The Christmas invasion 8 - Roses!POV.

                                                                                       

The Doctor and The Sycorax leader both raised their swords and stood in a warrior stance at each other. Was the Doctor really going to fight this alien? The Doctor always was a warrior of time but in his own way he was more about protecting than wanting to fight. He was willing to do so in fact as I had learned on Satellite five. He would do anything to save me and all humans on Earth. It was a tensioned few seconds as I flickered eyes from Doctor to the leader and yet suddenly they both drawn swords at each other, the Doctor having all tension run to his now wrinkled face.

Sometimes I forget how old the Doctor is and that he's not human but seeing him fight for the planet really shows how far he has come. Their swords clinked together like partners and the noise ringed through my ear drums. The Doctor was thrown by the leaders sword as he stumbled towards the TARDIS. He got his balance back and looked back at the leader with gritted teeth as he was hardly breathing. The leader laughed triumphantly and the Doctor gave me a considerable look as if to say 'Its going to be okay'

He turned back to the leader and bent his knees with determination, that twinge of his jaw line as he gritted his teeth. I knew he was going to win. That's when he launched his sword and swung it with a grunt from the back of his throat, the leader also did the same and their swords met together again. The Doctor dodged the leaders sword and swung back as soon as he was out of danger. And again. This caused the Doctor to fall to the floor. Everything suddenly felt slow.

"Doctor, look out!" I panicked. The Doctor turned on his side as the leaders sword brushed the floor by his side. That's when the Doctor leaped up and staggered around to find his balance, "Oh yeah.. that helps" He announced sarcastically in return, "I wouldn't have thought of that otherwise. Thanks" Then he was back to sword fighting again.

The Time lord attempted to push the leaders sword out of his way yet it came back to the Doctor finding himself being thrown back again by the leaders arm which had gotten into forceful contact with his stomach. The Doctor yelped. Staggering backwards, dodging the leaders continuous swings of his sword, the leader shouting through pure strength to get to the Doctor. The Doctor ran out of his way, the leader following him and the Doctor found himself going to a door through the rocky interior, "Bit of fresh air?" He asked rhetorically. He pressed a button which made the door open to the outside of the ship.

It was like a huge rocky balcony with metal supports along the outside walls of the ship. The Doctor was the first to run out, going right out to by the edge, turning around swiftly. The leader also came out with an equal stamina as they both raised their swords. It was an onwards, sword clink, sword clink and changing direction of the swings each time. The Doctors feet moving back and forth to direct them both, minding the edge of the ship. By then, everyone else had followed them out. I was holding the Doctors dressing gown beside Mickey and then Harriet and her handy man had both joined his side too.

After a while of the same sword clinking. The leader had hit the Doctor on his nose causing his one arm to block any more attacks from the leader, his body turned in reaction to the sudden hit. He raised a hand to all of us, "Stay back", he must have noticed my sudden movements of natural reaction to save him once again. Yet my feet felt like stone to the floor when he demanded me to do so, "Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet" The Doctor stated, wiping his nose on his pyjama sleeve.

Suddenly, the two warriors both ran at each other like wolves, being ever so close as they clinked swords once again. The Doctors teeth gritting became a continuous habit. The leader shoved the Doctor away and the Doctor fought with his sword, going backwards away from the leader. But then, the leader had managed to get the Doctor to his knees and push him back into a lying down position by the edge of the ship. Even I could feel the breeze of the drop from below the ship.

The Doctor stared willingly at his arm stretched out before him as he heard the sword take a clean slate out of something. His breathing became hostile as he felt a part of him fall. Literally. I wasn't too sure what had happened at first but then the Doctor had lifted his head in surprise to the leader, "You cut my hand off" He announced in an innocent tone.

The leader raised his hands in victory, "Sycorax!"

The Doctor stood, with no sword, and only one hand, "And now I know what sort of a man I am... I'm lucky 'cause quite by chance, I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle. Which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this" The Doctor lifted his arm up where his hand had completely been chopped off and as if by magic, his hand had started to grow back! Skin, bone, everything!

"Witchcraft" The Sycorax leader had confirmed, yet we knew better.

"Time Lord" The Doctor confirmed.

"Doctor!" I shouted, suddenly coming out of the blue with a sword, throwing it instantly in the Doctors direction. Hopefully it wouldn't end in another accident. Gladly, the Doctor caught it,

"Oh so I'm still the Doctor, then?" The Doctor asked in a cheeky tone.

"No arguments from me" I replied happily, feeling butterflies in my stomach. The Doctor was back!

"You want to know the best bit? This new hand... it's a fighting hand!" The Doctor exclaimed in a joking tone, throwing himself forward at the leader again. They both fought with such determination yet the Doctor had even more, grabbing the base of the leaders sword and yanking it from his grasp as he pushed him out of the way. The leader fell to the floor, just like the Doctor had a few moments before. The Doctor placed the sword gently to the leaders throat, "I win"

"Then kill me" The leader suggested.

"I'll spare your life, if you'll take this champion's command; Leave this planet and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes"

The Doctor gritted his teeth with fury, and dug the sword just enough so it scraped the leaders flesh, "Swear on the blood of your species"

"I swear"

"There we are then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fella" The Doctor announced all happily, turning back to us at last.  Safe and sound. He stuck his sword into the ground and Harriet congratulated him with claps of joy, "Bravo!" She called.

I skipped over to the Doctor, opening the dressing gown for him on the way, "That says it all, bravo!" I repeated.

"Not bad for a man in his jimjams" He commented as I helped him put his dressing gown back on, "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" The Doctor rambled by my side as he pulled out an orange, "A Satsuma" The Doctor verified. Okay then Doctor, it wasn't an orange. I just laughed at him, "Ah, that friend of your mother's. He does like his snacks, doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas?" He began, throwing and catching the Satsuma as he continued to talk, "You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old Satsuma.. who wants a Satsuma?" He asked, suddenly I had heard the leaders loud groans from behind me yet the Doctor was already on it, throwing the Satsuma at the button that he had pressed earlier and that's when the platform that the leader was standing under had disappeared into the ground around it. The leader fell from his ship. The Doctor didn't bat an eyelid, walking to the entrance of the ship, "No second chances" He stubbornly announced, "I'm that sort of a man"

We both walked back to the TARDIS together and the Doctor turned back to all the Sycorax species, "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. When you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, then make sure you tell them this; It is defended" The transport beam activated and we were all, including the TARDIS, were teleported back to Earth.

End of this part~Laurenthebumblebee.