Ajare--Chapter Seven

Doctor Who--The Missing Internet Adventures
#9--Ajare
Chapter Seven--"When is a door not a door?"
by Brad Trechak

 The time: 20th century. Shortly after WWI.

 The place: a remote villa in Northern France, overlooking a small village.

 The situation: The Doctor is up to his armpits in it again.

 With a crash, a forest of tentacles shot up through the floor below them.

 The Doctor, Leela, and Rakshan threw themselves to the sides of the attic. Lynch, being unconscious, could not. The tentacles wrapped around his torso and pulled him through the floor. It happened too quickly for anyone to react.

 "Lynch!" screamed the Doctor.

 

In the Paris office of the Shadow Directory, Deuan Lacey spoke.

 "Have you heard from our Agent...." Lacey looked to Peret for help in completing the sentence.

 "His current name is Lynch. Yes, monsieur. We have made contact with the alien. Negotiations are underway." Peret paused for a moment. "There has been a small setback however."

 "Explain." Lacey took a sip of tea.

 "The Doctor is there." Lacey spat out the tea. He reached for a serviette to wipe his face.

 After cleaning himself, he asked, "Which incarnation?"

 "Fourth. Maybe sixth."

 "Pray it's the fourth. The sixth is very... unstable. Still, he might be able to find out about the Directory."

 "I thought he wouldn't be aware of us until the seventh ... ?" "He shouldn't know of us yet, and I don't think he does. Otherwise, I don't think we would be here discussing it. What were your orders to Lynch?"

 "Eliminate the Doctor." Lacey thought for a moment.

 "Have you heard from Lynch recently?"

 "We received his last message yesterday."

 "If the Doctor is killed in this incarnation, it could lead to trouble in the future. And the past."

 "Should I rescind the order?" A pause.

 "Let the order stand. If Lynch is true to form, he should be in the thick of it."

 

Lynch awoke in a sea of tentacles.

 He began to panic, when he heard a voice not unlike the Doctor's booming "STOP!" He looked and couldn't see anybody. There was another sound like lightning, and the creature that was once Andrews' mother tumbled to the ground. Lynch slowly got up.

 "Down here, stupid." Lynch looked down and saw the Matralan at his feet.

 "You took your time," said Lynch.

 "I was delayed. The creature is stunned. Help me get it back to the laboratory and I will append myself to it. By doing so, I will be able to control the entire army I've bred."

 "You seem arrogant about the whole matter. Don't forget that without us, you couldn't have gotten this far."

 "I have not forgotten. Don't worry... when we are finished I will give the Shadow Directory its just reward."

 

Leela whispered, "Is the beast still below us?"

 The Doctor whispered back, "I'm not sure. Perhaps it's eaten Lynch and is still hungry."

 The Ajare mumbled something about a powerless Time Lord, then aimed his weapon at the roof. Three spikes flew out of the green device and became imbedded there. He tugged, and a section of the roof fell down with a huge thud. Rakshan climbed through it. The Doctor and Leela stared as he poked his head down and asked, "Are you coming?"

 They followed him out.

 

By the time Leela, the Doctor, and Rakshan climbed down the side of the villa, Lynch, the Matralan, and the mutant had vanished. The searched the house and found nothing. They didn't even find Andrews himself. The house was deserted.

 "There's probably a secret door in the house somewhere," said the Doctor.

 "What makes you say that?" asked Leela.

 "Oh, there always is. Secret compartments. Trap doors. It's common practice, really."

 

They found it in the library. The door was locked, but the Ajare made short work of it using his bio-mass weapon. After entering the room, Rakshan began tearing down the books from the shelves, when the Doctor found the switch with only the most cursory of examinations.

 "Quite a mess you're making, there," noted the Doctor. "Perhaps your name should be Trashcan." The humor was lost on the Ajare.

 The bookshelf swung open, and the Doctor motioned, "After you."

 

The steps led to the wine cellar. Andrews was lying at the base. He seemed dead, until Rakshan touched him.

 "MOTHER!" he screamed. As humans went, he was a mess. He had orange hair all over his body and looked more ape-like than human. He also was completely insane and didn't practice very good hygiene.

 "He's been experimented upon. Can you detect spores in his body?" asked the Doctor.

 "No," answered Rakshan. "His DNA has been altered, but not with the mutated spores of my people."

 "Early experiment, perhaps?" rhetorically asked the Doctor. He looked around at the wine bottles surrounding them. "Some good vintages here. Brought up from Bordeaux. Wouldn't you agree, Leela?" Silence. "Leela?"

 "Where is the wild woman, your companion?" asked the Ajare.

 "I don't know. Still, she was with us when we came down the steps, so she has to be here. Stay put." He patted Andrews on the head and signal

 The Doctor walked around the rear of the shelves of wine and found a small protrusion from the wall. Moving it, the wall silently opened. The Doctor found himself stepping into a very familiar looking laboratory.

 "Ah, there must be several entrances and exits to this place. Makes sense." He saw the alien equipment on the walls. Bubbling beakers and volatile vials littered the place. Davros would feel at home.

 "Hello, Doctor," a familiar English-accented voice called.

 "Hello Lynch. I was wondering where you got to so quickly." The Doctor slowly turned around. Leela was standing in front of Lynch, unmoving.

 "What have you done to her?" asked the Doctor.

 "Something to make her a little more... controlled. We've injected her with the mutated Ajare spores. Leela, kill the Doctor."

 The Doctor watched in shock as Leela took her knife out and approached him.

 To Be Continued...

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