CHAPTER 37

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SARAH JANE INVESTIGATES

Sarah Jane knew that she was going to have to do research on Circe without her knowing about it, but she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Then she hit upon an idea to solve this problem by taking inspiration from Rose.

She was going to use her Guardian powers to literally be in two places at once. Rose could do this by creating doubles of herself with Vortex energy that she controlled with her mind. Sarah Jane had a much different idea in mind though.

What she wasn't sure about was if Circe would notice this or not or what she would do if she did. She knew that there was no time like the present to find out however.

She tried to pretend as if nothing was happening as she telepathically contacted Sophia the Zygon who had befriended her when she had tried to stop the theft of the Black Scrolls of Rassilon.*

Sophia. Sarah Jane said.

Sophia, who was going about her daily duties at UNIT HQ where she helped UNIT catalogue various alien equipment that they found or confiscated, was caught off guard by this for a moment and gasped in surprise. Luckily she was alone, so she didn't have to explain to anyone what was going on.

Sarah Jane? Sophia asked telepathically.

Sophia, I need you to do some investigating for me. You'll have to use my contacts to help you or it'll be a lot harder for you to do. Maybe you could use UNIT's archives to help too. I'm going to stay in telepathic contact with you the whole time in order to help you with all of that. Sarah Jane replied before she explained the whole situation with Circe to the Zygon.

If you don't want to do this, just say the word. I'll see if I can get someone else to help. I have to warn you that Circe is very dangerous. If she finds out that you're helping me, I don't know what she'll do to you. Sarah Jane warned.

I owe you my life, Sarah Jane. Of course I'm going to help you. It's a good thing whatever happened to the other Zygons didn't happen to me too. I still don't understand why though. Sophia answered.

You mean that you weren't stuck in one form like every Zygon in the universe was a few weeks ago? Sarah Jane asked in surprise.**

No, and don't think that the other Zygons living here with me aren't peeved about that either. You'd think that they thought that I was working with Madame Kovarian when she did it from the way that they act sometimes. I really hope that someone comes up with a way to fix this soon so that they'll stop bothering me about it. They're actually jealous of me. Can you believe that? Sophia answered.

Did you happen to get something from Rose Tyler with a howling wolf's head on it right before that happened? Sarah Jane asked suspiciously.

No. I did get a strange visit from the Doctor though. He just showed up a few days before everyone was stuck and took me and the other Zygons here into the TARDIS' medical bay to do a bunch of tests on us. He said that UNIT asked him to do it as part of a routine check-up on all of their employees, but they said that they didn't when I asked them about it later. I thought it was really weird at the time. Do you think that he had something to do with it? If he did, why didn't he help the others too? Why just me? Sophia asked.

Maybe because he knew that I would need you. Sarah Jane thought to herself with a small smile.

Even now that she was a Guardian, the Doctor was still looking out for her. Apparently he had come from the future and did something to protect Sophia before the Zygons were all stuck. It certainly sounded like something that he would do anyway.

Whatever happened to you I'm glad that it did. Now I need you to start looking into anything and everything that you can find on Circe right away. I need to find a way to stop her as soon as possible before she does something to me or someone that I care about. Sarah Jane finally replied.

Sophia quickly cleared this mission with Kate Stewart, who trusted her enough by now to allow her to leave UNIT HQ without supervision, and immediately went to work. She had no idea what she was doing, but she hoped that with Sarah Jane showing her what to do that she would soon get the hang of it.

Sarah Jane meanwhile decided to also telepathically contact the Azure Guardian's servant Libby to see if she knew of anything about Circe. She usually didn't contact Libby too much because she tended to start bothering her about coming back to do some more training if she did.

Libby, do you know why a Chronovore named Circe might be interested in killing me? Sarah Jane asked.

Circe, huh? It seems like I remember a Circe from somewhere. Don't let my extreme beauty fool you, Sarah Jane. Despite how great I look for my age, I'm so old that I tend to forget a few things here and there sometimes. It always comes back to me sooner or later though so don't worry. Just give me some time to remember. I'll get back to you as soon as I do. Libby answered.

Thanks. Sarah Jane replied as she tried not to laugh at Libby's massive ego.

By the way, when was the last time that you trained? Libby asked.

I've been fighting with the Trickster and the Shadow in the last few weeks, Libby. I'd call that more than enough training. Sarah Jane said with a sigh.

That's good but it's not enough. As soon as I help to save you from this Circe person, you're to report back for more training immediately. Understood? Libby asked with more than a trace of mischievousness in her voice.

I thought that you were supposed to work for me. Sarah Jane said with a sigh.

I do but part of my job is to keep you safe, and you can't be safe if you're not well trained, can you? I only do it because I care, Sarah Jane. Libby replied.

It has nothing to do with having a bit of a sadistic streak too? Sarah Jane asked with a grin.

No, of course not. I don't know where you would get such an idea from. See you when I remember something. Until then, be safe. Libby replied as her voice turned from joking to serious at the end.

Sarah Jane smiled. She had two people working on helping her at once, and Circe didn't seem to be any the wiser. She had never used telepathy so much in her life, but it definitely seemed to be working out for her. She just wished that she could do the research personally instead of having to do it through Sophia.

All of this time, Sarah Jane had been pretending to just be doing some work on researching a possible Yeti attack at a place called Thunder's Edge. She knew that this was already being looked into by the Bad Wolves so it was just an excuse to look busy in order to fool Circe.

Apparently it was working as Circe came over to look at what she was looking up on the Internet and smirked as she said, "Yetis? Hah! You're a Guardian of Time and you waste your energy on fighting with Yetis? Maybe I'm doing the universe a favor by killing you."

Sarah Jane looked at her in anger as she said, "I try to help people against alien invasions. I've been doing that most of my life, and I'll continue doing it as long as I'm able to."

"Naturally because you're a protector aren't you? Just like the Doctor. You try to guard the people of the Earth and now the universe too since you became a Guardian. Of course your extended family here comes first no matter what. I noticed that when I threatened them. Interesting. You started out as a journalist trying to uncover the truth, and then once you got a look at that truth you joined the Doctor in protecting the universe. Then once he left you, you continued in that role and actually saved this world multiple times by yourself even before you got your little team here together. You've really been a Guardian all of your life long before you ever accepted the role of a universal one, haven't you? It all stemmed from the loss of your parents didn't it? That wounded you so deeply that now you're determined that no one else should ever have to suffer as you have," Circe observed.

Sarah Jane filled with anger as she said, "That's none of your business!"

"Oh, but it is. I have to know my enemy in order to defeat them don't I? It just reinforces my earlier opinion on you though. You're an extremely good person. I always hate having to hurt them but this time I have to. I just want you to know that I bear you no ill will. I'm not evil despite what you must think of me. I still have to destroy you despite my personal feelings about you, Sarah Jane. You and all of the rest of the Guardians. I'm taking you on first since you're probably the most powerful one of them all," Circe said.

"Is it because you want to rule the universe is that it?" Sarah Jane asked.

Circe actually laughed and gave Sarah Jane a good natured hug which surprised her as she said, "Don't be ridiculous. What would I do with the universe? I'd get bored with it in no time."

"Why do you want us out of the way then?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Come now, Sarah Jane. It's not like I'm going to just come out and tell you. Did you really think that it would be that easy?" Circe said as she winked at her.

"Well, I had to try. I just don't understand you. One minute you act almost like a friend, and the next you're threatening me and my family. It's almost like you're two people instead of one," Sarah Jane noticed.

"You think that I'm insane don't you? That's what Clyde said, wasn't it? He called me a psychopath. Maybe I am. Who wouldn't be after everything that I've been through?" Circe said in a sad voice.

"Like what?" Sarah Jane asked curiously.

Circe grinned and shook her finger at her as she said, "Uh uh, Sarah Jane. I'm not giving anything about myself away for you to use against me. You'll just have to find out about my weaknesses all by yourself."

Then she looked her straight in the eye and grinned as she said, "Or your little agents will."

Sarah Jane tried not to give herself away, but she must have given off some clue about what she was up to against her will because Circe laughed as she said, "Yes, I know you too well by now not to know that you have someone working on digging up dirt on me since you can't do it yourself. It's going to be a race then isn't it, Sarah Jane? Will you find out how to kill me first or will I find a way to kill you? I can't wait to find out."

"You sound so flippant about it. This isn't a game, Circe," Sarah Jane said in a disgusted voice.

"It is though, Sarah Jane. It's a game of chess and so far neither of us has made a wrong move. Not yet anyway. I can't wait to see what you come up with next because I truly can't read you. It's fun to find an opponent that I have to really work to defeat," Circe said with a grin.

Sarah Jane continued to look at her in disbelief. She had never met anyone with as casual an attitude towards talk of death and destruction as Circe had. She truly seemed not to care about anything whatsoever.

"Are you alright?" Sky said to Sarah Jane as she suddenly came into the room and noticed how disturbed that her mother looked around Circe.

"Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Sky. Did you need something?" Sarah Jane asked.

Sky hesitated and Circe immediately backed away from Sarah Jane and walked across the room as she said, "Oh, don't worry about me, sweetie. Just pretend that I'm not even here and say whatever you want to her."

"Right. I'm going to stay at my friend Gwen's house tonight. She asked me to do it days ago or I never would have. I can still cancel it though if you need me here," Sky said with a guilty look on her face.

It was Circe who answered her as she said, "Go ahead. I promise I won't do anything tonight."

"I'm not talking to you!" Sky shouted.

"Okay, okay. I was just trying to set your mind at ease. That's what I get for being nice," Circe said with a groan.

Sky glared at her and said, "You're standing here in our house planning to kill us! You are not in any way nice, you crazy witch!"

"Sky," Sarah Jane said in a warning tone as she had no idea what Circe might do to her if she made her angry.

"It's okay. She has a right to be angry," Circe said.

"Why are you doing this?" Sky demanded.

"I have to. It's my role in things," Circe said piquing Sarah Jane's interest.

"What does that even mean? I just don't understand you at all," Sky said in a tone of despair.

"I'm sorry, Sky. I'll just leave the room. I really hate hurting the innocent," Circe said as she suddenly left the room with a shamed look on her face.

"Curiouser and curiouser. She almost acts like she doesn't want to do this sometimes, and other times she acts like she's enjoying it," Sarah Jane said after the Chronovore had left.

"She's mad. She has to be. It would explain everything to me," Sky said.

"No, that's too easy. It has to be more than that," Sarah Jane said.

"I'll just stay here tonight," Sky said in a worried voice.

"No, go. You need to get away from the tense atmosphere of this place for a while. It'll be good for you," Sarah Jane insisted.

"Are you sure?" Sky asked.

"Yes, go," Sarah Jane insisted so Sky nodded and reluctantly left the room.

Sarah Jane, I discovered something from one of UNIT's files. Sophia suddenly said.

What? Sarah Jane asked in an eager tone.

There's an account here from the Brigadier where he states that the Doctor once told him that the blood of an Eternal can suppress a Chronovore's power. I have no idea what an Eternal is, but I thought that you might like to know that. I'll keep looking for more information I promise. Sophia said.

Thanks, Sophia. That might just come in handy later on. Sarah Jane replied.

The Eternals were similar in power to the Chronovores and had no imagination or conscience. They generally used mortal beings as playthings for their amusement. All but one that is. Sarah Jane knew of one Eternal who because she was originally born half-human was actually very nice and tried to help others. Her name was Lydia and she traveled with Lady Christina de Souza, a friend of the Doctor's. If she had to, she would try to contact her and convince her to help her. She had a feeling that wouldn't be good enough though. Even suppressing Circe's powers probably wasn't likely to stop her. Her reporter's instincts told her that she had to know why Circe was doing this first before she could really find a way to stop her.

Circe meanwhile watched Sky leave the house with a smile of relief on her face as she said to herself, "I could use Sky against her to destroy her, but I don't like to operate that way. I've already put that poor child through enough. The key to her undoing is to use her protector mentality against her. Create a threat to the Earth and watch her walk straight into a trap. Of course one of the other Guardians or that meddling Tyler family might just solve things before Sarah Jane even got there though. I have to create a threat that she and only she will try to stop, and it would probably be even better if it was with one of her old enemies. Oh, the possibilities!"

"I heard that you're looking for some help. I humbly volunteer myself for that task," the Trickster said as he suddenly appeared next to her.

Circe looked at him in surprise as she said, "Well, that was certainly quick! I thought you weren't interested in my help once your mistress came back. I guess you found out all about her recent conversion, huh?"

The Trickster looked at her in surprise as Circe laughed and said, "I hear all kinds of things on the cosmic grapevine. I know all about Discord being on the side of order now instead of chaos. Pretty ironic considering her name. So it's up to you to pick up the slack and be the new Discord isn't it?"

"Yes, it is and that's why I have more of a need than ever to get rid of Sarah Jane now. The balance is being thrown off in this universe. Things are leaning much too far in favor of order over chaos with all of these super powered people who are much more willing to interfere in cosmic events throughout the universe than the great powers of the past were willing to do. Now even my mistress is one of them. The balance must be restored. I think that you and I have a goal in common now, and I'm more than willing to help you to accomplish it," the Trickster said.

"I know the balance is off, and that's why I have to do this. I have to wipe out the current set of Guardians because they are tipping things too far in favor of order. I don't want to do it, but I have to," Circe admitted.

"Don't worry about it. Sarah Jane and the others have interfered far too much in the natural order of things, and now it's finally coming back to haunt them at last. The forces of chaos will no longer stand back and take it anymore not with me in charge," the Trickster said.

"You're not really concerned about the balance. You're just a sore loser, but unfortunately I do need you despite that. With me, it's not personal at all. It's just my job to preserve a universal balance. If it wasn't for that, I would have already left after I made the Shadow as dumb as a brick for daring to order me about," Circe said.

The Trickster actually laughed at that as he said, "That's good enough for him. I never wanted the original Black Guardian back anyway. It's his fault all of this started. He's the one who caused it all by trying to get rid of the other Guardians and becoming all powerful in the first place. If it wasn't for him and his delusions of grandeur, then the old Guardians would still be there and Rose Tyler would never have left Pete's World. None of this would be happening now if he hadn't started the whole thing. Now I'm left to correct it all as best I can."

"No, we are. We're in this together now unfortunately. I don't like you but I need you to help me destroy Sarah Jane," Circe said.

The Trickster looked at her suspiciously as he asked, "Why do you care anyway? That's not your reputation. Always before all I ever heard about you is that you liked to punish people who had wronged you or others, and you liked to sometimes lure people to their doom. I've never heard of you maintaining any kind of cosmic order though. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"That's none of your concern. All that matters to you is that we both want the Guardians dead," Circe said.

"Then we'll work together. If you try to betray me though, you'll regret it," the Trickster said.

"Oh, I'm really scared! Just come up with a plan, and let's get this over with, okay? I don't like being around you anymore than you do being around me," Circe said.

Nearby where she was eavesdropping from the next room, Sarah Jane frowned as she had really hoped that Circe might tell her something about her reasons for doing this. She was having no such luck though. At least maybe she was about to hear whatever their plan was though.

That was when Circe said in a loud voice, "Oh, no, Sarah Jane. I'm not making it that easy. The Trickster is going to come up with the plan all by himself and tell me what it is telepathically. Like I said before, you won't know when it's coming or what form it will take."

"She's still here?" the Trickster said in alarm.

Sarah Jane stepped out into full view as she said, "Yes, because she tricked me into binding us together so that she couldn't travel far from me."

"What kind of game are you playing?" The Trickster said to Circe.

"It's called know your enemy and what better way to do that than by being attached to the hip to her. Are you that afraid of her?" Circe asked in a mocking voice.

"I know better than to come straight to her own home ground and challenge her while she's there. You're trying to trap me," the Trickster said in alarm.

"Hardly but if you're that afraid of her then go. Who needs you?" Circe said in disdain.

He immediately teleported away as Sarah Jane looked at Circe suspiciously.

"Was that an act for my benefit so that I wouldn't be looking for an attack from him?" Sarah Jane asked suspiciously.

Circe groaned as she said, "First the Trickster and now you. Why does no one trust me?"

"I can't imagine why," Sarah Jane said with a sigh.

Circe grinned evilly at her as she said, "You really don't know whether that was a part of my plan or not, do you? That's the question, isn't it? What's real and what isn't? When is it going to come and who from? I'm definitely going to keep you on your toes, Sarah Jane."

"Is all of that about doing this to maintain the balance the truth or just what you wanted me to hear?" Sarah Jane asked.

"You'll just have to find out, won't you?" Circe said still smiling.

Sarah Jane turned around and walked away from her in frustration as Circe continued to laugh at her. What Circe didn't realize was that Sarah Jane was telepathically getting more information about Circe from Libby at that very moment.

I finally remember where I know that name from now, Sarah Jane. Libby said.

Where? Sarah Jane asked eagerly.

She wasn't always who she is now. In ancient times, she was originally a human being who was attacked by a Chronovore. It turns out that she had incredible psychic power though which she used to fight back against it when it tried to feed off of her. What happened next was something that neither of them expected, and the Chronovore got more than it asked for as it absorbed her personality too when it finally absorbed her life. The two of them became some twisted hybrid with the Chronovore controlling her sometimes and the human side at others. They're constantly at war with one another with neither ever really gaining the upper hand. The human side of her won't fight the Chronovore when it wants to attack people who she thinks deserve it, but she will try to fight her when she attacks the innocent. She doesn't always win though. Then again neither does the Chronovore side. Even for a Chronovore, Circe is very unique . . . and very unpredictable. Libby reported.

Do you remember anything about her preserving the universal balance or wanting to destroy the Guardians? Sarah Jane asked.

I don't know anything about the universal balance, but she's wanted to destroy the Guardians for a while now. She really hates them for some reason and once tried to attack the original Azure Guardian too. She also tried to go after Arkytior once because she knew that she was very likely to become a Guardian herself one day. She's always wanted to sweep us out of the way for her own weird reasons. Maybe it's because she's mental. I've always thought so. Libby answered.

I really think that there's method to her madness. Thanks for what you've told me. At least now I know a little more about who I'm dealing with. Sarah Jane replied.

No problem. Very careful, Sarah Jane. That one's a real nutter for sure. Libby replied.

As Libby stopped talking, Sarah Jane could only hope that Sophia would come up with a reason for Circe's actions now that Libby had told her more about who she was. She had a feeling that she was going to need a complete picture of her before she could stop her.

She just hoped that whatever Circe was planning wasn't too much for even the Guardians to handle.

*Remember her? I bet you thought I forgot about her, huh?

**This happened in Lily and Robin Chapter 79 in case you were wondering.

Next: What's Circe really up to? Was all of this talk about maintaining a universal balance just to confuse Sarah Jane or was there some truth to it? Does the Trickster really not trust her or is he really a part of her plan against Sarah Jane? Sarah Jane's not sure what to believe, but next time she'll find out the real truth as Sophia uncovers the full story behind Circe at last. Unfortunately Sarah Jane will find out just as Circe is ready to spring her trap on her. What form will it take?