So hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this story! This is a sequel and beginning of a bunch of short stories taking place after the prequel: The Nightmare Child. I hope you all like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Warning: Scenes of boyxboy, violence, character death, swearing and some gore later on. Next chapter is where the action begins, this is mainly an introduction to the story, but important to understand what will be happening.
In the furthest and most forgotten part of the galaxy there was a forgotten world except for those who knew of it's whereabouts. A hidden diamond of a place locked away among the stars and distance off-grid developing worlds. Still it was quite a shock to many who would come to the crimson meadows of the large planet. It's seasons always rivaled that of a Earth Summer and the world itself seemed to have been quite effected by that when the human culture hit the stars.
All species would come and gather in this dark corner sometimes and go exploring, many would miss it, but there was still the minute few who would only be the ones to find it.
All of them would travel for days, even after finally touching down on the other wise seemingly abandoned world. They would walk across the crimson plains of meadows, they would stare towards the great golden forests and the lakes of deep purple.
But as a man and woman walked together quietly, they were hushed in argument, having stepped out of what looked like a tall blue police box and were caught up in a heated argument. "You cannot expect normal behavior! She's just a bit spirited is all! Her time on Galifrey took it's toll on her! You know what those creatures did!" The woman was saying coldly.
"She's not a she any more." The man sighed, closing the blood door of the police box behind him and rubbing his hand between his brows.
"Since when!" The woman exclaimed.
"Since she changed four hundred years ago! She went off the grid for a long time after her last plan went wrong."
The woman stepped into the light of the sun as she moved away from the golden leaf canvas of the forest trees. Her hair was a wild nest of curls around her head. Her eyes were a strange amalgamation of blue and grey, unable to really tell one from the other as the two tones blended together so well. She was still dressed from her last incursion with her husband which had been but an hour or so before... at least with one of her husbands that was. The same man but from a different time: he had looked so ridiculous with that fez when he had come to save her in the Tardis.
She pulled her coat tighter around herself and her hand itched towards her laser pistol which was holstered in her belt. Her jeans were comfortable and her boots sturdy. Her jumper and coat were stylish, showing off how beautiful she truly was.
Her husband truly didn't miss that either. His eyes sparkled and a smile played along his lips as he looked at her.
He though was still his ever so raggedy old self. A smart shirt buttoned up and held together at the collar with a bow tie. His over jacket caught in the light breeze and rose behind him. His strong chin and wisps of messy hair were swept over his dark ancient eyes. He looked tired, though joy was painted clearly through his face at being with his wife. "River-"
"Don't you River me." She stated, raising an eyebrow. "We finally get our baby back and all of a sudden I hear reports from the shadow proclamation about a bounty being posted on our child's head!"
"The Time Lords are still finding it impossible to trust the child." The Doctor said quietly, turning his eyes down sadly. "When they returned, they begun to try and take back control of the time lines. The first thing they wanted to do was find..." He trailed off quietly not wanting to say it as he saw that River Song had her hand resting on her gun, her eyes livid with anger.
"Find what?" She stated.
"The... Abomination." The Doctor sighed, turning his gaze away from her. "The Nightmare Child."
"They can try, but I'll wipe out their regenerations so fast that they won't be able to see me coming!" She snapped, storming ahead till they saw not far away by the deep violet lake a humble building stood by itself, out of place among the otherwise paradise world.
"This was the last place I got a scan of before the Tarids started to freak out... you know what we have to do."
"If it will help our child." River Song stated with a steely voice, not looking over but now forging a path directly for the cobblestone cottage. "Then I'll even play by your rules for a while." She smirked. "But for each scratch on my baby, one time lord will find themselves glowing like a star."
The Doctor gulped and pulled at the collar of his shirt, though he couldn't lie, he loved it when his wife got so protective of their child.
"It has to be done." He said eventually. "It's time the child learnt... otherwise they may turn out just like their god parent and I won't lose another person to that." He said quietly with a distant gaze which was both fond and sad. "Not another one."
-Break-
Both of who drew a sharp breath as they walked into the room and stared around at the vastly expensive and highly exquisite taste of both furniture, wall decoration and finesse of the overall atmosphere. They were amazed to look around and see the expensive vintage furniture. Red velvet couches lined the lobby where a desk stood with various mail plots for any of those who took up long term residency in the place. Leading off to the right was a flight of stairs to the various rooms and a corridor which led to the dinning rooms and kitchens.
A humanoid figure stood behind the desk and fixed both with a curious look. It was a young boy with short cropped hair, behind him a large pair of black feather wings fluttered slightly as he tilted his angelic looking face and placed his porcelain like hands on the desk which was full of various letters and pieces. His hair was as dark as his feathers and the boy himself was dressed in a black tunic. He had the looks of an ordinary human child, or body at least. Even though his skin was slightly paler than what was normal on Earth and his eyes instead of Iris and pupil, they were completely golden, like a sheet of colored glass.
"Welcome travelers." A soft whisper of beauty echoed around River's and The Doctor's heads.
River rose an eyebrow but The Doctor only beamed. "Ah! A Siren guardian! It's been ages since I've ever got to see one up close!" He beamed. "Humanoid species with great ties to beauty! They have to use a telepathic message because their own vocal chords, can make no words!" He smiled over at River with the usual excitement he got whenever he had come across a species he found fascinating. "They can only sing with their vocal chords! But even then, they can't say words! They can only make songs, like humming or whistling! They use it to lure in other people from other species!" He shook his head smiling.
The boy was looking at him with a deadpan glare, making River chuckle. "I don't think he appreciates being studdied." She whispered gently and The Doctor turned looking slightly bewildered.
"No! Of course not!" He clapped his hands together, smiling, trying to make the boy seem a bit more at ease, but the boy was on guard now. His wings kept flapping out wildly every now and then. "Anyway, yes! Down to business! Love business! Nothing ever like-"
"Would you please get to the point." The boy's whisper like voice, bluntly cut through The Doctor, making River laugh under her breath.
"I forgot. Since they spend most or time using telepathy, they're quite blunt when it comes to having conversations." The Doctor muttered slightly before pushing for one last smile, his mind already guarding itself naturally as he could almost feel a slight chill down his spine, a warning to himself whenever creatures tried to bond with his mind.
"You... I can't read you." The boy's aura voice echoed and he shrugged. "There is no more point to this conversation." He turned and got back on with sorting the mail out again, his wings pulling in against his back.
The Doctor's mouth was agape while River Song was trying hard not to laugh too much.
She gave a sly smile and the boy turned instantly towards her, tilting his head slightly. "That way." He pointed out suddenly before busying himself once more with his work.
"How did you-"
"You talk to much sometimes sweetie. The boy appreciates answers and questions quickly." She leaned up slowly to whisper in his ear. "You're not the only one who has experience with aliens Sweetie." She kissed his cheek before walking off in the direction River Song set of in.
The boy however reached under the table slowly, waiting till the two had gone before pulling out a small silver square he had been given.
His thumb pushed down on it instantly and it began to glow with warning.
An alarm, alerting his master to the presence of what was expected.
-Break-
Both hadn't exactly been sure what to expect when they had come towards the room, but when they entered, they had to pause in appreciation for what they were greeted by.
Soft music played in the background while the two over took the scene of hanging candles against the wall which flickered with a warm glow, the ivory of a piano which was abandoned against the corner of the room. The carpet beneath their feet was a constant and never ending paradox of swirling crimson and black. Paintings lined the expensive wooden walls where ever there weren't artistic full length mirrors. But centered through it was most importantly... well to most of them in there at the moment at least, was the bar.
A sleek black marble supported up by mahogany boards, the surface of the marble casting a faint luminous blue light against the ceiling, not harshly but enough to create a relaxed mood among the others who threw themselves down into the various chairs around the room, taking bottles or glasses and sipping them generously as the alcohol eased the memories of their mission or their travels.
There was only one person who wasn't drinking, sat in the shadows of the corner away from the candle light and the holograph scenes which released pictures of latest planetary news, showing some areas of space where molten rocks blazed in an obliterated field of destruction.
Both husband and wife exchanged a look as they watched the shadow hidden figure slip a small glowing device from their hand into the pocket of the large cloak that they were wearing. "Family reunion time." River whispered, walking forward and confidently taking a seat at the table, locking her eyes onto the black velvet cloaked figure who was lent back in their seat, arms crossed over their slender body and their face hidden. No ounce of skin showed through on the figure's body. Their hands were clad with bandages which were expertly wrapped around their fingers individually and up to the figure's shoulder.
Their torso was wrapped in a tight vest which almost looked like armour. The material, like the tight jeans which were skinny fit around the figure's leg, resembled the texture of leather, but moving down the shoulders and along the waist, embedded were flows of energy which glowed venom green. An internal network of channels moving through the material to what? Distribute medicine? To work technology hidden away in the fabric? Both husband and wife weren't sure, but they were surprised when they saw the figure was wearing heavy and long length boots on their skinny and rather bony legs.
The boots were heavy and metal strapped, reaching the figures knee, with two laser pistol handles just barely visible out the top.
"They take after their mother." River grinned and watched the figure let out a wisp of breath which billowed out either side of their face like steam. "Sweet heart, let me see your face-"
"Well look at that. Is it family dinner night already?" A cold mechanic voice chuckled.
Both finally saw it as the two glowing lens lit up and focused on them.
The last piece of the figure's outfit was their mask. A onyx black metal which was fitted specifically to the face. The area around the glowing emerald lenses was painted red, meant to look like the dark splatter almost of blood, though the red seemed to have faded and now was replaced with a scratched metal silver. The mouth was a barred line of teeth with a harsh canine resemblance. As the figure which was their son breathed out a dark smoke flowed from between the sides of the mask.
River and The Doctor exchanged a side glance from the corner of their eyes to each other. "I'm here." She said gently, offering her hand out slightly but watched only as the boy recoiled his hand back, like he had been branded by flames. This was their son regenerated?
"Yes. Yes you are now it seems." The cold mechanic voice grated out harshly, the lenses flashed a brighter and more harsh green momentarily. The boy's fists curled tightly and the steam hissed a bit more harshly from the mask's fanged mouth.
River stared into those lenses for a long lasting moment, almost as though she could actually see the pair of eyes behind them. The eyes of the child that she hadn't seen since the baby had been taken and ripped out of her arms. She tried to remember what that child had looked like, anything which may have linked her towards knowing the child who was now sat in front of her. "How old are you now?" She asked gently.
"Now, now mother. That's a bit personal isn't it?" A cold laughter soon followed after the boy had purred the words in that hidden tone. Those lens like eyes regarded both of them carefully. "I'm four hundred and fifteen now."
"You destroyed a cluster of planets." The Doctor said, frowning deeply as he tried to keep his voice calm.
"I was trying to dodge a Dalek battle fleet."
"You cause an solar flare explosion from the sun next to earth!"
"Gave them some cool weather for a couple of weeks." The boy muttered. A thick smirk could be heard behind his words.
"You started destroyed Arcan five!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"They wrote bad poetry about me." The boy huffed. "Those bastards had it coming."
The boy paused for a moment, slowly leaning forward so the full dark metal of the mask came into sight, making both parents nearly flinch away. "But then again, after what happened with my last regeneration, I had a reputation to fix. The humans, that earth, the people belonging to all those waste and pointless worlds! They should know my name! I am the most effective killing machine out there-"
"You sound like a Dalek." The Doctor stated.
Suddenly the boy froze and River quickly pulled out her pistol pointing it under the table as her son already had one aimed between the Doctor's brows. His finger resting against the cold black trigger as the barrel of the gun was ready to burst in a second. "Put it down honey." River said gently, her voice almost like she was talking to a cornered animal.
"Now this is turning out to be a better Family dinner night than I had intended!" A cold insane laughter burst out in a cackle from the mask.
"Now Honey." River growled, slightly harsher, and watched the focus and brightness of the lenses scroll over to her.
Many of the others who had paused around the bar went back to their hushed and quiet whispering with each other as The Nightmare lowered his weapon and holstered it back in his boot. "How about we all calm down for a moment now." River said, making it sound more a statement than the idea of it being a request. Her eyes were wary and careful.
"Where did you find all that?" The Doctor asked quietly.
"I managed to salvage the clothes and the mask from my Tarids, before you stole it away from me." That low and soft whisper was tainted by the coldness of the voice box changer. "The rest I crafted myself." Once again the smirk was easily clear on his voice.
"I gave you that Tardis because I thought that you had changed." The Doctor whispered. "I thought that going out there, looking among the stars, I thought that seeing all the beauty the universe had to offer you... I thought that may be enough to actually save you! You even had a companion! You had everything you could have ever wanted to be happy! We even found a home for you here! So far off the grid nobody would have ever found you." Now he was gritting his teeth slightly as he glared at his son. "But you didn't see the beauty. You just were lost in your own petulance. You was too lost in anger to truly see anything else!"
"A hundred billion worlds out there. Thousands and billions of people who never got to suffer the same fate I did." The boy finally snapped.
River Song had fallen quiet now. Her eyes disbelieving what was in front of her but her mind harshly reminding her of her situation.
The Doctor shook his head slowly as finally he stood, towering over the boy. "I'm sorry Son... but I don't think you're even that any more. I only see the child molded by the Daleks."
River's hand crept to her gun and her other to her belt as she watched the boy's cloak come further over his head, his breathing falling silent and the lenses dimming slightly.
"It has to be done. You have to learn your lesson." The Doctor stated. "I just can't believe how far it has to go for the lesson to be learnt."
"Oh?" The Nightmare's voice was back to it's harsh and hidden smirk as the boy lent forward, resting his masked face into both of his bandage wrapped hands, his fingers lacing together to support his hidden face. "And how exactly do you intent to do that?"
CLICK
"Your reflexes are off." River said gently as sh looked now as the cuffs which deadlocked around her son's wrists. "They're deadlocked. Made from Dalekanium." She looked distastefully at them, horrified internally that she would have to see her own son in them, bound tightly within their grasp. "They will only be opened with the matching key, who has been given to someone else."
"EXPLAIN!" The Nightmare snarled, his youthful teenage voice for the first time breaking just slightly above the sound of the mask's voice box. The lenses of the screen glowed brightly and dangerously.
He even sounds like one of them. The Doctor thought mournfully. "After you attacked the Shadow Proclomation-"
"THOSE POMPOUS FOOLS!?" The boy bellowed. "Cut this out and let me go before I-"
He fell silent as River Song leveled her gun at him and charged it, ready to fire. "This is serious." She growled.
"You have to listen now because I will have no memory of this, once you are gone!" The Doctor stated, leaning forward and placing both his hands on either side of the mask, wincing painfully as an small electric current fought through his body at the touch, but his resolve screamed for him to hold on just a bit longer as he looked imploringly to those lenses which covered the eyes of his son. "They have re opened the Death Zone on Gallifrey."
Silence filled between the three of them.
Then suddenly their Son headbutted his father, throwing out a scream and bellow of insults as he fought against the cuffs with all of his might. "LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT NOW! THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME! PLEASE!" The masked turned towards River Song and she had to stop herself for a moment. "MOTHER! MOTHER!" The boy screamed, his mechanical voice full of blood pounding fear. "LET ME GO! LET ME RUN NOW!"
"It's no use son." The Doctor whispered. "They're already powered up the Time Scoop. You have to play out the games of Rasilon. You and your partner must get across the terrain together and destroy the others, you must survive the challenges of the game. If one of you dies, then the other will be executed automatically."
"THIS IS INSANITY!" The boy screamed.
"You have to pay for your crimes, both to the universe and to the Time Lords." The Doctor said, having to turn his gaze away as it became stone like and hard. "Your partner is a human-"
"YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE!" The Nightmare screamed, trying to grab for a weapon, anything he could use to strike his father down, but every time he did, the cuffs around his wrist just dug in deeper, or sent a vicious electric charge through the boy's skin.
"I have known the boy since he was a eleven. His name is Tim. He knows me, and you must allow him to learn about you. You have to learn and pay for your crimes son."
"AND IF I DIE?! WHAT THEN!? WHAT IF I DIE AND YOUR LITTLE PET IS KILLED!"
"Upon the moment of your death he will be released from the Time Scoop and placed back into his own time and place. His safety keeps you alive." The Doctor stated as around the room he could already feel the build up of charge, escalating around them. The signal from the cuffs were screaming out. "Survive The Death Zone. Come back as our son-"
"I'M NOT YOUR SON!" The boy spat the words viciously. Turning to gaze back at River Song. "AND YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER!" He bellowed.
His body was already outline with light as a pyramid shape of energy began to form around him, like a net about to capture him. "If I come out of this alive Doctor." The way he said his father's name was disgusted and loathing. The blood lust evident already without the words having to be spoken. "I'll kill you! I'll wash the ground will your blood!" The boy's outcries became a hysterical scream of murderous rage. "I SWEAR DOCTOR! I WILL KILL YOU-"
The boy's words died out in a scream as finally the net was cast and his body was frozen in an image of time, the frozen moment captures in the pyramid like shape spun and vanished through the air.
Leaving both Mother and Father to mourn quietly as the memories were being wiped from their minds and the events of that evening cleared from all who had witnessed it.
They may have just sent their own son to his death and they would never truly know.