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Breakdown

  by Becky Miller

  Come wonder with me now, come wonder with me,

  away from this sad world, come wonder with me.

  Sylfaen Publications

  Doctor Who is owned by the BBC. This document is made for entertainment purposes only. No infringement intended.

  No content may be reproduced, copied or multiplied in any way and under no circumstances may this document or any content be sold, shown or shared with out explicit written permission.

  Please respect the creative rights of the author.

  Becky Miller 2005.

  Contents

  1 Tailing along

  2 A woollen scarf and gloves

  3 The Space Elevator

  4 Breaking the ice

  5 Shopping in the City

  6 Buried in trouble

  7 Bright red and stubborn

  8 Liquid diamonds

  9 Cyberboy

  10 Flying close

  11 Breakdown

  1. Tailing along

  Lynne had asked the Doctor to take her back home, so he had set the TARDIS into motion and they were heading for the apartment building in Cardiff 2006 on which Lynne's ship was perched. He had asked her to stay, but she had declined.

  "Maybe it is for the better." he thought. "My ship might very well be big enough for all four of us, but I can't possibly keep an eye on everyone."

  The Doctor's string of thoughts was interrupted by a loud clang and a sudden and extreme jolting of the entire ship. Immediately he rushed to the controls to find out what was the matter and to fix it if possible.

  Before he could do anything substantial, the ship made one final big jolt before coming to a full stop. Everyone was thrown on the floor, including the Doctor. He felt silly that he hadn't braced himself, he should have expected it.

  Mickey whined about hitting his head while Rose and Lynne simultaneously stood up from the floor.

  "What happened?" both girls asked in choir.

  "Nothing to worry about," the Doctor replied as he examined some indicators, "luckily it was a near miss."

  "A near miss?!" Rose exclaimed.

  "Can't you steer this thing properly?" she added.

  "Well, Vortexes are tricky things. They deform the dimensions into complex passages, tunnel like structures, if you like, which the TARDIS manipulates to travel through time and space." the Doctor explained.

  "Tell me if I am wrong, but every time we travel through a Vortex we could hit something." Rose said. She was not intimidated by the intricate explanation he had just given her.

  "Only under specific circumstances for which the chances are extremely low..." the Doctor said hesitantly.

  "But we could..." Rose said, casting a serious eye to the Doctor.

  "In theory; yes." he admitted.

  "Maybe we could go and see what it is that made us miss our target by, oh, at least, eight centuries or so." Lynne interrupted the two from staring gravely at each other.

  Rose and Mickey had to take a moment to grasp the idea that a near miss had thrown them so far forward in time, but in particular they wondered how she knew this already. The Doctor looked at her annoyed that she had to say that, it made him look like a bad pilot now.

  "Okay. Let me put it on the screen here." he said.

  The screen showed, on a background of stars, a small rugged little craft. It was not much longer than a human and it had a conical shape. It was made out of a shiny metal and it had several antennae to send out and pick up transmissions. It didn't seem to have any means of propulsion.

  "It seems to be still in one piece." Mickey said.

  "Yes. I told you we didn't hit it. We just missed it. It got caught in our wake and so influenced the Vortex which made us overshoot the target." the Doctor explained slightly agitated.

  "Sure." Mickey remarked.

  "So the jolting was caused by the Vortex being disturbed." Rose concluded.

  "Exactly Rose. There's a clever girl?" the Doctor remarked.

  "There is one life sign." Lynne said and pointed at an indicator.

  "Yes. It is weak, but definitely there." he replied.

  "The oxygen in the vessel is depleting and the creature needs air to breathe." Lynne said.

  "What creature is it? Can we let it on board with us?" Rose asked. Meanwhile the Doctor had moved over to the door.

  "Of course we can!" he said happily and proceeded to open the door. Apparently he already had the same idea as Rose and he had moored the TARDIS to the space craft.

  He opened the hatch and crawled inside the tiny entrance to the creature's vessel.

  Rose and Mickey came over to see.

  "Oh, hello there." they heard the Doctor say happily to whatever was inside. "Hold on I'll have you out of here in a second. Oh, there you go." he said.

  Mickey and Rose tried to peer into the craft to see what was going on when they heard a noise. They backed off and to their surprise an ordinary black and white dog came running into the TARDIS control room. He came over to Rose sniffing his new surroundings. Mickey began to pet him straight away.

  "A dog?!" Rose asked the Doctor who came crawling out of the craft and closed the TARDIS door.

  "Yes, isn't she cute?" he said with a big smile.

  "What is an ordinary dog doing in a space craft?" Rose asked and Lynne wondered as well.

  "She is not just an ordinary dog. She is Laika." Mickey said. "The Russians launched her into space in November 1957 to see if living creatures could survive space travel. She survived the launch and the journey, but the Russians never thought about returning her to Earth safely. The mission data was received and used to develop other space missions, but Laika eventually died of suffocation before her spacecraft, the Sputnik 2, eventually burnt up in the Earth's atmosphere." Mickey explained gravely, while the dog explored her new surroundings with a happily wagging tail.

  "Or so we were led to believe..." Rose added, "because now she's here, alive and well. Saved by the Doctor."

  "Yes, from now on, we will know how that story really ended." Mickey cheered.

  "So, Doctor. Now you have two to return to Earth." Lynne said, "If you would be so kind?"

  She was interrupted by the sudden shaking of the TARDIS. Laika started barking and the Doctor looked at his screen.

  "Look at that. Gorgeous!" he exclaimed.

  They had just been passed closely by something that looked like a giant cable car. An elevator in space that was speedily descending to a blue and white planet.

  "We are having lots of near misses today...", Rose commented.

  "You wanted to be taken to Earth, Lynne. Well, hold on, we're going down." the Doctor said excitedly and put the TARDIS in motion. He flew her down spiralling around the cable, in pursuit of the elevator.

  2. A woollen scarf and gloves

  As always when flying, the TARDIS shakes and tremors, and the occupants have to hold on tight to keep themselves steady. Mickey was holding on to the railing tightly with both hands, because this flight was worse than any he ever had before.

  "Either you should improve you driving skills, Doctor, or install safety buckles in this thing, because these rides are getting bumpier every time." Mickey commented.

  "Oh, cheer up, Mickey. It adds to the excitement. Besides we're already there." the Doctor replied with a hint of passion.

  However, Lynne had to agree with Mickey, because when she flew her TARDIS she managed to fly rather smoothly. It just required a bit more care and tenderness. Then again, each TARDIS has its own character and sometimes they are in a good gentle mood and sometimes the protest a little more. Maybe today was such a day for the Doctor's TARDIS.

  "Here we are ladies and gentleman. Ground floor. Snow white fluffy snow a
nd crystal clear glistening ice." the Doctor said when the ship's engines had stopped. He opened the door and a cold breeze carried snowflakes into the control room.

  "And freezing temperatures." Rose shivered, "maybe we should put some more clothes on before venturing out."

  The doctor agreed and Rose showed Mickey and Lynne to the wardrobe. Mickey put on his coat and he found some gloves and a woollen hat he could wear. Lynne decided on a pink scarf to tie snugly around her neck and a brown velvet trench coat. Rose wore her black winter jacket and she had found a multicoloured hand knitted scarf, which she could wind around her neck three times and still the ends would trail on the floor, but it proved its purpose very well; it certainly kept one warm. The Doctor merely put on his brown overcoat, though he buttoned it up this time.

  The foursome stepped out of the police box into the crisp white snow, followed by Laika. As soon as the dog put its paws in the cold snow she made a squeaky sound and quickly hopped back into the TARDIS.

  "Okay. You stay here, no wondering off and don't push any buttons. Agreed?" the Doctor said to the dog, which barked once to indicate his agreeance. He closed the door, locked it and put the key in his pocket.

  "You said this is Earth." Rose said to the Doctor.

  "Maybe we've landed on the North or South pole." Mickey remarked.

  "Nope. This is how most of the Earth's surface looks like in this century. Barren and covered with ice and snow; the next Ice Age." the Doctor said.

  "Wow, how odd. Where are the people? I don't see anything suggesting there are still people living here. Have they gone underground or have we become extinct?" Rose asked concerned. She would be very disappointed if the Doctor would confirm her suspicions, but luckily he didn't.

  "No. You remember the elevator that passed us in space just a few moments ago? That is human made. Ah, there it is. Let's go meet them." the Doctor said to Rose and he stepped up to the slowly descending elevator. The elevator moved slower as it reached the ground and the foursome noticed it made a lot of loud noise. When it had touched the ground the large noisy engine was shut down and the four could hear each other again.

  "Do you really think there is someone in this elevator? Who would want to go here? There is nothing here." Mickey said.

  "Nothing but us, and an elevator platform." the Doctor summed up, "But mind you Mickey this is an antique little beastie. It was built when the Earth was still warm and green, well, not frozen anyway. So it is actually like seeing a steam train pull into a twenty-first century station.

  "Okay, so this is more of a tourist attraction." Rose remarked.

  "Well, it certainly attracted our attention. But uhm, do you think there is anyone inside? Is this thing going to open its doors or what?" Lynne said rather non-amused.

  "Oh, for that I have just the thing!" the Doctor said and reached in the inside pocket of his jacket.

  "Yes, a button that says; Open." Rose said smartly and pressed it with an exaggerated gesture. The doors slid open, again with loud noise.

  "It is very clear this thing is very old." Mickey commented, because everything on the elevator looked rusty and banged up and it didn't sound as if everything went as smoothly as it should either.

  "This is all very interesting, Doctor, but I'd rather have you take me home now." Lynne said. She knew what the Doctor was like. He would want to explore this place and have a look inside the elevator and maybe even go up to the city above, but that would take loads of time and it wasn't what they were planning in the first place.

  The plan was to take Lynne home, but because Laika's ship and the TARDIS encountered each other too closely they were both dragged to a future point in time.

  Lynne actually wanted to go back to the TARDIS and try to get to Earth's 2006 Cardiff again. It was too bloomin' cold here, for Lynne's liking anyway.

  While Lynne and Mickey stood shivering and the Doctor and Rose enjoyed the view of ice and snow cliffs surrounding them, a figure appeared in the doorway of the elevator.

  "Hello there. Come on in all of you. I'll be going back up in a few moments, don't worry." a cheerful woman's voice said to the foursome, who then scurried back inside.

  Lynne sighed; she knew the Doctor couldn't resist such an invitation.

  Mickey looked reluctant too.

  "Don't worry? Is there something to be worried about then?" he mumbled, but the Doctor did hear him.

  "What about it, Mickey? You don't look very excited." the Doctor hinted and gave Rose a quick wink.

  "Yeah, you don't have to go if you don't want to, Mickey. You can stay in the TARDIS till we get back." Rose suggested.

  "Safe and warm." the Doctor punned, but he was the only one smiling about it. He thought Mickey could be such a wimp at times, though his words and appearance seemed to be quite tough. It was funny to see him squirm like that, but it also irritated the Doctor sometimes, like it did now.

  Mickey was indecisive. Questioningly he looked at Rose as if he tried to ask her telepathically whether she was okay with him staying behind, but of course he got no reply.

  The Doctor and Lynne did have some telepathic words together. Lynne caught the Doctor's desire to have Mickey out of his way for a couple of hours and she suggested she would take the boy back to the TARDIS and look after him.

  Without any spoken word Lynne held up her hand and simultaneously the Doctor took the police box's key from his pocket and gave it to Lynne.

  "But when you get back, you're taking me home. No detours." Lynne said sternly and put her hand on Mickey's shoulder. "Let's go kid." she said to him and they walked off to the blue police box which stood out of the white snowy scenery like a sour thumb.

  3. The Space Elevator

  The Doctor and Rose expectantly stepped into the huge elevator. By pressing a button on the inside, the doors were closed. They walked through some tight corridors, following the sound of the woman scurrying about.

  As they turned the corner, they expected the woman to be right there, but there was no-one. Just a small hatch that was left open. The Doctor peered inside out of curiosity and found a bundle of wires, some of which were not connected. He instantly got the urge to fix it, but he felt it was not his place to interfere with someone else's wiring, just yet.

  Down the corridor came a clanging sound. It was fading away, as if someone with metal shoes was strolling through the far corridor, but before Rose and the Doctor could pursue this, they were called by the woman who invited them into the elevator just a while ago.

  "Oh, I am sorry. You are not supposed to be here. These are the somewhat cramped an untidy maintenance corridors. Follow me." she said cheerfully, her long red curly hair bounced as she walked ahead of them.

  Rose and the Doctor followed the woman to a more central area of the elevator with seats, tables and some control panels. There was much better lighting here and it looked quite tidy and cosy.

  "If this elevator has a waiting lounge, how long would it take to get all the way to the top?" Rose wondered as they took a seat.

  "I am Annika, pilot of this elevator and this is where you can have a comfortable sit till we get to the city." the woman introduced herself with an eager sweet smile and twinkling bright green eyes.

  "Yes, the city. What is it like up there nowadays?" the Doctor asked, cleverly skipping their introductions.

  "Oh, it is alright. Not much change. I don't go put there much, but I heard the main sphere has a sale event every short cycle. You could visit that if you like." Annika said.

  Meanwhile the Doctor was wondering where he had met this woman before, he was sure he did somewhere some time, but when? He had recognised her face and now her voice and name were familiar too, but he couldn't quite place her yet.

  "Okay, we'll do that. Shopping, Rose, your favourite pass time." he said and got a big smile from Rose.

  "Will you come with us, Annika?" he asked the red haired woman.

  "No thank you. I'd rather stay with my elevator. It is my onl
y and most valuable possession. You could say it is my home. Anyway, there are things I need to fix before I make another trip down." Annika said.

  "Oh, come along. If you don't go out every once in a while where is the excitement in your life, hey? Come with us. You might find some parts to update your elevator with. You wouldn't by any chance know a place where I could find a chameleon circuit, do you?" the Doctor said convincingly.

  "Alright then, I'll come along and show you around the city." she said.

  The Doctor smiled triumphantly as Annika agreed to join them.

  "So this is yours then?" Rose asked to fill the time since they had not arrived at the top yet.

  "Oh, yes. It was passed down through the family to me. It is the very first Space Elevator ever built, you know." Annika said proudly. Rose was visibly impressed.

  "Yes, of course. Now I remember. It was not you I met, it was your great-great-very-great-grandmother. You look exactly like her." the Doctor interrupted the conversation with his sudden revelation.

  Annika was flattered but Rose looked surprised or intrigued, so he elaborated.

  "The very first pilot of the very first Space Elevator was a woman. A woman who looked exactly like Annika here, and she was called Annika too. I met her in Amsterdam in a train, but that is besides the point." he explained.

  "Yes, you are right. All the firstborn daughters of her were called Annika and they also inherited the elevator, but I never knew I look so much like her. How did you know? You said you met her, but you couldn't have. Have you found pictures of her in a library somewhere? Is that why you are here? Who did you say you were?" Annika replied.

  "Is that light supposed to be flashing red?" the Doctor asked Annika, cleverly avoiding her questions again. She went over to the control panel and checked the light.

  "Uhm, it is no big problem. We'll be there any minute now anyway. I'll fix it when the elevator is secured to the platform." Annika said.

  "Huh, I've heard that before. No big problem?" Rose whispered to the Doctor, who tried to look innocent.

  He knew she meant he also says that, but in his case it is usually a very big problem he just doesn't want her to worry about. He hoped Annika wasn't the same, because they were very high up in the sky and if the elevator were to go into a free fall they would most probably burn up in the atmosphere before even reaching the ground, not to mention the impact they would make if they did make it all the way down. After all this was a very old elevator and he didn't like the way the wiring wasn't up to specs either.

  Though, luckily they had made it to the City and Annika secured the elevator to the platform.

  4. Breaking the ice

  Mickey was sitting on the TARDIS floor. He was playing with Laika. Lynne, however, had taken a seat when they had returned, and from that moment on she hadn't said or done a thing. She was just staring out in front of her as if she was daydreaming.

  In fact, she was doing just that. She was thinking about home. At first she thought about her apartment in Cardiff but soon after that she was reminded of her real home. Her birth town, the Citadel on Gallifrey. She remembered the orange sky and the dark red grass of the park she used to play in so often when she was young.

  Though, she had also grown to appreciate the blue sky on Earth with its bright white clouds in the most magnificent shapes which sometimes would turn grey and pour down water hours or days on end.

  She missed both places, but she was indecisive about which one she missed most.

  She also thought about the Doctor. She remembered how he was, when she knew him on their home planet. It had been so many years ago. He was different then. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was exactly that made him so different. He used to be so full of energy and though he still looked like a very actively busy man, there was a sense of tiredness showing through now. He might have been able to hide it to everybody else but not for her. She knew him too well for that.

  Mickey had stopped playing with the dog and Lynne felt him looking at her. She noticed the awkward silence in the room. She hadn't really spoken much to him since they had met, but she felt he was a nice and decent person. She recalled him offering his chair when they were all caught in the basement of the Torchwood building by Patchwork. She decided Mickey could do with a friendly chat.

  "Fancy a walk, Mickey?" she asked him, but when he returned only a question marked face, she elaborated. "The dog needs walking and I suppose we could do with some fresh air as well." Lynne said.

  "Alright then. Are you sure? It is pretty cold out there." Mickey said as he put on his coat, hat and gloves.

  "Oh, I can stand a little cold, you know." Lynne said as she put on her brown velvet coat and opened the door letting Laika and Mickey out before locking it up.

  The three strolled along into the crisp white icy landscape.

  "So you and Rose, where are you from? I mean what city?" Lynne asked Mickey to start the conversation.

  "London. Both of us. Yeah, you see we live close to each other in the same neighbourhood." Mickey answered somewhat hesitantly at first.

  "Hm, yes. And how did you get involved in all this then?" she asked him.

  "Oh, I just went along with Rose. She had gone with him before and I wasn't going to stay behind again, so this time I went with her.

  And look where it has brought me; in the middle of an Ice Age and she's still nowhere near me. She is my girlfriend you know. We used to have something going on between us, but now she is more interested in him.

  What about you?" he said.

  "Me?!" Lynne asked. She was taken by surprise.

  "Yes. Have you got a boyfriend?" Mickey repeated.

  "Oh, ehm-" Lynne stammered.

  "Don't tell me you don't do that sort of thing." Mickey said jestingly.

  "Well, I-. Yes, I do. I did actually. I had a boyfriend for a while, well? I was in love, head over heels, but his parents made an end to that. They moved away, far away. I didn't see him again since that awful day, for a very long time. So that is over and done with now.

  And I tried dating with some guys from Cardiff recently, but that didn't turn into anything serious yet." Lynne told Mickey. She was amazed that of all the subjects they could be discussing, they were actually talking about a most trivial thing such as boyfriends.

  It was one of the things she loved about humans. Their careless ignorant way of life that revolves around the feelings they have towards each other. It is why she fell in love with living in Cardiff once she had eventually dared to venture out and why she was determined to go back to that life instead of trying to resume her existence as a Daughter on Gallifrey.

  "Come on Laika. We're going back, come along." Lynne encouraged the dog to follow her and Mickey back into the direction of the police box, which had just dipped out of sight behind the very soft sloping hill they had crossed.

  "Now you are stuck here, on Earth, you must miss you family and friends." Mickey said promptly.

  "Oh yes, I miss them alright. Of course I do, but I am used to that by now. I was away from home a long time already before I got stuck, you see. I missed them a lot just after I ran away from home but I got over that now. I still think of them every day though." Lynne said.

  "I ran away from home once too. I miss my granny most." Mickey said.

  "Laika! Where is that dog? Come here girl." Lynne called the dog over who still lagged behind. The dog obeyed this time and came dribbling over.

  "So, you are called Lynne since you live on Earth but is that how you are really called?" Mickey asked nervously. He had wanted to know this from the day he had met her, because he thought Lynne to be a far too Earthy name for an alien.

  "True. Lynne is not my given name, but I find it easier if people call me that. Primarily because I don't want to stand out of the crowd and because it is easier to pronounce." Lynne explained.

  "Ah, the Doctor had a similar excuse." Mickey said.

  "I am sure he did." Lynne remarked.


  "Speaking of which, do you know his real name? How was he called on your home world?" Mickey asked.

  "Yes, I do know his real name. Though he is called Doctor by the people on Gallifrey as well." Lynne said.

  "For some reason he is very secretive and sensitive about how he is called. Can you say what it is? Can you tell me his name, just say it once, please?" Mickey asked her eagerly because he was now so close to uncovering what the Doctor had tried to keep secret for so long, but Lynne was clearly not very happy with Mickey's request.

  At that moment, the ice beneath their feet began to make a deep groaning noise and not a second later the ice gave way. It cracked open and collapsed, plunging them into a deep void underneath the surface and all Lynne could utter was a long loud scream which was barely heard because of the rumbling noise the collapsing ice and snow made as it fell with them into the crack that had formed so suddenly and without noticeable warning.

 

  5. Shopping in the City

  The Doctor, Rose and Annika were walking through the City together. They were on their way to the Central Sphere, but it proved to be quite a walk since the City itself was made from thousands of linked spheres and cylinders which used to be spacecraft before they became part of the City.

  Annika showed her guests through the maze of different corridors, passages and hatches. There was a cosy crowded feel to the place, a bit like people bustling around on a market square.

  The people in the City were rather normal looking considering they were many years into the future. Rose didn't see much difference to the people here than those of her own time. They even wore the same kind of clothes, nothing fancy, though there were many people that wore overalls. Like Annika, they were probably part of the City's crew, most probably pilots, technicians and maintenance engineers.

  When the three came close to the Central Sphere, the crowd became denser and on either side of the pathway vendors were selling their wares from stalls. They had entered the Sales Event, a market.

  Rose observed all the trinkets the vendors had laid out on their stalls and she tried to imagine what it was and where it was supposed to be used for. While Annika elbowed a way through the crowd, the Doctor zoomed closely along the stalls, looking if there was something on sale he could use. Every once in a while he recognised a certain trinket, which made a small smile appear on his face.

  "Do you really think there is a chance you can find that chameleon circuit around here?" Rose asked the Doctor.

  "It can't hurt to be on the lookout." he replied, "but you're right. The chance is about nil and even if we did find one it would probably cost a fortune."

  "Ah well, I like the TARDIS the way it is anyway. It's got character; the wood, the creaky door and the dodgy lock. Besides, if you'd repair the ship's ability to cloak itself, wouldn't it be somewhat troublesome to find it back again?" Rose commented.

  "Of course not. You just have to remember carefully where it's parked."

  "Still, I don't think I could get used to it looking different every time we go somewhere."

  "I used to find it interesting to see what she had changed into every time I landed somewhere." the Doctor said trying not to seem offended.

  "So, if you happen to find a chameleon circuit, would you really buy it and fix the TARDIS straight away?" Rose asked.

  "Well-" the Doctor said considering what he could answer. He didn't want to disappoint Rose but to be honest; he had been trying to get that part of the TARDIS fixed for dozens of years. Though, the only real way to do that was to take out a chameleon circuit from another TARDIS and replace the whole unit altogether, but sadly that was no longer possible.

  "So this TARDIS, is your space ship?" Annika asked.

  "Yep." the Doctor said proudly, since space travel was not uncommon for the people of this time period.

  "Is it badly damaged?"

  "No, no. It is not damaged as such. It could do with some DIY though. Some minor repairs like a new set of zero order wave plates, a top up of conjugated quicksilver for the engine would be nice and she could do with a fresh lick of paint." the Doctor summed some of the maintenance jobs he had been postponing for a while now he enjoyed the company of Rose.

  "Lick of paint?!" Rose asked shocked.

  "Yes, I was thinking of a new colour. Bright red perhaps. Maybe orange?"

  "Doctor, you can't be serious!" she exclaimed. Rose was repelled by the idea of such a brightly coloured police box, but the Doctor quickly gave her a reassuring wink followed by a well meant smile.

  Rose smiled back relieved. She was prettiest when she was intently amused and smiled like that, to the Doctor's opinion that is.

  "Doctor?" Annika asked, when she heard how Rose addressed him. "So you are the ships medic then? I was of the impression you were its captain and hearing you speak of all those maintenance jobs, I thought you were the mechanic."

  "Oh, no. He is all of them in one, really. He can do everything." Rose answered enthusiastically.

  "And you?" Annika asked promptly.

  "I. I am a passenger. But we make a good team when flying the ship, don't we, Doctor?" Rose said proudly.

  "Hm, yes." the Doctor answered absentmindedly. He was concerned about the change of behaviour of the people around them. They were looking strangely at them, especially at the Doctor himself. They eyed him out as if he were a wanted criminal.

  "Ah, how interesting. So you are just here for some sight seeing, ehm, what was you name? Rose?" Annika asked nonchalantly.

  "Yes, Rose." she replied without hesitation, still unaware of the change in behaviour of the crowd. It made the Doctor ever more anxious.

  "And you are?" Annika asked him for his name too.

  "Leaving." he replied with a very seriously worried expression and he took Rose by the hand.

  "The Doctor?" people started to whisper, "It's him, the Doctor."

  "Come on, Rose." he said and quickly retraced their steps back to the elevator.

  The word of the Doctor's presence in the City spread fast and the whispers could be heard following them through the crowd like an oncoming gust of wind.

  "Wait." Annika said and pursued the Doctor and Rose through the aroused mass of people.

  "What is going on?!" Rose demanded while the Doctor quickened his pace and Annika finally caught up with them.

  "Clearly we are not wanted here. For some reason these people are angry at us and I don't intend to stay here and talk it over." he said determinately as the crowd began to make more noise and started to follow them.

  The chasing people were yelling.

  "Stop them. It's him, the Doctor. The long fellow and the blond girl, get them. It is his fault! It's the Doctor!"