A/N: Chapter the fourth! Herein we have more violence! Yay!

Of some import... the lovely Time_Lady at Whofic suggested some changes that I have been quick to implement. If you are rereading this and wonder why it was so different, I hope it leaves you with a sense of it being better. But I flatter myself; let's just get on with the story, shall we?

She leaned against a barrel, eyes sliding shut. As her body slid sideways, she caught herself, sending waves of pain up her body. "Stay awake, Alannah, stay awake!" she mumbled while fingering the whistle in her hand, then blew it again. Still no answer. She felt edgy as she wiped an arm across her sweaty forehead.

The sliding of bolts in the door made her sit up, expecting his broad face to emerge. Her expectation disappeared quickly when an armed man walked in. He held a torch aloft, searching for her in the gloom. As she watched, he pulled a sword out and swung it around, splitting a sack open and kicking a barrel over, making his intention clear.

As he turned his back on her, she coiled her body and weakly sprung on his back, trying to bring him to the ground and make her escape.

&&&

"Nice place you have here," the Doctor observed as he examined the austere room he was led into. "Very... simple. Is it Minimalism?"

Fulbert furrowed his brow in annoyance. "You speak nonsense!"

"Well, yes, I thought that movement was pretty boring, myself…" he spread his hands wide, thinking. "I am much more into post modernism. Pop art is my favorite."

"Do you know what I believe, Doctor?"

He bowed his head, looking up at the man from under his curls. "No, but I wager you are going to tell me."

Fulbert continued, unfased. "I believe the Devil has possessed you." He crossed himself quickly.

"What?" the Doctor hissed, jaw dropping. "I am in complete control of myself, Fulbert. Can you say the same?"

"Indeed, I am in control," he indicated to someone behind the Doctor. Spinning around, he saw a large man who locked the door and strode forward, holding a length of rope in his hands. "I am in control of your future." Fulbert said, drawing his attention back. "Paul and I shall exercise your demons."

"What do you have in mind?" the Doctor said, trying to sound calm as muscular man roughly tied his hands behind his back.

"Given your crime, I believe no risks should be taken, Doctor," Fulbert spat. "Doctor, if that is your real name, after all."

Paul was working behind him. The Doctor tried to keep the big man in his line of sight. "Well, no it isn't, but-" he was cut off by a sharp tug on his arms upward.

Fulbert circled him slowly, eyes fixed on his. "Now, Doctor, what brings you here?"

"Well, I was just passing through-"

"That is a lie," Fulbert said, angry. "Where have you taken them?"

"Who?" his eyes bulged questioningly. Fulbert gave Paul a sharp nod of command. "I honestly don't unders-" he felt his feet leave the ground as he was pulled upwards by his bound wrists. He gasped for a moment, twisting his neck to look up. "A Strappado? Well, a bastardised version, anyway. Wait a minute, you shouldn't have the Strappado, that technique is from middle Europe--" He noticed the puzzled look on his tortures' faces. "I mean," he backpeddled, then screamed "Oh, the pain! Make it stop!"

Fulbert sneered, easily taken in. "Your pain will bring us closer to finding our stolen children. Paul, we must try not to take too much enjoyment from this, not while my son and your daughter are taken from us." He returned his attention to the suspended Doctor. "Now, tell me where they are."

The Doctor gave him a wild eyed look in response. "I- I don't know, honestly. I mean, I DON'T KNOW OH THE PAIN!"

"May God have mercy on your soul," Fulbert said grimly.

&&&

She didn't feel too well, herself. She was aware of pain in her leg but it seemed muted and unimportant. Her head swam and her lungs burned, probably due to the hands pressing down on her windpipe. "Is this the end? I am going to be strangled to death by some man a thousand years before my birth?" She felt a badly-timed tear slide down her face.

Her upper hand in battle had been lost quickly, given that he was much bigger than she, and the element of surprise is only as effective as the rest of the plan. He had quickly turned the tables, and she went from pounding his broad shoulders with fists to being pinned to the ground and dying. She dimly registered that he was muttering under his breath, "This is for my son, for leaving his body for the animals to destroy! My only son, taken from me, James will be revenged!"

"Hey, I didn't do anything," she thought foggily as she summoned the strength to knee him with her uninjured leg. It wasn't quite as effective as she imagined, catching him in the stomach, but he nonetheless toppled over sideways, unconscious.

She felt grateful of the flood of air into her lungs. After a few moments, she lifted her head, looking at the man who was sprawled on the floor beside her. "I did that?" she asked herself, puzzled by her unknown strength.

"Negative, mistress, I did," a metallic voice behind her spoke, making her yelp in fright and twist around. A medium-sized metal dog stood in front of her, decidedly retro in look, but oddly adorable.

"K—K-9?" she asked, finally finding her voice.

"Affirmative. You called for me?"

She gaped. "Uhm… I guess I did, yeah… you were not what I was expecting to answer, though…" she looked at the far wall, where a smouldering hole in the wall showed the night outside. "You, uh, burned a hole in the wall with your …laser?"

"Affirmative," his head bobbed ever so slightly as he extended the laser in his nose for her to inspect.

She eyed it cautiously. "And uh, you used it on him, too?"

"I knocked him unconscious. He was threatening your life."

She rubbed her hand across her throat. "Yes, I guess you could say that."

He extended an antenna towards her face. "Mistress is running a fever, probably due to a bacterial infection. Medical assistance would be advised."

She held the back of her hand to her forehead. "I am a little warm, aren't I?"

"38.2 degrees Celsius, to be precise," he said matter-of-factly.

She thought for a second. "Uhm…"

"100.8 degrees Fahrenheit."

"Oh, right," she carefully avoided looking at the dog. "I knew that."

"Blood pressure is also elevated, due to low blood volume in the body. Medical assistance would be advised."

She scowled. "I know, you just said that."

His ears moved as he computed. "Without immediate medical assistance, the chance of survival is 64.5%."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Well, at the community college I attended for a brief time, 64% was still passing." She grabbed the guard's sword and levered herself to her feet, leaning against the wall heavily.

His servomotors ground into life again. "63.7%."

"K-9? Could you do me a favor and shut up?"

"Affirmative, mistress."

She forced herself to stand unaided. "Now, can you find the Doctor? Some men grabbed him earlier, and I am worried. "

"Affirmative, I have his biomarker located. He is approximately 45 meters away." She gave him a blank look. "Would Mistress like for me to automatically adjust measurements into Imperial units?" he seemed to sigh as he spoke.

She too sighed, relieved. "Yes, please."

"Master is 49.21 yards from our current position."

She pointed at the hole in the wall. "Well, let's go and find him, shall we?"