oOoOo

(Eleven)

Royal Palace Ballroom, Paris, 1765

The ballroom was abandoned. Masks had been trampled into the floor as their owners had stampeded towards the exit after the explosion. As much as he frowned upon it, the Doctor knew Ace would be secretly proud of herself for this. She enjoyed making a scene. She always had.

Of course he was pretty efficient at creating mayhem too, but normally managed it without explosives. He wasn't a fan of those.

Except fireworks, of course. Fireworks were lovely. He knew of a spectacular pyrotechnic display on Omicron Five, where the fireworks created music as well as lights. Perhaps he should take Amy and Rory there one day…

He shook his head to get his mind back on topic. Fireworks would have to wait.

"Ace, come back!" he called. His voice reverberated around the hall. "We're needed on the balcony!"

"Doctor!"

The Doctor turned round to be greeted by his fiery haired companion.

"Amy!" He embraced her in a tight hug. "You're not dead. That's good news."

"Nice to know," she replied. "Wait a sec… you thought I was dead?"

"Yes… well… not me… well… it is me… but not me me – the other me."

"You have such a way with words."

He grinned. "Don't I just. Have you seen Ace?"

"In this world? No. That reminds me, this one is real and the other one isn't, just in case you were planning on suicide."

"Thank you. I already knew that." He smiled and turned away after gesturing to her to follow him.

Amy's shoulders sank. "Looks like you don't need me then."

He turned back to face her and sighed. "Oh, Pond, I'll always need you." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Come on. We've got to find Ace."

oOoOo

(Seven and Rory)

Royal Palace Balcony, Paris, 1765

"So what do you do for a living?" Rory asked.

"I travel, the same as you do."

"Where do you go?"

"Everywhere. The universe is like a giant bag of confectionery. I have the ability to delve into the bottom of the bag and pull out whatever sweet delight is to offer. Occasionally though, you end up with the blackcurrant ones. Horrible things."

"But, how do you get around? It's not like…"

"In the TARDIS, the same as you do."

"But there's only one TARDIS, isn't there? The Doctor said they were all destroyed in the Time…"

Rory stopped when he heard a soft thud next to him. "Professor Forgeron?" He turned to see the Doctor lying unconscious, his head now resting on the floor rather than against the wall. "Professor Forgeron, can you hear me? Professor!"

oOoOo

(Seven)

The TARDIS, Unknown Temporal Location

"Well that's irritating."

The Doctor sat up and scratched his head, only to lie back down again feeling slightly nauseated. The Dream Lord had said something about accidental losses of consciousness making one feel dizzy in the other world. He must have fainted, he thought. Must have lost too much blood.

How undignified.

When this was over, he decided, he would need to have a nice long talk with Ace about the consequences of violence. There were better ways to settle disputes.

Once he had regained his sense of balance, he stood up and surveyed his surroundings. His attention was first grabbed by his future self lying in front of him, and then by the knife, which lay discarded by his feet. He cursed under his breath, and picked up the weapon.

Something suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye; something dark and sinister like a shadow. He turned to face it.

"YOU!"

"Feeling murderous are we, Doctor?" the man said, indicating towards the knife.

"Now that you're here, even more so, Valeyard."

The Valeyard stepped forward so that his pale face now bathed in the dim glow generated by the psychic pollen. "How flattering. Aren't you going to ask how I escaped the Matrix?"

"It wasn't on the top of my to-do list."

"You were never one to follow lists."

"If you tell me, you'll change your own past. When… when you're created during my twelfth regeneration, you'll remember what you said to me here and know how to escape the Matrix sooner –maybe even prevent yourself from getting trapped in there at all."

"I'm almost impressed. You know, you always were the incarnation I was most proud of."

"Don't insult me."

The Valeyard pretended he hadn't heard. "So much deceit; so much malice. Apart from your successor, you were definitely the one most soaked in blood."

The Doctor had a comeback prepared, but his curiosity got the better of him. "My successor?"

"Indeed. He was a king in check rather than a chess master, but in the end the 'greater good' got the better of him too, on a rather large scale too, I seem to recall."

The Doctor's face remained fixed in its previous expression, but the Valeyard was sure it had turned a shade whiter.

"Why are you here?"

The Valeyard stepped forward. The Doctor instinctively stepped backwards.

"I came to capture a certain Time Lord, but I'll admit I wasn't expecting it to be a live one."

"Stay away from me!" the Doctor cried, brandishing the knife. He used his free hand to point at the sleeping man in the bow tie. "Take him instead. He's the murderous one!"

"He's not the one I need, Doctor. Not yet, anyway."

"Whatever it is you want, I'll play no part in it!"

"That's not your decision to make." He reached out a hand holding a thick metal cuff. The Doctor lowered his weapon and tentatively took the bracelet from him.

"A short range teleport?"

The Valeyard nodded. "Either come with me, or I'll make you come with me."

The Doctor stood still for a moment assessing his options. He bent down to pick up his umbrella. Once he had straightened up again, he threw the teleport at the Valeyard's feet and ran as fast as he could in the other direction.

"Come now, Doctor. I think that counts as an illegal move." The Valeyard clicked his fingers and the corridor in front of the Doctor suddenly stretched and contorted, becoming a dead end except for a small door. Knowing he was trapped, the Doctor had no choice but to go through it. "Check," the Valeyard exclaimed.

The Doctor found himself in a small bedroom. Ace's chemistry set was exhibited on a chest of drawers, and in the opposite corner of the room was… a Ferrari? Two figures lay unconscious on the bed.

"Ace! Amy!" The Doctor scurried over to them and scanned his current companion for any injuries. "Ace, can you hear me?" he asked nervously, feeling for a heartbeat. After an hour-long second of silence, he repeated the process with Amy. Before he had the chance to check her pulse, the Valeyard burst through the door and snapped his fingers, causing the pollen to shoot through every ventilation shaft on the left side of the Doctor like a swarm of locusts. In defence, the younger Time Lord opened up his umbrella and held it out like a shield. The Valeyard chortled at his futile efforts and clicked his fingers again. The same happened on the Doctor's right hand side. Surrounded, the Doctor coughed and spluttered as the pollen flooded into his lungs. He collapsed between the two young women.

"I win, Doctor. Checkmate."


Well done to MayFairy for guessing correctly. :D

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