The Seventh Doctor: The Reign of Queen Destari Episode 2

After departing from the TARDIS, the Doctor and Ace greeted their enemy Destari at her throne, crowded together with a cluster of heavily armed guards who would kill them if one wrong move was made. The Doctor and Ace were forced to kneel down in front of her, given no choice other than their potential deaths. Destari had gotten the Doctor right where she wanted him, and she was rather delighted about that. Spears were pointed at the throats of the Doctor and Ace, meaning that a wrong move could still result in their deaths.

“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!” Destari said. “Now then, I would like to bring on a special guest.”

“You think this is a game, don’t you, Destari?” The Doctor uttered, beaten.

Destari got up from her throne and looked down at the Doctor. “I did not say you could speak, Doctor. You have to obey the laws that the Queen sets out and I have set out the law that both of you must not speak, and if you do, your ugly little heads get spliced off. It would be quite satisfying for me, but it probably would not for you, or my guards who will have to clear up this mess. So, here is my special guest.”

Destari clicked her fingers and Bernice Summefield appeared from behind the throne. Ace recognised her instantly, but the Doctor did not know who she was. Or at least not yet. Bernice looked down at the stranger and her ally on the floor below, with a devilish glint in her eye. Destari tapped Bernice on the shoulder.

“I am glad you have captured the Doctor, Madam Destari.” Bernice said.

Destari smirked. “Doctor, you can answer this question without me killing you: Do you know who this woman here is? Could you identify her for me?”

“I saw her before!” Ace remarked. “When Destari did that thing to your mind, Doctor.”

“I did not ask you, Ace, and if you try anything like that again, then I will slit your measly little throat despite the deal that the Doctor made with me earlier on. Your death would be insignificant to me, and now that I have the hand of omega, I can do anything I like.”

The Doctor broke his silence. “I have no idea who that is. Now let her go.”

“Maybe she does not want to be let go, Doctor! I mean, she said she did not know you, but maybe you are yet to know each other. Or maybe in a parallel universe this event would have resulted in your meeting. However, you are wrong. Bernice works for me now, and just like all of the other guards here, she sees through you, and who you pretend to be, Doctor. Or should I say, The Other. That sounded much better, so I do not understand why you changed it. And now they all know the truth. Ace will too.”

“You do not know anything about me, Destari.” The Doctor said, although he was lying.

“Now there you are wrong, Other! I saw through your mind and I saw a reliable insight into your past, and into every single drop of you. Your history, your future, your present and your what could have been. And now Doctor, it is time for your punishment. I think we should leave it up to Ace to tell you what I should do with you.”

Destari leaned down to touch Ace’s forehead, and that same glint in Ace’s eye hit her as it did with Bernice beforehand. The guards released their weapons from around Ace but they did not do the same for the Doctor. Ace had changed.

“Kill him.” Ace said. “Kill the Doctor. Kill the evil traitor.”“Ace, what has happened to you?” The Doctor asked. “Ace, please.”“Don’t ever talk to me again, old man, or I will break your arm. You are an enemy of my master. An enemy of my queen.”

“Good!” Destari remarked, laughing. “You thought granting me the hand of omega would make your troubles better, but in fact, it has made them a whole lot worse.” Destari clicked her fingers. “Guards, take the Doctor away. We shall not kill him for the time being, rather punish him for what he has done. For those four people's deaths. Take him to the pits.”

“Destari, stop this.” The Doctor begged. “You will regret this.”“And now your ego kicks in! I am about to make this universe a better place, Doctor, in ways that you never could. I am not going to kill anyone, and anybody I do kill will be because you try something stupid or do not play by the rules. This is the end for you, Doctor, and the universe will be all the better for it. Now take him away before I kill him myself.”

The Doctor was dragged away by a group of the guards. Destari sat back down on her throne with Bernice and Ace on either side of them. Destari was delighted. She had finally won. The Doctor had finally been beaten.

EPISODE TWO

Sarah Jane’s eyes opened. She was stunned by what had happened. She looked around her, and everybody else inside of the coffee house was unconscious, fast asleep, on the floor. Everybody had just dropped, including herself, except at this time she was the only one who was awake. Sarah Jane tapped on the Brigadiers shoulder in an attempt to awaken him, but it was no use. Nothing would wake him. Nothing would wake a single one of them. Not for the time being, anyway. Sarah Jane looked onto the floor, and noticed that she had dropped her coffee. Typical. She had to be at work soon, but this seemed like a matter of urgency, and potentially a story she would be required to report on. After another tap of Alistair's shoulder, Sarah Jane rushed out of the door to see what had happened.

The ones inside of the coffee house were not the only ones, however, as when Sarah Jane ventured outside, she discovered dozens of bodies lying in the street. And then it hit her. A memory, at least. The last thing that she could remember was a meteorite shaped object heading in the direction of the planet, which should have killed everybody, and should have wiped the planet out. But she was still standing. The world was still standing. It was just something that had happened to the world. Something bigger than even Sarah Jane Smith could comprehend. She was about to find out what.

On the floor, the eyes of the civilians opened simultaneously, followed by all of the people who had previously been unconscious raising themselves from the ground to stand. In front of Sarah Jane stood several inanimate humans. And in the coffee house, too, including the Brigadier himself. All of them moved in the direction of Sarah Jane, with Sarah having nowhere left to turn. She was cornered. All of them had a glint in their eye, as if they wanted to kill her, or as if they wanted something from her, which was in fact true.

“What is going on?” Sarah Jane interrogated those around her, but there was no response as these blank walking templates stood ahead of her, not blinking, not moving, not reacting. “Please, could somebody say something! What do you want from me?”

“You are an ally of the Doctors.” One of the townspeople cried, quietly. “You travelled with him for quite some time, and shall apparently continue to do so one day, if you are not crushed. You shall be destroyed. You shall die. You shall die.”

“This is ridiculous!” Sarah exclaimed. “I will do anything you want. You do not have to kill me. I am innocent! I will not harm you! I would not dream of it!”

The Brigadier emerged from the coffee house. “Leave her be.”

Sarah Jane was relieved. “Oh, thankyou, Alistair. At least somebody is speaking sense.”

He turned towards Sarah Jane, and stated, “Because I want to kill her instead. I deserve to. I have suffered through the criminal actions of her and the Doctor for too long, and I deserve to be the one who destroys her life. She needs to die. She needs to go.”

Sarah Jane surrendered. “Please, I will do anything you want, I mean it. You do not have to hurt me, and you don’t have to hurt anyone! What has gotten into you, Alistair?”

“I have finally seen sense, Mrs Smith.” The Brigadier claimed. “I have finally seen the sort of person who the Doctor really is, as we all have, and we can see through the Doctors lies.”

“Stop!” A voice echoed from within the crowds. “Let her be.”

All of the townspeople excluding Sarah Jane kneeled down to the floor, in front of this mysterious figure. Through the clouds and the fog, Destari appeared. Sarah Jane had not seen her before of course, and did not know what Destari was capable of, therefore she did not kneel alongside the others, even if that could have cost her life. Destari moved into the kneeling crowd, wearing ceremonial robes, marching towards her. Destari grabbed Sarah Jane by the neck and chucked her onto the ground viciously.“Mrs Smith!” Destari announced. “What a pleasure it is to finally meet you.”“Who are you?” Sarah Jane asked, unsure of who this mysterious, charismatic woman was.

“I am your queen. And as your queen, I demand that you kneel for me. These people got the right idea, because if somebody does not kneel for me, then I will snap their neck. So, Mrs Sarah Jane Smith, do you want to live, or do you want to die?”

“How do you know my name? What have you done to these people?”

“I have shown them a better way forward. A better future. This universe needs to know about the despicable things that the Doctor is capable of, and so they shall. A meteorite was projected into this world which made everyone see what I see and feel what I feel. Apart from you. Maybe it did not affect those who had travelled with the Doctor, or only affected some of them like Mr Alistair Gordon here. I wish to change that.”

“You know the Doctor? Where is he? I want to see him!”

“You will see him within time, my dear girl, but first I am going to introduce you to Bernice Summerfield and Dorothy Mcshane because they are cracking company. Or at least they used to be before I came into their lives. And once you see what I can do, you will worship me. You will kneel. These people only do it because they are afraid, really.”

“Whatever you have done to them, release them, please. They do not have to be involved in this. Innocent people do not have to be hurt. Just take me, and do whatever you want to me, but leave the rest of the human race in peace. Please.”

“Please shut up, because you are starting to come across as needy. I would say you are quite overrated in the Doctor's books. That means that if you make a wrong move, I will kill you, as you mean nothing to me. I only want you to see what I see. Take my hand.”

Destari held out her hand. Sarah Jane grabbed it, fearful of what would happen to the rest of the crowd if she did not. They arrived on the same terrain in which the Doctor had been imprisoned earlier, but the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. Destari dragged Sarah Jane towards her throne, which was still crowded by heavily armed guards, two of which being Ace and Bernice, who had now been granted weapons. Destari chucked Sarah onto the ground, leaving Sarah forced to kneel. 

“Who is this, your majesty?” Asked Ace. “Is she an enemy? Shall I kill her?”

“No, Ace!” Destari responded abruptly. “She shall be necessary for what I want to do next. I need you to bring the Doctor to me. He will listen to my demands if I hold the life of his nearest and dearest friend in jeopardy. Isn’t that right, Sarah Jane?”

Sarah Jane did not acknowledge the remark, as Ace departed from the area. “What do you want with me? Who even are you? I still do not understand!” Sarah Jane moved herself so she was no longer kneeling. “I will do anything you want me to.”

“I want you to kneel of your own volition.” Destari revealed. “And this is the last chance you have to do that before people die, and as long as it is not me who dies, I do not care.”

Sarah Jane kneeled. “There, you happy? Now stop this, please.”

“I have changed my mind. Since I mentioned killing someone, I have quite the hankering for death. Henry and George, I want you to kill yourself, please.”

With that, two of the guards shot themselves in the head at once, killing themselves. They dropped to the ground in an instant. Sarah Jane cried out of horror, while Destari just laughed, applauding with delight. These guards would do anything that she said, even if it meant dying to do so. 

“How could you!” Sarah Jane exclaimed. “You monster!”

“Thank you, what a compliment.” Destari replied. “I have no sympathy for those who die. Everybody dies, so why not speed it up a little. I can kill you, if you want. It would be more beneficial for the both of us, take my word for that.”

Sarah Jane sat in shock, startled by everything she had seen. She was stuck. If she made one wrong move, she knew she would die, or somebody else would die, so she had to act quickly, if she was to act at all. Destari was a fearsome opponent, and she realised that now.

Meanwhile, in the tombs, the Doctor sat in the willowless, lonely hallows of the depths below the surface, unsure of where he was, and unsure of what Destari was planning. He had no TARDIS, no friends, no support, and no way out. Destari was much more powerful than he was, gifted with powers that even she did not yet understand, meaning there was no way out for him other than death. He remained inside of the tombs after being chucked in there a while ago. However long it was from when Ace had been hypnotised, and when he was chucked inside of the pits, was beyond him. The last memory he had was being chucked into the pits by one of the many guards that Destari currently had in her arsenal. The fall into the tombs must have forced him into a state of unconsciousness. All that was around him was darkness. An endless tunnel that even his mind could not comprehend.

The only thing he could see was from above, with the slight air holes from the entrance to the large, endless containment centre were still visible, granting him a slight observation of what was above. The only thing he could hear were distant whispers, calling out, but not to him. These whispers originated from Destaris guards, or so he assumed. And then he heard something else. He heard something horrific from deep within the vaults, closer and closer, echoing, almost as if it were howling. It did not sound human, at that.

At that point, the creature appeared from ahead of him, shrouded by the darkness. It was a beautiful but formidable creature, a bird like being with vast, venomous wings, and a piercing scream. The creature was pale, and seemingly hungry. The Doctor reached into his pocket, revealing a miniscule, blunt object, which he chucked into the distance, leading the creature to run towards it. As the creature ran towards it, the object created a small explosion, knocking the creature out. The Doctor smirked, impressed by his own quick thinking.

“Stop right there!” A male voice howled. “You are one of hers, are you not?”

The Doctor raised his hands in surrender. All he could see was a slight silhouette which was slightly distilled by the pitch darkness that had been created by the coverings. He could make out a weapon, which was pointed right at him. If he dared to move, then potentially that would be the end for him, at least the end for this regeneration. Another two humanoids emerged from deeper within, one man and one woman, both armed too.

“Ah, hello, just the sight I wanted to see!” The Doctor remarked. “You are not in the same uniform from those men above us, so I can assume that you are an enemy of Destaris?”

“Who is this Destari you speak of?” The leader of the group questioned. “We were annexed here by the woman who lurks above, in the throne, because we refused to worship her. We managed to escape without her or any of the guards realising, and we took a few of the guns to fight off the hunters, that is what we call the creatures who lurk here.”

“Nice shot by the way, man.” The woman declared. “Now, who the hell are you?”

“I was coming to that!” The Doctor claimed. “I am the Doctor, and I too am an enemy of the one who annexed you here. She is a woman called Destari, and she tried to feed off my memories quite a long time ago. She feeds off memories, and I am guessing she is feeding off all those in her trance. She has my friend, too.”

“We need to get out of here, then.” The second man suggested. “Escape from the tombs just as we did before without the queen or any of her men seeing us along the way. It should be easy, especially with another man to join us along the way.”

“Do you have any more people? I do not want you risking lives unnecessarily, especially when I cannot secure yours or anybody else's safety against Destari.”

The leader nodded. “We have more people, but they lurk further into the tombs. They go on a long way. We venture out to this point to extinguish the hunters, as they tend to convene in about this area. I am Cavax, and these are Monroe and Henerix. I am glad we have had the professionalism of Henerix and the beauty of Monroe to keep us occupied.”

“Please, shut up, or I will bash your face in.” Monroe said, clearly not joking.

“She told us about who she was, and what she was intending to achieve. She said that we were too powerful to come under her spell, and that placing us down here, us and the rest of us, would teach us a lesson. Five weeks later, we still wish to escape, and have not learnt a thing. The woman has been queen of this world, or she calls herself that at least, for those five weeks exactly, and has set off on a quest to dominate the world.”

“She is part of a group.” Henerix revealed. “They are known as the seven. They are these god-like creatures, or so she claimed, and she says she is the least powerful of their kind.”

“I heard about them, but I have never encountered the others.” The Doctor replied. “I would not like to, but knowing my luck, I probably will. Destari is an enemy that will never stop until she has me punished, or until I hand over her memories to her. My mind is too powerful for her to control, just as yours are. I have too many memories. She needs to stop, before she kills everybody in the universe in order to serve her point.”

“About the escape root.” Monroe began. “We shall balance on one anothers shoulders to reach the gate, open it up, crawl along the ground, ambush a guard, take their weapon, and kill everybody who tries to stop us. And then, we kill Destari.”

“And you have not made an attempt to kill her before?”

Cavax sighed. “We made an attempt, once, when we first arrived here, five weeks ago. She killed four of our men, and sent us back down here, and since then we did not wish to sacrifice any more of our lives. She is too dangerous for us. It is time to take that risk, for the people within here. We were about to anyway, but when we came across you, we believed that we could do with the extra advantage. Destari needs to die.”

Monroe reached out a weapon to the Doctor. “Take it. You are going to need it.”

The Doctor shook his head. “I will not need a weapon. Never have, never will. Now come on. We have to stop Destari before she tears this galaxy to shreds, as she inevitably will!”

Henerix, Monroe and Cavax strolled over towards the entrance to the cage, and climbed on top of one another's shoulders, with Cavax at the top, and Henerix on the bottom. Henerix pushed open the container, lifting himself up onto the ground, and grabbing his weapon. Following this, Monroe leaped onto the top of the gate, as the Doctor placed his shoulders beneath Henerix’s feet, and they hoisted themselves up onto the surface one by one. A Hunter emerged from the tombs but the Doctor managed to close the gate before the creature could attack them. The four of them hurried forward.

As they approached a guard, Henerix, Monroe and Cavax surrounded said guard with their guns, causing the man to surrender and drop his weapon onto the ground. Henerix collected the weapon, placing it into his pocket. They lowered their arms slowly and carefully.

“You should not be out.” The Guard claimed. “Destari will come for you. Destari will kill you.”

“That she will!” A female voice echoed from behind, but it was not Destari. It was Ace.

“Ace!” The Doctor sighed. “Please, you do not have to be on her side. You are strong enough to resist the powers of her trance. You can break free. You must break free.”

Ace reached out her gun, and grabbed the guard. “You may not know this guard, Doctor, but I know you will not let an innocent person die. Place your weapons on the ground and kick them towards my direction. If you refuse, then he will die.”

“First of all, I think you should stick to Professor! It is obvious that you are no longer you if you no longer call me that. Second of all, do what Ace says. This man does not need to die.”

“No!” Cavax exclaimed. “We have waited for our opportunity to take Destari down for a long time now. Who cares if a guard who probably would have killed us if he was not outnumbered dies? Just get it over with, but you are not having our weapons.”

“Fair enough.” Ace remarked. “I think you will come to regret that decision.”

Ace shot the guard. From behind the four of them, four guards emerged, each holding two guns each. Ace nodded her head, as the guards cornered in on the group. The Doctor sighed. They had been outnumbered, and beaten, once again. He knew full well that it was going to be difficult to escape from Destari and her men, if he even could.

“So, you are going to drop your weapons now.” Ace declared. “Drop them on the floor, and pass them in my direction. Then, you will come with me to Destari.”

“Do it.” The Doctor insisted. “I am not going to let you chuck your lives away.”

Monroe and Cavax dropped their guns onto the floor. Ace, hypnotised and fearless, was still hovering her gun in their direction. Henerix refused to drop his weapon. He just continued to hold his weapon, aware that if he did, he could potentially die. Henerix shot Ace in the stomach, before the other guards gunned him down. They collected the weapons from the floor. Monroe, Cavax and the Doctor could not see their friends, as they were still held at gunpoint. They had to stand there. Ace was still breathing, but only hardly.

“Let me speak to Ace.” The Doctor demanded, beginning to break. “If this is the end for her, then I need to speak to her. I need to be there in her final moments.”

Destari appeared from a distance. “Doctor, I thought you would attempt to escape at some point, even though you are fully aware that is not an acceptable move. So no, you will not be able to see your friend. In fact.” Destari shot a limbering Ace in the head one more time, killing her. “In fact, she dies, and that is all your fault. And so are Cavax and Monroe’s.”

Destari clicked her fingers. Suddenly, the four guards rapidly gunned down Cavax and Monroe. Cavax and Monroes remains dropped to the floor. The Doctor had lost all the friends that he had left. A tear trickled down the Doctors face. He had lost. Once and for all, this time. 

“You killed her!” The Doctor exclaimed. “You didn’t need to kill her!”

“Of course I did. And do not get all emotional on me. Emotions get you killed, and in this sense, I am taking that rather literally. You have twelve guns aimed at you right now, so if you refuse to do what I say then you will die. I will shoot you so hard that you will never be able to do anymore regenerating ever again. I think that would be the suitable punishment for what you have done to this universe, which everybody can now see.” Destari grabbed the Doctor by the throat. “Do not get angry that I killed your friend, because in fact, you killed her. You manipulated her life. You destroyed her. You played her like a spoon, which is quite ironic given your love of both young human females and playing Earth cutlery as instruments. So, are you going to break on me, or are you going to do what I say? Because there are quite a lot of people still alive that I have left to kill if you don’t.”

The Doctor was completely and utterly broken. “I will do whatever you want, as long as you promise me that nobody will get hurt.”

“I cannot promise you anything, but we can try that! I guess I owe you one after the hand of omega. I bet you are wondering how I did what I did with that thing. A stellar manipulator used to control the universe? How, you are thinking, I assume. That is quite a complicated question! So, what do I want you to do now? That is the question on everybody's lips at this current time. I want you to apologize to me for escaping, and for everything that you have done. Oh, and I want you to call me queen.”

“No. I will not do that. I will not beg the person who killed my best friend.”

“Oh, you killed her really! And Gina! And Gina's father! And the other guards! And Nathan! And Adric, and Sara, and Katarina. Oh, I could go on for quite some time.”

“No, I did not. You killed Ace, and I will kill you for that. I will, I promise you.”

“Okay, then. Guards, put guns to your hearts please.” With that, the Guards put their guns to their own hearts. “If you refuse, Doctor, I will order them to kill themselves. And Bernice will die. And the other guards will die. And Sarah Jane will die.”

“Sarah Jane Smith?” The Doctor asked. “What have you done with her?”

Destari held a gleeful expression. “You don’t know about that yet, do you? Maybe if you do as I say she will survive long enough for you to see her again.”

“I am sorry.” The Doctor obeyed, reluctantly. “I am sorry, Queen Destari.”

“Nice!” Destari remarked. “Apology not accepted.”

With that, Destari opened up the gate to the catacombs, and threw the Doctor inside. She closed it immediately, causing the Doctor to be cornered by one of the hunters. He was trapped. He was alone. Above, he made out Destari and the other guards vanishing. He managed to pick himself up from off the floor, reaching into his pockets, realising they were empty. Useless. The creature cornered into him. He raced into the distance, picking the blunt corrosive object he had thrown in the other hunters direction a mere few minutes ago, and picked it up. The Doctor rubbed the item against his shirt, and threw it towards the creature, creating a large explosion which killed the hunter. He placed the object back in his pocket.

Above, Destari leaned over Ace’s dead body, chuckling to herself. Even though her and the Doctor had made the deal, Ace ended up dead anyway. Again. Destari walked on forward, leaving the remaining guards hovering above the tombs.

“Get two guns pointed into the tombs.” Destari demanded the guards. “If the Doctor attempts to escape, then you must shoot him originally. When he begins to regenerate, shoot him again. He must not escape from these prisons, at all costs.”

“Yes, Queen Destari.” All of the Guards called simultaneously, pointing their guns through the holes within the entrance point in the direction of the Doctor.

Destari continued forward, escaping from the grim remains of the bodies of those who had crossed her. After a few moments, she reached Sarah Jane Smith, who was kneeling, surrounded by a whole host of dead bodies and armed guards, with their weapons all pointed at Sarah, including Bernice. Sarah Jane did not look pleased. She had just witnessed the brutal deaths of innocent people who had worshipped Destari, so she knew that her enemy was formidable. She knew this could be the end for her.

“Hello, Mrs Smith!” Destari greeted. “Sorry I had to dash. You know the Doctor? He tried to escape from me! With a few of his new friends, in fact, who were people who also want to get me killed. It is quite ironic that they were the ones who ended up dead. You know why? The people who cross me always wound up dead. So, the lesson is, do not cross me.”

“Are you going to brainwash me like you did the rest of them?” Sarah Jane asked.

“No, no! I would not dream of doing that. You travelled with the Doctor for so long that you seem to be resistant to the powers of hypnosis that I possess. I want you to do something else for me. I want you to prove your loyalty to me. I want you to kill Bernice here.”

“What? No.” Sarah Jane declared, startled. “No, I will not end another innocent life! Please!”

“Stop saying please. As I said, the neediness really does not get you in my good books. It gets you in the shut the hell up books. If you kill Bernice, I will let you, the Doctor, all these Guards and your friend the Brigadier live, as well as everybody else on the planet Earth. If you don’t, well, quite the opposite! I will destroy everything and everyone you know.”

“I will not end another life! No. No! That would make me no better than you are.”

“Well, I am better than pretty much everyone! I would say that, as I have developed quite the god complex, or in fact, the queen complex. Kill her, or kill yourself and everything else.”

“No.” Sarah Jane expressed bluntly, refusing the orders of Destari.Destari sighed. “There is one thing I dislike more than anything else in this poxy little dimension, and that is being said no to. That is a big no no. So, you have another chance! Say yes, and you, the Doctor, the Brigadier and the rest of the human race will prevail.”

“Why do you want Bernice dead? What would that achieve for you?”

“I have seen the future. If Bernice lives, then the Doctor will be happy. He will live in prosperity, for the most part, and find somebody he loves, and I survive. If Bernice dies, then the Doctor's life gets a whole lot darker. I die either way. I have seen the possible timelines and I know I will die. If the Doctor lives the rest of his lives in misery, then my death will not be in vain. I started this off with Ace’s death, which was not meant to happen really, so you can end this. You can kill Bernice. You can let me die a happy death.”

“I will not end another life.” Sarah Jane admitted. “Please, let me go.”

“Fine, I’ll free you. Free you from your god forsaken pathetic life, that is.”

Destari reached out her fingers in Sarah Jane's direction however nothing happened. There should have been a spark, or something. Something should have happened. Sarah Jane should be dead by now. Suddenly, all the guards cornered in on Destari. Destari raised her hands. Her powers had been disabled somehow. Bernice came to the fore, and smiled.

“Sarah Jane, it is nice to meet you.” Bernice announced. “I am Bernice Summerfield, but I guess you already knew that. Destari does not control us anymore. We control Destari. Get to the TARDIS. We can deal with things ourselves from here.”

“I don’t understand!” Sarah Jane exclaimed, confused. “What is going on?”

“We all saw Destari murder our friends, and was about to murder us. Our combined minds came together to overthrow hers. And now it has messed her up. She seems to have lost her powers. Isn’t that right, Destari?” Bernice mentioned, tapping on Destari.

“Get your hands off me!” Destari exclaimed. “You do not know who you are messing with!”

“Get to the TARDIS, Sarah Jane! Quickly! You need to go. Before we lose control.”

Sarah Jane rushed towards the TARDIS. Inside, she noticed it was merely a shell of what it used to be. The exterior had vanished, as it had done earlier on, and the doors on the inside had disappeared. She rushed towards the doors but there was no way to open them. She was stuck. She placed herself down onto the ground against the wall and sobbed. What she had just witnessed was horrifying, and she could not stand around if more innocent people were hurt. She also knew that the Doctor was somewhere around the area, and she was desperate to see him again. She needed to. Especially if Destari was going to win.

Outside the TARDIS, it seemed as if Destari was not going to win. She had been outwitted by those she believed she had under her influence, as she had done for quite some time beforehand. Bernice held her, with Destari surrounded by the remaining guards and their many weapons. Destari was currently powerless, with none of the energy or any of the abilities that she had managed to maintain in her arsenal.

“I told you to let go of me.” Destari screamed. “You are mine. I am not yours.”

Bernice chucked her to the ground, and poised her weapon in Destaris face. “Open your mouth, Destari.” With that, Destari opened her jaw. “Tell us where the Doctor is.”

“It is hard to speak with a gun lodged in my mouth.” Destari muttered. “Now let me go, and you will not be harmed. All I want today is the Doctor to be punished.”

“You said you wanted to kill me, and you killed all those guards, and the innocent people earlier on. If we let you go, then you will kill us all. Where is the Doctor?”

“Down in the tombs, or the pits, or whatever you want to call them. There is a gate, with holes within them, and I had two guards pointing their weapons towards the direction of the cage. They probably are not under my influence anymore either. Now let me go, and I will lead you to him. Put the gun down. It’s fine. I won’t harm you.”

Bernice lowered her gun. “There you go? Are you happy now?”

Destari leaped up onto her feet, her eyes fiery, filled with infernal rage. She reached out her hands, knocking the weapons out of the hands of everybody who was still holding a weapon. She then pulled her hand together, causing all of the guards and Bernice to fall to the ground, kneeling down on the floor before her. Afterwards, she reached out her hands once again, causing two of the guns the guards were holding to float towards her. 

“Yes, very happy.” Destari smirked. “Now, I think we will get back to business. I was questioning whether to kill you all, and I have decided that I shall indeed do just that!”

Destaris eyes filled with rage once again, as electricity shot out of her pupils. The electricity hit each one of the guards, except from Bernice, killing them instantly, painfully. Each of the guards were screaming in the seconds before their deaths. Destari clapped her hands together in pleasure. She grabbed Bernice by the neck, threw her towards the ground, and then picked her up once again.

“I am going to keep you alive for the time being, but there is no way you will escape from what is about to happen alive.” Destari claimed. “Mrs Summerfield, you helped our friend Mrs Smith to escape. We are going to take a trip over to the TARDIS!”

Inside of the pits, the Doctor sat down, placing himself against the surface. From above, he noticed the two guards holding their guns in his direction, so he decided to pursue the deeper sections of the lairs, where he recalled the three individuals he encountered earlier claiming that there were other beings who lurked within. He continued through, aware that he could potentially reach some form of danger along the way. Within time, he encountered one of the hunters, placed around the corner, its wings outstretched within the area. The Doctor ducked behind a tight wall to avoid being spotted by the creature. However, the creature still spotted him. The Doctor and the hunters' eyes met in parallel. The hunter looked furious, its eyes captivated, desperate to kill. The Doctor reached into his pocket, chucking the blunt object from earlier towards the creature, but there was no result. From behind the hunter, another of its kind approached, and behind it another. The Doctor was outnumbered.

The Time Lord darted back into the direction he had come from. He tried to crawl up onto the wall to open the gate and escape from the tombs, however he could not hoist himself up. It was too high. He noticed the deceased remnants of the guards who had held their weapons at him from above. On the floor there was a gun. The Doctor could not shoot at the creature. He could not. It was an innocent species, and one he would not dream of killing, but it was one that had been trained to kill him. The creatures cornered in on him, only a few metres away from him. They opened up their mouths.

“Survival of the fittest, eh?” The Doctor said, shooting his gun at the creature in front of the others. The first hunter was shot down, killed instantaneously. From behind him, the other hunters opened up their mouths, eating the gun in one gulp. 

The Doctor backed against the wall as the ferocious creatures cornered in on him. The two creatures surrounded him, giving him nowhere to go or nowhere to move. He was trapped.

To Be Continued...