INHERITANCE
Lady Christina de Souza had fled the law in the "modified" red bus, and had met up with countless adventures (and had a few close shaves). However, she still had her phone with her, and one day a message arrived that she had been dreading.
Daddy was dying. And wanted to speak to her.
Was it a trap by the police? Christina reflected, that Inspector (she never could remember his name) was cunning enough to try something like this, for all the stunts she'd pulled. Nonetheless, it would be worth it. If her father had anything to say to her, if he was calling her to him knowing she was a wanted fugitive, it had to be important. So, that settled it.
She parked the bus in the woodland near the mansion. They had only just been able to hold onto it, despite the situation with the Icelandic banks. It was a modest place in comparison to some, and Christina knew every inch of the place. She knew that if the police were watching, she'd slip the net. She was confident.
She was back in her thievery gear-black leather jacket and gloves; knee high boots, and tight black trousers. She used a set of binoculars to examine the approaches to the house. No police. Good. Still, never hurt to be cautious. She pulled on her balaclava and made her way through the gardens to a side door, using the various hedges for cover. She picked the lock of the door, after peering through it, then slipped in. She made her way silently upstairs to the room where she knew Daddy would be. She removed her balaclava and slipped it into her pocket before opening the door.
As she approached the bed, she thought about why she had come, unsure of the reason. Had it been out of love to Daddy, despite the fact that she had ran away from the aristocratic lifestyle he forced on her, and besmirched his name by thievery? Had she come back to make amends? See what she could get out of this situation? Or simply to do the right thing, as that mysterious Doctor she had met on that bus ride would no doubt have encouraged? Whatever the reasons, she had come.
Edward de Souza lay in his bed, clearly ill. Even Christina, with little medical knowledge, knew that he didn't have long left. Whatever was eating away at him, it had nearly completed its work. Nonetheless, he saw Christina and gave a small smile. "The wanderer returns" he murmured quietly.
"It's ok, Daddy, I'm here" Christina told him, grasping his hand.
"Took your time, though. I'm nearly gone."
"Don't say that! We can get the best medical care money can buy for you-"
"Christina, I've had the best medical care money can buy. But what ails me no medic on this planet can cure. Which is why I called you here. It's time you learned the truth."
"The truth? About what?"
"About who you really are, my dear."
"Who I really am…? Do you mean to say that I'm adopted?
De Souza laughed, which turned into a cough. He soon stopped, though, and carried on.
"You were always a perceptive one…Yes, I'm afraid you are adopted. I took on a duty to protect you…"
"What were you protecting me from?"
"All in good time. I have all the answers you need. Look under my bed."
Christina looked; there was a locked brassbound box. De Souza had kept it for years, but had never let Christina open it. She had always wondered what lay within; why had her father-whoever he was-had kept it from her?
In De Souza's hand was a small key. He handed it over to Christina.
"In there are the keys to your past. You will know what to do afterwards."
He started coughing again, then stopped and looked at Christina.
"It has been an honour to serve…"
Then he collapsed back onto the bed, and his eyes closed. Edward de Souza was dead.
Christina stood for a few moments in shock. Then she placed the box on the floor, and inserted the key in the lock. It made a strange noise, as if several locks were opening instead of just one, and she opened the lid. Within were two items. On was a key, this one with a key fob on it. The fob had an address on it; some old warehouse in the Docklands by the look of things.
The other was a large locket; quite an elaborate one by the looks of things. It had a weird design etched on it; lots of circles and such. Christina had no idea what it meant. She placed it in her hand. Immediately, she heard a voice in her head.
"Madam President, they've arrived. Rassilon seeks to depose you…"
This was followed by others, in quick succession.
"The enemy has now invaded Gallifrey…"
"We've found The Doctor's TARDIS. He tells of Arcadia's fall…"
These carried on. Christina clutched her head, hoping that they would go away. Finally, one voice rose above the others.
"This is important-if anything happens, if it's an emergency, open the locket. Open it…"
Christina, desperate for the pain in her head to recede, opened the locket in her hand. The last thing she saw was a gold mist leaving the locket, heading straight for her. She breathed it in…
I am Free…
The plan worked. Rassilon had hoped to kill me in the wake of his coup following his resurrection. It was fortunate that some loyal Time Lords were able to learn of this, and took action…
They found me, about to regenerate following an assassination attempt. They took me away, hid me in human form using the chameleon arch while I regenerated. My human form receded into an infant body with a new personality implanted by the chameleon arch; while all this time, my essence remained trapped in the locket. My human self was under the guardianship of a noble Time Lord and an old friend, who acted as my father, Edward de Souza, raising me and protecting me, until such a time that it became safe to open the locket and reunite body and essence, and remind me of who I really am…
I am the Time Lady Romanadvoratrelundar, and I am free…
Romana stood up, and placed the locket round her neck. She looked at the body in the bed; an old friend, her last ally. The Doctor would no doubt had helped her, but he had had his hands fall at the Gates of Elysium. She looked sadly at her ally; a Time Lord to the last.
"Goodbye Salyavin, old friend." Salyavin had been a nightmare figure to her while she had been growing up-akin to the Toclafane. However, the truth turned out to be far stranger (but that was another story). The Time Lords had decided his once feared mental abilities were a useful asset in the coming war; they had given him a few new lives in return for service, given that his twelth incarnation had been living in Cambridge University for centuries. It was Salyavin who had covered their tracks by erasing Gallifrey's memories of anything connected to Romana's flight, akin to how he had made everyone forget about Shada following his escape. He had then, in his last extra life, elected to bring up Christina, protecting her and hopefully reminding her of her heritage once the war had ended. Romana took one last look at the old Time Lord.
She then consulted Lady Christina's memories. No, she was no longer Christina, but she had access to her personality and memories. One memory stood out in particular-a stranger on a bus who had led her on an adventure to an alien planet-of course, it had to be…The Doctor. So he had survived the Time War. Romana thought for a moment-The Doctor wouldn't be gallivanting around the Universe like he used to if the war was still going on. Not after all that happened between him and the Daleks…But that also meant that he had to have been the one to end it. She checked telepathically for any other Time Lords. No reply. So he had wiped out both races…She paused, reflecting on the war and all that they had lost.
She then stood up, and examined the key fob again before slipping it into her pocket. She then left the room, and made her way to the room she had lived in as Christina. It was still as Christina had left it, and there were some things Romana thought she'd pick up. She needed a change of wardrobe, for one thing. The black ensemble was practical, but not the most elegant outfit, especially for a former Lady President of Gallifrey. She placed a number of outfits into a bag left under Christina's old bed; discarding others. She finally saw a black dress that took her fancy-yes, that would do. She placed it carefully in the bag. While she was here, she thought, she might as well take a look. The Doctor had talked to her about forced regenerations-namely, not knowing what you were going to get. She looked in the mirror in her en-suite bathroom. She gazed at the aristocratic features; the long dark hair. Ok, she thought, could have been worse. Given a little work, this body might suit her. She finished examining herself, and left the room, leaving behind all that was left of Lady Christina de Souza.
She then made her way back to the side door she had entered through. Romana intended to make her way to the red bus. Trust the Doctor to modify a primitive mode of transport with extraterrestrial technology, then leave it in the hands of a human. Would he ever learn? Still, she mused, it would come in handy on this occasion-it would allow her to reach the address marked on the key. Romana knew it to be a key to an address in the London Docklands; though what would be in her she could only guess at (though she could guess pretty well). She knew from Christina that the police were looking for her. Thievery. Adrenaline seeking. Craving excitement. Romana firmly blamed the Doctor for that-she had never been like that before she left Gallifrey. Nonetheless, the police would likely still be looking for her. So Romana slipped out of the side door, headed to the bus in the woods, and made good her escape.
Romana parked the bus in a secluded corner of the Docklands, taking care to remove the extraterrestrial technology from it. She couldn't leave it lying around for anyone to find, even if the most that could happen would be for it to be mistaken for a steampunk wheel fob. She wouldn't be needing the bus, either-she had decided to abandon it for a less conspicuous mode of transport. Besides, she knew of Iris Wildthyme from The Doctor's explanations-and comparisons to that time-travelling fruitcake bag lady she could do without. No, best leave it where it is.
She soon found the warehouse she was looking for. Everybody else seemed to be avoiding it. Of course-basic perception filter. So something was hidden here not for human eyes. Romana approached the door, and inserted the key in the lock. As she suspected, the key opened the door first time. She walked in, to find-
A shipping crate. One that gave an unearthly hum.
Romana smiled.
A TARDIS. Her allies had left her a means of escape for when she had regained herself. She smiled to herself, then inserted the key from the door into the padlock on the container. The lock glowed, then detached, and Romana opened the container, stepping inside it.
Inside was a white control room, of the same design the Doctor had had when she had travelled with him-in that erratic fourth incarnation of his. He had redecorated since-she remembered the gothic cathedral of the late seventh/Eighth doctors. Romana paused, and wondered what it would look like now. Bottom of a pier, knowing him.
Romana approached the console, and closed the doors. She then set the TARDIS to bring up all data files on the remainder of the Time War. While it did this, she set off for the Wardrobe Room that every TARDIS had, and changed the black trousers and leather jacket combo for the long black dress, adding a pair of heels. She then returned to the console room, and after learning the scale of what had happened to the Time Lords, she spent some time musing on what to do. Gallifrey was timelocked; nobody could enter or leave. Besides, even if she could, nobody would be there to greet her; it would be a dead world. Earth tempted her too, but as much as she liked the planet, the idea of staying in one time and place did not really interest her-so she could only imagine how the Doctor had felt during his exile there.
No, the best thing to do, she felt, would be simply to follow the scientific principle known as 'Pot Luck', and see where you ended up. Seemed to work for the Doctor. So Romana, smiling, hit the Random Co-Ordinates control, and left Earth well behind. She could still feel Christina in her head; the human had craved adventure. Romana could see why The Doctor had refused her travel in the TARDIS, but now Christina would get all the adventure she craved.
And Romana? Well, she could always hope to run into the Doctor again.
One of them, at any rate.