fic_of_fork (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fic_of_fork) wrote2008-12-21 04:07 pm
fic_of_fork) wrote2008-12-21 04:07 pm
Entry tags:
Spiegel im Spiegel, Chapter 6
Word Count: 2970
Summary: Like a mirror reflected into a mirror, choices made create an infinite of possibilities, and images seen may not be what they appear. An encounter with an elusive, incorporeal race leads the Doctor and his allies on a dark journey.
Warnings: None specifically for this chapter. (Spoilers for Season 4, of course.)
Rating: Teen
Characters: Ten, Donna, Braxiatel, Torchwood, Original characters (Mike)
Genre: AU, Adventure
Author's Note: Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mtemplar_fic for the beta! The alien race Donna mentions is from lindenharp's fic, "All the King's Horses."
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any of its characters, and I'm receiving no profit from this beyond the joy of writing.
Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1
The Doctor felt uneasy. He always did, when he wore his tuxedo, and his discomfort had nothing to do with the fact that he was wearing black tie to an event that strictly required formal evening wear. He momentarily chastised himself that, if his suspicions were correct, he would have more to worry about than the protocols and etiquette of reception lines and other diplomatic duties that he found insufferably boring. After consulting a device he cobbled together out of a Nintendo DS, a few bits of string, and some duct tape, he noticed that a specific chronon energy signature had increased in the last hour. The Doctor pocketed the device and turned his attention to the front of the American embassy, where a black limousine was gliding to a stop before a pair of Marines in dress uniform. The Doctor did a double take, when he saw that the flag on the car carried the Prydonian seal.
He pushed himself back into an alcove covered in shadow and held his breath as the door was held open. The Doctor watched, then grinned as he saw a tall, thin man with angular features--in proper full evening dress--exit first, then offer a hand to someone still in the car. He was elated as he saw Donna emerge in a forest green gown with pearls and gold embroidery in an unmistakable web pattern--the height of fashion in the Citadel. His elation faded to a twinge of something between jealousy, guilt, and sorrow. As soon as he felt it, he shoved it from his mind, as he strained to overhear their conversation.
"Really, do I look all right?" Donna asked. "I could've changed, but the scarlet dress isn't as flattering."
"You look magnificent," Braxiatel responded. "Nobody will know you're wearing Arcalian colors."
The Doctor thought to himself that Donna should wear her hair up like that more often.
"I bloody love your planet," Donna exclaimed. "They actually make their gowns with pockets. Sheer genius. I've got that little bottle Maggie gave us, just in case. And my mobile. It's on silent, though. And a pack of tissues. Never know when they'll come in handy. I swear these pockets are bigger on the inside. It's a shame Mike couldn't come with us."
"He has his own business to attend to," Braxiatel said. "Although with a time ring, I don't know why he needed us for transportation."
"Mike told me he didn't like using it," Donna said. "Said it wasn't as accurate as a TARDIS. Say, isn't this the day I left for your planet? Can we play a practical joke on a mate from the office with my other self after this? What do you say? Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Far be it for me to advise another on the technicalities of the first law of time," Braxiatel responded.
After straightening his waistcoat out of habit, Braxiatel offered Donna his arm. Briefly, he glanced in the Doctor's direction, wrinkled his brow, then escorted Donna inside. As the Doctor watched them disappear inside the embassy, he sprang from his hiding place and pulled out his psychic paper in one smooth movement. He flashed it to the Marines and beamed at them, as they saluted.
Chuckling to himself, he checked the psychic paper, only to see that it had identified him as the MP of Flydale North on the invitation. While he was skeptical of omens, he thought to himself that this had to be one of the worst.
***
Once through the reception line inside of the embassy, Braxiatel watched as Donna took everything in around her in wide-eyed wonder. He recognized something of himself in her, remembering a time when he was much younger and secretly enjoying every minute of diplomatic posts off-world that were viewed as a sacrifice for Gallifrey, forsaking the homeworld for the company of aliens. Forcing that thought out of his head he wondered what he was doing here, of all places. With a sigh, Braxiatel wondered if it would've killed the Doctor to at least wear white-tie.
Donna's attention landed on Braxiatel, and she observed his gaze off in the far corners of the room. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked. When an answer wasn't forthcoming, she said, "How do you like the new president? I'm so glad the Americans voted out the bloke who replaced Winters. Never liked him much."
Braxiatel observed the new president and the easy way he moved among the people assembled. "What do you think?" he asked, turning the question back on Donna.
She thought for a moment, then said, "He's got charisma. I mean, I trust the guy. But..."
"Yes?"
"Our politics must be so far removed from yours," Donna wondered.
"They aren't as different as you might think," Braxiatel responded while returning the greeting of the American ambassador.
While they spoke, Donna took in the people around her, wondering if her gown compared to the others. She felt out of sorts, almost as if she were playing dress up. She remembered that not hours before she had been in the palatially rebuilt Citadel, where Gallifrey's ruling elite lived and put this crowd to shame, when it came to pomp and elegance. Donna let her thoughts wander to the Doctor and how there did seem to be something regal about him, although he always hid it, perhaps deeper than he hid other things.
Donna's eyes meandered to the edge of the room, where she saw a figure ambling jaggedly, as if he or she were having difficulty. She touched Braxiatel's arm, and, getting his attention, whispered that she needed a quick trip to the ladies'. Gathering her skirts, she hurried as much as she dared after the figure, excited that it was almost just like being with the Doctor.
As she wandered through the crowd, down a few flights of stairs, and into darkened corners of the embassy, she was thankful that the silk slippers made to match the dress didn't have any heel on them, enabling her to move quickly and silently, save for the rustle of silk. "Hello?" she called. "Are you all right? Do you need some assistance?"
Donna opened a door that led into a disused storage room. She hunted for the light switch, but couldn't find it. "Please, I want to help," she said to the lumps and sheet-covered clumps of furniture. Boxes of old papers exploded as a body fell on them, and Donna jumped out of the way in the nick of time, avoiding being pelted by falling boxes.
Carefully squatting down, she touched the body and found that it was eerily cold. Shivering in spite of herself, she peered into the darkness left from the falling boxes but couldn't see much more than detritus. Donna wasn't sure she wanted to see much more, in case there was something else in the darkness, so she ran.
Out of breath, she nearly slammed into Braxiatel and the American ambassador's wife as they chatted about some inane topic. Donna interrupted their conversation with a loud sneeze from the dust, as she brushed away a cobweb on her skirt.
"Bless you," Braxiatel said sarcastically, as he handed Donna his handkerchief.
As if on cue, the ambassador's wife wandered off to chat with someone else. Donna had to wonder at the timing of it, but wiped her nose, depositing the handkerchief in her pocket. Grabbing Braxiatel's arm, she pulled in towards the direction of the storage room and the body. "There's a dead body," she said. "But it ran into the room, like a mindless husk. I think it's the Hrul."
"The Hrul?" Braxiatel asked with surprise. "How the hell do you know about them?"
"Long story involving the Doctor and a trip to Paaligiou."
Braxiatel followed Donna and sighed heavily. "And you think I'm the person to do something about it?"
"You're a Time Lord, aren't you?" Donna said, matching his sarcasm.
"All right, let's see your dead body," Braxiatel said.
Donna led him back along the path she had taken, and all around them, they could hear scurrying noises, as if others were running alongside them. As they reached the room, both nearly gagged from the stench. Braxiatel switched to his respiratory bypass system, just so he wouldn't have to smell the foul odor now wafting from the room.
Peeking inside, they saw the body on the floor, but chunks of its flesh had been ripped away, as if something else fed upon it. Donna felt herself heave, and was grateful that she hadn't had anything to eat since that morning before they left for Earth.
"Feeling a bit peckish, are we?" Braxiatel asked.
"Wasn't me!" Donna yelled as she slapped Braxiatel's arm. The scurrying was louder. "Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"Footsteps," Donna said.
"Wait, I do hear it," Braxiatel said. He could clearly hear the sound of bare feet on tile floor.
Then the noise stopped. Both felt a hot breath on the back of their necks that reeked of putrid flesh. As one, they slowly looked over their shoulders into the face of a Weevil, its jaws parted in a silent snarl as it drooled. It gave a low growl and crouched to strike.
***
The Doctor saw Donna run back into the reception hall. Before she and Braxiatel turned to leave, the Doctor stuffed his pockets with as many meat-based nibbles that he could find. He raced down a parallel hallway, and hoped his intuition about the scampering in the shadows wasn't correct. It was bad enough that there was another animated corpse running about. What it was animated by, the Doctor hoped and prayed he was wrong about.
He slid to a halt and carefully made his way to the storage room, being careful to make no sudden moves, as he came into view of the couple cornered by a snarling Weevil.
The Doctor whistled, as if he would for a dog, and held up one of the little meat blinys. "Here you go," he said. "That's what you want, isn't it? Nummies! There you go. Leave those two alone. No meat to speak of on either. She's always dieting, and that bloke is so old and stringy, and not very tasty..."
"Well, thank you very much," Braxiatel responded, not wanting to turn around.
"Doctor!" Donna loudly whispered, trying to hide her excitement.
The Doctor tossed the bliny down an opposite hallway, and the Weevil ripped its attention away from Donna and Braxiatel. Whistling, he tossed another, then a third, finally getting the Weevil to chase after the other food source. As the Weevil scampered off, screams erupted from the reception hall.
"Get back there and get everyone out. Those Weevils haven't eaten in days and will go for anything they possibly can," the Doctor hissed.
"It tried to kill us!" Donna exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, you two interrupted it feeding. What do you expect? Now hurry up and get a shift on, yeah?" the Doctor said. "Those nibbles aren't going to hold it forever."
***
"Good thing we were nearby dropping off Donna," Ianto said, crammed into the back seat of Gwen's car.
"You think she'll be all right?" Gwen asked.
"If anyone can help Donna, it's the Time Lords," Jack responded. "I'm more concerned about the Doctor. He wouldn't willingly return to Gallifrey unless it were a matter of life or death."
"I'd like to know what's behind all the Weevil problems lately," Ianto said. "They're happy to leave well enough alone if humans do."
Gwen shook her head. "Those Weevils earlier tonight had been starved. You know how they go into a frenzy when hungry."
"Think it's related?" Ianto asked.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Jack said. "The Time Lord we spoke with at the hand over said they didn't have anything to do with the Weevil problems lately."
"Can you trust them?" Gwen retorted.
"They don't lie, but they don't tell you the whole truth, either," Jack said as they pulled into the driveway of the American embassy after Jack showed his ID at the gate. People were spilling out of it and shrieking. From inside the car over the screams, they could hear fierce snarling. "Come on, kids. It's gonna be a long night. Any word from Mickey or Martha, yet?"
"None," Ianto replied.
"Okay, listen up. No bullets. Stun guns and spray, only. After the Weevils have been dealt with, everyone remaining gets a nice dose of retcon. The President has already been removed to a safe location, so it's just embassy staff and guests," Jack said, as he sprang out of the car.
***
"You left me on that bloody planet, all by myself!" Donna snapped.
"Not now, Donna," the Doctor retorted. "Little bit busy, yeah?"
"We get out of here alive, and that monster is going to be the least of your worries," Donna uttered.
The Doctor, Donna, and Braxiatel were cornered by two other Weevils that surprised them as they fled from the storage room. The screaming from the ball room had largely stopped, although they could still hear the sound of furious running and shouts.
"You didn't even come and say goodbye," Donna said.
"I had other places I needed to be," the Doctor responded.
"So you just abandon me on another planet?"
"You made it back to Earth," the Doctor said.
"Can we all please attend to the matter at hand?" Braxiatel asked. Both Donna and the Doctor glared at him, and Braxiatel wondered if his luck wouldn't be better with the starving Weevils that had them trapped.
"After everything we've been through, you left me in the middle of nowhere," Donna quietly said.
"Gallifrey's hardly nowhere," the Doctor said.
"It doesn't have a Harrods! Nor a Tesco!"
"The Shining World of the Seven Systems is a bit dull," Braxiatel agreed.
"Right," the Doctor said, changing the subject. "I'll distract them, you two run the other way."
"Without us becoming their dinner?" Braxiatel asked. "There are two of them and three of us."
There was a fizzling noise, and both Weevils crumpled to the ground. "Or you could get a hand from Torchwood," Jack said. "So I take it they were able to patch you up?"
"Right as rain," the Doctor responded.
"Good to see you again, Donna," Jack said, as he walked with them back to the ball room. Once inside, they saw the guests sprawled, unconscious, across tables. "They're going to think they had one hell of a party when they wake up."
Gwen came into view and did a double-take at Donna's presence. "Hold on, we just dropped you off," she said.
"It's a future her," Jack explained.
"I get it," Gwen said. "This one has already been and gone. Say, I know a great prank we could play--"
"I'll just go and help move Weevils," the Doctor said, interrupting Gwen, as he saw Ianto struggle with an unconscious Weevil.
Donna glared at the Doctor, but softened as she finally got a chance to address Jack. "Oh my God, it's so good to see you!" she beamed, hugging him. "Hell of a night, isn't it? Have you met my friend?"
"Irving Braxiatel," Jack responded, extending his hand. "Bon vivant, former chair of the theatrology department at St. Oscar's on the planet Dellah, then the famous head and collector of stuff at the Braxitel Collection."
"You've met?" Donna asked.
"You could say so," Jack responded.
"Captain Harkness has provided some unique services to the Collection in the past," Braxiatel explained.
"Would you excuse us a moment?" he asked Braxiatel.
"Certainly," Braxiatel said with a smile as he walked a bit away from them.
"Donna," Jack hissed in a furious whisper, "he's dangerous. Far more dangerous than you could possibly imagine."
"The Pandora infection?" Donna asked. "Yeah, he told me about that. He's fine now, though."
"It's not just that," Jack explained. "Everything he did under it, Pandora was only a lens, magnifying what was already there. You don't need to go back with him. Come with us. We can protect you."
"Jack what's gotten into you?" Donna asked. "You jealous?"
"Ask him what happened to Jason Kane," Jack responded. "Or one of his own--an inquisitor named Darkel. That is, if you can get a straight response out of him. Their deaths he's indirectly responsible for. He's also responsible for the mass extinction and genocide of the Mim."
"Seems to me, the Doctor's even on that score," Donna said. "Didn't he almost wipe out his own people?"
Jack smiled at Braxiatel, who was walking back to them. "Donna, be careful," he said. He gave her a card with only his name and a phone number on it. "That number is secure. You need it, call me, got it?"
"Yeah," Donna said, slipping it into her pocket. Braxiatel offered Donna his arm and escorted her away from the embassy.
"A car is waiting for us," he said.
Donna jerked her attention away from her thoughts, as she heard an unmistakable grinding noise. She started off in its direction, but as it faded, she sighed and walked back to Braxiatel, who waited patiently for her. They lapsed into an awkward silence that Donna finally broke. "Jack said you were dangerous."
Braxiatel helped Donna into the waiting limousine. "He wouldn't be wrong to think that," Braxiatel mused.
They rode in silence for a few minutes, then Donna quietly responded. "He mentioned two people. Darkel and another person, Jason Kane. He also said that you were responsible for what happened to the Mim."
Quietly, Braxiatel began to explain: "You already know the circumstances surrounding Darkel's death."
"The others?" Donna asked.
"The obligations of being a Time Lord frequently demand that one take actions having implications far beyond mere three-dimensional perception," Braxiatel responded.
Donna thought back to Pompeii. "Yeah, I know."
Summary: Like a mirror reflected into a mirror, choices made create an infinite of possibilities, and images seen may not be what they appear. An encounter with an elusive, incorporeal race leads the Doctor and his allies on a dark journey.
Warnings: None specifically for this chapter. (Spoilers for Season 4, of course.)
Rating: Teen
Characters: Ten, Donna, Braxiatel, Torchwood, Original characters (Mike)
Genre: AU, Adventure
Author's Note: Thanks to
mtemplar_fic for the beta! The alien race Donna mentions is from lindenharp's fic, "All the King's Horses."Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, Torchwood, or any of its characters, and I'm receiving no profit from this beyond the joy of writing.
Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1
The Doctor felt uneasy. He always did, when he wore his tuxedo, and his discomfort had nothing to do with the fact that he was wearing black tie to an event that strictly required formal evening wear. He momentarily chastised himself that, if his suspicions were correct, he would have more to worry about than the protocols and etiquette of reception lines and other diplomatic duties that he found insufferably boring. After consulting a device he cobbled together out of a Nintendo DS, a few bits of string, and some duct tape, he noticed that a specific chronon energy signature had increased in the last hour. The Doctor pocketed the device and turned his attention to the front of the American embassy, where a black limousine was gliding to a stop before a pair of Marines in dress uniform. The Doctor did a double take, when he saw that the flag on the car carried the Prydonian seal.
He pushed himself back into an alcove covered in shadow and held his breath as the door was held open. The Doctor watched, then grinned as he saw a tall, thin man with angular features--in proper full evening dress--exit first, then offer a hand to someone still in the car. He was elated as he saw Donna emerge in a forest green gown with pearls and gold embroidery in an unmistakable web pattern--the height of fashion in the Citadel. His elation faded to a twinge of something between jealousy, guilt, and sorrow. As soon as he felt it, he shoved it from his mind, as he strained to overhear their conversation.
"Really, do I look all right?" Donna asked. "I could've changed, but the scarlet dress isn't as flattering."
"You look magnificent," Braxiatel responded. "Nobody will know you're wearing Arcalian colors."
The Doctor thought to himself that Donna should wear her hair up like that more often.
"I bloody love your planet," Donna exclaimed. "They actually make their gowns with pockets. Sheer genius. I've got that little bottle Maggie gave us, just in case. And my mobile. It's on silent, though. And a pack of tissues. Never know when they'll come in handy. I swear these pockets are bigger on the inside. It's a shame Mike couldn't come with us."
"He has his own business to attend to," Braxiatel said. "Although with a time ring, I don't know why he needed us for transportation."
"Mike told me he didn't like using it," Donna said. "Said it wasn't as accurate as a TARDIS. Say, isn't this the day I left for your planet? Can we play a practical joke on a mate from the office with my other self after this? What do you say? Come on, it'll be fun!"
"Far be it for me to advise another on the technicalities of the first law of time," Braxiatel responded.
After straightening his waistcoat out of habit, Braxiatel offered Donna his arm. Briefly, he glanced in the Doctor's direction, wrinkled his brow, then escorted Donna inside. As the Doctor watched them disappear inside the embassy, he sprang from his hiding place and pulled out his psychic paper in one smooth movement. He flashed it to the Marines and beamed at them, as they saluted.
Chuckling to himself, he checked the psychic paper, only to see that it had identified him as the MP of Flydale North on the invitation. While he was skeptical of omens, he thought to himself that this had to be one of the worst.
Once through the reception line inside of the embassy, Braxiatel watched as Donna took everything in around her in wide-eyed wonder. He recognized something of himself in her, remembering a time when he was much younger and secretly enjoying every minute of diplomatic posts off-world that were viewed as a sacrifice for Gallifrey, forsaking the homeworld for the company of aliens. Forcing that thought out of his head he wondered what he was doing here, of all places. With a sigh, Braxiatel wondered if it would've killed the Doctor to at least wear white-tie.
Donna's attention landed on Braxiatel, and she observed his gaze off in the far corners of the room. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked. When an answer wasn't forthcoming, she said, "How do you like the new president? I'm so glad the Americans voted out the bloke who replaced Winters. Never liked him much."
Braxiatel observed the new president and the easy way he moved among the people assembled. "What do you think?" he asked, turning the question back on Donna.
She thought for a moment, then said, "He's got charisma. I mean, I trust the guy. But..."
"Yes?"
"Our politics must be so far removed from yours," Donna wondered.
"They aren't as different as you might think," Braxiatel responded while returning the greeting of the American ambassador.
While they spoke, Donna took in the people around her, wondering if her gown compared to the others. She felt out of sorts, almost as if she were playing dress up. She remembered that not hours before she had been in the palatially rebuilt Citadel, where Gallifrey's ruling elite lived and put this crowd to shame, when it came to pomp and elegance. Donna let her thoughts wander to the Doctor and how there did seem to be something regal about him, although he always hid it, perhaps deeper than he hid other things.
Donna's eyes meandered to the edge of the room, where she saw a figure ambling jaggedly, as if he or she were having difficulty. She touched Braxiatel's arm, and, getting his attention, whispered that she needed a quick trip to the ladies'. Gathering her skirts, she hurried as much as she dared after the figure, excited that it was almost just like being with the Doctor.
As she wandered through the crowd, down a few flights of stairs, and into darkened corners of the embassy, she was thankful that the silk slippers made to match the dress didn't have any heel on them, enabling her to move quickly and silently, save for the rustle of silk. "Hello?" she called. "Are you all right? Do you need some assistance?"
Donna opened a door that led into a disused storage room. She hunted for the light switch, but couldn't find it. "Please, I want to help," she said to the lumps and sheet-covered clumps of furniture. Boxes of old papers exploded as a body fell on them, and Donna jumped out of the way in the nick of time, avoiding being pelted by falling boxes.
Carefully squatting down, she touched the body and found that it was eerily cold. Shivering in spite of herself, she peered into the darkness left from the falling boxes but couldn't see much more than detritus. Donna wasn't sure she wanted to see much more, in case there was something else in the darkness, so she ran.
Out of breath, she nearly slammed into Braxiatel and the American ambassador's wife as they chatted about some inane topic. Donna interrupted their conversation with a loud sneeze from the dust, as she brushed away a cobweb on her skirt.
"Bless you," Braxiatel said sarcastically, as he handed Donna his handkerchief.
As if on cue, the ambassador's wife wandered off to chat with someone else. Donna had to wonder at the timing of it, but wiped her nose, depositing the handkerchief in her pocket. Grabbing Braxiatel's arm, she pulled in towards the direction of the storage room and the body. "There's a dead body," she said. "But it ran into the room, like a mindless husk. I think it's the Hrul."
"The Hrul?" Braxiatel asked with surprise. "How the hell do you know about them?"
"Long story involving the Doctor and a trip to Paaligiou."
Braxiatel followed Donna and sighed heavily. "And you think I'm the person to do something about it?"
"You're a Time Lord, aren't you?" Donna said, matching his sarcasm.
"All right, let's see your dead body," Braxiatel said.
Donna led him back along the path she had taken, and all around them, they could hear scurrying noises, as if others were running alongside them. As they reached the room, both nearly gagged from the stench. Braxiatel switched to his respiratory bypass system, just so he wouldn't have to smell the foul odor now wafting from the room.
Peeking inside, they saw the body on the floor, but chunks of its flesh had been ripped away, as if something else fed upon it. Donna felt herself heave, and was grateful that she hadn't had anything to eat since that morning before they left for Earth.
"Feeling a bit peckish, are we?" Braxiatel asked.
"Wasn't me!" Donna yelled as she slapped Braxiatel's arm. The scurrying was louder. "Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"Footsteps," Donna said.
"Wait, I do hear it," Braxiatel said. He could clearly hear the sound of bare feet on tile floor.
Then the noise stopped. Both felt a hot breath on the back of their necks that reeked of putrid flesh. As one, they slowly looked over their shoulders into the face of a Weevil, its jaws parted in a silent snarl as it drooled. It gave a low growl and crouched to strike.
The Doctor saw Donna run back into the reception hall. Before she and Braxiatel turned to leave, the Doctor stuffed his pockets with as many meat-based nibbles that he could find. He raced down a parallel hallway, and hoped his intuition about the scampering in the shadows wasn't correct. It was bad enough that there was another animated corpse running about. What it was animated by, the Doctor hoped and prayed he was wrong about.
He slid to a halt and carefully made his way to the storage room, being careful to make no sudden moves, as he came into view of the couple cornered by a snarling Weevil.
The Doctor whistled, as if he would for a dog, and held up one of the little meat blinys. "Here you go," he said. "That's what you want, isn't it? Nummies! There you go. Leave those two alone. No meat to speak of on either. She's always dieting, and that bloke is so old and stringy, and not very tasty..."
"Well, thank you very much," Braxiatel responded, not wanting to turn around.
"Doctor!" Donna loudly whispered, trying to hide her excitement.
The Doctor tossed the bliny down an opposite hallway, and the Weevil ripped its attention away from Donna and Braxiatel. Whistling, he tossed another, then a third, finally getting the Weevil to chase after the other food source. As the Weevil scampered off, screams erupted from the reception hall.
"Get back there and get everyone out. Those Weevils haven't eaten in days and will go for anything they possibly can," the Doctor hissed.
"It tried to kill us!" Donna exclaimed.
"Yeah, well, you two interrupted it feeding. What do you expect? Now hurry up and get a shift on, yeah?" the Doctor said. "Those nibbles aren't going to hold it forever."
"Good thing we were nearby dropping off Donna," Ianto said, crammed into the back seat of Gwen's car.
"You think she'll be all right?" Gwen asked.
"If anyone can help Donna, it's the Time Lords," Jack responded. "I'm more concerned about the Doctor. He wouldn't willingly return to Gallifrey unless it were a matter of life or death."
"I'd like to know what's behind all the Weevil problems lately," Ianto said. "They're happy to leave well enough alone if humans do."
Gwen shook her head. "Those Weevils earlier tonight had been starved. You know how they go into a frenzy when hungry."
"Think it's related?" Ianto asked.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Jack said. "The Time Lord we spoke with at the hand over said they didn't have anything to do with the Weevil problems lately."
"Can you trust them?" Gwen retorted.
"They don't lie, but they don't tell you the whole truth, either," Jack said as they pulled into the driveway of the American embassy after Jack showed his ID at the gate. People were spilling out of it and shrieking. From inside the car over the screams, they could hear fierce snarling. "Come on, kids. It's gonna be a long night. Any word from Mickey or Martha, yet?"
"None," Ianto replied.
"Okay, listen up. No bullets. Stun guns and spray, only. After the Weevils have been dealt with, everyone remaining gets a nice dose of retcon. The President has already been removed to a safe location, so it's just embassy staff and guests," Jack said, as he sprang out of the car.
"You left me on that bloody planet, all by myself!" Donna snapped.
"Not now, Donna," the Doctor retorted. "Little bit busy, yeah?"
"We get out of here alive, and that monster is going to be the least of your worries," Donna uttered.
The Doctor, Donna, and Braxiatel were cornered by two other Weevils that surprised them as they fled from the storage room. The screaming from the ball room had largely stopped, although they could still hear the sound of furious running and shouts.
"You didn't even come and say goodbye," Donna said.
"I had other places I needed to be," the Doctor responded.
"So you just abandon me on another planet?"
"You made it back to Earth," the Doctor said.
"Can we all please attend to the matter at hand?" Braxiatel asked. Both Donna and the Doctor glared at him, and Braxiatel wondered if his luck wouldn't be better with the starving Weevils that had them trapped.
"After everything we've been through, you left me in the middle of nowhere," Donna quietly said.
"Gallifrey's hardly nowhere," the Doctor said.
"It doesn't have a Harrods! Nor a Tesco!"
"The Shining World of the Seven Systems is a bit dull," Braxiatel agreed.
"Right," the Doctor said, changing the subject. "I'll distract them, you two run the other way."
"Without us becoming their dinner?" Braxiatel asked. "There are two of them and three of us."
There was a fizzling noise, and both Weevils crumpled to the ground. "Or you could get a hand from Torchwood," Jack said. "So I take it they were able to patch you up?"
"Right as rain," the Doctor responded.
"Good to see you again, Donna," Jack said, as he walked with them back to the ball room. Once inside, they saw the guests sprawled, unconscious, across tables. "They're going to think they had one hell of a party when they wake up."
Gwen came into view and did a double-take at Donna's presence. "Hold on, we just dropped you off," she said.
"It's a future her," Jack explained.
"I get it," Gwen said. "This one has already been and gone. Say, I know a great prank we could play--"
"I'll just go and help move Weevils," the Doctor said, interrupting Gwen, as he saw Ianto struggle with an unconscious Weevil.
Donna glared at the Doctor, but softened as she finally got a chance to address Jack. "Oh my God, it's so good to see you!" she beamed, hugging him. "Hell of a night, isn't it? Have you met my friend?"
"Irving Braxiatel," Jack responded, extending his hand. "Bon vivant, former chair of the theatrology department at St. Oscar's on the planet Dellah, then the famous head and collector of stuff at the Braxitel Collection."
"You've met?" Donna asked.
"You could say so," Jack responded.
"Captain Harkness has provided some unique services to the Collection in the past," Braxiatel explained.
"Would you excuse us a moment?" he asked Braxiatel.
"Certainly," Braxiatel said with a smile as he walked a bit away from them.
"Donna," Jack hissed in a furious whisper, "he's dangerous. Far more dangerous than you could possibly imagine."
"The Pandora infection?" Donna asked. "Yeah, he told me about that. He's fine now, though."
"It's not just that," Jack explained. "Everything he did under it, Pandora was only a lens, magnifying what was already there. You don't need to go back with him. Come with us. We can protect you."
"Jack what's gotten into you?" Donna asked. "You jealous?"
"Ask him what happened to Jason Kane," Jack responded. "Or one of his own--an inquisitor named Darkel. That is, if you can get a straight response out of him. Their deaths he's indirectly responsible for. He's also responsible for the mass extinction and genocide of the Mim."
"Seems to me, the Doctor's even on that score," Donna said. "Didn't he almost wipe out his own people?"
Jack smiled at Braxiatel, who was walking back to them. "Donna, be careful," he said. He gave her a card with only his name and a phone number on it. "That number is secure. You need it, call me, got it?"
"Yeah," Donna said, slipping it into her pocket. Braxiatel offered Donna his arm and escorted her away from the embassy.
"A car is waiting for us," he said.
Donna jerked her attention away from her thoughts, as she heard an unmistakable grinding noise. She started off in its direction, but as it faded, she sighed and walked back to Braxiatel, who waited patiently for her. They lapsed into an awkward silence that Donna finally broke. "Jack said you were dangerous."
Braxiatel helped Donna into the waiting limousine. "He wouldn't be wrong to think that," Braxiatel mused.
They rode in silence for a few minutes, then Donna quietly responded. "He mentioned two people. Darkel and another person, Jason Kane. He also said that you were responsible for what happened to the Mim."
Quietly, Braxiatel began to explain: "You already know the circumstances surrounding Darkel's death."
"The others?" Donna asked.
"The obligations of being a Time Lord frequently demand that one take actions having implications far beyond mere three-dimensional perception," Braxiatel responded.
Donna thought back to Pompeii. "Yeah, I know."
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and
Lovely, lovely, lovely.
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If you like sarcastic wit, check out some of the Bernice Summerfield audios. Brax can more than hold his own against Donna. ;)
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AH
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This was fun. Donna and Brax having a snarking contest with the Doctor, heehee!
And I can easily imagine some of the services Jack provided! :D
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This was fun. Donna and Brax having a snarking contest with the Doctor, heehee!
They can all hold their own...
And I can easily imagine some of the services Jack provided! :D
Even though Brax built the Collection in conjunction with his past and future selves, he'd have to have some help. ;)
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Yeah I am trying to catch up!
They can all hold their own...
Indeed!
Even though Brax built the Collection in conjunction with his past and future selves, he'd have to have some help. ;)
Oh yes!