Continuing from 'The End of the World - Part III'

✧

THE THREE OF THEM WALKED THROUGH THE DOORWAY into the engine room. Jabe stayed quiet when the Doctor took Lily's elbow and pulled her to the side. It was probably written all over her face that she was out of it and, like the Doctor told her, she was an open book to him. "Hey, look at me." But she couldn't. Not even when he took her shoulder and positioned her body to face him. "Red, look at me." That's when he cradled her face in between her hands and when her eyes, already welding with tears, met his he smiled. "There she is. Take a few breaths- you're gonna make yourself pass out."

She couldn't stop the shakes that started shivering through her body. "Were my parents not human?" Her eyes became saucers- feeling the tears run down her cheeks. "Am I not human? What am I, Doctor?"

He gave her another of his very serious faces- eyes hardened and keeping hers locked onto them. "You are Lily Carter." Her tears wouldn't stop. "You are Rose's sister and Jackie's daughter, and you're going to be fine."

"I'm gonna be fine." She sighed as he tucked her hair behind her ears.

"You are." He smiled but she could see it didn't quite reach his eyes- he seemed as worried as her. "Now, listen carefully- whatever is happening to your aging right now, I promise we'll figure it out back to the TARDIS just right when we're done here." He used his thumbs to wipe away the stray tears dampening her cheeks. "Okay?"

"Okay."

He grinned at that, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before releasing her. Lily followed him to Jabe, trying to put on a brave face. The engine room was home to a catwalk nearby and three large spinning blades. She took a stand beside Jabe as the Doctor inspected them. "Now, let's see. Seems a bit nippy?" He glanced at Lily over his shoulder- like he was making sure she hadn't run off. "Fair do's, though, that's a great bit of air conditioning. Sort of nice and old-fashioned. Bet they call it retro. Gotcha." He grabbed a nearby panel from the wall and ripped it off. What crawled out was a metal spider-like creature- a robot even, which started its escape by venturing up the wall.

Lily and Jabe join the Doctor's side- the former looking up at the spider. "Is that part of the retro?"

"I don't think so." The Doctor took out his Sonic and aimed towards it. "Hold on."

It was clear that he wasn't getting anywhere doing that. That's when Jabe took matters into her own hands- using vines to lasso it, making it fall right into the Doctor's hands

"Nice." Lily complimented Jabe with a smile.

"Thank you." Jabe retracted the vines and blushed. "We're not supposed to show them to the public."

"Don't worry," Lily nudged her shoulder lightly. "I can keep a secret.".

"Now," The Doctor inspected the spider in his hands- which stopped moving and stayed stationary. "Who has been bringing their pets onboard?"

"Sabotage?" Lily shrugged, looking down at it.

"Earth Death in ten minutes."

"And the temperature's about to rocket. Come on!" He called out to the two women, leading them out of the engine room in a jog- the spider still clutching in his hand.

✧

After they learned the steward was now dead (possibly from the spider robots,) the Doctor as well as Lily and Jabe returned to the observation deck, just in time to hear the computer warn they only had five minutes before the Earth died.

"The metal machine confirms it." Jabe had told them when they stopped their job. "The spiders have infiltrated the whole of Platform One."

"How's that possible?" Cassandra voiced, finding her way into the trio's conversation."Our private rooms are protected by a code wall. Moisturize me, moisturize me." She demanded her companions, who both immediately did as she asked, spraying her with water.

"Summon the Steward!" The Moxx commanded.

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe gravely informed them all.

Cassandra screamed out in a terrified voice. "This whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boe!" She accused him. "He invited us! Talk to the Face! Talk to the Face!"

Before all hell could break loose more than it already had, the Doctor commanded the room, speaking to them all. " Easy way of finding out." He held the spider up- some spectators gasping at the creature. "Someone bought their little pet on board." He waved it around before kneeling to set it on the ground. "Let's send him back to master."

The spider started to move, Lily backing up to stay cautious of it. It started to scurry around- inching closer and closer towards Cassandra. They all watched as it scanned her, besides Cassandra who kept her eyes everywhere else. Lily believed it to be Cassandra herself before it beeped and left her, scuttling toward the cloaked figures. "The Adherents of the Repeated Meme." Cassandra gasped. "J'accuse!"

"Now," The Doctor's voice boomed, granting attention back to himself. "That's all very well, and really kind of obvious. But if you stop and think about it," The Doctor sauntered over to the leader. As it raised its arm to likely attack the Doctor took it and ripped it off its socket with complete ease. "A Repeated Meme is just an idea. And that's all they are, an idea." He ripped a wire from the arm which made all the Memes collapse. "Remote controlled Droids. Nice little cover for the real troublemaker." He nudged the spider lightly with his foot. "Go on, Jimbo. Go home."

When the spider made its way to Cassandra, Lily couldn't help but laugh. "Amazing." Lily complimented him, earning a wink from the Time Lord.

Cassandra glared at him as he watched her in triumph. "I bet you were the school swot and never got kissed. At arms!" Cassandra commanded. Her assistants obeyed, stepping forward with their spraying cans raised. Lily backed up, finding herself next to Jabe.

"What are you going to do? Moisturize me?" The Doctor said sarcastically, raising his arms.

"With acid!" Cassandra smirked, and the room erupted into chaos. "Oh, you're too late, anyway." She let out a snooty laugh. "My spiders have control of the mainframe. Oh, you all carried them as gifts, tax-free, past every code wall. I'm not just a pretty face."

"Sabotaging a ship while you're still inside it?" Lily spoke up. "Not very clever, are yah?"

"I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as one of the victims. The compensation would have been enormous."

The Doctor shook his head in disgust. "Five billion years and it still comes down to money."

"Do you think it's cheap looking like this?" Cassandra asked, her voice raising in anger. "Flatness costs a fortune. I am the last human, Doctor. Me!" She smiled smugly at the ginger. "Not your stick-up-an-ass girlfriend"

"Arrest her!" The Moxx of Balhoon called out with various guests agreeing.

"Oh, shut it pixie!"

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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- Kayleigh