Chapter 10: Spears and Fears Always End In Tears
Karok growled. His ears were sore and bloody, his fur matted and knotted where the blood had settled and hardened. He had been slightly winded by the fall, but he stood, his legs stiff and aching. He whipped round suddenly, expecting the Time Lords to be behind him, but he saw nothing. Even their spaceship had moved away.
He stamped the ground in frustration and hissed through his teeth. He thrust out his arm and there was a soft hum before his spear came floating eerily towards him. Its head was glowing red and the wood of the spear was cold in his grip.
Karok noticed this immediately and stroked the spear head, trying to see the source of the problem. As the claw of his finger touched the stone, it gave a great crackle of energy and whipped him with what looked like a bolt of orange lightning. He gave a snarl of pain and plunged the spear in the ground.
Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
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The spear slid through the air and hit on target, bedding deep into soft flesh. Blood caressed the head and began to pour from the point of entry. Tarok growled, but a haunting grin still remained on his face, as though it was stuck firm there forever more. He placed both his hands on the end of the spear and wrenched it out of his ribs. More blood seeped out, but he seemed not to care.
Valhalla stared dumfounded as the spear clattered to the floor and Tarok held a finger to his wound, letting the blood wet his finger before holding it up to Valhalla.
"You wish to watch me die, brother? Then, please, have my blood to cover your hands with!" He cried. He leapt straight at the horrified Valhalla, the now bloody hand poised outstretched. Valhalla began to duck, but Tarok caught him midway.
The bloody paw smeared across his chest, right before Valhalla managed to throw Tarok off with an upward kick from his large hooves. Tarok landed heavily on his side, smacking his head hard on the step, but he still stood firmly up, brushing the dust off his still bleeding wound and laughing quietly.
Valhalla was looking fearfully down, where blood was now slowly trickling down his chest. He so wanted to brush it off, but it would mean getting it on his hands, which would put him under the restraints of murder.
Tarok's soft laughter brought him sharply back to reality as he stared up at his brother. But before he could say anything, Valhalla cried for his spear again. Tarok, however, was ready for this and he turned sharply round, clasping his pawed hands around the wood of the spear, halting it just before it sunk between his eyes. The spear began to shake, trying to continue its path and began to spark with energy. Tarok held it back still and twisted it round before raising it above his knee.
"NO!" Valhalla roared, leaping up and launching himself on Tarok, making him fall forwards and letting the weapon fly forwards. Tarok snarled and drew his elbow back, letting it collide into Valhalla's muzzle. There was a sickening crunch and Valhalla fell, holding his hands over the collision point, blood seeping slowly through his fingers, leaving droplets on the sandy floor.
Tarok whirled round, his claws slipping out of his fingers. Slashed red lines appeared on Valhalla's arm and he snarled, before slipping his own claws out and slashing them across Tarok's chest. Each claw sank in, ripping through skin, muscle and tissue. Tarok let out a roar of pain and stumbled back, clutching the four jagged lines that now were dripping more blood.
Letting go of his broken muzzle, Valhalla got to his feet, the sheer anger and bitter hate glowing in his bloodshot eyes. His whole body language spoke outward before his voice, the tense muscles, the balled fists and the hooves primed, ready to slam into anything that opposed him as a threat.
"You've fought your last battle, Tarok!" He roared, the sudden noise echoing round the dark ship. "Many a day you may have thought of this plan, but this day, this very hour, I shall end it!" Tarok spat, flecks of blood flying forth as he snapped, "Noble words from a murderer, Valhalla. Noble, yet meaningless! There is not a cell in your cowardly body that has the power to stop this." He stumbled forwards. "Many a year ago, I would have thought more of you, but now, as you have aged, you become more foolish and blind, scared of the universe and its threats that stand up against you. But this is just nonsense, pure and utter arrogance to my plan!"
"It is no nonsense, Tarok!" Valhalla replied, "I would rather think of it as rebelling!"
"Rebelling?" Tarok, though weak from the last wound, threw back his head and laughed. "Valhalla, do not know such a thing. No, you are idle. Your arrogance stops you from seeing the many lives I am saving. I am over throwing the King, brother, for the people, not for my own outcome." Valhalla seemed unaffected by this, but his mind had suddenly jolted to a stop. Tarok looked sorrowed as he spoke the next words, so sorrowed that Valhalla began to believe him.
"Many warriors, many of the innocent are killed each sunrise. You remember Harisk? Junoa? Both great soldiers that fought endlessly by our side. Then, the King saw them unfit, along with most of their brothers and were sent to death. Death by sacrifice. Sacrifice for nothing!" He growled, stamping his hoof down angrily. "The King believes that the blood of the young, the old, the guilty and the innocent will appease the so-called demon that lives among us, spreading chaos and havoc through our lands." Valhalla shook his head, lowering his spear in disbelief. Tarok continued.
"The very Frozen Fire Mountains are the slaughter place. We are told to not go there because of the scare of the fire breaking free and eating us alive, but, I followed a group many months ago." His eyes seemed to glaze over. "A beautiful place lies there, where the tallest flames loom over, frozen, yet still warm. But, every beautiful thing has a spot of grim ugliness. That grim ugliness, Valhalla, is where they drain the blood of our friends and fellow people."
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Tess and the Doctor stood in the control room, both having leaving Rose's side to try to work out the reverse antidote to the substance. They now stood looking closely at the bottle, both squinting, the Doctor with his glasses out and looking closer and closer at the liquid. Tess had already seen a face press against the glass before swirling away, making her jump. The Doctor saw no surprise in this, but only a dark look shadowed over his face.
"She'll be in here." He muttered. "It may be her face next." Tess looked grimly at the bottle, and then looked back to the Doctor, a frown plastered on her face.
"But, if the stuff is inside Rose, how did her life essence get back in there?" She asked. The Doctor raised his eyebrows but he answered as kindly as ever.
"This stuff, evil of course, but is pretty clever. Though the Tears of the Dead, as it is formally called, looked like it went inside Rose, all it actually did was..." He paused, lost suddenly before continuing, "Suck the life essence out of her and then turn to vapour before returning to the bottle and joining the rest of the poor souls in here. Boomerang effect." Tess raised her own eyebrows at this and they both continued to search in silence. Tess kept seeing the faces, but none of them looked like Rose.
Suddenly, the Doctor stiffened his eyes fixed on the bottle. Tess peered closely and then could have gasped out loud, if the sheer horror hadn't made her as silent as the grave. The Doctor, however, went straight into action, raising the sonic screw driver to the glass and turned it on. The Tears of the Dead rippled, but seemed to stop, as though frozen. Rose's haunting face remained against the glass. The Doctor took off the cork lid, a sheer look of determination on his face.
"Tess," He said, looking up at her. "Take me to Rose straight after."
"Straight after what?" Tess asked, the uncertainty in her voice. The Doctor didn't reply, but instead, jammed his finger in the bottle, his long finger tip touching Rose's face. The effect was immediate. The Doctor's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he toppled down to his knees, his whole body going limp. Before he collapsed down to the ground, he put the bottle up right, making sure it didn't spill before going completely, sinking deep into the same state as Rose.
Tess yelled out loud, falling to her knees as well and shaking the Doctor's shoulder. He already felt cold, as though the warmth had been sucked out as well. Tess drew her hand back, unsure of what to do.
Take me to Rose
Tess carefully moved the bottle out of the way, put her arms under the Doctor's and began to heave him back through the TARDIS, worry flitting through her like a sickly drug. She hated every minute of the experience, hated the sound of his feet being dragged across the floor, hated the icy cold touch of his skin and hated seeing his head loll from side to side. The whole situation reminded her of an event many years ago; when she had seen someone struck by a car and watched with fear as the victim was dragged to the pavement and given CPR, but to no avail. She remembered having to walk past the spot, saw the flowers and the soft toys. That someone had been her only friend.
Trying to shake away the thoughts, she continued to pull the Doctor towards Rose's room. But the thoughts were now building, as though they were horrible creatures, breaking the surfaces of her mind, creating horror and sorrow. She was brought back to Earth by her back pushing against Rose's door. Carefully, she let the door swing open and dragged the Doctor inside.
Now what was she supposed to do? Two practically dead people to look after and no idea what to do. Then, that nagging pull motion on her brain began again and she saw the conclusion. Pulling the chair towards Rose's bed with her foot, she pushed the Doctor into it and put him close to Rose's side. Then, she carefully took Rose's hand out from her duvet and placed it close to the Doctor. She too the Doctor's hand and placed it on top of Rose's hand.
Their hands began to shimmer a faint blue and both twitched. Tess gave a broad grin then stepped out of the room. It would be a long process. By Rose's life essence being in the Doctor, it would begin to transfer back into Rose. But, the Doctor's life essence was out of him. Tess frowned then darted back to the bottle. Staring desperately at the liquid, she searched for his face. He wasn't there.
All of a sudden, she heard a soft hum. Tess looked away from the bottle and tried to pinpoint the location of the noise. The sound seemed to be all around her. She looked at the main control panel then all around the cavernous ceiling. That's when it clicked.
Hey, here it is! Thanks for some of the absolutely fab reviews, especially from MissBlackPotter, lacedwithfire and others! Next week, I'll be going on holiday for 3 weeks, so I'm going to try and put chapter 11 before I go!
Please read and review. Could I just note that you don't have to be a actual member of Fanfiction to review, I do accept Annoymous reviews!
TheNextTitan