Chapter Ten:

Negotiate Before Bloodshed

The x-ray laser gun had just been completed when Carla and Raiden walked in. She hesitated a moment, before saying calmly, “The Argonigoes are on the move. You’d better get going.” “Right!” the Doctor exclaimed, “Piper, you hold this-” he almost shoved the laser gun into Piper’s arms. “Alright. Come along then! Allonsy!” Piper quickly followed the Doctor out of the room, not bothering to say anything to her mother. Mrs. Dominique frowned, worriedly. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Dominique,” Raiden reassured her, “I’ll take care of Piper.” At that moment, Mrs. Dominique stopped him. “Take this.” Carla handed him a small, black standard pistol. “It’s fully loaded. If the situation gets out of control -and it will because that man is a walking trap for it- just take the guard off and let it rip.” Raiden stared at it for a moment. “When did you get a gun?” he asked, a bit in disbelief. Carla sighed. “The Doctor’s world is…remarkable, but also extremely dangerous. I don’t want any possibility of those bounty hunters coming back” she replied. Raiden then nodded in understanding. “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to her” he reassured again, before running off to catch up with Piper and the Doctor.

“Alright, give me two ticks, and we’ll be at the crocodiles’ location in no time!” The Doctor exclaimed. He did a full circle around the Tardis’ control board, dinging a bell, pushing a button, and turning switches. Raiden put the gun in his back pocket and walked over to Piper. She looked like she was lost in thought. “Hey, you alright?” he asked. Piper looked over to him. “Y-yeah, I’m fine” she replied. “She hesitated” Raiden thought. Then, he saw Piper fumbling with the fob watch in her hand. “So, why haven’t you opened the fob watch yet?” he inquired, “No one’s stopping you…” Piper didn’t answer for a minute. Then, she said, “I wanna take care of these lizards first before I do anything else…” Raiden raised an eyebrow. “That seems like…part of the reason. But she’s keeping something from me.” “You sure that’s all?” he clarified. Piper smiled. “I’m sure.” Piper turned away, shoving the fob watch back into her pocket. Then, the Tardis began to shake. “We’re here.”

The trip stepped outside. They had landed in an abandoned market store parking lot. The air was moist with dew, an the ground wet. The street lights gave off and unsettling glow as they could see the Argonigoes in the distance. The Doctor handed Piper the laser-gun.

“Stay here with Raiden. If anything goes wrong, you’re free to fire” he ordered.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Piper asked.

“I’m going to talk to them first,” the Doctor replied, “See if they’ll be willing to leave.”

“Are you crazy!?” Piper hissed, “They were willing to shoot a house full of people to get what they want! What makes you think they’ll change their minds!?”

The Doctor frowned. “I’ve got to try. I’m no killer, and neither do I want you to be.” He put his secure hands on her shoulders. “Stay here.”

Piper didn’t like staying put. She knew there was a great risk. If those Argonigoes refused to cooperate, they may kill the Doctor. They may kill her. They may kill Raiden. Raiden put his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s get behind the building. I don’t want to be a sitting duck” he suggested. Piper nodded. “Okay” she agreed, not looking away from the Doctor as he approached the Argonigoes.

    “Hello good sirs! How goes the hunt!?” The Doctor called.

“Doctor!” the leader boomed, in a forced, half-hearted, half-sarcastic tone, “Where is the Gallifreyan power source!? Give it to us, and we will consider sparing you and your companions!”

“‘Gallifreyan power source, Gallifreyan power source’,” The Doctor mocked, irritably, “Have you even considered the fact that you don’t even need the ‘Gallifreyan power source’ to be filthy rich!? I scanned your ship when I came across it. You’ve already been paid! You could just leave this planet and rat out on your contractor! You bounty hunters are good at that, right!?”

“You play us for fools, Timelord!? We will not double-cross our contractor! To double-cross them is to court death!”

“Maybe I can help you,” the Doctor offered, in a low voice, “Tell me who your contractor is, and I’ll take care of ‘them’ for you. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

The Argonigoes stared at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing. “What, and miss the chance of a lifetime to hunt an ancient Timelord!? Not a chance, Doctor! We’re not here just for the money! We’re here for the hunt!”

Suddenly, the leader pulled out a taser rifle and fired straight at the Doctor. Piper nearly screamed in terror if Raiden hadn’t covered her mouth first. He grabbed her to keep her from running and rammed their backs against the wall. Piper’s heart began to race as she had her hand right on the corner of the brick building. “Hey,” Raiden took both of her hands, “It’s okay. You’re alright. Just breathe.” “I’ve got to help him! We’ve gotta-! We’ve gotta help him!” Piper hissed, her voice breaking. “We have to wait for the signal. The Doctor knows what he’s doing. Stay calm.” But even Raiden wasn’t so sure. Mrs. Dominique had said that the Doctor is a walking trap for danger. Perhaps the Doctor really didn’t know.

The Doctor fell to his knees and hissed through his teeth, trying to cope with the shots of electricity surging through his body. “I will say it again,” said the leader, walking forward until he was right in front of the Doctor, “Where is the Gallifreyan power source?” Strength gradually returned to his feet as he stood back up. “I can make sure you’ll be safe. I can make sure that whoever your contractor is, won’t find you. All I ask is that you leave planet earth, without harming anyone on it!” The Doctor pleaded, breathless. The leader shot the Doctor again. This time, the Doctor fell on his back. Back behind the building, Raiden whispered, “Give me the x-ray laser.”

“Why?” Piper inquired, “I can handle it.”

“The Doctor said he didn’t want to turn you into a killer. I don’t want to either.”

Piper wasn’t sure. Her fingers twiddled as she continued to hold it, looking down at the ground. Raiden moved in closer. He put a hand forward and stroked her hair. “Piper…Do you trust me?” Piper slowly looked up. Her eyes drooped as her eyebrows furrowed and frowned. Her anxious, sky blue eyes met with his calm, sea green ones. Somehow, this calmed Piper. Slowly, she handed him the gun. “Please be careful” she warned. Raiden smiled, grateful that she was willing to trust him. “I will.” The Doctor could feel the friction sifting through his body and his coat, making the pain even worse. The Argonigoes slowly surrounded him. “Stop your games, Timelord! If you will not tell us, we will force it out of your throat!” One screamed. The Doctor felt himself finally catch his breath as he got back on his knees. “You’re right, this is one game I’m losing,” he said, with a hint of regret in his voice, “Time to play the wildcard.”

Piper and Raiden suddenly jumped out of their hiding spot. Raiden aimed at the Argonigoes and fired. A big, red laser, shot from the gun and struck one of the Argonigoes. The lizard roared as a bit of his scaly skin on his arm peeled off to reveal a brighter yellow spot. Piper ran to the Doctor’s side, reaching a hand out to him. The Doctor smiled as he stood up. Raiden continued to fire until all of the bounty hunters were screaming in pain as various skin from various parts of their bodies peeled off to reveal their glowing yellow underskin. “There’s still an opportunity for you to run,” The Doctor said again, then added meaningfully, “Don’t make me have to end you.” Saying the word “end” instead of “kill” still made him cringe. The leader growled angrily. “You words mean nothing, Doctor!”

Suddenly, Piper’s head started to throb. First it started as if she was being poked on her forehead. Then, the pain grew. She could hear the sound of whispering. It was a whisper of a foreign language. The weird thing was, she knew that language. “Piper, what’s wrong?” A foggy voice asked her. She couldn’t tell if it was Raiden, the Doctor, or a third person. She gripped her head and stepped back. Then, she could hear the sound of a taser rifle, then a gunshot. Her vision become foggy, and her head began to ring. She couldn’t see anything anymore in reality. She saw something else…

Fire…Ash…Cities Crumbling…

“Piper…! Piper…!” Piper suddenly saw and Argonigo in front of her about to strike her with the taser. Piper jumped out of the way. She didn’t realize the fob watch, which was in her pocket the whole time, tumbled out and smacked onto the concrete. Piper could no longer hear Raiden and The Doctor, screaming for her.

Mountains falling…Forests burning…

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Ha! Finally posting on time! How about them apples?