Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
A/N: Okay, I'm going to level with you guys. Real talk…the reason this took so long, isn't just because I've been busy. Between the hiatus, not entirely liking the latest episodes, and getting into other franchises…I've somewhat lost interest in Doctor Who. I do still plan on finishing this story, it's simply going to take a while…and it may be the last instalment of the series. I understand if I lose readers because of this, but it will be finished eventually. I plan to put this and my other story on a hiatus whilst I get other ideas out of my system. Apologies, and thanks for understanding.
The Woman Who Lived – Part Two
Ashildr and the Doctor approached the Fanshawes' stately mansion from the back; Ashildr had donned her mask and scarf once more. "Housebreaks can be tricky" she whispered as they stood outside a wooden door at the rear of the property.
"Not for me" the Doctor muttered, taking his sonic sunglasses from his pocket, "Sonic technology. Should be able to deactivate any alarms" he whispered confidently.
"What's an alarm?" Ashildr inquired, reminding the Doctor that it was only the 1600s, and electricity hadn't been invented yet. It was hard to keep track when one was a time traveller. She didn't wait for him to try and explain; instead, she held up one of her own wanted posters. "The most wanted in the land" she declared, with a hint of pride.
"Now is not the time to be showing off" he protested.
"Now seems like a very good time to me" Ashildr retorted, crouching down and sliding the piece of paper under the door. She used a thin piece of wire to jiggle the key in the lock, and then slid the paper out with the key lying on it. The Doctor wondered what she'd have done if there hadn't been a key in the hole to begin with. Ashildr unlocked the door, and turned to him, holding out a domino mask. "You'll need a mask, sidekick" she smirked, "Watch and learn".
"Brought my own, thanks" he replied, putting his sonic shades on.
They stepped as quietly as they could into the house, shutting the door behind them and leaving the key in the lock, as if it had never been disturbed. "Tis black as night" Ashildr whispered in the darkness, "I have a tinderbox somewhere".
The Doctor simply twitched the sonic glasses, and a candle burst into light. Ashildr wasn't that impressed. "Show off. Know where you're going, do you?" she asked, taking the candle from him and leading the way to a narrow staircase. "The servants' stairs; follow me".
On the way upstairs, the Doctor asked in a whisper, "Why are you still alone? What happened to the second immortality charge I gave you?"
She shushed him…and then paused on the staircase, showing him the second charge hidden within her jacket. "No one's good enough" she explained bluntly.
"Humans need"-
"Hush!" she hissed. They both tensed and waited for a light at the top of the staircase to flicker and disappear.
The Doctor finished his sentence, whispering "Humans need shared experiences".
"I'm regretting sharing this one" she muttered in riposte.
"It isn't right for you to be on your own!" he protested; Ashildr suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth when a maidservant stepped out of a room further down the corridor.
"Goodnight, ma'am" said the maid, walking away down the corridor without seeing them. Ashildr relaxed and lowered her hand, whispering, "I'll wager there's a dressing room. Come on!"
She hurried down the corridor, swiftly but silently, and opened a door further along; the Doctor nearly walked into it. Inside the room, which she had correctly judged to be a dressing room, Ashildr crossed over to a large cabinet filled with drawers and compartments, and began to search through them. Then she heard a strange beeping noise and turned to see the Doctor had pulled out that scanning device of his. "Doctor!" she hissed impatiently, "Doctor, turn that thing off!"
He ignored her, distracted by the curio-scanner. It led him to one particular compartment of the cabinet, inside which lay a small wooden chest. Inside the chest…was exactly what they were both looking for, a large glowing amethyst like gem set in a diamond and pearl encrusted medallion. "The Eyes of Hades" he whispered, awed, reaching out to pick it up. Ashildr beat him to it, slipping the medallion into the pocket of her cloak and closing the chest, then the drawer and cabinet. She pressed a finger to her lips and beckoned him to follow her. Not even a thank you he thought, as they snuck out of the room.
On their way back through the house, another door opened and they hurried into a different room to hide…only to find that said room was already occupied, by Lord Fanshawe asleep and snoring on the couch. The two of them froze, unable to leave for fear of being spotted, but they couldn't stay there either. The Doctor nudged Ashildr and whispered, "Let's just go round and see if we can't get out the back".
"Okay" she agreed; they tiptoed past the back of the settee, and of course, just their luck, a floorboard creaked underneath one of their feet. Fanshawe couldn't have been that deeply asleep, for he stirred at the noise and muttered, "Lucie?"
Ashildr and the Doctor ducked down as Fanshawe rose to his feet and picked up a candle, once more calling, "Lucie?" They crawled on hands and knees around the couch, trying to avoid Fanshawe as he looked around for his wife, as if she were about to step out from behind the door or the curtains. "Lucie?" he called for a third time, before finally leaving the room. The Doctor and Ashildr slowly rose to their feet…she cringed as he accidentally knocked over a fire poker, which fell with a clatter on the stone hearth.
"There is an intruder on the premises!" they heard Fanshawe shout, "Bring me my blunderbuss!"
The Doctor saw Ashildr readying her pistol and whispered, "What are you doing?"
"It's kill or be killed".
"No, we can't. We should hide".
Fanshawe stormed into the room once more, his own pistol loaded and ready. "Guard the doors! Alert the militia!" he cried, not noticing a pair of booted feet hanging just beyond the top of the fireplace.
/
"Your feet, you oaf" Ashildr hissed; the two of them began to climb precariously up the chimney. "Oh, I should've known you'd be a liability" she huffed, "Just let me shoot them and be done with it!"
"You're the liability" the Doctor retorted, "We never have this trouble with Clara".
"Oh, she's still with you, is she?"
He paused. "Oh, you remember Clara, do you?"
"Of course; and Romana, and Emily. I take particular note of anyone's weaknesses. So what's wrong with Clara, then?"
"Nothing's wrong with Clara?"
"Why haven't you made her immortal?"
"Well, look how you turned out. Besides, I already have plenty of company of that sort".
"Then what's one more? You need all the long lived friends you can get. Clara will just die on you, you know. She'll blow away like smoke".
"Save your breath" he said impatiently; he didn't want to talk about this, but Ashildr was persistent.
"How old are you, Doctor?"
"Older than you" he replied bluntly.
"And how many have you lost? How many Claras?" demanded Ashildr. He didn't answer her as they climbed out of the chimney and onto the roof. Only when they had climbed down a tree whose branches overhung the house, and had gotten a fair distance away from the building, did Ashildr press the topic.
"Most of them turned out fine" he said finally, more to shut her up than anything else. It didn't have the desired effect, as she began to lecture him about his apparent precedent for meddling in other people's lives and then leaving them, so how would he know if they turned out fine? The Doctor tuned her out; he was well accustomed to not paying attention when he didn't wish to. He wished someone else was there…he wished Romana and Emily were there, but they'd been very insistent on having a mother-daughter only day.
He suppressed a sigh; he didn't doubt that Flavia had gotten in touch with them and told them about Ashildr. Romana probably wouldn't mind Ashildr joining them, neither would Emily….in all honesty, the Doctor was still trying to put his finger on what bothered him about the idea. He didn't think travelling with them would improve Ashildr's attitude, seeing stars fade and people die, and she couldn't even find someone to fall in love with unless she fell for the Corsair or they hooked her up with Captain Jack…
The thought of the Torchwood captain nearly made the Doctor stumble, as he realised that was what bothered him. Ashildr, now that she was essentially immortal…was a fixed point in time. It had been niggling in his head ever since they'd met her, but he'd been distracted trying to find the Eyes of Hades. He had spent enough time in Jack's company (or in his mind, Jenny's company, the rest of the Torchwood team just tended to be there in the way) for him to grow somewhat used to the unnatural living fixed point, so he didn't register it properly with Ashildr.
Now that he did notice it, however, it was like an itch in his mind he couldn't scratch. Ashildr was wrong, she was alive when she shouldn't be, and it was his fault, he knew that. Taking her with them could make up for that, and if the others were willing to overlook the whole 'fixed point in time' thing….perhaps he was being selfish. The Doctor felt like he was missing something, there was something about Ashildr that didn't seem right…he recalled Emily once suggesting that he distract himself and let the answer come to him, rather than finding it, so he did just that.
He looked over at Ashildr, who had stopped talking when she realised he was paying no attention. "Robbery, burglary, that's capital" he remarked, feeling somewhat of a responsibility to try and dissuade her from a life of crime – not that he was one to talk. "Meat and drink to the hangman, Ashildr".
The country road they were walking along (the horse must have been spooked by something and run off home) took them past a gibbet; there was no corpse hanging from it at the time, but judging from the bloodstains it had recently been in use. Ashildr pointedly ignored it and replied, "I'm not Ashildr. I'm Me. And I fear no hangman in Christendom" she declared confidently.
A crow cawed, flying out of the branches up ahead as a man leapt down from a tree, blocking their path with a triumphant smirk on his face. "Ah-ha!"
"Sam Swift the Quick" Ashildr called him, slipping effortlessly into her disguises male voice, "I wouldn't be so bold if I were you. Don't you know who I am?"
"The Knightmare, which is why I'm not alone" he replied, as two more accomplices stepped out onto the path.
"Tis hardly a fair fight".
"And it was fair when you stole my patch?"
"Is that a fake nose, Sam? They should call you Sam Sniffed".
Sam frowned and reached up to touch his nose. "What's wrong with it? It's perfectly normal, innit?"
"For an anteater maybe" Ashildr retorted.
"Ooh. Well, never knew you were so puny, Knightmare. Or should I say, Slightmare" he teased right back, and the two thieves laughed. The Doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"No, not the puns" he groaned, exasperated, "Line in the sand. No puns".
"It's what's in my brain that counts, Bingo Boy" Ashildr countered Sam's comment about her height, ignoring the Doctor. Two could play at that game, after all.
"Well, no brain outwits a bullet, Dandyprat" he shot back, drawing his pistol; Ashildr whipped out her own and faced off against him.
"This is banter" the Doctor complained, "I'm against banter. I'm on record on the subject of banter".
Sam cocked his weapon and demanded, "Lay down your arms, hand over the loot, or I'll shoot".
Ashildr gave an exaggerated sigh. "We better had" she remarked, "He'll probably aim to miss and hit one of us".
"We could give you cash instead" the Doctor suggested; Sam and his two thugs looked at him as if they'd only just realised he was there.
"Who's this, your sidekick?" Sam asked mockingly, "You've got your dad as a sidekick?"
"I'm not his dad, I'm the Doctor".
"Is that the best name you could come up with?"
"What, says Sam Swift the Quick? That's trying a bit too hard, isn't it? Or are you a little bit slow?"
"You what?" asked Sam, frowning in bewilderment. Ashildr quickly took advantage of his distraction to dart forwards and snatch his pistol out of hand, much to his chagrin. "Oi!"
"I rest my case. No-one outwits the Knightmare" the Doctor declared confidently. Of course Sam tried to get his pistol back, lunging at Ashildr and struggling to get it away from her. She fought back as good as she got, but their brief scuffle was brought to a halt when Sam's two accomplices aimed their own pistols at the Doctor's head. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and wished the Corsair had come. One shot from his blaster would have sent these three running for the hills.
"If you value the life of your sidekick, back off! Put the weapon down!" Sam shouted at Ashildr; she hesitated, and he finally managed to get his weapon back, pushing her aside and leaping to his feet. He pointed it at the Doctor and asked triumphantly, "Who's slow now, Doctor?"
Ashildr kicked his feet out from under him and pulled the pistol away from his hands once more, aiming it at his head. The Doctor grabbed the pistols of the two accomplices and yanked them from the men's fingers, dropping them to the ground. "Good question" he replied to Sam, as the two other men backed away from him.
"Please, Knightmare, I don't want to die" Sam pleaded, his bravado fleeing because he knew the Knightmare had a terrifying reputation for a reason, "Let's have honour amongst us".
"Also, can you confirm that I'm not your dad?"
"What do you say, 'dad'?" Ashildr asked the Doctor, rather sarcastically, "Should I kill him? He'll be dead in a minute. What difference does it make?" she wondered callously.
The Doctor's eyes hardened and he stared her down. "Kill him, and you make an enemy of me".
Ashildr held his gaze for a few moments longer, and then lowered the pistol away from Sam's head. "Run" she ordered. Sam didn't hesitate; he scrambled to his feet and sprinted away, with his accomplices close on his heels. Ashildr picked her own pistol up and stuck it in her holster, before placing Sam's pistol in her jacket. She didn't meet the Doctor's gaze. "I know their lives are short" he told her, "I understand, but those lives do matter".
"Shut up" she grumbled, heading off down the path again, "You're not my dad".
/
Whilst the Doctor and Ashildr were off house-breaking, which disappointed the Corsair somewhat as he felt like he'd have done a better job, he persuaded Flavia to change into one of Ashildr's spare dresses and 'blend in with the locals'. "I'm sure she won't mind" he'd reasoned, "She probably has loads of dresses, she's not going to miss just one. I mean, it didn't matter in the dark, but you can't really walk around in trousers in the 1600s, can you?"
Flavia had to agree, so she left the Corsair to amuse himself whilst she found clothes to wear that fit in better with the time period. Her own outfit she folded up and tucked into a small bag she'd brought with her; it was bigger on the inside, naturally. Once she seemed presentable enough, Flavia carefully walked back downstairs, pausing at the top of the main staircase. The Corsair was pacing back and forth along the entrance hall, whistling to himself. Flavia cleared her throat. "How do I look?"
The Corsair looked at her; she was wearing a deep blue corseted gown, with thin silvery filigree around the hem and shoulders, puffy sleeves in a lighter shade and her black hair tied up in a French twist. His jaw dropped. "Wow".
She blushed a little – well, actually a lot – and held up the hem as she carefully made her way down the stairs. "It's nothing special" she said modestly.
"Sure it is; you're wearing it".
Now she was blushing even more, the pink flush of her cheeks standing out in sharp contrast to her light skin and dark hair. "Oh, honestly…you think you're such a charmer" she protested, though not very earnestly.
"Err, no,I know I'm charming" the Corsair corrected with a smirk, "And devilishly handsome, yes, thank you for noticing" he added, his smirk becoming a grin when Flavia snickered a bit. "I'm serious, though, Flavia. You look amazing".
"Thank you" she smiled at him, "Thank you for the compliment, and….and for everything else. For being so considerate, giving me space the last few weeks; I really appreciate it".
He blinked at her, mildly surprised. "Uh, you're welcome…I just, y'know, I didn't want to scare you off. I mean, not that I was hoping that you'd – I mean, I was, but I – I mean, it's awkward but I just"- Flavia giggled as the Corsair became more and more tongue-tied, but she knew what he was trying to say.
"I know" she said gently, admitting, "And I really do appreciate you not pushing me to change my mind, about us…whatever happens, it's nice for us to be friends, if nothing else".
"Yeah, you're right" he nodded in agreement. There was a brief lull in the conversation as they both tried to think of something more to say. Wanting to change the subject, the Corsair cleared his throat and remarked, "It's nice that you want Ashildr to be your companion…bit surprising, as well".
Flavia gave him a puzzled look and inquired, "How so? I know I've not had a companion before, but that's only because I haven't met the right person, I suppose".
"Are you sure Ashildr is the right person?" the Corsair asked cautiously, "I mean, I trust your judgement, but from what I've gathered having a companion is a big deal. Not everyone is cut out for our kind of life...it's not surprising because of that, though. It's just, well…Ashildr is a fixed point in time. She's like Jack, she shouldn't be living right now, but she is. I know, it's our fault – well, more mine and the Doctor's, but still. Don't you remember him telling us how the TARDIS set her own co-ordinates to the end of the universe trying to get away from Jack?"
"Yes, I remember" she nodded, "And I also remember him saying the TARDIS ended up getting captured by the Master. Running away from one's problems tends to create more of them further down the line" she declared sagely. A thoughtful frown creased her brow as she considered, "Do you suppose that's why he was so against her coming with us? Oh, but that doesn't make sense. He's spent plenty of time with Jack and not seemed bothered by anything".
"Well, sure, we've all got used to Jack" the Corsair agreed, "And we could get used to Ashildr, but the thing is, Jack isn't there all the time. Ashildr would be, and she does give off a weird feeling. It's like she's…not there". It was hard to describe the sensation of a living fixed point...the timelines that normally flowed through, around and within the cosmos avoided Ashildr, similarly to how they avoided Jack. They could see, hear and touch Ashildr just fine, but their time sense didn't register her; or rather, it registered her as a fixed point, an anomaly; a negative space that existed and yet didn't exist.
With a sigh, Flavia reluctantly admitted, "Yes, it is an uncomfortable feeling…but we can hardly hold that against her. I believe Jack once mentioned he'd called the Doctor prejudiced, and in a way he was right. If we can't overlook something that Ashildr cannot help, no matter how strange it feels, then we really are being prejudiced…I'm not just doing this out of guilt, or to try and make up for what we did to her, you know. She was such a sweet girl, Ashildr…the Doctor said it himself, who she used to be is still in there somewhere".
"Yeah, I suppose…tell you what, why don't you wait until this adventure's over, and then ask her again. Maybe the Doctor will have changed his mind by then, and Ashildr will get an idea of how we do things" the Corsair suggested reasonably. Flavia resisted the urge to remark how unusual it was for him to be the reasonable one, and nodded in agreement.
"Very well…speaking of them, I thought they'd have been back by now. You don't think they're in trouble, do you?"
"Relax; they can take care of themselves. Well….I'm sure Ashildr can take care of them both. Come to think of it, if she does come with us, what are you going to call her? I mean, are you going to call her Ashildr, or are you going to call her Me?"
"I can't call her 'Corsair', that's your name" Flavia replied calmly, with a perfectly straight face. The Corsair gaped at her a bit, and laughed.
"You're a lot more fun when you loosen up a bit, you know. Makes me wonder what you'd be like drunk".
"You would" Flavia rolled her eyes, but she was smiling nonetheless. "As for what I'd call her, if she wants to be called Me, then I will" she added, before clearing her throat and inquiring, "So, what do you want to do in the meantime?"
The Corsair shrugged. "Hide and seek?"
/
The Doctor and Ashildr had made it back to the manor; Ashildr had gone to change out of her Knightmare outfit, and given the Doctor strict instructions not to mess with anything in the house. He called up the stairs, "I have a theory about the amulet".
There was no reply from Ashildr, nor from his fellow pilots, who were somewhere in the manor. A door opened off the servant's area and an elderly man stepped through, coughing and clearing his throat. He blinked and peered at the Doctor. "Morning, sir" he greeted politely, "Forgive me, but might I enquire into who you are?"
"The Doctor" he answered bluntly.
"Clayton, sir" the elderly manservant introduced himself, "I assume you are another guest of Lady Me?"
"Yes, I am. Have you met the other two? Where are they?"
"Doctor?" asked Flavia from the top of the staircase, before Clayton could answer, making her way down them, "Sorry, I didn't realise you were back. Where's Ashildr?"
"Getting changed" he answered, "Where's the Corsair?"
"Not sure. We were playing hide and seek" she explained as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
The Doctor stared at her. "We can sense each other's presence" he pointed out.
"Yes, I know, but I was trying to suppress that. I suppose there's no point now" she sighed, closing her eyes and mentally reaching out to contact the Corsair, telling him that the Doctor and Ashildr had returned. I'll be there in a few minutes he replied, And hooray, I win!
Ashildr appeared at the top of the stairs, coming from the opposite direction to Flavia. She was dressed in a fuschia coloured gown with white lace trim, every bit the proper Elizabethan lady. She looked at Flavia and blinked in surprise. "Is that one of mine?"
"Oh, uh, yes. I hope you don't mind".
"No, keep it. It looks good on you".
Clayton cleared his throat again and inquired, "Would you care for a cocktail, milady?"
"Oh, yes, please" she nodded, raising her voice somewhat, and he returned to the servants area, coughing.
"Is he alright?" Flavia asked in concern, wondering if perhaps the poor man was ill.
"He's old" Ashildr answered bluntly, as if the problem were obvious, "Half blind and deaf as a post. He is no use any more really, but…" she trailed off with a sigh.
"You keep him on" the Doctor finished for her, smiling, "See, you do have a heart. You don't fool us".
"How do I look?" she asked instead, ignoring his last comment.
"You look lovely" Flavia replied with a smile.
"You look pink" the Doctor corrected, "Are you coming down with something?"
"What did I miss?" the Corsair asked as he hurried into the hall. The Doctor held out the amulet; Flavia and the Corsair's eyes widened in shock. "Whoa, is that the Eyes of Hades?"
"Yes. Now, why would an alien artefact resemble the Eyes of Hades, King of the Underworld?" the Doctor asked Ashildr; she plucked the amulet from his fingers and led the way into the dining room, placing the amulet in her drawstring purse. The others followed her, and the Doctor continued, "An ancient Greek talisman which wards off evil and protects those in death on their journey to an afterlife?"
"You tell me" Ashildr responded impatiently.
"Yeah, don't leave us in suspense" the Corsair added cheerfully.
"Could it be that the mythology originated on another planet?"
Flavia rolled her eyes a bit. "Of course it could" she insisted, "The Osirins inspired Egyptian Gods, the Nimon inspired Greek legends….I suppose the question is, which planet it originated from" she finished, looking thoughtful.
"None of you can wait to go and find out, I'll wager" said Ashildr.
"Actually, I think we ought to stick around, and keep an eye on you for a while" the Doctor replied; Flavia raised an eyebrow and reminded him, "Weren't you the one who didn't want her to come with us?"
"I didn't say anything about her coming with us".
"Well, we'd be able to keep an eye on her if she did, wouldn't we?" Flavia challenged…then she realised how that sounded, and quickly assured Ashildr, "Not that I think you need keeping an eye on".
"That's alright, I didn't take any offence" Ashildr replied, before turning to the Doctor and asking, "So what is your plan? To inspire me, get me back on track?"
"Something along those lines, yes".
"Then take me with you".
"It isn't up to him" Flavia insisted, before the Doctor could protest, "The offer to be my companion is still open, Ashildr".
"I told you, I'm not Ashildr anymore…but yes, I'll accept your offer" the former Viking girl smiled gratefully.
"Err, now, let's not be too hasty" the Doctor said quickly, trying to steer the conversation back into a better direction. Both women stared at him with accusing, unnervingly similar looks, and he turned to the only other male in the room with a bit of desperation. "Corsair, back me"-
"Oh no" the Corsair said quickly, holding his hands up, "I'm staying out of this".
So much for manly solidarity the Doctor thought, disappointed…Wait, is that even a thing? Oh, never mind. "Look, I'm just saying…Flavia, the four of us agreed, remember, if we took on companions we'd all agree on who to choose".
"Since when do we ever all agree?" she countered, "As I recall, the agreement was that if one of us had a legitimate reason to not think someone should travel on the TARDIS, whoever invited them would reconsider. So, what's your legitimate reason? I assume it has something to do with Ashildr's immortality" she guessed; it was the only somewhat reasonable explanation she could think of. Of course, this was the Doctor she was talking about.
"My immortality?" the young-yet-old woman frowned in puzzlement, "Why would that be a problem?"
Flavia bit her lip; she hadn't wanted to bring this up, but she supposed it needed to be explained. "Well, you see…as Time Lords, we are aware of timelines, and most of time is in flux but there are fixed points. Being immortal, you have essentially become a living fixed point in time. It's as if you're here, and yet not here at the same time…it's difficult to explain" she admitted, when Ashildr just looked more confused, "But it isn't a problem…or at least, it shouldn't be. We have a friend who's immortal; it took a bit of time getting used to it, but we have no trouble with him".
"We could hook you up" the Doctor suddenly suggested, "He'll flirt with anyone. You could even join Torchwood, defend planet Earth from aliens...err, no, wait…it's too early…" he trailed off with a frown.
"For Torchwood?" guessed Flavia, "Only two hundred or so years too early…and Jack didn't even become captain until the 20th century".
"I suppose we could give her a lift".
"Why give me a lift to this 'Torchwood' when you could give me a lift to the stars?" Ashildr challenged him, "I want to fly. I have waited longer than I should ever have lived. I have lost more than I can even remember. Please, Doctor, just get me out of this. I want more than this. I deserve more than this. Why not? You heard Flavia. What is your problem with me?"
The Doctor sighed. "It's not that you're a fixed point…it isn't even as strong with you, I can sense timelines around you, and so can they. You're wondering why I'm denying her this chance, Flavia, but what I'm wondering is why you're denying the sense you must be getting from her".
"Perhaps I'm just willing to overlook any reservations I have in favour of helping someone in need. Isn't that what you normally do?"
"This isn't just a reservation!" he protested, getting frustrated, "Ashildr, the timelines are converging on you. You are important somehow, I get the sense that…that you need to be on Earth, that something will happen that needs you to be here".
"Is that it? You'd deny me the chance to escape, because of a gut feeling?" Ashildr demanded crossly. Before the Doctor could respond, there was a loud snarl and the sound of a door slamming shut. The others jumped and looked over to where the Corsair was standing against the doors leading to the main hall, looking somewhat alarmed.
"Err, Me, not mentioning Clayton is one thing, but why do"- he was cut off as something behind the door shoved against it, making him stumble forwards. He turned and pulled out his blaster, keeping it trained on a bipedal, leonine alien that strode into the room, the yellow light in its eyes fading.
"Ah, yes, my apologies" Ashildr remarked, stepping over to the creature, "Leandro, meet the Doctor, Corsair and Flavia. You thought I was helping you, Doctor; in fact, it was the other way around. Leandro, we have it. My friend here was as useful as I'd hoped".
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that he wants the amulet" the Corsair surmised, lowering his blaster but keeping a grip on it.
"Why didn't you or he just ask for our help?" Flavia asked, with a concerned frown.
"Personally, I'm forced to assume you have plans I wouldn't approve of" the Doctor suggested. Ashildr didn't reply, so he stepped towards Leandro and said bluntly, "Kill me!"
Everyone stared at him; Leandro frowned and demanded, "Why?"
"If you intend any harm to this planet or its people, then killing me is by far your best move".
"What are we?" the Corsair frowned, gesturing between himself and Flavia, "Chocolate teapots?"
"I didn't think you'd appreciate being singled out".
"You invite your own death?" Leandro demanded incredulously.
"No, I just want you to attack first; then my conscience is clear".
"Of what?"
"You" the Doctor answered bluntly. He had no intention of actually getting killed, Romana would kill him…again…but if he was attacked first, he'd just be defending himself if he had to hurt the alien, wouldn't he?
Leandro gave a short, rasping chuckle. "You and your allies are not of this world, or part of my plans. I have no quarrel with any of you".
"Then tell us why you are here and what you intend to do".
"I am from Delta Leonis. My tribe was overthrown, my world destroyed, my wife killed as we escaped".
"Using the amulet?" the Doctor guessed, "That was your means of travel".
"I lost it when I crashed to Earth".
"I found him in my grounds. He's been sleeping there while I searched for it" Ashildr explained.
"Okay, but what do you need it for?" asked Flavia.
"We need it to open a portal, travel the galaxy".
"Wait, hang on" the Corsair frowned, "If you were planning to use the amulet to get off Earth, why would you ask to travel with us? I mean, it's not like you could invite your friend here along as well".
"He only wants to find another world to live on; he knows what it is to be alone".
"I'm looking for the headline here" the Doctor remarked.
"The what?"
"Well, you know, you want to escape? Well, go on. Escape as much as you like. Why would I not approve?"
"The amulet; a death is required".
"To make it work?" Flavia frowned, "I suppose that's to be expected of an amulet called the Eyes of Hades…how does that even work, though?"
"Every single death is a tiny fracture in reality, and the amulet can lever the fracture open" the Doctor explained, "Primitive, but effective".
"It's just exploiting an abundant resource. There's so much dying here".
"Starting to see why you thought we wouldn't approve" the Corsair remarked, "I'm assuming you weren't planning to just wait for someone to die".
"I've waited long enough" Ashildr retorted, before looking over her shoulder and calling, "Clayton?!"
"Coming, milady!"
Flavia's eyes widened. "You can't – he cares about you! Ashildr, you don't have to do this".
"I am not Ashildr anymore! I do have to do this, Flavia; the Doctor won't accept me, he's made that very clear".
"I do accept you, I just don't think you belong on the TARDIS".
"Then if you sentence me to death in life again, I shall find my own way to the afterlife, and Clayton will help. He loves me…to the end, it would seem".
"You're not like this" Flavia shook her head, "I know you're not. What happened to you?"
Ashildr simply pointed at the Doctor and replied brusquely, "He did".