Well well well, what do we have here.
This is yet another COD zombies crossover, I don't know why I keep on doing these. I wrote this along time ago, but stopped because I couldn't decide on an ending, but I've now decided to merge the two, I'm not sure how that will work out, but I guess we'll find out.
This has turned out to be more of a crackfic, but hey ho. Doctor Who is owned by the BBC and Treyarch and Activision own Call of Duty. I don't own either, which is a pity.
Anyway, happy reading :D
It was the Doctor who emerged first from the Tardis. Rose and Mickey followed cautiously, immediately aware of the wires hanging loose from the ceiling of the spacecraft and occasionally flared up in dangerous sparks. A childish grin formed on Mickey's mouth as he took in his surroundings.
"It's a spaceship. Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first go!" Mickey could not contain his excitement.
"It looks abandoned, is there anyone onboard?" Rose asked the Doctor as she studied her surroundings.
"Nah, there's nothing here. Well...nothing dangerous, well not that dangerous." The Doctor paused. "You know what, I'll have a quick scan… incase there's anything dangerous." The Timelord walked over to one of the ship's control panels and promptly began pushing buttons.
"So what's the date? How far we gone?" Rose questioned the Doctor as she leaned over his shoulder.
"About three thousands years into your future, give or take." The Doctor reached for a lever and pulled, giving power to the entire ship. A hissing sound turned the pair's attention to the roof of the ship as the metal panels began to fold away revealing the empty stars that surrounded them.
"Fifty-first century, Diagmar Cluster. You're a long way from home, about two and a half galaxies." The Doctor continued. Mickey began to wonder, exploring the ship.
"Mickey Smith, meet the universe. See anything you like?" Rose has approached Mickey who was staring through a small porthole, transfixed.
"It's so realistic!" Mickey grinned, whilst the Doctor rummaged around the desk in front of him, picking up random objects in front of him, studying them for a moment and then putting them down, unimpressed as if he was searching for something in particular.
"Dear me, had some cowboys in here! Got a ton of repair work going on." The Doctor exclaimed as he fiddled with more objects. Giving up on finding whatever he was looking for, The Doctor checked the objects behind him and turned for answers on the control panel. His brow furrowed in confusion as he studied the screen.
"Now that's odd, look at that. All the warp engines are going… full capacity! There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe… and we're not moving." The Doctor looked around this ship. "So where's all that power going?"
"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose added. The Doctor leant forward over the control panel.
"Wait-" The Doctor was broken off by some loud shouting, that echoed down the corridor of the ship.
"What was that?" Rose asked the Doctor.
"There's only one way to find out." The Doctor turned around and began to run towards the shouting.
"VERDAMMT, VERDAMMT, VERDAMMT!" The trio of zombie slayers began to back away from Richtofen as he began stabbing the metallic desk with his bloodied bowie knife, each hit resulting in a large clink as the knife dented the desk. "We should not be here at all!" Richtofen took a deep breath and sheathed the knife.
"Er, Richtofen, where exactly is here?" Dempsey asked the angered Nazi.
"Take a look, American." Richtofen hissed in a slightly calmer tone. Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai turned around to face a small porthole. What they saw shocked them.
"Nikolai in space!" The Russian worriedly shouted and his protectively hugged his vodka.
"Uh Nikolai, we've been to the moon." Tank pointed out.
"Oh yeah." Nikolai relaxed and took a large gulp of his clear alcoholic drink. Richtofen had wandered over to the teleporter and began angrily rearranging the wires.
"Zis has messed everyzing up! Zis vas probably zat shtupid girls fault." Suddenly the group froze as the sound of footsteps drew closer to them. Immediately, Richtofen grabbed his Luger and aimed it the nearing footsteps. A man dressed in a brown suit appeared along with a young blond girl in a t shirt and jeans along with dark skinned man, also wearing a t shirt and jeans. The Doctor took a tentative step forwards towards the group, he noticed the Nazi aiming his pistol at him.
"Put away your weapon, we mean you no harm." Richtofen dejectedly holstered his gun. The Doctor turned to the rest of the group. "So what's a German, a Russian, a Jap and an American doing on this ship? Or was there a fancy dress party, that I wasn't invited to?"
"What's a hot chick doing on this ship? Oorah!" Dempsey yelled as he studied Rose, who wisely took a step backwards.
"You Americans have no honor." Takeo muttered. Ignoring the bickering, Richtofen turned to the man in the brown suit.
"I am Doctor Edward Richtofen, zis is Takeo Masaki, Nikolai Belinski and ze stupid Tank Dempsey." Dempsey rolled his eyes at the insult.
"I am the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler and Mickey Smith."
"Are you guys other survivors?" Tank asked the Doctor.
"Survivors? Oh, no. We've just got here. What happened to the ship?" The Doctor responded.
"Ve don't know. Ve have just arrived too." Richtofen replied.
"Then what do you mean by survivors?" Rose asked the group, who shared puzzled expressions.
"Uh, zombie apocalypse survivors." Tank stated sarcastically as if the answer was obvious. Now it was the Doctor's and Rose's turn to share puzzled expressions.
"Zombies, no way?" Mickey turned to the Doctor. There was a moment of silence as the group listened out to the growls and moans of the undead. They heard nothing.
"You mean there are no zombies? Hey, Dicktofen, you finally did it!" Tank threw his arms up in the air and Nikolai quickly joined the celebration party.
The Doctor approached Richtofen.
"Where are you from?" The Doctor asked the Nazi.
"Breslau, Germany." Richtofen's response seemed to puzzle the Doctor.
"But Breslau isn't part of Germany, well it was until 1945."
"Vhat are you implying?"
"I'm imply that you're a real Nazi, that's what I'm implying… and your friends, a real U.S. Marine, a real Japanese Imperial and a real Soviet." The Doctor smiled.
"Ja?" Richtofen scowled.
"How come you haven't all killed each other, I thought you Nazis hated the Soviets." Richtofen looked at Nikolai, who was now trying to hug Takeo in a drunken stupor.
"Ve need one another for fighting ze zombies." The German gave a simple reply.
"Zombies? There has to be a logical explanation, right Doctor." Rose replied
"Oh zere is, I can turn Dempshey into one if you like."
"Not on your life, Kraut!" Tank shouted as he appeared to have overheard the conversation.
"You said you just got here?" Richtofen questioned the Doctor.
"Yes, we kinda time travelled here, it's difficult to explain…How did a bunch of soldiers from World War Two get 3000 years into the future?" The Doctor seemed curious.
"Oh ve teleported." Richtofen smiled.
"Show me." The timelord now seemed somewhat worried.
Richtofen lead the group to the large metal cylindrical teleporter. For a few moments the Doctor studied the teleporter.
"Where did you get this?" The Doctor asked the zombie slayers. Everyone looked at Richtofen.
"I-I built it." Richtofen blushed.
"Alright pay up." Tank said to Nikolai who was handing the American a bottle of his vodka. The Nazi gave a stern glare to Dempsey.
"What? We had a little bet. I knew you had built that thing or something." Dempsey smiled.
"I hate you Dempshey."
"Love you too, Kraut." Ignoring the fuss going on behind him the Doctor once again began to question Richtofen.
"This teleporter, where did you get the plans or who gave them to you?"
"I drew them up myself." Richtofen clenched his gloved hands
"Hmmm." Was the Doctor's only response. "Well, I suppose we should search the ship for others." The Doctor muttered, mainly to himself as he approached metallic doors. The Timelord withdrew his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and the doors flew open.
"Well, now." The Doctor took a step into the room and instantly walked over to the fireplace that centered it. "There's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century. French. Nice mantle. Not a hologram." The others followed into the room as the Doctor scanned the fireplace with this screwdriver.
"What is that?" Nikolai pointed to the glowing blue stick in his hand.
"What this? It's just my sonic screwdriver." The doctor waved aside the question.
"Vhat does it do?" Now the Kraut was interested.
"It scans things." It was Rose who answered the question. It was clear that neither the Doctor nor Rose trusted the German.
"It's not even a reproduction." The Doctor continued. "This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided. There's another room through there."
Dempsey looked out of the porthole behind him.
"How? It's just the outer hull of the ship out there-"
"Hello?" The Doctor interrupted kneeling down before the fireplace.
"Hello?" A young female voice answered. Everyone stared at the young girl in the fireplace.
"What's your name?" The Doctor causally continued.
"Reinette." The young girl answered. The appearance of the young girl had make Richtofen rather obviously agitated. Takeo watched in amusement as the doctor shifted his weight from his left leg to his right continuously.
"Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?" The Doctor smiled.
"In my bedroom." The girl grinned inquisitively and the German turned his head away from the fireplace, deliberately studying the metal panelled wall.
"And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"
"Paris, of course." Confusion caused the young girl's brow to furrow.
"Paris, right." The Doctor repeated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" A hint of fear creeped into Reinette's voice.
"Oh, it's just a routine fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?"
"Of course I can. Seventeen hundred and twenty seven." Dempsey had now become aware of Richtofen's odd behaviour.
"Yo, what's up with the Doc?" He whispered to Takeo. Takeo merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Right, lovely. One of my favourites. August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night." The Doctor spoke hastily, thoughts running rampant in his mind.
"Goodnight, Monsieur." The girl smiled before disappearing. The Doctor stood up and turned to the gang behind him. He immediately became aware that something was wrong.
"What's up with him?" The Doctor pointed to the German who was staring off into space.
"Dunno, but the Kraut's a psycho." Dempsey replied callously. Edward turned to the Doctor, who had now realised that he was the topic of conversation.
"She looks like Samantha." The four simple words were all it took for the zombie hunters to understand, but the others looked on in confusion.
"Who's Samantha?" Mickey questioned.
"The girl who started the zombie apocalypse, Richtofen knows more about it that anyone." Dempsey replied. A moment of silence followed as it became apparent that Richtofen wasn't going to continue the conversation.
"So I thought you said this was the 51st Century?" Mickey broke the silence.
"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink."
"What's that?" Mickey asked the question that everyone was about to ask.
"No idea. Just made it up. Didn't want to say magic door." The Doctor smiled.
"And on the other side of the magic door is France in 1727?" Rose began to shift away from the fireplace.
"Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too." Everyone looked confused.
"Nah, Doctor she was speaking English we all heard her." Dempsey interjected.
"That was the Tardis, our time travel machine, it translates for you."
A devilish grin appeared on Richtofen's lips.
"So if I vas to speak in German, you would hear it in English?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Dempshey is an ugly, pig-headed, stupid hunk of meat, vhom I would gladly cut open and make his insides his outsides."
SMACK! Richtofen grabbed his cheek where Dempsey had slapped him.
"Vell, I guess it does work zhen." Takeo rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"If you two are done," the Doctor began, "we can get back to the matter at hand." The Doctor traced his hand along the inside of the fireplace, searching. "Edward-" The German took a step forward and the fireplace rotated, taking the Doctor and Richtofen with it.
"Doctor!" Rose shouted.
"You mean Doctors." Nikolai smiled drunkenly, only to receive a look of disdain. "What I was just saying, you know because their both...forget it." Nikolai trailed off and returned to his vodka.
"Vhy did you-"
"Shhh." Richtofen was cut off by the Doctor as pointed out that Reinette was sleeping. The Doctor slowly began to pace around the room, Edward following, unsure of his surroundings. They approached a window and eighteenth century France stared back. Suddenly, the girl gasped, bringing their attention from the window to the bed.
"It's okay. Don't scream. It's me. It's the fireplace man. Look. We were talking just a moment ago. I was in your fireplace." The girl looked puzzled. "Oh and he's a friend of mine." The Doctor elbowed Richtofen.
"Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months." The Doctor lit a candle with his sonic screwdriver.
"Really? Oh. Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in." The Doctor returned to the fireplace and began running his hands down the sides, checking for something.
"Who are you two? And what are you doing here?" The question went unanswered as a look of horror covered the Doctor's face.
"Ok, that's scary." The Doctor was staring at the broken clock on the mantel.
"You're scared of a broken clock?" Defiance was laced in the girl's tone.
"Just a bit scared, yeah. Just a little tiny bit. Because, you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room, then what's that?" Edward immediately caught on, his hand hovered over his holster.
"Because, you see, that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man." The Doctor was slowly and cautiously making his way to Reinette.
"What is it?" Both Reinette and Edward had frozen, watching the Doctor in anticipation.
"Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone. Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge." The Doctor knelt down under the bed, his sonic screwdriver in his hand. The pale blue light only flashed for a second before something pushed the Doctor backwards.
"Vhat is zat?" Richtofen slowly began to walk towards the creature before him. The Doctor stood up.
"Reinette, don't look around." The Doctor's voice was barely was whisper. "You, stay exactly where you are. Hold still, let me look." The Doctor grabbed hold of Reinette's head and looked deeply into her eyes.
"You've been scanning her brain. What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?" The droid remained motionless.
"I don't understand." Reinette turned to face the droid. No fear in her eyes. "It wants me. You want me?"
"Not yet. You are incomplete."
"Incomplete? What's that mean, incomplete? You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?" It was apparent that the droid did not like to be chided as a blade shot from its arm, aimed at the Doctor's neck. In retaliation the Doctor held out his sonic screwdriver.
"Oh it looks zo sharp." Richtofen gawped and began to walk closer to the droid.
"Monsieurs, be careful." The warning was mainly aimed at Richtofen who continued to smile lovingly at the droid.
"Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares." The Doctor jumped backwards as the droid swung his blade, missing and striking the counter of the fireplace. The droid shifted, but realised that it was stuck. Noticing this, Richtofen threw his arms around the droid and hugged it.
"I vill call you stabby." Richtofen whispered to the droid, as he nuzzled his head against the droids arm, who continued to remove itself from the fireplace.
"Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?" The Doctor smiled at the now incapacitated droid.
"What do monsters have nightmares about?"
"Me!" The Doctor yelled to Reinette at the Doctor reached for the lever in the fireplace, causing it to once more rotate.
Rose, Mickey, Takeo and Dempsey watched in bewilderment as Richtofen and the Doctor re emerged from the fireplace. The Doctor dragged Richtofen away from the droid. The Timelord instinctively grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the struggling droid in cold ice, freezing it. Once content that the droid wasn't going anywhere, the Doctor threw the extinguisher at Rose, who promptly caught it and aimed it at the droid.
"People call me a monster, but I've never had a nightmare about you." The Doctor stared at Richtofen in sheer confusion and disgust, unsure how to proceed.
"Is that an ice gun?" Mickey once again broke the silence that Richtofen had created.
"Fire extinguisher."
"What the heck is that? And where did it come from?" Dempsey began.
"Here." Was the Doctor's blunt reply.
"Why does it look like second wife?" Now everyone stared at Nikolai in disgust and confusion. A "no honor" could be heard, muttered under Takeo's breath.
"Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face." The Doctor pulled the mask and wig from the droid to reveal an intricate clockwork frame. The Doctor gasped.
"Oh, you are beautiful! No, really, you are. You're gorgeous! Look at that. Space age clockwork, I love it. I've got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you. But that won't stop me." The droid shifted, mimicking fear at its impending doom before simply disappearing.
"Nein, stabby." Richtofen whined as he watched his beloved vanish.
"Where'd it go?" Tank asked the Doctor, ignoring the Kraut's remark.
"Short range teleport. Can't have got far. Could still be on board." The Doctor muttered to himself.
"Nikolai not drunk enough for this."
"None of you go looking for it." The Doctor warned the group.
"Where are you going?" Rose asked.
"Dempsey come with me, we'll be back in a sec." The American followed the Doctor who both promptly disappeared behind the fireplace. Mickey turned to look at Rose who had a smirk on her face.
"He said not to go looking for it."
"Yeah he did." Rose slung the fire extinguisher over her shoulder, Mickey grabbed another.
"Now you get it." Rose laughed. She turned to Takeo and Richtofen. "Let's go."
"What a fancy-arse place," was Dempsey's reaction as he entered the other side of the fireplace. The room was very different to when the Doctor had passed through a moment ago. The room seemed more lavish, with nearly everything being gilded gold.
"Reinette?" The Doctor called out. There was no answer. "Reinette? Just checking you're ok?" The Doctor wandered studying the room, playing with the harp in the corner. In contrast, Dempsey froze awkwardly, he had never been anywhere so elegant and felt completely out of place. Tank watched as girl dressed in white slowly entered the room, he gave a lopsided grin. The Doctor was oblivious to her presence.
"Doc?" Dempsey broke the Doctor's thoughts as he suddenly noticed Reinette.
"Oh, erm, hello. I was looking for Reinette. This is still her room, isn't it? I've been away, not sure how long." The Doctor began to stumble over his words.
"Reinette, we're ready to go!" The shout came out of nowhere.
"Go to the carriage, Mother. I will join you there." Reinette shouted back. She approached the Doctor.
"It is customary, I think, to have an imaginary friend only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence. Except I do not recognise you." Reinette turned to Tank.
"I'm Tank Dempsey. United States Marines. Ma'am." Tank gave an uncomfortable bow. Reinette smiled.
"And the other man?"
"Richtofen's off, doing… doing whatever Richtofen does." The Doctor replied. "But, my you have changed."
"And you do not appear to have aged a single day. That is tremendously impolite of you." Reinette's words were playful, but had a layer of spite well hidden within them.
"Right, yes, sorry. Listen, lovely to catch up, but better be off, eh? Don't want your mother finding you up here with strange men, do we?"
"Stranger? Neither you nor your companions are strangers to me. I have known you since I was seven years old."
"Yes well." Reinette began to slowly approach the Doctor. "I suppose I came the quick route." Reinette glanced between Tank and the Doctor.
"You both seem to be flesh and blood at any rate, but this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real."
"Oh you never want to listen to reason." The Doctor smiled.
"Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient." Another shout came from the corridor.
"A moment!" Reinette shouted in reply. "So many questions. So little time." Reinette turns to the Doctor and gently kisses him.
"Mademoiselle Poisson!" The shouts are growing louder. Reinette quickly kisses Tank before running from the room.
"Poisson? Reinette Poisson? No! No, no, no, no, no way. Reinette Poisson? Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France? Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan, fantastic gardener!" The Doctor seemed giddy, but Tank was just confused.
"Why are you Doctors all messed up?" The Doctor was skipping back towards the fireplace.
"You just kissed Madame de Pompadour!"
The fireplace once more rotated, bringing Tank and the Doctor back to the ship.
"Rose! Mickey!" Nothing. The Doctor frowned.
"Yo Niki! Doc! Takeo!" Tank shouted, but there was still not reply.
"This happens every time." The Doctor began to walk quickly, desperately searching for the group.
" I always tell them don't wander off, there could be anything on this ship."
"Yeah, including a horse." The Doctor turned around to see the American gently patting a fully tacked white horse.
Mickey was running down the corridor, crouching and checking every corner was clear before moving.
"Vhat are you doing?" The voice was right in Mickey's ear and caused him to jump.
"Woah." Mickey took a few steps backwards distancing himself from the German.
"Herr Doctor, look at this." Takeo pointed at what appeared to be a CCTV camera, but as the group drew closer they were not so sure.
"It's looking at me." Mickey shrieked. "Is that an eye in there? That's a real eye." Next to him Rose began to open a small hatch on the metal walls of the ship. Rose gasped and covered her mouth.
"What's that?" Mickey asked, but he already knew the answer.
"It's a heart, Mickey. It's a human heart." Rose had visibly paled and turned away from the hatch. Richtofen took Rose's place and slowly put his hand in the vent. He caressed the heart with his thumb.
"Female, I zhink. Not particularly fresh, around two veeks old." Richtofen licked his lips and Takeo knew it was time to pull the German away from the hatch.
"Rose!" The Doctor shouted as he traipsed the corridors. Both Tank and the Doctor were desperately trying to regroup.
"Hey, Rectal-fan where are you?" Tank stopped walking. "Doc, the horse is following us." The Doctor approached the horse.
"Stop following us." The Doctor chided. "I'm not your mother and neither is he." The horse nipped Tank's arm.
"Hey I think he likes me." The Doctor ignored Tank and proceeded to open a pair of white doors.
"Maybe this is where you came from, hey horsey?"
The Doctor was temporarily blinded as he passed through the doors. He blinked rapidly, forcing his eyes to adjust to the harsh sunlight.
"A garden? What the fuck is a garden doing on a spaceship?" Dempsey was in no way pleased. Tank felt a tug on his arm and promptly fell to his knees, hiding behind a hedge.
"Oh Catherine, you are too wicked." It was Reinette.
"Oh, speaking of wicked, I hear Madame de Chateauroux is ill and close to death."
"Yes, I am devastated." Reinette replied to her friend.
"Oh, indeed. I myself am frequently inconsolable." The sarcasm was evident in her voice. "The King will therefore be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?"
"He is the King, and I love him with all my heart. And I look forward to meeting him."
"Hey hey, I know where this is going." Dempsey smiled, but Dempsey appeared to have spoken to loudly as Reinette turned around to stare at the hedge momentarily before returning to her friend.
"Is something wrong, my dear?"
"Not wrong, no." There was a whisper of a smile on Reinette's face.
"Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions."
"Every woman in Paris shares them." Reinette retorted.
"You know of course that the King is to attend the Yew Tree ball?" Reinette smiled.
"As am I."
"Maybe it wasn't a human heart?" Mickey asked, trying to reassure himself as the group wandered deeper into the ship.
"Nein, I told you zat heart was human, female and had been removed two veeks ago."
"And you would know?" Suddenly Mickey regretted his childish statement when he saw the evil grin on Richtofen's lips.
"Ja, I vould know. It vas more zhan just a job. It vas ein hobby." Mickey didn't fully understand what Richtofen was saying, but he had an idea.
"So this is normal for you lot? On an average day?" Mickey's nerves were getting to him and someone saw the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this."
"Nein, a normal day for us consists of disemboweling undead hordes as zhey try to rip you apart, limb by limb." Mickey shivered and took a step back. Richtofen giggled.
"You exaggerate, Doctor."
"Maybe just a little." Edward smirked.
"It's France again. We can see France." Mickey stopped and looked out of a window.
"I hate France." Richtofen muttered.
"I think we're looking through a mirror."
"Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?" Mickey stared at the well dressed man and he absentmindedly wandered through the chambers.
"The King of France." The four turned around to see the Doctor and Dempsey walking towards them.
"Oh look Dempshey hasn't died a horrible painful death. Pity."
"Shut it Kraut."
Rose ignored the zombie hunters for what felt like the millionth time that day.
"So what've you been up to?"
"Oh, this and that. Became the imaginary friend of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man-"
"Found a horse." Behind Dempsey, a white pony appeared and began to nip at the American's shoulder.
"What is horse doing on spaceship?" Nikolai scratched his head, confused.
"What's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective. See these?" The Doctor pointed to the mirror and gestured to the horse. "They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history."
Everyone turned to look through the mirror as a familiar figure approached the king.
"Hers. Time windows deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"
"Who is she?" Rose asked.
"She look like fifth wife, but probably smell better." Takeo glared at the drunk Russian, who looked like he was about to attack the Russian in the name of honour.
"She's Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived." The Doctor retorted.
"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?"
"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress."
"Oh, I get what's going on." Dempsey smirked. "Oorah."
"Are you all like this?" Mickey gave a questioning look.
"Richtofen's a little different, aren't you Richtofen." Dempsey gave a patronizing smile.
"Fuck off Dempshey."
"Backing up a few steps," The Doctor tried to return their attention back to the mirror. "I believe this is the night they will met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at all, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour."
"The Queen must have loved her." Rose muttered sarcastically.
"Oh, she did. They got on very well." The Doctor smiled, almost lovingly as he watched Reinette through the mirror.
"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey gave a look of confusion.
"That's France. It's a different planet."
"I still hate France." Richtofen murmured.
Reinette stood alone. She fidgeted as she tried to compose herself before meeting the King. It was only when she began to pace around the room, did she realised that she was not as alone as she thought she was.
"How long have you been standing there? Show yourself!" Reinette demanded, somewhat embarrassed that she had shown nervousness to a stranger.
The figure emerged, revealing a garishly white mask, with a blood red grin and hollow black eyes. The clockwork man of her childhood nightmares.
"Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?" The Doctor appeared from behind the fireplace, he was carrying a large cylindrical tube and began to spray the contents over the droid, seemingly freezing it. Beside him stood Takeo.
"Fireplace man!" Reinette smiled and ran towards the Doctor, who threw the fire extinguisher to Takeo. Takeo studied the droid in deep interest as it began to make jarring movements.
"What is it doing?" Takeo asked the Doctor.
"Switching back on. Melting the ice." The Doctor replied nonchalantly.
"What to do next?" Takeo was ready to reach his katana the moment the droid posed any danger.
"Who are you? Identify yourself." The droid gave no reply to the Doctor's demands. "Reinette, I need you to order it to answer me."
"Why should it listen to me?" Reinette pleaded.
"I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it." Reinette reaserted herself and calmly stared into the black abyss of the droid's eyes.
"Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."
"I am repair droid seven." Came an artificial voice. The droid shifted.
"What happened to the ship, then? There was a lot of damage." The artificial voice spoke again. "Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure." A perplexing look crossed the Doctor's face.
"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?"
"We did not have the parts."
"Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts." The Doctor sighed. "What's happened to the crew? Where are they?"
"We did not have the parts."
"There should have been over fifty people on your ship." Anger began to rise in the Doctor's voice. Takeo's hand shifted for his katana. "Where did they go?"
"We did not have the parts." The Doctor was becoming impatient.
"Fifty people don't just disappear. Where.." The Doctor finally understood what the droid meant. "Oh. You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew."
"We found camera with eye in it, and there was heart wired in to machinery." Takeo added.
"It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. But what are you doing here?" The Doctor continued. "You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?" Once again the artificial metallic voice answer back.
"One more part is required."
"Then why haven't you taken it?" The droid turned to Reinette.
"She is incomplete." The Doctor scowled.
"What, so, that's the plan, then. Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's done yet?"
"Why her? You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?" Takeo added.
"We are the same." Was their simple reply.
"We are not the same. We are in no sense the same." Reinette approached the droid, but the droid merely repeated itself.
"Get out of here. Get out of here this instant-"
"Reinette, no." The Doctor yelled as the droid once again teleported away. The Doctor turned to Takeo.
"It's back on the ship. Take Freedom and go after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does."
"Freedom?" Takeo questioned.
"Yeah Tank named it. I wanted to call it Arthur."