NLoT: The Book of the Dead (Sisi, Amy, Eleven)

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"We'll get him back. I promise," he said, unsure if he was speaking to the Dreamweaver, or to the TARDIS, or - after the gestalt - if it made a difference.

"Let's just hope it'll be in one piece." She said, her voice thick.

"Of course we will," the Doctor said soothingly. He stared at her for a moment, then lept to his feet and slapped his hand down on the console. "Of course we will!" he echoed, pointing his finger at the time rotor. "Watch me!"

The layout of the controls was clear, now. Odd, of course - he wouldn't have chosen this particular arrangement - and he still didn't get a few of the mechanisms. But this....

"Once we wrap this up," he said, maybe to the Dreamweaver and maybe to the TARDIS, "remind me to help you upgrade your lighting systems. Type 40s were exploration ships, so they were fitted with shadowless... lighting..."

His words trailed away as he realized she wasn't listening. Her whole body had tensed up, and she was staring wide-eyed at the ring on her left hand.

"What?" he asked, suddenly tense. "What's happening?" Even as he spoke, he snapped a switch up. The time rotor began to rise and fall as the Meddler's TARDIS began its dematerialization sequence.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

The darkness between the shelves rippled and deepened, then contracted into a humanoid form. It stepped into the aisle and then retreated, a million tiny voices screaming in agony as the blinding light burning from the hull of the TARDIS seared it's umbral flesh.

Taking refuge, the shadowy darkness rippled and flowed more, taking on the ashen-skinned likeness of the Meddler. It tucked the Meddler's ivory cane under its arm, placed the Meddler's dark glasses over its burning eyes, and slid Robert Goodall's plain gold wedding band on its greyish finger.

"^OurMy_Our ^hopelove_future," it whispered fondly, looking at the scratched, dully-glinting metal.

A wave of tension and shock washed over it, startling it. The portion of the creature that had been the Meddler recognized, achingly and longingly, the touch of the Dreamweaver's mind. How? that portion wondered. The psychic circuitry is gone. How can I feel her mind?

It emerged from the shelter of the shelves once more, squinting, prickling like its borrowed flesh was burning, but able to withstand the blazing light of the time capsule. Half-blind, it fished in one pocket for a small silver arrowhead-like key.

"Soon," it whispered. "We'll be ^unitedtogether_one again. A ^gestaltfamily_clade again."

The Meddler-thing groped half-blind through the light, TARDIS key in hand. As it neared the radiant hull, the light began to pulse in time with the droaning roar of ancient engines. With a cry of rage and loss and despair it hurled itself forward, fingers passing through the fading image as the TARDIS dematerialized.

"^{Prakasakasani}Dreamweaver_{Time Lord}!" it cried as it fell. Then, kneeling on the tile floor, hands raised as if in supplication, the Meddler-thing wept.

[sisilaya]

"What?" he asked, suddenly tense. "What's happening?"

Sisi's eyes turned towards the Doctor, a look of conflict on her face, fear and relief, anxiety and happiness. She held up the ring that was on her finger.

"We.. we were handfastened, when we were married. It always held a bond.." She looked at the ring on her finger again, her eyes holding a glimmer of hope. "It means he's still in there!"

"^{Prakasakasani}Dreamweaver_{Time Lord}!"

She heard his voice echo in his her head as the TARDIS dematerialized and their flightpath started, a cry of anger and anguish through the link. He had been close, the duality in his tone still there, the Vashta Nerada.

"He's still in there!" She said, her voice more determined, lighter.

She stilled, then.

"..I'll just have to exterminate those insects that have taken hold in him." Her lips drew back in a snarl.

She would burn every single last one of the Vashta Nerada if she had to.

That determination and rage radiated right back through their link, too. The ring on her finger pulsing.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"We.. we were handfastened, when we were married. It always held a bond.." She looked at the ring on her finger again, her eyes holding a glimmer of hope. "It means he's still in there!"

The Doctor's first impulse was to respond with something like "I have no idea what you're talking about," but he rejected that as bad form. Whatever she meant, it was clearly improving her mood.

"Great!" he answered, "We can use that!" How was anyone's guess, but it had to be useful... wait.

"Wait," he continued. "Wait, I thought he was a psychic dead zone?"

"He's still in there!" She said, her voice more determined, lighter.

"Of course he is," the Doctor agreed. "That's the whole point of trying to rescue him, right?"

She went very still. "..I'll just have to exterminate those insects that have taken hold in him." Her lips drew back in a snarl.

"And we've got some ideas about how to do that," he nodded. "Now, we just need to get that bioscanner, hook it up, and see which idea will work the best."

He looked around, as if expecting Kiki and Amy to pop up at any second.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

(OOC: Meddler will pass this time, in favor of letting Sisi and Amy post...)

[Amelia Pond]

"Do... do you think Doc can do it?" [Kiki] asked, hesitantly. "Really?"

The question had caught Amy a little off-guard. She had never questioned whether or not the Doctor could do anything, and she fiercely believed that despite the scary seriousness of the Meddler's sutiation (and in turn, their own as well), that the Doctor could, in fact, 'do it'. Amy believed he could do just about anything.

He was her idol... and her best friend.

Amy gave Kiki a strong, sure nod of her head in the affirmative and firmly said, "O' course, I think he can do it. Pullin' off tha impossible is sorta his 'thing' - I've known him since I was a little girl, an' I've seen him do some seriously amazin' an' impossible things... If anyone can put wot's gone wrong ta rights again, it's tha Doctor." And, Amy believed that with all of her heart.

Of course, she hadn't actually been traveling with him for very long, though she did first meet him when she was just seven years old - Amy wasn't yet aware of just how often the Doctor tends to lie...

~~~

"Now, we just need to get that bioscanner, hook it up, and see which idea will work the best."

"Did someone say 'bioscanner'?" Amy asked, repeating part of what she'd just heard the Doctor saying when she and Kiki rejoined him and the Dreamweaver in the control room of the Meddler's TARDIS.

"Why, I believe we happen ta have one o' those handy," she went on with a wide smile on her face as if there weren't some horrible thing going on that they needed to reverse, and then she looked to Kiki, who was carrying both the bioscanner and the Meddler's toolkit.

[sisilaya]

"Great!" he answered, "We can use that!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that.. but I'll atleast know when he's near." She said quietly, before the Doctor looked at her strangely.

"Wait," he continued. "Wait, I thought he was a psychic dead zone?"

"Was, yes. He wanted to fix that flaw so he had a psionic circuit build into his hand, the one where he also wears the ring. It's how he connects to the TARDIS too. Still, the circuit was made of palladium and looks like a webbing under the skin of his palm.. but it turned black when the Vahsta Nerada took control of him."

She didn't know what that meant, had had not worried about it at the time; she was more busy on the fact he had been taken over by the flesh eating shadow creatures. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she sighed. She went very still.

"..I'll just have to exterminate those insects that have taken hold in him." Her lips drew back in a snarl.

"And we've got some ideas about how to do that," he nodded. "Now, we just need to get that bioscanner, hook it up, and see which idea will work the best."

"Did someone say 'bioscanner'?"

Sisi turned her head towards the other ginger woman at hearing her Scottish brogue, the corners of her lips twitching up.

"Why, I believe we happen ta have one o' those handy,"

"Thanks Amy, Kiki." She said softly and took the heavier bioscanner from Kiki. Only to realise with a flush on her cheek that she didn't know what to do with it. She smiled at the Doctor apologetically.

"I'm afraid I must ask for your expertise here, the Meddler hasn't taught me how to connect appliances to to the TARDIS yet.." She said with a bit of a smile.

[Kikilia]

Finally, finished, Kiki began to lead Amy back towards the console room. "Do... do you think Doc can do it?" she asked, hesitantly. "Really?"

Amy gave Kiki a strong, sure nod of her head in the affirmative and firmly said, "O' course, I think he can do it. Pullin' off tha impossible is sorta his 'thing' - I've known him since I was a little girl, an' I've seen him do some seriously amazin' an' impossible things... If anyone can put wot's gone wrong ta rights again, it's tha Doctor."

Kiki thought about that for a moment as they walked. She really wanted to believe Amy, for the sake of Sisi and the kids if for no other reason, but...

Then she looked at Amy's expression, and nodded slowly. "All right," she said, allowing herself to hope. "Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah, you're right. Sisi, like, wouldn't have called him in, if he couldn't help, right?"

She strode along the corridor now, feeling relieved. After a minute, she grinned mischievously. "Also... if he's installing this where I think he is, then we can totally grab a couple of chairs that'll give us an uninterrupted view of his butt while he works..."

---

Sisi and the Doctor were still talking as they arrived, throwing open the double doors to the console room just in time to hear: "Now, we just need to get that bioscanner, hook it up, and see which idea will work the best."

"Did someone say 'bioscanner'?" Amy asked, "Why, I believe we happen ta have one o' those handy," she went on with a wide smile on her face as if there weren't some horrible thing going on that they needed to reverse, and then she looked to Kiki, who was carrying both the bioscanner and the Meddler's toolkit.

Kiki walked forward with just a touch of a swagger, and managed to hide most of her disappointment when it was Sisi that claimed the toolpouch and the bioscanner. "Here you go, sis," she said.

"Thanks Amy, Kiki."

Kiki looked at her sister for a moment, expression becoming more serious as she did. "We'll get him back," she said, putting her hands on Sisi's shoulders. "We will, if I have to go slap the stupid out of him."

Then she grinned, and spun. "C'mon, Amy. Let's go put our feet up and watch the Doctor work!"

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

Most of the time, eavesdropping on other people's conversations was what he did. But watching the two sisters, the Doctor felt vaguely uncomfortable. It was probably the family thing. He'd never been too good at the family thing.

For a brief instant, he wondered if the Hunter and his wife had somehow managed to survive the War...

But then, Kiki and Amy were grabbing a couple of chairs, and the Dreamweaver was looking slightly embarrased. "I'm afraid I must ask for your expertise here, the Meddler hasn't taught me how to connect appliances to to the TARDIS yet.." She said with a bit of a smile.

"It's not that hard at all," the Doctor said, grabbing the bioscanner and plunking it down on the navigational panel. "You've just gotta be willing to get your hands a little dirty."

He opened up the Meddler's toolkit and began checking the dully-gleaming silver tools. "Well, metaphorically speaking. Not actually a lot of grime in the console of a TARDIS, in actual fact. Here: I'll show you how to do this as I go..."

He stopped with a look of surprise, and held up an object that was half bubble wand, half fountain pen. "Huh. A sonic screwdriver. Who actually keeps the sonic screwdriver in the toolbox?" Then he shrugged, and tucked it away. "Anyway, we'll need to start by opening up the interstitial antenna. Here, hold this."

He tucked something that could have been an egg whisk into her hand, then selected a tool that resembled both a scalpel and needlenose pliars.

---

Twenty minutes later...

"...and then you connect this cable into this port, and then this cable connects to that relay, and this cable..." His voice trailed away as he stared at the strand of flexible glass, realizing he'd run out of places to connect to. With a furtive motion, he tucked it back into the bioscanner.

"...is rubbish," he finished. "We don't need that cable. Stupid design in the first place, adding extra cables that you don't need. And what are you two sniggering about?"

"Nothing..." Kiki said in a voice of studied innocence, carefully looking at the ceiling. "Nothing at all."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Right. Whatever. Let's see, where was I? Oh, yes. So, now we just power up the astral map..." He glanced over the panel, trying to match memory to reality, then clicked a button.

"And then the interstitial antenna..." Again, he glanced over the console, and tried not to bristle when the Dreamweaver activated it first. "Thank you," he managed to make himself say. "Now, for the emissions detector."

That was easy, because all he had to do was follow the rats nest of superconductive cables that exploded out of the navigational panel and snaked over to the sensor systems. CLICK.

"And finally, the bioscanner. Would you do the honors, Dreamweaver?"

She did. There was a humming, and the gentle rise and fall of the time rotor intensified slightly. "And there we go!"

[Amelia Pond]

"Also... if he's installing this where I think he is, then we can totally grab a couple of chairs that'll give us an uninterrupted view of his butt while he works..."

Amy couldn't help it - despite the seriousness of their situation, she smirked, quite enjoying the mental picture that had popped into her mind.

(OOC: Something like THIS, perhaps? *giggles*)

~~~

The Dreamweaver thanked Amy and Kiki for their assistance, and then she turned back to consult with the Doctor, and Kiki suggested to Amy that they go put their feet up and watch the Doctor while he was hard at work. Amy grinned and nodded her agreement, following after Kiki and getting out of the Doctor and Sisi's way.

They pulled up a couple of chairs and got comfortable... and nearly twenty minutes later, they had attracted the Doctor's attention with their girlish giggles. They were, of course, talking about his bum.

Typical girls.

And what are you two sniggering about?"

"Nothing..." Kiki said in a voice of studied innocence, carefully looking at the ceiling. "Nothing at all."

Amy put on a look of mock-innocence and followed Kiki's lead. "Yeah... wot she said," she replied amidst more giggling, pretending to be quite serious - and purposefully coming off as the opposite.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Right. Whatever. Let's see, where was I?

~~~

There was a humming, and the gentle rise and fall of the time rotor intensified slightly. "And there we go!"

"Ye did it!" Amy exclaimed - though, she knew he would manage, somehow. He always did. She gave a little clapping of her hands in appreciation and stood as if giving him a standing ovation.

"So... What now, then?" Amy asked, her clapping having ceased while she looked from the Doctor, to Sisi, and then to Kiki, wondering what was coming next.

[sisilaya]

Sisi sat by the Doctor as he.. made his way through the console, installing the bioscanner. Really, she lost him about approximately five minutes, but he didn't need to know that. She just nodded and gave him a wide eyed look that looked like she understood every word he said.

Or not.

Looking behind her she wondered what all the sniggering was about, and looked up to see Amelia and Kiki looking straight at the Time Lord's butt unabashedly. Raising a brow she could help but take a peek too, but alas no.. the behind of The Meddler was a lot more.. firm. Hm. The Doctor was a little scrawny. She'd almost be tempted to cook him a decent meal if her mind wasn't currently set on genocide of the Vashta Nerada.

She was sooner or later starting to get the hang of it, and she couldn't resist pulling some levers and buttons before he could. She wanted to get to a solution, and fast. The Doctor visibly bristled at her, she just gave him a knowing smile.

"And finally, the bioscanner. Would you do the honors, Dreamweaver?"

She was already half way charging it up to the mainframe when he finished his sentence, she was in a hurry and it was quite clear. The Time Rotor started humming more intensely, it seemed like their flight path was changing.

"And there we go!" She heard the Doctor excitedly next to her.

"Ye did it!" Amy exclaimed.

The Dreamweaver remained eerily silent as she fingered the golden band around her ring finger.

"So... What now, then?" Amy said behind her, and Sisi too put her eyes on the Doctor, wondering what his plan exactly was. She knew what hers was at least.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

There was a humming, and the gentle rise and fall of the time rotor intensified slightly. "And there we go!"

Amy, of course, came through for him. Applauding lightly, she exclaimed "Ye did it!" The Dreamweaver, though...

She was still staring at her wedding ring.

The Doctor tried to feel a little miffed - it was always fun, getting ooohs and aaahs. But his hearts weren't really in it. Hooking up the bioscanner hadn't been that impressive. And besides, she was still missing a husband.

Time enough for ooohs and aaahs when he'd done something impressive.

"So... What now, then?" Amy asked, her clapping having ceased while she looked from the Doctor, to Sisi, and then to Kiki, wondering what was coming next.

"What indeed?" he said, then realized he'd said it aloud. "What indeed?" he repeated, putting a little bit of a grin into it. Then he spun, and patted the bioscanner. "What we do now, is we get a good look at exactly what's going on with the Meddler now, and compare it to what he was like. And then, once we know the differences?" He grinned and leaned back against the console, allowing his tone of voice to make it sound easy.

"Then, we figure out how to fix him."

---

Ten minutes later...

"This isn't biodata," the Doctor said, staring at the results of the scan with a mixture of fascination and disbelief. "This is cosmology. Look at this!" He tapped the display screen.

"The cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." He stood back, contemplating the screen. "But the Meddler... he's made of dark matter. Laced with it. Veritable rivers of the stuff."

A pause, while he contemplated the results. "We're a way for the cosmos to know itself, and he's an example of the universe looking at itself from a brand new perspective."

(OOC: Kiki and the Meddler will pass this rotation.)

[Amelia Pond]

[OOC: I believe Amy shall also be passing this round. *hugs*]

[sisilaya]

"This isn't biodata," the Doctor said, staring at the results of the scan with a mixture of fascination and disbelief. It dd nothing to calm her raging nerves. "This is cosmology. Look at this!" She watched as he tapped the display screen, she knew he was right. She found it just as hard to believe as the Doctor it seemed.

"The cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." He stood back, contemplating the screen. "But the Meddler... he's made of dark matter. Laced with it. Veritable rivers of the stuff."

But that didn't make sense, with a Sidhe it would, they were made out of energy, but Time Lords weren't.

"It doesn't make sense" She mumbled, taking a closer look at the readout. "He.. the only other thing I have ever seen to function like this are certain castes of UnSeelie... but the Vashta Nerada aren't UnSeelie the last time I checked! They're alien life forms." She looked at the Doctor, suddenly not so sure ".. are they?"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, the fact her husband was now made out of antimatter made everything a lot more logical.. and dangerous. Where he was antimatter, she was matter. Sidhe were made out of pure energy, really, and unless she overpowered him with matter he would consume her and would most likely be even more of a nightmare.

"I'm Sidhe. I'm really just made out of energy.."[/i] She chewed her lip for a moment "this means I either overthrow him with my energy, more matter then his antimatter can handle.. or I get completely consumed to nothing myself.. whether he intents to or not. It's a good thing I did not let him touch me.."

She went a little paler.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"It doesn't make sense" She mumbled, taking a closer look at the readout. "He.. the only other thing I have ever seen to function like this are certain castes of UnSeelie... but the Vashta Nerada aren't UnSeelie the last time I checked! They're alien life forms." She looked at the Doctor, suddenly not so sure ".. are they?"

"Vashta Nerada, Seelie, Unseelie, Human... all of them, just different forms of alien life. But as to whether or not the Eaters are the same as the unseelie..?" He shrugged. "You'd probably know more about that subject than I do."

The Dreamweaver lapsed into silence, thinking hard. As she did, the Doctor made a few adjustments to the scanner. Soon, there were two figures on the display - one male, one female. Both with nearly identical energy channels.

"I'm Sidhe. I'm really just made out of energy.."

"We all are," the Doctor agreed, absently. "Matter's just energy that slowed down for a bit."

She chewed her lip for a moment "this means I either overthrow him with my energy, more matter then his antimatter can handle.. or I get completely consumed to nothing myself.. whether he intents to or not. It's a good thing I did not let him touch me.."

She went a little paler.

The Doctor stared at the displays, considering what he was seeing in light of what she'd said. "Yeah," he agreed, absently, "Letting you get eaten as well would defeat the whole point of coming here..."

Without warning, he dashed around the console to a different control panel and began checking displays and entering queries with a manic eagerness. "Energy... energy..." he kept muttering. And then he grinned wildly, stabbing his finger against a display. "Yes! Look at this! This - and you - are the solution!"

His finger rested on a panel showing the power feeds from Suicide Jack, the black hole that lived at the center of the Meddler's TARDIS.