THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Chapter Ten As they walked to the stairs, the Doctor's hearts felt like they were doing flip flops in his chest. Rose was back with him, just like old times. But question after question burned in his mind. He wanted to know what had been going on for the past couple of years, how he abused Rose and how he managed to get back to his universe. He figured all this was a plan for revenge but he never thought that Rose would be a part of it. He had always been protective of Rose, the way Rory was of Amy and that's why he could never fault his friend for his anger at his wife being put in danger. He always worried about his friends; after all they were his surrogate family. But some companions were like special little jewels to him and Rose was a great big diamond that should be cherished and protected. That's why it floored him that his clone would ever raise a hand to her. Donna's DNA ensured that there were some personality differences between them but never in his life would he ever think of beating Rose, even when he was filled with anger like he was. That's why he not only wanted to find out what was going on but also, there was the need to avenge Rose and make the clone pay for daring to hurt her. "So, my clone, is he referring to himself as Doctor then?" the Doctor said softly to Rose when they reached the stairs. "Figured with his ego, he might be." "He was but then he stopped and made me start calling him by this odd name," Rose said with a frown. "Valeyard. Can't imagine where he got the idea to call himself that but…" She trailed off when she noticed that the Doctor had froze and was now in shock. "Rose, we need to get everyone out of here right now," the Doctor said as they went up the stairs. "The situation is even worse than I thought and we need to stop my clone right now!" As they neared the top of the steps, they slowed their steps and the Doctor's senses went on red alert as he looked around for his clone. He carefully stepped onto the first floor and looked around. Several doors were closed and he could hear conversation behind it. Rose came up behind him and he pointed to Amy and River's room before they crept silently towards it. The door was closed and the Doctor listened but he couldn't hear anyone. He stopped at the door and slowly turned the knob while Rose looked around. When the knob was turned all the way, he hesitated a moment and then flung open the door. They looked inside and saw that the room was empty. "Okay, Rory said he was going to talk to them and tell them about you so maybe they're in his room, I hope." The Doctor and Rose walked down the hall to Rory's room. But when they reached it, the door was standing wide open and no one was inside. The Doctor cursed under his breath. "Rose, where is he?" he whispered to her. "I think he might have Amy, Rory and River now." Rose pointed to the closed door across from her room. "Stay with me, I don't want to lose you again," the Doctor whispered to her. Rose nodded. She took his hand and smiled when the Doctor squeezed it. The Doctor smiled and put his lips to her ear. "Still a perfect fit," he said. He kissed her forehead when Rose's eyes teared up. Rose kept close to him while he lifted up his robe, took his screwdriver out of his pocket and put his robe back down. "And another thing, these robes are pants. We need to have a talk with him about his fashion sense," he said to Rose as they crossed the hallway. They paused at the door and the Doctor tested the doorknob. He found it was locked and used the screwdriver on it. He sensed Rose's fear rising and he squeezed her hand. "No one will hurt you, I promise," he whispered to her. Rose nodded and the Doctor kissed her forehead before he turned his attention back to the door. He did the same thing he did with Amy and River's room, slowly turning the doorknob and then flinging it open. The room was completely dark so both of them went in slowly, the Doctor using his screwdriver as a torch until they reached a brass lamp on the other side of the room. They looked around but no one was in the room with them. There was a large bed with an oak frame against the right side of the wall and a small oak nightstand beside it. The walls were painted white and on the wall at the back was a mirror in a black frame. Under it was a chest of drawers and beside the door was a desk and wooden high backed chair. The Doctor and Rose stepped inside and the Doctor closed the door. "What next?" he asked Rose. "Where would he be?" "There's a hidden door in the floor beside the chest of drawers," Rose said, pointing to the floor. "It leads down to that basement room that I came out of earlier." "What is in that room? Was he back there tonight?" "No, he was up here," Rose said. "But…" "Yes?"the Doctor said as they walked over to the chest of drawers. "He keeps torture devices back there, stuff he's found in shops and also at the Torchwood in the other universe." "Does he use them on you?" Rose looked at the floor and the Doctor sighed angrily. "Where is this door, Rose, so I can put my fist in his face," the Doctor growled. "It's my fault, Doctor," Rose said to him. The Doctor did a double take. "Your fault?" he said in disbelief. "How could him abusing and controlling you possibly be your fault?" "Because I stayed with him and allowed it to happen," Rose said, staring at the floor while the Doctor put his hand on her shoulder. "You told me to look after him and try to make him better so I stayed with him and put up with his abuse because I didn't want to disappoint you." "Oh, Rose," the Doctor said. "I didn't mean for you to stay with him if he was torturing and abusing you." Rose swallowed hard while the Doctor embraced her. "I just wanted to carry out your wishes. That's why you wanted me to stay with him," she said softly as tears welled up. "I'm sorry, Rose. For the thousandth time, I'm sorry I did this to you," the Doctor said. "I thought he'd change so I kept on trying to make him better. But he used it to his advantage and told me that you abandoned me and no one would want me except him. He convinced me to move out of the mansion into a small flat and then he started manipulating me after he got me alone with him, just playing mind games and making me believe that the only future I had was with him and he was the only one who would ever love me. This went on for a year and a half with him abusing me and then apologizing and telling me he'd change if I'd just help him. At the end of two years, I lost all my confidence and self esteem and he moved us father away from London, out into the country and then he started hypnotizing me. He told me he was taking us back here, after he modified the dimension cannon so it could get us back without waiting for a weakening in the void. But…he wants you, not just for revenge, he wants your lives. He said he knows a way to take your regenerations from you so he can keep on living past his current life. Is that true? Can he really do that?" "Yes. There are ways to do that. The Master tried to do that to me during my eighth life and I'm sure he got the idea from his memories of that. If that's the case, he'll want the TARDIS since he needs my Eye of Harmony and I'm sure he'll stop at nothing to get that." "Yeah, he told me he wants your TARDIS," Rose said. "Then we better make sure he doesn't get it. Now…where is this secret door?" Rose knelt down and pointed to a hole in the floor. The hole was long and big enough for a person to put their fingers in. Rose put her fingers in the hole and pulled up, revealing a hole in the floor. The Doctor put his hands under the wooden door and quietly guided it so it was on the floor beside the opening. He looked in and saw concrete steps leading down into darkness. Rose walked over to the nightstand, opened the drawer and pulled out an electric torch. She handed it to the Doctor and he clicked it on. "Stay near me," he told Rose. She nodded and followed him down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a dark wooden door. The Doctor glanced at Rose. "It leads into that room," Rose whispered. The Doctor nodded. He tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. He started turning it. "I know you're there, no need to be sneaky about it." The Doctor froze and his jaw clenched when he heard his clone speak through the door. He looked back at Rose and gave her a reassuring smile when he saw the fear in her eyes. "Stay close," he said softly. "I intend to," Rose replied. The Doctor laid his hand against her cheek for a moment before he turned the knob and opened the door. Unlike earlier, the room was now lit up with long white candles in several gold candelabras. The candelabras were spread around the room, giving off ample light. The clone was sitting in a wooden chair across the room from the door. He was dressed all in black with black trousers, t-shirt, leather jacket and shoes. He still looked the same and he gave the Doctor an amused grin when he stepped through the door with Rose. "So this is the next life, eh? Or have you managed to cock it up a few times and I'm looking at your last life," he sneered. The Doctor ignored him. On the floor to the clone's right were Amy, Rory and River. All of them were unconscious and tied up. Behind them was a large metal table with leather straps on it and a large black bookcase that had several knives and torture implements displayed in it. Beside the bookcase was a large black steamer trunk. The brass along the edges of the trunk gleamed in the firelight. The clone followed the Doctor's gaze when he looked at his companions. "No worries, they're okay…for the moment," the clone said airily. "I'm guessing these are the current crop of companions, although River is a surprise. So…are you two married yet?" "No, she's just a friend," the Doctor said. "P'eh, not the way she acted," the clone said. "Still, if you want to carry on a romance with a doomed woman, be my guest. I'll hold on to the little lady standing behind ya." "I believe you've had her for long enough, mate," the Doctor said with an icy tone of voice. "Oh really? So, now suddenly you want her back after you gave her to me and ran your little cowardly bum back into your TARDIS? You handed her to me that day which means she's mine." "Well, I've changed my mind, especially after I saw and heard about all the abuse," the Doctor said. "So, what is the difference between you and me then?" the clone said. "I don't understand," the Doctor said. "I figured that. So, old man, let me explain. You accuse me of abuse yet you've abused her since day one. You constantly put her life in jeopardy, relied on her to do dangerous things for you, led her on and made her believe you loved her but never had the guts to come out and say it. So you played games with her emotions and in the end you swanned off and left her with a clone. And now you accuse me of abusing her." "I didn't beat and torture her!" the Doctor snarled. "You tortured her by playing with her emotions," the clone said, getting up from the chair. "For months after you left, I had to listen to her weeping and crying, wondering what she did to upset you. But you do as you always did and cared for yourself and yourself alone. Doesn't matter if your friends get their hearts broken as long as you save bloody face, eh? You honestly think Rose is better off with you? You had your chance and you gave her up to me, now she's mine!" "You lay one finger on her and I'll break it," the Doctor growled at him. "You lay one finger on me and I kill them," the clone said, pointing to Amy, Rory and River. "And I'll do it without a moment's hesitation, ask the Daleks." "What's gotten into you?" the Doctor said. "Why are you acting this way? And why are you calling yourself the Valeyard." "Um…maybe because that's who I am," the clone said, sauntering towards him. "And why am I acting this way? Because it's better than being a wimp? Because it's fun? Shits and giggles? Who knows? I just figured I might as well be the Time Lord I was born to be, the one who controls time instead of time controlling him." The Doctor winced at that, remembering his brief descent into Time Lord victorious madness. The clone noticed the wince and raised his eyebrow. "Strike a nerve just then?" he asked. "I'm sure you've had your moments of wanting to be more than just a goody-two-shoes time traveler, eh? After all, that's what Time Lords were meant to do, rule over time and space and the lesser beings. Which…is what Rose is so I'm ruling over her, as is my right. And…I'm sure I'll be ruling over them as well," he added, pointing to his three captives. "Haven't decided what I want done with them yet. However, the ginger is very sexy, I must say. So…possible concubine there? I'm sure River would jump at the chance to be my concubine and…nerdy boy…like I said, haven't made up my mind about their fates yet. As well as the fates of the idiots who joined this little club. The ones upstairs who think you're gonna save us all. Might just brainwash them. I could use some servants while I set off on my quest to dominate the Earth and become a benevolent but firm guiding force for the apes." "Cor, you've gone off your trolley, mate. Even I was never this arrogant," the Doctor said with disgust. "Well, the way I see it, it's like that old Earth feminist joke about God creating man and looking at him afterwards and thinking I can do better, so he created woman. So...whatever controls the universe looked at your pathetic carcass and thought I can do better and hey presto, here's little old me! The new and improved version of you! I quite like myself actually, especially since I have a glimpse of what comes next. Ugh! I will definitely have to make some improvements when I'm in your body." "And that's the plan, eh? Gonna take my body for your own?" the Doctor said. "You do know the Master tried that and failed, right?" "Yes, but here's the thing. I'm not the Master. The man couldn't carry out a plan if he had someone doing it for him. I, on the other hand, will succeed. And you are going to come willingly or all four of your little friends, lovers, pals, fuck buddies or whatever you call them will meet a most grisly and horrifying fate. So, here's the question of the hour, old cock. Are ya gonna give yourself up and nobly sacrifice yourself to save them or watch while they scream, writhe in pain and die slowly? Choice is yours, old man, and if I were you, I'd choose wisely."
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