Ian Heartbreak/ Alistair Cruciatus: Bioengineering

"Simple," Ian said coldly. "Release her." He gestured to the Dalek and glared. "You know, I used to think you were a great person but now you have taken over this body, I have no harm doing this." He threw his fist into Alistair's nose. He looked back to the Dalek and knew that a fight was about to break. Why not get in some broken bones while I'm at it? He asked himself and began to speak to Aretha. "Don't worry. We'll get you out and Death will, hopefully, be here soon." He turned his back to the Dalek in a defensive pose. "Don't mess with me, I'm too epic for you any day."

Alistair shrugged as his nose snapped back into place. "If you really think you could get her out, why not do it now? That shell is made of an entirely new element, and even besides that her mind is as impenetrable as that armor. It's just a matter of time before the fear becomes too much and she shuts her feelings down- then it's over. So what do you think? Am I clever, or am I cruel- or am I both? Either way, you have to appreciate what I've done here. I engineered an entirely new species- just to make her suffer! As for you, I gave you your life back," He vanished and reappeared behind Ian to finish, "And I can take it away just as easily." He tapped Ian's shoulder lightly- as though he meant for nothing more than to gain his attention, and immediately Ian's right hand began to shrivel and decay until it looked just as old as the body Niccolo had restored.

Ian swore loudly. "I'll admit your a freakin' idiot, annoyance and you should have left me in the ground." In Ian's mind, a picture of Silver flashed and he rethought his previous statement. "It would have been smarter to keep me in the ground. And Aretha, Hell, even if I've only known her for a short time, she won't give up. Death has always hung around strong people and if Ari is one of hey best friends, she must be pretty strong." He hid his hand from his view. It was quite disgusting seeing something decayed like that on his body. "You know what? Have you ever gone into Death's mind when she's angry? When she comes after you, she's not going to think. She's not going to feel. All she will be is rage." Yeah, Alistair was definitely all talk and shrivel-ness... "She ran off a while ago to kill Kerias and her head was blank." He smiled slight and turned to freaky sorcerer behind him.

"So you're telling me pure rage is going to track me down and tear me apart? Oh dear me." Alistair said mockingly. He paused for a bit, thinking, and was being completely serious when he continued, "All she will be is rage... She must be gorgeous when she's like that... Well, I can genuinely say I can't wait to properly meet her. Though I do have to ask- haven't you just met her for the first time? How could you know her so well? I mean, to go so far as to identify the people she spends time with? Either your souls are tied somehow, or you've been doing some serious prying into her mind. That's rather impolite, you know. The good guys aren't supposed to do those kinds of things. And in regards to Kerias- I really ought to pay her a visit. If there's anything left of her, that is. And while we're on the subject, it would be technically incorrect to say 'she's not going to feel' if she's angry, because rage is an emotion. And quite a lovely one, at that."

"Will you shut up now," the Dalek droned, just behind Alistair, "We understand that you are insane. There is no need to ramble on about it."

"You are not even supposed to have emotions- plus, you're a lot more fun when you're screaming. But you're not going along with either of those things right now, so sleep," Alistair commanded, rounding on the Dalek. He brushed a finger over the hard shell and it screamed abruptly before suddenly falling silent. "Now," he continued, turning back to face Ian, "What to do with you? The possibilities are endless, so pick your poison. I can do just about anything."

"Don't you dare call my apparent fiancé gorgeous." Ian growled. "And I have known her since I was a child; she saved my life from Serpine. I have seen her go through freaky stages of rage and the freakier one of being ecstatic for a decade or so, I know her and I don't think that she's changed. People like her, like Serpine, like Baron, they don't change. And I peeked into her mind as she ran to the castle." He gritted his teeth as Aretha started screaming then fell silent. "You might just think you're all high and mighty but really, you're just a sadistic man using his resources." He looked towards the door. Where are you? He thought angrily, picturing Death running through the door and then doing some epic punching. Someone was going to see this soon so Ian walked to the door and closed it quietly. "How about you decide to let her go? You can do that right? Of course you can. Free Aretha."

"Well, of course I could, but why on Earth would I want to? In fact, maybe that's what I'll do- Doctor Who has some interesting monsters, and thanks to Aretha, I know all of them. This one Dalek alone- once it's made a full conversion, of course- could probably wipe out the human race. No one has weapons advanced enough to kill it. It'd be sort of hilarious, too, watching all the people who practically live for the show have their 'everything is real!' moment, and then the change in their faces when they realize they're about to die. The excitement fades from their eyes, and you can see such strong fear. It's not worth killing someone who wants to die, because they just don't have the same eyes. That fear, that hopeless desperation, comes from a strong instinctual will to live. I do not claim to be some higher power. I freely admit that I am no more than a sadistic human with resources. 

"That's what really makes me who I am, you know. The fact that I'm just human. See, there's this part of all of us- some of us fight it much more than others, but it's always there- that just wants to see suffering. To stand and watch as the light fades from human eyes, and to know you were the one with the power to do it. You know it's there, even if you don't acknowledge it. The only thing that makes me different is the fact that I don't fight those instincts. I let them thrive. I follow every impulse I have. After doing that for a year or so, anyone will notice that they just keep getting darker and darker. I've lived for several hundred years now, pitiful existence though most of it was, and in addition to my own- which were quite extensive to begin with- I have the resources of many others at my disposal. Your friend's, too. Thank him for me, will you?"

Alistair let out a long sigh. "Well, that's it- lecture over. Shall I kill you, or turn you into something new, or just let you go?" His eyes darted towards the tiny window for a moment, then back at Ian. "Here's a little something for you. You can do whatever you want with the thing," he said, gesturing towards the Dalek behind him, "And I'll just take this for now." In the midst of his sentence he teleported across the room again to Aretha's limp body, laid a hand on her shoulder, and then both of them disappeared. Outside the little hotel pristine black cars gathered like moths drawn to a light. Naturally, it would suit Alistair greatly to have the press find out about the little Dalek, start a national hype or whatever it is they do, and maybe even hold Ian accountable. Meanwhile, Aretha's mind would be impenetrable, and he would be free to engineer more monsters.

Ian yelled a swear and ran down through the lobby and out the door. He looked at the cars that glinted in the sunlight and dipped into the drivers' minds. You are at the wrong address. You have to leave. You are leaving and forgetting this place. He did that to all the drivers and felt a familiar headache start to riot in his skull. He spun, ignoring the pain, and looked for Alistair. If I was a stupid, sadistic, evil thing with a Dalek, where would I be? Mind me, I would want to destroy the world... He growled as he couldn't come up with any place. "Come on!" He yelled in frustration, throwing his interlocked hands around the back of his neck and spinning around. "Where the Hell are you?!"

"They'll come back, you know," Said a girl with long, wavy dirty-blonde hair as she stepped out of the shadows of the alley nearest Ian. "The cars, I mean. They were sent by the world's most skilled detective. No one's ever seen him before, but even if you could somehow wipe his memory, he'd just figure everything out again. Next time he'll send more than just black cars.Then again, that won't become a problem for at least another 24 hours..." She trailed off, gray eyes staring into nothing for a long moment, before seeming to remember that Ian was still there. "Anyway, back to my purpose in coming here- I need to warn you. About Alistair. I guess you could say I'm calling his bluff, in a way."

Ian's head cocked to the side and he turned to the girl. He blinked his sapphire eyes at him and raised an eyebrow. "And why should I trust you? Last time I heard, alley rats were bad and untrustworthy." He took a step towards her and nodded at her. "Whatever. Why are you telling me this? What's your name anyway? How do you know about him and what on Earth is this bluff?" He looked behind him, suspicious of what the girl meant. Okay... What have you gotten yourself into? He asked himself and bit his lip.