Chapter 14

New Vegas

"So, where are we headed now, Doc?" Faith asked as they strolled along the strip of New Vegas. From what she remembered of the original Las Vegas strip this one was pretty accurate, right down to the black pyramid of the Luxor Hotel. The only glaring difference was the metal ceiling high above their heads.

The tenth Doctor paused before answering Faith. He took out the segment tracer and frowned when he saw where the needle was pointing at. The needle had changed position every time he took the tracer out to take a bearing. This meant that whatever they were tracking was on the move. The current heading led them off of the strip into one of the more seedy areas bordering the High Rollers district. The tenth Doctor pointed in the direction the segment tracer had indicated. "That way now," he said. The older Doctor made eye contact with the sixth Doctor and then glanced quickly towards Peri. The sixth Doctor nodded slightly.

The tenth Doctor forced a big smile on his thin face. "Looks like this part will probably be easier than we thought. Faith and I can probably take care of this bit alone. Why don't you and iI/i," [indicating the sixth Doctor with a wave of his hand,] "take in a show?" he said. "I hear that the clones of Penn and Teller are still very entertaining," he suggested.

Even though he was an accomplice in the duping of Peri Brown, the sixth Doctor was intrigued by the notion of watching that particular entertainment duo. He had first seen Penn and Teller during his first life back in 1974. As he remembered, the first Doctor had been feeling somewhat grumpy that day and had berated the smaller man, Teller, for talking too much. "How much do the clones remember of their original lives?" the sixth Doctor asked the tenth Doctor.

"Everything," the tenth Doctor said. "They were abducted for an evening back in 2015 and a full download was achieved. However, the entertainment company that paid for everything hired a group of Telgians to do the abduction. Penn and Teller most likely woke up feeling sore and unexplainably violated considering how those little gray skinned perverts operate," he told them.

Peri looked confused. "I'm sure you have heard the stories about rural bumpkins saying they had been abducted by small, gray aliens and then had strange objects shoved where the sun normally doesn't shine," the sixth Doctor said. "Let's just say that the Telgians always got a big thrill out of checking Jethro's oil," he said in disgust. Faith choked on a laugh.

Peri looked suspiciously at the tenth Doctor, but was unable to read his new face. "I suppose a Penn and Teller show would be nice. How are we going to pay for the tickets?" she asked.

The tenth Doctor smiled even more and led her to a nearby computer kiosk. A quick wave of the sonic screwdriver, a few key strokes, and one hard slap to the side of the machine caused two tickets to be spit out at the bottom. "Have fun," he said as he handed the tickets over to Peri.

The sixth Doctor took Peri by the arm, led her off down the wide corridor back towards the strip, and started lecturing on the relative merits of 51st century shows. He looked back over his shoulder briefly and nodded in thanks at his older self.

"Things are really going to suck on the other side of that door, aren't they?" Faith asked. She knew her boyfriend well enough to know when he was covering something up.

The tenth Doctor nodded and ran his hand through his messy hair. "Oh yeah," he said. "Peri always was pretty good at taking care of herself, but there is a reason why they require tourists to sign a waiver before being let in," he explained.

Faith beamed at the tenth Doctor. "Awesome! I can't wait," she said while rubbing her hands in anticipation of the mayhem that was sure to come.

They walked up to the door and the tenth Doctor flashed his slightly psychic paper at the guard standing watch. The guard looked down at the paper and sneered. "Better you than me," the guard muttered as he opened the door for Faith and the tenth Doctor.

Once they were through and the door shut behind them, Faith asked the obvious question. "What exactly did the paper say this time?"

The tenth Doctor blushed slightly. "It identified us as Inspectors John Smith and Faith Lehane, Brothel Safety and Quality Control Division," he admitted.

"Sounds like a job most guys would love to have," Faith said.

"You haven't seen the brothels here," the tenth Doctor replied, cringing slightly.

Faith and her boyfriend walked down the middle of the narrow street just a kilometer from the prosperous strip. She looked around in wonder at the various stalls, shops, and peddlers selling all of the vices Faith could think of and some that she had never imagined before. Soot from past fires hung on the sloping walls. Garbage and large rats could be seen just outside of the yellow pools of flickering light.

A small girl sitting at a booth labeled "Fortune Telling" drew Faith's eye. The girl was wearing a threadbare, brown cloak over a dirty white tunic. Even though her clothes had seen better days, the girl's light brown hair was clean. A man in business suit stood over the girl. "Here's your money, little alley rat," the man said as he tossed down a small bag of coins.

The young girl closed her eyes and then opened them suddenly, a small smile on her face. "I see a storm coming, a cleansing storm," she said cryptically.

The customer at the booth looked up at the metal ceiling above them. "You're daft, girl. I'm not paying for something that is obviously false," he said as he snatched his money off of the table.

As the man stormed away, the little girl chuckled. "He won't believe me, but he will believe his girlfriend when she tells him she doesn't have Herpes 14," she muttered. She looked up and made eye contact with Faith. "Tell your fortune, pretty lady," she offered. Faith started to shake her head no, but the girl added, "No charge for the Slayer in the heart of the Storm," she said.

"Wait? What did you say?" the tenth Doctor asked, intrigued. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the girl seemed oddly familiar. The tenth Doctor ran through his vast memory and couldn't place where he had seen her before.

The little brown haired girl smiled at him at took out a well used deck of Tarot cards. The first card she put down was a card with an old man carrying an hourglass. The second card was of a young woman wearing flowing white gown and holding a matched set of short swords. Faith saw the cards and looked up at the tenth Doctor. His eyes were cold as he too grasped the obvious meaning of the cards. The third card was a sparkling eternity symbol. The fourth card that was placed down on the table was a solitary tower rising high on a hill.

"Yes, I know who you are, Doctor," the girl said, her smile never faltering. She gestured towards the cards. "You are the Lord of Time and the Dark Slayer. You are on a quest that you have taken on before. One that holds importance for all of creation," she said. The girl flipped over another card, a man sitting on a throne. "What you seek can be found in the possession of the one who runs this station," she explained. "However, you will not be able to succeed without…," the girl paused while she turned over another card, a knight in shining armor. "The Lord's knight," she said.

The tenth Doctor looked down at the picture of the knight and instantly recognized the handsome, dark haired man in the armor. "Who are you?" he demanded.

A twinkle of merriment danced in the girl's eyes. "Just another traveler," she said cryptically. Her smile fell and a look of sadness replaced the twinkle. "I can also see the ending of this quest," she told him. "One who stood with you at the Battle of Sunnydale must die if you are to save the Universe," she warned him. Her face fell even more a small tear started to form in the corner of her eye. "There is one other thing I must say to you, Doctor. Remember that your song will be ending soon and that he will knock four times," she reminded him.

The tenth Doctor swallowed and then straightened his back. "Nothing is written in stone," he said challengingly.

The young girl gave the tenth Doctor a look usually reserved for a petulant school child. "We both know that there are things that can be changed, those that can but shouldn't be changed, and then there are things that cannot be changed no matter how hard you try," she reminded him. The tenth Doctor shook his head in defiance and walked away. Faith stayed behind for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. "Take care of him, Faith," the girl said softly. Faith blinked a few times, nodded, and ran off after her Doctor. Once Faith's back was turned, the little girl turned over two final cards. One showed men in a bloody battle and the other showed a grinning skull. "I'm sorry, Faith, but your song will be end before his, here on this station," the girl whispered sadly.

Faith hurried to catch up with the tenth Doctor. When she did, she put a hand on his arm, slowing him down. "What the hell just happened there?" she asked.

The tenth Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "I never really understood how seers work. I sort of…um…skipped that class in the academy," he admitted.

"And what does she mean by 'your song is ending soon' and 'he will knock four times'?" Faith asked. She watched as his eyes suddenly looked like all of his 913 years.

The tenth Doctor took in a deep breath. "During the past couple of years, I have had several time sensitive individuals tell me that my song will be coming to end soon," he said. "I think they are saying that they can feel my imminent death," he explained. "As for the knocking four times thing, that little girl is the second person to warn me that whomever it is that will take my life will knock four times before doing it," the tenth Doctor told his girlfriend.

"OK…" Faith said hesitantly. "Just when were you planning on telling me that people have been forecasting your death?" she demanded.

The tenth Doctor tried to come up with an explanation, but his eyes went from hers to looking behind Faith. "We're going to have to talk about this later, Faith," he said slowly. While they had been talking, several tall humanoids had surrounded them.

Faith looked over the tenth Doctor's shoulder and thought that the gang members circling them could almost pass for humans, if it weren't for the glowing blue eyes and the large tusks jutting out from their lower jaws. She sensed the one standing directly behind her lunge forward. Faith spun on one foot, jumped in the air, and brought her other foot smashing into the creature's jaw. A loud crack filled the narrow street as his left tusk snapped off from the impact.

The tenth Doctor dropped to his knees and the gang member who had rushed up behind him swung his arms through empty air. The tenth Doctor rolled away and tried to come up with a solution that didn't involve him fighting or either Faith or himself getting beaten to death. He glanced at the wall opposite him and noticed how one of the pipes at the top of the wall was larger than the others. The wall was too far from him to use his sonic screwdriver and there were too many of their tusked assailants in between him and the wall for him to try and dash over to it.

Faith was facing off with three of the big brutes and was barely holding her own. The creatures were able to take a punch and keep on fighting. Even the one who she had kicked in the head was still swinging at her. Those swings hurt almost as much as a full grown vampire hitting her. One of the ones facing her had a large, rust covered wrench in his hand. He tapped it on the wall in an attempt to intimidate her. After the third bang on the wall, Faith rushed the gang member and put her body in between the wrench and the wall. She grunted as her body took the force of the impact. Faith grabbed the creature's arm, over rotated it, and smashed her fist into his elbow. The gang member stumbled backwards, his now useless arm hanging at weird angles from his side.

"No one knocks four times while I'm around, no one!" Faith screamed at the injured gang member.

"Faith!" she heard the tenth Doctor yell. Faith spared a quick glance in his direction and saw the sonic screwdriver spinning through the air towards her. She reached out her right hand and snatched the tool out of the air. "The big pipe!" he yelled at her. Faith nodded and pointed the sonic screwdriver at the pipe. She pressed the switch and a concentrated blast of sonic energy smashed into a section of the pipe.

The pipe above their heads began to shake and bow out where the sonic energy had struck it. "Get down!" the tenth Doctor yelled. He dove at Faith and knocked her to the ground just as the pipe burst. Orange plasma shot out of the pipe and sprayed out. The super heated plasma was lighter than air and stuck to the ceiling. Unfortunately for the gang members, who had all ignored the Doctor's warning, the high volume of plasma took up the space where their heads were. Alarms sounded throughout the district while headless corpses fell all around them, small flames burning from the blacked neck stumps.

"We need to get out of here before the authorities show up to shut down this plasma conduit," the tenth Doctor said. "Keep your head down and run!" he ordered.