trying to inspire the heartbroken survivors to continue. "I'm sorry, but the only way to save your planet is to keep its memory alive. You have to survive!" He searched the surrounding area for help and spied a large van in a nearby hanger, probably a maintenance vehicle this time last week.
"Can you drive that?" The Doctor asked Glitz.
The scavenger was already running towards it. "Well enough!"

*****

Speeding along the scorched earth, the van leapt and bumped over the battle-scarred land. Glitz could barely drive the vehicle, although it handled as if it hadn't been serviced for years. The wheels were barely staying attached as the van sped at its maximum speed through pot-holes and the remains of the planet's buildings. The swarm was still close behind them, changing every few seconds from pitch black to shiny silver, as millions of jagged teeth prepared to sink into the vehicle.
"There it is! The TARDIS!" Rose exclaimed.
Yanking the sliding door open and launching himself into the air, The Doctor's feet hit the ground before the van had even come to a halt. Running full speed at the door the Doctor had the key in the lock and the door open in one swift movement. Rose would have been impressed if she wasn't running for her life. He shepherded in the survivors and his faithful companion, securing their safety. The van was parked haphazardly to the side of the TARDIS and the engine still ran as Glitz bolted towards the ship, the Dracus snapping at his heels. The Doctor slammed the door shut, Glitz having just made it, and the swarm slammed into the TARDIS, knocking everyone sideways. The force was incredible and the old ship reacted badly; sparks flew from the console and the lights dimmed. A red flashing appeared from somewhere, but the source wasn't clear. The loud alarm ringing in everybody's ears was very clear however. They had to leave. Now.
The Time Lord started flicking switches. From its standstill position the TARDIS suddenly launched upwards and zoomed into the air, flying away from the surface and into orbit. The swarm was fast, but the TARDIS was faster.
The further the TARDIS got from the planet, the more beautiful if looked. Now a ball of fiery orange and vibrant red, anyone passing would mistake it for a gorgeous world of unimaginable wonder. Floating in orbit the survivors sobbed and cheered in equal measure. Part relief, part joy, they were all grateful to the mysterious traveller who had saved their lives.
"So where are we going now?" Rose asked her friend, assuming the Doctor would want to dematerialise as quickly as possible.
"Nowhere yet. They won't ever stop. They'll just keep coming." The Doctor pulled a giant gold lever and pressed several buttons with ancient Gallifreyan writing on them. "I have to seal the planet. Nothing can go in, nothing can go out. It's the only way."
Within moments a glowing blue seal enveloped the planet, locking the Dracus away on Volosous Pandorum forever.

*****

The nearby planet of Eloac was famed for its luscious green landscapes and excellent quality of life. It made sense to the Doctor to drop the survivors off here, to give them the chance to rebuild their lives with the best possible advantage. As they left the TARDIS he wished them luck.
"Tare care now! Don't forget to write!"
The last of the survivors to leave was the young mother, still cradling her baby, who stopped and looked into the Doctor's eyes. She spoke softly, but with the intense power of her heart.
"Thank you."
The Doctor smiled as she walked away, but he couldn't let her go without knowing one thing.
"What's your name?"
"Hope," the young woman answered.
"Hope, it was my pleasure."


Joined by Rose, the Doctor stepped back into the familiar security of the TARDIS. Glitz was by the control panel, humbly hunched over the console, in awe of the time rotor.
"It's a beautiful ship Doctor."
"I know. It's time for you to leave." The Doctor was cold and firm.
"There's nothing for me here. I'll never make enough from this place to get back out there, right into the thick of the action. That's where I belong Doctor! Can't I get a lift?"
"You're lucky to be alive. Isn't that enough?"
Glitz realised the futility with which he pursued his argument. Dejected, he sloped towards the door of the vessel. As he stepped out onto Eloac he saw the dazzling blue skies and the rich, green mountains for the very first time.
"You know what? This might be just what I need. A few weeks here, getting back to basics. Pint of ale in the afternoon, spot of fishing. I could do with a holiday!"
A loud whistle pierced the air. "Over here!" a voiced beckoned.
Glitz spun round to see the Doctor waving two uniformed police officers over to their position.
"Oh Doctor, no. Please! I'm begging you! I'll do anything! Anything! They'll put me in Stormcage!"
The Doctor flashed his cheeky grin. "It's like you said, a little holiday will do you good!" His face fell and he was serious once more.
"And having you locked behind bars will do everyone else good."

*****

The TARDIS spun its way maniacally through the time vortex, taking its two passengers away to another adventure. Inside, The Doctor and Rose hugged each other, taking advantage of a moment of peace together alone. They gripped each other tightly, acknowledging what they very nearly lost without ever having to say it.
"Good to have you back," Rose said, with loving warmth.
"It's good to be back."
The Doctor and Rose hugged each other, taking advantage of a moment of peace together alone. They gripped each other tightly, acknowledging what they very nearly lost without ever having to say it.
"Good to have you back."
"It's good to be back."
Rose pulled away. "That was weird, did you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"I dunno, it was... like déjà vu."
The Doctor cautiously spied his companion for a moment. "Déjà vu is very rarely déjà vu. An anomaly in time and space, causing time to repeat itself, trapped in a loop." He looked at Rose and beamed. "But no time for that now! Glitz isn't the only one who could do with a holiday!"
They grinned at each other, happy to be travelling together again.
"Well don't just stand there! Hit something!" he shouted.
Rose slammed her hand down on a big purple button and the Doctor and his companion were off on their fantastic adventures again.