Chapter 16
Tesla Howard stood tall with arms crossed staring at the UNIT helicopter hovering at the top of the Montana Tower. The sun was setting behind Tesla, his shadow streaking across the roof. Unlike the rest of the city, the top of the Montana Tower was above most of the lights of the city down below. Tesla hadn't moved since he got to the roof. Hiding in plain sight was his something he had done his entire life since the War for Time ended all those eons ago. As far as he knew he was the only Vampire to escape the bloodlust of the Gallifrean known as Rassilon. He hated the Gallifreans with every fiber of his being because they were immune to the V-Strain and didn't have to endure the hell that his people had to to rise to power. They had it easy, but that was the main reason why he hated them. The Gallifreans betrayed their friendship and attacked them in the middle of the night just so they could gain control over time itself, something the Vampires had been working on ages before the Gallfreans thought of it. The Vampires retaliated against the Gallifrean attack, of course, but not without severe losses.
The next several centuries after that initial attack had been soaked in blood, death and hate and the war evolved into a stalemate. That was until a new leader rose up on the Gallifrean side, Rassilon. Rassilon helped by his two seconds, the Other and Omega, launched the final assault on Quadesia. The planet was ravaged and thrown into the Quadesian sun. The Vampire were practically invincible, but being thrown into a star was something not even they could survive. With the new power the Gallifreans demonstrated, the Vampires surrendered.
The Exodus of Vampires followed, but wasn't successful. The Gallifreans had a way of finding the Vampires, wherever they went, and killed them as if they were animals. The Vampires soon broke off from each other and tried to survive, scattered across the universe, but still that didn't deter Rassilon and his bloodthirsty Gallifrean people.
Tesla grew sick at remembering all of this. The story of the Vampires' defeat was told to every lesser species during that time and they spread the story across the stars and systems that Vampires could not survive the sun. Eventually that evolved into the Vampires cannot survive sunlight itself, but they hadn't realized that it was not the sunlight that killed the Vampires, it was their planet being hurled into a star. That killed their species. That would kill any species. The thought of sunlight actually killing a Vampire was ridiculous, even now being disproved by Tesla. Sunlight was shining on him and nothing happened. He hated that people actually believed that sickening story of his species's supposed Achilles heal.
The Doctor appeared in the blue light of the transporter behind Telsa Howard. The UNIT helicopter back off when it saw the Doctor appear on the roof. The Doctor put his teleport watch back into his pocket and straightened up. The wind up here was quite strong and the Montana Tower was exactly one mile tall. The Doctor thought that it was a ridiculous feet, but Henry Montana didn't really think so and it was Montana's money who made this building, but those were thoughts for another time. The Doctor brought his mind back to the current situation with Tesla Howard.
"Tesla Howard," the Doctor spoke loud enough for the True Vampire to hear him.
Tesla turned slowly unfolded his arms and turned around to face the Doctor. He turned to face the Doctor. "Why didn't you change like everyone else? Even the young female changed."
"Yes, I saw the little conversion, and I healed her," said the Doctor.
"How did you heal here? V-Strain has no cure!" snarled Tesla.
"That's true, but there is one race immune," said the Doctor.
Tesla's eyes grew wide with realization and he bared his Vampire teeth and his fingers tore into claws. He pointed at the Doctor and said, "You are a Gallifrean!"
"Yeah, I am a Gallifrean, but we are known now as Time Lords," said the Doctor, unphased by Tesla's threat.
"Time Lords!" spat Tesla, "We should be the Time Lords, not you. We had the idea and started the attempts to conquer time before you even did. That should be our honor, being called Time Lords. We should be the Lords of Time."
"Yes but you aren't and we are! Now surrender or I will destroy you," said the Doctor.
"Just like the Gallifreans of old! Killing, killing and more killing!" yelled Tesla.
"We were like that, but we have changed in the eons since the War for Time," said the Doctor, "We are now pacifists and don't agree with violence, but we use it when necessary, and I believe it is necessary right now."
"Did the Gallifreans send you to stop me?" Tesla asked, ignoring what the Doctor had told him about the Time Lords.
"No, they didn't. I rebelled against Time Lord society. I hated the life of duty that was driven into me by the High Council and other ranking Time Lords. I rebelled because I hated the way they drilled non-interference and always watching. I rebelled because I wanted to see the universe, explore its wonders and you know what I found instead. I found monsters and evil out there and I fought them and I still fight them to this day and you, Tesla Howard, are a monster. Now, the Time Lords didn't send me. I sensed something was happening, something dark and evil, and do you know what I found? I found just another monster trying to destroy others for its own selfish reason. I found you! NOW, I WILL STOP YOU LIKE I STOP MY OWN PEOPLE!" the Doctor passionately ranted to Tesla.
"What?" asked Tesla, "You did what to you people?"
The Doctor breathed heavy out of rage and hate. He stared at Tesla with eyes that even stopped the Vampire from advancing. "What I did to my people is none of your concern, but what I am going to do to you is all of your concern, Quadesian!"
"It's Vampire, Gallifrean!"
"It's Time Lord, Quadesian."
Tesla charged and the Doctor pulled out one of the syringes of blood, but not to inject Tesla with. The Doctor threw the vile into Tesla face and it shattered. Tesla stopped and the blood fell into Tesla's mouth. When Tesla tasted it, he smiled. "Blood? Gallifrean, you are a moron. Blood is what I need to survive."
"But there is irony in that blood. That is my blood and I'd say any second now, your face will burn and you will more than likely get incredibly anger and go into a fit of rage," explained the Doctor, "I have fought enough monsters to know what they do when they're injured."
Tesla's face started smoking and burning. Tesla screamed and did go into the bit of rage that the Doctor had predicted he would go into. Tesla charged the Doctor and picked him up. Tesla tossed him over ten feet and the Doctor started sliding to the edge of the roof. He smashed into the barrier and got up as he saw Tesla charging him again. Tesla grabbed him again and tossed him towards the other side. The Doctor slid and crashed into the other side's barrier. The Doctor got up slower and thrown again and crashed again. Tesla did it three more times before the Doctor couldn't get up. The Doctor started coughing blood and blood dripped out of his nose.
Tesla was in too much of a rage to notice the searing pain of the Time Lord's blood when he picked the Doctor's limp body up. The Doctor moaned and Tesla lifted him up and walked to the edge of the building. Tesla lifted the Doctor over the barrier and growled at him at an animalistic level.
"Kill me, like the animal you are, Tesla," weakly said the Doctor.
Tesla didn't drop the Doctor, but just stared at him, "You thought I would do this, didn't you? You played me."
A strange sound came from behind Tesla. Tesla turned around and saw the young female standing there with some kind of stick pointed at him. "Let him go," her voice was unsure.
"Alex," the Doctor managed before passing out.
Tesla threw the Doctor back on the roof. He had things to do to the Doctor before he would kill him, but first the girl had to be taken care of. Tesla walked over to Alex, but was thrown back by a spell she used on him.
"You got into my head. You changed me. You made me a monster like you," cried Alex out of anger. She blasted him several more times, but each time Tesla seemed less and less affected until he wasn't affected at all.
"One thing about True Vampires, we become immune to things easily," snarled Tesla through his burnt skin.
"What happened to your face?" asked Alex.
Tesla didn't answer and charged Alex, but was stopped when the Doctor punched him in the chest. "What's that going to do?"
"Kill you," said the Doctor in a raspy voice. He opened his hand and revealed one of the empty syringes. He pulled the needle out of Tesla's chest. "I injected it into your heart. My blood is now pumping throughout your circulatory system. I'm pretty sure you are going to be cooked from the inside out."
Tesla back up and kept walking backwards with the Doctor slowly keeping pace. Tesla started to feel the effects of the Doctor's blood. He started smoking and the Doctor smiled. Tesla reached the barrier. The Doctor looked at Tesla straight in the eyes and told him, "Long. Live. Gallifrey." The Doctor picked his right foot up and pushed Tesla off the roof.
Tesla Howard free fell, his body fully engulfed in smoke. For what seemed an eternity of weightlessness and burning pain, Tesla lost consciousness and crashed into the concrete, sending UNIT soldiers running towards the mini-crater left by Tesla's landing. Tesla's body then erupted into flames and the UNIT soldiers ran to get out of the way. The soldiers ran to put the fire out. When the fire was put out, the remains of Tesla Howard's body turned to ashes, nothing remained.
On roof of the Montana Tower, the Doctor stood, looking down at Tesla falling. Already tall, the Doctor seemed like a giant standing on top of the tower. He was filled with a sense of pride that he hadn't had in ages. It was a pride for Gallifrey. That long lost world that was once his home, but is now nothing but space dust surrounding twin suns. The Doctor didn't move and watched the sun set below the horizon. Not saying a word, Alex walked up beside him, and they both watched the sun set.
When it was dark, the Doctor finally said something, "You know something?"
"No, what?" asked Alex.
"I'm afraid of heights," said the Doctor, he walked towards the center of the roof, Alex right behind him. Without a word, he took out the teleport watch and both of them held the watch as the Doctor pressed the button. They teleported away just as the UNIT helicopter returned to pick up the Doctor.