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toxic_cornSeries: Yet Different
Title: Chapter Nine (9/10)
Author: toxic_corn
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Martha/Nine
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, not me.
Spoilers: For the first series up to "Boom Town" and the third series up to "Family of Blood."
Summary: A bit of a time crash and the Doctor finds himself with a new companion.
Notes: As requested by nutmeg610 for Christmas.
Check out the Round-Up Post for earlier chapters.
Chapter Nine
“What, do you suddenly need to make a withdrawal?” Martha demanded as they got into Elgaba’s hover limo. “Pop or opera?”
“They’re both fantastic depending on the moment,” the Doctor said lightly. “But no, I’m not making any withdrawals.”
Elgaba finished giving her driver directions and turned to face the Doctor, looking confused. “Then why are we going to the bank, Doctor? What do you expect to find there?”
“The pelners,” the Doctor said. He stared back at the women’s shocked expressions, nonplussed. “They live off song, you know.”
“They… no, they only need water.” Elgaba shook her head. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Doctor.”
“Am I? You said Easafor was slugging until you sang to him. Thank about it: how many of your mates sing to their pelners?”
“Well,” Elgaba said slowly, thinking. “All of them. But how does that-”
“Oh, it’s clever isn’t it? A race of song eaters who need a place to stay settle on a planet of children who revere them. They make their feeding so subtle that no one even realizes what they live off of.” The Doctor shook his head, looking impressed.
Martha glanced at Elgaba and frowned worriedly as the High Consulate’s face fell. Sometimes the Doctor was so excited by his deductions that he didn’t realize right away that some revelations might hurt especially sensitive people. Martha gently took Elgaba’s hand.
“They don’t really loves us?” she asked Martha, voice breaking. “All this time they were just using us?”
Her words pulled the Doctor back into the moment and his expression shifted from contemplating to compassionate. “I’m sorry.”
“Why now?” Elgaba looked lost. “The songs have been in the bank all this time. Why haven’t they gotten to them before now?”
“Because there won’t be songs left soon,” Martha said, gently. “You’re changing your currency.”
“But-! I’ll sing when he wants it! That won’t change.”
“It wouldn’t be enough,” the Doctor said. “they absorb songs during your everyday transactions, from the supply you have in your home. You’d have to sing several times a day to supply what he needs.”
“I’ll do it!”
The Doctor smiled kindly. “You have a planet to run, High Consulate.”
Elgaba sniffled. “So are they just going to eat and eat all that’s in the bank until there’s nothing left?”
“No.” The Doctor looked serious and Martha had a bad feeling. “They’re gathering just enough to make a long journey.”
~*~
The limo had to progress carefully as they approached the bank because so many people were in the streets, staring at something that Martha couldn’t quite make out. The sound of everyone speaking at once was almost as loud as the protest on Raxacoricofallapatorius.
“The High Consulate’s here!” a voice rang out above the others and the crowd started to part to let the limo through. Everyone turned to gape at them and Martha felt so self conscious that she was glad that the windows were tinted.
However, they had to get out and people at the back of the crowd turned to watch this new development.
“What’s happening?” Elgaba asked a man in a workman’s jumpsuit.
“It’s the pelners,” the man said. “They’ve all gathered or somethin’.”
“Excuse us,” the Doctor said loudly and started making his way through the crowd. He grabbed Martha’s hand. “Take hold of Elgaba, I’ll get us through to the front.” Martha flailed her arm out and hooked the High Consulate as the Doctor maneuvered his way through the gathered people. At the front of the crowd stood some nervous policemen keeping the crowd away from the bank. “Please, just move on. There’s nothing to see here.”
“Those pelners better not touch my songs!” a belligerent man was bellowing. “I’m saving up for a holiday!”
“There’s nothing we can do sir, we-” one of the officers stopped when he saw the High Consulate and looked relieved. “Look, the High Consulate’s here. She’ll sort everything out.”
The man looked a little less angry as Elgaba nodded to him and with that, the officer held the door open and they ducked inside. All the employees had long since vacated the building and Martha was reminded of stories she’d heard about the Marie Celeste. Bank slips half filled out lay discarded on counters next to pens, chairs were pushed back from desks with cups of coffee still steaming, and a television overhead still cheerfully advertised a brand of children’s cereal.
Then she saw the pelners. They were gathered in a large circle in the waiting area, the ropes keeping everyone in a queue pushed carefully against the counter so it was out of the way. The pelners were every color imaginable, no two the same shade. They held their wings out, ruffling their feathers and humming quietly, their eyes closed. In the center stood Elgaba’s pelner, Easafor.
“Easafor!” Elgaba called and the Doctor gritted his teeth, grabbing Martha’s arm and taking a step back.
The pelners’ eyes opened and Easafor lifted his dog-like muzzle in the air then lowered his head in a respectable bow. “Queen Elgaba,” he greeted her in a startlingly deep voice. He sounded a bit like James Earl Jones and Martha almost laughed at the incongruity.
“Y-you can talk?” Elgaba folded her hands in front of her, not knowing what else to do.
“I can.” Easafor’s eyes seemed to be smiling. “Forgive us for taking from this bank. We just need enough to get us across the galaxy.”
Elgaba shook her head. “Oh, no!” She came closer and lowered herself to her knees. “Please don’t do this. I’ll reverse the decision and we’ll keep trading by songs. I honestly had no idea this is what you ate, or else I never would’ve suggested we switch.”
“There’s no turning back now,” Easafor said. “Everyone liked the idea. Your planet needs to thrive and to do this your reach must expand. You have been isolated for long enough.” His eyes smiled again. “If you hadn’t thought of it, someone else would have.”
“But…” Elgaba held her arms out. “I don’t know what to do without you.”
The pelners shuffled aside and Easafor came forward, allowing her to gather him up into her arms and cuddle him one last time.
“You’ll do wonderfully, darling. You’re the best Epsilonian I’ve ever had the pleasure of living with. You’re wise and capable and I know there are only good things ahead for you.” He nuzzled Elgaba with his wet doggy nose and licked at a tear that rolled down her cheek.
After another minute, Elgaba finally set him back down and stood up, wiping her eyes. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to everyone else?”
“We have intentions to write,” Easafor said. “Before you came here, that was the plan. We had sneaked in here but if it were not for Abfu-” he leveled a hard stare at an orange pelner who hung his head in shame, “and his loud sneezing, we would have remained unnoticed.” His expression softened. “I’m glad I got to see your face one last time, Elgaba. I shall miss you.”
“I miss you already,” Elgaba confessed, pressing her hands to her heart.
Easafor fluttered his wings and the humming from all the pelners intensified. “We’re ready to go. Would someone get the door for us?”
The Doctor and Martha held the doors open wide and the pelners started flapping their wings, their humming growing even louder. Then, with a colorful blur, they swooped through the door and outside, straight up into the sky. The crowd shouted in awe and then fell into silence as a burst of light signaled that the pelners had exited the atmosphere and were gone.
“That was beautiful,” Martha whispered. The Doctor took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he admitted, tone hushed. “I’m glad you were with me.”
“So am I.” She looked up at him and saw he was giving her that warm look of his that made her feel like the only person in the room. “What happens now?”
“Well…” The Doctor glanced back at Elgaba who looked a little shell-shocked. “The High Consulate has to tell her people what’s happened. Then get all the currency business squared away.”
“Will she be all right?”
The Doctor nodded. “Yeah, she’ll be fine. Or she will be once we get her home.” They dropped the doors and went to their friend’s side, wrapping their arms around her shoulders and waist respectively and gently guided her out of the bank.
< Chapter Eight : Chapter Ten >
Title: Chapter Nine (9/10)
Author: toxic_corn
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Martha/Nine
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, not me.
Spoilers: For the first series up to "Boom Town" and the third series up to "Family of Blood."
Summary: A bit of a time crash and the Doctor finds himself with a new companion.
Notes: As requested by nutmeg610 for Christmas.
Check out the Round-Up Post for earlier chapters.
Chapter Nine
“What, do you suddenly need to make a withdrawal?” Martha demanded as they got into Elgaba’s hover limo. “Pop or opera?”
“They’re both fantastic depending on the moment,” the Doctor said lightly. “But no, I’m not making any withdrawals.”
Elgaba finished giving her driver directions and turned to face the Doctor, looking confused. “Then why are we going to the bank, Doctor? What do you expect to find there?”
“The pelners,” the Doctor said. He stared back at the women’s shocked expressions, nonplussed. “They live off song, you know.”
“They… no, they only need water.” Elgaba shook her head. “I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Doctor.”
“Am I? You said Easafor was slugging until you sang to him. Thank about it: how many of your mates sing to their pelners?”
“Well,” Elgaba said slowly, thinking. “All of them. But how does that-”
“Oh, it’s clever isn’t it? A race of song eaters who need a place to stay settle on a planet of children who revere them. They make their feeding so subtle that no one even realizes what they live off of.” The Doctor shook his head, looking impressed.
Martha glanced at Elgaba and frowned worriedly as the High Consulate’s face fell. Sometimes the Doctor was so excited by his deductions that he didn’t realize right away that some revelations might hurt especially sensitive people. Martha gently took Elgaba’s hand.
“They don’t really loves us?” she asked Martha, voice breaking. “All this time they were just using us?”
Her words pulled the Doctor back into the moment and his expression shifted from contemplating to compassionate. “I’m sorry.”
“Why now?” Elgaba looked lost. “The songs have been in the bank all this time. Why haven’t they gotten to them before now?”
“Because there won’t be songs left soon,” Martha said, gently. “You’re changing your currency.”
“But-! I’ll sing when he wants it! That won’t change.”
“It wouldn’t be enough,” the Doctor said. “they absorb songs during your everyday transactions, from the supply you have in your home. You’d have to sing several times a day to supply what he needs.”
“I’ll do it!”
The Doctor smiled kindly. “You have a planet to run, High Consulate.”
Elgaba sniffled. “So are they just going to eat and eat all that’s in the bank until there’s nothing left?”
“No.” The Doctor looked serious and Martha had a bad feeling. “They’re gathering just enough to make a long journey.”
The limo had to progress carefully as they approached the bank because so many people were in the streets, staring at something that Martha couldn’t quite make out. The sound of everyone speaking at once was almost as loud as the protest on Raxacoricofallapatorius.
“The High Consulate’s here!” a voice rang out above the others and the crowd started to part to let the limo through. Everyone turned to gape at them and Martha felt so self conscious that she was glad that the windows were tinted.
However, they had to get out and people at the back of the crowd turned to watch this new development.
“What’s happening?” Elgaba asked a man in a workman’s jumpsuit.
“It’s the pelners,” the man said. “They’ve all gathered or somethin’.”
“Excuse us,” the Doctor said loudly and started making his way through the crowd. He grabbed Martha’s hand. “Take hold of Elgaba, I’ll get us through to the front.” Martha flailed her arm out and hooked the High Consulate as the Doctor maneuvered his way through the gathered people. At the front of the crowd stood some nervous policemen keeping the crowd away from the bank. “Please, just move on. There’s nothing to see here.”
“Those pelners better not touch my songs!” a belligerent man was bellowing. “I’m saving up for a holiday!”
“There’s nothing we can do sir, we-” one of the officers stopped when he saw the High Consulate and looked relieved. “Look, the High Consulate’s here. She’ll sort everything out.”
The man looked a little less angry as Elgaba nodded to him and with that, the officer held the door open and they ducked inside. All the employees had long since vacated the building and Martha was reminded of stories she’d heard about the Marie Celeste. Bank slips half filled out lay discarded on counters next to pens, chairs were pushed back from desks with cups of coffee still steaming, and a television overhead still cheerfully advertised a brand of children’s cereal.
Then she saw the pelners. They were gathered in a large circle in the waiting area, the ropes keeping everyone in a queue pushed carefully against the counter so it was out of the way. The pelners were every color imaginable, no two the same shade. They held their wings out, ruffling their feathers and humming quietly, their eyes closed. In the center stood Elgaba’s pelner, Easafor.
“Easafor!” Elgaba called and the Doctor gritted his teeth, grabbing Martha’s arm and taking a step back.
The pelners’ eyes opened and Easafor lifted his dog-like muzzle in the air then lowered his head in a respectable bow. “Queen Elgaba,” he greeted her in a startlingly deep voice. He sounded a bit like James Earl Jones and Martha almost laughed at the incongruity.
“Y-you can talk?” Elgaba folded her hands in front of her, not knowing what else to do.
“I can.” Easafor’s eyes seemed to be smiling. “Forgive us for taking from this bank. We just need enough to get us across the galaxy.”
Elgaba shook her head. “Oh, no!” She came closer and lowered herself to her knees. “Please don’t do this. I’ll reverse the decision and we’ll keep trading by songs. I honestly had no idea this is what you ate, or else I never would’ve suggested we switch.”
“There’s no turning back now,” Easafor said. “Everyone liked the idea. Your planet needs to thrive and to do this your reach must expand. You have been isolated for long enough.” His eyes smiled again. “If you hadn’t thought of it, someone else would have.”
“But…” Elgaba held her arms out. “I don’t know what to do without you.”
The pelners shuffled aside and Easafor came forward, allowing her to gather him up into her arms and cuddle him one last time.
“You’ll do wonderfully, darling. You’re the best Epsilonian I’ve ever had the pleasure of living with. You’re wise and capable and I know there are only good things ahead for you.” He nuzzled Elgaba with his wet doggy nose and licked at a tear that rolled down her cheek.
After another minute, Elgaba finally set him back down and stood up, wiping her eyes. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to everyone else?”
“We have intentions to write,” Easafor said. “Before you came here, that was the plan. We had sneaked in here but if it were not for Abfu-” he leveled a hard stare at an orange pelner who hung his head in shame, “and his loud sneezing, we would have remained unnoticed.” His expression softened. “I’m glad I got to see your face one last time, Elgaba. I shall miss you.”
“I miss you already,” Elgaba confessed, pressing her hands to her heart.
Easafor fluttered his wings and the humming from all the pelners intensified. “We’re ready to go. Would someone get the door for us?”
The Doctor and Martha held the doors open wide and the pelners started flapping their wings, their humming growing even louder. Then, with a colorful blur, they swooped through the door and outside, straight up into the sky. The crowd shouted in awe and then fell into silence as a burst of light signaled that the pelners had exited the atmosphere and were gone.
“That was beautiful,” Martha whispered. The Doctor took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he admitted, tone hushed. “I’m glad you were with me.”
“So am I.” She looked up at him and saw he was giving her that warm look of his that made her feel like the only person in the room. “What happens now?”
“Well…” The Doctor glanced back at Elgaba who looked a little shell-shocked. “The High Consulate has to tell her people what’s happened. Then get all the currency business squared away.”
“Will she be all right?”
The Doctor nodded. “Yeah, she’ll be fine. Or she will be once we get her home.” They dropped the doors and went to their friend’s side, wrapping their arms around her shoulders and waist respectively and gently guided her out of the bank.
< Chapter Eight : Chapter Ten >
