Chapter 15:

Augusta's POV

One month later, still no word from them, or from man that attacked me. My shoulder wound healed easily, and the Doctor, Rose, and I got very close. Saving planets seemed like a daily thing now. I was working on my reading as well, I even read my first book! I was so -- what did the Doctor say it was called? -- proud? Yeah, proud! It was about green eggs -- which, I didn't even know was possible to cook -- and some type of meat. 

Anyways, I also worked on some inventions, and almost blew up my room with one, so the Doctor took my tool belt for a week because of it. 

No episodes that I remembered has passed so far, since the last one we did was the one with Rose's dad. 

Also, my nightmares weren't as often as they usually were, and when I did have them, I would go to the Doctor's room, and sleep with him. I don't really know how he kept the nightmares away like that. It's probably a time lord thing, and I don't question it. If it keeps the nightmares away, then it's fine by me.

Everything's been pretty fine, so far. At least, up until now.

I was in my room, tinkering with one of my devices, when someone knocked on the door. "It's open," I called, not really wanting to get up from my spot. I saw the door slide open to reveal the Doctor, smiling at me.

"Hey there," he grinned at me, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Nothing much, just messing with stuff," I admitted. The Doctor didn't usually come in my room, so this was new. "Did you need something...?"

"No, no. I just wanted to talk," he shrugged. "Can I sit?" He pointed to my hammock.

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, and pulled up my spiny, comfy chair on wheels, and rolled over to him. "What did you want to talk about?"

He leaned forward, folding his hands on his knees. "Tell me about your parents," he said. 

I blinked, "My parents?"

"Yeah, your parents. Not the foster parents, your real ones."

"Oh. Um... I didn't know them... I never really knew them, actually..." I frowned remembering that we were created, not born. Apparently, we were grown out of plastic circles dishes. I don't really know how that worked, but somehow, that made me. I always thought that all people were... Created like that. "Why do you want to know about my parents?" 

He leaned back, "I was just wondering... I have a time machine, and you've never met your parents. Wouldn't you like to see them?"

"No," I said instantly. He looked at me, "I've never had a mom or dad before now and I'm fine. Why would I need one?" Besides, I'm not exactly from this universe, so it would be pretty impossible to find them anyway.

He frowned, as if he didn't expect this kind of reaction, "Aren't you curious to find out who they are?"

"No," I shook my head. "I don't need them, so why would I want see them?"

"Don't think like that," he scolded lightly. "Everyone needs a mum. Even I had a mum at one point."

"I still don't want to see mine's," I insisted, "Well, more like I... Can't..."

He looked at me, "It doesn't matter if they're dead. Time machine, remember?"

I shook my head, "I still can't do that. It's complicated Doctor, I'm sorry." 

"Don't you want a family?" He asked. 

I shrugged, "What do families do?" 

"They're domestic. They laugh together and talk together. They love each other and sometimes get into fights, but it all clears up later."

I laughed, "Then I definitely don't need that!" I grinned lopsidedly at the Doctor, "You, Rose, and I already do that don't we? We laugh, talk, and love each other right? Why do I need a mom and dad if I have you two?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah... But, don't you want someone to... Be a mum to you?"

"What does 'being a mom' even mean?"

"They... You know... Tuck you in bed, read you stories... Make you lunch, those kind of domestic things."

I frowned, now confused, "You and Rose already do that."

"Well, yeah, but don't you want a mum to do it too?"

"You mean... You want me to want another person that acts like you and Rose?" He nodded, "I don't need them. I've got you and Rose, and I don't need to replace you two with a mom. You and Rose are the best moms I could possibly ask for!" I gave him a smile, and he chuckled. 

"Okay, I give up kiddo," he sighed, messed up my hair again. "Get dressed, we're going out soon."

I nodded, "Okay!" And with that, he left, so I got into the bathroom and took a quick shower. 

Twenty minutes later, I was walking down the hall to the Console room when suddenly, everything shuddered. I fell near the wall, holding on as I felt the TARDIS fly through time and space.

I rushed down the hall, hearing the Doctor's voice in the console room. "... Red's camp," he said. "Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing."

I stumbled into the room just the Doctor moved to the console, typing something. "It's got a very basic flight computer -- I've hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go." He turned to me and grinned, "'Ello there, Auggie!" 

"Hey," I waved, leaning against the bar. 

"And how safe is it?" Rose asked.

"Totally," he assured. A second later, part of the console exploded and I jumped, "Okay, reasonably," he corrected. "Should have said reasonably there."

I frowned and turned to Rose, "What is he doing?" I asked as he moved around the TARDIS. This sounds familiar, it must be the 'Empty Child' episode! My favorite episode!!

"Dunno," she shrugged. "Apparently, it's mauve so it must be important." Her voice held a sarcastic tone to it, but I frowned. 

"What's mauve?"

"Color," she answered. "Kind of a light purple."

I nodded as the Doctor began to shout again. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" He shouted, "It's jumping time tracks -- getting away from us."

"What exactly is this thing?" Rose asked.

"No idea," he answered.

"Then, why are we chasing it?"

"It's mauve and dangerous," he said. "And about 30 seconds from the centre of London."

"Oh, great," I grinned, "We get to go to London again!" A few seconds later, we had landed, and I stood up, and bounced over to the door.

"Do you know how long we can knock around space without having to bump into Earth?" He asked us as Rose and I stood outside. 

"Five days?" Rose guessed with a snicker, "Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

"Of all the species in all the universe and it has to come out of a cow," he shook his head with a laugh.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. I quickly turned there, but saw nothing, I frowned but turned back to the Doctor. "Must have come down somewhere quite close," the Doctor said as we began to walk. "Within a mile, anyway. And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month!?" Rose exclaimed, "We were right behind it!"

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place," the Doctor explained with a huff. "We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you wanna drive?"

"Ooh! Can I drive?" I asked, and he messed up my hair. 

"We'll talk about it," he assured.

"Yeah... how much is 'a little'?" Rose asked, with a slight frown.

"A bit," he said.

"Is that exactly a bit?" Rose rose and eyebrow.

"Ish," he added.

"What's the plan, then?" Rose asked, "Are you gonna do a scan for alien tech or something?"

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm gonna ask," he flashed his physic paper, and I frowned. 

"It's blank," I said, looking at it. There were supposed to be writing on it, but it's blank. What...?

"What are you talking about? It says," she leaned in. "Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids."

"Physic paper tell you--"

"Whatever you want it to," she interrupted. "I remember."

"But its blank," I frowned, squinting my eyes at it. What's going on? I know its supposed to say something, but it says nothing... 

He looked at my frustrated face and put it away, "It's probably just... Messing up a bit," he shrugged. 

"Not very Spock, is it?" Rose teased, crossing her arms, "Just asking?"

The Doctor walked over to a metal door, examining the lock, "Door -- music -- people," he said. "What d'you think?"

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech," she suggested.  He took out his screwdriver and sonicked the lock. "Gimme some Spock! For once, would it kill ya?"

He rolled his eyes, "Are you sure about that t-shirt?" He asked pointedly. I glance at her, she's wearing the red, white, and blue pattern tea-shirt. It kind of looks like small triangles.

"Too early to say," she shrugged. "I'm taking it out for a spin."

Suddenly a chill goes through the air, and I feel another person. "Mummy...?" A child-like, eerie voice says making me turn around. "Muuu-mmy?"

"Come on if you're coming," the Doctor said, opening the lock. "Won't take a minute." The Doctor strolls inside, and I reluctantly follow.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
The room is full of people laughing and so singing and talking and dancing. My eyes widened at the amount of people, but even more by the sound. It's very loud, and kind of hurts my ears. 

Oblivious to my slightly pained expression, the Doctor goes into the crowd listening to the british lady sing. "For nobody else gave me the thrill," she sang. "When I have found I love you still, it had to be you, wonderful you..." 

This continued in for a few minutes, and I was confused about what she was singing about. I knew she had said 'love' a few times, but I didn't know that people would sing about love. 

I looked over to the Doctor, and gently pulled on his arm and he looked down at me. "Why does she keep saying love? Who is she saying that to?" I asked. 

He smiled at me, "Sometimes, people sing about how much, or how little, they love a person."

I frowned, "People sing about not loving someone?" 

He gave me a small nod, "Yeah, it's a human thing." Before I could answer, the singer finished and the Doctor applauded her, then ran up, taking the microphone. "Excuse me, excuse me!" He said into the microphone, making it ring for a few seconds and I covered my ears. 

"Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick, eh... hello!" He waved cheerfully, and the room, obediently, falls silent, so he continues. "Eh... might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?"

The room is dead silent, you could hear a pin drop. Then, they break out into laughter, and I jumped, looking around.  Why were they laughing? For my favorite Doctor Who episode, I'm beginning to forget a few bits of it.

The Doctor seems just as confused as I am, "Sorry, have I said something funny?" The crowd still laughs, "It's just, there's this thing I need to find. Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago."

Suddenly, there are loud sirens and I visibly flinch, covering my ears. "Would've landed quite near here..." He continued as everyone filed out of the room. He looked at the ceiling, where the sound seemed to be coming from. "With a very loud..." His eyes trailed behind me. I looked to see a red poster planted on the wall. "... Bang..." He sighed, as if he were sad and I walk over to the poster, reading it. Well, at least trying to.

"H-Hill... Thre... Mill, no will... S-se... Ser-rend... No... M... Wa-war-ming..." I frowned at my result. "Hill-ter will send no warming?" 

The Doctor grabbed my shoulder, "It's nothing, Auggie," he mumbled, "Forget you saw it."

"What does that mean? What's Hill-ter?"

"A bad, bad man," he mumbled.

"Oh... Why did it say 'warming'?" I asked, "What warm--" I paused. "Warning. Hill-ter will send no warning!"

"Auggie, its nothing," he assured, a bit of a firmness shown in her voice, but I didn't buy it.

"What warning? What did Hill-ter do? Is-Is someone going to get--"

"Augusta!" He shouted, his cold blue eyes set in a strict glare, and made me shrink back. "Stop."

Did I make him mad? Usually when I asked questions, he answered them. Was I being annoying? "I-I'm sorry," I murmured softly, definitely not wanting him to be mad at me.

He sighed and pulled me close as we walked. I felt him kiss(as he called it) the top of my head, "It's okay. You didn't know any better," he said.

I gave him soft nod and we made it outside the the alley. "Rose!" The Doctor shouted as we walked out, but the blonde was nowhere in sight. He and I jogged around the corner where the TARDIS was, and found nobody. Instead, there was a small black figure on top of a trashcan. 

He sighed and looked at it, "You know... one day. Just one day, maybe... I'm gonna meet someone who gets the whole 'don't wander off' thing."

I walked over wearily, "What is that?" I murmured. 

"Hm? It's a cat. Never seen a cat before?" I shook my head.

"I use to see these things outside, but I was never allowed to ask about them," I explained. 

He smiled at me, and pet it. It made a weird humming sound, moving into his hand. "What? How did you do that?" I asked. "Is there a button...?"

He laughed, "It's a cat. You've just gotta..." He moved his hand over and rubbed its head. "... Go with it..."

I nodded and went to go touch the cat-thing, but it hissed at me and jumped away. I frowned, a bit hurt, but before I could respond, the TARDIS began to ring. 

The Doctor looked at it, eyebrows furrowed and a frown on his face, "How can you be ringing? What's that about? Ringing?" He sonicked it, "What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?"

"Answer it?" I suggested, going over to touch it. Maybe I could trace the metal back and-- "Ow!" I shouted, holding my hand. The phone shocked me! 

"Don't answer it," A new voice said from around the corner. I turned around to see a girl, Nancy, watching us warily. "It's not for you."

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked, taking the phone. 

"'Cos I do," she rolled her eyes. "And I'm tellin' ya - don't answer it."

"Well, if you know so much, tell me this -- how can it be ringing?" He demanded turning back to the phone, "It's not even a real phone. It's not CONNECTED, it's not--" 

He turned back and Nancy had fled down the alley and away from sight. He turned to me and I shrugged. He hesitantly picked up the phone. "Hello?" He called, I hear cracking on the other end. "This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mummy?" A childish voice says from the other line, the same one from earlier. 

"Who is this?" The Doctor demanded, "Who is this speaking?"

"Are you my mummy?" The child asked.

"Who is this?" The Doctor growled.

"Mummy?"

"How did you ring here?" He exclaimed, "This isn't a real phone, it's not wired up to anything, it's--"

"Mummy?" With that, the line goes silent, leaving us staring at the phone. The Doctor looked at me, who was frowning and holding my hand. 

"It shocked me," I murmured. They're no way it could've shocked me, even if the little boy was powering it, that had to be at least 10 or so volts. And even then, he could only use it to communicate, plus there was no way that he could've put electricity into the wiring and shock me! 

"Let me see," he said. I showed him my burnt glove, which held a small hole that showed my dark skin. It wasn't that bad, but still! I looked at the Doctor, a troubled expression on my face. He frowned as well, and poked his head in the TARDIS door, "Rose? Rose, are you in there?" 

The TARDIS was as empty as we left it, and Rose had been gone by now. Suddenly, there was a loud crashing noise behind us, and I jumped turning around. We exchanged looks and ran in the direction of the noise. 
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
"The planes are coming. Can't you hear them? Into the shelter. None of your nonsense, now move it" A lady yelled as she and two other people ran out of their house and into a box that led underground. The Doctor stood on a box, peering over the gate. "Come on, come on, get in there. Arthur? Arthur! Will you hurry up? Didn't you hear the sirens?"

A short, big man came out of the house, a angry scowl on his face. "Middle of dinner, every night," he complained. "Bloomin' Germans," he glared at the sky, shaking his fist. "Don't you eat?"

What's a ger-main? I thought to myself as the Doctor cracked a smile, "I can hear the planes!" The woman cried.

"Don't you eat?!" He shouted again, walking over to the underground box. 

"Oh, keep your voice down, will ya?" The woman scolded, "There's an air raid!" She pushed the big-stomached man inside the box, "Get in... there's a war on."

"I know there is--" we didn't hear the rest of the sentenced because the door closed and the latch locked. We watched silently as Nancy, the girl from earlier crept into the back door of the house and closed the door.

When the door was closed securely, I turned to the Doctor. "What's a ger-main?"

"'Germany'. It's a country," he answered.

I nodded, "Is that where Hill-ter is from?" 

He froze and looked at me, "How did you know that?"

I frowned, was he mad at me? "Oh, I just, uhm, thought that since you said that Rose is from London one time, 'german' must be a... Um, cou-try? And I know this is London, and the people are hiding from the airplanes... So, I was just guessed..." I rubbed the back of my neck my face feeling warm again and my stomach twisting.

The Doctor smiled at me, "That was clever of you, putting two and two together like that."

I squeezed my cheeks, hoping for them to stop feeling weird, and it didn't work, "Oh, uh, thank you...?"

He gave me a weird look, "Why are you doing that to your cheeks?"

"Oh, my cheeks keep feeling warm. I thought that there was something wrong with them," I shrugged. 

He laughed, "You mean you're blushing?"

I frowned, "'Blushing'?"

"Yeah, it happens when someone feels really happy or even when their embarrassed."

"What's em-em-bar...?" I didn't even try to say the odd word.

He patted me on the head, "Em-bare-assed," he sounded out the word. "It's when you feel really shy."

Suddenly, there's a sharp whistle and I jumped in surprise. I looked around to see a bunch of kids running from the shadows and into the house. 

He grinned at me and began to walk into the house along with the rest of the kids.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
"It's got to be black market," one of the kids say, staring at the giant -- unidentified -- meat. "He couldn't get all this on coupons."

"Ernie -- how many times? We are guests in this house," Nancy scolded. "We will not make comments of that kind. Washing up."

"Oh, Nancy," the boy, Ernie, cried in -- apparently what the Doctor had said was -- embarrassment.

Nancy's eyes skim around the table, finally settling on a small, dark-haired boy. "Haven't seen you at one of these before," she commented.

He motioned to the boy beside him, "He told me about it."

"Sleeping rough?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yes miss."

"All right then," she passed the plate of meat around the table. "One slice each, and I want to see everyone chewing properly."

"Thank ya, miss!" The boy thanked, passing the plate.

"Thanks, miss!"

"Thank you miss!"

"Thanks miss!" The Doctor thanked, giving it to me.

"Thank you -- why do they call her miss?" I asked the Doctor.

"That's what you call a woman who isn't married," he explained and I nodded.

"Thank you, miss!" I passed the plate to the other child, who was staring at me in shock. I frowned, "What? What did I do?"

Then, everyone jumped back, and my shoulders tensed, looking at them carefully. "It's all right!" Nancy cried, "Everybody stay where you are!"

The Doctor looks at one of the kids, who's neat is hanging from his mouth limply. "Good here, innit?" He grinned, but the boy didn't answer, "Who's got the salt?"

"Back in your seats!" Nancy ordered, "He shouldn't be here either."

"So, you lot... what's the story?" He asked casually, helping himself to the red liquid, giving me some as well.

"What d'you mean?" One of the boys asked carefully. 

"You're homeless, right? Living rough?"

"Why d'you wanna know that?" Another demanded, "Are you a copper?"

He scoffed, "Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper gonna do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" Then, everyone laughed, the tension in the air is gone. I sighed and felt the Doctor rubbing circles in my hand to help me calm down.

"I make it 1941," he continued. "You lot shouldn't be in London. You should've been evacuated to the country by now."

"I was evacuated," one of the boys piped. "They sent me to a farm."

"So why'd you come back?" The Doctor asked.

"There was a man there..." He trails off, and I frowned. 

Before I could ask, one of the other kids scoffed, "Yeah, same with Ernie," he said mockingly. "Two homes ago."

"Shut up," he looked away. "It's better on the streets anyway. Better food." He smiled a Nancy appreciatively who smiled back.

"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us!" One of the other kids said.

The Doctor smiled at Nancy, "So, that's what you do is it, Nancy?"

"What is?" She frowned.

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal," he explained. "Still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and -- bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all! As long as the bombs don't get you."

"Something wrong with that?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Wrong with it? It's BRILLIANT," he exclaimed. "I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical."

Everyone, including myself, looked at the Doctor confusedly. Then Nancy glared at him, "Why'd you follow me? What d'you want?"

"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call," he said, crossing his arms. "You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favor," she said seriously. "I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling ya."

"Great, thanks. And I wanna find a blonde in a Union Jack," he said. "I mean a specific one, I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving." Everyone laughs, except for me and Nancy, since I don't really know what he meant by 'craving'. "Anybody seen a girl like that?"

Nancy stood up, and took our plates away, "What've I done wrong?" The Doctor pouted indigently.

"You took two slices," she said, and the children laughed again. "No blondes -- no flags. Anything else before you leave?"

"Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for, would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb," he took a notebook out of his jacket and begins to draw. "Not the usual kind anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Would've just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would've looked something like... This." Nancy looked at the drawing intently, but doesn't say anything.

Then, there is a knock on the window, and the children gasped. "Mummy?" The childish voice, the same one with the phone and the one in the alley says from outside. "Are you in there, mummy?" The Doctor pulled the curtain back, revealing the a child with a bulky mask on his face, knocking on the window. "Mummy?"

"Who was the last one in?" Nancy said urgently, looking around the table.

"Those two," one of them said, pointing to us.

"Nah, he came round the back," she shook her head. "Who came in the front?"

There was a short silence and I notice one of the kids face's go pale. "Me," his voice is no higher than a whisper, but Nancy heard it.

"Did you close the door?" She asked.

"I..."

"Did you close the door?!" She demanded, raising her voice slightly.

"Mummy?" The child says again, going to the door. "Mu-ummy?"

Nancy races to the door and bolts it shut before he could get in. The Doctor and I are standing behind her. I was confused, something was going on, and I didn't remember what. I-I don't know why but, the child, I forget why he was so dangerous. This... This is weird... Why can't I remember...?

"What's this, then?" The Doctor asked, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."

"I suppose you'd know," she rolled her eyes.

"I do actually, yes," he smiled at her.

"It's not exactly a child," she frowned.

"Mum-mmy," the child says, and Nancy runs into the room with the other kids and begins to usher them out.

The Doctor watches for a few seconds, but I stood by the door, watching the child. "Mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"I don't think so," I frowned. "You shocked me. How did you do that...?"

The boy paused for a second, "You-you're not my mummy," I looked at the door, wide-eyed. "You're scary! Mummy! Mummy help!"

I looked back at the Doctor, who's looking at me and the door, and walked over, as the child sticks his hand through the box in the door. "Mummy? Please let me in, the scary person is coming!"

'Scary'? "Please let me in, Mummy."

"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked.

"Please let me in." Suddenly, there is a loud whooshing sound, and a vase crashing against the door, and the child withdrew his hand. I yelped in surprised and ducked down instinctively, waiting for something else to get thrown. 

"You mustn't let him touch ya!" Nancy warned.

"What happens if he touches me?" The Doctor asked, helping me up, rubbing my arm to calm me down. 

"He'll make you like him," Nancy said.

"And what's he like?"

She hesitated and stepped away, "I've gotta go."

"Nancy, what is he like?" He asked again, firmness shown in his voice.

She looked at him, I could see a small bit of fear in her eyes, "He's empty." The phone on the desk rings, and we looked at it. "It's him. He can make phones ring, he can. Just like with that police box you saw."

The Doctor turned to the door, where the shadow of the child was, and picked up the phone. "Are you my mummy?" The child's voice said through the phone. 

Nancy snatched the phone and slammed it back down, but then then the radio turns on. "Mummy? Please let me in, mummy." The Doctor turned the dial on the radio, but then the brown animal with golden circles in its hands springs to life. "Mummy? Muuum-my, muum-my..."

The Doctor picked it up and looked at it. "Stay if you want to," Nancy said and left.

"Mummy, mummy, mummy..." He said through the brown animal-thing. Then he stuck his hand through the small box again. I noticed a small, black scar on the back of it. "Mummy? Let me in please, mummy... Please let me in."

The Doctor knelt in front of the door, a concerned look washed on his face, "Your mummy isn't here."

The boy paused, "Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here. None be here but us chickens," he grinned to himself.

"I'm scared," the boy said. "Is the scary-thing with you?"

The Doctor glanced at me and then looked at the boy, "Why are those other child frightened of you?" He asked, not answering the child's question.

"Please let me in, mummy," the child pleaded. "I'm scared of the bombs."

The Doctor paused for a moment, thinking it over. "Okay. I'm opening the door now." The child pulled his hand out and the Doctor turned the lock on the door, opening it. 

The child is gone.

We looked at each other, a frown on both our faces, and we silently walked out of the house and looked up and down the street, seeing no sign of a child.

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

The Doctor and I were walking to the train tracks, my hands in my pockets but a frown on my face. 

The boy thought I was scary. Why? I remember that Rose, well, the Mini-human version of Rose, she thought I was scary too... Why do they think I'm scary? Was it something I did...? The Doctor said that younger children are slightly, what'd he call it, psy-chick? Psy-fic? Psy... Psy-something! Maybe they could sense my powers, and were scared...? I don't know, I'll have to ask the Doctor later...

Finally, we made it to the train finding Nancy inside one of the rooms, looking through her bag, then she turned around to see us. "How'd you follow me here?" She demanded.

"I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it," he tapped his nose and grinned at her.

"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to," she said suspiciously.

"My nose has special powers," he shrugged carelessly.

"Yeah? That's why it's uh..." She trailed off.

"What?" The Doctor frowned.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing!" She insisted, yet a smile played at the end of her lips, "Do your ears have special powers too?"

I rose and eyebrow and looked at the Doctor, why would his ears have special powers? Is it because they're so big? "What're you trying to say?" He asked calmly.

Her smile fell, "Goodnight, Mister," She turned away.

"Nancy," he called behind her. "There's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right?" Nancy turned back to him, a stern look on her face.

"The thing I'm looking for," he continued. "The thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"There was a bomb," she sighed. "A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take us there," he ordered, but she shook her head, no.

"There's soldiers guarding it," she explained. "Barbed wire... you'll never get through."

"Try me!"

"You sure you wanna know what's going on in there?" She asked, a serious look on her face.

"I really wanna know."

"Then there's someone you need to talk to first," she gathered her things.

"And who might that be?" He wondered, as she walked out the door.

"The Doctor," she answered, and his eyebrows furrowed and he laughed, following her.

As we were silently walking to this 'doctor' something clicked in my head. I pulled on the Doctor's arm and he looked at me, "Yeah? What is it?"

"I just remembered something. About the little boy," I said, and he frowned.

"What?"

I pulled his hand out of his pocket, and showed it to him. "Your hand is pink and changes colors, right?" 

"Yeah, that's 'cause I'm alive," he answered, not seeing where this was going.

"The little boy. His hand wasn't... Pink. It was pale... Like the color when your dead. That kind of pale," I tried to explain.

The Doctor nodded, "You think the boy's actually dead?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "He just looked different." He also smelt like a dead person would, but I'm wasn't exactly positive on that one, so I don't exactly know...

The Doctor nodded, "Okay... I'll keep thinking about that then," he messed up my hair again, and I smiled softly.

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

We're still pretty far from the supposed bomb site. The Doctor has, what he called, binoculars on his eyes, looking through them. Finally, he handed them to me, as Nancy started talking. 

"The bomb's under that tarpaulin," she said. "They put the fence up over night. See that building? The hospital."

I tried to mimic the way the Doctor had looked through it, which is really hard and not really working. I huffed at the odd device and the Doctor looked at me, laughed, and then turned the binoculars around.

"You're looking through them wrong," he explained with another laugh. I frowned but looked through them anyway, this time it's slightly less confusing then the last time. "What about it?" He asked and I finally gave up and just gave him back the stupid device.

"That's where the doctor is," she explained, and the Doctor looked back through the binoculars. "You should talk to him."

"For now, I'm more interested in getting in there," he motioned to the area that looked much more packed and crawling with people with guns in their hands.

"Talk to the doctor first," Nancy ordered.

"Why?"

"'Cos then maybe you won't wanna get inside," she answered and began up the steps, away from where she wanted us to go. 

"Where are you going?" The Doctor asked, still looking through the stupid binoculars.

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed," she said, not stopping. "Should be safe enough now."

"Can I ask you a question? Who did you lose?" The Doctor asked causally, but Nancy stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

The Doctor finally lowered his binoculars and turned to her, "The way you look after all those kids. It's 'cos you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it."

"My little brother. Jamie," she answered, and my eyes fractioned. "One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me -- told him it was dangerous, but he just... he just didn't like being on his own."

"What happened?" I asked her, my mouth turned in a frown. 

"In the middle of an air raid? What do you THINK happened?" She answered harshly, I looked away, still confused, but not asking anymore.

The Doctor nodded, then he smiled, "Amazing..."

"What is?"

"1941," he answered as the planes went by overhead again, loudly. I cringed at the noise, but didn't say anything as the Doctor continued, "Right now, not very far from here, a German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says 'no'. 'No'. Not here. A mouse in front of a lion."

He looked at Nancy, a large smile on his face, "You're amazing, the lot of you," he praised her. "Dunno what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then... Do what you've gotta do. Save the world."

With that, he went down the steps, but I didn't go just yet. I ran up to Nancy and gave her what the Doctor called a hug. She stood there, shock and not moving. "I-I don't know much about this-this hugging thing, but... You're really -- what did Rose call it? -- ... Brilliant? Yeah, that's it, brilliant. You're helping kids when no one else would... I think that that's really... Uhm, what's the word? Fan-fantastic...?" After that, I quickly pulled away and joined the Doctor down the steps.

He pulled me into his side and messed up my hair. "Did I do the hugging thing right?" I asked, and he laughed.

"You did it perfectly," he grinned at me, and I gave him a small smile.

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

After -- illegally -- entering the hospital, we silently searched through the rooms, they were all dark, except for one at the end of the hall, which had a small light shining inside. So, the Doctor and I decided to go into it.

We entered the room finding several people lying on the bed, with gas masks on, identical to the little boy's. I frowned, went over to the bed, staring at the body. 

Their faces looked pale, at least from what I could tell from the side of the mask, that seemed to fuse with their skin. From the neck below, there was a thin white blanket covering their bodies. I looked at the Doctor, who was examining the body beside the one I was at.

Then I heard footsteps, and I whipped my head around. seeing a man. He wore a white coat and had a stick in his hand, "You'll find them everywhere," he said, making the Doctor turn as well. "Every bed in every ward. Hundreds of them."

"Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?" The Doctor asked, stepping away from the body.

"They're not," he replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm the..." He stopped himself, "Are you the doctor?"

"Doctor Constantine," he nodded. "And you are...?"

"Nancy sent me," the Doctor answers, which is seemingly fine for Doctor Constantine, because he nods.

"And you are, little one?" He smiled at me, but I frowned.

"Augusta," I answered, staring at him warily. 

He nodded again, "Nancy called you over? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?" Constantine asked.

"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done."

"These people -- were they all caught up in the blast?"

"None of them were," he laughed slightly, which turned into a whooping cough. My eyes widen when I smell the distinct scent of blood. He moves to sit down in the chair beside him, and doesn't stop coughing for a few minutes.

"You're very sick," the Doctor dully notes once he finished.

"Dying, I should think -- I just haven't been able to find the time," he explained, waving a hand carelessly, as if he wasn't talking about his lethal condition. "Are you a doctor?"

"I have my moments."

"Have you examined any of them, yet?"

The Doctor shook his head slightly, "No."

"Don't touch the flesh," he warned.

"Which one?"

"Any one."

The Doctor rose an eyebrow but walked over to the body anyway. I watched closely as he ran the sonic over their bodies. "Conclusions?" Constantine asked after a few minutes.

"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side..." He answered, still moving the sonic. "Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh but I can't see any burns."

"Examine another one."

The Doctor runs it over another body, whose gas mask is fused to their skin as well. "This isn't possible."

"Examine another one."

He hurried to another bed, and did the same, "This isn't possible!"

"No," Constantine answered.

"They've all got the same injuries!"

"Yes."

"Exactly the same."

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them. Right down to the scar on the back of the hand," he looked at Constantine. "How did this happen? How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim," he explained.

"Dead?"

"At first," he took a deep breath. "His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him - who had touched him - had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward had the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries - as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma."

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No."

"The collapse of the chest cavity--"

"No."

"All right. What was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one," he said. I frowned, they're not dead? But I can't feel any heartbeats. "They're not dead."

He hit his stick on the trash can and all bodies rose simultaneously, making me jump. I looked around, they were all sitting straight up, but none of them were alive. This-this isn't right...

"It's all right. They're harmless," he said. "They just... sort of, sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just... don't die."

"And they've just been left here? Nobody's DOING anything?" The Doctor demanded as the bodies slowly lied down again. 

"I try and make them comfortable, what else is there?" Constantine half-shrugged.

"Just you? You're the only one here?"

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather," he explained. "Now I am neither. But I am still a doctor."

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed, as if he understood him. "Know the feeling," I blinked, was he talking about the Time War? Was he a grandfather -- whatever that was -- before he destroyed Gallifrey?

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb," Constantine sighed.

The Doctor looked around, "Probably too late."

"No. They are isolated cases, but... isolated cases breaking out all over London..." He begins to cough heavily again, and the Doctor moved closer to help him, but I stayed where I was, hesitantly watching them.

"Stay back, stay back," he coughs. "Listen to me... top floor. Room 802, that's where they took the first victim - the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

He frowned, but didn't move, "Nancy?"

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she mi-- mi--" he gagged and clutched his throat tightly. I grabbed the Doctor's hand firmly and watched as he says, "M... mu... mee... Are... you... my... mum-my?"

We watched in horror as a gas mask begins to form out of his eyes and through his skin. There is a hint of gild dust around his body as he goes limp.

"Hello?" There was a voice down the hall, Rose's voice! She was here!

"Hello?" Someone else said, a unfamiliar male's voice. 

"Hello?" The Doctor called, going to the hallway, and I slowly followed after.

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

"Good evening," a new man said, entering the hallway with us. "Hope I'm not interrupting -- Jack Harkness." He shook the Doctor's hand, who only rose an eyebrow, "I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents," Rose said, and smiled at me, and the Doctor nodded.

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mr Spock," he patted the Doctor's shoulder, his sleeve moving up while doing so. My eyes widened as I caught a glimpse of a Vortex Manipulator on his arm, identical to the one that that man who attacked me had. 

The Doctor and Rose start talking, but I followed the man, Jack Harkness, down hall. He turned around and saw me, "Hmm? What do you need, ki--"

I grabbed his arm and pulled up his sleeve revealing the Vortex Manipulator. My face steeled, "Where did you get this?" I demanded, it was exactly the same as his!

"What? My Vortex Manipulator?" He frowned at me, "Why do you want to know?" 

"Are you with them?" I demanded, glaring at him. 

He snatched his arm back, "Look kid, I don't know who, or what, you're talking about, but if its a vortex manipulator you want then--"

"No!" I hissed, "I want to know where you got this from. Are you with them?"

"Who's them?" He rose an eyebrow.

I frowned at him, "You're not...?" 

"I have no clue what you're talking about!" 

I frowned and backed off from him just as Rose came over. "What are you two doing over here?" He asked with a mischievous grin.

I forced a smile at her, "Nothing, I just wanted to ask him a question."

She laughed and messed up my hair, "Well, come on. Doctor has something important to show us." 

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

"This just isn't possible," Jack exclaimed, scanning the body on the bed. Rose, the Doctor and I were standing away as he moved from bed to bed, checking the bodies, similar to how the Doctor had done. "How could this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?" The Doctor suddenly asked, and Jack turned around to look at him.

"What?"

"He said it was a warship," Rose explained, her arms crossed over her chest. "He stole it. Parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's gonna fall on it -- unless WE make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?" The Doctor asked again, and Jack's features turned from confused to agitated.

"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this!"

"This started at the bomb site," the Doctor shouted angrily. I jumped slightly at the tone of his voice, and involuntarily took a step back. He was angry? Did I do something? "It's got EVERYTHING to do with it. What kind of warship?"

"An ambulance!" Jack shouted. Then he sighed and pulled out his vortex manipulator. "Look." A picture of a bulky cylinder projected from the device. I looked at the picture, then at his device, interesting...

"That's what you chased through the Time Vortex," he explained, "It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle -- love the retro look, by the way, nice panels -- threw you the bait--"

"Bait?" Rose interrupted.

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk," he explained, turning his watch off. 

"You said it was a war ship," Rose frowned.

"They have ambulances in wars," he glared lightly and walked away, running his fingers through his hair. "It was a con. I was conning you - that's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents but you're not, are you?"

"Just a couple more free-lancers," Rose smirked.

"Ahh... should've known," he rolled his eyes. "The way you guys are blending in with the local color -- I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but U-Boat Captain and his little munchkin accomplice?"

My eyebrow twitched angrily at the word, "I'm not a munchkin..."

"Tell me that when you're taller," he scoffed and I glared at him. "Anyway... whatever is happening here has got NOTHING to do with that ship."

Rose looked around, "What IS happening here, Doctor?"

"Human DNA's being rewritten..." He scowled. "By an idiot," he added, earning a glare from Harkness.

"What d'you mean?" Rose asked, peering at the bodies.

"I dunno -- some kind of virus. It's converting human beings into these things," he nodded towards the bodies. "But why? What's the point?"

Suddenly, I get a really bad feeling about this. Something definitely isn't right. "Doctor," I spoke up, "We-we should get out of here..."

"Hmm? Why's that?" He asked, not looking at me.

"I don't know, I..." I closed my eyes shut. Why couldn't I remember? I remembered everything about the episodes, so... Why? Whenever I think about it, it just feels... Foggy? Like something-- someone holding it-- me back. I don't, no I can't remember it. 

"Auggie? Are you okay?" The Doctor asked, looking at me. Concern spread on his features. I caught a glance at Rose, who was peering over at the body. I gasped, Rose's in danger!

"Rose!" I shouted, jumping over to her, before she could say anything, I pulled her away just as the body shot up. 

"Mummy?" The bodies began to mumble, moving to stand up in their beds. "Mummmy..."

"Don't let them touch you," the Doctor warned as they began to close in. 

"What happens if they touch us?" Rose hesitantly asked.

"You're looking at it," he answered as they moved forward, chanting 'mummy' repeatedly.

They were on all of our sides, circling us completely. Then, the Doctor glared at them, "Go to your room." He said. and all the gas-mask-people hesitated. "Go to your room!" He shouted, and all the gas people cocked their head to the side. 

I stiffened, he was angry! Why-- no. He wasn't angry at me. But that voice-- that tone of his voice! It's-it's-- why did I scare me? What did it--

"I mean it! I am very, very angry with you," the Doctor shouted, and my eyes went wide. "I am very, VERY cross! Go - to - your - ROOM!"

I almost gasped, it was when I was there, with them! It was him, the man in the white coat. He-he was always angry at me...

>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<

"Now, I am very cross with you," he would say, his hard shoes clanking across the stone flooring. I cowered at his voice. He was back, I knew he was going to come back! He was going to punish me, he was cross with me!

"I-I-I'm so-sorry," I stammered, trying to move away from the white-coated man, but with my hands chained tightly to the stone wall, I wasn't going anywhere. 

"You almost died today," he continued, striding over to my trembling body. "You almost made us start this entire testing all over again."

"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry," I apologized, "I'll-I'll try not to die again,  I'm-I'm s-s-s-sorry! Pl-please d-don't pu-punish m-m-me!"

He smirked and moved in front of my face, grabbing my face in-between his tight fingers. "Now, now," he grinned as I tried to move away. "You must learn from your mistakes, right?" A tear escaped my eye, and he swiped it away. "How else to do that than with punishment?" 

My eyes shone with fear as he snapped his fingers, someone entered the room, carrying a tray. I saw a black, metal collar and a remote with a button. My breathing intensifies as the other man took the black collar and wrapped it around my neck tightly. I struggled away, but he was able to clamp it, and turn it on. 

"Please," I sobbed as the man took the black remote flipping it in his hand. "Please, I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I just-- please don't puni--"

"Gag it," he interrupted me. "I do hate it when they scream. It gives me the worst of migraines..."

"Plea--" my pleads were cut off by a cloth being tightly wrapped around my throat. 

"That's much better," he grinned his pearly white, devilish teeth. "Now, why am I doing this again?" When I muffled through the gag, he chuckled. "Right. Let me repeat myself:  You've been really bad and I am very, very angry with you," his fingers hovered over the button and I gasped through my tears. 

"Remember, Subject August.23," he said. At this point, I was gasping for the air that left my lungs with every gasp. "This is for your own good." My body filled with pain.