MEMORIES | {1st - Stars Themselves Series}

The Fires of Pompeii (4)

"But if its aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?"

"Still part of history," Poppy says rather bluntly. The heat was making her moodier.

"But we're history to him," Donna then starts talking to The Doctor again "You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Some things are fixed; some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed,"

"How do you know which is which?" Poppy asks, genuinely curious. The Doctor stops and faces them both.

"Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, And I'm the only one left,"

"How many people died?"

"Stop it,"

"Doctor, how many people died?" Donna knew Poppy could make a rough estimate. But she wanted The Doctor to say it.

"Twenty thousand,"

"Is that what you can see, Doctor? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?" Something roars and Poppy turns around in shock, her hair swinging.

"They know we're here. Come on,"

----------&----------

"It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain,"

"It explains why I'm absolutely boiling," Poppy sighs

"There's tons of them," Donna comments on the number of aliens in the 'room'

"What's that thing?" The Doctor uses a monocular to look at some distant construct.

"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something. Rocky fall's on its way,"

"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"

"Look, I know I'm wearing contacts. But I still can't for the life of me see what you're looking at,"

"But why do they need a volcano?" Donna asks

"Maybe it erupts, and they launch themselves back into space or something," Poppy guesses

"Oh, it's worse than that,"

"Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods," Poppy's eyes widen at Lucius standing at the edge across from them

The Doctor pulls Poppy along as him and Donna argue yet again.

"Crush them! Burn them!"

A Pyrovile appears up in front of them, The Doctor sprays it with his water pistol before grabbing Poppy's hand again and running to the circuit they saw earlier.

"There is nowhere to run, Doctor, Watcher and daughter of London!"

"Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather!" The Doctor turns to Poppy - proud of his pun, she just rolls her eyes as Donna sighs "In a lava? No? No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish! Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?!"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation!"

"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?!"

"She's right!" Poppy shouts up "Staying here makes no sense!"

"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone!"