The Other Tyler - rewrite

The Maid's Choice

Dickens stared at them with a gaping jaw, unable to believe it. Mei cringed away from the brightness of their forms, casting a worried look to her sister who stared at them in awe.

"Great God. Sprits from the other side!" Sneed exclaimed.

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor corrected.

"Pity us," A multitude of young male and female voices called through Gwyneth's lips, "Pity the Gelth. 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."

"Why, what for?" Mei asked before the Doctor could open his mouth, "You need Gas to live, there isn't enough of that here, not outside the pipes."

Practically ignoring her, the "Gelth" stated, "We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction."

The Doctor frowned, "Why, what happened?"

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

No one needed to explain, Mei understood as soon as she saw the horror-stuck look on the Doctor's face. She turned her hand in his, lacing their fingers together and gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile.

Dickens however, didn't understand and asked, "War? What war?"

"The Time War," came the words Mei was hoping to avoid. She, Rose and the Doctor all shared a look. "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."

Realising the truth, the Doctor said, "So that's why you need the corpses."

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

"But we can't!" Rose exclaimed, voicing her sister's thoughts.

"Why not?" the Doctor demanded.

"It's not . . . I mean, it's not . . ." the blonde struggled for words, looking for her sister's help.

The Doctor looked between them, the blonde horrified, the other fighting an inner battler, "Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives."

There was silence for a short moment, before the Gelth pleaded, "Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth!"

With a gasp from Gwyneth, the Gelth vanished and the young serving woman slumped forward onto the table. Rose was up immediately, rushing to see if she was okay and Mei bit her lip, watching them as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"All true," Dickens breathed.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked Gwyneth, who looked on the worse side of drained.

"It's all true," Dickens repeated.

Mei let go of Sneed's hand and attempted to unlock her fingers from the Doctor, however he held on tight. She turned to him, confused, then noticed he wasn't entirely there. He was lost in thought, silent, contemplating.

She stayed with him as they moved over to stand by the wall, letting Rose and Dickens past to lay Gwyneth on a chaise to rest. Then Dickens moved to the fireplace behind where Sneed was sitting and watched as Rose mopped the serving girl's forehead.

"Are you alright?" Mei asked in a near whisper, leaning on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Fine," he replied, just as quiet.