Doctor Who: Molten Heart

by Una McCormack

  “I spoke to the, er, the people who did all this. They had no idea that you were here.”

  “Doctor,” said Yaz, “there’s so much damage… How do we even begin to fix this?”

  “Do we have enough time?” said Ryan. “Before the fissure cracks wide open?”

  “There’s always a way,” said the Doctor. “What do we have now that we didn’t have before?”

  Yaz thought for a while. “The nanobots!”

  “The nanobots,” said the Doctor. “And with what I learned from our friend, I can re-programme them, set the process into reverse, seal up the shafts, and the tunnels, and we’re done. All Basalt and his people need to do is hop aboard the TARDIS here, and we can take them back home—”

  “Leave?” said Basalt, and frowned. “Doctor, we can’t leave. We’re the only thing holding the fissure shut! If we leave – it cracks! Cracks wide!”

  Yaz looked at the Doctor, and was surprised to see that, for once, she was completely wrong-footed. “Of course. The fissure wasn’t made directly by the machines, it’s a fault-line that’s opened up – so the nanobots won’t know to reverse it. I hadn’t thought of that…”

  “We’ll stay,” said Basalt, quickly. “You do what you need to do, and we’ll stay and hold the fissure shut.”

  “Basalt,” said the Doctor. “You don’t understand. Everything will seal. You won’t survive—”

  “Will it help save people?” said Basalt.

  “Dad…” said Ash, uncertainly.

  Yaz looked at the Doctor. She couldn’t put a name to this face: there were so many emotions passing over it. At last, the Doctor settled on determination. “No,” she said. “No, I’m not having it. There’s got to be another way.”

  “I can’t see what else we can do,” said Basalt. “And the longer we leave these shafts open, the worse the strain on the fissure gets. Doctor, do what you need to do!”

  “What needs to be done,” said the Doctor, “is that we start thinking.”

  Ash took his hand. “Dad,” she said. “I believe in you. I know you’ll come up with something.”

  But Basalt was shaking his head. “It’s no use, Ash,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to know when you’re beaten.”

  In the Diamond City, people were watching and waiting, fearfully. Quartz was out and about, booming cheerfully in his big voice, keeping morale high. Onyx was out too, wearing his green stone, making sure the Greenwatch kept the peace and stopped any panic. And then – in all the shining halls and glittering walkways of the City, the Doctor appeared, larger than life, and with a beaming smile.

  “Hello!” she said. “Me again. I’m here with Basalt. He wants a word.”

  The Doctor’s avatar disappeared, and Basalt appeared instead. “Can they really see me?”

  “We can see you, Basalt,” said Quartz, dryly.

  “Ah, good. Well, it’s good to speak to you again, Quartz. I need you to do something for me. I need something from my study.”

  Quartz looked at him in horror. “Basalt, it’s gone.”

  “Gone?”

  Onyx stepped forwards. “Not all of it. Basalt – what do you need?”

  “There were notes on crystal formations… What do you mean my study is gone?”

  “Emerald had it destroyed,” said Quartz.

  “I saved what I could,” said Onyx. “Let’s hope I saved what we needed. Basalt, tell me what you want.”

  Up by the fissure, Basalt put his head in his hands. “My life’s work,” he said. “All gone.”

  “No, not all of it!” cried Yaz. “The cellar – we hid some there, and Onyx took most of your library and a pile of notes with him.”

  “But the study… The samples…”

  Graham looked at him sadly. “We did what we could.”

  Faintly, they heard one of the crystal communicators hum. It was Quartz. “I think we’ve found what you need…”

  Yaz watched as the Doctor and Basalt sat, hunched over and heads together, hard at work. She turned to Ryan. “I wonder what they’ll come up with.”

  “Something weird. Something wonderful.” He looked over his shoulder, back towards the fissure. There was a shout from up there, and one of the rock-people came dashing out. Water was trickling down the ground behind them. Ryan sighed. “I just hope they hurry.”

  The Doctor jumped suddenly to her feet. “All right,” she said. “I think I know what we need to do, but we need to speak to Ouolulu again.” She dashed towards the TARDIS. Yaz and Ryan chased after her.

  The Doctor opened a communications channel. “Ouolulu. Ouolulu! It’s me, the Doctor, back at the mine! We need your help!”

  There was a short pause, and no response.

  “Ouolulu! Are you there?”

  Again, another silence, and then the alien’s voice came through the comm. “Hello? I’d just gone to get a snack. What do you need? I’m going off shift in a minute or two, got to figure out how I report this—”

  “I need the technical specifications for the nanobot technology you used here.”

  There was a soft laugh at the other end of the comm. “On its way, Doctor.”

  “Why the laughing?” said Ryan.

  “Yeah, good point,” said the Doctor. “Hey, why are you laughing?”

  “Proprietary technology, Doctor! Anything else you’d like while I’m here?”

  “You’re doing the right thing,” the Doctor said, helpfully.

  “Sure. Will you write me a reference for my next employers?”

  “If we make it,” the Doctor said. She cut the comm channel, then starting reading through the information Ouolulu had sent. “Yes,” she said, “I think I can see what to do…”

  “Go on,” said Yaz. “Tell us!”

  “Basalt has detailed notes on the composition of the crystals up near the fissure, and he’s done experiments on super-heating them. We thought for a while we could use that to weld it shut, but the process is too slow, and then I thought…” She smiled at Yaz. “Well, you know already.”

  Yaz smiled. “The nanobots?”

  “That’s right,” said the Doctor. “I’ve had a look through the specs now, and I think I can programme them to interface with the crystals up by the fissure, so that when we send them into reverse, they’ll close the natural holes as well as the artificial ones. Well, that’s the theory.”

  “Will it work, Doctor?” said Ryan.

  The Doctor pulled a face. “It should. It might. Perhaps. We’ll need to get away quickly, though. If the fissure starts to crack and we’re still here, we’ll be first to go.”

  “And if it doesn’t work, Doctor?” Yaz said softly. “What do we do then?”

  The Doctor looked grim. “Then we go back to the Diamond City and we fill the TARDIS with everyone who’ll come, and we get them away from here.”

  Yaz thought about the wonderful people she had seen. How would they live, away from this precious world of theirs? Where else could they possibly go?

  “Come on,” said the Doctor. “It’s time to get started.”

  They headed for the TARDIS doors, stopping when Graham put his head round. He looked grim. “There you are,” he said. “You’d better hurry. I don’t think it’s going to be much longer here.”

  They dashed back out onto the platform. Yaz looked round in horror. The trickle of water had become a free-flowing stream, and it was getting stronger by the second. Basalt was in the thick of it, organising his people to block up the crack, but it was clear they were fighting a losing battle.

  “You three,” said the Doctor, “get inside. Now!”

  They did as she’d ordered, but Yaz stood by the doors and watched as the Doctor dashed towards Basalt. “Basalt!” she cried. “We’ve got to go! Get your people away from there and into the TARDIS.”

  Yaz saw Basalt hesitate. “He doesn’t want to leave,” she murmured. “He knows that they’re the only thing stopping the flood…”

  “He’d better leave,” said G
raham. “Or he’ll take us with him.”

  They stood back from the doors as Basalt’s people dashed inside, taking cover in the TARDIS. Ash was last, and she stood at the door with Yaz, watching fearfully at her father, still hesitating. “Dad!” she cried. “You’ve got to come now!”

  Basalt, hearing her cry, turned, and smiled at her. For a moment, Yaz was sure he was saying goodbye, and then he turned to the Doctor, and nodded, and, with her, ran towards the TARDIS. Behind them, the water was gushing freely now, and they skidded on the wet surface as they made for the TARDIS doors. Yaz and Ash jumped out of the way to let Basalt enter, and, last of all, the seawater lapping at her heels, the Doctor dashed inside, sealing the TARDIS doors behind her.

  She ran towards the console, gabbling as she pushed and pulled the controls to make the TARDIS dematerialise. “I know, I know – bigger on the inside, dead exciting, all of time and space, I’ll run you through the rest later. Right now – got some nanobots to hack. Wish me luck!”

  Yaz felt Ryan move to stand next to her, and was relieved to have her friend by her side once again. Graham stood behind them, like a mother hen watching over chicks. Yaz saw Ash take her father’s hand. She watched as the water flooded through onto the platform, and she gasped as the roof of the tunnel began to buckle and collapse.

  And then the Doctor cried, “Here we go—!”

  Down in the City, the people of looked up at the roof of the world. As they watched, a white light spread across the heavens.

  Silence fell.

  And then there was a strange, unearthly grinding noise. Someone screamed, which set a few others off. Someone else cried out, “It’s happening! We’re all going to die!”

  Inside the TARDIS, everything was very still. “Doctor,” said Ryan, uncertainly. “Did that work?”

  The Doctor was taking readings at the console. “Surface shaft, closing,” she muttered. “Tunnel, closing. Secondary shaft, closing…”

  “What about the fissure?” said Basalt.

  “Wait for it, wait for it…” The Doctor was concentrating on the controls like Ryan had never seen her do before. “Come on, come on…”

  The Diamond City was teetering on the edge of panic. “We’re finished!” someone cried, and some people began to look around, for somewhere to escape… But others were still looking upwards. Pointing upwards, they cried, “No, look! The threads of light – they’re gone! The cracks are closing!”

  And someone else said, “Where did that blue box come from?”

  The Doctor looked up at Basalt and smiled. “Sealed,” she said. “The fissure’s sealed for good.”

  Ash put her arm around her father. “You did it,” she said. “You saved us.”

  He shook his head. “She saved us. Thank you, Doctor. I wish I knew what you’d done!”

  She beamed at him. “I’ll run you through it. These nanobots – you’re going to love them.”

  “Proprietary technology, Doctor?” said Yaz, with a smile.

  “Compensation,” said the Doctor, firmly. “Now – one last job.” She looked down at the console again.

  “What are you doing?” said Ryan.

  “Just a little hack into the files of a certain mining corporation,” she said. “Not something I do every day of the week, but I think it’s easier this way. Off the record, as it were. Put a marker round this world – don’t come near.” She smiled at Basalt and Ash. “You don’t want any more visitors poking about your home for commercial gain. Although you might consider doing some visiting to other worlds one day.” She went back to the console. “Oh, and I’ve recommended our friend back there a full-time job. I think Ouolulu earned it.”

  One-by-one, they came out of the TARDIS. The people of the Diamond City were not slow in showing their appreciation. The noise of their applause was a booming cacophony, rock on rock, stones singing.

  “This is more like it,” said Graham. “Better than getting chucked into a dungeon.”

  Last of all, Basalt came out of the TARDIS, and the people of the City roared his name. He stood blinking at them, overcome with emotion.

  “Hero of the hour,” said the Doctor. “Good.”

  Ash was beaming with pleasure. “This is all I ever wanted,” she said. “I wanted everyone to know that he was right.”

  “Don’t forget everything you did, Ash,” Ryan said. “You’ve gone further than anyone on your world ever has before.”

  Ash smiled. “So I did,” she said.

  Yaz nudged the Doctor. “Look,” she said. “Emerald.”

  They watched as, slowly, Emerald also began to applaud. The Doctor slipped over to speak to her.

  “I suppose,” said Emerald, lowering her hands, “that I should say thank you.”

  “That’s all right,” said the Doctor. “I wish you’d listened sooner, that’s all. What will you do?”

  Emerald sighed. “I believe… that from now on, I shall leave things in Quartz’s hands.”

  “I kind of thought that might happen. But what are you going to do?”

  Emerald turned to look straight at the Doctor. “I want to learn,” she said. “Learn from Basalt.”

  The Doctor beamed at her. “That sounds about right,” she said. “Help him rebuild that study. Make it bigger and better than ever before. Build a school. Build a university. Who knows what you’re starting here?” She put her hand on Emerald’s glittering shoulder. “This is where you turn things around. Make the fear and the chaos your people have lived through worth it.”

  The Doctor and her friends stayed for a little while longer to celebrate, before saying goodbye to new friends and leaving this world for another adventure. But there was one more quick journey to make first, and for Yaz it was the best part of the whole experience.

  The TARDIS landed again up on the surface. No, this wasn’t a remarkable world, all told – at least, not up here. Yaz could see moors like this back at home, in Yorkshire, and they’d be better there, because they were Yorkshire moors. But what she couldn’t see back home was Basalt, standing at last for a brief time on the surface of his world, face turned up and out to see the huge sky, the vast heavens, and the whole universe – as he had always imagined it would be.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to Steve Cole and Gabby DeMatteis for support during the writing. Grateful thanks to Matthew, as ever, for making everything possible. And all my love to Verity, who already likes Jodie.

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Epub ISBN: 9781473531635

  Version 1.0

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  BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing

  20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,

  London SW1V 2SA

  BBC Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

  Copyright © Una McCormack 2018

  Publishing Director: Albert DePetrillo

  Project Editor: Steve Cole

  Cover Design: Lee Binding/Tealady Design

  Production: Sian Pratley

  Una McCormack has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  Doctor Who is a BBC Wales production.

  Executive producer: Chris Chibnall, Matt Strevens and Sam Hoyle

  First published by BBC Books in 2018

  www.penguin.co.uk

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Hardback ISBN 9781785943638

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