SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Chapter Six He could see her from where he was standing. She was so close and yet, he couldn't touch her. Couldn't call to her. Couldn't warn her that danger was near. He could only observe her while she interacted with the imposter. An imposter that was impersonating him while he was out of sync with time. Oh Rose, how he wished it had been him who said those words of love to her. He could move around her, he could touch her but she couldn't feel him or see him because he wasn't in the same moment of time that she was. And she believed him. She believed that this imposter was him and he ached when he watched her kissing him. He had tried screaming at her to get away from him but she couldn't hear him. The woman he loved more than anyone else was now enthralled by one of his deadliest enemies and he was powerless to help her. As the horns sounded and his imposter told her to follow him, the real eleventh Doctor reached out and put his hand on her hair, aching when she didn't feel it or his presence inside his temporal prison. "My love," he said to himself. "I hope I can find a way to reach you before he does something to you and my other self and Jack. If I can't convince you of the truth and get you away from him, we're all doomed. And after he finishes us off, the universe will be next." XOXOXOXOXOXOXO Rose followed the Eleventh Doctor outside. He had put on his mask and cowl again and she walked alongside him while they walked to the front of the stage. She looked for the tenth Doctor and Jack and found them near the throne. She caught the Doctor's eye and scratched the front part of her nose, telling him wordlessly that she was fine. The Doctor rubbed his right arm, meaning "Is everything alright?" Rose nodded and the Doctor and Jack turned and watched the Gamemaster and Rose walk up the stairs. The fighters parted and let them through. Rose noticed there was another wooden chair beside the throne for her to sit on. The Eleventh Doctor pointed to it and Rose nodded, sitting down on it. She looked around and noticed the raptors were forming their barrier around the stage while Eleven sat down beside her. "Now is the time when we begin combat!" he said in a deep voice. Rose frowned. The deep voice was different from his other voice. She figured he had something in the mask to distort his voice and hide it from the Doctor and Jack. "The first part of the tournament will take place in the forest surrounding this valley. This stage doubles as a transmat platform and each of you will be transmatted to a random location. Hidden in the forest at random locations are rucksacks filled with food, tools, weapons and water. Those who find the rucksacks will have a clear advantage over their opponents. Also…an hour into the competition, the raptors will be ordered to begin stalking all of you so you will have to fend them off as well as fend off the other combatants. The first part of the tournament will last twelve hours. When you hear the horns, all combatants will call a truce and make their way back here for the second part of the tournament. All combatants who are left alive, that is." Rose watched her lover and her friend while they listened to the Eleventh Doctor. She longed to tell them that they had nothing to worry about and the "Gamemaster" was rigging the competition in their favor. She was glad that the eleventh Doctor had let her in on his plans so she had nothing to worry about. She just hoped that the Doctor and Jack could hold their own against the others. "Are there any questions?" Eleven said to the combatants. "Yeah, what do we get as a reward?" a female human said. "The last man or woman standing will be richly rewarded with money, jewels and a mansion. They will also earn the title Greatest Fighter in the Universe. Any other questions?" "Yes, can I say goodbye to Rose?" the Doctor said. "Yeah, me too," Jack said. Rose glanced at Eleven and he nodded. Rose got up and walked to them and the Doctor and Jack put their arms around her. "Don't worry, it's rigged," Rose mouthed to the Doctor when she got in close to his face. The Doctor raised his eyebrows at that but said nothing. "See you in twelve hours then," the Doctor said aloud to her. "Yeah, me too," Jack said. Rose turned to him and also mouthed "It's rigged," to him. "Rigged?" Jack mouthed back. Rose nodded and the Doctor and Jack glanced at one another. Rose didn't elaborate on that and Jack figured she was being too closely watched to say anything more. He wondered what "rigged" meant. Did it mean it was rigged so he and the Doctor would win or was it the opposite meaning? They came in close to her and gave her a group hug while Rose whispered good luck to them. Then they stepped back and she walked back to the chair and sat back down. Eleven asked if there was any more questions and when the combatants remained silent, he wished them all good luck before he flipped open a panel on his chair. There was a bright blinding flash and Rose shielded her eyes. When she put her hand down, everyone except her and Eleven were gone. "And now they're all around the outside of the valley?" Rose said to Eleven. "Yes. But it's all random so I don't know where my other self and Jack went. They'll find each other though. My other self should have his sonic on him. Don't worry; they'll come back in twelve hours. But in the meantime, would you like to take a walk and chat for a bit?" Rose nodded and Eleven stood and held out his hand. Rose smiled and took it when she stood up. Eleven squeezed her hand. "Come, my love, let's do a bit of catching up," he said to her. From his temporal prison, the real Eleven seethed while he followed behind Rose. The imposter kept feeding her terms of endearment like "My love" to make her fall even deeper in love with him. He knew that Rose had always longed to hear him say that to her and his imposter was exploiting that in order to get Rose to trust him completely. He knew he was probably trying to turn Rose against his other self and Jack, manipulating and brainwashing her slowly until she was completely in his thrall. He had to act fast, had to find some way of letting her know he was there and get her attention so he could tell her the truth before it was too late. But for now all he could do was follow and observe her and hope that his moment for escape would come swiftly.
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