Title: Scars and Bars 10/?
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, work and life slapped me upside the head. Here you go, the story continues.
Word Count: 3464
A few hours later after getting some sleep, Buffy woke up feeling refreshed but tingly as if all her nerves were firing at the same time; she looked over at Nathan who was still sound asleep and snoring lightly. Smiling at the sight she slipped on her jacket which she had used as a blanket and decided to get up and do some stretches so she'd be ready for the fight. Standing up she found herself feeling lightheaded and swaying back and forth lost her balance and fell backwards.
"Oh, crap" she thought as she landed hard on the ground.
Thinking back on the sparring match she had with Nathan earlier she frowned as she recalled how her fighting near the end had been as bad as a newly risen vampire. To test her hypothesis she reached over and grabbed a stick she had used in sparring to test her strength. Putting all her strength into it she found she couldn't snap it, in fact after about a minute her muscles in her arms started to spasm and she hadn't even put a dent in the stick. It was her 18th birthday all over again. Her strength was completely gone, reaching over she shook Nathan to get his attention. Holding back tears she knew she needed someone to talk to as she was feeling something she hadn't felt in years, she was petrified.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jack had wandered the TARDIS for what seemed like hours once he got back from the arena. He finally found the Doctor studying feverously in the library surrounded by piles of alien medical books. The Doctor looked up over his glasses at Jack and frowning handed a textbook to him. Jack skimmed the information, what he read made his blood boil. The specific neurotoxin amount used wasn't to subdue the girls; it was to kill them by causing them to go into cardiac arrest.
"I can't believe they're doing this to the people down there" Jack seethed as he stormed back and forth.
"Yup, and Buffy is down there. I really misjudged this planet. I thought they were just keeping girls as slaves. Now…" the Doctor said staring at the ceiling in deep concentration his eyes going dark with rage.
"So what do we need to do?"
Looking at Jack, he picked up a book and flipped to a page near the middle. "According to this book, there's a serum that counteracts the specific neurotoxin they used."
"So…what are we waiting for?"
Meeting Jack's gaze he tossed the book he was holding onto the nearest pile and both ran out of the library, the Doctor grabbed his coat and made a stop in the medical bay to make an antidote to the toxin for Nathan and Buffy. He also decided to make enough for anyone else they might be able to save. He said a silent prayer to Rassilion that it wasn't too late and sped up to catch up with Jack.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Are you sure?"
"Positive, I don't have any strength Nathan. What am I going to do? It's my 18th Birthday all over again."
Reaching over he grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes "We'll get through this together al'right?"
Buffy gave him a watery smile and nodded and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Just then one of the burly guards unlocked the door to their cell and came in. Nathan struggled to his feet to be ready in case the guard wanted to fight. He too struggled to stand, and found himself bracing against the wall for support.
"Time to get ready to fight little maggot and who the hell is he?" the guard sneered in Nathan's direction.
"He's the guy you made my companion, you nimrod" Buffy said trying to stand up but stumbled over the hem of her leather jacket and fell into Nathan's embrace.
"Ah, I see the toxin has taken effect it won't be long before your demise" the guard sneered as he grabbed Buffy's arm and started hauling her out of the cell. Nathan tried to follow them but the guard slammed the cell door in his face.
"Oi! I'm going out there with her…" he screamed after them.
The guard stopped and turned toward Nathan with Buffy still in his iron grip.
"This is what, your fifteenth companion to fight and will ultimately die? It will be an honor to watch you suffer" gripping Buffy's arm a bit tighter he steered her away down the hall towards the staging area.
Nathan slammed his hands against the metal bars in frustration as he watched helplessly as the guard took a stumbling Buffy away down the hall; he kept her gaze until she disappeared into the darkness. He screamed after them until his voice was raw and only then did he collapse against the wall and slide down to the floor in defeat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The Doctor and Jack arrived just in time to see Nathan's fit at Buffy's departure. The Doctor and Jack both jumped down into the cell to see what they could do to help. Nathan looked up and met their gaze the Doctor was shocked at the look of defeat on the man's face. It was the same haunted look he himself had after the Time War. Kneeling down the Doctor took out a syringe and filled it with a glowing green liquid he had in his coat pocket.
"This is an antidote to the toxin they're using on you" the Doctor explained. "If you want to help Buffy defeat those monsters you'll let me administer this."
Nathan just nodded and turned his face away as he grimaced as the Doctor injected the serum into his arm. After the injection, Nathan rubbed his arm absently and the Doctor noticed his eyes get wide as Nathan's strength returned to him full force.
"Even though the both of you are linked I'll need to administer the serum to her as well if she's to get back to full strength." The Doctor explained, standing up and dusting his knees off.
The Doctor met Jack's gaze who stood watch for any guards in the hallway and he gave a curt nod. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and with a push of a button the door of the lock clicked open and the cell door opened silently in front of them.
The Doctor took the lead and after Nathan stood up, he and Jack followed close behind. The Doctor went into the other cells one by one and noticed how the occupants all seemed to be sleeping. He took his sonic screwdriver out and did a quick scan of each occupant and the results confirmed his dark suspicion. They were dead and must have died during the night; the Doctor shook his head, his jaw clenching and kept moving onward.
He suddenly noticed some movement to his left and looking into the cell found a young woman and her 'bond' mate staring at him. Both look haggard and drugged but the Doctor was amazed that they somehow had survived the neurotoxin. Using his sonic screwdriver he unlocked the door and went over to the couple. He recognized the young woman as Marsa the sister of the young man he met in the square. He took out another syringe and filled it up and administered the serum to Marsa and her companion. Jack was amazed at how quickly their coloring came back and the brightness returned in their eyes.
Looking over his shoulder to Jack said "take this young girl and her companion out of here then meet up with us."
Jack nodded and led them cautiously out of the dungeon as the guards were all off getting things ready for the battle. The Doctor watched Jack lead the couple out and turning to Nathan became quite serious. "Where do you think they took Buffy?" he asked looking up and down the dark hallway.
Nathan closed his eyes and tried to sense where they may have taken her in the maze beneath the arena. He sensed her weak presence west of their location and pointed down the hall.
Suddenly they heard a decree "Presenting Buffy Summers, humanoid, from the Milky Way Galaxy. She will fight to the death, may her blood clense our world of the darkness!"
The sound of the crowd going wild was deafening.
"Ok then, let's go" the Doctor yelled over the din and together the two of them ran off into the darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy struggled to get on her gear to fight; she sat leaned over fixing the straps on two holders of small knives she was going to wear on her legs. When she looked up she was surprised to see Xander standing there with a look of compassion.
"Hey Buff, how's it going?" she heard him say.
"It would go a whole lot better if I didn't have to fight to the death right now but then again nothing new. I have a bit of my strength back so that's good but not enough to be deadly. In all honesty I'm scared Xan." Buffy thought in reply.
"That's why you need to listen very closely. You're not going to see us for a while. Giles pulled some strings and some major things in your future are in motion. Just so you know the Powers that Be are closer than you think. Don't worry you'll see us again Buffster, but not as we were. The Scooby Gang will all be together again. Just remember to watch the watch."
Buffy looked at him in confusion as she remembered the dream she had earlier and felt a wave of déjà vu wash over her. She watched helplessly as he disappeared into nothingness. Reaching up Buffy touched her necklace and felt it go cold against her throat. Tears seeped out and rolled gently down her cheeks but she shook off her sadness knowing a fight was before her. She reached up and took off the necklace and put it in her pocket for safe keeping and her fingers skimmed the watch and she thought she heard whispering. Wiping away a stray tear and shrugging she picked up her spear and the guard opened the wooden gate and Buffy Summers walked blinking into the arena to meet her fate.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
At the same time Buffy was walking into the arena, Nathan and the Doctor were navigating their way through the maze towards the staging area. Jack in the meantime was able to get Marsa and her companion to safety before doing a 180 degree turn and running back to the dungeon to help out. Jack went back to the cell that had held Nathan and Buffy and creeping into the hallway he headed east into the unknown. He pulled out his revolver and got ready for any fighting he knew was coming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Buffy found herself surrounded by 8 burly guards all who were over 6 feet tall, and a creature that looked like a giant crab on steroids. Looking around she waited until she was completely surrounded. She took the knives she had stashed on her and threw them as fast as her body would allow her as she did a quick pirouette. Thankfully her aim was still dead on and she took out four of the six guards all who fell simultaneously with a knife sticking out from between their eyes. She heard the crowd gasp and then part of the arena started cheering for her.
Unsheathing her sword she faced the other two burly guards. Both attacked her simultaneously, she was taken back by how strong they were, she was able to get a few stabs in but found they hardly did anything against their armor. Thankfully she was able to get some slices in and sliced one guard's neck which sprayed her with green blood which blinded her briefly. Unfortunately it was just enough time for the other guard to grab her by the throat and started choking her. He then threw her against a wall as the crowd cheered. Unbeknownst to the guard as Buffy hit the wall it was just enough force for her watch to spring open in her pocket.
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her watch and was shocked when she heard whispering swirl around her. She looked into the pocket watch and was amazed when she was engulfed in a yellow light which temporarily blinded the other guard. She felt the planet turn beneath her, she saw the past, present, and future swirl around her like an astral tornado. She saw the Doctor, Jack, her friends on Earth, the mini Slayers, all of time and space. She felt her inner Slayer join with her true essence. The last thing she thought as she fell to the ground unconscious was 'I remember' before darkness over took over.
The remaining guards were extremely unhappy to see Buffy collapse as they were looking forward to seeing her fight to the death as she had shown great potential. No one seemed to notice the crab like creature scurrying away in panic. The other guards started yelling and surrounding Buffy's prone body. They started kicking her to try and get her to awake. When they got no response from her, two guards picked her and her sword up and carrying her back into the staging area tossed her body into a room where other corpses had been taken.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
After Buffy fell unconscious Nathan stopped dead in his tracks almost to their destination. Crying out in anguish he slumped against the wall gripping his wrist as the Doctor came to a skidding stop behind him.
"What? What is it?"
"I can't feel her... I think she's dead." Nathan said panicking.
"Don't say that! You'll know she's dead when you see her body. Until then she may be under a dampener that may be blocking her signal, or she may be unconscious" the Doctor said looking back and forth down the hallway rocking on his feet.
He didn't voice his own concerns because he had felt a brief presence of another Gallifreyan in his own mind until it disappeared just as quickly. Shaking off the feeling of being the last of the Time Lords he looked over at Nathan who looked beyond angry.
Grabbing the Doctor forcefully by the lapels of his jacket and slamming him into a wall Nathan glared into the Doctor's surprised gaze. "Oi, you think I haven't felt this before? I know what it feels like to lose the other part of the bond! I've lost 14 others, she was the first I actually felt any connection to…" looking down at his wrist he let go of the Doctor as he rubbed it and looked up at the Doctor confused.
"What is it?" the Doctor asked.
"I don't know. Usually after the bond is broken I feel a crippling pain and see their last moments flash before my eyes, right now I feel nothing…except…"
"Except what?"
"It's hard to explain…"
"Try Nathan, what do you feel?"
"I feel at peace."
At this the Doctor became really concerned as the appearance and disappearance of another Time Lord had left him rattled. Uncertain at what this meant he headed off down the hallway with Nathan quickly catching up, the two of them rounded a corner and ran into Jack.
"So where's Buffy?" Jack asked looking from Nathan to the Doctor.
"We don't know, Nathan says he can't feel her anymore," the Doctor explained as the three continued onward.
"WHAT?!?!" Jack hissed, "Tell me he's kidding Doctor, please!" Looking to the Doctor he noticed the man's eyes were downcast and knew it was true. "Well, I'm looking for some action, think I'll go beat up some guards and see what I can find out."
The Doctor nodded at this, and Nathan didn't look too convinced. "I want to see Buffy, dead or alive… I need to see her."
"and you will!" Jack said giving the man's shoulder a squeeze "unfortunately we don't know where she is."
"Jack's right Nathan, lets go see if we can get some answers" looking to Jack "Jack when you find her, come find us. We're going to go see the Mayor and find out exactly what is going on around here."
At this both Jack and the Doctor instinctively took a step backwards as both men noticed a very dark look cross Nathan's face. This was a man who has been held against his will since he was a child from the clone colonies. He was 'The Oncoming Storm Part Deux' and he was ready to unleash his fury.
"Come on!" Nathan said striding past the Doctor heading the opposite direction they had been heading. Turning around he looked pointedly at Jack. "If you find Buffy…I mean when you find her…" shaking his head, he clenched his jaw and gave a piercing glare "just find her!"
Jack nodded in complete understanding. He'd find Buffy hell or high water. Shaking his head he chuckled lightly at being thankful for not being on the receiving end of not one, but two oncoming storms. He smiled as he dubbed them 'the perfect storm' cocking his pistol he headed off to see what he could find.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Looking around Buffy found herself back in the desert with the original Slayer hugging her and chatting happily, what surprised Buffy was she could understand the native tongue.
"THE CHEESE STANDS ALONE"
The Original Slayer disappeared and looking around she heard chanting voices swirl around her like an invisible storm, each getting louder, then softer.
"You think you know what you are…you've only just begun."
Buffy spun around and saw men and women dressed in the same type of outfits that Dawn had worn in her dream. Looking down she noticed she was dressed in a blue sailor outfit with a red tie.
The scene changed and she found herself in a small café with a man with a long knitted scarf sitting there. She heard a familiar voice, was it hers or someone else?
"Look Doctor, he drew me with my face as a clock, but it's broken."
Images from Sunnydale and prior swirled around blurring into each other the last thing she heard was a howl as the Slayer was finally unleashed from its cage and now could roam freely through time and space.
Buffy and Romana were now one.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
The first thing Romana noticed when she woke up was the smell of death from at least 138 different alien species that she could tell. Opening her eyes slowly she took in her surroundings, and noticed she was in a small room off the staging area. Sitting up she looked around the room and had to push the bile that threatened to come up back as she took in the corpses of men and women who had died at the hands of their captors. Each body she saw was in a different degree of decomposition.
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the watch and took a good look at it. She remembered everything that she had done as Buffy Summers. What she hadn't noticed was during her haste to hide from the Daleks, she had cracked the glass on the face of the watch in her rush to get her essence hidden. So over the period she had been Buffy her Time Lady essence had been slowly seeping out into her.
"No wonder I was able to close all the dimensions" she thought grimly, "when I jumped the portal must have recognized me as Gallifreyan."
Looking around she stood up and frowning at the feeling of two others in her head, something she hadn't been used to as Buffy Summers. Where was everyone? Romana's eyes grew large as her past came crashing back into her and she realized just how ugly the Time War had actually been. Shaking her head sadly as she remember her home world, looking down at her wrist she noticed the brand. Rubbing it she closed her eyes and felt her body override the neurotoxin. She sat there in the darkness until she felt the toxin was completely eradicated from her bloodstream. Grabbing her sword she strolled out into the hall, at full strength and with a glint of anger in her eyes. All the guards were standing there staring at her in shock. She took in how many of them there were and calculated the formula for the quickest and swiftest death of each one. Look at each one, she said with deadly calmness that struck fear into each one, "For Gallifrey and the Slayers."
TBC