CHAPTER 34

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PORTENTS OF THE FUTURE PART ONE

Cliodna's TARDIS was slowly carrying Theta, Arkytior, Cassiopeia, and Cydonia back in Mars' past for yet another mission for the Time Lords when Arkytior received an incoming transmission from the High Council. She thought that she already knew what she was supposed to be doing for this mission so she had no idea what they could possibly be calling her about now.

Unless they had discovered her secret.

Arkytior shook with fear as she slowly started to answer their call. Theta noticed this but hesitated to say anything. Arkytior obviously didn't want to tell him anything about what was bothering her even though he was very concerned about her. She had been acting more like her old self and had been much more quiet and withdrawn lately ever since the battle with the War Lords. It was deeply worrying him because he was afraid that he was losing her somehow.

Arkytior saw this fear on Theta's face and briefly smiled at him reassuringly as she finally answered the Time Lords' call. She grabbed Theta's hand for strength as one of the Council started to speak.

"Ambassador Arkytior, your mission has changed. Mars' timeline has suddenly been drastically altered by some unknown agency. You must go back to just before things were altered and prevent this new timeline from becoming a fixed point or the entire history of the universe may be changed forever," The Time Lord said.

Arkytior breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't calling about her secret even as she was suddenly filled with questions about what the Time Lord wasn't telling her. What was really going on here?

"What am I supposed to prevent though? You still haven't told me," Arkytior said.

"You will know it when you see it. You must discover the source of this alteration in Mars' timestream and put a stop to it as soon as possible. Good luck, Lady Arkytior," The Time Lord said before ending his transmission.

"In order words, they have no idea what's going on, and you and I are supposed to singlehandedly figure it out and save the day somehow. No big deal," Theta said with a sigh.

"What about me? I'm here too you know. I'm sure I can do plenty to help," Cydonia said in an insulted tone.

Theta smiled and gave her a quick hug as he said, "Of course you can, Cy. I'm sorry for leaving you out. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"I understand. Don't worry about it. You're forgiven, Theta," Cydonia said grinning at him as she returned his hug.

"I'm worried about her too," Cydonia whispered to Theta.

Theta smiled at her as he wasn't surprised that Cydonia knew exactly what he was thinking. She always did somehow. She knew him better than anyone except for Arkytior even though she hadn't known him anywhere near as long.

"If you two are whispering about me, you don't need to worry. I'm fine," Arkytior said as she put up a false front yet again to hide her true feelings.

"Ari, I'm not going to pry. I just want you to know that I'm always here to listen to you whenever you want to open up to me," Theta said.

"Thank you," Arkytior said appreciating the sentiment but knowing that she could never tell him the truth about her. She could never take that chance.

"Are you listening to him, Ari?" Cydonia asked.

"Yes, Cy, I'm listening. I told you that I'm fine," Arkytior said through gritted teeth.

Cydonia could hear a tone of warning there that immediately made her back down. For now anyway.

She's stubborn. She can never, ever admit when she needs help. Adults can really act so ridiculous sometimes. Cassiopeia said telepathically to Cydonia.

They certainly can, yes. Your parents can act more so than most some days. I sometimes think that you're the adult and they're the children because you always seem to have so much more sense than they do. I think that we're going to have to work together to help your mum whether she wants us to or not, sweetie. Cydonia replied.

Deal. Now we're like secret agents aren't we? This should be fun. Cassiopeia answered with a huge grin on her face.

Cydonia smiled at the baby and kissed her forehead as Arkytior watched them sadly. She knew that she was worrying everyone, and she was working to get her emotions under control as quickly as possible because of that. She had to return to her normal self as quickly as possible so that no one ever knew what it was that she had done. Only Cliodna and her capsule knew the truth about what had happened, and she was going to keep it that way.

She never wanted anyone to know what a monster that she really was especially not the people that she loved.

The Capsule landed and Arkytior immediately exited it to discover that the Time Lord had told her the truth. She definitely knew what the problem was now as soon as she walked outside.

"What is happening?" Theta asked in both shock and fascination as he saw the chaos that was unfolding all around him.

They saw Ice Warriors everywhere screaming at the top of their lungs in terror. Some of them were running as fast as they could in all directions while others were fighting with unseen enemies. It was as though everyone on Mars had gone completely mad.

"What could have possibly caused this? Do you think that it might affect us too?" Cydonia asked in a worried voice.

"I hope not," Arkytior said as she shuddered at the thought of what she might do if she started to go mad too.

"According to my sensors it's a virus that's affecting them. It's airborne and could be dangerous to Time Lords as well," An unfamiliar voice said.

The Time Lords all turned to see a young brunette standing where their Capsule had just been a moment ago. Arkytior looked at her in disbelief as she wasn't aware that a Capsule could do such a thing. Copying Cliodna was one thing but creating her own body was yet another.

"You're the Capsule?" Theta asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Theta, and I think that it's best for all of you if I assume a Time Lord form and follow you so that I can get you out of here as quickly as possible if necessary. This world is extremely dangerous now especially for Cassiopeia," The Capsule said as she looked at the baby with concern.

"This is weird. A Capsule that walks and talks. I wish your Capsule could do that, Ari. That would be so wonderful," Theta said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"I'm so glad that she can't because you never would have married me if she could," Arkytior joked as she felt like herself again for a moment.

Theta looked at her in outrage before finally saying with an embarrassed look on his face, "Shut up! That's not true and you know it."

"You're in love with that ship and you know it," Arkytior said as she continued to poke fun at him while feeling more and more normal by the moment.

"I am not," Theta said pouting.

"So what do we call you?" Cydonia asked the Capsule as her two friends continued to act childish yet again.

Not that she was complaining. She'd rather watch Ari acting silly then being all depressed any day.

"Call me?" The Capsule asked.

"Yes. What's your name?" Cydonia asked.

The Capsule looked at her in surprise and smiled as she said, "Do you know that no one not even Cliodna has ever asked me that."

"I tend to think a little outside the box. I guess it comes from my very weird background," Cydonia said with a mysterious smile.

"You mean from your original self, Clara Oswald?" The Capsule said.

Cydonia looked at her in shock while she laughed and said, "I know many things that I shouldn't because I can see all times, past, present, and future, at once. Don't worry though. I won't tell anyone else. They probably wouldn't believe me anyway. It's Mneme by the way."

"What is? Is that your name?" Cydonia said in surprise.

"Yes. I don't really like it though. It's why I was always secretly glad that no one ever asked me my name," Mneme said.

"I kind of like it. If you don't though, how about I give you another one instead? How do you feel about Nina?" Cydonia asked.

"No," Mneme said shaking her head.

"Oswin?" Cydonia asked.

"Mneme made a face that made Cydonia laugh even as another unfamiliar voice said, "I like the name Charlotte myself, but I may be just a bit biased."

"Charlotte. Yeah. I like that. Thank you, Charley," The newly renamed Charlotte said with a grin.

"You know her?" Cydonia asked as Theta and Arkytior now turned to look at this new arrival with suspicion.

"I've never met her before, but I do know the future, remember?" Charlotte said.

"You know the future? So does that mean that you know all about me?" Charley Pollard asked.

"I know that you're a future companion of Theta Sigma's, yes. I won't tell if you won't though. That's him over there by the way," Charlotte whispered as she pointed at Theta.

"No! That's never the Doctor," Charley said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it is. He's quite different from yours, isn't he?" Charlotte said.

"Who are you?" Theta asked as he continued to eye Charley suspiciously.

"My name is . . . unimportant. What matters is that I know what's happening here. This was all caused by a virus that was created by the race that I work for, the Viyrans. It was one of many that escaped their containment facility and that I've been helping them hunt down and get rid of throughout time and space. This particular virus brings out your worst fears and forces you to face them. It can potentially scare a person to death so we have to put a stop to it right now before all life is wiped out on this planet. Luckily for the Ice Warriors, the Viyrans have the cure. They should be here any minute now. They sent me down here first to talk for them since they don't really speak at least not in the usual way anyway," Charley said.

"You are wrong. Your masters will not come today, girl," An Ice Warrior who wasn't acting insane said from behind Charley.

Everyone now became very quiet as they saw that he was holding a gun on them. In his other hand, he was holding some kind of device.

"This planet will not be cured until it gives into my demands. I've told the government that there will be no cure until they destroy the ancient pyramid which houses the Eye of Horus and I meant it! Your masters will not interfere in my plans now!" The Ice Warrior said as he activated the device in his hand.

A huge weapon came out of the ground nearby that looked like a cannon and fired up into the sky. A moment later a huge explosion briefly lit up the entire atmosphere and caused everyone to cover their ears from the noise.

"You destroyed the Viyrans' ship! They were the only ones who could have helped your people!" Charley said in disbelief.

"Are you insane? What could there possibly be in this pyramid that is worth so many lives?" Theta asked in outrage.

"It is the key to releasing my master. Once it is destroyed, then he will finally be free at last. Once he is free, then he will give me power beyond your wildest imaginings. That's worth all of this," The Ice Warrior said as he gestured at the chaos around them in a gesture of complete contempt.

"Are there any more of these Viyrans around?" Theta asked Charley.

"Not in the immediate area. They'll come to find out what happened to that ship, but it will probably take them ages to get here. All of these people may be dead by that time," Charley said in a panicked voice.

"And we might be too," Cydonia added.

Charley nodded as she said, "Yes, because this virus affects Time Lords too. It'll also affect humans. None of us are immune."

"I am. Maybe I should go take you all out of here to get help," Charlotte proposed.

"No, we can't. The virus will just spread to other worlds if we leave here. It has to be contained and stopped here on Mars while we still can," Theta said.

"It will be stopped once my master is free. Then he will destroy the virus with his limitless power and put me in place as the ruler of this world. I will be Uxmias I, Emperor of the Ice Warriors," Uxmias said.

"More like Uxmias the Mad," Cydonia said.

Uxmias smirked as he said, "No, it is all of you who will soon be mad. You will join the rest of them in being destroyed by your own worst fears. That is unless the government meets my demands. Then all will be made right once again under my benevolent rule."

"You seem to be doing okay. Why aren't you affected?" Arkytior noted as she finally spoke for the first time since Uxmias arrived.

"I have been granted power by my master. Not only have I been given enough power to find and redirect the virus here from its original location on an uninhabited world, but I have also been given immunity from it. It's still not enough power to conquer this world though. That I won't receive until I free him. I do have enough however to destroy all of you if you attempt to stand in my way! You will stay there and not move until I hear from the government or I'll kill you all!" Uxmias threatened.

"Sure, whatever you say," Cydonia said as she tried to humor him.

"I think the reason that the virus didn't affect him is he's already mad," Theta said.

"You should be safe too then," Arkytior said as she tried to make a joke to relieve the tension.

"Very funny," Theta said even as he continued to eye the mad Ice Warrior warily.

"Why aren't they giving in? What could be keeping them from calling me?" Uxmias said in irritation.

"Offhand I'd say that it's probably because they've all gone mad as well. Or did you never think of that when you were coming up with this little scheme of yours?" Arkytior said with a smirk.

"No, they haven't gone mad. They're locked up in an airtight underground chamber. They have been since the virus started. They'll be perfectly safe but will never be able to go back to the surface again until they give into me," Uxmias said.

"Haven't you ever thought that maybe they've just decided to cut their losses and just stay down there instead?" Arkytior asked and then instantly regretted it as soon as she said it.

"No! That can't be true. It can't be," Uxmias said as he started to consider this with a look of terror on his face.

"Now look who's afraid," Theta said as he taunted him.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Uxmias said as he pointed his gun at Theta with a maddened look in his eyes.

"I'm only a child and even I know that it's always best not to tick off the homicidal madman with the gun, Dad," Cassiopeia said as she rolled her eyes at her father.

"I know what I'm doing," Theta protested even as the others looked at him in disbelief.

"Face it, Uxmias. You've failed. You might as well give up and use this power of yours to cure all of these people. The government might decide to be lenient with you as a result," Theta said with a mad grin on his face as he slowly started edging closer and closer to the mad Ice Warrior.

"Never! They will give into my demands and free my master so that I can become the ruler of this world. I won't lift a finger to help them until they do," Uxmias said as he began to become angrier and angrier.

"Oh, I don't think that they will give in. I think that they're going to leave you here alone on the surface when all of these people die. You'll be all alone for the rest of your long, long life, and you'll still be no closer to having ultimate power than you are right now," Theta said.

"No! That's not true! It can't be!" Uxmias screamed in rage as he momentarily raised his arms to the sky in outrage and began to fling them about.

Theta now took advantage of this single moment of not having the gun pointed at him as he rushed forward and knocked Uxmias out with a chop to the neck. Uxmias soon fell to the ground unconscious as Theta grinned in triumph.

"I guess all of those lessons in Venusian Aikido finally paid off after all," Theta said proudly as he quickly took the gun away from Uxmias.

"That's all fine and well, Theta, but we still haven't fixed the first problem. What do we do about the virus?" Cydonia asked.

Before Theta could answer her, Arkytior punched him in the face and knocked him out cold! Then she turned to stare at Cydonia, Charlotte, Charley, and Cassiopeia with eyes filled with madness.

"I'm not a monster! You won't put me away! You can't! I don't deserve to be put away! It's not my fault that I have this power! I won't let you!" Arkytior screamed as she started to hallucinate.

"Oh, no! She's being affected first. She thinks that we want to lock her up somewhere," Cydonia said as she began to shake in fear.

"Just calm down. There's only one of her and three of us not counting the baby. Surely we can overcome her and tie her up until we can figure a way out of this mess," Charley said in a calm voice.

"No, you don't understand. Arkytior's not an ordinary girl," Cydonia said in fear.

Arkytior began to glow with the power of the Vortex now as she said, "You won't! I won't let you kill me! I won't! It's not my fault! Just leave me alone! Leave me alone!"

Then she began to start attacking them with massive blasts of Vortex energy that flew out of her hands in all directions and threatened to disintegrate them all. Perhaps they would have too if Cassiopeia hadn't encased them in a force field with her own powers.

Luckily I'm not just an ordinary baby either. Cassiopeia said in everyone's minds.

"The baby can talk and has powers?" Charley asked in absolute shock.

"Nothing about my friends is ordinary," Cydonia said with a small smile.

Suddenly without warning Arkytior was shot in the back by a newly reawakened Uxmias who had regained his gun from the still unconscious Theta. As soon as Arkytior fell to the ground, Uxmias pointed the gun at Theta's head next.

"She's not dead but this one will be if you don't help me get what I want. The baby has powers and is intelligent. You will get her to destroy the pyramid housing the Eye of Horus right now or I'll kill her father!" Uxmias ranted.

"Cassiopeia, you can't! If his master is as crazy as he is, then there's no telling what destruction that he might unleash on the universe. This could be what the Time Lords sent us here to prevent," Cydonia pleaded.

"What choice do I have? I can't let him kill my Dad," Cassiopeia said in despair.

I'll do it. Cassiopeia said in Uxmias' mind.

Uxmias smiled with triumph as he said, "Yes! Despite all of the setbacks I have suffered here today I've finally won! Today my master will finally be set free at last! Long live Sutekh the Destroyer!"

Sutekh had been observing all of this from the pyramid that he was trapped in on Earth, and he now laughed in anticipation as he said, "Yes, my slave. Soon I will be free. Then I will turn the Earth into a cinder and cause a path of devastation and destruction across the universe like has never been seen before in history! Soon all will be turned to dust before me! Sutekh will be freed at last, and the universe itself will tremble in fear of me!"

Next: Will the Viyrans arrive in time to save the Ice Warriors and our main cast from the virus? Even if they do, will they be too late to stop Cassiopeia from freeing Sutekh? To further complicate things, our Time Lords and their friends will have someone even worse than Sutekh to worry about as they have to face off against a fighting mad completely insane Arkytior! Our crew are in for the fight of their lives in the next chapter. I'm already wishing them luck. They're going to need it.