Just a friendly reminder, Breath of Fire and its universe belong to Capcom. The Doctor belongs to the BBC. The Daleks belong to both BBC and the Terry Nation estate. And remember…What ain’t mine, AIN’T MINE!

Breath Of Who?

Chapter 2 – A Desperate Plan, And a Stranger

The group made their way towards Windia. While not as common as it was a few years ago, they still had monsters to face.

“My aim is improved,” said Ursula, as she finished off another Blue Cap with her shotgun.

“I h-h-h-hope it’s e-e-e-enough for wha-whatever it is,” added Scias.

--

Dalek Caan came to the Sea of Mud, separating the two continents. A Manilo, or fish-man, came up wto him. He was dressed in a designer tunic, and pulling a cart.

“Aw, eez eet Ershin I am looking at? I must say, you have a new design. Maybe you need some acessoires, no?”

“YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE ASTANA IS!”

“Astana? Zat is on ze western continent. But you can’t cross the mud. Even Manilo have problems with it. But I can connect you to a ferry, for a reasonable fee.”

“THAT WOULD BE REDUNDANT!”

“But how will you get across? Even eef you were a Windian, zey cannot fly so far…”

“THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE INFERIOR!”

“You are not Ershin!”

“YOU ARE ACCURATE!”

“No need for ze screaming…”

“YOU WILL NOT COMMAND ME. DALEKS ARE SUPERIOR, MANILLO ARE INFERIOR!”

“Do you have any weapons? I have a nice selection of…”

“I WILL BUY NOTHING!”

“But zere a monsters…”

“THAT IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. YOU WILL CEASE YOUR ATTEMPTS AT ENGAGING ME IN COMMERCE, YOU WILL CEASE YOUR ATTEMPTS AT COMMANDING, OR ELSE YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!” To drive the point across, Caan aimed its gun-arm, and fired a blast a short distance from the Manillo. He said nothing and slowly backed off. Caan turned around. “LEVITATE!” Its hover-mechanism engaged, and Caan glided across the mud.

--

Some time later, the group arrived at Windia. “I always loved being here,” said Cray. “Even more so now!” He thought about his beautiful fiancée who he’d soon marry. He and Nina held hands, as all six of them walked up the ramped road that entered the city of a million wings.

Soon they were at the elevator that went even higher, into the castle, and from there, it was a short walk to the throne room. “I am pleasured to see you all again, especially my dearest Nina,” said the King. “But I have some dire news. The Oracle is dead.”

“The Abbess in Chek said she was,” said Nina.

“And it was a bandit who delivered the news. He spoke about something in armor,” Ershin was worried at that statement, “but without hands or feet. It used a toilet plunger to burn her. I am ignorant as to how one could enchant a plunger, but this armored being is dangerous. It is called Dalek Caan, and called itself a Dalek.”

“The Dalek must be from another world, so says Deis,” commented Ershin.

“Is there something we could do?” asked Nina.

“There is a place that is known by very few,” replied the King. “And it is said to have powerful weapons. The Southern Continent. But it is surrounded by fog and is a dangerous place. By tradition, few are told of its existence.”

“To protect it from greedy bandits?” asked Ursula.

“No. To protect greedy bandits from it!”

“So how would we get there?” asked Cray.

“There is a new invention, a group of thinkers led by Momo recently perfected it. It is a ship that sails in the air. An air-ship!”

“Is it s-s-s-s-safe?” asked Scias.

“Just as safe as a sandflier! I will have you escorted to it tomorrow.”

“Perchance, this will help,” said Ryu, speaking in a way that the Fou-Lou part of his spirit used. “Or else the tidings are of naught but grim!”

“You’re right,” said the King. “The Oracle was always known to defend herself against evil and monsters. Yet the Dalek killed her.”

--

South of Windia, in the village of Worent, things were winding down for the evening. Various Worens were practicing armed and unarmed combat, horses and whelks were returned to their stables, and the night watchmen prepared for their shift. Somewhere by the stables, a strange noise echoed through the air. A rectangular form materialized out of thin air. Soon the village’s residents, mostly Woren, were gathered around the form. It solidified. It was dark blue, and wooden. Atop it was a blue lamp that wasn’t on. On one side, there was writing. “POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX.” The door opened, and out came a smartly dressed human man, with short brown hair.

The partially feline Worens stared at him. “So where has the Tardis taken me now, hmmm? The navigation circuits acted up again, so I’m on my magical mystery tour, and I’m nowhere near Blue Jay Way,” he mused aloud. “Let me guess. I’m now in Nepal, in CAT-MAN-du, right?” He laughed at his own joke, but nobody understood him. “Ok, excuse me!” He pointed to a young girl. “May I ask where I am?”

She giggled. “Silly Human man, this is Worent, we are all Worens. My name is Salaqa, what’s yours?” A couple of older Worens next to her stared.

“Oh, pardon me I forgot to introduce myself!” He looked around. “You can call me the Doctor!”

“Doctor?” asked one of the elder Worens. “Doctor Who?”

“I do have a name, not sure if you’d be interested in hearing it. Only because about, I don’t know, 99.44 of the universe’s population is unable to pronounce it. And Salaqa, just for the future, I’m not a human, I’m a Time-Lord. I am also over nine centuries old!” Some of the Worens were laughing. “What? You don’t believe me? I guess I can add ‘your typical Woren’ to the long list of people throughout the universe who find the concept of the Time Lord so difficult. I arrived here in my Tardis, that lets me pass through all of time and space willy-nilly at the drop of a hat. Its getting old and run down, and likes to drop me in Woren villages every so often, but it is also my home!”

“Where is your home town?” asked Salaqa.

“You don’t want to know,” said the Doctor. “Especially since if you go to it now, all you’ll see is devastation. Or all you will see is devastation. I wouldn’t have the foggiest what year it is!”

“We have to take you to see the Elders,” said one of the Worens.

The Doctor was taken to the main house, located on top of a hill. He noticed the area around him. “So are you all warriors?” enquired the Doctor.

“We are, but that’s a silly question,” said one of the Worens. “Everyone knows about us. Our Chief Cray was one of the heroes who brought an end to the evil Fou-Lou.”

“I’ll have to catch the film version when it comes out. Now, where are these Elders?”

He was taken inside, and saw three Worens in robes, sitting around a mat. One of them was puffing on an ornate pipe. The Doctor sat down, cross-legged, facing the three.

“I am honored to meet you, sirs, you have a very nice village, indeed you do,” began the Doctor. “May I ask who you are?”

“The Elders,” said one of them.

“Pleasure to meet you!” He reached out to shake their hands. They were taken aback by his odd custom. “I am the Doctor. My TARDIS dropped me here!”

“You are the second stranger to appear in the world in so many days,” said one of the Elders. “The other stranger, we are ready to declare war on!”

“Has this stranger attacked you?”

“Not yet. But it killed the Oracle of the Wind. We have another guest who could tell you about it!”

A hooded figure walked into the room. “Me and my droogs made a mistake of working for him, he said he’d make us all powerful and we’d be able to schvat whatever we wanted. But he just OOBIVATED the Oracle!”

“Killed her,” translated one of the Elders.

“As I was saying, the baboothcka was killed, and my best droog Tyrrel was killed by ‘im. And normal weapons don’t work.”

“Who is he?”

“He called himself Caan!”

The doctor had a silent look.

“Do you know this Caan?” asked one of the Elders.

“I might, Elder,” replied the Doctor. “But right now, I hope that you’re not referring to the Caan I know. You don’t want to know the Caan I know!”

“He just said ‘EXTERMINATE’ and he was dead.”

“NO!” yelled the Doctor.

“What’s wrong?” asked another Elder.

“Elders, Caan is a Dalek!”

“That’s right!” said the cloaked man.

“Listen, you want to avoid the Daleks. They’re cunning, they’re demented, and they’re dangerous.”

“We have the finest warriors in the entire Eastern Continent. Chief Cray could lead us to victory!”

“No,” said the Doctor. “He would only lead you into pine boxes. You wouldn’t have any problems with posture because you’d all be stiff. You’d be dead. Bereft of life. Shells of your former selves. Pushing up daisies. Shuffled off your mortal coils. Coughed up your ghosts. Your metabolic processes, your breathing and eating, and other thingies living things do would all end at once, never to start again. You’d exit the stage, join the choir invisible, meet your makers, gone to see Elvis Presley in person, become deader than Bela Lugosi, you would become EX-WOREN!”

“So there is no hope?”

“There is hope. Especially since I am here. But brute force is ineffective against Daleks. Especially Caan. He’s all that’s left of the Cult of Skaro. An elite circle of Daleks, chosen to explore the universe, learn the ways of its enemies, find new ways of extermination.”

“Perhaps peace would work?”

“Peace? PEACE? That word is completely alien to them. To a Dalek, if you’re not a Dalek, you are either a slave, or you deserve to be slaughtered. And they are dangerously efficient at slaughtering. They have death rays. Guns that instantly hit their target and destroy it.”

“You must find Chief Cray,” said one of the Elders. “Maybe he would be able to help. He was one of the six heroes who stopped Fou-Lou! And Fou-Lou was a dragon. HE was a GOD!”

“If Caan visited earlier, he could have killed Fou-Lou for you.” A collective gasp sounded. “Yup, I believe I’ve told you just how powerful Dalek Caan is. If you see him, get away, as far away as possible! Now, where is Cray?”

“We believe he is most likely in Windia. That is north of Worren. We have a map!”

“Now that’s an idea, my furry friend. Especially since I don’t know head or tails about where I am!” After carefully examining the map, he went into his Tardis. “This better work,” said the Doctor, before the Tardis took off.

--

The Tardis appeared in the middle of Windia. The Doctor emerged. “Pardon me, is this Windia? And are those actual wings you have?”

“Yes, and yes,” said a passing woman.

“Do you know where Cray is? I have a message for him. And it isn’t a payment overdue notice!”

To be continued…

So, will the Doctor meet the heroes? And how will Dalek Caan be stopped? And worse…may there be more than just one Dalek to worry about?