My Guardian Angel

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Chapter 2 – Follow the Light

Donna, for once, was completely lost for words. She stared open-mouthed at the man before her. He was shining so brightly and had a aura of such wisdom and kindness, the woman couldn't help but feel completely awed by him.

“Are you an angel?” She whispered, her eyes watering.

He smiled. “No, my dear. As I told you, I am the White Guardian of the Council. I realise this must be a shock for you but I cannot delay, I do not have much time.”

She cocked her head on one side. “You're not a Time Lord too are you? I'm used to everything important always being left to the last possible second.”

He chuckled. Donna flinched. “I'm sorry,” she said hurriedly. “I didn't mean to sound rude. I'm just nervous. I get a bit mouthy when I'm...”

He held up a hand. “No need for an apology, Donna.” He walked towards her slowly. She couldn't help but take a step back. This was all becoming too much. She had just woken up on the floor of the TARDIS and had no idea how she had ended up there and, worse of all, the Doctor had just disappeared and she was having terrifying nightmares about him. And then, some glowing old man decides to turn up and scare the Hell out of her! Even by her standards, this had been a very unusual day.

The Guardian waited patiently as Donna worked through all the recent events. He knew she would find her way.

Suddenly, she sprung back round and faced him.

“What did you mean, the Doctor is facing a fate worse than death?”

The White Guardian cleared his throat. “He is a prisoner of the Black Guardian.”

Donna stared. “Black Guardian?” She repeated. “What, is he like your brother or something?”

The Guardian nodded. “You could say that, yes. He is the exact opposite of me as I am of him. I live to keep order in the universe, he lives for Chaos.”

Donna nodded. “So, you're good and he's evil. I get it. Go and deal with him yourself, then!”

The White Guardian turned towards the TARDIS doors. “It doesn't work like that. Good and Evil depends on the personal point of view, my dear.” He seemed to say it more to himself than to her. He quickly turned back to face her. “We have run out of time for explanations, Donna. I have been missed and must return to the Council. If he knows I'm here, with you, he will kill you without any hesitation.”

Donna was caught out by his directness. “Kill me? Why?”

The Guardian's tone grew sterner. “He wants the Doctor. The Time Lord has been edging ever closer to the dark path that has been laid out for him from the moment the Black Guardian was freed. Storm clouds have gathered in the Doctor's soul. He has killed and wounded without showing mercy, using his power and wisdom to harm as well as to help. He is changing. He has taken vengeance against weaker beings. If the Black Guardian manages to push him just that little bit further, the Doctor as you know him will be lost forever. That cannot be allowed to happen. The Doctor is a great force for goodness in the universe. He makes those he meets stronger and creates fighters for my cause wherever he goes. Beings such as him are of a dying breed. He must not be lost.”

Donna felt close to tears. “You must know that the Doctor wouldn't just give in. What is this Black Guardian doing to him?”

The Guardian paused. “Your dream, Donna. You saw.”

She froze in horror. “But,” she gasped, “that was just a nightmare. It wasn't real.”

The White Guardian didn't reply. He merely watched her sadly.

“Oh my God.” She muttered. “But that thing... it...” Donna turned away, trying to compose herself. She had to hold it together, for him.

She wiped her eyes and drew herself up to her full height.

“Where is he?”

The White Guardian seemed satisfied. Smiling, he took both her hands in his and held them, palms up. Donna felt surprisingly calm. To be surrounded by that light, it made her feel protected. They stood together for a moment and then he stepped away. The white glow remained in her hands. She turned her hands over repeatedly, shocked.

“There's nothing to fear.” The Guardian told her.

“I know,” she responded, truthfully. She could sense his power now, along with his concern for both her and the Doctor. All she knew was that she trusted him completely.

He nodded to her. “I will send you to the Black Guardian's domain. Use the power of the Light to guide you and to scare away any unwanted – interest. The Light will lead you to the Doctor and it will keep both of you safe from the Black Guardian and his powers. He will not be able to sense you whilst the light is with you. If the Light dies, I can offer you no more protection. You must hurry Donna or you will be trapped there, for ever more.”

She trembled slightly at this but said nothing. She had seen what kind of ghouls and gremlins awaited her in that darkness. And she had seen what one had done to the Doctor. All she cared about was saving him from any more similar suffering. She didn't have the time to worry about herself. Which, she reasoned, was probably a good thing.

“OK then, she said, hoping she didn't sound as terrified as she felt. “How long do I have?”

“Not long,” came the quiet reply.

She understood. She had to get on with it and stop talking. For once in her life.

She stared at the kindly face before her.

“You were wrong,” she told him quietly. “You are an Angel. A Guardian Angel.

He smiled. “It's time to leave, My dear,”

“How do I get there?”

He raised one glowing hand. “Close your eyes, Donna Noble. And good luck to you, my child.”

A split second later, without her even realising, she was gone. The White Guardian sighed. After another beat, he too faded to nothing. He could only hope that his absence from the Council meeting had not been spotted.

XXX

Donna opened her eyes. And covered her mouth with her hands in horror. Everywhere was darkness, as far as the eye could see. She looked down at her hands and was heartened to see they were glowing. The White Guardian had been telling her the truth though, the light was dimming as she watched it. She had to find the Doctor and quickly. But where was she supposed to start? Controlling her fear, she held her hands out in front of her, palms facing upwards. The small space in front of her was lit up. And she stared straight into the gruesome face of a creature that could only have been dumped there from Hell. She had seen one before in her dream but this was right before her, smelling her. It smiled at her, it's face twisting further. Then, it grabbed for her.

Donna jumped backwards and screamed. In that second, the small glow of light from her hands seemed to explode. Blinding light filled the entire area, catching the demon fully in it's beam. It screamed in horror and, as Donna watched, was burnt away by the light until there was nothing left.

Donna stared, her breathing coming in horror stricken sobs. Her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest. This place was terrifying and out there, somewhere, the Doctor was being tortured, alone and scared out of his wits.

Tears streamed down her face as she broke into a run, the White Guardians light showing her the way.

XXX

The Doctor lay on his back, naked and shivering. Blood was seeping from wounds to his groin, arms, legs, chest and face. He knew he was also suffering from serious internal injuries. He was in a lot of pain but knew it would pass. He could heal faster than most other species but he wasn't so sure about his mind or soul, the agony of his attacker taking the form of Rose had hurt him deeply plus the damage the Black Guardian had done with the tour of his mind. He needed rest and time to recover. He glanced across at the creature which had not moved since it had completed it's vicious assault on him. It was perched on it's hind legs, watching him. It still had Rose's face and it was still smiling. The Doctor couldn't bear to look at that face. The irony of this didn't escape him. Any other place, any other time, he'd die to see that face again. Right now, he silently begged for it to leave and stop tormenting him.

He finally found his voice.

“You must be bored of that form by now.”

'Rose' hissed at him, that ghoulish smile still stuck on it's face. It didn't speak. It just stared.

The Doctor chuckled and then moaned from the pain this caused. “No offense, but that face looks better on the real Rose. Surely your own form would be more comfortable for you?”

The creature growled and then slowly began to crawl along the ground, edging closer to the Doctor. He swallowed but showed no other sign of panic.

“You're a night stalker.” He muttered, matter-of-factly, eyes staring straight up. “You kill your victims by scaring them to death, forcing them to see their worse nightmares right in front of their eyes. And of course, you are the loyal servants of the feared Black Guardian.” He looked back directly at the Night Stalker. “Am I close?”

The demon hissed. It moved closer, licking it's lips.

The Doctor frowned. “You had plenty to say to me earlier. Why so silent now?”

Still no response. Just the same cold, non-blinking stare.

“Ah,” the Doctor said, his eyes growing wider as a memory came to him. “You can't talk can you? The Black Guardian speaks through you.”

The Night Stalker's smile grew even wider. As it reached the Doctor's feet, it sat up on it's hind legs, giving him a hungry look. Now, the Doctor was nervous. He was still so weak after the earlier attack. He wasn't sure his current body could cope with another assault so soon. He could see the creature's desire written all over it's ugly face. It showed him his teeth. That was the only warning the Night Stalker gave the Doctor before it leapt onto his chest.

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat. He was frightened.

“Get off of me.” He whispered, keeping his voice steady. “Now.”

The Night Stalker took no notice. Instead, it went immediately for the Doctors throat and sunk it's sharp teeth into his flesh. It then began to feed.

The Doctor screamed and began to struggle fiercely, desperate to shake the demon off. The creature clung on. The Doctor could feel any strength he had left slowly leaving him. The Night Stalker sensed his victim was fading and grabbed hold of his hair, forcing him to turn his head, allowing the demon easier access to his throat. It released its hold on his hair when it realised the Doctor would no longer be able to fight and instead reached down and gripped the Doctor's cock and began to gently pump him.

The Doctor could only let out a low moan, though he wanted to scream into the blackness and beg for the torture to stop. He wondered how much longer it would be before the regenerative process began. He was approaching the final moments of his Tenth life, he knew that. All he could do was lie there and wait.

Suddenly the creature stopped and moved it's mouth away from his neck. The Doctor shuddered when he saw that it once again had his blood on it's lips. The Night Stalker finally released it's hold on the Doctor's cock and he sighed in relief. Now perhaps it would let him die in peace. Because he knew death was what must happen to him and he was prepared. There would be no more regenerations, no more time. He closed his eyes.

He whimpered when he felt himself being rolled over onto his front.

“No,” he whined. This could not be how he died. Not after everything he had done, everything he had seen. It just couldn't be.

“Please, help me.” He pleaded into the night, to anyone that would listen.

Without any warning this time, The Night Stalker thrusted into him roughly. The Doctor let out when shout from the agonising pain and then began to silently cry, feeling the blood again pouring down his thighs. It hurt so much. He could hear the Night Stalker's screeching laughter as it devoured his body. The sound was horrifying. It would be the last thing he ever heard.

At that moment, a deafening roar thundered through the blackness.

The Night Stalker leapt off of the Doctor in a beat and sat away from him, cowering. The Doctor slowly opened his eyes and could immedaily sense that the Black Guardian was beside. At that moment, in his near death and naked state, he had never felt so delicate.

He leant over the Time Lord, regarding him. Then he reached forward and placed his hand on the back of the Doctor's head.

“I'm sorry, Doctor,” the Black Guardian said softly. “There is no easy escape from your own destiny. I won't let you go.”

The Doctor knew the Guardian was allowing him some strength back, to stop him from expiring and consequently freeing himself. Slowly but surely, the Doctor began to feel slightly stronger. He signed, knowing his last chance of escape has probably just disappeared.

The Black Guardian straightened and moved away from the Doctor, who was slowly pulling himself into a sitting position. He stalked towards the Night Stalker who was still trembling, it's head in it's hands.

“I gave you no instruction to touch him again.” The Black Guardian told it, “You have no free thought. You only live to serve me. Disobey me and there is only one punishment.”

The creature looked up at it's master and held up a shaky hand to him. It had finally abandoned Rose's form and had taken it's own. It looked pitiful. The Doctor was reminded of a wild wild dog, with big black eyes. It had no fir on it's body though, just skin that had clearly been ripped away, leaving only bone The Doctor actually surprised himself when it dawned on him he was feeling something akin to pity for the Night Stalker.

The Black Guardian however showed no such pity.

“You will leave this sanctuary and my protection forever. Go into the Light. You are exiled.”

The creature whined pathetically in response, it's eyes pleading.

With a wave of the Black Guardian's hand and one final shriek from the Night Stalker, it was gone. The Doctor cringed, wondering what fate awaited it.

The Black Guardian turned and strode back to the Doctor, who was slouched down on the floor, still weak from his ordeal. The Black Guardian had only given him enough strength to stop him regenerating. He certainly couldn't put up any kind of a fight.

He glared at the Guardian as he approached. His captor regarded him.

“You are a fascinating creature, Doctor. That Night Stalker raped you earlier and just attempted to do so again. It would have killed you if I hadn't intervened.

The Doctor's glare intensified.

“It was your slave. It did as it had been ordered to do.” He lowered his voice. “I guess it enjoyed it's work to much. If it had killed me, it would have done me a favour.”

“You must put aside these sentimental thoughts, Doctor. They make you weak. Can you not see that?”

“No. Compassion is no weakness.”

“You are wrong, my friend. And you will give yourself to me, Doctor. You will be at one with the dark.”

The Doctor laughed, his face obstinate. “I won't.”

“You have no choice, Doctor. Just be my servant and continue your journeys through Time and Space on my orders, You can have you freedom and my protection.” He knelt down beside him. “Or stay here for all eternity, with nothing but blackness for company. You will be driven slowly insane. Can you imagine a worse fate for a being such as yourself?”

The Time Lord nodded. “Oh yes, Guardian. Working for you would be a fate worse than death, I'd rather stay here and rot than allow myself to be controlled by you.”

“You will serve me Doctor. You will give in to the darkness that is consuming you. Just let it inside.”

“I WILL NOT!”

The Black Guardian fought to stay in control. The Doctor was so stubborn!

“You are mine!” He shouted in the Time Lord's face.

“No, I'm the last Time Lord of the planet Gallifrey. Our laws are timeless and I will not disobey them. It is forbidden for me to harm any lesser species.”

The Black Guardian paused. A cold smile appeared on his face. “Is that so?”

The Doctor suddenly saw flashes of memories in his head. He felt his own anger and hatred. He saw himself wrapping chains around a man and pushing him into a pit. He watched as a woman was swept out of the TARDIS console room to suffer forever, stuck, with no hope of rescue. He grimaced as he saw himself standing there, watching her, with no expression on his face. He saw his reflection in a mirror and just caught a glimpse of a small girl, staring out at him with big, sad eyes. And he closed his eyes and tried to shut out the sight of him tying a young man to a post. The young man kept on staring so the Doctor covered his head. Regret and guilt hit the Doctor in waves. He tried to block it out but it just kept coming.

When he opened his eyes again, the Guardian was watching him closely, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

“Was that not you?” He asked the Time Lord. The Doctor hesitated.

“I didn't want too. They left me no choice. I had to stop them, so many people had suffered."

“You could have let them die. Instead, they are tormented until the end of time. Why?”

The Doctor whimpered. “I gave them the option to stay away from me. They didn't take it. Just one chance..”

The Guardian smirked. “I see Doctor. And what of the Racnoss children? Did you give them a chance too?”

The Doctor placed his hands over his ears. “Stop it.”

“Those babies screamed as they drowned. They tried to scurry away, huddling together for comfort as they died horribly. They died because you left them with no chance of life. You always have the option to run, Doctor. Why could you not afford it to these innocents?”

The Doctor lunged forward, grabbing the Black Guardian's robe in fury. “Because I warned her! The Empress! I had to finish the job my people started!”

“And as a Time Lord you have that right, do you?”

“YES!”

The Black Guardian began to laugh. The Doctor released his hold on the Guardian and backed away, stunned at his own words. He was rooted to the spot. He didn't really feel like that. Did he?

He would not, could not, give in. For the sake of the universe, he had to fight. He was the Doctor, he always fought. No matter how hopeless the situation.

The Doctor quickly wiped a lone tear from his eye. “I have my dark side, yes. Everyone does.” The Guardian nodded eagerly and offered his hand. “Then give in to it,” he replied, “and join me.”

The Doctor calmly swiped the Guardian's hand away. He knew it was a foolish thing to do but it seemed as good an action as any.

The Guardian appeared to calm himself before addressing the Doctor again.

“You will only force me to hurt you again, Doctor,” The Guardian warned. “You will surrender yourself to me in the end, they all do. All the Night Stalkers believed they could fight me but they could not. Why suffer unimaginable pain when you know you will accept your fate eventually? Spare yourself that, Time Lord. You have suffered enough.”

The Doctor gave him a small smile. “Suffered enough? I destroyed my own race. How can you think I'm anyway near even with myself?”

The Black Guardian shrugged. “You are a fool.”

“Thats' been said to me many other times before, in a much more threatening way then that pitiful attempt, believe me.”

The Guardian bristled. He stepped forward and leant right in to the Doctor's face.

“We shall see.”

He clapped his hands.

As the Doctor watched, four figures began to slowly appear in front of him. It didn't take him long to realise, with a sinking feeling, that they were more Night Stalkers. They stood in pairs, on either side of their Guardian master. The Doctor gasped as their faces seemed to blend and they began to take the forms of four people the Doctor knew only to well.

'Jack', 'Sarah Jane', 'Martha' and perhaps most painfully for him, 'The Master', all stood before him with exactly the same gruesome smile on each of their faces as 'Rose' had so tormented him with. They also all appeared to be decaying. The Master's wound to his chest was clearly visible and Jack and Martha both looked like zombies. Martha was shuffling as if in great pain. But not one of them ever stopped smiling.

The creature using Jack's deformed face stepped forward.

“Time for the dance you promised me, Doctor,” he purred.

The Doctor nearly despaired. If he closed his eyes, he would believe that his friend Jack was right there with him, the voice was so identical. But he wasn't. His image was being used as a torture device. So the Doctor kept his eyes open, refusing to look away from the devastating sight in front of him. He wouldn't even blink.

His eyes moved from one familiar face to the next, hovering on the Master slightly longer than the others. He mind was confusing him, making him think that perhaps the Master really was here, maybe the Black Guardian got him too? He threw that thought out. He had too. The Master was dead and gone. Any other hope would cost the Doctor everything. He had to stay strong.

He finally once again met the gaze of the Black Guardian.

“Time for the party to really begin, Time Lord.” The Guardian hissed. His dark eyes narrowed.

The Doctor fought hard not to tremble. The demons posing as his friends surrounded him, two behind him and one at each side of him. A sob escaped him. He hated himself.

The Black Guardian walked forward until there was no space between him and the Doctor. He laughed softly.

“You look terrified. Tell me how that feels, Doctor.”

The Doctor swallowed his fear, took a deep breath and retorted; “I hope I'm there when you find out for yourself.”

The Guardian looked quite impressed. “Still strong, still fighting. Good.” He carefully stroked the Doctor's cheek, causing his victim to flinch violently.

The Guardian whispered in the Doctor's ear. “I wonder if you know how attractive your current form is, my friend? How could I allow you to regenerate. I want you just as you are.”

He smirked one more time before taking another step back. When his eyes met the Doctor's again, they seemed to be flaming.

“And now it is my turn to enjoy some pleasure from you.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, confused. The Guardian's smile was of pure evil.

“Get on your knees, Time Lord.”

TBC