"So, where are they?" the girl asked. "And, how many of them are there?"
"Prisoners?" Gage asked, the girl nodded and he replied. "There were dozens of people there, I don't know exactly how many. And, I know we had to walk a lot before we got to the lab. There were also a lot of stairs we walked up. But I think we're going in the right direction."
The girl nodded and they continued walking, keeping as brisk a pace as they could manage.
"We're going to free the prisoners first?" Gage asked.
"That's the plan."
"What exactly is the plan?"
"Beats me," the girl said with a shrug. "I guess we'll know it when we see it."
Gage looked incredulously at the girl, not entirely believing her. She had the look on her face of someone with a plan, someone with an incredibly questionable plan. And he didn't like that. Before he could question her further, they heard footsteps approaching. The girl pushed Gage against the wall and then leaned casually against the wall beside him.
"You two!" a voice called out. "Identify yourselves!"
The girl pushed off against the wall and turned to face them, Gage followed her lead. When he glanced over at her face, it had an expression like no other he had seen on her before: it was completely blank, emotionless, and filled with a cold, unquestionable confidence.
"Hey, it's that girl from before," the second guard said, motioning at the girl, and then nodding respectfully as he stated her title. "Asudine scientist."
The first fish-faced guard snorted and said. "Her? She's no Asudine, much less a scientist."
"Oh really, what makes you so sure?" the girl asked coldly, her voice devoid of emotion.
And this took the guard aback. He paused, now uncertain.
The girl looked at the second guard, the one that recognized her from before, and continued. "I told you I needed the glasses, and now I have my subject as well, a complete set. So if you don't mind, I think it would be best if you stood aside and let me be on my way," the way she said it is was casual, dismissive, and dangerous; it left no uncertainty that she could and would make good on her unspoken threat.
Both of the guards went stiff, a feeling of coldness creeping up their spines. They stood aside without a word, bowed their heads, and let her pass. The girl grabbed Gage by the arm and led him away.
"How…?" Gage began to ask once they were out of earshot.
"Shush," the girl hissed. "Not now."
They continued walking, the girl dragging Gage along by the arm; then, suddenly, the girl stopped.
"Sonic screwdriver. Just point and think," she said to Gage, handing him the device. "It's telepathic, it'll sense what you want," and then she pushed Gage into an adjacent hallway and continued walking.
Gage sat in the lightless passage, stunned for a moment, but before he could recover, four guards came running down the hallway. Gage watched as they threw the girl against the wall, twice, and then pushed her to the floor, tying her hands behind her back. She looked up at Gage, her gaze was steady and demanding, like she wanted something from him. Her eyes flickered from the screwdriver to Gage, and then to the hallway beyond. Gage realized she was telling him to continue her mission, to save the prisoners and escape. Then they pulled her back up to her feet and led her away.
Gage sat, stunned, in the empty hallway, devoid of light, or urgency. Up until that point he hadn't had the time to miss his brother or friends, everything had been survive and hide and escape. He had followed the girl because she had seemed to know what she was doing, more so than him anyway, and though he had worried how they would save the prisoners, the full weight of it hadn't been on his shoulders, not until that moment. And then there he was, alone; he may never see his brother or friends again; he may not even live to see the next day. The world suddenly seemed impossibly dangerous and labyrinthine; so many uncertain, twisting paths, too intricate to decode, and too confusing to follow. He didn't know what to do.
Gage looked at the device in his hands, and felt utterly lost. Then he thought of his brother, and Jin, and Peter. They were depending on him to escape and come for them. And that girl, she had let herself be captured so that he would have more time to rescue the prisoners and escape, she had believed in him, and she needed his help too. Gage looked back at the sonic screwdriver in his hands, closed his eyes for a moment, and then set off down the hallway, towards the prisoners, holding onto the screwdriver like it was a lifeline back to reality. And, maybe it was.
The girl was led through the ship to a small, dark room. It was entirely empty except for one feature: a throne-like seat bolted to the middle of the room. A pale, young woman sat on this throne, her eyes closed, her hands resting comfortably on the armrests. Her hair was as white as the girl's, and her skin was just as pale as her hair; there seemed to be some kind of decorations covering her skin, almost like tattoos, but the ink wasn't colored, instead it was shiny and iridescent, like some type of gloss. She was wearing a long, flowing white dress, it had thin straps and was simple and unadorned; it fell all the way to the floor, covering her feet.
The girl was thrown to the floor in front of the woman and chained just out of reach of the throne. Then the guards left, in a hurry, and the girl stood up, facing the woman.
"So you knew from the beginning that you would be brought here," the woman said, her eyes still closed.
The girl said nothing.
"Then, the question is why," she continued. "… If you are planning an escape, I can assure you that it is futile."
"No, I'm not," the girl said.
"You are telling the truth," the woman stated, tilting her head to the side, curious.
Again the girl said nothing. And for some time neither of them said anything at all. The woman remained in her seat, her eyes still closed. The girl continued standing, not even trying to escape.
"You're the one who took my memories," the girl said, at last.
"You're…!" the woman said, the realization dawning on her.
"Apparently I'm someone called The Doctor," the girl said. "But you'll excuse me if I don't claim that name, as it means nothing to me," her voice had an uncharacteristic bite to it; a deep, old bitterness.
"I am Siv'Irai," the woman said, slowly opening her eyes, all three of them.
Her two normal eyes were almost normal, except for the iris's deep violet color, which seemed as iridescent as the markings on her skin. Her third eye was set horizontally in her forehead, above and between her other two eyes, parallel to them; it was also the same exact color. Other than being an excess eye, it was also remarkable in its lack of sclera: it was all shocking violet and black pupil, no white.
In general, her eyes seemed almost vacant; staring out into the room, not even looking at the girl, but it was her third eye that the girl found unnerving. It was almost as if it had a power of its own, and could look inside a person, to their very core. And she was almost afraid, wondering what that eye saw.
Suddenly, a name came to her: Ra'hi. She tried pulling out more information, but all she could find was the name. Her mind was still as blank and unyielding as a wall; her memories a blank, unreachable mass.
"Such a cute face," Siv'Irai said. "So soon after regeneration, you must still be in a state of flux, your body, mind, personality, everything about you, ready to change at a moment's notice."
"Regeneration…?" the girl began, confused, uncertain; something struck a familiar chord, but she couldn't figure out its meaning, or how this woman knew about it.
"Yes, I know everything. You see, I am their interrogator, their extractor of information," Siv'Irai said. "And a short while ago you and I were having a very different encounter. I probed your mind. I tore it apart and ripped out everything I could, as that is my job. So I know about you and your race as much as anyone can."
"Then what's my name, my real name? I doubt it's Doctor," the girl said.
"Hidden," Siv'Irai replied. "Even with such an invasive psychic probe, I could not learn your true name. You hide it well."
"What happened? Who was I?" the girl asked.
"I was never taught how to gently extract information. Whenever I use my telepathic powers, I learn everything I want, but the person I use it on invariably goes insane, and dies. Usually the process is quick, and I learn all I can within minutes. Your struggle was impressive, unique, it lasted days. But finally, you broke, more literally than most, because I never sensed your will or your mind falter, instead the strain took its physical toll, on your body and your brain. You died, and now here you are again. I must say, you look quite familiar, but I suppose asking where you got your face is pointless," Siv'Irai explained, pointedly not answering the girl. "As for your question, I can honestly say that you were the Doctor, a good man, and a tragic one."
"What does that even mean? Can you just give me my memories back?" the girl asked. "I need to know."
"Why would I do that?" Siv'Irai asked. "We are enemies."
"Are we?" the girl replied, she looked down pointedly at Siv'Irai's hands, which were still motionless on the armrests.
"Tell me," the girl continued. "You said earlier that you were psychic, you specifically said psychic probe, not mental probe or memory probe or brain probe, all of which would perhaps be more accurate, but no, you said psychic. And here I am, unable to move. And here you are, stuck in your chair, forced to rip open people's minds for others' benefit. Are we enemies? Because from where I'm standing you're as much as a prisoner as I am. And yet you don't escape. But I've already established that you have the power to, so why don't you? Tell me."
"I cannot," Siv'Irai said, and for the first time, the girl saw real emotion on that carefully blank face. "They will kill her if I do… my sister…"
"Just let me go," the girl said. "We'll find her, and escape together. I promise."
"You promise?" Siv'Irai looked at her, anger filling up her gaze. "You promise?! Promises are just empty words. Too easy to break."
"I can help you Siv'Irai, please, you have my memories, you've seen who I am and what I do, and you said that I was a good person. So please, trust me," the girl could feel Siv'Irai falter; the woman before her knew the Doctor better than she currently knew herself. She could see the Doctor's life, the doubts and struggles, the defeats and sadness, and kindness, persistence, cunning, and ultimate victories. And she knew that if there was ever someone to save her and her sister, it would be this person in front of her.
"Tell me, how long have you been here?" the girl asked.
"I do not know," Siv'Irai replied. "… A very long time."
"Don't you think that's long enough," the girl said. "You haven't seen your sister in all that time. You don't know who she is now, or if she's alright. Judging from your state, you haven't seen her in years."
And something terrible occurred to the girl, a sudden, horrible thought that she couldn't even bear to entertain, she pushed it aside as quickly as possible, but it wasn't quite fast enough. A flicker of doubt crossed Siv'Irai's face, she didn't know what had occurred to the Doctor, but she had felt the terribleness of it, and a horrible fear clutched her heart, a doubt that she knew would never go away.
"Come here," Siv'Irai said.
"But…" the girl began, and the shackles fell away from her, the cuffs opening on their own and dropping harmlessly to the floor.
"I also released the telekinetic restraint," Siv'Irai added.
The girl approached her, as she was told. But then, before Siv'Irai could return the Doctor's memories, the girl went around to the back of the chair, and Siv'Irai heard strange sounds. Then an immense pressure was lifted off of her, and she found that she could move. She lifted her hand slowly off the armrest, and it shook uncertainly in front of her. The girl reappeared in front of her, smiling madly, and Siv'Irai wondered if she had actually lost her mind.
"Important stuff first," the girl said. "Now, on to business."
Siv'Irai lifted both of her shaky, uncertain hands and placed them on the girl's temples, the girl mirrored the action instinctively. A fierce, sudden doubt crept into the girl's mind; she realized that it was possible that Siv'Irai was lying, that she was undoubtedly dangerous, and maybe had been locked up for a different reason entirely. Maybe, the girl had released the beast, and was about to be destroyed, body and mind. And it was too late to go back now.
Then, the connection was made. Pain jolted through both of them, digging into their brains like needles. The girl began to understand just how little training Siv'Irai had had: even though Siv'Irai wasn't trying to rip out information, the process was still painful and inelegant. But at least she wasn't trying to kill her. And the girl was starting to get just the faintest hints of memory back.
"I just started the process to return your memories, instantly restoring them is beyond me, so you probably won't get them all back at once, and some memories you may never recover… I am sorry," Siv'Irai apologized.
"It's alright," the girl said. "I expected as much. Now, how 'bout we get out of here?"
The girl began to help Siv'Irai up, but she waved her off.
"No, leave without me," Siv'Irai said, closing her eyes. "I don't have enough strength to go. I'll just slow you down. Just save my sister."
Siv'Irai felt herself being picked up, she opened her eyes, and found herself staring at the girl's shoulder and hair.
"I'm not leaving without you," the girl said. "So you better hold on tight."
Siv'Irai did as she was told and wrapped her arms and legs around the girl, allowing herself to be carried piggyback.
"After all, I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it. You wouldn't want to make a liar out of me, now would you?"