The Seventh Doctor: The Reign of Queen Destari Episode 1

Once Upon a time, there was a place known as Gallifrey.

It was a magnificent place, unlike any other. The skies were bright orange, bordering on gold, as if to symbolise the rich state of the planet's grand leaders. The citadel stood tall from any direction you may look, glaring at you with its beauty. Its people, peaceful and civilised, born with capabilities that excel those of any other kind. 

But now it is no more. Not since the Time War.

The Doctor was there during those last days, among those men of honour that claimed they were defending Gallifrey against the killing machines known as the Daleks, however they knew that they would not succeed in defending the world and its people. In fact, it would be quite the opposite. Gallifrey would burn, and fall, and crumble. Gallifrey would be no more. Rassilon said that Gallifrey would rise however it never rose. That was a lie. And that was not the first lie that the Time Lords had told.

Before these grand old days that have gone down in history, the Gallifreyans were not yet Time Lords. The Shobogans lived on the grounds of the planet unaware of what it would become. There was no citadel. There was no matrix. There was no time travel. It was quite the opposite of what one might have expected, in those dark times. The Shobogans lived on in peace, defending themselves against any threats that may come, from both inside their ranks and outside. However, they were unaware that their world was about to become more civilized, more advanced. Things were about to change.

Gallifrey became Gallifrey, or at least what we consider as Gallifrey, as a result of two beings: Rassilon and Omega. But nobody knows the truth. There was a third person there, known only as the Other. His identity remained unknown, from everybody, except from me. I know who the other is. I know the first lie ever told by the Time Lords. I know that the foundations of the Gallifreyans world are built on a myth. 

You may be wondering who I am. I am Destari. I saw through these lies, and I saw through them using the Doctor. The Other is the Doctor. I see deeper into his past than even he does. This is a truth that has remained hidden from everyone including himself, and today it shall be revealed. For today is the last day of his life.

THE REIGN OF QUEEN DESTARI

The Doctor entered the TARDIS, with Aces body in his hands following the events that had transpired. Ace was dead. There was no way around that. As he entered into the ship, he noticed that a familiar face was standing at the console: Destari. The woman who had erased Ace from his mind in a previous adventure. The woman who had attempted to steal his memories. An alien who fed on the memories of other beings. Destari stood at the console, flicking a few switches. As she turned around, she grinned at the Doctor. She had something for him. She needed to ask him something. The Doctor knew that.

“Why are you here, Destari?” He asked, while placing the body onto the ground. He was scared of her, more than he was scared of anybody else he had ever encountered. She had capabilities that were beyond any other being that he had faced.

“Why do you think?” Destari returned. “For a time lord with tones of knowledge, you really are stupid! I’m here to make you an offer. I’ll help you, but you’ve got to help me out in return. Fair?”

“What’s the catch?” The Doctor asked, aware that whatever Destari had planned could potentially have disastrous consequences.

“Oh well, I can’t give that away now, can I? Why spoil the fun?”

“Tell me now.” The Doctor demanded, noticeably becoming more angered by the second.

“Well, if you accept my assistance, you will soon find out. Simple as that.”

“Fine!” The Doctor remarked, looking down at Ace’s body. She did not deserve what had occurred to her today, and the Doctor believed that it was all his fault. He owed her. He owed her to do whatever he could to bring her back to life.

“Here’s my proposal: I will bring Ace back to life, on one condition.” Destari said, pausing for a moment. She chuckled. “You are going to love this, I assure you!” The Doctor looked infuriated, as if he was going to burst any minute. Destari continued to laugh. “Oh, I adore that face! It’s so cute! Sadly, today is going to lack general cuteness, so change your expression, please, my dear. I will bring Ace back to life, if you give me the Hand of Omega.”

EPISODE ONE

Sarah Jane was alone. She had been ever since she departed the Doctors side all those years ago. Leaving him was the biggest regret of her life, even if it was not exactly her fault. She had encountered him since then, briefly, but she still required answers. She had been stuck in the wrong place and the wrong time for many years, and she still wanted to know why. Since then, she had tried her best to establish a relatively normal life. However, once one meets the Doctor, an ordinary life appears dull.

And that it was, at least for a while. Sarah Jane attempted to make her journalism exploits much more exciting, going on various adventurous trips which could make the headlines, and trying to discover alien life, which she had never been successful with. Life for Sarah Jane Smith was dull, and just like every other human being on the planet. She just had to live with that, But it was getting harder and harder by the second to do so.

At least there was one element of her life that differentiated from any other person: K-9. Her faithful robotic canine had been there through her life, aiding her in making normality slightly less normal. As she sat perched up in her attic, working on an article, she would often look down at K-9 to restore a sense of hope that potentially one day the Doctor would return. He was her one hope that perhaps one day things will get better. Maybe one day for her that infernal loneliness would conclude. However, that day would not come anytime soon. Sarah Jane Smith was a nobody. She was just another average person who would write for a newspaper every couple of days. At the end of the day, she was nobody. Not anymore. Nobody knew about K-9, nor should they, just as much as they did not know about her.

Deep down in her heart, Sarah Jane missed those days of Daleks and Cybermen and Exillions and Wirrn. Sadly, she had to hide it. She could not tell anybody about what she went through with the Doctor. The sad fact of the matter was that even if she could, she had nobody to tell. She was alone. There was nobody for her anymore.

Sarah Jane had never loved again, because she knew that if she did, then she would lose again. She had only ever loved one man, and he was never coming back. Part of Sarah Jane finally realised that now. The Doctor was gone, and he was not coming back for her. However much he meant to her, there was a part of her which believed that she did not mean a thing to him, which of course was fiction. In her mind though, that was correct. That was how she believed things to be.

After twenty or so years of nothingness, Sarah Jane's life was turned upside down. As she set out on another day's work to question a local businessman about his taxation issues, she crossed paths with someone rather remarkable. There he was, right in front of her. Not exactly the one she had been looking for, but somebody who could potentially restore a sense of excitement into her life.

This man was Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart.

It had been many years since she had seen him. Sure, she may have met up with Harry Sullivan from time to time, and she may have been reunited with Benton for the funeral of a loved one, however this reunion was rather extraordinary. Sarah Jane Smith never thought she would encounter the Brigadier again, and vice versa. He was a rather different man than the one she had encountered all those years ago, aging, balding, retired. He was an old man now, unlike in those days as a dashing middle aged Brigadier back in the day. Now, he appeared to be a completely different man.

The Brigadier was delighted to see her, just as she was delighted to see him. They both shook hands, however no words came out of either of their mouths due to the state of shock they had been placed in at the prospect of their reunion. 

“Sarah Jane Smith, what a delight it is to see you again!” Remarked the Brigadier, the nostalgia of his voice providing Sarah with goosebumps, reminding her of better days. 

“Alistair, oh how nice it is to see you once again!” Sarah responded. 

“Excuse me, you probably have not seen my rapidly ageing good looks, have you? Well, I am an old man now, and retired, I kid you not. I must say though, it is quite the shock to see you again. I do not know where I thought you would be by now, but I find it quite peculiar that we have come into contact again.”

“Well yes, Brigadier, that is just how things go. Anyway, I’ve got work to be doing!”

“Oh, Sarah Jane, this is much more important than work!”“What is?”“Coffee!”

In a nearby cafe, Sarah Jane and the Brigadier sat opposite one another, holding coffee in their hands, slowly drinking it, but only slowly as they wished to savour this moment.

“Update me then, Brigadier.” Sarah Jane stated. “What have you been up to? Anything interesting? I say I should be at work but I am sure I could make a good story out of you.”

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment, Mrs Smith! Well, I retired, as I said, but since then I have been rather busy. I left UNIT in 82, and then became a teacher at a boarding school. Lots of troublemakers there, you see. It was quite a change to have to deal with bullying teenagers than Daleks and Cybermen.”

“I don’t know which one is worse!”“Blimey, yes. Have you got any children of your own?”“No, I am alone nowadays. Although taking care of K-9 is a very similar duty to taking care of a moody teenager. He is very high maintenance.”“Excuse me? Canine? Oh, you have a dog! Oh, so do me and Doris.”“K-9 would take quite a lot of time to explain.” Sarah Jane laughed.“I’ve got all day!”“Well I haven’t!” Sarah Jane grinned. “I can stay for a few minutes, but that is probably about it. I have a story to report, even if it isn’t the most interesting one.”

“How long has it been since you last saw the Doctor, Mrs Smith?”“Let me think.” Sarah Jane pondered for a moment. “It must have been twenty years, from what I can remember. He left me in Aberdeen! He had a time machine and he could not even get me to Croydon. It is not unlike him, I suppose. But since then, only that time when, well, that would be rather complicated to explain, wouldn’t it?”“I saw him recently, actually. Well, I say recently, it must have been ten years ago now but time rather flies when you are having fun. We fought against this demon creature called the Destroyer. The Doctor was a completely changed man, he was darker, and more fearsome than I had ever seen him. He was a changed man.”“He changed his face again?”“Oh yes. I must have seen about ten of his faces by now. After our Doctors, there was a blond haired boy in a cricket outfit, then a curly haired man with a questionable fashion sense, and a quirky figure with an umbrella.”

“Sounds like my Doctor!” Sarah Jane remarked, chuckling. “I want to see him again. I miss him. I regret ever leaving him.”“I never thought you would. He was a good man, the Doctor. Whether he is a good man nowadays is another matter. Maybe one day, we will find out.”

There was a loud crash from outside of the windows of the coffee shop. Something had emerged from within the skies. Huge clusters of people had gathered together, looking up in the air to witness an astonishing sight. A meteorite was heading towards the planet Earth. It was getting close at this point, hidden within the clouds. Sarah Jane and the Brigadier looked out, worried. They rushed out of the coffee house, stunned by their sight as they joined amongst the growing crowds of people gathering together. 

“Well.” The Brigadier said, looking towards Sarah Jane. “Here we go again.”-Over in the TARDIS, Destari remained lurched over the controls, as the Doctor watched on, stunned by the demand that had been made. The Doctor knew what the consequences of handing the Hand of Omega to Destari were, following his encounter with the Daleks. He knew he could not grant her what she wanted, but at the same time, he could not let Ace die. Either way, he could face the consequences. Either way, he could be in peril.

“So, what is your choice, Doctor?” Destari asked, smirking. “I think I know what choice you are going to make, because you want your fierce young friend here to stay by your side. I am not saying that is the wrong choice, because for both of us, that would be the right choice.”

“I will not hand over the Hand of Omega. I will not. I cannot.”

“Well, I don’t exactly want you to give it to me, but I just want you to tell me where it is. I have been inside of your mind to search for that information, Doctor, and I cannot find it. You know where the Hand of Omega is, and you will tell me.”

“And what will you do with it if you get it, Destari? You will end thousands of innocent lives, in the place of the survival of another. I cannot allow you to do that. I cannot allow you to destroy everything. I cannot allow you to find the Hand of Omega.”

“One way or another, I shall get it. You are not an easy nut to crack, I know that now, but I also know that there are ways to crack said nut. So then, Doctor, tell me where the Hand of Omega is this instant and you will get your friend back, otherwise you shall regret it and I will find the Hand anyway. Make your choice. Take as much time you need as long as it is only a few seconds, because I am not a patient woman.”

The Doctor paused for a second. “I need to know what you would do with the Hand of Omega if you gained its powers. I know you would not use it for good.”

“I would show the whole universe exactly who you were.” Destari said, shifting towards the Doctor, menacingly. “Or should I say: Doctor Who?”“Is that meant to scare me, Doctor?”“A little bit. Not much. When I was peering into your mind, I found things, even if I did not find out about the whereabouts of what I wanted. I found out who you really are. I found out about the other. I found out the truth. And with the hand of Omega, I would be able to prove to this universe that you are no hero. You are just as bad as me.”

“What do you mean? What do you know? What did you find out, Destari?”“I found out things that you did not know, and things that nobody apart from you will know. I am sure we have been through this several times before, my dear time lord. The Seven, the Other, among other things. Do you really want me to waste more precious seconds of Ace's life while I natter away about what I am going to do?”

“Ace is dead.” The Doctor put bluntly. “If I give you what you want, you will find a way to break that deal, I know you will. You will not bring her back.”“I am a very loyal person! Come on, Doc, what is the worst that could happen? I stopped you before, didn’t you, back with the Sontarans and those Jellyfish things? Oh, those were dreadful times.”“And this is all revenge for then?”“Of course! What else would it be? And revenge on behalf of all those people you have wronged. The universe deserves to know about them, do they not? They deserve to know about Alfredo and Gorgo and Petang and Zarla. Do those names ring a bell? Maybe not. I see your future as well as your past so I may be getting things messed up.”“You are not getting what you want.” The Doctor said. “Now leave this TARDIS.”

Destaris face turned. It was apparent that she did not like being told what to do, after being used to controlling others. She leant back onto the TARDIS console.

“Say no more, Doctor!” Destari said. “I need to show you something.”

Destari flicked down a lever on the TARDIS control panel, transporting her and the Doctor to an unknown realm. The TARDIS materialised on its destination. Destari clicked her fingers causing the doors of the TARDIS to swing open, as the Doctor followed, venturing out into this mysterious exterior. They had arrived in Antarctica, a place that proved rather familiar to the both of them from their first encounter, or at least that the Doctor could recall. In front of them stood a small, dank house, which was dimly lit and apparently isolated. 

Destari strolled up towards the front door, confidently, knocking the door handle. The Doctor watched on in the distance, still stunned by Ace’s death previously. From behind the door, a familiar face emerged, one who both the Doctor and Destari had met before: Gina. She had met the Doctor during their battle against the Sontarans in the Snowzone base, what would have been ten years ago for her. She knew about what Destari was capable of.

“May we come in, Gina?” Destari asked. “It does look rather snug in here!”“You are not welcome here.” Gina replied. “Neither of you.”“Oh come on, what about the Doctor here? I thought you were friends. I would question your taste in allies however it appears that you have finally come to your senses.”“Nathan would not be dead if you had not come into my life.”

Destari summoned a weapon into her hands, as if by magic. Destari had abilities, as well as memory stealing and mental manipulation. She could summon any weapon whenever she felt like it, in this case being a large sword. Destari thrusted her weapon into Gina's stomach, and then pulled it out again, before stabbing her once more. Then again. Then again. Then again. Eventually Gina dropped down to the ground, with the sword lodged into her stomach, blood searing from her body.

“And neither would you!” Destari continued. She looked towards the Doctor, who was motionless. “Oh, Doctor, lighten up a bit please, because I could do much worse. I will do that to every person on this planet if I have to, in order to prove to you that I am an enemy that must not be messed with. So, Doctor, hand of omega, or more death?”

The Doctor stood, shocked. “Either way there will be death. Endless death. You know full well that I cannot hand over the Hand to you.”“It will go consequence free. In fact, I will be giving you a favour as Ace shall live!”

“Hello?” A male voice uttered from inside of the home. “Gina, are you alright?”

Destari smiled menacingly. “How many people have to die for you to see that I am not joking around here? Eventually you will give in and hand over the hand of omega, no pun intended. If you hand it over now, then nobody else has to die.”

The man who had spoken beforehand emerged at the doorway. Destari waved briefly, before stabbing her weapon into his throat, causing the man to drop to the floor, and bleed out slowly. Destari stamped her foot onto the man's head, causing him to suffocate.

“I love killing people, but then you would know, wouldn’t you? I mean, you have murdered many people beforehand. Do I have to say those four names again? In many ways, you have been responsible for Gina’s death and this man she lives with, because you knew you had the ability to stop them from dying.” 

The Doctor turned around, looking at the TARDIS. He made a mistake, or at least, he was about to. Unsure of what to do, the Doctor panicked, running in the direction of his ship. He darted inside of the console, only to discover Destari at the console once again, her back faced towards him. She was not happy about his decision.

“I must have overestimated you, Doctor. I knew you were a murderer, and a liar, and a cheat, and all those things are all well and good, but I never thought you were a coward. It seems that poor Gina and her friend who I cannot be bothered to find out who he was died for nothing. And poor Ace died for nothing. It seems that these peoples deaths will all be in vain. So, I think we must make a change of strategy. No running away.”

Destari drops her weapon to the ground, reaching out her hand at the Doctor, causing the Doctor to suffocate slowly, even though Destari is a distance away from him. She chuckles as she begins to throttle him. The Doctor collapses to the ground, as the pressure becomes too much for him. Destari kneels down in front of the Doctor, smirking, as if she has brought him down. She seems pleased, almost too much so. 

“Doctor, I have given you a choice, and I expect you to make said choice. I have been very pleasant so far, and I could have done much worse than killing those people to teach you not to mess with me. I will get what I want, as I always do, and right now I want to prove to the universe who you really are, and I can only do that if you give me the answer to my question. Where is the Hand of Omega?”

The Doctor struggled. “In Gallifrey. In the quarter region. Hidden deep below.”

“Good dog! Maybe I should give you a treat. But if you are lying to me, then things will get much worse for you. In fact, I am going to keep you here to make sure that if you are lying, I will make you regret it. Oh, and you can have Ace back. I was not lying.”

Destari clicked her fingers, causing a plethora of things to happen. Destari vanished, then the lights of the TARDIS switched off, then the console in the middle of the room vanished, and then Ace awakened. The Doctor rushed over to Ace. Ace leaped up.

“Professor? What happened? I feel so giddy.”The Doctor was pleased to see her. “You died, but I got you back.”“I died? You better be kidding me. What happened? What happened to the TARDIS?”“It is Destari. I gave her the whereabouts to the hand of omega, and now the whole universe could be in ruins. We have to stop her, at whatever cost.-On Earth, Bernice Summerfield was sitting in an ordinary university in an ordinary City on an ordinary world, or at least for the time being. Bernice had come to Earth on a dig in order to pick up some objects that would prove valuable to her and her colleagues, and she had come alone. The person who had shown her around the university, Henerick Howell, entered the room with a cup of tea, and handed it to Bernice. She grinned, fakely. The last few hours had been awkward, especially since Bernice had been pretending to be a human for the course of them, despite her origins on Dellah.

“So, how is Lungbarrow university working out for you? Will it be adequate?” Asked Henerick. “Your resume was quite exquisite and we would be more than happy to have you here as a member of our staff, to get used to our community and our habitat.”

“Thank you, Henerick, you have been most kind!”“Please, my dear, call me Henerick.” Henerick said, pouring some tea into Bernice's cup. “Some people say I make the best tea on planet Earth!”

Bernice took a sip. She was disgusted, however she acted like she was not, just to impress him. “Wow, that is astonishingly good tea. It makes me want to stay here all the more. And that brings me on to the matter of whether I shall be staying here, well, I would be honoured to. You have made such a lovely community here, and it is a much brighter place than the universities I have worked in before, and the one I studied in myself.”Suddenly, something peculiar occurred. Bernice dropped the cup of tea out of her hand as the ground shook from around them. The roof became unhinged. The walls began to collapse. Bernice and Henerick were rocked from side to side of the university. It was incredible, and unlike anything that Henerick had ever seen before. Unfortunately, Bernice had witnessed much worse. Henerick collapsed onto the ground.

“Henerick, stay with me. I think it must have been a minor earthquake.” Bernice reached down and checked Henerick’s heartbeat. “Are you still with me, Mr Howell?”

Henerick’s eyes opened sharply. He leaped back up onto his feat, as though nothing had occurred, granting Bernice a wide eyed grin. “Yes, my dear, fortunately I am okay. There are a few more questions I need to ask you before I give you this position at Lungbarrow, and I want you to answer them truthfully. Why do you want this job?”

Bernice looked confused. “You have asked me this before, Mr Howell. You remember my answer. You must be able to remember what I said, surely.”

“I do remember what you said and I do not believe you were being honest. You told me that you were fed up with the poor degree of your previous study centres and you decided that this place would do you better, and that you wanted to be here as the perks of being a tutor are higher than any other occupation, however I believe that is not true. I believe you have some ulterior motives here, Mrs Bernice Summerfield.”

“What has gotten into you, Henerick? Are you okay?”

There was a slight glint in Henerick’s eye that was absent before, as if he did not trust anyone or anything, and in particular he did not trust Bernice Summerfield. Something had happened to him. He had changed. Henerick was not the same person that he was when Bernice first encountered him. Henerick leaned onto the desk.

“You know him, do you not?” Henerick asked. “You know the Doctor.”

“Doctor Who?” Bernice responded. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“It is either you know him or you are about to know him. All allies of the Doctor must be executed on sight, and those are the rules, Mrs Summerfield, so I need to know whether you and the Doctor are allies, or whether I should choose to keep you alive.”

Bernice panicked. She did not know the Doctor, or at least she did not think she did, even though she had encountered Ace once before. “You are scaring me now, Mr Howell, so I think you should calm down. I am just going to go out and ask the nurse for some help.”

“I am fine.” Henerick claimed. “I am fine except from the fact that you have blatantly lied to me, and therefore you are not applicable for the position we wished you to fill. It is a shame, as you seemed like such a promising one. However, you lied. You are an alien, from a planet far away from here, and you came here so that you could steal our resources and take them back to your underprivileged home. You shall take nothing. We are the ones who shall take from you, not the other way around.”

There was a knock at the door. Bernice was relieved that she would not be the only one in the room with Henerick anymore. She had no idea how he had come across the truth about her purpose for coming to Earth, nor what he meant by her affiliation with the Doctor. She had heard of him, of course she had, but never met him. 

“Let me in!” A voice chanted at the door. “I wanted to make sure you were both okay.”

Henerick smiled, and looked towards Bernice with a menacing grin. “She is here.”

Through the door, entered Destari, swiftly and frighteningly. She had a weapon in her hand, however she may not have needed it. Bernice was huddled in the corner of the room, unsure of how to react towards the cluster of events that were bombarding her, while Henerick stood impressed. Destari grinned. She was in control now.

“Kneel. Both of you.” Destari demanded. “If you do not, then I will kill you.”

Henerick kneeled onto the ground in front of Destari but Bernice refused to do so. Destari was not impressed. As Bernice stood in refusal, Destari crept towards her, holding a small knife in her hand, clutching it and pointing it in Bernice’s direction.

“What is it about what I say that makes you think I don’t mean it?” Destari asked. “Kneel, or you both die, Bernice Summerfield. I will not tell you that another time.”

Bernice shook her head. “I don’t scare easy, I will warn you now. Who are you?”

“I am Destari, but soon, I am about to become so much more. I just did something that should have meant that you would not dare rebel against me, however for some reason that did not prove successful, so I have had to march down here myself through the thick and thin in order to rectify that mistake. That is who I am. And be very afraid.”

Destari swung into Henerick’s heart with her knife, and then again, and then again, like before with Gina. Destari chuckled hysterically. She had become almost psychopathic. Bernice cowered away in the corner, trying to avoid death in any way she could.

“Why did you do that?” Bernice asked. “He did nothing wrong.”

“Never said he did!” Replied Destari. “The only thing I did say is I am the Queen and I want everybody to respect that. Actually, I am not quite there yet. But, I do know that I expect everybody to know exactly who the Doctor is. You know him, right?”

“Never heard of him.” Bernice said, lying. She had never met him, but she had heard of him.

“Do not think that I cannot tell when you are lying, because I can already infer that you are not a very good liar, Mrs Summerfield. Even if you were, I could tell when you were not being honest with me. Did Henerick’s death teach you nothing? Or do I have to kill you too?”

Destari lingered her knife around Bernice’s head, as a threat to her that she should not be messed with. Bernice did not cower. She just sat there, awaiting what could potentially be her death even though she had no comprehension as for why. 

“What would you get out of killing someone you have never met?” Bernice asked.“Oh, quite a lot, actually!” Destari said. “For starters, you are a useless piece of garbage who took the wrong side, also known as the Doctors side. Now tell me the truth: Do you know who the Doctor is? A little birdie told me that you know who he is.”“No, I have no idea who you are talking about. Now leave me alone.”

“One more chance to tell me the truth or stabby Joe in my hand will get you.”Bernice broke her silence. “Of course I know of him. I thought everybody did. I have never met him, but I wish I did. He is a hero of mine, I must admit.”

“The Doctor is no hero.” Destari stated. “The Doctor is the villain. He always has been. Sadly, those who he considered to be villains died at his hands before they got to speak out. You need to know that the Doctor is not a hero. Come here, my friend.”

Destari placed her fingertips on Bernice's head, causing Bernice to experience some visions. These hallucinations were vivid, just as much so as the real life standing ahead of her. She saw the Doctor, at the beginning of Gallifrey, standing tall alongside Omega and Rassilon as the Other. She saw the deaths of four innocent people at the hands of a fearless Doctor who believed himself to be unstoppable. She saw the chilling laughter of the time lord after committing acts of genocide that would never be undone. 

“You see who the Doctor is now?” Destari questioned. “He is a murderer, and a psychopath, and a liar, and everybody in this universe needs to be aware of that. That is all I am doing. Henericks death is as a result of the Doctor's actions, yet another innocent life to crumble at his deceitful hands. His reign of terror needs to end.”

Bernice nodded. She had that same glint in her eye as Henerick had beforehand. “You were right all along.” Bernice kneeled down on the floor before Destari, making Destari proud. “You are my master, as you are the master over the whole of the human race, and you shall succeed in proving to this universe that the Doctor is evil.”

“I shall, Bernice!” Destari exclaimed. “Now come with me, we have to see a Doctor.”-In what remained of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Ace put everything they had been through aside to embrace one another's company, delighted to see one another again after what they had witnessed, and what they were about to go through. Ace had no idea quite how significant an ordeal they had to go through in order to get here, while the Doctor had no idea what was about to occur next. All they knew is they were together again, as they should always have been, by one anothers side. The Doctor and Dorothy Mcshane in the TARDIS, as it always should have been. 

“So, Professor, what are we going to do to stop the old witch?” Ace asked.“I don’t know, Ace, but we have quite a job on our hands. Whatever Destari plans to do could potentially endanger the lives of everybody on the planet Earth, if not the lives of everybody in the entire universe. We need to stop her, before it is too late.”“How did she get her hands on the hand of omega then?”The Doctor hesitated. “Well, Ace, that is a long story that I would rather not tell today. I am afraid we have not got enough time to answer that right now. Destari has transformed my TARDIS into a withered old shell of what it used to be. What she has done here today, and what she did to us back at the Snowzone base, shall not go unforgotten. She shall face my wrath. She shall learn that she has messed with the wrong time lord.”

“Steady up, Prof!” Ace alerted. “I have never seen you this angry before.”“Neither have I, not for a long time, but Destari has got on the wrong side of me all too much, and I need to keep you safe. For that matter, I need to keep myself safe. We need to find a way out of this TARDIS so we can stop Destari before she does something stupid.”

On that note, the doors of the TARDIS opened voluntarily without the Doctor or Ace doing a thing. At the door, they were greeted by two men who appeared as Guards, dressed up in uniforms and heavily armed with ridiculously large weapons, and heavily plated with secure armour. The Doctor and Ace surrendered, realising that they would potentially be killed on sight if they did not. They departed from the ship, escorted by the two guards, leading the Doctor and Ace into a jungle like terrain which was cluttered with armed men just like the two they had been greeted by. The Doctor took off his hat to greet them, however there was no response back. The two hostile figures amassed with another group of their fellow guards, who moved the Doctor and Ace forward through the shrubbery.

As they reached a densely populated area, the Doctor and Ace discovered a remarkable sight in front of them, but not a pleasant one at that. In front of them stood a large, golden throne covered with spikes and thorns, with Destari sitting on said throne in all her glory. She seemed impressed with herself, sitting alongside two standing guards who were protecting her side. The Doctor decided not to act for the time being, as dozens of guards moved into the area, heavily armed, meaning that he did not stand a chance against them. However, this did not bother Ace. Ace rushed towards Destari, intending on killing her, however she was stopped by three guards who pushed her back and forced her onto the ground. Ace jumped up again, but she was quickly thrust back onto the floor again.

“If I said that I have missed your feisty attitude, Mrs Mcclain, then I would be lying.” Destari noted. “You really are a nuisance.” She smirked at the Doctor and his companion arrogantly. “Do you like my domain? This throne, this place and its people are mine now, and they worship me as if I was their god, or better yet, their queen. Queen Destari has a nice ring to it, if I say so myself, and it is all because of you, Doctor! You gave me the hand of omega to assure the life of your friend, and we both delivered on our promises. Oh, how you shall regret it. These people worship me, and I think you two should too, or at least Ace should. These people have seen through the Doctor just like I did the moment I devoured his memories back at the Snowzone base. And you shall too, Ace. Now, that is my speech over, so I believe that it is your turn to act. Kneel.” There was no response. The Doctor and Ace remained standing. “I really do not want your friend here to die again, Doctor, because I consider her as a worthy servant for me if the day ever came for her to worship me.”

“I would never worship you, space hag!” Ace screamed. “You are demented.”

“Demented, eh?” Destari responded. “That is an interesting use of terminology. Now kneel you fools or I chop both of your heads off and eat them for dinner. Sounds good to me, but trust me, your carcasses will not enjoy that. I am a messy eater.”

The Doctor kneeled, much to Ace’s disapproval. Destari, on the other hand, was delighted by this turn of events and applauded at his move. The Doctor continued to kneel, motionless, afraid, unsure of what to do. He had been outnumbered. Ace remained standing. Destari gave a single clap and the guards began to race in her direction, armed, prepared to kill her. Ace was prepared to fight them but Destari called them off by clapping again.

“Let me fight, you evil wench.” Ace said to Destari. “I will kill you.”“Go on then, you have your chance!” Destari stated, summoning a gun into her hand and chucking it at Ace, to which Ace caught it immediately. “Kill me, Ace.”

Ace held her gun in her hand, with the option to murder the woman who had brought endless misery to the lives of her and her friends. Of course, she took it. Ace shot at Destari, but the bullet did not do anything to her. Destari just took it without a wince.

“I did not think you would actually do that, Ace, my friend.” Destari remarked.“I ain’t your friend! Now leave me and the Professor alone, or I will make you regret it.”

“How adorable, Ace, but I do not tolerate threats. Your friend the Doctor made the right decision in kneeling down before me, so I hope that you shall do the same.”“Kneel, Ace.” The Doctor demanded. “Just do it, please.”

Ace kneeled upon the Doctor's demand against her own free will as the two of them remained outnumbered against the masses of guards that surrounded them. Destari clapped and two of the Guards pointed spears at the Doctor and Aces throats, so that if they moved, they would face the consequences before they would even be aware of it. 

Destari clapped with excitement. “If either of you move, then I will chop off both your heads and put them on my trophy table, so you are going to listen to what I have to say. Doctor, your life is about to get a whole lot worse!”

To be Continued...