FIC: The Blue Demons
TITLE: The Blue Demons
AUTHOR: Talepiece
RATING: 12 cert.
PAIRING: (a hint of) Leela/Zoe
DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine.
SUMMARY: Leela meets another former companion in her attempt to defeat the Blue Demons.
CONTINUITY: Ties in with The Lost Children, follows on from Mirage.
Zoe Heriot pressed herself against the wall and stared at the blue smoke that was gushing from the corner of the room. It hissed in her mind, words that she couldn't quite make out. She shook her head violently and tried to clear her panicked thoughts. Face set in a determined expression, she pushed off from the wall and ran to the door, slapping at the controls and waiting impatiently for the metal to slide open. She rushed out as soon as the gap was big enough and ran down the corridor. She didn't want to look back but she couldn't stop herself. She stumbled, almost falling but righted herself against the wall as she watched the blue smoke follow her.
She had seen it the day before. A strange blue haze that wisped around the corner of the room. Then Doctor Crowley had come in to ask her something and the smoke was gone. Zoe thought she'd seen it rush back in to the angle of the wall but surely that was her imagination. She had written the whole thing off as utterly ridiculous. She'd checked the environmental logs and there were no problems, no issues logged for that time or location. Everything was running as it should be. Just her mind playing tricks on her. Again.
No time for that now, she told herself firmly. The smoke was gaining on her, slowly forming in to something more than smoke. Something heaving and shifting despite the still air of The Wheel. She needed to find Crowley; they might be able to get samples of whatever this blue smoke was and then she would get some answers. She forced herself forward again and ran on down the long, curved corridor.
The hissing was growing louder and there were words now, definite words. Doctor? Did this thing want Crowley? Zoe hesitated, stumbling again. Was she leading the creature to the one person it wanted to find? Could this blue smoke even be sentient? And then there was another noise. Something entirely different, though it raised the same sort of feeling in Zoe's already panicked mind. It was a strange wheezing-whirring sound, coming in and out as if whatever was making it wasn't quite sure yet. It was coming from somewhere down the cross corridor a little further along.
Zoe stared at the smoke again. It was almost upon her -- she had to move. She ran a few paces and threw herself left in to the corridor. It should have been clear but someone had left a large storage container against the wall. It took up most of the space, even Zoe would have to squeeze herself through the gap. There was a loud creaking noise and a woman's voice hissed, 'Hush'. Then the woman appeared. She simply walked out of the side of the sealed container in to the corridor.
Her blue eyes lifted to Zoe's face, her hand dropped immediately to the knife at her hip. She paused, considering Zoe carefully. Zoe stared back at her, her mind suddenly filled with the strange images that plagued her dreams. For months now she'd been struggling to force her mind to cooperate with her. Longer than that; it had all started after Jamie and his strange friend had visited the station. It was stress, Doctor Crowley said, stress from the attack. But Zoe wasn't sure. There was something else. Something more that she couldn't quite force in to shape in her mind. She had always been very proud of her eidetic memory but recently she had begun to wonder if perhaps it was as much a curse as a boon.
The woman's eyes dropped suddenly and she shouted, 'The blue demon! Come, girl, run!'
A calloused hand reached for hers and Zoe was tugged so hard she almost lost her balance. The woman was stronger than Zoe had expected and she yanked Zoe back to her feet. They forced themselves through the slim gap between the container and the wall, then ran on. Zoe made to look back but the woman yanked at her hand again and she was forced to keep running.
'That way,' Zoe panted out, her free hand lifting to indicate the right turn up ahead.
They ran on, skidding around the corner and picking up speed again as they approached a large door. Zoe wished for longer legs as she struggled to keep up with the woman. She could sense the blue creature behind them, slithering through the air. She forced a little more speed from her legs and passed the woman, shaking her hand free as she reached out for the control panel.
The woman gave a startled yelp and Zoe felt her presence disappear from behind her. She spun on her heels and looked in horror at the creature that now filled the corridor. A huge blue snake dancing in the air, its head swaying from side to side. The woman had fallen -- or perhaps the creature had tripped her. She was lying on her back, her knife already in hand. She waved it over her body, warding off the creature, following the creature's movements. The elongated head bobbed a few times, its eyeless attention shifting from the woman to Zoe and back again.
'Run! Run, girl; the blue demon seeks me.'
'Er, no, I think it's after me,' Zoe said.
There was a strange lull. The creature seemed to freeze in the air. The woman's eyes darted from it to Zoe's face. 'You are arguing with me over who this creature wants to kill?'
Zoe shrugged, a faint grin coming to her face, 'Not really. But this thing was chasing me before you,' she hesitated, 'arrived.'
'Then you have travelled with the Doctor?'
'The Doc--' Zoe began but she was cut off. There was a louder hissing sound that filled the corridor. A gush of smoke filled the space behind the creature and quickly formed in to a second. Zoe swallowed hard, 'Perhaps that one's yours?'
The woman's eyes swiveled back to the corridor and widened as the second creature formed a twin of the first. Her body contorted and she was on her feet before Zoe had realised what she was doing. The knife thrust out at the first creature. Sounds roared in their heads. Zoe shuffled backwards. The door wasn't far away, if she could just get to it and get them through they might be safe. She stretched her hand out behind her, eyes never leaving the two creatures who hissed and gibbered at them. The woman thrust again but it made no difference. Surely the station's security should have been alerted by now? The sensors should have picked up these things.
One of the creatures reared up, it's head thrown high. The other did the same and the two long, blue bodies loomed above them. Then they were diving down, blue mouths opened wide, fangs dripping blue mist as they raced towards their victims. Zoe braced herself against the wall, the controls behind her forgotten. The woman's back straightened. There was a strange acceptance in the gesture and Zoe admired her and hated her for it at the same time. The woman's knife hand lowered, her head lifted and she stared in to the blue face of her death. Zoe finally looked at her. She was strange. Long, wild hair falling over bare shoulders. Below was a short leather dress that could barely be called decent. Where had this woman come from? Zoe felt a deep pang of regret that she would never know who she was.
There was a sudden rush of burning hot air...a screaming sound that came from a long, long way off...a moment of angry, confused gibbering from the creatures...then an explosion of blue ichor that flooded the corridor. It coated the walls, washed across the floor and covered the startled woman. Zoe blinked hard against the splashes of goo that had reached her face. She lifted a shaking hand and wiped it way, flicking it off her fingers in disgust. The woman stood absolutely still, her back even straighter than before. Zoe took a few hesitant steps forward, stopped, then hurried to her side.
'Are you --' Zoe began but she stopped as the woman turned around. Blue eyes fluttered open, brighter even than the slime that covered her. Her hair was slick with it, her minimal attire stained blue. The room was cooling and Zoe saw her shiver a little. 'Are you all right? Let me get Doctor Crowley?'
'No,' the woman barked. She shook herself like a dog, flicking blue goo everywhere. Zoe glanced down at her now speckled suit, then glared at the woman who had the decency to look contrite. 'No, thank you,' she said in a gentler tone, 'I must return to the Tardis.'
'Tardis?' Zoe said. Her head pounding suddenly. Did she know that word? No, surely not; it wasn't a word at all. But there was something and it was screaming silently in her mind. She gasped in pain, clutching at her head. Slimy hands reached for her and held her up. 'What's happening?'
'We were attacked by the blue demons,' the woman said, 'and I believe you are experiencing the emotional aftereffects.'
'No, no,' Zoe shook herself violently, 'it isn't that. What is a Tardis?' she said, almost begging.
The woman opened her mouth to speak, stopped, then said, 'You have met the Doctor.'
It wasn't a question, Zoe noticed. She said, 'Jamie's friend? Yes, they were here about a year ago.'
'Jamie?'
There was a hint of jealousy in the tone and Zoe wondered what relationship this woman had had with the old man. Surely not his lover? The thought made her shudder in distaste. Or perhaps she had known Jamie? Funny how she felt so comfortable saying the name. She'd only known the men for a few days and, though it had been an intense time, she had no special attachment to them. Did she? Her head throbbed again and Zoe cried out in pain. Again the woman held her up.
'You must come with me.'
And Zoe was being half-dragged, half-carried back down the corridor. They waded through the blue ichor, leaving a trail of sticky footprints behind them. A stray part of Zoe's brain considered how much work it would be to clean up. When that thought had passed by another took its place.
'Who are you?'
'I am Leela of the Sevateem.'
Said with pride, as if Zoe should be impressed. She was more impressed that this Leela woman didn't seem at all concerned about her current state. 'Did you know the Doctor? That little, old man in the funny clothes?'
'Little? Old?' Leela considered the words; these Time Lords were difficult to keep track of. 'I knew him but he was a big, laughing oaf then.'
'I'm sorry, are we talking about the same man?'
'Yes,' Leela said and said no more.
Zoe noticed that they were close to where they had met. There was the misplaced storage container. This Leela woman seemed to be heading for it. Perhaps she'd been hiding in it? Zoe slowed her pace and Leela tugged at her arm to keep them moving. Zoe pulled back, her arm slipping from Leela's slick hands with a squelching noise. The pain in her head had lessened but the confusion had grown. She looked around, amazed that the alarms hadn't even sounded. Did no-one on the station watch the sensor readings? Leela took a few more steps toward the container before she turned to her. Those blue eyes were flashing now but Zoe didn't know if it was impatience or anger. She felt quite sure that angering this woman would be a bad idea.
'What are you going to do with me?'
'Do, girl? What would I do with you?'
'I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Ah,' she cried out again, her head pounding, 'what is happening to me?'
'I think the Tardis might be able to help.'
Leela hurried to the container and pressed at some hidden panel. A door swung open but not where it should have been. Leela reached for Zoe, pulling the smaller woman in to her arms and lifting her off her feet. Zoe flushed red with embarrassment but knew she couldn't keep her feet for too much longer. Leela turned her body to the side and eased them both through the door. It closed slowly behind them. Zoe closed her eyes against the bright light within, pressing her face in to Leela's chest. Her flush grew deeper and she tried to struggle out of the woman's arms. Leela gently lowered her to her feet and kept hold of her until she appeared to be stable.
Zoe's eyes fluttered open and she stared in wonder. She turned in Leela's arms, looking around them at the vast room. There was a strange device at its centre, a console of sorts. White, glowing panels covered the walls, a faint yellow energy tracing through them. It was impossibly large. Zoe crumbled again, her knees giving way under the pain that lanced through her head and down her spine. Impossibly large. She felt Leela's hands around her again and fell in to them. Impossible. She was lowered to the cold floor. Impossible like so many of the things that had haunted her dreams this past year.
'You need help,' Leela's voice sounded a long way off, 'I will find the Doctor; he will know what to do.'
'How?' Zoe hissed through her pain.
There was a long pause before Leela said, 'I do not know. But the Tardis will.'
She bustled around the console. Zoe watched her. She looked like a savage but she knew what she was doing. At least, she seemed to have a fair idea. That would explain why she was becoming so annoyed by the machine's refusal to do whatever she was trying to make it do. Zoe sat up, curiosity overriding the pounding of her head and the rolling of her stomach. This Leela knew some very interesting words. She was muttering them every few seconds now, growing more and more angry with the machine. Zoe's eyes trailed over the six-sided console. She'd never seen anything like it...but she knew what needed to be done.
Zoe stood on shaking legs and tottered to the console. Leela made to help her but she waved her back. She stumbled the few yards to the console and propped herself up against it. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, then she reached out and pushed one of the controls in to position. Her eyes opened in surprise as the centrepiece began to hum. It lifted slightly and Zoe worked another control. The column began to rise and fall in a slow, even rhythm. There was that noise again, the one she had heard before Leela had first appeared. The whole room vibrated gently.
'How did you do that?'
Zoe slumped against the console, suddenly overwhelmed with pain. 'I have no idea,' she said through clenched teeth, 'but was it right?'
'Yes. Better than right, I believe you have fixed it.'
'How?'
Zoe felt the floor pitch and fall. She clung on to the console but it was only when Leela scooped her up that she realised it was her pitching and falling, not the room. She allowed herself to be carried without protest through the door at the far side of the room. She wasn't even embarrassed to bury her face in the woman's chest, though she was suddenly aware of the foul stench of the blue slime that now covered them both.
'We need a shower,' she said in a groggy tone.
The chest heaved in mirth, 'You are very forward, little one.'
Zoe blushed again but didn't have the energy to protest. She felt her eyelids give under the weight of her exhaustion and couldn't fight the rapid fall in to sleep.
AUTHOR: Talepiece
RATING: 12 cert.
PAIRING: (a hint of) Leela/Zoe
DISCLAIMER: Characters not mine.
SUMMARY: Leela meets another former companion in her attempt to defeat the Blue Demons.
CONTINUITY: Ties in with The Lost Children, follows on from Mirage.
Zoe Heriot pressed herself against the wall and stared at the blue smoke that was gushing from the corner of the room. It hissed in her mind, words that she couldn't quite make out. She shook her head violently and tried to clear her panicked thoughts. Face set in a determined expression, she pushed off from the wall and ran to the door, slapping at the controls and waiting impatiently for the metal to slide open. She rushed out as soon as the gap was big enough and ran down the corridor. She didn't want to look back but she couldn't stop herself. She stumbled, almost falling but righted herself against the wall as she watched the blue smoke follow her.
She had seen it the day before. A strange blue haze that wisped around the corner of the room. Then Doctor Crowley had come in to ask her something and the smoke was gone. Zoe thought she'd seen it rush back in to the angle of the wall but surely that was her imagination. She had written the whole thing off as utterly ridiculous. She'd checked the environmental logs and there were no problems, no issues logged for that time or location. Everything was running as it should be. Just her mind playing tricks on her. Again.
No time for that now, she told herself firmly. The smoke was gaining on her, slowly forming in to something more than smoke. Something heaving and shifting despite the still air of The Wheel. She needed to find Crowley; they might be able to get samples of whatever this blue smoke was and then she would get some answers. She forced herself forward again and ran on down the long, curved corridor.
The hissing was growing louder and there were words now, definite words. Doctor? Did this thing want Crowley? Zoe hesitated, stumbling again. Was she leading the creature to the one person it wanted to find? Could this blue smoke even be sentient? And then there was another noise. Something entirely different, though it raised the same sort of feeling in Zoe's already panicked mind. It was a strange wheezing-whirring sound, coming in and out as if whatever was making it wasn't quite sure yet. It was coming from somewhere down the cross corridor a little further along.
Zoe stared at the smoke again. It was almost upon her -- she had to move. She ran a few paces and threw herself left in to the corridor. It should have been clear but someone had left a large storage container against the wall. It took up most of the space, even Zoe would have to squeeze herself through the gap. There was a loud creaking noise and a woman's voice hissed, 'Hush'. Then the woman appeared. She simply walked out of the side of the sealed container in to the corridor.
Her blue eyes lifted to Zoe's face, her hand dropped immediately to the knife at her hip. She paused, considering Zoe carefully. Zoe stared back at her, her mind suddenly filled with the strange images that plagued her dreams. For months now she'd been struggling to force her mind to cooperate with her. Longer than that; it had all started after Jamie and his strange friend had visited the station. It was stress, Doctor Crowley said, stress from the attack. But Zoe wasn't sure. There was something else. Something more that she couldn't quite force in to shape in her mind. She had always been very proud of her eidetic memory but recently she had begun to wonder if perhaps it was as much a curse as a boon.
The woman's eyes dropped suddenly and she shouted, 'The blue demon! Come, girl, run!'
A calloused hand reached for hers and Zoe was tugged so hard she almost lost her balance. The woman was stronger than Zoe had expected and she yanked Zoe back to her feet. They forced themselves through the slim gap between the container and the wall, then ran on. Zoe made to look back but the woman yanked at her hand again and she was forced to keep running.
'That way,' Zoe panted out, her free hand lifting to indicate the right turn up ahead.
They ran on, skidding around the corner and picking up speed again as they approached a large door. Zoe wished for longer legs as she struggled to keep up with the woman. She could sense the blue creature behind them, slithering through the air. She forced a little more speed from her legs and passed the woman, shaking her hand free as she reached out for the control panel.
The woman gave a startled yelp and Zoe felt her presence disappear from behind her. She spun on her heels and looked in horror at the creature that now filled the corridor. A huge blue snake dancing in the air, its head swaying from side to side. The woman had fallen -- or perhaps the creature had tripped her. She was lying on her back, her knife already in hand. She waved it over her body, warding off the creature, following the creature's movements. The elongated head bobbed a few times, its eyeless attention shifting from the woman to Zoe and back again.
'Run! Run, girl; the blue demon seeks me.'
'Er, no, I think it's after me,' Zoe said.
There was a strange lull. The creature seemed to freeze in the air. The woman's eyes darted from it to Zoe's face. 'You are arguing with me over who this creature wants to kill?'
Zoe shrugged, a faint grin coming to her face, 'Not really. But this thing was chasing me before you,' she hesitated, 'arrived.'
'Then you have travelled with the Doctor?'
'The Doc--' Zoe began but she was cut off. There was a louder hissing sound that filled the corridor. A gush of smoke filled the space behind the creature and quickly formed in to a second. Zoe swallowed hard, 'Perhaps that one's yours?'
The woman's eyes swiveled back to the corridor and widened as the second creature formed a twin of the first. Her body contorted and she was on her feet before Zoe had realised what she was doing. The knife thrust out at the first creature. Sounds roared in their heads. Zoe shuffled backwards. The door wasn't far away, if she could just get to it and get them through they might be safe. She stretched her hand out behind her, eyes never leaving the two creatures who hissed and gibbered at them. The woman thrust again but it made no difference. Surely the station's security should have been alerted by now? The sensors should have picked up these things.
One of the creatures reared up, it's head thrown high. The other did the same and the two long, blue bodies loomed above them. Then they were diving down, blue mouths opened wide, fangs dripping blue mist as they raced towards their victims. Zoe braced herself against the wall, the controls behind her forgotten. The woman's back straightened. There was a strange acceptance in the gesture and Zoe admired her and hated her for it at the same time. The woman's knife hand lowered, her head lifted and she stared in to the blue face of her death. Zoe finally looked at her. She was strange. Long, wild hair falling over bare shoulders. Below was a short leather dress that could barely be called decent. Where had this woman come from? Zoe felt a deep pang of regret that she would never know who she was.
There was a sudden rush of burning hot air...a screaming sound that came from a long, long way off...a moment of angry, confused gibbering from the creatures...then an explosion of blue ichor that flooded the corridor. It coated the walls, washed across the floor and covered the startled woman. Zoe blinked hard against the splashes of goo that had reached her face. She lifted a shaking hand and wiped it way, flicking it off her fingers in disgust. The woman stood absolutely still, her back even straighter than before. Zoe took a few hesitant steps forward, stopped, then hurried to her side.
'Are you --' Zoe began but she stopped as the woman turned around. Blue eyes fluttered open, brighter even than the slime that covered her. Her hair was slick with it, her minimal attire stained blue. The room was cooling and Zoe saw her shiver a little. 'Are you all right? Let me get Doctor Crowley?'
'No,' the woman barked. She shook herself like a dog, flicking blue goo everywhere. Zoe glanced down at her now speckled suit, then glared at the woman who had the decency to look contrite. 'No, thank you,' she said in a gentler tone, 'I must return to the Tardis.'
'Tardis?' Zoe said. Her head pounding suddenly. Did she know that word? No, surely not; it wasn't a word at all. But there was something and it was screaming silently in her mind. She gasped in pain, clutching at her head. Slimy hands reached for her and held her up. 'What's happening?'
'We were attacked by the blue demons,' the woman said, 'and I believe you are experiencing the emotional aftereffects.'
'No, no,' Zoe shook herself violently, 'it isn't that. What is a Tardis?' she said, almost begging.
The woman opened her mouth to speak, stopped, then said, 'You have met the Doctor.'
It wasn't a question, Zoe noticed. She said, 'Jamie's friend? Yes, they were here about a year ago.'
'Jamie?'
There was a hint of jealousy in the tone and Zoe wondered what relationship this woman had had with the old man. Surely not his lover? The thought made her shudder in distaste. Or perhaps she had known Jamie? Funny how she felt so comfortable saying the name. She'd only known the men for a few days and, though it had been an intense time, she had no special attachment to them. Did she? Her head throbbed again and Zoe cried out in pain. Again the woman held her up.
'You must come with me.'
And Zoe was being half-dragged, half-carried back down the corridor. They waded through the blue ichor, leaving a trail of sticky footprints behind them. A stray part of Zoe's brain considered how much work it would be to clean up. When that thought had passed by another took its place.
'Who are you?'
'I am Leela of the Sevateem.'
Said with pride, as if Zoe should be impressed. She was more impressed that this Leela woman didn't seem at all concerned about her current state. 'Did you know the Doctor? That little, old man in the funny clothes?'
'Little? Old?' Leela considered the words; these Time Lords were difficult to keep track of. 'I knew him but he was a big, laughing oaf then.'
'I'm sorry, are we talking about the same man?'
'Yes,' Leela said and said no more.
Zoe noticed that they were close to where they had met. There was the misplaced storage container. This Leela woman seemed to be heading for it. Perhaps she'd been hiding in it? Zoe slowed her pace and Leela tugged at her arm to keep them moving. Zoe pulled back, her arm slipping from Leela's slick hands with a squelching noise. The pain in her head had lessened but the confusion had grown. She looked around, amazed that the alarms hadn't even sounded. Did no-one on the station watch the sensor readings? Leela took a few more steps toward the container before she turned to her. Those blue eyes were flashing now but Zoe didn't know if it was impatience or anger. She felt quite sure that angering this woman would be a bad idea.
'What are you going to do with me?'
'Do, girl? What would I do with you?'
'I don't know, that's why I'm asking. Ah,' she cried out again, her head pounding, 'what is happening to me?'
'I think the Tardis might be able to help.'
Leela hurried to the container and pressed at some hidden panel. A door swung open but not where it should have been. Leela reached for Zoe, pulling the smaller woman in to her arms and lifting her off her feet. Zoe flushed red with embarrassment but knew she couldn't keep her feet for too much longer. Leela turned her body to the side and eased them both through the door. It closed slowly behind them. Zoe closed her eyes against the bright light within, pressing her face in to Leela's chest. Her flush grew deeper and she tried to struggle out of the woman's arms. Leela gently lowered her to her feet and kept hold of her until she appeared to be stable.
Zoe's eyes fluttered open and she stared in wonder. She turned in Leela's arms, looking around them at the vast room. There was a strange device at its centre, a console of sorts. White, glowing panels covered the walls, a faint yellow energy tracing through them. It was impossibly large. Zoe crumbled again, her knees giving way under the pain that lanced through her head and down her spine. Impossibly large. She felt Leela's hands around her again and fell in to them. Impossible. She was lowered to the cold floor. Impossible like so many of the things that had haunted her dreams this past year.
'You need help,' Leela's voice sounded a long way off, 'I will find the Doctor; he will know what to do.'
'How?' Zoe hissed through her pain.
There was a long pause before Leela said, 'I do not know. But the Tardis will.'
She bustled around the console. Zoe watched her. She looked like a savage but she knew what she was doing. At least, she seemed to have a fair idea. That would explain why she was becoming so annoyed by the machine's refusal to do whatever she was trying to make it do. Zoe sat up, curiosity overriding the pounding of her head and the rolling of her stomach. This Leela knew some very interesting words. She was muttering them every few seconds now, growing more and more angry with the machine. Zoe's eyes trailed over the six-sided console. She'd never seen anything like it...but she knew what needed to be done.
Zoe stood on shaking legs and tottered to the console. Leela made to help her but she waved her back. She stumbled the few yards to the console and propped herself up against it. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, then she reached out and pushed one of the controls in to position. Her eyes opened in surprise as the centrepiece began to hum. It lifted slightly and Zoe worked another control. The column began to rise and fall in a slow, even rhythm. There was that noise again, the one she had heard before Leela had first appeared. The whole room vibrated gently.
'How did you do that?'
Zoe slumped against the console, suddenly overwhelmed with pain. 'I have no idea,' she said through clenched teeth, 'but was it right?'
'Yes. Better than right, I believe you have fixed it.'
'How?'
Zoe felt the floor pitch and fall. She clung on to the console but it was only when Leela scooped her up that she realised it was her pitching and falling, not the room. She allowed herself to be carried without protest through the door at the far side of the room. She wasn't even embarrassed to bury her face in the woman's chest, though she was suddenly aware of the foul stench of the blue slime that now covered them both.
'We need a shower,' she said in a groggy tone.
The chest heaved in mirth, 'You are very forward, little one.'
Zoe blushed again but didn't have the energy to protest. She felt her eyelids give under the weight of her exhaustion and couldn't fight the rapid fall in to sleep.