Prisms of No Color, Ch 6 by rose_of_pollux [Doctor Who, Legato]
Title: Prisms of No Color, Chapter 6: Minds Have Slowed
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Theme: 12; Legato
Fandom: Doctor Who
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and the story is.
Summary/Comments: Salamander makes plans while the Doctor makes a difficult decision.
Notes: N/A
Cross-posted to fanfiction.net, tumblr, and whofic.com
Salamander had spent the last several hours pacing his office. The Doctor’s presence unnerved him; his double had cost him everything once before, and it was well within his power to do it again. And he hated it-hated the Doctor, and hated being afraid of him. There had to be some way-some way-that would give Salamander power… Something that would ensure that the people of Neo Serenity would listen to him, and not the Doctor…
Salamander gave a start as the phone on his desk rang; the display announced that it was the leader of the squad he had ordered to go to the mountains.
“Yes?” he asked, desperate for news. “Have you got them?”
“No, Mr. Salamander,” the Squad Leader said, apologetically. “There were three of them-the impostor, a girl, and a Scots boy. We had almost apprehended them when the impostor and the girl used some sort of martial art on us.”
“What!?”
The Doctor having used martial arts hadn’t surprised him, but he hadn’t expected that girl-Waterfield, wasn’t it?-to have had such pluck.
“We retreated and returned with reinforcements,” the Squad Leader continued. “But… something odd happened.”
“Odd?” Salamander repeated. “I ask you to bring me prisoners-not to gawk at odd happenings!”
“It was that Scots boy, Mr. Salamander,” the Squad Leader said, a tremble evident in his voice. “There’s something… odd about him. His eyes… They weren’t normal, Mr. Salamander. They were glowing; I’d seen that glow before-in the crystals.”
Salamander’s eyebrows arched.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked.
“That boy has an unnatural glow in his eyes, just like in the crystals,” the man explained. “And it seemed to give him some amount of foresight-he was able to predict the exact moment and location of a lightning strike. They used that knowledge to escape from us.”
Salamander mulled over this, and then exhaled as an idea finally came to him.
“Where are they now?” he asked.
“They have taken refuge inside a blue, wooden box,” the Squad Leader said. “We have been trying to break in without success.”
“I suggest you abandon any attempts to break in; you will not succeed,” Salamander said. “Instead, have some of your men guard the weather machine and the crystals.”
“You think they will return?” the Squad Leader asked.
“I am certain of it,” Salamander replied. “Now, listen carefully to my instructions. There is also a chance that they may try to enter the city. Before that happens, there should be wanted posters of the Scots boy spread all over the city-with the citizens instructed to turn him in to the authorities, should they see him. What you have just told me confirms what I have suspected for the longest time-that this boy is responsible for the drought! He must have been hiding in the mountains for a long time, sabotaging the weather machine! Be sure to spread the word about him.”
“At once, Mr. Salamander,” the Squadron Leader said. “But what about the impostor? And the girl?”
“If you can apprehend them, as well, then do so. But the boy should be the main focus-capturing him will result in the other two surrendering soon enough.”
“Understood, Mr. Salamander. Your instructions will be followed to the letter.”
“See that they are,” Salamander said, and he ended the call without another word.
He resumed his pacing, although now, he was not as nervous as he was before. He had the upper hand this time-turning the entire populace against that McCrimmon boy would shatter any attempts for the Doctor to try to sway the people to his side. And with this odd glow in the boy’s eyes, apparently identical to the crystals, the people would have no hesitation in blaming him for the drought.
Salamander had found the perfect scapegoat.
************************************
Zoe cringed as the Cloister Bell continued to toll.
“It’s nae stopping!” Jamie exclaimed, shouting to make himself heard over it.
The Doctor continued to hold the both of them close.
“It won’t,” he said, simply. “Not until the problem with the Vortex is fixed.”
“Then we need to go back to the machine right away and fix the problem,” Zoe said. “I’m sure we can work out what’s wrong if we can gain access to that machine…”
The Doctor sighed.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to,” he said. “Depending on how long they’ll keep me in that warehouse… Now don’t look at me like that-it’s going to be fine…” He trailed off, trying to clear his throat of the growing lump. Even if he managed to escape the fire with just a regeneration, the fact of the matter was that this could very well be the last time that he would look upon Jamie and Zoe with this face.
And that knowledge hurt.
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Zoe asked.
“Not right now,” the Doctor said. “It… It’s not safe for you out there. I don’t want you two locked up in that warehouse with me.”
“Maybe I was wrong…” Jamie said, now grasping at straws. “Maybe… maybe I had fallen asleep and I was dreaming e’erything that I saw! It… it was all just a nightmare… just a bad dream…”
The Doctor gave him a sad smile.
“I think we both know that it isn’t.”
Jamie looked to the ground for a moment, cringing as the Cloister Bell continued to toll, before looking back at the Doctor.
“This is all my fault, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Of course it’s not!” the Doctor insisted.
“If I had nae seen it, ye wouldn’t have to resign to this,” the Scot said.
The Doctor searched in vain for words of comfort, but could find none; the truth of the matter was that the future would have remained in flux if Jamie hadn’t foreseen it. Now it was fixed.
“I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself, Jamie,” he said, at last. “Just trust in my ability to pop in and out of trouble.”
Neither Jamie nor Zoe looked convinced.
“Ye’re sure we cannae go with ye?” Jamie asked.
“Now why would you want to go and get yourself locked up in a burning warehouse?” the Doctor replied.
“You do,” Zoe pointed out.
“Well, I don’t have choice in the matter; what must happen, must happen-but there’s no need for you to be in danger, too!”
“And I want to make sure that ye’re going to be alright,” Jamie said. “I really think I should go with ye.”
“And I’m instructing the both of you to stay here,” the Doctor said, firmly. “Now, please! There’s no time for this; we have to act fast! …Well, I have to act, at any rate. Look after each other. And Zoe?”
“Yes?”
“Make sure that Jamie stays hydrated; I don’t want to have to worry about him in addition to all of this!”
“Right,” she said.
Jamie looked away again; he knew the Doctor hadn’t meant anything by it, but, still, the words did sting. And the words did nothing to try to alleviate the Scot’s worries that he was to blame for this, even if only slightly.
The Doctor still held on to each of their arms as he led them back to the console room, indicating part of the console.
“This button here controls the doors remotely… Yes, well, you know all about that on account of your wanderings, don’t you?”
He was trying to lighten the mood, but Jamie and Zoe continued to look back at him, somberly. He sighed and continued.
“I want you to wait until I give you the word, and then open the doors-and close them immediately after I leave; I don’t want them coming in here and hurting the two of you, too,” he instructed.
Jamie and Zoe nodded.
“Right,” the Doctor said. “There’s no time to lose…”
He started to walk towards the doors, but Jamie suddenly dashed across the room, clutching the Doctor’s arm.
“Doctor…”
The Gallifreyan shut his eyes briefly, trying not to betray any emotions; he opened them again after a moment and turned back to face the Scot, gently placing a hand on the side of his face.
Zoe hesitated, but walked over to them, as well; the Doctor placed his other hand on the side of her face.
“Until we meet again,” he said.
He backed away from them, slowly, and they backed away towards the console, not taking their eyes off of each other.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“No,” Jamie said. “But we donnae have a choice, do we?”
“No, I… I’m afraid we don’t. Right, then-on three. One… Two… Three!”
Zoe ignored the unsure feelings she had and hit the button to open the doors. The Doctor dashed outside the TARDIS, and suddenly shouted to them.
“Hold it!” he said. “Hold everything! Don’t close the doors!”
“What is it!?” Zoe said. “What’s wrong!?”
“There’s nobody here!”
Both she and Jamie exchanged glances, and then headed for the doors themselves. Zoe tutted as she silently indicated to Jamie that he was still wearing only a towel; the Scot responded with a shrug, and he and Zoe joined the Doctor outside.
Sure enough, the entire area was deserted.
“Where did they all go?” Jamie wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” the Doctor said. “…Of course, it would end up this way, would it? When you want to be captured, you can’t…”
“Forgive us if we don’t share in yer disappointment,” Jamie said. “I’m in no hurry to see ye captured by that crowd of mercenaries. Maybe this is a good sign-that what I saw was wrong.”
“I’m afraid not, Jamie. And standing around here wondering where they’ve gone isn’t an option,” the Doctor said. “I need to get myself captured.”
“Oh, can’t you worry about that after we resolve the problem with the Vortex?” Zoe asked.
“If we have any hope of stabilizing the Vortex, this has to happen first,” the Doctor explained. “I’ll explain in detail when I return.”
“If ye return,” Jamie said, quietly.
For a moment, the Doctor did contemplate explaining the concept of regeneration to his two companions. But he knew that he was on borrowed time as far as the Vortex stabilization was concerned.
He would just have to hope that he could escape the fire without regenerating. And if that wasn’t the case… he’d have to hope that Jamie and Zoe would be accepting of the person he would turn into.
“When I return,” he stated, firmly.
He paused, very briefly, to look upon their faces one more time before ushering them back inside the TARDIS.
“Do close the doors,” he said. “I have my key; don’t open the doors for anyone-understood?”
“Yes, Doctor,” Zoe said.
“And remember, Jamie-plenty of water.”
Jamie just gave a nod; despite the Doctor’s insistence that he would return, the sheer look of terror that had been on the otherworldly man’s face in the vision Jamie had suggested otherwise.
The Scot tried very hard not to betray his worry as the Doctor headed off in search of his would-be captors, stopping to give them one last wave goodbye.
“Do ye really think we’ll see him again?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Zoe said, honestly.
Without another word, they watched the Doctor vanish into the hazy distance.
Author: Crystal Rose of Pollux (rose_of_pollux)
Theme: 12; Legato
Fandom: Doctor Who
Warnings: PG13
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, and the story is.
Summary/Comments: Salamander makes plans while the Doctor makes a difficult decision.
Notes: N/A
Cross-posted to fanfiction.net, tumblr, and whofic.com
Salamander had spent the last several hours pacing his office. The Doctor’s presence unnerved him; his double had cost him everything once before, and it was well within his power to do it again. And he hated it-hated the Doctor, and hated being afraid of him. There had to be some way-some way-that would give Salamander power… Something that would ensure that the people of Neo Serenity would listen to him, and not the Doctor…
Salamander gave a start as the phone on his desk rang; the display announced that it was the leader of the squad he had ordered to go to the mountains.
“Yes?” he asked, desperate for news. “Have you got them?”
“No, Mr. Salamander,” the Squad Leader said, apologetically. “There were three of them-the impostor, a girl, and a Scots boy. We had almost apprehended them when the impostor and the girl used some sort of martial art on us.”
“What!?”
The Doctor having used martial arts hadn’t surprised him, but he hadn’t expected that girl-Waterfield, wasn’t it?-to have had such pluck.
“We retreated and returned with reinforcements,” the Squad Leader continued. “But… something odd happened.”
“Odd?” Salamander repeated. “I ask you to bring me prisoners-not to gawk at odd happenings!”
“It was that Scots boy, Mr. Salamander,” the Squad Leader said, a tremble evident in his voice. “There’s something… odd about him. His eyes… They weren’t normal, Mr. Salamander. They were glowing; I’d seen that glow before-in the crystals.”
Salamander’s eyebrows arched.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked.
“That boy has an unnatural glow in his eyes, just like in the crystals,” the man explained. “And it seemed to give him some amount of foresight-he was able to predict the exact moment and location of a lightning strike. They used that knowledge to escape from us.”
Salamander mulled over this, and then exhaled as an idea finally came to him.
“Where are they now?” he asked.
“They have taken refuge inside a blue, wooden box,” the Squad Leader said. “We have been trying to break in without success.”
“I suggest you abandon any attempts to break in; you will not succeed,” Salamander said. “Instead, have some of your men guard the weather machine and the crystals.”
“You think they will return?” the Squad Leader asked.
“I am certain of it,” Salamander replied. “Now, listen carefully to my instructions. There is also a chance that they may try to enter the city. Before that happens, there should be wanted posters of the Scots boy spread all over the city-with the citizens instructed to turn him in to the authorities, should they see him. What you have just told me confirms what I have suspected for the longest time-that this boy is responsible for the drought! He must have been hiding in the mountains for a long time, sabotaging the weather machine! Be sure to spread the word about him.”
“At once, Mr. Salamander,” the Squadron Leader said. “But what about the impostor? And the girl?”
“If you can apprehend them, as well, then do so. But the boy should be the main focus-capturing him will result in the other two surrendering soon enough.”
“Understood, Mr. Salamander. Your instructions will be followed to the letter.”
“See that they are,” Salamander said, and he ended the call without another word.
He resumed his pacing, although now, he was not as nervous as he was before. He had the upper hand this time-turning the entire populace against that McCrimmon boy would shatter any attempts for the Doctor to try to sway the people to his side. And with this odd glow in the boy’s eyes, apparently identical to the crystals, the people would have no hesitation in blaming him for the drought.
Salamander had found the perfect scapegoat.
************************************
Zoe cringed as the Cloister Bell continued to toll.
“It’s nae stopping!” Jamie exclaimed, shouting to make himself heard over it.
The Doctor continued to hold the both of them close.
“It won’t,” he said, simply. “Not until the problem with the Vortex is fixed.”
“Then we need to go back to the machine right away and fix the problem,” Zoe said. “I’m sure we can work out what’s wrong if we can gain access to that machine…”
The Doctor sighed.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to,” he said. “Depending on how long they’ll keep me in that warehouse… Now don’t look at me like that-it’s going to be fine…” He trailed off, trying to clear his throat of the growing lump. Even if he managed to escape the fire with just a regeneration, the fact of the matter was that this could very well be the last time that he would look upon Jamie and Zoe with this face.
And that knowledge hurt.
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Zoe asked.
“Not right now,” the Doctor said. “It… It’s not safe for you out there. I don’t want you two locked up in that warehouse with me.”
“Maybe I was wrong…” Jamie said, now grasping at straws. “Maybe… maybe I had fallen asleep and I was dreaming e’erything that I saw! It… it was all just a nightmare… just a bad dream…”
The Doctor gave him a sad smile.
“I think we both know that it isn’t.”
Jamie looked to the ground for a moment, cringing as the Cloister Bell continued to toll, before looking back at the Doctor.
“This is all my fault, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Of course it’s not!” the Doctor insisted.
“If I had nae seen it, ye wouldn’t have to resign to this,” the Scot said.
The Doctor searched in vain for words of comfort, but could find none; the truth of the matter was that the future would have remained in flux if Jamie hadn’t foreseen it. Now it was fixed.
“I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself, Jamie,” he said, at last. “Just trust in my ability to pop in and out of trouble.”
Neither Jamie nor Zoe looked convinced.
“Ye’re sure we cannae go with ye?” Jamie asked.
“Now why would you want to go and get yourself locked up in a burning warehouse?” the Doctor replied.
“You do,” Zoe pointed out.
“Well, I don’t have choice in the matter; what must happen, must happen-but there’s no need for you to be in danger, too!”
“And I want to make sure that ye’re going to be alright,” Jamie said. “I really think I should go with ye.”
“And I’m instructing the both of you to stay here,” the Doctor said, firmly. “Now, please! There’s no time for this; we have to act fast! …Well, I have to act, at any rate. Look after each other. And Zoe?”
“Yes?”
“Make sure that Jamie stays hydrated; I don’t want to have to worry about him in addition to all of this!”
“Right,” she said.
Jamie looked away again; he knew the Doctor hadn’t meant anything by it, but, still, the words did sting. And the words did nothing to try to alleviate the Scot’s worries that he was to blame for this, even if only slightly.
The Doctor still held on to each of their arms as he led them back to the console room, indicating part of the console.
“This button here controls the doors remotely… Yes, well, you know all about that on account of your wanderings, don’t you?”
He was trying to lighten the mood, but Jamie and Zoe continued to look back at him, somberly. He sighed and continued.
“I want you to wait until I give you the word, and then open the doors-and close them immediately after I leave; I don’t want them coming in here and hurting the two of you, too,” he instructed.
Jamie and Zoe nodded.
“Right,” the Doctor said. “There’s no time to lose…”
He started to walk towards the doors, but Jamie suddenly dashed across the room, clutching the Doctor’s arm.
“Doctor…”
The Gallifreyan shut his eyes briefly, trying not to betray any emotions; he opened them again after a moment and turned back to face the Scot, gently placing a hand on the side of his face.
Zoe hesitated, but walked over to them, as well; the Doctor placed his other hand on the side of her face.
“Until we meet again,” he said.
He backed away from them, slowly, and they backed away towards the console, not taking their eyes off of each other.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“No,” Jamie said. “But we donnae have a choice, do we?”
“No, I… I’m afraid we don’t. Right, then-on three. One… Two… Three!”
Zoe ignored the unsure feelings she had and hit the button to open the doors. The Doctor dashed outside the TARDIS, and suddenly shouted to them.
“Hold it!” he said. “Hold everything! Don’t close the doors!”
“What is it!?” Zoe said. “What’s wrong!?”
“There’s nobody here!”
Both she and Jamie exchanged glances, and then headed for the doors themselves. Zoe tutted as she silently indicated to Jamie that he was still wearing only a towel; the Scot responded with a shrug, and he and Zoe joined the Doctor outside.
Sure enough, the entire area was deserted.
“Where did they all go?” Jamie wondered aloud.
“I don’t know,” the Doctor said. “…Of course, it would end up this way, would it? When you want to be captured, you can’t…”
“Forgive us if we don’t share in yer disappointment,” Jamie said. “I’m in no hurry to see ye captured by that crowd of mercenaries. Maybe this is a good sign-that what I saw was wrong.”
“I’m afraid not, Jamie. And standing around here wondering where they’ve gone isn’t an option,” the Doctor said. “I need to get myself captured.”
“Oh, can’t you worry about that after we resolve the problem with the Vortex?” Zoe asked.
“If we have any hope of stabilizing the Vortex, this has to happen first,” the Doctor explained. “I’ll explain in detail when I return.”
“If ye return,” Jamie said, quietly.
For a moment, the Doctor did contemplate explaining the concept of regeneration to his two companions. But he knew that he was on borrowed time as far as the Vortex stabilization was concerned.
He would just have to hope that he could escape the fire without regenerating. And if that wasn’t the case… he’d have to hope that Jamie and Zoe would be accepting of the person he would turn into.
“When I return,” he stated, firmly.
He paused, very briefly, to look upon their faces one more time before ushering them back inside the TARDIS.
“Do close the doors,” he said. “I have my key; don’t open the doors for anyone-understood?”
“Yes, Doctor,” Zoe said.
“And remember, Jamie-plenty of water.”
Jamie just gave a nod; despite the Doctor’s insistence that he would return, the sheer look of terror that had been on the otherworldly man’s face in the vision Jamie had suggested otherwise.
The Scot tried very hard not to betray his worry as the Doctor headed off in search of his would-be captors, stopping to give them one last wave goodbye.
“Do ye really think we’ll see him again?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Zoe said, honestly.
Without another word, they watched the Doctor vanish into the hazy distance.