The Claus of the Demon Magician

888

He struggled to control the TARDIS as it tore itself in every direction. Rose laid unconscious on the ground, having banged her head on one of the pylons. His hand gripped the handle of his rubber mallet and he slammed it down on a glowing bit of green and blue. The ship shook angrily and spun before all fell silent. He rushed to Rose and checked her over, as best he could. Her pulse was fine, but she had a pretty nasty bump on her head. He rushed into the corridors and quickly returned with a med-kit and administered what care he could. He then turned to the console and looked at it. The reading didn't make sense, whatever hit the TARDIS was not of this universe, was barely comprehensible as a real phenomena, and the current position data was absolute nonsense. He looked at the small monitor above him to see what was outside.

It appeared to be a vast barren landscape, covered in ice and snow, with maybe a few distant trees that looked like something coniferous. He cast another look at Rose, and decided that whilst she was unconscious the safest place for her was in the TARDIS. He adjusted his coat, and steeled himself and then walked to the doors.

The snow crunched under his feet as he took a step outside. The TARDIS doors creaked closed behind him and he turned and locked them. The sky was dark and featureless.

"No stars, there should be stars." The Doctor whispered as he narrowed his eyes to the gaping darkness above him. And as then as if the sky had heard him, tiny pinpricks of light came to life in the sky, but rather than endearing him to it, it only made him that much more incredulous.

"All by yourself then?" A scowling, high pitch screech chortled from behind him.

The Doctor spun around to be presented by a strange blue-skinned creature, with pointed ears and what appeared to be red tights tethered to his thin frame by a black leather belt and a gold buckle. Perched upon its head a torn, burnt and scrunched conical cap, that at one point seemed to have a star and moon symbol on it. The creature crouched on the roof of the TARDIS, like a geriatric leopard waiting to pounce.

"No, grandchildren, pity…" The blue thing feigned disappointment and then lifted a thin clawed finger. "But I'll gladly get my revenge upon you yourself! I'll find the little kiddiwinks later…"

"Are you the one that's brought me here, if this is a here to be at?" the Doctor asked narrowing his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Who am I!?" The imp snarled rising to his full, though not terribly impressive height. His face scrunched up into a facsimile of a ferocious rage. "WHO AM I!?"

"That's the question I asked, if you would be so kind to answer it, if not then leave me be!" The Doctor growled, as his nose flared slightly against the cold air. "I'm a very busy person, trying to figure out where I am, and how to get to Earth before Christmas…."

"Haha…how perfect; then allow me to clear you schedule, Doctor Who!" The imp laughed as he leapt to the ground. "You shan't have to worry about any of that, because you're not leaving…ever…at least not in one piece…" The imp's hands flared opened and great stalagmites of ice erupted from the ground below the Doctor, forming hands and grabbing his arms and lifting him off the ground. The imp stalked closer to him, his eyes narrowing as his curly shoed feet crunched quietly in the snow. "Do you know how many years I stayed imprisoned in that rocket? How long I suffered, dreaming of this day?"

"I don't even know who you are…" the Doctor replied.

"Brave of you to feign ignorance of the most powerful demon magician in the entire great white wilderness!?" the imp's smile smugly sliced across his blue face. The snow seemed to move under the imp, forming a pedestal that brought the creature's blue face to the Doctor's level. His pointed nose was sharp and aquiline as he glared at the Doctor.

"Are you insane?" The Doctor grumbled, looking into the sprites face with bafflement.

"Not anymore…" The imp extended his hand and the small crystals of ice formed out of the air into the shape of a twisted dagger. "I'm going to skin you alive, and then remove your heart….and after that, well, we'll see what's left."

"As if I'm going to let that happen…" The Doctor said grunting as he struggled against the icy grip of the imp's constructs.

"I don't know how you'll stop me…" The imp murmured with an evil smile. "I don't see any magic boxes with you this time…"

The imp brought the dagger up to the Doctors face and as he nearly brought the first nick into the Time Lord's skin there came the jingling sound of bells. The imp froze, almost as if scared for half a second before quickly spinning around and glaring into the sky. The Doctor looked up to see something he couldn't quite explain. A crimson sleigh, driven by eight reindeer careened through the sky. Its driver was a rotund man, clasping the reigns with white gloves. His eyes were twinkling obsidian flints in the starlight, his coat heavy and red, with white fur-linings and massive sack jammed into the carriage of the sleigh. It swung down sped up and the demon leapt from his frozen pedestal as reindeer antlers smashed through the frozen construct and the sleigh touched snow, creating a satisfying hiss. The bells jangled and jingled before the whole thing came to a stop, and the field fell to wintry silence.

The sleigh shifted as the driver leapt down. Heavy black boots sank into the snow, breaking the silence with a loud crystalline crunch, as the white bearded man, with cherry red cheeks squinted through a pair of gold framed spectacles. His cold-reddened nose sniffed slightly as he lifted his hand revealing a whip.

"You…Meddler!" The demon snarled as the man swept the whip up and then it came cracking down. The sound of it reverberating across the landscape, the snow between the man and the demon pulsed from the motion sloughing away like the Red Sea in front of Moses.

"Demon Magician, the last time you accosted my friend, you were trapped and sent away." The man in red called out.

"And I have returned, to fix that fact and to return this expanse back to the way it should be!" The imp retorted narrowing his eyes and lifted his clawed hands as if to strike forward. "You can't stop me, you old elf. You couldn't stop me then, and you can't now!"

Great puffs of steam erupted from the man in red's mouth as he walked forward. The air was filled with the leaden crunching of snow, as heavy booted footfalls plowed through the ocean of frozen crystals. "That was a long time ago; I was so much younger then. I was so naïve, and had a lot more mercy for those who would thwart good in this world…" The man in red sighed quietly closing his eyes. His eyes opened again, harder this time. "No more…."

The tip of the whip lashed forward. The magician screamed as it struck his arm. The whip entwined around the demon's limb and then the man in red yanked hard, propelling the demon into the air, over the man in red's head, towards the sleigh, where the sack did open and the demon was tossed inside. The sac them cinched itself closed, as the whip curled to heel to the man in red's side.

The constructs holding the Doctor collapsed and he dropped to his knees in front of the man in red.

"Are you ok, young man?" the man in red asked.

"What the hell is-" The Doctor started but the man in red lifted a finger and shook it.

"Now, now, that sort of language isn't necessary."

"My ship was hit by something! We're lost! I have a friend hurt inside-"

"Rose is fine, a bump on the head, she'll be fine when she wakes up. Maybe a little groggy." The man in red said, tilting his head towards the TARDIS. "She is quite excited to make it home for Christmas…"

"How do you know, Rose?" The Doctor stood up as he inspected the man in red.

"Oh, I think we both know." The man said tapping his nose. "Now, I think we need to get you on your way."

"I want to know what's going on?" The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Where am I, what the heck was that thing?!" The Doctor pointed to sack where the imp had been cast. "And more importantly who are you, really?"

"I think you know those answers deep in your hearts." The man in red replied.

"No, I really don't, and you don't want to see me try and find out!" The Doctor said as he stepped forward, trying to look twice as dangerous as he felt.

"There are things in this universe older than anything in conceived existence, and then, Doctor, there's the inconceivable, the miraculous and then there is you." The man in red replied, his voice lowered slightly. "You walk the line between the two. In your travels you have made some dastardly enemies." The man in red sniffed and his eyes twinkled. "And I'd like to think you've also made some allies, too." The man in red looked up to the sky, to the twinkling diamonds that flickered there. "This place exists beyond conception, the Demon Magician used to control this corner of the realm. Long ago beyond even your memories, or maybe, for you, long from now; or maybe…it doesn't matter when, a man with a different face, but very much like you, helped me and stopped the demon. The Demon Magician never forgave that transgression and drew you here to gain his revenge against me and that man, and to reclaim what he had lost." The man in red turned looking back at the sleigh and the sack. "I will deal with him later." The man in red's eyes turned to the Doctor. "And you must continue forward. Your hearts haven't quite healed yet…" the man in red gently put his gloved finger to the Doctor's chest. He looked to the TARDIS as the doors opened, and Rose groggily stood there in the light of the TARDIS. "But with her help, they will. Go now; I will lead the way."

The man in red turned and walked towards his sleigh as the Doctor rushed to the TARDIS door and to Rose.

"Is that…?" Rose asked as she watched the man in red climb into the sleigh.

"You've bumped your head." The Doctor said hurriedly as he gently pushed her back into the TARDIS. He moved to step in himself when he heard the man in red's voice shout to him.

"Don't forget, Doctor; she'll be needing a red bicycle when she's twelve…."

The man in red's voice rang out as he called the reindeer to heave to. The sleigh jerked to life jingling and jangling as it moved forward and then leapt to the air. The Doctor slipped into the TARDIS, confused, baffled but determined to see where this led. He rushed to the console; started firing up the rotor and the TARDIS took off, following the sleigh as it slipped deeper into the night sky. The TARDIS was confused; the outside readings were nonsensical. Suddenly the sleigh seemed to shift and without reason the TARDIS's instruments responded by starting to make sense, the time vortex had enveloped them and the sleigh. The universe around them was familiar once more. How? Why? By what means? Unknown, it was inconceivable, it was miraculous.

"Doctor what's going on? What happened? Where were we?" Rose asked blearily.

The Doctor shook his head, and then surprisingly he found himself smiling. "I'm not sure…but it's absolutely fantastic…"

8888

AN: Now I think I've just about sewn it all together….