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

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

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fireandblood

Robin listened as the Doctor explained, and allowed herself to be pushed into the van. For a moment, she froze, realizing that she might not be as good at driving as she had thought... Not in England, anyway. The steering wheel was on the other (in her mind, wrong) side of the car. But another realization occurred just after that... It wasn't like there would be any police to ticket her for driving recklessly.

Placing her hands as confidently as she could on the wheel, the determined blonde turned to look at the Doctor, before letting out a scream as the glass flew inward at them. Her arms flew up instinctively to protect her face, but after a moment she looked out to see the formation of small aliens in front of them. An absurd urge to laugh surfaced in her mind... until the tiny warriors began aiming at them.

Her foot readied to slam down on the gas pedal when the Doctor yelled, but then the Sontarans decided to begin firing at the Autons instead. Incredulously, her mouth fell open, and she looked at the Doctor. As the two groups started battling each other, Robin snapped out of it and carefully began to back out of the parking spot. One of the Autons fell, and she drove toward it, trying to drive through the area least clogged by fire. As she pressed the gas pedal harder, they spun out and took out five Autons as she fled the parking lot.

"What do I do now?" she called to the Doctor, speeding away. "And what in the world are Sontarans?"

Villain

"Basic facts about the Sontarans, they are the finest soldiers in the galaxy, they're a clone race that hails from the planet of Sontar, they live for war and spend most of their time figuring out how to destroy their enemies," the Doctor explained whilst they tore down the roads of London, the white van barely keeping on its wheels as it turned round the corners.

"With any luck they'll be more focused on killing off the Autons, since they'll consider them to currently be the most dangerous threat," the Doctor said whilst he rummaged through the pockets of his coat. He pulled out his gravity detecting Yo-Yo and began to spin it up and down on the seat of the van.

"Gravity is normal," the Doctor said before huffing angrily. "What on Earth is going on here? If the Autons got rid of everyone then why are the Sontarans fighting them? The Earth can't be that important to them.... unless of course there was something on Earth that they wanted? Maybe they've found something that the Autons aren't aware of?"

"Also..." The Doctor stopped his musing and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "... why do I feel like I've forgotten something important? I think there was a fact about the Sontarans that I've forgotten about. Oh, wait! The Sontarans are at war with a another race, they're called the Rutans."

The white van came to a stop as they turned a corner. Blocking their path were five green alien lifeforms that resembled glowing jelyfish the size of horses. Although they had no eyes, they seemed to regard the Doctor and Robin for a moment before they rose their tentacles into the air.

"And the Rutans look like that Robin, shall we turn the van around now?" The Doctor asked before letting out a nervous laugh as the Rutans began to generate green bolts of electricity between their slimy digits. "I think it would be a really good idea if we turned around now"

fireandblood

"But what could the Earth have that a species like the Sontarans would want?" Robin mused, barely paying attention as she turned corners. It hadn't been as hard as she'd thought, learning how to drive in the opposite side of the car. Stress and fear probably made it easier... "If they're made for war, all they would want would be more advanced weaponry, right? And I seriously doubt that two years made a huge difference in the Earth's development of advanced weapons."

Her observations ceased as the Doctor began explaining the Sontarans' current war, and she screeched the van to a halt as the green aliens appeared before them. This time, however, no screams escaped the human. For a moment, she simply gazed at the creatures, her green eyes full of wonder. It was plain to see that her adventures with the Doctor were acclimatizing her to frequent meetings with new life forms... Which was good, because it gave her the presence of mind to listen immediately to her companion's advice. With a rev of the engines, she spun them around, retreating as fast as she could from the group of Rutans.

"Why are they all here, Doctor?" she asked, turning corners hastily in an attempt to get away from all three species of aliens. "The finest soldiers in the galaxy, their primary enemy, and some Autons that have tried taking over Earth before? What could they possibly want? And are there more?" Then, she remembered the pad of paper and the strange words upon it. Turning to the Doctor, she once again halted the van after turning them into a secluded alleyway.

"And what about that memory-proof alien? The Silent?" her voice grew slightly more fearful. "Why did it bring us here? And why did it say I'm not just a human and... bow to me? None of this makes any sense, Doctor."

Villain

"It doesn't. This is one gigantic Scooby-Doo special of a mystery and I have no idea where to even start with it," the Doctor spoke, wincing as one of the Rutan's bioelectric blasts struck a nearby lamppost, causing it to burst into flames and shower one side of the van with molten glass. He could see the creatures blasting away at them in the wing mirror, trying to strike them a they fled.

"Maybe if we head back to the TARDIS I can get a lock on one of their transmissions and find out why they're here and why they're fighting each other," the Doctor said before pausing and sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Well...apart from the reason that they're destructive aliens that fighter other aliens. Hopefully the Sontarans and the Autons won't be near the TARDIS and we'll have a clear path- OH COME ON!"

The van came to a stop again as a new threat appeared before them. In the road ahead of them stood five silver humanoid figures that appeared to be made from solid steel. They had gaping holes for eyes and had guns built into the sides of their cylindrical arms, all of which were pointed in their direction.

"Cybermen?! Are you serious?!" The Doctor exclaimed as the van screeched to a halt. The metal men clanged their fists against their chest plates before taking aim at the vehicle.

"Delete!" The Cybermen spoke loudly in their empty monotone voices. Blasts of light soared from the cannons in the arms, narrowly missing the side of the van. For a moment it seemed as if their enemy had terrible aim. Then the Doctor noticed what was closing in behind them.

"Sontarans! Take aim!" The leader of the Sontarans called out from behind the van. The Doctor could see the soldiers aiming for the Cybermen in the reflection of the wing mirrors, but he wasn't at all comforted by their choice of priorities, for he could see the Rutans in the distance, slowly catching up on them.

"Okay... Robin, don't panic. I'm about to think of something incredible," the Doctor said slowly before reaching out and taking her hand gently. "Its going to be amazing, in fact I'm sure you'll probably fall in love with me. Don't worry, it happens a lot." The grim tone in his voice gave away everything, the two of them were in one of the worst situations they had ever been in and the Doctor had no idea how this was going to play out.

fireandblood

The metal men that appeared seemed somehow far more sinister than any of the other aliens on Earth thus far. There was something very disconcerting about them... As though they had a secret that Robin did not want to find out. However, she did her best to keep her cool, and smiled at the Doctor as though this was any normal day.

"Okay, so we've got Autons, Sontarans, Rutans, and Cybermen. You've beat them before, right? Well, now you have me... So we'll do it again. Right?" She did her best to sound cheerful, but the look on the Doctor's face made her smile fade a little. When he spoke again and took her hand, her fears were confirmed. The smile stayed on her face, but her eyes betrayed her fear. But still, the girl squeezed his hand and tried hard to reassure him.

"Oh, Doctor," she said, bringing his hand up to kiss it lightly. "I already love you. And I know that whatever happens... Well, it's supposed to happen. And I trust you. So we'll do whatever you think is best. Tell me what you need me to do and I'll do it."

Villain

The Doctor was quiet for a moment. His gaze lingered on Robin's until eventually a smile spread across his lips. Even in a hopeless situation, she still had faith. He couldn't let that go to waste. "I'm going to get you out of here," the Doctor said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the slingshot he had used against Davros. He armed it with a small blue pebble that he pulled out of his top coat pocket and pulled it back before aiming at the Cybermen. "I'm going to use this to draw their fire, once they're locked on me I want you to kick open the door and jump to the ground. When you hear the firing stop, run like the wind."

Once the Doctor was finished he pulled back the pebble and fired it at the Cybermen. It struck one of the metal men on the head, directing its attention towards him. For a moment it stared vacantly at him, as if unsure whether the blond surfer in the duffle coat had just done something so mad as attract its attention.

"Okay, run Robin! Go now! Go now!" The Doctor yelled before pushing her out of the van and sliding into the drivers seat. He pushed down on the gas and the van sprung to life, tearing across the street towards the metal soldiers that blasted wildly at the approaching battering ram on wheels.

"Okay, time to see if I can still drive," the Doctor murmured before pulling hard on the steering wheel. The van swerved violently to the right as it approached the Cybermen, picking up speed as it turned on its wheels. If it hit them whilst turning it would more than likely knock them down like a bowling pins.

Except, that didn't happen. For the Doctor had missed the Cybermen completely and accidentally parked in front of them. His face turned red as he looked at them blankly, they too seemed to stare back with their empty sockets, as if unsure when the Doctor's ingenious plan would commence.

"Okay, so that settles it. I can't drive," he said before the Cybermen raised their weapons to point at his head. "I can do this thought," he spoke before pushing the sonic screwdriver against the van's radio. It let out a horrific shriek, causing the Cybermen to falter and clutch their head in between their metal hands as the signal screwed with their sensors.

"RUN ROBIN! RUN NOW! DON'T LOOK BACK!" The Doctor yelled. He knew that it was unlikely that he would survive, the van was too much of a target, if the Sontarans or the Rutans hit the engine he would go up in flames, but that didn't matter, the explosion would distract the armies and Robin would escape. That would be victory enough for him.

The only problem with that plan was that the Sontarans and the Rutans had ceased firing at the Doctor and each other, for they were far too busy trying not to be run down by the huge armored black van with the mechanical dog riding on top of it.

The Doctor stared abashed at the scene as the van drew closer. The Sontarans were yelling commands at each other as the van raced past them and parked in the middle of the chaos.

"Targets not retreating. Continuing fire," the electronic, seemingly innocent voice of the dog spoke as it blasted at the aliens with red laser blasts which burned holes into the armor of the Sontarans and seemed to irritate the gelatinous forms of the Rutans. Soon, both armies began to disperse, figuring that the psychotic disco robot dog was a foe that would require some thought.

"I love that dog," the Doctor whispered as the metal dog ceased firing at its enemies. "I love that dog so much that I want to marry it," he said before beaming brightly. He bolted from the van, releasing the pressure on the radio and freeing the Cybermen from their torment as he ran across the road.

"Robin! My plan worked! K-9 is here to save us! Just like I planned!" The Doctor called with a mad laugh.

fireandblood

Robin's green eyes searched the Doctor's face as he spoke, a layer of tears building up as she considered what this could mean for him. Maybe she would make it, maybe not... But for the Doctor to draw the fire of all of his foes at once seemed to lessen his chances considerably. A single tear spilled over, and she hoped against all hope that he would make it somehow.

When he pushed her out of the van, she ran as fast as she possibly could to the side of the alley, ducking behind the distracted Cybermen. Her heart pounding, she rounded the corner... Safe, at least for the moment. Warily, the blonde poked her head around the wall, watching as the Doctor drove straight at the Cybermen... Only to stop just in front of them. Gasping, her hand flew to her locket, yanking almost violently on the chain.

Her hands then crushed against her ears, trying to drown out the noise being made by the Doctor in the van... But her eyes never closed, and she saw the huge black vehicle come lumbering down the alley... With some sort of robot dog riding on the top of it. A strangled laugh escaped her as the dog began firing at the creatures, speaking with a charming metallic voice.

Here we are, she thought helplessly, seeing the Doctor's bemused face, under attack by four hostile species of aliens... And robot Lassie comes to save the day.

As the Sontarans and Rutans retreated and the Doctor started to run, Robin herself moved toward him, smiling hugely. Her hope had been lost, but as usual, something happened in the nick of time to save them. This caused a strange niggling sensation in her mind... As though she'd forgotten something very important. But she just shook her head as she ran toward the Doctor and happily met him.

"Oh, right!" she laughed, resisting the urge to hug him. "Just like you planned!" Looking up to the little dog, she beamed. "Hello, K-9! Nice to meet you! Thanks for saving our skins!"

Villain

"Hey, I saved our skins. It was my plan," the Doctor whined as they approached the van. "K-9, long time no see! Tell me, is it legal for a man to marry a robot dog in 2015?"

"Negative!" The dog chirped. Its laser cannon nose shrinking back into its small metal head.

"Darn, I guess I won't be living the dream," the Doctor said before stepping back as the van doors opened. "Ah! So now we get to meet our beloved savior! I didn't think that K-9 could drive. I've been dreaming of this moment for exactly thirty three seconds," the Doctor said gleefully as the doors opened with a clang.

"How do you do, I'm the Doctor and this is Robin-" the Doctor began before being interrupted as a fist crunched into the middle of his fist and sent him sprawling back on the ground.

"WHERE IN THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN YOU SOD?!" Asked the angry voice of a raven haired welsh woman dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans. She was a pretty woman, but the anger in her eyes made her look more fearsome than the Sontarans and the Rutans put together. She stepped off the van and glared down at the Doctor, her heavy boots clanging against the floor.

"Robin! She punched me!" The Doctor cried as he clutched his nose and staggered to his feet. "She punched me right in the face! Why do woman always aim for my face?"

"Well you deserve it you gigantic twat!" The woman snarled at him before breathing in deeply and shuttering her eyes. Slowly she exhaled and relaxed her shoulders before motioning for Robin to get into the van with a jerk of her head. "Get in before the Cybers blow your head off. Feel free to leave the prick."

fireandblood

Robin's mouth opened into an O of shock as the woman's fist connected with the Doctor's face. As he fell to the ground, she ran to his side and looked accusingly up at the beautiful, irate woman. As the Doctor stood, Robin put her hand around his arm and tried to help him. For some reason, this woman was screaming at the Time Lord as though all of this was his fault.

"Let's get in the van, Doctor," Robin said, looking warily over at the stirring Cybermen. Letting go of her friend, she walked toward the van, but paused before entering. Narrowing her eyes, she looked at the woman again.

"Who are you?" she asked, a bit of anger in her voice. "Also, why are you punching the one person who could probably get us out of this mess? That seems a little unhelpful if you ask me."

Villain

The woman glared back at her, the fierceness in her eyes not fading by an inch. For a moment it seemed as if she would punch Robin as well, but instead she grunted and motioned again for Robin to get into the van. "I'm Gwen Cooper from Torchwood and in about ten minutes I promise that you're going to want to punch that man in the face."

"Gwen Cooper!" The Doctor said happily, despite clutching his nose. "I know you! You were there when the Daleks stole planet earth! Jack went on about you all the time!" The Doctor exclaimed and grinned at the woman, only to have the smile fade from his face as she stared daggers at him. "Uh, please don't punch me again."

"I'm not making any promises, get in," Gwen spoke before hoping into the van. The vehicle was much more spacious than the van they had traveled in earlier. There were six rows of seats and a back area that contained computer equipment and a medical bed, much like one that could be found in an ambulance.

"Sky, fire up the Jammer, we're returning to base," Gwen called to the back of the van. A young girl with long light brown hair popped up from between the computers and circuits. Her face lit up with shock as her eyes landed on the Doctor, who laughed sheepishly before extending his hand.

"Hello there I'm the Doctor, please tell me you're not going to punch me," he said with a nervous laugh before letting out a yelp as Gwen violently turned the van to one side, sending him crashing into one of the seats.

"I'm considering it," the girl spoke, her brow narrowed on the Doctor. "Doctor, we've met before. Its me."

"Nice to meet you Me, this is Robin. If you're planning on hitting me please note that she will spring to my defense with her intense knowledge of martial arts and ninja abilities," the Doctor said before wincing again as another burst of pain shot through his nose. "When the heck did the welsh start hitting that hard? Did she learn that from you Me?"

The girl didn't reply, her expression seemed torn between confusion and anger. After a moment of staring at the Doctor, she jumped into the back of the van and began to meddle with the computers and gizmos that lay in the back.

fireandblood

With the fiery look that Gwen Cooper was shooting her, Robin meekly obeyed her direction and hopped into the van. Silently, she sat in one of the seats, folding her hands in her lap and looking around. It was spacious and comfortable, seeming to be some sort of rescue vehicle. As the two women spoke to the Doctor and the van lurched into motion, Robin grasped the seat on both sides of her and held on for dear life.

As the brown-haired girl spoke to the Doctor, Robin could see that his forgetfulness visibly upset her. It made her sad to see what kind of effect he had on people... Especially if he then forgot about them. She found herself wondering what this girl had once meant to the Doctor... or if he had even met her yet. She was sure that time-traveling could make people meet a bit out of order.

As their course evened out a bit, Robin looked at her companion and rolled her eyes before slowly climbing back toward the other, not-so-angry girl.

"Hi, I'm Robin," she said softly, smiling. "The scar can be a bit off-putting I'm sure, but I'm typically a nice person. I also don't know kung-fu. Now, it's not really my business, but... The Doctor had some sort of accident that caused him to lose a lot of his memories. When I met him he hardly remembered anything at all. Slowly, they've been coming back to him, but... I think there are some still missing. I'm not saying he's the easiest to get along with, but... you might need to remind him of who you are." Considering for a moment, she added, "Also, it's possible that he hasn't met you yet, but you've met him. Did he seem to know who you were the last time you met?"

Villain

The girl looked up from the computers and managed to give Robin a weak smile. "Nice to meet you," she spoke before turning a dial on one of the machines, causing a slow hum to emanate from the computer. "You don't need to worry, I'm not mad of him. I don't care if he doesn't remember me," the girl spoke softly before gazing over at the Doctor, who had now shuffled to a seat next to Gwen. "I'm not the one he let down," she muttered before returning to her work.

"Gwen, what happened to this place? Where has everyone gone?" The Doctor asked whilst Gwen steered the hulking van down the roads of London. "And why are the Autons, the Sontarans, the Rutans and the Cybermen all fighting here? Is this a turf war or something? Did one of them insult the other at a party?"

"You don't know?" Gwen asked, her voice sharp as she glanced at the Doctor. "You're here in London and you don't know whats happening?"

"Not a clue. I've got a couple of ideas, but I don't think any of them are right," the Doctor said softly, tilting his head to one side as he watched Gwen. "What happened here Gwen? Why are you and the girl in the back the only people that remain here? Did the aliens kill everyone else?"

"Ha!" Gwen laughed bitterly and shook her head. "They didn't have time to kill everyone Doctor, they're far too busy dealing with everyone else. We're nothing to them."

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Doctor asked. Gwen didn't reply, instead she nodded to the road ahead, his expression grim as the road opened to reveal Westminster bridge.

What they saw next was beyond anything they had seen so far. The world before their eyes was in chaos. An almighty battle was being fought on its surface, in the waters below and in the sky's above. Countless alien life forms battle savagely on the open ground, their weapons tearing into each other as they fought wildly for an unknown cause.

Scaly green humanoids were firing megaphone shaped weapons at bloated members of the Slitheen. Cybermen sent red blasts of laser flying across the water at the Sontarans that took cover on the other side. Large floating eyeballs in crystal halos fired shots of power at the Rutans that floated towards them. Hulking figures in black armor with heads that resembled those of a rhino fired at small groups of Daleks that floated down from the sky and showered them with blasts from their death rays. These were just some of the battles taking place in the chaotic scene.

"This is wrong," the Doctor breathed as he watched the scene unfold before him. "This is so wrong. Look at them, they're like animals. Sontarans, Rutans, Zygons, Atraxi, Sycorax, Judoon, Silurian, Slitheen, Autons...uncountable lifeforms all at each others throats. Since when did the biggest and baddest monsters in the universe decide they wanted to fight on earth?"

"Ever since the Advert started playing," Gwen spoke before pointing to a spot in the sky. On the horizon loomed a large black zeppelin balloon that slowly made its way through the chaos. On the side of it huge a huge plasma screen that seemed to be broadcasting an image of a pair of lips.

fireandblood

Robin didn't - couldn't - reply to the girl. For a moment, she simply stared, wondering what in the world she meant by that quiet statement. With a sigh, Robin patted her arm gently before making her way back to the front of the van and sitting beside the Doctor. Listening intently, the blonde grew confused at Gwen's words, but suddenly gasped at the scene that appeared before them.

Numerous species were fighting amongst each other, firing weapons and shouting myriad battle cries into the air. Buildings, signs, and sidewalk were all sustaining battle scars from the fray, being scorched black by lasers or blown to bits by rockets. It was chaos, here and there punctured by the raspy "EXTERMINATE" from the Daleks or the electronic "DELETE" from the Cybermen.

Her hand began working at her locket again as she watched the battle unfold and listened to what Gwen and the Doctor were saying. Then, Gwen pointed, and Robin followed her gaze up to the blimp. A shock of revulsion traveled down her spine as she gazed at the moving lips.

"What... what does it say?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

Villain

Gwen turned a dial on the van radio and turned up the volume. The speakers crackled and hissed as it tried to find a signal, but eventually a voice began to be heard through the static.

"Greetings to you fabled travelers, this is the Silence, welcome to Earth," the voice of a woman spoke politely. Her voice was warm and pleasant, but yet there seemed to be a dangerous edge to her words. "You are hearing this because you have followed the psychic message that is being transmitted throughout time and space telling you of the Earths current condition. The Silence wishes to thank you for your interest and would like to inform you that the rumors are true. The human race are no longer the inhabitants of Earth"

"Who is this?" The Doctor asked. "According to Robin's notes the Silence have gotten rid of Madam Kovarian, so who's the new girl?"

"We don't know," the girl in the back replied grimly. "The voice doesn't match any record kept on Earth. We even tried matching it against both UNIT and Torchwoods old vocal records and nothing came up. Whoever she is its a well kept secret."

"The Silence have no wish to stay on Earth, for we consider this planet and its species to be an obstruction to our cause. So, in order to make sure that this planet is put to better uses, we shall be offering it to the race who desires it most," The voice continued, her pleasantness never ceasing despite the implication of her words. "Of course, we do not wish for an all out interstellar war. Instead we propose a much more formal matter, an elimination match if you will. Each race that competes in our contest will fight for one week against the other contenders. At the end of each day a tally shall be taken of how many kills, who has dealt them and who has been destroyed."

"Naturally, there are some rules that must be followed. To begin with, each race may submit no more than a thousand members to enter the competition. Secondly, each thousand must be divided into teams of five. Thirdly, all teams must make a pact with the Silence, an honor bound agreement that shows that you will uphold these rules, for if they are not followed then our psychic beacon will turn hostile and reduce your brains to paste."

"Please note that the Earth is also surrounded with an impenetrable force field that has been modified to only let in small groups of contestants one at a time. Any attempt at destroying the earth with some form of doomsday weapon or cosmic disaster shall result in failure. Do not even try, for this shield is on par with the security system that guards the Dalek Asylum. Any attempt at assault upon it will result in you being eliminated from the competition and then eliminated personally by the Silence."

"The winner of this bold contest will receive ownership of the Earth as well as the rights to the psychic beacon and the forcefield technology. The Earth will then be yours to do as you please. Good luck and have a pleasant day!" There was silence as the Doctor absorbed what he had just heard. He leaned back in his seat and stared at the radio before looking towards the zeppelin.

"So those balloons transmit the message every minute?" The Doctor asked before scratching his chin. "A giant advertisement to participate in the biggest bloodiest death match that the world has ever seen. Its Hunger Games meets Alien vs Predator on a universal scale and everyones taking part," the Doctor spoke gravely before scowling at the zeppelin. "Whats their angle? Why are they so keen to wipe out the Earth and then give it up? I thought I was their greatest threat."

"We were hoping you would have an answer," Gwen growled as she turned the van away from the scene and began driving over the bridge towards the Big Ben Clock Tower. Surprising, no one seemed to notice the huge black truck that was barreling through the chaotic scene. More than likely it was due to the jammer that Gwen had instructed the girl to raise.

"You did say something like this was coming after all," Gwen spoke as she swerved to avoid one of the scaly humanoids that was currently tussling with one of the Autons. "That's why you prepared us. That's why you made Jack go back in time with his Vortex Manipulator. That's why you made us keep Donna Noble in a safe location to stop her from burning up when it all happened. That's why you told us to drive around looking for you for the last week. So come on? Whats the plan?"

The Doctor couldn't have looked more bewildered if K-9 suddenly revealed that he was the prophet of a new religion. He gawked at Gwen as if she had just sprouted sunflowers from her ears. His mouth hung open a little as confusion set in to his caramel eyes. The Doctor stammered before asking, "I'm sorry but...what?"

The van came screeching to a halt. Gwen was now staring at the Doctor with equal bewilderment, this quickly turned to anger, "Oh you are not serious..."

fireandblood

Robin listened with mounting anxiety to the words of the woman. It was so strange... her tone was as pleasant as could be, but that only served to intensify the undertone of menace. The Silence were giving up the Earth to the most prodigious warriors... Like some sort of prize at a tournament. Robin found herself pulling anxiously at her locket as the woman went on.

Her eyes widened as she heard the woman speak of a force field around the Earth. They had really done their research... It all seemed so strange. If that Silent, whatever it was, had bowed to her... Why? If they were planning on destroying the Earth, why bring a Silent on board the TARDIS and not kill the man who was the greatest threat to all these aliens... And why have it show Robin such courtesy?

Slowly, she brought her hands to her temples, massaging a little. This was all too much for her. And the beeping... It was getting louder again. Almost like some sort of countdown, it had resumed its regular beat. Shaking her head, she listened as the radio fell silent and Gwen and the Doctor began to speak. Eyes widening, her gaze landed on the Doctor.

"Um..." she spoke up for the first time. "Did you take some sort of side trip without me knowing it?" How could he have possibly told them this all was coming? Another of the Doctor's memories floated to her mind... Though again, it was one of his previous faces.

"Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey..." she whispered under her breath, closing her eyes.

Villain

"I can't have taken a trip without you knowing, otherwise I would remember it. The only possibilities are that I have yet to do it or... I've forgotten," the Doctor said, shuffling back a bit in his seat. Gwen's stare had become twice as angry as before. "Look, I can't blame you for being angry, but you have to understand that before I met Robin most of my past was a giant blur. Maybe I'll remember telling you all of this and my brilliant plan will come together, but for now we'll just need to roll with the punches....preferably not literally"

"What do you remember?" The girl asked as she scooted into one of the free seats. "What was our last memory?"

"What, before JB, Tosh and Robin?" The Doctor asked before scratching his head and closing his eyes. He placed his fingers to his forehead and bean to rub the sides of it slowly, as if trying to course the memory out of hiding. "I remember...waking up in the TARDIS with my clothes on fire. The TARDIS was in flight, but my brain was all fuzzy, I couldn't figure out how to pilot it and find out where I had just come from. It took me a week to remember who I was and how to get the old girl to land."

"So the Earth has gone to hell, we have no idea whats going on and you have amnesia?" Gwen asked with an angry huff before pushing down on the gas, causing the van to roar back to life and continue its journey. "Brilliant...just bloody brilliant!"

The Doctor didn't respond to Gwen's anger. He simply watched the angry woman drive the van towards Big Ben, swerving in and out of the war zone to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Something in her eyes seemed to burn with a hateful flame as they made their journey, something more than just anger. Something much more potent. Despair.

"How you holding up back there Robin?" The Doctor asked, "Has the beeping started again? I'm imagining that something as ridiculous as this situation is bound to have started it up again"

fireandblood

Robin began to scowl as Gwen berated the Doctor. It wasn't as if everything was his fault... He was doing his best to help, even though he had completely jumbled memories and could easily have escaped in his disappearing time machine. An irrational anger flared in the blonde's chest the more they spoke, and finally she could no longer keep her mouth shut.

"Hey," she said to Gwen, momentarily ignoring the Doctor's question. "Listen. We're doing our best to help. You can't fault the Doctor for not knowing something he hasn't done yet, or something he forgot because he died temporarily, in some sort of horrible accident most likely. In my opinion, everything would go much more smoothly if you just tell us everything you know and stop being so damn hateful. Also, punch the Doctor again and you'll have me to deal with. You can ask him, that's not something you want to do. I pushed the entire consciousness of a plasmic being out of my head."

After giving the beautiful woman a level stare, Robin turned to the Doctor, trying her best to smile.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Really."

Villain

Gwen didn't respond to Robin's anger. Instead she continued to stare at her with the same steely expression before turning her attention back to the road.

As she turned the van towards Big Ben the young girl clambered into the back of the van and began to rapidly type on one of the computers. After a few seconds of driving slowly by the tower and tapping at the keyboard, a passageway opened in the side of the great clock tower, revealing a downward spiraling ramp, big enough to let the van through.

"You're not fine Robin," the Doctor spoke with a shake of his head. "You still have the beeping in your head. When we finally stop I'm going to take another look inside your head to see if its changed since we encountered that hole in reality. Hopefully time will have made it easier to interpret."

The Doctor paused and looked out the window, a smile grew across his face as he watched them descend into the tunnel.

"Can I just say...Wow!" the Doctor said with a grin. "A secret base in Big Ben! That makes Canary Wharf, Roald Dahl Plass, the Tower of London and now Big Ben. Will you Brits ever stop finding places to renovate into secret bases?"

"I'm Welsh," Gwen muttered.

"You're also very angry at me," the Doctor replied before shuffled to a seat next to Robin. "And that bothers me. Do you know why that is Robin?" the Doctor asked before gesturing to Gwen. "Its not just because I want Gwen to like me because my naughty friend Jack has told me tons of great things about her, its also because I don't like how rattled she is."

"Gwen here is a topnotch protector of the human race. She's seen monsters and aliens of all different types and sent them packing whenever they've stirred up trouble. She's gone against Daleks, mad men, conspiracies, corrupt governments, killer fairies and even the son of the devil himself and she's survived it all. She's really quite incredible," the Doctor said with no small amount of admiration in his voice, but then his tone turned hard as he leaned forwards and propped his head on the palms of his hands.

"And right now, she's angry and she's angry because she is very very scared," the Doctor spoke as he gazed at the back of Gwen's head. "I don't like it. I don't want Gwen Cooper to be that scared. It makes me feel angry. Angry that I can't do more to help, but unfortunately that's because I'm still trying to wrap my head around one question that's been bugging me since we stepped on the van."

The Doctor turned to look back at the girl on the computer and then back to Gwen. "Why are you two the only humans we've seen so far? The Silence said the human race no longer inhabited the Earth, so why are you two here, running about and obeying my strange instructions?"

The Doctor turned back to Gwen, his stare hard as he tilted his head to look her in the eye. "Whats happened Gwen? What became of all the other humans?"

Gwen turned to meet the Doctors gaze. Cold fire burned in her eyes as she looked deep into his own soft yellow eyes. Her voice was hard as she answered; "You're about to find out Doctor. And if you can't help us. I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to shoot you."

"I get the feeling that I would deserve it," the Doctor replied softly before turning towards Robin. "I have a feeling that what we are about to see is going to be a lot to take in. And its also going to be hard to accept. If you want, you can wait in the van when we stop."

fireandblood

Robin met Gwen's gaze, but dropped her eyes once the other girl turned away. Something seemed off about all this. Even further off than the fact that there were multiple species of aliens fighting for possession of the Earth. Robin didn't know if anyone else was feeling it, but to her, it felt as if something very bad was going to happen. Very soon.

When the Doctor said that he was going to peek around in her head again, she sighed. She wished that for once her head could just be normal, rather than something to distract the Doctor from what was more important. Her thoughts calmed a bit, though, as she gazed with wonder at the doors opening at the bottom of Big Ben. A small, incredulous laugh escaped her. Big Ben had been one of the things she'd most wanted to see, back before the Doctor entered her life. And here she was, going into the bottom of it.

But as her companion continued talking, her mind returned to the present and her smile dropped off her face. From the way Gwen was speaking, it sounded as if the humans had encountered something horrible. Normally it would have made her mad to hear someone threatening to shoot the Doctor, but at this moment... It didn't matter. Turning to look at the Doctor, she could feel the fear in her eyes, but she shook her head all the same.

"Never," she said simply, taking his hand.

Villain

"That a girl," the Doctor replied, a slow smile breaking out across his face. "I promise that when I look inside your head we will get some answers. For whatever reason, your brain guided us to that hole in reality and then adjusted once we had acknowledged it. Its very likely that the layers that are distorting it will ease off and we'll get closer to the reason why its in your head in the first place."

"In the meantime, lets be positive and remember that we're in a secret base under the most famous clock in England!" The Doctor said before grinning as broadly as the devil himself.

The van came out into a wide open area that was dark, empty and seemed to resemble the inside of a bomb shelter. The walls were made from reinforced stone and the ground was rough tarmac. On one side of the vast space lay a huge steel door that was so big and bulky it almost looked as if it could survive impact from a warhead. As the van approached the door two cameras sprouted from either side of it and glanced over the machine before the door slowly opened.

Four figures walked out to meet the van as it drew nearer to the door. As they got closer the Doctor's eyes widened and his smile suddenly became even brighter. By the time the van had stopped the Doctor had already jumped out of one of its windows and raced to meet the approaching figures.

In her entire life Robin would have never seen such an odd band of faces. On the far left of the quartet was one of the scaly green humanoids that had been sighted on the bridge. It appeared to be female and was dressed in fine blue and white garments that seemed an odd mix between the clothes of a samurai warrior and those of a monk. A katana sword was strapped to her back, held within a golden sheaf that matched the design of her clothes. This seemed to be something that she took comfort in, for one of her hands stroked the end of her sword fondly as if reassuring herself that she could still draw it and kill everything that stood in her way. 

Next to her was a young slim girl with dark hair curled into a bun. She was dressed in a formal white button shirt and blue waistcoat that oddly matched the clothes of the scaly woman. She too carried a sword, but unlike the lizard woman she paid it barely any attention, for most of it was focused on the young boy that walked next to her.

The boy looked as if he had been pulled straight out of Oliver Twist. He was dressed in old fashioned Victorian clothes, which were baggy and a little tattered. His dark messy hair was kept back by a neat leather cap that hung lopsided on his little head.

The final member however was the strangest of the lot, for he was a Sontaran. However, unlike the ones Robin had seen, this Sontaran was not wearing the dome helmet that the others wore. This enabled the creature to show off his bulbous leathery head, which had a squashed nose and very large ears. His face was set in a scowl that would have probably looked menacing on anyone else, but unfortunately when the psychotic little warrior wore it, he just looked like he was trying really hard to stay awake.

"Madame Vastra! Jenny! Strax! Some kid! Now this is a surprise!" The Doctor cheered as he approached them. However, his cheerfulness was cut short as the lizard woman stepped forwards and punched the Doctor across the face.

"Ow!" The Doctor yelped and clutched the side of his face. "Why do women keep punching me today?!"

fireandblood

The Doctor's smile was infectious, that was for sure. Robin soon found herself grinning along with him, but she froze when he hopped out of the van. The interior of the vehicle was a little uncomfortable with just the three young women in it, so Robin glanced around before hopping out as well. As she ran to catch up with the Doctor, she planned to mutter something about how he always just ran off without her.

Then, however, she froze.

Two members of the party approaching belonged to the species fighting outside. A lizardlike woman Robin took to be a Silurian, and a strange, potato-headed alien who was a Sontaran. At first, fear filled her, because she had only just escaped being shot at by these two species... But then the Doctor started calling them by name, and Robin realized they had two humans with them. Only slightly relaxing, she walked forward again to join the Doctor.

When the one Robin assumed was Madame Vastra punched the Time Lord in the face, though, Robin let out a yelp. Scurrying forward, she grabbed the Doctor's arm and looked accusingly at the lizard-woman.

"Hey!" she said, voice indignant. "If you all keep punching him like this, all you'll succeed in doing is knocking him out, and then he really won't be any help at all!" Looking at the other members of the odd group, she added, "I'm Robin, by the way."

Villain

"A pleasure to meet you my dear," Madame Vastra responded, although her gaze was mostly focused on the Doctor. She wasn't angry like Gwen, but she did seem to be thoroughly unimpressed. "I apologise for the brutality. I am just perplexed as to why my friend the Doctor decided to abduct me, my wife and our son Harry from our home in Victorian London and fly us to the future before dumping us in the middle of a war zone with barely any explanation!"

"Oh I hate time travel sometimes," The Doctor groaned, rubbing the side of his face. "Look, if I gave you instructions, if I promised you that I would give you answers and make sense of this whole bizarre next time I showed up. Please disregard that information for now."

"Mam can I punch him now?" Jenny asked politely, her eyes narrowing on the Doctor.

"There will be no more punching of the Doctor!" The Doctor yelled out, waving his arms dismissively. "Can we please get over how irritating I can be when I'm cryptic and focus on the here and now. Because if we can then I would like to congratulate the two of you on adopting a son and introduce you to my incredible friend Robin Baker!"

The women were quiet for a moment as they considered the proposal. It seemed likely that they would just punch him again, but eventually, a smile spread slowly across Vastra's lips and the three of them began chuckling whilst the young boy stared at them with a bewildered expression on his face.

"It is good to see you my friend," Vastra spoke, nodding towards the Doctor and then to Robin. "These are difficult times, but its good to see you. We did worry that you might have been killed in the war zone."

"What? Me? Get killed?" The Doctor laughed, grinning smugly at the woman. "I'm not the type of bloke who dies from getting killed," he said before turning to Robin and gesturing to the group. "Robin Baker this is Madame Vastra. She's a Silurian, they're lizard people that live below the Earth's crust. The charming girl next to her is Jenny, her wife, and the little boy who now seems to be hiding behind Madame Vastra's dress is...."

"Harry," chirped Jenny as she tugged the child out from behind Madame Vastra. "His name is Harry. We got him out of trouble before the incident with the Great Intelligence. Him and a mate of his got into a spot of bother when their snowman started to bleed."

"I have made it my duty to train the boy in nineteen different forms of lethal combat!" The Sontaran roared as he barged past Jenny and slapped a large three fingered hand on the boys shoulder, causing him to wince from the impact of his pudgy digits. "Soon he will be able to kill a man twice his size, armed with only a tea spoon and a rubber band!" The Sontaran said proudly before banging his fist against his chest. "I am at your command Doctor! Point me towards our enemy and they shall be annihilated along with every other living thing on this planet!"

"Always a pleasure talking to you Strax," the Doctor sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead. "Robin this is Strax. Try not to get him too excited."

fireandblood

Robin's expression was thoroughly bewildered during the exchange. One moment, Vastra was punching the Doctor, and the next... They were all laughing? With a glance at Harry, Robin felt a little relieved that she wasn't the only one having trouble following the current conversation. Still, though, she smiled as introductions were made. The fact that the Silurian and the human Jenny were married was a bit of a shock, but she simply shrugged.

When Strax spoke, Robin giggled a little. For one who seemed to be from a species that was such a huge threat, he was awfully funny looking. Especially dressed in his current attire. When he looked at her, however, she stifled the smile a bit. Looking around at the mismatched group, she nodded to each in turn.

"It's really nice to meet all of you," she said, offering her hand to anyone who wanted to shake. "I always like meeting friends of the Doctor's."

Villain

"So is this it or is everyone that gets invited to my birthday parties waiting for me on the other side of the door?" The Doctor asked and began bending around the group to see into the chamber that lay beyond the door. "Have you got Mickey Smith in there? That would be just great if you had Mickey in there. I haven't made fun of a Smith in ages!"

"We only have the one Smith I'm afraid and her name is not Mickey Smith," Vastra replied with a shake of her head. The Doctor's face seemed to light up even more at the words.

"Sarah? You've got Sarah Jane Smith with you? Brilliant! I haven't seen Sarah in ages!" He exclaimed before suddenly letting out a yelp as Strax pushed him violently to one side.

"Look out sir! The robots have infiltrated our base and are launching their attack!" Strax yelled whilst pulling out a baton from the butler suit which he was wearing over his bulky small body. The baton sparked as he thrust at the air before him. The women seemed to sigh in frustration at the display and shake their heads in disapproval.

"Strax, for the tenth time. That is not one of the enemy robots. That is K-9," Madame Vastra sighed as she gestured to the robotic blue dog that drove across the stone floor towards them, wagging its radar ears happily.

"I don't trust it," Strax sneered as the metal dog as came closer. "Its heavily armed and very short. Tactically speaking we shouldn't trust anything short and heavily armed. We never know what trouble they could cause!"

"Don't be a hypocrite Strax," the voice of the young girl from the van grumbled as she walked out of the shadows and made her way through the open doorway. "If I see you talk to my dog that way again I'll bake like the potato you resemble," she growled before waving to K-9. "Come on boy! Follow me! There's a good dog!"

The Doctor stared after the girl with a look of befuddlement on his face. Slowly realisation dawned on him and he gawked at the girl before pointing after her and yelling; "Sky Smith! That's Sky Smith! Sarah Jane's adopted daughter!"

"She is and she's a godsend," Gwen Cooper spoke as she arrived on the scene and marched past the Doctor. "Without her we wouldn't have been able to find you, let alone keep this place running," she explained before gesturing for the group to follow her inside. "Come on, enough talking. We have a job to do."

"That's Sky Smith!" The Doctor repeated before turning to Robin, grinning with delight. "Robin! That girl is Sky Smith! You have no idea who she is! But that is Sky Smith! Daughter of Sarah Jane Smith! And you have no idea who that is either!"

fireandblood

Robin again stood there with a puzzled expression as everyone began talking. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and wondered if she would ever get used to all the cryptic, nonsensical speech that came with traveling through space and time. The Doctor, at this point, just seemed to be throwing out names like he knew everyone in the universe.

Another giggle escaped her as Strax threatened K-9. Being around a "friendly" Sontaran was proving to be quite interesting. Obviously, an entire species cloned for war would probably find it hard to ever view anything as less than a threat. The smile faded, though, when Gwen emerged from the van. Robin knew that she'd have to get over her feelings for the dark-haired girl soon, but for now she was still allowed to feel a certain irritation toward her.

Still, though, she started to follow when Gwen marched off. Looking at the alleged Sky Smith, Robin smiled, but the look grew quizzical when she turned it back to the Doctor.

"Who's Sarah Jane Smith?"