nightmares ~ doctor who

Ch 21 - Gunpowder and Drowning

Gunpowder and Drowning

"Why are we doing this?" I hiss at the Doctor.

"I like to make an entrance," he shrugs and I roll my eyes.

We're currently sitting in a throne room in the Calvierri house. We had to make the same distraction we made the other day to get in, and surprisingly, the guards fell for it. Again. I tried to make the Doctor stay in the TARDIS to rest once he woke up, but he acted like nothing happened and dragged me away here. He made Amy and Rory stay at Guido's house to recover and relax, which is what we should be doing.

"Doctor-"

"Shh, she's coming," he runs towards the throne and sits on it. I sigh and lean against it. "Act cool."

"Because you're so good at 'cool'," I snort and he swats me. Signora Rosanna Calvierri walks in but doesn't notice our presence.

"Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you, Sister of the Water?" The Doctor asks. She jumps and turns to look at us, but she doesn't look alarmed.

"Can I call you Caviar?" I ask and she stares at me. "I mean, fish alien, Calvierri, Caviar. I'm a fan of puns, if you haven't noticed."

"You can call me Rosanna," she smiles sweetly. She doesn't seem threatened by our presence. "And let me guess, you're the owners of the psychic paper?" Rosanna takes it out; I'm guessing she stole it yesterday. She throws it at us and I grin as I catch it, but the Doctor quickly snags it from me. "I take it you are refugees, like me?"

The Doctor doesn't answer. "I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer." She nods and he shifts in his seat. "You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank, hence no reflection."

"Your question?"

"Why can we see your big teeth?" He asks and Rosanna laughs.

"Self preservation over rides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."

"Where's Isabella?" I ask.

"My turn," she chides me and I huff. "Where are you from, and what are your names?"

"Earth, Hayden," I answer.

"The Doctor, Gallifrey," he answers.

"You should be in a museum!" She gasps. "Or in a mausoleum. You two are soulmates, yes?"

"Our turn," I copy her tone and she smirks. "What do you mean by mausoleum?"

"Don't answer that, I can fill her in," the Doctor says quickly and I stare at him confused. "Why are you here?"

"We ran from the Hidden Ones," she answers and my eyes widen. "Why are you here?"

"Wedding present slash first date. The Hidden Ones?" The Doctor answers and asks quickly.

Rosanna looks down at the floor, obviously uncomfortable about the touchy subject. "There were cracks. Some were tiny. Some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people, and through others we saw the Hidden Ones and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours, and the crack snapped shut behind us. Saturnyne was lost."

"Doctor," I mutter to him. "What's she saying about cracks? I thought you destroyed them."

"I did," he whispers back. "It must've taken awhile for it to reach Saturnyne. They must've crossed through right when it was supposed to close," he explains and I nod. He looks back at Rosanna, who was trying to decipher our conversation. "So you're going to make Earth into Saturnyne Mark Two?"