NOTE: This was my favourite chapter to write so far!
Chapter Nine
"Doctor!"
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
"Amy, no!"
"Rory, we can't leave him!"
"EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
"We have to run!"
"Doctor!"
Laid out on his back in a haze of chaotic pain the Doctor wished everyone would just be quiet for a second. Between the sounds of the Dalek's battle cry and its laser weapon slamming into the stone work, Rory's arguing, and Amy's frantic cries it was impossible to just peacefully be dead. That last thought gave the Doctor pause when he realized that if he was truly dead he really shouldn't have to worry about the noise level in the room, or the agonizing burning in his chest.
The Dalek had slowly taken blind chase of Rory and Amy towards the Great Hall leaving the Doctor alone for the moment. Forcing his eyes open he rolled over onto his belly so that he could slowly get to his hands and knees. The front of his shirt was ruined where the powerful disintegrating blast of the Dalek laser had struck him, the skin beneath wasn't doing so well either showing a devastating blast pattern. Looking down he noticed the now brightly gleaming Nova Diamond swinging freely on its chain around his neck. The Doctor chuckled weakly as he reached up and tapped on the blindingly white stone.
"Oh that's brilliant, you absorb most of the energy for me." The Doctor spoke directly to the crystal. "Thank you."
Hearing the Dalek continuing to hunt down Amy and Rory in the distance the Doctor battled to his feet. He faltered several times as he got up. Despite the Nova Diamond taking the brunt of the weapon's force the blast had still done a considerable amount of damage. Dalek lasers had the power to atomize a victim on contact, but they tended to program them to give off a less powerful pulse that forced their victim to die slowly and painfully out of sheer spite.
This Dalek had probably not taken any chances and had tried to atomize him, but with the help of the Nova Diamond the weapon effects were more like being cooked from the inside out. Taking his first step the Doctor instantly collapsed back to his knees. Trembling with effort the Doctor pitched forward and placed his right palm against the floor to keep from crumpling back to the floor completely.
"Dalek!" The Doctor roared as loud as he could manage. "Get back here you bucket of bolts and jelly!"
"DOC-TOR?!" The Dalek's voice screamed in the distance. "DOC-TOR!"
"That's right!" The Doctor yelled as he tried to get his feet back under himself. "Come back here and pick on someone closer to your own age!"
The Doctor could hear the enraged Dalek racing back towards the throne room firing blindly as it came. The Doctor really didn't have a plan beyond leading the deadly creature away from Amy and Rory. Now that it was coming he knew he needed to at least get out of the open if he wanted any hope of surviving another assault. He was up on the dais where the Dalek had struck him down and he would be easy prey again. Still on his knees he poured all of his strength into just trying to get to his feet so that he'd have a chance at staggering out of the way of the blind Dalek's fire long enough to come up with a way to stop it.
Pushing himself up the Doctor cried out sharply and dropped back to the stone floor as his legs gave out from under him. Landing hard on his left shoulder the sudden renewed blaze of agony from the old wound sent his hearts into a stumbling rhythm. When his left heart failed completely from the combination of the residual Dalek laser blast and the strain of months of stress the Doctor came to edge of passing out. Realizing that standing wasn't going to be an option the Doctor rolled onto his side and dragged himself to the edge of the steps so that he could at least see his foe coming.
"Okay...plan...could use one of those about now..."
The Dalek had stopped firing as it approached the throne room. It slowly made its way to the archway that connected the two rooms. It bumped into the wall of the arch and backed up to correct its path. Propping himself up on his right elbow the Doctor winced and pressed his hand against his chest as his other heart threatened to stop at the mere sight of his oldest enemy coming for him. The Dalek came halfway into the room and stopped, presumably to listen for signs of life.
Amy and Rory had been sneaking up behind it and peeked around the archway. Seeing the Doctor Amy went to try and flank the blind Dalek. The Doctor silently ordered Amy back by waving her away. She looked for a moment like she might disobey but the Doctor's cold glare forced her to stand down.
"Doc-tor?" The Dalek asked in as close to a hesitant tone as it could manage.
"The one and only." The Doctor replied calmly.
"EX-TER..."
"Shut up." The Doctor interrupted sharply.
Stunned into silence the Dalek swiveled its cloudy eye stalk back and forth a few inches in confusion.
"Now then." The Doctor continued. "You've wounded me terribly, if you leave me here to die slowly I will just regenerate and we'll have to start this all over again. However, I'm going to offer you the chance to come closer, take another shot, a clean shot, and end this war between my kind and yours right here and now."
"Why wou-ld you al-low this? EX-PLA-IN!"
"Because I'm tired of being in pain, because I'm just tired, and because you have to do something for me in return. You must let my friends go."
"Doctor, no..." Amy whimpered.
The Dalek turned in the direction of Amy's voice but did not fire. It turned back in the general direction of the Doctor. The lights on top of the Dalek's dome flashed a few times as it contemplated its options.
"AGRE-ED!"
"Come sixteen feet forward at a twelve degree angle to your East, you will bump into the stairs, and I will be right in front of you."
Amy was about to protest against but the Doctor shook his head and held his hand up to keep her silent. Turning away Amy sought comfort in Rory's arms. The Doctor swallowed hard and worked to keep his courage as the Dalek slowly followed the directions he'd given him and drew closer. Instinct forced the Doctor to try and pull away when the Dalek bumped into the stairs reached him. The three steps didn't elevate the Doctor much so the Dalek still towered over him.
"Doc-tor?"
"End the war, Dalek."
"VIC-TOR-Y!"
The Doctor looked up as the Dalek readjusted his firing arm down at him. Taking a deep breath the Doctor reached up and yanked off the Nova Diamond necklace. Without the powerful crystal to help him control his cascading bio-force the Doctor's hands instantly took on a bright blue hue. Grabbing a hold of the Dalek's gun to give himself purchase he used it to haul himself to his feet. The startled Dalek squawked at the Doctor's treachery and tried to back away.
Keeping a tight hold of the gun arm the Doctor went along for the ride. The Dalek fired to dislodge the unwelcome rider but only managed to graze the Doctor's side. Slamming his palm down on the top of the Dalek's armoured domed head the Doctor released as much of the bio-force as he could channel. The white lighting that the Nova Diamond usually helped the Doctor keep contained sparked and streaked along the metal casing of the Dalek's armour.
"DOC-TOR!" The Dalek screamed in terror.
"I will never tire of the war!" The Doctor snarled. "I will fight you to my *last* breath!"
"DOC..."
The Dalek had been rendered silent when the lights that flashed when it spoke exploded with the surge of power. The Doctor continued to pour more of the searing bio-force into the heavy metal armour as he clung to the creature. The dying Dalek spun violently and threw the Doctor to the floor before it came to a stop with a curl of foul smelling black smoke. Laying on his back the Doctor stared up at the stone ceiling wondering if it was possible for him to have actually broken every bone he owned or if it just felt that way. He closed his eyes as Amy and Rory rushed up to his side and knelt down next to him.
"Doctor?" Amy asked anxiously.
"Is it dead?" The Doctor asked wearily.
"I'm going to go ahead and say 'yes'." Rory replied as he looked at the cracked and smoking Dalek.
"I need the Nova Diamond back."
"I'll get it." Amy offered.
Amy went to get the necklace from the dais where the Doctor had dropped it. Rory was inspecting the blast pattern seared into the Doctor's skin when he jerked his hand back suddenly. Feeling the tearing pain of a regeneration cycle finally starting the Doctor assumed that the golden energy was what had startled Rory.
"Doctor, that spiral pattern...it's under your skin, or rather it would be if you had any skin there."
"What?"
Rory helped the Doctor sit up so that he could look at the injury. Where the Dalek weapon had burned the skin off the familiar golden pattern was starting to bleed through the muscle, but it wasn't visible anywhere that the skin remained intact. The Doctor didn't get long to study the phenomenon as the pattern turned to a solid bright glow and spread outward. Jerking back the Doctor cried out as his still heart suddenly lurched back into rhythm.
"Doctor!" Rory exclaimed.
Amy rushed back over with the necklace but the Doctor was in no condition to accept it. Unable to tell the pair to stay away the Doctor scrambled away as best he could as the regeneration spiraled out of control. He could hear them asking something in concern, but he couldn't make out the words. Getting as far as his hands and knees he roared as another wave of bio-force flowed through his hands and cracked the stone under his palms. The bio-force clashed with the gathering regeneration storm and began to attract the ambient rift energy. The Doctor's boiling blood flashed to ice when he realized that he was about to initiate another Time Jump just like he had on the Minyan ship.
"I need that Diamond!"
Amy tossed the necklace towards him and the Doctor snatched it from where it landed on the floor. The Nova Diamond flashed blindingly, but it now that it was back in his possession it controlled the bio-force once again. What little rift energy had gathered snapped out of existence as well. The regeneration energy however was a different story as it expanded in a swirling cloud from his body. When the world started feeling like it was violently spinning the Doctor opted to lay back down. Curling up on his side the Doctor wailed continuously as the golden energy tore at him.
Rory held onto Amy tightly as they both stood back, helpless to do anything. Clawing at the stone floor the Doctor rolled over and arched his back as the regeneration finally peaked and radiated out in a physical shockwave. When it was over the Doctor wasn't certain that he was any better off than when he'd first been blasted by the Dalek. His chest still felt torn open and his shoulder might as well have had the blade twisting in it. Shivering he tried to sit up but failed. When he felt Amy's delicate hand in his own he managed to squeeze it. Opening his eyes he looked up at Amy and Rory who were looking down on him with concern.
"I know this is a stupid question, but are you okay?" Amy asked.
"I'm starving." The Doctor complained pitifully.
"Make it back to the TARDIS and we'll get you all the fish fingers and custard you can stomach." Amy tried to sound light hearted to keep herself from panicking. "Deal?"
"Deal." The Doctor nodded. "Rory, help me up."
"Are you sure it's safe to move you?"
"I'm not going to get stronger laying here, if anything I'm just going to get worse."
"Okay. Your shoulder..."
"Still hurts, and I assume that I still look the same."
"You do." Amy confirmed.
"There is something terribly wrong with me." The Doctor admitted. "This isn't how regeneration is supposed to work, and considering how many times I've been through it between my normal regenerations, what Jackles put me through, and the few times I've started the cycle since then...I should be out of regenerations by now."
"Let's just be grateful you survived this." Amy said honestly.
"I wouldn't have if the Dalek hadn't fired directly on the Nova Diamond."
"Was that stupid box really that important?"
"Yes. In fact, please go get it for me, Amy."
"What's in it?" Amy demanded.
"A conversation for later." The Doctor replied.
Amy didn't move.
"I promise." The Doctor added.
Amy continued to stare for a moment, but eventually she sighed and gave in. While Amy retrieved the box Rory helped the Doctor sit up. The Doctor growled in a combination of pain and effort as Rory slipped in under his right shoulder and hauled him to his feet. He still had the Nova Diamond in his right hand since he had broken the chain that it usually hung on. Amy came up next to them with the black box and the Doctor awkwardly reached for it with his left hand.
"I'll carry it." Amy said as she pulled the box out of his reach.
"I can manage." The Doctor replied.
"No way." Amy said firmly. "You don't get the box until I get an explanation."
"Amy...are you blackmailing me?" The Doctor asked with a smile.
"No, no not at all, Doctor."
"Oh good."
"Blackmail implies a threat of release of information, this is more like ransom."
The Doctor chuckled and allowed Rory to help him along back to the TARDIS. Once back in the safety of the TARDIS the Doctor guided Rory towards the blank wall that was actually the entrance into the Zero Room. He had known for some time now that Amy was getting suspicious of his collecting so it didn't bother him that she wanted to hold onto the box. Right now however he needed some rest in the Zero Room.
Although he knew that Amy and probably Rory at this point would want to join him in the Zero Room the Doctor asked to be left alone and they granted him the space. Rory helped him through the wall and left him sitting in the corner. Once he was alone the Doctor closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Just being in the Zero Room helped him body and soul, however there was still something nagging at his mind that he just couldn't seem to figure out.
"Hello, Sweetie."
The Doctor snapped his eyes open at hearing River's voice. Looking up from his spot in the corner he discovered River standing in the Zero Room with a bright smile on her face. He scrambled to his feet and pressed his back into the corner.
"River?" The Doctor asked surprised. "Ho...how did you get in here?"
"I'm always on your mind, my Love." River chuckled. "Although technically I'm not 'River'. Also I'm not here, I'm not even real."
"What?"
"You needed someone to talk to and your imagination made me as a projection because you couldn't think of anyone else that you'd talk to."
"That's ridiculous."
The Doctor recoiled from River as she suddenly shifted into the image of his last regeneration. The figment of his imagination shifted into Sarah Jane, then Aleena, before returning to looking like River in her prime once more. The Doctor eyed her warily for a moment until she smiled and then he automatically relaxed even though he knew now it wasn't really her.
"All right, I have a good point." The Doctor noted.
"Of course you do."
"So...'River', can I call you River?"
"You can call me whatever you want, Sweetie, I'm 'you' after all."
"Right..." The Doctor shook his head and tried not to think about it too hard. "I'm still confused...why are you here?"
"The Zero Room helps to give you what you need. You need to talk out what has been going on. So...talk."
"Okay, I'll buy that, it's been one of those days." The Doctor nodded. "First of all, how the in the name of Space and Time did a *Dalek* end up in the Royal Palace on Nezrine?"
"Probably the same way a Gemino dragon ended up in a cave on Gemina." River pointed out. "Or the same reason that the Mardokans suddenly wanted to put you on the menu."
"These are traps aren't they?" The Doctor sighed.
"Every planet that you told me about has had a deadly danger on it waiting for you that shouldn't be there." River pointed out.
"You wouldn't hurt me." The Doctor told the imaginary River firmly. "Even if you wanted or needed me dead you wouldn't do it like this. You would do it face to face, you would kill me yourself."
"Okay," River nodded "if it wasn't me, who else knows that you would be going to these places?"
"No one."
"No one?" River repeated with a raised eye brow. "Absolutely no one?"
"Well...*I* knew, but...no, that's absurd, you can't be suggesting that a future version of me is trying to kill me in the past."
"Technically *you're* the one who's suggesting that."
"That's insane. The paradox of my future self killing my past self would rip the Universe apart."
"Maybe your future self doesn't care about the Universe." River said seriously.
"River..."
"Maybe your future self isn't sane."
"Don't say that, River, please don't say that."
"I didn't, Sweetie." River smiled sadly. "You did."
"What? No..."
"Remember? I'm not River. You're talking to yourself right now."
"Right...of course. How sane is that?"
"Not very."