Chapter 41 – That Big RAWR Climatic Scene Part One

The sight before them was frankly astonishing – the sheer size of the room made you feel small and diminutive compared to Jackie's flat at home. There was a long stretch of hallway for around twenty metres, a charcoal black carpet stretching from the doorway to the platform like a royal carpet to a throne. There were lights either side of the pathway every two metres, a guidance to the route. At the other end of the hall was a huge cliff-like platform, the only connection to it being two gradually curving stairways disappear up and to the sides of the platform.

There was torture equipment either side of them, apparently well used and heavily blood stained. There hung tens of metal cages encasing helpless skeletons from the ceiling, which was as least thirty feet above their heads.

"Classic architecture, dontcha love it?" Jack grinned, gazing up at the nearest torture implement – which happened to be a rack.

"Gives me goosebumps," the Doctor agreed in his Northern accent, taking a side glance at Rose – but she had seen something far more interesting than the architecture at the other end of the hall.

"Doctor," she said breathlessly, and even before anyone could stop her she was running, running towards the figure at the other end, but even before he turned Rose knew it was another of his apparitions, but that didn't make her stop running. Weak from fatigue she staggered down a hallway, her concentration on one man and one man only, and that was the Doctor.

His raised his hand upwards and pointed towards the top of the platform behind him, guiding the rescue party one last time. He gave a thumbs-up and a weak grin, lowering his hands to his sides as Rose stopped but a metre from him. She watched, absolutely mesmerised as the apparition's golden eyes stared straight into hers.

"Caution," he mouthed silently and Rose nodded. He maintained half grin. She smiled back, extending a shaking hand out towards him. He raised his own hand, slowly bringing it down to touch hers – but to her despair, as soon as they met the Doctor standing before her suddenly evaporated into the air, like his image was broken into a thousand pieces and absorbed by the sky. She stood still for a moment, hand still extended as she heard the rescue party come to a halt behind her.

"Up here," she gestured to the right hand stairs, leading the group as she walked unwaveringly up, anticipating the worst. What would she see? Was it too late? Did Khthonia kill him?

As she reached the top of the stairs she first noted that Bob seemed to have got there first. He whined loudly, bounding up another set of stairs to a body slumped at the top, the motionless body of the Doctor.

He looked terrible.

Bruises and cuts were all over him, the clothes he wore were ripped and bloodshed, and even looking at him made them all feel light headed. Bob was licking clean his wounds, whining as he worked.

Rose remained speechless as she made to move forwards towards him, but suddenly found herself thrown backwards towards the wall by an invisible force. She heard Jack cry out her name and crouch down next to her, helping her to sit up.

"Stay back," Her voice said calmly, and instantly Rose feel the fury burn brightly inside her. She jumped onto her feet and screamed rage, running forward to tear the Woman limb-from-limb. Khthonia didn't show any signs of fear or haste; simply raised Her hand and directed it at the Doctor. Rose stopped dead. She knew how this worked. "So, you found me," Khthonia continued, "congratulations. Have your prize." She knelt down next to the Doctor, brushing back his hair and kissing him gently on the cheek. "Doctor, wake up baby."

He didn't stir. She waved a hand over his head, frowning slightly.

"Oh, he's in a coma again," She sighed, sounding weary. She lowered her hand to his eyes, hovering for a moment before he suddenly jerked, gasping for breath as his eyes flew open. "Welcome back honey," She purred, pressing a kiss to his lips. He tried to turn his head but She easily caught him before he could move. The action just fuelled Rose's anger even more. "Look who's here?" She said, turning his head to the left to look at the crowd gathered at the foot of the stairs. He showed no signs of surprise, just simply gave Rose a fleeting smile.

"Hey Rose," he croaked, too weak and in too much pain to give a wave. Despite everything else, she found herself smiling back at him.

"How you doin'?" she asked, quite aware of all the stares they were currently getting from everyone else.

"Oh, same old," he replied. "How about you?"

"Same." She grinned. "Have fun?"

"Ooo yeah," he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone, "it's been a right laugh."

"Be quiet!" She suddenly screamed, kicking him in the side, hard. The force threw him off of the top of the steps and he fell down them, unable to stop himself until he was lying in a heap at the bottom, coughing. Rose instantly moved forward, Jack not far behind. Rose gathered him in her arms, pressing a kiss to his forehead as he continued to cough, now bringing up blood.

"Mum," suddenly came Rory's voice from above her, and Rose looked up to see the Sonic Screwdriver being offered to her. She smiled weakly at him, taking the Sonic and buzzing the chains clamped around the Doctor's wrists and ankles. Jack looked up to Owen, beckoning the trained doctor over. He looked back to check the Doctor, but he'd fallen unconscious once more.

"Oh, you should have heard him scream," Khthonia said, sounding absolutely delighted at the prospect.

"You'd better have a gravestone ready," Jack spat, raising up his gun and pointing it directly at Her head.

"Drop it, Jack," the Doctor warned in his Northern voice, but Jack wasn't listening.

"Would you shoot a mother?" Khthonia asked, moving forwards slightly to the ex-Time Agent.

"Why did you want his child so badly?" Rose quizzed, reassured by the feeling of the Doctor in her arms once more. "Take over the world kind of thing?"

"I want revenge on my captors. I want mortals to pay for what they did to me. I want to be the creator of the ultimate being and dominate all existence."

"Don't you psychos ever think of a new goal?" Rory suddenly started, stepping away from his mother towards Khthonia. "I mean, it's always dominate this…take over that…"

"Puny half-blooded mortal!" She merely spat in reply, eyes fixing onto Rory's, hard and scowling. "You are as weak as the rest!"

"Don't you dare call my son weak."

The sudden voice came as something of a surprise to the entire company in the room, heads swirling around to the Doctor onto the floor as they sudden found him sitting up straight under his own strength. Darkness was awash in his eyes as he tried not to let his captor see him affected by his wounds. The right of his chest cavity was agonising, and with every breath he took he felt he was breathing in tar.

"Because humans, or mortals as you like to call them, aren't weak Khthonia," he continued, spitting out her name with strained coolness. "They're completely the opposite. It's the drive they have to stay alive, to live longer, just to grab one more day of life to live. Their life spans are soshort, it's no wonder they do what they do. They sit there eating chips all day, trying to discover new ways of living, new ways to think – to do – to feel. They try so hard yet achieve so little – yet they refuse to end it all. And that is what makes them unique."

"But they are not worthy of your sympathy!"

"What makes you any better, eh?" he demanded. "You're not a human, you are human in origin but you haven't been a human since the day immortality began. You're something the cat just coughed up, frankly."

She was staring at him now, clenching Her fists tightly as something glass-based suddenly smashed to the right of him. She was losing it.

"You have no drive, you have nothing to want or need except that bitter taste of revenge. Yeah, you say revenge, but revenge on who?"

"Mortals! They were the scum that did this to me, they will pay the price!"

"The mortals made you one of the most powerful beings in the Universe, and you're looking for revenge? Call me an idiot, but that sounds a pretty raw deal to me."

She was really beginning to get angry now.

"Shut up! Shut up!" She screamed, whirling around to face away from them. "You may be not be a mortal Doctor, but you do not have a heart of stone. You've killed your daughter before, but really, could you do it again I wonder?"

She suddenly turned back to them, a huge evil smile spread onto Her face.

"Because you and I both know you never could."

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and around him people screamed in alarm as the Doctor felt himself fall back onto Rose, unable to stop himself. He forced his eyes open, his vision dulled by the murkiness.

Then he saw it.

The dark figure silhouetted by the light, small yet imposing shrouded in darkness. Slowly but surely vision began to clear, until they could all see the source.

A little girl.

Well, that was what she appeared to be at least. She had a blackened aura cascading around her like a tempest, her equally as black eyes bizarrely mixed with her bright blonde hair. Her skin was so pale she looked as though she were dead with her black dress clinging tightly to her skeleton thin frame.

"I am Erida, and you are all tiny," she didn't even say the words, her speech echoing inside their heads. She raised a glowing hand and waved it vaguely in their direction. The movement was so little, but it was enough to send several UNIT soldiers flying back several metres. "Watch the Universe crumble and cripple beneath my reign…"

A/N: Well, this is all just getting rather stupid, isn't it:P

Chapter 42 – That Big RAWR Climatic Scene Part Two

She shook her head, sadly. "You could have so much more. I can see your grief, rage and hate locked within your heart. You desire the power to control fate, and that's easy to accomplish if only you opened your mind to me..."

He chose his words carefully, "I don't want to rule the Universe."

"Lies," she spat, "why do you deny your destiny?"