Missy's Plea (3)

Within a few seconds, Dawn felt an equal measure of fear and determination drive her forward, crouched against the wall, towards a far door. Shadows danced eerily over the stones that formed the rectangular building in front of Dawn from the two lamps on either side of the tall, wooden doors. Not without haste, the young teen approached the mysterious section of the castle, ignoring the sounds reaching up from the lower ground far below her. She couldn't worry about that now. She had to get to the door and get inside.

The doors in front of Dawn were suddenly cast open, slamming into the wall as they bounced off of the stonework. Some pebbles fell to the bridge floor as the strong wood knocked them off of the wall.

From the entrance emerged two guards, both enormous and clad in armor; both carrying intensely sharp sticks in their burly hands. Dawn gulped, frozen, and clung to the wall where she was crouched, but it was to no avail. There was nothing to hide behind, no shadow to lerk inside. She was going to be seen.

Almost immediately, the guard closest to her pointed their weapon her way, forcing her back deeper into the rockwall. Dawn's breath came in short gasps as her eyes bore into the point of the stick, head feeling light.

"Take her to the dungeon."

Dawn didn't have any time to react before she was dragged by the arm to a standing position and forcefully pushed in the way of the tower she had hid in the shadow of previously. The only positive thing she could think of was that at least she was more likely to find the Doctor in the dungeons, but even this hope failed to lift her spirits. She went with the guard hesitantly down the steps, further into the dark and the cold.

Missy smiled to herself as she watched the Doctor's companion descend the staircase into the underground prisons, tossing the now empty bowl of popcorn across the room. It crashed to the floor with a loud bang that echoed throughout the space.

As Missy typed away on her tablet again, she loudly proclaimed, "Oh no, Doctor. Looks like you're friend's gotten into a spot of trouble, I'm afraid."

She set her device carefully back onto the Console, then turned a mysterious eye on the staircase behind her, which led to the lower levels of the TARDIS. A groan came from the floor below, and the Time Lady went towards it with something like excitement written on her face.

The Doctor lay beneath the ground floor of the TARDIS, holding his head with one hand as he cautiously blinked his eyes, taking in his surroundings with furrowed eyebrows and a sharp frown. The first thing he saw was a pair of familiar boots coming down the steps one at a time, then a hand gliding over the railing. The Doctor grunted again as Missy came into view, and set his face in his hands.

"Finally, you're awake. I was starting to think I'd given you the wrong sedative."

The Doctor lowered his hands from his face and sat upright. "What are you doing? What is this?"

Missy flitted towards him, a distracted look resting in her eyes. "You got yourself a new companion without telling me first. I just have to make sure she's up to the job."

The Doctor jumped to his feet, allowing his darkest Oncoming Storm look to penetrate his old enemy's bright eyes. "Where is she? Missy, tell me, what did you do to her?"

Missy rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips and pacing in a semicircle around the Timelord. "Now, now; no need to be so touchy. She's fine; inside a virtual simulator. I'm in complete control."

The Doctor didn't move at all as Missy stepped around him, but kept his eyes fixed on her with total focus. "Somehow that doesn't comfort me."

"Relax; she's almost finished; and with flying colors, too. She just has one final test."

"What's that?"

A smirk played at Missy's lips. "Look at your hand."

The Doctor tore his gaze from Missy instantly and found a square red patch discoloring the skin on his left hand. "Tissue sample...what-?"

He froze as realization took hold, and blinked rapidly to calm the fury and the panic that was rising within him. "Missy..."

He spoke softly, almost calmly. But a storm lay just beneath the surface. Venom coursed through the simple words he found. "Stop this. Whatever you're doing, end it now. Dawn is seventeen and she's probably terrified already."

Missy chuckled. "Oh, I think she's definitely terrified, Doctor. Look at that heart rate!"

The Doctor clenched his fist in front of him, staring at the shadowed floor unblinkingly. His nostrils flared as he breathed in and out. Missy watched him for a moment, then sprinted up the steps two by two and scooped up her tablet. "Now this'll be interesting."

As soon as the Doctor shook out of his daze, he ran up to the first level and peered over Missy's shoulder at the screen in her hands. The Time Lady clicked a few buttons, and Dawn's face appeared, eyes wide and teeth chattering. Her arms were still held by the guards, but they soon let go as she was shoved into the small, confined dungeon. Mysterious moonlight filtered in from the few windows that lay in the right side wall, filling her cell with bluish light. A figure lay unmoving directly in the center of the room, where the light sone brightest.

Missy tilted her head up a bit so she could address the Doctor more directly, but her eyes stayed locked onto the screen, where Dawn stood shaking by the door of the prison. "I made you a clone with the tissue sample I got from your hand. As birthday presents go, I think you owe me a few hundred years worth."

The Doctor eyes the dark figure on the ground with wide eyes. "Missy, what is the final test?"

"I want to see what she'd do if something happened to you."

"Why?"

Missy shrugged. "You always want to be ready for the worst. Isn't that their worst case scenario? Trapped without their precious Doctor?"

The Doctor grabbed the tablet forcefully out if Missy's hands, turning away from her and stepping away from the Console by which she sat. "She's already been through that; multiple times. And she's not your toy, to just play with. She's a living, breathing, human being."

The Doctor glanced back at his old friend, shaking his head. "You wouldn't understand. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

His hearts began to ache as Dawn slowly stepped towards his clone's prone body. "Don't worry, Dawn. I'm right here."

He cast one last glare towards Missy before sitting on the second step of the ascending staircase with the tablet in his shaking hands.