Author's Note: Well, until my sister's graduation, I should be updating frequently. I will warn you, however, that after this story is done, and I post "Riley Finn Doesn't Hate the Doctor", the next story is sort of a work in progress. So I might have to take a break in order to finish writing it.
But for now, we're (hopefully) back to daily updates.
You wanted Doctor whumpage? Well, here you go. More on its way.
Carmen hadn't exactly believed her good fortune, once the Time Lord had fallen into her hands. And in such a state!
Two nights ago, he had shown up — a terribly old, completely immovable force of nature, determined to stop her from destroying the world. He had known her name, known all about her, and acted as if she were nothing. Beneath him. Barely worth his time.
But she'd shown him.
He'd made that one fatal mistake — he'd given her a chance to stop. And she'd taken advantage of that second of weakness in him, and had started the ritual. She thought that, once she'd started, there would be no way he could stop her — not without any weapons. But he'd grabbed the red crystal, and had begun running. One touch from that crystal should have been enough to burn him to ash. One touch, and the energy it emitted would pour into his mind, overwhelming his brain and killing him instantly. It should have been foolproof.
Except the Doctor hadn't died. He must have compensated, somehow, let the Facksisil of Balime into his mind to absorb the energy. And then he'd escaped, taking the red crystal with him. The red crystal, still draining him of his mind, more and more over time, as the Facksisil of Balime slithered inside.
True, the Doctor had survived. But not without considerable damage to his mind.
His mental shields were practically nonexistent — containing the Facksisil of Balime, no doubt — his memories were now completely gone, and — best of all — he didn't know. He had imprisoned a monster in his mind, built up some of the most impressive psychic defenses Carmen had ever seen, and he didn't even know it was there!
But Carmen did.
She'd sensed it, right after she realized he had no memories, that he couldn't even remember her name. She had scanned his mind using her magical powers, and discovered exactly what had happened. This once great and powerful Time Lord was now so very weak, so susceptible to her hypnotic suggestions, and — he was still all that stood between her and the end of the world.
Oh, how lovely!
One kiss, and that was all it had taken. One kiss, and she could reach into his mind, fiddle around with his thoughts, plant the suggestions in his head. And he'd believed her. About the Slayer, about her, about all of it.
Now, the Time Lord was completely in her thrall. Ready to do anything she pleased. Tonight, the ritual would be finished. Tonight, the Facksisil of Balime would be released, and her Hell Dimension would expand to swallow the world.
Carmen hadn't counted on the Time Lord being such an insufferably annoying individual, however.
He had seemed docile enough back in the real world, but the moment he'd arrived in her Hell Dimension, he had gotten a curious gleam in his eyes, and begun racing around, trying to uncover how all the different aspects of her enchanted kingdom worked. He'd started asking her a million questions about the plight of the tortured souls that her demons were flaying, about the basic rights of sentient creatures, about work schedules and holidays and all sorts of things that Carmen didn't care one jot about.
Then he'd entered her palace, and it had all gotten worse. Flitting around every room with unbounded excitement and curiosity, needing to see, touch, sometimes even taste every magical item she had.
"Come along, my love," she said to him, draping her arm across his shoulders and snatching a mythical gemstone out of his hands before he could lick it. "Rest a while."
"Aw, but this place is brilliant!" the Doctor complained. "An extra dimensional pocket slightly misaligned with normal reality, so that the two overlap but never actually come into contact. Truly amazing. Did you create it, or did you just find it and move on in?"
Carmen didn't like that glint in his eyes. She didn't like that he was trying to work things out. She wasn't sure if the ceremony tonight would actually kill the Time Lord, but she was fairly sure that, if it didn't, she would.
She drew him into a long kiss, delving deep inside his mind, rearranging his thoughts. Ah, yes. Curiosity. Better squash that. Get rid of that insufferable excitement as well. Docile and controlled, that was what she wanted. Docile, controlled, and completely and utterly in love with her. Trusting her in every way.
It took her a little longer than she'd expected.
When she finally pulled away, she realized that he'd switched to respiratory bypass a while back. He now looked completely disheveled, his hair a mess, his lips swollen, his pupils dilated. He stood there, his mouth hanging slightly open, a dull look in his eyes.
Then he snapped his mouth shut, and stood to attention. "Yes, right. Sorry."
He was, actually, not terribly bad looking. Two hearts, too, which implied a certain amount of stamina. Perhaps killing him wasn't really necessary. Perhaps all she really had to do was completely erase his mind and personality. Erase everything. A full mind wipe like that would require far more intimacy than just a kiss, though.
That would mean actually sleeping with him.
Carmen gave him a coquettish smile. Yes, that was exactly what she'd do. Keep him around, her slave, her eternal servant. As she ruled over the Hell that she would bring to Earth, he could be useful. Terribly useful.
She gestured at him to follow her, as she led him through the palace.
"That girl," said the Doctor, his hands in his pockets. "The one you called 'Slayer'. Who is she?"
"The one who slaughtered every other member of your race," Carmen told him. She was terribly proud of that lie. She had asserted, using her magical brain scan, that he didn't remember anything, but she knew Time Lords were telepathic. He would be able to tell if he were the only one left, even if he didn't remember why.
"Yes, of course," said the Doctor. "But… how, exactly? She's a bit small. Well, I say small. Smallish."
"Small but deadly," said Carmen. "She hunted your race down, one by one, until there were none left. None but yourself. That is why she is so eager to get her hands on you. Because she knows that, with you gone, there will be no one."
The Doctor nodded, slowly. "Did she have a good reason?"
"Her reason is herself," said Carmen. "She is the Slayer. That is what she does. Her goal is to rid the Earth of any sentient life form that isn't human."
"Oh," said the Doctor.
Carmen turned around, to face him, drawing him towards her, looking into his eyes. "Do you believe me?" she asked.
"I think so," said the Doctor. He beamed. "Yes! Absolutely!"
Carmen gave him another kiss, just to make sure. Cement the suggestion into his mind. Yes, just like that. Every time she did this, it got a little easier. Every time, he fought her a little less. Soon, she knew, he wouldn't fight her at all. And after she completely wiped his mind, he'd crave it. He'd ask her to put her own thoughts into his head. Beg her to brainwash him again.
Oh, yes, she would enjoy that. She would enjoy that very much.
The Doctor studied her, as she pulled away. "You're quite good at that," he said. "Snogging and whatnot."
As was he. There was something he kept doing with his tongue that was positively sinful. Perhaps she'd let him keep that knowledge, after she wiped his mind. She wanted to know how that tongue of his would feel in a slightly different place.
"Do you wish me to tell you more?" asked Carmen. "Are you still curious about the Slayer?"
"Nope!" said the Doctor. "Just about worked her out. Dreadful woman. Truly atrocious."
"Perhaps the next time you meet," said Carmen, "I will give you the pleasure of killing her, yourself."
The Doctor seemed surprised. "Would you really?"
Carmen could hear the eagerness in his voice. As if he were a kid begging her for a new toy. Not realizing, of course, that he was her toy, that she only let him do things because she wished him to.
"Of course," said Carmen. "I wouldn't want to deny you your revenge."
The Doctor frowned. "Don't think I like revenge, much," he said. "But I would like to stop her from doing it to anyone else. Permanently."
Well, perhaps it wouldn't be so difficult to deal with the Slayer after all. The problem with the Slayer was that, the moment Carmen killed one, another would pop up somewhere else. But with a Time Lord at her disposal, she wouldn't have to worry about the Slayer. Ever.
And as for this Slayer — oh, Carmen would enjoy watching that. Watching the Time Lord kill that little blond thing that dared defy Carmen's wishes. Oh, yes, that would be delicious. And judging by the Slayer's reactions, watching this Time Lord kill her would break her weak human heart. Which made it even better.
"Would that make you happy?" Carmen asked.
"Oh, yes," said the Doctor. He shuddered. "She… killed a creature, earlier. A sentient creature. Without even talking to him. I wouldn't want to live in a world where people could do things like that."
"After the ceremony tonight, you never will again," Carmen told him. "My realm shall rise to encompass the Earth, and I shall let you, personally, destroy every single Slayer there is. Eliminate the Watchers Council, demolish the entire institution."
"Watchers Council," the Doctor muttered, a pensive look on his face.
Oh, dear. That was not good. Carmen should have kept her argument simple, straight forwards. She drew him closer to her, staring into his eyes.
"Would you like to destroy the Slayers?" she asked, nipping at his mouth. "Build that perfect, ideal world of yours?"
"Couldn't we just sit down and talk with them, instead, ask them to—?"
Carmen cut the Doctor off with another kiss. He was so damn stubborn and annoying! For someone who was famed as a legendary warrior, he was incredibly reluctant to fight. Somehow, she'd turned him into a naïve little brat, who believed in the inherent goodness of all creatures. Even vampires, apparently.
What a fool.
"On second thought," the Doctor said, after the kiss was done, "you're right. Better just kill the whole lot of them." He hesitated. "Which would imply there's more than one?"
"Not at a time," said Carmen. "But you'll have your hands busy, my love. Building your perfect world."
The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Oh, there was this absolutely brilliant food, back on Earth!" he said. "I tasted it, earlier. I believe it was called… 'ice cream'. If this is my perfect world, could it have ice cream?"
"If you eliminate the Slayers," said Carmen.
The Doctor seemed puzzled. "Slayers don't like ice cream?"
Now Carmen was starting to get annoyed again. Using this Time Lord to her advantage was going to be hard work, and she wasn't sure she wanted to put in the effort. The Doctor seemed to notice her unease, and hesitated.
"I'm sorry," he offered. "I didn't mean to say anything wrong. Please, forgive me."
Oh, she could get used to him begging her, though. She liked that.
"Ask nicely," she said. She was hoping to get a bow of submission from him, or even a good grovel at her feet, but what happened instead was actually more than she could have dreamed of.
He pulled her to him, and kissed her.
Ha, ha, ha. Oh, this was wonderful. He was already asking for it, already begging her to make him her slave. He had been so stubborn, before he lost his memory, so rigid and psychically strong, Carmen hadn't expected him to cave half this easily. But here he was. Fully in her power. Completely at her mercy. Begging her to control him.
It was too good to be true.
A Time Lord — no, not just any Time Lord, but this Time Lord, the legendary one — groveling at her feet. Obeying her every command. Laying with her, pleasing her. Completely subservient. Oh, yes, it was far, far better revenge for him to be like this, rather than simply killing him straight out.
And as she pulled out of the kiss, she thought — why even wait for the ceremony tonight? Why not begin now? Tear his mind to pieces, remove every scrap of knowledge, every part of him that was still him, every part of him she didn't need. She would let him keep a few things, things she was curious about, but for the most part, he would be her puppet. Her plaything. Her little toy.
"Was that all right?" he asked.
The subservience in his voice was all the incentive Carmen needed, as she nearly dragged him to the bedroom.
"Get out!" she shouted at the guards, as she drew the Doctor into a passionate kiss. Oh, yes, she was going to enjoy this. She was certainly going to enjoy this. And…
Something was wrong.
The Doctor broke away from the kiss, a delighted smile on his face. And that twinkle was back in his eyes.
"You do realize, of course," he said, "that I know exactly what you've been doing to my mind?"
Carmen broke away from him. She shouted for the guards, but the Doctor reached into his pocket and brought out a small, metal tube, which glowed blue at the end, and locked the door.
"Sonic device," he said, waving it in the air. "Isn't that brilliant? Found it in my pocket right before we met. Terribly clever little thing." He put it back into his pocket.
"How did you overcome the mind control?" Carmen demanded.
"I'm a genius!" the Doctor explained. "Great big brain of mine, and all these little tiny spaces I never use. Just created a little replica of my thoughts in a small locked away portion, one you could invade at your leisure. Actually, quite an interesting look into your psychology, seeing what suggestions you tried to plant. Particularly those concerning the lovely Miss Buffy Summers." He gave a lopsided grin. "You despise her, don't you?"
"She is a murderer!" Carmen spat at him. "I didn't lie to you about that!"
"Interesting that you thought you needed to brainwash me to believe it, though," said the Doctor. "If it had been true, probably wouldn't have needed all the coercion. Would you?" He tilted his head to the side. "You know, I was worried, there, for a second. Really thought I'd read her completely wrong, that she was everything you keep claiming she is. I suppose I should thank you for convincing me to trust my instincts and like her."
"I will kill you, Time Lord," Carmen snarled.
"Naw, you won't do that!" said the Doctor. "You need me for something. Otherwise, you probably would have killed me the moment you found me. I thought it was that rather odd red crystal I found in my pocket, earlier, but you seemed completely disinterested in searching me when I arrived. So I'm guessing whatever was in the red crystal wound up in my mind." He beamed. "That's why you had to scan it, earlier."
"Just because I can't kill you doesn't mean I can't cause you pain!" Carmen said. She threw up her hands, and the purple light encircled the Doctor, making him drop to the floor as he cried out in pain.
She lowered her hands, and watched as the light subsided, leaving the Doctor curled up on the ground. She walked over to him, and purposely slammed the heel of her shoe down into his hand.
He whimpered.
"I can still shatter your mind," she whispered. "If I can't do it with pleasure, I shall do it with pain."
He looked up at her, a piteous hurt look on his face. A look that pleaded with her to let him go.
Carmen loved that look. She relished it.
The Doctor she had met, a few nights before, had been proud, arrogant, stubborn. A being who had seen every evil of the universe, knew every terrible thing that could happen, was able to circumvent things before they took place. The Doctor she'd met a few nights before had thought she was nothing.
But look who she was, now!
In one instant, she, Carmen, had turned one of the cleverest and most dangerous creatures in the universe into a little boy. Just a naïve little boy who believed that the world was good, and everyone could live in peace and harmony and ice cream, and couldn't understand why someone like her would be so cruel. In one instant, she had taken everything away from him, reduced him to someone who needed to plea, to beg. She loved that.
If she couldn't rule the world — and she still would, she was certain of that — but even if she failed, she could at least be proud of herself for this. Destroying the Doctor. That would be something.
She put more weight on her heel, until she heard a bone snap, and he screamed.
Actually screamed.
"Beg me to stop," Carmen demanded.
"Please," he said. "Please stop."
She pressed down a little harder, and he screamed again. "Not good enough," she warned. "What are you, to me?"
"I don't know," said the Doctor. "Just… stop. Let me go."
"You are nothing," said Carmen. "Say it."
"I'm nothing," the Doctor repeated.
Carmen removed her heel from his hand, and walked over to the window, her every stride calm, collected, in control. "You are terribly foolish, Time Lord," she said. "Telling me your plans. Boasting about how clever you are. So many ways you could have used that knowledge, so many ways you could have tricked me, run for your life, or even just killed me. But you thought I would be kind. Merciful." She turned around to face him. "Compassionate."
The Doctor didn't answer.
"Let me guess," said Carmen. "You thought that deep down inside, I had a little spark of decency. A little bit of something better. You thought you could bring that out, didn't you?" She gave a dry laugh. "You should have run, Time Lord. You should never have crossed my path. Because after the ceremony is done, I'm not going to kill you. No, I'm going to keep you alive, in pain, forever. I am going to make sure that every day here is the worst day of your life."
"I'm sorry," the Doctor whimpered.
That made a smile crawl up Carmen's face. Oh, she loved it when he begged her.
"Just remember, when you're suffering your fate," said Carmen, "that it is I, Carmen, who managed to—"
A loud popping sound by her feet. Carmen looked down, to find something stuck to the heel of her shoe, something that had just exploded open, emitting a thick black smoke.
"Like I said," said the Doctor, in a far less whimpering tone. "I'm sorry."
The world faded into black, and Carmen collapsed.
Second Author's Note: Just wanted to add that, after reading this, I keep thinking, in my head, "In every generation, there is a Chosen one. One girl who will fight against the vampires, demons, forces of darkness... AND ICE CREAM! Dun dun duuuuuh!"