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[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor appears in mid-air, turned on his side as he aims a sonic blaster

when his shoulder slams into the stars, he looks more surprised than pained; slowly, cautiously, he sits up, examining the sudden change in scenery]

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this.

[he keeps a firm grip on his weapon as he stands, but it stays at his side; his clothes are simple and elegant, save for the ragged tears and stains of blood

his body language is carefully casual; his expression is, at most, curiously bemused]

I will say it's a nice break from all the chaos and clamour.

Comments

[grip_on_reality]

[Menzies is at first startled by the sudden appearance of someone in midair, and she stops short, tensing. but once he lands and gets back up, she relaxes. as she heads toward him, she can't help smiling in amusement]

Like to go for a dramatic entrance, I see.

[at which point she realises there are blood stains on his clothing. she frowns] Hey, you all right?

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor's wry smile covers the cool assessment he's giving her] I do have something of a dramatic flair, I'll admit.

[his smile fades as he nods] And I'm quite all right. [he gestures towards the bloody mess that his outfit has become with his free hand] None of this is mine.

[grip_on_reality]

[she smiles wryly right back at him] Then you might fit right in in a place like this! You're new, I take it? [she's guessing so, considering how surprised he seemed to arrive]

Ah. And it doesn't belong to anybody you're fussed over, I take it? [the question is nonchalant, but she's assessing him as well. not just anyone can arrive wearing that much blood and be so casual about it]

[darkdoctor]

It appears so, yes. You know where we are, then?

[softly, as he shakes his head] One can't afford to be fussed over their enemies. I can grieve for the bloodshed when it's over.

[grip_on_reality]

As much as anybody does. Welcome to the Astral Plane! A place where a lot of universes meet and you can leave any time--but somehow, you can't really leave at all.

[she frowns but keeps her tone brusque] Well, call this a break, then. There's even a ballroom if you're looking for clothes.

I just intro'd him, but how can I resist??

[ninth_doctor]

[The Doctor looks over his younger counterpart.]

I didn't even use a sonic screwdriver when I was you. What're you doing with a blaster?

:D AW YEAH

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor arches a sceptical eyebrow] I can't say I enjoy it - guns are crass things, really - but I do like to keep a stock if I need it.

Are you quite sure - [but, slowly, that strange familiarity, that spark in the back of his mind, begins to grow]

You really are me, aren't you? In a matter of speaking.

XD

[ninth_doctor]

[A long stare, Dark!Him.]

Let me guess.... Watching... no... Adric?

[After all, things were never quite the same for that incarnation after Adric's death. And, well, worse after callously watching the Master burn. But this was fresh, like his own...]

[darkdoctor]

[something shifts in the Doctor's expression, so minutely most wouldn't notice it; the slightest tightening of his lips, the furrowing of his brow]

It hasn't been long.

[his voice is softer, now, absent of the casual affability he'd been affecting]

That has little to do with my current situation, however. [that, of course, is a lie; he would have spurred this frenzied revolution regardless, but there's really no need for him to be in the thick of it]

[ninth_doctor]

And what is my current situation?

[Oh, he'll still claim this Doctor as him. After all, they have a shared history up to... well Adric anyway. Perhaps this is the him that would become Lord Burner as Romana had mentioned when she recounted her visits to various Alternate Gallifreys.]

[spotofsunlight]

[Here's a little white-haired kid walking over, not so much cautiously as casually.]

Wow! What's that thing you're holding? It looks cool!

[darkdoctor]

[his eyes widen, slightly, before he smiles; he raises the gun, gripping the small, sleek muzzle with his other hand]

This is a sonic blaster. Like every weapon, it's very dangerous if you don't know how to use it properly.

[spotofsunlight]

Wow. That's a weapon? ['Weapons' mean... some person capable of fighting!] Why do you have one of those?

[darkdoctor]

I have to fight some very bad people.

[spotofsunlight]

You don't have to fight me, 'cause I'm a good guy! [He seems very proud of this fact.] Uh, wait a sec. Are you fighting me? Like, are you 'friend' or 'foe'?

[bonnypiperlad]

[Jamie is a bit far away to get a clear view of what just happened, but the figure that's sitting up looks familiar - enough that he breaks into a jog to get there faster.]

Doctor? What happened?

[darkdoctor]

[few things can genuinely shake the Doctor, can truly stun him into silence; the sight of Jamie running towards him is one of them]

...Jamie? [he can't help but stare, even as he answers the question]

There's a war on, and I seem to be in the middle of it.

[bonnypiperlad]

Oh, aye. [That would explain the clothes - and the blaster, which isn't so out of character from this version of the Doctor he remembers from before, although the staring is a wee bit odd.]

So ye came here to get away from it, then. Why are ye looking at me like that, Doctor?

[darkdoctor]

[it's odd, to feel shock that isn't feigned; softly] I...could very well ask why you're not. It's been a very long time, Jamie.

[bonnypiperlad]

Hey, it's not been so long as all that...

[Something seems to occur to him then, and he pulls a bit of a face.] Och, no. Don't tell me this version of ye has gone and forgotten everything too. Look, I've met ye here before, and some other versions of ye as well. And none of them are the version of ye that I'm traveling with back home now.

[noblesavage]

[She could smell the blood and wrinkled her nose as she stepped towards him, one hand on the hilt of her knife.]

You will find no relief from chaos here.

[darkdoctor]

[again, he's staring; he certainly didn't expect to see Leela again; not so soon, not like this] Leela?

...No, I never seem to.

[noblesavage]

You know me.

[And she, in turn, knows the familiarity in his voice.]

Another new face, Doctor. You are growing careless.

[darkdoctor]

[with a soft smile] Well. I don't have you to look after me.

[noblesavage]

You will now that you are here.