Mbea's Trickster capitolul doisprezece: 'The Shape-Shifter'. The Doctor takes up spelunking and Myra discovers something she wishes she hadn't.

Disclaimer - Sadly, I don't own Doctor Who


Chapter 12 - The Shape-Shifter

The Doctor turned the corner. He looked around him, carefully. It was dark, very dark, but he could just about make out some rough shadows. The room was just like the others, sandy floor, rocky walls.

He ran a hand down the rock again. Heat emanated from deep inside, like some sort of molten core. But if they were that deep not even the TARDIS would be able to protect them - they would have been crushed by the pressure in an instant. The Earth's radius was a quite mediocre 7,926 miles, with a distance from the crust to the core of 4,038. But this was no Earth. This planet was bigger, much bigger.

He let his hand slide off the wall and kept walking. There was no way they'd travelled over 10 miles on that gravity platform, that would be impossible. So they weren't at the core. So something that wasn't molten lava was creating a ridiculous amount of heat down here. But what?

Something moved behind him and he span around, automatically pulling his screwdriver from his pocket. He pointed it ahead of him, waiting. Silence. He paused, cautiously, and then took a small step forwards.

"Myra?" He called, softly.

No response. He flicked a lever on his sonic, keeping his eyes on the shadow, and let the light fall on the corner. Nothing.

He hesitated, thinking quickly. A Vashta shadow wouldn't have been perturbed by a sonic screwdriver, would have stripped his flesh in the blink of an eye. He scanned the nearby shadows, just in case. Nope, benign. As far as a shadow could be called benign...

He could feel his hearts pumping, pushing blood faster around his body as he frowned at the empty corner. Then he shook his head and turned, carrying on down the passageway, screwdriver still in hand.

The path didn't carry on for long; he followed it for only a few minutes before he came to another sharp drop into another lava-filled pit. The Doctor looked down, carefully, and then looked to either side, searching for a ledge he could get to. There was nothing. He paused, for a second watching the Farons dance in the fire, singing their hushed melody, almost transfixed. Then he shook his head and turned back, almost dissatisfied at the lack of anything useful, and started making his way back along the path.

"Doctor?"


The Doctor turned rapidly to the shout, "Myra?" There was nothing, and he started moving quickly forwards, "Myra, is that you?"

She didn't reply, and he shook his head, frustrated, "Myra Hull! If you don't answer me, I'm... I'm... I'm gunna be really ticked off."

"Doctor?"

He span on his heel, back to the way he had come, his voice suddenly perfectly serious: "Who's there."

"Doctor..."

"Who is that."

"Doctor!"

"Who is that?"

Silence. He hesitated, his grip tightening on his sonic, ears tuned to even the slightest movement. Nothing.

He paused for a second, and then backed away a few steps, stumbling slightly on the uneven floor. Absolute silence. He turned, hesitated, and then slowly started walking away, back towards the path.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor spun back, and a bright light shone into his eyes, so bright he pulled backwards, turning his head, covering his eyes with an arm. He paused for a moment, gathering his breath, and then pulled his arm away. Sparks of light and colour flashed up in his vision, and he grimaced, blinking until they disappeared, "Myra?"

"Doctor?"

"Myra!"

He ran towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Myra, it's you!"

"Who the hell did you think it was, Elvis?" she replied, and, though her hands were pressed tightly over her eyes and her voice sounded somewhat pained, her words were still remarkably sharp.

"What are you doing here?"

"I followed you. I heard... never mind what I heard. I guess... I wanted to check up on you. You've been gone for ages!"

He titled his head, trying to see her properly, "You alright?"

She shook her head, her hands still covering her face, firmly, "My head... My eyes... God!"

He put his hands on hers, "Let me see."

She tightened her hold, "No." She winced, drawing in a breath through gritted teeth, "God, I... I feel like they're bleeding."

He frowned, "It was just a light, it wasn't that bad, can't have been! Come on, let me have a look."

"My head..."

He tried again, softening his voice: "Myra. Let me take a look at you. I can help."

"No. Please, Doctor, don't make me."

"Don't make you what?"

"Look at you."

He moved his head back, slightly, looking at her, the words sending alarm bells through his head, "What d'you mean."

"Don't make me look at you!"

He took a slow step back, "Hold on. Hold on, wait a minute. I've heard that before." He paused, looking her up and down, really looking at her, calculating every inch, "Myra..."

"Don't make me look at you."

"Myra, are you still in there? Can you hear me?"

She shook her head, doubling a little, breathing heavily, "Doctor, it's me. I'm still here." She let out a low, pained whimper, and something shot through his soul, "Oh, God... Doctor, what's happening to me."

The Doctor moved back towards her, instantly, "Myra, listen to me. I am going to get you out of here, you hear me? Myra?"

He put his hand out, hesitated, and then put it on her cheek. She instantly warmed to his touch, pushing her face against his palm. Her face was wet with tears.

He paused, something triggering inside him, something he didn't want to feel, and then he forced it back down, ferociously, and turned to her, "Myra? You're going to be fine. Hear me?"

"Doctor?"

"Yeah?"

"What I said... about hating you..."

He smiled, slightly uncomfortable, "Oh... oh, don't worry about that, I, I get it all the time!"

"Just... I didn't mean it."

"I know, don't... don't worry about it."

"I don't hate you."

Before he knew what was happening, she'd grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulled him forwards and was kissing him. She pushed him backwards into the wall, cornering him, hands moving to the back of his head, pulling him closer. He managed to break away for a breath and then she pulled him straight back down again, so close, having to stretch to reach, her other hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, he pushed her off, roughly, forcing her away from him. The Doctor paused, looking at her, then, slowly, wiped off his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked at his hand for a second and then looked back up at her, coldly, "Well, I knew you wanted my taste but I didn't think you'd stoop that far." Myra didn't move, her hands back on her face, covering her eyes. He raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down, distastefully, "Well? Go on, then. Show yourself."

For a moment, she didn't move. Then she slid her hands down from her face and looked at him. Her eyes glowed black and red, a mist spreading across her face. The Doctor tilted his head back slightly, unsurprised.

The thing smiled, tilting its head slightly to one side, "Hello, Time Lord."

He looked at her, emotionless, "Hello, anthromorph."

The girl smiled a smile too vicious for her face, "How did you know?"

He shook his head, sceptically, "Look at yourself. Not even just your eyes, everything about you screams 'shifter'. You're too short, your hair's too dark and Myra doesn't wear nail varnish. You taste like battery acid. But, mostly..." he looked her up and down, appraisingly, "Myra's dress was violet. That's more... mauve."

She raised an eyebrow, still smiling, "And you wonder why people say you're into musical theatre?"

He looked her up and down, a slow anger beginning to build inside of him, "Is that Myra? Is that her, have you taken her form?" he held out his hand, hesitantly, and touched her shoulder, quickly, "Or is it another echo."

"An echo. I haven't taken her form yet. I thought I'd give you a chance to reconsider."

"No chances. Where is she. Myra, where is she."

"Safe. For now."

"Stop it, answer me!"

"I just did, Time Lord." The girl paused, tilting her head slightly to one side and smiling an unpleasant smile, "Did you ever wonder why we picked her? Out of all the people in time and space, everyone in creation, why her?"

"You said it didn't matter. You said it was random."

"Oh, but it wasn't."

He paused, looking at her, curiosity battling with suspicion, "You know where she's from?"

"Oh yes."

He paused again, thinking very quickly, then moved his head back, "Go on, then. Why did you pick her."

She smiled another twisted smile, her glowing eyes sparkling, and then raised a hand, beckoning him towards her, "Come with me. Let me tell you something about your precious little Myra Hull."


Myra looked around her, uneasily. She couldn't tell the exact time that had passed - she'd discovered quite soon that the sudden transportation to the sixteenth century had apparently been too much for her watch to cope with - but she knew it had to have been at least thirty minutes since the Doctor had left.

Her eyes moved over to the ledge over the pit. She shook her head, immediately. She'd tried that once already. Every time she got anywhere near the edge, the Farons' song caught her again, and she'd had to force herself back. She couldn't risk that tiny platform knowing that as soon as she stepped foot on it the thought of falling might not seem that bad an idea to her anymore.

"Myra?"

She spun around, her heart pounding, "Doctor?"

"Myra? Myra, is that you?"

She turned again, searching for the voice, "Yeah, it's me, where are you?"

"Myra Hull! If you don't answer me, I'm... I'm... I'm gunna be really ticked off."

She shook her head, impatiently, "Doctor? Doctor, I'm... I'm here! Where are you?"

There was silence. She turned back where she came from, the echoes disorientating her. Her heart was hammering away in her chest, thump-thump-thump-thump-thump and she could no longer tell if she'd really heard the voice or if she'd just imagined it.

She turned to where she thought the sound had come from, taking a cautious step forwards, "Doctor..."

He didn't reply, and she took another step forwards, "Doctor! Come on, where are you!"

Her own voice called back to her, echoing off the rocky walls.

"Myra?"

"Doctor!" she turned again, relieved, and started off down the path, "Doctor, I'm here!"

"Myra?"

She kept running, following the path, following the voice, "Doctor? Where are you?"

"Myra!"

Myra ran smack into him, and quick took a few steps back, looking at him. The bubbling light of the lava shone off his suit and gave him a peculiar glow, but it was definitely him. Her Doctor. Laughing, she pulled him down into a tight hug, "God, I'm pleased to see you!"

"Get off me."

She flinched back, his tone cutting through her. Her eyes moved over him, hurt and confused, "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"You are."

She raised an eyebrow, incredulously, "Excuse me?"

The Doctor shook his head, sceptically, "Oh, don't act like that with me. I just had a run in with your little friend. The anthromorph."

"The anthromorph?" she repeated, panic instantly going through her brain, "Are you okay? Did you... did you do it, did you get rid of it?"

"No."

Her panic died, confusion and anger taking its place, "Why."

"Because I've found another way." His eyes flickered over her, looking her up and down, indifferently, almost coldly, "And that way is you."

She shook her head, not understanding, "Doctor, I don't -"

"You knew all along, didn't you?"

"What?"

"Knew about the anthromorph. We've been having a little chat." His eyes were dark, terrifying, and it was taking everything she had to stop herself backing away from him, "He told me what you were. What you are. What you were going to do."

"I don't understand."

He ignored her, eyes fixed on hers, "How the Blockade really activated."

Myra looked at him, mouth open, finally realising what he was saying, feeling herself slipping a little in her desperation, her eyes welling up, "But, but he's a Trickster!" she took a step forwards and grabbed hold of his arm, not flinching when he pulled sharply away, "You told me yourself, you can't trust him!"

"All along, Myra. He didn't want me. He wanted you. And the TARDIS."

"Doctor, I swear, I have no idea what he's talking about!"

"That's because you haven't done it yet." He looked at her again, his eyes calculating, "But you will. And that's why I have to go."

She moved towards him again, nodding, almost frantically, "Good, let's go, let's get out of here!"

But he shook his head, slowly, "I said 'I'. Not 'we'." He paused a beat, looking at her, "You have to stay here."

"What?" she shook her head, giving a small, nervous laugh. He just looked at her. Her smile faded, and she shook her head again, "But... but you said you wouldn't leave me, you promised you'd get me home!"

He looked at her, watching her fall to pieces, emotionless, "That was before I found out what you are. I can't take you back to Earth it'd be too much of a risk, I'm sorry."

She shook her head, tears now flowing freely down her face, "Doctor! You promised me!"

He shook his head, slowly, "I'm going back to the TARDIS. For your own sake, Myra, don't try to follow me." He paused, and then an almost unbearable disgust moved onto his face, "I'm sure your anthromorph will take care of you."

He turned to leave, and she shook her head, taking a step after him, "Wait!"

"Goodbye, Myra."

"Please, just, just... wait!"

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"Just, just let me ask you a question. One question, just one question, please."

He turned back to her, his eyes just as cold, "What is it."

She wiped her face, breathing heavily, shaking, forcing herself to be strong, "Just... tell me this. What have you done with the Doctor."