THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Chapter Eight Once they got back to their room, the Doctor closed the door and pulled up his robe. He took out the photograph, sat down beside Rory on his bed and showed it to Rory while he quietly explained where he found it and what he thought was going on in the photo. "So, you think he's beating her?" Rory said when he finished speaking. "I don't know, I hope not," the Doctor said. "All I know is I know Rose well enough to know that she's not smiling naturally in that photo and the way he's holding her, it's not a loving hold, it's more like a possessive hold like he's thinking, "Mine!" "But it's your clone," Rory said, confused. "Isn't a clone like the original?" "Yes, but his DNA merged with Donna's DNA so he's not exactly like me, personality wise. He looks like me and thinks like me but he was filled with anger and that led him to commit genocide," the Doctor said as he gazed at Rose in the photo. "When I took him back to the other universe, I entrusted him to Rose because after Gallifrey was destroyed, I was also filled with rage. Rose helped me heal and I thought perhaps she could do the same with him. But…" He fell silent and Rory looked at him. The Doctor's eyes were ablaze and his jaw was clenched. "If he has been beating her," he said through clenched teeth as he stared at his clone, "he better run and run far because I will make him regret each time his fist landed on her body. I'll pay him back for each time he hit her a thousand fold." Rory looked at the barely contained rage on his friend's face and he didn't doubt that his friend would carry out that threat. His eyes drifted down to the photo and he stared at Rose. He thought she was beautiful. In the photo, she had on a baby blue t-shirt and a black leather jacket which looked far better on her than the big heavy white robe. "It's my fault." Rory looked at the Doctor when he heard him speak. He was gazing at the photo, guilt written all over his face. "It's my fault, Rory. I did this to her," the Doctor said, looking at him. "No, wait, don't blame yourself for this," Rory said. "I should blame myself because I'm guilty," the Doctor said. "It's my fault that she ended up with him. She wanted to come with me and I was a coward and made her stay with him because I couldn't bear the thought of watching her grow older and die while I was powerless to stop it. I fell in love with her and allowed her to fall in love with me but I was too cowardly to commit to a proper relationship and now because of me, she's with somebody who is probably abusing her." "But you can do something about it now; you regenerated so if he's here, he doesn't know what you look like. You can use that to sneak around, stop him and get Rose away from him," Rory said. The Doctor nodded. He fell silent for a moment and then he jumped up. "Oh no, oh no, no, no," he said. "What is it?" Rory asked. "River," the Doctor said. "What about her?" "I first met River during my tenth life and the clone was created after that happened. That means that he has memories of River and what she looks like. He hasn't met the rest of us but River…if he sees her here…" "What do we do?" Rory said. "Dunno. Eventually, we're going to have to confront him and I'm gonna have to tell Rose who I am and try to get her away from him. I have a feeling he's the mastermind behind all this, not her." "Then…" Rory said, "what if this cult isn't centered around you, it's centered around him." The Doctor froze for a moment and then sank back down on the bed. "You might be right," the Doctor said to him. "I can picture that more easily than I can picture Rose doing this for me. But even if it is about him, I have a feeling it's still meant to lure me to him, otherwise why did they come here and start this cult rather than stay in their own universe. And how did he convince Rose to do this? She must be under some sort of mind control; she'd never do this willingly. Rory, I need to talk to her alone and see if I can find out what's going on. It's risky but I have to tell her who I am so I can let her know that there are people here who can help end this and help her escape." "What about tonight after the meeting?" Rory said. "Yes," the Doctor said with a nod. "I'm sure after that; everyone retires for the night, including her. I'll wait till she goes to her room and go to her." "Well, what about River and Amy, are you going to tell them who she really is?" Rory asked. The Doctor let out a sigh. "Yes. They need to know the truth and what we might be up against. I don't think Amy will be jealous, it's River I have to worry about." "Let me talk to them," Rory said. "While you're in there with Rose, I'll sneak into their room and tell them and try to calm down River if she flies off the handle." "Thank you," the Doctor said. "I hope we can sort this out quickly and bring this whole cult nonsense to an end. Now see, this is why you need to be here with us. You're not meant for a normal, boring life, Rory. You're part of the team so I'm asking you to come back to us. We need you, mate." "I want to but…it's just sometimes the stress wears me out, that and all the death and horror and monsters and evil people. It gets to be a bit much." "Which is why I frequently go places where I can chill out and have a rest and get away from it all. You can do that as well, mate. If you need to stop and take a breather, let me know. I'm not some brutal dictator that won't let you and Amy go somewhere and recharge your batteries. Just let me know when it gets to be too much. But truthfully, I think the longer you stay with me, the easier it'll get to handle everything. Most of my companions were the same way when they started traveling with me." "What about Amy? Do you love her?" Rory asked. "I care for her and I did have romantic feelings for a bit but she's your wife and I'm not coming between you and her. Besides, I have Rose and River, I don't need Amy," he said, giving him a little playful punch while Rory chuckled. "You're lucky, mate. You only have one woman in your life and you don't have to worry about a second woman throwing a jealous fit if you tell her you love your wife. I tell ya, I'm not looking forward to sitting River down and telling her I love Rose." "Perhaps you could marry them both?" Rory teased. "Uh…no," the Doctor said while Rory chuckled. "I don't think River is the sharing type and actually, neither is Rose. That definitely wouldn't work out. It's gotta be one or the other and until River tells me exactly who she is, my hearts belong to Rose." He patted Rory on the leg and went back to his bed. Lying back down, he stared up at the ceiling while Rory laid back and did the same thing. Eventually, Rory drifted back to sleep and woke up when the Doctor shook his shoulder. "Bell again, it's time for this meeting," the Doctor said to him. Rory nodded. He got up and followed the Doctor out the door. When they stepped outside, they saw the others drifting out into the hall. "Alright, everyone follow me so the newcomers know where to go," Amber called to them. The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder at Rose's door but it was still closed. He turned his attention back to Amber as she led everyone to the stairs. They went downstairs and went into the kitchen. On the right side was a closed door that led to the basement. Amber had shown it to them on their tour but didn't take them downstairs. Now she pulled a key out of her trouser pocket, unlocked the door and opened it. She flipped the light switch that was just inside and to the left of the door and she led everyone down twenty concrete steps to a large concrete basement. The Doctor wrinkled his nose at the slightly musty smell as he looked around. The basement was about 40 by 40 foot. Near the back was a large stone table with a wooden chair behind it. On the table were two red candles in gold candlesticks, a large leather bound book, a gold goblet and several items that were under a piece of black satin cloth. In front of the table were three rows of black sofa cushions with five cushions to a row. Amber told them to sit on the cushions and the Doctor and his friends sat down in the back row while the others sat down around them. Everyone waited and then to the Doctor's surprise, a door shaped section of the wall swung out with a heavy groan and Rose emerged from a secret room. The Doctor and his companions tried to see what was in the other room but there was no light inside so they had no clue what the room was used for or how big it was. Rose closed the wall back and turned to them. She had her cowl up but wasn't wearing her mask. The Doctor narrowed his eyes, searching for any signs of bruising or abuse but all he could see was her face and hands and both of them looked okay. Doesn't mean he couldn't have beaten her and made her hide the evidence beneath that bloody robe, he thought to himself as anger briefly flared up in his mind. Rose walked over to the table and opened the book to a place that had been marked with a long red bookmark. "The Doctor is our savior," she intoned. "In this world filled with darkness, he is our only hope." While she spoke, the Doctor looked at her eyes, seeing if they were unfocused but she seemed lucid. He knew thought that there were ways to hypnotize someone and still have them acting normally. As she went on with some ritualized sermon about how the Doctor was great and glorious and would save them all, he began to wonder if his clone was in the other room. He could picture him standing in there in the darkness, perhaps watching and listening through a secret hole in the wall. He longed to go back there, open the door and if he was back there, shake him senseless before putting a fist in his face. His attention turned back to Rose when she took the piece of satin cloth off the items and he saw three vials of liquid, one red, one blue and one black. He frowned, wondering what they were. Rose picked up the vial with the red liquid. "This represents the Doctor's blood," she intoned as she held it up. "The blood that keeps his twin hearts beating." They watched while she poured the liquid in the goblet. She set the empty vial down and picked up the one with the blue liquid inside. "This represents his TARDIS," she intoned. "What the hell is this rubbish?" River hissed in the Doctor's ear. "What does this ritual have to do with you?' "I s'pose it represents the blood that powers my twin hearts and the blue of my TARDIS," the Doctor whispered back. "I think it represents the fact that Astra needs to be sectioned," River muttered. The Doctor ignored that remark while he watched Rose pick up the last vial. "The black represents the darkness in this world that the Doctor will overcome," Rose intoned before she poured the liquid into the goblet. She set the empty vial down and picked up the goblet. She swirled the contents around briefly, mixing the red, blue and black liquids together. Then she held the goblet up above her head before lowering it and drinking the contents. "Okay, what is she drinking?" the Doctor muttered under his breath. "Yet another thing we need to investigate. Because I have a feeling that's not colored water in those vials." Once she was done drinking, she lowered her head and everyone did the same. The Doctor and his companions lowered their head with everyone else and listened while she prayed to the Doctor to rescue them all. Once she was done praying, she dismissed everyone. Everyone rose from the cushions and started back up the stairs. The Doctor shared a glance with Rory and he nodded. "Good luck," he mouthed to him. The Doctor nodded and Rory beckoned to River and Amy. The women looked over as they followed Rory and saw the Doctor heading towards Rose who was putting the cloth back over the empty vials and the goblet. "Um…Astra, might I have a word with you, just briefly?" the Doctor asked her. "Yes," Rose said. "Actually, I wanted to speak with you anyway. Would you follow me back to my bedroom?" The Doctor nodded, checking her eyes. He noticed she still looked lucid but he kept wondering what Rose had just drank from the goblet as she beckoned to him and he followed behind her while she walked towards the stairs.
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