WRAITHS OF THE RIPPER

A/N: I just finished reading an old DW novel called Matrix. It revolved around Seven and Ace and also featured the Valeyard as Jack the Ripper. In the book, all of the Doctors except Seven had been taken by the Valeyard after he convinced them to commit atrocities and they became evil. Then he took their dark energy to power golems he created while the Doctors were reduced to emaciated, hollow eyed ghouls that preyed on people. Some of the atrocities the book described were Five saving the bat's milk antidote for himself and letting Peri die or One killing people in order to steal the TARDIS from Gallifrey. The book was written shortly after Paul McGann's movie so there's no mention of David or Matt's Doctors but I couldn't help but imagine them as these evil wraiths and what they might have done to turn to the darkness. So I thought I'd write this fanfiction as an AU companion piece to the book with Eleven fighting the darkness instead of Seven.

Chapter One

The Doctor entered the TARDIS and slammed the doors shut. His hands were trembling as he stumbled over to the console. They were shaking so much; he could barely operate the controls on his TARDIS. But he somehow managed to get his ship into the vortex before he collapsed onto the jump seat and swallowed hard. He had just left Donna behind with Wilf, her memories of him and her time together with him banished from her mind forever. But that wasn't why his hands were trembling and he was sweating profusely. It was the voice. The voice inside his mind that kept urging him to let Donna die as she deteriorated in front of his eyes. A voice that was unfamiliar and yet at the same time very familiar to him was telling him to let her mind burn, telling him that she was a useless ape and no one would ever miss her. He had to fight against the voice and force himself to save Donna's life. He succeeded but the thought of letting his best friend die while he stood there and watched terrified him to the very core of his being and he was still trying to calm down.

But even as he did, he still heard the voice. Only now it was saying something new. Now it was urging him to find a way to Pete's World and kill Rose and his clone so he could surrender forever to the ever-present darkness inside him that terrified him more than anything else in the universe.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

(Meanwhile, inside another TARDIS…)

Rory sat on the sofa inside the lounge and popped a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth. He, his wife, his daughter and the Doctor were going to watch a movie and pig out on pop and junk food. Everyone was inside the room except for the Doctor. Rory sighed and looked at the doorway. It had been nearly a half hour since they decided to do this. The Doctor told them to go ahead and assemble in the lounge and he'd meet them there but that had been the last they'd seen of him.

"Okay, I thought we were going to watch a film together and that included the Doctor," Rory said to his wife and daughter. "Where is he?"

"Probably tinkering with something, Father," River said. "If the man sneezes on a part, he thinks he has to fix it then and there."

"Well, the popcorn's getting cold," Amy said with a shrug, "and the pop is going stale."

"No worries, I'll fetch my husband," River said, rising from her comfy chair.

She walked out of the room and headed towards the console room. She found the Doctor standing at his console and chuckled as she walked down the stairs towards him.

"Everyone is waiting for you, did you forget Film Night?" she teased as she headed towards him.

The Doctor turned to her and River paused on the stairs when she saw the stricken look on his face.

"Love, what's wrong?" she said, hurrying to him.

"Something is wrong with me, I can feel it," the Doctor said.

"Well, let's get you to med bay," River said.

"No, it's not me that's wrong. It's my other selves. I can feel time being altered and whatever it is, it's coming for me," the Doctor said.

River swallowed hard when she saw the terror on the Doctor's face, something she very rarely saw on him. She pulled him close and hugged him.

"We'll sort it out, we always do," she said, trying to comfort him.

"There's something else," the Doctor said, looking at her.

"Yes?"

"There's something calling to me, a voice inside my head," he said, tapping his temple.

"Okay…" River said hesitantly, wondering if he was starting to come unhinged.

"It's speaking to me, telling me to kill."

River let go of him and took a step back.

"Kill who?" she said, dreading the answer.

The Doctor swallowed hard and pointed to her.

"And Amy and Rory, all of you," he said.

"Why?" River said.

"It just wants me to kill," the Doctor said, turning away from her. "It wants me to succumb to the darkness inside me and join it."

"Join who?" River said, her heart racing with fear.

"I don't know," the Doctor said, shaking his head as he stared at the console.

"What can we do?" River said, putting a tentative hand on his back.

The Doctor shook his head and was silent for a moment. Then he looked at the ceiling.

"I suppose we could ask the old girl to help," he said as he looked at the ceiling.

"You mean take us where we need to be," River said.

"Yes. Can you do that, Old Girl? Take us where we need to be so I can sort out this voice in my head?"

For a moment, there was no response and River wondered if the TARDIS was also at a loss. Then suddenly the ship violently changed course and River grabbed onto the Doctor while he held onto the console.

"I think she's found something," the Doctor said to River.

"You think so?" River said sarcastically as the ship rocked and vibrated.

"Hang on, River, I don't know where she's going but I hope it's somewhere useful," the Doctor said as he held on for dear life.

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