THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
Chapter Thirteen "Ooo-ee!" the clone said, stepping inside the TARDIS and looking around. "So you've redecorated. I have to admit I like it. I'll keep it this way when the TARDIS is officially mine. Now, follow me, Doctor, to the console. The rest of you stay by it and you better not try anything." Everyone stopped and watched while the Doctor and clone climbed the steps to the console. While they were doing that, Amy came up beside Rory. He was standing beside Rose while River stood a few feet behind them. Amy leaned into Rory's ear. "What did the Doctor whisper to you?" she whispered in his ear. Rory leaned into her ear. "He asked me to look after Rose and keep her safe in case anything happened to him. I told Rose what he said so she knows," Rory whispered. Amy nodded and smiled. She glanced at Rose who was quietly watching the Doctor and the clone and then glanced back at River. She noticed River was glaring at Rose's back but the moment she caught Amy's eye, she glanced away. She liked River but she thought it was a bit childish of her to be resentful of Rose for being the Doctor's lover, especially since she did agree that the Doctor had little to go on regarding their relationship since she usually crowed out "Spoilers!" whenever he asked for any information. She felt sorry for Rose. First she was abused and forced to come back to her original universe in order to lure the Doctor into a trap and now a woman she didn't know was resenting her because she had a relationship with a man who may or may not be her husband. She sighed, knowing the Doctor was right. Once this was finished, everyone needed to sit down for a nice long chat and sort things out. They watched while the clone reached into his trouser pocket and put a flat disc on the console. "There, that'll prevent your ship from turning against me," the clone said to the Doctor as he pressed a button on top and turned it on. "Now, everyone follow us to the Cloister Room." "Cloister Room?" Amy muttered to her friends when they started walking. "The Eye of Harmony is in the Cloister Room. It's a power source for the TARDIS," River said to them. "What's he gonna do then? Turn off the power and immobilize the ship?" Rory said softly. "Your guess is as good as mine. No telling what the nutter's gonna do," River said with a shrug. They followed the Doctor through several corridors until he came to a door on his left. He went inside and everyone followed. "Whoa," Amy said when they entered into a huge stone room that looked like an old cathedral. Off to their left were stone steps. The steps went up to a landing that had a huge stained glass window above it, then they turned left and went up to a second landing and a walkway that stretched around the room. In the center of the room was a circular object that had a stone dome on top of it. The dome had designs chisled into it and around it were four cement posts that were at the four corners of a cement wall that encircled the dome. Amy's eyes widened when she heard chittering and she looked up in shock to see bats flying overhead. "Are those real?" she said as the other three looked where she was pointing. "If they are, they better not land in our hair," Rory said softly. "Okay, pay attention everyone," the clone said, clapping to get their attention. "This is the Eye of Harmony. It used to be the main source of power for the TARDIS until Gallifrey was destroyed. The Eye was linked to a larger eye back on Gallifrey so once the planet was lost, that power source was lost as well. That's why every so often the TARDIS has to land on a rift in time and space that's based in Cardiff and refuel. Now, the energy contained within the Eye is extremely powerful and if focused correctly, it can become part of an energy transfer. Which is what I'm planning to do with the Doctor and myself. We're going to open the Eye and look into it and his lives will be transferred into my body. After that, the Doctor will be killed and I will take my place as Time Lord supreme. Any questions?" River raised her hand. "Yes," the clone said, pointing to her. "Is there any medication you need to be on and if so, where is it?" she said. The Doctor bit his lip to hold his laughter in while the clone gave River an incensed look. "Yeah, anyway, we'll skip question and answer time," the clone said while River gave him a haughty look. "So…the Eye of Harmony was built with a safety feature in mind, to prevent Time Lords from opening it and possibly harming themselves. The Eye can only be opened by removing one of these posts and staring into the energy. But it won't work for Time Lord eyes, that's the safety feature. The Eye will only open if it detects a human eye. Which means I need one of you to open it…which means, ROSE TYLER, IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY!" he yelled at her. "Be a good girl, come here and open this for us." "No." Everyone fell silent when Rose spoke. The Doctor gave her a loving look when he saw the defiant look on her face. River, Rory and Amy held their breath when they saw the angry look on the clone's face. "Rose, get over here now," the clone said. "No. I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to help you kill the Doctor. I'm tired of being your slave and being bossed around. Piss off, ya pathetic git!" The Doctor gave her a proud smile while the clone glowered at her. He sighed, reached into his pocket and showed her the remote. "I'll use this," he said to her. "USE IT THEN. I'M SICK OF BEING A COWERING LITTLE VICTIM. IF THE DOCTOR'S GONNA DIE, I WANNA DIE WITH HIM SO GO RIGHT AHEAD!" Everyone gasped when he pushed the button and Rose fell to her knees, screaming in agony. "Fine, Bitch, have it your way then," the clone said, walking off. He froze in his tracks when Rory ran around him and blocked his way. "Out of my way, loser," the clone said. "Turn it off, now," Rory growled at him. "No, don't want to; I'm tired of her disrespect. She wants to die, let her die," the clone said with a shrug. He chuckle when Rory stood still, his hand balled into a fist. "See, you can't touch me," he said gleefully. "All you can do is stand there like a pillock while she screams. Sucks to be you. Now if you'll excuse…" He heard a grinding sound and turned to see Amy pulling the staff from the concrete. Before anyone could stop her, she bent over and looked into the energy coming through the hole. There was a rumbling and everyone stood back while the dome split and both sides came down, revealing the energy within. "There, I did it for ya," Amy said, throwing the staff down. "Now stop torturing Rose!" The clone shrugged and pushed the button on the remote. The Doctor knelt beside Rose as she gasped and sobbed, her head throbbing. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I tried," Rose said softly while the Doctor put his hand on her back. "I know, Rose, I'm proud of you," he said gently. "Don't do this, please," Rose said softly as she clutched at his arm. "Don't kill yourself for me or anyone else. Don't let him have your lives." The Doctor kissed her cheek. He moved his mouth back to her ear. "Don't worry, I'll think of something," he whispered. "Just do as he says and don't resist any more. I'll be alright, I promise." He nuzzled her cheek for a moment before he beckoned to Rory to come and sit with her. As Rory hurried to Rose's side, the Doctor stood up and caught River's eye. He saw the anger there and he walked over to her. "Had a companion called Martha Jones who traveled with me. She was a wonderful person but she also fell in love with me and became jealous of Rose even though Rose was trapped in the other universe at the time and wasn't around to defend herself. I made it clear from the start that we were friends but somewhere along the way she thought we were something more. She did come to her senses and finally stopped her obsession with me but I have to admit I now see echoes of her jealous in you, River. I hate to tell you this but I did have a life before I met you and Rose is a part of that life. I told you before that I won't commit to something more than friendship unless you tell me who you are and I stand by that. Rose has suffered enough without you being angry at her for no good reason and I won't tolerate you ostracizing her out of jealousy. Whatever happens here, I want you to treat her with respect even if you won't choose to be her friend, is that clear?" "Crystal," River said. "Good. I asked Rory to look after her which is what I whispered to him earlier, Valeyard, so now your curiosity is satisfied." "Yeah, whatever, I don't care about this whole soap opera going on in front of me. And I don't care if Rory is Rose's guardian since I'm sure I'll kill the git once you're dead and gone. Now…shall we begin?" "Let's get it over with," the Doctor said with a shrug. "And I'll go willingly, no need to put that weird apparatus on me like last time or chain me up. I'll stand there and keep my eyes open for you." "Good. Get moving." "Doctor, don't do this," Rose said. The Doctor smiled at her. He knelt down beside her and embraced her. Rose returned the embrace and buried her face in his shoulder. The Doctor kissed the rim of her ear and put his lips to it. "Don't worry, Rose," he whispered. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve. This isn't over yet." Rose hugged him tightly and he tightened his hold on her in return. They stayed that way for several seconds and then the Doctor broke the embrace. He then hugged Rory, Amy and River before he turned and faced the clone. "Ready?" the clone said. "Yup, let's get this show on the road, mate," the Doctor said. The clone nodded and pointed up to the walkway. "Go up there and get in position then," he said. The Doctor nodded and when the clone looked away for a moment, he looked at his companions, gave them a quick wink and headed for the stairs.
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