Doctor Who, Lost Memories: Thrill Seeker [fireandblood & Villain]

Started by fireandblood, January 07, 2013, 07:27:02 PM

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fireandblood

Even when the Master was looking at her with murderous intent, Robin remained calm. One reason for this was because no matter what, the Master couldn't kill her, or he himself would create the paradox he was so warning her against. But another reason... She didn't care. At this point, captured by the Master, not knowing what had become of the Doctor, knowing that everyone below was in there current state because of her... It didn't matter if she died now.

But then he was walking away, stroking the strange machine like it was some sort of beloved pet. It didn't take long for Robin to work out what it would do. The Master wanted a body that wasn't quite so young and innocent looking, and here seemed to be the machine that would change him. It was intimidating, Robin would give him that, its smooth metal sides stark just like everything else in the Master's TARDIS.

With a little nervousness, Robin eyed the Silents that stood guard all around the room. Even if she could manage to get free of her bindings, trying to get through all the menacing white aliens which were all gazing at her with their beady eyes would be nearly impossible. But her eyes were torn from the memory-proof aliens when the machine started up.

It was humming, and then glowing, and then rattling. The Master was screaming, as though in immense pain, which gave Robin a mean sort of satisfaction. Hopefully he was in agony, excruciating and severe. But it was over all too soon as the Master stepped out, shaggy and quite naked, Robin noticed with disgust. She looked pointedly away from him until he got dressed. Interesting... So she wasn't the only one whose accent changed with regeneration.

When she looked back at him, she took in his new appearance. His hair was down to his chin, dark and straight. His eyes were also dark, and his skin was a deep tan. The child's body of before was most certainly gone, replaced with a very muscular one. Robin thought he would have been quite handsome if it wasn't for the sadistic gleam in his eyes and the barely-concealed madness hidden in every muscle.

Yet even as he spoke of breaking her faith, Robin continued smiling.

"Bring it on, leprechaun."

---

"Okay," Allen said, trying to follow along. He turned to the Sontaran. "Hello, Strax." Then he turned back to the Doctor to listen to the rest of the story. His face grew worried as the Time Lord spoke of Robin being kidnapped by a very dangerous enemy of the Doctor's. Leave it to her to find certain danger... Something was bothering Allen about this though... Even more than the fact that his sister had been taken hostage.

Why was the Doctor acting like an old man?

He had opened his mouth to ask about this when the strange man started to explode. Allen jumped back with a shout, his hands clapping to either side of his head in confusion. Strax was flung back, again landing on his bottom with a loud grunt. As he stood, he shook his fist at the Doctor even though he couldn't see him.

"What do we do?" Allen yelled, starting to move toward the Doctor. "What do we do?" Strax stuck an arm out, catching Allen by the chest and holding him back.

"Nothing we can do, girl," Strax said gruffly. "I believe the Doctor is regenerating, and we cannot be close to him during this process or we will surely be obliterated!"

Villain

The light coming from the Doctor was becoming more powerful by the minute. The force of the explosion rattled the TARDIS and knocked the two onlookers backwards. The energy scorched the ceiling and floor of the TARDIS, melting away the bronze and setting fire to the circuits. The periscope dangling from the ceiling came crashing down as the blast ripped through it and the pipes that crisscrossed around it causing them to unleash a cloud of steam that covered the terrific blast.

Eventually, the light died down and all became quiet. Smoke and steam hung in the air obscuring their vision and hiding whatever was left of the Doctor and the TARDIS.

For a moment, there was no sign of the Doctor, just silence and mist, but eventually something began to stir within the mist and the sound of footsteps could be heard clomping against the floor of the TARDIS.

The Doctor stepped out of the mist and coughed loudly whilst fanning away the mist irritably. He didn't seem to have been harmed by the explosion, in fact it rather looked like he been healed by it, his wounds and bruises had vanished along with the giant hole in his chest.

There seemed to only be one problem, the Doctor was entirely different person.

Where the young man in the blue duffel coat had been, now stood a thin elderly man in a black frock coat and tartan trousers. His hair was long, grey and thinning and his piercing eyes had changed from a soft caramel color to a dark brown. In one hand the man carried a cane and on the other he wore a blue signet ring, which he was now examining with fascination.

"Well...this is certainly interesting," the elderly man spoke as he looked over his form. "I'm young again. How curious..."

fireandblood

Allen stared from his position on the ground as the Doctor came walking out toward himself and Strax. He had changed... To an entirely different person. Gone was the sort of silly man with his gold hair and eyes and stubbly face. In his place was an old man, with long, curling gray hair and the wrinkled face of a grandfather.

He was even using a cane.

"Who..." Allen said, his voice breaking. "What... How... Who are you? Are you the Doctor?" Strax grunted, getting to his feet. Allen followed suit slowly, still staring with fascination at the Time Lord before them.

"Of course it's the Doctor, human," Strax sneered. "Time Lords regenerate when they are about to die." Allen couldn't speak, his eyes fixed on the completely changed man before them. Finally, though, he found his voice.

"You said... you're young again?" He coughed, looking away for a second. "I don't mean to be rude, but... You look a bit older to me."

Villain

"Hmmmm...?" The Doctor looked up from the ring with a charmed expression on his face. His smile broadened as he noticed Allen and he gave a shout of elation before striding over to him and shaking his hand vigorously. "You are Allen! I remember you my boy. You are dear Robin's brother. It is so good that I have remembered that. I feared my mind may have become altered by the time difference."

"You are quite right, I am old. What I refer to is not my physique but my biology," the Doctor said before gesturing to himself with the cane. "I am afraid that Strax is incorrect. I have not regenerated. Instead my biology has become reversed due to being exposed to the wound of the TARDIS and transformed me into something else. What you see before you is not my next regeneration, but instead my very first body."

"In other words my boy," the Doctor said before flashing a pleasant smile on his wrinkled old face. "I am the first Doctor. How do you do?"

fireandblood

Allen looked on, bewildered, as this new Doctor shook his hand. All of this was flying right over his head, but he tried to just take it all in stride. He looked the Doctor up and down, knowing that had he not seen what just happened, there was no way he would recognize him as the Time Lord he knew before. Everything about him was different.

Thinking of that, Allen wondered... How old was the Doctor, exactly? If he could just change his entire body when he was about to die, didn't that mean he could live forever? How many different bodies had he gone through already? Allen shivered, taking a step back.

"Sir!" Strax said, drawing the Doctor's attention. "You must get back to a younger form! This body has no tactical advantages and this planet is in the midst of a glorious battle!"

"That reminds me," Allen said, growing sad. "What has happened to everybody? I've been... keeping the people on my street alive... but I don't know what to do for them."

Villain

"I will admit this body is fragile and most unfitting for the task that lays ahead, but that is no importance," the Doctor said before waggling his finger at Strax. "What is important is that my mind is still in one piece! That is all I will require. So long as my mind is sharp then nothing is impossible!"

"Now to answer your question question my boy, everyone has been subjected to a psychic attack which has caused their brains to slow," the Doctor explained before tapping the side of his head with one finger. "Never fear. I am here to make sure that we get back your sister, undo the damage that has been done to the human race and foil the Master's plan. A trifle really!"

The Doctor's ears suddenly pricked up and a sudden look of displeasure crossed over his face. He looked left and right, as if searching for someone before frowning sourly and grunting.

"Well...this is most irritating. Not only am I put into this old body, but I am now beginning to hear voices criticizing my work!" The Doctor said before huffing angrily, turning in a circle and yelling. "Oh really? Well, if you think you can do such a better job than me. Then prove it!"

What happened next was overwhelming. One moment the Doctor stood with his cane raised in the air and a grumpy expression on his old face, the next minute he had disappeared and been replaced by a very thin young man in a blue suit, red tie and sneakers. His hair was long and dark and spiked up on the top and his eyes were wide with awe as he turned to face Allen and Strax.

"What?" He mumbled as he stared at the two with a gob smacked look on his face.

"What?" He repeated before looking around him in confusion.

"What?!" He squeaked before looking over at the TARDIS controls, that were now lit up by a giant glowing slash in its control board. As he took in what he was looking at the stunned expression drained from his face and a big broad cheeky grin spread out over his lips before he turned back to look at Allen and Strax.

"Awwww brilliant!" He roared before running in a circle around the TARDIS controls. "I'm back! Allen! Strax! Look at me! I'm back!" He cheered before skipping over to the two and laughing shortly before burying his hands in his pockets and rattling off, "I mean this is completely wrong. It looks like the heart of the TARDIS has bled into me and caused my Time Line to become fractured making me constantly shift between my previous regenerations. Its completely wrong but at the same time its brilliant!"

fireandblood

Oh, great, Allen thought, now the Doctor is hearing voices. The only man who could possibly help them was trapped in an old man's body, rambling on about hearing voices and unable to walk without a cane. About to voice his opinion on the matter, Allen opened his mouth, but was cut off again as the Doctor began changing yet again.

Where once stood an old man with long gray hair now stood a tall, thin one with a shock of sculpted brown locks. He was wearing a slim blue suit and sneakers, and looked (again) completely different from before. He seemed a little more absentminded as well, running around and talking a lot. He was speaking so fast that Allen and Strax couldn't follow along. Finally, when he'd stopped, Strax spoke up.

"I recognize this one," he said almost proudly. "This is the regeneration just before I met you! So you are the tenth Doctor!" Allen's eyes widened. Tenth Doctor... He had died enough times to be in his tenth body. How did anyone survive traveling with the Doctor when even the Doctor seemed unable?

"Doctor," Allen said, trying to catch his attention. "I'm glad you're so happy but I think we have more pressing matters to attend to..."

Villain

"Right you are Allen!" The Doctor roared before racing over the the console and peering over the glowing scar in its system. "We need to find Robin and find out why the Master wants her in the first place. In order to do that we'll have to track the path of his TARDIS, luckily enough that little stunt he pulled with the Eternal Code will allow us to follow the signal!"

The Doctor pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on before rapidly typing on one of the control panels keyboards. Occasionally he glanced up at the rest of the TARDIS and frowned before going back to his work. "Well I don't like the desktop theme this Doctors got. Brass pipes and steam vents? Far too steam punk."

"And look what he's done to you, poor girl," the Doctor cooed as he ran his hand lovingly over the controls. "What has the big scary man done to you?"

"Now, obviously the wounded TARDIS is going to be a bit of a nightmare to fly. I can't fully guarantee that its going to get us to wherever the Master has taken Robin, but it should at least get us close enough to make contact," the Doctor said before looking up at the crystals that bobbed inside the tube of the TARDIS. "Hopefully I can talk out of doing something stupid. The Master has always been a maniac but crippling the human race like this is something else."

"How did you manage to avoid being put into a coma by the way?" The Doctor asked Allen, stepping away from the controls for a moment to address him. "Are you psychic? Not a fan of telly? Do you enjoy wearing alien contact lenses?"

fireandblood

Strax and Allen walked further into the TARDIS, and Allen shut the doors behind them. A smile slowly worked its way onto his face. Even under the dire circumstances, being inside the TARDIS was an amazing experience. A box that was bigger on the inside and could travel through time and space... It was something he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.

He looked over at Strax and gave a sharp laugh. The small alien was sitting on the ground, polishing his gun with a sleeve. But then his gaze turned back to this new/old version of the Doctor and he thought for a second.

"Well, we were all watching the TV... But the day before we found this helmet thing. We didn't know what it did... And even though I knew I shouldn't I put it on. Nothing happened, but when my parents and I guess everyone else fell asleep, I didn't. Even when I took the helmet off. I guess it protected me somehow."

Villain

"Good thing you did, if you hadn't then you wouldn't be able to lend a hand. I'll have to check out that helmet of yours later on," the Doctor said before wincing and swatting his ear irritably. "Yes, yes, yes! I know, we need to get moving!" He hissed before looking back at Allen. "Sorry about that, the fractured timeline has also caused my mind to clash with my other regenerations. Only a handful can reside in my mind at once but its still irritating, like having someone talk to you when you're on the phone."

"Now, lets get this engine roaring!" The Doctor yelled before pushing down on the TARDIS. It let out the horrid scraping sound again as it began to move, but the Doctor seemed ready to deal with it by constantly manipulating the controls to fade out the scrapes. "She should hold together! We'll feel a bit of time travel sickness but its better than exploding."

The Doctors eyes suddenly widened as he noticed something next to the glowing crack. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, which was silver with a blue light bulb rather than green and gold, and scanned it over it before stepping back and scratching his head.

"Hmmm... I wonder what that means..." he said before his eyes widened. "Wait...no...YES! No! Hold on....YES! Oh that is brilliant! Completely dangerous and totally impossible, but brilliant! I'm starting to like this other Doctor."

fireandblood

Strax let out a yelp as the TARDIS ground into motion. His precarious position on the floor caused him to tip over, and his huge gun pinned him down. Allen held back a snigger and tried to help the little alien up, but Strax wouldn't take his offered hand.

"I do not need the help of a puny human to raise myself off the floor!" he roared, and so Allen let him struggle like an overturned turtle. He looked back at the Doctor, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he'd seen him completely change twice in just the last fifteen minutes. How can Robin handle this? he wondered, sagging down to sit on one of the railings.

He jumped a little as the Doctor began yelling over and over, yes and no right after each other as though he was conversing with himself. Allen had no idea what he was talking about, but just stared wide-eyed at this new Doctor.

"What? What is it?" he asked, as Strax finally returned to a standing position. Something else occurred to him as well. "Also... Why did Strax say Robin was a Time Lord earlier?"

Villain

"Because she's become one Allen. Don't worry I'll get to that later, but first of all you have got to see this!" The Doctor cheered before grabbing Allen by the shoulder and dragging him over to the control board. "Just before I was exposed to the radiation from the TARDIS I wrote a message in my own blood. See, right here?" The Doctor asked before pointing to a small sentence that was written on the controls in tiny red writing.

Take a leap of faith.

"Do you know what it means?" The Doctor asked whilst he grinned at Allen with delight. "I'll tell you. Right now the TARDIS is leaking energy that is creating a distortion in time, this is what has caused my fractured time. Eventually we will need to close the wound and in order to do that we'll have to do something very very dangerous. We'll have to-"

The Doctor was cut off as he vanished. In his place now stood another of his regenerations, a tall man in a long brown trench coat, big brown hat and a ridiculously long striped scarf. His nose was long and pointed and his hair was long, frizzy and brown. He stared at the message with wide curious eyes before scratching under his hat.

"Gracious," the Doctor spoke before looking at Allen and smiling with a wide grin of pearly teeth. "I seem to have forgotten what I was saying.... Oh well never mind. Hello Allen I'm the fourth Doctor," the Doctor spoke before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a paper bag. "Would you like a jelly baby?"

The TARDIS rattled as it landed and the Doctor beamed before rushing across the floor and opening the doors. "Oh my...now that was unexpected. Allen, Strax, come and take a look at this."

Beyond the doors lay a fascinating place, a large open field leading up to a quaint old fashioned mansion that lay upon a hill top. It seemed relatively normal at first, but then they noticed the sky.

Above their heads, floating through the air like clouds, were giant buildings and planets.

fireandblood

Allen couldn't speak. Robin had... Become a Time Lord? Was that even possible? For as long as he'd known her, Allen knew Robin was different, but... Had she been a Time Lord the whole time and they just didn't know it? He had a thousand questions for the Doctor, but apparently now was not the time to ask them. The Doctor was dragging him toward the center of the TARDIS.

And there... There was written, apparently in the Doctor's blood, a strange message. Take a leap of faith... Allen had no idea what that was supposed to mean. And of course, just as this strange man began to explain what a good plan was, he changed again.

And then forgot what he'd been saying.

All of this was happening much too fast for the ginger human. He stared at this curly-haired, scarf-wearing fourth version of the Doctor with a dazed expression and simply nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence. He didn't take the offered jelly babies, but did snap back to attention.

"You were explaining what we were supposed to do," Allen said quickly. "You found that note that you wrote in your blood and-" But then the TARDIS was rattling around and the Doctor was running off again. Allen sighed, following him. Strax did the same, hefting his gun. As they all looked up at the sky, Strax aimed his gun into the air.

"Sir! Shall I open fire on the intruders?"

Villain

"Ah yes! The message in the blood! Splendid idea thought up by the newest Doctor, but I don't think we should go through with it. The risks are too high," the Doctor spoke with a solemn shake of his head, his voice was so much deeper than the tenth Doctors, more deep and clear it almost didn't match his face. "For now we should just focus on finding Robin and defeating the Master."

The Doctor looked up at the sky and grinned widely before popping a jelly baby into his mouth. He chewed the treat fondly as he watched the buildings and planets slowly float through the air like bubbles in the wind. "Those aren't intruders Strax. Right now we are in a Paradox Dimension. A small pocket of space that is powered by previous paradoxes. Right now we are standing on a little field in Italy that contained such a Paradox. When I was in my sixth form I ran in to my second form during a nasty encounter with some Sontarans. Luckily there was no damage to the Time Line, but it was still a Paradox."

"Now Strax, would you be so kind as to open fire?" The Doctor asked before pointing across the field. "We appear to have company. Don't take your eyes off them."

Although the Doctor sounded cheerful whilst he said this, the threat was nothing to be smirked at. For one moment they were looking at an empty field, the next they were looking at an army of Silents, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the ship.

fireandblood

"But," Allen said, extremely confused, "You were just saying that you thought it was a brilliant idea." This whole shifting forms thing was becoming tiresome, because apparently even the Doctor's own personalities were at war with one another. Allen was still staring at the sky, dumbfounded by the appearance of the buildings and planets in the sky.

Then, however, the Doctor was saying that they did have intruders. Slowly, Allen looked down and across the field... To see the most horrifying aliens he'd ever encountered (not that he'd encountered many). The most terrifying thing about them was that as soon as he saw them, he knew he'd seen them before... But for some reason he'd forgotten about them.

Strax didn't hesitate to open fire. As soon as the Doctor asked, he began shooting at the Silents, shouting "Die!" at them over and over. They fell one after the other, but there were always more to take their places.

"Doctor," Allen said in a hushed voice. "What are they? Why did I... forget them?"

Villain

"I did say that, but that was when I was in my tenth form, who was just that little bit more reckless than me. Right now I can hear him in my head, arguing with my second form," he said before jumping as Strax began to open fire on the Silents. Each one of them crept forwards and raised their long fingers at Strax, shooting out bolts of lightning at the insane warrior troll as he blasted them one by one.

"We'll be debating for quite some time once every single one of my forms catches on to the idea," the Doctor said before pulling out a device from his pocket, a small metallic device that looked like a cross between a laser pen and an old fashioned microphone. "Splendid! My possession are still the same in this form. Strax give me your gun, I'm going to boost its power with my sonic screwdriver."

The Doctor seemed to wince a little and clutch the side of his head before he cursed under his breath. "Now now number ten. We have to do what necessary and these creatures do mean to do us harm." He spoke before plugging the screwdriver into the side of the hulking weapon.

The blasts from the cannon changed again from big blue blasts to a wave of pure power that knocked down groups of Silence in one hit. They still came for them, but now they were beginning to warily step around the TARDIS as Strax unloaded shot after shot at the oncoming forces.

---

"Thank you very much for doing that for me little butterfly," the Master cooed as he pulled away the camera from Robin's face. She was sat on her knees in front of him, no longer bound to the table, but instead a chain leash that was held by one of the Silence. The Master looked over the video camera with amusement before popping the machine on top of the TARDIS's control panel.

"That should certainly break a few thousands minds. You should be proud for being so helpful," the Master said before running his tongue over the bottom of his teeth playfully.

He knelt down in front of Robin and lifted her chin with one finger to look up at him. Her face and body had various bruises on it from where the Master had needed to physically persuade Robin to make the message, but despite her pain Robin had continued to smile and insist that the Master would fail.

Now the Master had stopped being annoyed by her valiant behavior and instead begun to find it amusing. After all, how on earth could the Doctor beat him now? If he was not already dead he would powerless to stop his plan, not when he knew the cost.

"Even thought I'm sure you have no idea. I have to ask..." the Master began as he stroked Robin's cheek. "What do you think that message meant? The Paradox Church. Failed a thousand times. What do you think it all means?"

fireandblood

Allen was again dumbfounded as the Doctor spoke. He wondered what it was like to have various incarnations of yourself fighting inside your head. However, he continued looking around at these strange white aliens, not wanting to look away from them in fear that he'd forget them again. With every shot Strax took, Allen jumped a little, unaccustomed to the ferocity of the potato-headed clone.

"You didn't tell me," he said, cringing again as the Doctor amped up the effect of the gun Strax was shooting, "What these things are."

Strax kept up his cries, but his face was filled with an almost comical sadistic glee, which only intensified with every shot he took. At one point he even laughed as he blew four of the aliens away at once.

---

Robin was shaking, her entire body having to struggle to even remain conscious, much less upright. Her knees were sore from sitting on them, and she could feel each individual bruise as though they were all on fire. Her right eye had been hit so hard that the skin around it was swollen, forcing it almost shut. Her head was spinning and she could hardly see.

Before answering the Master, she turned her head and spit onto the ground for what seemed the hundredth time. When she smiled back up at him, her teeth shone red with the blood that was filling her mouth. No matter how much she hated herself for having to record the message, and no matter how much pain she was in, she would not allow the Master to see her cry.

So far, she'd been surprised at how well she'd managed.

"Well as usual," she said, her voice barely a croak, "you're right. I have no idea. It sounds like nonsense to me." She coughed, spitting out another mouthful of blood. "But since I'm sure you're going to anyway, why don't you go ahead and explain? Not that it matters, because I know the Doctor's coming." After a second, she grew irritated with him touching her face, and she whipped her head to the side and bit down so hard on his finger that she drew blood.

Villain

"Silents. Memory proof aliens that vanish from your memory the moment you look away. I suggest we keep this up until until we forget we're being attacked," the Doctor said before grimacing and clutching his head. "Oh dear...I appear to be changing again...." he groaned before frowning grimly. "Yes, yes, I am sure you will do a splendid job rescuing dear Robin, just be sure not to go anywhere near that wound."

The Doctor's image shimmered as he changed from the grinning wizard to a tall man with incredibly short dark hair. He was dressed in a purple jumper and a black leather jacket and fierce blue eyes that looked over the battle field with distaste.

"This is going to be a tough one," he said in a northern voice before scanning his eyes over the field. The way seemed clear, but yet the Doctor did not relax. Strangely, this Doctor did not seem to have the same excitement in his eyes that some of the previous Doctor's had. Instead, he appeared to look more fearsome and war like, as if seeing battles such as the one before him was an everyday occurrence.

"We need to make our way across the field, their should be a point that connects this plane of the dimension to one of the others. The message created by the Silence said to go to the church of Paradox. I have a feeling I know where that is," the Doctor spoke before turning to Allen and beaming at him, the harsh look evaporating from his face as he winked at Allen. "By the way, hi Allen, I'm the ninth Doctor, nice to meet you. Now run for your life and try to keep up."

And with that the Doctor sprinted across the field as fast as possible.

---

The Master yelped and recoiled back, clutching his damaged finger before back handing her with his fist. He snarled at her before pulling out a bandage from the pocket of his black coat and wrapping it around the bleeding digit, the grin returning to his face as he sealed off the bleeding.

"Well, since you're new to the Time Lord race, let me tell you about some of our culture," the Master said as he knelt down in front of her and grinned maliciously. "Time Lords have a little tradition when they want to marry. Its a silly process that usually involves putting on robes and walking down an aisle to silly music, but if you want to keep it simple you just need to do one thing. Tell your name to your significant other."

"Its very romantic, if a little bland, but what is more interesting is what comes after," the Master said eagerly, running his tongue over his teeth again. "After the ceremony, your betroved will make a request of you, which you must obey."

"Can you see where I am going with this girl?" The Master asked before leaning in and whispering into her ear. "I'm going to marry you. And then I'm going to ask you to do something that you will absolutely hate," he said before snickering. "You're going to commit genocide."

fireandblood

Allen had just wrapped his mind around the fact that a species of alien existed that could erase itself from memories and then the Doctor was changing again... He'd thought that the day he landed in the middle of the world of Harry Potter was the strangest of his life, but this day certainly took the cake. When the Doctor reappeared, he was tall and quite severe-looking, with short hair and piercing eyes. He was even wearing leather.

Allen didn't even have time to say hi back before the Doctor was running off again. Exchanging a glance with Strax, Allen sprinted off after him, hearing Strax's battle cries as the short alien ran after them while still shooting at the disconcerting white aliens.

---

Robin bit back the urge to scream as the Master backhanded her already bruised face. It was easier, though, to know that she'd succeeded in hurting him. But her smile froze in place as he started speaking of marriage. What could this possibly have to do with their current situation? As he laid his plan before her, she listened with mounting horror.

Here it was. The Master was going to try and marry Robin, and then ask her to murder all of the people on the Earth. It was awful, it was disgusting... Frantically she tried to think of a way to get out of this without the Doctor. If he was truly unable to help, she would have to try and do something brilliant like he would have done...

Then, another slow smile spread over her lips. All she would have to do would be to make a request of her own.

Villain

"Now I know what you're thinking. You think I'm going to ask you to kill all the humans on Earth," the Master said before getting to his feet. "Wrong girl. You're not going to kill the humans. They're already as good as dead. There would be no point in it."

"No, no, what I'm going to ask of you isn't to kill the humans, but kill everything else," the Master said before slamming something on to Robin's head, a silver crown with various wires circling it and crisscrossing over her head. "Neural Bomb. A fine weapon developed by the Time Lords to be used against the Dalek's. The idea involved hacking into the Dalek's path web and using a Time Lord's telepathic ability to blast their minds to pieces. Unfortunately, no one could hack the path web, but now that I have the Harbinger I don't need to."

"Your mind will be powerful enough to smash through the path web and the minds of every other living thing that's currently fighting away on Earth. And you won't just stop with them Robin. Like a disease your power will tear through the universe and track down every single member of the species fighting below," the Master chuckled before pulling the device off her head roughly. "All of the Doctor's enemies. Gone in one shot. It will be beautiful."

"The Doctor dead, the Silence happy and the Master victorious with a lovely little wench on his arm. It's a plan that can't go wrong," he said gleefully as he looked over the crown with deranged joy.

What happened next seemed inevitable.

"We have a problem," the Silents standing in the darkness spoke in their echoing hollow voices.

"Not now I'm gloating," the Master cursed, still staring at the crown fondly.

"He has survived," Another of the agents spoke and the Master froze on the spot. His breath caught in his throat as his body became rigid, the grin on his face didn't fade, but the look in his eyes could not hide the shock and confusion he was feeling. Slowly, he placed the crown on the control pad of the TARDIS and turned to the Silents with a slow deep breath.

"I'm sorry...come again?" The Master asked, looking amused as he stared at the Silence. Slowly, the pleasant smile on his face turned to anger and the Master let out another roar before snarling. "I shot him through the chest and used the TARDIS to blow him sky high! And you're telling me that he's still alive!"

The Master let out a roar of fury and kicked the controls of the TARDIS before tearing at his frizzy black hair with frustration. He breathed in slowly and gripped his head between his hands before shutting his eyes tight and slowly whispering under his breath, "Ru-tu-tu-tum...ru-tu-tu-tum....ru-tu-tu-tum....ru-tu-tu-tum."

He dropped his hands from his head and exhaled slowly before turning to the agents. His mouth twisted into a pleasant smile before he placed his hands behind his back and tilted his head to look at the chalk white aliens. "So let me guess... he's in our paradox dimension?"

The Silence nodded slowly.

"And he's currently waiting for us outside isn't he?"

The Silence nodded again.

"Well then...I guess we better go meet him," the Master said before clicking his fingers at Robin. "Bring the girl. If she tries to run, break her legs."

fireandblood

Robin felt sick to her stomach as the Master explained what the Neural Bomb would do. It was completely horrible that such a thing even existed, even if the security was apparently so great. When he said he planned to make her be the one to get through its path web, Robin knew she would find away to kill herself before she would ever allow that to happen. Maybe she'd just need to make a Silent angry...

Speaking of the Silents... One was interrupting the Master. And as it brought its "bad" news, Robin's grin grew brighter than ever before. Even with her severely bruised face... and the fact that her eye was, by this point, swollen shut... And her teeth were red with blood... The smile lit up the entire inside of the TARDIS. And her laughter soon filled it with a happier sound than she was sure ever had been inside before.

"Looks like I was right after all!" she exclaimed cheerily in her cracking voice. "I told you the TARDIS would never kill him." As the Silents gathered her up, she smiled at the one closest to her, and it looked back at her with no expression.

"No need to break the legs, boys," she said with almost a hint of flirtation. "I wouldn't even dream of missing this happy reunion."

Villain

The Master grunted at Robin before snapping his fingers at the darkness that surrounded them. A pathway of light stretched from the TARDIS controls, leading to the steel doors of the TARDIS, which opened with a loud clang.

Once the Master had stepped out from the TARDIS, he walked around the great stone pillar and came to a halt just before the gargoyle that perched on top of it, glaring down at the back of his head with beady grey eyes.

The Master sneered as he looked over the vast church hall that lay before them.

It was a miserable place. The room was dusty and cold and the stain glass windows were dirty and most of them were shattered. Rows upon rows of benches stood before them, unoccupied apart from three figures that sat on the furthest row.

"Interesting place you've picked," the Doctor called out, his arms wrapped around Allen and Strax as he glared at the Master. "The church from Stuart and Sarah's wedding. The church that was attacked by the reapers when Rose saved her father from being killed."

"Well, I'm planning on getting married so I thought I would save a few thousand pounds and simply hire this place," the Master called before smirking and pinching his chin with the tips of his fingers as he stared at the Doctor. "My my...what on Earth happened to you? I haven't seen that ugly mug of yours since the records in the Time War."

"Believe me, I'm finding it a bit of shock myself," the Doctor spoke as he stood up and began to make his way down the aisle. "But, I have missed this face. While I'm like this I get to be rude and angry, without being old and grey." The Doctor said before slapping the sides of his face and grinning. "This is the face that survived the Time War. This is the face that dealt with the Slitheen, the Nestene consciousness and the Empty Child."

"You would have loved me back then Robin - Sorry, I'm not going to call you Vixen even if I do think its rather saucy. Unlike the surfer dressed as Padington bear I've got some class," the Doctor called to her as he came closer to the Master. "When I had this face I could dance a mean step. You should see my moves," the Doctor said before strutting and twirling down the aisle with a spring in his step.

"Once this is over I'll have to show you what I can do," the Doctor said before his eyes narrowed on the Master. "But first, I'm going to pay back this lunatic for everything he's done to you."

"Oh listen to him talk big," the Master scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. "He's wearing a face that couldn't kill the Dalek's when it really mattered the most and yet here he stands running his mouth off about stopping me."

"Come on Doctor. If you want to stop me, you're going to have to kill me," The Doctor spoke before grinning smugly at him. "And you don't have the nerve"

fireandblood

Robin grinned brightly as the Master and the Silents brought her out of the TARDIS, but as soon as her gaze landed on Allen she froze, her eyes widening as far as they could. No, no, no, she thought, despair seeping into her bones. Why are you here, stupid boy? She tried to give him a pleasant look, but he gazed at her with confusion as though he had no idea who she was.

When the Doctor began addressing her as Robin, Allen slowly turned to look back at his sister. Their gazes met and Allen's jaw dropped, his blue eyes looking like saucers in his freckled face. Robin wagged her eyebrows at him but he still looked at her with a certain amount of fear. Wincing, Robin looked away and back to the Doctor, resolving to try and talk to her brother later.

It came as a shock that he had a different face from something other than regeneration. Robin would have understood had he been in a new body, but this was one she had seen in his fragmented memories. He was a little more warlike, a little more severe... And his ears! Robin let out an absurd giggle as his ears wiggled when he turned around and strutted toward them down the aisle.

"Good thing, too, I was beginning to get tired of everyone calling me Vixen," Robin said, winking her good eye. "If you ask the Master here, apparently I'm the Harbinger, though that sounds a little more dramatic than I'd like." She spit on the floor again as she tasted the metallic tang of blood. Then she looked at the Master.

"See, you put all this faith in my psychic powers, but then you doubt me when I say the Doctor's alive?" she asked cheerfully. "Haven't you learned by now that I'm basically always right?"

Villain

"Shut up," the Master spat before turning back to the Doctor and taking a few steps towards him with a cocky swagger. "Do you think I'm afraid of you Doctor? I've killed you multiple times and the last two times we fought I ended up controlling the Earth. Its getting easier every time. This time it was so simple that I could have done it blind folded with no hands."

"Oh come off it. You had to go begging the Silence for help in order to pull this off," the Doctor said before smirking at the Master. "You said you raided a war room before you got here. Odd then that you should decide to go running off to Reservoir Dog ET and their little gang of nutters. Surely you could cripple the Earth all by yourself."

"What's the matter? Didn't like your odds?" The Doctor asked, causing the Master to snarled and raised his laser screwdriver at the Doctor.

"I expected more from you Doctor!" The Master barked as he waved the golden instrument of death before the Doctor's face. "When your little friend Amy was taken you built an army to get her back. You cashed in every favor and brought Demons run down in three minutes and eighteen seconds." The Master threw out his arms and sneered before he spat, "Where's your army now? I'm insulted Doctor."

"Awww...did the ickle Master of all get his feelings hurt?" The Doctor cooed and mimed wiping away tears before looking past the Master at the two Silent agents. "So what do you lot get out of this? I can guess why you would want to work with the Master, he's a Time Lord that you can depend on a bit more than River Song, but you can't honestly tell me that you trust him."

"The question must not be answered." The Silents replied and the Doctor let out a loud laugh and threw back his head.

"So you put your faith in this lunatic?" The Doctor said before turning his head towards the Master again. "What are you planning? Universal war? Conquest? Or is this just a personal attack on me?"

"No, this time its bigger than that," the Master replied before pointing at Robin. "I plan on resurrecting Gallifrey and the legacy of the Time Lords. Through the girls powers I'm going to rid the universe of every single enemy of Gallifrey. I'm going to do what you never had the nerve to do and then I am going to rebuild everything that you destroyed!"

The Doctor was silent as he looked at the Master. For a moment his piercing blue eyes were full of something besides anger. Remorse.

"It's sad. We've known each other for so long and yet we still don't understand each other," the Doctor spoke in a low voice. "You helped save all of time last time we met. You struck Rassilion just before the gates closed to the Time War. You saved my life."

"Don't flatter yourself Doctor. It was revenge," the Master hissed as he thrust the laser screwdriver at the Doctor.

Any moment now he would burn a hole right through his head, but the Doctor didn't seem to care. He just looked past it and looked deep in the Master's deranged dark eyes, until eventually he turned his head to Robin and smiled brightly, "So, Robin are you finished using this distraction to hypnotise the Silence?"

fireandblood

Robin watched for a moment as the Master walked toward the Doctor. It was strange; for one brilliant enough to locate her, escape the Time War, trick the Doctor, and use Robin's powers to hypnotise the entire world, the Master was really quite thick. Here he was, blabbering on, not remembering that he had a Time Lord with heightened psychic powers tied up and desperate behind him.

So she started to work.

Robin knew that she couldn't control the entire group of Silents in the room. Her mind wasn't perfectly trained, and the Master had only gotten large bursts from her when he was hurting her. Since she was not in a state of extreme duress at the moment, she knew her power wouldn't be as potent. Still, though, it would be easy to get hold of at least five of them. And if they were the five closest to her, it could mean her escape.

Closing her eyes, she completely emptied her mind. It was a harder task than she would have liked but eventually she had completely receded. Then she imagined that her consciousness was like a rope, which could extend in tendrils out from her head and wrap around the other minds in the room. It was easy to separate Silent from Time Lord from Human, and she stayed away from those who weren't Silents.

Carefully, she selected the minds of the Silents she wanted and wrapped her ropes around their consciousnesses. Slowly, Robin drew them back into her head so that she could manipulate them. It gave her a sort of overfull feeling, like her head could explode at any moment, but she held on to them. It was so strange; she could actually feel the part of their brains that cloaked them from memory. With a shiver, she started to work, bidding the one which had been pulling her around to begin untying her.

Soon her bonds were off and she stood there, still keeping their minds in hers so that the other Silents wouldn't realize anything was amiss. They all gazed at the Doctor and the Master, their eyes expressionless and their mouthless faces emitting that strange breathing sound.

Finally, though, it seemed the Doctor was finished talking, and he turned his attention to Robin. She grinned brightly at him with a mouth full of blood and held her arms out to her sides. The five Silents she was controlling bowed to the room.

"Why yes, Doctor," she said. "Quite right. Would you like to see me make Jason dance? I've named this one Jason, he's the one who beat me when the Master got bored of it." 'Jason' did a pirouette, graceful as any dancer. The smile then disappeared from Robin's face and Jason dropped to the floor, unmoving. "Serves you right, Jason," she muttered, before smiling again and running to the Doctor.

"I like the leather, gives you sort of a biker look!" She grabbed his hand, ready to take off with her Doctor again.