Companion of Death - A Doctor Who Fanfiction (Thasmin)

Chapter 9: Back to the Homeworld

Warning that this chapter gets pretty dark. The language I use to describe the horrors is deliberately cold for emphasis.

The TARDIS landed and the Doctor checked the readout, having learned her lesson from Mondas. A quick glance over her shoulder at the blank screen told me exactly what I needed to know. The Inferno had taken over the navigation system and brought us to the homeworld. The time had come. This was war, and I would fight.

"It can't work out where we are!" the Doctor shouted in frustration. "The readout is just... blank!"

"This is it, Doctor," I said gravely, going over to the door. "This is my battle. You have to get them out of here."

The Doctor shook her head. "I'm not abandoning you in a warzone," she stated.

"Warzone?" Ashildr demanded, glaring at me.

Yaz was utterly confused and Missy just gave me a sad look.

I forced myself to make eye contact with my sister. "We're home," I said, my tones clipped. There was not even a hint of the Texan drawl I hated in my voice. "There's a war going on. You're staying with the Doctor because I can't lose you."

I opened the door. Talking only delayed the inevitable.

"I'm not leaving you here," the Doctor stated. "We're on your side."

"You promised you'd leave and keep them safe," I said, realizing the truth.

"Rule one?" the Doctor prompted.

"No!" I shouted. "Screw that! You're not coming out here into a warzone armed with a screwdriver and delusions that you can protect me! All Yaz has is a gun! Ashildr has a short-sword! Guess what? They're useless! My people can regenerate! Missy can shoot people with bolts of energy and vaporize them on the spot, and that's still not enough for this war! They need me and I'll go, but you'll all just die! So get the hell out of here!"

"I'm fighting, too," Ashildr declared, drawing her short-sword. I noticed that the blade was black, not silver, and briefly wondered how that had changed. Ashildr thumbed something on the hilt and energy crackled around it. "Stole it off a Mondasian assassin," she stated, smirking. "I spent some time studying it. It doesn't mess with healing magic, but it prevents regeneration." Ashildr produced similar blades from beneath the console and passed them out. "They're slightly telepathic," she continued. "They know what you're trying to hit. You can take a stab in the dark thinking of what you're aiming at, and you'll hit it unless you're miles off target. But remember: although it prevents regeneration, our people have healing magic. You have to aim to kill, or it's useless."

"Ashildr, no," I said firmly. "It's dangerous out there."

"It's not just your battle," my sister insisted. "This is my home under attack, too. I'm a warrior. I'll fight."

"Do you remember the rumors about the Inferno Project?" I asked seriously. Ashildr nodded. "They weren't just rumors," I stated. "They actually did it. I'm the Inferno, Ashildr. That's why they killed our parents. That's why they wanted to kill me. To erase all evidence of the Project."

"That's sick!" Ashildr exclaimed.

"Please just stay in the TARDIS," I pleaded. My eyes trailed over to look at Missy. "I don't want you to see this."

I stepped out of the TARDIS, placing one foot on the ground of my homeworld. The moment it made contact with the blood-soaked soil, it erupted in flames. The fire engulfed every part of my body that was outside the TARDIS, but did not enter the doors. I placed my other foot on the planet from which I had been forcibly removed many, many years before. My whole body was on fire.