The Rise Of An Imperitrix, Tag ~ Leela, Romana, Saph

When one is inside one's TARDIS, one usually spends one's time flying through space... not sitting under a greenish sky just outside a cave surrounded by greenish rocks and scraggy greenish plants. Green... everything on Karn was green, it always had been. The sky, the ground, the plants. Racked by the pull of two suns, Karn was (and probably always would be) a harsh wind-blown green ROCK. Standing inside his console room, his back against the far-most railing, the Doctor licked his lips for perhaps the twelve-hundredth time and said, "Why here? Why... Karn?" if he'd been called to Gallifrey, he'd have just lost the 'transmission' or flipped the randomizer 'accidentally' and forgotten about it... but... there was always a but wasn't there? Leela had called him... Old One, she had said in her message... Old one. That name had always both amused and annoyed the Doctor. Leela was perhaps the only companion he'd ever traveled with who truly grasped how old and utterly... alien, the Doctor was.

Looking up at the console again, his stetson tipping back as he did so, the Doctor pondered the randomizer one more time... and then, pulling on his long, baggy greenish coat, he headed for the door.

Stepping out into the early dawn of a Karn morning made the Doctor shiver, "Blimey, things certainly haven't improved since the last time I was here..." closing the TARDIS door behind himself, the Doctor stepped away from the old blue box and climbed up on top of the cliff that sat a few feet away from the TARDIS. Standing there, the light of the cloudy-green sky making him almost look like a ghost. The Doctor looked out at the long canyons and scraggy green pines and thought to himself, "It almost looks real..." almost... but not quite. The canyons of the real Karn had long ago been filled with the wreckage of crashed ships. Unlike Gallifrey, Karn had sat outside of the transduction barrier... at least before the return of the Bad Wolfe... now the whole system of Kasterberous was safely one-second out of sync with the rest of the universe.

The Doctor wondered whose idea that had been... probably the CIA. They well remembered Morbius and his various plans to invade and control the Time Lord empire. If there was anything they knew how to do, it was protect their hind-ends after something blew up in their face. Scowling as he gazed over the canyons, the Doctor remembered the Time War... he remembered Karn burning - all of it burning... and now here he stood. On a perfect historically accurate representation of it. Pulling a yo-yo out of his pocket, the Doctor bounced it a few times and sighed, "Even the gravity is the same..."

Turning around slowly the Doctor let out a yelp when a shadowy figure came running out at him from the cliff side. Not even stopping to think he swung his yo-yo around and smacked the assailant in the head with it - this promoted a yell of pain and then a growl as the shadow jumped onto the Doctor, knocking his stetson off and forcing him to the ground. Swallowing as he felt the assailant push a blade against his throat, the Doctor smiled weakly, "I don't suppose you'd like to let me live and just keep this?" he said as he lifted his yo-yo up for the attacker to see. Blinking his eyes as they adjusted to the darkness, the Doctor let out a laugh when he saw the face of the attacker on top of him, "Oh blimey- why- how long was my TARDIS sitting there? Did you think it was someone else who came out of it or something?"

Nodding as he was let up, the Doctor said, "That's right - shame on you, jumping an unsuspecting person... I hope that yo-yo hurt," picking his hat up off the ground the Doctor scowled, "And you dented it! Look at that!" turning the hat over his hands the Doctor muttered and pulled his hat on, "Right then, I was called I believe - you wouldn't know anything about that? Hm?" he said with a raised eyebrow as he rocked back and forth on his boots, "I really am me - you don't have to worry about that, I know you can't call up a picture of ALL the me's there are but trust me, I AM the Doctor,"


[ alright, I set it up so that the attacker can be either Leela or one of her children/outsider friends/Ohica's scouts etc. Whatever you guys want.

For ease of things, the posting order should probably go

Doctor
Leela
Romana
Ohica/Saph

Unless one of you can't think of anything to say - in which case, just mention that in the cbox and whoever goes next can post ]

It seemed like ages ago that Romana had come to her, asking for her support. Leela would haven given her that support if Romana had asked her and the Outsiders to take up arms in the name of Gallifrey, not in Romana's own name. Leela was just as against Romana having all of the power as she was against the Time Lords that had been trying to take what power Romana had had away from her. Gallifrey shouldn't be ruled by one person, no matter who that one person was.

But then the news had quickly reached the Outsiders; Romana had done it...Well, it hadn't been Romana exactly. Leela, as observant and as ruled by her instincts as she was, had known that it hadn't been Romana in the cave with her that day. It was Romana's physical body there, but it wasn't Romana's mind with her. Whatever had been inside of her had finally decided to take full control of her, and this faux Romana had declared herself as imperiatrix of Gallifrey. She had complete power now with plenty of Gallifreyans inside the Capitol willing to worship her at her feet, no questions asked.

This wasn't a problem Leela, the Outsiders with her, and then Gallifreyans in the Capitol who had a mind to question what was going on could solve on their own. So Leela had called on her old friend. She knew how the Doctor never wanted to step foot on Gallifrey again and didn't want anything to do with his kind but she hadn't seen any other option. Leela wasn't going to let whoever was in control of Romana get away with what she had done, and Leela was sure that the Doctor would want to help Romana out just as much as she did.

Karn was the only logical place where they could meet with each other. Leela had arrived there well before the Doctor had and had hidden herself among the plants on the planet. Karn was such a wild planet. If everything didn't work out on Gallifrey, then she and the Outsiders could easily settle on here. Then again, if they weren't able to help Romana out on Gallifrey, Leela was sure that she and the other Outsiders wouldn't be settling in anywhere but in their graves; death would be their punishment for trying to fight back against the imperiatrix.

Leela couldn't have been waiting for more than fifteen minutes when she heard a familiar sound that brought a small smile to her face, despite all of the troubles plaguing her mind. From where she was hidden, she could see a man emerge from the blue box. He took out a familiar object and began to talk to himself. Leela didn't sense any danger but she had to be sure. Caution was the key word to keep in mind these days.

She took her knife out of her sheath and rushed out of her hiding place. Before she could react, though, the Doctor had gotten a shot off with his yo-yo, causing her to let out a cry of pain. But she quickly recovered and had him pinned to the ground, the cold steel blade of her knife against his throat, in no time. In the typical fashion of the Doctor, he didn't seem to care about the danger he found himself in. If Romana (rather, whoever was controlling Romana) had won Leela over, then the Doctor was milliseconds away from being a dead man.

But then recognition lighted up his eyes, and Leela got up off of him, keeping her knife in her hand just in case. Before she could think about answering any of his questions, once again, in typical Doctor fashion, he continued rambling on. How his thoughts went from one subject to another so quickly Leela would never know. He soon confirmed his identity, although Leela had had no doubt that it was him from the moment he had opened his mouth and said so many things that only the Doctor was capable of saying.

"Old one," she said, using her special nickname that she had for him, "Gallifrey needs your help." No. That wouldn't work. He wanted nothing to do with Gallifrey. "Romana needs your help, Doctor." Hopefully, that would work. "She is not herself anymore. Her mind is not her own. She has declared herself imperiatrix, believing it to be the only way to heal Gallifrey. If I learned anything when I was with you, it was that there are always other ways to fix problems." Yes, Leela had still mainly relied on violence when she was with the Doctor but, as she grew older and wiser, she could respect the Doctor's other ways, and one of those ways was desperately needed to help Romana and his home planet.

Staring at Leela after she'd climbed off of him, the Doctor almost expected to see her slide her knife into that sheath she'd always worn on her skimpy leather armor... but this time, she seemed more attired for the inhospitable weather. The baggy furs and hood did enough to hide her face so that the Doctor hadn't recognized her right off - but now that the light of the second Gallifreyan sun was lighting up the canyons (as the two suns traded places as the day went on) the Doctor could just make Leela's face and warrior-stance out, "Or hello, as people used to say," the Doctor said with a snort, "You always did come straight to the point didn't you, savage?" smiling at the recognition at her old pet-name, the Doctor leaned back on his shoes and shook his head, "Blimey... time certainly has been kind to you..."

Pulling out his sonic screwdriver the Doctor drew it up and down Leela and then looked at the read-out, "Huh... if I didn't know better - physically speaking - I'd say you're almost a few years younger than when I first met you..." a clever grin spread across the Doctor's face, "Interesting... you will have to tell me about it when we-" but by then Leela had listened to him ramble enough, and said that Gallifrey needed his help, "Yes well, I do not choose to accept the mission, you'll have to self-destruct the message without me," but Leela ignored that and went on about how Romana needed his help - and that got the Doctor's attention, "Romana? What's wrong with her? Last I heard you and she came up with this brilliant plan to stabilize the Time Lords and the Outsiders by letting you take the helm and lead them away from the new citadel,"

The Doctor smiled at her confusion, "She's sent me quite a lot of message lately... " reaching into his infinite pockets the Doctor pulled out a small cube, "A two-way hypercube... biologically coded to both of us, I don't know where she got my DNA to imprint it... but up until a little while ago she'd been sending me... I don't know... reports, almost daily, telling me what she was doing... then it just... stopped, like something was jamming the signal," pressing the top, both sides and then the bottom of the hypercube, the Doctor nodded when it lit up, hovered into the air... and promptly shut back off and fell to the ground, "I never replied, of course - what would I say? So... busy, and all, of course... but see? It should activate and fly to her since I told it to return... it won't, it can't find her... Leela, why can't it find her? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Staring in confusion as Leela spoke of an Imperitrix, the Doctor blinked his eyes, opened his mouth... and promptly shut it again at least three more times before he said, "Imperitrix? That... that's a legend - like the Toclafane, or the Pandorica or Xoanon... okay, bad examples - but the point still stands, Imperitrix... IMPERITRIX?! It's LESS than a legend - it's not even HALF a legend... some moldy old scrolls in the bottom of a well under the panoptican written by some half-mad scribe describing an all-powerful empress who can control peoples minds with nothing but psychic powers, her own body-odder and a muscle-bound alien... besides, all those old legends of the 'Passion Queen' - the Pandora - said she was erased from time. Why would Romana bring up some dusty old title? How could she get the CIA and the High Council to just give UP power?"

Listening as Leela tried to explain that he'd taught her to think things through - that there was always a solution - the Doctor paced confusedly, "But a solution to WHAT? Why would Romana just up and decide that the ONLY way to heal her new Gallifrey is to start another Time War?" scowling the Doctor scratched his head and tilted his stetson back, "Are you like some bait or something? A hologram? Is this like some hallucinogenic vision where everything is turned backwards?" watching Leela's hand go for her knife the Doctor held up his hands, "Woah! Hold that thought savage - I believe you... I think... but there has to be a reason, some plan... I never wanted Romana to be president - I picked Flavia - but she IS president... isn't there some sort of 'good reason' here? What is she planning? What makes you think she's not just pulling some rabbit out of her robes?"

The hypercube might not have done as it was programmed and returned back to its former owner, but damage had already been done. Romana, the now imperiatrix of the Time Lords, had only just arrived on Karn with the purpose of turning Ohica and her people. If Ohica refused then the garrison of loyal and obedient soldiers that accompanied their imperiatrix would change her mind, either that or wipe out her people totally from all time and space. But when the signal was briefly send out from The Doctor's hypercube, the purpose of coming to karn changed. Now the purpose had turned into finding the Doctor and turning him to the cause, because with The Doctor upon her side, there would be nothing to stop Romana.

In fact it would make Romana's cause of conquering all and establishing a new Time Lord empire all the more easier, because The Doctor was a genius and could come up with so many new things and ways of doing something. If that kind of imaginative genius was properly influence, then it could be turned very sinister and could be used to come up with so many new ways of destruction even torture. Oh yes Romana needed someone like that under her control, more so than some cave dwelling witches who may or may not have the same kind of mental abilities as Romana.

Even though the signal from the hypercube was brief, it was enough for Romana to detect it and even get a rough location upon where it came from. When Romana and her men had arrived in the general area of where the signal originated, it didn't take them long to spot the blue box up on a cliff, and where there was a blue box there was The Doctor. Romana, the host at least, never understood why The Doctor liked his Tardis in this blue box form. Even back when the host used to travel with him it was in that form, after all this time he still hadn't got around to fixing the chameleon circuit. Well that would change once 'Romana' and her new found influence took control of The Doctor.

The new imperiatrix ordered her men into position around the area in which the blue Tardis stood, and when they made sure that there was no escape. Romana decided to reveal herself to both The Doctor and his hooded companion just in time to catch the last part of The Doctor's confused ramblings. "It's very simple my good Doctor, I have disbanded the high council, and as far as the CIA are concerned, well they are just like the soldiers at my command. They will obey my words as gospel, even if it goes against their own wants and desires..." Romana's words echoed out from the tree line, before she stepped out into the light and toward the two other people near the tardis. The imperiatrix's choice of clothing was a long flowing red dress and robe, with a golden head dress that was attached to her shoulders, a dress that suited her new status and title perfectly.

"Oh and the Pandora is more than just a legend, she was real, the first and only Imperiatrix of Gallifrey. Before she was brutally overthrown and left to rot within the original matrix, she build an empire that unified all the houses of Gallifrey. There was no war, there were no pathetic power plays by people out for power, there was order, there was peace and there was unity. That's want I intend to bring to Gallifrey now, as the daughter of Pandora herself." Romana knew that would raise more questions from The Doctor, so with a sinister smirk upon her lips she answered them before he even had a chance to say one word.

"When the Pandora was imprisoned within the matrix, she used her knowledge of genetics and created a new version of herself, me. The Pandora did intend to one day take control of Romana, and us her as a new host; she even came close to accomplishing that goal at one point. Unfortunately someone got in the way at the last moment and stopped the first imperiatrix from re-entering all time and space. But you above anyone else should know Doctor, there is always options isn't there?" By now Leela had her knife in hand, but with just a snap of her fingers Romana revealed her loyal soldiers that came out of their hiding places and disarmed both Leela and The Doctor by taking the knife and the sonic screwdriver away.

The soldiers remained close by and four of them even surrounded the Tardis to make sure The Doctor didn't bolt inside with Leela in tow. It was at that point that Romana walked past Leela, her purpose now complete, and stood right in front of The Doctor, with her eyes starring deeply into his gaze. "Enough about the how’s and the whys, let's move on to more important things shall we? You might not have answered my messages from the hypercube. But you did read them didn't you? I know because those messages were designed to imprint the first few stages of my mental influence over you, now it's time to finish the job." Within a blink of an eye, Romana had reached out and grabbed The Doctor by the face and had begun the final stages she would need in order to turn The Doctor to her side fully and completely.

“Ohica, a scout has spotted the arrival of a TARDIS by the eastern cave entrance.” “Has she seen who has come from it, Sister?” “A strange man with messy brown hair, a coat, and a cloth like a bow about his neck, Mother. He is not recognizable.” “Are there any others with him?” “Not that we have yet seen.” “We need to know his purpose here. The times are dark, and the Gallifreyan President Lady Romana has become a threat. Gather the sisters. We will form a circle to discover their intentions.”

The High Priestess swept towards the chair in the midst of the area in which they made their circles of meditation. She perched herself upon the seat and waited somewhat anxiously whilst the others gathered around her, kneeling on the floor all around. Once they had all arrived, Ohica raised her right hand towards her eyes; it had a large face, with a gem that was somewhat flat and reminiscent of a screen or a mirror. She had inherited it years ago from Maren, back when the former High Priestess had wished to pass along the seat of honor and power of the Sisterhood of Karn to Ohica. Ohica remembered her old mother and mentor fondly every time they formed a circle and looked into the face of that ring.

“Let us begin, my sisters!” she said, her voice firm and powerful. The sisters around her began chanting in a low, hissing sort of sound. It swelled slowly, a crescendo that resonated throughout the cave around them. Ohica closed her eyes at first, and the sisters continued their mantra. Sacred Flame. Sacred fire. They moved, swaying up and down, from the ground to as high as they could reach in their knelt positions. Ohica opened her eyes and grasped at her right hand with her left. Her eyes widened as she was pulled deep into the trance, and she stared as the ring showed her what she needed to see.

“The Doctor. He has returned.” Ohica was surprised at his new features, but that was beside the point. The Sisterhood of Karn themselves had been given the ability to regenerate now. Perhaps what surprised her more was the fact that he had shown up at all. She had been told that he wanted nothing to do with the new Gallifrey. “The Doctor has arrived on Karn.” Leela appeared next in her ring, and Ohica nodded. She had been previously contacted by Leela to work with the Outsiders. She was the reason that Ohica even knew about the present danger concerning Romana. But… “And Romana. Romana is approaching! Her intent is apparent. Sisters, we must break. They will be needing us!”

Moments later, the Sisterhood of Karn was marching out of the cave together, large torches in their hands, a few even armed with knives and daggers. Even if they were a religious group, that didn’t mean that they weren’t prepared for a fight. The fires flickered high in the air, and the heat was somewhat uncomfortable in all those robes. Still, they had a job to do. They knew better than most the stories of Pandora, and if Leela was right about Romana’s intent to declare herself Imperiatrix, they needed to stop her.

Ohica led them forward, and in minutes, they had come upon the Doctor, Romana, and Leela. They had gotten there later than Ohica would have liked, but they were in time to prevent the worst. Romana’s hands grasped the Doctor’s face. “Spawn of Pandora, release him!” Ohica practically spat, her voice echoing brilliantly at the edge of the cavern. Her left hand held the flaming torch, but her right hand flashed her dagger towards Romana.

Before Romana could even respond, however, Ohica shoved her dagger into her belt and grabbed the Doctor’s arm. He hardly budged – how could he, with Romana having already gotten a hold on him? She pushed her torch into the hands of one of her fellow priestesses. Turning, she grabbed hold of the Doctor’s shoulders with both hands and jerked him backwards. “You must come on, Doctor!” she said urgently, pulling him with her. He was staggering, at first barely in control of himself, but somehow she managed to half-drag him as they took flight. She looked about herself at the sisters, who were deep into causing a commotion with Romana and her other guards. “Hurry, now!” she called to them all. Some of them would stay as long as it took to distract them. The rest would come with her, the Doctor, and Leela.

And they ran.

Never did Leela hate hearing a compliment more than the one that the Doctor decided to give her. What the Master had done to her was always going to be a sore spot, but now was not the time or the place to complain about it. Instead, she said, "As it has been to you too." Now that she was sure he was who he said he was, she could take her first good look at this latest incarnation of the Doctor. He had gotten rid of his long scarf and had opted for something much smaller to wear around his neck--some strange piece of cloth fixed into the shape of a bow. Whatever it was, it suited him and his new younger body. But Leela would never be fooled by his young appearance. She knew how old he truly was.

To add insult to injury, the Doctor then took out his sonic screwdriver to probe her. But he couldn't know that she hated her young body. When he started to say what an interesting story was probably behind her appearance, she interrupted him because the last thing she wanted to be thinking about was the Master right now.

She didn't get to say much before the Doctor was interrupting her again. A quizzical expression crossed her face as the Doctor mentioned knowing what they had been up to. He explained in his usual nonsensical way, pulling out a cube that didn't seem to be working properly. And then the Doctor kind of got back on subject by asking her if she wasn't telling him something. Leela managed to get in, "I have been trying to tell you, Doctor!" before the Doctor finally did let her explain what she knew to the best of her ability.

Leela listened to him rant about how it couldn't be true, although she understood none of the references he was making to other legends of the past. There was no point in interrupting him; let him get all of his disbelief out in one fell swoop. Leela knew what she had heard and what she had sensed the day in the cave with Romana. When he had calmed down enough, Leela said, "You yourself say that legends and myths are built on truth. Even half a legend must have some truth in it." Leela had seen far too much during her time with the Doctor not to believe that anything was possible.

Her hand started to tighten around the hilt of her knife again as the Doctor was proving to be less than useful right now. He didn't want to believe in this legend and, if he didn't believe in it, he seemed not to want to do anything about it. Then, the Time Lord threw a plethora of questions at her. The only one Leela could answer was his last one. "She met with me in secret a few days ago," she said, "She wanted me and the other Outsiders to take up arms in her name and storm the Capitol...but it wasn't Romana with me in the cave. She was not acting like herself. I saw someone other than Romana in her eyes that day. I felt great evil in that cave, even though we were the only two in it. And when have me instincts ever been wrong, Old One?"

Just then another voice spoke up--one that was familiar and, yet, not familiar at the same time. Her eyes followed the sound of the voice until they landed on Romana--well, whoever was controlling Romana. All while the Time Lady spoke, Leela's mind was racing through the best strategy of attack. She had just decided on what to do but before she could act she was grabbed and disarmed by Romana's hidden guards. Leela tried kicking at them, gaining any leverage that she could, but they were too strong for her. "DOCTOR!" she screamed out, as Romana grabbed onto his face, trying one last time to break free of her kidnappers but to no avail.

The seconds felt like years as they ticked by. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two before the Sisters of Karn had arrived on the scene, ready for battle. A few of the Sisters attacked the guards that had been holding Leela, setting her free. She grabbed her knife from one of the dying men. "Thank you," she said to the guard, a glint in her as she stabbed him in his one heart that was still beating. Leela lived for battles like this.

However, she wasn't given the opportunity to dispatch any of Romana's followers as Ohica called out to the Doctor. Leela knew it would be wise to stick by the Doctor's side this time. "Come on, Doctor!" she shouted out, having a hard time spotting him in the melee going on right now. She ran towards Ohica, knowing the Time Lord would be close behind and followed the High Priestess, hoping she knew somewhere safe enough where they could regroup for awhile.

Scowling when Leela asked him when her instincts had ever been wrong, the Doctor sighed but, slowly, the scowl turned into a sad smile, "Picking me for a friend, savage," he said tiredly, "That was definitely not your best move," but the sadness and exhaustion in the Doctor's face melted away the minute 'Romana' made her grand entrance. Leela wasn't a Time Lord - Leela couldn't see - and, despite her closeness to Romana, she had never been QUITE as close as the Doctor was... even after all these years. Now that the Doctor could see her, all he saw was the... creature, within her.

He didn't even know if any of Romana remained... the creature - whatever Pandora had become - had buried her completely. Staring at the Imperitrix as she spoke, the Doctor snorted when and said, "And how will my Lord Imperitrix keep the dissident members in line?" he asked, addressing her by the ancient Time Lord title as he and they circled each other, "When the Empire of Gallifrey became an Empire of Time Lords we conquered death - there was nothing to strive for. For ten million years we held absolute power, but nothing NEW happened - everything was the same. We just stopped. No one spoke because we'd all heard it before... and then I came along,"

Staring at the Imperitrix, the Doctor said, "Suddenly there were new words to say - new thoughts to think... this isn't some race of easily-conquered primitives who've stumbled upon the power of black hole manipulation. In my lifetime there have been more rogues - more chaos spread by my people - than there has in the WHOLE of our history. We aren't just a race of dusty senators anymore... do you really believe you can control this MUCH chaos at once?" the Doctor barely responded when his sonic screwdriver was taken. When the Imperiatrix revealed that she had allowed Romana to send those hypercube transmissions - that she'd been manipulating him for so long - the old Time Lord just smirked and said, "Bite not lest you be bitten,"

Struggling as he was forced towards her by her loyal soldiers, the Doctor grinned wickedly when the Imperitrix said she would turn him to her side, "Oh you think so?" he winked at her, "Bigger and nastier people than you have tried to suck my brains out before. With, I assure you, no success whatsoever," grunting as she grabbed his face, the Doctor felt her pour herself into his mind. The Doctor smirked to himself, "Geronimo," suddenly every single one of the Doctor's incarnations came to the fore - everything he'd ever thought, every person he ever had been, for a split second he WAS eleven lifetimes all at once. With a roar the Doctor pounced THROUGH the power of the Pandora and forced her back into her own mind.

Standing with a white-pillared chamber, the Doctor grinned down at the writhing, shimmering harpy-like creature standing opposite him, "Yeah, we're in YOUR mind now... I really hate invading a mind - especially one like this... what a dump..." staring at the creature that embodied the Pandora, the Doctor licked his teeth like a predator and said, "Hurts... doesn't it? You might remember that the next time you hurt one of my friends," suddenly the whole chamber shook and the embodiment of the Pandora quivered in pain, "Where. is. Romana?" he asked coldly.

For a second the Doctor's image seemed to flicker and you could almost see a tall man in a pinstripe suit, "What? Are you torturing her?" suddenly the whole chamber shook even harder, "I'll just bet you are... it's so much your style... cliched and ugly..." again, the Doctor flickered and this time a tall man with a skin-head and leather jacket appeared for a second, "WHERE is she!" a long jagged crack appeared across the floor and - in succession - a man in a frock coat, a shorter man in a jacket and a panama hat followed by a rain-bow colored clown and a cricketer appeared before the Doctor solidified again.

Wincing as the chamber began to crumble, the Doctors eyes gleamed as he shouted, "Mind BENDING CHAMPION!!!" he bellowed as the whole chamber rocked, "I've defeated better than you - Morbius, Borusa, my own FRIEND! If you know whats good for you you'll tell me where Romana is NOW!!" dropping to one knee the Doctor flickered again and this time a curly haired man, followed by a big-nosed dandy and a clown flashed past before he said, "Romana! WHERE is Romana!" just as an elderly man in a baggy coat appeared, the Doctor found it - he smelt it - that taste, that feeling that he remember from long ago... a shrill scream filled the air and - for a minute - the Doctor could see her, "Romana..."

Winking again, the Doctor dropped to the floor in pain and rasped out, "Gotcha," suddenly the whole chamber collapsed and the Doctor was falling - all his bravado, using all of his memories - it had taken every ounce of his own will to force the Pandora back into Romana's body... and now she had control again. He could feel his own mind collapsing as her beauty - her majesty - took control... and then it was gone. So intent on turning him, she hadn't thought what would happen if she were stopped half-way through. As Ohica pulled him away, the Doctor almost couldn't respond - but at the same time, the Pandora was just as handicapped. Unable to fight or give orders she was forced to retreat back into her own mind and - once again - the Doctor got that familiar taste in his mouth, "Romana..." he whispered with a grin as Ohica yanked him away and the Sisterhood broke away from the invaders.

Running hurt - everything hurt. It had taken so much of him to fight the Pandora as he had - perhaps more than he'd ever put forth in his whole life time. As they drew away from the cliffs, Ohica pointed them down a long winding path into the forest, "They'll just follow us!" the Doctor shouted as Leela grabbed him by the arm to keep him from stumbling. Leaning on her, the Doctor rasped out, "It's me - you have to... have to leave me, my mind - she has placed... part of herself in my mind, I had to - had to let her... I found Romana, she's alive, she's alive inside the Pandora..." almost blacking out from exhaustion, the Doctor was grateful for Leela's strength... and bewildered when Ohica told him all would be prepared for... as the trees along the edge of the forest burst into flame.

As the Doctor was led into the bower, the trees on the edge were set alight, "It is as you wished, Mother," said one of Ohica's sisters as she came running up followed by six or seven Outsider youth, "We have gathered Leela's outriders - the whole border of the Northern forest is alight, we have bought the time you desired - Romana will either have to go all the way around - to the West and try to find the secret passage through the forest - or she'll have to put out the flames we've started," staring at the young woman in shock, the Doctor slowly looked at Ohica and grinned, "Oh... that's clever..." he chuckled, "I like that..." and then he almost collapsed again until one of Leela's followers helped her support him.

"But I don't understand... one thing... we can't just run off - we can't just hide here, we have to save Romana! I did everything I could - put everything I AM against the Pandora! I found her! We HAVE to go back!!" suddenly a raspy voice spoke, "There is more than Romana at stake here..." turning his head weakly, the Doctor's mouth fell open as a lanky, grey-haired man approached. Blind in one eye, he possessed an air of nobility and wisdom that made him seem almost ethereal as he nodded at the Doctor and said, "Thete," blinking his eyes in confusion, the Doctor shook his head half-deliriously and said, "Brax?"

(OOC: The bit about the chamber was the Doctor forcing his way into Pandora's mind when she first made contact. The true mental remnant controlling Romana. I left what she said - if anything - up to Romana's player. But it's pretty obvious here that the Doctor - while powerful - was outmatched by her. The bit with his regenerations passing backwards was the concentration of his memories keeping her trapped while he tore into her mind trying to find Romana. He found her but - as when he fought Morbius - at great cost to himself... he's weak and tired, so this should be good

I don't know how 'injured' the Pandora will have been by what the Doctor did. He's very powerful - mentally - but with both Romana's physical form and her own powers, the Pandora is way beyond him as a mind-bending opponant. Even if all he did was piss her off... I'd say she's probably REALLY pissed off

I hope everyone's okay with the bit that went on. Tried to give everyone something to do - if anyone wants any changes let me know. The Doctor will probably pass out in my next post and Brax will be along to the Sisterhood's outpost in the heart of the forest. We need a few posts of Leela, Brax, Ohica and the Doctor figuring out how to defeat the Pandora and release Romana - only for said Romana to end up finding them and attacking them until Brax reveals his ace. Feel free, our Romana player, to delegate authority to your soldiers and storm the burning forest-castle!!! But don't find them too quickly ))

After the mental connection with The Doctor was broken and as he was pulled away by those infernal witches that came to his, and Leela's rescue. Romana stumbled backward and land against a thick tree trunk it was then that for a very long moment everyone was confused. The strong and powerful loyalty that the soldiers felt, the determination to carry out their orders to please their Imperitrix, all of it just seemed to disppear. Romana remained against the tree, breathing very heavily, while her eye lids fluttered uncontrollably. The Doctor might not have defeated the Pandora within Romana's mind, but he had done enough to weaken the creature, and gave the real Romana a chance to fight back and fight back she did.

Within Romana's mind right now, the white-pillared chamber, where The Doctor ended up, had begun to crumble and crack all around. In the middle of the chamber two feminine figures fought one another, like gladiators within the coliseum. One of the figures was all in white and had a very powerful majestic feel about her, while the other feminine figure was petite, young and had a weak almost fragile feel about her. The fighting between the two female combatants seemed to go on for hours and hours, but in actual time, it took the figure all in white mire minutes to dispatch the other female figure.

When the young female figure was defeated upon her knees, the white majestic figure simply waved her hand and just like that the blue aura figure disappeared back into the mental cage that held her to begin with. It was at that point that the chamber began to repair itself, large cracks sealed shut, and fallen pillars took back former residence within the places they originally stood before The Doctor came along.

In the real world, Romana eye lids had shut for a moment, and her head lowered forward slightly. It was then within that moment that the order and loyalty within the soldiers was re-establish, and re-establish with a vengeance. As soon as the mental control was restored within the minds of the soldiers, Romana slowly lifted her head up straight, and her eyes opened wide for a brief moment before they settled back into their normal position. It was at that point one of Romana’s soldiers moved toward her and gently took his Imperiatrix by the elbow.

“My lord Imperiatrix, are you alright? Do you have orders?” Before she answered, Romana looked toward the soldiers hand upon her elbow, which prompted the soldier to remove his hand very quickly. Once the hand was removed, Romana eyed the soldier with a dark tint within her eyes, before she turned her attention to the other assembled soldiers. ”Your orders are to find them, find The Doctor and those that help him, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes. You will find The Doctor or face the full force of my wrath!”When Romana shouted the last word of her order. The flames from the recently lit fires erupted into the skies of Karn, which caught everyone’s attention, including Romana's.

As everyone watched the fires burn, Romana lowered her gaze upon everyone around her and watched as their facial expressions turned angrier and determined. It was like watching trained dogs carry out orders and tricks their master had taught them. When a few of the soldiers looked back to Romana, she simply waved her hand at them and they carried out Romana’s order of finding The Doctor no matter what they had to do. A few of the soldiers started work on drowning out the flames while others began the long journey around to the west side of the valley to try and find another way into the caves. The remaining soldiers stayed behind with their Imperiatrix, as she moved closer to The Doctor’s TARDIS to stroke a hand down its side tenderly, as if she was a lover, reaching out to caress her new found love.