While Annabelle had silently looked between the Doctor and Martha with narrowed eyes, the Doctor said, "Just one trip, that's what I said. One trip in the TARDIS and then home. Although, I suppose we could stretch the definition. Take one trip into the past, one trip into the future. How do you fancy that?"
With a chuckle, Martha told him, "No complaints from me!"
As he messed around with some of the dials in the TARDIS, the Doctor asked her, "How about a different planet?"
In turn, Martha asked him, "Can we go to yours?"
As he went towards the other side of the controls, he replied, "No, there's plenty of other places."
Martha said to him, "Oh, come on. I mean, the planet of the Time Lords. That's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"
With a nod of his head, the Doctor told her, "It's beautiful, yeah."
Martha asked him, "Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?"
The Doctor replied, "I suppose it is."
In turn, Martha asked him, "Great big temples and cathedrals?"
The Doctor said to her, "Yeah."
Martha asked him, "Lots of planets in the sky?"
With a raise of his head, the Doctor told her, "The sky's a burnt orange. With a citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever. Slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."
After the Doctor had lowered his head once more, Martha asked him, "Can we go there?"
With a quick turn of his head, the Doctor replied, "Nah! Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home. Instead..." While Annabelle had silently eyed the Doctor and took note of just how quickly his attitude had changed after talking about his home planet, the Doctor had grabbed onto a nearby lever and pulled it a couple of times and messed around with some of the buttons on the controls before he said, "This is much better. Year 5000000053. Planet New Earth. Second home of mankind. Fifty-thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap-bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically, it's fifteen New Yorks since the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built."
After stepping out of the TARDIS and finding herself being hit by some rain, Martha said, "Oh, that's nice. A Time Lord version of dazzling!"
While Annabelle had simply pushed Martha to the side with a mere roll of her eyes, the Doctor said, "No, a bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover."
And while the Doctor and Martha were quick to run for cover, Annabelle had muttered to herself with a mere shake of her head, "Bloody humans and their incapability to handle a single drop of rain falling down onto their heads."
* * *
With her arms crossed over her chest, Martha said, "Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me, on a Wednesday afternoon."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "Hold on, hold on, let's have a look."
After using– what looked like to Annabelle– a screwdriver on the machine, the Doctor hit the machine with his hand a couple of times before the image of a woman had appeared on the screen and the woman on the screen had said with a smile on her face, "...and the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey Expressway."
When the image on the screen had changed to show them a city, the Doctor said, "Oh, well, that's more like it! That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels. Down at the base of the tower. Some sort of undercity."
It was then that Martha asked him, "You've brought us to the slums?"
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "Much more interesting. It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."
With a shake of her head, Martha said to him, "You'd enjoy anything."
The Doctor replied, "That's me." Then– with a turn of his head– he said, "Ah, the rain's stopping. Better and better!"
As she started to walk after the Doctor, Martha asked him, "When you say last time, was that you and Rose?"
With a mere raise of his eyebrows, he told her, "Um, yeah. Yeah, it was. Yeah."
With furrowed eyebrows, Martha asked him, "You're taking me to the same planets that you took her?"
With a mere shrug of his shoulders, he replied, "What's wrong with that?"
In turn, Martha said to him, "Nothing. Just ever heard the word 'rebound'?"
While Annabelle had only snorted to herself in response to Martha's words, one of the nearby machines had opened up to reveal a man, who said to them, "Oh, you should have said! How long have you been there?" Then– after tapping his hand on the counter– he said, "Happy. You want happy. Happy!"
Then another machine had opened to reveal a woman, who yelled, "Customers, customers! We've got customers!"
Then a second woman said, "We have business."
While Annabelle had silently eyed the three of them with narrowed eyes, the man yelled, "Happy, happy, lovely happy!"
Then the first woman said, "Anger. Buy some anger!"
Then the second woman said, "It's mellow, makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."
With a nod of his head, the man said, "Don't go to them, they'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "No, thanks."
With a nod of her head, Martha asked the Doctor, "Are they selling drugs?"
The Doctor told her, "I think they're selling moods."
Martha replied, "Same thing, isn't it?"
It was then that the three vendors had turned their attention over towards a young woman that was making her way over towards them and started to yell at her all at once, only for the young woman to walk towards the third vendor, who said to her, "Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?"
The younger woman told her, "I want to buy forget."
The older woman told her, "I've got forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"
The younger woman said to her, "It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."
In turn, the older woman said to her, "Oh, that's a swine." Then she handed something over towards the younger woman as she said, "Try this. Forget 43. That's two credits."
After the older woman had been handed two credits, the Doctor said to the younger woman, "Sorry, but hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"
The younger woman told him, "They drove off."
The Doctor replied, "Yeah, but they might drive back."
With a shake of her head, the younger woman said, "Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."
The Doctor told her, "But they can't have gone far. You could find them." When the woman didn't respond and went to put the forgetting patch onto her neck, the Doctor said to her, "No. No, no, don't!"
It was then that the younger woman asked him, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
With a raise of one of his eyebrows, the Doctor said to her, "Your parents. Your mother and father. They're on the motorway."
In turn, the younger woman asked him, "Are they? That's nice." After looking between the three of them, she said, "I'm sorry, I won't keep you."
While Annabelle had silently stared after the younger woman with narrowed eyes, Martha asked the Doctor, "So that's the human race five billion years in the future? Off their heads on chemicals."
It was then that Martha had let out a scream, which got Annabelle and the Doctor to both turn around to see a man and a woman holding onto Martha.
While the woman had kept her gun pointed between the two of them, the man said to them, "Sorry. I'm really sorry. We just need three, that's all."
While Annabelle had only tilted her head at them, the Doctor yelled, "Let her go! I'm warning you!" While he walked after the two people that had just grabbed onto Martha, he said to them, "Whatever you want, I can help. We can help. But first you've got to let her go!"
It was then that the woman had stepped into the door and the door was slammed shut behind her.
* * *
After repeatedly hitting his hand against the hatch for one of the vendors, the hatch was raised to show the woman that had sold forget to a young woman only moments ago, which got the woman to say to the Doctor and Annabelle, "I thought you two would come back. Do you want some happy-happy?"
In turn, the Doctor asked her, "Those people, who were they? Where did they take her?"
It was then that another one of the vendors told them, "They've taken her to the motorway."
Then the woman said to them, "Looked like carjackers to me."
Then another vendor said to them, "I'd give up now, darlings. You won't see her again."
Then the male vendor told them, "Used to be thriving, this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end."
In turn, the Doctor said to them, "He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?"
The first woman told him, "It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults."
Then the Doctor asked her, "This motorway, how do we get there?"
With a mere nod of her head, the woman said, "Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You cannae miss it." While the Doctor was quick to walk down the alley with a reluctant Annabelle slowly walking behind him, the woman said to the Doctor, "Tell you what, buy some happy-happy. Then you'll be smiling, my love."
In turn, the Doctor said to the vendors, "A word of advice to all of you. Cash up, close down and pack your bags."
The first woman asked him, "Why is that, then?"
The Doctor told her, "Because as soon as I've found her alive and well, and I will find her alive and well, then I'm coming back. And this street is closing. Tonight!"
In response to the Doctor's words, each of the vendors had only stared after him before they brought their attention over towards Annabelle, who had simply raised her eyebrows at them before she sped after the Doctor– leaving each of the vendors to simply share a look with each other as a result of watching Annabelle simply disappear right in front of their eyes.
* * *
While the Doctor had pushed open another door after using his screwdriver, Annabelle said to him, "Honestly, Doctor, there is no need for you to worry over what may or may not happen to Martha Jones. After all, she's only human. As far as I can see, there isn't a damn thing about her that's worthy enough of you to be worrying over. Now, I say that we head back to that TARDIS of yours and let her handle this all on her own." While the Doctor had simply chosen to ignore her words, she let out a scoff before she asked him, "Honestly, what is it with you wanting to save humanity and everything that comes with it? I mean, really. They're just humans. There is nothing special about any of them. All they do is fight and fight and kill and kill and cause all kinds of unnecessary problems for one another– and in doing so cause problems for myself when all I want to do is tear into their throats and use them as my own personal blood bags. So, why not just leave Martha Jones to fight for her own life and just cut ties with her?"
After the Doctor had turned his head to look over at her, she told him, "It's what I would do, and I would be able to sleep perfectly fine and feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever in regard to possibly leaving her to die– what might very well be– a gruesome death at the hands of her captors." After seeing the Doctor only stare down at her with his eyes narrowed, she said, "What? I'm only speaking the truth, Doctor. Why should I give a damn about what happens to Martha Jones of all people? As far as I can tell, she's nothing more than a walking and talking blood bag that I could easily kill, if it weren't for you and your desperate and pointless need to save all of humanity from whatever dangers that you find yourself coming across during these journeys of yours."
Instead of even bothering to verbally respond to her, the Doctor simply shook his head before he turned his back on her and quickly walked through the door with an annoyed Annabelle Mikaelson walking closely behind him and simply rolling her eyes to herself.
It wasn't long after the sound of cars honking could be heard that the Doctor had started coughing, which got Annabelle to only eye him with her head tilted to the side and watched how the Doctor had brought a hand up to his mouth and continued to cough into it, shortly before the door to one of the cars had opened and a voice yelled to them, "Hey! You daft little street struts! What are you all doing standing there? Either get out or get in. Come on!"
While Annabelle had only snorted to herself in response to the man's words, the Doctor quickly ran into the car, which got Annabelle to simply let out a sigh before she hurried after him and the door to the car had been shut behind her.
While the Doctor had continued to cough to himself and Annabelle only eyed the inside of the vehicle with her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the side, the man asked, "Did you ever see the like?"
Then the female passenger brought an oxygen mask over towards the Doctor and handed it over to him as she said to him, "Here you go."
While Annabelle had silently watched the way that the Doctor had gasped for breath, the man started to remove his goggles and the scarf that he had wrapped around his face as he said, "He was just standing there, breathing it in. And then there's that one who doesn't seem the least bit bothered that she was breathing in the fumes."
In response to his words, Annabelle had started to turn her head to look over at him with a blank look on her face, only to tilt her head and allow her eyebrows to furrow when she saw that the man wasn't quite a man and was just a creature that had the face of a cat.
And while she started to silently eye the creature that shared facial similarities with a cat of all things, the creature said, "There's this story. It says back in the old days, on Junction 47, this woman stood in the exhaust fumes for a solid twenty minutes. By the time they found her, her head had swollen to fifty feet."
In turn, the woman said to him, "Oh, you're making it up!"
Then the creature said, "A fifty-foot head. Just think of it. Imagine picking that nose."
The woman replied, "Oh, stop it. That's disgusting."
With a turn of his head, the creature asked her, "What, did you never pick your nose?"
It was then that the woman said to him, "Bran, we're moving."
With a turn of his head, Bran said to her, "Right, I'm there. I'm on it."
Just a couple of seconds after they'd moved, the vehicle had come to a stop.
And while Annabelle had simply stared at Bran with her eyebrows still furrowed and her nose now scrunched up, Bran said, "Twenty yards. We're having a good day." Then he turned to Annabelle and the Doctor and asked them, "And who might you two be? Very well dressed for a pair of hitchhikers."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Thanks. Sorry, I'm the Doctor and this here is Annabelle."
Bran replied, "Medical man? My name's Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and this is the bane of my life, the lovely Valerie."
With a turn of her head, Valerie said to the two of them, "Nice to meet you two."
With a turn of his own head, Bran told them, "And that's the rest of the family behind you."
With furrowed eyebrows, Annabelle slowly turned around and looked at the space that the Doctor had just pulled open to see a litter of kittens just standing and lying about on the floor and meowing to themselves, which got Annabelle to simply look away from them with a grimace on her face, while the Doctor said, "Oh, that's nice. Hello." After picking up one of the kittens and holding it in his arms, the Doctor asked them, "How old are they?"
Valerie told him, "Just two months."
Then Bran said to him, "Poor little souls. They've never known the ground beneath their paws." After the Doctor had turned his head to look over at him, Bran told him, "Children of the motorway."
In turn, the Doctor asked him, "What, they were born in here?"
Valerie said to him, "We couldn't stop. We heard there were jobs going, out in the laundries on Fire Island. Thought we'd take a chance."
The Doctor asked them, "Wait, you've been driving for two months?"
With a scoff, Bran asked him, "Do I look like a teenager? We've been driving for twelve years now."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Sorry?"
With a nod of his head, Bran told him, "Yeah, started out as newlyweds. Feels like yesterday."
With a mere raise of her eyebrows, Valerie said to him, "Feels like twelve years to me."
Bran replied, "Ah, sweetheart, but you still love me."
While Valerie had only let out a giggle, the Doctor asked them, "Twelve years? How far did you come? Where did you start?"
Bran told him, "Battery Park. It's five miles back."
In turn, the Doctor asked him, "You traveled five miles in twelve years?"
With a nod of his head, Bran said to Valerie, "I think he's a bit slow." Then– after glancing over at Annabelle and seeing the look that she had on her face– he said, "Perhaps her, too."
While the Doctor had put down one of the kittens, Valerie asked them, "Where are you two from?"
The Doctor replied, "Never mind that. We've got to get out! Our–" After Annabelle had simply cleared her throat, he said, "My apologies. My friend's in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. We should get back to the TARDIS."
After the Doctor had pushed open the door and started to cough once more, Bran told him, "You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by." After the Doctor had closed the door, Bran said to him, "You and your friend are passengers now, sonny Jim."
As she pointed a finger over at the Doctor, Annabelle said, "He's not my friend."
While Bran and Valerie had only looked over at each other with furrowed eyebrows, the Doctor asked them, "When's the next lay-by?"
With a mere turn of his head, Bran said, "Oh, six months."
* * *
After moving his screwdriver over the screen, the Doctor said, "I need to talk to the police."
It wasn't long afterwards that they heard a voice say, "Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
With a raise of the radio, the Doctor said, "You're the police!"
Once more, the voice said, "Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."
After turning his back on the machine, the Doctor asked Bran and Valerie, "Is there anyone else? I once met the Duke of Manhattan. Is there any way of getting through to him?"
In turn, Bran said to him, "Oh, now, ain't you lordly?"
The Doctor told him, "I've got to find my friend!"
It was then that Valerie said to him, "You can't make outside calls. The motorway's completely enclosed."
The Doctor asked them, "What about the other cars?"
With a nod of his head, Bran told him, "Well, we've got contact with them, yeah. Well, some of them anyway. They've got to be on your friends' list." Then he turned his attention over towards the screen in front of him as he said, "Now, let's see, who's nearby? Ah, the Cassini sisters!"
Then he grabbed onto his radio and said into it, "Be still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here."
It wasn't long afterwards that they heard the voice of an elderly woman say, "Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace."
While Annabelle had only snorted to herself in response to the woman's words, Bran said into the radio, "Come on now, sisters, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"
The woman replied, "You know full well we're not sisters. We're married."
In turn, Bran said to her, "Ooh! Stop that modern talk, I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got a pair of hitchhikers here, calls themselves the Doctor and Annabelle."
It was then that the Doctor had taken the radio out of Bran's hand and said into it, "Hello. Sorry. We're looking for someone called Martha Jones. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one."
It wasn't long afterwards that they heard another voice say, "Wait a minute. Could I ask what entrance did they use?"
In turn, the Doctor quietly asked Bran, "Where were we?"
Bran told him, "Pharmacy Town."
Then the Doctor said into the radio, "Pharmacy Town, about twenty minutes ago."
Then the other voice said, "Let's have a look."
Then the first voice said, "Just my luck to marry a car-spotter."
While Annabelle had only rolled her eyes to herself, the second voice said, "In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction."
The Doctor asked the woman, "Anything more specific?"
In turn, the woman said to him, "All in good time. Was she carjacked by two people?"
With a quick raise of his head, the Doctor told her, "Yes, she was. Yeah."
It was then that the woman said, "There we are! Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And the car number is 4-6-5-Diamond-6."
In turn, the Doctor said, "That's it! So how do we find them?"
The woman replied, "Ah. Now there I'm afraid I can't help."
As he looked between Valerie and Bran, the Doctor said, "We can call them on this thing. We've got their number, Diamond-6."
Bran told him, "Well, not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class."
The first woman said to him, "You could try the police."
The Doctor replied, "They put me on hold."
The other woman told him, "You'll have to keep trying. There's no one else."
While Valerie only lowered her head, the Doctor said into the radio, "Thank you."
Then he silently handed the radio over to Bran, while Annabelle had simply raised her eyebrows to herself and stared ahead at the other vehicles that sat miles and miles in front of them.
* * *
As he stared ahead of himself, the Doctor said, "We've got to go to the fast lane. Take me down."
Bran replied, "Not in a million years."
The Doctor told him, "You've got four passengers."
In turn, Bran said to him, "I'm still not going."
As he leaned his head in towards Bran, the Doctor said to him, "She's alone and she's lost. She doesn't even belong on this planet, and it's all my fault. I'm asking you, Brannigan, take us down."
With a quick turn of her head, Valerie told him, "That's a no, and that's final. I'm not risking the children down there."
In turn, the Doctor asked her, "Why not? What's the risk? What happens down there?"
Valerie replied, "We're not discussing it. The conversation is closed."
With a nod of his head, the Doctor asked them, "So we keep on driving?"
With a nod of his own head, Bran said, "Yes, we do."
The Doctor asked them, "For how long?"
Bran told him, "Till the journey's end."
It was then that the Doctor had grabbed onto the radio once more and said into it, "Mrs. Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?"
Mrs. Cassini told him, "Oh, we were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now."
The Doctor asked her, "And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?"
After a couple seconds of silence, Mrs. Cassini said to him, "I'm not sure."
While Annabelle had silently looked between Valerie and Bran with narrowed eyes, the Doctor said into the radio, "Look at your notes. Any police?"
Mrs. Cassini told him, "Not as such."
Then the Doctor asked her, "Or an ambulance? Rescue service? Anything official, ever?"
Mrs. Cassini replied, "I can't keep a note of everything."
Then the Doctor had looked over at Bran as he asked, "What if there's no one out there?"
With a quick turn of his head, Bran took the radio out of the Doctor's hand as he said to him, "Stop it. The Cassinis were doing you a favor."
The Doctor replied, "Someone's got to ask, 'cause you might not talk about it, but it's there, in your eyes. What if the traffic jam never stops?"
With a shake of his head, Bran told him, "There's a whole city above us. The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us."
In turn, the Doctor asked him, "In that case, where are they? Hmm? What if there's no help coming, not ever? What if there's nothing? Just the motorway? With the cars going round and round and round, never stopping? Forever!"
It was then that Valerie yelled, "Shut up! Just shut up!"
While Annabelle had turned her head to stare directly at Valerie with her eyes still narrowed and her veins on display, the Doctor turned his head to face the screen to see a woman, who said to them, "This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic. The perfect setting for the daily contemplation."
With a shake of his head, Bran said, "You think you know us so well, Doctor. We are not abandoned. Not while we have each other."
Then Sally said, "This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe."
It wasn't long afterwards that both Bran and Valerie started to sing, "On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross. The emblem of suffering and shame." While Annabelle had silently eyed the married couple, she could clearly hear the passengers in the vehicles surrounding them singing, "And I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain. So, I'll cherish the old rugged cross, rugged cross till my trophies at last I lay down. I will cling to the old rugged cross, rugged cross. And exchange it someday for a crown."
Moments after they had all ceased their singing, the Doctor said, "If you won't take us, we'll go there on our own."
With a quick turn of his head, Bran asked the Doctor, "What do you think you're doing?"
After pulling out his screwdriver and pointing it at the floor of the vehicle, the Doctor told him, "Finding my own way. I usually do."
It wasn't long after he'd opened the bottom of the vehicle that a voice was heard saying, "Capsule open."
After watching a vehicle come to a halt just below the vehicle that they were inside of, the Doctor stood back up and tossed his trench coat over towards Valerie as he said, "Look after this." After crouching down once more, he told them, "I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat."
Valerie told him, "But you can't jump!"
The Doctor replied, "If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now I'm having kittens."
With a nod of his head, Bran said to him, "This Martha, she must mean an awful lot to you."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Hardly know her. I was too busy showing off. And I lied to her. I couldn't help it, just lied. Bye, then!"
Then– just like that– he pushed himself through the hole, which got Bran and Valerie to bring their attention over to Annabelle, who was about to jump through the hole herself, only to stop when Valerie said to her, "I thought you said that you and him weren't friends?"
Without taking her eyes off of the top of the vehicle that the Doctor was standing on, Annabelle replied, "We're not. But I do believe that traveling with him and having to deal with him and his insufferable tendencies of saving any species that he comes across is far better than having to deal with my half-brother any day."
Then– just like that– she jumped through the hole that the Doctor had made and landed just beside him, which got Valerie and Bran to stare into the hole, while Valerie said, "They're completely insane!"
Bran replied, "That, and a bit magnificent!"
It wasn't long afterwards that both Annabelle and the Doctor had entered the top of the vehicle that they'd landed on only moments before, which got the man driving the vehicle to ask them, "Who the hell are you?"
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Sorry, motorway foot patrol. We're doing a survey. How are you enjoying your motorway?"
The man told him, "Well, not very much. Junction 5's been closed for three years."
After opening up the floor to the man's vehicle, the Doctor said to him, "Thank you, your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!" Just when Annabelle had started to silently eye the man and his unusually pale skin, she suddenly stopped when the Doctor yelled, "Come on, Annabelle!"
With a mere roll of her eyes, Annabelle had jumped through the hole that the Doctor had made, shortly before she'd found herself inside of another vehicle and several more after that one.
And in each vehicle that she landed in, the patience that she had lessened more and more until finally she found herself inside of the same vehicle as a man, who turned to them and said to them, "Excuse me! Is that legal?"
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Sorry, motorway foot patrol. Whatever. Have you got any water?"
As he leaned towards his left, the man said to him, "Certainly. Never let it be said I've lost my manners."
After drinking all of the water in the cup that he was given by the man, the Doctor asked him, "Is this the last layer?"
With a nod of his head, the man told him, "We're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane."
The Doctor asked him, "Can we drive down?"
The man replied, "As far as I can see, there are only two adults here. She looks like a mere teenager."
With her eyes narrowed and her veins on display, Annabelle told him, "I... am not... a teenager."
With a wave of his hand, the Doctor said, "Well, never mind how she looks. Can't you just drive us down there?"
In turn, the man said to him, "Well, I'd love to, but it's an automated system. The wheel would lock."
As he turned his back on the man, the Doctor said to him, "Then excuse me."
While the Doctor had pointed his screwdriver at the floor of the vehicle, the man told him, "You can't jump. Neither of you can. It's a thousand feet down!"
The Doctor replied, "No, I just want a look."
It wasn't long afterwards that roaring could be heard from deep beneath the vehicle that they were inside of, which got Annabelle to make her way over towards the hole that was made into the floor of the vehicle and stare into the exhaust fumes with her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed.
As he and Annabelle had stared into the exhaust fumes, the Doctor asked the man, "What's that noise?"
The man told him, "I try not to think about it."
Then the Doctor asked him, "What are those lights? What's down there?" After repeatedly waving his hand in front of himself, he said, "I just need to see."
Then he quickly made his way over towards the screen of the vehicle as he said, "There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, I could trip the system. Give us a bit of a breeze." After several seconds of keeping his screwdriver pointed at the screen, he yelled, "That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look."
It wasn't long afterwards that the sound of screeching was heard, shortly before the man asked them, "What are those shapes?"
While Annabelle had silently eyed the creatures that were hiding themselves inside of the exhaust fumes, the Doctor said, "They're alive."
The man asked him, "What the hell are they?"
The Doctor told him, "Macra."
With her eyebrows furrowed, Annabelle asked him, "What the bloody hell is a Macra?"
It was only moments after the man had simply glanced over at Annabelle that the Doctor told them, "The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas. The filthier, the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food."
The man replied, "They don't exactly look like empire-builders to me."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must have devolved down the years. Now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry, and my friend's down there."
After a thudding was heard from just above them, the man yelled with a scoff, "It's like New Times Square in here! For goodness sake!"
In turn, the Doctor said, "I've invented a sport!"
It wasn't long afterwards that a woman with the face of a cat had dropped down into the vehicle and said, "Doctor! You're a hard man to find."
It was then that the man yelled, "No guns! I'm not having guns!"
The woman told him, "I only brought this in case of pirates." While Annabelle had silently eyed the woman with narrowed eyes and her head tilted to the side, the woman turned to the Doctor and said to him, "Doctor, you've got to come with me."
With his own eyebrows furrowed, the Doctor asked the woman, "Do I know you?"
After letting out a scoff, the woman said, "You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me."
It was then that the Doctor had grabbed the woman by her arms and said, "Novice Hame!" After quickly wrapping his arms around her, the Doctor pulled away from her and said to her, "Whoa, hold on. Get off! Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation."
While the man had looked over at Novice Hame with his eyes widened and Annabelle had only rolled her eyes with a sigh, Novice Hame told the Doctor, "I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself."
With a shake of his head, the Doctor replied, "I'm not going anywhere. You've got Macra living underneath this city. Macra! And if my friend's still alive, she's stuck down there! And I'm not going to come with you and let Annabelle out of my sight. Knowing her, she would kill this man here and do as she wishes with everyone else– just as she's been practically itching to do ever since she first stepped foot into my TARDIS!"
While the man's eyes had widened that much more as he looked over at Annabelle, Novice Hame told the Doctor, "You've got to come with me right now!"
With a shake of his head, the Doctor said to her, "No, no, no, you're coming with me. We've got enough passengers now."
In turn, Novice Hame said to the Doctor, "I'm sorry, Doctor, but the situation is even worse than you can imagine." After grabbing onto the Doctor, she said, "Transport."
Then the Doctor yelled, "Don't you dare! Don't you dare!"
After quickly looking around himself, he took it upon himself to grab Annabelle, who had simply stared ahead of herself with a blank look on her face before she found herself taken out of the vehicle and towards somewhere else entirely.
It wasn't long after they'd been taken out of the vehicle and had landed elsewhere that the Doctor had let out a groan as he said, "Rough teleport. Ow!" As he pushed himself back up onto his feet, the Doctor told Novice Hame, "You can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha!"
In turn, Novice Hame said to him, "I only had the power for one trip."
The Doctor replied, "Then get some more! Where are we?"
With a mere turn of her head, Novice Hame said, "High above, in the Overcity."
The Doctor said to her, "Good, 'cause you can tell the senate of New New York I'd like a word. They have got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!"
In turn, Novice Hame told him, "But you're inside the senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless thee." It wasn't long after a beam of light had entered the room and both Annabelle and the Doctor could see only skeletons staring back at them that Novice Hame said, "They died, Doctor. The city died."
As he took a couple of steps away from her, the Doctor asked her, "How long has it been like this?"
Novice Hame replied, "Twenty-four years."
After crouching down in front of one of the skeletons, the Doctor asked her, "All of them? Everyone? What happened?"
Novice Hame told him, "A new chemical. A new mood. They called it 'bliss'. Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished. Even the virus in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the Undercity. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "So the whole thing down there is running on automatic."
Novice Hame replied, "There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking."
With his eyebrows now furrowed, the Doctor asked her, "Who's 'we'? How did you survive?"
Novice Hame told him, "He protected me. And he has waited for you these long years."
It wasn't long afterwards that both Annabelle and the Doctor heard a voice in their heads say, "Doctor."
It was then that the Doctor had quickly run into the next room and said, "The Face of Boe!"
While Annabelle had slowly walked towards the next room and took in the sight of an actual face kept inside of a large case of glass, she heard the voice say, "I knew you would come."
While the Doctor had crouched down in front of the Face of Boe, Novice Hame said, "Back in the old days, I was made his nurse as penance for my sin."
Then the Doctor asked him, "Old friend, what happened to you?"
The Face of Boe told him, "A failing."
Then Novice Hame said, "He protected me from the virus by shrouding me in his smoke. But with no one to maintain it, the city's power died. The Undercity would have fallen into the sea."
With a mere turn of his head, the Doctor said, "So he saved them."
Novice Hame told him, "The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "But there are planets out there. You could have called for help."
As she lowered her head, Novice Hame said, "The last act of the senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one-hundred years."
While the Face of Boe had started to gasp to himself, Annabelle asked, "Does anyone here mind telling me just why the hell I can hear his voice in my head?"
As she turned her head to look over at Annabelle, Novice Hame told her, "The Face of Boe– he's telepathic. Anything he wishes to say can be projected into your mind, thus allowing you to hear anything that he has to say."
While Annabelle had only scrunched her nose in response to what Novice Hame had just told her and the Face of Boe had only looked over at the unstable Original with just his eyes and watched how she silently took in the information that she had just been given about him, the Doctor slowly stood back up onto his feet and said, "So the two of you stayed here. On your own for all these years."
Novice Hame replied, "We had no choice."
After putting a hand on her shoulder, the Doctor said to her, "Yes, you did."
It was then that Annabelle had squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her hands into fists when she heard the Face of Boe say, "Save them, Doctor. Save them."
* * *
With a point of his finger, the Doctor yelled, "Car 4-5-6-Diamond-6, it still registers! That's Martha. I knew she was good." Then– with a quick turn of his head– he said, "Novice Hame, hold that in place."
After some of the wires were handed over to Novice Hame, the Doctor had quickly gathered up some more wires and walked away from the three of them as he said, "Take the residual energy, convert it, feed it through the electricity system."
Novice Hame replied, "But there isn't enough power."
In turn, the Doctor yelled, "Oh, you got power! You got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch." Then– after turning to face Novice Hame once more– he pointed a finger and yelled, "Hame, every switch on that bank up to maximum!"
With her eyes narrowed, Annabelle watched as both Novice Hame and the Doctor did what they could to help those on the motorway before glancing over at the Face of Boe and seeing how he just simply stared ahead of himself and said nothing more on the matter of the Doctor saving those on the motorway.
And while Annabelle had simply eyed the Face of Boe, the Doctor twisted a dial as he said, "I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people."
Novice Hame asked him, "So what are you going to do?"
With a quick yank of a lever, the Doctor yelled, "This!" When all of the power had only gone back out, he yelled, "No, no, no, no, no, no!"
Shortly after Annabelle had only raised her eyebrows in response to the Doctor's yelling, the Doctor said, "The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through."
It was then that Annabelle had squeezed her eyes shut once more when she heard the Face of Boe say, "Doctor."
In turn, the Doctor said to him, "Yeah, hold on, not now."
Then the Face of Boe told him, "I give you my last..."
Then– after some gasping was heard coming from the Face of Boe– the power seemed to come back on, which got the Doctor to quickly turn his head and yell, "Hame, look after him! Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this. The open road. Ha!"
* * *
While Annabelle had only stared at the screen with her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed, the Doctor said into it, "Sorry, no Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor."
With a shake of his head, Bran said, "He's a magician."
While Annabelle had simply let out a scoff, the Doctor said, "And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now."
Bran asked, "Is he serious?"
Then the Doctor told them, "I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole Undercity, drive up. Drive up. Drive up! We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way." While Annabelle had brought her attention off of the Doctor and over towards the Face of Boe and Novice Hame, the Doctor said, "Oi! Car 4-6-5-Diamond-6. Martha! Drive up!"
It was then that Annabelle could hear Martha yell, "That's the Doctor!"
Then she heard a male voice say, "We can't go up, we'll hit the lane!"
Then Martha yelled, "Just do as he says! Go up!"
Then the Doctor told them, "You've got access above. Now, go!"
It wasn't long afterwards that she heard Bran say, "Didn't I tell you, Doctor, you're not bad, sir? You're not bad at all."
After hearing Bran simply laugh to himself, the Doctor said to him, "You keep driving, Brannigan. All the way up. 'Cause it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York, and it's yours. And don't forget, I want that coat back."
In turn, Bran said to him, "I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir."
Then the Doctor said, "And Car 4-6-5-Diamond-6, I've sent you a flight path, come to the senate."
It wasn't long afterwards that he and Annabelle heard Martha say, "On my way!"
As he continued to stare out and into the city, the Doctor said, "Quite a while since I saw you, Martha Jones."
It was then that Novice Hame yelled, "Doctor!"
With a quick turn of his head, the Doctor saw cracks appear on the glass that held the Face of Boe's head and not to mention the way that Annabelle was just silently eyeing the cracking glass.
* * *
After quickly making her way into the senate, Martha Jones came to a halt when she saw that the room that she was inside of was full of skeletons and looked around at each of the skeletons before she looked at one in particular that laid on a bit of stone, which got her to say, "Doctor?"
It wasn't long afterwards that she heard the Doctor say to her, "Over here."
With a quick turn of her head, Martha started to run over to the next room as she yelled, "Doctor! What happened out there?"
Then she immediately came to a halt when she saw Novice Hame and the Doctor crouched in front of the Face of Boe and then glanced towards her right to see that Annabelle was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed as she stared directly at the Face of Boe.
After a couple seconds of silence, Martha asked, "What's that?"
The Doctor told her, "It's the Face of Boe. It's alright, come say hello. And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry." While Martha had slowly made her way over towards them, the Doctor said, "He's the one that saved you, not me."
Then Novice Hame said, "My lord gave his life to save the city. And now he's dying."
The Doctor replied, "No, don't say that. Not old Boe, plenty of life left."
Once again, Annabelle had squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the Face of Boe say, "It's good to breathe the air once more."
With furrowed eyebrows, Martha looked over at the Doctor and asked him, "Who is he?"
In turn, the Doctor said to her, "I don't even know. Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years." Then he looked back over at the Face of Boe as he said, "Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now."
The Face of Boe replied, "Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most." As he moved his eyes to look between Annabelle and the Doctor, he said, "Both of you do."
While Annabelle's eyebrows had only furrowed in response to the words that she had heard inside of her head, Novice Hame said, "The legend says more."
As he looked over at Novice Hame, the Doctor said to her, "Don't. There's no need for that."
As she continued to stare down at the Face of Boe, Novice Hame told them, "It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler."
The Doctor replied, "Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"
It was then that the Face of Boe said, "I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind, as you are the last of yours, Doctor."
With a mere raise of his eyebrows, the Doctor told him, "That's why we have to survive. Both of us. Don't go."
The Face of Boe replied, "I must. But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone."
The moment that the Face of Boe had closed his eyes, Novice Hame had started to sob to herself, which got Annabelle to silently eye her with furrowed eyebrows, while the Doctor simply made his way over towards Martha and pulled her in towards himself.
* * *
As he made his way through Pharmacy Town, the Doctor said, "All closed down."
In turn, Martha said to him, "Happy?"
As he peeked his head through one of the vendors, the Doctor said, "Happy-happy. New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs, cats in charge. Come on, time we were off."
While the Doctor had started to walk away from the two of them and Annabelle silently eyed each of the abandoned vendors, Martha asked him, "But what did he mean, the Face of Boe? You are not alone?"
With a mere shake of his head, the Doctor said, "I don't know."
As she took a couple of steps towards him, Martha told him, "You've got me. Is that what he meant?"
With yet another shake of his head, the Doctor said to her, "I don't think so. Sorry."
With a shake of her own head, Martha asked him, "Then what?"
Instead of responding to her question, the Doctor had simply glanced over at Annabelle and saw her scoff to herself with a mere shake of her head.
He heard her mutter something under her breath and saw her veins come onto display for a single moment before she sped away from him and– presumably– back over towards the TARDIS, leaving him to answer Martha's constant questions about why he wouldn't tell her anything that there was to know about himself.
And while he did just that, Annabelle couldn't help but wonder why the Face of Boe had acted as if he knew her when she'd never in her life seen him before he gave his life for those that had spent most of their lives on the motorway.