Hello guys ! It's been a pretty rough week, with lots of tests. And I have an English test tomorrow for which I'm absolutely not ready. But hey, I'll manage ! Moreover, my teacher is really nice so he will help me ^^ He is British, he is from Liverpool, he calls it "the centre of the universe". I'm pretty sure lots of you don't agree with him, so which city is for you the best city, or like he calls it "the centre of the universe" ? ^^ Tell me, I would be interested !

Anyway guys, here's the new chapter !

Enjoy ^^

Disclaimer : I don't own Doctor Who, I barely own anything anyway, I'm too poor T_T

The Legend Of The Hybrid

Chapter 13 : Deductions and subterfuges

His mind was racing because this time, it was for real. Clara was in danger. He needed to be careful or this hatch would open and take her away. Where was it leading to anyway ? An underground prison ? An inevitable death ? Oh, this was going to be tough.

"So Doctor..." He raised his head. "Are your ready for the first question ?" He absolutely wasn't.

"I am." And this was a complete lie.

"Doctor. Why do you think I created this town ? In what purpose ?"

How was he supposed to know !?

Come on Doctor, calm down, this wouldn't help Clara. This question was simple.

He created this city with a purpose in mind. What could it be ? The elves told him the Maashiaf had built it some time ago for an unknown reason. If they had thought so, it meant the city hadn't had an utility for the planet in itself, they would have known otherwise.

Somewhere to live maybe ? It couldn't be it. He wouldn't have done a hologram of an entire city to only live in the main tower and never step outside. It wasn't for the elves either, so it meant it was sentimental. It must have been somewhere familiar for him.

"Tic tac Doctor."

Think faster, Doctor. He was on the good track, he was sure of it. Somewhere familiar...maybe his home town. But why ? Because, because...

"It's because you feel lonely." The Maashiaf raised an eyebrow, interested.

"You're a Maashiaf, one of the greatest races in the universe. I know from the legends you're not from this planet. Your race is living somewhere else. I've seen no one else in this city except you and the elves, which means you're the only one of your kind here. This city is a hologram, a representation of your home town to give you the impression to be home."

Was he right ? Oh please, he needed to be right.

"And what made you think it was my home town ?"

"Easy question." If he weren't mistaken, of course. "You've built this tower, which looks like the other buildings. No one else could build it except you, therefore you have the ability to sculpt ice. I even speculated it was a particularity of your kind." The Maashiaf was listening, following his reasoning.

"This city must be something important to you, you wouldn't make a hologram of it otherwise. And which city could be more important than your own home town ? You miss your home, I can even guess, your family. It was an attempt to fill this hole it left in your heart but it didn't work. You're only living in a city full of ghosts."

Clara smiled sadly. It wasn't a coincidence that he could be so accurate on the subject. It must have been something he had felt since the end of the Time War. A hole impossible to fill. A life amongst ghosts from the past and the future.

"You're good Doctor. You're right for now."

It had been Arthur Conan Doyle who had taught him everything about deductions. He had even helped him to write Holmes' ones. Who would have guessed it would be useful in this kind of situation...

"Now, second question. Why do you think I force the little beings to get these diamonds in the core ? " Another easy question. Piece of cake.

Clara, however, gave to the Doctor a worried look, he was way too confident. This wasn't a good thing, he had tendencies to make mistakes if he were thinking too fast. And alas, he didn't have the luxury of doing a single mistake.

"I know why. It was a ruse, a ruse to force them to visit you. You're calling them "the little beings", not pets or slaves. I think you care about them, even just a little. However, you must have a poor relationship with them. You should take social classes."

"Are you sure ?"

"Of course I am. Why would you need these diamonds, otherwise ?"

"To built the tower." The Doctor grew pale. To build the tower ?

"Do you mean..."

"It's not an ice tower Doctor. My home planet was made of diamond."

Was it why the tower was shining like this ? Because it was made of diamond ? He had made a mistake. He should have known it wasn't ice. He gave a bad answer, which meant...

The hatch halfway opened, revealing an endless black gap. Her right foot was floating in the air, the only thing preventing her from falling being her other foot. It was miracle she wasn't falling, but it was nearly bending her left foot, it hurt. The Doctor shouted.

"Hey ! You said it was going to open a little for each bad answers ! This isn't a little !"

"I lied."

He had forgotten. Everybody lied, even himself. But coming from a Maashiaf, that was really weird.

"Do we continue Doctor ?"

"Of course. Don't worry Clara, I can save..." I can save you ! I can save you ! This sentence echoes through his mind.

He stopped mid-track. His head was really hurting. He leaned against one of the walls, feeling dizzy.

Pictures started to flash once again before his eyes. He, his hand reaching to Clara, she, standing in front of... "I can save you !"...a quantum shade raven.

Why was she facing a raven from a quantum shade ? They were fatal.

It would explain why he had seen her collapsing. But in this scenario, she wasn't. He was saving her. How ? Was it why he had ended up on Gallifrey in the first place ? To find a way to save her ? It had been a mistake. He didn't regret it but it had been still a mistake.

Clara was really worried now. The Doctor had stopped in the middle of his sentence and seemed to be in pain, he couldn't even stand properly.

"Doctor ?" It came back to his senses, and stared at Clara, a bit confused. He pulled himself together a second later, once more focused.

"I can save you. Next question, Maashiaf."

"You seem to be quite unwell Doctor, I'm going to be nice. This will be the last question, then." His dizziness wasn't a bad thing. This would be the last question, he needed to be right, for Clara's sake.

"You said you wanted to help me. Why, and how ?"

Well, that was unexpected.

"I know how it feels like to be the last of your species around. But, unlike me, you still have a chance to see them again. No need to build this city any-more, no need to exploit these innocent people...only you, and your family."

"How ?" He smiled.

"Easy one. I have a TARDIS. I can travel anywhere in time and space, I could reunite you with your kind. But only if you let Clara go, she doesn't deserve any of this. Please, I'm begging you."

He wasn't the kind to beg someone but after what happened to Bill, he didn't want to take any risks. He wouldn't forgive himself.

For Clara, it was one of the things she hadn't wanted to see again. The Doctor, begging. It reminded her of their time on Skaro. Not a good memory.

The Maashiaf snapped his fingers. The hatch closed and the diamond let Clara go. She ran to the Doctor, relieved. He received her in his arms.

"You passed the test Doctor. I'm surprised, to be honest. I've never seen someone as good as you to make deductions." Good old Doyle.

"Maashiaf, I want to make one last deduction."

"Oh ?"

"I think, you weren't going to harm Clara." She looked at him, confused.

"I know the Maashiafs. They're never dangerous, they've evolved. It was a battle of wits, not a battle to the death." He raised an eyebrow.

"Can you prove it ?"

"You didn't hurt the people living on this planet. You're only using holograms to keep people away from the city."

"And it worked so well..." he said while rolling his eyes.

"Even these spikes at the entrance. Holograms. Where was this hatch leading to Maashiaf ?" He turned his back to them, looking out the window.

"To an underground room. She would have fallen on a mattress. I would never hurt anyone."

"Why, then ?"

"I needed you to be as efficient as possible."

He had been right. Hopefully. For once, they didn't meet a monster, only an alien really good at playing one.

"Efficient ? THIS WASN'T BEING EFFICIENT, THIS WAS BEING SCARED TO DEATH." His Scottish accent had been really strong, showing his endless anger.

He approached the Maashiaf slowly and whispered, so Clara wouldn't hear him. "Maashiaf. If you try to threaten her once again, I will find you and I will be merciless."

The Maashiaf stepped back, startled. It was terrifying to see that this man wasn't joking. If he wanted to end him, he would.

"So ! Now that this is settled, we can go. What is your planet called ?"

He wasn't trying to be friendly, he only wanted to get rid of this Maashiaf and send Clara back to the TARDIS. He wanted her to be safe.

"Golotiaz." answered the Maashiaf and Clara in the same time. The Doctor looked at her, startled.

"Wait. How did you...?"

"I've been there some time ago. Until I left to find a certain Doctor..."

He gave her a soft smile. They departed in the direction of the TARDIS. "No more adventures for now" she thought. This one had been stressful. They needed some holidays. Yeah, it was a good idea. The Doctor wouldn't agree of course, but she would convince him. Somehow.

Unbeknownst to her, the Doctor was thinking exactly the same. He needed to get back his memory before leaving for a new adventure. He was still feeling dizzy.

They returned to the castle, greeted by the Chief and the elves.

"Is this really true ? We're free ?"

"Free as a bird. What are you doing to do now ?"

"We're leaving. I don't want to spend a single minute on this planet any more. I think it is time to go home."

"Good luck then, Chief." They shook hands.

"You too Doctor." He was about to leave when the Doctor called him back.

"Chief, I would have one last request."

"Which is ?"

"We're still really interested in this planet so...could we have it ? To be honest, the money thing was a lie, but it doesn't matter, eh ? You said you didn't want it any more and we would be grateful if-..."

"No." The Doctor frowned, annoyed.

"You're an evil little elf, you do know that ?"

"I was going to say I was joking but I'm not so sure any-more...old man." The Doctor was about to retort when Clara interrupted him.

"Pretty please ?"

"Of course you can have it. Everything you need is in my office." They laughed. The Chief could be nice after all.

After this last discussion, they separated, each one of them going in opposite directions. They waved at each others and entered into their respective spaceships.

Some of them were returning home, while some of them were taking back a certain Maashiaf to his home planet. When it was done, Clara and the Doctor entered the coordinates and got ready to return to the other TARDIS, a welcoming committee waiting for them.

Soooooo what do you think ? I tried to explain, to be descriptive, I hope I succeeded ! If I didn't, I'm sorry T_T I assure you I tried my best ! Give me your opinion about this chapter, I would be really really interested to know your impressions on it ^^

Until then guys, have a wonderful week

See ya later guys !

Salut les gens !

Spirit Of Dark Wolf