Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 4 - Time Jumper

After several minutes of frantic running, the deep blue of the TARDIS finally came into view. Despite the situation, Lyssa felt something in her relax at the sight of it as they neared safety.

"Almost there!" the Doctor called, pulling a stumbling Lyssa up to the doors, stopping and dropping her hand to dig through his pocket for the key. Lyssa bent over and put her hands on her knees, trying to get her breath under control as she felt a cramp threaten to form in her side.

 Something furry wrapped around her mouth as she stood up and pulled her back into a heavy body covered in more of the same fur. Another limb wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms to her chest. She tried to cry out and break free, but felt both limbs squeeze harder in retaliation, muffling her cries and threatening to cut off her access to air.

Oblivious to her struggles, the Doctor pulled out the key with a sound of triumph. "All right, in we go!" he stated, turning around to usher her in and stopping short when he saw her current state. "Lyssa!" He started forward, freezing when something sharp was pressed against her throat. She held very still, drawing in shallow breaths and wincing each time the sharp metal scraped her skin.

"Don't come any closer, Doctor, or your friend dies," the alien sneered. "Stay where you are and she might survive."

He immediately held up his hands to show that he had no weapons, the key mysteriously vanishing from sight. "All right! I stopped. Now what do you want?" he asked, switching his gaze from Lyssa to the alien.

"I want what you stole from us!" the alien hissed menacingly.

The Doctor frowned, visibly confused. "I didn't steal anything from you! You don't have anything I want, what would I have taken?"

The Alrkan hissed again, digging the knife a little deeper into Lyssa's throat, making her wince. "You stole our home from us! Our lives!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just stay - I didn't steal anything!" the Doctor repeated frantically, eyes on Lyssa. "All I did was tell your friend that he was using an illegal form of the oil and that he should maybe consider using a different kind instead! That's all! I swear! That's the only interaction I've had with your people today."

"You think this is about the oil?" the alien sneered, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "This was never about the oil! This is about revenge, Doctor. We knew this was our chance when we recognized you. Every Alrkan knows the face of the man who stole everything from us," he spat. "The face of the man who ruined our planet!"

The Doctor shook his head, keeping his hands in the air. "I haven't done anything to you, I promise! I've never even been to your planet!"

"You didn't have to," the alien growled, not loosening his grip. "The Time War wiped out my planet with ever being visited by a single Time Lord. It wasn't too hard to realize that the man who had ended the Time War had also ended my planet. The only survivor - what else could you be?"

Lyssa sucked in a breath. She didn't know if he was lying or not about the Time War destroying his planet, but mentioning it was a surefire way to make the Doctor emotional. That had rarely ended well on the show.

The Doctor recoiled. "No! I didn't - I couldn't - the Time War never touched planets as far out as Alrkus! The Time War raged across galaxies, but it never touched Alrkus! It was still there when my planet fell," he pleaded, tears shimmering in his green eyes.

"Liar!" the Alrkan shouted, his grip on Lyssa tightening painfully as his rage increased to the point of insanity. "Our planet fell with Gallifrey, and only a few of us survived. I've been searching for you for a long time, Doctor, and now you've stumbled into my hands. But I don't think I'll kill you." He chuckled darkly, digging the point of the blade into Lyssa's neck. She flinched, sucking in a sharp breath and closing her eyes as a warm liquid started to trickle down her throat.