Way too short for the amount of time I spent away from this. Hopefully though, updates will be a little more regular, at least until exams roll around again…
Thanks for the reviews!
The Time of Deception
The Architect paced nervously outside the door. It was taking too long, way too long… He ran one hand over his head, his hand catching in his thick, tight curls.
If this went wrong… if it didn't go off at just the right time… if…!
But.
He stopped abruptly, his boots making a squeaking noise on the floor. Then he smirked. No, he was being stupid. This was his invention. His work. Everything would be fine.
One hand slid inside his pocket and withdrew the interface device. He turned it slowly in his hand. No problems. No complications. No issues. Just like always. Flawless.
So why was he worried? He slid the device away again and resumed pacing, boots clomping on the floor, hands clasped tightly behind his back. Maybe it was this room. This corridor. Just the feel of being here again. The smells that always seemed to be filling his nostrils permeating the air. The noises from the other wards that rang in his ears day and night. The last time he had stood in this hallway… waiting for the words… for news…
The door finally opened and he immediately froze. His hearts were racing and he breathed shakily to calm himself as the Medic approached him. He didn't move as the man stopped, examining a medical scanner in his hand. After a few minutes in which the man ignored him however, he grew impatient. "Well?" He asked gruffly.
The Medic sighed and looked up. "She's fine… everything seems to be normal… she's just incredibly weak…" He shrugged noncommittally. "I'm afraid there won't be much hope for her." His tone was flat, uncaring. Some things are just not meant to live.
The words struck a strange chord in the Architect's left heart that he ignored as best he could.
"No, she can still be useful." He protested. "She told me she's the Tool. Every tool has its use, even a weak one. I'll train her, I'll take her on."
The Medic eyed him for a moment than nodded sadly. "She's on you then." He said and handed the other Time Lord the hand-held scanner. The Medic's hand caught on the Architect's own as he accepted the device. "Good luck." He walked away to tend to his other patients.
The Architect waited stiffly until the other had walked down the hall before entering the room.
The girl looked up as he entered. They had taken her clothes. But she still wore that necklace. She sat on the examination table among all the instruments, bare legs nowhere near touching the floor. Her tiny, starved, human frame stared back at him in sharp relief against the white walls of the medical ward. The eyes that held such contradictions followed his path as he crossed the room to her. He stopped in front of her and looked down.
"Well?" She asked.
The Architect gently placed the scanner down on one of the shelves next to the table. Then he gripped her bare shoulders and stared into her eyes. The clear facade stared back, utterly unafraid. He smiled to himself. He had made the right choice.
"You no longer answer to your name." He told her. "From now on, you are the Tool. You have always been the Tool, my Tool. And you are a Time Lord."
The Tool smiled.