She once believed in every story he had to tell
One day she stiffened, took the other side
Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell
One just escapes, one's left inside the well
And he who forgets will be destined to remember...
	--Pearl Jam



Chapter 10:  PRISON

	He stared icily down at her for a few moments, his face utterly without 
feeling or expression, then looked over at Jenkins.  "Come on, then," he said, 
unlocking the TARDIS doors.  He glanced over at Ace and Tegan as if they were 
inconsequential bugs.  "And bring them."
	Grant turned to the Legion troops.  "Dismissed."  They sketched some 
sort of subtle salute and were gone.  He pushed Ace and Tegan through the 
TARDIS doors into the console room.  The Doctor was already at the console, 
preparing to dematerialize.  Ace was still too stunned to think clearly.
	"Why are we leaving?" Grant asked.
	"Because I say we are," the Doctor snapped.
	Tegan leaned over to Ace.  "What's going on here?" she asked, low.
	Ace could not take her eyes off his face, my God his face.  "The little 
piece of Legion that Seth left in his mind has taken control.  All those Legion 
goons out there, they made it stronger and it took over."
	"So what do we do?"
	"I wish I knew," Ace whispered, her mind beginning to tumble over some 
possibilites.  "But I've a feeling you'll get to meet Seth all too soon."
	"It's never too soon for my charming company," came his oily voice from 
directly behind them.  They both whirled to see him standing a few feet away.  
At the sight of him,  rage swept over Ace and without thinking she flew at him, 
her hands raised and aching to inflict some injury, any injury upon his face.  
She didn't get far before Seth casually raised a hand and she was thrown 
backwards onto the floor...but that didn't hurt nearly as much as hearing the 
Doctor laughing in the background.
	"Ah, Doctor!" Seth said, coming round to clap the Time Lord on the 
shoulder.  "It's amazing what a difference a few weeks can make in a person's 
personality."  Ace, having scrambled up from off the floor, started forward 
again with a growl.  Tegan held her back.
	"It won't help to indulge your temper," she hissed in Ace's ear.  She 
looked towards the three men by the console.  "I guess you're the king of the 
hill," she spat, looking at Seth.
	"Correct, Ms. Jovanka.  I'm most enchanted to make your acquaintance.  I 
must say you've done remarkably well chasing my man Jenkins and his band of 
merry pranksters."
	"Not well enough, it seems," she said.  She glanced at Ace, who wasn't 
paying attention, but turning recent events over in her mind, everything that 
had happened since this had all started.  It occurred to her that they'd never 
found out precisely why Seth wanted to get the Doctor under his control in the 
first place.  If, as it seemed, he wanted a Time Lord's knowledge, he could 
have taken one of any number of them...many of whom would not have been 
able to offer the same resistance.  So why the Doctor specifically?  The thing 
that set him apart was his degree of freedom and his distance from other Time 
Lords...and that would be a great asset.  
	She shook Tegan's arm off and stepped forward.  "It's interesting, isn't it 
Tegan, that Seth is here, now?  He could have taken the Doctor days ago.  On 
Odelphus, or in New York, or even in the bloody hotel room.  So why wait until 
we get here?"  She paused as a thought so obvious she'd missed it occurred to 
her.  "He must want the TARDIS."
	"Of course I want the TARDIS, my dear," he said.  "With it I can bring 
about the changes in which thus far I've only been able to dabble."
	"But you've got your own time travel!" Tegan exclaimed.
	"That's right," said Ace, realizing something.  "But it's the same time 
travel that the Guardians use...which means they could probably detect it 
every time you made a jump, right?"
	Seth smiled.  "You're very quick, aren't you?  You're quite correct.  We 
didn't dare make too many jumps or any large ones.  Damn Guardians can 
always sniff us out.  But with this..."
	"He can go anywhere he likes without setting off the bells and whistles," 
Tegan whispered.
	Ace eyed the time rotor.  They were still in flight, but there was no 
telling how long they would stay that way.  As soon as they landed there'd be 
no hope of containing this situation.  
	"A nice piece of logic," the Doctor said, breaking his silence.  Ace 
couldn't stand to look at him, so she focused on the central column as he spoke.  
"I see what you're trying to do, Ace.  You have a warrior's instincts and they 
all tell you that this situation isn't right, don't they?  But you're on the wrong 
track."
	"Indeed she is.  It matters not if I took over the Doctor's mind here or 
anywhere else.  Once he was playing for my team he'd lead me to the TARDIS."
	"Exactly!" Ace exclaimed.  "It doesn't make any difference...so why 
here?"  Something...something was circling around in her brain.  She felt as if 
she were inches away from truly understanding what was happening here.  Her 
gaze swung round to focus on Grant Jenkins.  "You," she breathed.  "It was you 
who waited until we got here to spring the trap.  You wanted us inside this 
TARDIS, Grant.  Why?"  Grant looked shocked.
	"I was merely following my orders, Ms. McShane.  I only thought it would 
save time and spare us all a nasty public scene."
	"You're lying," Ace said through clenched teeth, even though his words 
were perfectly reasonable.
	Tegan stepped forward to stand next to her fellow companion.  "I don't 
know exactly who you are or what you're after, but we won't let you get away 
with this," she said with all the force she could muster.
	"I admire your moxie, Ms. Jovanka, but you've little choice.  I have 
control of this Time Lord and his TARDIS.  If I wish, I can take control of you 
and Ace as well.  And don't think that Theo will come and rescue you," he said, 
eyeing Ace.  "She's dead.  I killed her myself, and it was almost as satisfying 
as I always thought it would be."  Ace didn't quite believe him but just the 
possibility that he was telling the truth was enough to unnerve her.  "Angel 
cannot help you either.  While you're here with me he cannot find you."  Seth 
appeared to be enjoying this immensely.  He stood by the Doctor, who'd been 
very quiet through this exchange.  Ace silently willed him to fight back, but 
she didn't know if her Doctor even existed anymore.  Seth continued, revving 
himself up as he rambled on.  "No one will know that the Doctor is anything 
other than the benevolent do-gooder he's always been.  He'll be trusted and 
welcomed in many places, but always he will be working for me.  He can come 
and go as he pleases, even to Gallifrey!  Don't you see the immense 
possibilities?"
	"Very clearly," Ace said, chilled by the havoc that Seth could wreak 
from behind the Doctor's face.
	"And there's nothing you can do to stop me," he said.  He was just rubbing 
it in now.  "Perhaps we'll start by toppling a few governments or releasing 
some lethal biotoxins.  Too many catastrophes, too little time...but who's 
worried about time?  I have all the time in the world now."  He slowly came 
forward, advancing on Ace who couldn't help but retreat from his inexorable 
advance and the slow fall of his words.  "There is no way out of this," he said, 
low and smooth.  "No rescue is possible while you're here in my TARDIS.  You 
might as well just wait calmly until I get around to converting you.  It's over, 
Ace.  Accept your fate, accept *his* fate."
	Ace stopped and her face went stony.  "There is one thing I can do," she 
said flatly.  She reached into her jacket and drew her gun.
	Seth chuckled.  "You stupid mortal, bullets cannot harm me."  Ace did not 
answer, but instead cocked the gun and aimed it at the Doctor's head.  For the 
first time, Seth looked surprised.  The Doctor himself did not flinch.  Tegan 
grabbed Ace's free arm.
	"Ace, no!"
	Her eyes did not waver, nor did her voice.  "You're a miserable and 
frustrated man, Seth," she said through clenched teeth, never taking her gaze 
off her target.  "If you really did kill Theo I know that it was partially because 
you hated her for reminding you of what you once were.  Now you listen to me: 
 I won't let you do anything more to hurt him."
	"You won't kill him," Seth said with smug certainty.  "You can't.  You 
love him."
	"If I have to do this, I'll do it *because* I love him," she said, her voice 
low and forceful.  "I will not permit you to use him for your own purposes.  He 
would rather die than help you in any way.  He's faced death more times than 
you or I will ever know, and each and every time he was prepared to make the 
sacrifice.  If I let you do this, he'd never forgive me...nor I myself."
	Seth raised one hand towards her.  "If you kill him, you're next," he 
snarled.
	She shook her head slightly.  "If you think that at this moment I care 
about that then you don't know much about me."
	His mouth curled into that same hateful smirk, and his hand shifted to 
point at Tegan.  "Then I'll kill her.  You can't be so cavalier about sacrificing 
this innocent woman."  Tegan's eyes narrowed as she saw Grant move behind 
Seth and tense up...he almost looked as if he were ready to attack Seth himself. 
 She glanced around...none of the others had observed this.  Grant gave his 
erstwhile pursuer a slight nod, and she straightened her back and spoke, hoping 
she sounded more confident than she felt.
	"Don't listen to him, Ace.  You do what you have to do."  Ace's eyes 
shifted slightly and met Tegan's.  The two women nodded at each other.
	"Just another disadvantage of being evil, Seth.  Look at the lengths to 
which people are willing to go to thwart you," Ace said.
	Seth was beginning to believe her, and it alarmed him.  "I could stop you, 
you know.  I could vaporize the gun or I could halt the bullet in midair."
	"Go ahead.  I'm no match for you, I know that.  But I will not stand here 
and watch while you reverse the life he's led...the lives we have led."  She 
could see out of the corner of her eye Seth still ready to kill Tegan, and she 
had no illusions about the length of her own life if she went through with this.  
She wasn't sure if she had the strength to follow through, so she turned to the 
only person who'd ever been able to make her stronger than she was alone.  
She looked straight into the Doctor's eyes and saw not Legion but her husband 
looking back at her.
	Two words were all he could manage.  "Do it," he mouthed silently.
	One single tear slid down her cheek.  "I love you," she whispered, and 
fired.  Her aim was as straight as it had ever been, and the bullet struck him 
right in the middle of his forehead.  As he fell backwards onto the floor, Ace 
felt part of herself die with him.  Her entire body went cold and she fell to her 
knees, the gun sliding from her fingers.  She waited for Seth to finish her off, 
but nothing happened.  She looked up to see Seth staring across the room, slack-
jawed, his promised executions forgotten.  She followed his gaze to person 
standing in front of the console room doors.
	"Thank you, Ace," said Theo.  "That just about wraps things up."  She 
placed her hand on the TARDIS wall and a bright white pulse flowed out from 
her shoulders through her hand to spread quickly across every surface.  
	"Theo?" Seth said, mouth agape.  "I killed you!"
	"You can't kill me, Seth.  You and I are two sides of the same coin.  While 
you live, I live.  I let you think you'd killed me.  A little confidence booster 
never hurts."
	Ace stared at the Guardian as her mind and body came back online, 
jumpstarted by rage.  "You planned this entire thing, didn't you?" she 
whispered, rising to her feet.  "This TARDIS is a mousetrap, and he was the 
bait!"  Ace had been angry many times before, often blindingly so, but those 
had been mere temper tantrums compared to the haze of fury that settled upon 
her mind at the thought that this woman whom she'd trusted had let her 
sacrifice the man she loved as part of some plan.  She started towards the 
Guardian but stopped short as Theo threw her a stern look and Ace heard her 
voice inside her mind.
	  Ace looked towards the Doctor's body lying on 
the floor.  It was a split second decision, but she had no real choice but to trust 
Theo...however, "playing along" was open to a number of interpretations.  Hers 
was to resume her charge and punch Theo across the jaw.  Theo recovered 
quickly, gave Ace a quick wink then shoved her aside, advancing on Seth.
	"You're trapped inside this ship, Seth.  I've just sealed it.  You can either 
come along quietly to the Domain or else Grant and I will force you."  Seth 
glared at Jenkins, who just smiled serenely.  "That's right, he works for me." 
 She looked at the Doctor.  "Is he dead?" she asked quietly.
	Ace had rushed over and was kneeling at his head, drawing him into her 
arms.  She felt for his pulse, praying that Theo knew what she was doing.  
"Yes," she choked out.
	Theo's jaw tightened and she knelt by his side.  "Good.  He's free."  She 
took a deep breath and pressed her hand over the wound in his forehead.  Ace 
watched, her eyes widening, as Theo's hand pulsed with a soft glow.  Suddenly 
the Doctor inhaled sharply and Ace felt his hearts begin to beat.  Theo took her 
hand away...the wound was gone.  Ace and the Guardian looked at each other, 
almost identical expression of relief on their faces.  The Doctor sat up, looking 
confused.
	"How...how did I get in here?" he said.
	"How much do you remember?" Ace asked him as calmly as she could, 
wanting nothing more than to hug him until he ruptured but not wanting to 
alarm him unnecessarily.
	"I was about to unlock the TARDIS so we could...Theo!"  He jumped up, 
then frowned as he saw the other occupants of his console room.  "Seth, what 
in blazes are you doing here?  Good heavens, what's going on?"  Ace steadied 
herself on the console, the aftereffects of adrenaline rush making her dizzy.  
	Theo was about to try and explain when with no warning whatsoever Seth 
collapsed in a heap on the floor.  Theo rushed over to him, swearing under her 
breath.  Grant crouched by his shoulder, one hand on Seth's forehead.
	"He's closed off his mind completely.  He's been known to do that when he 
doesn't want to be compromised."
	Theo banged a fist on her knee.  "Damn.  We'll be lucky to get anything out 
of him...but at least he'll be where we can keep an eye on him.  Her face 
softened as she looked at him.  "Maybe we can even get him back," she 
whispered.  She stood then, straightening her robes, and looked at the three 
mortals regarding her with raised eyebrows.  Time for explanations, she 
thought, bracing herself.
	The Doctor blew air through his teeth.  "Theo, I don't know where to 
start."
	"I do," Ace said.  "How about back at the Stronghold, when Angel waited 
until the last moment to lend a hand.  I first thought it was because he was 
observing for some purpose of his own...but he was ordered to wait, wasn't 
he?  By you."  Theo pursed her lips and seemed reluctant to comment.  "Oh, 
that's okay, you don't have to say anything.  Just stop me when I get 
something wrong."  She walked around the console to stand eye to eye with 
Theo.  "You wanted to trap Seth, but you could never get close enough to him 
without mounting a full-scale assault.  It's just like his troubles with using 
time travel...Guardians and Legion are basically the same, two halves of the 
same coin.  Makes sneaking around difficult and keeps spying down to a cottage 
industry, limited to isolated individuals whose minds can be shielded."
	Tegan chimed in.  "So she needed to make him think that he had the upper 
hand.  The old Trojan horse trick.  I'm well familiar with it."
	"As am I," the Doctor said.  "Except that in this case the wooden horse 
was a partially converted Time Lord.  You knew he couldn't resist."
	Theo smiled sheepishly.  "The oldest trick in the book...and those are 
usually the ones that work."
	Ace's eyes darted about and her hands played in the air as pieces fell into 
place in her mind.  "You wanted him to get kidnapped, didn't you?  And then you 
fixed it so that he got converted just enough to be irresistible to Seth but not 
enough so that he'd be affected in any other way."
	"And then you wheel the horse up to the gates of Troy, or in this case Los 
Angeles.  That must have been the only sticking point," the Doctor speculated.  
"You were just playing the odds that Angel would have to allow me access to 
the TARDIS and that we'd end up here, where there were already Legion in 
significant numbers.  I don't quite follow all that, I'm afraid."
	"It's quite simple, really," Theo said.  "Without the conversion chamber, 
taking over another being's mind, especially one as strong as yours, is quite an 
effort...it required 10 Legion just to crack open the door enough for him to slip 
inside as he just did.  I knew that once you'd escaped from the Stronghold he'd 
give up trying until he could cook up another scheme to get you back in the 
chamber.  Seth is nothing if not pragmatic.  I didn't want to wait that long, so I 
had to get you somewhere that he would notice you...and where there'd already 
be enough Legion in the area to assist the takeover.  Fortunately, the presence 
of more than a few Legion would also act as a magnet to draw you...Banner's 
documented this phenomenon...so it was a good bet that you'd end up here, what 
with that added to Tegan's presence."
	"So you get Grant to concentrate his time jumps in one temporal 
neighborhood to heighten the effect," Ace said.  "And once we're here, the 
Doctor gets converted, Seth appears in the TARDIS and you slam the trap shut."
	Theo shrugged.  "That's about the size of it."
	Ace clenched her fists.  "And you wanted me to kill him, too.  Why?" she 
whispered intently.  The Doctor looked at her sharply.  Theo came forward and 
put a hand on Ace's face.
	"I'm very sorry about that, Ace.  I knew you wouldn't let him Seth have 
him...you proved as much at the Stronghold when you risked brain shock to get 
him out of the chamber.  Once a mortal brain is converted, it's permanent.  
Even I cannot reverse the effects, though not for lack of trying.  The person's 
original consciousness is still there and can even occasionally appear, but it is 
forever trapped...until death, when the imprint leaves the mind and the original 
consciousness is freed.  You may have thought you were killing him, but you 
were saving him.  Now all that's left is the original intrusion," she said, 
walking over to the Doctor, "and that's easily dealt with."  Without warning 
she grabbed his arm and pressed the heel of her hand against his forehead.  He 
stiffened and his back arched.  After a moment she released him and he fell 
against the console.  Ace slipped an arm around his waist to help him stand.  
Theo stood with her back to them, both fists pressed to her temples.  Ace 
remembered what Angel had said...that Theo had to draw the Legion presence 
into her own mind and then consciously annihilate it.  They watched as she 
stood there silently, until all at once she threw her head back and uttered a 
brief cry of release.  She turned around and smiled at them, her face pale.
	"Well, that should do it.  We'd best get this one to the Domain pronto," she 
said, indicating Seth.  She stared at the time rotor for a moment and then it 
stopped moving...they'd landed.  She opened the doors and at once Angel rushed 
in, looking about excitedly.  He swept her into his arms and hugged her 
enthusiastically.  Theo laughed at him.
	"Thank goodness you're alive!" he exclaimed. 
	"If you're going to thank someone I guess that's who to thank.  Take care 
of that, would you?" she said, motioning to Seth.  Angel and Grant hauled the 
dark Guardian's limp form out of the TARDIS.  "Coming?" she said to the 
Doctor and Ace, who were standing by the console just staring at each other.
	"Be there in a sec," Ace said.  Theo nodded knowingly and took Tegan's 
arm, pulling her out of the console room.
	"You...killed me?" he said, looking at her wonderingly.
	Ace nodded slowly, swallowing.  "I shot you.  I had no choice...he was 
going to..."
	He pressed a finger to her lips.  "Shh.  I know."  He sighed and took her 
hands.  "I've never in my life known anyone as brave as you, or as strong as 
you...or anyone who was able to make me feel safe."  He paused.  "I didn't have 
the presence of mind to say this before, so let me say it now.  My name is..."  
He stopped then, looking at her helplessly.  She smiled at him.
	"It's okay," she said softly.
	He nodded, relieved.  "My name is the Doctor.  Upon my honor I promise 
to respect you, and be true to you, and protect you with my life.  You're the 
only person I've ever loved, and I want to join my life with yours."  They 
looked at each other for a moment, then a twinkle came into his eyes.  "I guess 
that's what's called a shotgun wedding," he said.  She rolled her eyes and 
punched him on the arm, then hugged him as if she'd never let go.


	They came out of the TARDIS into the gardens.  No one was in sight, so 
they walked up to Theo's office.  There they found her examining Seth's body 
more closely, Angel and Grant assisting her, and Tegan gazing around the 
room, looking awed at her surroundings.  As they came in Tegan rushed over 
and hugged both of them at the same time.
	"I can't believe we made it through that one," she exclaimed.
	"Oh, Tegan, you and I were in some pretty rough situations in the past," 
the Doctor chided her.
	"Name one that was half as serious!"
	"Um...give me a minute..."
	Tegan laughed.  "It doesn't matter, as long as it has a happy ending."  She 
eyed them, one eyebrow raised knowingly.  "And it looks like it has for you 
two."
	They all jumped a little as Theo swore loudly.  "What is it?" the Doctor 
asked.
	She glanced at him.  "Seth hasn't shut his brain down, it's no longer here."
	"How is that possible?" Ace exclaimed, getting that cold feeling again.
	"He's too clever by half," Theo muttered.  "You're so sly but so am I..." 
she mumbled, peering into his eyeballs and pressing her hands to his skull.  
Finally she leaned on the table, shaking her head.  "He's gone.  He's transferred 
his consciousness...somewhere."  She turned to look at them.  Her eyes rested 
on Ace, then on the Doctor, then finally on Tegan.  Her eyes narrowed and she 
walked towards the UNIT operative, who looked once again confused.  "Tegan, 
do you remember everything that happened in the TARDIS?"
	"Of course I do," she said doubtfully.  "I think..."
	Theo suddenly jumped forward, her hands outstretched, but before she 
reached her Tegan's eyes rolled back into their sockets and her back arched.  
They all jumped back as a noncorporeal burst of...of something that was half-
mist and half-energy surged from her body and flew through the ceiling of 
Theo's office, trailing the faint sound of Seth's laughter.  Angel and Grant 
sprang into the air and streaked away after it.  Theo swore again, her hands 
crackling with frustrated energy.
	The Doctor rushed over to Tegan, who was blinking and looking around, 
seeming none the worse.
	"What just happened?" Ace asked.
	Theo, whose lips were pressed together almost into nonexistence, shook 
her head.  "They won't be able to catch him...dammit!  I can't believe I let that 
happen.  He transferred his entire self temporarily into Tegan's body, like 
Tupperware for leftovers...must have done it while we were bent over the 
Doctor.  That's why he collapsed a few seconds later.  The body is just a husk 
now."  She went over to it and touched the face gently.  "This is once again 
*my* Seth, but he's gone for good now.  The thing that he became will take a 
new body and keep on going."
	"I didn't know beings like him had that ability," the Doctor said.
	"Seth makes up the rules as he goes along," she said.  "He has limits...but 
something like this is not unprecedented.  Extreme, but not unheard of.  I should 
have anticipated it."
	"You seem to have anticipated everything else," Ace said icily.
	Theo turned.  "I wouldn't blame you for being angry, Ace.  I manipulated 
you, and I used you to help me trap Seth, and I didn't even manage to keep 
him," she finished, her fists clenched.
	Ace sighed.  "I don't have the energy to be mad anymore, Theo.  At least I 
wasn't the only one this time," she remarked, glancing at the Doctor, who was 
still talking quietly to Tegan, making sure she was all right.  "And you did save 
the Doctor's life, even if it was your plans that put it in danger in the first 
place.  But we haven't heard the last of Seth, have we?"
	Theo smiled ruefully.  "That much is certain."
	Ace nodded and moved to sit next to the Doctor.  Theo watched the three 
mortals and for a moment she envied them.  They could go back to their lives 
now and face their little problems and leave dealing with Seth to her.  She 
turned back to his body where it lay on the conference table.  Sinking into a 
chair by its side, she smoothed his hair back from his face...hair that she'd run 
her fingers through more than once.  As she contemplated his still features, 
she couldn't help but remember his smile back before it had become a sneer, 
and his touch before it became an attack.  
	Theo, human being and leader of the Guardians, bent her head to her ex-
lover and arch-enemy's chest and wept.