//------------------------------// // Evil Evolution // Story: Dr. Hooves Shadows of an Empire // by Word Painter //------------------------------// "Doctor!" Rose screamed again, desperation filling her voice. The Doctor continued staring, oblivious to the world around him, as pure fear coursed through his very essence. The nightmare took over and feasted on his fear. Rose could not tell exactly what was going on, but she could tell it was all coming from the door, so she ran up to it and gave it a hard buck. The door swung closed, and the shadows vanished, along with the green in the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor then stood up, legs shaking a little. "That was unpleasant," he said. "Blimey, Doctor, are you all right?" Rose exclaimed, rushing over. "Fine," the Doctor said. "This is not the first time something has gotten inside my head, so I'm quite used to it. Now, Doctor, think. Living darkness. . . shadow with evil intent . . . Vashta Nerada!" he yelled triumphantly. "What?" Rose asked. "Is it some type of alien or something?" "No, they're on about every planet," the Doctor frowned. "The shadows that melt the flesh, now, they don't usually act like this -- unless . . . uh oh." The Doctor's voice was getting faster as he analyzed the problem. "They evolved to feast on darkness itself. That would make sense, because here it seems light and dark have some mysterious power. As they gained this power, they most likely learned to feast on negative emotion signatures or dark emotions! That door was meant to give me terror, so that the force could feed." "Why didn't these Vashta Ner- whatevers evolve on Earth, then?" Rose asked. "Magic, most likely," the Doctor said. "It's the most fundamental thing this world has that ours doesn't." "What about dark magic?" The Doctor thought before answering. "I have a hunch they're one and the same." "Vashta Nerada or no, we still need to fix this," Rose said. "Any ideas on how to get past the door?" "Easy, now that I know it's dark magic," the Doctor replied, and he picked up his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it straight at Rose. Then he clumsily hit the button. The blue light fell on Rose's horn and glowed the blue-green of her eyes, before emitting a blast of magic to the gem at the top of the door. The door opened to reveal yet another hall. "Come on!" the Doctor cried. "We must be close!" They trotted quickly down the hallway, which was lit with torches. Shadows fell over the path from time to time. Suddenly --poof!-- a torch went out. Then --poof!-- another disappeared. Poof! -- poof!-- poof! -- all of the torches were out, leaving the Doctor and Rose standing in the dark. "Doctor, didn't you say 'the shadows that melt the flesh'?" Rose asked, her voice calmer than she was. "Just hold on," the Doctor said, fumbling with the Sonic, trying to manipulate it with his hooves in the dark. He finally got it to work, and it zapped Rose's horn, which then started to put off a glow. "How do you keep doing that?" Rose asked. "I tapped into your magic, which you didn't know how to use, and just kinda helped you use it,"the Doctor replied. "Wait a minute, you hijacked my magic?" "No," the Doctor replied. "Hey, you were the one who controlled it; I just helped it along." "So it was me who gave the command?" Rose asked. "Indeed," the Doctor affirmed. The Doctor and Rose finally made it to the end of the tunnel, where they found a large room made of crystal. They stepped into the room, and just as Rose's tail passed through, the door slammed shut behind them. Then --bam!-- the room was filled with a dark power. "You shouldn't have let me get into the center!" the Doctor yelled at the dark force, as he clumsily raised his Sonic Screwdriver and pushed the button, ready to emit the high sonic resonance. To his surprise, nothing happened. Although the room was full of sonic power and light, the dark force only receded slightly. Giving up only a little ground, the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at Rose's horn, which lit up brighter, casting a darkness-eliminating power thorough the room. Still the creature advanced. "The light should have stopped it!" the Doctor cried in a panicked voice. "What do we d….." Rose was cut off as the force lashed out at her and lifted her from the ground. "Aaaaaah!" Rose screamed, as her eyes fogged over and began to emit purple smoke and turn a sickly green. "NO!" the Doctor yelled, all composure gone, all restraint gone. "YOU WILL NOT HURT ROSE! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" He took a step closer to the force, voice getting low and dangerous. "I'm the Doctor, the oncoming storm. I have lived for hundreds of years and had many friends, but I have never ever had as good of a friend as Rose Tyler." The force began to recede as the doctor spoke. "She has stood by me through all the terrors we have faced, and she gave up her family just to be with me. She is the best friend in the multi-verse, and I am proud to be her friend! I will let nothing happen to her!" The Doctor began to glow, and his words were filled with power, as a circle of light and resistance formed around him, growing larger and larger. It expanded past Rose and past the evil force, wiping out the shadows in its wake. Then there was a rumbling and a flash as the lost empire slowly rose from the ground, its many beautiful turrets and towers pushing their way through the cold arctic soil. Houses and shops came into view, all glimmering with the light of their many gems. The Doctor and Rose found themselves standing under a large crystal tower in the middle of a grand, shining city. "What happened?" Rose asked. "Well, you were put you under an evil spell, and I used the deus ex machina power of friendship to rescue you!" the Doctor said matter-of-factly. "You're kidding," Rose said, a smile creeping onto her face. "Well, it was only logical. They feed off darkness, so to destroy them, give them light. They feed off negative feelings, so I gave them positive ones," the Doctor said. "Doctor, you are one impossible man," Rose said.