Chapter 7 -- The Great Vampire Debate

She led him to one of the old cemetaries, outside one of the older churches. She pulled a stake out from her belt and perched on a tombstone.

Tommy walked in, with another man and a young girl.

"Oh, Tommy, hello. How you doing?"

"Doctor. What are you doing here?"

"Teaching, currently."

"Who is this man?" the other Watcher demanded.

"Daniel Robson, meet the Doctor. Well, Professor. At the moment."

"When did you know? Did you bump into the Tardis?"

"Big blue box, behind the lofts?"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be it."

"You said somebody was rewiring it!" the other man said.

"Somebody is," Tommy replied. "Or rather, has."

Kyra whistled. "They're risin'."

The Doctor turned. "Oh, this oughta be interesting."

Kyra hopped down. The other girl came up with a crossbow.

Out of the two of them, Kyra was a better fighter. Smoother, more fluid. The other girl -- Nora -- just shot and hoped she hit the heart. Tommy called out encouragement, Robson criticized.

"Wait!" the Doctor snapped. "Detain him, don't kill him!"

"Detain him? How the bleedin' hell am I supposed to do that?"

"You're smart! Figure it out!"

"Bloody, buggerin' hell!"

"Language, missy!"

She cracked the vampire's head on a tombstone to disorient him, then sat on him.

"Well?"

The Doctor rushed over, pulling the sonic screwdriver out of his coat.

"This is impossible! You're not supposed to be here!"

Kyra just stared at him.

"You're supposed to be dead!"

Kyra looked from Doctor to vampire. "I'd say he is, mate."

"No, as in noncorporeal dead! As a doornail! Thousands of years ago!"

"That's an issue," Kyra said. "Who the bloody hell is it?"

"He -- well -- my -- our -- my --"

"I thought you only picked up girls."

"No. Just...well, mostly females are smarter, more willing to accept, but sometimes you come cross a man with enough imagination. This is impossible! I watched him explode!"

"Descendant?" Kyra suggested.

"No, it's him! Same DNA!"

"Well, it's not him anymore," Kyra said. She stood and picked up her stake. "Now it's a demon. It ain't your friend, no matter what it looks like or how it acts. It gets up, it'll try to kill one of us. Since I'm just a human with weapons trainin', it'll probably be me."

"Wait! Wait! Chchch! Belts, gimme your belts."

"Doctor," Kyra said firmly.

"Just give me your belts!"

"For fuck's sake!" Kyra snapped. "He's dead! Your friend is dead! His soul is gone! This is a demon!"

"I know that, but they do have their own memories, don't they! He could explain what happened! They do have brains, don't they?"

"Ugh! Humor him!" Kyra took his hand and slapped a stake into it. "It's your problem now, mate." She handed him her belt, turned and strode out.

"Well, come on! Belts!"

"He's mad," Nora said, but handed over her belt.

The vampire started to stir. Tommy kicked him in the head.

"Where's a safe place we could take him? To question him?"

"Safehouse," Tommy said. "Three blocks down. Reinforced. He gets out of hand, you kill him. No questions, no arguments, you just do it."

"There'll be no problem there."

TBC