Chapter 35

The Impostor

Rachel followed her four friends to class. Stella practically leading her by the hand.

Rachel felt so happy, she felt so normal and she had friends, real friends, not make believe friends, actual, genuine friends. The four surrounded her as they walked. They didn't distance themselves, run away, or look at her in fear, suspicion or hatred. They actually liked her.

"Did you guys finish your English assignment paper?" the short one, Garfield said, fumbling with his bag and papers.

"You mean, reading of the book about 1984?" Stella asked. "The world changed so much in such a short time."

"1984 wasn't really like that. It was just a fiction." Victor said, "A warning about what could have been."

"Oh..." Garfield said, "A fiction, good."

Rachel rolled her eyes, she could tell he actually took it seriously. 1984, she had read the book before, about an authoritarian regime who had the whole world under surveillance. The truth constantly distorted or adjusted to keep people content and pacified either 'for their own good' or the 'good of the regime'. Their assignment had been to read it and discuss the themes of the book in a paper.

Rachel had already finished her paper. It was on her laptop. Clearly Garfield hadn't finished it.

"Hey Rachel, mind if I...?" Garfield started.

"No!" Rachel said firmly, "You're not copying mine."

"I don't want to copy, just read it!" The short boy exclaimed.

"No!" and the boy became silently angry. She liked annoying him, he looked really silly when he got angry. She smirked, he was almost like a silly cartoon character at times, it was the only trait that Raven liked about him. Everything else about him just irritated her. His ignorance, his childish ramblings, the fact he couldn't keep his hands away from her stuff.

But to her this just proved that he was her true friend, she knew a fake friend wouldn't be so comfortable around her, a fake friend would dance around her feelings. But she had known each of them so long that they'd worked out their own boundaries and knew what not to cross, and when they could dip in, get a quick shot out and retreat without leaving anything but a small bruise, and waited for the retaliation to come.

Richard, the leader of their little gang, looked cool in his leather jacket and shades. He wasn't speaking much, there wasn't much to talk about for him. He could be just as expressive as all the others, but right now he had a look of intensity about him.

They arrived in English class and took their seats.

"Ah, hello. Glad you can make it this millennium." Said the Scottish tones of their teacher. He wasn't angry, but he motioned for them to take their seats. He was a short man, with receding, wavy hair and a strange little hat on his head. "Now, good morning class. I am your replacement teacher, Dr. Percy Smith, but you can call me Dr. McCoy. Spare me the Star Trek jokes please." He smiled, his face had an air of mystery too it like he was some kind of wizard. Like a character from Harry Potter.

He turned to the whiteboard and wrote on it his name, spelling out Dr. as Doctor.

"Now, according to your teachers original lesson plan, we were supposed to discuss and..." Doctor McCoy read from a piece of paper in his hands. "'Interpret the positives of a 1984 society in relation to the modern day considering how dangerous it is on the street'." Doctor McCoy gave everyone a look which said he thought that assignment stupid. The strange face he pulled made people laugh. He was right, what was their teacher thinking? 1984 had been a warning, not a plan for the future.

"But!" and Doctor McCoy tore the paper in half and tossed both pieces over his shoulder. "I instead want you to take a paper and pen, or a laptop if you have one, and I want you to open your creativeness for an hour. Write your own story, whether it be a fiction, a fan fiction, some event you wished went another way. I want you to just write and express yourself, and don't worry what other people think about what you'd write. I want you to fully express your minds."

Rachel and her four friends looked at each other. Usually the old teacher would be very strict with her lessons, forcing them to copy out and repeat exactly what she said to a tee. Every line, every letter and repeat it back like a program.

"Well? Come on, what are you waiting for. Unleash your imagination." He said rather excitedly. "From the happy wishes, to soppy love stories, to the dark and horrific, even sexual fantasies if you so wish. You don't have to show me or anyone else them if you're not comfortable, that isn't the point of today. Just write, be creative."

Rachel liked this. She had her laptop open in a heartbeat and turned it on. As it booted up Garfield looked clueless. "What am I supposed to write?"

"I don't know." Victor said, "a fantasy, just make it up."

"What are you going to write?" Garfield asked him.

"That I'm some kind of super strong athlete who's going to enter the major leagues." Football, typical of him.

"I'm going to write a lovely letter to my parents back home, describing my wonderful friends!" Stella said. Rachel just stared at her dully.

Richard picked up a paper and pencil and just tapped it, wondering what to write.

"Are you going to write more of your story, Rachel?" Garfield asked.

"Oh yes, you write so beautifully!" Stella said. "All about strange worlds, and places, and the Doctor man."

"Umm..." Rachel couldn't speak, "You know what I write?"

"You publish it on the inter web every week to the delight of your fans!" Stella beamed.

"Fans?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah, umm, it's good, I like it!" Rachel got the impression Garfield didn't read it at all. He wasn't the sort to read unless he could resist it. Unless it was a pizza menu.

"Come now, come now." Doctor McCoy said, "let your imaginations run away with themselves."

Rachel opened the file for "The Lost Child of Azarath" and began writing another chapter.

Let's see, they had just lost Kasey and...

Kasey. Rachel paused. That was actually based on a person she knew. Her uncle, on her dads side.

Sadness filled her. Uncle Kasey always seemed so happy and bouncy to her. But then one day he didn't show up to visit like he usually does every Saturday. He didn't show up the Saturday after that, nor the Saturday after that, nor after that. It was a month before Rachel found out he'd... 'slipped away' in the middle of the night when she, nor anyone could stop him... Her fingers curled up, she sighed and tried to push that unhappy loss from her mind.

But now, what new adventure should her avatar and her Doctor go on now? Oddly she had an idea immediately and as her fingers danced over the keys she began to write their next adventure which she had decided to title. "The Keys to the Mind."

Raven sat in her favourite reading chair in the console room, now reading a book called 1984, which she found oddly engrossing despite it being a dystopian future of control, rules, barriers, and ideological contradictions. Word play, 'double-think', all to control the masses who thought themselves compassionate and intelligent, but really were all just dull witted, ignorant, workers and security drones for the central power base. Back stabbing and selling each other out to the state was taught and demanded from a young age, either in a fear-mongering state to keep their own country safe, or as a way of gaining recognition in certain social circles, allowing lies to breed more lies.

Raven didn't like the concept, it disturbed her, but she couldn't stop reading it. She kind of knew what it would feel like to have your life constantly probed and prodded in case you were doing things people didn't like. Azarath was a little like that, just a little. Like one time there was a Monk she really didn't like, she'd bullied her and so Raven expressed her dislike of her through writing. An older Monk went through her room, found the writings and had Raven punished for daring to write such stuff. She had been punished while the bullying Monk got off free; she gloated that Raven had been punished because she was the daughter of a demon, and no one likes demons. Raven had been so young and naive. She'd looked for sympathy in other people, but they all treated her like they knew what was in her heart was already dark and evil, and they didn't want to be seen talking to her in case it damaged their social standing with others.

'Peaceful, accepting pacifists' her foot! But their 'goodie, goodie' peaceful, pacifist image known throughout the dimensions made it difficult to convince others that some of their number could be so cruel and horrible. To them, the bullying must've been justified. She had been born the wrong way, to the wrong parent, and Raven felt that meant she herself had to pay for the crimes of her heritage, just because there was no one else to punish and they so wanted someone to punish.

"What's this?" The Doctor said mumbling to himself. He had a habit of talking to himself and clearly he thought he was so quiet Raven wouldn't hear him. "Battle TARDISes flying in formation through the Vega system." He sighed. She looked up into the ceiling which represented the universe outside. A formation of five dots in the distance were moving in formation. Five 'Battle TARDISes' that were light years away, but could be here in an instant. "I wonder what the Time Lords are playing at. Show of strength, maybe? Or are they looking for something? Or someone, I wonder."

Raven looked away back to her finished book just in time as the Doctor turned his head to look at her.

"Better avoid the Vega system for now." And he operated the controls again to take them away from the 'Battle TARDISes'. Raven wasn't stupid, she knew what the Doctor meant.

Everything seemed peaceful again until there was a loud snap at the console and the Doctor screamed in pain.

On her feet in an instant, she moved towards the console. But the Doctor had gone, instead there appeared to be some short, purple, dumpy alien woman standing there. Rubbing her hands together at the sight of the console. She also had a third eye in the middle of her forehead. Clearly this creature wasn't human.

"Who are you?!" Raven said coolly, but accusingly.

The woman screamed and fell backwards off the console platform in surprise. She rolled a few times before getting back to her feet. Clearly this woman hadn't been expecting her. Her hair was short and was a vivid green that looked more like a colour a sick cat had coughed up and someone had matched, and she was wearing a dark tuxedo.

"Who am I? Who are you, and what are you doing in 'my' TARDIS?!" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"'Your' TARDIS?!" she looked the plump, purple woman up and down.

"Yes!" She stood firm and tall, placing her hands on her lapels, "I'll have you know. I am the Doctor!" Raven rolled her eyes.

"And I am Raven, the Doctors body guard." Raven said flatly. The woman seemed genuinely surprised at her presence. "Let me... guess, another regeneration?"

"Umm... Yes, yes, quite right miss... miss Rain..."

"Raven." she corrected.

"Yes, yes." The woman put a hand to her face, and muttered quietly, "he's not supposed to be travelling with anyone. Oh well, when in Rome." She perked up. "Yes, of course, sorry. Regeneration trauma, it messes with your head a little."

This woman danced to the console, and walked around it as if to re-familiarise herself with the controls. Then she cracked her knuckles and said. "Come on then, Girl Power!" and she began programming the console. She certainly looked like she knew what she was doing. This woman, she didn't feel right. Could Time Lords change gender? Could they change species? This woman didn't feel like a Time Lord, she didn't have a second heart, the brain pattern was all wrong, and there was no hint of multiple people inside her head. Unless she was on her first incarnation. But Raven kind of doubted that. For now she'd play along, but she was fast running out of patience as this person sounded less and less like the Doctor the more she spoke.

"You do realise you're taking us back towards the Vega system?" Raven commented.

"No, why? Should that be important?" the woman asked.

"I heard you say, to avoid the Vega system right now. Battle TARDISes and all that?"

"Oh, I can deal with the Time Lords. I am the Doctor after all, they respect and fear me." Ravens mouth shifted to one side of her face.

"You remember it's 'me' they are after, you told me so." She lied, the Doctor had never told her this, she overheard a conversation the Doctor had with Turlock. "After you talked to the Time Lord, Kasterborous." She lied again.

"Yes, well, okay. Maybe we can take the long way around." and the woman operated more controls.

"Where are we going anyway?" Raven asked, playing along.

"A small planet on the other side of this galaxy. It's a terrible place my dear Raven." The woman said, "and worst of all they've elected the wrong candidate as leader. We need to go there and alter everyone's minds so the correct person gets in."

"Is this a distortion of history?" Raven asked, raising an eye brow. Alarm bells were ringing in her head.

"Yes, yes. A distortion we need to fix."

"And we're going to fix it, how?" Raven asked.

"I'm going to land, say who I am, and proclaim my support for the correct party. That should inspire the masses that this party is the best people for them, so they will vote and UGGGHH!" She choked as the woman was lifted into the air by the throat, a black shroud of energy around her neck.

"I'm not buying this." Raven insisted, her eyes glowing brightly under her hood. "Where is the Doctor?"

"I... I..." she choked, "I am the Doctor!"

"Wrong answer." and she gripped the woman's throat tighter. "Where is the Doctor?"

"Let go of me!" She squirmed, "Time Lords can change gender and their entire species now, you Dal-AGHHH!" Raven gripped her tighter, "I don't care what Time Lords can, nor can't do, I know you are not the Doctor, and talking down to me is not going to change my mind. Now..." she again gripped the woman tighter. "Where... is... the Doctor?" She didn't raise her voice. She was confident she'd get the answers eventually.

"I... am... the..." the Impostor coughed.

"Time Lords have a respiratory by-pass system, which means Time Lords can go for a long time without needing to breathe. The Doctor even more so, I know he can also go into a trance which further reduces the need for oxygen. So he can survive longer than an average Time Lord." Raven held this impostor higher so she got the point. "I believe he boasted ten minutes, at least for an average Time Lord, twenty for himself. I'm going to go read a book. If you're still alive after fifteen minutes then I might be convinced. If not, as a Time Lord the worst that could happen is you'll regenerate. If you're not a Time Lord..." she shrugged, "then I guess it sucks to be you."

Raven moved to walk back to her chair, leaving this woman hanging like some decoration. The Impostor choked, clawing at her neck. "Have you got something to say?" Raven didn't look back, instead she brought this impostor closer to her. "Speak up 'Doctor', I can't hear you."

"Okay, okay!" and Raven dropped this dopey, purple woman to the floor behind her.

"Now, where is the Doctor?" Raven could sense behind her that the dopey woman had gotten up and was rushing forward, arms out stretched to grab her. Raven rolled her eyes as the filing cabinet, shrouded in darkness, came out of nowhere and bashed the woman across the floor. Gently Raven put the cabinet back.

"You insolent child, do you know who I am? I am the Doctor!" the woman shouted as if this should impress Raven. It didn't. As if she thought this should be enough to take her seriously and do as she commands. Raven didn't even take the real Doctor seriously, never mind this impostor.

"I can do worse than choke you." Raven said, allowing a little darkness to escape her, not much, just enough. Her form began to get taller, her eyes turned red, teeth sharpened and black tentacles sprouted from under her cloak. "You are not the Doctor, because you'd know what I am capable of when I don't get my own way." The cloak parted to a black void underneath and a couple of tentacles snaked out towards this impostor. "Either you give the Doctor back to me, or I'll drag you in here and rip the truth from your little brain and destroy your mind. Leaving you a mindless gibbering vegetable."

This woman was shaking, terrified of her. Good.

"Though looking at you now, I can hardly tell the difference!"

"Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm not the Doctor!" Raven then dropped her act and shrank back down to her usual size. "I am not... I am not the Doctor. But I can be better than the Doctor. I will act and say things he hasn't the guts, nor understanding to say. I'm going to fight battles he refuses, causes he passes by. I'm going to make the Universe a better place for everyone. I will be the greatest Doctor, ever!"

"Do you know what it feels like to have your insides re-arranged?" Raven threatened again. To get her point across Raven squeezed what she assumed were her intestines and the woman shrieked.

"You vicious little monster!" The woman spat trying to assert some kind of dominance over Raven. But it wasn't working.

"Finally, someone gets me." Raven said, a nasty look in her eyes. "I am a monster."

"Who the hell are you?" The woman shouted, "The Doctor is not supposed to be travelling with anyone at this moment in his life!"

"I told you. I am Raven, daughter of demons, and I am not happy." Her eyes began to glow again. "You see, you've taken something that belongs to me, and I want it back; and if I don't get it back in the next five minutes then I'll claim you as my new toy, and I've always wanted a voodoo doll." As Raven finished, several large pins of dark energy formed around the woman. "Get the point?"

"You little Dalek!" The woman spat in outrage.

"I don't know what that is, nor do I care." Raven said. "Four minutes."

"I can't bring the Doctor to you, because I can't reverse it." The Impostor shouted, but didn't elaborate.

"Now three minutes." Raven added.

"That wasn't a minute!" The Impostor shouted.

"Yes, I know." Raven waited, and when the Impostor didn't speak again she said, "Two minutes."

"Okay! The best I can do is take you to where he's being held." The Impostor said.

"Then take me there." Raven insisted and she picked this Impostor up with her power and moved her towards the console like a doll, "and if I sense even a micron of deception in your mind; and I will sense it, then I will rip out your tongue."

"How can I talk without a tongue?" The woman said smugly. Raven was not in the mood for this game so she gripped the woman's tongue with her power to show she was serious about her threat.

"You still have hands. You can write, can't you?"

To Be Continued...

Authors notes: Raven was really fun to write at the end of this. I could kind of imagine her being a little on the torturous side with people in her younger days with people she didn't like. Something she'll probably have to learn not to do. Would she actually do the things she threatens? No, probably not. But I think she'd not be beyond casting a spell here or there to show she really does have the power to cause them damage and they'd be powerless to stop her.

As for the new character I've called 'the Impostor' she's based off someone I used to know from University who had a lot of very strange ideas, and thought processes I wouldn't exactly say were... logical. But she was deadly serious about them.

If you haven't guessed, the theme of this story is going to be one about authoritarian control, and the bits featuring Rachel Roth have a meaning and connect to Ravens plot. ;)

Again, I've taken some more liberties with Azarathian culture, because I still can't find much info on how Azarath operated. But I'm guessing they'd have some form of prejudice since I've already written that they shunned Raven for being born a particular way. It would only follow some of the other students and teachers would bully her too.

Doctor McCoy in the other segment is to all intents and purposes the Seventh Doctor. There are going to be other references to other Doctors in the story. They're all going to be Rachel Roth's teachers, and they are there for a very good reason. As you will find out. ;)