ODDITY ⇆ DOCTOR WHO

0.40 | F.O.P

                                  〖 THE FIRES OF POMPEII 〗

THE GROUND BEGAN TO SHAKE as they approached the villa. An obvious symptom of the impending eruption. At the entrance of the villa a marble bust toppled off of a shelf, the Doctor grabbing it before it crashed to the ground.

The Doctor's body nearly collided with another man rushing to save the bust. The man began to thank him for saving the bust.

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for today however, as I'm expecting a visitor." He was an older man, with very shirt grey hair and tired eyes. He wore what Valarie had expected a roman to wear.

"But that's me, I'm the visitor. Hello!" He smiled.

"And you maybe?"

"Spartacus." The Doctor replied off the top of his head as he lead them into the home.

"Me too." Donna instinctively answered.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus." The Doctor and Donna began to sputter 'nos' and shake their heads. "Oh, then brother and sister! I should have known, you look alike." Valarie's face scrunched up, not seeing the resemblance between them at all. He looked to Valarie.

"Oh, I'm" She looked to the Doctor and spat the first historical figure she could out, "Helen. Of Troy." She looked between them nervously, hoping he took the answer.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you all but I'm not open for trade."

"What do you trade?" Donna asked.

"Marble trade. Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing, and design of there of. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"Oh well that's good because," The Doctor flashed the psychic paper, "I'm a marble inspector."

"Oh, heavens an inspector!" He exclaimed, his wife jumping and removing a goblet of wine from a young mans hand and pouring it out immediately. "Please forgive my son for drinking, but we weren't anticipating this today."

"Oh! Don't worry, everything seems fine. All marble and what not, except for that." The Doctor pointed a finger at the TARDIS, tucked into a corner of the room. "Seems rather wooden."

"I told you you should have gotten rid of it!" His wife, Metella, fussed. Lopus attempted to reason with her, but she seemed to have a distaste for the blue box in her living room.

"I may have to take this off of your hands for a proper inspection." The Doctor announced.

"Yes we should, but why don't we take a holiday first?" Donna suddenly suggested. "Mother, father, and son. What a lovely family. What if they got out of town?" The Doctor snapped his head to her, eyes wide and beginning her to shut up.

"Now why would we do that, Spartacus?" He asked harshly.

"Yes, why should we?" Lopus asked.

"Well the volcano, for starters." Lopus looked to his wife in confusion, clearly not understanding. Valarie pinched Donna's upper arm, a silent warning to be quiet.

"What?" He asked.

"Volcano." Donna boldly stated, much to the Doctor and Valarie's disdain.

"What ano?"

"Oh, Spartacus and Helen what shame we haven't greeted the house gods yet!" The Doctor pulled the two off behind a wall. "You can't just go saying those things, Donna. They don't even have a word for volcano, to them that is just a mountain because it hasn't blown its lid yet. The romans will discover volcano's when Vesuvius erupts."

"Oh so they learn a new word as they die. That boy out there, how old is he? Sixteen, seventeen? And he is supposed to just burn to death?" Donna argued.

"And that's my fault?"

"Right now, yes."

"Donna, can you give us a moment." Valarie's attention turned to the Doctor, whose sudden cold nature had gotten more under her skin than it should have. Donna huffed, going back to talk with Lopus and his family. "You can't talk to her like that." Valarie started.

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't get it. Not yet." He wouldn't look at her, his jaw clenching. "Doctor." She took his hand between hers. "She sees you as some miracle worker. Yes, you are to a degree but she doesn't understand you can't fix everything yet. Think of it as, she thinks so highly of you that she doesn't think it would be even a problem for you to save all of Pompeii."

"Well she needs to learn. Accusing me of not wanting to help them makes me feel-"

"Guilty?" His face softened and he dropped his head. He knew she was right, despite not wanting to admit it. "You can't. You can't change this and you don't need to feel guilty because of that." She took his face between her hands. "Now come on, lets get this over with and get out of here." He nodded and the two stepped back into the living room. In the living room Metella was speaking to a sickly looking girl, who had to be a early teen. A new man, who Valarie had heard referred to as Lucius had joined them.

"They're laughing at us. Those two, they use words like tricksters and mock us." She pointed a pale and shaky finger at Valarie and the Doctor.

"What? No, Helen and I were just having a private discussion."

"Excuse my daughter, she's been inhaling the vapor." Metella moved the hair off of her forehead.

"Gods mother, what have you done to her?" The son, Quintus exclaimed.

"Not now Quintus." Lopus hushed.

"Evelina has been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions." Metella explained.

"She has been consuming the vapors, you say? They don't look like their doing her any good." The Doctor commented.

"Is that your opinion as a doctor?" Evelina asks. Valarie's eyes widened.

"That is your name, is it not? "

"How did you know that?" He asked.

"And you, you call yourself Noble." She sighed, out of breath. Her finger pointed at Valarie. "Valarie, what a peculiar name." She sighed.

"The female soothsayer is inclined to make up such vagaries."

"I think you've just been out-soothsayed." The Doctor half laughed.

"Is that so, man of Gallifrey? Your home, I see images of it being lost in a fire." Lucius stated, showing his own talent of being an oracle.

"Doctor what are they doing?" Valarie asked.

"You, you are a daughter of London. And you are but a terrified, terrified, child. Are you scared of the man you love?" Valarie's eyes widened in horror and confusion." But fear not, she is returning soon" He stated with an almost smug expression.

"Who? Who is she?" The Doctor demanded.

"Other daughter of London," Evelina pointed to Donna. "What is on your back?"

"What does that mean?" Donna suddenly reached for her back, but failed to feel anything on it.

"Even the name Doctor is false. Your name, your real name burns in the stars; hidden in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, a Time Lord." With the dramatic statement, Evelina collapsed.

The Doctor, Donna, and Valarie stood still and rigid like stone, suddenly extremely worried that the volcano up the mountain was the least of their problems now.

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Expect frequent updates on my fics in the coming week! I'm ahead on all school work and am having things easy for a little bit.

New chapter for Divinity tomorrow, and new Oddity most likely Saturday!