David Collings gave a chilling performance as a ruthless, cold-blooded Doctor in the Unbound audio Full Fathom 5. That story made me want more of that alternative Doctor, even if the ending did make him seem like a moron.
Violet, his vampire companion, is entirely my creation. Obviously a darker Doctor will have a darker companion!
The renegade Time Lord known as the Watcher was in big trouble. He ran through the maze of trenches looking for an escape. In the distance he heard the thunder of artillery and the thudding of shells. Was it Kaleds shelling Thals, or Thals shelling Kaleds?
His pursuers were gaining on him. If only he could reach his TARDIS! He tripped and fell into the mud. He looked up, realising with horror that he had come to a dead end in the trench. He turned around to see his pursuers bear down on him.
The first one was a woman, a tall young woman with pale skin and chestnut hair. She wore a camouflage-patterned combat suit and a blaster gun was slung over her shoulder. A 'Chairman Mao' cap completed the outfit. She opened her mouth, baring a set of terrible fangs. 'A vampire, like in the legends of Gallifrey!' he realised with horror.
The second pursuer was a tall man wearing a black dinner jacket with a bow tie. If he had been a human, he would have appeared to be in his early sixties. A shaggy mane of grey hair framed his face. There was a hard and grim expression on it. The Watcher recognised this man. It was another renegade Time Lord, the one known as the Doctor.
"We meet again, Watcher," said the Doctor.
"You know what I am doing here, Doctor," said the Watcher. "You know what is going to come from Skaro. You have seen what the Daleks are going to do when they begin their conquests. We have to stop them!" he pleaded.
"For a Time Lord, you're a fool," replied the Doctor. "You thought you could take it upon yourself to make just one nice little clean intervention. Prevent the Daleks from ever existing. If you had spent centuries travelling through time and space as I have, you would know that it is never that easy. You are risking the future lives of millions. What you are suggesting could have untold consequences. We may be renegade Time Lords, but we have a responsibilities. You were about to betray that responsibility."
The Watcher rose to his feet. "Doctor, please..."
The Doctor ignored him and turned to the woman. "Violet, kill him quickly."
"No!" screamed the Watcher.
Violet pulled a staser pistol from her belt and pulled the trigger. A blast of light struck the Watcher, killing him instantly. Violet had a great fondness for stasers. Such a slim, elegant little weapon. Its slender barrel betrayed the massive energy discharge it fired. One blast from a staser would cause immense destruction to even a Time Lord's body. There was no prospect of regeneration after being hit by a staser blast.
"Well done, Violet. I would have let you feed on him, but there isn't time. This whole area is likely to be bombarded by that artillery. We have to get back to the TARDIS fast. Besides, I don't like being around at these crucial moments in history. It makes me nervous," said the Doctor. He put his arm around his companion and the two of them made their way back through the trenches, the sound of the bombardment coming ever louder.
Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor made himself a cup of tea and settled down in a wicker chair. Killing Time Lords was never an easy task; it was disturbing to kill one's own kind and especially those who one had known for many years. Nevertheless, the Watcher had been crazy to think that he could make such a colossal intervention in history. He felt no uneasiness about being given this mission by the Celestial Intervention Agency.
Violet padded in. She had stripped off her combat gear and taken a shower. She now wore spotted pyjamas. She dropped into a wicker chair, curling up her bare feet beneath her. The Doctor rose to make Violet a cup of tea.
"I don't understand, Doctor," said Violet. She spoke with a refined, aristocratic accent. She had been the daughter of Lord Carvourne of Reymount before becoming undead. "You never seem that bothered about the laws of the Time Lords normally. Why are you so horrified about the Watcher intervening this time?"
"The Watcher has seen all the horrors that the Daleks will unleash upon the universe. He thinks that because the Daleks are evil, they need to be eradicated. Unfortunately, he has not spent as long travelling the universe as I have. He has not realised how many far worse horrors are lurking in the dark places of the cosmos. Evil things sometimes keep other evil things in check," replied the Doctor.
"Just like you keep me in check," said Violet with a smile.
"Exactly," laughed the Doctor.
Violet was absolutely right. He was keeping her in check. Back on Earth, Violet had killed countless victims, bleeding them dry. He might have killed her, as he did other monsters, but sometimes monsters could be useful. He had taken Violet and trained her to become his strong arm woman. He disliked carrying weapons himself; it was always easier to find a peaceful solution when one was unarmed, but he liked to have a armed assistant around for contingencies.
Violet was a vampire and she still craved blood. To meet her needs, he had taken up pig farming and bred a whole herd of pigs on board the TARDIS for her to feed on. He also carried a chemical substitute in case they ever got separated from the ship. He had no intention of ever becoming Violet's victim. When he was especially pleased with her, he would offer her his arm or neck to give her a little taste. Time Lord blood was a great delicacy for her. It was not something he allowed her too often. That was the wonderful thing about her blood thirst. It meant that she could be manipulated so easily. He had often chosen companions who were addicted to drugs. As long as he was the one with the supply on the TARDIS, he could get his human assistants to do what he wanted.
As a Time Lord, he had a duty to kill vampires on pain of death. He had done so before, but he did not feel bound by this rule. The Yssgaroth and their vampire offspring might once have been the greatest threat to the universe in the Dark Times, but things had changed. Perhaps it was good for the vampires to be around. It reminded the Time Lords that they were not invulnerable. Most ironically of all, it was a shocking reminder that they were not the first race to posses the ability to regenerate.
The Doctor knew that one day he would kill Violet. His companions always turned on him in the end. He had killed his last companion, the genetically engineered super-soldier Jameson Bourneville. Jameson had been useful, but he proved to have too many moral qualms. He might have been created to be the perfect assassin, but he did not have 900 years of experience of travelling time and space. Nobody, no matter how powerful could ever thwart the Doctor.
Violet deserved a treat. As he poured her tea, he took out his pocket knife and made a slight tear to his hand. He let a little blood flow into the teacup and passed it to his faithful companion.
