Fic: Keeper of the Mind (3/4?)
Title: Keeper of the Mind
Author: hexicode
Fandom/pairing: Doctor Who, no pairing
Summary: “Who are you to judge who lives and who dies? You have always survived.”
Rating: all ages
Warnings: probably AU
Disclaimers: The characters and settings aren't mine. No profit is being made, this is for entertainment only.
A/N: Spoilers for the 2005 series. Beta by the awesome DianeM. Thanks!
oOo
Jack switched off the data-recorder and sat back for a moment. His head was aching terribly and it was only sheer willpower that had carried him through the last three hours. It was impossible to capture two entire years in just a few short hours, but he wanted to make sure that he did what was necessary even if he couldn't remember anymore. Knowing himself, he would need a lot of convincing to believe what had happened, but he hoped the recording and the Doctor would see to it that he did. Jack pulled the data chip from the recorder and went to find the Doctor.
The Doctor was still in the same room where Jack had woken up, bent over a computer display. He seemed to be immersed in whatever he was doing, but his posture was tense. He looked up immediately when Jack stepped into the doorway.
"I made this recording." He handed the Doctor a data chip without further explanation. The Doctor looked at him questioningly.
"Well, I'm going to forget everything about the last two years in a few hours, but I figured I should use the time to record a message. I'm probably not going to believe myself anyways, since this is exactly the kind of dirty trick the Time Agency would get up to, but maybe..."
"I'll convince you." The Doctor didn’t smile.
"Good, then that's settled. I still can't believe that I ended up in a flying police box,” Jack declared with forced levity.
"Hey, hey, the TARDIS outlasted your stolen ship by a few millennia," the Doctor protested jokingly.
"Seriously? Where did you get it?" Despite his headache, Jack couldn't help but wonder just who the Doctor really was.
"Maybe I’ll tell you later, after we find Rose and sort out this mess of yours. Ready?" the Doctor asked, serious again.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jack wasn't ready in the least, but he'd drop dead before he admitted that to anyone. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping that he wasn't about to make a huge mistake.
oOo
The Doctor cast a last look back at Jack, who was sleeping peacefully and would do so for quite a while. After first the Time Agency and now the Demarans had messed with Jack's rather fragile human mind, the Doctor hadn't really wanted to add to the psychic strain, but he didn't have time to wait for Jack to wake up and tell him what had happened to him in the temple.
His own head ached and he felt fatigue like he hadn't in a long time after exercising his mental abilities for the first time in years. He knew he needed to rest in order to recover, but Rose couldn't wait for that. From what the Doctor had seen in Jack's mind, it might already be too late for Rose.
An hour later, however, his anger had made way to frustration and a serious headache. He had easily traced back his steps from the previous night and made it to the village in just over half an hour. There was no shortage of village folk during daylight, but getting any meaningful information had been next to impossible. After the guards at the temple hadn't bothered to answer his questions, the Doctor had turned to ask around the market.
"I'm sorry, but nothing happened here yesterday, or the day before. Sometimes the Sisters come down to the village, but they haven't been here in many days," the stocky merchant woman replied in a friendly tone, but she seemed more interested in her fish than his questions.
"Are you certain? Two of my friends were here yesterday. They were arrested for breaking into the temple?" the Doctor asked, still hoping to jog her memory.
The woman smiled, but shook her head and turned back to her customers. Everyone he had talked to had given the exact same response. Nothing unusual had happened in weeks and there hadn't been any strangers around as long as anyone could remember. It was if the previous day had never happened. The villagers didn't seem deceiving; everyone had been friendly and replied freely to his questions. Still, the Doctor was convinced that there was more to the village than what could be seen at first glance. Although normally this was just the kind of mystery that would intrigue him, this time the Doctor couldn't have cared less about the sinister happenings around him. He needed to find Rose and he needed to find her fast and then there was Jack's mess in the 51st century to sort out. Prioritize, the Doctor told himself--Rose first, everything else later. Glancing over to the temple, lost in thought, the Doctor suddenly had an idea. It might not work, but if he was right about what was happening to the villagers, chances were the guards wouldn't even recall him from earlier.
He turned back to the merchant. "How much would that be for a basket of your best fish?"
"Twenty-three Solis for the whole basket. It's a good bargain. My husband just caught them this morning. You won't find better anywhere."
"I'm sure I won't," the Doctor replied. He rummaged in his pocket and found a couple of odd-shaped coins which the woman gladly accepted. Mentally thanking the TARDIS for her foresight, the Doctor grabbed his newly acquired fish and made his way towards the temple. He jogged up the steps to the entrance for the second time that day, balancing the basket of fish on his shoulder. The guards regarded him blankly with no sign of recognition on their faces as the Doctor stopped in front of them and demonstratively set down the basket.
"Oi, delivery for the kitchens. Mind letting me through?"
"Delivery for the kitchens?" For a moment, the Doctor thought the guards remembered him after all, but they seemed to almost look through him.
"Right here, I'll be in and out in a minute," the Doctor lied. The guards stepped aside, granting him entrance into the temple. Once he was around the corner and out of sight of the guards, he abandoned all pretence and put down the basket. The smell would attract attention sooner rather than later, but by then, he'd hopefully be gone again. Using what he knew of the layout from the previous night and from Jack's memories, finding the heart of the temple was fairly easy. The hallways were deserted. He found his way to the hall where Jack and Rose had interrupted the ceremony the other day, without encountering anyone.
The hall was almost completely dark. A few dozen candles stood in a shrine on the far end. The Doctor stepped in closer to examine the centrepiece, a large crystal, but he saw the reflection in it a moment too late.
“Do not move," a strong voice commanded. "You should not be in here."
The Doctor turned around and was faced with a small, elderly woman. There was something in her examining glance that set her apart from the almost mindless seeming Demarans.
"I'm sorry. I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. I was looking for the kitchens."
"We both know that is not true. Your ship crashed on this planet. There were three of you on board. You are looking for your young friends."
"I'm impressed." The Doctor folded his arms in front of his chest, not ready to give in to scare tactics. Anyone with half a mind could have pieced together that he was looking for Jack and Rose. "You seem to be the only one who remembers them at all."
"I'm sorry about your friends. It was an accident; we didn't intent to harm them."
"But what happened to them is a bit convenient, isn't it? They saw something they shouldn't have seen, and then they disappeared. When I found Jack, he was half-dead.”
"They shouldn't have come here. They couldn’t understand what they saw. The young woman would not have been harmed. It was merely a misunderstanding.”
"So you just went out and erased their memories over a misunderstanding? Why can you people never talk to each other?" the Doctor said more to himself.
"I was giving them a gift. What happened was an unfortunate accident. If I could undo it, I would."
“Listen, if you want to help Rose, tell me where I can find her."
"I assure you she is well.”
"Mind control, right? That is what you do with everyone here. No one can remember Jack and Rose. But how do you do it? Controlling the minds of everyone in this city must take an enormous amount of psychic energy. No single humanoid could control such power. But this crystal of yours just might."
The Doctor whirled around to the crystal.
"If you were using some sort of amplifier for your powers, it just might work. Still, I don't see how this could work for long. The amount of power this would take..."
Genuinely curious now, the Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and turned to examine the crystal.
"It's alive." The Doctor repeated his scan, but the result was the same. "It's an independent mind...a crystalline life form. I was right, no humanoid could do this."
"Indeed, you are right." Suddenly, the form of the old woman shifted, shedding its humanoid shape and morphing into a large scaly reptilian-looking creature with fangs and long claws.
"Well, I certainly understand why you wouldn't want to show the Demarans your true form," the Doctor commented dryly.
"Or you for that matter..." it hissed sharply.
The Doctor was caught off guard when the creature swung one of its long claws at him. He managed to dodge the blow at the last second, but the creature had him backed against the wall, advancing relentlessly towards him. He scrambled to the floor, trying to adjust the sonic screwdriver while trying to avoid being pierced by long, pointy claws. The claws smashed into the wall where his head had been a second earlier, causing bits and pieces of rubble to rain down on him. The Doctor got back to his feet and ran as fast as he could while activating the sonic screwdriver. The creature screamed, contorting in pain, but still not abandoning its pursuit of the Doctor. It lashed out wildly in uncontrolled rage, oblivious to the perilous tremors shaking the entire structure. The supporting pillars were groaning under the strain, and when the claws struck one of them dead center, it crumbled, leaving behind only rumble and dust. Deprived of vital support and weakened by the sonic waves, cracks spread through the ceiling. Bigger pieces of rocks started to fall down, but the creature was still going after the Doctor. The Doctor sought out the safest place in the crumbling structure -- the alcove housing the shrine. It wasn't exactly the sturdy closet that had saved them when Downing Street had been reduced to rubble, but it would have to do.
"Listen," he screamed over the noise. "I can stop this. Maybe we can both get out of this alive!"
The creature only stopped its pursuit for a moment, looming over the trapped Doctor.
Remembering what had happened to Jack and Rose, the Doctor flung himself at the crystal. There was a flash of blue light and the Doctor was thrown into hell.
oOo
It was dark. The Doctor could see nothing, feel nothing and sense nothing. Suddenly sound broke into the void. Voices were everywhere. They were seeping into his mind, drowning out every independent thought. Thousands, maybe millions of voices were whispering at the same time. They were the voices of the Demarans, trapped inside the crystal and he was trapped with them.
Get out! I know what you are trying to do and it won’t work. Get out of my head!
Each thought took enormous effort, but they were like anchors in a sea of voices.
You might be able to see into my mind, but I can see into yours. It works both ways. How’s that for a trade?
The voices faded as suddenly as they had come. The Doctor felt control return to his body, and he immediately slammed into something hard and unyielding. The pain of the impact was the best thing he’d felt all day.
“That’s better. I take it you’re who they call the Keeper,” the Doctor commented and sat up and rubbed his sore ribs, glad to be able to hear his own voice. Aware that it was nothing but a mental representation, he looked around. The Keeper had chosen an apt environment - a cavern carved into blue crystal. On a series of steps sat the form of the old woman the Keeper chose to represent herself to the Demarans.
“You know, I was wrong. It was a neat trick, changing into this creature, making me think it was real. But it was just another projection, wasn’t it? It could never have killed me.”
“You are right. I have no form as you could understand it. I chose a form that was appropriate for the moment,” the woman told him.
“Well, it worked. You got me where you wanted me - as part of your hive mind. And since you’ve seen my thoughts you know you just need to wait, to wear me out until you can add me to your collection.”
The woman’s face contorted in anger. “I gave the Demarans a gift. I can give the same to you.”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“You forget that I have seen your mind. You travel with others, but you’re really alone. You didn’t want to, but you survived the war. You’re the last. I saw the images that haunt you. I can help you forget.”
“I don’t need your help. I did what I had to do to stop the Daleks. There was no other way!”
“But there was and you know that. You could have destroyed them a long time ago and you didn’t. It is because of you that they are all dead. You killed them.”
The Doctor took a deep breath, determined not to let himself be provoked again. The Keeper had read his mind; she knew exactly where to hit him.
“What about a deal?” the Doctor asked after a pause.
“What kind of deal do you propose?”
The Doctor felt for the sonic screwdriver in his pocket, before he made up his mind.
“You have the mind of my friend in here somewhere. I want you to let her go. In return, I will stay.”
“It is acceptable,” the Keeper agreed. “You will surrender yourself and I shall release your friend.”
“First, let her go. I want to make sure she is all right,” the Doctor demanded.
“As you wish.” The Keeper waved her hand and one of the cave’s walls became transparent. As if looking through light blue glass, the Doctor could see into the temple hall. In a flash of light, Rose materialized.
“What’s happening to her?” The Doctor asked when Rose fell to her knees, seemingly gasping for breath.
“She will be fine.” As if on command, Rose appeared to calm down. She got to her feet and looked around, obviously confused. “As you see, she is quite all right. Now it is time to uphold your end of the bargain.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I have to do this.” The Doctor switched on the sonic screwdriver. “But I can’t let you keep the Demarans.”
The Keeper started screaming. Her form twitched, contorted and then vanished. Outside, Rose disappeared.
“I don’t understand. What have you done?” It was a different voice, inside the Doctor’s head - the crystals true voice.
“The only thing I could do. Destroy you.”
“What about your friend? Do you want her to die?”
“No, but that out there wasn’t Rose.”
“How do you know?”
“You said it yourself. You cannot undo it. You can only absorb people, but you can’t let them go again. It’s not what you were meant to do.”
“Then let me live. I have a right to live.”
“You have lived for a very long time and the Demarans haven’t lived at all. For generations, they have existed only to keep you alive. That’s not living. That’s barely existing.”
“I will never die. Not as long as there are people on this planet!” It screamed inside the Doctor’s head. “Who are you to judge who lives and who dies? You have always survived.”
“Not by choice. And now we’re both going to die.” The sonic screwdriver was glowing hot in the Doctor’s hand. He disabled the last security setting, and then the world dissolved into whiteness.
TBC
go to the conclusion
Author: hexicode
Fandom/pairing: Doctor Who, no pairing
Summary: “Who are you to judge who lives and who dies? You have always survived.”
Rating: all ages
Warnings: probably AU
Disclaimers: The characters and settings aren't mine. No profit is being made, this is for entertainment only.
A/N: Spoilers for the 2005 series. Beta by the awesome DianeM. Thanks!
oOo
Jack switched off the data-recorder and sat back for a moment. His head was aching terribly and it was only sheer willpower that had carried him through the last three hours. It was impossible to capture two entire years in just a few short hours, but he wanted to make sure that he did what was necessary even if he couldn't remember anymore. Knowing himself, he would need a lot of convincing to believe what had happened, but he hoped the recording and the Doctor would see to it that he did. Jack pulled the data chip from the recorder and went to find the Doctor.
The Doctor was still in the same room where Jack had woken up, bent over a computer display. He seemed to be immersed in whatever he was doing, but his posture was tense. He looked up immediately when Jack stepped into the doorway.
"I made this recording." He handed the Doctor a data chip without further explanation. The Doctor looked at him questioningly.
"Well, I'm going to forget everything about the last two years in a few hours, but I figured I should use the time to record a message. I'm probably not going to believe myself anyways, since this is exactly the kind of dirty trick the Time Agency would get up to, but maybe..."
"I'll convince you." The Doctor didn’t smile.
"Good, then that's settled. I still can't believe that I ended up in a flying police box,” Jack declared with forced levity.
"Hey, hey, the TARDIS outlasted your stolen ship by a few millennia," the Doctor protested jokingly.
"Seriously? Where did you get it?" Despite his headache, Jack couldn't help but wonder just who the Doctor really was.
"Maybe I’ll tell you later, after we find Rose and sort out this mess of yours. Ready?" the Doctor asked, serious again.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jack wasn't ready in the least, but he'd drop dead before he admitted that to anyone. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hoping that he wasn't about to make a huge mistake.
oOo
The Doctor cast a last look back at Jack, who was sleeping peacefully and would do so for quite a while. After first the Time Agency and now the Demarans had messed with Jack's rather fragile human mind, the Doctor hadn't really wanted to add to the psychic strain, but he didn't have time to wait for Jack to wake up and tell him what had happened to him in the temple.
His own head ached and he felt fatigue like he hadn't in a long time after exercising his mental abilities for the first time in years. He knew he needed to rest in order to recover, but Rose couldn't wait for that. From what the Doctor had seen in Jack's mind, it might already be too late for Rose.
An hour later, however, his anger had made way to frustration and a serious headache. He had easily traced back his steps from the previous night and made it to the village in just over half an hour. There was no shortage of village folk during daylight, but getting any meaningful information had been next to impossible. After the guards at the temple hadn't bothered to answer his questions, the Doctor had turned to ask around the market.
"I'm sorry, but nothing happened here yesterday, or the day before. Sometimes the Sisters come down to the village, but they haven't been here in many days," the stocky merchant woman replied in a friendly tone, but she seemed more interested in her fish than his questions.
"Are you certain? Two of my friends were here yesterday. They were arrested for breaking into the temple?" the Doctor asked, still hoping to jog her memory.
The woman smiled, but shook her head and turned back to her customers. Everyone he had talked to had given the exact same response. Nothing unusual had happened in weeks and there hadn't been any strangers around as long as anyone could remember. It was if the previous day had never happened. The villagers didn't seem deceiving; everyone had been friendly and replied freely to his questions. Still, the Doctor was convinced that there was more to the village than what could be seen at first glance. Although normally this was just the kind of mystery that would intrigue him, this time the Doctor couldn't have cared less about the sinister happenings around him. He needed to find Rose and he needed to find her fast and then there was Jack's mess in the 51st century to sort out. Prioritize, the Doctor told himself--Rose first, everything else later. Glancing over to the temple, lost in thought, the Doctor suddenly had an idea. It might not work, but if he was right about what was happening to the villagers, chances were the guards wouldn't even recall him from earlier.
He turned back to the merchant. "How much would that be for a basket of your best fish?"
"Twenty-three Solis for the whole basket. It's a good bargain. My husband just caught them this morning. You won't find better anywhere."
"I'm sure I won't," the Doctor replied. He rummaged in his pocket and found a couple of odd-shaped coins which the woman gladly accepted. Mentally thanking the TARDIS for her foresight, the Doctor grabbed his newly acquired fish and made his way towards the temple. He jogged up the steps to the entrance for the second time that day, balancing the basket of fish on his shoulder. The guards regarded him blankly with no sign of recognition on their faces as the Doctor stopped in front of them and demonstratively set down the basket.
"Oi, delivery for the kitchens. Mind letting me through?"
"Delivery for the kitchens?" For a moment, the Doctor thought the guards remembered him after all, but they seemed to almost look through him.
"Right here, I'll be in and out in a minute," the Doctor lied. The guards stepped aside, granting him entrance into the temple. Once he was around the corner and out of sight of the guards, he abandoned all pretence and put down the basket. The smell would attract attention sooner rather than later, but by then, he'd hopefully be gone again. Using what he knew of the layout from the previous night and from Jack's memories, finding the heart of the temple was fairly easy. The hallways were deserted. He found his way to the hall where Jack and Rose had interrupted the ceremony the other day, without encountering anyone.
The hall was almost completely dark. A few dozen candles stood in a shrine on the far end. The Doctor stepped in closer to examine the centrepiece, a large crystal, but he saw the reflection in it a moment too late.
“Do not move," a strong voice commanded. "You should not be in here."
The Doctor turned around and was faced with a small, elderly woman. There was something in her examining glance that set her apart from the almost mindless seeming Demarans.
"I'm sorry. I seem to have taken a wrong turn somewhere. I was looking for the kitchens."
"We both know that is not true. Your ship crashed on this planet. There were three of you on board. You are looking for your young friends."
"I'm impressed." The Doctor folded his arms in front of his chest, not ready to give in to scare tactics. Anyone with half a mind could have pieced together that he was looking for Jack and Rose. "You seem to be the only one who remembers them at all."
"I'm sorry about your friends. It was an accident; we didn't intent to harm them."
"But what happened to them is a bit convenient, isn't it? They saw something they shouldn't have seen, and then they disappeared. When I found Jack, he was half-dead.”
"They shouldn't have come here. They couldn’t understand what they saw. The young woman would not have been harmed. It was merely a misunderstanding.”
"So you just went out and erased their memories over a misunderstanding? Why can you people never talk to each other?" the Doctor said more to himself.
"I was giving them a gift. What happened was an unfortunate accident. If I could undo it, I would."
“Listen, if you want to help Rose, tell me where I can find her."
"I assure you she is well.”
"Mind control, right? That is what you do with everyone here. No one can remember Jack and Rose. But how do you do it? Controlling the minds of everyone in this city must take an enormous amount of psychic energy. No single humanoid could control such power. But this crystal of yours just might."
The Doctor whirled around to the crystal.
"If you were using some sort of amplifier for your powers, it just might work. Still, I don't see how this could work for long. The amount of power this would take..."
Genuinely curious now, the Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and turned to examine the crystal.
"It's alive." The Doctor repeated his scan, but the result was the same. "It's an independent mind...a crystalline life form. I was right, no humanoid could do this."
"Indeed, you are right." Suddenly, the form of the old woman shifted, shedding its humanoid shape and morphing into a large scaly reptilian-looking creature with fangs and long claws.
"Well, I certainly understand why you wouldn't want to show the Demarans your true form," the Doctor commented dryly.
"Or you for that matter..." it hissed sharply.
The Doctor was caught off guard when the creature swung one of its long claws at him. He managed to dodge the blow at the last second, but the creature had him backed against the wall, advancing relentlessly towards him. He scrambled to the floor, trying to adjust the sonic screwdriver while trying to avoid being pierced by long, pointy claws. The claws smashed into the wall where his head had been a second earlier, causing bits and pieces of rubble to rain down on him. The Doctor got back to his feet and ran as fast as he could while activating the sonic screwdriver. The creature screamed, contorting in pain, but still not abandoning its pursuit of the Doctor. It lashed out wildly in uncontrolled rage, oblivious to the perilous tremors shaking the entire structure. The supporting pillars were groaning under the strain, and when the claws struck one of them dead center, it crumbled, leaving behind only rumble and dust. Deprived of vital support and weakened by the sonic waves, cracks spread through the ceiling. Bigger pieces of rocks started to fall down, but the creature was still going after the Doctor. The Doctor sought out the safest place in the crumbling structure -- the alcove housing the shrine. It wasn't exactly the sturdy closet that had saved them when Downing Street had been reduced to rubble, but it would have to do.
"Listen," he screamed over the noise. "I can stop this. Maybe we can both get out of this alive!"
The creature only stopped its pursuit for a moment, looming over the trapped Doctor.
Remembering what had happened to Jack and Rose, the Doctor flung himself at the crystal. There was a flash of blue light and the Doctor was thrown into hell.
oOo
It was dark. The Doctor could see nothing, feel nothing and sense nothing. Suddenly sound broke into the void. Voices were everywhere. They were seeping into his mind, drowning out every independent thought. Thousands, maybe millions of voices were whispering at the same time. They were the voices of the Demarans, trapped inside the crystal and he was trapped with them.
Get out! I know what you are trying to do and it won’t work. Get out of my head!
Each thought took enormous effort, but they were like anchors in a sea of voices.
You might be able to see into my mind, but I can see into yours. It works both ways. How’s that for a trade?
The voices faded as suddenly as they had come. The Doctor felt control return to his body, and he immediately slammed into something hard and unyielding. The pain of the impact was the best thing he’d felt all day.
“That’s better. I take it you’re who they call the Keeper,” the Doctor commented and sat up and rubbed his sore ribs, glad to be able to hear his own voice. Aware that it was nothing but a mental representation, he looked around. The Keeper had chosen an apt environment - a cavern carved into blue crystal. On a series of steps sat the form of the old woman the Keeper chose to represent herself to the Demarans.
“You know, I was wrong. It was a neat trick, changing into this creature, making me think it was real. But it was just another projection, wasn’t it? It could never have killed me.”
“You are right. I have no form as you could understand it. I chose a form that was appropriate for the moment,” the woman told him.
“Well, it worked. You got me where you wanted me - as part of your hive mind. And since you’ve seen my thoughts you know you just need to wait, to wear me out until you can add me to your collection.”
The woman’s face contorted in anger. “I gave the Demarans a gift. I can give the same to you.”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“You forget that I have seen your mind. You travel with others, but you’re really alone. You didn’t want to, but you survived the war. You’re the last. I saw the images that haunt you. I can help you forget.”
“I don’t need your help. I did what I had to do to stop the Daleks. There was no other way!”
“But there was and you know that. You could have destroyed them a long time ago and you didn’t. It is because of you that they are all dead. You killed them.”
The Doctor took a deep breath, determined not to let himself be provoked again. The Keeper had read his mind; she knew exactly where to hit him.
“What about a deal?” the Doctor asked after a pause.
“What kind of deal do you propose?”
The Doctor felt for the sonic screwdriver in his pocket, before he made up his mind.
“You have the mind of my friend in here somewhere. I want you to let her go. In return, I will stay.”
“It is acceptable,” the Keeper agreed. “You will surrender yourself and I shall release your friend.”
“First, let her go. I want to make sure she is all right,” the Doctor demanded.
“As you wish.” The Keeper waved her hand and one of the cave’s walls became transparent. As if looking through light blue glass, the Doctor could see into the temple hall. In a flash of light, Rose materialized.
“What’s happening to her?” The Doctor asked when Rose fell to her knees, seemingly gasping for breath.
“She will be fine.” As if on command, Rose appeared to calm down. She got to her feet and looked around, obviously confused. “As you see, she is quite all right. Now it is time to uphold your end of the bargain.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I have to do this.” The Doctor switched on the sonic screwdriver. “But I can’t let you keep the Demarans.”
The Keeper started screaming. Her form twitched, contorted and then vanished. Outside, Rose disappeared.
“I don’t understand. What have you done?” It was a different voice, inside the Doctor’s head - the crystals true voice.
“The only thing I could do. Destroy you.”
“What about your friend? Do you want her to die?”
“No, but that out there wasn’t Rose.”
“How do you know?”
“You said it yourself. You cannot undo it. You can only absorb people, but you can’t let them go again. It’s not what you were meant to do.”
“Then let me live. I have a right to live.”
“You have lived for a very long time and the Demarans haven’t lived at all. For generations, they have existed only to keep you alive. That’s not living. That’s barely existing.”
“I will never die. Not as long as there are people on this planet!” It screamed inside the Doctor’s head. “Who are you to judge who lives and who dies? You have always survived.”
“Not by choice. And now we’re both going to die.” The sonic screwdriver was glowing hot in the Doctor’s hand. He disabled the last security setting, and then the world dissolved into whiteness.
TBC
go to the conclusion