Mbea's Trickster sayısı yirmi beş: 'Complications'. How more complicated could things possibly get with five different Myras, two different Fayes and two different TARDISes? Oh. That complicated.
Disclaimer - I do not own Doctor Who
Chapter 25 - Complications
Myra got to her feet, quickly, "Everyone alright? Come on guys, speak to me, Crystal?"
"Sorry, yeah, I'm fine."
"Twilla?"
"Mmhmm."
"Enoch?"
"Yep."
"Colby?"
"Still here."
"Zita?"
"Fine."
"All fine. Good. Fantastic."
"What was that thing?" Crystal asked, shakily.
Enoch shook his head, "I don't know. It moved too fast, I... I don't know."
"D'you think there's more of them?"
"I don't know."
"It didn't look friendly, what did it want?"
"Uh... us? I'm sorry, I don't know, Miss Crystal."
"Myra?"
She was staring at the place where the thing had disappeared, intently, "I didn't see it properly." She frowned, "It looked almost like..." she paused, thinking, and then shook her head, firmly, pulling herself back together, "Never mind. Come on, let's go."
"Where we are going?"
"I've got the TARDIS. I'm taking you guys home. Wherever that is." She turned to them, raising an expectant eyebrow, "You've got coordinates for your village? I'll take you to your doors. Well. Roughly. Come on."
"So we're back here again..."
"Fantastic view, isn't it?"
2.0 shot her future self a small, grimly amused smile, "Can't beat never-ending sand..."
"Let's get out of the sun. C'mon."
They moved quickly towards the gravity platform, the Doctor close on their tails.
"Hey!"
They turned back. Mark-Two shook her head, immediately, "Oh, no no no, where'd you think you're going?"
Faye raised an eyebrow, as if it was obvious, "I'm coming with you."
"Well, yeah, we can see that." Mark-Five replied, shaking her head, "And there's no way, Fi. Go back to the TARDIS."
"Like hell." She replied, stubbornly.
2.0 stood forwards and took a hold of her shoulder, "Fi, listen to me. We need someone to look after Maddie."
"Maddie's whacked out, I gave her some sedative."
"What? Are you sure it was sedative?"
She raised an eyebrow, sceptically, "Well, it was a kind of big red injection-looking thing with the word 'sedative' written in big black letters across the side, so, yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"You sedated your daughter?"
"Yes I did."
"Well. That's active parenting."
Faye shrugged, "Keeps her quiet."
The Doctor was smiling slightly, "Well, that's one way I suppose."
"Oi, don't you start." She turned back to her sister, urgently, "What are you doing. This could be dangerous, this is dangerous, and you've got a daughter to think about, you've got someone that needs you safe."
"What, and you haven't?"
She stopped, looking at her. She glanced at 5.0, and the expression on her face was just the same. She looked back at Faye again, "I'm sorry. I just... I didn't..."
"Think?" she completed, raising an eyebrow, angry again, "Yeah, I know, that's very clear." She took a step forwards and put a hand on her arm, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Myra."
She shrunk back a bit, suddenly uncomfortable, "Oh, Fi, don't - don't do that, you've got Jean. You've got Maddie. And what about Mum, you've gotta look after her."
"We've gotta look after her." She corrected, firmly, "And that's the end of it. I'm coming with you. Keeping you out of trouble." She started walking along the sand, "Come on. Which way."
The two Myra's glanced at each other, and then shook their heads, turning back to the platform, "This way..."
"What about you?"
Myra looked at the girl for a second, and then shook her head, "I don't know. I know I'm supposed to be... somewhere. I know I'm supposed to do something, but according to Mark-Five I have to figure it out for myself."
Crystal smiled, "Oh, of course. No fun otherwise."
She echoed her smile, "I'll figure it out sooner or later. I'll have to."
"What d'you think it is?"
She raised her eyebrows, letting out a breath and shaking her head, "Well... I don't know. I know I have to do something. I can't just stay here, I have to go back."
"Go back where?"
"To the caves. I have to go down into the caves and find them, I have to, I can't sit around and let this happen."
"Let what happen?"
"A future self saved my life. And she died, she let the anthromorph absorb her, she died to save me." She shook her head, slowly, drawing in a long, slow breath, "This whole thing... is getting out of hand. Very, very quickly. Everyone's gunna die. Everything... everything..." she trailed off, frowning slightly, thinking carefully, "Everything's... getting out of hand..."
Crystal looked her up and down, quickly, "What's wrong."
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Except..." she paused, and then shook her head, "I think I know what she's doing. I think I've figured out the plan." She paused again, and then nodded, now completely sure, "Yeah. I've figured it out. Oh... Oh, I'm clever. I am very good."
The girl looked at her, smiling slightly, "Modesty, anyone?"
"But... why would I do that? So many deaths..."
"Deaths?"
"Of me. Except... except it's not me I'm killing, is it. Not really." she glanced up at her, quickly, "Could I do that? Is that... Could I?"
Crystal looked at her for a moment, and then shook her head, "Now, Miss Hull, I don't know what's going on. But... you told me that this... anthromorph... thing... it's gunna kill. It'll kill all of us, all of this village, all of this world. And it won't stop there, will it? It'll keep travelling, keep killing, and that... that Paradox Machine will let him keep going. Forever. Is that right."
Myra looked at her, and then nodded, "Yes." She replied, quietly.
"Well. I don't think you really have a choice, then. Do you."
She shook her head, "No. I don't." there was a pause, and then she shook her head again, "But if I'm right... then that thing that attacked us... that was a Reaper. Which is very, very bad..."
"Why, what's a Reaper?"
She didn't reply, instead turning to her, sharply, "Change of plan, don't go home, have you got a church nearby?"
She shook her head, "Hello, theocracy. Of course we've got churches. We're got six here, ten more in the next village along, Pico."
"Fantastic, which one's the oldest."
"Uh... Čessaro, I think. About a mile that way."
"Great, fantastic, get there as quick as you can, spread the word, I want everyone in those churches, you hear me, the older the better."
"Why, Myra, what are Reapers, what will they do?"
"Trust me, you don't have much time, just sound the alarm, okay?"
"But what about you?"
"I'm the Alpha. The Original. The source of all this. I'm the only one that can stop it. Just do as I say, listen to me, you've gotta hide, okay? Just get in the church and sit tight, this thing won't take long, it'll all be over soon, I promise you."
Crystal raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Who told you that?"
She shot her a small smile, "I did."
"Myra."
"Yeah?" they both asked, glancing at her.
Faye hesitated, "No, I meant... new Myra."
"Oh, that's me. What's up."
"You said you needed the Reapers to sterilise a wound. But which wound? You've made so many... haven't you? I mean with the whole crossing your personal timeline thing."
"Yeah. A lot more than you think. At my point we've ripped open around... six? I dunno, hard to keep count, quite a few, though."
2.0 nodded, slowly, "Should be enough chaos, don't you think?"
"Enough for what?" Faye asked, frowning.
5.0 hesitated, and then shook her head, "Never mind. In answer to your question, however... this is gunna make another hole. An even bigger hole." She looked at her for a second, meaningfully, "The biggest hole there can be. The biggest paradox."
Realisation passed through her eyes in a flash: "You mean..."
5.0 nodded, slowly, "Yes." She moved her eyes onto the Doctor, who met her gaze, silently. "Doctor. Do you know what we're going to do."
"Going to do." He repeated, impassively, "So you've decided, then? Do I not get a choice?"
She didn't hesitate, and her voice showed no emotion: "No."
2.0, however, hesitated, looking back and forth between them, "Of course you've got a choice. But it's the only way, Doctor."
"Who says that?"
5.0 shook her head, "Have you got a plan? Well? I'm waiting."
He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.
"Well then."
"Oi." Mark-Two said, looking at her future self, firmly, "Cool it. I know you're scared, just... calm down."
"I'm not scared. I'm on a time limit. We have to get this done. Now." She glanced back, "Doctor, what time is it."
He raised an eyebrow and then looked at a watch on his wrist, "Well, Myra... it is eleven-oh-six. Why, d'you have somewhere you need to be?"
"Don't get sarky with me." Then she shook her head, "She should be here by now."
"Who?" Faye asked, frowning.
She didn't reply, looking around her. Then her eyes widened and she took a few quick steps away, "Get back! Now!"
Myra glanced at her and then pushed Faye out the way with one hand and moved the Doctor back with an arm, "Do as she says, now!"
They all moved backwards, and then she heard it, the whirring of the time rotor, the arrival of another TARDIS. They all watched as it shimmered into view, flickered and jutted into the cavern.
A smile spread across 5.0's face, "Now that's more like it."
But 2.0 was shaking her head, slowly, "No. There's something wrong."
She was right. The ship had barely touched the floor before a tremor rocketed through it, a shimmer passing over the wood, and then, abruptly, it disappeared.
5.0's smile dropped, "Wait, what was that. What... where's it gone, what happened."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, smiling a small, triumphant smile, "Me, I would think. Past me would know I couldn't meet myself, would have taken precautions as soon as your other mark came to pick me up."
"The HADS." 2.0 said, slowly, "You activated it."
Anger sparked up in 5.0's eyes, "Doctor -"
"If I met myself it would be against Gallifreyan law." He replied, coldly, "And I'm not going to do that."
She shook her head, anger now obvious in her expression, "Oh yes, 'Defender of the Laws of Time', I forgot. But you listen here, Doctor. I don't care...about your Laws of Time. And with the Time Lords gone there's hardly going to be anyone around to enforce them, is there?"
"Stop it!" 5.0 looked round at her, quickly, and Mark-Two shook her head, disgustedly, "What is wrong with you."
"Millions of people are going to die." She replied, just as firm, "Do you want that?"
"Of course I don't!" she turned back to the Doctor, quickly, "Doctor what... do we do."
He shook his head, perfectly calm, "Give me some time. That's all I ask, I'll think of something, just... give me some time."
"We don't have time." 5.0 said, coldly, "And it's not up to you, Doctor. 'Cause, guess what?" she held up the box around her neck, raising an eyebrow, "I've got a remote control."
"No!"
She rammed the button down with the palm of the hand. A sound like electronic lightning flashed through the air and light burned through their retinas. Myra recoiled, putting an arm over her eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. Then the dim glow faded, and she opened her eyes, tentatively, lowering her arm.
There was someone lying crouched on the floor, doubled up, weight braced on her arms on the floor. She was wearing a thick, almost suede-like dress, dark violet with a square neck. Her head was down, brown hair spilling over her face, panting.
The girl raised a shaking hand to her head, and then put it back down, quickly ripping something that looked like a thick black strap off her wrist and throwing it away from her with terrified passion. Then she paused, and glanced up.
5.0's eyes widened, "What..."
The girl shook her head, "No."
"What the hell..."
She stumbled to her feet, clawing at the rocky wall, shaking her head, vehemently, "Oh no."
"What are you doing here?"
"You have got to be kidding me..."