THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Chapter Eleven "Well," the clone said when the Doctor didn't answer, "I'm waiting. There is a time limit on this, you know. Got things to do and I can't sit here all day waiting for you to think of a way out of this. Busy, busy, busy." "Supposing you do succeed and take my body, how do you know you'll still be able to regenerate if you die?" the Doctor asked. "I don't. But I'm willing to take my chances. Now…I believe I said there was a time limit and I do mean what I say and I will carry out my threats if necessary. Ask Rosy Posey if you don't believe me. I'm sure you guessed that her robe is hiding all sorts of little love touches I gave to her. Bruises and scars and welts and even a few burn marks." "And that's why I'm gonna kill you for abusing her," the Doctor snarled at him. "Now, now, I wouldn't call it abuse. More like correction. See, you said yourself that humans were stupid apes and that's what she is, a stupid ape. And like any animal that needs to be trained, sometimes a bit of correction and discipline is needed. And it worked. Until you came along, she was doing everything I told her to do. Now…about this time limit…" "What was in that goblet?" the Doctor said. "What did she drink?" The clone sighed and gave him an annoyed look while he mimed tapping an imaginary watch on his wrist. "I'll answer your little question, I just need a few answers of my own first," the Doctor spat out. "What was she drinking? Something to enable you to keep her under your power?" The clone gave him four sarcastic claps. "Now see, you didn't need me to suss out what I was doing," he said. "Yes, it was a special blend that I came up with that kept her from rejecting her new persona. Astra. You might recognize the name, by the way. Named her after Princess Astra, the one Romana used as a template when she regenerated. Astra was part of the Key to Time and I thought it fitting since Rose was a part of my overall scheme to take over the Earth. Plus, Astra had a nice cosmic ring to it and since she was supposed to be the head of a cult of Time Lord worshippers, that was also fitting. And I actually got the stupid bitch to keep on dosing herself night after night without me prompting her or pouring it down her throat. I'm so filled with jaw dropping brilliance, I could just pop! Now, any more annoying questions, Brainiac?" "Yes, why are you doing this? You're not evil," the Doctor said. "I'm not?" the clone said sarcastically as he slapped himself on the forehead. "Blast, and I just sent away for my Evil Rulers and Dictators Club membership card. There goes that fifteen quid for dues since I'm really not evil. What a tragic waste." "You're not the Valeyard," the Doctor insisted. "I'm not?" the clone said, slapping his forehead again. "Blast, and I just applied to the I Am The Valeyard Club and…" "The Valeyard was destroyed during my sixth life, you can't be him," the Doctor said through gritted teeth. "Yes, but the Valeyard had to get his start somewhere, didn't he? Which means I'm the start and that means, I haven't been destroyed yet. And as for your trial, I know what's going to happen now so I'll make certain you are executed. Wait, that would create a paradox though, right? Blast, hate when that happens. So anyway, your answer? Because I do have ways of persuading you to stop asking your asinine questions and concentrate on surrendering to me." "Just stop this. I can help you," the Doctor said, trying to buy time. "Help me?" The clone threw back his head and laughed. "Help me, how? By throwing me out the door of your TARDIS with a woman who didn't even want me?" "I thought you wanted her," the Doctor said, pointing to Rose. "I've only got one life, Rose Tyler, I can spend it with you if you want, wasn't that what you said to her?" "Yes, it was, and I did try to make our odd little arrangement work out. But that was before I spent two months listening to her wail and babble about how much she missed you while at the same time trying to convince her I was like you in every way. You know how tiresome it got hearing her moaning and weeping about missing you when I was RIGHT THERE WAITING TO LOVE HER!" Rose winced at that. "I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you," she said to the clone. "But he just left me there and…" The clone held up his hand. "Heard it all before, I'm not interested," he said to her. "You can apologize all you bloody like and make excuses, you wanted him, plain and simple. I tried to be understanding but then it dawned on me that I would never be accepted. I would always be known as the clone, always second best and a charity case on top of it. So I decided to become the man you could never be, the one that controls time and space and is master of all, that's much better than being Rose Tyler's lap dog any day. Now…since you are still stalling for time which is also very annoying. Let me show you what happens if you tarry any longer. Observe." He reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small black remote control. The Doctor noticed Rose pale at the sight of it and start to run back to the door. But the clone pressed a button on the remote before she could reach it and the Doctor yelled out in alarm as she fell to her knees, screaming in agony while she held the sides of her head. "No! What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, falling to the ground beside her. "I neglected to mention…in addition to correcting Rose, I also did a bit of surgery and installed a small disc inside her head that would not only allow me to communicate with her from a distance but also punish her if she got out of line. A high-pitched sonic wailing is going through her mind at this very moment which is why she's screaming like a banshee." "Stop it!" the Doctor yelled. "I surrender! Just stop torturing her!" "Now see, a bit of persuasion works wonders sometimes." The Doctor looked at Rose but she was still screaming in agony and holding the sides of her head. He glared at his clone who suddenly feigned shock. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to turn it off," he said, slapping his forehead. "I'm a silly billy sometimes. I think Donna must have given me the ability to have brain farts and I completely forgot the bitch was still screaming." He pushed the button and the Doctor rubbed Rose's back when she collapsed to the floor, gasping and sobbing. "Mind you, that little howl was nothing compared to the howls she made after you left her behind with me," the clone said. "I was surprised she didn't shatter all the windows in the mansion with her caterwauling. Wah, wah, wah, I wish my Doctor was here and meanwhile, I was standing there waving my arms yelling at her that the Doctor was here. But I suppose Rose isn't into clones. Ah well, her loss. I still managed to have fun with her though, much more satisfying when that wailing means she's being tortured instead of her torturing me." "You bastard!" The Doctor couldn't stand it anymore. He leapt to his feet, ran to his smug clone and tried to throw a punch to his face. He gasped when his fist hit a forcefield that encased the clone's body. The forcefield shimmered for a moment before it became invisible again. The clone sniggered at the Doctor's shocked look. "Oh come on, you didn't think I wouldn't let you come close to me without having some sort of protection around me. I'm not that daft," the clone said. "Nice try though. Now…go back over there before I turn on the pain disc again." The Doctor glowered at him as he walked back over and knelt by Rose. Rose was now sitting up, one hand to the side of her head while she sobbed softly. "Aw, sorry about that, dearest, but you know what they say, love hurts sometimes," the clone said to her. He gave the Doctor a smug look when he gave his clone a look of death. He raised up his t-shirt and pointed to a black box that was attached to a plastic belt that went around his abdomen. "Just showing you where the forcefield controls are because I'd just love to see you get it off me," the clone said while the Doctor gritted his teeth and glared at him. The clone's attention turned towards River when he heard her groan. "Hey, the would-be wife is waking up, brilliant," he said as he got up and walked over to her. He stood over her while River slowly opened her eyes. When she was fully awake, she looked up while the clone waved to her. "Who are you?" River said. The clone sniggered at that. "What's so funny?" River said. "Oh, just thinking about the irony of all this. See, when the doofus over there first met you in this body, he didn't know who you were and now the situation is reversed and guess what, it's my turn to say…spoilers!" He glanced at Amy and Rory when they began to wake up. He walked over to Amy and looked down at her while she woke up. Amy's eyes widened when she came awake and saw him. The clone wagged his eyebrows at her. "Hello, ginger, would you like a fuck buddy? I'm available." "Get away from her," Rory said. The clone turned his attention to him. "Did you say something to me, geeky-boy?" the clone said to him. "Where's Rose?" Rory said to him. The clone grabbed him under the arms and dragged him over to Rose's side. He let Rory's head drop to the concrete and then stared at him pointedly while he poked Rose repeatedly on the top of the head. "Have fun chatting with her about chav stuff, I'm going back to ginger now," the clone said, walking away. "Leave my wife alone!" Rory yelled at him. The clone froze and looked back at him. "Wife? Hottie ginger actually married someone like you? Ah, mate, you married way, waaay out of your league," he said. "Now that I'm here, she can get rid of you." "Think again, nutjob," Amy said. The clone walked up to her. He stood in between her and River. Amy glared at him while he wagged his eyebrows at her and kissed the air. Then he looked at River who was also giving him a look of death. "I know what happens to you in the end. Wanna hear a spoiler for a change?" he asked her. "What are you going to do with us?" River asked him. "Well, I haven't quite decided. I would like to have ginger here for a possible concubine though. She's well fit." "No thanks," Amy said. "On the other hand," the clone said to River while he ignored Amy, "if I did something to you, that could cause one of those annoying paradoxes. However, I could do things to you and not actually kill you. So…still thinking. Geeky boy though, I might just put him to death, he seems to be useless." "Leave him alone!" Amy said. "But you can do far better than him. He's not even in your league. I'm going to be the ruler of the world and possibly the universe, give me a try." "Piss off," Amy said. The Doctor and Rory yelled in rage when the clone smacked her face as hard as he could. "You don't tell me to do anything, slave," the clone snarled at her. "As Rose could tell you, I'm the one that tells you to do something, not the other way around, and if you want to keep your pretty little head firmly on your shoulders, you'll do well to remember that." He smirked at her while she glowered at her and walked back over to the Doctor. "So…enough of this nonsense," he said when he reached his side. "I believe all of us will take a stroll outside and go to your TARDIS so we can begin the whole lives transfer…or do I need to torture your friends and lovers a bit more?" "No, I'll do what you want," the Doctor said in an icy tone of voice. "Brilliant. Just what I like to hear, compliance from the lesser beings. So, lesser being, stand up and help me untie your friends' and sweetie's legs so they can walk with us and then after that, we'll have a little party inside the TARDIS."
Back Home Doctor Who Main Page Next