The Blood Death

[The 11th Doctor]

UNIT Headquarters, The Valiant II, Sub-section 45, Area F-8

The Valiant II, the pride of the now-crippled British Empire. Built after Valiant fell, destroyed by Dalek forces, Valiant II was a marvel of British technology. Valiant II hovered somewhere over Japan. Delta 5 looked down over Japan. He could see the ruins of Tokyo, which was just a pile of smoldering ashes now.

He looked down at the pile of smoldering ashes that had been Tokyo. He clenched his fist, then turned away. Suddenly, one of his men ran up.

"Sir...It's The Doctor. He's here.

[Archetype2]

Emerald eyes scanned the decaying streets with their dying or dead people strewn around, the former moaning in pain and begging for help as she passed. The dead did not complain.

Long red hair tied up, tight white business like attire covered her body from her shoulders to mid legs leaving the rest exposed, white high heels hit pavement as she moved. She was leaving the hyper-controlled streets near Skaro Industries where she worked for the lawless back streets the city had given up to the Plague and those who would not conform. Where her Mum lived, of course. She had only lived away from her mother for three months, but she found herself more and more horrified by the contrast with each visit. Most times she walked these streets laden with water, food and bandages to pass out along the way, but today she was late. Of all days, she was late.

This was Tess, a women who looked around twenty-seven but was thirteen in age. She was dressed oddly for this kind of situation but it wasn't like this would stop her from her job, after all the job she did aside from infiltrating Skaro Industries, was to help save the world, how could that be done if they kept you late for a missing file? A file Sarah Jane had needed badly.

She'd run then, out of the room, the building...the whole town and back home to London to where Sarah Jane was. Where, nine months ago they'd had to drag Mr.Smith in pieces one box load at a time where she had reassembled him, Sarah Jane holding the light, handing her tools, and bringing her sandwiches as the hours ran long. She remembered with heartbreaking fondness the day Luke had spent with her and how they'd done the work of three days in a single afternoon. Their Mum had made them a dinner that had left them groaning in their seats. They'd laughed and talked half the night. Luke had been gone in the morning. He had a habit of doing that. Doctor Luke Smith. Out saving the world.

The Daleks had done this, they'd messed horrifically with the world, and the Doctor who she had heard so much about was nowhere to be seen.

She reached their new home having narrowly avoided the infected. She stood panting in the dark doorway a moment, looking out at the world. This reminded her of a video game she'd played a few years before, one about an Apocalypse, this was very much the end of everything.
The small, three room space was empty when she let herself in to that protected cellar space that her Mum had somehow made cozy.

"Mr.Smith, I need you." Tess scooped a chair up out of Mr.Smith's way as the computer opened with it's usual display.
She frowned and sat down she saw the Sonic Lipstick up on the ledge of the scream and a letter propped there as well. Her full name in her Mum's handwriting.
"How can I be of assistance, Lutessa?"
"Where is my Mum."
"Sarah Jane has gone to the world transmission plant."
"She was supposed to wait for me."
"I have been tracking her, would you like to see it?"
"Yes."

The familiar map of that area came up on his screen, the life sign detector showing a single green light for the level Sarah Jane is on, only two other life signs in the building. One small enough to be a cat, the other perhaps an unlucky security guard.

"Mr.Smith, did you ever get a confirmation back on the trk-ipp interface levels?" She asked almost breathless as she watched that little green light first move, then go still inside the shadowy web of the building plans around it, right in the spot where her Mum could jack in.
"No Lutessa. We did not."
"Mr.Smith, play wide spectrum audio off all transmitting." Her heart pounded. She was supposed to be there. Her Mum had left without her. But what if she needed help? Her Mum was all brain and no brawn these days. So fragile.

Mr.Smith turned on a mixed audio channel that was everything from cries to help to Plague Rap. This went on for exactly 4.36 minutes. Then, they were all silenced and her Mum's voice replaced them.

"Doctor, Earth needs you."

And she knew instantly something was wrong. What about the 20 minute timer? Someone would hear and come find her Mum before she could escape. Tess was already on her feet when a distant explosion rocked her world, and the tracker on Mr.Smith's screen was suddenly nothing but a blast of white.

This meant one single, impossible thing....Sarah Jane Smith....her mother was dead!

Hands flying to her cover her mouth, the women stood there, silent as silent tears built up in her eyes and cascaded down her face.

[Blue]

If the Djinn noticed the subtle, passive-aggressive hints that his owner was dealing out to him, he didn’t show it. His face remained blank, with the smile still on his face. “Finally,” his master muttered, and Blue nodded in concurrence. Who was he to sleep? Honestly, Blue should know better than to do something normal by now.

The Dark Lord appeared to mull over his answer. Blue waited patiently, his curiosity growing even deeper. He’d never met the Doctor – but he’d heard of him. His owner hadn’t been very nice in his words about the Time Lord. “No one you should know,” the Dark Lord said bluntly. Blue frowned, and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Of course I don’t know her. That’s why I asked you who she was,” the Djinn pointed out, honestly confused by the man’s words.

“Theoretically, can you make it so that she doesn’t recognize me?”

Blue tilted his head and nodded. “Maybe. It depends on how strong her feelings are towards you,” he answered. He looked down at his feet. “But I can’t hide you from someone I don’t know.”

[The Second Doctor]

“Of course I don’t know her. That’s why I asked you who she was,"

The Dark Lord sighed.
"If I threw out a name you would ask more but if you must know," he paused and looked at the Djinn, "That is Sarah Jane Smith."

He took a step towards Blue.
"One of the biggest reminder of how much of a failure I am." he explained, frowning.

“Maybe. It depends on how strong her feelings are towards you,” Blue answered. He looked down at his feet. “But I can’t hide you from someone I don’t know.”

Another step.
"Fine, she's one of the Doctor's companions, and practically an authority on aliens, having a lot of expierience in the matter."

The Timelord produced two inhaler-like objects from a drawer in the Tardis console. He tossed one to Blue.
"That," he explained, "Is to keep you immune to the plague if you inhale it every ten minutes. Assuming you even need the protection."

[Blue]

“If I threw out a name you would ask me more,” Alec pointed out. Blue thought about his for a moment, deciding that the man was, for once, right on the money. Who said curiosity was a bad thing? “If you must know, that is Sarah Jane Smith.” Blue’s eyebrows rose, trying to place a face to the name. It had seemed like an important name, but he had no recollection of his master mentioning it before. “One of the biggest reminders of how much of a failure I am,” he explained, taking a step towards Blue.

The Djinn stayed in place, refusing his initial instincts to flutter for cover from the volatile Time Lord. “You haven’t given me any reason to believe you’re a failure,” Blue said, tilting his head, studying his master carefully. “I respect you,” he told the man sincerely. Maybe they didn’t get along like friends, but there wasn’t a lack of respect coming from Blue’s part.

“She’s one of the Doctor’s companions, and practically an authority on aliens, having a lot of experience in the matter,” Alec continued, taking another step closer. Blue was very aware of the closing distance, but he only appeared mildly distressed by this fact. He even took a step towards Alec, mimicking the Time Lord’s actions from nervousness.

He caught the inhaler deftly, sticking it into one of his pockets. Plague? He had lived through the Black Death; one of his own masters had died from the illness, Blue unable to heal them. “Thank you,” he said warmly. “I am very glad you care enough about my health to give me this.”

He ignored the heavy doubt that was insisting it was just because Alec didn’t want his magical pet to die.

[The Second Doctor]

“You haven’t given me any reason to believe you’re a failure,” Blue said, tilting his head.

"Okay, one of my failures," he conceded, "Anyhow she is a reminder of one of my failures. Neverless, if Sarah is in trouble, something must be wrong. So we're going to go to her house and investigate." he added.

Alec landed the Tardis safely on a roof. He opened up a monitor screen and saw the outside. It was horrible, the dead and dying littering the streets. His heart froze as he saw someone he knew, and it showed on his face. He recovered and turned around to look at Blue.

Blue caught the inhaler, sticking it into one of his pockets. “Thank you,” he said warmly. “I am very glad you care enough about my health to give me this.”

Alec shrugged, a bored expression on his face.
"You have served me very well." he explained simply.

[Blue]

“If Sarah is in trouble, something must be wrong. So we’re going to go to her house and investigate,” his master said. Blue decided not to annoy the man with further questions. It’d been a blessing enough to pry this much from the obstinate man. This Sarah seemed like an important person, especially if she was a reminder of one of his failures. He fiddled with the stray ends on his coat sleeve, trying to distract his curious mind away from the tantalizing lack of information he possessed.

Dark brown eyes lifted warily towards the monitor, and the Djinn cringed at the sight of… death. He looked back quickly, memories flashing back towards the plague he’d already been forced to live through. The memories of his former master contracting the illness – spreading it to his wife and his children – and, more specifically, the memories of watching them die. Blue pushed back down the memories, feeling a bit like a mother hen wanting to protect her eggs.

His new master wouldn’t die the same death, even if he had to break the cardinal rules of his powers.

Something similar was evident in Alec’s face as his eyes focused on one body. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice bland despite its sincerity. Alec seemed not to like his emotions, so Blue was unsure of how he should comfort the Time Lord, or even if he should. But just like that, Alec was back to normal and Blue felt silly for the distressed emotional state he was in.

“You have served me very well.”

Blue grinned genuinely, deciding this was about as close to a compliment he’d get. “Thank you. I hope I continue to serve you well,” he said. “You have been a kind owner,” – one of the nicest he’d encountered, if that told you about his track record. Deciding that this sounded eerily like they were saying goodbye, he decided to change the topic quickly.

“Should we go out now?” Blue asked, walking towards the TARDIS doors.

[The Master]

"Lets un-rescue him, Doctor" She said, glaring at the man who could only be a bloody murderer.

"Un-rescue me?" Saflan echoed, acting shocked. "Now that hurts, Red. That hurts me right here." He thumped himself on the chest, right over where his heart had once been.

And then he noticed the way she was looking at the blood on his hands. And the blood spattered on his jacked. And jeans. And boots. And he put two and two together. "No worries about that, though. I'm immune. We've had the cure for this for centuries, where I come from. An' it's purely blood-borne, so if I can just trouble the two of you for a quick rinse and disinfect, we can take care of any worries your lovely lady might have on the subject."

He gave the Doctor a conspiratorial wink. "And then we can talk about how we can pool our resources against 'Skaro Industries'. I assume that's what Ka Faraq Gatri is here for, after all? Eh? Am I right? 'Course I'm right." He nudged the Doctor with his elbow, sending him staggering. Just a little.

[The Second Doctor]

"I'm sorry," Blue said.

"Don't be," the Timelord rasped quietly.
His eyes went back to the scanners, picking up everything that went by. He didn't really hear what the Djinn was saying in his focus to find anything suspicious.

“Thank you. I hope I continue to serve you well,” Blue said. “You have been a kind owner,”

"Bingo," he said.
The screen caught a picture of a redhead, very professional looking, very out of place in this time and era. He scanned her. She was an archetype. The Dark Lord, because of the stalker he had always been, knew that Sarah Jane had experience with archetypes. His money was that she was headed for Smith's house.

"Come on Blue, we have work to do." he said, opening the door.

[Blue]

“Don’t be,” Alec told him.

“Yes, sir,” he said eventually, biting his lip sheepishly. He turned into a Great Dane, sitting down next to him. His master ignored his compliment – well, what else was new? – and instead focused on a girl. How very typical. The dog rose to his feet obediently, following Alec to the doors of the TARDIS. He walked out of the machine, frowning.

The bodies were scattered around him. He fought the nausea. His heightened sense of smell was his downfall in this situation. He swallowed forcefully, trying not to let his master see how disturbed the Djinn was. (Because he’d seen this before and the death never smelled better and he was terrified and he didn’t want Alec to die yet and he sincerely hoped Time Lords were immune and he could smell the pain).

Blue let out a soft whine. “Where are we going?” he asked, raising brown eyes to his master’s.

[Archetype2]

There was a way to keep from catching the Blood Plague. All you had to do was sell your soul to Skaro Industries. And many did, buying the inhalers by the dozens that kept one immune for ten minutes each puff. Everyone who was anyone was using them any time they had to travel the streets or go anywhere public outside the Skaro compound or somewhere equally swank. The medicine was called ClearMist.

To buy them, by the carton, all one had to have was currant, government issued identification. To have currant government issued identification, all one had to do was follow all the laws and conform. Laws that had been warped and codified since the coming of the 'cure' that was no cure at all. As far as she could tell, all the new laws were designed to keep people from thinking. From creating. From innovating. Collaborating. By her calculations, humanity was not only at a complete stop, it was starting to slid backward both in technology and the Humanities. Oddly enough, North Korea was just about the only place on Earth that was getting along alright. The population there was already familiar with mass conformity in someone else's image. She was under the impression that China was doing well also, being masters of reproduction. They had their own supplies of ClearMist knock offs.

There was better protection from the Plague. Lutessa had discovered its existence and location just three days ago. . ClearMist that lasted for weeks, not minutes. Sarah Jane had not let her go after it alone, calling it a suicide mission. Well, look who was talking, she thought with an agonized pang.


This is how she found herself suspended almost 100 feet up, dangling in her harness, crying in the dark. The sound of the surf below covered the soft sounds that she made. She had always known Sarah Jane would leave her eventually, but it didn't make it hurt less. Crying muscles were isometric inverts of climbing muscles. Right now her grief was a raw wound and apparently she was just going to have to hang here for a moment. Sarah Jane was gone, everything she knew to abide by had been torn asunder by the Daleks...nothing was right and hadn't been for some time.

Three minutes later she was on the move again, foot locking her way up the last 30 feet to the ledge. Up and up she climbed, carefully making sure to avoid any possible detection...not that there was any to avoid, it was just a house after all, a rather large house the held informaion she wanted....needed.

Reaching the top of the cliff to the house, Tess stood on the narrow rock shelf there, far above where any surf spray might reach, yet still it was slick. She took the Sonic from her pocket and looked at it in her hand. It seemed heavier now that Sarah Jane was gone, as if it's responsibility held a tangible weight in the world. Somehow she almost expected it to go the way her Mum had, but here it still was. Hers now. So be it. She popped off the cap and made quick work of both the alarm and the lock, its hum a wealth of information and feedback in her hands.

The redhead slipped in and down the floor and scanned the room.

[The Second Doctor]

Alec dug his hands into his coat as they walked through the streets. The Timelord was taking his time, hat pulled down so no one could see his face.
“Where are we going?” he heard Blue say, the Djinn whining a little bit.

"You might want to be human again. Just a suggestion. I'm not sure what terrain we'll have to go through." he answered back, kicking someone dying out of his way. When they reached a fork in the road, he brough up his Sonic and scanned the road. Pointing to the left, he said,
"She went this way, but apparently changed directions. It will shorter to go this way." he pointed to the right.

Alec took a puff of ClearMist, coughing a little bit. It was a long and difficult procedure, getting these inhaler devices. He had bought them on the Internet after the plague ended. Before he could say "Looks Legit" he had a carton.

It was a strange road, following the Archetype. Strange things, housed, and people. He even saw some aliens, under the thin guise of humanity. But if one were to look close enough, that strang man did indeed have two heads, not one. And that child? Watch out for the extra eye.

He almost walked into it. An enormous cliff, and she was almost at the top.
"Uh, Blue, I wish for mountain climbing equipment.

[Blue]

“You might want to be human again. Just a suggestion. I’m not sure what terrain we’ll have to go through,” his master said, adorably ignorant of the fact that with a Djinn, he wouldn’t have to worry about the terrain. Blue remained obedient, deciding not to point this out until his master was going to try and do something stupid. And thus, he was human, feeling slightly better now that he was taller than the dead masses littering the ground. He felt slightly revolted as his master kicked someone out of his way. Blue covered his mouth, hoping that Alec hadn’t heard the muffled sob he’d let out. Every fibre of his being called out to stop and comfort the person, but his master kept walking and he followed, his ‘heart’ hurting.

“She went this way, but apparently changed directions. It will be shorter to go this way,” his owner said, pointing towards the right.

Blue nodded, walking alongside his master. “All right,” he said, as nonchalantly as he could. He was trying to focus his attention on anything besides the dead and the dying. As a Djinn, he was almost positive that he couldn’t catch physical diseases – since he was only energy underneath, no blood or arteries or bones – but he couldn’t cure them either. If the Djinn were truly the magical species they were known as (but really it was all manipulating what was around them) perhaps he could. Maybe they could have saved everyone and stopped the death and the pain and the worry and the loss – but he couldn’t, not really.

He pulled out the ClearMist that Alec had given him and put it in his owner’s pocket. “You need it more than I do,” he muttered, crossing his arms sheepishly. “A-after we’re done here, do you think we—” he cut himself off, looking up the cliff that his owner was. The young girl quickly and deftly climbed to the top.

“Uh, Blue,” his master began, and Blue looked over obediently, “I wish for mountain climbing equipment.”

Blue frowned, and looked at the cliff. He cautiously summoned the mountain climbing gear, putting it to rest at Alec’s feet. “Sir,” he said, taking hold of Alec’s hand cautiously, “I do know of a quicker way, if you’ll forgive me,” he said. And then he was a bright ball of energy, covering Alec and lifting him, taking him quickly to the top of the cliff. The young girl seemed to already be inside of the house.

He drifted away from Alec, gathering back together to form a human. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to get hurt climbing,” he apologized, rubbing his elbow.[/font]

[The Second Doctor]

“I do know of a quicker way, if you’ll forgive me,”

"Of course," he said darkly, though one couldn't be sure what he said it to.

Alec's eyes bugged out as he was surrounded in light and whisked to the top of the cliff. His disappointment was evident when he saw the Archetype wasn't there.
"Why can't anything go right, darn it." he said.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want you to get hurt climbing,” he apologized.

"Its quite alright, that worked fine. Now, to get in there, she probably undid the alarm system and lock, but I'll need the amplifier extrapolator to boost the signal and take out the bits and pieces of security. Could you teleport it here?" he asked.

[Amy Pond]

Amy watched their new arrival with a close eye from several feet away from him. He was gross - covered in blood and who knew what else... And yet, here he was, trying to charm the both of them into not throwing him out of the TARDIS and to the non-existant mercies of the Dalek that had been pursuing him.

He had spouted off something about working together, and he had given the Doctor what looked like, perhaps, a jovial nudge. Amy kind of furrowed her brow and glared at him in confusion, wondering if the Doctor knew this man. He must, or so it seemed...

Amy looked to her Doctor and sighed. "He has a point: he's filthy an' could use a bath, an' if we're gonna be dealin' with Daleks here, we're gonna need all tha help we can get." She hated to say it, but it was true.

Amy turned to look at the newcomer and asked, "So, who are ye?" Though, she still remained at a bit of a distance from him. Amy wasn't so sure it was the blood and filth all over him that was putting her off more, or his demeanor.