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

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

The ash-skinned Meddler-thing sat in one of the chairs that had been, back when the Library was a living world, provided for the use of patrons who wished to sit and read. It (he? they?) had mastered the terrible feelings of grief and betrayal and abandonment that had come with the dematerialization of the TARDIS. Now, the problems that confronted them (him? it?) were technical.

And whatever else the Meddler-thing was, he (it? they?) possessed the Meddler's nearly limitless patience.

Drawing on the Meddler's understanding of Gallifreyan sciences and Sidhe psionic technology and Carrionite word-physics, strands of dark matter had burnt glyph-like alien circutry into the atoms and molecules of the floor beneath him (them? it?), creating a sophisticated vortex antenna. Energized by their (its? his?) will and the dark energy of the vashta nerada, it cast through space and time, using the unexpected psychic connectin it (he? they?) had discovered with the Dreamweaver to track the location of his (their? its?) TARDIS.

Soon, it (they? he?) thought, we will be reunited. Soon, our love, you and our children will be as gods...

no! a tiny portion of the gestalt mind raged, you will not touch them! it is their choice, not yours!

The Meddler-thing clutched at its (his? their?) head, body rigid and face contorted with sudden pain. As he (they? it?) did, a single message tore along the psychic link...

"DREAMWEAVER! RUN!"

And then it (they? he?) relaxed again.

[Kikilia]

Kiki watched bemusedly as the Doctor danced around the Meddler's console.

"Yes! Look at this!" he shouted, excitement filling his voice. "This - and you," and here he pointed at Sisi, "are the solution!"

Kiki leaned close to Amy. "I have, like, no idea what's going on. Is he always like this?"

[Amelia Pond]

Amy shot Kiki a look that clearly read, 'I haven't the foggiest', and she shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno... Sometimes, yeah. But, I've only been traveling with tha Doctor a short while, so far," she tried to explain. "He's always full 'o surprises, though - that much ye can always count on," the ginge added with a grin.

"I'm nae sure what he's talkin' about, but... he sure sounds excited about it, wotever he's tryin' ta say," Amy deduced with another shrug.

"Ye ken wot I usually do when he confuses tha livin' daylights out 'o me?" Amy asked Kiki.

"I do this," Amy said, standing up and facing the Doctor. "Oi! Doctor? What d'ye mean by all that?" Amy asked him, hoping for an understandable explanation.

[sisilaya]

"Yeah," he agreed, absently, "Letting you get eaten as well would defeat the whole point of coming here..."

Eaten, such a crude word, and not something she had ever thought her other half would do.. but he was right. If the Vashta Nerada..Meddler.. thing had touched her while she was unguarded, it could have consumed her like a slurpy buffet on display. She would have been no more.

That made everything a lot more difficult here.

"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!"

"I am?" She asked, and then looked closer at the display. Her eyes widened significantly as she looked at the readouts, before a grin spread on her face.

"Doctor, are you suggesting I could use the Eye of Harmony as a power source to overthrow the Vashta Nerada?"

Technically, it could be done. She could channel the TARDIS gestalt, then technically she should be able to do this too. Yet, the gestalt was a living entity with a conscience.. the Eye of Harmony wasn't. There was no telling what would happen.

But she'd risk it.

"DREAMWEAVER! RUN!"

The echo in her mind was almost painful, and her hands came up to clutch her ears, an instinct at hearing a loud noise. She breathed deeply for a moment before opening her eyes, hope and anger written in them.

"NEVER" She roared back over the link, her eyes alight. Her rage feeling like the anger of a goddess, something that would have made another being run.

Everything remained still for a moment, and her hands slid back to her side. Everyone was looking at her expectantly.

"... The Meddler is still in there. He used our psychic link." She looked down at her wedding ring that glowed slightly on her ring finger.

"I know it was him. He told me to run."

Her face said something completely different though, it spelled murder.

"I'm going to extinguish their existence for doing this to him." She hissed softly, at no one in particular as her fists clenched the railing of the console.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"Energy... energy..." the Doctor kept muttering. And then he grinned wildly, stabbing his finger against a display. "Yes! Look at this! This - and you - are the solution!"

"I am?" She asked, and then looked closer at the display. Her eyes widened significantly as she looked at the readouts, before a grin spread on her face.

"Doctor, are you suggesting I could use the Eye of Harmony as a power source to overthrow the Vashta Nerada?"

"Well, no," the Doctor said. "The Eye of Harmony was lost with Gallifrey, and I'm being pedantic, aren't I? No matter. For simplicity's sake.."

Amy chose that moment to interrupt. "Oi! Doctor? What d'ye mean by all that?"

With the air of a showman - or, perhaps, a carny huckster - the Doctor wheeled to face the two redheads sitting by the fireplace. "What I mean, Amelia Pond, is that - since the Dreamweaver here is really a being of psionic and artron energy, and that since she's got a strong connection with this TARDIS anyway, we can feed the power output of the ship's engines through her."

He spun again, tapping the power displays. "The Meddler - bless his demented hearts - has his own homemade Eye of Harmony! I mean, it barely puts out one one-hundredth of one percent of the power that the real Eye could generate, but he's still just wasting massive quantities of it! It'll be like... like..." he waved a hand in the air, as if groping for words, "like clearing a clogged drain with a firehose! Just... WOOSH!"

"NEVER!" the Dreamweaver roared, eyes burning and voice filled with fury.

"Or, we could come up with a new plan," the Doctor added, fidgeting with his bow tie.

Slowly, the Dreamweaver's hands slid away from her ears. "... The Meddler is still in there. He used our psychic link." She looked down at her wedding ring that glowed slightly on her ring finger.

"I know it was him. He told me to run."

"I'm guessing that you aren't going to listen. Are you?"

"I'm going to extinguish their existence for doing this to him." She hissed softly, at no one in particular as her fists clenched the railing of the console.

"Right. Well, first, let's get things organized." His eyes glittered. "Kiki! I'm going to compose a list of parts and materials in a moment! You get to go fetch. Meanwhile, I'm going to start dismounting two of the psionic circuits in this console. And Pond?"

He grinned. "Important job for you. Very important. 'Cause you're Scottish. I want you to imagine that it was Rory that got eaten, right? And then I want you to start getting the Dreamweaver psyched up."

He gave the fay Time Lady a sidelong glance, noting the murder in her eyes. "More psyched up. Not just angry. We need her to be Scottish ginger angry."

The Doctor stood there for a second, looking at everyone. Then he clapped his hands. "Well? Hop to it!"

(OOC: Kiki will pass this round of posting. And if anyone wants to beat the Meddler to a post, go for it.)

[Kikilia]

The Doctor was rambling on about the TARDIS engines, when Kiki noticed her sister tense up, covering her ears with her hands. Springing to her feet, she was at Sisi's side in a trice.

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting her hands on Sisi's shoulders. There was coiled tension in them, like steel springs.

"NEVER!" the Dreamweaver roared, eyes burning and voice filled with fury.

"Or, we could come up with a new plan," the Doctor added, fidgeting with his bow tie.

"What's going on, sis?"

"... The Meddler is still in there. He used our psychic link." She looked down at her wedding ring that glowed slightly on her ring finger.

"I know it was him. He told me to run."

"Well. That's, like, totally good news, right?" She looked carefully at Sisi's rage-filled expression, looking for some confirmation of that. "I mean, that he's like, still in there? Because, that totally means we can, like, get him out?"

She looked back over her shoulder quickly, glancing at the Doctor. "Right?"

"Right," the Doctor said, although Kiki wasn't certain if he was agreeing that they could rescue the Meddler, or if it was just a response to Sisi's threat to exterminate the Vashta Nerada. With a mental shrug, Kiki decided to assume the first option. She liked it better.

Then the Doctor started shouting orders, and within a few minutes she had a sheet of paper (covered in some of the worst handwriting she'd ever seen) clenched in one fist. With a last, quick hug for her sister, she was out the door as fast as her legs could carry her.

(OOC: Okay, so I lied. I was writing as the Doctor. The Doctor lies. But feel free to cut ahead of the Meddler, if you get to it before I do.)

[Amelia Pond]

"... And Pond?"

"Yeah, Doctor?" Amy replied, waiting for him to giver her some sort of job assignment.

He grinned. "Important job for you. Very important. 'Cause you're Scottish. I want you to imagine that it was Rory that got eaten, right? And then I want you to start getting the Dreamweaver psyched up."

Amy frowned, thinking of what it might be like to lose her fiancee. This wasnot something she wanted to consider. Not ever... but, she would do it to help Sisi. With a gulp, Amy nodded her head. "'Kay... But, wot d'ye mean, exactly, when ye say, 'psyched up'? D'ye want me ta get her all fired up an' a bit angry?"

He gave the fay Time Lady a sidelong glance, noting the murder in her eyes. "More psyched up. Not just angry. We need her to be Scottish ginger angry."

"Yeah, I can do that - Scottish ginger angry," Amy confirmed, repeating the Doctor's choice of words and giving him a slight smirk.

The Doctor stood there for a second, looking at everyone. Then he clapped his hands. "Well? Hop to it!"

Amy approached Sisi after Kiki had run off to fetch supplies for the Doctor. She said to the woman, "We will get 'im back, Sisi. We'll get 'im back, an' then ye an' yer energy are gonna burn up those Vashta Nerada... make 'em pay..." Of course, she didn't realize that those were the same Vashta Nerada that had a part in River's death, even though Amy didn't yet have a clue who that fabulous woman was, nor that they were/would be connected in Amy's near future.

"Yuir gonna give 'em Hell - I just ken it, Sisi. An', we'll all be cheerin' ye on, right here, at yuir side."

[sisilaya]

Everything went a bit quickly, and before she knew it the Doctor was shouting orders and Kiki gave her a strong hug before she darted off. It didn't take long before the other ginger, Amy was in front of her, giving her a fiery look. Determination, stubbornness.

"We will get 'im back, Sisi. We'll get 'im back, an' then ye an' yer energy are gonna burn up those Vashta Nerada... make 'em pay..."

At first Sisi had trouble to look the other woman in the eye, her emotions were such a haywire and she had never been good to receive pep talks. Back then, it always meant someone was surely going to die. But at the name of the Vashta Nerada her blood once again began to boil. Her jaw tightened as a vein throbbed on her neck. Her brows furrowing as her fists clenched.

"Yuir gonna give 'em Hell - I just ken it, Sisi. An', we'll all be cheerin' ye on, right here, at yuir side.

"Oh I'll give them Hell already." she hissed venomously under her breath. She was going to make sure none of that breed on the whole planet survived. She was going to burn them out till there was no where left to hide.

Her head snapped up, eyes turning towards the Doctor.

"Let's get to it. I don't want to wait any longer." She nearly snarled, keeping her voice in tight control.

Perhaps this was a little worse then Scottish-angry.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

By the time Kiki returned with the Doctor's "shopping list", he was halfway through dismounting the second of the opalescent psionic circuits from the console. Her sack contained an eclectic mixture of, well, of stuff. Gold wire and spools of carbon nanotubes and diamonds and superconductive superfluid Helium-4 and exotic tools that rarely made it out of the Meddler's labs.

He grinned at Kiki as he pulled a pair of goggles out of the sack and settled them over his face. "Right, then," he said, pulling on a set of tunneling quark gauntlets, "prepare to be amazed."

He worked quickly, twisting gold and wrapping it with nanotubes he'd filled with Helium-4. His screwdriver whined and the gauntlets hoomed as he burned circuits onto gold and carbon atoms, then bonded diamonds to gold and mounted the psionic circuits. Finally, after a solid half hour of work, he stripped off the gauntlets and pushed the goggles up on his forehead.

"Right. I am a genius."

Her head snapped up, eyes turning towards the Doctor.

"Let's get to it. I don't want to wait any longer." She nearly snarled, keeping her voice in tight control.

"Pond, you seem to have done an admirable job - knew you would, too," the Doctor said, climbing to his feet. "Nobody knows angry like the Scots. Dalek angry? That's nothing. Got with the Scots, every time. Oh, and I've now got the perfect accessory for you to wear when you're Hell-giving Scots-angry."

With that, he perched a gaudy-looking tiara on the Dreamweaver's forehead. "No time to worry about aesthetics with it, I'm afraid. The two psionic circuits there will allow you to directly interface with the TARDIS-mind at substantial distance, and the diamond capacitors allow you to pull power through that psychic link from the ship's engines - I didn't have time to work out exactly how much, but lots. Like, two to three percent of the ship's output without significant risk of wearing a blob of molten gold."

He poked the diamonds that hung, seemingly at random, from the tiara. "These will feed the power into your Sahasrara and Ahna chakras. It would have been better if I could have set it up to feed into all seven major shakras, but, well..." He shrugged. "It would have taken a week to get that built, and would have required measurements that I at least would feel more comfortable letting your husband make."

He spun, pointing at the console with the index fingers of both hands. "Right. Now, what we need to do is..."

The TARDIS lurched and the Time Rotor roared to life, drowning out whatever it was the Doctor was about to say. He grabbed the console to steady himself, then flinched as a distant gonging began, accompanied by a mournful singing.

::He has found us,:: the TARDIS cried, voice echoing in the Dreamweaver's mind through the psionic circuitry on her brow. ::He calls, and I cannot refuse!::

"Not good!" the Doctor shouted. "Remote access of the navigational systems! We're landing!" He looked up, eyes hard. "Kiki! Has he taught you how this works?"

"Kinda..." Kiki began.

"Good! You've got the engineering panel. Keep an eye on the power feed, and tell me if it looks wonky."

"Wonky," Kiki echoed, dryly. "Right."

"Pond! You're not wearing your wedding ring. So... you're not married, yet? Good!" A grin, as he pointed at the opalescent pads of the psionic circuitry. "Put your hands there, and - yes, I know this'll sound nebulous, but work with me - concentrate really hard on the idea that the Dreamweaver'll win."

He spun again, finger raised. "Dreamweaver?" A look at her expression made him grin, humorlessly. "Go kick ass."

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

It had taken an enormous amount of effort - the Meddler-thing clearly remembered all of the effort that had gone into allowing the TARDIS to "run silent" - but he (it? they?) had located the time capsule. She hadn't really gone far, remaining dematerialized in chronosynchronous orbit to local spacetime. The portion of the hive that was the Meddler made a mental note, once this was all done, to improve the stealth systems - there were still ways to track her, it seemed.

(A tiny fragment of the portion of the hive that was the Meddler watched all of this with narrowed eyes.)

The ashen form of the Meddler-thing radiated negative light as it drew power, casting a tight, hard-driven beam through the Vortex. The communications systems of the TARDIS were off-line, but that didn't matter. Not to him (them? it?).

Within moments, the signal beam he'd sent had accessed the TARDIS through the interstitial antenna. Orders flowed and the TARDIS, unwilling to obey but unable to resist the Rassilon Imprimature and her own devotion to her Time Lord, reset the coortidantes.

Returning his (their? its?) perception to the Library, the ashen Meddler-thing watched with satisfaction as the roaring of the materializing TARDIS echoed through the hall. Soon enough, their (its? his?) love (queen) (Dreamweaver) and their (its? his?) children (spawn) (future) would be united.

(And deep within the mind of the Meddler-thing, a tiny fragment of the portion of the hive that was the Meddler methodically began to trace the network of dark energy that permeated his flesh...)

[Amelia Pond]

"Pond! You're not wearing your wedding ring. So... you're not married, yet? Good!"

Amy gave the Doctor a bemused look, and, remembering something from earlier, she replied, "Nope - nae yet, but apparently, it'll be ta a hot Roman soldier..." She paused and looked a bit dreamy for a second and murmured, "Always did fancy a Roman...."

He pointed at the opalescent pads of the psionic circuitry. "Put your hands there, and - yes, I know this'll sound nebulous, but work with me - concentrate really hard on the idea that the Dreamweaver'll win."

Amy followed the Doctor's directions and placed her hands on the psionic circuitry pads - not that she knew what they were, or anything...

"Okay..." Amy replied a bit hesitantly. She didn't understand how holding hands with the TARDIS and thinking happy thoughts would do any good. Amy just assumed that he didn't want her to get in the way, so he occupied her with something that would keep her stuck in one place.

He spun again, finger raised. "Dreamweaver?" A look at her expression made him grin, humorlessly. "Go kick ass."

"Yeah, an' come back ta us - both 'o ye," Amy said before she looked to the TARDIS console, closed her eyes and did as the Doctor had bid. She focused really hard about the Dreamweaver kicking ass - a victorious, glowing Amazonian warrior. Kinda like Xena, only ginger.

[sisilaya]

The tiara was beyond aweful really, she looked like a UFO spotter that wasn't far from the tinfoil hats with it. And she would have remarked this to the Doctor too, that this wasn't the time for jokes, if she wasn't currently being smacked in the face with a rush of energy that was only comparable with the time when the Specialist had given her an almost unlimited amount of power.

Her body was now more adept to the amount of energy starting to rush through her like a tidal wave, her skin starting to glow golden as she barely kept her glamour in check. The Doctor was saying something to her, but it completely went over her head. The new excess of energy made her hypersensitive to everything, making her view the world in a whole new perspective. She could hear the soft grinding of sand on the floor from the Doctors shoes, to the soft humming of the blood in Amy's veins. In the back she heard a brownie slide back into hiding, it's breathing shallow.

::He has found us,:: It rang in her head, snapping her out of the short stupor. She sucked in a sudden breath as her eyes widened at the desperate cry of the TARDIS. ::He calls, and I cannot refuse!::

"Let him come." Her voice had an echoing quality that was defiantly not human any more, like a beautiful song as she spoke. Scottish folklore spoke of these songs that lured men and women alike to their deaths.

"Dreamweaver?" Green glowing eyes locked onto the Doctors, face void of emotion.

"Go kick ass."

"Yeah, an' come back ta us - both 'o ye,"

Her presence resonated as the doors to the TARDIS opened for her after having materialised. The ground rippled beneath her feet as she walked towards the doors, yet before she left she looked back over her shoulder. Back at the Doctor and Amy. Something ancient was there. Something very ancient.

"Thank you, my children"[/b]

With that, she vanished as she sifted out of the TARDIS. Straight to where she could feel her husband was.

____________________________________________


First there was nothing, then she appeared with a small rising of dust. His throne was majestic really, even though she wanted to tear at his throat with every fibre of her being at seeing his dark presence. The negative light generated around him, his dark tendrils spreading like lightning through the floor surface. Some she was standing on tried to lick at her feet, but was slapped back by golden light like a correcting slap on a child's hand.

"You have taken my love."[/b] Her voice echoed in the empty space around them. Negative energy sucked away at everything till there was nothing left.

There was a long silence between them, till a smile came to her glowing face.

"..Come to me, my love."[/b] She opened her arms to him in a warm, welcoming way. Releasing a strong amount of pheromones into the air around them.

[The Ninth Doctor (Retired)]

"Pond! You're not wearing your wedding ring. So... you're not married, yet? Good!"

Amy gave the Doctor a bemused look, and, remembering something from earlier, she replied, "Nope - nae yet, but apparently, it'll be ta a hot Roman soldier..." She paused and looked a bit dreamy for a second and murmured, "Always did fancy a Roman...."

The Doctor opened his mouth for a second, closed it, then tried again. "Yeah. Right. Make him wear the outfit, from time to time. You'll both appreciate it."

He grinned, then clapped his hands and pointed at the opalescent pads of the psionic circuity. "But enough woolgathering! Put your hands there, and - yes, I know this'll sound nebulous, but work with me - concentrate really hard on the idea that the Dreamweaver'll win."

"Okay..." Amy replied a bit hesitantly.

"Trust me," he said. "You lived next to a crack in time for years, and someday you'll put that together with this and you'll understand why. But don't tell me, when you do. Because I won't yet."

He spun again, finger raised. "Dreamweaver?" A look at her expression made him grin, humorlessly. "Go kick ass."

Her eyes burned like copper, and her face was void of emotion. The TARDIS itself seemed to distort around her, and the expression on her expressionless face made the Doctor remember something else he'd seen. Once.

"Thank you, my children"

Then she was gone. And the Doctor, back to the two women at the console, swallowed hard.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

He (they? it?) sensed the bow-wave of her approach through the Vortex, and the Meddler-thing rose. It would not do, after all, to be sitting as he greeted his Queen. With a smile - the slight, absent-minded smile of the Meddler - it adjusted the lines of their suit and flicked an imaginary mote of dust from his lapel.

When she manifested, it was like watching flowers of lightning open in the blink of an eyes. They reached out, tendrils of negative energy and strange matter searching for her, only to be repelled by the gold and amber light that streamed from her. It's expression fell, hurt visible in his eyes of ink and ameythist lightning, sudden rage flickering like lighting through through their mind.

(the fragment of the meddler that was still wholly himself started at that sudden rage)

"You have taken my love." Her voice echoed in the empty space around them. Negative energy sucked away at everything till there was nothing left.

"We are your love, ^DanuDreamweaver_Queen," the Meddler-thing answered softly, pain filling a voice seemingly made of a thousand voices speaking at once.

There was a long silence between them, till a smile came to her glowing face.

"..Come to me, my love." She opened her arms to him in a warm, welcoming way. Releasing a strong amount of pheromones into the air around them.

He swept her into their arms at the words, holding her like a drowning man clinging to life. (Irrational, homicidal hatred flickered through it's mind, and they struggled to concentrate on the feel of the woman in his arms.) "My ^loveSisilaya_Queen," it whispered, even as their primal instincts snarled Danu in tones of blood and madness.

He gazed at her, marveling at the play of energy around and through her, comprising her being. Then, as their lips met hers, it began to slowly insinuate probes of dark energy and strange matter into the psionic circuits on her brow and the through the roiling vortices of energy that comprised her chakras.

Soon, they would be together.

(Kill, raged the bestial instincts. Prakasakasani! Danu! Destroy!)

(and deep within, the tiny fragment of the Meddler gathered strength. biding his time, he waited.)

[sisilaya]

The moment his arms gathered her up it felt so right, and yet at the same time so wrong. It was a conflict of emotion that amused her in a distant way. Something to look back on later when this was over. His darkenergy licked around her as she held back and allowed him to cling to her for a last time.

It struck her mind right then that this might not work and that she'd either die, or he'd die.

"My ^loveSisilaya_Queen," His voices whispered in her ear.

Then, their lips met, and blazing green was veiled by golden lids as she sighed a sigh that turned into a gust of wind around them, playing at their hairs. She sank into that kiss, tendrils of darkness passing her lips, ignoring their foul taste. His darkness pressed at her forehead, where the psionic circuit rested.

Her eyes opened in the kiss, glowing green.

"I love you,"[/b] Then, a sound came from her mouth that no human brain could process, that sounded like the complexities Time and Space itself. Her hands tightened around him almost painfully.

The Meddler's Gallifreyan name danced around them.

Then, without a warning the floodgates opened, the tiara on her forehead roaring to life as the dark tendrils around her were smothered, swallowed. Her lips locked onto his cruelly, energy rushing from her mouth into his, attacking him both from the inside and the outside. Chasing away the shadows from every inch of his cells. A barrier of pressurized space formed around them at the over-abundance of her energy, lifting their feet off the ground as they started to float in midspace.

Her hands clung on tighter, she wasn't going to let him go.

Everywhere near the planet, compasses were going haywire.

His name once again echoed around them.