*...That was /exactly/ the problem Rikky was having with the GUARD and, having been raised GUARD, himself. Rikky, even tho he`s a demonic construct, was having a very hard believing in /demons/. To believe in demons meant basically believing in angels, and that meant Higher Powers and that meant choices... it meant more, too. The GUARD scientists were like the Doctor, though admittedly, not nearly, not even close, to as learned or intelligent, or capable. They were brilliant humans, but none were 750 years old... they had limited abilities. And until now... this very moment... even Rikky didn`t believe in /aliens/. He was having difficulty with the concept. Aliens, ETs and Greys? All GUARD cover-up conspiracies. But the doctor wasn`t GUARD. The doctor was shaking a few foundations of Rikky`s own beliefs just by showing his all this. And the TARDIS was making it very hard for Rikky to disbelieve any of it. This contraption, this man, the psionics in the TARDIS, the technology... NONE of it human of GUARD-made. Rikky bites his lip, looking away a moment, struggling internally. He was a demon and justg recently was forced to open his mind to the possibilty demons existed, because of him/self/. He`d learned of Valyn, an /elf/. Faeries. Another hurdle in beliefs. Now the Dalek and all of this... no, he would spare the GUARD this, let the humans go about with their illusions and facades... they didn`t know anything to the contrary and he would keep it that way, for now at least. How to explain /what/ the Master was tho... certainly not unnatural, so... maybe an escapee of the counterdimensions where the tavern had been held... while Rikky had visited, he`d never actually been /in/ the tavern, never /seen/ an elf or a troll or a dragon with his own eyes, and he was raised in such a cold hard science atmosphehere, this was becoming difficult. Like the Doctor, Rikky based things on /fact/, on /science/, like the GUARD did. Its why they didn`t know, would never even consider, that Jayde or Chalice were demons, or Talon a werewolf. That wasn`t science, it was silly superstition, outdated religions, mythos and tales to frighten the weak-hearted and weak-minded. Oh, if they only knew who/what had even created them... but they don`t, and neither does Rikky. A peasant from the Dark Ages would indeed be better equipped to deal with such things*MS() I understand you made several... large sacrifices, offering this information. You took some great risks. I appreciate that. I will keep such things to myself...()*Rikky inclines his head, pulling his facade about him tighter, or trying to. He really was tired of pretending. And at the moment, its only his carriage which was Aerik`s. The words are his own, as is his attitude. That they mesh mostly with the original`s is a fortuitous coincidence*

*oh the Doctor could accept the possibility of werewolves... hell, vampires were his races old enemies... though far greater than the vampires of mythology... demons and angels though... that was more difficult... but even so... it was the /magic/ that halted the Doctor... the required incantations... the right components required... the right gestures needing to be made.... the Doctor himself had actually banished demons... not by using the correct gestures.... but by chanting in such a tone of authority.. that the demon /believed/ they were the words of power.... vampires and werewolves... he knew of them... he`d faced them... but he didn`t believe in the absolute myth that followed them... they had rational explanations... the wolf came out during the full moon because they /believed/ that`s when it would happen... same with silver being painful.... as for the seeming immunity to normal weapons.... extreme pain resistance.... and as for explaining the Master, he`d had to do so to another human governments... even now, a close examination of the most wanted lists, especially in England and America... would reveal various anagrams of his name* Thank you Aerik. Very kind of you. *a light chuckle*

*Rikky didn`t know the Doctor had already explained Master to Earth governments. If so, then Rikky`s knowledge of the man`s existance was redundant. The GUARD would already know of him. But maybe not everything... he`d tell anyway. Magic. Yes, that posed a big stumbling block to Rikky, and unfortunately, he was very magickal... more than scientific. The GUARD just /cloned/, as instructed. They didn`t know what they were cloning, though, and Rikky boggled them completely. No one had won the lab pool yet, no one knew what he was... and he`d been subjected to many tests, ones he took willingly, wanting, as all creatures, to know what he was... instinctive to question one`s existance, especially when you seem to be the /only/ one of your kind. Or the clone of a rarity. But even Aerik differed from Rikky. A great deal, interstingly enough. Rikky`s never met a vampire, nor a werewolf, and he oo could explain such things away... a shapeshifter unnatural, or one who needed extra protein, at such concentrations as were found in human blood... or sensitivity to certain metals, perhaps an unfavorable magnetic reaction (Talon could not be killed by silver, but that was neither here not there as the GUARD didn`t know that), there were hundreds of reasonable, scientific explanations for such things... even tho science took on a twist of whimsy in Rikky`s world and was magically-based, while that, too, was unknown (the blood of demoncreatures being the power of the serum). All unnaturals were a bizarre, surreal blend of science and magic, of human and darkest demon. Rikky was not either, not exactly*MS*()*faint smile* My pleasure, and the least I could do... *he glances about again, straight and his hands clasped behind his back* This is an amazing construct...()

*the Doctor himself had had long arguments about whether magic actually existed... or whether it was purely unexplainable science... but be that as it may, the Eshva were not known to the timelords... they barely worried about `primitive` civilisations... that is, civilisations which had more interest in `magic` or the supernatural than in science... they spent much time watching science-based cultures, for they were the sort of cultures that could one day threaten the security of the universe... even the most dangerous of `demons` or `gods`.. and the timelords knew how empty that name was, having been treated as gods during the Dark Time, could rarely threaten more than one planet... they were not the sort to build an empire of planets... which could even close in on Gallifrey... Gallifrey was cut off, and as such no `magical` being had ever reached them... only science... the Doctor wrapped his long scarf around him once more and then chuckled* The ultimate achievement of our race... *meaning the TARDIS... not so much the creation of the TARDIS, but the eye of harmony... the Doctor /hoped/ Rikky couldn`t sense it... it was deep in the TARDIS, and the only beings that should be able to just sense it were strong telepaths... but more... they had to be /human/... at least, that`s what the Doctor hoped*

*Of course, one could argue that, in some ways, science was just another word for magic, or had become as such, for its what a peasant would call something like the TARDIS. A demon would be commonplace, but science, in the Dark Ages... magical beyond magical. Perspective, one might say. All in the perspective. Maybe magic /was/ unexplainable science... or science was explainable magic. One could say science was just more mundane than magic... or, to that peasant of pre-science (or when the cutting edge of science was employing sheep bladders to predict earthquakes), far more fantastical. The means were different, the ends the same? Best left to personal conjecture... and even that could be speculative. After all, here was a clone of a demonic contruct, genes created first by humans wielding magic suspended in science... an purely supernatural creature recreated by science, cloning, who didn`t even believe in the supernatural. And the ones who made his/Aerik`s body to begin with were Vazdru, oldest of the old, predating the sunlight... demons who never fell. Demons who /were/ magic and love in all her compass. Rikky quite simply stood at ods with himself... and he couldn`t sense the Eye of Harmony... he could barely get around the massive, almost suffocating sense of the /power/ in this place. And Rikky was in no way human. Aerik had /been/ human at one point, his mind had /been/ human. But with the chemical bonding of unnatural mind to magical Eshva body, his mind had also been altered, made stronger, more capable, renewed, healed somewhat, able to function on a new level. His brain had not transferred... his brain had been melted by his cousin years before. Only his essence had escaped, that essence moved into his bady and, eventually, altered to its present state. The body was wholly Eshva, the `mind` wholly Eshva. And while Aerik had his past life and experiences and humanity to cling to, Rikky did not. They were incredibly different... Rikky far more demonic, in mind, than Aerik, but raised human, that part of him had been left slumberous. For now. Because Aerik still held remnants of his humanity, and his staggering power which was triple, now, what the Doctor had met when he`d saved Aerik before the chemibonding and Razorshred absorption, with sheer power and awareness and experience, he might have sensed it. Rikky was not even two years old, a far cry from his brother in all ways. The Eye was safe from Rikky`s attention. A sudden shift of his black eyes and Rikky grins at the doctor`s gesture*MS*() I like your scarf ()

*indeed, even many `civilised` people... those who had studied science to some degree... many of them once stepping past the TARDIS doors into the huge interior, cry had been `magic!`.. and as for the suffocating feel of power, the Doctor had not even /thought/ about that... he was a timelord, and he was a part of the power... and no other psionicist had ever gone into the TARDIS... the closest most had got was when he used the telepathic circuits to send a message to a telepath some way away... to far for him to reach with his bare mind... and it was more to avoid frustrating his well... his friend as such.... it might seem strange to those that knew the timelord, for he could be arrogant beyond belief about those who didn`t have his knowledge... but then it showed how little they knew him.... it was the military whom he barely befriended... anyone who showed intelligence... and was not bent on world destruction or other warlike pursuits... could claim a certain degree of kinship with the young timelord.. but the fact was that even if Rikky had sensed the Eye, only a full 100% human could open it... and in so doing would destroy the world.. and on Rikky`s comment, he gave a brief twirl* You like it? *an amused chuckle.. he had often been looked upon as eccentric because of his state of dress...*

*Well, The Doctor certainly had nothing to fear from Rikky opening the Eye then, or even Aerik... far, far from human as they were. And certainly, neither of them were warlike or bent on world destruction... or even domination. Rikky just wants to know what he /is/... who he is. Why the night whispers at him and seems to come alive when he`s around... or a small part of it, like his own little pet. Why does sunlight hate him? Why would it destroy him? What /was/ he that sunlight would seek to transmute him to ashes? The young clone grins slightly at the twirl and sighs softly, looking down at his own obviously unscarved state of dress*MS() I like it, but... () *he makes a gesture, to indicate his scarflessness, and offers the doctor large, dark eyes*

*it had often been seen as strange that only a /human/ could open something which linked to the very basis of timelord power... the eye of harmony... the blackhole which gave them enough power to be able to time-travel.... and at Rikky`s gesture, he can`t help but laugh... his hand plunges into his pocket.. pockets which some might argue were like the tardis itself considering how much junk they seemed to contain... and he pulled out the scarf and handed it over.. it was very much like this one... he was also pleased he wasn`t like many of the others in the TARDIS... who upon first seeing the console room would lunge for various buttons and levers asking `what`s that do`... the wrong lever could close the doors... and reveal either both, or just one... of the two secrets he`d held back... the secret of time travel obviously enough... and the other... well if he heard the rumours about Iuz` clash he might figure out...*

*Rikky would be most interested in learning something like that... more for philosophical rumifications than anything... he imagines he`d like to /sit/ and /talk/ to this ecentric man. The clone blinks his large dark eyes at the pockets... they certainly didn`t seem full enough, bulky enough, to house such a long scarf. Yet here the man was, pulling a scarf from the pocket as a magician might from a hat. Delighted, Rikky beams as he reaches for the scarf, takes it, and starts wrapping it about his slender neck... and about... and about... and about... and he dimly wonders if it ever ends or its like his pocket... after a long moment of winding, he offers a small, apologetic look. As for the rest, not touching the buttons and pulling the levers... he knew better. ANd while he`d like to know, were the Doctor to take him on a tour and offer some small knowledge, he`d ask. But he wouldn`t touch. He wouldn`t presume to do something so possibly dangerous, not in /this/ place. He would not want the eye of harmony, nor would he be inclined to change things in time or even time /travel/... he isn`t that reckless. But he would find the concept... the blackhole powering the ability... utterly fascinating* MS() You must have strong arms from all this... *wryly muttered mentally*()

*the Doctor loved a good talk.. though not perhaps as much as his previous incarnation.... and he chuckled amused as Rikky wrapped the scarf around his neck... and if Rikky /asked/... he might be one of the few that... given a bit of time, the Doctor might take on a tour... show the TARDIS to... perhaps even offer some knowledge about what it was made to do... and /how/ it defended itself from outside threats... though that would be something he was wary of telling people he didn`t know well... especially those with even slight power... because he didn`t know how they`d take it*

*Rikky sighs slightly, his aspect os Aerik relaxing even as he does. Mostly, what the Doctor saw /now/ -was- Rikky and not an act. It was becoming increasingly difficult to pull that facade off... he simply didn`t want to anymore, was tired of it. But that was, or could be, dangerous. He`s gotten the idea, though, that the Doctor had been only an aquaintance, not a close friend or anything. He was probably fairly safe. Another dangerous idea. Finally, the boy gives up, drops his arms in an exagerated frustration, the scarf lopsided, one end hanging on the floor. He doesn`t care. Then he twirls, as the Doctor had, and bats his lashes animatedly, comically*MS*() Is it /me/?()*he liked it... genuinely liked the little gift, or allowance, or whatever it was, and grins again at the Doctor, then glances around once more, murmuring*MS*() One of these days, Doctor, you simply /must/ take me on a little walk around here... I am wild with curiousity about its workings. Marvelous structure...() *Both RIkky, and his brother, would be two of the safest people explain the TARDIS to... neither would have any real desire to use it, or own it, or anything. Just find it fascinating... but of course, the Doctor doesn`t know that*

*the Doctor didn`t notice the slight changes... he had really onlymet him the time when he saved his life, and when Aerik repaid him with saving his sanity... the end of one regeneration, and the beginning of the next... not times he remembered very well... and he chuckled... and he nodded* It is /you/. *and the Doctor meant it... he`d always liked dressing to stand out, rather than part of the crowd.. and it had been meant as a gift... and he nodded quietly, one of these days he would..* One day. *when he knew him better... when he got a feel whether he`d be the sort to use the TARDIS... and more importantly, whether he`d be the sort to report the TARDIS to others... even if he himself didn`t want to travel through time, there were always those who did.... it was a normal sentient wish...*

*Rikky has no way of knowing the instances Doctor met Aerik, but he`s gotten the idea it wasn`t often, but he wouldn`t know for sure unless he was told or probed the Doctor`s mind. He wasn`t about to do the latter... and he knew one of the instances already... when Aerik had killed the Doctor accidently. Rikky grins brightly and flounces in his scarf, parading about in a circle with wildly swinging hips (what he had of them), like a catwalk model, pauses tp pose, and continues... chuckling silently, he stops a short time later and blinks. Leaning in towards the Doctor a bit more, gazed fixed on the pocket, he peers suspiciously at the loaction from where the scarf was drawn*MS*() It does not look large enough to house this lovely, and very long, accessory, Doctor. *then a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he lifts his gaze upward to the Doc`s face, body still bent at the waist* And what can you pull from your hat? A biplane? Small cruise ship?()

*he chuckles quietly at Rikky`s question.. and then he shrugs...* It`s dimensionally transcendental? *he gave another chuckle... that was what the TARDIS was... his coat just had deep pockets.. and he skillfully arranged them so as not to show the bulk so much* From my hat I can`t pull anything. It`s just a hat. *the amusing thing is that if Rikky wanted to... he could just /ask/... he could lie, say he had amnesia... brought on by his near death perhaps... the Doctor would understand that, his own regenerations always caused faulty memory after all... and would fill him in on the second meeting*

MS*()Is it really? *Rikky straightens and blinks once, twice at the Doctor* Where can I get a coat like /that/? *then he mock huff-sighs, folds his arms across his lean (or Scrawny, as April would say) chest, glaring slightly at the just-a-plain-ol`-hat* Well /that/ is not very exciting is it? () *He`s debating... he doesn`t want to leave yet, he`d like to stay and talk... however...* () Doctor... how close to sunrise?()

*he chuckled quietly* You invent it. *then he gives a look as he`s asked about sunrise... does he tell the mere truth, in that sunrise was only an hour or so away... or does he tell the whole truth, that in here... time is immaterial.... was he ready yet? he certainly didn`t /seem/ to be power-hungry... and he was certainly good company... though he idly wondered what Romana would think about this... because he knew that even the most unambitious could be corrupted by the lure of time travel... the struggle in his mind is obvious... then coming to a decision... he sighed... he`d like to meet him again, and if he continued to strike this rapport... next time he asked he`d tell him the rest* It is an hour or two away... *and besides, he`d like to give him that advance warning for what would happen when the doors closed*

*Rikky rolls his eyes, playing with the Doctor. Its a rare freedom for the clone, really since, well, he has very few friends, as not many were allowed to know of his exsitence yet, not even inside the GUARD. Soon tho, he thinks. Soon they`ll have all the info on Aerik they /can/ gather and Venin was helping them even more, using the poor Rikky as a guinea pig for ways to possibly defeat Aerik...*MS*() For all your technology, you do not have a bottomless /hat/? What kind of home is this, anyway? *his eyes narrows and he lets them flash around, shifting rapidly. No, not power hungry at least... not /that/ way. Rikky was a demon, after all, and not interested in Time travel. Rikky`s inclination for power was there, it was displaying itself in his interactions with Rika, and her alone for the moment, but was nothing ...material. He suddenly laughs, mentally, though he almost slipped and used his voice. One thing... he had vocal chords where Aerik did not**MS() Could you be more specific? It matters just a little bit that I do not get caught in sunlight and I doubt I can transport out of /this/ contraption, which means I would have to go outside to escape interference for the transfer...*he looks down at his wrist, frowning and swatting the end of the scarf out of his line of vision* I forgot my timepiece in my room() *if he had longer, he`d ask about the second incident, but if daybreak was so close, he shouldn`t chance it*

*he sighed... he shouldn`t... he really shouldn`t... but yet, it was for this very reason he`d escaped from Gallifrey... and the cold fact was, only a timelord could control the TARDIS... no-one else could... even if he misjudged him, and he tried to seize the power of time travel... he couldn`t... he would fail... the only reason that would be sad, is that in his failure the Doctor might be forced to kill..... but... he had to have confidence... he was rarely wrong about someone* I can assure you, you won`t have to walk into the sunlight to leave... *even then he wasn`t stating the whole truth... but some careful questioning if one were smart enough would reveal the truth*

*One of Rikky`s elegant brows arch slightly and he tips his head, regarding the Doctor skeptically*MS*() If you mean that in a way other than /if I leave now before the sun is up/, I would like to have it explained. Sunlight hates me, you know... through no fault of my own() *again, Rikky pauses, judges... weighs words and the manner in which they are spoken. Finally, with a small smile on his lips, he remarks..*() There is something you do not wish to tell me, is that it? *sudden, demon-like warning, a wild idea in his head, and he blinks widely* Am I trapped here?()

*he answered the suspicion firstly* Of course you`re not trapped here. The door is still open. You can leave anytime you wish. *though actually, on the few occasions the timelords /had/ run across demons, as opposed to Daemons, it was by luring them into the TARDIS that they made them helpless* This... contraption as you call it... is a travel machine. I can transport you to where it is dark, and then you can transport yourself... *and even.. /when/ it is dark... the Doctor had a thought* Unless... *he frowned... if he was drawing his lifeforce from another plane... the way gods did... it might kill him... oh usually just being in the TARDIS was not enough to kill demons... it was just that they were at the timelords mercy... they were no longer invulnerable to normal weapons... they no longer had the demonic powers to crush their opposition... only a timelord could wield powers in a closed TARDIS*

*Rikky shakes his head, fiddling with the end of the scarf he`d rescued from dragging along the floor*MS*() That the door is open means little. I entered willingly. That, in many cases, is enough. *he blinks at himself.. instinct, something he wasn`t taught. Where`d it come from? The shadows here we not alive, he`d noticed that already... they whispered from just outside the door but that was all. Rikky had assumed they held back from respect. Maybe it was more than that... he listens a moment to them, but hears... nothing but whispering. He whets his lips, frowns deeply, and casts a glance towards the open doors. /You can leave whenever you wish. But you will die if you do/. It pops into his head, a scenario. His thoughts have taken a grin turn as his head swivels back towards the Doc. He would never have taken this man for a creature such as the one he was considering. Inhuman, yes, but...* So... I could stay in here, out of the sunlight... and later you could take me to a place of night where then I can go home. Yes? () *Rikky was not a typical demon, but a construct, flesh and blood, and his brand of demon, as were the makers his body, unknown for the most part, not at all like the demons the Doctor was used to dealing with* () Unless...?() *a catch? A snare? Rikky scolds himself for being so careless... and he was so /sure/ the man was not a threat in the conventional manners...*

*there was no catch... no snare... /unless/ the Doctor had underestimated Rikky`s character... or if he was wrong about the effect the closed doors would have on him... he knew hewasn`t your typical demon... he didn`t know /what/... and therein lay the problem... he could be wrong... and he owed it to Rikky to state as much* If I`m wrong. If you /need/ to feel the outside world... then no, I can`t do that. If there is some link with the outside, that being made... powerless will kill you, then you`d best leave now. *he sighed* I don`t want our conversation to end, but if it would risk your life to close the doors... and if you don`t trust me enough to let me test it out by closing them once... and why should you, you don`t know me /that/ well... then please, leave now. I am certain we will meet again. *the smile showing that he bore no ill will if he couldn`t trust him....*

*Rikky takes in all the words... the man was being very honest, Rikky could tell somehow. Maybe it was in the details of what he said, or the concern on his face, the sincerety in his voice, something in Rikky`s own nature... either way, Rikky smiles, showing pretty white teeth, just slightly, when the Doctor is done. He steps forward, non-threateningly*MS*() I honestly do not know, Doctor, if I depend on... a connection to the outside or not. I do not think so, but... *his brows arch* powerless? *it hasn`t been so long ago he was that already, in the Highlord`s presence. But the Highlord also wasn`t a psionic. If anything, Rikky was having a hard standing powerless before someone this strong when he himself would be defenseless* MS*() I do not know if I would die should you shut the doors. And while I would not mean to offend you by judging your scruples, but it more the fact that my shields would leave me were you to make me powerless. You would be the only psionic here, in essence. I am afraid that, at this moment, I am uncomfortable with that notion. I have as much to protect as you do Doctor. I would, however, be pleased to meet you again, and speak once more. I find you very pleasant company. And possessed of a fascinating mind. *Rikky extends a hand to shake in the manner of the peoples who raised him, and then he turns to leave, before the sun rises and he might be reduced to ashes* Farewell for now, good Doctor. But soon, please... let us cross paths again. Thank you for the scarf... I adore it. *Rikky grins, waves, and exits the TARDIS, half expecting to be bound, stuck where he is... he sighs in relief when he isn`t, smiles back once at the Doctor, and then, suddenly, vanishes... just as the firstlights of dawn spill over, striking the courtyard he just vacated...*