Chapter 8
The Doctor smiled and laughed and made sure to ramble on a lot during the breakfast, and he made sure it was convincing. None of his friends noticed anything different about him yet, and they wouldn't until the time was right. He was glad when the meal was finally over; he'd had enough of Eya's people…The same ones that stole her from him. He glowered at the crowd leaving the massive room, leaving just Eya, himself, and the Torchwood members in the huge dining hall.
"That was amazing," Jack said, leaning back in his chair with his arms over his head, groaning as his full stomach stretched.
Martha giggled at his act, twining her hand with Mickey's again.
The Doctor gave her a huge grin, and turned towards the immortal man sitting next to him, his shirt rising slightly with his stretching motion, revealing the bottom of his stomach. The Doctor poked his belly, and laughed. "I don't think you could have fit any more food in your stomach! You ate over half the table! I'm surprised you don't explode!"
Jack let out a mock cry, rubbing the sore spot, before grinning at the group. "At least if I had, then my body would have regrown itself and I would have room for more!"
The Doctor shook his head with a small smile.
"Regrow? Humans can regrow their bodies?" Eya asked curiously.
"I wish," Martha laughed.
"I'm special," Jack flashed his signature smile at her. "I'm the only one of me out there, and I can't die."
Eya's eyes flashed with recognition, and she let out a little, "oh!" She laughed then, shaking her head. "Of course! I don't know how I could have forgotten! The Bad Wolf! You're that Jack! I guess I should probably just assume that all the Jacks in the Doctor's stories are you!"
"Why? Does he talk about me a lot?" Jack said in a joking tone, but the Doctor made sure to make it seem as if he was blushing, a red cloud forming in his cheeks. He made it hold for a moment before letting it fade away, as if he hadn't wanted anyone to see, but he knew Jack had. Jack flashed him a cheeky grin, his happiness clearly splayed across his features.
The Doctor inwardly sighed, frustrated with all of this playing. He had to stop himself from allowing the malice to spread across his features. He focused instead on what he was going to do once the warden was dead and the prison destroyed, closing his eyes. The torture room came into his mind, and he rejoiced in the screams of fear and pain that he would hear in the future. His eyes immediately popped open when he remembered…his special room had an occupant…He had been away so long he had forgotten. A smile flashed across his features before he could stop it, dark and cold, the way it should be. The dark brown eyes flashed across the occupants of the table, and he found none of his friends were looking at him, none had seen the darkness, and he felt relieved that he had gotten away with it, until he locked eyes with Ianto. He saw the anger and accusation in the young man's eyes, and knew he had seen and was beginning to suspect, so he did something childish. He stuck his tongue out at him, smiling a bit as he felt more looks turn his way, specifically Jack's.
"Scold me for eating everything, and then you do something utterly childish like sticking your tongue out," the immortal man said, shaking his head.
The Doctor gave him a look of completely over exaggerated innocence, before he broke it with a huge grin. "You caught me," he said, filling the tone of his voice with humor.
They were interrupted by a small cough from Eya. "Are you boys going to flirt all day, or are you going to let me play a good host and entertain you guys?"
The Doctor forced himself to blush again, and this time he was mirrored by Jack.
"I have to work on the TARDIS, make a few repairs, but you could play the gracious host to my friends," the Doctor smiled kindly at Eya.
"I'll help you," Jack said, looking at the Doctor with love in his eyes.
The Doctor had to stop himself from gagging. "No, no. It's dusty old work. Besides, she doesn't like it when other people mess with her, and you should have fun with your team. I'll be back later," he said, giving another smile and a small wave.
He left quickly, glad to finally be away from the idiots. The moment he was away from the town, away from prying eyes, he finally let the act drop, his eyes returning to their darkened glare, the fake smile falling away into a much colder one, filled with anticipation for what he was about to do. He reached the TARDIS, and he felt real joy, and he rushed through the halls to that one room that always made his day.
Jack enjoyed the time spent in the village with his team, but he couldn't help but feel worried about the Doctor. He had been acting slightly strange earlier, and he almost seemed repelled at the idea of Jack helping him with the TARDIS. He thought back to their heated kiss from earlier in the morning, and he wondered if he had pushed too far too soon. The Time Lord had just been saved from a prison where he had been tortured physically and mentally…The Doctor didn't need Jack bothering him while he was still recovering.
He felt a presence next to him, and he plastered a smile on his face and turned to see Eya, her eyes filled with kindness.
"He does like you, you know," she said, moving to stand next to him, overlooking the canopy of leaves.
Jack nodded, allowing the fake expression to drop.
She stayed silent a moment, before speaking again. "He's the Doctor. He doesn't quite understand relationships…He's scared he's going to lose you, just like he always loses everyone," she said quietly.
"Did he lose you?" Jack asked her, wanting to find out more about her and why the Doctor trusted her more than anyone.
"I never went with him. He offered of course, he was so excited, so many places he wanted to take me…" she trailed off, her mind in a different place. "I couldn't. I just couldn't. He saved my life, brought me back from the edge of death, and he shared so much with me. I think it was a relief for him, to be able to share with someone; someone who wouldn't reply, because I couldn't at first. He's so great, but he thinks he doesn't need anyone when clearly he does. I was going to go with him, I had made up my mind the moment he saved me, but then…I was injured, really badly, and he didn't take it well at all. When I finally awoke, he looked terrible, Jack. He hadn't slept, and while for him that usually isn't a problem, it was then. He was skinny, skinnier than usually although that hadn't seemed possible. I don't think he left my side once in at least a few weeks," she looked into Jack's eyes then, as if she was trying to push the scarring image into his mind so he could see just how terrible it had been. "I knew if I went with him, and something happened to me again, it would have torn him apart. I don't think he knows, but I gave up travelling with him, I gave up the universe, so he wouldn't have to go through the pain of losing me eventually." She swallowed then, with great difficulty, those brilliant blue eyes beginning to mist over. "But that won't happen with you. You're immortal! Even if you are severely injured, you will get better and he'll still have you. Even if he can't say it to you, he loves you, I know he does. He's worried though; scared if he actually accepts it, then something will happen that will take you from him. He needs you, Jack."
Jack couldn't reply for a moment, his throat constricting, until he finally forced out the words, "I need him too."
A ghost of a smile appeared on Eya's lips, and they stared out over the trees together in silence. A good silence this time.
A few months after Hsiodine and the events that happened there, the Doctor was on the planet Boshund. He had seen the corruptness there, and decided to take complete control. None of the people there were worthy of a position of power.
Instead, he sat on their throne, with the decision to stay for a while and for once enjoy the fruits of his labor in making the universe better. He never stopped, never watched the results, so this time he would. He sat on the golden chair, raised above all, watching the people below, none daring look up at him. They were dirty and disgusting, but he still watched over them, for their own sakes.
It had been a day much like all the others, the peasants going about their work, all with their heads bowed, not a single whispered word. They were all scared of him, much as it should be.
He motioned with his hand for the servant girl to step forward with his drink, and was faced with a man instead, his eyes staring into the floor.
"Where's the girl?" the Doctor demanded.
"She fell sick, I am taking her place for today," the man replied. The Doctor noticed a difference about him; his voice didn't shake when he spoke, he wasn't frightened. It made him reexamine the man, and as he looked into the man's mind, he saw the plan inside; to poison him and save his people, how sweet. He found what kind of poison it was, and smiled inwardly. It wasn't one that was lethal to Time Lords.
"Fine," he growled, taking the drink. He noticed how the man's eyes followed his motions. He grinned behind the cup, downing it in a sip. He felt the poison work its way through his body, trying to take hold but finding no purchase. The man watched him carefully, and the Doctor decided to milk a reaction out of him. He started coughing violently, gripping at his throat, before glaring at the man. "You poisoned me!" He gasped out, as if he was struggling to breathe.
The man smiled, no longer acting subservient. "Of course I did. Now we can finally be free," his eyes met the Doctor's all filled with fury and passion.
The Doctor pretended to die, slowing his hearts and switching to his respiratory bypass system. He was curious now; he wanted to see the rest of this man's plan. He wanted him to inspire hope in the people so that he could wrench it away and show them that in the future, any attempts on his life would be futile. He watched through his eyelashes as the man stepped to the edge of the platform.
"People of Boshund," he called out loudly, "you are free now! I have killed the man that has ruled over us for so long!"
The Doctor heard murmurs from below, and looked carefully at the people below, pointing at him.
"Yes, he is dead! For good! You are freed! We all are!" The man called out the short phrases, making sure to enunciate every word. It came out choppy, as if it was unplanned, as if he hadn't thought he would survive long enough to bring about his plan to entirety. It wasn't as inspiring as he had hoped it would be, but it got the message out. The peasants stopped their work and gathered around the platform, a few cheers rising, and many more murmurs spreading throughout the crowd.
The Doctor waited a few more minutes, until the crowd grew substantially larger, all speaking of his death, before acting.
"It's enlightening to know how my people act at the thought of my death," the Doctor said, rising from the chair. The man spun around with a gasp, and the crowd was full of shocked faces, "all cheers and smiles. No sad faces, no sobs or screams or crying. Well, I'll have to fix that."
From above, he spread his mental awareness and felt those who were the most crestfallen over the fact that he was still alive, and found the top 5. He entered their minds, and sent them all the pain equivalent of being stabbed by 50 red-hot pokers. All of them screamed and fell to the ground, causing panic in the crowd as nobody had seen anything physically happen to them. The Doctor watched in silence as they sobbed and tore at their own flesh, ripping at their skin and tearing holes in their body. He didn't realize how much fun this could be. He entered all the minds of the crowd and inflicted a different form of torture on each, and although it only happened in their mind, it was enough to kill some outright, while others tore at themselves causing the wounds that would lead to their own eventual death.
A smile tore across his cold face, seeming out of place. To another person, this cold, cruel smile didn't seem to fit this face; to anyone who had met the Doctor previously, this man standing over the people crying in agony would have been unrecognizable.
In his own moment of pleasure, the Doctor temporarily forgot about the man on the platform, who a moment ago had been on his knees sobbing, muttering over and over again that it was all his fault. Now, the man stood, and began to throw himself at the Doctor, but was stopped by a hard fist hitting his face. His body slumped back to the ground, all fight gone.
"What is your name?" the Doctor demanded. The man groaned but didn't reply, so the Doctor pressed his foot against the man's back, digging into the soft flesh of his upper shoulder and neck. He repeated the question.
"Aaron," the man groaned out, his tone defeated.
The Doctor smiled again, a new idea forming in his mind. He found it was enjoyable to inflict pain on others. He would keep Aaron just for that purpose. An attempt on his life would not go unpunished.
The Doctor found creative ways to kill the rest of the planet's occupants before returning to the TARDIS, Aaron in tow, chains around his ankles and wrists, connected to a single string in the Doctor's hand.
The TARDIS let out an angry hum as her Time Lord entered, disgusted with what he had become. Her lights grew dimmer, and she shook the room, her hums becoming violent, causing Aaron to cower in fear.
The Doctor wasn't stupid; he knew the TARDIS was powerful, and he knew that she could be his downfall if she chose to be. Or he could do something clever. A smile appeared on his face as he realized what was now in his power to do. He had a bond with the TARDIS, one that went two ways. He zoned out the shaking and the noise in the background, and focused on the line connecting him to her, and followed it into the TARDIS herself. He could feel her feelings of love for him, and how upset she was at his changes. He drove his way through her, and removed all the new negative thoughts of him, and replaced them with admiration. He replaced her pain over his cruelty and replaced them with approval. He changed the very core of the TARDIS so that she would do anything he asked as a loyal servant, the way it should have been. He then made a new room, for Aaron. A room that would become his favorite and the favorite of the TARDIS's to watch him in. He made a torture chamber. Realizing that he could disappear from the TARDIS for days on end, he set the time flow in the room to be different, so when he was not inside, it ran at one minute for every 12 hours. It ran normally when he was inside of course, but he couldn't have his prisoner dying if he decided to step out for a conquest or two. A manic smile crossed his face as he set off once more. The savior of the universe.
A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out; I was camping with my family!
ringomartin: thank you so much! Your review literally made my day! :D
Also, I was debating whether or not to put a scene in the room with Aaron; it would be graphic, and I don't want overly unnecessary violence, but I think it would help show how completely different the Doctor is. From how he's acted so far, he's so close to how he really is, except when you see what he's actually thinking, and all the things he's done, but I think the scene would completely shatter the idea that there's still good in him... I don't know whether I'm overreacting or not...Please leave a review and tell me what you think...Thanks for reading!
