A HORRIBLE CHOICE

Chapter Six

Rose scooted closer to the front of her cell when she noticed Donna was waking up.

"Donna?" she said while Donna groaned and struggled to wake up. "Donna, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I…I s'pose so, just…groggy," Donna said, struggling to sit up.

"Someone drugged me, I think they did the same to you and to whoever that is over there," Rose said, pointing to River. "Don't know who she is and she's still unconscious."

Donna finally managed to sit up and get a good look at Rose. She frowned when she realized she didn't know who she was. She asked who she was and Rose gave her a confused look.

"I'm Rose, don't you remember?" she said.

"Um…"

Donna was about to say she didn't know who she was but something seemed familiar about her. Looking at her, she swore she'd seen her before even though she couldn't think where that might be.

"I don't know," Donna finally said. "You don't look familiar and at the same time, I know you from somewhere."

"Maybe you're still recovering from the effects of being drugged," Rose said. "Just relax and maybe you'll remember."

"Um…yeah…" Donna said, looking around. "Where are we?"

"No idea, I woke up in this box and no one's been in here. Just the three of us."

Donna looked at River and frowned. Once again, she didn't know the woman and yet…her face looked familiar. Donna let out a frustrated sigh and sat back against the back of the cube. She looked over when five minutes later River started waking up. Both women watched while she slowly woke up and looked around. She looked at Rose and then Donna.

"Who are you and where am I?" she said to them.

"I'm Rose."

"I'm Donna and we don't know where the hell we are," Donna said to River.

"River Song, nice to meet you," River said to them while she looked at her prison.

She banged on the side of her prison and sighed angrily.

"Bollocks, from one prison into another," she said. "And now I'm wondering if the Doctor knows I'm gone."

"The Doctor? You know him?" Rose said.

"Yeah, you know him too?"

"Yeah, I traveled with him once," Rose said. "She did too," she said, pointing to Donna.

"I…did?" Donna said. "I don't recall traveling with any Doctor. Doctor who?"

"Blimey, they must have really drugged you, Donna," Rose said.

"I don't know," Donna said. "Why would they drug me more heavily than you lot? I'm nobody special."

Rose was confused. She was listening to Donna but Donna wasn't acting like herself. She couldn't understand why Donna didn't seem to recognize her or know who the Doctor was. She wondered if they did something to alter her mind.

But why would they do that to her and not to me or River? Rose thought.

Then she had another thought. She suddenly realized that if she was in the same room with Donna, then she must be back in her own universe again. Her heart sank when she realized she was across the void and away from her human Doctor, the only Doctor who probably knew she'd been kidnapped.

Unless…Donna was still traveling with the original Doctor. Oh God, say he's looking for her now so he can find me, she thought.

"Damn it, there has to be a way to contact the Doctor and let him know we're in here," River said after hitting the side of her prison.

"I'd like to contact granddad since I don't know this Doctor," Donna said.

"Then why are you here if you don't know him?" River said. "I worked out that Rose and I are connected since we know the Doctor but what about you?"

"She does know him," Rose said.

"No, I don't," Donna said.

"Yes, you do. You know me as well. I helped you when you were stuck in that alternate reality and we helped the Doctor defeat Davros. You know me and you know the Doctor, you just can't remember that for the moment. What about you, River? Do you know her?"

"No, never seen her before in my life," River said, shaking her head.

"But why do I know you then?" Donna blurted out.

"I'm sorry?" River said.

"I mean, I don't know you or her but somehow, I do…I can't think where I would have seen you lot but you just look familiar to me and…"

"I think they did something to you, Donna," Rose said when Donna shook her head in confusion. "I think they altered your memories but not all of them and you remember us but you can't consciously remember where you know us."

"But why would they do that?" River said.

"Yeah, what makes me so special that they'd take out a huge chunk of my memories?" Donna said.

"Because you were the DoctorDonna," Rose said.

"I was what?" Donna said.

"You merged with the Doctor and took his mind into your own and you helped stop Davros. Maybe whoever is doing this to us needs your mind and they're blocking your memories so you can't fight back."

"Then why are you here?" Donna said, pointing to her and River. "If they need me, why are you here with me?"

"Dunno, but you have the Doctor's mind and that makes you more dangerous than us," Rose said.

"Oh, I don't know. I can be pretty dangerous when I wanna be," River said. "And if they don't let me out of this cell, I'm gonna bash a few heads in."

They shut up when the door opened on its own. They waited but they couldn't see anyone, only a corridor outside the open door.

"Okay, that's odd," Donna said. "They have a problem with keeping this door closed or something?"

"Hello?" River yelled. "Is someone there?"

There was no reply and River shrugged.

"Maybe it is a faulty door," she said.

But Rose suddenly had a funny feeling that someone was in the room with them. Gooseflesh broke out on her arms and she got chills down her spine when she sensed something was nearby.

"Hello?" she yelled. "There's someone in here with us, show yourself!"

There was no reply and Rose shook her head.

"It's not just a wonky door, something is in here with us, I can feel it," she said to River and Donna. "It's over here with me, I'm getting gooseflesh."

"I don't see anything," Donna said, looking around.

"I don't either but that doesn't mean anything," River said. "She's right, I can sense something in the room with us and whatever it is better show itself."

Suddenly, the Tenth Doctor materialized out of thin air and stood in front of Rose's cell. Rose was struck dumb for a moment seeing the man she loved standing there and it took her a few seconds to regain the power of speech.

"Doctor? Is that you?" she said, daring to hope that perhaps he found a way to rescue them. "Are you the Doctor or my human Doctor?"

She frowned when the Doctor didn't say anything and just kept staring at her. Then he turned and walked over to Donna. Donna raised her eyebrow when the Doctor stared down at her.

"Um…hi?" she said hesitantly.

The Doctor stared at her for a few minutes. Then it turned to River and River gasped when the being shapeshifted into the Eleventh Doctor and walked over to her cell.

"Okay, I know the Doctor isn't capable of shapeshifting without regeneration so who the hell are you?" River said.

"Who's that?" Rose said, pointing to the Eleventh Doctor.

"It's the Doctor," River said.

"It is? But the man he was before was the Doctor."

"That was a previous regeneration of the Doctor. This is the Doctor's eleventh life. This is how I know him," River said.

"His eleventh life?" Rose breathed as she got up on her knees. "Wait, he…he regenerated again?"

"Um…perhaps, you knew him in his previous life?" River said.

"Yeah, the first Doctor, that's what he looked like the last time I saw him."

"I don't know either one," Donna said, shaking her head.

"Well, this is not the Doctor because the Doctor can't change his body at will so who the hell are you?" River said to the being standing near her cell. "Why have we been brought here? Where are we?"

"River," the being said using the Doctor's voice.

"And don't imitate his voice, show us who you really are, you son of a bitch," River said. "You're not worthy to lick that man's shoes, let alone impersonate him. Now show us your true form."

"You love him, don't you?" the being said, pointing to himself.

"The Doctor? Yes, I do. If you mean you, no I don't love you, whoever you are, and I'm finding it harder to keep my temper at bay seeing you like this so quit impersonating him."

The being turned back to Rose and assumed the form of the Tenth Doctor as he walked towards her.

"And I feel the same way, stop impersonating the Doctor and show us what you really look like," Rose said angrily.

The being stopped in front of her cell and stared down at her while Rose sighed angrily.

"How long are you gonna stay with me?" the being suddenly asked.

Rose's heart lurched. It was the question he asked her long ago when they stood together on Minus 13 watching the manta rays gliding through the sky. The question that she answered with "Forever." Rose felt her anger increasing as the being stared down at her impassively.

"Go away if all you're gonna do is torment us," she said, waving her hand towards the open door. "I don't need to hear his words coming from your mouth."

"Rose," the being whispered.

"I said, go away!" Rose yelled at the being.

The being turned away and assumed the form of the Eleventh Doctor again.

"And you can stop tormenting me as well," River said as the being walked towards her.

"Hello, honey, I'm home."

"Shut up!" River yelled at the being as he stared down at her.

"Now I love a bad girl, me," the being said. "But trust you…"

"I said, shut up!" River yelled.

The being turned back to Rose and assumed the form of the human Doctor.

"I'm part human, specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler; I could spend it with you…if you want."

Rose glared silently at the being while River stared at Rose with a confused look on her face.

"Wait, what is he talking about?" River said, pointing to the being. "If he's pretending to be the Doctor and saying things the Doctor said to us…"

"It's impersonating the Doctor's clone, my fiancé," Rose said.

"Clone? When the hell did he get a clone?" River said. "But at the beginning, when he first started speaking, was that the clone as well? When he said how long will you stay with me?"

"No, that was the actual Doctor. It was something he said to me," Rose said while the being watched them.

"And what did you say to that?" River said.

"I told him I'd stay with him forever," Rose said.

River stared at her in disbelief. She glanced up at the being who was watching her.

"Who is she?" River said, pointing to Rose.

The being morphed into the suit wearing Doctor.

"She is my beloved Rose, the woman I love above all others," the being said.

He turned to Rose and morphed into the Eleventh Doctor.

"And this is River Song," he said to Rose while he pointed to River, "the woman who is destined to become my wife."

"What?" Rose and River said in unison.

Donna watched in silent confusion while both women stared at each other in disbelief. River's face fell as she looked at Rose.

"You're not serious," she finally said to the being. "The Doctor and I…"

"Rose was the Doctor's first love, honey," the being said to her.

He turned to Rose.

"River is the one he fell in love with after he left you in the other universe."

"Is that true?" Rose said to River.

"Yeah, the Doctor and I…we're lovers. Is it true what he's saying about you?"

Rose nodded. River looked at Donna.

"And you? Are you one of his lovers too?"

"I don't know the man," Donna said. "I don't know why I'm here. I can't remember any of you!"

The being shifted to the Tenth Doctor. Donna scooted to the back of her prison, suddenly frightened when the being came towards her. She gasped when her prison suddenly vanished and she lost the support of her back. She quickly stood up and backed away while the being came towards her.

"Leave me alone, go away!" she said, batting at the air in front of the being.

Rose and River yelled at the being to leave her alone as it backed Donna up into a corner. Donna tried to get away but the being put his hands on the side of her face and Donna froze while the being closed his eyes.

"No! What are you doing to her?" Rose yelled as she hit the walls of her cell.

"I am putting up a safeguard in her mind and restoring her memoires to her," the being said aloud while it kept its eyes closed. "Donna Noble will remember who she is now."

Slowly, recognition dawned on Donna's face as the being restored her missing memories to her. When the being was finished, it stepped back and Donna took a step away from it. She looked at Rose and started walking towards her prison while the being slowly followed her.

"Leave us alone, whatever you are, let us go," Donna said.

"Do you remember me, Donna Noble?" the being asked.

"I remember the Doctor. I remember Rose and River, yes," Donna said.

"You remember me? We've never met before," River said.

"Yes, we did. In The Library," Donna said, glancing at her.

"Library?" River muttered to herself. "Shit, must have happened in my future or something because I have no idea who you are."

"What do you want with us?" Rose said when Donna reached her cell and stood by it.

"You three are the Doctor's beloveds. You three are the ones he treasures most," the being said. "You will be used at bait to lure him to me."

"And then what?" Donna said.

"Then he must make a choice," the being said.

"What sort of choice?" River said.

The being didn't reply. He waved his hand and Rose's prison extended to envelop Donna. Donna slapped the side of the prison and cursed. Rose stood up and all three of them watched while the being turned and suddenly vanished from sight. They watched helplessly as the door closed, leaving them alone in their captivity.

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