Chapter Twenty-One: A Sad Symphony

The Doctor and I ducked into a service hall filled with all sorts of pipes. We crept through silently until a loud clank echoed throughout the hall. It was Lazarus; he had found us.

"It's no good, Doctor and Miss Carter. You can't stop me," he hissed.

"Is that the same arrogance you had when you swore nothing had gone wrong with your device?" the Doctor retorted.

"The arrogance is yours. You can't stand in the way of progress."

"You're bonkers if you think feeding on innocent people is progress," I growled.

"It is a necessary sacrifice," snarled Lazarus.

"That's not your decision to make," said the Doctor.

Suddenly, the power clicked back on and light flooded the service hall. There's no point in hiding now.

"Peek – a – boo," crooned Lazarus. We looked up to see Lazarus on the ceiling. I gave the monster a small awkward wave. "Uh, hi."

"Now, is not the time for a chat, Ali!" exclaimed the Doctor as he took hold of my hand and tugged me out of the room.

-0-

We raced down the hallway until we came upon a lab; the Doctor immediately began fiddling with a light fixture leaving the wires exposed. I was confused about what the Time Lord was trying to accomplish, then it dawned on me that the Doctor was trying to blow up the lab and hopefully Lazarus with it.

"Oh, Doctor, you're a genius," I breathed.

"Yeah, tell me something that I don't already know," muttered the Doctor.

I rolled my eyes at him and started to flip all the gas jets. When I heard Lazarus creeping closer to the lab. "Doctor, he's coming!" I cried.

"Hide," ordered the Doctor. I quickly took cover behind the table; I tried to keep my breathing quiet when I heard Lazarus entering the room.

"More hide-and-seek, Doctor? Miss Carter? How disappointing. Why don't you both come out and face me?"

From my hiding spot, I could see the Doctor popped up into view. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" He cheekily replied. "Why would I wanna face that,"

I guess that's my cue to run. I bolted for the exit and I felt the Doctor grab my hand as the room exploded behind us. Laughter escaped my throat as I felt adrenaline flood my entire body. How did I even survive living a boring mundane life? The Doctor opened my eyes to a brave new world. We turned a corner and crashed into Martha.

The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Martha held up the sonic. "I'm returning this. I thought you might need it." The Doctor gaped at her. "How did you - ?"

She smiled. "I heard the explosion. Guessed it was you."

"We blasted Lazarus," I informed her.

"Did you kill him?"

Lazarus chose that moment to come galloping down the hall. "I think we just pissed him off," I said. Lazarus let out an angry screech in response.

-0-

We managed to evade Lazarus until we were back in the reception room.

"What now? We've just gone around in a circle!" exclaimed Martha. I quickly scanned the room; we were sitting ducks out here. What were we supposed to do?

"We're too exposed out here and we can't let Lazarus attack the guests that are outside. We have to end this right here and now," I said.

"You're right," agreed the Doctor. He sprinted over to the cylinder-shaped device and opened the door for Martha and I. "Come on, get in."

Once we were crammed in the device; I realized that it was a bad idea for me to be near the Time Lord, for one reason only: his scent. The Doctor's scent was intoxicating. It was a mixture of cinnamon and vanilla. He smelled so damn good. I felt grateful that Martha was stuck in the machine with us because I was tempted to pounce on the Doctor.

"Why are we hiding in here," asked Martha.

"Because this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us," the Doctor replied.

"Just tell us what the plan is," I snapped. I had to get out of this capsule; the Doctor's scent was becoming too much for me.

"Well, about that…"

"You mean you don't have a plan?!" exclaimed Martha. The Doctor got defensive. "Yes, the plan was to get inside here!"

I groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Then what?" asked Martha.

"Well… then I'd come up with another plan," the Doctor sputtered.

Martha scoffed. "In your own time, then."

"Will you two shut up," I grumbled. "I'm trying to listen,"

They both looked chastened as I strained to hear more than just their heartbeats. I focused my hearing and was able to hear Lazarus pacing around the device. "Doctor, I think you better hurry," I whispered.

The Time Lord nodded, signaling that he understood me. Struggling in a tight space, the Doctor tried to pull out the sonic. He only succeeded in elbowing me in the stomach.

I grunted. "Ouch."

"Sorry, " he mumbled. After a few more seconds of fumbling; the Doctor finally managed to retrieve the sonic screwdriver. "Here we are."

"What're you gonna do with that?" questioned Martha.

"Improvise," the Doctor murmured. He slowly slid down to the floor; his body unintentionally brushing against mine. I bit my lip trying not to let a moan escape my mouth as I imagined what else the Doctor could do while he down there.

Calm down, girl. Now is not the time for dirty thoughts when there's a monster lurking outside. I told myself.

The Doctor popped open a panel.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?" asked the medical student.

I frowned. "No, he's human. I can tell by his scent. It smells like burnt toast, but still human."

The Doctor explained. "Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus's DNA. The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant."

Is this info dump important? Shouldn't we be escaping?

He continued to babble. "Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake,"

"It's like Pandora's box," said Martha.

"Exactly. Nice shoes, by the way, Ali," commented the Doctor.

I blushed. "Thanks,"

A blue light filled the capsule.

The Doctor twisted one wire with another. "Sounds like he's switched the machine on."

"That can't be good," I muttered. The Time Lord sounded worried. "Well, I was hoping it was gonna take him a little longer to work that out."

The machine started to spin.

"I don't want to hurry you, but –" said Martha in a panicked tone.

"I do! Hurry the hell up!" I cut in.

"I know, nearly done," informed the Doctor.

The capsule was spinning faster now.

"What're you doing?" inquired Martha. The Doctor responded. "Trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it."

"Will that kill him?"

"When he transforms, he's three times his size – cellular triplication – so he's spreading himself thin," said the Doctor.

"We're going turn into something like him," I realized.

"Just one more!" The Doctor yanked a wire. The machine stopped moving and we all stepped out.

"I thought we were gonna go through the blender then," stated the medical student.

"Yeah, that was a close one," I agreed.

The Doctor frowned. "It really shouldn't take that long to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice."

A few feet away Lazarus lied on the ground, naked.

Martha stared at the body. "He seems so human again. It's kind of pitiful."

Without thinking I reached out and grabbed the Doctor's hand, giving it a slight squeeze. The Doctor studied the body; his brown eyes looked haunted and ancient. "Eliot saw that too. 'This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper'."

-0-

Twenty minutes later, people from medical services carried the body out in a bag strapped to a gurney. The Doctor, Martha, and I watched from the steps. Tish rushed over and hugged Martha. Francine was right behind her.

The Time Lord beamed. "Ah, Mrs. Jones, we still haven't finished our chat."

Francine slapped him. "Keep away from my daughter," she snarled. My eyes glowed green in anger; I tried to calm myself down. This woman was only trying to protect her child. After a few calming breaths, my eyes returned to their normal light blue.

Martha cried out in alarm. "Mum, what are you doing?"

The Doctor placed his hand on his cheek. "Always their mothers, every time," he complained.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "This has happened before?"

"Jackie Tyler," he replied.

"Who?"

"Rose's mother."

Ah, another reference to the mythical Rose, his former companion.

"He is dangerous!" Francine spat. "I've been told things?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Martha. Francine grabbed Martha by the shoulders. "Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction!"

Martha protested. "This isn't his fault. He saved us, all of us!"

Leo piped up from behind her. "It was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I'd say, technically, it's her fault."

I rolled my eyes at the sight of Tish elbowing Leo in his side. Suddenly, there was a loud crash; the Doctor immediately took off in the direction of the sound. I bolted after him.

When I caught up to the Doctor; I noticed that the ambulance had its doors torn open and the medics were turned into husks. We were soon joined by Martha and Tish.

"Lazarus, back from the dead. Should've known, really," said the Doctor.

"Those poor people," I murmured sadly. The Doctor turned to me. "Ali, can you sniff him out?"

I inhaled deeply and immediately picked up Lazarus' scent. "Yeah, he went that way," I pointed in the correct direction. The Doctor nodded. "He must have gone to the church,"

"Cathedral. It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me," corrected Tish.

-0-

Inside the cathedral looked magnificent with its vaulted ceilings, stained glass windows, and flying buttresses. "Do you think he's in here," questioned Martha.

"He's here," I said feeling slightly irritated. "I can hear his heartbeat."

Martha gaped at me. "You can do that?"

"Yeah, I think it helps that we're the only ones in here," I responded.

We discovered Lazarus sitting behind the altar underneath the bell tower. He had a red blanket wrapped around him.

Lazarus began to speak. "I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child… the sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Biltz," stated the Doctor.

"You've read about it."

"I was there."

Lazarus scoffed. "You're too young."

"So are you," the Doctor shot back. Lazarus laughed, but then he started to moan in pain. The man continued his story. "In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again."

The Doctor slowly circled around Lazarus while eyeing the bell tower.

"So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it," rasped Lazarus.

I shifted on my feet anxiously; Lazarus could turn at any moment.

"What about those people who died?" the Doctor pointed out.

"They were nothing. I changed the course of history," said Lazarus.

I had a feeling that he was an asshole before his experiment.

"Any of them might have done, too. Do you think history is only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that," said the Doctor.

Hmm… until recently I thought I was human? Is my lifespan longer, now? If we survive this adventure the Doctor and I are going to sit down and have a talk. It's long overdue.

Lazarus disagreed. "No, Doctor. Avoiding death, that's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more successful." He groaned in pain and I could hear his joints pop.

The Doctor raised his voice. "Look at yourself! You're mutating! You've no control over it! You call that a success?"

"I call it progress. I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human," said the Doctor. I gently pulled him away from Lazarus. Standing on my toes I whispered into his ear: "He's going to change again, soon."

He shuddered slightly at my proximity. "I know. If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I have an idea that might work."

An idea sparked into my head. It had to be me. I had to be the one to lure Lazarus to the bell tower. I was the best option out of everyone. If something went wrong, I would be able to defend myself a lot better than Martha and Tish.

Lazarus spoke up. "You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look."

The Doctor took a step closer. "I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tired of everything turned to dust," He squatted next to Lazarus. "If you live long enough, the only certainty left is that end up alone."

He's talking from experience, I realized. How old is he? There is still so much I don't know about him.

"That's a price worth paying," stated Lazarus.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is it?"

Lazarus' body contorted again. "I will feed soon."

"I'm not gonna let that happen," the Doctor told him.

Lazarus retorted. "You've not been able to stop me so far."

I guess that's my cue. I stalked forward. "Forget him, Lazarus! I'm way tastier than him," I goaded.

"Please, Ali! No!" the Time Lord pleaded in a panicked tone.

Lazarus snarled and launched himself at me. I sprinted up a narrow spiral staircase.

"Doctor, I'm heading to the tower," I shouted. There was no reply from the Doctor, the only thing I heard was Lazarus screaming as he transformed into the creature. Crap. I resumed running up the stairs. When I reached the upper level; I peered around the stone archway.

"Doctor!" I exclaimed.

He shouted back. "Ali, take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, do you hear me?"

I yelled down. "Yeah, I got it."

From behind me, I heard a loud growl; I spun around to see the creature coming through the stone passageway.

Oh, shit! It's time ago.

-0-

The top of the bell tower was a circular walkway with wooden rails. There was only one way out and the monster was currently blocking it.

"Hello, Miss Carter," he leered at me.

"Shut up, asshole!" I fired back.

The creature roared and then attacked by swinging down his tail. I rolled away and the tail crashed into a wooden rail instead, destroying it. From down below, I could hear the Doctor playing the organ.

Whatever you're planning Doctor, please hurry!

Lazarus pounced and I scrambled to get out of the way. Okay, it's time to bring out the claws! I jumped up and stood on a section of the wooden railing; I felt my nails lengthen into razor-sharp black claws. Growling, I swiped and managed to strike the creature's leg.

He roared and brought his tail down. The wooden rail that I was standing on broke into pieces, causing me to fall. I grabbed the edge just in time; the music got louder. I screamed and it took all my strength not to let go in order to cover my ears.

Above me, Lazarus writhed in agony and toppled over the edge. To my relief, the music stopped. Martha and Tish appeared in the doorway. The medical student's eyes widened at the sight of me. "Ali! Hang on!"

The two sisters quickly pulled me up.

"Thanks," I told them, gratefully.

Tish smiled. "He cut it a bit fine there, didn't he?"

"That does seem to be his style," I remarked.

"Who is he?" asked Tish.

Martha and I exchanged knowing looks. I shrugged. "He's the Doctor."

-0-

Downstairs, we discovered the Doctor kneeling next to the body of Lazarus. When he closed the eyes, the body became old again.

The Doctor's eyes lit up at the sight of me. He raced over and pulled me into a hug.

"Nice organ playing skills," I mumbled.

He smirked down at me. "When you hang out with Beethoven, you're bound to learn a thing or two."

Regretfully, I stepped away from the Doctor.

"Especially about playing loud," joked Martha, from behind us.

The Doctor leaned forward, acting like he didn't hear her. "Sorry?"

Everyone burst out laughing.