Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 22 - Army of Ghosts, Part 1

Lyssa's feet swung back and forth as she sat on the chair in the console room, frowning thoughtfully as she waited for the Doctor and Rose to come back. After she had delivered her cryptic - at least to her - message, the Doctor had actually staggered back a step, his eyes going wide with shock - and had she seen tears in his eyes?

She'd tried to ask him what was wrong, and what the message had meant, but he'd merely shaken his head and pulled her into a crushing hug. Then he'd pulled back, telling her she was not to leave his sight once they left the TARDIS, that everything was completely fine and she was not to worry, and then had left to retrieve Rose.

So of course she worried. The bad feeling in her stomach that something was going to go very wrong that day was still present, and only growing stronger as time passed. And while she couldn't remember much of her strange conversation with someone - a golden angel? a fairy? - she knew that, for some reason, the events of today could not be changed. People who were originally going to die, were meant to die, and would die; and Rose and her family were going to end up trapped in Pete's world, with essentially only one hope of return several years in the future.

She sighed, thoughts turning to the cryptic message she had told the Doctor. The Oracle can see, but cannot change. Beware the Siren's lament.

Cryptic as all get out, but two parts of the sentence stuck out. The Oracle was mentioned way back with the Pandorica, and she was pretty sure they had mentioned the Siren, too. The Oracle was obviously referring to her, considering what she knew. But... the Oracle could not change this? She seemed to recall the fact that she couldn't change anything this episode, or something really bad was going to happen. Okay. Part one, solved. She was a veritable genius. Now what did part two mean?

'Beware the Siren's Lament'? What was it supposed to mean? The Doctor obviously knew what it meant, and judging from his reaction, it was not a good thing.

Just... what was the Siren's Lament? She was pretty sure that the Alliance had wanted to lock up the Siren, whoever that was, in the Pandorica as well; and now there was this reference to the Siren's Lament. And considering that was a bad thing... maybe the Daleks and everybody else had wanted to lock them up because they were a legitimate threat? Or maybe they were a friend, and the Siren's Lament was a warning of bad things to come?

She huffed in frustration, winding up nowhere every time she tried to figure out what the message really meant. It had been maybe six minutes since the Doctor had left, and she'd gone over the message and various possibilities it held at least three different times. Maybe it was just a really weird inside joke, or something. 

A really bad joke, considering it almost made the Doctor cry...

A noise from the hallway drew her from her thoughts as Rose and the Doctor approached. They both sounded worried, conversing in low whispers. She shifted to her feet as her two friends entered the console room, the Doctor looking her over as if checking to make sure she hadn't suddenly gotten hurt while he was gone. Rose gave her a concerned glance as she came in, but put on a cheerful front.

"The TARDIS left me a little present," the blonde told her, holding up a small blue bag that looked like it would easily fit in her pocket. "A little note on it told me not to open it just yet. Said it had some stuff in it that I might want later." She gave her a grin. "Looks like you're not the only one keeping secrets now, Lyssa. Do you know what it might be for? Filled with a bomb that explodes confetti and traps aliens from the Rancori Galaxy cause they're allergic to it? Permanent hair dye that's actually permanent?"

Her voice was teasing, but Lyssa felt her smile fade despite the blonde's efforts. She couldn't be positive, but she had a feeling that the bag held at least some of the personal effects Rose had acquired during her time on the TARDIS. A farewell from the TARDIS, a gift to help ease the pain that was sure to come by giving her some memories to hold on to.