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Doctor Who: Reflections (6/21), (2/Jamie), Adult.
Title: Reflections (6/21)
Author: Van Donovan
Rating: Adult
Characters: the second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield
Pairings: Two/Jamie
Word count this chapter: 3,724
Word count total: 87,791
Warnings: Slash and eventual graphic sex. Spoilers through "Evil of the Daleks."
Summary: Charged with saving the universe, can the Doctor overcome his own darkness to defeat the Daleks?
Notes: This is a "Mirrorverse" fic, set in a splinter off "Evil of the Daleks." It isn't required you know either term/story, but it will heighten your enjoyment. This fic is rather dark and adult in nature, so be warned.
Thanks: to lithrael for the encouragement--this fic would not exist without her support (and for the help betaing :D, and the artwork, which is hers), and to irreparable for her amazing very-thorough beta skills. She is glorious. I feel I should be paying for her services. :D And to randominity who planted the seed.
(Crossposted to two_love, dw_slash, and dwfiction)
Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Chapter Six:
Once inside, Victoria was ushered to a seat by the fireplace to dry out. She quickly shed her water-laden coat, laying it out to dry. Their host gestured for the Doctor to seat himself as well, but his interest in the Daleks in the city prevented him from relaxing or joining the girl.
“You must be from very far away indeed, if you’ve not heard the Daleks were here,” their host cautiously said. Pulling a blanket off the couch, he draped it over Victoria’s shoulders.
“Thank you,” she demurely said, but her eyes were on the Doctor. “We . . . we stopped them, didn’t we? Oh, I should never like to see a Dalek again.”
Fat drops of water dripped off the ends of the Doctor’s hair, running down the creases in his face as he frowned, deep in thought. He seemed not to notice them. “I wonder, Victoria. I do wonder.” His eyes lifted to their host. “I thank you for your hospitality, especially considering the circumstances. I’m the Doctor, and this is Victoria.” He gestured politely to the girl.
“I’m Kagel,” the man said. “And I will not lie to you: it is your starship I am most interested in. For a long time we have been looking for a way to escape this planet, and to get away from the Daleks.”
Still frowning, the Doctor said, “I’m afraid not even my starship seems to be able to manage that.”
Kagel nodded gravely. “You are familiar with them.”
“Yes.” The Doctor’s gaze drifted to the fire, where he watched the flames crackle and burn for some time. “Very familiar, unfortunately.” His interest piqued, he said, “You must tell me everything you know about them-when they came here, how and why, anything you know, at all.”
Behind him, Victoria sneezed, and then looked terribly embarrassed.
“But first,” he said, shifting toward her, “maybe you’ve got something warm for the girl? Tea, perhaps?”
“Yes, of course,” Kagel said. Crossing to the large windows that faced the back of the house, he pulled them shut against the night. “We must keep our voices soft, though. It’s said the Daleks have ears in the walls.”
“I don’t doubt it,” the Doctor mused, watching as Kagel disappeared down the hall, presumably to the kitchens to fetch something to drink.
His gaze took Victoria in. She held the blanket tightly around her shoulders and kept inching toward the fire, though she was as close as her chair would allow her to get. “I’m sorry about all this, my dear,” he said, resting his umbrella against the fireplace mantel. “Are you all right?”
Undaunted, Victoria pushed a limp, wet lock of hair out of her eyes. “I’ll be all right,” she determinedly stated. “But I’m worried about Jamie.”
“I know,” he sympathetically said. There was just enough space on the edge of her chair for him, so he sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
“Do you think the Daleks have him?” she softly asked, leaning into him. “Oh, why can’t they just leave us alone?”
“It’s me they’re after, Victoria. And for that, I apologize.” Fondly, he gave her a gentle squeeze. “I do suppose it’s possible that the Daleks have created a replica of me, to fool Jamie into going with him. They’ve done it before, with varying success.”
“A replica!” Victoria cried. “But why would they take Jamie?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It could all just be coincidence.”
Victoria fixed him with a very serious glare.
“No, I suppose it couldn’t all be coincidence, could it? Not that many things. Well, my dear, we can only speculate. I just hope that when Kagel gets back, he can shed some light on the situation. I still don’t even know what planet we’re on!”
“Terris,” Kagel said, stepping back into the room, carefully carrying a tray laden with mugs of liquid. “In the Coalion system.”
If the man was surprised the Doctor didn’t know where they’d landed, he did not show it. He simply set the tray down on a low table in front of a couch and began doctoring a mug of tea. “This should help you, my dear,” Kagel said, handing it over to Victoria.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting it. She sipped it slowly, letting the warmth and soothing fragrance wash over her.
Next, Kagel handed the Doctor a mug too, which he graciously accepted. “Goodness me,” he said, after taking a sip, “but this is quite good.”
“Thank you,” Kagel replied, smiling softly. “I believe it should help you to rejuvenate your strength.”
“Yes, and it is much appreciated.” Rising from his seat by Victoria, the Doctor crossed to sit on the couch by Kagel, eager to get to the matters at hand. “Now, tell me about the Daleks.”
“Yes,” Kagel said, his tone going quiet. “But I will be brief.” He picked up the last mug of tea for himself, but did not drink from it. “They came to our planet several months ago. At first, they pretended to be friendly, but turned against us once they’d gained our trust. We are a simple people and were eager to trade what goods we had for the technological marvels they showed us. For these marvels, they wanted our hills and undergrounds, things we had no use of to begin with. They burrowed into our earth, excavating raw materials we didn’t know how to process.”
Frowning deeper as the story continued, the Doctor listened intently. Behind him, Victoria set down her mug slowly and precisely, before leaning back in her chair, exhausted.
Kagel lowered his eyes. “Before we knew it, they’d begun to build factories. When originally there had been only a half dozen Daleks, there were soon hundreds. They flooded the cities, establishing control of the whole planet. Many who resisted were killed, and the rest of us were sent to work for them building even more factories.”
“The town looks normal enough, though,” the Doctor observed.
“They aren’t interested in taking care of us. As long as their production quotas are met, we’re free to live as we please. So those who can work for the Daleks do, and the rest of us work to keep living as normal as possible for the rest. We plant and harvest, we make clothes and raise livestock. We have children.”
“So the Daleks have turned your planet into a Dalek manufactory plant.” The Doctor stared into the distance with unseeing eyes, taking another sip of his tea. “Why would they need Jamie for that?” he mused to himself.
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing,” the Doctor said. “Letting that many people into the Dalek factories-that must be stressful for them. Doesn’t anyone rebel?”
“They did, in the beginning,” Kagel replied haltingly. “But once the factory was operational, no one worked inside that didn’t pass through the arch.”
As though his blood had turned to ice, the Doctor sat up. “‘Arch’? What arch?”
Kagel smiled. “The one impregnated with the Dalek Factor. Only the workers deemed worthy enough are allowed through it.”
“Worthy! That . . . the Dalek Factor must turn them into Daleks! I thought you wanted to get away from them!”
Gently, Kagel said, “Doctor, the Daleks are the supreme rulers of the universe. You of all people should know that. Resistance would be foolhardy.”
“But, but,” the Doctor began to splutter. The world seemed to swim as he lurched to his feet. “You said-” Anxiously, the Doctor stared at his hand, which was blurring before his eyes. Over his shoulder, he could see Victoria slumped against her chair, unconscious, and realization dawned on him, cold and unwelcome. “You’ve murdered us,” he accused, his voice slurring.
The teacup toppled from his hand moments before the Doctor lost consciousness. He collapsed to the floor in a heap. Waiting only a moment, Kagel simply set down his own mug, stepped over the body, and went to open the front door. Outside, three Daleks patiently waited, gliding in only once their path was clear.
--
There was no need for the Doctor to open his eyes to identify the unsettling hum all around him. He was unmistakably on a Dalek ship. Cold metal floor stretched away beneath him, above him gleamed harsh, unfriendly light, and a hostile alien life form lurked in every room.
Despite the pounding of his head, the Doctor got his hands beneath him and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Coupled with the bruises he had received from his doppelganger the day before, he felt miserable. Awake now, he quickly confirmed what his other senses had already told him-but returned sight also revealed Victoria, sprawled out on the ground, not far from him.
Fighting against the heaviness of his body and the way it ached, the Doctor crawled across the floor to her. A quick check of her pulse told him she was alive, just unconscious. Her dress was dry to the touch. Scowling as his body struggled to regain control of itself, he pulled the girl into his lap, cradling her against his thigh.
While he waited for his body to finish working off the drugs he’d been given, he observed the room they were held captive in. It had all the trappings of the Daleks about it. In his mind, he ran over the words the traitorous Kagel had said to them: they were on Terris in the Coalion system. Daleks were all over the planet, and were converting humans into Daleks via the Dalek Factor. This was the same Dalek Factor that he and Jamie had stopped, months ago relative time, and saved Victoria from while doing so. He wasn’t sure how much of it to believe-Kagel could have been lying to him-but he had no reason to disbelieve it, either.
“It doesn’t make sense,” the Doctor said, aloud.
In his arms, Victoria began to stir. “Doctor?” she whispered.
“I’m here, Victoria. It’s all right.” Shifting, he helped her sit up. “The effects of the Dalek drug will wear off shortly, I should think. Are you all right?”
She put a hand to her brow. “My head hurts very much.” Owlishly, she glanced around. “Where are we?”
“A Dalek ship, I’m afraid. Kagel drugged us and handed us over to the Daleks. Probably for a nice reward, I should think: getting implanted with the Dalek Factor.” He was not at all pleased. “Why they’ve kept us alive is beyond me.”
“I hate these Daleks,” she sharply said. The words sounded almost obscene, coming from her mouth. “Why can’t they just go away?”
Stroking her hair soothingly, he said, “It’s against their nature.” Gently shifting so she was seated on her own, the Doctor pushed himself to his feet. He stretched slowly, scratching at the back of his neck. Turning a full circle, he carefully took in their surroundings. “There’s something very strange about all this.”
“It’s all hatefully familiar to me,” Victoria remarked bitterly.
“I know. I’m sorry.” He approached the door to their cell, studying the locking mechanism. “But Jamie and your father and I stopped the Daleks, back on Skaro. We risked everything to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. And now it has.”
Shaking her head, Victoria followed him with her eyes. “Well, they’ve tried again. And this time, they’ve succeeded.”
“That’s not very like the Daleks,” the Doctor mused. He abandoned the lock, turning back to her. “That they’d try conquest again, yes. But I’ve never known the Daleks to try the same trick twice. If converting humans with the Dalek Factor had backfired for them, which it did, they wouldn’t try it again. It would be seen as a failure to them.”
Victoria stared at him uncomprehendingly. “Well, they must have tried again.”
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, the Doctor mused, “I do wonder.”
“Doctor, I’m frightened,” Victoria said, getting to her feet. She was shaking, though from cold or fear, he couldn’t tell. “Yeti or Cybermen or Ice Warriors-none of them frightened me like the Daleks do.”
“It will be all right, my dear,” he reassured her. He tugged his shabby coat off-it was now dry-and draped it over her shoulders. “We’ll get out of this.”
Behind him, the door to the room slid up into the wall. “Doctor!”
Spinning around, the Doctor found himself face-to-face with a Dalek. No matter how many times he had confronted them, the initial jolt of fear was always the same. “What are you up to now?” he demanded.
“Confirm identity!” the Dalek said. “It is the Doctor.”
From behind the first, a second Dalek rolled up. This one was slightly larger and mostly black: a Dalek Supreme. The two Daleks crowded into the small chamber. Victoria backed up against the wall, pulling the Doctor’s coat tight around her. Defiantly, the Doctor stood in front of her. “If it’s me you want, let the girl go.”
“How did you escape?” the black Dalek demanded.
Opening his mouth to protest again, the Doctor caught himself. “What?”
“Explain how you were able to escape the TARDIS! Where are the Daleks that were with you?” The Dalek Supreme glided closer. “Answer! Answer!”
Rattled, the Doctor shook his head, hands rising nervously to his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Honestly, I don’t!”
“Female identity is confirmed as Human Victoria Waterfield!” the grey Dalek stated.
“That is not possible,” the black Dalek countered. “Human Victoria Waterfield was exterminated!” The Dalek Supreme’s eyestalk focused on the Doctor. “You will explain!”
“I can’t!” he cried.
“Waterfield is human. Humans must be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate!” the grey Dalek cried, waving its gun stick.
“Halt!” the Dalek Supreme commanded. “The Doctor will explain first!”
Horrified and huffing at the danger he now found himself in, the Doctor launched into as best an explanation as he could. “We-We escaped from Skaro, Victoria and I! It was you all who were destroyed! I converted all the Daleks with the Dalek Factor into Daleks with the Human Factor! There was rebellion-a civil war!-and you destroyed yourselves.”
“You were defeated,” the black Dalek stated, its voice grinding slow and menacingly. “Your companions were destroyed and you were forced to serve the Daleks.”
“I did no such thing!”
“It is the truth!”
Frantic, the Doctor wrung his hands. “Well, clearly it isn’t, if Victoria is still alive.”
“Doctor!” she cried, frightened. The grey Dalek drone began to chant its battle cry again.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you,” the Doctor reassured her. He closed the distance between himself and the Daleks. “Now, I agree something strange is going on here. But you’ve got me mistaken for someone else. I have never served the Daleks.”
Very carefully, the black Dalek scrutinized him. “You are the Doctor.”
“Yes.”
“You helped the Daleks destroy Earth.”
“What? Heavens, no!”
“He is lying,” the grey Dalek said.
“He is not,” the Dalek Supreme countered. “This is not the Doctor.”
“It is the Doctor!” the Dalek drone insisted.
“Subtle changes in physiognomy are noted. Molecular make up dissimilar. Age median does not match records.”
“He is a time traveler,” the grey Dalek countered. “Molecular make up is dependant on specific time course. The Doctor has changed his appearance before.”
“Negative!” the black Dalek said. “This is the Doctor. This is not the Doctor.” Swiveling back to focus on the Doctor, the Dalek Supreme demanded. “Explain!”
“I can’t!” the Doctor protested again. “If this is the distant future, perhaps there is another, evil me, one who helped you. I should certainly hope not. But Victoria is very much alive either way, and Earth is very much not destroyed.”
“He is lying.”
“He is not.”
Sighing, the Doctor turned back to Victoria, weariness evident in his face as the Daleks argued back and forth with each other. “My word, my dear,” he said in as comforting of a voice as he could muster. “Why, it’s almost as if we woke up in an alternate universe or something.” He started to give her a hopeful, friendly smile.
And then, his face suddenly drew tense, brows knitting together in sick horror as the realization of what he’d just said hit him like blows. “Oh my word!” he cried, clamping a hand over his mouth. Stricken, he took in his surroundings, letting the words of the Daleks settle over him. Everything fell into place, and he could suddenly feel the earth moving, tilting, under his feet.
Not on a ship, then.
“You will explain!” the Dalek Supreme demanded at his outburst.
“All right, all right,” the Doctor replied, gesturing to settle the Dalek. “I think . . . I think I’ve figured out what has happened.” Opening his mouth to explain parallel dimensions to the Daleks, he immediately snapped it closed again. What right had he to tell them about that possibility? As if the Daleks weren’t conquest hungry enough to destroy all life in this universe. Giving them the knowledge of parallel universes was guaranteeing that eventually they’d figure out a way to travel to them. He could not-would not-be responsible for that.
Squaring his shoulders resolutely, he began to lie. “I am the Doctor. I . . . I had some topical surgery done to me, so I wouldn’t look the same. I was hoping to fool you.” Gently, he gestured to Victoria. “This . . . this is Victoria’s twin sister, Lisette. Do you know what a twin is? She was in Paris when you attacked the Waterfield’s house. I went to find her, since she no longer has a family.”
“Doctor!” Victoria cried, bewildered.
“It’s all right, my dear Lisette. When dealing with the Daleks, it’s best to tell the truth.”
“She is still human,” the Dalek drone accused.
The black Dalek did not reply. Though the Doctor couldn’t be sure, he was rather confident they were discussing the matter between themselves, or perhaps with a superior. He did not like to dwell on that ability of theirs.
“How did you escape?” the Dalek Supreme finally asked.
“Ah, yes. Well, that.” The Doctor fiddled with his hands. “You see, uh. The . . . the TARDIS helped me, yes. I programmed her, when I had a moment to myself. She rejected all alien life forms, except myself. Right out the airlock. Very smart ship, she is. So your Dalek friends are probably out there, floating in space somewhere! Very clever of me, really.” He forced himself to smile at the thought.
The black Dalek glowered, if Daleks could be said to glower. Slowly, the Dalek said, “Where is the TARDIS?”
“It’s . . . it’s back in a field, outside of town. We left it there.”
“Explain!”
The Doctor found himself bristling. He was not at all enjoying this interrogation. “We were looking for Jamie, if you must know!”
“Your companion is dead,” the grey Dalek said. “You will obey the Daleks.”
“Jamie!” Victoria cried in despair. She pushed up, past the Doctor, to face the Daleks. “How could you! You monsters!” she cried.
Gently, the Doctor restrained her, his actions remarkably subdued. He felt like he was operating underwater. “I believe . . . I believe they’re talking about . . . about a different Jamie. It’s all right, my dear.” At least, he wildly hoped they were.
“You will take us to your TARDIS,” the grey Dalek stated. “The Daleks require your travel machine. Obey!”
“Doctor, no!” Victoria said. Despite her valiant efforts, tears clung to her long lashes. “You can’t help them.”
“We really don’t have much choice, I’m afraid,” he said in resignation.
“Move away from the human,” the black Dalek demanded. “You will go alone.”
Sternly, the Doctor said, “No. No, I won’t leave Vic-Lisette!”
“Do not argue! You will obey!” The Dalek Supreme brought its gunstick to bear on Victoria. “Obey! Obey!”
Serenely, the Doctor smiled. “You misunderstand me,” he simply said. “Threatening her life will not work. If you kill her, I’ll simply never obey. If you want me to go with you, you’ll negotiate with me, by letting her come with us. What have you to fear? You’re clearly at the advantage here.”
Considering, the Dalek Supreme’s eyestalk wagged, its body trembling. “Move!” it finally announced. It glided behind, pushing them out the chamber door. “You will take the Daleks to the TARDIS! If you do not obey, you will be exterminated!”
“Yes, yes, that will be lovely. Thank you.”
Wrapped in his coat and obviously wanting to stay closer still, Victoria stuck close to the Doctor. He strode purposefully, determined not to show any fear to the Daleks. When they reached the hatch that opened to the outside, he found it was still lightly drizzling. “Ah. They didn’t think to bring my umbrella.” He smiled apologetically to Victoria.
The Dalek Supreme did not follow them outside. Instead, three grey Dalek drones fell in around the travelers, escorting them.
“Do not talk!” the leader of the grey Dalek’s demanded. “Do not stop!”
“I’m very sorry about the rain, dear,” the Doctor said. Chivalrously, he offered his arm to Victoria, ignoring the demands of the Daleks as he led the way out of the factory. To his surprise, he found they were still in the middle of town. The doors opened onto the neat cobblestone street.
It wasn’t yet dawn, and the sky was still dark with clouds. Due to the lack of light and the slippery ground, the going was slow. Behind them, the Dalek drones followed, gliding silently over the cobblestones.
Once the Doctor found his way, it wasn’t difficult to lead them to the TARDIS. He always had an innate sense about where the TARDIS was, almost always able to return to her no matter where he parked the ship.
Yet, despite his innate ability to track the time vessel, he could not find the TARDIS. She wasn’t where he’d left her. Truly worried now, the Doctor walked a circle around where he knew she’d landed, but there were no tracks leading away, no sign that the TARDIS had been carted off by the locals. Lifting his eyes worriedly, he was met with the ominous glowing of three unfriendly Dalek eyestalks, glaring back at him.
Author: Van Donovan
Rating: Adult
Characters: the second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield
Pairings: Two/Jamie
Word count this chapter: 3,724
Word count total: 87,791
Warnings: Slash and eventual graphic sex. Spoilers through "Evil of the Daleks."
Summary: Charged with saving the universe, can the Doctor overcome his own darkness to defeat the Daleks?
Notes: This is a "Mirrorverse" fic, set in a splinter off "Evil of the Daleks." It isn't required you know either term/story, but it will heighten your enjoyment. This fic is rather dark and adult in nature, so be warned.
Thanks: to lithrael for the encouragement--this fic would not exist without her support (and for the help betaing :D, and the artwork, which is hers), and to irreparable for her amazing very-thorough beta skills. She is glorious. I feel I should be paying for her services. :D And to randominity who planted the seed.
(Crossposted to two_love, dw_slash, and dwfiction)
Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Chapter Six:
Once inside, Victoria was ushered to a seat by the fireplace to dry out. She quickly shed her water-laden coat, laying it out to dry. Their host gestured for the Doctor to seat himself as well, but his interest in the Daleks in the city prevented him from relaxing or joining the girl.
“You must be from very far away indeed, if you’ve not heard the Daleks were here,” their host cautiously said. Pulling a blanket off the couch, he draped it over Victoria’s shoulders.
“Thank you,” she demurely said, but her eyes were on the Doctor. “We . . . we stopped them, didn’t we? Oh, I should never like to see a Dalek again.”
Fat drops of water dripped off the ends of the Doctor’s hair, running down the creases in his face as he frowned, deep in thought. He seemed not to notice them. “I wonder, Victoria. I do wonder.” His eyes lifted to their host. “I thank you for your hospitality, especially considering the circumstances. I’m the Doctor, and this is Victoria.” He gestured politely to the girl.
“I’m Kagel,” the man said. “And I will not lie to you: it is your starship I am most interested in. For a long time we have been looking for a way to escape this planet, and to get away from the Daleks.”
Still frowning, the Doctor said, “I’m afraid not even my starship seems to be able to manage that.”
Kagel nodded gravely. “You are familiar with them.”
“Yes.” The Doctor’s gaze drifted to the fire, where he watched the flames crackle and burn for some time. “Very familiar, unfortunately.” His interest piqued, he said, “You must tell me everything you know about them-when they came here, how and why, anything you know, at all.”
Behind him, Victoria sneezed, and then looked terribly embarrassed.
“But first,” he said, shifting toward her, “maybe you’ve got something warm for the girl? Tea, perhaps?”
“Yes, of course,” Kagel said. Crossing to the large windows that faced the back of the house, he pulled them shut against the night. “We must keep our voices soft, though. It’s said the Daleks have ears in the walls.”
“I don’t doubt it,” the Doctor mused, watching as Kagel disappeared down the hall, presumably to the kitchens to fetch something to drink.
His gaze took Victoria in. She held the blanket tightly around her shoulders and kept inching toward the fire, though she was as close as her chair would allow her to get. “I’m sorry about all this, my dear,” he said, resting his umbrella against the fireplace mantel. “Are you all right?”
Undaunted, Victoria pushed a limp, wet lock of hair out of her eyes. “I’ll be all right,” she determinedly stated. “But I’m worried about Jamie.”
“I know,” he sympathetically said. There was just enough space on the edge of her chair for him, so he sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
“Do you think the Daleks have him?” she softly asked, leaning into him. “Oh, why can’t they just leave us alone?”
“It’s me they’re after, Victoria. And for that, I apologize.” Fondly, he gave her a gentle squeeze. “I do suppose it’s possible that the Daleks have created a replica of me, to fool Jamie into going with him. They’ve done it before, with varying success.”
“A replica!” Victoria cried. “But why would they take Jamie?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It could all just be coincidence.”
Victoria fixed him with a very serious glare.
“No, I suppose it couldn’t all be coincidence, could it? Not that many things. Well, my dear, we can only speculate. I just hope that when Kagel gets back, he can shed some light on the situation. I still don’t even know what planet we’re on!”
“Terris,” Kagel said, stepping back into the room, carefully carrying a tray laden with mugs of liquid. “In the Coalion system.”
If the man was surprised the Doctor didn’t know where they’d landed, he did not show it. He simply set the tray down on a low table in front of a couch and began doctoring a mug of tea. “This should help you, my dear,” Kagel said, handing it over to Victoria.
“Thank you,” she said, accepting it. She sipped it slowly, letting the warmth and soothing fragrance wash over her.
Next, Kagel handed the Doctor a mug too, which he graciously accepted. “Goodness me,” he said, after taking a sip, “but this is quite good.”
“Thank you,” Kagel replied, smiling softly. “I believe it should help you to rejuvenate your strength.”
“Yes, and it is much appreciated.” Rising from his seat by Victoria, the Doctor crossed to sit on the couch by Kagel, eager to get to the matters at hand. “Now, tell me about the Daleks.”
“Yes,” Kagel said, his tone going quiet. “But I will be brief.” He picked up the last mug of tea for himself, but did not drink from it. “They came to our planet several months ago. At first, they pretended to be friendly, but turned against us once they’d gained our trust. We are a simple people and were eager to trade what goods we had for the technological marvels they showed us. For these marvels, they wanted our hills and undergrounds, things we had no use of to begin with. They burrowed into our earth, excavating raw materials we didn’t know how to process.”
Frowning deeper as the story continued, the Doctor listened intently. Behind him, Victoria set down her mug slowly and precisely, before leaning back in her chair, exhausted.
Kagel lowered his eyes. “Before we knew it, they’d begun to build factories. When originally there had been only a half dozen Daleks, there were soon hundreds. They flooded the cities, establishing control of the whole planet. Many who resisted were killed, and the rest of us were sent to work for them building even more factories.”
“The town looks normal enough, though,” the Doctor observed.
“They aren’t interested in taking care of us. As long as their production quotas are met, we’re free to live as we please. So those who can work for the Daleks do, and the rest of us work to keep living as normal as possible for the rest. We plant and harvest, we make clothes and raise livestock. We have children.”
“So the Daleks have turned your planet into a Dalek manufactory plant.” The Doctor stared into the distance with unseeing eyes, taking another sip of his tea. “Why would they need Jamie for that?” he mused to himself.
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing,” the Doctor said. “Letting that many people into the Dalek factories-that must be stressful for them. Doesn’t anyone rebel?”
“They did, in the beginning,” Kagel replied haltingly. “But once the factory was operational, no one worked inside that didn’t pass through the arch.”
As though his blood had turned to ice, the Doctor sat up. “‘Arch’? What arch?”
Kagel smiled. “The one impregnated with the Dalek Factor. Only the workers deemed worthy enough are allowed through it.”
“Worthy! That . . . the Dalek Factor must turn them into Daleks! I thought you wanted to get away from them!”
Gently, Kagel said, “Doctor, the Daleks are the supreme rulers of the universe. You of all people should know that. Resistance would be foolhardy.”
“But, but,” the Doctor began to splutter. The world seemed to swim as he lurched to his feet. “You said-” Anxiously, the Doctor stared at his hand, which was blurring before his eyes. Over his shoulder, he could see Victoria slumped against her chair, unconscious, and realization dawned on him, cold and unwelcome. “You’ve murdered us,” he accused, his voice slurring.
The teacup toppled from his hand moments before the Doctor lost consciousness. He collapsed to the floor in a heap. Waiting only a moment, Kagel simply set down his own mug, stepped over the body, and went to open the front door. Outside, three Daleks patiently waited, gliding in only once their path was clear.
--
There was no need for the Doctor to open his eyes to identify the unsettling hum all around him. He was unmistakably on a Dalek ship. Cold metal floor stretched away beneath him, above him gleamed harsh, unfriendly light, and a hostile alien life form lurked in every room.
Despite the pounding of his head, the Doctor got his hands beneath him and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Coupled with the bruises he had received from his doppelganger the day before, he felt miserable. Awake now, he quickly confirmed what his other senses had already told him-but returned sight also revealed Victoria, sprawled out on the ground, not far from him.
Fighting against the heaviness of his body and the way it ached, the Doctor crawled across the floor to her. A quick check of her pulse told him she was alive, just unconscious. Her dress was dry to the touch. Scowling as his body struggled to regain control of itself, he pulled the girl into his lap, cradling her against his thigh.
While he waited for his body to finish working off the drugs he’d been given, he observed the room they were held captive in. It had all the trappings of the Daleks about it. In his mind, he ran over the words the traitorous Kagel had said to them: they were on Terris in the Coalion system. Daleks were all over the planet, and were converting humans into Daleks via the Dalek Factor. This was the same Dalek Factor that he and Jamie had stopped, months ago relative time, and saved Victoria from while doing so. He wasn’t sure how much of it to believe-Kagel could have been lying to him-but he had no reason to disbelieve it, either.
“It doesn’t make sense,” the Doctor said, aloud.
In his arms, Victoria began to stir. “Doctor?” she whispered.
“I’m here, Victoria. It’s all right.” Shifting, he helped her sit up. “The effects of the Dalek drug will wear off shortly, I should think. Are you all right?”
She put a hand to her brow. “My head hurts very much.” Owlishly, she glanced around. “Where are we?”
“A Dalek ship, I’m afraid. Kagel drugged us and handed us over to the Daleks. Probably for a nice reward, I should think: getting implanted with the Dalek Factor.” He was not at all pleased. “Why they’ve kept us alive is beyond me.”
“I hate these Daleks,” she sharply said. The words sounded almost obscene, coming from her mouth. “Why can’t they just go away?”
Stroking her hair soothingly, he said, “It’s against their nature.” Gently shifting so she was seated on her own, the Doctor pushed himself to his feet. He stretched slowly, scratching at the back of his neck. Turning a full circle, he carefully took in their surroundings. “There’s something very strange about all this.”
“It’s all hatefully familiar to me,” Victoria remarked bitterly.
“I know. I’m sorry.” He approached the door to their cell, studying the locking mechanism. “But Jamie and your father and I stopped the Daleks, back on Skaro. We risked everything to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. And now it has.”
Shaking her head, Victoria followed him with her eyes. “Well, they’ve tried again. And this time, they’ve succeeded.”
“That’s not very like the Daleks,” the Doctor mused. He abandoned the lock, turning back to her. “That they’d try conquest again, yes. But I’ve never known the Daleks to try the same trick twice. If converting humans with the Dalek Factor had backfired for them, which it did, they wouldn’t try it again. It would be seen as a failure to them.”
Victoria stared at him uncomprehendingly. “Well, they must have tried again.”
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, the Doctor mused, “I do wonder.”
“Doctor, I’m frightened,” Victoria said, getting to her feet. She was shaking, though from cold or fear, he couldn’t tell. “Yeti or Cybermen or Ice Warriors-none of them frightened me like the Daleks do.”
“It will be all right, my dear,” he reassured her. He tugged his shabby coat off-it was now dry-and draped it over her shoulders. “We’ll get out of this.”
Behind him, the door to the room slid up into the wall. “Doctor!”
Spinning around, the Doctor found himself face-to-face with a Dalek. No matter how many times he had confronted them, the initial jolt of fear was always the same. “What are you up to now?” he demanded.
“Confirm identity!” the Dalek said. “It is the Doctor.”
From behind the first, a second Dalek rolled up. This one was slightly larger and mostly black: a Dalek Supreme. The two Daleks crowded into the small chamber. Victoria backed up against the wall, pulling the Doctor’s coat tight around her. Defiantly, the Doctor stood in front of her. “If it’s me you want, let the girl go.”
“How did you escape?” the black Dalek demanded.
Opening his mouth to protest again, the Doctor caught himself. “What?”
“Explain how you were able to escape the TARDIS! Where are the Daleks that were with you?” The Dalek Supreme glided closer. “Answer! Answer!”
Rattled, the Doctor shook his head, hands rising nervously to his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Honestly, I don’t!”
“Female identity is confirmed as Human Victoria Waterfield!” the grey Dalek stated.
“That is not possible,” the black Dalek countered. “Human Victoria Waterfield was exterminated!” The Dalek Supreme’s eyestalk focused on the Doctor. “You will explain!”
“I can’t!” he cried.
“Waterfield is human. Humans must be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate!” the grey Dalek cried, waving its gun stick.
“Halt!” the Dalek Supreme commanded. “The Doctor will explain first!”
Horrified and huffing at the danger he now found himself in, the Doctor launched into as best an explanation as he could. “We-We escaped from Skaro, Victoria and I! It was you all who were destroyed! I converted all the Daleks with the Dalek Factor into Daleks with the Human Factor! There was rebellion-a civil war!-and you destroyed yourselves.”
“You were defeated,” the black Dalek stated, its voice grinding slow and menacingly. “Your companions were destroyed and you were forced to serve the Daleks.”
“I did no such thing!”
“It is the truth!”
Frantic, the Doctor wrung his hands. “Well, clearly it isn’t, if Victoria is still alive.”
“Doctor!” she cried, frightened. The grey Dalek drone began to chant its battle cry again.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you,” the Doctor reassured her. He closed the distance between himself and the Daleks. “Now, I agree something strange is going on here. But you’ve got me mistaken for someone else. I have never served the Daleks.”
Very carefully, the black Dalek scrutinized him. “You are the Doctor.”
“Yes.”
“You helped the Daleks destroy Earth.”
“What? Heavens, no!”
“He is lying,” the grey Dalek said.
“He is not,” the Dalek Supreme countered. “This is not the Doctor.”
“It is the Doctor!” the Dalek drone insisted.
“Subtle changes in physiognomy are noted. Molecular make up dissimilar. Age median does not match records.”
“He is a time traveler,” the grey Dalek countered. “Molecular make up is dependant on specific time course. The Doctor has changed his appearance before.”
“Negative!” the black Dalek said. “This is the Doctor. This is not the Doctor.” Swiveling back to focus on the Doctor, the Dalek Supreme demanded. “Explain!”
“I can’t!” the Doctor protested again. “If this is the distant future, perhaps there is another, evil me, one who helped you. I should certainly hope not. But Victoria is very much alive either way, and Earth is very much not destroyed.”
“He is lying.”
“He is not.”
Sighing, the Doctor turned back to Victoria, weariness evident in his face as the Daleks argued back and forth with each other. “My word, my dear,” he said in as comforting of a voice as he could muster. “Why, it’s almost as if we woke up in an alternate universe or something.” He started to give her a hopeful, friendly smile.
And then, his face suddenly drew tense, brows knitting together in sick horror as the realization of what he’d just said hit him like blows. “Oh my word!” he cried, clamping a hand over his mouth. Stricken, he took in his surroundings, letting the words of the Daleks settle over him. Everything fell into place, and he could suddenly feel the earth moving, tilting, under his feet.
Not on a ship, then.
“You will explain!” the Dalek Supreme demanded at his outburst.
“All right, all right,” the Doctor replied, gesturing to settle the Dalek. “I think . . . I think I’ve figured out what has happened.” Opening his mouth to explain parallel dimensions to the Daleks, he immediately snapped it closed again. What right had he to tell them about that possibility? As if the Daleks weren’t conquest hungry enough to destroy all life in this universe. Giving them the knowledge of parallel universes was guaranteeing that eventually they’d figure out a way to travel to them. He could not-would not-be responsible for that.
Squaring his shoulders resolutely, he began to lie. “I am the Doctor. I . . . I had some topical surgery done to me, so I wouldn’t look the same. I was hoping to fool you.” Gently, he gestured to Victoria. “This . . . this is Victoria’s twin sister, Lisette. Do you know what a twin is? She was in Paris when you attacked the Waterfield’s house. I went to find her, since she no longer has a family.”
“Doctor!” Victoria cried, bewildered.
“It’s all right, my dear Lisette. When dealing with the Daleks, it’s best to tell the truth.”
“She is still human,” the Dalek drone accused.
The black Dalek did not reply. Though the Doctor couldn’t be sure, he was rather confident they were discussing the matter between themselves, or perhaps with a superior. He did not like to dwell on that ability of theirs.
“How did you escape?” the Dalek Supreme finally asked.
“Ah, yes. Well, that.” The Doctor fiddled with his hands. “You see, uh. The . . . the TARDIS helped me, yes. I programmed her, when I had a moment to myself. She rejected all alien life forms, except myself. Right out the airlock. Very smart ship, she is. So your Dalek friends are probably out there, floating in space somewhere! Very clever of me, really.” He forced himself to smile at the thought.
The black Dalek glowered, if Daleks could be said to glower. Slowly, the Dalek said, “Where is the TARDIS?”
“It’s . . . it’s back in a field, outside of town. We left it there.”
“Explain!”
The Doctor found himself bristling. He was not at all enjoying this interrogation. “We were looking for Jamie, if you must know!”
“Your companion is dead,” the grey Dalek said. “You will obey the Daleks.”
“Jamie!” Victoria cried in despair. She pushed up, past the Doctor, to face the Daleks. “How could you! You monsters!” she cried.
Gently, the Doctor restrained her, his actions remarkably subdued. He felt like he was operating underwater. “I believe . . . I believe they’re talking about . . . about a different Jamie. It’s all right, my dear.” At least, he wildly hoped they were.
“You will take us to your TARDIS,” the grey Dalek stated. “The Daleks require your travel machine. Obey!”
“Doctor, no!” Victoria said. Despite her valiant efforts, tears clung to her long lashes. “You can’t help them.”
“We really don’t have much choice, I’m afraid,” he said in resignation.
“Move away from the human,” the black Dalek demanded. “You will go alone.”
Sternly, the Doctor said, “No. No, I won’t leave Vic-Lisette!”
“Do not argue! You will obey!” The Dalek Supreme brought its gunstick to bear on Victoria. “Obey! Obey!”
Serenely, the Doctor smiled. “You misunderstand me,” he simply said. “Threatening her life will not work. If you kill her, I’ll simply never obey. If you want me to go with you, you’ll negotiate with me, by letting her come with us. What have you to fear? You’re clearly at the advantage here.”
Considering, the Dalek Supreme’s eyestalk wagged, its body trembling. “Move!” it finally announced. It glided behind, pushing them out the chamber door. “You will take the Daleks to the TARDIS! If you do not obey, you will be exterminated!”
“Yes, yes, that will be lovely. Thank you.”
Wrapped in his coat and obviously wanting to stay closer still, Victoria stuck close to the Doctor. He strode purposefully, determined not to show any fear to the Daleks. When they reached the hatch that opened to the outside, he found it was still lightly drizzling. “Ah. They didn’t think to bring my umbrella.” He smiled apologetically to Victoria.
The Dalek Supreme did not follow them outside. Instead, three grey Dalek drones fell in around the travelers, escorting them.
“Do not talk!” the leader of the grey Dalek’s demanded. “Do not stop!”
“I’m very sorry about the rain, dear,” the Doctor said. Chivalrously, he offered his arm to Victoria, ignoring the demands of the Daleks as he led the way out of the factory. To his surprise, he found they were still in the middle of town. The doors opened onto the neat cobblestone street.
It wasn’t yet dawn, and the sky was still dark with clouds. Due to the lack of light and the slippery ground, the going was slow. Behind them, the Dalek drones followed, gliding silently over the cobblestones.
Once the Doctor found his way, it wasn’t difficult to lead them to the TARDIS. He always had an innate sense about where the TARDIS was, almost always able to return to her no matter where he parked the ship.
Yet, despite his innate ability to track the time vessel, he could not find the TARDIS. She wasn’t where he’d left her. Truly worried now, the Doctor walked a circle around where he knew she’d landed, but there were no tracks leading away, no sign that the TARDIS had been carted off by the locals. Lifting his eyes worriedly, he was met with the ominous glowing of three unfriendly Dalek eyestalks, glaring back at him.