I believe the term used to describe inflicted wounds, whether mental or physical, on the Doctor is called Doctor!Whump. In which case, I think that term definitely can apply to this story. I'm still keeping it K-plus, but if you think it needs to be raised to T because of this chapter, let me know.
Next to last chapter, people. I eagerly read every review, but if I reply, well, that would be spoilers. (wink) I am happy to have surprised you with the last chapter and I can only hope that this chapter also lives up to, or better yet, surpasses, your expectations as we draw to a close.
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Chapter 10
Billows of smoke poured out of the VR-Pod the Doctor had been in. A zap separated Rory and Amy from the other machine and they fell to the floor, exhausted. The Doctor stumbled out of his VR-pod, dazed and with a shock of white hair that would have rivaled Albert Einstein. He shook his head.
"Right, remind me to never ever enter another virtual reality simulation so long as I live."
Both Ponds gave thumbs up from their position. With a groan, he pulled them to their feet. They took a moment to examine themselves. Amy and Rory were now into their mid 60s, while the Doctor was just a little behind.
"Great, three geriatrics to save the world," muttered Amy.
"Well, it could have been worse, we could have not made it," said Rory optimistically. Then his face dropped. "Unless this is like the Dream Lord thing."
"No, Rory, I can assure you we're in reality now."
"And you know that how?"
The Doctor grimaced. "Because I think things are about to take a turn for the worse."
He leaned against the nearest wall, struggling to breathe, his face suddenly white.
"I think my right heart just quit."
Rory quickly moved to check the Time Lord's chest. Sure enough, he could feel the left heart beating frantically, but there wasn't any motion from the right.
"How do we jump start it?"
"I need…one of you…to pound me…on the front, then…the back." He was starting to see spots now. "It won't hurt too much."
Rory glanced at Amy, who nodded. He balled his hands together, then slammed them into the Doctor's front. Amy did the same to the back. With a shudder, the heart restarted. It was weak, but at least it was back up and running.
"We need to get out of here and find Benedict," said the Doctor, massaging the sore area. "Too many things aren't adding up."
As if on cue, the doors slipped open and Benedict strode in.
And he was pointing a gun directly at the Doctor.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, but she told me she'd kill me if I disrupted her plans."
"The parasite that's been living in the computer, you mean?"
He shook his head. "She doesn't live in the computer, she is the computer. When we were creating the VR system, a computer virus got in and hid. As more and more people used it, the bigger it grew and the more sentient it got."
"And this is why you should always have a good anti-virus running at all times," the Doctor remarked to Amy and Rory. "So what has she promised you, then? Riches, eternal glory, a computer model named after you?"
With a shaking hand, Benedict unbuttoned his shirt. "I get to live forever with her."
Where a normal chest would have been was instead a horrifying jumble of machine parts and scarred skin.
"I was working on the computers one day, and a VR-pod malfunctioned. When I tried to run a diagnostic, it blew up on me. If it hadn't been for one of the Zharytes knowing some human anatomy, I would have died. Once I was fixed and integrated into the system, she was able to communicate with me."
"Speaking of the Zharytes, where are they? Haven't seen one since we were strapped in."
"They've been assisting her."
"What, all of them?"
"As many as weren't necessary to keep the VR-pod systems running."
Benedict began to back out of the room. "I'm sorry, Doctor, I have to go."
With a near silent whoosh, the doors closed. There was a hiss-snap as the door locked securely. In the blink of an eye, the Doctor was already scanning the lock system with the sonic screwdriver.
"The lock appears to be on some kind of rotating frequency module. If I can just find the right…ah ha!"
The doors slid open, and they ran into the hallway. Apparently, Benedict either didn't know or couldn't believe someone could open that door without his approval once they were locked in. A small shadow caught their eyes, and they darted left and down a hallway. Up ahead, they saw the shadow disappear into a room. They slipped in the room as quickly and quietly as possible.
And froze at the sight.
"Oh, my…Doctor, is that what I think it is?" asked Amy.
"If you're thinking that that looks like a VR-pod that's been redesigned to have a very complex life support system, capable of fully transferring a consciousness from a computer to a human body, then yeah, it's exactly what you think it is."
There were Zharytes darting around the machine in the large room. The small creatures looked exhausted from tending to the machine, but still they worked. Whatever the entity was, it must have terrified them into subordination.
"Quick! Over here!" hissed Rory from behind a stack of crates. The two ducked behind them just as Benedict bustled into the room. The small man was nervous, still in possession of the gun.
The three watched as he touched the cold machine and flinched. Then he whipped around on one of the Zharytes.
"Is it ready?" he asked.
The Zharyte chittered and nodded. The Doctor supposed that only the receptionist knew Standard English, though why it wasn't being translated by the TARDIS's circuits, he didn't understand. Perhaps the aging was beginning to affect the connection he had with the TARDIS.
"Good. Dismissed."
The creatures were more than happy to comply, withdrawing as quickly as possible. Soon, it was just Benedict, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory in the room. Carefully, the Doctor edged out of their hiding spot. It wasn't easy; his bones creaked in protest. He held his empty hands up, showing he was unarmed.
"Benedict, you don't have to do this."
Benedict jumped, dropping the gun. The Doctor made no move toward it, letting him pick it back up.
"I don't have any choice," he pleaded, pointing it back at him. "She's already taken over the mechanical parts of me. If I fail her, she can kill me right quick."
With the gun still aimed at the Doctor, Benedict slowly began to back up towards the altered VR-pod. Carefully, he settled himself in and pressed the buttons to close the lid, dropping the gun to the floor as he did so.
"Benedict, no!" The Doctor rushed forward, but it was too late.
In the tube, black mist began to seep in instead of the white. It curled around him, cradling him; Benedict smiled. The smile quickly turned to panic when the black smoke began shoving itself into his mouth and nostrils. He screamed, then fell silent.
Carefully, the Doctor backed away from the VR-pod. There was a hiss, then it opened. Benedict stepped out, but it wasn't Benedict anymore. Whatever had entered him, was now in full and absolute control of his body. The Benedict they had known was dead.
"Ah, now, that's much better." He cracked his neck one way, then the other. "Now what to do next? Ah, I know."
He walked right up to the Doctor and slapped him with the back of his hand. With a small cry, the Doctor fell to the floor in shock.
"The Doctor, feared by billions, known as the Oncoming Storm, reduced to an old geezer."
"Not the first time," the Doctor retorted, Rory hauling him back up. "I found a way out of it then, and I'll find a way out this time too."
Benedict laughed, the cruel dark laugh and voice that had come from the virtual River.
"The only way you'll get your youth back, relatively speaking, is if I die. And I don't think that'll be happening any time either."
With a wave, a wisp flew from his fingers. A Zharayte that had re-entered the room at that moment stiffed as the wisp was sucked into its mouth. Its eyes turned black, and it froze, waiting for commands.
"You see, a little tendril is all it takes to posses someone. That little tendril will multiply inside a body until it can't contain it anymore. Then they'll be released, to find more hosts. Of course, I'm not advanced yet to travel through space, so I'll simply have to take the nearest ship." Benedict frowned at the Zharayte and it walked off, rather clumsily. "And I'll have to figure out a way of making the wisps independent of myself."
The Doctor tried a different tactic, carefully choosing his next words. "You don't have to do this. I know a planet where there are no humans; it's just a giant library. You could live there, in those systems, and not ever be bored."
"Whoever said I was bored! I want to conquer the universe and the only way to do that is to first eliminate those would kill me for simply existing. Humans are notorious for their shoot-first-ask-questions-never policy. Earth would be a nice starting point. After I get rid of all the humans here, locked in the pods."
"But these are human beings! They have the right to live!"
"Life is wasted on the living," Benedict snarled in response.
"Funny, that," said the Doctor, raising hard green eyes to meet Benedict's swirling black. "Old foe said that to me once. And I'm the one still here."
"Not for long, Doctor, not for long. Even though you've been disconnected, your energy levels have plummeted. I estimate you have no more than an hour to live." Benedict grinned. "Your companions, on the other hand, have 15 minutes.
"So choose Doctor. Try to defeat me, they die. Leave me alone, I'll restore them to their youthful appearance."
The Doctor took a good look at Amy and Rory. Their facial skin was beginning to sag as they passed 70. Benedict, or whatever was possessing him, was right; they didn't have much time left.
He turned back round, only to find that Benedict had vanished.
"Where'd he go?"
"I think he just dissolved," said Rory, a bit loudly.
"Sorry, what?" shouted Amy.
"I said, I think he just dissolved!"
"You've been what?"
The Doctor sighed, then touched one pointer finger to each of their temples.
Ponds, listen to me, you've lost your hearing. I'm going to keep a telepathic link open between the three of us. It won't be easy, but you should be able to push messages through so long as we stay within ten feet or so of each other.
He carefully withdrew his fingers, putting as much energy as he could into keeping the link open. They didn't know it, but he had put a bit of his mind in theirs. Nowhere near enough to burn them up, but it wouldn't be a good idea for them to keep it in their minds forever. It did, however, bring his time remaining to the same pace as them.
Let's go, he sent.
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It was hard trying to run when the three kept running out of breath. Rory and Amy had to stop twice. The Doctor tried to use his respiratory bypass system to push himself further, but found that that particular system wasn't working. His hears were pounding in his ears, and he felt every inch his millennium of years. There was nothing he wanted more than to sit down and close his eyes, to rest…
Doctor!
Amy's mental cry startled him back to reality. Rory had stumbled, and it was all Amy could do to keep her husband standing.
My body's nervous system is starting to go out, Rory thought. Won't be long until the involuntary systems start shutting down.
No, don't talk like that, snapped Amy before the Doctor could respond. You are not dying on me again.
Rory chuckled weakly, but wobbly remained standing.
Come along, Ponds.
They finally caught up with Benedict in the shuttle bay. He was typing on a keyboard, trying to override the controls to the large doors. Inside a nearby shuttle, the possessed Zharayte was starting up the craft. Carefully, the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver.
"Benedict!" he called, holding it up. "Last chance!"
Benedict glared defiantly at the three. "I've already started the countdown that'll blow this planet apart! Do you really think I'd be stupid enough to stick around?"
With the final press of a button, the shuttlebay doors opened, whipping the air about, and Benedict dashed into the shuttle. Before the doors closed, the Doctor activated the sonic. Inside, Benedict laughed, and waved goodbye as the Zharayte closed the doors. Amy and Rory instinctively ducked as the shuttle's engines came online and he blasted out of the bay. The Doctor stayed still and silent as the doors closed and everything calmed down.
Doctor, what did you do? asked Amy.
I locked the controls so that the shuttle will hone in on the next largest body in this system, he replied grimly.
But…that's the sun, realized Rory. That thing is on a collision course with the sun!
And he won't even realize it until he tries to turn away. By then, it'll be too late.
"Five minutes to planet-wide destruction."
The bay started to shake as the female voice calmly but loudly repeated this twice more. Klaxons washed the shuttle bay with a mauve tint.
Um, Doctor? said Amy. Now what?
The Doctor grinned. Basically…run.
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This chapter was very long and very much littered with references from other episodes. Also, did anyone catch the name Benedict? On this side of the pond, Benedict was the first name of a certain traitor during the War for Independence. Or, if you are British, he was a hero. All depends on perspective.
Tomorrow, the epilogue. Still working, actually, on the bonus content. Having a hard time acquiring some information needed, but I can't ask y'all because that would spoil it.