Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it nor do I get paid for it.

A/N Thank you so much for the amazing response to the last story. Everyone really liked the Gallifreyan history. And just randomly, does anyone think of the Chameleon Circuit song everytime they read the words 'Gallifreyan history'. 'Cos I think of them when I'm writing it.

Anyway, welcome to story #4 'The Clone Wars'. I suppose most of you guessed already which villains are appearing in this story. But you might just be surprised anyway.

Happy Reading!

The Clone Wars: Torn

The Doctor watched the time rotor move up and down as the TARDIS took them to their next destination. The Key was halfway assembled and there was only the other half to go. Somehow, the Doctor knew that it was only going to get harder from here.

"Morning," Rory greeted as he walked into the console room. "Where are we off to today?"

"I am not quite sure," said the Doctor. "The place isn't familiar to me and that is saying something. It's an asteroid near a very unstable planet as far as I can tell."

"Unstable?" Rory asked unsurely. "It's not going to explode as soon as we get near it, is it?"

"Not likely," said the Doctor wryly. "At least, I don't think so." His eyes looked past Rory. "Hello Amy," he greeted. "New clothes?"

Amy, who had preferred her skin-tight catsuits and jumpsuits even after coming onboard the TARDIS, was dressed in a denim skirt, striped leggings, with a tank top and a plaid shirt over it. She gave a twirl and grinned. "I thought I would try out the old Earth look," she said. "Rose helped me pick it out. Do you like it?" she directed the question at Rory.

"Uh...oh, yeah," stammered Rory, blushing heavily. "Looks nice."

"Where is Rose?" asked the Doctor, without looking up from the controls as he prepared to land them.

"She's talking with her mum on the phone," said Amy. "It is not sounding pretty."

"Yeah, Jackie can be a bit overwhelming," said Rory.

"You've met her?" asked Amy with interest.

"Yeah, a few weeks after I started travelling in the TARDIS," said Rory with a grin. "We stopped by Earth for a day or two."

Amy looked at the Doctor, who was still busy with the controls. "Didn't think you did family visits," she remarked.

Rory laughed. "Especially since Jackie asked if you and Rose had started shagging yet," he recalled.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "It was a valid query from a concerned mother, Rory," he said. "As I recall, you were asked the same question."

Rory refused to be embarrassed at the memory but he must have failed because Amy laughed uproariously. His remark was drowned out as Rose came out into the console room, looking agitated.

"Everything alright?" the Doctor asked her when she hadn't said a word for a while.

"Fine," said Rose. "Really," she insisted when the other three gave her incredulous looks. "It's just mum. She wanted to know why we haven't visited in a while. I tried to tell her we've been busy."

"We can stop by Earth if you want," said the Doctor. "We could use a break."

Rose shook her head. "The Key to Time is more important," she said firmly.

"If you're sure," murmured the Doctor. At her decisive nod, he sighed and finished the landing sequence. "Then we are at the next location. It is an asteroid named Maxim Beta and the nearest planet is Neo Remi. Highly unstable planet."

"Cheery," commented Amy dryly.

The Doctor ignored her and pulled out a small box from his coat. Inside were small green pills. He picked two of them and gave them to Rory and Rose. "Take these, you two," he said.

"What about Amy?" asked Rose as she dry-swallowed the pill.

"Amy's from the 52nd century. She is immune to a lot of stuff that you and Rory aren't," said the Doctor. "Now, ground rules. We do not split up this time. Keep an eye on each other at all times." He unplugged the core and tucked it into his coat pocket. "We do not want a repeat of the Gogan incident. Understand?"

At looks of agreement from his companions, the Doctor nodded and opened the doors. Immediately, they were hit by a gale. "Blimey," said Rose, having to raise her voice in order to be heard. "Cheerful place, innit?" she said sarcastically.

Indeed Maxim Beta was one of the most depressing places they had come across. It was an empty expanse of rocks and dust, reminiscent of a quarry. Everywhere they looked was dull and grey. There were no sounds and even if there had been any, it would have been impossible to hear considering how loud the wind was.

"Which way?" Amy asked the Doctor, having to shout.

"That way!" he pointed, straight ahead. "Come along. No dilly-dallying."

Bracing themselves against the winds, the four time travellers started to walk across the asteroid. The wind only seemed to become stronger as they moved forward. Thankfully, they'd had the foresight to grab a warm coat or jacket before they had left the TARDIS.

"Is it me or is it getting darker?" Rory asked, shouting at the top of his lungs in order to be heard.

"It's not just you," the Doctor shouted back. "We must be nearing the night cycle."

"Just our luck," grumbled Amy. "How's the signal?"

"Still pointing straight," said the Doctor. He stopped suddenly and peered up the sky. His companions stopped as well, trying to see what he was looking at. It was hard to keep their gaze focused upwards since the wind was making their eyes water.

They had started to shield their eyes when the Doctor shouted 'DUCK!" Obeying him on instinct, they jumped out of the way as a red bolt of laser hit the ground where they had been standing moments before. The ground was now charred where the bolt had hit it. "RUN!" shouted the Doctor.

As more and more red bolts started to rain from the skies, the four time travellers ran through the windstorm, unsure of the direction that they were going in.

"This way," yelled the Doctor, grabbing the arm of the person nearest to him which turned out to be Rose. The two of them did their best to dodge the lasers as they ran for their lives.

"Who's shooting at us?" Rose yelled.

"I don't know! Keep running!" shouted the Doctor. As soon as the words were out his mouth, he stopped abruptly and Rose bumped into his back.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Cliff," said the Doctor, pointing in front of them and Rose had to swallow a gasp as she realised how close to the edge the two of them were. Another step and they would have fallen into the chasm below. A bolt fired inches away from Rose and the two of them felt their steps falter as the cliff's edge shook beneath them and some chunks of rock skittered away.

"Rose," said the Doctor. "We have to move away slowly. Don't make any sudden movements."

Rose started to ease back, keeping a tight grip on the Doctor's hand. But as their luck would have it, a bolt fired at the cliff's edge and the tenuous edge gave away. The Doctor and Rose lost their balance and were plunged into the abyss below.

"RORY!" Rory!" Amy called. She almost screamed when she felt someone grab her hand but relaxed as she recognised Rory's grip. "Any idea where we are?"

"No," shouted Rory. "No sign of the Doctor and Rose either. Come on, this way!"

"HALT, human scum!"

Amy and Rory came to a stop as a group of short aliens covered in blue armour and helmet walked up to them, pointing their guns at them. "Oh crap," murmured Amy.

"What? Who are they?" asked Rory.

"Remain quiet, human!" snapped the same alien that had spoken before. He put away his gun and slowly took off his helmet and Rory's eyes went wide at the sight of the alien that deeply resembled a potato. "I am Commander Styx of the 34th Sontaran fleet. And you are our prisoner. Come with us!"

Rory looked at Amy who shrugged at him in resignation. There was no way they could fight a horde of Sontarans. "Alright, we will come," said Amy, holding up her hands and nudging Rory to do the same.

The Sontarans made way for them, pointing with their guns. Amy and Rory started walking, trying to fight the feeling of dread. The Sontarans led them towards a huge Sontaran ship parked on the asteroid. There was a ramp from the entrance of the ship to the asteroid's surface. Amy and Rory climbed the ramp and they heard the Sontarans march in after them.

The ship was warmer and there was no need to shout anymore as they were out of the gale. "Take them to the prison cell and keep them there until questioning," Commander Styx ordered.

The Sontarans pushed at Amy and Rory to move. "Alright, alright," grumbled Amy as she and Rory were led into a holding cell. It was a small, sterile room with plain white surface and a hyperplex glass door guarding them.

"Who are they?" Rory asked, as soon as they were alone. "They look like potatoes."

"Whatever you do, don't say that to their face," Amy cautioned him. "They are Sontarans. One of the mightiest warrior races in the universe. The only way to defeat them is hitting the probic vent at the backs of their necks."

"Well that's good then," said Rory.

"No it isn't," said Amy glumly. "Sontarans don't show their backs to the enemy. And anyway, they are a clone race of millions upon millions. No way can we take them all."

"So we're stuck?" asked Rory.

"Appears so," said Amy. "We only have to see what they want us for."

"Great," said Rory as he sat down in the cell with his back to the wall.

"Cheer up," said Amy, sitting down next to him and bumping his shoulder with hers. "I bet the Doctor and Rose will have a plan."

Rose groaned as she felt immense pain in her side. She could also feel her palms burning and knew she had grazed them quite badly. She and the Doctor had gone over the edge but instead of plunging to their deaths, they had rolled along the side of the cliff and landed at the base. The wind was quieter here and despite it being dark, the visibility was much clearer.

Wincing in pain, Rose turned around to look for the Doctor. She sighed in relief when she saw him a few feet away from her. "Doctor?" she called. He didn't reply and Rose crawled over to him, trying not to cry out in pain. She had definitely bruised a rib or two. "Doctor?" she tried again when she got close.

A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she found the Doctor unconscious. The front of his vest was ripped to shreds and blood streaked what remained of his white shirt. Panic building inside her, Rose checked his pulse and was startled to find it weak. She touched her ear to his chest, mindful of the blood and his injuries. His right heart was slowing down and the left one was out of sync.

Her hands trembled as she rifled through his coat to find something to tend to his injuries. After three packets of jelly baby, a teddy bear, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and fifteen different magazines ranging from Science Weekly to Vogue, she pulled out what looked like a smelling salt.

Praying that it would work, she held it under the Doctor's nose. It only took a few moments before he gasped in a breath and snapped his eyes open. "Doctor," she called. "Can you hear me?"

"Rose," he sighed in pain. "What happened?"

"We fell," she said. "Doctor, you are bleeding and your hearts are not beating right. How do I fix it?"

"Third pocket," he said, grimacing in pain. "Disinfectant...green one."

Rose searched through said pocket and found a tiny green bottle labelled 'disinfectant'. Upon further searching, she found some clean cotton pads.

"Doctor," said Rose. "I'm going to take your coat and shirt off before cleaning your wounds, okay?"

The Doctor nodded and Rose took off the already askew cravat and tossed it away. She pulled his arms out of the coat, thankful that the coat wasn't too badly damaged. He would have thrown a fit if she had cut his coat. His shirt and vest were almost completely ruined and it only took a few well-placed tugs from Rose to rid the Doctor of them.

Now that his torso was fully bared, she carefully soaked the cotton balls with the disinfectant and started to clean his wounds. He hissed in pain when it touched his broken skin. "Sorry," she said. "I'll try and be gentle."

He nodded at her, being in too much pain to speak. Rose made her touch lighter as she dabbed the wounds with the cotton pad. As the blood cleared away, she was able to see that there were four major gashes that were causing the injury.

It looked very much like the Doctor had scraped his body against the sharp rocks of the cliff. He had been lucky that his chest hadn't been torn to ribbons. Fighting back tears at the horrific near-miss, she finished cleaning the wounds. Thankfully, the gashes appeared shallow and weren't bleeding anymore. But they were still open wounds.

"Healing bandages," said the Doctor, his voice a bit stronger.

Rose found a long roll of coloured bandage inside a brown box labelled 'Healing Bandages'. The odd alien bandages weren't something she had seen before since the medbay had different supplies. Maybe this was the Doctor's emergency supply, she mused.

Taking a deep breath, Rose started wrapping the coloured bandages around the gashes. The Doctor tried to keep his moans of pain quiet, but Rose still flinched every time one slipped out. "Are you...injured?" he asked as Rose was bandaging the last of his wounds.

"Bruised my ribs, I think," Rose answered. She had been ignoring her own pain but it was back in full force now that her mind was back on it. The Doctor started to sit up and groaned loudly in pain. "Lie down," Rose said, gently pushing him back down on his coat. "You'll hurt yourself. Are you sure these bandages will work?"

"They turn white, once the injury has healed," he managed a whole sentence without wincing but his voice was still weak. "Rose...let me see. I have to check you..."

"It's okay," said Rose, using a clean cotton pad to bathe the scrapes on her palms. "I'll do it..." The Doctor nodded as he started to focus on using some of his energy to speed up his recovery.

Rose bandaged her palms quickly but as soon as she tried to lift an arm to see the damage to her ribs, pain shot through her side and she crumpled. The Doctor sat up with effort and took in a deep breath before lifting her chin. "I'll do it," he said, softly.

She nodded as the Doctor gently eased her shirt up a bit so that her abdomen was visible. There were ugly bruises decorating the right side of her body, from her hips to just under her breasts. The Doctor picked up a disinfectant soaked cotton pad and ran it over the bruises. Rose hissed at the coolness against her burning skin and the Doctor murmured a quiet apology. Once he was sure that the injured area was clean, he picked up a healing bandage and wrapped it around her torso.

The healing bandage took effect immediately and Rose sighed in relief as she lowered her shirt back down. "Thanks," she murmured, hoping he couldn't see her warm blush in the darkness. She put a hand to his bare chest, ignoring it when he tensed. "Your hearts are in sync again," she said, sounding relieved. "A bit fast though."

"It's just the healing process," said the Doctor but wouldn't quite look her in the eye as he said it. "Any sign of Amy and Rory?"

Rose shook her head. "I think we lost them somewhere back up there," she said. "Are you feeling well enough to walk?"

"Yes," he said. "I just need a hand getting up."

Rose jumped to her feet and offered him her hand. The Doctor swallowed back his groan as he stood up. The healing bandages were still quite dark, meaning his injury was not yet healed. Rose picked up his coat, noting in relief that the core was still there. She put the healing supplies away and handed the coat over to him.

"I don't think I can quite put it on," said the Doctor, draping it over his arm. He took Rose's hand. "Come on, we need to find a way to get back up the cliff."

Rose squeezed his hand and nodded but they had only taken a few steps when they saw a green light coming towards them. "What the hell is that?" Rose murmured.

The green light came closer and Rose realised that they were a bunch of green-coloured, floating jellyfish. At least, that was what she thought they were until the Doctor tightened his grip on her.

"Oh no," he said.

"What is it? What are those things?" Rose asked.

The Doctor grimaced. "The Rutans."

A/N End of Part 1. Thanks for reading.

So, yeah: Sontarans and Rutans. That is bound to be interesting. Anyone who is confused: the Rutans and Sontarans are the rivals engaged in years of war that's been mentioned quite a number of times on the show.

The healing bandages (coloured bandages that turn white once the injury has healed) were seen in the First Doctor story 'The Edge of Destruction'.

Anyway, we got the Doctor shirtless. It is amazing how many times Eight loses his shirt (and his memory, but that is a whole another can of worms) in the Big Finish audios. But I can hardly blame anyone. Paul McGann probably has the best physique out of all the Doctors. Seriously google his shirtless pictures; the man looks like he has been sculpted by gods.

And on that note, let me know what you thought.

Part 2 will be up soon. See you then!

~ Phoenix