An Apple A Day (Sarah Jane)

[Oracle]

Oracle stood at the front of Sarah Janes car watching the woman as she unlocked the door and opened it "In you go then." looking back at the road for a second, she knew she could trust Sarah Jane or at least her gut told so, she took a step but then stopped, her gut had also been wrong before.

Looking at the road again, she could always run, Oracle knew the woman would never be able to catch up to her unless she gave her a chance to. Then again, she looked from the road returning her attention to Sarah Jane, the woman was a friend of The Doctor and he’d never seemed to be a person who kept untrustworthy people around.

Taking a breath and finally making up her mind “Alright.” whatever would happen, would happen and she’d deal with it if anything did happen. Walking moved into the house as Sarah Jane held the door open.

She could tell some of the stuff laying around were not from earth, curiosity got the better of her as she moved closer into the house and towards something laying on a table and pick it up looking it over. “Any idea where this came from?”

[Deleted]

She hadn't been much of a prankster before traveling with the Doctor, but she'd certainly developed appreciation for a good gaff.  Oracle had delighted her by taking the bait.  Well, it was quite a pretty bobble, rough stone on the outside, seemingly, but carven away in a clam shell like waved of ridges, a deep fissure took nearly a third of it, exposing deepest blue bleeding into white like river ice.

"That-" she nodded, containing at least half her smile, "Is from the outbound edge of reality in the Vortex, right before The Crystal Bucephalus by way of New Alexandria and through the Vortex, about 8,000 years in the future."

She waited a beat, then gave Oracle a shameless smile.

"It's petrified Sea Devil excrement."

[Oracle]

Oracle was far from being a girly girl, so she tried not to make a face when Sarah Jane said it was excrement, slowly she put it down not trying to be rude “Ok, eww, pretty though I’ll give them that.” looking at Sarah Jane she couldn’t help but laugh a little.

Eyeing up the stairs Oracle blew a stray strand of hair out of her face “So this ziplock,” no wait that wasn’t it "zilok?….Xyloc! computer you were talking about?” she wasn’t terrible good around electronics, whenever she tended to get around the more delicate ones it didn’t always end well “I hope he’s stronger than a regular smart phone or this could get interesting.”

[Deleted]

Oracle passed the test with flying colors.  Wherever her people came from, whatever had happened to her, she was more human and less hardened then one might first guess.   The look the young woman gave her as she replaced the fossilized excrement from the tempting wooden tripod Sarah Jane had left it on like bait.

Not only had she amused herself entirely, it seemed to have broken the  ice a bit for Oracle as well.

"Stronger? Sometimes I think it's not the number of connections, Oracle, but the why of it. Of Him.  Mr. Smith.   You'll see."

All this time she is leading them both up the stairs.  The door opened on a fine room, a drench of sun coming down from a skylight.  Here she is even more bold about displaying her extra terrestrial knick knacks, some of which could start a planetary war if anyone had known she'd scooped them up here and there around the Universe.  Some were gifts.

Clearly there was a project going on in one corner. There were some fuzzy pictures pinned up, a sheaf of folders and many hand written notes in red.  On the coffee table before the couch where it nestled down a step, was the newspaper, it's crossword puzzle up and filled out in the same red ink.  Also, it was clear that someone living in the house was an excellent electrical engineer by the breadboard project softly humming in the corner.

"Mr.Smith, I need you."  Sarah Jane was usually the only person in the room not watching Mr.Smith as he put on his show.  She liked to watch people watching.  Secretly she was thrilled to have such a gadget at her beck and call, and no small thing at that.  Mr.Smith was quite impressive.

"What can I do for you Sarah Jane? I cannot define the race of the person standing next to you. "

"I need you to help my new friend.  Oracle, this is Mr.Smith. Mr.Smith, this is Oracle."

"A pleasure to meet you, Oracle. How can I be of service?"

[Oracle]

"Stronger? Sometimes I think it's not the number of connections, Oracle, but the why of it. Of Him. Mr. Smith. You'll see." Oracle raised an eyebrow as she followed Sarah Jane up the stairs not understanding what the woman was saying at all, and at the same time understanding what she meant entirely “ooook.”

If Oracle had thought the few alien artifacts were cool, the ones scattered around the attic were something else, softly “Wow, bangarang Sarah Jane.” she let her eyes wonder around the attic some, tilting her head a little when she saw the breadboard something about it intrigued her about it, she didn’t know if it was the little resistors capacity to hold electricity or her bodies own electric charge singing out to the same type of force, she couldn’t be sure.

"Mr.Smith, I need you." If she’d been expecting all the fanfare she would probably not have reacted the way she did, she knew she was fine and safe but a life time of fight or flight had taught her unexpected loud sounds usually meant running came next. Oracle froze, instinctively afraid for the moment that if she moved things were going to go south faster than she was. Closing her eyes Oracle took a deep breath shutting away her emotions and willing herself to be calm as successful as she was she couldn’t stop frying the breadboard causing it to pop and a curl of black smoke slowly come from it. Softly “Shit.”

"What can I do for you Sarah Jane? I cannot define the race of the person standing next to you. " well, this started out great and Oracle made a face as if that wasn’t the first time she’d heard that. "I need you to help my new friend. Oracle, this is Mr.Smith. Mr.Smith, this is Oracle." "A pleasure to meet you, Oracle. How can I be of service?" she took a tentative step forward clearly not used to having this much conversation with people and having to adjust to the fact now she would have to do it to two individuals, that and terrified she’d do the same thing to Mr. Smith that she’d done to the breadboard “Lovely to meet you Mr. Smith. Umm, I’m not really sure how to ask this.” she paused running one of her hands up her opposite sleeve and running her fingers on some of the scars. careful not to push the sleeve up any. “I’m trying to find any information possible on where I’m from…my people, planet…?” she felt like an idiot now with the tiny bit of information she did have. "I can tell you what little information I do have it that'll help any."

[Deleted]

Luke had some little monster of a project on the side table going. Something with a light bulb, a small hearty fan, and some copper coils that corkscrewed a few inches up.  They seemed alarmingly unshielded, but Luke hadn't burnt down the house yet so she didn't worry to much.  She'd also been unconcerned about startling Ace because the young woman seemed sensible enough to think first and act second.  Not to mention Mr. Smith could generally take care of himself.

She hadn't expected this.

Oracle did not shift much, but she went as alert as a doe when the wall containing Mr. Smith came open with chuffs of steam and bricks that moved as easy as silk curtains.  The monitor and it's swirling colors alone becoming suddenly visible was also quite a show.

A show indeed.  In that instant Oracle stiffened, a sudden whine came from Luke's project, the little fan moving faster than it should ever go. Sarah Jane found herself throwing up a hand against the bright white of the bulb right before it popped.  She moved to unplug it but halfway there saw it wasn't plugged in anyway.  She picked it up quick by the not-yet-melting edges of the plastic test board and dropped it into the metal waste basket, aimed carefully away from her face.  Inside the beast sizzled once more and a scorch mark showed up on the side of the can.  Thats when she hit it with the fire extinguisher. 

All of this she managed without breaking a face. As easy as if Oracle had simply knocked her crossword puzzle of the edge of the table and she was picking it up off the floor.  She opened a window even as Oracle 'apologized'. 

"It's alright, if my son was still serious about that one, he would have taken it to school."

Indeed it was not the first time she'd had such excitement up here.  Casually, she urged Ace to talk to Mr. Smith while she put the lid on the can.  Oracle, for all her cocksure cool, stumbled a little as she spoke to Mr. Smith, and Sarah Jane felt remorse for ever having teased her.  She went to her side and stood before her.  She supposed the computer could be a bit much for the uninitiated.

"Mistress Oracle, any information you have would be most helpful."

She turned and looked at the young ginger, putting the lightest of hands on the very edge curve of her shoulder.

"At Portos. You told me that name. What was that name?"

[Oracle]

"Mistress Oracle, any information you have would be most helpful." Oracle nodded a little “Yeah, ok.” she turned her attention to Sarah Jane when she placed a hand on her shoulder "At Portos. You told me that name. What was that name?" “Varisneal” she paused for a second “That’s what they called me, the little Varisneal.” she stared off for a minute and held up a hand on the left side of her head and did some air quotations remembering something from those many years ago “Little Varisneal, why do you cry? No one’s gonna come from your home so far away, best lay down you head and sleep, the sandman’s gonna come soon with his needle and thread, to pump drugs through your head.”

With the arm Oracle had used for the air quotations she rubbed her opposite arm feeling a slight chill, even with her jacket on, on revisiting that memory. Frowning a little and clearing her throat trying to remember something more than what she’d told Sarah Jane, she couldn’t think of anything at the moment so she figured she might as well repeat what she’d said to Mr. Smith “They’re a child’s memories but it’s all I got. The grass was white as snow, and they had these temples, they were huge, well at least they are in my dreams.”

[Deleted]

Sarah Jane's temper flared so hot that she almost forgot that Oracle had not yet agreed to have her wrongs righted.  She almost started on a rant when "Pump drugs in your head" became the unfortunate rhyming couplet after "Needle and thread."  Sarah Jane bit her tongue to keep from alienating her sudden guest, however, she would not forget that the almost chanted story Oracle recited clearly blamed 'the sandman'.  Metaphor or postal code, she'd be having a discussion with this 'sandman'.  The haunted look in Oracle's eyes as she spoke of it brought up another wave of anger in Sarah Jane. Later, she reminded herself.

"Oracle, there are three hundred sixty two thousand, eight hundred forty nine planets with white grass that support human life in my data banks.  Of the ones with documented language, forty three point three nine six percent of them have a word or phrase that are homonyms for 'Varisneal'.  I do not have enough information to refine the results any more than that."


"I think I have a way around that, Mr.Smith. Oracle, do you realize when you say that word, 'Varisneal', you say it with an accent? You say it in a way that doesn't remind me of any language I've heard on Earth, and I've heard a few."

"Sarah Jane, I speculate that researching the possible local variations into the equation that the search time would exceed-"

"Shut it, Mr. Smith." She was staring at Oracle, but could still see Mr.Smith's screen. If pixels could pout, he was doing it. She took a step to block the distracting Mr.Pouty from her view, and stand right in front of Oracle.

"If . . .people used that word to tease you with, they didn't get it anywhere on Earth. You must have taught it to them. When you arrived, you were certainly not speaking the King's English." She let out a deep, slow, pensive Oracle. "Oracle, somewhere inside you is the memory of whatever language you grew up speaking. I think it would work if you can dig back . .dig in to your memories from before all of this happened to you. If we can just pull from your mind a few words or phrases of your first language, it might cut down our search quite a bit."

"Are you willing to try? I could help you . . .?"

She really hoped the girl wouldn't bolt on her.

[Oracle]

"Oracle, there are three hundred sixty two thousand, eight hundred forty nine planets with white grass that support human life in my data banks.” Oracle made a face slightly; she’d almost expected he’d say that so she wasn’t entirely surprised, a lot of planets she’d visited had had similar features to others planets but she still found it interesting that there actually were planets out there with white grass and it hadn’t all been in her head all along even if she was slightly disappointed that it hadn’t really helped narrow it down.

Looking at Sarah Jane as she talked about how Oracle had said ‘Varisneal’ with an accent she shrugged a little, such a noncommittal gesture she knew, “It’s the way I’ve always said it.”

She returned her attention to Mr. Smith and started to say something when Sarah Jane cut him off and moved to standing in front of her.

"Are you willing to try? I could help you . . .?" Her memories, Oracle paused for a moment after she listened to what Sarah Jane was asking and took a step back, not planning on bolting just trying to get a full view of the attic, Sarah Jane and Mr. Smith. “You, you don’t know what you’re asking…there are memories.” reaching up she placed her finger on her temple and pressed a little “Of things I’ve done…was made to do that they locked away with safeguards… she stopped mid-sentence realizing how crazy that sounded.

“Oh to hell with it.” Oracle clapped her hands together before slowly pulling them apart creating a small oval shape ring of electricity in front of her. There was a trick, she’d only used it once before and hopped she could pull it off again, where she was able to control her electric current to such a fine point she could produce images from her thoughts with it. Granted, it’d almost killed her that time but then she had been young and weak she need to make it work longer this time.

Images started to form slowly, the last 24 hours, week, year then started running back through her memories like someone hitting fast forward on a remote control.

After a while they started to get fragmented like they’d been repressed by Oracle or forcefully redacted somehow. They were mostly of a lot of testing, fighting and combat training fairly violent and intensive images. She couldn’t help but stop on other subjects that she’d been pitted against on occasion, softly “So many I knew and were forced to kill. We had to prove our usefulness.” she pushed past the emotions that thought dredged up and forced herself to go deeper.

Oracle gritted her teeth as a set of images started to come into focus, it was a POV of a very young child climbing out of a wreckage fire all over and car lights heading her way. Then the words came to her and she lowered her hands stumbling back a little, the oval having had enough energy to maintain itself for a moment. “Jehara, discas vicaseiium.”

[Deleted]

She'd made it a habit not to interfere in the affairs of others.  This was why. And why not.  The variety of life and experiences never ceased to amaze her. Never in her life had she imagined that some other creature could so thoroughly integrate and dominate her computer.   It it's way, Mr. Smith was to her the same port of safety she had always felt in the TARDIS.  A place where her wish became command to some degree.

Oracle had Mr. Smith dancing and she found herself watching the screen, her mouth a soft 'o' of disbelief; of many emotions, tears pricking even at eyes held wide as she watched Oracle battle, then overcome herself in an act of personal bravery that left Sarah Jane stunned. She'd been shaken loose by the sudden manifestation of a bright, electric-blue white edged field of electricity.  That was when Oracle had taken Mr.Smith.  His large display picked up every image in that glowing break in time and reality.

Of things I’ve done…was made to do that they locked away with safeguards…   The girl had said. From now on, Sarah Jane would never assume this young woman was exaggerating about anything. She would never doubt her.  However, she could not hang on to that slender shoulder as Oracle's life began to unreel before her.

Unreal.  No.  Unbelievably real.  Undeniably real.

What have I done?  She thought as ghostlights of electricity rolled like miniature ball lightning through her attic.  As the ghosts of Oracle's past went from bad to worse, the onrushing of her youth driving her deeper in to darkness.  The heartbreaking evidence of her perseverance to climb out.  Eventually, Sarah Jane found herself watching through her fingers, a reflex against the shocking violence.

“So many I knew and were forced to kill. We had to prove our usefulness."

Whatever answers Oracle found on this journey, Sarah Jane was determined to find her own as well. She would trace these people back.  Her mind absorbed every single little detail it could, after that revelation, and her anger made her strong enough to watch.  Tears now running unchecked down her face, she stood strong, her chin out that stubborn inch, glaring at Mr. Smith's screen. 

She hadn't expected it to go so far.  All the way back and into a delicate vulnerability that took her breath away.  She actually found herself reaching toward the screen, as if she could stand in that empty darkness between that toddling view and the on coming lights.  The child wouldn't have even known what they were.  She was yanked back into the moment by three strange words dropping in an odd lilt from Oracle's lips.  Now she was reaching for the ginger as she swayed, coming beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, along her back. She cupped that far shoulder in her palm. 

She rather hated herself for what she did next, but from the corner of her eye she could already see Mr.Smith didn't have enough vectors.

"Just one more!" She called with a firm hope in Oracle's ear.  Red hair and Sarah's raven stood and shifted, crackling with the heavy ions in the room.  Absently, she though that it smelled like cotton candy in here.

[Oracle]

"Just one more!" She looked up at Sarah Jane then to Mr. Smith. One more, just one more ok, Oracle focused on the memory of her childhood and held onto it pushing more power into it and forcing her body to keep the spots neutral where Sarah Janes hands were so she didn’t get zapped “Gohaia zzre vog.” some form of billy club came down on the younger Oracle face in the memory causing present day Oracle to snap her head back as if it had happened real time and fall backwards.

[Deleted]

She had thought Oracle would refuse.  If it were her memory, she might have.  The ginger took in stride. As if Sarah Jane had asked her to carry a box spring up a spiral stair case alone.  She sure as hell was going to try, said the look on that delicately boned face.

Oracle succeeded, reaching even farther back and pulling out more of her memory, all the while Sarah Jane watching in horror as large legs, huge shoes came toward the view from the ground. 

"No!" She screamed, and reached out at the screen as if she could stop the baton coming down.   Even as she did so, Oracle's slight form whip lashed, then crumpled.  "Oh! OH!" she exclaimed, trapping the young woman in her arms and slowing her decent as best she could.   Teeth grit as she concentrated on being careful with Oracle's helpless form, she first eased her onto her back, then Sarah wrestled head and shoulders onto her own lap to keep them off the floor.

She gave her a little shake.

"Oracle, oh, I'm sorry . .but you did it." She gave her a little rock and brushed the molten hair from pale skin.  To pale. "Oracle?  Come on. It's over now, honey." she said, sweet and hopeful now.  Begging the world for a favor.  The world owed her one.

Mr.Smith had gone dark, made one last spray of sparks and an odd smell.  He'd be fine though.

[Oracle]

She could hear someone talking to her and shake her a little but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. It was comfortable here and quiet, she liked it, she didn’t want to leave.

But there was something, something she had been doing, it was important, what was it. Oracle could feel her body pulling electricity from where it could find it recharge felt like it was going so slow.

[Deleted]

Sarah Jane stopped breathing so she could tell whether or not Oracle was breathing.  To her horror, she was starting to think not.  With her free hand, she was feeling for a pulse at Oracle's throat. Just as she thought she felt something, a tiny blue white arch stretched from her detector watch smack to the center of Oracle's forehead.  Sarah Jane gasped and jumped. So did Oracle's pulse.  Color began to bleed back into her lips.

At that moment 14 battery-controlled toys woke on their own and started rolling, walking, and slowly side winding toward them.  Blinking. Beeping.

"Oracle, wake up." she whispered to her now, half desperate.  Uncertain.  The toys ringed them  and came closer. "You've got to be kidding me."

Tiny lines of electricity arched from the toys to Oracle's forehead.  Sarah Jane's mind raced as she tried to decide to do something or not.  The terrible parlor was leaving Oracle's skin.  Hope flashed in Sarah Jane's eyes as she held Oracle's head steady on her lap, a hand to each temple now.

[Oracle]

Each arch of electricity from the toys caused a pulse of white light in whatever dark place in Oracles mind she resided in at the moment “…umm, ok? This is new.”

Then, the voices started rolling in softly at first then louder “No, please.” reaching up she covered her ears in her mind, the sound almost unbearable due to the fact she was “in her mind” and didn’t have the buffer anymore “Ok, ok, OK FINE!” she never could completely understand what was being said on a good day but she got the hint none the less.

Oracle took a shaky breath and managed to open her eyes halfway before slowly forcing them open enough to where she could see fully, sure she probably had that drunken look to her but it was something. Softly “Sarah Jane…how did I end up on the floor?”