oOoOo
(Seven and the Valeyard)
Matrix Control Hub, Space Station Zenobia, 2,000,000,000
The Valeyard's eyes flitted to a nearby computer monitor, which was embellished with complicated readings from the Matrix. Some were lines and bars pulsating and oscillating to an improvised rhythm; others were numbers rapidly rising and falling; others were circular Gallifreyan symbols rotating into new shapes and words. They all indicated one thing:
The Doctor's dark energy output was decreasing.
How this had happened he couldn't say. He'd managed to convince the Doctor that his future self had murdered Amy Pond twice. The amount of self-hatred that produced should have been enough to keep his dark energy level at a suitable… well… level.
He looked over at the Doctor, who was slumped in his chair like a wilting sunflower tied to its stick in the soil. The connection reminded him of his adventure long ago with Amy and Vincent Van Gogh. He shut it out of his mind after labelling it as sentimental nonsense.
Turning back to the keyboard below the largest monitor in the room, he began tapping away at the letters and numbers which adorned it. His eyes occasionally flitted back towards the screen, and he took a sharp intake of breath each time he saw an increasingly disastrous reading.
Suddenly a red light flashed, accompanied by the wail of a siren.
"No!"
The computer readings screamed at him – an exponential crescendo of digital clamour until…
oOoOo
(Eleven)
The Valeyard's TARDIS, Unknown Temporal Location
"Yes!" the Doctor cried excitedly, after a reconnected wire (attached haphazardly with a bottle cap, a piece of string and a Werthers' toffee) sparked the machine into accepting his commands. He pranced with childish glee round the console, at odds with the twisted malevolence of the décor.
"Space Station Zenobia!" he exclaimed, pounding against the computer keys. "The year two zero zero zero zero…" He paused and counted momentarily on his fingers. "Zero zero zero zero zero zero!" He tugged at a lever and held on as the TARDIS tumbled through the vortex…
…
The Valeyard's TARDIS, Space Station Zenobia, 2,000,000,000
The Doctor placed his hand against the exterior door of the time machine and slowly pushed it open to be greeted only by a thick cloud of smoke.
"Dear, oh dear." He swatted some of it away with the back of his hand and coughed as he breathed in the remainder. Stumbling out of the TARDIS and into the smoke, he turned back to examine its exterior – a stone sarcophagus which, like its interior, was ornamented with stone carvings of all the Doctor's faces.
"Goodness me, it's like a time-travelling stone scrapbook," the Time Lord muttered to himself. His mental wanderings stopped when he heard a cough from behind and saw a cloaked figure weaving through the smoke and heard the scuffle of shoes. He also saw the flash of the red umbrella handle.
"Well well well," said the Doctor, suppressing a laugh. "It looks like someone fried the technology."
The Valeyard made himself visible. "A slight flaw. That's all."
"A slight flaw?! You blew up the whole extractor mainframe!" he cried before coughing again.
"What did you do?"
The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Me? Which 'me' are we talking about?"
"You know the answer to that."
Ah. He's further along than me in my personal timeline. His memories haven't caught up with him yet. "He knew I didn't kill Amy, but managed to guess the general reason for your wanting him to think that, and therefore pretended to hate me for it, which caused you to overestimate the amount of dark energy he actually possessed."
"How very typical of him." The Valeyard turned his back on the Doctor
"Obviously not typical enough for you to foresee it."
"I foresaw enough, Doctor," he replied. "Enough to know that he'd try to trick me." The Valeyard whirled round and fired a plasma probe at his opponent. An ice-blue bolt of raw energy tore ferociously like a pack of wolves through the air until it came into contact with the Doctor's chest, sending him flying backwards. "With all your memories and guilt – mass genocide of the Time Lords and so on," the Valeyard continued, looming over the limp form of his past, "you're the perfect reserve."
Unseen by both, a surviving computer monitor was projecting the image from a surveillance camera – the image of the little man running down a corridor, clutching his hat and umbrella, and his paisley silk scarf fluttering out behind him.
oOoOo
(Amy and Rory)
The Matrix
"Sooo…"
While Rory was proud of his brief flash of genius, he still had no idea what to do. The couple sat close together on the end of the jury bench, completely unseen by the rest of the court.
"How do we get out?" his wife asked.
"We need to find the door, I suppose."
"That's not exactly easy when the world around you keeps changing."
"Hmm."
There was a brief moment of silence as the Ponds individually planned their next move.
"It's at times like this when we need the Doctor," Rory sighed.
Amy suddenly stood up. One wouldn't have been surprised (as it was a simulated reality) if a cartoon lightbulb had flashed above her head. "We do have the Doctor!" she exclaimed. "Sort of."
Rory looked at the court defendant. "But he's part of the memory. He can't see us. Also, he looks rather busy."
"No, not him, stupid! The Valeyard! He's almost the Doctor and he's trying to escape the Matrix as well, right? So if he's as clever as the Doctor, he should be able to find his way out."
"So…" Rory sounded unsure of this plan of action. "We're going to follow him? We're going to follow the danger…"
Amy answered his question with a decisive nod. "It's better than the danger following us. Let's go!" With that, she grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him out of the court room in search of the Valeyard.
oOoOo
(Eleven and the Valeyard)
Matrix Control Hub, Space Station Zenobia, 2,000,000,000
It took a while for the Doctor to come to, but when he did, his senses flooded back rapidly. His head and chest ached with the splitting throb of his duel heartbeat. As light and colour returned to his vision, he could see the Valeyard several feet in front of him by the fried remains of the extractor, entwining several different coloured wires and connecting them back to the helmet.
"What are you doing?" he asked grittily. He tried to stand up and walk forward, but was sharply tugged back. He rotated his head to see his right wrist chained to the wall.
"I can fix the extractor, Doctor, with a little rewiring. It'll be ready for you within a few short hours."
"Oh, goodie," replied the Doctor sarcastically. The Valeyard ignored him. "Why did you let my seventh self go?"
"He was of no further use to me. I'm sure the Dream Lord will take care of him soon enough."
The Doctor thrust his free hand into his jacket pocket, only to find it empty.
"Looking for your sonic probe, Doctor?" the Valeyard sneered. He dropped the screwdriver on the floor and crushed it underfoot. The Doctor cringed as he heard it crunch. "I have more foresight than you think, Doctor. I woudn't just let you save yourself with your magic wand now, would I?"
The Doctor released a long sigh. There was nothing he could do.
Sorry for the delay. :S
I promise there will be more Seven and Ace action in the next chapter. :) x