Episode 8: Black and Gold Part 3

Conner decided to give up. He slumped to the floor, allowing himself to be pulled towards the perfecting machine. What made it worse was he could hear Dorris a few feet to the right.

“You will be perfected,” she said, over and over again.

As Conner got nearer to the machine, he cried out as he felt a pair of hands pull him away from it. They hugged him and held him upright.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dorris asked.
“But…” Conner spluttered. “You… You’re perfect.”
“Couldn’t you hear me laughing?” Dorris grinned in the darkness. “I was joking! I’m fine. I got myself out. Turns out I don’t need you after all.”
“That wasn’t funny,” Conner laughed. “You scared the hell out of me!”
“Sorry,” Dorris said. “And I’ve got another plan up my sleeve. Come on, let’s go!”

“What just happened?” Jeremy asked as the lights flickered on in the ward.
“The Shadowy Man… He’s here…” Georgia muttered, running over to Pippa. “We’ve got to get out, there’s this man. He’s really dangerous.”
“Who?” Pippa asked.
“You really shouldn’t call me that,” a voice said.

Georgia spun around. The Shadowy Man walked towards here. He seemed angry.

“That is not my name,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” Georgia mumbled. “Please. Let everyone go. They aren’t involved. Whatever you have against the Doctor or me, these people aren’t involved.”
“Carlisle’s waking up!” Becky cried.

Carlisle’s eyes opened, and he moaned groggily. The Shadowy Man sighed.

“Fine, they can go,” he relented. “But it’s safer in here. That Gold thing is still out there.”
“What is it?” Georgia asked. “Why did you bring it here?”
“Me?” the Shadowy Man laughed. “I had nothing to do with it. It flew here.”
“Flew?” Pippa asked.
“Yeah,” the Shadowy Man said. “It seems to be a camera. Sent to monitor someone, or something.”
“You don’t think…” Pippa said quietly.
“What?” the Shadowy Man snapped.
“The Germans,” Pippa said quickly. “There have been talks, about new weapons and strategies.”

Matron Readington could keep quiet no more. She wheeled herself to face the Shadowy Man.

“You must excuse my impertinence,” she said. “But who are you?”
“I come from far away,” the Shadowy Man said. “Watching the Doctor over the mountains, and the rooftops, always out of sight, but never far behind. I’m the darkness, the shadow, I am death.”
“Well he’s a melodramatic bugger, isn’t he?” Matron Readington said, wheeling away from him, muttering.

Georgia looked worriedly at Matron Readington. How would the Shadowy Man react? He seemed to ignore it, and continued to address her.

“Where’s Conner?” the Shadowy Man asked.
“You don’t know?” Georgia asked. “I expect you know about the Doctor…”
“I’ve just been talking to him,” the Shadowy Man replied. “But that’s not what I asked.”
“If I tell you, I deserve some answers,” Georgia said.
“Fine.”
“I think he was evacuated,” Georgia sighed. “He’s in the country somewhere, at Jeremy’s house probably.”
“It’s not far from here,” Jeremy added.
“I could… Go and get him for you…” the Shadowy Man said. “If you want.”
“Thanks, I think,” Georgia said. “But I’d rather the Doctor got him.”
“Okay,” the Shadowy Man said. “But what do you want to know?”
“Why you’re following us. How you got here. Everything,” Georgia said.
“You’d better sit down,” the Shadowy Man said. “It’s a long story…”

2009. The Asteroid Bazaar. The Shadowy Man placed the watch containing the tracking device on his stall. Some way in the distance, the sound of the universe rumbled and groaned, and the TARDIS appeared. Georgia stepped out, and looked around.

“It’s really busy,” she said to the blue box. “I’m not sure about this.”
“Oh, come on Georgia, it’ll be fun,” the Doctor said, stepping out. “The Slitheen have been stopped, Ancient Greece is still there, and the sun is shining! What more do you want?”
“Richard,” Georgia said.

The Doctor swallowed. Richard, Georgia’s brother had died when the Slitheen attacked. After this they would probably head off to his funeral. He took Georgia’s hand, and pulled her along one of the cobbled streets.

“Here we are,” he smiled. “You have to try this, it tastes delicious.”
“Okay,” Georgia said, trying to forget Richard for a moment. “Do I drink it?”
“Yup,” the Doctor said. “How much is that, my good man?”

Meanwhile, the doors of the TARDIS opened again. Conner stepped out, and surveyed the cobbled streets. He grinned at the market stall holders, as he shut the doors behind him. He spotted the Doctor haggling with a market stall holder over a drink he and Georgia were trying. She seemed to be happy, and he didn’t want to ruin that. He walked in the opposite direction, looking at the stalls in fascination.

“Hey, over here! That’s right!” the Shadowy Man said. “Why don’t you try one of my pretty little things?”
“What you got?” Conner asked, heading over to him.
“How about this watch?” the Shadowy Man said, picking up the watch he had placed down earlier. “It allows you to tell the time whenever you are.”
“I’ve got a doctor who can do that,” Conner said. “No thanks.”
“It also allows you to tell where you are, and what century you’re in. Wouldn’t that be helpful? It would certainly impress your doctor,” the Shadowy Man said.
“I haven’t got any money,” Conner said. “I’d better be going now. Thanks for sparing some time.”

The Doctor finished haggling with the stall holder, and he and Georgia downed their drinks in one. Georgia spluttered and spat hers out.

“What are you trying to give me?” she laughed. “It’s disgusting!”
“It’s lovely!” the Doctor protested. “Oooh, you’ve gotta eat some Vargoine cheese! It’s blue! Did I tell you that joke?”
“What joke?” Georgia frowned.
“Basically, the Vargoine’s favourite colour is Pink. I’ve always said it’s because their cheese is blue!”
“I don’t get it,” Georgia said.

The Shadowy Man stood over Conner, who was on the floor, looking up at him with a dazed expression.

“You will take this watch,” the Shadowy Man said. “And when asked, you will say it was given to you as a birthday present from the Doctor.”
“I will,” Conner said blankly.
“Good,” the Shadowy Man said. “Now, return to the Doctor and suggest you move on.”
“I will,” Conner repeated.

He stood up, and walked off.

“Oh, hey Conner,” Georgia said as Conner joined them.
“Hey,” Conner smiled. “You ready to go?”
“Sure,” the Doctor said. “If you’ve finished…?”
“Yeah,” Georgia said. “But I… I don’t wanna go home yet. I’m not ready.”
“Well there is one thing we could do,” the Doctor said. “Something mysterious is going on at a Ballet School, and we need to go undercover to check it out. I’ve whittled down the suspects to two people – a horse that never leaves his camera behind, and a man in a wig.”
“I’m guessing it’s the man in the wig,” Conner laughed, leading the way back to the TARDIS.
“We’ve got the next Sherlock Holmes here…” Georgia teased, as the TARDIS faded away.

Back in the hospital, Georgia looked up at the Shadowy Man.

“Where did you go next?” she asked.
“I followed you,” the Shadowy Man said. “But I didn’t make contact until you landed on Vesualas. Conner passed through a portal. He fell off the Statue of Liberty.”
“He’s always been overdramatic,” Georgia said dryly.
“I took him to another portal, and told him how to defeat the Ghosts,” the Shadowy Man continued. “And then I left.”
“But you helped us save Vesualas,” Georgia said. “Then why did you attack us in Farringham? You could have just left us to die on Vesualas.”
“Because you weren’t supposed to die then,” the Shadowy Man replied cryptically. “I wouldn’t actually have killed you in Farringham. It was a test. To see how powerful you were as a team.”
“Right,” Georgia sighed. “I’m confused.”
“So am I,” Pippa said.

Georgia remembered the others in the room; Pippa, Becky, Carlisle, Jeremy and Matron Readington. They were just watching her and the Shadowy Man talk. It wouldn’t even make sense to them.

“Forget it,” the Shadowy Man said. “It’s not important. What is important is the fact that I saved Conner. From the TimeSpan ship, where I worked for a while.”
“Thank you,” Georgia said, unsure of what to say. “You certainly seem to get around.”
“I guess I do,” the Shadowy Man said, a flicker of a smile on his face. “I even watched you from the shadows, in Norway.”
“That doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Georgia laughed nervously.
“Anything else you want to know?” the Shadowy Man asked.
“Your name would be nice,” Georgia said.
“I’m not sure,” the Shadowy Man said. “I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you… It’s –”

High up in space, an elegant hand pressed a button, which was labelled ATTACK. Back on Earth, the man of Gold appeared in the ward. It fired a splodge of Gold from its hands, which landed at Georgia’s feet. She screamed as the splodge formed a little Gold man.

“Get out of here!” she yelled at Jeremy.

She kicked the small Gold man, who splattered into the large Gold man, and melted back into its chest. Jeremy ran towards the door, and tried to open it.

“It’s locked!” Jeremy cried.

The Shadowy Man ran to the door and kicked it open, ushering Jeremy through it. Becky pulled Carlisle out of his bed, and dragged him to the door. They reached the door and the Shadowy Man helped Carlisle through it. Pippa stood frozen behind Georgia, who was trying to keep the Gold man busy. Matron Readington grabbed Pippa and tried to wheel towards the door.

“Oh!” Pippa said, able to move again.

She ran to the door, leaving Georgia in the middle of the ward. The Shadowy Man raised a small black object, and the door slowly began to seal itself.

“Georgia!” Pippa screamed. “Come on!”
“I’m coming!” Georgia cried.

She turned and ran, wheeling Matron Readington to the door. The Gold man followed at a slow pace, thunk-thunking along the floor. Georgia reached the door, which had nearly sealed itself. Matron Readington’s wheelchair was too wide to fit through.

“Oh no!” Georgia said. “There’s not enough room!”

The gap was closing, and the Gold man clunked closer and closer. The Shadowy Man grabbed Georgia’s hand and pulled her through the door, before it sealed. They group faced the door with shocked expressions. Clunk clunk!

“I’m sorry!” Georgia sobbed into the Shadowy Man’s shoulder.
“There was nothing you could do,” Pippa soothed.

There was a scream from behind the door, as the Gold killed Matron Readington. Everyone fell silent once more. A large dent appeared in the door.

“We’ve got to go,” the Shadowy Man said. “This won’t happen again. Come on.”

He led the group away from the door in silence. Maybe they could escape, maybe they could stop the Gold, but it wasn’t going to bring back the old lady in the wheelchair, whose blood seeped along the hospital floor in silence.

To be continued…

Episode 8: Black and Gold Part 2

“Well I’m going out fighting,” Triss said.
“Me too,” Steve said.
“Well of course I will too, but we have lost the war. I dunno what we’re gonna do,” Larry said.
“What planet were we on?” the Doctor said. “Where were your bases?”
“We were on a special Out Region above the Earth,” Triss said. “Like an artificial mini-planet.”
“But dealing with signals and tactics,” the Doctor said. “Like a satellite. So what’s going to happen to the Earth now?”
“One of the remaining Human groups on the Out Region will have to try and inform the planet so they can start evacuating the Earth,” Steve replied.
“Let’s hope they manage it,” Larry said grimly. “With us losing the war, the Kritzanthians will kill all of the Humans on the Out Region. And when they own the Out Region, they basically control the Earth. They can send signals and messages to the planet below. They could even blow it out of the sky.”
“Ah, so it’s bad then,” the Doctor said.
“Pretty bad, yeah.”

The Shadowy Man walked down the corridor. He heard Matron Readington wheel into the ward which contained an unconscious Carlisle, and a very worried Becky, Jeremy, Pippa and Georgia.

“Hello,” Georgia said. “I’m the new Nurse, Georgia Bell.”
“Welcome to the team,” Matron Readington said, wheeling past her.
“She’s always like that,” Pippa whispered.
“And how is Dr Welsby?” Matron Readington asked.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Becky said, patting Carlisle’s face with a damp cloth.
“He’ll be up on his feet in no time at all,” Jeremy said.
“Nurse Stevens can look after Dr Welsby when you have patients,” Matron Readington said. “I’ve gotten the other teams to cover for your shifts tonight, however.”
“Thank you,” Becky said. “Georgia, can you get me a fresh bowl of water for Carlisle?”
“Sure,” Georgia said, walking towards the door.

She walked over to the door, and grasped the handle. The door was locked.

“Pippa?” Georgia called. “Did you lock the door to the ward?”
“No,” Pippa replied. “Becky? Matron?”
“I haven’t touched the door,” Becky said.
“I was the last to use it and I can assure you it’s not locked,” Matron Readington said sternly.
“Well it is,” Georgia said.

She gave one last tug on the door, when suddenly the lights went out, plunging the group into darkness. Conner was led into Mrs Macready’s room once again held by Peter. Dorris entered behind him, being held by Susan. Lucy, Edward and Wendy stood by the door in case they made another bid for freedom. Mrs Macready clicked her fingers, and the wall slid open.

“That’s a bit posh,” Conner said. “What’s that hole there?”
“That is a chute, Mr Bennet,” Mrs Macready said. “It leads to the processor, where you will be made perfect.”

She waved a hand to the wall, and Dorris and Conner were dragged towards the chute. Susan pushed Dorris into the chute, and she slid out of sight. Susan stood up and walked over to Wendy.

“Go and patrol the corridors,” Wendy told Susan.
“Yes Wendy,” Susan said, leaving the room.
“You too, Edward,” Mrs Macready said. “Wendy, you will take Lucy to her room and join Edward in the corridors.”
“Okay,” Wendy said, leading the others out.

Peter shoved Conner forwards roughly, and he fell to the floor. Mrs Macready pointed to the chute.

“Off you go,” she said.

Conner sighed and lowered himself into the chute. Looking once more at Peter, he slid out of sight.

“I expect the Kritzanthians will have killed all the humans by now,” Triss said.
“But why are they keeping us alive?” the Doctor asked.
“Probably need proof,” Larry said.
“They’ll be making the broadcast soon,” Steve said.
“Broadcast?” the Doctor asked.
“To Earth,” Steve said. “Telling the population they won.”
“When everyone’s lost, the Kritzanthian’s battle is won,” the Doctor quoted. “With all these things that I have done.”
“What’s that from?” Triss asked.
“It’s a Killers song,” the Doctor said, slumped against the wall.

Georgia walked along the ward, her arm stretched forwards. She headed to where she thought the lights were. As she walked through the dark, a hand grabbed her shoulder.

“Georgia Bell,” the voice said. “Don’t turn on the lights.”
“Who is that?” Georgia asked nervously.
“You call me the Shadowy Man, but that’s not my name,” the Shadowy Man said.
“Then what is your name?” Georgia whispered, as she turned on the lights.

As the lights flickered and came on, Georgia span around. The Shadowy Man was gone.

“Dorris, is that you?” Conner asked the dark.
“Yeah,” Dorris replied. “Where are we?”
“In the processing bit,” Conner said. “We’re moving!”

The floor underneath Conner jolted, and began to move, knocking him and Dorris off their feet. Dorris screamed as she fell further down. Light suddenly filled the room, and she realised she was in a large pot, heading along the room. Conner had scrambled into the second pot, and was attempting to reach her.

“Dorris! You’ve got to jump!” Conner cried.
“What? I can’t!” Dorris replied.
“Trust me! That pot is gonna fall, and you’re gonna be perfect! With no emotion – you won’t like jumping on beds or leaping about the house, and you definitely won’t like wrestling!” Conner cried, reaching out a hand.
“But…!” Dorris cried. “I don’t even like wrestling!”

Conner sighed. Dorris climbed to the edge of the pot, and jumped. Naomi Green ran down the corridor, raising her gun. A Kritzanthian burst through the double doors at the end, so she shot it dead. Everyone else in the base was dead. Kritzanthian soldiers had invaded at least two of the other bases, and Naomi had seen a report informing the bases of the captures of Triss Crask, Steve Rollins, Larry Roux, and, more importantly – the Doctor.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me out there?” Naomi asked into her communications device. “I need to know, am I the only one left in the base?”

She heard a rumble from above, and ran to the nearest window. Naomi saw the Kritzanthian spaceship flying overhead. That must mean the enemy were planning to destroy the base. She punched in the code to the outside, and ran onto the bridge, her hair flying around her in the wind.

“Doctor!” Naomi cried. “Can you hear me? Doctor! I need you!”

Commander Snappy of the Kritzanthians stomped into the room containing the prisoners. The Doctor looked up as Snappy pointed at him.

“We have communication,” Snappy told him. “Human female from fallen base has called out for you.”
“Georgia?” the Doctor asked. “Take me with you.”
“You will follow me to the Observation Deck,” Snappy said, leading him out of the room.
“Yes sir,” the Doctor said, winking at Triss as he left.

Triss heard a clatter as the Doctor and Snappy left the room. She saw his Sonic Screwdriver on the floor. She grinned and picked it up.

“We’re getting out of here,” she said.

The Doctor placed his brainy specs on the end of his nose and peered at the screen. On the screen was an unfamiliar woman, with her arms out, looking up into the sky. The wind from the Kritzanthian spaceship made her dark hair fly around.

“Doctor!” Naomi cried on the screen. “Can you hear me? Doctor! I need you!”

Commander Snappy switched off the screen and turned to the Doctor.

“She addresses you,” he said.
“Well… I suppose she might have,” the Doctor said. “It could be any doctor.”
“We have captured her, and all she talks of is you,” Snappy said.
“Ohh, couldn’t you leave her alone?” the Doctor sighed.
“That is not our method,” Snappy replied coldly. “You will see her now.”

Conner grabbed Dorris’ hand as they ran along the moving floor. Dorris fell over, and Conner helped her to her feet.

“We haven’t escaped yet,” Conner cried. “We need to get out of here.”
“But then what will we do?” Dorris asked as they ran.
“I’ve got a plan,” Conner said, as they jumped over machinery.
“Watch out!” Dorris screamed.

She let go of Conner’s hand as the floor jolted, and a pot rolled towards them. Dorris fell over and Conner was knocked into the pot.

“Conner!” Dorris screamed. “I’m moving backwards!”
“I’ll save you!” Conner cried. “Give me a second!”

He scrambled at the side of the pot, trying to climb out. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself out. Somewhere to the right he could hear Dorris scream. He only had a minute before she was perfected. He jumped from the pot, smashing into the moving floor. Dorris screamed once more.

“Bleurgh,” Conner groaned, winded.

He pushed himself up off the floor, and turned around. Dorris had gone.

“Dorris!”

Triss eventually managed to work the Sonic Screwdriver. She opened the door, and checked the corridor was empty. It was, so she, Steve and Larry hurried out into the corridor.

“Now what do we do?” Steve asked.
“The Doctor was taken to the Communications Room,” Triss said. “We need to rescue him.”
“No,” Larry said. “It’s every man or woman for themselves.”
“But we can’t just leave him!” Triss cried. “I’ve seen what he can do – we need him in the fight against the Kritzanthians.”
“Fine,” Larry said. “But we can’t walk around the ship, we’ll be discovered. Plus, we need to sabotage the ship. Get it to blow up. That sort of thing.”
“You make it all sounds so easy,” Triss laughed.
“It is, when you put your mind to it,” Larry chuckled.

Triss looked up at the ceiling and raised the Sonic Screwdriver. A panel fell out, and Larry grinned. He jumped up and grabbed the ceiling, pulling himself into the ventilation shafts.

“We’ll have to take the air vents to avoid detection,” Larry called down.

Suddenly there was a noise further down the corridor. Three Kritzanthians were coming towards Triss and Steve. Triss raised the Sonic Screwdriver, but nothing happened.

“Why isn’t this working?” Triss asked.
“They haven’t seen us,” Steve said. “Don’t hurt them, climb!”

Triss cried out and raised her arms. Larry leaned down grabbed her arms. Triss screamed as she was lifted off her feet.

“Watch it!” she yelled.
“Sorry!” Larry laughed.
“Hurry up!” Triss said.

Larry pulled Triss into the ventilation shaft, and reached down for Steve. Triss climbed behind Larry and used the Sonic Screwdriver to light the small shaft. It was empty, allowing them to climb through without difficulty.

“Oh my God!” Steve cried. “They’re coming! They’ve seen me!”
“No, come on!” Larry cried.
“Help him!” Triss screamed.
“Leave me, it’s too late,” Steve said.
“I’m not leaving you!” Larry cried.
“You have to!” Steve said. “Leave me. It’s too late for me now. I’m sorry. Thanks Triss, for keeping us all together. Oh God, they’re here.”

Larry placed the panel back into the ceiling, and Triss used the Sonic Screwdriver to lock it into place. Steve turned around to face the three Kritzanthians, who were all carrying guns.

“To use the old Earth expression,” Steve said, knowing the end was coming. “I did my duty – for King and Country.”

The Kritzanthians raised their guns in unison, and fired – pzoom! – and Steve Rollins sighed his last.

To be continued…

Christmas!

I know it's a fairly long way away, but it's coming up to Christmas. And that means a Christmas Special! That's if I can finish Black and Gold of course. I have bloody writer's block. Grr. Anyway, as a treat, I'm going to reveal the cast list to get you in the mood for Christmas. Of course, it will probably change inbetween then, but this is what it looks like now:

The Doctor
Elizabeth Bell
Georgia Bell
Conner Bennet
Colin Bell
Zac Pemberton
Kaylie Watson
Beth Grant
Daisy Cole
Viola White
Mary Wood
Sylvia Hold
Janet Martin
Joan Sterry
Dorothy Atkin
Betty Spencer

That's it, for now. Of course, Christmas also means the last two specials, and the regeneration of the Doctor. *Cries* But don't worry - he'll still be in our fanfic as the Tenth Doctor! Yays!

*Update*

Episode 2 of Series 3 is no longer going to feature the Vikings at a gathering. We felt that the Vikings were too similar to the Huns, they are both brutal warriors, so I changed it. Episode 2 is now going to be based in Georgian England, with many posh people and a creepy ride in a horse and cart for Georgia.