ARCADIA

Chapter Twenty Three

Ianto grunted as he fought against the force field restraints. After returning to the ship, Callisto went back to the cell block and forced Ianto to follow him. He held a blaster to his head and forced him to sit down in a metal chair that was bolted to the floor. Then he pushed a button on the back of the chair and Ianto felt like he was glued to it. Callisto stood in front of him, gloating.

"What is this?" Ianto said as he fought to get free.

"This is you becoming a vessel for me," Callisto said.

Ianto thought about that for a moment and then his eyes widened when he realized what he meant.

"You're not forcing your way into my mind," he said defiantly.

"How are you going to stop me?" Callisto said.

He folded his arms over his chest and gave Ianto a pointed look while he waited for an answer.

"I'm not killing anyone, least of all my friends," Ianto said.

"Do you see this?" Callisto said, pointing to the Doctor's body. "Do you see the Doctor having any form of control over this body?"

"That's because he's gone," Ianto said.

"And what? You're able to fight me off? I've been trained by a powerful shaman, mate. The Doctor hasn't been able to kick me out of his body, what makes you think you'll kick me out of yours?"

Ianto stiffened his body, ready to resist Callisto. Callisto smirked, reached into his pocket and Ianto suddenly sensed the force field was no longer there. He jumped up, intending to fight Callisto but Callisto was ready for him. He slammed into Ianto and knocked him back into the chair, knocking the wind out of him. Callisto sat on top of him and pressed up against him, quickly putting his fingers on Ianto's temples and closing his eyes. Ianto felt Callisto going into his mind and he tried to resist him but Callisto was too strong for him and the Arcadian quickly took control of Ianto's mind and suppressed him. When he was finished, he stood up and looked at the Doctor. He was bent over, his arms still outstretched and his fingers splayed with a blank look on his face. Callisto straightened him up and put his arms down at his sides. Then he reached into the Doctor's pocket and pulled out his blaster and his remote. He put it in Ianto's trouser pocket while he maneuvered the Doctor into the chair. Once the Doctor was seated, he turned on the force field and immobilized him. Then he stood in front of him, pulled out the blaster and aimed it at the Doctor's right heart.

"Goodbye, current Doctor," he said before he fired a shot into the heart.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXO

DoctorJackie was leading everyone back to the lab when suddenly he let out a yell of anguish and fell to his knees while he held his head.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Rose said as she and Jack ran up to him.

Rose's eyes were wide while she watched her mother's body convulse, her eyes wide with a shocked expression on her face.

"Mum? What is it? What's wrong?" Rose said, kneeling down beside her and gripping her arms. "Doctor? What's going on?"

Jackie didn't speak but after a few minutes, her body relaxed and she shook her head and blinked.

"Doctor?" Rose said.

"No, it's me," Jackie said. "The Doctor's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Jack said. "No one was touching you."

"I don't know," Jackie said, shaking her head. "I just felt this sudden pull in my mind, like the Doctor was being pulled out. There was all this pain and the Doctor was screaming in my mind and then he went and I can't feel him anymore."

Jack cursed under his breath.

"Now what has the bastard done?" he said while he, Rose and Jackie looked around.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The Doctor shook his head, trying to overcome the shock and disorientation at being back in his own body. Except it wasn't his tenth body. He glanced down at himself and looked at Callisto.

"Ianto, what is this?" Eleven said to him.

"Sorry, Ianto is no longer available for conversation," Callisto said smugly.

"You! Now what have you gone and done?" Eleven growled.

"I decided to change your body; I got bored with the geek look. Although, you still look geeky. And you have an enormous chin now. You might put Rose's eye out with that thing."

"So what happens now?" the Doctor said.

"Well, that's up to you, what do you want to do?" Callisto said.

"Stop the games and end this once and for all."

"Battle to the death then?" Callisto said.

"Yes."

"Interesting. Where and when?"

"Arcadia. Salt Plains, where you left my friends," the Doctor said.

"And if you win, I give you back your friends and the TARDIS?"

"And you surrender yourself. I build you an android body and you stand trial for kidnapping, attempted enslavement, assault, murder, attempted murder and being an all around arsehole."

"Wow, a lot's at stake then," Callisto said dryly. "So…If I win…you become a mindless slave and serve me for the rest of your lives, as does Harkness, since I can't really kill him. Your Anthrosis friends die a horrible, cruel death. I purge Ianto's consciousness from this body and send it floating on its way. As for Rose and Jackie, they will be sent to the magma mines of Gortho and spend the rest of their lives mining magma on a volcanic planet that is probably just as hot as their imagined Hell. Those are my stakes if you lose the battle."

"Agreed. Actually, let me add one more thing to my side," the Doctor said.

"Yes?"

"You'll be put into the molecular disassembler and your body will be torn apart at a molecular level and reassembled for several hours in retaliation for making me lose a life."

"Fair enough," Callisto said, nodding. "So…here's what I'll do. I'll transmat you down to your friends and I'll meet you outside that spider hole with the Anthrosis and the TARDIS. So if I were you, I'd use the walk back to the surface to prepare because, Time Lord, I will show you no mercy once the battle begins."

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