The Game- Chapter 3- Of Medics and Mirages
Chapter 3
Of medics and mirages
Once on the prey containment ship all cargo travels the same route, first to the long suffering medics, before being presented to the Visier, if they were unusual enough to merit his time.
On this particular day, The Doctor was presented to an unusually bemused Medic, a Springer Spaniel faced creature, who spoke with the First as if The Doctor were some rare butterfly.
"I can't place this one...it's anotomy is strange....it's not built for fighting."
"Not exactly state of the art," The Doctor commented to no-one in particular as he glanced around the room. "Mind you...I guess it's not a hospital or clinic is it?" he added, flashing a grin at the guard hovering by his shoulder. He glanced over at the Medic and the First, tilting his head to one side as he caught the words spoken. "Maybe your scanner's outdated? Although, it is true, I'm really not into fighting. I'm more of a pacifist."
The First snickered as he heard this, and the Medic glared before shooing him out of the door. Once the soldier had gone the Medic spoke with The Doctor properly, showing his true colours.
"I help where I can, but you may not survive long. However, I have been proved wrong on occasion. The offworlders have a much stronger will to live, you see."
"Depends where they're from I guess" The Doctor replied with a shrug, not missing the change in the man...dog...Dianarian. "But you do find that."
"Ahh, yes...we have a little girl from Earth, such will. I didn't even think she'd last the training, but she's still here." The Medic replied happily.
"Earth girl?" The Doctor's eyebrows rose in surprise, wondering if this was the off-worlder that had been mentioned earlier. "Weeeeell, humans...particularly Earth born...very strong willed" he said, affection evident in his tone.
The Medic chuckled "They can't all be like this one...I honestly didn't think they'd let her live past headbutting the grand Visier but they seem to have done."
"Headbutting the Grand Visier?" The Doctor's quirked a amused eyebrow and clucked his tongue, "Ha! Sounds like a something someone I once knew would do..." He trailed off, his face instantly softening into a sombre expression. "But it couldn't be her of course."
The Medic turned an eye to the tests monitoring his patient's reactions, and smiled slightly. "Pupil dilation, increased heartbeat...heartbeats...a mate perhaps?"
"Well, yes, a mate but..." The Doctor stopped short, eyes widening in realisation. "Ooooohhh! You....you...you mean a mate, mate. Oh, no..no...no...no....we travelled together..." he spluttered out, eyes widening even more as he spoke.
"The reactions must be different in your species." The Medic said gently, letting the matter drop.
The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "Weeelll...yes...I guess...possibly...maybe..." He shook his head, coughed to clear his throat and quickly changed the subject. "Soooo, what's this 'Game' I've heard so many pleasant and wonderful things about?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.
The Medic looked away, his tone become brisk and detached again, when he spoke. A coping mechanism. "It is a tournament of sorts...the winner has the largest claim."
"Largest claim? What Type of tournament?" The Doctor asked, although he was relatively certain he'd already figured that part out but just wanted confirmation. He frowned at at the machines monitoring the tests upon him. "And do you have to do so many scans?"
The Medic spoke absently, as if he'd had this conversation too many times and it never made any difference. "The largest number of kills wins."
"Ahh. So, it's a hunt" The Doctor muttered, more to himself than to the Medic. "Hmm, but what are they hunting...and who are the hunters?" he continued, his voice rising in volume as he spoke. He quirked an eyebrow at the Medic, "you never answered my question about the scans."
The Medic shook his head, and his tone was sad and heavy as he answered. "No fun if you can't run, and species need to be valued... but when you come down to it, you're all prey, the girl, you, prey."
The Doctor's eyes darkened and his face lost all trace of amusement at those words. "Ah. Well. Now that. That I can't let carry on" he said firmly, staring straight into the Medic's eyes. Just as quickly as his face had changed expression from amused to serious, it did so again, as indignance flitted across his features. "And did they really have to take my coat...I like that coat."
The Medic sighed seeming to become irritated. "It'll be in the archive...with everything else."
"The archive? Where's that then?"
"Below." The Medic answered shortly, draining the contents of a small phial into a syringe. "A tonic to induce silence I'd say"
The Doctor blinked, eyeing the syringe with obvious dislike. "Oh, nah, I think I'll pass on the tonics."
"Not a choice."
"Ahh." The Doctor blinked, hoping he could talk the Medic out of injecting him with anything - after all, there was no telling what these 'tonics' would do to his physiology. "Surely they're not needed? I mean, wouldn't be very sporting now would it...drugging the 'prey'."
"Not my decision"
"You know, you're a very talkative person" The Doctor said dryly. "Can you stop scanning me now?" He asked hopefully. He changed tact, opting to change the subject and hope the Medic would just forget about the tonic. "How many different species are kept here anyway?"
"1700"
A frown creased the Doctor's brow, "and, how many individuals altogether?" he asked, slightly wary of the answer.
"14892, unless we've had any deaths today."
The Doctor blew out a breath, his eyebrows rising slightly. "That's...that's a lot of people..." He ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. "Hmm....explains why I landed here of all places then."
This held the Medic's interest. "Why does it?"
"Ohhh...people in need and all that" The Doctor replied casually, his eyes wandering back to the syringe still in the Medic's hand. "Sooo...do they mix species or only keep the same species together?" he asked, trying to get as much information about the facility as possible.
The Medic misunderstood, possibly wilfully. "They want for nothing but life...and we mix, species but not genders...we have had incidences."
"I imagine a lot would want for freedom also," the Doctor replied in a matter-of-fact tone. He frowned slightly and then his eyebrows rose as he worked out what the Medic meant, "Ahh, yes. Incidences. Of course."
"Indeed" The Medic intoned dryly.
"You reeeallly don't talk much do you?" The Doctor responded in an equally dry tone.
The Medic's tone was almost hopeless in response. " Why bother? You won't live more than a week"
"Oh, you'd be pretty surprised at my knack for staying alive" The Doctor replied with an off-hand shrug.
"And theirs for killing" The Medic stared speculatively at the needle in his hand and placed it suddenly on the tray, a decision made, and a dangerous one at that. "Off to the Viser with you, he likes to see off worlders"
The Doctor eyed the needle, quite happy to see it placed back on the tray and gave the Medic a small nod of gratitude. "Oh he does does he? I'll be sure to give my very best hello then."
The Medic chuckled. "Be sure to be standing a decent distance away. His nose is still healing and he's in a terrible mood. Very snappy." He gave a brief smile, and hit a key in the console at his side, relaying that the new offworlder was ready to be taken to the Visier, if someone would kindly come and fetch it.
"Oh, I'm used to people in bad moods...usually I cause them. Should I take a rolled up newspaper?" The Doctor quipped, before frowning, "oh, wait, you probably wouldn't get that...never mind." He looked up as a couple of guards walked back in. "Oh hello. So, I take it I can't just waltz up to see the Visier by myself then hmm?"
"It's not recommended, no, and I hope your tonic works." The Medic sent up a silent prayer that the prisoner would understand and play along.
The Doctor scowled at the guards as they grabbed a hold of him and practically hurled him up off he bed. The fact that he was too busy struggling to loosen their hold was the reason he missed the tone of the Medic's words. "Tonic? What tonic? I thought we were passing on the tonics," he spluttered out, struggling some more. "I'm quite capable of moving by myself."
The Medic shut his eyes for an agonised second, silently cursing the struggling prisoner as his mind race. "The one that I gave you." He ground out between his teeth, before making a desperate attempt to stall the guard. "This one is deficient, take his Lordship something else to play with."
"OI! I am not deficient...that's just uncalled for..." The Doctor began in protest, finally glancing up to throw a scowl at the Medic. It was then he realised what the Medic had been trying to do and he snapped his mouth shut; yet again, inwardly rolling his eyes at this regenerations gift for gab.
The Medic watched his heart sinking as the Guard cottoned on, and lunged for the Medic, tearing a lump of fur and skin from the loose ruff at the back of his neck. Ashamed but aware of his position, the Medic yelped and cowered. The guard grinned at his own bulling superiority and snarled. "Just drug it, you were told to stop helping the prey."
"Hey now! Leave him alone!" The Doctor cried, trying to free himself from the tight hold and help the Medic. He inwardly cursed himself for not paying attention and getting the Medic onto trouble.
The Guard ignored him, and snatched up the first ready prepared syringe he came to, leaving the Medic's original choice on it's metal tray. He plunged the needle into the Doctor and gleefully hit the plunger, even as the Medic rose and administered a second tonic. The right tonic.
The Doctor struggled harder in the guards' grip, trying to get away from the needles that held unknown substances. "Hey, hey, hey...what the hell was that!?!" His voice rose in volume and pitch, squeaking slightly on a few words.
The Medic spoke gently. "My draught will quieten you down a little...the other..." He sighed. "Just don't believe anything that you see or hear for a while."
"A hallucinogen!?! You gave me a hallucinogen?" The Doctor cried, glaring at the guards. Oh this couldn't be good. Who knew what, or who, he could end up hallucinating.
On the third floor Rose was being hauled from her cell and marched, through winding metal corridors, mesh floor hitting her battered and burned feet, none too gently in the direction of the Visier's chamber, while from the opposite direction the Doctor was getting similar treatment.
"There really was no need to do that, I mean, I'm sure we could've talked about it." The Doctor stammered, as the guards shoved him along. He swallowed and let out a small cough, rubbing absently at his throat. "I mean, really, just jabbing me with any old syringe..."
"....Give me back my gun and touch that again, I dare you" Rose was close to incandescent with rage, and a fresh cut in her eyebrow showed the guard was not impressed.
She was shoved through a large door and unable to catch herself with her wrists and ankles chained, she fell in a heap in front of The Visier. She glared up at the hated pug face, suppressing a grin at the mess of bandages on his ugly nose.
The Doctor let out a gasp as he landed painfully on his knees, scowling up at the guard who had seen fit to shove him hard in the back. "You like to manhandle don't you...man's best friend? Not that I can see."
"Why would we be?" The Visier drawled.
Across the room, with a none to graceful clanking of chains, Rose dragged herself upright. There was a man in the room, she knew that and he sounded so much like the Doctor she could have cried. She steeled herself and ignored him, the tonics they kept her on meant she always thought it was him, finally come. It never was, and she wasn't sure she could take the heartbreak of that realisation again. So, she fought every natural impulse, and ignored his presence, however much it killed her to do it. Again and again and again.
The Doctor turned at the sound of the chains. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. It couldn't be...could it? He blinked at the blonde human as she was shoved closer. He opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut with a shake of his head. 'Don't be such an idiot...alternate universe remember?' he mentally reprimanded himself for the foolish thought.
"Fast acting tonic...already seeing figments" he muttered under his breath, before turning his attention to the Visier and quirking an eyebrow. "Oh I don't know...dog...man...I guess you've never been to Earth then?"
Rose turned to look at her companion. "God you even sound right." She fought to keep her voice even, and lost. "It's never been so good as to make people sound right before." She blinked and passed a hand over her eyes, before turning her gaze on the Visier and smirking at him. "How's your nose?" At a look from The Visier she was struck down in a clatter of chains.
The Doctor frowned at the girl. "I what?" he blinked in confusion at her words and then shook his head, pulling his eyes away from the young human. "Ok, I'm talking to a..." he broke off into a small coughing fit, swallowing a couple of times to try at ease the uncomfortable feeling that was taking up residence in his throat at that particular moment. "Hallucination...that's new. OI!" He scowled at the guards as they hit her, "leave my hallucination alone!"
But Rose was not beaten, she struck out hard with her chained hands, catching the guard in the face "I've lived through three cycles. I WILL NOT die for a broken...is it even a nose?"
"Ooohhh, I see" The Doctor exclaimed, nodded absently to himself. "You're the Earth girl who headbutted him" he said, pointing at the Visier and tilting his head to regard the human. "Add hallucinogen, and I see you as Rose!" A grin spread across his face, seemingly pleased with himself for rationalising why he was 'seeing' Rose Tyler when she couldn't possibly be there. He broke off into another coughing fit, his eyes watering once it had passed. "And, evidently, I'm developing a cough."
Rose threw herself away from her jailer, the intervening scuffle meant she hadn't heard him, if she had...
She moved close enough to put her lips to his ear. "Help us!" A yank on the chains sent her sprawling again, and the guard dragged her upright and hauled her away.
Blinking in confusion, the Doctor watched the guards drag her away. She'd asked for help. Mind you, that was why he was here wasn't it? To Help.
Once the human was out of his line of sight, even though he could still hear the scuffle of her struggling in the chains, he turned his attention towards the Visier. "So...I hear you get beat up by a girl. A little human girl at that." He quirked an eyebrow, taking in the Visier's appearance. "Don't think it improved your face much though...unless...it was worse than that before she headbutted you?"
The Visier snarled. "The human tops the hunt now. She will die next cycle." Rarity aside this was a punishment, real and terrifying.
"Oh, that's a bit harsh. I thought it was a survival type game...tournament...thing." The Doctor rubbed at his throat again and frowned. It felt like his throat was trying to close up and his brain seemed to be finding it harder to think of the right words - or at least, let the words reach his mouth.
"The girl had a chance to live, to live in luxury..." The Visier gestured to his broken snout. "...She chose this instead, chose to die." There was a grim satisfaction in his voice. He was a being who was not used to being turned down, and even less used to being attacked by the prey. He felt sure her death would restore his bruised pride and teach a lesson to others. The worse her death, the better.
"Hmm, freedom...locked up for rest of life," the Doctor held out his hands as if weighing imaginary scales, moving his head from side to side with a mock thoughtful expression upon his face. "Nope, I can't see that she made the wrong choice there."
"For all your front, you cannot help her, and to emulate her is to suffer."
"You'd be...sur..prised.." The Doctor rasped out. He frowned at the way his voice was starting to give out. Obviously the Medic hadn't be joking about that particular tonic being one that would quieten him.
"I very much doubt it." The Visiers tone was dismissive, and waving one fat paw to the guards, he turned away. "Remove it, it bores me."
"Oi! Now just one minute...I am not an it!" The Doctor exclaimed, attempting to shrug off the guards as they grabbed hold of him and hauled him to his feet.
The Guard snickered. "You won't be anything soon enough."
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Charming," he uttered dryly, before coughing again. "I don't s'pose there's any chance of a drink? My throat feels like it's...like it's...umm..it's." He frowned, blinking several times in utter confusion. He could not seem to form the word he wanted to say.
"And what did you see? My little potion working yet?" The guard asked, his tone curious.
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply but snapped it shut after words failed him. He glowered at the guard, realising it was the one who had injected him with the hallucinogen. He tried again to say something but all that came out was an exasperated noise; somewhere between a sigh and a growl.
"The little girl, seemed to know you, it was very moving."
The Doctor frowned in confusion and shook his head. "Hallucination.." he managed to croak out. The girl hadn't known him...had she? No, he'd been hallucinating that bit. He rolled his eyes - yes, and the guard probably noticed that. After all, he'd said allowed that he was hallucinating her as Rose and now the guard was playing with his befuddled mind. Well, it wouldn't work. He wouldn't be manipulated by the Dianarians.
"She's always looked like that, part of the reason his Lordship always wanted her." The guards' tone became conversational.
Despite the fact he'd just told himself he wouldn't be manipulated, the Doctor couldn't stop the stray thought that maybe...just maybe...he had been her. "Rose?" he uttered softly, so softly that it was barely audible. But then...Dianarians were canine in appearance, so one would assume that their hearing was as acute.
"Mmm, looking for some Medic no...Doctor...when she was picked up."
At that, the Doctor's eyes went impossibly wide and he actually turned to look at the guard. He shook his head, wait...no. What if...what if he was hallucinating this conversation with the guard? What if the guard was saying something entirely different to what he was hearing? Or, maybe he was just interpreting his words incorrectly. Lots of people look for doctors.
He shook his head and decided to try and find more information about this human girl. It couldn't hurt - he may not actually know her, but she had asked for help.
"How...?" he managed to breath out, hoping the guard realised that he was asking how the human got 'picked up'.
The guard shrugged. "She was just there...Lost I think, she was handed in and we only had one space left so the outpost came away clean."
"How...how..ahh.." The Doctor stopped a moment, his brow creasing in concentration with the effort of trying to get his brain to co-operate with his voice. "How long?"
"Third cycle comin' up. so eighty days."
"Oh." Was all the Doctor could manage or even think of saying in response to that.
"Ahh, but she won't live through this one, run out of hope...They all do."
"Where..." he licked his lips, in a vain hope that that would help him regain his speech. "Is..she?"
"Female cells, level three, not where you're going."
He quirked an eyebrow at the guard. "Where? Umm...am...am I going?"
"Male cells on one...and the Visier wants that one anyway."
"Wha?" The Doctor rolled his eyes at the incoherent question. It had been much longer and specific in his head. Something about why the Visier found the human so fascinating. He shook his head and let his eyes wander around the corridor that they were currently walking along. "Umm...which lev..level...now?"
"We're on six" The Guard eyed his charge, and allowed curiosity to win out "Your little human...she important or something? It's a long walk and I like a good story."
The Doctor nodded. So they were on level six going to level one, which meant they had to pass through the majority of the facility. Taking this into account, he made certain to memorise the layout as they moved. At the guard's question he frowned. Normally he would gladly babble away, giving the guard a 'good story' but with the tonic...
"Tonic" he said, gesturing to his throat and head, rolling his eyes as he did so. "Umm...well...she...she's...special..." he added softly, it wouldn't do any harm to talk about Rose - just as long as he didn't start believing the hallucinations.
"You loved her or somethin'?"
The Doctor's breath caught in his throat and he quickly looked down as his feet. After a while, he gave a small shrug and the tiniest of nods. "May..be" he murmured, he really didn't want to think about it. It hurt too much.
The guard's expression softened. "Then, I'm sorry."
The Doctor frowned at the guard's expression. It reminded him of the way the Medic had acted when there were no guards around. "Why...why...do you..?" He let out an exasperated breath, running an agitated hand through his hair. It was frustrating. He knew what he wanted to say but it just wouldn't come out. "You...you seem...umm.."
The guard shrugged "You do what you have to, to survive." His tone was low and bitter.
"Not. This." The Doctor replied, biting out the words firmly.
"They die, or we die...it's not normal to care, like the Medic and me, you stand up for the prey, you become the prey."
"Surely...you...you...could do...something?" Did that mean others had done something before? Maybe years ago...and were probably made examples of. Scare tactics - make all the 'do-gooders' wary of actually helping. "I...I can...help."
The guard let out an indelicate sound. "You can't even save the girl..." He turned his captive by the shoulders and pointed him to a circular 'arena below.
Rose stepped out flanked by two guards, but not fighting. Her shoulders were back and her head was high.
The Doctor's eyes widened at the sight and he instinctively made to move off in the direction that would take him down to the arena. Unfortunately, he was forgetting about on very important thing. That he was, in fact, a prisoner.
His guard restrained him, and spoke in a low tone. "Routine training, just watch." Three young Dianarian's entered the arena and were dealt with in short, graceful order. Not for the first time, Rose silently thanked Torchwood for her two years of combat training. A fourth Dianaran entered, not a weedy trainee this time, and Rose was brought down, bloodied, after a spirited noisy fight, which left the older Dianaran with the smell of the blood of two species in his nostrils.
From above, the Doctor tried to break the guard's hold, not wanting to watch when he could be helping. He frowned at the young human as she fought. She looked like Rose but it wasn't her. He had to keep reminding himself it was the blasted hallucingen.
"It begins again tomorrow" The Guard muttered watching the spectacle lazily.
The Doctor turned his attention back to the guard, quirking an eyebrow at him. "To..morrow?"
"Tomorrow"
"How...how does...it...it...work?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. Barely withheld frustration creeping across his features.
"They'll hunt her a pack, ten days ten nights she lives she gets 20 days and nights rest and it begins again...it'll continue in that pattern until she dies." The guard explained, his tone detached
The Doctor winced and glanced back down into the arena, before turning his attention back to the guard. "Same...with...others? Me?" He asked, even though he figured the answer would be one he already knew.
"In time, be thankful for your build, you're a little scrawny now." There's a sharp snap and a cry from below them. The shackles have been over tightened and torn Rose's skin. Again.
Ignoring the slight at his build - even though the Doctor knew it was an advantage, let them under-estimate him due to his outward appearance - he struggled again to free himself from he guard's hold. He put a little more force into it this time. Maybe if he could get down to the arena, he could at least spare the human woman some pain.
"Just leave it!"
The only response was a glare from dark brown eyes.
" She's been waiting eighty days for this Doctor to save her, most don't make it past the first twenty." The guard explained gently.
The Doctor sagged in the guard's grip at his words. Letting out a small sigh. Was that what his mind thought? That if Rose had somehow been here, she'd be waiting hopelessly for him to come along and save her? Was that what she was thinking in the alternate reality? He shook his head to try and clear the thoughts from his mind.
"If you ever find the real girl, just tell her. Come, you need to be in a cell."