Chapter 4:
"You ready for this?" He asked, and Rose nodded eagerly. "Here we go. History!"
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Augusta's POV
When Rose stepped outside the door, the Doctor and I were right behind her.

He went to stand outside with her, but I stood in the TARDIS, frowning at the ground. Littering across the ground was a white... Rug? I've never seen that before. Was the Doctor sure we were on earth?

I swatted down curiously and touched the ground, it squished under my fingers. My fingers went a few inches deep, before I felt the ground. It left something wet on the fingers of my gloves. I licked my gloves. It tasted plain, like water, but I could taste it any longer because it evaporated quickly.

"Augusta, what are you doin'?" Rose asked, making me looked up at her. The Doctor and Rose were both staring at me oddly. Well, the Doctor looked a bit more amused than odd.

I looked away embarrassingly, I probably wasn't suppose to do that. "I'm sorry," I apologized quickly, standing up and rubbing my neck awkwardly. "I just-- I was confused-- I didn't..." I stumbled over what to say, so I just closed my mouth.

"It's snow," the Doctor answered, reading my troubled thoughts. "It's like a colder version of rain. It's safe, trust me."

I looked at the 'snow' to the Doctor, then back at the 'snow' before shakily taking a step in it. I half expected for something to come out of the ground and grab my at my ankles.

Suddenly, my shoes began to get wet. I could feel it through my stockings -- as Rose called them earlier. It was seeking through my shoes, and swimming in my shoes.

I gasped, and jumped back into the TARDIS, promptly throwing off my shoes quickly. "Oi! What'd you do that for?" The Doctor asked confusedly, looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"My shoes! They're wet!" I cried, shocked. My stockings were wet also, I began to pull those off, but Rose ran over and stopped me.

"It's fine, it's just water!" Rose said frantically. "No need to be flashin' your knockers to ever'one!"

I stopped and frowned at her, "What's a knocker?" I asked, confused.

"Uh... They're... Um... Doctor, what's american for knockers?" Rose asked.

The Doctor's ears went a light pink, "Underwear," he answered quickly, ducking back under his paper.

Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I..." I covered my face in my hands in embarrassment. Rose laughed lightly, and went to go grab my shoes, and helped me put them back on.

"If I had known that we would be in the dead of wint'r then I would've made you wear some boots," Rose said, and held out her hand to me. "Oh well, c'mon, lets go build some snowmen and snow angels. We can even have a snowball fight if you want."

Before I could ask what a snowball fight even was, an ear-piercing scream filled the air. The Doctor grinned tossing away his paper, I could tell he was eager for danger. "That's more like it!" He grabbed Rose and took off, with me running behind them.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
We entered the theatre just when the blue gases swarmed around everywhere wailing loudly. People were screaming and running, it was almost hard not to get dragged away with the crowd, but Rose helped me by pulling me away to safety.

"Fantastic," the Doctor awed, watching the gases intriguingly. As soon as they left, the Doctor adverted his gaze, and went to go talk to someone, with Rose right behind him. I began to go over when I noticed someone dragging away a body, which obviously wasn't right.

I looked back to see the Doctor and Rose in deep conversation, and began to stray over to the man and lady, who were scurrying out the door.

I followed them quietly, hiding in the corner when they turned, finally when they made it out to the street, I presented myself.

"What're you doing?" I asked innocently, mimicking Rose's voice like I had done a few days ago. I sounded exactly like her, except it was higher pitched to make me sound younger.

The man jumped and looked behind him, to see me. "What're you doing here? Go to you mum or da. It's too late for someone of your age to be roamin' 'bout." This must've been Mr. Sneed, I didn't see him clearly earlier. The lady behind him must be Gwyneth then.

I frowned, but looked behind him to see Gwyneth pushing the old woman in the car with... Horses? I shook my head of the strange thing, and focused on these two.

"Why are you pushing that lady in there?" I asked, fiegning confusion.

"She just fainted of fright missy," Gwyneth lied. "Poor lady's been taken with brain fever and were bringin' her to the infirmary."

I tried to look over to see her, but Sneed pushed me on the snow. "Go home now! Stop with that snoopin'!" He yelled, as I ran at him again, this time ducking under his arms and climbing into the car-thing.

The woman was a deathly pale, no movement of breathing was on her chest, and I had known that look on her face, from past experiences. She was dead.

"She's dead," I announced in horror. My mind went blank, I didn't remember what happened next in the show. Did they kill her? Would they kill me? Why did they kill her?

"She's dead," I said again, this time louder. I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth. "Did you kill her?" My voice was low and no longer held the mimicked accent.

Two arms made their way around my waist, dragging me out of the car-thing. I screamed and kicked at the arms. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" I yelled but a rag was placed on my mouth and nose.

I began to cough as I breathed in whatever was in the rag. It didn't smell, or taste, good. I couldn't breath my head felt light. Black spots covered my vision entirely, and I blacked out.
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Doctor's POV

He was talking to the man when he noticed that he hadn't heard Augusta for quite a bit. When he turned around, his eyes widened.

Augusta was gone.

"Rose, where's Augusta?!" The Doctor asked, abruptly ending his conversation with the man, and pulled out his sonic, looking for any of her traces left.

"I thought she was with you," Rose argued.

When a familiar scream, followed by a loud 'Let me go!' echoed from outside, he knew he had found her.

He raced out of the room, not before noticing the blue-ghost dive into the gas lamp, and raced down the street.

He saw someone throw a girl with a violet dress, that he recognized as Augusta's dress, into the carriage, and run into the front, and hurry off.

He was beginning to get angry, how dare they just throw a child carelessly into a carriage!? He spotted a carriage at the end of the street and ran into it, helping Rose climb in.

"Oi, you! Follow that hearse," he instructed the coach.

"You can't do that, sir!" The man-from-earlier scolded angrily.

"Why not?" He asked. He took things like this all the time. It wasn't anything new.

"Why not!?!? I'll give you a very good reason why. This is my coach!"

"Well get in, then," the Doctor said, pulling the man in. He turned to the driver. "MOVE!"
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<*
Augusta's POV
I woke with a start. I looked around to see that I was lying on the table, beside a few wooden boxes.

There was a man in one of them sitting up straight and looking at me, and a old lady -- the same one from earlier -- doing the same. I briefly remembered what happened in this episode, and climbed off the table.

"R-right. Walking dead," I reminded myself and made my way for the door, only to find that it was locked. They both swung their legs around the side of the table robotically, and began to stand up.

I pushed on the door again, "Let me out!" I yelled. The man and lady walked nearer and I pushed harder. "LET ME OUT!"

The man clasped his hand over my mouth and the old lady dragged me away, just as the door swung open revealing the Doctor. He pulled he away from the supposed-to-be-dead man.

"Is this a prank? It must be. Are under some sort of mesmeric influence," the man behind the Doctor ranted.

"No we're not. The dead are walking," he looked down to me and grinned. "Hi!"

"Hey..." I said, getting out of his arms quickly.

"What is that thing?" The man asked again, but the Doctor didn't answer him.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor, who are you? What do you want?" The Doctor asked the corpses.

"We're failing. Open the rift, we're dying. Trapped in this form-- cannot sustain-- help us," the corpses begged. Then blue gases crawled out of their mouths, making the wailing sound from earlier echo the walls, and leaving the corpses as dead as they came.

"You 'right?" Rose asked me, I gave her a small nod.

"Yeah, I'll live..." I answered with a small shrug.

"Good," the Doctor nodded, and turned over to Sneed, "We need to talk."
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
We were sitting in a different room, much farther from the room with 'zombies', as Rose called them, drinking tea and talking.

Gwyneth handed me a cup, I looked up at her to thank her, but she had already scurried away.

"First you drug 'er, then you kidnap 'er and stick 'er in a rook full'a zombies!" Rose ranted, her London accent was thick, and a bit hard to understand. "And if that wasn't enough, I felt your hand wandering down my backside earlier, you dirty ol' man!" I heard the Doctor snigger, which apparently Rose did too, and shot him a glare.

"And if that ain't enough, you locked 'er in so she can't get out either, so talk before I call the Yard on you!" She finished, with her arms crossed over her chest angrily.

Although she was talking about me, it was kind of funny to see Rose get all angry. I suppressed a laugh and sipped my drink, which was water.

I looked over to thank Gwyneth but when she made eye contact with me she quickly ducked her head, as if to hide from me. I frowned, but dismissed it.

"... Haunted," I caught the last of his sentence. "But I never had much bother until a few months back. And then the stiffs--" he cut himself off, seeing the offended look the man-who-asked-a-lot-of-questions gave him. "...the er, dear departed started getting restless." He corrected.

"Tommyrot," the man-whose-name-I-forgot muttered.

I frowned at the strange word, and lightly tugged on the Doctor's arm, "What does 'tommyrot' mean?" I whispered.

"Rubbish, nonsense, foolishness, baloney, bananas, gibberish, irrationality, madness, dri--" he stopped at the look everyone else was giving him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Right, carry on. Sorry."

They looked away from the Doctor and kept arguing. "You witnessed it!" Sneed cried. "Can't keep the beggars down, sir! They walk. And it's the queerest thing that they hang on to scraps..." He trailed off.

Gwyneth went to give the Doctor his tea, "Two sugars just like you like it." The Doctor looked up at her, but she quickly realized her mistake, and hurried off, into the other room.

I looked back, the others were still discussing the gelth. "One old fella who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service!" Sneed said. "Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir! Just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy," the man-whose-name-I-probably-will-never-remember scoffed.

I opened my mouth to ask what 'morbid fancy' meant, but stopped myself. Instead I said, "But you were there. You saw them move with your own eyes, so why are you still questioning it?" I took a sip of my water, and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

The man glared at me, "A child should not speak out of term. You do not understand what is happening. You should be at home, sleeping."

"I know more than you do!" I shot back angrily, crossing my arms over my chest. "We all saw them move. If anyone's acting like a child then its you."

"You will not speak to me this way!" He exclaimed, shocked.

"I'll speak to you anyway I want!" I said.

"Augusta--" the Doctor began, but I cut him off.

"The 'zombies' are going to come back any minute now, and you're sitting here pouting like a baby," I continued, throwing my hands up in the air. "If you think its a prank or not, what would be smartest thing to do is try to find out what can stop them, not act like it doesn't even exist!"

"You will shut your mouth this second young lady," he said his face reddening with anger.

"No, I will not 'shut my mouth'!" I mimicked his voice, clenching my cup with both my hands. "You saw them move and heard them speak! Don't you think that's enough to believe that there's something other than a prank going on?!"

"August--" the Doctor tried again, but the man interrupted him.

"That's what all this is. A prank! Just strings and wires! You're too uneducated and young to understand!" He shot back.

"'Uneducated'?!" I exclaimed I didn't need the Doctor to tell me what that meant. "There is no strings or wires! People could die, and you'd think we'd play around with that?! You think this is a prank?! This could life-or-death situation and you're too worried about finding the strings and wires!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, girl!" He roared angrily, shooting up.

"I do know what I'm talking about!" I said with equal anger, my squeezing my cup. "I sure as hell know that this is more than just a load of--"

"Augusta!" The Doctor rose his voice, stopping me mid sentence. I whipped my head around, to see him sternly glaring at me, making me drop my glare.

As soon as I did, my cup exploded. Glass sprayed everywhere, and steaming water staining my dress. "Good lord!" The man gasp, standing up from the table. "Are you okay, child?"

Everyone else stood up, except for me, I was just sitting there, looking down at my hands watching the coffee evaporate off them, Did I do that? Was that because I got angry? My powers must've went out of control again.

"Augusta, are you alright?" The Doctor asked, stretching a hand out to me, but I quickly pushed away from him, almost falling over my chair, and wiping my hands on my dress.

"Yeah, fine," I said quickly. "Um, I'm going to go, I need to get something really quick. I'll be back later," I turned to run out the room quickly, and fled right out of the house and the empty, snowy street.
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Doctor's POV
His eyes widened as the cup imploded in Augusta's hands. Everyone jumped back in surprise at the sudden action, but Augusta didn't move, she sat there, staring at her hands, watching the steams fly off them.

He widened eyes narrowed as he realized that the liquid was bubbling on her hands, evaporating off them. Was she doing this? He thought, How?

He set aside his thoughts for later, "Augusta, are you alright?" He asked reaching out a hand to her, but she moved away instantly, almost falling over her chair trying to do so.

"Yeah, fine," she answered quickly. "Um, I'm going to go, I need to get something really quick. I'll be back later," she turned to run out of the room.

"Wait! Augusta!" He called after her, but she was already gone.

"Doctor..." Rose said, but trailed off.

He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, "I need to go after her," He said and pointed to Rose. "You stay here, you're in charge. Nobody does anything until I come back!"

"Why is she in charge?" Dickens asked.

"Because she wasn't arguing with a fourteen year old!" He answered running out of the room and after his companion.
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Augusta's POV
I stopped running after at least ten minutes, and went to go sit down on a nearby bench that faced a park. I was breathing heavily, the dress was super tight, and I felt like my legs were jelly.

I let my anger get the best of me. I almost hurt people. I could've burned down that house! I could've killed everyone just because I couldn't control myself!

I clenched the edge of the bench, blinking away hot tears. I would never be able to control it! I would always be a monster! I'm a horrible person. No wait, I'm not even a person. I'm a thing. I can't even think of myself being a person anymore. I was a mistake. A murderer. A monster.

I could've killed that man and the Doctor. I could've hurt everyone. I could've killed everyone! I--I couldn't control it! I shouldn't even be here! What if I accidentally killed the Doctor?! Who would save the universe? Who would save earth?! I could destroy a whole race of people!

What if I hurt Rose? Would the Doctor kill me? He really liked Rose, if not now, then later. If he saw that I was a threat, would he kill me? Would he test on me? Would give me to them?

The Doctor has killed billions of people, he ended the Time Lords because they were a threat, he could do the same to me just as easily.

The smell of burning reaching my nose, and I looked down to see the wooden bench sizzling from my touch. I gasped and quickly let go, cradling my hand to my chest. I almost did it again! This was exactly what I meant! I--

"Augusta!!" The Doctor's voice called. I turned to see him racing over to me quickly. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind, he's here already! What will he do?! Did he see me break to cup? Was he mad at me for arguing with the man earlier? Did he hate me? Was he going to yell at me? What would I say? Would I tell him about my powers?

My eyes darted back and forth as I thought of what to do. Eventually, I just kept my eyes transfixed on the ground, not wanting to make contact with his soul-searching blue eyes.

"Augusta, what happened? Why did you run off like that?" He asked, but I didn't answer. When before noticed this, he sighed. "If that's how we're going to do this, then okay." He took a seat beside me on the bench. "I can wait."

After sitting there for a few second, he went to check his watch. Then he pulled out his sonic and began to toss it up and down. Then he put it back and checked his watch again. He tapped his foot impatiently and whistled a unknown tune.

Finally he sighed loudly, "Can you please tell me what's wrong, this is boring! I hate waiting!" He said impatiently.

A smile cracked on my face, but I quickly dropped it. "... I'm sorry," I finally said.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything."

"I lost my temper. I lost control. I could've killed everyone," I said the last part quietly.

"It was an accident. No harm no foul," he shrugged.

I laughed humorlessly. "It's always just an accident though. I always mess up. I always find a way to hurt someone! Didn't you see what I did to Rose? You were right, I could've killed her--"

"But you didn't, and that's what matters," he said.

"But I could've! You don't understand Doctor. Nobody does," I felt a tear fall out of my eyes, but I quickly wipes it away. I've been crying too much lately. I was much better than this. I needed to stop acting like a baby.

"Augusta, I understand," he said, but I snorted.

"How could you understand?" I asked angrily. "You been surrounded by people who love you all your life! You're perfect! You could have anything you wanted!"

"How would you know that?" He asked, anger seeping into his voice.

"Because your life is a TV show and it isn't real!" I yelled, motioning to everything. "THIS! It's all supposed to be a TV show! You don't exist! This shouldn't exist!"

"You're beginning to sound like Dickens. How can this not be real? Does it look real?"

"It-- it just can't!" My voice cracked, and my tone lowered.

"Does it look real?" He asked again.

"Well-- Yeah, but--"

"Then what's your problem? You've seen how the TARDIS can travel in time. Does that really seem like something from a telly show? Why are you upset?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I stopped myself. "I just... I..." I was at a loss for words.

"Exactly. You can't say why its not real because you know it is. You're just like all the other stupid apes on this planet. Don't believe anything you don't understand," he scoffed.

I frowned. "I'm not a 'stupid ape'," I mumbled. "I'm not even human, remember? '48% human, 52% something else'," I mimicked his voice, remembering what he said the other day.

"Doesn't mean you can't think like one," he argued. "And don't even go yelling at me for being surround by people! You're still a kid! I bet you had your little circle of friends where you'd laugh and giggle and go do each other's nails and have all sorts of fun!"

"No I didn't..."

"Oh and now you're lying straight to my face also!" He laughed. "Might as well yell that you don't trust me!"

"But I'm not!" I retorted, "I've never actually had a friend before! Ever! In fact, before you guys, nobody really even talked to me kindly, or actually appreciated my existence! So don't call me out lying because I never did!"

The was a short silence between us, and I realized what I had just said. "Nobody's ever spoken kindly of you ever?" The Doctor asked, he didn't sound mad anymore.

"No... They were usually mad and scary," I muttered.

"Augusta... I... I didn't know. I'm sorry," he tried to apologize, but I shoved it off.

"Save it," I muttered. "I don't care anymore. Sorry for yelling at that man earlier."

"You mean Dickens?" The Doctor clarified.

"Yeah, whatever his name was." An awkward silence settled between us. I felt the Doctor shift on the bench uncomfortably.

"Augu--"

"Doctor?" I cut him off.

"Yeah?"

"What... Is love?" I asked curiously. I don't know why I asked, but its just something that's been on my mind for a long time...

He took a sharp breath, "Love is when you feel strongly for someone else, and it hurts to be away. Sometimes, love is when you want to protect someone and will do anything for them."

"Doctor?"

"Mh-hmm?"

"What... What does it feel like... To be loved?"

"It can feel like a lotta different things. Sometimes, it feels warm. Like sitting near a fire. Other times, it can feel... Bad. Like it hurts but you can't stop thinking about them..." He trailed off, to think. "Sometimes, it just feels... Bubbly. And you're happy when you're around that person. Like I said, a lotta different types..." He trailed off, scratching his neck.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Is it bad to... Want to feel love?" I asked again, playing with the edge of my gloves.

"Never," he answered without hesitation.

"What do you do... To feel loved?" I asked.

"Well, some people give each other hugs. Others kiss them. It depends on the person," the Doctor explained.

"What's a hug?" I asked.

The Doctor went silent for a few moments. Then I felt his large arms wrap around my body, pulling me into his chest. I jumped at the sudden contact, about to pull away, but something inside me made me stop. I don't know why, but I relaxed in his hold. What was I doing? I thought, I shouldn't be letting him touch me! Why don't I pull away? Why don't I struggle? Why... Why do I feel so... Warm?

What's going on? I don't understand. Why was he holding me like this?

"This is a hug," he whispered into my hair, quieting my thoughts. "If you ever want me to give you one then just ask, got that?" I left him press his lips against my forehead.

"What was that?" I asked quietly.

"That was a kiss," he explained softly. "Augusta, just so you know, I love you. Its always okay to want to feel loved, and whatever is bothering you, then you can always tell me, because I will never feel any different. I will always love you, no matter what."

I looked up at him, and his crystal blue eyes stared back. "N-no matter what?" I asked, hesitantly, looking up into his baby blue eyes for the first time since I came out here.

He looked down at me, his eyes filled with something that I didn't recognize. "No matter what," he confirmed.

I felt something wet on my face, and I quickly wiped it away, but it kept coming. I felt the Doctor stroke my long curly dark hair softly. "It's okay if you want to cry. I'll still love you."

With those words, I began to cry loudly into his jacket, as he gently stroked my hair. I sobbed clinging to his black jacket, letting everything out. I felt like a dam of emotions broke through and went all over the Doctor.

Once my sobbing quieted down, I began to wipe my eyes. "I-I-I'm so-sorry," I hiccupped. "Y-You're ja-jacket is we-we-wet."

He chuckled, making his chest rumble deeply. "It's fine," he said. "Are you okay now?"

I sniffed and nodded, "I-I'm s-sorry."

"It's fine," he repeated. "We can go back whenever you're ready."

I nodded, wiping my puffy eyes. "Okay..." I pulled out how his hold, and began to stand up. I cleared my throat, "We need to go. Who knows what they've burned down by now."

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, watching me.

"I'll be fine," I answered taking a deep breath. The Doctor watched me for a minute, before getting off the bench himself.

"Okay then, lets head back," we began our trek back to the house, silently. After a few minutes, the Doctor spoke up, "Were you... Mimicking my voice earlier?" He asked, curiosity played in his voice.

"Oh, yeah. It's just something I found out I could do a long time ago. It's kinda easy," I shrugged.

He rose an eyebrow, "Show me."

"Okay... Say something for me to say."

"Say... 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'."

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space," I repeated mimicking his voice perfectly.

The doctor looked at me intriguingly. "Interesting..."

"Interesting..." I repeated.

"No tricks at all too."

"No tricks at all too."

"Are you just copying the wavelengths with your voice?" He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and scanned me.

"Are you just copying the wavelengths with your voice?"

After he finished he looked at it, "Yeah. Pretty much. But your vocal cords are still underdeveloped, and so it shouldn't be able to be used like anything like this yet."

"Yeah. Pretty much. But your vocal cords are still underdeveloped, and so it shouldn't be able to be used like anything like this yet," I repeated.

"Okay you can stop now," he asks, putting away his sonic.

"Okay you can stop now," I repeated.

"No seriously, stop," he said again.

"No seriously, stop," I repeated.

"This isn't funny!" He argued.

"This isn't funny!" I repeated.

"Augusta!"

"Augusta!"

"Stop it!"

A smile crept on my lips and I stopped mimicking him. "Okay, okay, I'll stop."

"Good," he nodded, walking faster. "We need to hurry up and get back. Who knows what they've done by now." He muttered, and grabbed my hand sprinting down the street, dragging me behind him.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Luckily the house was still standing once we came back, the Doctor let go of my hand, and began to walk into the unlocked door.

I was staring at the Doctor curiously, he had held my hand for a full five minutes and hadn't froze to death. I stared down at my hand, where the glove was a bit crinkled. I didn't feel like my powers were flaring, which was unusual.

Earlier when I was crying, I hadn't froze or burned him either. It was like, my powers just... Disappeared. I frowned, no, not disappeared. More like slept. It didn't respond to my emotions like they would usually do. They just stopped.

"Augusta, c'mon," the Doctor called, inviting me into the house, and pulling me away from my thoughts.

I walked into the house, to see Sneed and 'Dickens', as the Doctor called him, arguing.

"I'm telling you, this isn't real, just strings!" Dickens cried.

"You tell me that when someone dies," Sneed shot back. "I've been here a long time, and I know there isn't any strings involved!"

I sighed as Dickens stormed off angrily. The Doctor was supposed to talk to him, maybe then he'll stop complaining about strings.

I tapped Sneed on the shoulder, "Where's Rose?" I asked.

"In the kitchen with Gwyneth," he answered, not taking his eyes off Dickens. "Don't you walk off on me...!"

I tuned them out after that, and made my way to Rose and Gwyneth -- surprisingly not getting lost while doing so.

I heard their voices in the kitchen, "... Lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve," I heard Gwyneth say as I entered the room.

Rose turned to look over at me. "Augusta! Are you alright!? What happened? Why'd you run off like that? I was so worried." She ran over to me, but I sidestepped before she could touch me. The Doctor hadn't froze to death from touching me, which was good, but I'm not pushing my luck.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered. "Don't worry about me, just needed a bit of cheering up," I shrugged, and looked up at Gwyneth. "Hi Gwyneth!" I hadn't actually greeted her since I came, so I thought now would be a good time to do so.

"They-- They hurt you!" She blurted out, making my eyes widened. How did she know about that? Was it because of her 'sight'? "They would always hurt you!"

"What... What are you talking about? Who would hurt me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. Was she talking about them? Why was she talking about them?

"They hurt you!" She continued. "Oh the pain! The laughter! I can hear them! They wanted you, you were special." She gasped, "Wh-what's this? Why is there fire? W-why are they-- Oh good lord, they're burning! You're burning them! How are you-- you're killing them! Their screams! I can hear the screams in agony!"

"Stop it Gwyneth!" I said angrily. "Just stop!"

"No, they're not burning, you're freezing them! No wait, your suffocating-- crushing-- torturing! You're torturing them! Stop, stop it! You're killing them all!!" She screamed, covering her ears over her head and falling to her knees. "Stop it, please! Stop! I don't want to see this anymore!"

"Gwyneth!" Rose cried, taking her by her shoulders, and glared at me. "Augusta, are you doin' this?!"

"No... I--" I was cut off by the Doctor and the others racing through the doors, pointing his sonic at the air.

When he saw that nothing was flying through the air, he put it away. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?" Sneed asked.

She stopped crying and looked up at me, her eyes filled with something that I hadn't seen in a long, long time. Fear. Pure horror. And it was directed at me. "You're a monster," she whispered, but I had heard her.

... Monster...?

"GWYNETH!" Rose exclaimed shocked, and turned to me. "She didn't mean it love, I promise!" She assured me.

"Augusta," The Doctor said slowly, eyeing me cautiously. "Are you okay?"

I looked over at him robotically, seeing his eyes shine with worry, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We didn't have the time for being dramatic anymore. The Doctor has wastes enough time with me, we needed to get to worry about the Gelth before my personal problems.

"Yeah," I said shakily, and cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I saw him exhale, relieved, and went to go help Gwyneth with the others, while I stood beside the wall watching him. Gwyneth was apologizing frantically, while explaining her sight to them.

My mind wandered elsewhere, thinking about the words she said. She had seen when I escaped, and all the people I killed doing so. She knew about it. All of it.

Would she tell them? Would she tell the Doctor what she saw. Would the Doctor make me tell him? I ran a hand through my hair and looked up at the ceiling. Why does it always have to come down to this? Why did it have to be so complicated? Why did Gwyneth have to use her sight on me? I thought-- no, I knew she was going to use Rose!

I sighed again, I'm changing the story. I'm changing the plotline! Could I create a paradox? What would happen if I did? Would the Doctor be mad at me?

I looked over to where everyone was in deep conversation. The Doctor stood their, nodding at Gwyneth's words. I watched as Gwyneth stood their, with a determined look on her face. Gwyneth was going to die, and she didn't even know. She was standing right here, living perfectly fine, and I knew she was going to die. Nobody else, but me.

Maybe I could save her, I thought hopefully. The first life I've ever saved. I could help her, try to warn the Doctor of the Gelth. Get him to not open the Rift. That way, everyone lives.

"... have a séance," the Doctor said, making me look up. Everyone was moving towards the door, and I followed them.

Something grabbed my arm, making my jump, and quickly pull it away. I turned around to see the Doctor, crossing his arms over his chest, and staring intently at me.

I shrunk under his gaze, "... Yes?"

"What was Gwyneth rambling about earlier?" He asked seriously. I looked away, pulling at the edges of my gloves.

"I dunno," I lied.

"Augusta, don't lie to me," he scolded.

"I-- It's-- I..." I stumbled over my words before finishing with a heavy sigh. "Can we wait, until this all is finished?" I asked hopefully, referring to the problems with the Gelth. "I'll explain when we get back to the TARDIS."

"... Fine, but when we get back, you're going to explain everything to me," he said and left me in the room.

When he left down the hallway, I sighed. Great, now I've got to think of a convincing lie so he doesn't figure out, get him not to open the Rift, and save Gwyneth.

I began to head for the door also, wondering if this is what the Doctor is thinking whenever he's trying to help people. I was semi-grateful I didn't have to worry about everyone like the Doctor does.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Later, everyone was sitting at the table, except for me, I was standing off to the side. "Augusta, come on, we're wasting time," the Doctor said, but I shook my head rebelliously.

"Nope," I said. "You guys will be perfectly fine without me." I took my chair and dragged it away from the table. They were all holding hands, but I refused to do so, for obvious reasons.

"All you have to do is hold my hand. I promise its clean," the Doctor teased, but I looked at him seriously.

"No. I'm not holding you hand," I said firmly.

"You don't hav'ta hold his hand. You can hold mine if you wanna," Rose suggest, but I shook my head, no.

"I can't hold any of your hands," I tried to explain. "Just do the thing without me. You'll be fine."

The Doctor gave me a long look, but sighed, "Fine, we'll do it with you. Go on Gwyneth."

"I-I can't take part in this," Dickens says beginning to get up.

"Humbug? Come on not you too! Have a open mind," the Doctor said.

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I try to un-mask," Dickens explained, "Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing. The child is wise to not participate in such a ritual."

I frowned, "That's not why I'm not joining you guys," I mumbled, but nobody heard me.

"Now, don't antagonize her," the Doctor pouted slightly, "I love a happy medium." He grinned at her, making her smile softly.

"I can't believe you just said that," Rose muttered, shaking her head.

"C'mon, we might need you," the Doctor said. Dickens looked at him, but reluctantly sat down.

"Good man!" The Doctor praised, "Now, Gwyneth. Reach out."

Gwyneth closed her eyes, I watched her intently, "Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits?" She says softly, "Come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden." She looked up at the ceiling and a quiet murmuring fills the room.

"Can you hear that?" Rose said in awe.

"Nothing can happen," Dickens argued, "This is sheer folly!"

"Look at her," Rose motioned to Gwyneth, who was gasping.

"I feel them. I feel them!" Gwyneth exclaimed as the gases began to fill the room.

"What are they saying?" Rose asked.

"They can't get through the rift," the Doctor said. "Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it. Now look deep. Allow them through."

"I-I can't!" Gwyneth cried.

"Yes you can," the Doctor encouraged, "Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."

A pained look flashes across Gwyneth's face, but suddenly, she drops her head and her eyes snapped open. I leaned in curiously, watching her every movement.

"Yes," her stressful tone dropped to a more determined, serious one.

Suddenly, three gaseous figures appear behind Gwyneth. Sneed gasped, "Great God. Sprits from the other side!"

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor mumbled, making me crack a smile.

"Pity us. Pity the Gelth," the Gelth begged, their voices sounding like a child's voice. "There is so little time, help us."

"What do you want us to do?" The Doctor asked.

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge," the replied.

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."

"How much?" I spoke up, making heads turn towards me. "How much is a few?"

"Pity us!" They cried, avoiding my question.

"Answer the question," I said, crossing my arms. "Because a few could mean a lot of things."

"Just a few," they insisted.

"You're not answering my question," I said. "How much is--"

"Augusta," the Doctor interrupted. "If you're not in the circle, then you don't get a say."

"What?!" I cried, shocked. "Are you serious? It's a perfectly good question! All I asked is 'how many'!" I was just trying to help, if they admitted that there was much more than the Doctor realized, then maybe he wouldn't help them, and nobody had to die.

"He is right," Dickens agreed. "A child should not participate in such affairs!"

I gave him the 'seriously?' look, and sighed. "Fine, whatever, don't listen to me! Go ahead and 'pity the gelth'! See if I care!" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest, looking away.

"What happened to you? Why is there so few?" The Doctor continued asking them.

"Once we had a physical form like you," they explained, "But then the war came."

"What war?"

"The Time War," they said soberly."The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We're trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses," the Doctor said in realization.

"We want to stand tall. To feel the sunlight. To live again," the Gelth gushed, "We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste, give them to us!"

"But we can't," Rose said.

"Why not?" The Doctor asked.

"It's not... I mean, it's not..." Rose was tongue-tied.

"It's not decent? Not polite?" The Doctor suggested. "It could save their lives!"

"You should listen to Rose," I mumbled, making him turn towards me.

"And what do you know?" He challenged.

"I know enough not to trust them!" I shot back.

"You're putting trust over the lives of another living being!" He argued. "They're just as living as you are, you know."

"Of course I know that!" I said. "I just think we should learn more about them before giving them the key to rebooting their race!"

"We don't exactly have the time to sit down for tea."

"We don't exactly have to trust them instantly either!"

"So we should just let them die?!"

I hesitated, "Not necessarily."

"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!" The Gelth cried, breaking up our argument. Then the Gelth left, and Gwyneth slammed her head on the table.

Rose stood up quickly, taking the woman by her shoulders. "Gwyneth!"

"All true," Dickens whispered to himself.

"Are you okay?"

"It's all true," Dickens muttered.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and I were having our own staring contest, while everyone else was rushing about. I was the first to break away, and went to go help Rose with Gwyneth, carrying her to the other room. I could feel the Doctor's hard stares burning into my back as we left the room.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Rose was dabbing Gwyneth's head gently with a damp towel, while I sat beside her, watching her as she worked.

Then Gwyneth stirred and her eyes fluttered open. "It's alright, you just sleep," Rose told her.

"But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they?" Her voice was groggy, but you could hear her determination. "They need me?"

"No they don't," I told her. "Not right now, at least."

"But they do need me, later that is?" Gwyneth asked.

"They do need you, Gwyneth. You're they're only chance of survival," the Doctor said from the corner, making me jump slightly. I had forgotten that he was there.

"No, you're not Gwyneth," I insisted.

"Why are you lying to her?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm not lying. I'm telling you the truth, Gwyneth, I promise," I gave her a more or less of a desperate look. "Listen to me, okay? You don't have to help them. You don't have to do anything. You can leave them."

"Augusta, stop," the Doctor growled.

"They're lying to you. You don't need to help them, at all. I promise you, they'll be fine without you," I continued.

Suddenly, I felt the Doctor grabbing my arm, and pulling me away. "Stop it! She needs to hear this! She doesn't have to help them!" I cried as the Doctor pulled me into a different room. He lead me into a semi-small closet and turned on the candle with his sonic.

"What are you trying to do?" The Doctor asked me. I didn't answer, and tried to get past him. "Why are you so against the Gelth?"

"I'm trying to help!" I said. "You don't understand!"

"Oh I do," the Doctor said, making me look up at him, wide eyed. He knew that the Gelth was bad! Was he faking trying to help them this whole time? Maybe my presence here had changed his mind about them! Maybe he would listen to me, and was going to trick the Gelth and--

"I don't know what kind of grudge you have against the Gelth, but I will not allow it," the Doctor said, making my heart stop. What? "I'm going to go make sure the Gelth survive, and then I'm taking you to the Shadow Proclamation for trying to prevent the prosperity of a race!"

"W-what?" I was confused. "What do you mean? I'm not-- that's not--"

"Oh save it," the Doctor growled. "I'm taking you to the Shadow Proclamation, and until then, you're staying in here."

He moved so quick, my eyes couldn't keep up, and a second later, I was in the closet with a single burning candle by myself. I heard whirring and a lock, breaking me out of my trance. I quickly hurried over to the door, only to find it was locked.

"Don't try, it's dead-bolted. You're not getting out of there anytime soon." I hears another whirring sound, "And I put a sound barrier on it, so nobody will be able to hear you either," he said from the other side of the door. "I'll be back after I save the Gelth." I heard his footsteps walking away, ignoring my loud poundings on the door.

"No! Doctor! Please!" I cried, but I heard no response. "Doctor! Doctor!!"

My poundings slowly stopped, and I backed away from the door in horror and realizations, this house was going to explode, and I was going to be stuck in here! "DOCTOR!! DOCTOR, NO! PLEASE!"

"DOOOCCCCTTTTOOOORRRR!!!!!!!"
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Doctor's POV
He had been really disappointment that he had to come down to the conclusion that she had some kind of grudge against the Gelth.

It had made some kind of sense though, if she had been a time traveler, then that would make sense how she knew about the Gelth. Maybe their timelines were backwards so something, he wasn't sure.

This would also explain how her cells had been ruptured, even if it had been by Void Energy. And maybe that little event earlier with her crying had been just an act. He had to admit, he truly believed that she was emotionally unstable, but it had all been a hoax anyways.

He didn't understand her grudge though, what could a fourteen-year old girl have over the Gelth, an entire species of people? The Gelth hadn't been the nicest species, but for her to act that way? He had seen the how desperate she was to make sure he didn't help them. At least she had been somewhat peaceful in opposition to them, and didn't start shooting them full of bullets like most Americans he had met.

He sighed and entered the morgue with the others, he would have to worry about her later, right now they had to help the Gelth. He looked around the morgue, it had been very... Dark. And musty. He spotted a few cob webs in the corner. There was a few tables that held a few human corpses.

"Talk about Bleak House," he commented more to himself.

"The thing is, Doctor-- the Gelth don't succeed," Rose spoke up, making him look down at her. She had been a bit short for a human. "'Cause I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux. It's changing every second. Your cozy little world could be rewritten like that," he explained and snapped his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

"Doctor," Dickens said, drawing his attention. "I think the room is getting colder!"

"Here they come," Rose took a deep breath.

"You have come to help! Praise the Doctor! Praise him!" The Gelth cheered happily.

"Promise you won't hurt her," Rose said, but the Gelth ignored her.

"Hurry! Please. So little time. Pity the Gelth," they said.

"I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer," he explained. "Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, alright?"

"My angels. I can help them live!" Gwyneth awed.

"Okay, where's the weak spot?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"Here, beneath the arch," the Gelth instructed, pointing the arch in front of them.

Gwyneth nodded, and moved under the arch, "Beneath the arch."

Rose hurried over to her, "You don't have to do this," she tried to persuade her. She placed a hand on Rose's cheek and looked longingly into her eyes.

"My angels," She whispered, making Rose back up.

"Establish the bridge," the Gelth instructed. "Reach out of the void, let us through!" Suddenly, he had a bad feeling in his gut, but pushed it away and watched the servant girl.

"Yes. I can see you! I can see you! Come!" Gwyneth cried.

"Bridge establishing," the Gelth announced. The feeling worsened, making him frown.

"Come! Come to me!" Gwyneth said. "Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

"It's begun! The bridge is made!" They cried happily. Gwyneth opened her mouth, and gelth pooled out of it. He began to narrow his eyes at the quantity of the Gelth. He had thought they said few... "She had given herself to the Gelth!"

"There's quite a bit of them, eh?" Dickens commented, speaking his thoughts.

"The bridge is open, we will descend!" The Gelth turned from a baby blue to a demonic red. "We will come through using force!"

His eyes fractioned as he realized that the Gelth were for I their way through Gwyneth! They were going to kill her!

Maybe Augusta had been right to question them...
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Augusta's POV
I began to cough loudly, they must've been filling the rooms with gases now. I began to pound weakly on the walls. I needed to leave or else I would suffocate, but how?

If I burned down the door, then I could burn down the while house also. Maybe if I froze it and broke it instead?

I quickly fumbled with my gloves, taking them off, and pressing both arms firmly on the door. I pushed whatever energy I had into the door handle, focusing on freezing the door opposed to burning it.

Quickly, ice spread out in and around my hands, I coughed harder and kept pushing whatever I could into it. I felt my energy drain quickly as I finished. I weakly walked over to the side, where I found a wooden broom leaning against the wall.

I snatched the broom off the wall and held it again the door. Taking a deep breath, I slammed it down on the knob, successfully shattering the knob, and snapping the broom in half.

I threw open the door, and made my way out of the house, putting my dress over my mouth and coughing heavily.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Doctor's POV
When they had been outside, getting ready to light the building in order to get rid of the Gelth that caused the death of Sneed and Gwyneth. He looked over at Rose and put his arm around her comfortingly. He had known how close she had been to Gwyneth.

"Doctor," Rose said, making him look down at her, "Where's Augusta?"

He froze. He put trapped Augusta in the closet! She was still in the house! "CHARLES WAIT!" He cried, but it was too late.

Dickens had dropped the lit match in the gas-filled building. Fire spread quickly as it licked the wood building, fueling even faster with the flammable smoke.

He watched in horror as he heard the sounds of the Gelth's dying screams, but there was no sign of Augusta.

"Doctor! Doctor, where's Augusta!? Please don't tell me she is in the house!!" Rose cried, taking him by his arm.

"I-I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm so, so sorry." He had killed her. If he only trusted her then she wouldn't have died. He had urged her to trust him, but he didn't even trust her himself. He had set her up for death, and--

He was cut off by a book making contact with his head. "OW!" He cried as it ricocheted off his head and hitting the floor. He looked up to see a broken window, where the book must've came from. Nobody had been in the house, except Augusta! She must still be alive!
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
Augusta's POV

The fire was spreading quickly and it completely covered the staircase downstairs. Even if I went through the flames, there would still be even more gas down there, and I would suffocate if not from the gases but of the smoke.

But there was no other way for me to get out, I was on the third level! I glanced back down the steps to see another window, and a bookshelf beside it, that was burning quickly.

Thinking quickly I raced down the steps, through the fire that engulfed my dress and tickled my skin, and over to the book shelf. I covered my mouth, trying not to breath in all the smoke, and found the biggest book I could.

I snatched it off the shelf, and chucked it at the window. The sound of the glass shattering victoriously, reached my ears. I quickly threw whatever else I could at the window, shattering it completely.

I walked back at the blazing red flames and got a head start. Then I took off into the jagged edges of the burning window and jumped as hard as I could out of it.
>*<*>*<*>*<*>*<
The Doctor's POV
As he stood at the ground, looking at the broken window that had rained books, a flaming figure jumped through the air, out of the second story window.

The three of them jumped back as the fiery figure fell to the ground, rolling and skidding to a stop. "AUGUSTA!" He shouted, rushing over to the girl who was moaning at the ground withering in pain.

Her purple dress had been burned off completely, leaving the white under layers of the dress, that was completely singed and burned. Her hair was being smothered by the snow on the ground, that was steaming from the flames. Her bare arms were cut from the jagged glass edges of the window. Her left arm was bent at an awkward position.

Even in her condition, she was still breathing, if not roughly. It must've been from smoke and gas inhalation. "She's okay!" He announced, picking her up and dashing down the street. She needed immediate medical attention.

Rose, followed him as they made their way into the TARDIS. Dickens stayed behind and waved goodbye. "D-Do-Do--" Augusta tried to say, but he shushed her.

"Hush. You shouldn't be talking," he told her firmly as they entered the Medical Bay.

"G-Gel-Gelth... Th-They b-b-ba-bad," she coughed.

He smiled, she had still wanted to warn him. He set her down on the bed, and Rose talked to her while he collected supplies. He needed to get the gases out of her system first of all. He placed a gas mask over her mouth and began to cleanse her lungs.

"Gwyn--Gwyneth..." she stuttered. She was worried about Gwyneth.

"Shh," Rose said, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "It's okay."

"W-wan-wanted... To Sa-sav-save..." She continued, falling in a fit of coughs. She wanted to save her. That must've been why she was so against the Gelth. She knew Gwyneth was going to die. How did she know that though?

He ran over to a drawer and pulled out a small bottle of medicine and a spoon. He poured the medicine in the large spoon and gave it to her. "Drink this," he ordered pouring the medical down her throat making her scrunch face in disgust.

"What was that?" Rose asked as she fell asleep instantly.

"Sleeping medicine," he said, "Dulls the senses and puts you in sleep until you get the antidote. Completely forgot I had that. Thought I lent it to friend or used it all."

He pulled out a bunch of different supplies, most of which not from Earth. He quickly scanned her probably-broken arm from his machine. There was a fracture in the bone structure, and looked like it would take some time to heal.

"Is she gonna be al'ight?" Rose asked worryingly.

"... Yeah," he said. "She's a tough one. She'll be fine," he told her reassuringly, hoping to calm her racing nerves. He cleared his throat. "How 'bout you go and lie down, it's been a long day," he suggested.

"Yeah... I'll go do that..." She said, walking out of the room. "Tell me if anything happens with 'er, got it?"

"'Course," he agreed, and she left the room. He went over to the sleeping girl. She would most likely need surgery on her arm, it wouldn't take long to do so though. He took the gas-mask off her, it had finished getting the gases out of her system by now.

He needed to check her arms, he needed to see how deep the cuts from the glass were. When he went for her arm, her arm moved quickly, snatching his wrist. He looked up to see Augusta's eyes opened, looking down at him.

"Don't," she warned. "Don't touch me." He voice was weak and slurred.

"How are you awake?" He asked, he gave her the medicine just minutes ago! There's no way for her to get that out of her system so quickly. She moved to sit up, but he pushed her back down. Awake or not, she was in no condition to sit up. "You need to rest."

"I'm... fine," she said.

"You jumped out a window," he argued. "How could you possibly be fine?"

She didn't answer. "You need to rest," he continued. "You're arm is broken and you're still badly hurt."

"... I'll be fine," she insisted. "I'm... tough." She gave him a weak smile, but he frowned. She was sleeping when he said that, how had she heard him?

"You need to sleep," he got up to get the medicine.

"Don't bother... with that. I'll just burn... right through it," she told him, making him turn around. What does she mean by that? "And I heal quickly, so there's no real need to worry about me." She sat up, and he made no move to stop her.

"Yes there is! You jumped out a window!"

"You were burning down the building!" She retorted, the weakness from her voice was gradually disappearing. "I was going to die if I didn't jump."

He looked at her for a minute, she was giving him a long glare. "Right. You're right. You could've gotten killed," he muttered. "I'm sorry, for putting you in the closet and not listening to you."

She looked away. "You left me there to die."

"And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," he said. "I almost killed you."

She looked at him, her hazel brown eyes staring deeply into his blue ones. Her eyes were willed with hurt and abandonment. "You left me," her voice cracked and her eyes brimmed with tears. "I-I thought you were going to let me die. I thought you were going to kill me." Her hands clenched the sheets as tears stained them.

He ran over and quickly enveloped her in a hug. "I'm so, so sorry I didn't trust you," he whispered into her ear. "I made a mistake, and I promise I won't ever do that again."

"I was so scared," she sobbed. "I didn't know what to do! I was scared."

"It's all right," he hushed her. "I'm here now. It's all right." He stroked her hair as she cried into his chest. He held her as her cries dimished to nothingness. He looked down to see the girl was lightly snoring in his jacket. She had cried herself to sleep.

He chuckled lightly, and lied her back down on the bed, and got up. He needed to go park the TARDIS in the Time Vortex really quickly, and would come right back to the girl.

He walked out of the room, leaving the sound of her snores echoing in the behind him.

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

WOW! 11,117 words?! That's CRAZY!!

In order for me to see if people are really reading this, I'm going to do this:

If you want me to post the next chapter, I want at least 5 votes or 3 comments. The first comment will get a dedication in the next chapter.

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