A/N: Ooops, I was meant to update this weeks ago. This chapter has been ready for a while but I may have just been a little too distracted to remember to post it. Well, it's here now and I hope you like it.
The Doctor and Robin finally managed to get out of that cell, and find a way to remove those chains that were keeping them together. The Doctor was rather concerned, Kari had been taken away from him and he knew that there was something wrong. She shouldn't have passed out like that, she was ill and he needed to be there for her, he needed to protect her and look after her, and yet he was there without her, but with Robin Hood instead.
After wandering around for some time, the pair of them found a door that seemed slightly out of place. Being the Doctor he headed straight for it and went inside the newly found room. "At last, something real." He exclaimed in relief, noticing all the hi-tech machinery around him. "No more fairy tales."
The Doctor seemed right at home as he headed to the centre of the room where there was a giant, brightly lit hemisphere. That was his destination while Robin looked on in awe. "What is this place?"
"A spaceship." The Doctor announced, really excited about their find. "More twenty ninth century than twelfth." He added, not really noticing the way Robin seem utterly lost. "Data banks, data banks, data banks. Where was this ship headed?" Finally he found what he was looking for and all the details scrolled up on a screen. "The Promised Land again. Like the Half-Faced Man, but more sophisticated. It disguised itself as a twelfth century castle." Oh how he wished Kari had been there, she would have been rolling her eyes at him. "It merges into the culture, tries to keep a low profile, so no one notices." Robin was now standing with him, and the computer was showing him where they actually were. "That explains the robot knights. But the engines. The engines are damaged. They're leaking radiation into the local atmosphere, creating a temporary climate of staggering benevolence."
Just the look on the other man's face proved that he had absolutely no idea what the older man was talking about. "I beg your pardon?"
"I told you, it's too sunny. It's too green, Kari noticed it straight away. And there is even an evil sheriff to oppress the locals. This explains everything, even you." The Doctor was now convinced that he knew exactly what was going on, that he had figured out all the little bits that were missing. Unfortunately, Robin was still utterly lost. "Come on, what does every oppressed peasant workforce need? The illusion of hope. Some silly story to get them through the day, lull them into docility, and keep them working. Ship's data banks, full of every myth and legend you could hope for, including Robin Hood."
The pair of them watched as the screen flicked through so many images, all displaying one man in particular, Robin Hood. There were book covers, photographs, films and even theater posters. Once the man saw all those images before him, he was shocked, stunned that may have been possible that the mad stranger was telling him the truth.
"Isn't it time you came clean with me?" The Doctor asked, a very serious look on his face. "You're not real and you know it. Look at you. Perfect eyes, perfect teeth. Nobody has a jawline like that. You're as much a part of what is happening here as the Sheriff and his metal knights. You're a robot."
That struck a chord with Robin. "You dare to accuse me of collusion with that villain, the Sheriff?"
"I dare."
"You false-tongued knave. I should have skewered you when I had the chance." The anger was beginning to boil in both of the men now. The Doctor believed he was right, Robin did not believe what the other man was saying.
Before their bickering could progress any further, the large metal door was blown off its hinges, some robot knights entering, followed by the Sheriff who was gripping Kari's arm tightly, while a robot held onto Clara. "Surrender, outlaw." The Sheriff called, looking towards Robin. "Kill him. Kill Robin Hood!"
"You can drop all that stuff now, Sheriff." The Doctor announced, while Kari tugged herself away from the Sheriff. She wasn't hurt, she was just looked rather fed up now. "He is not what you think he is. This is all play-acting." He added, mainly speaking to Clara since she was the one who was obsessed with the man.
What the Doctor had failed to notice was that one of the robot was charging up its laser and getting ready to fire it at the man he was calling a fake. "We can't just let them kill him!" Clara cried, managing to free herself from the robot that was restraining her. She charged towards the outlaw, ready to protect him from the laser of the robots. Suddenly the woman felt a strong arm around her waist. "What the hell are you doing?" She asked, not entirely sure she was going to like what was going to happen.
"Surviving." Robin whispered in her ear, before the pair of them went backwards and out of the window.
Kari was the first to charge over, to see them hitting the water and creating a large splash. She knew that she would be okay, Robin Hood would actually look after her. The Doctor was there within seconds, quickly followed by the Sheriff. "Yeah, sorry about the girl, Such a pretty thing. Good thing I saved the prettier one for later." He said, looking at Kari with a glint in his eyes.
The Doctor really did not like that, and quickly blocked his view of Kari by stepping in front of her. "Stop pretending. You and your fancy robots. I get it. I understand." She was too busy watching out of the window still, finally able to breathe away once Robin pulled himself out of the moat surrounding the castle, one slightly wet and unconscious Clara in his arms. They were safe, it was okay.
A smirk worked its way onto the Sheriff's face at the Doctor's protective action. "Oh, so you too know my plans?" He was actually finding the whole situation rather amusing.
"You and your robots plundering the surrounding countryside for all it's worth. Gold."All of a sudden, the Doctor had a light bulb moment. "Gold! Of course, gold!" He was actually pretty pleased with himself for finally working it out. "You are creating a matrix of gold to repair the engine circuitry."
"Hmm, and isn't that just so original. Using materials from Earth to repair a spaceship by creating a circuit." Kari added, hoping that he would understand what she was getting at, or at least remember where they had seen something like that before. All she received was a blank expression, which clearly meant that he didn't remember.
While the Sheriff found it rather amusing to have the man babbling on, he had other things to be getting on with. "This is the scheme the Mechanicals have devised. Soon this skyship will depart. Destination, London. There I will obliterate the King and take my rightful place as ruler of this sceptred isle."
"It won't work." The Doctor informed him. "There's not a chance. I've seen the instruments, there's been too much damage. You are stoking up a gigantic bomb!" He needed the man to see that he was going to cause a lot of damage if he continued to help those robots.
The Sheriff indicated for him to be quiet, then pointed over the Doctor's shoulder. He was faced with one of the robot's who make quick work of knocking the Time Lord out. That was a big mistake, and Kari could feel the anger rising inside of her. She stepped away from the window and stormed over to the Sheriff. A second later and the man was on the floor, clutching his nose tightly as blood seeped through his fingers. "I warned you, you hurt the Doctor, you have to deal with me." She growled at him, really not impressed.
One of the robots went to grab her, but the Sheriff put up a hand and stopped it. He pulled a white hankie out of one of his pockets and placed it at his nose. "My, you are a feisty one, aren't you? It would appear I was right to save you for myself."
"No, you have just made this biggest mistake in your pathetic and miserable life. You have no idea what you have just done, but you'll find out soon enough." Kari spat at him, really starting to feel her anger bubbling even more. It wasn't just about what he had done to the Doctor, it was about what he was doing to the people, and the way he was speaking to her.
However, her anger just seemed to amuse the man even more. "No, my Lady, you will find out just how powerful I shall become. I like your fire, I like your spirit. You will never see this Doctor of yours again." He told her, grabbing a tight hold of her wrist. "And you should know, I always get what I want." With that he began to drag her out of the room, while one of the metal knights dragged the Doctor's limp body behind them.
Although she wanted to pull away from the man, she knew that there was no point. The Doctor would be taken down to the depth of the castle where the ship was being repaired, he would sort things out down there. Clara would be with Robin Hood, explaining everything to him, getting the outlaw on board to storm the castle. What was she going to do? She there and twiddle her thumbs? No, she knew where she needed to be, so she needed to make a plan herself.
Her plan was a simple one, and that was what made it so brilliant. Because of how much the Sheriff had taken a liking to her, Kari wasn't placed in chains and locked away. Instead, she had been placed in a chamber, with a wooden door and a metal lock. That was it. She had been locked in a comfy room with a bed and a roaring fire. As far as she was aware, there were no guards stationed outside, she had listened carefully for footsteps and breathing, but there was nothing. That gave her hope that she really had been left on her own.
She had been right, the Sheriff seemed to think that she would be trapped in that room and that was all he needed to worry about, except she had learnt so much from the Doctor, and some of her other friends, and she easily picked the ancient lock. All she needed to do now as head down to where they were building, to where the Doctor was. For her it really wasn't that difficult, she seemed to instinctively know where the Doctor was and just followed her gut feeling.
There were a few times when she had to hide, when those robots headed her way, but none of them seemed to notice her or pay any attention to her. It was as if they couldn't see her, or simply didn't want to see her. Either way, it was helping her to get to where she needed without being stopped.
After what seemed like forever, Kari made it. She simply followed the sound of chaos and destruction and she ran straight into the Doctor. "Turn around. Out, go!" He shouted, grabbing her hand tightly and pulling her with him.
They were stopped by a woman wearing dirty and ragged clothing. "You've saved us all, clever one." She said, before kissing the Doctor on the cheek. "Thank you." He looked at Kari to see how she would react, but she was just smiling.
Just as the woman was running with the rest of the crowd to escape, Kari called out. "Marion! Robin's waiting for you. He hasn't forgotten about you." There was a look of pure surprise on the woman's face, before a smile took over and she nodded to Kari before making a run for it.
"Engine capacity at eighty two percent." The voice echoed through the large area.
Kari looked up at the Doctor with a smile on her face. "Got a plan?"
Before he could respond to her, another voice floated into the room. "You are indeed an ingenious fellow, Doctor. But do you really think your peasants' revolt can stop me?" He asked, before looking at Kari and frowning. "Marvellous even the lady managed to escape. You both make a remarkable pair."
"Let's just get right to the point here, Sheriff. You are going to lose." Kari stated, not going to stand there and let the Doctor banter. "You have no where near enough gold to seal that breach. I know it, the Doctor knows it, even those robots know it. You try to go and half of England is gone. I thought you wanted to rule, not destroy the world."
Of course the man wouldn't listen to her, he was so confident in his plan that there was nothing that could be said to change his mind. "You pudding-headed primitive, shut down the engines. What you're doing will alter the course of history." The Doctor said, trying to get him to see sense.
"I sincerely hope so, or I wouldn't be bothering." The Sheriff replied, tossing the head from one of the knights that the peasants had decapitated during their little riot into a burning furnace which was melting down the gold.
"Listen to me, it doesn't have to end like this." The Doctor urged, his hand gripping Kari's tightly. "Shut it all down, return Clara to us and we'll do what we can." He wanted the man to take his bargain, he wanted him to hand Clara over and then he would help to set things right again.
Kari let out a sigh "He doesn't have Clara." She said, just as the Sheriff told them exactly the same thing. "Robin isn't one of his, he isn't a robot and neither is the Sheriff. I'm sorry, but on this occasion Doctor, you're wrong. He isn't just a legend, Robin Hood is real. I know it doesn't make sense, but trust me, it's true."
"The Lady is too kind." A voice called from high up in the galley. The trio looked up and saw none other than Robin Hood standing there. "And this legend does not come alone."
Clara popped her head up, and Kari heard him let out a sigh of relief. "Hiya!" She called, a great big grin on her face. Kari could see that the woman had enjoyed her time with Robin Hood, she just wished she had been enjoyed it as much.
They all ended up standing there watching as Robin lodged his sword into a tapestry while Clara wrapped her arms around him. A second later and the cloth was ripping, and the pair were descending from up where they had made their grand entrance. Once they hit the ground Robin yanked his sword out of the fabric and aimed it at the rotten Sheriff. "My men have taken the castle. Now I'm going to take you."
The Sheriff didn't seem to be that bothered, and Kari noticed him pushing a button on something that was hanging around his neck. "This one's all mine." He said, before the knights that were around them suddenly dropped their heads, as if they had been turned off. "What do you say, outlaw? A final reckoning?" The man was confident, and Kari did not like it.
It would appear, however, that Robin was more than ready for it. "Oh, yes." He replied eagerly, preparing himself with his sword and facing the man clad in black. It was at that moment that Clara dashed over to the Doctor and Kari.
"Come on, we need to hurry, this place isn't going to last for much longer." Kari said, not even bothering to ask if Clara was okay, that was simply because she knew that the woman was fine. "This whole place is about to blow. Those two need to hurry it up, because this place will come down on them otherwise."
"You have long been a thorn in my side." The Sheriff called, lunging for Robin with his sword.
Of course, he parried it easily. "Well, everyone should have a hobby." He said, sounding as if he was just taking a stroll in the forest. "Mine's annoying you."
The Sheriff was not amused, but the smile on Clara's face indicated that she was. "I'll have you boiled in oil at the castle by sunset."
"Can we make it a little earlier? 'Cause that's a little past my bedtime." Robin replied cheekily, before battling it out with the Sheriff once more, the sound of metal clashing ringing around the room. A second later and he sliced through a piece of rope, sending him zooming up into the air where he landed on a beam.
"I'm too much for you, outlaw. The first of a new breed. Half man, half engine." He followed the other man, cutting a rope himself and whizzing up to land on the same beam. "Never ageing, never tiring." The pair of them were now battling it out above the boiling pot of melted gold. It didn't take too long for the Sheriff to gain the upper hand, knocking the sword from Robin's hand and slicing his arm.
It was then that a plan came to the outlaw, and the trio down below watched as he used the exact same move that the Doctor had used on him when they had been fighting on the felled tree. However, instead of the Sheriff falling into the stream, he lost his balance and tumbled into the vat of melted gold, screaming on his way.
The moment Robin was back on the ground, Kari was ready to go. The ground began to shake violently and the place started to crumble around them. "Come on, we need to get out and we need to get out now!" She shouted, the Doctor grabbing her hand and starting the run, while she grasped onto Clara, who finally grabbed the legendary Robin Hood and pulled him along with her.
Once they were all far enough away, they could see the castle crumbling, masonry spitting all over the place as the spaceship broke free from its hiding place. "It's never going to make it. Not enough gold. It'll never make it into orbit." The Doctor announced, before turning to Kari. "Where is it? Where did it go?"
She knew exactly what he was talking about, and Kari turned to face the group of men that followed Robin Hood everywhere he went. "Okay, hand it over." She said, holding her hand out and looking towards the fat and badly balding man. "Hurry up, we haven't got all day!"
The man placed the golden arrow in her hand and she quickly gave it to the Doctor. "What did you give it to him for?" He queried, frowning at he slightly.
Kari shrugged her shoulders a little. "Safe keeping. I wasn't going to carry that around with me. Now stop nattering and start explaining, this lot are absolutely oblivious to what you're planning."
"This golden arrow, it might just be enough gold content to get the ship into orbit and out of harm's way." As he had been speaking someone passed him the bow, and now he was holding it out to the best archer in the land, Robin Hood.
Unfortunately, he wasn't that keen on it. "No, it has to be you. My arm is injured." He reminded the Time Lord. It had happened during the fight with the Sheriff, how could he have forgotten already?
When the Doctor tried, he couldn't even hold the bow in place to pull it back. "You're good at this." Clara called, wondering why all of a sudden he couldn't do it. "I saw you, you won the tournament."
"I cheated." The Doctor admitted, causing Kari to roll her eyes. She knew of course, and she knew that this would happen. "I made a special arrow with a homing device."
"Oh, give it here!" Kari snatched the bow and arrow out of the Doctor's hand, shaking her head as she did. "Seriously, do I have to do everything myself around here?"
Everyone was just gawping at her, including the Doctor. "You can't be serious. You?" Kari didn't answer him, she simply rolled her neck, before adjusting her stance. She pulled back the bow as far as she could, keeping her eyes on the target. A second later and she let the arrow fly towards the spaceship that was quickly heading higher and higher. She couldn't help but smile at herself as the golden arrow firmly planted itself into the ship.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief, watching as the ship picked up speed and headed out and into the atmosphere. There was even a few cheers coming from the crown, but when Kari looked around, she saw the Doctor, Clara, and Robin all looking at her with a stunned expression on their faces. "What?" She asked, passing the bow back to the Doctor.
"How did you do that?" It would be the Doctor who demanded to know the answer to that question.
Kari had one simply word for him as her answer. "Jack."
The man rolled his eyes at her. "Of course. Guns, swords, a bow and arrow. Is there any weapon out there that he hasn't taught you to use?"
She paused to think about it for a moment, before smiling back at him. "Nope, don't think so. But hey, you never know." He started muttering to himself, moaning and complaining about her big brother. "Doctor, shut up." She said, planting a kiss on his cheek, hoping that it would stop him. It worked and he fell silent.
After a far bit of celebration from Robin and his men, they ended up back at the stream where they had all first met. While Robin was giving Clara a rather private lesson in archery, the Doctor and Kari were sitting down on a log watching. "How are you feeling?" The Doctor asked her, still worried over what had happened before when she had ended up passing out.
"Okay, I guess. I'm been feeling really off ever since we got here and to be honest I can't wait to get back in the old girl and fly away." It hadn't been the best experience for her, and she would be pleased to get out of there. "I know everything here is real, but there is still something nagging in the back of my head that this is all wrong."
"I'll admit, I have a few ideas, but we can talk about that later. Once we're in the TARDIS we can go over everything." He told her, glad that she was talking to him about it and not trying to hide what was bothering her. "I'm just glad that you're okay." The Doctor added, wrapping his arm around her.
Kari couldn't help but smile at his action. It wasn't much, but for that regeneration of him it was a lot. "Yeah, me too." Finally she felt relaxed, because she knew it was all over and that soon they would be out of there and everything would be fine. "Doctor, I know you still don't believe in him, and that he laughs too much, but here he is real, and alive. Do you know why he laughs so much?" The Doctor shook his head at her. "To hide the pain. He lost someone close to him, the most important person in his life. I don't know what I would do if that ever happened to me, I don't think I would be able to carry on, but he did. He never stopped believing and hoping and fighting."
The Doctor knew exactly what, or who, he was talking about. "Marion. Tell you what, I'll get the TARDIS to track her before we leave, see what we can do." Kari couldn't help but smile at that, it may have seemed like such a small gesture, but it was a huge one. "Come on then, looks like it's time to go." He said, noticing that Clara had now said her goodbyes and gone into the blue box that was still sitting beside the stream.
"So, is it true, Doctor?" Robin asked him as the pair stopped in front of him.
"Is what true?"
Kari rolled her eyes a little before the legend explained. "That in the future I am forgotten as a real man? I am but a legend?"
Although the Doctor had not liked the man at the beginning of the adventure, he had started to warm to him a little now. "I'm afraid it is." He hadn't wanted to tell him the truth, but he had to, it was the right thing to do.
Robin pondered on this for a moment before replying. "Good. History is a burden. Stories can make us fly."
Kari couldn't help but smile at him. "He's still having trouble believing in yours. I'm not, all legends have to start somewhere, right?" Once she had said that, she couldn't help but look up at the Doctor. It was still hard for her to believe that he was real, that the man she had been brought up believing was completely fictional was actually standing there beside her. It reminded her that nothing is impossible. "We all find heros in the most impossible of places. And those will be the greatest stories ever told. Just, make sure it's a good one." As she said that, she gave the Doctor's hand a squeeze. She knew, and he knew, that those words meant more than anyone would ever know.
Robin smiled at the pair of them. "Goodbye, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey." The man said, shaking the Doctor's hand.
"Goodbye, Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley."
"And to you, Kari, the Angel of Time." The outlaw said, taking her hand and lightly kissing the back of it. "'You are wise beyond your years, and someone who understands how important certain things are." He gave a very tiny nod towards the Doctor and she knew what he was saying.
She smiled back at him. "Oh, trust me, I know. Times can be rough, but there are those that give us hope, that get us through it. I know what I have, and I am grateful for it. Do not give up hope, Robin." Kari wanted to give him hope, hope that things would get better, that he would find his one true love, even if she still felt the whole place was wrong, she couldn't deny that he was real, with real emotions and feelings.
After the goodbye, the pair headed inside the TARDIS, where Kari instantly let out a long sigh. She was glad to be back there, back where she knew she was safe and where she would be looked after. Home. She was finally home.
"Admit it. You like him." Clara said, bringing Kari out of her relief of being back in the impossible ship.
The Doctor looked at Kari and smiled, before turning to Clara. "We'll, we're leaving him a present, aren't we?" The moment he said that, Kari charged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Without even thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around her as well.
"Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much." She knew what he had done, and she wondered that maybe if she hadn't been there, maybe he wouldn't have done it, even though he was meant to. Either way, she didn't care, what really mattered was that he had done it, he had found Marion using the TARDIS, and left her at the spot they were vacating. "You are more than just a hero, you know that, right?" She added, a smile still on her face.
"I'm only a hero for you." The Doctor reminded her, not the emotional type, even if Kari was.
A great big smile spread across her face. "Yeah, for me and the rest of the universe. I don't care if you never admit it, I know you, Doctor. All these heros that seem too good to be true, you just think too much of the past. What's done is done, Doctor. Not all of it is as bad as you think." Yes, she knew more than him, she would always know more than him.
Clara cleared her throat, getting the attention of the hugging pair. "You know, I think I should be getting back now." She said, feeling just a little awkward with the way she had been forgotten.
"Yes, can't leave the year sevens without their taekwondo teacher, can we?" The Doctor announced, running around the console and leaving Kari standing there looking fed up.
The moment the Doctor pulled the lever, Kari's world started spinning again. She didn't even have to call for the Doctor, because he had already grabbed a hold of her and was holding her tightly against his chest. It was as if he knew that something was going to happen and was ready and waiting for it. "Doctor…" She managed to breathe, trying to work out what was going on and what was wrong with her.
There was a worried look on his face as he quickly glanced at the monitor before answer her. "I am really going to be having words with that brother of yours, you do know that? Teaching you how to use all these weapons. Why would he even do that? What is the point in all of that? Is that all you do when you go and visit him? You gossip and play around with swords and bows and arrows?" He asked her, speaking in quite a hurry.
"No." Kari replied quietly. "We also go and catch a few aliens, save a few humans. Maybe have a birthday party so that we can eat lots of cake as well." It was easy enough for her to sum up what really happened when she visited because it was, quite simply, eating cake and having fun. "Why is this happening, Doctor?"
Before the Doctor could reply, the gentle noise that their magical machine usually made turned very rough and very loud. The grind of the engines was twice as loud, and it sounded like something was wrong. "Clara, pull that lever over there!" He shouted, having no plans of letting Kari go when she was in such a condition.
The women obeyed and rushed around to the other side of the console, tugging down the lever that he had indicated. A few more moments passed, and then everything went still. "Doctor, what was that? What just happened?" Clara had absolutely no idea as to what was going on, but she knew something had really not been right.
He looked at the monitor again and finally worked it all out. "Oh… oh that explains so much." The Doctor said, as Clara came plodding around to see what he was looking at. Of course, she couldn't read any of the data that was on the screen, and he was grateful for that. "Come on, you're okay Kari." He said, pushing her away a little so that he could see her face. Some tears had escaped from her eyes and soak into his jacket, but he really didn't mind.
"Please, Doctor, what is wrong with me?" She was so frightened that there was something else wrong with her, something else that just didn't make sense. Kari was also worried that maybe she was sick, and the Doctor either didn't know what it was or he knew that it was serious. She just wanted to know the truth, she hated being kept in the dark.
"There's nothing wrong with you, you're perfectly fine and healthy." The Time Lord replied, hoping that she would listen to him. "Like I told you before, you've been having a bad reaction to something, that's all it is. Hopefully, they will stop now. Okay?" Kari looked up at him and eventually nodded her head. "Good. Now, you two need to go and get changed. Can't take you back to school when you look like that, what will the children say?"
Both of the women headed off to the wardrobe, arm in arm. Kari was still thinking that the Doctor was hiding something from her, something important, while Clara was doing nothing but talk about the amazing Robin Hood, Earl of Loxley. Kari just wished she had been able to enjoy it all as much as her friend did, but there had been such a nagging feeling in the back of her head. She was just glad that they were now back in the TARDIS and out of that place.
A/N: I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave a reply, a those of you who have sent me messages of either encouragement or just to let me know how much you're enjoying the story. It's good to know that there are still so many people out there who enjoy this story, even though my updates have become unpredictable and are far from regular.
I'm not going to chatter on, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll leave you guessing as to what is going to happen next. But feel free to let me know what you think is going to happen, I do love reading what you all think.
Pippa.